Ultramarines / Characters

People belonging to the Ultramarines, both on the Tabletop game, the animated film, and in the novel series by Graham McNeill.

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Ultramarines

Roboute Guilliman

One of the twenty Primarch created by the Emperor of Mankind, he and his brothers were scattered to the stars by the Chaos Gods to preventing the coming of the Imperium. Landing on Macragge, the boy was found by Konor Guilliman, one of the two Consuls of Macragge, who named him Roboute and raised him as a son. Quickly growing to manhood, Roboute helped to pacify Macragge's wild men. After returning from a campaign, Roboute found that his father's co-consul had launched a coup and killed Konor over his anti-aristocratic policies. Roboute avenged his adoptive-father and became sole Consul of Macragge, rewarding those who showed merit and skill and ignoring aristocratic privileges. By the time the Emperor found Macragge, Roboute had ruled for five years and established an alliance of mutual aide with eight other star systems, forming the future realm of Ultramar. Roboute was made commander of the XIII Legion of the Adeptus Astartes, redubbed the Ultramarines.

During the Great Crusade, the Ultramarines and the Luna Wolves were the largest and most efficient of the Space Marine legions. However, Guilliman earned the eternal hatred of Lorgar of the Word Bearers when the Ultramarines were ordered to destroy the city of Monarchia as part of the Emperor's rebuke of Primarch Lorgar spreading the Cult of the Emperor. The Word Bearers would launch a surprise attack on Calth, but were eventually repulsed, delaying Guilliman from reinforcing the Emperor at the Siege of Terra. As his Legion suffered few losses during the Horus Heresy, Guilliman emerged as the most powerful Primarch in the aftermath of the Emperor's ascension to the Golden Throne. Assuming the post of Lord Commander of the Imperium, Guilliman formed the High Lords of Terra to rule in the Emperor's name and published the Codex Astartes, breaking down the nine loyalist legions into one thousand strong chapters. During a battle with the fallen Primarch Fulgrim of the Emperor's Children, Guilliman was slashed across the throat. He was placed in a stasis field and placed in a shrine on Macragge, where pilgrims visiting hold that he is healing.

In the 8th edition of the tabletop game, he was finally returned to life after twenty five years of teasing. He proceeded to launch a century-long campaign of non-stop conquest, driving back the daemons and opportunistic aliens that had been preying on the nearly-bankrupt Imperium since the successful 13th Black Crusade.

Aristocrats Are Evil: Guilliman's back story has this. His adoptive father's rivals, specifically.
Badass Boast: In Know No Fear: "What does not kill me is not trying hard enough."
Badass Bookworm: He did found a lot of libraries.
Badass Bureaucrat: Organisation was his strong point. The Emperor and even his brothers considered him the galaxy's best logistician. When Konrad Curze captured Vulkan, Guilliman raising an army to defeat Curze was Vulkan's first thought. His Indomitus Crusade brought more of the galaxy back under human control than any war the galaxy had seen in nine thousand years.
Big Book of War: The Codex Astartes.
Cultured Badass: You bet. Quotes Hamlet, can identify string instruments by their tone, and can punch through eight feet of solid concrete.
Hollywood Tactics: See Big Book of War. Thing is, unlike most Hollywood Tactics, it actually contains tons of useful advice. The problem is that it also hasn't changed in ten thousand years, while everything else did.
Four-Star Badass: He briefly held a military rank after the Emperor was enthroned that only the Emperor himself could revoke: Lord Commander Militant of the Imperium.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Guilliman may have been autocratic and personally unlikable (sometimes, he was fine when he wasn't mad about something) but he actually cared about the common people, believing anyone could rise to greatness regardless of social status.
- It is stated that he felt bad for being part of the humiliation of the Word Bearers, he thought the Emperor went simply too far with his brother Lorgar and wanted to remake the bonds, sadly this wouldn't be.
King in the Mountain: His body is perfectly preserved in a stasis field in the Ultramarines fortress-monastery, where pilgrims insist that he is healing. Many point out that this is impossible, but those who insist he is healing ascribe it to the power of the Emperor. It says something about the Imperium that the doubters concede that this is a good point. It says something about the setting in that the fans also believe this is a good point.
- He's Back!: In Gathering Storm.
Heartbroken Badass: You can feel the pain when reading his words about how far the Imperium has fallen:
"Why do I still live? What more do you want from me? I gave everything I had to you, to them. Look what they have made of our dream. This bloated, rotten carcass of an empire is driven not by reason and hope, but by fear, hate and ignorance. Better that we had all burned in the fire of Horus' ambition than lived to see this."
Hope Bringer: Desperately needed in the closing days of the 41st millennium.
Power Fist: The Gauntlets of Ultramar.
The Good King: The Eldar themselves decided he was the best option as a new ruler for Mankind who may be capable of joining forces with them to fight Chaos, it speaks volumes of Guilliman's virtues as a ruler that the Eldar have such a good opinion from a (super)human.
Slashed Throat: Courtesy of Fulgrim. It must have been a hell of slash to endanger the extremely tough and massively redundant biology of the god-like Primarchs, not to mention the massive healing factor he must have. On top of that, consider that the enormously potent medical science of the Imperium was unable to save him. And despite the Imperium's technological atavism, their medicine must still be enormously advanced, especially considering they'd almost certainly break out all the good stuff they don't have the resources to provide to all one quadrillion humans for a literal son of their god. And people insist it's healing.
The Strategist: A master planner, extremely good at analysis, a logistician without peer, and at least a candidate for Primarch with the best grasp of strategy when warfare is divided into tactical, operational and strategic levels.

Marneus Augustus Calgar

Marneus Augustus Calgar is the Chapter Master of the Ultramarines and Lord of Macragge, leading both the Ultramarines and the realm of Ultramar. He has served in this position for over three hundred years.

Ancestral Weapon: The Gauntlets of Ultramar, a pair of Power Fists with bolters attached to them.
Cyborg: Older editions state that he lost all four limbs and most of his body during the First Tyrannic War, leading him to replace them with augmetic limbs and a bionic eye.
Dark Secret: He told the Ultramarines that he banished M’kar, when it reality he merely imprisoned the daemon in the Indomitable’s warp core. When the truth comes out, the Ultramarine captains are shocked that Marneus Calgar lied to them about something so important.
My Greatest Failure: Failing to kill M'kar, and simply binding it in the Indomitable.
- And failing to stop Hive Fleet Behemoth from slaughtering the Entire First Company during The Battle of Macragge.
Nice Guy: Hell yes, especially by Imperial standards.
Nice to the Waiter: Will treat you with dignity and respect, whether you are a Marine, a Lord, or even a Common Human Serf.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Not always, but the majority of the time. He's also one of few First Founding Chapter Masters who is willing to tolerate not being the highest-ranked person in a given room.
Retcon: Older editions of the game stated that he was captured by the Tyranids as a child before being found and recruited by the Ultramarines, while more recent editions state that was already Chapter Master of the Ultramarines by the time the first Tyranid hive fleets appeared.
You Shall Not Pass!: One of Calgar's legendary feats is holding the gate at the Siege of Zalathras against a horde of Orks. Alone. For a day and a half.

