Imperium of Man - Imperial Military Forces: Mankind has always excelled at the art of war, and the Emperor's armies are spread across the galaxy. The threat or effects of war are never far away, no matter where you go in the Imperium. Mankind seeks to purge the stars of its enemies, and the bloody carnage it wreaks in doing so shows no sign of abating. The Imperium's military is at once mighty, glorious and terrible. Some of the most important military forces of the Imperium include:Astra Militarum - The Astra Militarum or "Imperial Guard" is the backbone of the Imperium's military might. Millions upon millions of well-trained men and women, organised into thousands of regiments, make up the Guard. With Lasgun and bayonet they march upon alien battlefields and garrison vital worlds. They form the Imperium's first line of defence and they strike the first blow in many Imperial Crusades. Its regiments are drawn in great tithes of manpower from the Imperium's worlds and each regiment has a unique cultural character and fighting tradition, from the rigid discipline of the Armageddon Steel Legion to the stealthy brutality of the pale-skinned Stygians and the unflinching bravery of the Vostroyans. Vast conscript armies, elite special forces, massive tank columns and glorious sabre-wielding, animal-riding cavalry can all be found in the Imperial Guard, often fighting alongside one another on Emperor-forsaken worlds they have never heard of. Regiments do not remain on their homeworlds but are raised explicitly to be sent to fight and die light years away from home. And they do die, for the Imperial Guard bear the weight of the Imperium's wars. It is said that the Emperor knows the name of every soldier that has fallen fighting in His wars -- but if that is true, He is the only one who can comprehend just how many Imperial Guardsmen have died in the ten thousand years since the Emperor "ascended" to the Golden Throne. Those who survive the grinding horrors of a lifetime of war are frequently gifted a portion of the very land they fought to conquer as a reward. As with many things in the Imperium, this is a mixed blessing indeed. The Imperial Guard regiments are raised from the local armies of the Imperium's worlds as part of a planet's tithe to the Imperium. These regiments are normally deployed according to the orders of the Adeptus Terra. However, when the High Lords of Terra declare a major military campaign (often referred to as a "Crusade") they appoint a Warmaster chosen from among high-ranking Imperial Guard officers to command the campaign's regiments. One of the most famous Warmasters, Macharius, was given the title "Lord Solar" when he became the Imperial Commander of the entire Segmentum Solar. Macharius proved to be the greatest Imperial general since the Horus Heresy when he conquered a thousand worlds on the Imperium's Eastern Fringe and expanded the Imperium to the very edge of the Astronomican's reach.Adeptus Astartes - The Adeptus Astartes, better known as the Space Marines, are the elite, transhuman warriors of the Imperium. They are few in number and regarded with almost mythical awe by most folk, for they are inheritors of traditions founded by the Emperor Himself. The Space Marines are divided into Chapters, each possessing 1,000 Astartes along with its own support staff and starfleet. It is said that there are around a thousand such Chapters in the Imperium. A Space Marine is recruited in adolescence from among the most violent cultures of the Imperium. His body is hugely enhanced with new genetically-engineered organs promoting muscle and bone growth to give him immense strength, size and resilience. His mind is similarly enhanced; hypno-doctrination and sleep-learning give him both a fervent belief in the Imperium and the knowledge of weapons and tactics to bring the Emperor's wrath to the battlefield. Upon completing his augmentation and training (which not all Aspirants survive), he is issued with his wargear, including a suit of Power Armour. This armour is one of the most powerful symbols of Imperial might, depicted in statuary and stained-glass windows in cathedrals all across the Imperium. Equipped with nerve-fibre bundles so it moves in sync with his body, a Space Marine's armour not only grants him great strength and protection but is a work of art, resplendent in the heraldry of his Chapter. Each Chapter is independent from the Adeptus Terra. While most will eagerly answer the summons of an Imperial Warmaster or a plea for help from somewhere in the Imperium, some Chapters have their own agendas and cannot be relied upon entirely. All, however, serve the Emperor loyally with complete devotion. All Chapters have proud traditions and distinct characteristics that translate into the way they fight. The ferocious Space Wolves, for instance, are more fiercely independent from the Adeptus Terra than most other Chapters and fight on their own terms up close with Chainswords and Bolt Pistols. The Iron Hands, on the other hand, have close ties to the Adeptus Mechanicus and are the masters of siege warfare, arming their warriors with an array of devastating heavy weapons and tanks. Many