Roboute Guilliman
 | This article or section involves Matthew Ward, Spiritual Liege, who is universally-reviled on /tg/. Because this article or section covers Ward's copious amounts of derp and rage, fans of the 40K series are advised that if they proceed onward, they will see fluff and crunch violation of a level rarely seen. |
Roboute Guilliman (A.K.A.: Rowboat Girlyman, Rawbutt Jellyman, Rampant Gullytan, Robot Gulliver, Robot Gorillaman, Reboot Gigabyte, Robert Gullible, Big BobbyG, Papa Ultra Smurf, or High Lord Douchebag and Ward's Ever Chosen Robart "Is said to be slowly healing bullshit" Gilmanz) is the Primarch of the Ultramarines in Warhammer 40,000. Thanks to the rabid fanboying of Matt Ward, most of /tg/ hates him, which is sad, because he's actually one of the nicest and most with-it Primarchs, even if he did cling to tradition so much that it made him look like a total jerkwad; this included an inability to deal with "unconventional" tactics, which accidentally turned a few Primarchs to Chaos.
In case you're wondering, the audiobooks (at least "the Unremembered Empire") seem to have settled on the pronunciation "Row-BOOT-ay" "GILL-uh-man" [ɹəʊ-buːt-eɪ ɡɪl-ə-mæn].
Life
Unlike most worlds that the other Primarchs landed on Macragge was a pretty perfect and nice place to live on. However it was a Greco-Roman theme so someone like Magnus or even Sanguinius would have been thrown off a cliff for being defected, plus Guilliman was found by a politician while they were on a hunting trip.
Konor was one of the co-rulers of Macragge and took the young boy. Konor was a pretty cool dude, he advocated helping the common man and reforms that would make the world a meritocracy. These were a major influence on Roboute and stayed with him throughout his life. It also says something that Konor's seneschal, Tarasha Euten, was effectively Guilliman's surrogate mother, making him the only primarch to have a conventional family, a fact that twisted Konrad Curze's nipples no end (which goes double when she tells him to go fuck himself).
One day while Roboute was coming back after fighting the Macragge's version of the Gauls, Roboute came to find his home in chaos. Konor was the victim of some Roman politics. The other co-ruler, Gallan, was pissed off at all these reforms and so just sent his army to rape, pillage and burn. Seeing his once peaceful home burning, neighbors looting and killing each other; left the second major impact on Roboute and the most likely source of why he was always so anal about keeping things in order.
After gutting Gallan and restoring order, Roboute worked to make his father's dream a reality. This was the third major impact on his life: though he claimed that Gallan's death was justice, Guilliman came to realize that it was in fact vengeance, and worked to master his emotional self-control.
By the time the Emperor reached Macragge, Roboute had ruled for five years and turned the world into a place were you had to earn your place, not just be born, like what his father wanted.
Great Crusade
Generally Roboute was a classic "Jerk with a heart of gold" he was a total asshole for people he didn't think earned their place, and a great number of people he saw as chaotic and unorthodox (although secretly he had great respect for Leman Russ and Jaghatai Khan) but was humble and nice to normal people treating them like equals and very much big on the need to raise the living standards of the Imperium. As a result, many of his brother Primarchs were uncertain about his intentions, and fewer still even liked him. His only friends among the Primarchs were Horus, Sanguinius, Ferrus Manus, and Rogal Dorn.
A good example of this was his dealings with Alpharius. While the common view is that Guilliman was simply annoyed at his younger brother for not having the same tactics as the Ultramarines, in truth it was because Guilliman was thinking after the battle. While the Alpha Legion's methods were great at messing and breaking an army, they left the world a ruined and chaotic mess with very poor public order and mass unrest. By comparison, the Ultramarines' straightforward tactics ensured that planet was mostly intact, which allowed it to be more easily integrated into the Imperium.
