Warhammer 40K: Traitor Guard
Today we look into the black hearts of those renagades who have turned away from the Astra Militarum and offer up praise to Chaos – The Traitor Guard.
Traitor Guard (or guardsmen) is a term given to the vast majority of disloyal mortals who have left the Imperial Guard and Planetary Defence Forces in order to fight for Chaos. They are not a single coherent force. But rather a faction of the infinite collection of warbands and hosts under the leadership of Chaos Champions and part of the The Lost and the Damned.
Traitor Guard Overview
In order to fulfil their own agendas, Champions of Chaos draw lesser Chaos followers to them to form their own personal armies. These can vary tremendously in size and strength. The Traitor Guard are among the better armed and minded troops that Chaos Champions and/or Arch-Heretics have at their disposal. Like other Imperial military deserters who have turned from their Emperor and fled from Imperial justice. Occasionally entire companies, or even regiments of the Imperial Guard turn to Chaos, taking with them their vehicles and armoury.
These traitors, unlike other mutants and other vile Beastmen, have not completely lost their military skills or sanity. They form a reasonably reliable core force amongst the slavering hordes of the Lost and Damned armies. Often these mortal guardsmen will fight alongside mutants or Daemons of the warp by summoning them by way of blasphemous rituals. Their allies are complemented further with monstrosities of all kinds, such as Chaos Spawns, hordes of mutants and Beastmen, and packs of Chaos Hounds.
When Guardsmen betray their Emperor it is not just themselves who leave to fight for Chaos. Their vehicles and equipment go as well. Rough Riders, as well as Imperial Guard vehicles such as Leman Russ Battle Tanks, Hellhounds, Basilisks and Sentinels are known to be in the service of Traitor Guard armies too. Traitor units are also known to use Chimeras and Space Marine Rhinos for transportation. They often serve alongside smaller warbands of Chaos Space Marines. In the largest Black Crusades, entire armies of Traitor Guard are assembled to throw themselves against the Imperium of Man. Their lives are often thrown away heedlessly by their dark masters.
Infamous Traitor Guard Regiments
Blood Pact
The Blood Pact is a highly organized Chaos Cult devoted to Khorne. Unlike many cultist warbands, the Pact fought as a disciplined army, similar in training and organization to the Imperial Guard. Originating as the personal army of the warlord Urlock Gaur, they quickly became a dominant “elite” of the Chaos forces opposing the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, and caused the people of the Imperium no small amount of suffering and woe.
Pilgrims of Hayte
An apocalyptic murder-cult, the Pilgrims of Hayte are known for their viciousness and atrocities. Mere rumors of their presence in a particular area is enough to create near-panic among the populous. Their goal is a simple one, to destroy the Imperium and slay those serving the Emperor. The cults teachings and recruitment focus on the downtrodden, outcast, and criminal elements of Imperial society. Their core belief is that of nihilism of the spirit and utter despair, viewing humanity as a squalling blind creature at the mercy of the cosmos. To them, civilization, faith, reason, and love are all lies and dreams concocted by the Imperium to maintain their control. Thus the Pilgrims seek to sow destruction and terror in order to tear down this false reality.
The Cult is led by a council of masters, known as the False Prophets. These Sorcerers are capable of wielding the powers of the Warp and summoning Daemons. They seek to corrupt the population of a world with their teachings and widen their Cults activities, with a False Prophet at first often masquerading as a charismatic and traveling Preacher. The False Prophets themselves aid and guide promising new recruits, mostly those who have survived long enough in the Cults many dangerous raids and operations.
The Stigmartus
The Stigmartus are a Chaos Cult and warband operating in the Jericho Reach region and were key combatants against the Imperium in the Achilus Crusade. They consist of renegades, madmen, criminals, cultists, mutants, and rogue psykers. The Stigmartus are named for the ritual branding of their flesh with the sigil of their masters. They are brutal and frenzied to the extreme. However, like the Blood Pact they maintain harsh discipline and military-style professionalism. They are organized closely along the lines of an Imperial Guard Regiment. The commanders of the Cult are believed to be the remainder of the previous heretic rulers of Khazant, which fell early in the Achilus Crusade. Now they are bound by the charismatic leadership of a cult-general known as Elak Sarda He is said to be sworn to a daemonic entity within the Charon Stars.
Study the Index of Chaos Cults
~For the Warmaster!
