History Characters / GauntsGhosts

* He slaps a lady ''Inquisitor'' when she muses that Gaunt rescued Milo from Tanith for pederasty.

!!Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt

* KavorkaMan: Manages to attract the attentions of [[spoiler:Surgeon Ana Curth, though she may have been on the rebound from seeing Gaunt with Maddalena. The relationship ultimately comes to nothing, with Curth thanking him for companionship but refusing to take it further ]]

* DeadpanSnarker: He displays a sarcastic sense of humor.

* KavorkaMan: Manages to attract the attentions of [[spoiler:Surgeon Ana Curth, though she may have been on the rebound from seeing Gaunt with Maddalena]].

* DirtyCoward: Events in ''Salvation's Reach'' show that he has become this. [[spoiler: He has a shot at Sirkle when the assassin is using Yoncy as a human shield, but doesn't take it, and near the end of the operation at Salvation's Reach, he gets in cover with his squad and doesn't budge. When the order to return to this ship is given, he just up and runs with his squad instead of falling back in an orderly manner.]]

* TookALevelInJerkass: By the end of the Warmaster, the positive impression readers had of him will have faded considerably after he tries to recruit Gaunt into a plot to replace Macaroth and reacts violently when Gaunt doesn't go along.

!!Lord Militant General Bathol Van Voytz

* LivingShadow: The Mandrake.

Notorious and deadly Chaos general known for his tactical genius and love of absurd war machines. He led the attack on Verghast in ''Necropolis'', leading the forces of Ferrozoica Hive City. [[spoiler: Killed in single combat by Gaunt, though not before very nearly killing him.]]

* DoesThisRemindYouofAnything: Invoked by Gaunt when arguing the evidence for Asphodel's return, pointing out that the tactics being used by the Zoican forces are ones Asphodel is known to favour.

-->''Gaunt''': His ruthlessness is immeasurable, his brutality staggering and the charismatic force of his personality as a leader cannot be underestimated. And, with the possible exception of Sek, he is probably the most tactically brilliant of all Nadzybar's commanders.

* ElectronicEyes[=/=]EyeScream: [[spoiler:Got blinded under Chaos torture in ''Only in Death'', but was promised replacements that he has received by ''Blood Pact''.]]

* EnsignNewbie[=/=]NewMeat: He's fortunate to live long enough to outgrow the trope.

* HiddenDepths / ChekhovsSkill: In better days on Tanith, Dorden was a talented amateur actor. He uses this to improvise his way out of a tight spot in the first book.

* TheAlcoholic / TheGamblingAddict: After losing his jaw, and then his sniper's lanyard, he falls into a deep depression which he tries to drown in alcohol and gambling. Is eventually dragged out of it by Hark and Ludd.

* HeroicSacrifice[=/=]KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: Dies in Salvation's Reach, along with Dorden, but in the process takes out a number of enemies as well.]]

* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs / FirstNameBasis: Her first meeting with Dorden had her snapping that she was Surgeon Curth. At the end of that novel, she tells him that after all that, he may call her Ana.

* TakeUpMySword / LegacyCharacter: [[spoiler: Officially joins the Ghosts shortly after the death of his adoptive father, Caffran. Not an entirely straight example, since he was planning to join the Ghosts anyway.]]

* NobleDemon / EvilVirtues: Desolane is a warped creature of Chaos, but never shows anything less than devotion to his duty and his charge.

* PutOnABus: [[spoiler:After his psychic abilities come to light Soric is taken by the Black Ships]]
** TheBusCameBack: [[spoiler:Winds up playing an important role in ''Only in Death'', thought the reader only finds out about it after TheReveal. More disturbing when one realizes that Gaunt was hearing screams in his head (along with premonitions among his squad) as back as the Gereon mission. Soric was in agony for a ''long'' time.]]

* [[spoiler: PutOnABus: Accompanies Saint Sabbat on her journeys at the end of Sabbat Martyr.]]

* [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou The Only One Allowed To Kill You]]: The reason he cites whenever saving Gaunt's life.

* [[PalsWithJesus Pals With Saint Sabbat. Hinted to be as important prophetically as she is]].

* [[PutOnABus Put On A Black Ship]]

* [[AbsurdlySharpBlade Absurdly Sharp Blades]]: Wields dual ketra blades, and he's very good with them.

* SunglassesAtNight: Varl gives him a pair of sunshades in ''Traitor General'' and he wears them pretty much constantly.

* AndIMustScream: The last thing Slaith has time to do before [[spoiler: the bomb that kills him detonates]] is to scream with rage.

