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IMPERIAL FISTS / VIILEGION
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Engineering
“Masters of the void, The Builders & Destroyers of a hundred thousand Worlds”
“Impenetrable, Unbreakable and our will Indomitable!”
“Praetorians of Terra”
History
“The Imperial Fists were and are makers and breakers of fortresses, but the greatest fortress they built were among the stars. The Legiones Astartes are warriors of the stars, but the Imperial Fists made the cold void their battlefield of choice. While there were great and grand fortresses on the ground both to defend and assault aplenty in the Great Crusade, the greatest sieges and defenses were in fact fought in the murderous environment of space. The defense of star systems, the creation of kill zones and intersecting orbits were skills that the Imperial Fists honed to a keen edge on the grindstone of a thousands of battlefronts. To them the methods of defending or taking a position, whether terrestrial or void-born, were the same in principal even if different in application. After all what were star ships but fortresses of stone and metal broken free from gravity? It was an approach that saw them become the pre- eminent masters high intensity void warfare among the Space Marine Legions, and peerless in the spheres of boarding assault and ship-to-ship combat.
Of these war bastions of the stars, the greatest was the Phalanx. A pre-Imperial relic of vast size and unimaginable power, Rogal Dorn rebuilt the cold wreck, found orbiting Inwit, where it had drifted dead since the Dark Age of Technology, and presented it to the Emperor on their reuniting. Although ponderous and a difficult voyager int he Warp, this titanic star fortress was nevertheless a space-carried weapon whose firepower dwarfed entire attack fleets by comparison. The might of the Phalanx alone broke the back of dozens of xenos species during the Great Crusade, hammered worlds to burning cinders and served as an impregnable fortress against the horrors of the void. The Phalanx served both as the Imperial Fists’ principal base of operations and a lynchpin first of the Great Crusade, and later, during the terrors of the Horus Heresy, in the defense of the Sol System and Terra.”- ‘The Horus Heresy Book 3: Extermination’————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
And still are in the 40k era:
“The Imperial Fists are revered as masters of siegecraft, but such characterization risks missing much of their nature. Their ability to both craft and destroy fortifications is perhaps without peer amongst the Adeptus Astartes, but it is important to remember that before they were builders of fortresses, they were crusaders who pursued conquest with focus and ferocity. Their history also reveals a taste for void war, both in fleet action and close, ship-to-ship boarding. Of course, their skill in other facets of war is undeniable, but these three modes of conflict illustrate not only their mastery of battle-craft, but also reveal layers of their character.” – First Founding: The Imperial Fists by John French
They enjoyed the favor and attention of the Solar realms. Mars, Terra and the like, so their ships and void tech were at the cutting edge:
“In the case of the fleet of the Imperial Fists, it had rightly been known before the Horus Heresy as both the strongest and also the most diverse in terms of class and pattern of all the Legiones Astartes fleets. It’s also had the advantage of being maintained and reinforced at the heart of the Imperium, and therefore was masterfully provided for and featured many of the most powerful patterns of weaponry and equipment available, including a stockpile of deadly vortex-warhead torpedoes directly assigned from the protected reserves on Terra and issued at the authority of the Sigillite.” – ‘The Horus Heresy: Book Three – Extermination’
“Favoured by Terra and the manufactoria of Sol, the Imperial Fists were blessed with the cutting edge of Imperial wargear and technologies, and were often the Legion chosen for testing advanced weaponry.” – Age of Darkness
Dorn, and the people of Inwit, were ship builders:
“His qualities married perfectly with those of Inwit, and he pushed their empire further than any other. Rogal led and trained its armies, and fashioned spacecraft the like of which had not been seen before.” – ‘The Horus Heresy Book 3: Extermination’
“The Tribune was born in the orbital yards of Inwit in the years after the coming of the Emperor when the Inwit Techwrights built ten battle barges as tribute to the Emperor and in honor of Rogal Dorn’s command of the VIIth Legion. The Tribune and its nine sisters were variants of the Victory class and all displayed the hand of Inwit’s weapon-craft and mentality woven into their fabric.” – ‘The Horus Heresy Book 3: Extermination’
“The Tribune was the product of the Inwit shipyards, and like all ships birthed above that world of night and ice its master commanded on his feet. Those that came into his presence stood with him, equal in respect if not rank. It was a principle that appealed to me, but after dozens of councils I sometimes felt that the Inwit shipwrights had been kinder to the commanded than the commander.” – The Crimson Fist by John French
