Rogal Dorn

Rogal Dorn, bein his regular badass self. I see no Mustache though

Turn to the side and cough...

Rogal Dorn is the Primarch of the Imperial Fists Chapter, which was a Legion before Horus fucked everything up. He is also regarded as being kind of an asshole towards his siblings and known for shouting "Castles! I like Castles!" in a Matt Damon way. He's also the 40k Abraham Lincoln because he has a bitchin' moustache and can't tell a lie.

The Imperial Fists are quite famous for fortifying the shit out of everything and INTENSE CAMPING which pisses off every other race. They are highly likely the reason that the Emprah didn't get raped by Horus during a certain (totally awesome) siege. His evil "twin" is Perturabo, Primarch of the Iron Warriors, who turned to Chaos because of his eternal envy of Dorn. Rogal and Perturabo had an intense rivalry which led to old Petty Perturabo hating him. Fulgrim asked Dorn if he could build a castle which Perturabo couldn't crack. Dorn is brutally honest, so he just said, "Yes.", well that royally pissed off Pert. Despite what lovers of Perturabo say, Dorn wasn't boastful, seeing as the only fluff that says this is either from Pert's point of view or coming from the mouth of someone who's being a kiss-ass to him. He also had problems with Corax, Curze, Alpharius, and.... Really anyone who wasn't the Lion, Sanguinius, Horus, Leman or Guilliman. In the case of Alpharius, him and Guilliman being a pair of giant assholes that resembled the brutal, primitive, militaritarian side of the Imperium that noone ever really liked.

Who is Dorn?

From the B&C

I like the Imperial Fists and Rogal Dorn, although they haven't gotten much attention from the Heresy books. But, I like the idea of Dorn and his Legion. I like what I've read about them, and the image I have in my mind.

There was a post in the thread that said the Fists were boring, and Dorn was a [jerk]. It's not an uncommon sentiment and, while everyone is entitled to their reasons, I'd like to talk about mine. Been wanting to write something like this for a while, and this seems like a good excuse.

I guess you could say the Imperial Fists are boring. They're boring in the same way that a family man who works a 9-5 salary job every day is boring. He gets up early and goes to work like clockwork, and while he's there he works hard. A quiet worker. You don't hear much from him, unless it's related to something you need his help with or vice-versa. He puts in a lot of hours, he doesn't take many sick days or vacation days, and he never complains. He doesn't demand a raise, but he takes one when offered if he feels he earned it. He accepts gratitude and acknowledges it, but he does not expect it. He likes the work he does, he enjoys it, it gives him purpose. To his coworkers, he comes off as cold and distant. You never see him shooting the breeze at the water cooler, he's not on the company softball team, he doesn't come to the after-work parties. But he's not aloof, he doesn't think he's better than anyone. He's just busy. The boss gives him a lot of work to do, and he keeps at it until it's done. And he's doing work for others, too, because he has an unbreakable will to complete his projects. Where others throw up their hands in surrender, where others say it can't be done, he finds a way. It's not always a pretty solution, or an elegant one, but he will get it done because that's what he does.

When he goes home, he spends time with his family. He loves his sons. He works as hard with them as he does for his boss. He teaches them how to be good men, how to succeed in life, to never stop trying until you find a way to get it done. Never give in, never surrender, never stop fighting for what you believe in. As cold as he is at work, he opens up when he's with his sons. Not too much, because they crave an authority figure, but he cares deeply for them. He helps them how he can, imparts all his wisdom. He has high expectations of them, but he doesn't need to point out their failures. His sons know full well their weaknesses, and they are harder on themselves than he could ever be. They're just like him, in that way. Then he gets up the next morning, and does it all again.

To his coworkers, to his neighbors, to you he is boring and dull. To his boss, he's the man you can count on, rely on, depend upon to do any job you ask him. Even if he doesn't know how, he'll figure it out. To his sons, he's an inspiration, a loving father, an immovable foundation for their lives. To them, he's anything but boring.

It's unfortunate that the Imperial Fists are known only for their siege warfare, because they were good at so many other things. They were just as fierce in close combat, boarding actions, armor assaults and drop pod formations as anyone else. But not all combat can be glorious. War sometimes requires dirty, grueling work. The other Legions thought it beneath them, that it should be left to lesser beings. But Dorn would never ask someone to do something he, himself, would not. So when the siege work and grinding urban warfare came to him, as it inevitably did, he accepted it. Dorn was happy to do whatever his father, the Emperor, and the Imperium needed him to do. He was just happy to do his father's work, as were the Imperial Fists. They would have been content to mop floors and wash windows, if that's what was needed of them. They welcomed the burden of duty.