Varro Tigurius

The Chief Librarian of the Ultramarines. So far he is the only psyker in the Imperium who has been able to make contact with the Tyrannid Hive Mind.

Cursed with Awesome: Being a psyker in the Imperium makes you an occasionally useful freak. Being one of the most powerful psykers in the Imperium and a Space Marine makes you a perpetual loner - often consulted, always relied upon, but rarely liked and never 100% trusted.
Incendiary Exponent: The Hood of Hellfire, which amplifies his psychic powers and gives an appearance that his head is on fire.
Psychic Powers: He's a Librarian. Interestingly, he also seems to be able to read the same skeins of fate that some Eldar can, and used the ability more than once during the Dark Imperium.
Sole Survivor: The only psyker who has been able to make contact with the Tyranid Hive Mind and survive the experience.

Saul Invictus

"Praise the sun that brings the dawn of our final doom."

—Captain Invictus last words

Captain Saul Invictus commanded the Ultramarines 1st Company when it was destroyed in the defense of the polar fortresses in the Battle for Macragge, during the First Tyrannic War.

Last Stand: He and the First died holding the northern polar fortress against the Tyranids.
Meaningful Name: His name means "The Unconquerable Sun".
Number Two: As Captain of the First Company.

Severus Agemman

Captain of the First Company, and by virtue of his post Regent of Ultramar. Former Captain of the Second Company, he was promoted to First Captain after the Battle of Macragge saw the death of the entire First Company.

Ascended Extra: One of the default models for an Ultramarines First Company Captain is now confirmed to be Severus.
BFS
Number Two: Officially, as First Captain...
Passed-Over Promotion: ...but Calgar's more likely successor is Sicarius. Which doesn't please Agemman at all.
The Rival: With Sicarius..
Reasonable Authority Figure: Actually sympathized with Uriel's decisions over violating the Codex Astartes, but realised that the Codex is needed to keep them on the straight and narrow, or risk becoming like Chaos Space Marines.
The Stoic: Unless you do something to dishonour the Ultramarines or the First Company, in which case he gets really emotional.
You Are in Command Now: Of the First Company. Still in command of most of its assets after Guilliman got off the Throne of Corrections.

Cato Sicarius

Captain of the Second Company, he was promoted to his position after Agemman was promoted to First Captain.

BFS: His Tempest Blade.
Beyond the Impossible: He killed what amounts to a god, in single combat; a Transcendent C'tan By cheating and using a Vortex bomb.
Glory Seeker: Some suspect him of this in trying to succeed Marneus Calgar as Chapter Master. He's pretty defensive about such implications, though.
It's Personal: His dislike of Ventris is due to blaming him for the death of Idaeus who Cato served as Champion.
My Greatest Failure: the fall of Damnos.
Names to Run Away from Really Fast: "Sicarius" in High Gothic translates to "man of the sicae". Sicae means a small dagger, the sort that could be concealed and carried within the Imperial City, where bearing arms was restricted to the Emperor and his agents. Colloquially, the best translation is "assassin" or "terrorist".
The Rival: With Agemman.
Sword and Gun: A simple plasma pistol in one hand, the Tallassarian Tempest Blade in the other.
Try to Fit That on a Business Card: Cato Sicarius, Captain of the Ultramarines Second Company, Master of The Watch, Knight Champion of Macragge, Grand Duke of Talassar, High Suzerain of Ultramar, and Master of the Household.

Ortan Cassius

The Master of Sanctity (head of the Chaplaincy) of the Ultramarines. Having served in the position for over four hundred years, he is one of the few people who can still refer to Lord Calgar as "young Marneus".

Absolute Xenophobe: Part of his job, but he has a special hatred of the Tyranids. Not surprising, given what the Tyranids did to Ultramar.

Torias Telion

The Veteran Sergeant of the 10th Company, having served under three Chapter Masters and trained many of the Chapter's greatest heroes.

Badass Cape: All Scouts and Scout Sergeants wear camouflage cloaks.
Badass Teacher: Telion's greatest skill is as an instructor, but he is not above taking the field himself at the head of a squad and demonstrating that his combat instincts haven't dulled one bit.
Cold Sniper: Telion is the most legendary marksman in the Ultramarines' entire history [[note/His in-game statistics include the special ability "Eye of Vengeance": any hit he scores is a killshot, without the opposing player having the chance to roll to choose between "wounded" and "dead."/note]]
Military Maverick: By virtue of his experience, he often ignores the chain of command (except for Chapter Master Calgar himself) and makes up his own orders as he judges necessary. The fact that he's almost always right only galls the Chapter's officers that much more.
More than Just a Teacher: Telion has earned a place in the Ultramarines Honour Guard (the chapter master's personal bodyguards, drawn from the First Company) a dozen times over, but he prefers to stay a sergeant in the Scout Company (hierarchically the lowest-ranked company) simply because that is where he serves the Chapter best, teaching Chapter neophytes the skills that will help them survive their future service as full-fledged Space Marines.
Sergeant Rock: Telion is this to his men at all times, and taught his students who went on to be captains to do the same.
Veteran Instructor: virtually the Chapter's entire command hierarchy, not to mention most of its line soldiers, have learned their skills at Telion's feet.

Uriel Ventris

The Protagonist of the Ultramarines novels by Graham McNeill. He became Captain of the 4th company after the death of his predecessor, Idaeus.

