For characters in the Soul Drinkers series. There will be spoilers, but those from ''Hellforged'' and ''Phalanx'' will be marked.

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Soul Drinkers]]

!! Sarpedon

A Librarian who lead the Soul Drinkers against the Imperium, and later succeeded Gorgoleon as Chapter Master. Suffered mutations that gave him spider legs.

* BadassBookworm: As a Librarian.
* BigGood
* CommandingCoolness
* DeadpanSnarker: At times.
--> ''(Just killed an Inquisitorial Interrogator in book 1)'' "This, it occurred to him, could be awkward."
* EmpoweredBadassNormal: After receiving his SpiderLimbs
* AFatherToHisMen: In comparison to Eumenes.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Sarpedon starts doing this more than he can justify.
* PsychicPowers: He can transmit his thoughts, but not receive thoughts.
* SpiderLimbs
* ProHumanTransHuman: He may reject the Imperium, but he hasn't abandoned the people of the Imperium. This can occasionally bring him into argument with some marines.
* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler:Dies as he drags Daenyathos into the Warp.]]

!! Luko

A Tactical Sergeant in the Old Chapter, later promoted to Captain and emerges as Sarpedon's right hand man.

* BeneathTheMask: While he outwardly maintains that he finds war enjoyable, in truth he hates war, and longs only for peace.
* BloodKnight: He puts on this facade.
* TheCaptain: After ''Crimson Tears''.
* IDieFree: [[spoiler:Walks into the closing Warp Portal with Graevus at the end of ''Phalanx''.]]
* {{Leader}}: Type IV. Sarpedon himself says that if any Soul Drinker were asked who they could fight under, the honest would say Luko.
* NumberTwo
* SergeantRock
* WolverineClaws: Uses a pair of Lightning Claws.

!! Graevus

An Assault Sergeant of the Soul Drinkers. Suffered a mutation that caused his right hand to grow massive in size.

* AnArmAndALeg: [[spoiler:Losses his left leg during the battle with Abraxes.]]
* IDieFree: [[spoiler:Walks into the warp with Luko at the end of ''Phalanx''.]]
* RedRightHand
* SergeantRock

!! Givrillian

A Tactical Sergeant who served as Sergeant of Sarpedon's Command Squad. His mutation was receiving multiple eyes. Killed during the battle with Ve'Meth.

* ExtraEyes
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice
* TheLancer: To Sarpedon as his Veteran Sergeant.
* SergeantRock

!! Salk

A Tactical Sergeant. Suffered a metabolic mutation.

* ChainsawGood: Uses a chainsword.
* AGoodWayToDie: Subverted. [[spoiler:He's killed by Iktinos's flock and feels that there should have been some glory to it.]]
* SergeantRock

!! Tellos

An Assault Sergeant in the Old Chapter. He lost his hands at the Lakonia Star Fort against the Adeptus Mechanicus, and nerve damage prevented augmentics from being applied, so he jammed chainswords into the stubs to continue fighting. His mutation is one of the most bizarre among the Soul Drinkers: His entire body became soft and gel-like, and he acquired a seemingly unlimited HealingFactor to match. However, his mental state suffered, turning him into a stubborn BloodKnight who often needed to be dragged away from fights.

Having gone missing in action during the high-pitched battle on Stratix Luminae, and presumed dead, Tellos and his assault squad later resurfaced as deranged followers of the Chaos God Khorne. Tracked to Entymion IV amid the carnage of the Dark Eldar's plans, he fights Sarpedon in single combat but survives. However, he is later obliterated when the Inquisition declare an [[NukeEm Exterminatus]] on the planet.