There was another Legion that was similar, of course. Perturabo and the Iron Warriors were also known as siege specialists and urban combatants. They, too, willingly fed themselves into that vicious meatgrinder where others would not. But Perturabo did not do it for duty, or for loyalty; he did it searching for glory. He thought that taking the jobs no one else would do would bring him glory and favor. But when it didn't come, his heart grew bitter. Unlike his brother, he expected gratitude. He felt ignored, cheated, denied, forgotten. This was why he and Dorn bickered. For while Dorn may not have often smiled, nor did he frown. He simply did what was asked, with his jaw set to the task, unable to smile and laugh in the most recent victory because his mind was already turned to the things that needed to be done and those things that could have been done better. Dorn thought his brother should have been happy to serve the Emperor's will, as was Dorn himself. He did not understand why Perturabo felt he needed more.

Dorn was many things, but a glib speaker was not one of them. He loved his brothers dearly, and the only thing he loved more than his brothers were the Emperor and the Imperium. Rogal was the sort of man that knows what he wants to say, but has difficulties expressing his thoughts the way he wants to. He always admired Horus and Sanguinius for their speaking ability and charisma. It was this inability to express himself, and a perspective that was stubbornly rooted in his own place, that caused friction amongst his fellow Primarchs. He never meant to quarrel with Perturabo, for there was a deep kinship there, but Dorn could not understand that, for some, duty was just not enough. When he said the Imperial Palace could withstand an Iron Warrior attack, he meant it as a general who was defending a structure he, himself, had built. Dorn would have greater insight than Perturabo into the layout, its strengths, its weaknesses. If Perturabo had built it, Dorn would have said he could not take it for the same reasons. But his brother had already taken insult, and it cut deeply that Dorn had inadvertently hurt his brother so.

He had a similar problem with Konrad. Dorn knew his brother had led a difficult life prior to being found by the Emperor, and he knew the Night Haunter was deeply troubled. Rogal did not pity him, because pity is reserved for those things seen as lesser than yourself and Dorn did not see himself as superior to anyone--especially not his brothers. But he did care for Konrad in his own way, and hoped his brother would find peace for his troubled mind. When Fulgrim shared Konrad's disturbing vision, he did not intend to fight with him. Dorn was wounded that Konrad would think so little of the Emperor, who was the only being Dorn loved more than his brothers (Konrad included). He only wanted to remind Konrad that the Emperor loved them, that He would never do such things. Dorn wanted to say he was sure Konrad's visions were horrifying, but that did not make them true and the Haunter should know the difference. But, Dorn could not express himself that way. He came across as accusatory, aggressive, hateful. It came as a complete shock when Konrad attacked him and, as with Perturabo, Dorn would look back at his words and actions with a heart full of regret. If only he had his brothers' way with words, he would have known the right thing to say.

But, Dorn was a soldier first, foremost and always. While his brothers pursued other things like art, governing, crafting, magic, religion, Dorn focused on being a warrior and a general. In his mind, that was what the Emperor needed them to be at that time. Books, politicking, forges and statues would not reconquer the galaxy. This was a sticking point between himself and Guilliman, though the two otherwise got along well. Guilliman liked to argue they could not be soldiers forever. When peace came, they would have to be leaders. What Dorn saw was his brother putting his cart before the horse. Peace had not yet been won. Humans still existed in darkness beyond the Imperium's light. Aliens continued to defy Mankind's destiny. There would come a time for Astartes to do other things, to be other things, but this was not that time. Now they needed to go forth and conquer, with minds free of other pursuits that would only cloud their judgement. It was a problem with Lorgar as well. Dorn understood Aurelian's love and devotion to the Emperor, for he shared it as deeply, but Lorgar's worship went contrary to their father's wishes. And Dorn put his father's wishes above everyone's. Including his brothers'. Including his own.