The Atoner: For violating the Codex Astartes on Tarsis Ultra.
Country Mouse: Being from Calth makes Uriel seem unsophisticated in the eyes of Macragge natives like Learchus, which contributed to the friction between them when they were aspirants.
Electronic Eyes: After surviving a shot to the head by the Newborn, all he gets for it is a shiny new bionic eye.
Field Promotion: Received one from Idaeus, which was confirmed by Calgar.
Heroes Prefer Swords: Uses a power sword.
Honor Before Reason: Refuses to employ Exterminatus on planets which can still be saved. This ends up backfiring on the Imperium spectacularly. Also why he went on the Deathwatch mission to the Hive Ship instead of staying with his company.
It Was a Gift: His power sword was previously wielded by his predecessor, Idaeus.
Made of Iron: Even by Space Marine standards Uriel has the habit of surviving things which should outright kill him. These include being shot in the face at point blank range, being tortured by the Iron Warriors and having all the blood in his body simultaneously clot.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Partially responsible for unleashing the Nightbringer back on the galaxy. And for your information, the Nightbringer is the entity who instilled the fear of death in sentient beings at the dawn of creation.
Redemption Quest: His death oath basically amounts to this - if he can complete a Suicide Mission and return, the Ultramarines will consider him redeemed and welcome him back.
Suicide Mission: As punishment for breaking the Codex's rules, he's sworn to a death oath and sent to destroy Honsou's Daemonculaba project on Medrengard, a Daemon World in the Eye of Terror.
Shed Armor, Gain Speed: Discussed at the end of Swords of Calth when forced to replace his original Mark X Gravis armor post-crossing the Rubicon Primaris with a slightly modified version of a new set of Mark X Tacticus due to the Gravis armor having been infested with Necron nano-scarabs. Built on same general design, Tacticus is built to be closer to classic Power Armor than the heavy and somewhat slower Gravis armor. Uriel describes the weight and movement difference as akin to wearing nothing more than a training garb
Was It Really Worth It?: Asks himself this after meeting a normal Guardsman on Tarsis Ultra, in giving up the chance of a normal life, and decides that yes, it was.
Would Not Shoot a Civilian: They're the Emperor's subjects, and the Ultramarines are meant to be their defenders.

Pasanius Lysane

A Veteran Sergeant in the Ultramarines 4th company, and Uriel's best friend.

Artificial Limbs: Lost a limb on Pavonis. And the Nightbringer's actions caused it to become self-repairing.
The Atoner: For having said arm, and violating the Codex Astartes.
The Big Guy: So huge that they needed to incorporate Terminator armour into his wargear.
Chainsaw Good: Uses a Chainsword as a main melee weapon.
Kill It with Fire: Uses a flamer.
The Penance: Pasanius repeatedly cuts himself with a knife in Dead Sky, Black Sun to atone for concealing his necrodermis arm. When he returns, he's put in a penance cell for a couple months for concealing the arm's xenos nature in the first place.
Suicide Mission: He's sent to Medrengard along with Uriel, due to breaking with the Codex Astartes.

Learchus Abantes

A Veteran Sergeant in the 4th Company, and once Uriel's main rival at Agisalus.

BFS: Uses a power sword.
Drill Sergeant Nasty: Puts the Imperial Guardsmen through hell in prepping them for the Tyranid invasion. And he loves them for surviving.
Fire-Forged Friends: With Uriel, after working behind enemy lines in Courage & Honor gives him a new perspective of what being in command is like.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: As far as the setting allows, at least.
The Rival: With Uriel when they were Aspirants.
You Are in Command Now: Given command of the 4th Company when Uriel and Pasanius are exiled.

Lazlo Tiberius

Lord Admiral and Master of the Fleet of Ultramar, a title which traditionally goes to the Captain of the Fourth Company, but which Uriel gave to Tiberius.

Would Not Shoot a Civilian: Came within a hair's-breadth of killing an inquisitor for wiping out a planet of innocent civilians to slow the Tyranid Invasion in Warriors of Ultramar.
You Are in Command Now: Was made Master of the Fleet, a title which would have gone to Uriel.

Judd Clausel

Chaplain of the 4th Company.

Badass Preacher: Part and parcel of being a Space Marine Chaplain.
Blood Knight: After fending off a Kroot ambush in Courage and Honour, Clausel is afire to chase down the survivors until Uriel calls him off for fear of blundering into a trap.

Selenus

The Apothecary of the 4th Company.

Combat Medic: As most Apothecaries are.
Deadly Doctor: Uriel notes that his knowledge of the body's weak points makes him very dangerous.
Dr. Jerk: Has quite the poor bedside manner in The Beast of Calth, expressing ire toward his brother and an Inquisitor alike.
Due to the Dead: Part of his job is to recover gene-seed.
Genius Bruiser: Fighting's not his major specialty, but he can do it if he must.
The Medic

Scipio Vorolanus

A Tactical Sergeant in the 2nd Company.

Ambition Is Evil: Is disgusted when he realizes that he's concerned failing to find the Corsair Queen might hurt his standing in the 2nd Company.

Idaeus

The former Captain of the 4th company, and mentor of Uriel Ventris.

BFS: Wielded a power sword which he gave to Uriel before his death.
Combat Pragmatist: Unique among the Ultramarines, Idaeus considered the Codex Astartes to be a guide for Space Marines, and not something they were to follow by route.
Heroic Sacrifice: Gave his life manually detonating bombs planted to destroy a bridge and wipe out a Night Lords warband on the verge of overwhelming his company.
The Mentor: Idaeus was Uriel's mentor during and prior to the series, being the one to teach him that the Codex is not the be all and end all of tactics.
Mentor Occupational Hazard: He dies in the story he's introduced in.
Posthumous Character: He makes an appearance in Dead Sky, Black Sun to talk with Uriel while he's stuck inside a Daemonculaba, pushing him into a Heroic Second Wind and allowing him to escape.
Take Up My Sword: He passes both his power sword and command of the 4th company onto Uriel before he dies.

Imperium of Man

Ario Barzano

An Adept of the Administratum, sent to assess Pavonis's inability to pay its tithes to the Imperium. Secretly a member of the Inquisition.

Obstructive Bureaucrat: Subverted, as he's not obstructive. And he's not a bureaucrat.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Even for a member of the Inquisition, he's willing to perhaps sacrifice any opportunity to take down the Nightbringer in order to perhaps save the planet.

Mykola Shonai

The Governor of Pavonis in Nightbringer.

Cruel and Unusual Death: Is beaten to death by Prelate Culla. Even Sharben, who notes that she would have died anyway, thought it was a cruel punishment and that she should have died quickly.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Her attempts to get the Tau to repair Pavonis only led to the planet becoming a permanent military outpost.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: She honestly wanted the Tau to help the planet recover from the horrifying cartel war that had happened. Unfortunately, such an action is punishable by death and inadvertently leads to even more fighting.

Lourten Perjed

An Adept of the Administratum sent with Ario Barzano.

Kasmir de Valtos

The head of the de Valtos cartel on Pavonis. Was tortured by the Dark Eldar but survived.

Asshole Victim: He dies, begging for the Nightbringer to make him immortal.
Didn't Think This Through: His whole plan revolved around freeing the Nightbringer in the belief it would make him immortal as a result. Kasimir realises too late the Nightbringer is as far removed from him as he is from an insect, and the creature doesn't even acknowledge his existence...at first.
Evil Is Not a Toy: He spends the entire novel working to free the Nightbringer in the belief that it will reward him with immortality, only for it to kill him within moments of being released.
Fate Worse than Death: Tortured by the Dark Eldar. And he still makes an alliance with them.
Off with His Head!: The Nightbringer decapitates him.
Wound That Will Not Heal: He requires extensive and gruesome surgery to help him cope from the horrific torture the Dark Eldar inflicted on him.
Your Soul Is Mine!: The Nightbringer devours his soul as it kills him.

