Penal Legion - Notable Penal Legions: 13th Penal Legion ("Last Chancers") - The 13th Penal Legion, unusual among the many Penal Legions that serve in the Imperial Guard, was in fact a testing ground. The unit's commander, Colonel Schaeffer, would hand-pick his regiment's troops from Imperial prisons' worst convicts because of some natural talent they displayed or because they possessed an uncanny instinct for survival so that they could serve as part of an elite ad hoc military team intended to achieve some difficult, usually borderline-insane military mission objective of the Imperium. These dregs comprise the most vicious, ill-disciplined and unstable group of psychopaths, conspirators, thieves and traitors in the Astra Militarum who would otherwise be destined for the firing squad or the business end of a Commissar's Bolt Pistol. Many of those offered the chance to fight with the "Last Chancers" choose death rather than follow Colonel Schaeffer, for such is the colonel's reputation for undertaking suicide missions throughout the Imperium.901st Penal Legion - Like other Penal Legions, the 901st is an Imperial Guard Penal Legion made up of criminals, condemned to serve until their inevitable death and ultimately earning redemption. They took part in the liberation of the Imperial world of Vanqualis from an invading Ork WAAAGH!. They were led by General Varr, who fought in an Imperial campaign in the Eye of Terror before being condemned to the 901st.Bar-El Penal Legions - The Bar-El Penal Legions are made up of criminals of the Bar-El and other star systems from the Agripinaa Sector, and fight under standard Imperial Guard methods, although with higher security. These units are often utilised as an expendable resource.Merov Penitentiary Indentured - The Hive World of Merov is home to an infamous unit of the Imperial Guard culled from Magistratum prisons and Adeptus Arbites Precinct wards across the Calixis Sector. This unit is commonly known as simply "The Merov Penal Legion," although there are rumors that its official designation is much more complex and exists only in some forgotten Administratum data-vault. Nevertheless, the Legion has a long history of celebrated victories, and enormous kill-banners flutter from every spire in Tsares Hive upon the anniversary of the Penal Legion's founding. The Merov Penal Legion is made up of desperate men, each a hardened criminal seeking redemption through service to the Emperor. The thirty Brother-Generals who command the Legion often engage in cruel games, pitting their units against each other in gladiatorial war-bouts described as "training missions" to the Munitorium. A rare few of the Brother-Generals act as more military commander than warden, training and disciplining their men like nearly any other unit of the Imperial Guard. However, for the majority of the Legionnaires, their existence is short, brutal, and unforgiving -- each day merely another chance to die in bloody combat. One tradition of the Merov Penal Legion offers hope to the thousands of troopers amongst its ranks. It is said that if the Legion is deployed in battle against the Emperor's foes and only one man survives, that man is set free, absolved of all his crimes. Regardless of the truth, stories about this tradition regularly circulate amongst the Legionnaires, fostering both a determination to survive no matter the odds, and a bloodthirsty, ruthless streak of pure aggression. Such men often volunteer for extremely hazardous missions, such as planting death-gas canisters or joining the battle-drugged demolition teams. Naturally, both of these tactics are commonly used by the Brother-Generals.Savlar Chem-Dogs - The Savlar Chem-Dogs are Penal Legion regiments that serve within the Imperial Guard. They draw their recruits from the prisons on the inhospitable penal world of Savlar by the promise that they will be allowed to keep anything they take from the battlefield, as well as the chance to get away from Savlar's highly toxic environment. Though these Guard regiments are primarily composed of immoral, desperate cut-throats, they have been forged into an effective fighting force, and are some of the most hard-bitten, tenacious and outright dirty fighters in the Imperium of Man.