He was a statesman first and tactician second, preferring to form battle plans rather than actually participate in the fighting himself. In the hopes of passing down some of his strategic expertise, he worked very hard to turn the Ultramarines into an army of thinkers. His primary rule as a commander was "Information is victory", emphasizing that Space Marines needed theoretical (a sound understanding of the tactical situation) knowledge and practical (a means to achieve their objective) experience. Given that battle plans proved to be the first casualty, Guilliman soon realized that he would need to refine his own strategies even as he codified them, lest they fall apart in the chaos of warfare. In spite of that, with over 250,000 legionaries, he managed to achieve compliance on the second highest number of worlds during the Great Crusade, surpassed only by the Luna Wolves. The planets were also model military worlds, and the Ultramarines would not leave until a modern Planetary Defence Force was established.
Another note was he was one of the few who didn't really see the Emperor as his father, as he was the the first to state how shitty the Emperor was at raising kids and never fully forgave the Emperor for using him and his Legion as a tool to humiliate Lorgar.
Horus Heresy
When civil war broke out, Guilliman was tricked into taking most of his Legion to Calth for a joint Ultramarines/Word Bearers engagement. While most of his Chapter Masters believed it was just Horus flexing his muscle, Guilliman realized it was partly political: when the Emperor of Mankind rebuked Lorgar Aurelian for spreading the Lectitio Divinatus, he ordered the Ultramarines to sack Monarchia, capital city of Khur, as an example of what would happen to those who continued to defy the Imperial Truth. Guilliman carried out his orders, but privately confided to some of his officers his discomfort in doing so, feeling that the total humiliation would irreparably damage relations between the XIII and XVII Legions. Guilliman saw this as a chance to mend fences and forge friendships the old fashioned way: by getting Space Marines to kill Orks. Unfortunately, Horus and Lorgar used the Calth muster to kill over half the Legion in a surprise attack. When he found out Lorgar's treachery he personally declared to hunt Lorgar down and kill him, only to attacked by some sort of Daemonic proxy and voided onto his flagship. Guilliman did what any other pissed off Primarch would do: go on a rampage against Word Bearers trying to board the Macragge's Honour by punching them to death. In space. Without a helmet. (Dan Abnett is still pretty proud of that scene).
Anyway, after the Battle of Calth, Guilliman had to contend with the Shadow Crusade, as Lorgar and Angron tore the 500 Worlds of Ultramar a new one.
After seeing off the Shadow Crusade, Guilliman decided that if his father could not be saved, His ideals would be, setting up a new government called Imperium Secundus, a second Imperium of Man which would reject Horus's alliance with Chaos. Although potentially heretical, Guilliman's motives at least appeared sincere, he made a big hoohah about not taking the throne himself, since he would look like a Tyrant if he did. Fortunately/Unfortunately, the Lion arrived at Macragge and didn't like where it was heading neither brother trusted the other with the job of ruling the next Imperium. Sanguinius got the job only to settle the matter between the two and was declared regent of the Imperium in the Emperor's absence, which meant fuck all because he promptly got murdered by Horus in the battle of Terra.
Whatever his intentions, Guilliman lead over one hundred thousand Ultramarines to Terra with the Dark Angels and the Space Wolves, intent on relieving the Blood Angels, Imperial Fists, and White Scars defending the throneworld. Learning about this and knowing that he could not sustain the assault on Terra anymore once the bulk of the loyalist forces came into the fight, Horus lowered the void shields upon the Vengeful Spirit in an all-or-nothing gambit to win the war by killing the Emprah in a duel. The rest is history...
Popular Opinion
He's pretty much the only Primarch to realize that the Emperor's ideals were more important than the man himself, which is something that Malcador kept preaching.
He was also one of the best Primarchs when it came to logistics and organization, which is pretty much one of the only reasons why the Imperium of Man didn't collapse after the Horus Heresy. He was able to train and equip more than twice as many Marines during the Great Crusade than any other Legion, and he wrote the Codex Astartes (still the standard for Space Marine tactics). He is credited with reorganizing the entire governmental and administrative system of the Imperium of Man (yes, the Administratum ended up running the galaxy into the ground, but the fact that it's still running at all is a good sign).