* CallingTheOldManOut: Does this to Gaunt in ''The Guns of Tanith'', accusing him of [[MistakenForRacist being prejudiced]] in favour of the Tanith elements of the Ghosts over the Verghasts, [[spoiler: evidenced by the fact Gaunt pulled out all the stops to get Caffran off a murder charge, but is perfectly happy to leave Cuu to face a firing squad for the same crime, despite circumstantial evidence suggesting he might be innocent. Gaunt reluctantly gets Cuu off the murder charge as a result to prove there is no favouritism amongst the regiment]].

A decidedly unpleasant ex-hive ganger who joins the Ghosts after the defense of Vervunhive. Eventually becomes a walking, talking DiabolusExMachina.

* KarmaHoudini: Nearly brought to justice in Guns of Tanith when evidence implicates him in a murder-rape. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Then Gaunt, thinking him innocent, steps in and gets him off]]. He also nearly gets brought to justice in Straight Silver, but again escapes. In Sabbat Martyr, the [[spoiler: reveal of his guilt]] comes purely as a result of outside interference, rather than any efforts of the Ghosts. [[spoiler: His death itself is a clean kill-shot, where he had earnt himself a ''far'' more unpleasant end.]]
** [[spoiler: Possibly averted. He dies under the control of Chaos, so...eternity of torment? Maybe?]]
** As an interesting side-note, Abnett stated in the introduction to the second omnibus edition that he believes one of the main reasons Straight Silver is often considered the weakest book in the series is because of this. After the events of Guns Of Tanith, everyone wanted Cuu dead.

* CannotSpitItOut: Can't bring himself to tell his children he is still alive, despite the urgings of pretty much everybody.

* {{Badass}}: Oh, let us count the ways.
** BadassBureaucrat: As a Commissar, paperwork is part of his job.
** BadassCape: In many a picture.
** BadassLongcoat: His Commisarial greatcoat, though he usually wears a Tanith camouflage cape over it.
** ColonelBadass: A literal example; he retains his rank of Colonel through most of the series. He's turned down brigadier rank, and regained his colonel rank after a brief suspension.

* {{Badass}}: Kills a rolling enemy plasma tank with just his pistol.

* {{Badass}}:
** BadassBeard: Its easy to imagine him played by John Rhys Davis.
** BadassGrandpa: Often bemoans his advanced age, particularly after suffering a nasty wound in Honour Guard that plagues him for the rest of the series. Doesn't stop him being badass, though.

** ColonelBadass: Though Gaunt is in overall command.

* {{Badass}}: Even Abnett thinks so in the foreword to the ''First and Only'' omnibus. Emphasis on ''bad''. He's completely ruthless.

* {{Badass}}: Unquestionably the best sniper in the First and Only. Not only has he never missed a kill shot, he's ridiculously skilled at predicting where an enemy is likely to be hiding, and placing a hotshot round in that exact location.

* {{Badass}}: Stealthier than a Dark Eldar Mandrake, nearly as good a shot as a sniper, and perceptive enough to notice genetically engineered Chaos hunting beasts.

* {{Badass}}: At one point runs through an enemy killzone with Gol Kolea, as in multiple heavy machine guns and at least twenty other shooters. This is done without either taking a scratch, all the while reflecting how insane it is they haven't died yet.

* {{Badass}}: Has one of the highest kill counts of any of the Ghosts due to his weapon of choice and his knowledge. At one point he sets an entire bridge filled with enemy troops, and himself, on fire and amazingly lives to tell the tale. [[spoiler:He survived by covering himself with flame retardant gel. He chose not to tell the scouts this because it was the first time he'd ever seen them surprised ''at all'', much less by something he'd done.]]

* {{Badass}}: Clears an entire trench almost single handedly on Aexe, shoots two class A psykers on Heredor, ''fights a daemon engine hand to hand with an empty rifle''. If you want a room full of people dead, you send [=MkVenner=].

* {{Badass}}: Before the depths of his twisted nature were revealed, Lijah was an exceptional soldier due to his experience fighting in gang wars on Vervunhive.

* {{Badass}}: Macaroth is responsible for the ''overall success of the Sabbat World's Crusade''. More than any of the accomplishments of the Ghosts in fact. In the Imperial Histories of the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, Gaunt is barely a footnote.

* {{Badass}}: They're [[SpaceMarine Astartes]]. Of course they're badass.

* {{Badass}}: All of the assassins get at least one awesome moment to demonstrate their particular talent by slaughtering Imperial soldiers.

* ArtificialLimbs[=/=]EyeScream: [[spoiler:Got blinded under Chaos torture in ''Only in Death'', but was promised replacements that he has received by ''Blood Pact''.]]

** [[spoiler: Don't try and make fraudulent cash off his dead troopers either. He will get PIIIIISSSSSED!]]