I've talked a lot about Dorn's good sides, but he wasn't perfect and he would have been the first to admit it. He had his pride, his honor, his narrow focus, his stubborn nature, his serious demeanor that put distance between him and his brothers. Rogal knew these things for he was more aware of his faults than anyone else. That was why he made the Pain Glove, to purge the weakness from him even when that weakness was imagined.

I hear a lot of people talk about Dorn being "emo", and it's difficult for people who haven't punished themselves to understand. Those with a history of self-harm, I think, can relate well to Dorn's mentality (I want to pause long enough to say you should not harm yourself. You are a way cool person. If you feel the need to hurt yourself, talk to someone about it. This is going to sound like glorifying the act, which I am, but in the context of understanding a fictional character. Don't self-harm, please). Pain can be a purifying thing, a tool to focus the mind, to strengthen the spirit and a way to ensure you won't make the same mistake again. Cultures today are filled with these ideas. We spank children because pain is the ultimate teacher. We say things like "No pain, no gain" and "Pain is the feeling of weakness leaving the body". Movies glorify characters who are shot, stabbed, break bones and dislocate joints yet grit their teeth and carry on to save the day. We brag about having a high pain tolerance and, like alcohol tolerance, there is only one way to build it. You must drink deep, and often.

Besides, how else could Dorn and his Fists punish themselves? They are Astartes, they own no possessions to take away. They have no privileges to revoke. You can't ground them from fighting, because that's the entire reason they were made. You can't kill them, because that's wasting the Emperor's resources. You can't physically wound them, because they must be in peak condition to wage war. But Dorn found a way to inflict pain without damage, because an Astartes or Primarch damaging their flesh is spitting in the face of the Emperor to whom their body belongs.

Think about this: Imperial Fists willingly go into the Pain Glove for every mistake, real or imagined, they make. The Pain Glove is said to feel like your entire body is submerged in liquid fire. And they do this to themselves, for minutes at a time, up to an hour. Can you imagine wearing napalm for an hour, willingly? Can you imagine doing it for a minute? Ten seconds? That's why the Imperial Fists are impossible to break, because there is no pain you can inflict upon them that is greater than that which they inflict upon themselves. As the Joker says in Dark Knight, "You have nothing to threaten me with."

One more thing I'd like to discuss, and then I'll be finished with this lengthy monologue.

The Iron Cage is something you hear a lot about, if you're a fan of Dorn or the Imperial Fists. It will inevitably be discussed. "Dorn was being an emo jerk", "The Ultramarines saved their butts", "The Iron Warriors tricked them because the center was a shooting gallery", "The Imperial Fists and Dorn would have been wiped out if Perturabo wasn't too busy gloating", "Dorn went crazy and forced his Legion into a meatgrinder they never recovered from".

I hope I've helped explain who Rogal Dorn was, because to understand why the Iron Cage happened you have to understand Dorn. It wasn't a pleasant time in his life. It was his absolute lowest point. Half his brothers had betrayed the Imperium, and it was Dorn that retrieved fallen Sanguinius, a brother he loved and admired, and the mortally wounded Emperor. His father, who he loved most. It was Dorn that heard his last words, that carried out his final wishes. Dorn, who loved the Emperor more than any other Primarch, had to carry the burden of his father's shattered body to the tomb of the Golden Throne. And with it, he knew, he was entombing his father's vision of the Imperium. It weighed heavily upon him, and Dorn blamed himself for it. Even though it wasn't his fault, even though there was nothing he could have done to prevent it, even though no one could have changed the outcome, he blamed himself. He took that burden upon himself, because he was used to carrying burdens. Dorn's shoulders were broad, and the Imperium rested well upon them. That raised eagle above his armor was far more than decoration; in his mind, he and his Legion shouldered the responsibility of fulfilling the Emperor's vision. He carried the Imperium on his shoulders, as did the Imperial Fists, and they could only blame themselves as they began to pick up the pieces.

Dorn knew what the Iron Cage was because, while he had faults, being stupid was not one of them. He knew it was a trap, that it was a battle that could not be won--it could only be endured. It was a Pain Glove for himself and the Fists. You don't go into the Glove to win. It's not something you can beat. It is an act of atonement, of purification.

It can only be endured.