However as the Horus Heresy series continues, it is revealed that it was actually Malcador the Sigillite who had been creating the foundations for the later Imperium. In fact it is continuously being hinted that Guilliman positioned himself to take over the Imperium after the fall of the Emperor, whether through good intention or through sinister means has yet to be revealed.
This is almost explicitly stated in Vengeful Spirit and found as an unsurprising revelation in a discussion between Malcador and the Emperor:
"It's Guilliman, what do you think he's doing? He's building an Empire" - Malcador
"and the Lion goes to stop him?" - Emperor
"So the Wolf King says, my Lord, it seems the warriors of the Lion stand with us after all"
"You doubted them?"
Despite this, Guilliman avowedly claimed that he had no desire to be Emperor and promised his brothers that if the otherwise impassable Ruinstorm abated, he would immediately send his fleet to Terra. That said, the Blood Angels managed to get back to Terra somehow, despite being on the wrong side of it, so it's unknown just how difficult it was to get back.
Unfortunately, thanks to 10,000 years of propaganda and exaggeration (and Matt Ward's Codex: Space Marines), Guilliman is absolutely perfect in every way and treated as second only to the Emperor through the entire Imperium. This is bullshit as:
- a.) Sebastian Thor is actually the main Imperial saint
- b.) Although not mentioned often; Sanguinius is actually the Primarch held in the highest regard, because of that whole "noble sacrifice" thing. (Hell, Sanguinius has his own holiday, called the Sanguinala. Horus himself thought Sanguinius was better qualified to be Warmaster than him, which is saying something.)
Regardless; he is pretty high on the list and the only Primarch who's body is on public display.
That being said, he was just as heavily flawed as the other Primarchs; he did a lot of tricky things in Horus Heresy, like that whole Imperium Secundus thing, and it's popularly theorized that he was bitter he never got to be Warmaster. Furthermore, Guilliman stuck closely to tradition, and his unwillingness to adapt to "dishonourable" tactics pissed off many other Primarchs, most notably Alpharius. Also, though the Codex Astartes undoubtedly did a lot of good things, it also had some less-than-perfect tips, plus it's now basically treated as infallible by the Ultramarines (at least the more faggot-y ones; there's at least some who take it with a grain of salt and realize where it's strengths and weaknesses lie). This may have been good advice but by forcing all of his brothers to split the Legions into Chapters it risked a second galactic civil war.
Additionally, although it isn't (entirely) his fault, Guilliman is usually blamed for turning the Ultramarines into such faggots (even though he specifically said the Codex Astartes should not be treated as a bible to be followed unerringly, besides the organizational parts, which he forced on his brothers as part of the post-Heresy reforms). Recently he's been increasingly entrusted to the care of the Mighty Dan Abnett and his faggot level is dropping rapidly. Now, Guilliman isn't portrayed as a power armored Sun Tzu, but as a logistical genius, planning planetary conquest in a way that would leave said worlds in a state that could quickly be returned to order and Imperial rule. His high number of compliant worlds is a direct product of this, helped by a Legion size that could compensate for slower battle plans.
Once upon a time, thanks to the rabid fanboying of Matt Ward, most of /tg/ hated him, but many of them have since come around.
Gameplay
| WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld | Sv | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roboute Guilliman: | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4+1 | 10 | 2+/4++ |
True to his legion, Roboute Guilliman is fairly average as far as Primarchs go, both in terms of his stats and his points cost (400). He and any unit he joins can re-roll failed charge distances, and the Concussive special rule doesn't do shit against him. All Smurfs in play gain +1 to Ld while he's in play and he also makes Invictarus Suzerains and Legion Terminators troops as long as he's the warlord. Preternatural Strategy can force opponents to re-roll successful attempts at Seize the Initiative while also granting all units from one entry in the Ultramarines army list Implacable Advance, Interceptor, or Tank Hunters if they don't have it already. It also buffs his WS by 1 for each round of combat within a challenge after the first one (e.g. he becomes WS8 on the second round and so on), although it resets back to 7 after the challenge is over. Finally, Unyielding Will negates all negative leadership modifiers and allows him to re-roll failed Deny the Witch tests. (Funnily enough, this actually makes him a decent counter for Lorgar's psychic faggotry.)