They absorbed the fleets of conquered peoples, so access to the tech of other void fairing civilizations:
“The Halcyon – A unique battleship, the conquered Hecuban Conformity forged the Halcyon as a sign of penance and tribute of fealty after the 81st Expeditionary Fleet broke their forces in the hellish Aegisine war and brought the separatist human realm under compliance. The Halcyon’s plasma drives and void shields held all the potency of the Hecuban’s secret arts and far excelled the power of many warships of similar size and disposition. Assimilated into the Imperial Fist’s fleet, she served with honor for many decades as a secondary flagship.” – ‘The Horus Heresy Book 3: Extermination’
Their fleet was the largest of the Legions:
Fleet Size – “Aside from the number of its Space Marines, No review of the strength of the Imperial Fists can be complete without noting the strength of their fleet. At the time of the Horus Heresy, the Imperial Fists had over 1,500 warships under their direct command, and many more bonded by oath and fealty. This naval might was the greatest of any of the Legiones Astartes, and was further enhanced by the fact that many of the ships were the largest in the Imperium. Even the Sons of Horus and the Ultramarines could not rival such strength alone.” – ‘The Horus Heresy Book 3: Extermination’
And still is:
“Phalanx is a world unto itself, crewed by millions of souls and accompanied by a fleet of a size and splendour otherwise unseen since the time of the Great Crusade.” – Codex Supplement: The Imperial Fists
Manifesto
The Imperial Fists have the hand of Dorn on the bridge of the Phalanx and quip that their Primarch still has a hand in their every action.
The Imperial Fists have a noted proficiency in the realm of void combat/zone mortalis/compliance of void installations/civilizations.
The Imperial Fists are really good at shooting things with a bolter. After Lysander changed their firing drills, they got even better.
The sword is the most revered weapon of an Imperial Fist and so all should carry one.
Lysander, their Captain of the 1st Company, was lost for 1,000 years. He was captured on a chaos world called Malodrax. He escaped, got back to the Fists, and returned to wipe out said world.
Lysander has been passed over for Chapter Master twice. The first because he turned it down, and the second they didn’t even ask.
Lysander and Tor Garadon famously butted heads, and split the Fists into two different groups of thought. Considering Garadon got a new model, he probably won.
The Phalanx always has some plot device to take it out of any story where it solve the issue including: daemonic invasion (Siege of Terra), shadowing Ulthwe (Rogal Dorn’s death), being under retrofit for decades (Beast Arises Series), having just slowly fallen apart (40k prior to Guilliman), and protecting Terra (40k post Guilliman). The only time is done anything in lore was against a greater plot device (Blackstone fortress over Cadia).
The most successful Iron Warrior in the 40k era comes from Imperial Fists geneseed (Honsou).
Reclusiarch Belisar of the Imperial Fists met a Chapter Master of the Venom Thorns, a successor, who had been fighting for decades on the Eastern Fringe. The Venom Thorns wanted the works they had conquered to be all their own territory like Ultramar. When Belisar couldn’t convince the Chapter Master to give them up, he killed the CM with a bolt round he forged and blessed for that specific purpose. He had made 100 total bolt rounds, and returned to the Phalanx with only 1.
Imperial Fist starforts Endeavor of Will and Bastion Inviolate were semi-sentient and belligerent. Bastion Inviolate was lost to a Daemon-data code, but later sacrificed itself to save Endeavor of Will.
The Imperial Fists note that Guilliman’s plan of creating the Bastion Imperialis and using the Unnumbered Sons as a crusading Legion is basically Rogal Dorn’s strategy. Some point out that it validates Dorn’s strategies post-Heresy.
The Imperial Fists recruit from hundreds of worlds, this includes the main three. Terra, Necromunda, and Inwit. This gives them unparalleled recruitment pools.
The Imperial Fists replace losses quickly and have large Scout companies. Hence you see companies get wiped out a lot for plot reasons and it never effects them.
The Custodes were directed to help the Fists repair the Phalanx. It’s up to near complete restoration after the Custodes gave them technology from one Dark Cell.
The Custodes also slipped a team aboard the Phalanx as a precaution in case the Phalanx is ever used against the Imperium.
Tor Garadon is fairly certain that the Custodes did this and ordered the Auric Auxillia to look for them.
The two above appear in separate Codices (Custodes and IF supplement) so unless you read both you wouldn’t know them.
The last few thousand Cadians escaped on the Phalanx and became part of the Auric Auxillia. When some raised complaints about it, the response was that compared to the Phalanx it made no difference. Guilliman agreed.
