Adeptus Custodes

Paladins of the 31st millennium. The 41st ones are marginally less clad in gold and a lot more naked.

Each one of the Ten Thousand represents genetic lore acquired over many lifetimes. Each one of you is unique, a work of art never to be repeated. I am miserly with your lives, where I would spend so many others without a thought. - Big Emps making it absolutely clear who his favourite creations are.

The Adeptus Custodes are the guardians of the Emperor of Mankind and the most badass group of genetically engineered/enhanced warriors/motherfuckers the galaxy has ever known (with the exception for Assassins and the Primarchs). So badass in-fact that they can get away with dressing like drag queens and transvestites (they love skirts). Well, the skirts are actually a bit closer to the ancient Roman Legionaries, which is pretty awesome in itself, and on the whole they come off as elite and badass.

Origins & Design

"After the confinement of the Emperor within the Golden Throne, the Custodes abandoned, among other things, the use of their armour, and their traditional colour of red was changed to black."- Horus Heresy: Collected Visions. Hence, the Pillarstodes meme isn't actually too far from the truth.

The Custodes are warriors unmatched in the galaxy, genetically-engineered by the Emperor himself. The Emperor first created these elite warriors back in the old days of his conquest of Terra, making them souped-up and more long-lived versions of the already hilariously OP Thunder Warriors. While the Thunder Warriors were eventually replaced by the far more stable but slightly less powerful Space Marines, the Custodes apparently still use those ancient methods (but geared towards producing far more stable warriors) and as such lack a gene-seed.

Although the Custodes were among the first genetically-modified warriors to be created by the Emperor, they were never intended to be part of a conquering army (though The Wolf of Ash and Fire shows that the Emperor sometimes rolled with a hundreds-strong posse of Custodes in battle); such a role was to be filled by the latter Adeptus Astartes armies. This is revealed both in their mindset and training: While Custodians share a semblance of kinship with one another within the formation, they do not foster the same spirit of brotherhood that is instilled within the Astartes in order to function together as a unit. Indeed, when the Emperor remarks that it is humanity's nature for brother to fight brother, one of His Custodians responds that he wouldn't know anything about it, because he has no brother.

When preparing for war, each Custodian prepares and inspects his equipment individually, rather than on military parade. The individuality of each Custodes is further promoted by the fact that the processes required to produce them is not as refined or as simple as that of the Astartes and thus they are not "mass-produced" as the Astartes are; meaning that each Custodian is a unique investment for the Imperium. It is implied in "False Gods" that the creation of a Custodian was a long and arduous process, utterly different from the creation process of a regular Astartes and much costlier, further, in "Master of Mankind" it is indicated that the age of induction into the Custodes is considerably younger than for Astartes. The the given example is of a child of four years of age, so far too young to have proven themselves a worthy candidate for selection, yet they still impose dangerous tests or surgeries that the candidate may not survive.

One ritual that the Custodes do share with Astartes is the recognition of mighty deeds, manifested in their case with the awarding of names, which are added to the Custodian's title to represent the actions he has performed in service to the Emperor. (Constantin Valdor obtained 1932 names prior to the assault of Horus upon Terra.) Such names were inscribed onto the inside of the warrior's battle armour as marks of individual pride.

The training of the Custodes also differed immensely from the Adeptus Astartes, since they were intended to be bodyguards rather than soldiers. It is clear from their Blood Games that Custodians are trained in the arts of assassination -- both improvised and professional -- in order to counter possible assassination attempts on the Emperor. It is common for several Custodians to be on detached duty for these Blood Games so that the organisation remains vigilant against developing threats. Even pre-Heresy, they were clued up enough to recognise Warp-sorcery for what it was.

Furthermore it is clear that the Custodes are also well-versed in the political etiquette of Terra, and have been known to act outside of Imperial law, to infiltrate influential Noble Houses and to investigate any potential threats. (A role that a Space Marine would never be expected to fulfill.) This aspect of the Custodian mindset is advantageous, given that the Captain-General of the order often shares a seat with the High Lords of Terra and thus allows him to navigate the political maneuverings of the Imperium's various agencies, while still remaining an awe-inspiring warrior.

Capabilities

The martial capabilities of the Adeptus Custodes remain largely unknown. What is known is that they possess skill beyond even a 'normal' member of the Adeptus Astartes. It has been said that the Adeptus Custodes are to a Space Marine what a Space Marine is to a member of the Imperial Guard. They are similar to the Grey Knights, the militant arm of the Ordo Malleus branch of the Inquisition, in that both are elite, secret organisations with close ties to the Emperor. Custodes are unique as they have neither a known Primarch nor do they use gene-seed to produce their genetic modifications. They stand a full head taller than a Space Marine and it is said that they were almost the same size as a Primarch. In fact it was said that Constantine Valdor, Chief Custodian to the Emperor during the Horus Heresy, was the same size as the traitor Primarch Alpharius of the Alpha Legion (not a great achievement after all, considering Alpharius was the shortest of Primarchs - the size of a tall space marine)

Dan Abnett's Blood Games, however, provides a different version of the relationship between the Astartes and Custodes. Abnett claims that, although Custodians are slightly larger on average than Space Marines, to an observer it would be a tough bet on who would win in a fight based on strength and size alone.