Vergil Ortega

The head of the Adeptus Arbites on Pavonis.

Badass Normal: The man keeps fighting as best he can, in spite of his having no superpowers.
Heroic Sacrifice: Blows up an ammo dump, effectively wiping out a rebel army trying to seize power on Pavonis.
The Mentor: To Sharben.

Jenna Sharben

A member of the Adeptus Arbites on Pavonis.

Action Girl: The girl can definitely fight, can't be denied.

Kryptmann

An Inquisitor Lord of the Ordo Xenos, who has persecuted the war against the Tyrannids for two hundred and fifty years.

Absolute Xenophobe: The whole point of his order.
Really 700 Years Old: Kryptmann looks about middle-aged in his official art, but in reality he's at least two and a half centuries old.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: As far as he's concerned, nuking a planet and killing its entire population is an acceptable sacrifice to slow the Tyranids down.

Bannon

A Captain of the Imperial Fists and leader of the Deathwatch kill team on Tarsis Ultra.

Absolute Xenophobe: It's his job.

Sebastien Fontaine

The Fabricator-Marshal of Tarsis Ultra.

Hidden Depths: The Ultramarines, Learchus in particular, dismiss him initially as a preening aristocrat, but he turns out to be extremely skilled at logistics, and manages to get the Imperial forces on his planet fully armed and supplied ahead of the Tyranid invasion.
Honor Before Reason: Decides to pick up a gun and join the front line after the fighting starts.

Vianco Locard

A Magos of the Adeptus Mechanicus serving Kryptman on Tarsis Ultra. Later returns to help the Ultramarines fight the Bloodborn.

Artificial Limbs: Unsurprisingly. His arms are mechanical, and his legs are described as resembling calipers.
Cyborg: Like any tech-priest, he's heavily augmented with cybernetics.
Electronic Eyes: His right eye is is a cybernetic replacement. It glows red.
Machine Worship: As a member of the Adeptus Mechanicus, he naturally worships the Omnissiah.
The Stoic: Until he sees the Black Basisilica explode, thinking it's a new Warp threat. He gets a lot happier when he see it for what it is.

Ardaric Vaanes

Former Captain of the Raven Guard's 4th Company. Exiled for an unspecified crime and sentenced to death.

Berserk Button: After Ventris' plans to storm Khalan-Ghol get most of his warband killed, the Ultramarines and particularly Ventris' company become this. He even tears a soldier to ribbons for having an Ultramarines honour badge, which serves to solidify his Face–Heel Turn from Nominal Hero to outright villain.
Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Betrays nearly everyone at least once.
Dangerous Deserter: Vaanes deserted the Raven Guard after being sentenced to death. He's also a ruthless mercenary capable of holding his own against other Space Marines; during the battle of the Indomitable, he makes a point of tearing through his enemies' supply lines to spread terror.
Death Seeker: Demands that his actions be punished by death.
Fallen Hero: From Raven Guard Captain to Renegade, then to Chaos Space Marine. He ultimately redeems himself in The Chapter's Due, at the cost of his life.
Heel–Face Revolving Door: From Loyalist to Renegade to Chaos Space Marine to Loyalist again.
Irony: Had to be prevented from killing Grendel for apparently betraying Honsou during the Skull Harvest. Grendel ultimately dies because Vaanes betrays Honsou.
Honour Before Reason: Notably defies this - he outright tells Uriel that he is no longer a servant of the Emperor, and doesn't care about redeeming his honour.
I Work Alone: He never felt the brotherhood of the Space Marines, which is part of the reason for his decision to turn renegade.
Meaningful Appearance: Paints a red cross over his Chapter's symbol, in recognition of his rejection by them (Also hinting at his Chaos-aligned past with the Red Corsairs). Later, both symbols end up being scraped off to leave the metal bare - Vaanes himself notes it reflects the fact that he no longer has a past, and is motivated solely by survival. Eventually has his Chapter's symbol reappear on his body as a tattoo, reflecting his unwilling return to the Emperor's service.
Noodle Incident: We never find out what caused his exile - Vaanes calls it "a moment's madness" during one of his internal monologues, but never elaborates on what he means.
Nominal Hero: He starts out as one when on Medrengard, seeking purely to survive and hurt the Iron Warriors without any care for things such as "redemption," or "freeing slaves." His decision to side with Honsou takes him into straight-up villain territory, before he ultimately redeems himself.
Peaceful in Death: Dies looking far more at peace in death than he did in life.
Wolverine Claws: Vaanes' signature weapons are a pair of lightning claws.

The Lord of the Unfleshed

The leader of the Unfleshed, once a human boy who was a failed birth of the Daemonculaba on Medrengard.

Boom, Headshot!: Uriel mercy-kills him with a bolt-round to the head at the end of The Killing Ground.
Demonic Possession He and the rest of the Unfleshed get possessed by the vengeful spirits of Bardbaden's victims during The Killing Ground.
A Father to His Men: He cares deeply for all of his fellow Unfleshed, and does his best to ensure that the sickliest and most malformed of them get enough food to eat.
I'm a Humanitarian: The Unfleshed survive in the wastelands of Medrengard by eating whatever they can get their hands on, including people.
Large and in Charge: He is both the largest of the Unfleshed and the leader of their tribe.
Mercy Kill: Uriel puts the Lord of the Unfleshed out of his misery after the latter is possessed by the dead and used by Sylvanus Thayer to kill dozens of innocent (and not-so-innocent) people.
Mouth of Sauron: Unwillingly becomes this for Sylvanus Thayer in The Killing Ground.
Mutant: Exaggerated. He's a massive, skinless creature several times the size of an average man who's barely recognisable as human; he also leads a band of similarly-mutated Unfleshed.
My God, What Have I Done?: He is horrified by the terrible things he did while possessed by the dead of Khaturian, and believes the God Emperor will never forgive him for these crimes. Uriel reassures him that the Emperor still loves him before putting him to sleep.
Tragic Hero: He's a hulking mutant monstrosity in a society with no tolerance for such things, and a mental weakness that renders him open to Demonic Possession.
Was Once a Man: He's a hulking, skinless monstrosity who was once a human child, before the Iron Warriors took him from his home and performed horrible experiments on him in a failed effort to turn him into a Chaos Space Marine.

Leto Barbaden

The Governor of Salinas and former CO of the Achaman Falcatas.