Guilliman had convinced the High Lords that the Legions must be broken, that Chapters must be formed from their remains, but the Imperial Fists did not want to separate. It would mean leaving their father, who had been a constant presence in their lives. It would mean throwing the last handful of dirt upon the memory of the Great Crusade. Yet they were given no choice. The Navy had fired upon them. Guilliman had called them traitors. Guilliman, who did not bleed to defend the Palace. Guilliman, who did not carry the body of the Emperor from that cursed ship. Guilliman, who did not hear the last words of the Emperor and they said nothing of Chapters. Guilliman, who had finally become the politician he yearned to be.

With no other recourse, the Imperial Fists did the only thing they could. They would rather die as Legionnaires than live as something lesser, in their minds, than what the Emperor intended. They went to the Iron Cage without planning, for winning was never the goal of it. Sure, Dorn had said he would bring Perturabo to Terra in an iron cage, but he couldn't make his brothers understand the true reasons. He would have brought Perturabo back if events had transpired that way, but it wasn't why he went.

The Ultramarines didn't save them from anything. The Imperial Fists wanted to suffer, to bleed, to atone for their perceived failure, to die as their beloved Emperor had died. But, the Iron Warriors weren't up to the task. Whether out of fear of the price required, whether out of perverse satisfaction of watching the last battle of their hated Legion rivals (A hatred that was never reciprocated), they could not go through with it. They would have fled before being forced to spend the last of their lives, which would have robbed them of the glory they so desperately wanted, or they would have gotten bored and left. There was no way the Imperial Fists could have won the Iron Cage but, for the same reason, there was no way for them to be beaten. No matter what else you hear, believe this: the Imperial Fists and Dorn were not broken that day. They were reborn, in the way only being submerged in liquid fire for minutes on end can give a man new life. They forgave themselves for the Heresy, and set their minds to new tasks. They readied themselves for new burdens.

For the shoulders of the Imperial Fists are broad, and the Imperium rests well upon them.

Once, I didn't care about Dorn and his Legion. I thought they were dull and boring. But, now, they're my favorite Primarch and Legion. I hope, even if you don't agree, you will understand my reasons.

Additional notes: Dorn was similar to Mortarion in that he tended to keep a lid on his emotions. The only time we see him get angry is when Nathaniel Garro and Iacton Qruze deliver the Heresy news (admittedly he does punch Garro across the room and almost splits him down the middle with his chainsword), and although he vents hard after seeing the proof, it happens in private. There's a nice bit of contrast when he's faced with recordings of Horus' atrocities and left rather shell-shocked.

Early Life

Rogal Dorn's genetor pod landed on the planet of Inwit, which is mostly ice and hives. He was raised by his foster-grandfather (Dorn still slept with his cloak years later, aww), a member of the ice-caste and patriarch of the ice-hive clan and the House of Dorn. What. At some point Dorn conquered the Inwit system and somehow built the Phalanx. He met the Emperor and built some fortresses for him.

Horus Heresy

After Horus was made Warmaster, Dorn and his Legion were ordered to head back to Terra and fortify the shit out of the place while the Emprah went about his Big Project. Before taking off, Dorn made some efforts to keep the other Primarchs on side and helped engineer Garviel Loken's appointment to the Mournival. He reasoned that Horus needed a "naysmith" or two to stop the position going to his head. Sadly this wasn't quite enough.

During the Siege of Terra, Rogal went with the Emprah and Sanguinius to Horus's battle barge to face the traitor. When the Emprah totally fucked up Horus, Rogal seemingly came out of nowhere and saved his ass, then got all pissy about it because he was only a few seconds short, and found Sanguinius dead and the Emprah dying. Surprisingly, he did not turn into an Angry Marine, but still whines about it like some emo bitch who can't move on, which Corax purportedly found painfully ironic.

Post-Heresy

When Roboute Guilliman showed off the Codex Astartes and demanded that the Space Marine Legions break up into Chapters, Dorn led the opposition against it, and only submitted after those cowards opened fire on his fleet, deciding that tradition really wasn't worth starting another civil war over. Though it does pose the question of how he prevented his fleet from returning fire thinking those shooting were traitors (which everyone would shoot) and got the other guys to stop shooting at him. In fact, I'm pretty sure that Guilliman himself would have ordered his ships to fire on the idiots who shot at his loyal brother. To say nothing of the other pissed primarchs. Then there is the question of why the legions couldn't have broken down their existing system. You know: ten, one thousand strong Chapters per Great Company, ten Great Companies per Grand Battalion, or something like that. Then they would simply need to maintain close contact between Chapters and Companies and Battalions and insure that the leader of a Chapter commands those directly under him, the leader of a Great Company commands only the Chapter Masters (with little-to-no control over the marines of those Chapters, just general authority), and so on up the chain of command to the primarch (who should have a Prefectus like the Romans did as a second-in-command, just in case). FYI, this structure already existed (except they were not always called Chapters, it varied between Legions). Idiots. In fact, the Dark Angels actually did run a system win which they had Chapters, and when a certain Spiritual Liege told them to break into 1000 men strong Chapters, they did exactly that. Whilst maintaining contact in secret. So yeah, fuck you Girlyman.

