For characters in the Soul Drinkers series. There will be spoilers, but those from Hellforged and Phalanx will be marked.
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.
- Badass Bookworm: As a Librarian.
- Big Good
- Commanding Coolness
- Deadpan Snarker: At times.(Just killed an Inquisitorial Interrogator in book 1) "This, it occurred to him, could be awkward."
- Empowered Badass Normal: After receiving his Spider Limbs
- A Father to His Men: In comparison to Eumenes.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Sarpedon starts doing this more than he can justify.
- Psychic Powers: He can transmit his thoughts, but not receive thoughts.
- Spider Limbs
- Pro Human Trans Human: 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.
- Taking You with Me: 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.
- Beneath the Mask: While he outwardly maintains that he finds war enjoyable, in truth he hates war, and longs only for peace.
- Blood Knight: He puts on this facade.
- The Captain: After Crimson Tears.
- I Die Free: 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.
- Number Two
- Sergeant Rock
- Wolverine Claws: 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.
- An Arm and a Leg: Losses his left leg during the battle with Abraxes.
- I Die Free: Walks into the warp with Luko at the end of Phalanx.
- Red Right Hand
- Sergeant Rock
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.
- Extra Eyes
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice
- The Lancer: To Sarpedon as his Veteran Sergeant.
- Sergeant Rock
Salk
A Tactical Sergeant. Suffered a metabolic mutation.
- Chainsaw Good: Uses a chainsword.
- A Good Way to Die: Subverted. He's killed by Iktinos's flock and feels that there should have been some glory to it.
- Sergeant Rock
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 Healing Factor to match. However, his mental state suffered, turning him into a stubborn Blood Knight 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 Exterminatus on the planet.
- An Arm and a Leg : Loses his hands in Soul Drinker.
- Blade Below the Shoulder: Tellos replaced his hands with a pair of chainswords when he discovered that he couldn't be fitted with bionic replacements.
- Blood Knight : He develops this attitude when his mutations first manifest, and it directly leads to his fall to Chaos.
- Chainsaw Good : It's 40K, but Serial Escalation soon applies.
- Dropped a Bridge on Him: (Subverted) Before being obliterated by the Exterminatus, Sarpedon does drop a literal bridge on Tellos during their epic duel
- Empowered Badass Normal : With his mutation. After becoming a Chaos Space Marine, his inhuman abilities are increased even further.
- Fallen Hero : Before his fall to Chaos, Tellos had a bright future in the Soul Drinkers, and was even marked for captaincy at one point.
- Healing Factor / Immune to Bullets : All physical damage simply passes through his gel-skin harmlessly; the wounds sealing up in seconds.
- The Juggernaut : With his fighting skills and Healing Factor, 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.
- Master Swordsman
- One-Man Army
- The Paragon Always Rebels : 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.
- Walking Shirtless Scene : Forgoes upper body armor after coming up with the idea of jamming swords into his wrists. Given his Healing Factor, 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.
- The Captain: After Soul Drinker.
- Cold Sniper: Was probably the best shot in the Chapter.
- Dropped a Bridge on Him: 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.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: 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.
- The Atoner: For siding with Eumenes during the Second Chapter War.
- Body Horror: Scales begin growing across his skin.
- Combat Medic
- Half the Man He Used to Be: Cut in half by Abraxes sword.
- Odd Friendship: He has two examples:
- With Tellos: Pallas was an Apothecary dedicated to healing, while Tellos was a One-Man Army 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. Yet when Pallas is killed, Luko realized that Pallas was his friend, and was genuinely anguished that he was dead.
- Was It Really Worth It?: 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.
- The Captain: Serves as de facto Captain of the Brokenback.
- The Engineer
- Frozen Face: An encounter early into the series causes this.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Against the Necron overlord in Hellforged.
- Machine Worship
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.
- Badass Preacher
- Evil Chancellor: To Sarpedon.
- Manipulative Bastard
- The Paragon Always Rebels: Sarpedon even said that he was The Paragon of the Chapter.
- Thrown Out the Airlock: 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.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Somehow, he never picks up a scar or piece of grim in battle.
- Commander Contrarian: His purpose to Sarpedon.
- Flaming Sword: Wields a Force sword.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Gave his life to save Luko in Phalanx.
- The Mentor: To Scamander
- Psychic Powers
- Taking You with Me: 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.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: Sided with Eumenes, but let Sarpedon and his marines escape, for which he is killed.
- Lightning Bruiser: Making his fellow Soul Drinkers this is his power.
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.
- An Arm and a Leg: Losses his lower right leg and right hand at Stratix Luminae.
- The Captain
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: 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.
- More Dakka: Wields a Storm Bolter.
- No Body Left Behind: His body is utterly destroyed during the Second Chapter War.
- Power Fist
- Rasputinian Death: 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.
- Veteran Instructor
- Walking Tank: 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.
- Big Bad: For Chapter War.
- Bling of War: After the battle with the Howling Griffons, he starts wearing a suit of Artificer Armour.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice
- Leader: Type III and IV.
- More Dakka: Takes a Storm Bolter after assuming the position of Chapter Master.
- New Meat
- Sergeant Rock: While a Scout-sergeant.
- Smug Snake: When in an alliance with Sarpedon's chapter.
- The Starscream
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Between Crimson Tears and Chapter War.
Raek
A Scout-sniper. Later made a Scout Sergeant.
- Cold Sniper
- Improbable Aiming Skills
- New Meat
- Off with His Head!: Killed by Iktinos during the Second Chapter War.
- Sniper Rifle
Nisryus
A Soul Drinker scout and psyker who possesses precognitive abilities.
- New Meat
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Leaves with most of the Scouts after the events of the Second Chapter War.