James Swallow's Sword of Truth sees Captain Nathaniel Garro fight a one-on-one duel with a mid-level Custodian (if there is such a term), which he finds is one of the toughest battles of his life and only wins by playing to his opponent's overconfidence and manages to exhaust himself in the process.

Aaron Dembski-Bowden's The First Heretic further expands on the Custodes fighting style and armoury. Each weapon used by the Custodes is gene-coded to only be used by only that Custodian (Argel Tal stole some and used his demonic powers to unlock them and then kill loyalists. Even funnier when you remember that certain bloody magpies have working Custodian bolter in their armory and some Greeks have a Halbard). The weapons are given to them personally by the Emperor (or at least they were in the 31st millennium, they've probably dropped this rule by the 41st) and as such one of the highest heresies possible is to allow a non-Custodian to handle the weapon. Perhaps the most notable thing about the Adeptus Custodes is the radically different combat approach between them and the Adeptus Astartes: Custodes are not brothers. While Space Marines are trained to support their battle-brothers in combat, each Custodian fights by himself, never intending to receive support from their fellow Custodes. The Word Bearers who observed this were utterly dumbfounded by this approach, thinking the fighting was just "wrong", despite their fighting being individually perfect. They are "tigers" compared to the "wolves" the space marines represent. Ironically though, one becomes good friends with a Word Bearer to the point that they end up fighting in lockstep like true Astartes (even more ironically, that Word Bearer is possessed by a daemon). Also, he has a Custodian named Vendatha kill 3 WB chapter masters in a second, and then survive a full bolter magazine and sword to the face. And on top he has 3 Custodes kill 7 out of 11 the original possessed marines the Gal Vorbak, including a beautiful final kill. Winning.

But in Graham McNeill's The Outcast Dead, an armed and armoured Custodes fights an unarmed and unarmoured World Eater and loses when the World Eater breaks open his armour and rips out the Custodes spine through his chest, something he threatened to do earlier. So fuck knows how good Custodes are, since Black Library's writers can't get their collective shits together and decide. That or Khorne just felt like trolling the Emperor that day. To be fair, said Custodian was crippled so his physical capabilities were just under what was required for active duty guarding the Emperor, hence the reason he was stuck on guard duty.

The Outcast Dead also provides an example of a Custodian taking on two Astartes at the same time. While Saturnalia dies, he does succeed in killing both of his opponents.

In Anthony Reynolds The Purge, Word Bearer Captain, Sor Talgron makes his personal assessment on Custodians, where while he figures that a single Custodian would likely have little problems dispatching a single Legionary, the larger the theatre of war became, the more the odds would tip in the Astartes favour. Because although Custodians might be peerless warriors, they are not soldiers.

In Guy Haley's Throneworld, a Shadow Seer and a Death Jester kill a dozen Custodes between the two of them, before being brought down by "hundreds" more. Note that, although Throneworld is set 1500 years after the Horus Heresy, it's clear that the Custodes were still equipped with golden armour, so inadequate equipment is not an excuse for their poor showing.

The thing is that Custodes are not mass produced and are without a Gene-Seed, which aught to provide some level of genetic normality amongst those from the same Chapter. This would lead to a large discrepancy in their individual levels of strength; most of them are superior than the Astartes, but some are weaker. Thus, where the average Astartes would be a take-all-comers warrior, some Custodes will specialize in infiltration, some will specialize in war, some go more into politics. With enough Custodians, this means that they eventually cover nearly any possible route to attack the Emperor. This would ensure that any opponent attempting to penetrate the Custodes' defenses (being bodyguards of the Emperor and all) would run into fighting the Custodes who specialize in countering their plan, whatever it may be. But because of the lack of exclusive focus on military matters compared to what Astartes get, if two large forces of equal size came together, it is likely that the Custodians would be cut to pieces due to the Astartes superior coordination and battlefield control.

Role

Chest armor is for pussies anyway...

They have the final word on security in the Imperial Palace, and even the High Lords of Terra are subservient to them within its walls.