* AnArmAndALeg : Loses his hands in ''Soul Drinker''.
* BladeBelowTheShoulder: Tellos replaced his hands with a pair of chainswords when he discovered that he couldn't be fitted with bionic replacements.
* BloodKnight : He develops this attitude when his mutations first manifest, and it directly leads to his fall to Chaos.
* ChainsawGood : It's 40K, but SerialEscalation soon applies.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: (Subverted) Before being obliterated by the Exterminatus, Sarpedon does drop a literal bridge on Tellos during their epic duel
* EmpoweredBadassNormal : With his mutation. After becoming a Chaos Space Marine, his inhuman abilities are increased even further.
* FallenHero : Before his fall to Chaos, Tellos had a bright future in the Soul Drinkers, and was even marked for captaincy at one point.
* HealingFactor / ImmuneToBullets : All physical damage simply passes through his gel-skin harmlessly; the wounds sealing up in seconds.
* TheJuggernaut : With his fighting skills and HealingFactor, Tellos is nigh-unstoppable. He easily butchers several Space Marines of the Soul Drinkers and Crimson Fists, and Sarpedon only barely defeats him during their fight. In the end, it takes a freaking ''Exterminatus'' to finally put him down for good.
* MasterSwordsman
* OneManArmy
* TheParagonAlwaysRebels : Both before and after his mutation, Tellos was widely considered to be a shining example of the chapter's fighting prowess, particularly by his fellow assault-marines. When Tellos finally succumbed to his bloodlust on Stratix Luminae, his entire squad followed suit.
* WalkingShirtlessScene : Forgoes upper body armor after coming up with the idea of jamming swords into his wrists. Given his HealingFactor, he probably doesn't need armor anyway.

!! Dreo

A Tactical Sergeant later promoted to Captain after the chapter rejected both the Imperium and Chaos. Killed offscreen during a mission in ''Bleeding Chalice''.

* TheCaptain: After ''Soul Drinker''.
* ColdSniper: Was probably the best shot in the Chapter.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: The guy who ended up winning the fight with Ve'Meth was killed off offscreen after receiving a promotion. Bridges don't fall much harder than that.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: He had a standing bet with his squad: if you spotted and shot a target before he did, you earned a day of free time in meditation or research in the Librarium. It happened only twice during his twelve years as a sergeant.

!! Pallas

The de-facto Chief Apothecary of the Soul Drinkers. Suffered a mutation resulting in scales developing across his skin.

* TheAtoner: For siding with Eumenes during the Second Chapter War.
* BodyHorror: Scales begin growing across his skin.
* CombatMedic
* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: [[spoiler:Cut in half by Abraxes sword.]]
* OddFriendship: He has two examples:
** With Tellos: Pallas was an Apothecary dedicated to healing, while Tellos was a OneManArmy dedicated to killing. Yet Tellos's death ultimately drove Pallas to side with Eumenes in the Second Chapter War.
** With Luko. Pallas was one of the most notable Veterans to join Eumenes, yet Luko was Sarpedon's strongest supporter, and was ready to kill Eumenes under a flag of truce. [[spoiler: Yet when Pallas is killed, Luko realized that Pallas was his friend, and was genuinely anguished that he was dead.]]
* WasItReallyWorthIt: He keeps asking himself if rebelling against the Imperium was worth the losses the Soul Drinkers have suffered, and eventually decided that it was the price they paid for freedom.

!! Lygris

A Techmarine and de-facto Master of the Forge for the Soul Drinkers.

* TheCaptain: Serves as ''de facto'' Captain of the ''Brokenback''.
* TheEngineer
* FrozenFace: An encounter early into the series causes this.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Against the Necron overlord in ''Hellforged''.]]
* MachineWorship

!! Iktinos

Sole remaining Chaplain, leaving him the de-facto High Chaplain of the Soul Drinkers. Is manipulating the Chapter toward some goal in the service of an unknown master.

* BadassPreacher
* EvilChancellor: To Sarpedon.
* ManipulativeBastard
* TheParagonAlwaysRebels: Sarpedon even said that he was TheParagon of the Chapter.
* ThrownOutTheAirlock: His fate.

!! Tyrendian

A Librarian in the Soul Drinkers who can manipulate electricity. He often serves as a Foil to Sarpedon, playing the Devil's advocate.

* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Somehow, he never picks up a scar or piece of grim in battle.
* CommanderContrarian: His purpose to Sarpedon.
* FlamingSword: Wields a Force sword.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Gave his life to save Luko in ''Phalanx''.]]
* TheMentor: To Scamander
* PsychicPowers
** ShockAndAwe
* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler:Allowed a Great Unclean One to eat him, so that he could self-destruct and kill it from the inside.]]

!! Gresk

A Soul Drinker Librarian who can increase the reaction time of his brothers. Sides with Eumenes during the Chapter War, but deliberately allows Sarpedon to escape a trap, for which he is killed.