Papa Smurf's Armor of Reason gives him a 2+/4++ and the ability to re-roll the first invulnerable save he fails in each phase. (Not per turn, per phase.) As for his weapons, he can choose one of two melee weapons to use in any given assault phase: the Gladius Incandor (a Paragon Blade with Shred) and the Hand of Dominion (a S10 AP1 Power Fist with Concussion). Both of them are Specialist weapons, so regardless of which one he picks he still gets an extra attack. Finally, his gun is the Arbitrator, a S6 AP3 combi-bolter with Assault 2 and Rending- not great, but not bad either. Overall, he gives out a nice variety of buffs and can hold his own in a fight but might need some support if he's forced to fight another more combat-oriented Primarch. Fitting, since he's more of a tactician than a soldier in his own right.
Roboute Guilliman VS other Primarchs:
Primarch fighting, while fun to see, isn't a very competitive thing to do as it'll usually tie up both Primarchs for the entire game without either of them dying. With that in mind this section is all about how Roboute Guilliman fares against other Primarchs mathammer wise. Please note that all the various abilities, with the exception of Blind, are taken into account (Blind is ignored because it is just too random and unreliable to come into play) and the match-ups assume the Primarchs are the only ones involved in the fighting, so various abilities like Angron's "The Butcher's Nails" and Rampage do not provide any bonuses. Also do note that Preternatural Strategy is taken into account (obviously) so prepare to see even more mathammer than for the other Primarchs.
- Roboute Guilliman VS Horus
- Horus will use his Talon of Horus (Rerollable 3+ is better than flat 2+. Also counter Guilliman Preternatural Strategy) and hits 4 times, wounds 3.555 times, 1.778 after saves, than 1.278 for the Armor of Reason and IWND will take that down to 0.944 wounds at the start of the next turn.
- Guilliman hits 2.5 times, wounds 2.222 times (Gladius), 0.74 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.4.
- Guilliman loses this fight (Quite appropriately).
- Note: Due to the nature of the fight this match doesn't take into account Preternatural Strategy (Because is balanced by Disabling Strike). Also do note that after the first few wounds inflicted from Horus Guilliman will gradually do less damage, making it even easier for Horus to win.
- Roboute Guilliman VS Angron
- Angron Round 1: Angron has Hatred, so on the first turn he will hits 5.333 times, wounds 4.444 times, 2.222 after saves, 1.722 after Armor of Reason re-roll and IWND take it down to 1.388.
- Angron Round 2: Angron hits 4 times, wounds 3.333 times, 1.667 times after saves, 1.167 after re-roll and IWND will take that down to 0.833 wounds at the start of the next turn.
- Angron Round 3 and thereafter: Angron hits 3 times, wounds 2.5 times, 1.25 after saves and 0.75 after re-roll. Then IWND take it down to 0.417
- Guilliman Round 1/2/3: hits 2.5 times, wounds 2.222 times, 0.926 times after saves and FNP, and IWND will take that down to 0.59 wounds at the start of the next turn.
- Guilliman Round 4 and thereafter: hits 3.333 times, wounds 2.963 times, 1.234 times after saves and FNP, and IWND will take that down to 0.9 wounds at the start of the next turn.
- Surprisingly, Guilliman win this fight in 8 rounds (Angron need 11 to kill him), 'for his resilience (Armour of Reason) coupled with Preternatural Strategy makes him outdamage Angron on the long run, even though initially it was the Red Angel to have the edge.
- Roboute Guilliman VS Fulgrim
- Fulgrim Round 1: hits 5.333 times (Fireblade is MC), wounds 3.555 times, 1.278 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.944 at the start of the next turn.