Although their full numbers remain unknown, three hundred Custodes guard the Emperor's chambers at all times. Also, back before the God-Emperor was interred into the Golden Throne, the Adeptus Custodes was known as the Legio Custodes (Custodes Legion), and numbered in Ten thousand golden warriors. It is strongly believed that this is their same number today.

Only three hundred of the Adeptus Custodes serve as the actual personal guard of the Emperor, called the Companions. These are those Custodes that are privileged enough to be in the Emperor's physical presence. Each unit of Companions is led by a Centurion. It was one such Centurion that led a small group of Companions to meet Alicia Dominica, head of the Brides of the Emperor (later Sisters of Battle) during Vandire's Reign of Blood. One such Custodian, Constantine Valdor, was the Chief Custodian during the Horus Heresy. He was the most honoured of all the Emperor of Mankind's creations. No other being had served the Emperor for as long as he, save Malcador the Sigillite. Valdor was a proud and respectful warrior unmatched in his devotion and loyalty to the Emperor. Valdor was ever-present at the Emperor's side, always protecting him from unseen enemies and saving the Emperor's life innumerable times. Along with Malcador, Valdor was his most trusted friend and advisor.

Constantine Valdor was one of the first members of the Council of Terra. He also had a close relationship with the Primarchs Rogal Dorn and Leman Russ, although initially Russ and Valdor didn't see eye to eye. Dorn was ever-present at the Imperial Palace during the great Crusade and so Valdor and the Primarch spent much time together. On the other hand, Valdor only earned Russ's respect when the former defeated Horus in a sparring match. The two were then together during the Battle of Prospero. There is no mention of when or how Valdor was killed if he was killed at all. He stepped down from command as a High Lord so that he could protect his beloved Emperor, now ensconced within the Golden Throne.

Effectiveness

Occasionally you see questions raised on forums regarding their effectiveness after apparently spending 10,000 years on guard duty, suggesting that despite their biological augmentations; without any actual combat experience they might have simply become a symbolic organisation since Terra is so well defended by other means.

In fact the Custodians sat through most of the Age of Apostasy, not participating until the last moment to bring order when the fighting made it to the Imperial Palace. They also were mysteriously absent during The Beheading when the Officio Assassinorum started leveling city blocks. Added to the fact that the admittedly very old pictures of Custodians show them not even bothering to wear their armour any more indicates that they don't actually have very much to do these days.

However, one very important fact remains: The Golden Throne is a portal to the Webway which was broken, and it takes the Emperor every ounce of his concentration to stop that energy spilling out into a new Eye of Terror. Underneath the Imperial Palace Malcador the Sigillite showed one of the human founders of the Inquisition a series of adamantium doors the size of Imperator Titans, and even when standing at the first door it sounds like the greatest battle of all time was going on behind them. So while the Grey Knights are cruising through the galaxy responding to daemonic threats, the Custodians are holding the line at home, fighting perhaps the most significant (and secret) battle in the history of mankind, making them perhaps the most badass of any fighting forces EVER.

However-however, the recent HH books have clarified a bit more about this. There was a war between the Custodes and daemons that was fought in the webway after it was damaged by Magnus' warning attempt, but presently, its sealed now. The Custodes and Sisters of Silence fought together in order to beat back the tide of traitors and daemons trying to force themselves through the damaged gate, while the AdMech was given the task of repairing the gate. This was also the time the Emperor had to confine himself into the Golden Throne to help mend with the repairs and he managed to finalize this by creating a massive golden sun in the middle of the webway entrance to fry daemons trying to get through, although maintaining it was an incredibly taxing job that only he is able to reliably do (Malcador was temporarily assigned to this job when the Emperor got up to give Horus a proper stomping and he withered away into dust from the ordeal).

However-however-however, the Custodes' know their stake in the Imperium's and The Emperor's future: should anyone or anything manage to breach the Emperor's chamber; humanity is doomed in all senses of the word, and they have to be in the right condition and in the right place at the right time. Its not unreasonable to assume that the Custodes didn't budge while the Imperium was burning around them (twice) because that could very well be an opening an assassin was expecting as it is not unreasonable to assume Custodes are likely keeping themselves at peak performance to be ready at a moment's notice because only the ballsiest of assassins would even think of trying to infiltrate Holy Terra itself, they have to be ready to take on anything the galaxy can throw at them.

If you're thinking "isn't that what the Palace Guard is for?", well about that: during The War of The Beast and the Imperium was freaking out over an unstoppable Ork WAAAAGH, an elite squad of 7 Eldar Harlequins managed to infiltrate The Imperial Palace and muscle their way through palace security in an effort to warn The Emperor about something (or so they claim). They were only stopped at the Eternity Gate after an army of angry Custodes confronted and proceeded to cut them down.

So while it might be unreasonable for the Custodes not to assist the Imperium during its most dire times of need: their own duties are something they cannot slack on for even a moment.