%%* BoomHeadshot
* HeelFaceDoorSlam: Sided with Eumenes, but let Sarpedon and his marines escape, for which he is killed.
* LightningBruiser: Making his fellow Soul Drinkers this is his power.
%%* PsychicPowers


!! Karraidin

A Captain of the Soul Drinkers, who possesses one of the few remaining suits of Terminator Armour the Chapter has. Later appointed Master of Novices, and killed by his former apprentices during the Second Chapter War.

* AnArmAndALeg: Losses his lower right leg and right hand at Stratix Luminae.
* TheCaptain
* DrillSergeantNasty: Proves to be an even harder taskmaster than Sarpedon had expected. And each one of the recruits would follow Karraidin into the Eye of Terror for it.
* MoreDakka: Wields a Storm Bolter.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: His body is utterly destroyed during the Second Chapter War.
* PowerFist
* RasputinianDeath: Just read the description of how he dies during the Second Chapter War. You think Eumenes was exaggerating when he said that Karraidin was the toughest of the Soul Drinkers? Hell no.
* VeteranInstructor
* WalkingTank: In his Terminator Armour.

!! Eumenes

A Soul Drinker scout, part of the first generation recruited by the Soul Drinkers after their break with the Imperium. Coming from a world whose resources were stripped by the Imperium, his hatred of the Imperium lead him to rebel against Sarpedon, leading to the Second Chapter War.

* BigBad: For ''Chapter War''.
* BlingOfWar: After the battle with the Howling Griffons, he starts wearing a suit of Artificer Armour.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice
* {{Leader}}: Type III and IV.
* MoreDakka: Takes a Storm Bolter after assuming the position of Chapter Master.
* NewMeat
* SergeantRock: While a Scout-sergeant.
* SmugSnake: When in an alliance with Sarpedon's chapter.
* TheStarscream
* TookALevelInJerkass: Between ''Crimson Tears'' and ''Chapter War''.

!! Raek

A Scout-sniper. Later made a Scout Sergeant.

* ColdSniper
* ImprobableAimingSkills
* NewMeat
* OffWithHisHead: Killed by Iktinos during the Second Chapter War.
* SniperRifle

!! Nisryus

A Soul Drinker scout and psyker who possesses precognitive abilities.

* NewMeat
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Leaves with most of the Scouts after the events of the Second Chapter War.
* {{Seers}}
* TarotMotifs: Uses the Emperor's Tarot to help his precognitive abilities.
* [[YouKilledMyFather You Killed My Family]]: His family was purged in a witch hunt.

!! Scamander

A Scout and psyker who was later recruited into the Librarium.

* TheAtoner: Unlike the other Scouts, he remains with the Soul Drinkers after the Chapter War.
* CastFromHitPoints: Using his powers could end up killing him if he isn't careful.
* NewMeat
* PlayingWithFire: Possesses pyrokinesis.
* SlashedThroat: His death.

!! Daenyathos

The legendary Philosopher-Soldier of the Soul Drinkers, having written the ''Catechisms Martial''.

* BigBad: [[spoiler:He is the one who Iktinos has been serving.]]
* BadassBookworm
* TheChessmaster
* ManInTheMachine: [[spoiler:Inside a Dreadnought]]
* OurFounder
* PowerFist: [[spoiler:As a Dreadnought.]]
* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:Upon being ripped out of his Dreadnought form, Daenyathos begins losing his cool. Seeing that he's going to be dragged into the Warp, Daenyathos just begins screaming hysterically. Given [[YouHaveFailedMe what he can expect]], this is fully justifiable.]]
* WalkingSpoiler: See above.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Imperium of Man]]

!! Khobotov

An Archmagos of the Adeptus Mechanicus, responsible for the theft of the Soulspear and the Soul Drinkers turn from the Imperium. Later died after being exposed to a warp portal.

* ForScience
* KarmicDeath: Killed after the Soulspear was stolen from him.
* MachineWorship
* StrawVulcan: He makes decisions based upon logic but has a very hard time taking into account the Soul Drinkers' HonourBeforeReason attitudes.

!! Thaddeus

An Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus assigned to track the Soul Drinkers. Later discovered that there was dozens of cults which seem to worship the Soul Drinkers where they had never been. Killed by Merceano of the Howling Griffons.