- Fulgrim Round 2 and thereafter: hits 4 times, wounds 2.667 times, 0.8333 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.5 at the start of the next turn
- Guilliman Round 1/2: hits 2.5 times, wounds 2.222 times, 0.74 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.407 wounds at the start of the next turn.
- Guilliman Round 3 and thereafter: hits 3.333 times, wounds 2.963 times, 0.988 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.654 wounds at the start of the next turn.
- Another surprising victory, even if by a small margin: Papa Smurf needs only 10 turns to kill Fulgrim, while Fulgrim needs 11.
- Note: Actually Guilliman has a lot more chances to kill him while surviving using the Hand of Dominion, Concussing Fulgrim to Initiative 1 and making him lose all his advantages, making him only deal 0.1667 wounds per round, after all calculations. But I used the Gladius as reference in the off chance he didn't inflict al leat a wound per turn (only 7% chance per turn after Round 3, but Alas).
- Roboute Guilliman vs Mortarion
- Mortarion hits 2.5 times, wounds 1.666, 0.333 wounds after saves and after IWND they become 0 wounds
- Guilliman Round 1: hits 2.5 times, wounds 2.083 times, 1.042 after saves, and IWND take it down to 0.486.
- Guilliman Round 2 and after: hits 3.333 times, wounds 2.777 times, 1.388 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.833.
- Easy win for Guilliman as Mortarion cannot hurt him at all mathematically.
- Roboute Guilliman VS Ferrus
- Ferrus: hits 2.5 times, wounds 2.083 times (Forgebreaker and Servo-Harm), 0.542 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.208 at the start of the next turn.
- Guilliman Round 1: hits 2.5 times, wounds 2.083 times (Hand), 0.694 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.361 wounds at the start of the next turn.
- Guilliman Round 2 and thereafter: hits 3.333 times, wounds 2.778 times, 0.926 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.593 wounds at the start of the next turn.
- Guilliman win this fight.
- Roboute Guilliman VS Konrad Curze
- Curze Round 1: hits 4 times, wounds 3 times, 1 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.667 at the start of the next turn.
- Curze Round 2 and thereafter: hits 3 times, wounds 2.25 times, 0.625 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.292 at the start of the next turn
- Guilliman Round 1/2: hits 2.5 times, wounds 2.222 times, 1.111 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.778 wounds at the start of the next turn.
- Guilliman Round 3 and thereafter: hits 3.333 times, wounds 2.963 times, 1.481 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 1.148 wounds at the start of the next turn.
- Guilliman easily win this fight.
- Note: Konrad could attempt to even the odds with Hit and Run, negating Preternatural Strategy while gaining the +1 attack for the charge (and sniping some wounds with his knives). But Guilliman could easily fist him to initiative 1 with the Hand of Dominion, so...
- Roboute Guilliman VS Vulkan
- Vulkan hits 2 times, wounds 1.667 times, 0.3333 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.
- Guilliman Round 1: hits 2.5 times, wounds 2.083 times, 0.694 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.139 wounds at the start of the next turn.
- Guilliman Round 2 and thereafter: hits 3.333 times, wounds 2.778 times, 0.926 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.37 wounds at the start of the next turn.
- A long as f**k fight, but Guilliman take the win 'cause Vulkan can't mathematically harm him.
- Roboute Guilliman VS Lorgar
- Lorgar hits 3 times, wounds 2.5 times, 0.75 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.417.
- Guilliman Round 1: hits 2.778 times, wounds 1.85 times, 0.926 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.593 wounds at the start of the next turn.
- Guilliman Round 2 and thereafter: hits 3.333 times, wounds 2.963 times, 1.48 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 1.15 wounds at the start of the next turn.
- Even with forcing Guilliman to re-roll 5's and 6's for the first round Lorgar still lose.
- Note: this doesn't take into account Psychic Powers and with Precognition on Lorgar will win.
- Roboute Guilliman VS Perturabo
- Perturabo Round 1: hits 2.667 times, wounds 2.222 times, 0.611 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.278.