Notable Custodians

And people bitch about Space Marines and Grey Knights having overdone armor....

• Amon Tauromachian- One of the most notable Custodes. In combat, unarmoured, versus three " Migou" (I see what you did there) or Genestock Ogres from Nei Monggol (Ogryns anybody?) Amon is impressive, he is apparently strong enough to effortlessly break an Ogryn's arm, relieving it of its punch-dagger, then ram it through the poor sods skull. One of them grabs him from behind in a bear hug, which he literally shrugs off, then punches his hand through the Ogryn's chest and rips out its heart. Mary Sue you say? All this is from Dan Abnett himself from his short story Blood Games. Also, he is probably refered to in The First Heretic as an instructor of at least 2 other Custodes, even though the "last" (well, gene-stock/family) name of said Amon is not revealed.
• Constantin Valdor- The big cheese of the Custodian Guard, he is a mary sue of epic proportions (Almost like Kaldor Draigo). A monster of a man, he was described as being a head taller than Amon (who was already significantly larger than an Astartes) and the size of a Primarch (Alpharius to be exact). At one point he defeated Horus himself in a sparring match, however, it is never stated how old Horus was when the duel took place. Valdor was one of the Emperors closest friends and his second most trusted advisor (Malcador the Sigillite being #1). He was described as being the mightiest warrior in the entire Imperium with the exception of the Primarchs and Big E himself (he was almost killed by Phosis T'Kar on Prospero however, only surviving because Phosis accidentally rolled snake eyes on Chaos Boon). Naturally he shared a close relationship with a number of the Primarchs, the most notable being Horus, Rogal Dorn, and Leman Russ. Also, he rolls with the Officio Assassinorum, so he earns massive bonus points there. At the end of the Heresy, he was one of the high lords of Terra, but stepped down sometime after that to be able to look after the Emperor personally. He has since been replaced as Captain-General: in M32 the Custodians are commanded by a new guy called Beyreuth.

• Aquillon- the "Oculi Imperator" who was charged with leading four other Custodes, watching over Lorgar and the Word Bearers after the Monarchia kerfuffle. They were kept in the dark about the Heresy until Isstvan V, but left alive because Erebus wanted their blood. Aquillon embarked on a tragic bromance with Argel Tal. It ended badly - Aquillon killed Argel Tal's mortal waifu Cyrene, and the possessed Astartes bit his head off.

Non-canon

• Little Kitten- known on /tg/ as the Captain-General of the group during "If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device". May or may not be Constantine Valdor, it's kept deliberately contradictory, what's known is that he was the Custodian who brought Alicia Dominica to the Emperor during the Reign of Blood. Known for basically telling Big E what is everything. Called "Kitten" for purring up the ranks of the Custodes. Despite the vaguely British accent, he is highly American as he hates Communist fuckers with a passion. (It's actually because one was tsundere enough that she dropped him before he could tap that ass.) SHIT'S NOT CANON! What is canon though is that he is a black guy (that is, normal human black guy, not Salamander-Class black). Also manage to beat up a million ton's worth of cheese in a children's card game.

• "Fab-Custodes"- aka the Pillar-stodes, See 2nd picture for an idea of what they look like. Their whole image is based on the old post-heresy depiction of the Custodes from First Edition. They are NUTS, even more so than the dipshit who wrote twilight. They are oily, snickering, gay as Slaanesh's hell and love it. Seriously, even Kitten knows this and is worried for the Emperor's safety around them, saying that none of this was his idea.

Getting a codex

We have leaked information of the Custodes from White Dwarf! Woot Woot! Damn do those models not disappoint! The hype train has no breaks!

In Warhammer 40k no, in Warhammer 30k hell yes. Actually it's the other way around: 40k will have custodes available BEFORE 30k. Damn it forge world!

Forge World confirmed that Adeptus Custodes, will indeed, get not only rules, but models. The rules will likely be in Burning of Prospero book, which was (originally) the 3rd book in the third HH trilogy. They will be released alongside Sisters of Silence rules (also getting models, let us hope they have nipple spikes like the old Blanche art!)

Rules can be found on this PDF: https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Datasheets/Burning%20of%20Prospero%20Imperial%20Datasheets.pdf

As this is going to be a whole army/faction on the tabletop, with likely two different incarnations in the rules to represent them in different time periods. For more details on specific units as they arrive, got to their pages - such as Custodian Guard or the tactics page for more general commentary.

See Also

• Grey Knights

Gallery

• 

  A Custodes. Pimped out beyond recognition? Maybe. Awesome? Hell yes!

• 

  Custodes Squad.

• 

  Size comparison between a Custodes and a Spess Mehreen.