- Seers
- Tarot Motifs: Uses the Emperor's Tarot to help his precognitive abilities.
- You Killed My Family: His family was purged in a witch hunt.
Scamander
A Scout and psyker who was later recruited into the Librarium.
- The Atoner: Unlike the other Scouts, he remains with the Soul Drinkers after the Chapter War.
- Cast from Hit Points: Using his powers could end up killing him if he isn't careful.
- New Meat
- Playing with Fire: Possesses pyrokinesis.
- Slashed Throat: His death.
Daenyathos
The legendary Philosopher-Soldier of the Soul Drinkers, having written the Catechisms Martial.
- Big Bad: He is the one who Iktinos has been serving.
- Badass Bookworm
- The Chessmaster
- Man in the Machine: Inside a Dreadnought
- Our Founder
- Power Fist: As a Dreadnought.
- Villainous Breakdown: 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 what he can expect, this is fully justifiable.
- Walking Spoiler: See above.
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.
- For Science!
- Karmic Death: Killed after the Soulspear was stolen from him.
- Machine Worship
- Straw Vulcan: He makes decisions based upon logic but has a very hard time taking into account the Soul Drinkers' Honour Before Reason 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.
- Badass Normal: One of the very few non-genetically enhanced, non-power armoured humans in the series to ever kill a Space Marine in close combat.
- Hero Antagonist: But not for long.
- Inspector Javert: Actually subverted. He eventually realizes that the Soul Drinkers are not Chaos Space Marines and tries to help them.
- It Was a Gift: His Autopistol.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice
- Reasonable Authority Figure
- State Sec
Bernice Aescarion
A Sister Superior of the Adepta Sororitas serving under Thaddeus.
- Badass Normal: Able to keep up with the Space Marines.
- Church Militant
- Fearless Fool: Subverted. The enemy terrifies her, but her faith is stronger.
- Religious Bruiser: Her faith in the Emperor is absolute. 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.
- Death Seeker
- Face–Heel Turn: 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, even before his duty to the Imperium.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: His end.
- My Greatest Failure: Losing the Company Standard.
- Revenge Before Reason: So much that he sides with Iktinos's flock to destroy Sarpedon.
- Sanity Slippage: 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. 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.
- A Father to His Men: He'll spend his forces if he has to, but he won't waste them needlessly.
- The Chains of Commanding: 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 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.
- Deadpan Snarker
- Fate Worse than Death: 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.
- Reasonable Authority Figure
Merceano
Chief Librarian of the Howling Griffons. Lead the taskforce charged with liberating Vanqualis.
- General Ripper
- I Gave My Word: All Howling Griffons are this, but Merceano takes this beyond the point of 40k's relatively loose definition of sanity.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice
- Psychic Powers
Borgannor
Captain of the Howling Griffons Tenth Company. Lost a leg to Sarpedon.
- An Arm and a Leg: Sarpedon cut off his leg.
- BFS: Uses a Power Sword.
- The Captain
- Cyborg: Had multiple augmentics even before Sarpedon took his leg.
- It's Personal: 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.
- Machine Worship
- Only Sane Man: Unusually for a member of the Adeptos Mechanicus, upon encountering a hostile Necron force, does not attempt to worship it.
- Rasputinian Death: Iktinos goes all out in trying to make sure he is dead.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves
- We Have Reserves
Varr
Commander of the 901st Penal Legion
- He Knows Too Much: 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.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: By Sarpedon.
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.
- Aliens Are Bastards: He won't be changing the Soul Drinkers' perception of the eldar anytime soon.
- Big Bad: Of Crimson Tears
- Be Careful What You Wish For: He wanted to know the power of the Warp. He did. The hard way.
- Evil Overlord
- Disney Villain Death : Obviously a lot more unpleasant than most examples, but it counts.
- Hoist by His Own Petard : He gets thrown into the same warp-rift he created.
Ork Warlord
The Warlord of the WAAAGH! invading Vanqualis.
- Big Bad: At first, though Eumenes surpasses him pretty quickly.
- Evil Overlord
- Hearing Voices: Believes that Gork and Mork are speaking to him.
- No Body Left Behind: Explodes thanks to a Howling Griffon grenade.
- Power Fist: Klaw, but still the same.
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.
- Big Bad Wannabe : He has the power and resources for it, but his downfall is brought about by the manipulations of a decidedly more powerful villain.
- Evil Weapon : 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.
- Evil Overlord
- Hive Mind: Due to being a sapient plague, he’s able to control and manipulate everyone he’s infected, effectively possessing them.
- Humanoid Abomination: 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.
- Many Spirits Inside of One : Inverted.
- People Puppets : 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.
- Plague Master : A staple of Nurgle followers, but Ve'Meth takes it even further by being a sentient disease.
- Was Once a Man: 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.
- Angelic Abomination: He’s a Daemon Prince of Tzeentch that manifests as a glowing, several kilometres-tall Winged Humanoid bathed in light, wearing a toga and surrounded by magic runes.
- Big Bad: Of Soul Drinker. And forms a Big Bad Duumvirate with Daenyathos in Phalanx.
- The Chessmaster: 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 or at least so it seemed...
- Demon Lords And Arch Devils
- Eye Scream: Courtesy of Luko.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: By Sarpedon with the Soulspear. He gets better.
- Our Angels Are Different
- Villainous Breakdown: 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.
- Big Bad: Of The Bleeding Chalice.
- A God Am I: Had delusions of godhood while still in the test tubes.
- Evil Overlord
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Courtesy of Sarpedon's talons.
- Omnicidal Maniac
- Plague Master
- Walking Wasteland
- Zombie Apocalypse : His weapon of choice, so to speak.