Big Bad Ensemble: With Sylvanus Thayer in The Killing Ground.
Egopolis: He renamed the capital of Salinas 'Barbadus' after he installed himself as Planetary Governor.
I Did What I Had to Do: His justification for the atrocities he committed on Salinas.
Karmic Death: Is ripped to shreds by the dead of Khartuian.
Lack of Empathy: See A Million Is a Statistic. To Barbaden, human lives mean little, and to accomplish his goals he is willing to go to any lengths necessary without any regard for the cost of lives, either the enemy's or his own.
A Million Is a Statistic: As a quartermaster, he was used to thinking of war in terms of mathematics and statistics with little regard for the human element. This mindset carried over to both his command of the Falcatas and his governorship of Salinas.
We Have Reserves: And you thought the Generals of the Imperial Guard took this troop and ran with it.
You Are in Command Now: He was originally the Falcatas' quartermaster, and only became commander of the regiment when its previous commanding officer was killed in the field.

Sylvanus Thayer

The founder of the Sons of Salinas, who was brutally injured during the final battle.

The Bad Guy Wins: Uriel and Leodegarius conclude the simplest way to stop him is to let him have his vengeance.
Big Bad Ensemble: with Barbaden in The Killing Ground.
Dark Lord on Life Support: He's been reduced to a charred, eyeless lump of flesh with only one intact limb, kept alive only by intravenous drips and his own hatred.
Demonic Possession: He inflicts this upon the Unfleshed using the ghosts of Khaturian.
Expy: A charismatic warrior who was horrifically burned to the point he needs machines to carry out all his bodily functions, and whose natural psychic powers grew stronger because of the trauma? He's basically Gideon Ravenor without his chair.
Necromancer: His psychic powers allow him to control the ghosts of Barbaden's victims, compelling them to take bloody vengeance on the Achaman Falcatas.
Not Quite Dead: Survived the final battle with the Falcatas, but was horribly injured.
Psychic-Assisted Suicide: A downplayed example. Thayer used his psychic powers to torment the soldiers who took part in the Khaturian Massacre with visions of the atrocities they committed, driving many of them to kill themselves out of guilt.
Psychic Powers: Developed some after his injuries.
Revenge Before Reason:
- Anyone who was present at the Killing Ground must die, no matter how many innocents are harmed in the process.
- He led his guerrilla army into battle against a mechanised Imperial Guard regiment to avenge the destruction of Khaturian. The result was a predictable massacre that saw most of his forces slaughtered.
Traumatic Superpower Awakening: His latent psychic powers only awakened after a combination of Barbaden razing the city of Khaturian (where the families of the Sons of Salinas had been living), and the horrific injuries he received after leading the Sons into a suicidal charge against the Falcatas.

Verena Kain

The former commander of the Screaming Eagles company of the Achaman Falcatas, promoted to Colonel of the Salinas PDF after Barbaden became Governor.

The Dragon: To Barbaden.
No Body Left Behind: Is burned alive by promethium. And after seeing the absolute relish of her role the Khartuian Massacre, Uriel believes she deserved worse.

Daron Nisato

The former Commissar of the Falctas and Chief of Police of Barbadus.

Only Sane Man: In the leadership of Salinas.
Scary Black Man: A Commissar and a cop.
You Are in Command Now: Becomes Governor after Barbaden's death.

Pascal Blaise

The leader of the Sons of Salinas following Thayer's death.

Badass Bureaucrat: Used to be part of the planetary Administratum.
Shell-Shocked Veteran: He's getting sick of the war.

Leodegarius

A Brother-Captain of the Grey Knights, who leads the investigation of Salinas.

An Arm and a Leg: Loses an arm during the battle of the House of Providence.

Kodelkur Shonai

The nephew of Mykola Shonai, and her successor as Governor.

Namira Suzaku

An Inquisitor of the Ordo Malleus, sent to assist the Ultramarines in the war with the Bloodborn.

I Did What I Had to Do: With regards to killing her own brother when he was tainted by Chaos.
Made of Iron: Survives every bone in her body being broken by a cave in that tested Space Marines.
Scary Black Woman: A psyker and an Inquisitor of the Ordo Malleus. It doesn't get much scarier than that.

Aethon Shaan

Captain of the Raven Guard's 4th Company, sent to arrest Vaanes.

The Captain: Of the Raven Guard's 4th company.
Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Like all the Raven Guard's members, he sports black hair and marble-white skin.

Xenos

Kesharq

A Dark Eldar Archon and Space Pirate

Big Bad Wannabe: Tried to overthrow Asdrubael Vect, supreme overlord of the Dark Eldar.
Wound That Will Not Heal; Was skinned alive for plotting to overthrow Asdrubael Vect. After being tortured to the brink of death, Vect had his skin sewn back on and exiled from Commorragh. He can no longer feel anything, and his skin frequently comes loose from his musculature.

The Nightbringer

One of the C'Tan, the star gods of the Nercons.

Big Bad: Of Nightbringer.
Retcon: With the Change to the Necrons changed him form being the whole god to just a large piece of one.
Sealed Evil in a Can: It was imprisoned for millions of years in a set of ruins beneath the surface of Pavonis before the actions of various characters set it loose on the galaxy.
Time Abyss: It is millions of years old.

Aun'rai

The lead Ethereal of the Tau invasion of Pavonis.

Arc Villain: He's the main antagonist of Courage and Honour, as the invading Tau forces answer to him.
Because I Said So: When he orders the Tau to stand down, they stand down.
Know When to Fold Them: Calls off the Tau invasion of Pavonis when Uriel informs him an Imperial counterattack is already on route to Pavonis, and that he will carry out an Exterminatus of the planet to deny it to the Tau rather than surrender.

Forces of Chaos

Honsou

"Beyond that opening are my enemies. Behind me are warriors who would happily turn their weapons on me if they thought they could get away with it. Do you really think I'm doing this to try and impress anyone? I know who I am, and I don't give a greenskin's fart what anyone thinks of me."

A Warsmith of the Iron Warriors, and villain protagonist of McNeill's Iron Warriors series.