The Imperial Fists implantation process has a 75% success rate with 9 of 12 who underwent the process coming out fine. However, this was from a pre-screened candidate pool of at least 24k.
The Imperial Fists have an additional code to supplement the Codex Astartes called The Book of Five Spheres written by a Battle brother named Rhetoricus
Charter
The Veteran 1st Company – The Fists of Dorn, The Emperor’s Shield, Hemispheric Wall Company. The 1st Company have borne many names over the millennia, each reflecting the Chapter’s wider duties at the time. In the days of the Dark Imperium, they use a title that represents their inviolable mission: to make Terra the central citadel of an unbreachable fortress. That it also serves to remind Guilliman of the Imperial Fists’ finest hour is likely no coincidence. Under the command of Darnath Lysander, the veterans of the 1st Company have often found themselves dedicated to repaying the slights of the Iron Warriors, hammering traitor bastion after traitor bastion to dust wherever they were found.
The 2nd Battle Company – The Scions of Redemption, Daylight Wall Company. The 2nd Company are the custodians of the Chapter’s collective guilt, fighting ever to make amends for failures past. Thus the name Scions of Redemption is no figurative title. Their search for atonement colors the company’s every action, both on and off the field of battle, and will never cease.
The 3rd Battle Company – The Sentinels of Terra. The 3rd Company perhaps best represent the tenacity of the Imperial Fists, but also reveal the cost of the Chapter’s unflagging resolve. The Sentinels of Terra have on many occasions been reduced to the barest handful of battle-brothers, only to claw themselves back from the abyss through adherence to the precepts the Imperial Fists holds most dear.
The 4th Battle Company – The Reductors, The Victors of Brax. Even in a Chapter renowned for its siege-craft, the battle-brothers of the 4th Company have earned great distinction as fortress breakers. Seeing subtlety as prevarication, they seek victory through direct means, crushing the foe amidst the roar of Land Raider engines and the pulverizing tread of warsuits.
The 5th Battle Company – The Heralds of Truth. For the Heralds of Truth, war is an ideological contest as much as it is a test of might. Misdirection and subterfuge they disdain as unfitting tools for a righteous warrior, and meet every contest head-on, no matter if circumspection might have better served the Emperor’s cause. The Imperial Fists 5th Company is also responsible for patrol the border of Segmentum Solar and the rest of the Imperium as well as inspecting the Sentinel star forts that ring the Segmentum. It was also once the duty of the Heralds of Truth the safeguard the Liber Mithrus, an ancient tome granted to the old Legion by the Emperor himself.
The 6th Battleline Reserve Company – The Siege Hammers. For all Rogal Dorn’s belief in the Bastion Imperialis, he knew that even the strongest of walls were worth nothing without righteous warriors upon their ramparts. Such wisdom echoes down the centuries, forming the adamantium core of the 6th Company’s mission.
The 7th Battleline Reserve Company – Guardians of Phalanx. The 7th Company are charged with the defending of Phalanx . None know the layered defenses of its halls as well as they, nor guard them so jealously. In them there is a reverence for the ageless machine normally observed only in the Chapter’s Techmarines.
The 8th Close Support Reserve Company – Dorn’s Huscarls. There is one company where the Imperial Fists’ otherwise immutable tenets of discipline give ground to more aggressive, impulsive strategies, grudgingly excused as necessary for the purging of youth and inexperience. As wild as these impulses appear to the Imperial Fists, to outsiders the 8th appear only marginally less stiff-necked than the rest of the Chapter.
The 9th Heavy Support Reserve Company – The Wardens. Imperial Fists recruits prove themselves as Astartes in the 10th Company, purge their recklessness in the 8th, and learn discipline worthy of Dorn during their time in the 6th and 7th. But it is in the 9th Company that a battle-brother truly becomes an Imperial Fist, for it is here that he learns the Chapter’s central tenet: that firepower triumphs over all.
The 10th Scout Company – The Eyes of Dorn. Firepower, taught Dorn, is worthless without eyes to guide it. Such is the mission of the 10th Company – to identify weaknesses in the enemy position, and relay them to the Chapter’s fire support elements. The task is a dangerous one, often requiring warriors to advance far beyond the possibility of extraction. As such, it is the first true test of a neophyte’s ability.
(Angels of Death, Codex Supplement: Imperial Fists, The Beast Arises series, Dread Sentinels of Dorn by Rob Sanders, The Ultramarines movie)