* BadassNormal: One of the very few non-genetically enhanced, non-power armoured humans in the series to ever kill a SpaceMarine in close combat.
* HeroAntagonist: But not for long.
* InspectorJavert: Actually subverted. He eventually realizes that the Soul Drinkers are not Chaos Space Marines and tries to help them.
* ItWasAGift: His Autopistol.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure
* StateSec

!! Bernice Aescarion

A Sister Superior of the Adepta Sororitas serving under Thaddeus.

* BadassNormal: Able to keep up with the Space Marines.
* ChurchMilitant
* FearlessFool: Subverted. The enemy terrifies her, but her faith is stronger.
* '''ReligiousBruiser''': Her faith in the Emperor is absolute. [[spoiler: Even a Daemon Prince cannot break it.]]

!! Reinez

A Force Commander of the Crimson Fists who was given command of the Second Company to destroy the Soul Drinkers on Entymion IV. Lost the Company Standard, for which he went into Exile.

* DeathSeeker
* FaceHeelTurn: Starts out as a faithful servant of the Imperium who opposes the protagonists of the series because he was ordered to do so. After a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Soul Drinkers, he becomes obsessed with defeating them, [[RevengeBeforeReason even before his duty to the Imperium]].
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: His end.
* MyGreatestFailure: Losing the Company Standard.
* RevengeBeforeReason: So much that [[spoiler: he sides with Iktinos's flock to destroy Sarpedon.]]
* SanitySlippage: Between ''Crimson Tears'' and ''Phalanx'' he's suggested to have done horrific things in the name of survival, leaving him in a questionable state of mind. [[spoiler: It only gets worse as the trial against the Soul Drinkers is extended with some even coming to their defence.]]

!! Reinhard Xarius

Lord Commander of the Imperial Guard forces on Entymion IV.

* AFatherToHisMen: He'll spend his forces if he has to, but he won't waste them needlessly.
* TheChainsOfCommanding: Being in charge of an Imperial reconquest force which includes a Space Marine Company more interested in wiping out its erstwhile cousins, an artillery regiment run by an [[ObstructiveBureaucrat Administratum adept]], an assault regiment whose Colonel is a desk jockey and is little more than a puppet for his First Lieutenant, and an infantry regiment which hasn't seen actually combat in three centuries, against a Dark Eldar Kabal which worships Slaanesh, a group of Khornate Berzerkers, and a Slaaneshi cult. Oh, and the Dark Eldar just summoned Daemons onto the planet.
* DeadpanSnarker
* FateWorseThanDeath: Despite the circumstances being beyond his control, his "failure" to reconquer Entymion IV sees the Inquisition sentence him to "eternal service". He expects he'll end up commander of a Death World garrison or in the Penal Legions. He actually ''wanted'' to be left on Entymion IV when Exterminatus was administered.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure

!! Merceano

Chief Librarian of the Howling Griffons. Lead the taskforce charged with liberating Vanqualis.

* GeneralRipper
* IGaveMyWord: All Howling Griffons are this, but Merceano takes this beyond the point of ''40k''[='=]s relatively loose definition of sanity.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice
* PsychicPowers

!! Borgannor

Captain of the Howling Griffons Tenth Company. Lost a leg to Sarpedon.

* AnArmAndALeg: Sarpedon cut off his leg.
* {{BFS}}: Uses a Power Sword.
* TheCaptain
* {{Cyborg}}: Had multiple augmentics even before Sarpedon took his leg.
* ItsPersonal: With Sarpedon.

!! Voar

The Archmagos of an Adeptus Mechanicus Explorator Fleet in the Veiled Region. Allied with the Soul Drinkers but later betrayed them to the Imperial Fists.