Chapters are legends, and names such as the Blood Angels, Ultramarines, Dark Angels and Imperial Fists are spoken of with reverent awe among Imperial citizens. A Space Marine Chapter has its own fleet of fast spacecraft and can react far more quickly to a threat than the Imperial Guard or Imperial Navy, making the Adeptus Astartes one of the only forces in the Imperium that can mount a rapid response to a crisis. The Space Marines are extremely few in number compared to the size of the Imperium and few citizens will ever see one in the flesh, but without them the Imperial military and the Human species would slide ever faster towards destruction.Grey Knights - The Space Marines of the Grey Knights Chapter are amongst the most highly specialised of the Adeptus Astartes, designed to specifically defend the Imperium against the threat of Chaos. The Grey Knights are permanently attached to the Ordo Malleus as its Chamber Militant and their leaders are rumoured to serve terms as members of the Inner Conclave of the Inquisition. No ordinary warriors, Grey Knights are chosen from amongst the most fearsome and savage feral cultures, each one an emergent psyker who has undergone arduous tests of faith, strength, endurance and courage that would break all but the strongest. Grey Knights fight in baroque, heavily ornamented suits of Power Armour, carrying mighty sigil-encrusted swords and halberds. These warriors alone can stand before the might of a Greater Daemon with any hope of banishing it back to the Warp. The millennia the Grey Knights have spent in battle against the Forces of Chaos has furnished them with blasphemous knowledge, painstakingly pieced together by the Inquisitors of the Ordo Malleus. Each warrior carries a copy of the sacred Liber Daemonica, the holy battle rites of the Chapter, in a Ceramite case on his breastplate, and it is this tome which symbolises a Grey Knight's most potent weapon: his unshakable faith in the Divine Emperor of Mankind. For above all else, the Emperor protects...Deathwatch - The Space Marines of the Deathwatch are mysterious figures who battle in black Power Armour, fighting with preternatural skill and dedication against the most terrible of alien creatures or xenos, as they are called in the Imperium. They usually appear without warning and vanish as quickly as they arrived, leaving no trace of themselves or of the creatures they have fought. These are the Imperium’s most highly trained xenos fighters, known simply as the Deathwatch. Forming the Chamber Militant of the Inquisition's Ordo Xenos, the Deathwatch uniquely draws its members from across the many different Space Marine Chapters, all of which have sworn sacred oaths to maintain specially trained xenos fighters and stand ready to deploy them at a moment’s notice when the Inquisition requests their aid. These specialised warriors are drawn together as and when needed by the Ordo to combat alien menaces whenever and wherever it rears its vile head. Rumour has it that Ordo Xenos maintains a number of secret fortresses at the fringes of the Imperium where the Deathwatch keeps a silent and constant vigil, ever watchful for the tell-tale signs of alien encroachment.Collegia Titanica - The Collegia Titanica is the division of the Adeptus Mechanicus that includes the Legions composed of Titans, the colossal Imperial robotic war machines that are the most powerful engines of war in the Imperium of Man. The Collegia is also more rarely known as the Adeptus Titanicus (a contraction of "Adeptus Mechanicus Collegia Titanica").Sisters of Battle (Orders Militant of the Adepta Sororitas) - The Orders Militant of the Adepta Sororitas, also known as the "Sisters of Battle," are an all-female division of the Imperial Cult's ecclesiastical organisation known as the Ecclesiarchy or, more formally, as the Adeptus Ministorum. The Sisterhood's Orders Militant serve as the Ecclesiarchy's fighting arm, mercilessly rooting out corruption and heresy within Humanity and every organisation of the Adeptus Terra. There is naturally some overlap between the duties of the Sisterhood and the Imperial Inquisition; for this reason, although the Inquisition and the Sisterhood remain entirely separate organisations, the Orders Militant of the Sisterhood also act as the Chamber Militant of the Inquisition's Ordo Hereticus. The Adepta Sororitas and the Sisters of Battle are commonly regarded as the same organisation, but the latter title technically refers only to the Orders Militant of the Adepta Sororitas, the best-known part of the Adepta. The Sisterhood serves as the Ministorum's only official military force because the Decree Passive laid down by the reformist Ecclesiarch Sebastian Thor held that in the wake of the Age of Apostasy of the 36th Millennium, the Ecclesiarchy cannot maintain any "men under arms." This was supposed to limit the power of the Ecclesiarchy. However, the Ministorum were able to circumvent this decree by using the all-female force of the Sisterhood.Navis Imperialis - The Imperial Navy holds nearly all of the Imperium's fighting starships; local governments, Warmasters and others are forbidden to maintain their own fleets