Arch-Enemy: To Uriel. Honsou hates Uriel for destroying Khalan-Ghol, so he destroys Tarsis Ultra and invades Ultramar to spite him.
Artificial Limbs: Lost his right arm at Hydra Cordatus. And later replaced his right arm with Pasanius's Necron arm.
Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Kills Warsmith Berossus, allowing him command of the latter's Grand Company.
Bald of Evil: Has close-cropped hair, and is very definitely evil.
Berserk Button: Don't mention his ancestry, or imply that Ventris beat him.
Big Bad: Shares this position with M'kar in The Chapter's Due, and neither is happy about it.
But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Needs a moment to recall Tarsis Ultra.
Combat Pragmatist: He mocks Uriel for believing that they're always going to have a Duel to the Death. When Uriel confronts him in Dead Sky, Black Sun with this intent, Honsou essentially rolls his eyes and orders the twenty-odd Iron Warriors to just shoot him.
Designer Babies: The Horus Heresy novel, Angel Exterminatus (written by the same author) implies he's a a creation of Fabius Bile.
Evilutionary Biologist: When his Iron Warriors gained access to stolen geneseed, he pioneered the constructing of a bizarre and horrific genetic system known as the Daemonculaba, which certainly counts.
Half-Breed Discrimination: Created with Iron Warrior and Imperial Fist gene-seed. The other Iron Warriors hate him for being impure as a result.
Maker of Monsters: He created the Daemonculaba, one of the sickest facets of 40k lore in the entire franchise.
Never Found the Body: The Ultramarines are unable to find Honsou's corpse after he's seemingly buried alive when the tomb of Ventanus collapses on top of him. Sure enough, he's still alive by the end of the series.
Smug Smiler: And it drives Uriel nuts every time he gives one. Which is probably why he's doing it.
The Strategist: Responsible for many of the Grand Company's plans throughout the series.
Taking You with Me: He blows up the tomb of Ventanus while still inside it in a last ditch effort to kill Uriel. They both survive, however.
Villain Protagonist: Of the Iron Warriors series.
Visionary Villain: Desires to see the whole of Humanity united under Chaos, as he believes it's the only way for them to survive in a galaxy of threats. He's also got some kind of plan that requires him to speak with Perturabo himself, as The Corpse Road implies.

Caradas Grendel

A Captain of the Iron Warriors, and Honsou's lieutenant.

Blood Knight: He doesn't care who he's following, as long as he gets a good fight and lots of kills out of it.
Chainsaw Good: Wields a chainsword for many of his fights.
Commander Contrarian: Continually argues with Honsou, and loves reminding Honsou of his failures and mistakes.
Death Ray: Uses a meltagun.
Delinquent Hair: Has a mohawk.
The Dragon: Ironically, in any other situation, he would be The Brute.
Facial Horror: Suffers this during the battle for the Indomitable after taking a shot from an Inferno Pistol to the face. He explicitly states he can feel his flesh "running like molten pitch" when it hits.
Fake Defector: Infiltrates Pashtoq Uluvent's warband on Honsou's orders, then betrays him at the last minute.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has a lot of scars, particularly on his face.
I Fight for the Strongest Side!: He initially serves under Berossus and fights against Honsou, only to switch sides after Honsou kills his boss.
Irony: He tells Pashtoq Uluvent that he's siding with Honsou because he thinks he can live through the fight Honsou will lead him to. He's wrong.
Neck Snap: On the receiving end of one from Adaric Vaanes.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: As a Khornate Iron Warrior who butts heads with Honsou at every opportunity, he comes across as a more stable version of Kroeger from Storm of Iron.
Your Head Asplode: Vaanes punches Grendel in the head with enough force to snap his neck and shatter his skull, killing him instantly.

Onyx

A possessed Chaos Space Marine among the Iron Warriors.

Cruel and Unusual Death: He's attacked and torn to shreds by the Unfleshed, reducing him to nothing but a skull and a few limbs. What's left is finally vaporised by Cadaras Grendel with a Meltagun.
The Dragon: Onyx serves as this to Honsou in Dead Sky, Black Sun, as one of his top-ranked henchmen and main enforcer. He's the one who Honsou sends to capture Ventris after he breaks into Khalan-Ghol, and plays a key role in taking down Warmsith Berossus when he has Honsou at his mercy.
Glowing Eyes of Doom: His eyes and veins are constantly glowing silver.
Hero Killer: Rips through Adaric Vaanes' warband, outright killing well over a dozen Space Marines in moments, and almost kills Uriel, stopping only because Honsou wants him alive.
I Know Your True Name: Freely gives it to Honsou as a sign of fealty. Probably because Honsou couldn't pronounce it.
Lightning Bruiser: Quick enough to outmanoeuvre Space Marines, and more than capable of tearing their spines out.
Transformation of the Possessed: Can take on a more overtly Daemonic form when he lets the Daemon possessing him take over.
His claws swelled to become monstrous golden swords... his face swelled and rippled, black horns curling from his temples and gleaming lines of augmentic body parts becoming visible as the Daemonic entity took complete control of his body.

Toramino

A Warsmith of the Iron Warriors, who engages in a war with Honsou for refusing to share gene-seed from Hydra Cordatus.

The Archmage: Referred to at several points as being a powerful Sorcerer. He's also shown utilising Chaos magics to help crack Khalan-Ghol open. This backfires hilariously when the Heart of Blood is freed and catches the scent of sorcery from him.
Badass Cape: He wears a massive cloak made of some unknown metal. It's stronger than Adamantium!
Death from Above: Possesses some massive artillery guns, including what are essentially Daemonically possessed Macrocannons - I.E.: A warship-mounted broadside weapon. Also captained the artillery corps of the Iron Warriors, during the Heresy and Great Crusade.
Exotic Eye Designs: Both eyes are entirely gold-coloured, without iris or pupil.
Gorn: Refuses to clean the blood off his gauntlets as a sign of his ability. He's been alive since the Horus Heresy. That's a lot of blood.
Non-Action Big Bad: Toramino spends most of the Siege of Khalan-Ghol sitting in his camp, waiting for Berossus to grind Honsou's forces to dust before he unleashes his guns and magics. This is how Honsou convinces Berossus's men to join him, playing on their resentment of Toramino and his men's inaction.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Berossus's red. He’s the scheming, manipulative half of the Warsmiths’ partnership, calculating the best way to crack Khalan-Ghol open while Berossus mindlessly hurls his men against the walls. Horus Heresy novels reveal he was like this even ten millennia ago, scheming to take Kroeger’s position in the Trident by engineering an “accident” in the middle of a battle.
Uncertain Doom: Attacks Khalan-Ghol at the head of his top warriors, only for them to be attacked by the rampaging Heart of Blood. It's never explicitly confirmed as to whether he died or escaped back to his citadel, but Honsou certainly thinks him dead.
White Hair, Black Heart: Has white hair, and is quite evil.

Berossus

A Chaos Dreadnought and vassal Warsmith of the Iron Warriors, who engages in a war with Honsou for refusing to share gene-seed from Hydra Cordatus.