* MachineWorship
* OnlySaneMan: Unusually for a member of the Adeptos Mechanicus, upon encountering a hostile Necron force, does not attempt to worship it.
* RasputinianDeath: [[spoiler:Iktinos goes all out in trying to make sure he is dead.]]
* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves
* WeHaveReserves

!! Varr

Commander of the 901st Penal Legion

* HeKnowsTooMuch: He had once commanded an elite guard regiment in a campaign into the Eye of Terror. His troops held against a force of Daemons when the rest of the expedition ran, at which point the Inquisition decided they now knew too much about Chaos and had to be eliminated. Varr did his best to protect his people, to the point where it took a regiment of crack stormtroopers to capture them when they fled rather than be summarily executed. As punishment for humiliating the Inquisition, he was sentenced to command a Penal Legion rather than being executed.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: By Sarpedon.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Xenos]]

!! Kadheros

Archon of the Kabal of the Burning Scale, notable for the fact that he has ''embraced'' Slaanesh's existence. Attempting to turn Entymion IV into a Daemon World so that he can ascend as a Daemon Prince.

* AliensAreBastards: He won't be changing the Soul Drinkers' perception of the eldar anytime soon.
* BigBad: Of ''Crimson Tears''
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: He wanted to know the power of the Warp. He did. The ''hard'' way.
* EvilOverlord
* DisneyVillainDeath : Obviously a lot more unpleasant than most examples, but it counts.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard : He gets thrown into the same warp-rift he created.

!! Ork Warlord

The Warlord of the WAAAGH! invading Vanqualis.

* BigBad: At first, though Eumenes surpasses him pretty quickly.
* EvilOverlord
* HearingVoices: Believes that Gork and Mork are speaking to him.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: Explodes thanks to a Howling Griffon grenade.
* PowerFist: Klaw, but still the same.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Chaos]]

!! Ve'Meth

A potent Chaos Lord of Nurgle. The visions granted to Sarpedon lead the Soul Drinkers to a world he had conquered, setting him up as the first major Chaos antagonist in the series.

* BigBadWannabe : He has the power and resources for it, but his downfall is brought about by the manipulations of a decidedly more powerful villain.
* EvilWeapon : He owns a boltgun, from his days as a regular champion of Nurgle, bound with the essence of a powerful demon he defeated single-handedly. It fires bolt rounds, similarly possessed by the demon's offspring, which can actually double back mid-flight to strike a victim multiple times.
* EvilOverlord
* HiveMind: Due to being a sapient plague, he’s able to control and manipulate everyone he’s infected, effectively possessing them.
* HumanoidAbomination: Although once a former chaos champion, Ve’Meth has become a fully fledged Daemon Prince by the time of his clash with the Soul Drinkers, and the humanoid part is reinforced by the fact that he’s possessing around eight hundred people at once when confronted.
* ManySpiritsInsideOfOne : Inverted.
* PeoplePuppets : His consciousness is shared by about eight-hundred people - all infected and controlled by his contagion. He is ultimately defeated when his hosts are all slain.
* PlagueMaster : A staple of Nurgle followers, but Ve'Meth takes it even further by being a ''sentient disease''.
* WasOnceAMan: Was once a former mortal champion of Nurgle, and is now a sapient daemonic contagion.

!! Abraxes

A Daemon Prince of Tzeentch who manipulated the Soul Drinkers.

* AngelicAbomination: He’s a Daemon Prince of Tzeentch that manifests as a glowing, several kilometres-tall WingedHumanoid bathed in light, wearing a toga and surrounded by magic runes.
* BigBad: Of ''Soul Drinker''. [[spoiler: And forms a BigBadDuumvirate with Daenyathos in ''Phalanx''.]]
* TheChessmaster: Manages to completely manipulate the Soul Drinkers almost entirely throughout the first novel via mental suggestion. Only having his plan backfire at the last moment when he released his influence to try and completely turn them to Chaos [[spoiler: or at least so it seemed...]]
* DemonLordsAndArchDevils
* EyeScream: [[spoiler:Courtesy of Luko.]]
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: By Sarpedon with the Soulspear. [[spoiler: He gets better.]]
* OurAngelsAreDifferent
* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:When he realizes he cannot break Aescarion's faith in the Emperor.]]

!! Teturact

A mutant experiment of the Adeptus Mechanicus. In possession of a considerable empire by the events of ''The Bleeding Chalice''.

* BigBad: Of ''The Bleeding Chalice''.
* AGodAmI: Had delusions of godhood while still in the test tubes.
* EvilOverlord
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Courtesy of Sarpedon's talons.
* OmnicidalManiac
* PlagueMaster
* WalkingWasteland
* ZombieApocalypse : His weapon of choice, so to speak.

[[/folder]]