of warships. Their spacecraft include some of the most potent engines of destruction in the whole galaxy, including mighty Battleships thousands of years old. The Navy's starships range from small Escorts with a crew of a few dozen to the immense Emperor-class Battleships which might have 20,000 souls or more on board. The Navy also includes fighter and bomber crews and aircraft of the division known as the Aeronautica Imperialis that support the forces of the Astra Militarum on the ground. The Navy's officer class is highly traditional and aristocratic in character. The Imperium's noble families frequently boast naval officers among their number and naval dynasties dominate many battlefleets. Elitism is a virtue on most ships, where the officers' lives are in stark contrast to those of the ratings and engine crews. With thousands of crew living and dying on ships that can spend solar decades without seeing port, a ship of the Imperial Navy becomes a city in space. Mutinies are not unknown and the Naval security battalions of Armsmen are a familiar sight on the decks of all naval ships, their black visors and Shotguns constantly reminding the men that obedience is their duty to the Emperor. The Navy relies on many other organisations to function. Perhaps most importantly, these ancient and complex vessels could not function without a complement of Tech-priests who know how to appease the starships' Machine Spirits and maintain technology that is too old and mysterious to be replicated. The Navy is also reliant on the Tech-priests of Mars for refits, upgrades, repairs and new starships. It is usual for a warship to have Astropaths on board, for proper communication is essential if the Imperium is to be defended. Many captains are glad to have Ministorum clergy among their crew, ministering to the spiritual needs of the men and steeling their spirits with sermons. Commissars are appointed to the larger ships, watching over the moral fibre of the crew and providing a watch against mutiny and impiety. Then, of course, there is the Navigator of each vessel, whose family can occupy entire spires jutting out into space atop the ship.Skitarii Legions, the Legio Cybernetica, Imperial Knights and squads of Combat Servitors - These are several types of autonomous military ground forces deployed by the Adeptus Mechanicus to protect their Forge Worlds and to assist Imperial military campaigns when necessary.Militarum Tempestus - The Militarum Tempestus, also known as the Ordo Tempestus, is amongst the most rigidly codified of all Imperial organisations, for its troops form the elite backbone of the Astra Militarum, serving as its special operations units. Though the Ordo Tempestus is technically a sub-faction governed by the Adeptus Administratum, it enjoys a far greater amount of autonomy than the Imperial Guard regiments that often fight alongside it. The Ordo's ranks are primarily comprised of commissars and the special forces troops known as Tempestus Scions or "Storm Troopers" in Low Gothic, though they have often included specialist factions mysteriously absent from Imperial records. In every theatre of war across the galaxy, the Ordo's men work alongside the incalculable might of the Astra Militarum, their elite training complementing the sheer manpower of the Imperial Guard. The regiments of the Tempestus Scions, no matter how skilled, do not form the main body of the Astra Militarum, for that duty falls to the regular Imperial Guardsmen. Instead they can be likened to a knife, a thrusting point of lethal force that is applied with shocking speed into the foe's weakest point. Many a grinding war of attrition or extended campaign has been brought to a dramatic close by a strike force of Tempestus Scions. More often than not, their insertion, mission completion and extraction parameters are all accomplished on the same day.Inquisitorial Storm Troopers - The Inquisition maintains its own own corps of highly-trained special operations forces who are similar in training, tactics and wargear to the Militarum Tempestus' elite Tempestus Scions that guard the secret installations of the Inquisition. The Inquisition maintains a number of fortresses throughout the galaxy, both secret and known to the inhabitants of the Imperium. Inquisitorial Storm Troopers are used by the Imperial Inquisition to guard their fortresses and the Black Ships as they make their purity runs across the Imperium's sectors, and they can also augment an individual Inquisitor's personal retinues of Acolytes with reliable and effective soldiers. Many Storm Troopers of particular skill are chosen to become an Inquisitor's Throne Agents. Inquisitorial Storm Troopers are selected from families with a record of unwavering faith in the Emperor and prior duty to the Inquisition, usually from the Schola Progenium, just like their standard Tempestus Scion counterparts. They are trained and equipped in a manner similar to Ordo Tempestus Storm Troopers, albeit lacking the rapid insertion and infiltration skills, as they are not expected to undertake such types of missions which are more often carried out for the Inquisition by the Officio Assassinorum.