Ace Custom: His Dreadnought shell is notably bigger than standard, and possesses a lot more weapons than normal.
Bearer of Bad News: In the Horus Heresy novella The Crimson Fist, he served as adjutant to Perturabo, and later had to tell Perturabo that Sigismund was not in command of the Imperial Fists Retribution Fleet, but Alexis Pollux. Perturabo responded by hitting Berossus twice, which is indicated to be what put him in the Dreadnought.
The Berserker: Berossus’s fighting style essentially revolves around attacking as aggressively and strongly as possible, usually while howling in rage and excitement. This aggression ends up getting him killed by Honsou and Onyx. Angel Exterminatus reveals he was like this even after initial Dreadnought-ing, with much of the same results.
Bullying a Dragon: Spends the majority of his face-to-face meeting with Honsou insulting him, while having a large amount of Iron Warriors aiming weapons at him.
Cruel and Unusual Death: Gets torn apart by Honsou and Onyx, solidified when Honsou rips Berossus's skull and spine out and shatters them.
Frontline General: Downplayed. Berossus leads from the front when the final assault on Khalan-Ghol takes place, but is otherwise not seen leading his men.
The Heavy: For Honsou's side of the story. Most of the damage caused to Khalan-Ghol is actually caused by his forces, while Toramino sits back and tries to weaken the walls with sorcery while marshalling his forces. This is particularly pronounced during the final assault on Khalan-Ghol; Berossus is the one to actually face Honsou in direct combat and very nearly kills him, while Toramino's men only start doing serious damage after the Heart of Blood is freed, depriving the fortress of its supernatural protections.
This Is a Drill: One of his main arms is a siege drill, which he uses in battle against Honsou. He comes quite close to boring a hole through Honsou's face with it, too, before Honsou uses his necrodermis limb to block it and stall out the motor.
Man in the Machine: He was entombed in a Dreadnought during the Horus Heresy after the Battle of Phall, having been beaten to a bloody pulp by his own Primarch for bearing bad news. By the time of the book he's nothing but a grossly engorged skull and spinal column contained in the Dreadnought's sarcophagus.
Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Has four mechadendrites with attached breaching equipment, all appropriately sized for a Dreadnought.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Red to Toramino's Blue. He’s a Frontline General who loves getting into the thick of the fighting and killing, with tactics that amount to mindlessly flinging men at Honsou to kill everything in sight.
Screaming Warrior: During the final assault on Khalan-Ghol, Berossus keeps screaming through his vox in delight at being able to kill so many things.

Omphalos Daemonium

A Daemon Prince of Khorne, who sends Uriel and Pasanius to Medrengard.

Afterlife Express: His Daemon Engine resembles one of these, being a heavily warped steam locomotive run by Daemons and powered by blood and dead flesh.
Big Bad: Of Dead Sky, Black Sun. He essentially causes the main conflict by basically kidnapping Ventris and Pasanius to transport them to Medrengard, then manipulates them into freeing the Heart of Blood so they can Duel to the Death as part of their rivalry.
Be Careful What You Wish For: Wanted a confrontation with the Heart of Blood. Gets killed and devoured by it, after it powers up via Bloodstorm.
Small Role, Big Impact: Semi-directly responsible for Honsou's attack on Ultramar, setting the second half of the series in motion. Dies in the same book he's introduced in.
The Rival: With the Heart of Blood. Part of the reason he hates the Heart so much is because it and him were in a Body-Count Competition, up until it trapped him inside a Daemon Engine for countless years.

Heart of Blood

A Bloodthirster of Khorne, imprisoned in Khalan-Ghol to make the fortress unconquerable.

Berserk Button: Sorcery and Psykers in general, like most Khornate Daemons. Honsou mentioning that Toramino is a Sorcerer who commands other magic-users pisses the Heart off enough that it ignores its chance for revenge on its captor in favour of finding and killing Toramino.
Big Red Devil: Like most Bloodthirsters, it's a giant, red-skinned daemon with horns and bat-like wings.
Bloody Murder: The Bloodstorm essentially lets it release a giant ‘storm’ of blood-red energy, which sucks out the blood of any living being and adds it to the Heart’s body to power it up.
The Juggernaut: Near completely unstoppable, especially when angry. Toramino's army found that out the hard way.
The Rival: With the Omphalos Daemonium. They competed for Khorne's favour in the past, with the Omphalos' current state as a daemon engine being a direct result of the Heart's actions. The entire plot of Dead Sky, Black Sun is basically engineered by the Omphalos to settle this rivalry once and for all.
Sealed Evil in a Can: Sealed in Khalan-Ghol by the Warsmith to prevent sorcery from breaching the walls. Uriel and company free it, allowing Toramino's forces to finally breach the walls with sorcery.

M'kar

A daemon prince imprisoned by Marneus Calgar sixty years ago.

Arch-Enemy: Of the Ultramarines in general and Marneus Calgar in particular.
Bad Boss: It kills an underling and devours their soul simply for approaching M’kar without observing the proper rituals.
Big Bad Duumvirate: With Honsou in The Chapter's Due, and neither is happy about it.
Butt-Monkey: For the longest time, it was something of a running gag within the fluff that M'kar was easily defeatable. The Chapter's Due and Codex: Grey Knights helped fix that perception.
Deader than Dead: M’kar dies a true death from Uriel saying its true name and Marneus Calgar stabbing it with the shard of Erebus.
Demon Lords And Arch Devils: It's a Daemon Prince of Chaos Undivided, and brings forth legions of daemons to besiege Ultramar. The text even refers to M'kar as "the daemon lord" at several points.
Demonic Possession: After being freed from the Indomitable’s warp core, M’kar possesses the Ultramarine Dreadnought Brother Altarion to gain a physical form. Altarion’s tortured soul still exists within M’kar, powerless to fight back.
The Fundamentalist: Not that surprising. He was a Dark Apostle of the Word Bearers.
I Have Many Names: As Moriana the Chaos Witch claims, M'kar changes his names every few centuries to protect his true name.
I Know Your True Name: "I name thee Maloq Kartho."
It's Personal: Hates the Ultramarines (and Calgar in particular)for imprisoning him in a Warp Core - The fact he was a Word Bearer, and thus potentially witnessed Monarchia, also plays a part.
Red Baron: The Thrice Born, the Reborn, Father of the Blue Sun.
Sealed Evil in a Can: Marneus Calgar imprisoned M’Kar in the star fort Indomitable’s warp core sixty years before the events of the novels. Honsou frees him shortly before The Chapter’s Due.
Time Abyss: He's been alive since the Horus Heresy.
Timey-Wimey Ball: Thanks to the Warp he did stuff while imprisoned, including sending the Grey Knight Supreme Grand Master into the Warp.
Was Once a Man: Formely Maloq Kartho, a Dark Apostle of the Word Bearers.

The Newborn

An Iron Warrior who was made from the genetic material of Uriel Ventris. Even people who semi-willingly work for Honsou are creeped out by it.