- Perturabo Round 2 and thereafter: hits 2 times, wounds 1.667 times, 0.333 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.
- Guilliman Round 1/2: hits 2.5 times, wounds 2.222 times, 0.74 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.407 wounds at the start of the next turn.
- Guilliman Round 3 and thereafter: hits 3.333 times, wounds 2.963 times, 0.988 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.654 wounds at the start of the next turn.
- Again, Guilliman win pretty safely. Starting to see a trend here.
- Roboute Guilliman VS Alpharius
- Alpharius hits 2.92 times and wounds 1.701 times (Remember he got Preferred Enemy), 0.35 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.017 wounds at the start of the next turn.
- Guilliman Round 1: hits 2.5 times, wounds 2.222 times, 1.111 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.778 wounds at the start of the next turn.
- Guilliman Round 2 and thereafter: hits 3.333 times, wounds 2.963 times, 1.482 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 1.148 wounds at the start of the next turn.
- Guilliman wins really easily, as the damage Alpharius does is almost irrelevant, thus making the claim that he personally killed the lord of the Alpha Legion actually believable...
- Roboute Guilliman VS Rogal Dorn
- Dorn Round 1: hits 2.666 times, wounds 2 times, 0.5 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.167 wounds at the start of the next turn.
- Dorn Round 2 and thereafter: hits 2 times, wounds 1.5 times, 0.25 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0 wounds at the start of the next turn.
- Guilliman Round 1/2: hits 2.5 times, wounds 2.222 times, 1.111 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.778 wounds at the start of the next turn.
- Guilliman Round 3 and thereafter: hits 3.333 times, wounds 2.963 times, 1.482 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 1.148 wounds at the start of the next turn.
- Guilliman easily win this fight taking less (Aka: None) damage and dishing out more.
- Note: Dorn doesn't use Sundering Blow because he would actually cause less damage with it.
- Roboute Guilliman VS Corvus Corax
- Corvus hits 4 times (Scourge)/3 times (Shadow-walk), wounds 3 times (Scourge)/2.25 times (Shadow-walk), 1 wounds (Scourge)/0.625 wounds (Shadow-walk) after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.667/0.292 wounds at the start of the next turn.
- Guilliman Round 1: 2.5/1.666 times, wounds 2.0833/1.389 times, 1.389/0.926 wounds after saves and 1.055/0.593 wounds after IWND.
- Guilliman Round 2 and thereafter: hits 3.333/2.5 times, wounds 2.963/2.083 times, 1.975/1.389 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 1.642/1.055 wounds at the start of the next turn.
- Guilliman easily win this fight
- Note: Like Curze, Corax could try to use Hit and Run to even the odds, having even more bonus than Curze thanks to his uber-Furious Charge. Guilliman use his Hand for a reason, though, that reason being Concussive; even with Shadow Walk chance for him to take at least one wound are pretty high, especially from round 2 and forward, making it risky to stay in combat. At the same time, if he escape during his turn, Guilliman could easily counter charge him before he has the chance to run away, thus making the strategy not viable against Papa Smurf.
- TLDR version: Surprisingly, despite being a more strategical kind of character and his generally not outstanding (for a Primarch) stats, Guilliman is actually a beast in 1 to 1 fights, turning the odds in the long run even against the most specialised Primarchs (in a really tactical way) and mathematically losing only to Horus,
thus makin it clear why he became the Imperium's Spiritual Liege after Horus and the Emperor got fucked.*BLAM* Heresy!
| The Primarchs of the Space Marine Legions |
|---|
 Loyalist Corvus Corax - Ferrus Manus - Jaghatai Khan Leman Russ - Lion El'Jonson - Roboute Guilliman Rogal Dorn - Sanguinius - Vulkan |
 Traitor Alpharius/Omegon - Angron - Fulgrim Horus - Konrad Curze/Night Haunter - Lorgar Magnus the Red - Mortarion - Perturabo |