Body Horror: Its skin is made from flayed slave skins, stitched onto its muscles - and this was after its original skin was removed from him by the Daemonculaba.
Clone Degeneration: It is not grateful for Ventris's gene-seed, as its interaction with the Daemonculaba hot-housing leaves him in constant physical and mental torment.
Death Seeker: Actually thanks Ventris for killing it.
Facial Horror: This official art of it should say an awful lot.◊ It later tears off its face before fighting Uriel.
Genuine Human Hide: Has the skin of dead slaves stitched onto its muscles, due to the Daemonculaba process rendering him skinless.
Healing Factor: The Newborn can regenerate from horrendous injuries. Pasanius blows its chest open at one point, only for it to regrow the destroyed bones, organs, and muscles. Its Healing Factor fails when Uriel stabs it with the shard of Erebus, however.
I Know Your True Name: "Samuquan!" But instead of freeing him, it drives it over the edge.
It Is Dehumanising: Consistently referred to with "it" pronouns by those around him, reflective of his monstrous (to them) nature.
Tortured Monster: Being the Newborn would not be a fun existence. Sure, you get incredible power and a Healing Factor, but you live in a constant state of torturous pain and incipient madness. It's small wonder it lashes out at whatever Honsou directs it towards.
Grateful? My life is fragments. I am the broken shards of two people and I live in pain with every moment that passes. Grateful? No, Ventris cursed me to the agony of a life I didn't ask for. He made me what I am and there is not enough pain in the world for what he will suffer in return.
Was Once a Man: It was a normal boy until the Iron Warriors kidnapped him and shoved him inside a Daemonculaba, transforming him into a monster.

Etolph Cycerin

A former Magos of the Adeptus Mechanicus who turned to Chaos.

Body Horror: The Obliterator Virus infected him, causing his body to slowly become a mix of flesh and grotesque biotechnology◊. By the time of the Final Battle, he’s little more than a mass of machinery and flesh suspended in amniotic gel.
The Cracker: His speciality; he sits in command vehicles behind the lines and launches Scrapcode attacks from afar.
The Evil Genius: Cycerin specialises in cracking Imperial systems and sowing confusion among their lines through Scrapcode attacks, serving this role in Honsou's warband.
Face–Heel Turn: Was an Adeptus Mechanicus Adept, turned to Chaos' side after being infected with a modified version of the Obliterator Virus.
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: How he meets his end, shortly before the Black Basilica blows up.
The Speechless: The Obliterator Virus rendered him unable to communicate verbally, with spoken language being described as "crude" and "anathema" to him. He can understand others, though, and communicates primarily through gestures or actions.
Was Once a Man: Now a blob like man...thing.

Votheer Tark

A member of the Dark Mechanicum who has been bonded to a fragmentary artificial intelligence and connected to his war machines.

Continuity Cameo: He makes a brief appearance in the Priests of Mars books, where he’s mentioned as having caused a Forge World to rebel before going full Chaos.
Demonic Possession: Specialises in Daemon Engines.
General Failure: He's a piss poor general, but what he lacks in strategy, he can make up for in sheer numbers.
Man in the Machine: By the time of the attack on the Indomitable, he's little more than a bunch of ruined flesh swirling in amniotic suspension while connected to his spider-like war machine.
Mad Scientist: As a member of the Dark Mechanicus, this is a given. He seems to specialise in turning almost anything into tanks and Daemon Engines.
Spider Limbs: His main body is basically a giant mechanical spider, consisting of several thin-looking legs attached to a amniotic tank with dozens of mortals strapped onto its back.
Tank Goodness: He can turn anything into a tank.
The Unintelligible: The only time he speaks, it comes out as a frothing mess of scrapcode.
We Have Reserves: Sergeant Telion remarks that while Tark’s grasp of tactics is piss-poor, he more than makes up for it with sheer numbers. Ortan Cassius even compares his tank forces to the Tyranids, with any losses by either side simply providing Tark with raw material.

Notha Etassay

The Master of the Blade Dancers, a group of swordsmen devoted to Slaanesh.

Combat Pragmatist: Very occasionally. The astonishingly callous manoeuvre he comes up with on the Indomitable of sending a ship on a suicide mission so that it crash-lands on the Imperial defensive lines and devastates them even impresses Honsou, who remarks it was the kind of tactic he'd expect to come up with.
Combat Sadomasochist: Actually thanks Honsou for driving shards of bone into his lungs at the Skull Harvest, because apparently the pain was "exquisite." When an Eversor fatally poisons him, his final moments are spent writhing in pleasure and pain on the floor until his convulsions' force snap his spine in half, with Etassay shrieking "Incredible!" moments before he dies.
The Hedonist: As a devotee of Slaanesh, he's obsessed with physical sensation and pleasure.
Double Entendre: Cracks a BDSM joke at the climax of the Skull Harvest, while dressed in something resembling a gimp's attire and mask.
Honsou: "I don't submit to anyone."
Etassay: (Laughing) "Wheras it's something I do rather well, though I prefer to be the dominant one in any intercourse."
Honor Before Reason: Expects the etiquette of a duel to be obeyed, even when facing an Eversor Assassin. The Eversor doesn't agree, and has no problems with kicking Etassay full in the head before injecting him with a lethal dose of poison from its neuro-gauntlet.
Master Swordsman: Able to go toe-to-toe with an Eversor Assassin. For a time, at least.
Meaningful Name: His name sounds rather like "Another Ecstasy," befitting his status as a hedonistic follower of Slaanesh constantly in search of new sensations.
Sense Freak: He's addicted to sensation, but what do you expect with a follower of Slaanesh?

Xiomagra

Etassy's successor as The Mistress of the Blade Dancers.

The Brute: If it weren't for Kaarja Salombar, she'd be the Dark Chick.
Dodge the Bullet: The Ultramarines and Raven Guard fire three volleys of bolt rounds at Xiomagra and her Blade Dancers. Thanks to her incredible reflexes, not a single round touches her.
Dual Wielding: She wields a pair of swords.
Master Swordsman: She completely outclasses Uriel in swordplay, inflicting dozens of wounds upon him without taking any in return. When Uriel tries to go for her heart, she disarms him effortlessly, and would have taken his head off if not for Petronius Nero’s timely intervention.
Slashed Throat: Her brief but intense duel with fellow Master Swordsman Petronius Nero ends with him slitting her throat.

Kaarja Salombar

Leader of a group of Corsairs. Joined Honsou's army after he won the Skull Harvest.

Defiant to the End: She uses the last of her strength to spit at Cato Sicarius’s feet before he decapitates her.
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Scipio impales her with the 2nd Company standard, right before Cato Sicarius decapitates her.
Off with His Head!: Cato Sicarius decapitates her.
Red Baron: The Corsair Queen.
Space Pirate

Characters / Ultramarines

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