Much later, after the Second Founding, he declared to everyone that he'd capture his nemesis, Perturabo, inside a metal cage. Pert then trolled Dorn by setting up the "Eternal Fortress", which was fortification after fortification that led into a fortress that Perturabo was residing in. It took the Imperial Fists three weeks to wade through the shit Perturabo set up. However, it was too late for Dorn to realize that he has just been trolled by Pert. When his Imperial Fist strike force reached the actual fortress, it was actually empty - a giant, centrally-open kill-zone with virtually no cover - and with the Iron Warriors waiting in ambush. Suffice to say, the Imperial Fists then got their asses handed to them, and wound up having to use their fallen brethren for cover up until the Ultrasmurfs came in and rescued them. By the time they escaped the planet, the casualties that the Fists had taken were enormous. To their credit, they still managed to give the Iron Warriors so much trouble that wiping the Fists out completely would have required them to sacrifice most of their own legion, including Perturabo himself. Or at least Imperial Fists themselves say so. Not like Pert give a single shit about it - entire point of Iron Cage trolling was to humiliate Dorn and his legion, not to kill them.

Soon after this, Rogal got in a big-ass ship and got pwned by Angron in the first Black Crusade, (he did manage to wreck the whole damn crusade though) therefore proving that RAGE ends all things and how Angron is among the only Chaos Primarchs that actually gets anything done these days (yet his Primarch kill count is 0. hmmm.) During this battle, Rogal boarded one of the ships and was swarmed and killed by an unholy amount of traitor marines. So the story goes anyway.

Fun fact: Black Watch RPG rulebook have a quote of Rogal Dorn, dating M40. Is this a typo, or did golden boy just fake his death and now rule Custodes operations, like some rumors claim?

The whole 'died in a zerg rush of world eaters' doesn't make much sense anyway.. If it was supposed to be Angron who killed Dorn, maybe that'd make sense. But just a pack of marines? That's... Less likely, if only because it's unlikely that there actually were enough World Eaters left to pose any real threat to a primarch. Before Istvaan there was something like 150,000 World Eaters, but they took big casualties, first on Istvaan III in their unsupported attacks on the loyalists, and losses again on Istvaan V, then AGAIN on Nuceria and one last time outside Big E's pimp crib, where Sagnuinius was regrettably forced to choke a bitch en masse for a few days. Point is, if Dorn died (as he lived) beating the shit out of people less manly than him, then it was because he wanted to die. Or maybe Kharn was somewhere in that zerg rush, in which case anything could happen.

Tabletop

	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Sv
Rogal Dorn:	8	5	6	6	6	5	4	10	2+/4++

While not on the same playing field as most other primarchs, the Emperor's Praetorian allows all Imperial Fists to use his Ld for morale and pinning tests, while also granting a +d3 bonus to the outcome of assault results for himself and his Legion as long as he's in play. In addition to that, he also makes Phalanx Breacher Squads and Legion Terminator Squads Troop choices and he (along with his squad) has the Crusader and Furious Charge special rules. Sundering Blow acts like a powered-up Smash, halving Dorn's attacks to boost his strength by 2 and giving Instant Death, while Unshakable defense allows you to pick three fortifications to enhance; these fortifications will allow units hiding in them to reroll pinning tests and cover saves of 1.

Dorn gets the following wargear: Auric Armor, that gives him a 2+/4++, and no attack that rolls better than a 3+ can wound Rogal Dorn, regardless of any special rules it has. (This doesn't apply to Strength D weapons). Storm's Teeth is an AP2 melee weapon with Unwieldy, Shred, and Rampage and The Voice of Terra is a S5 AP4 gun with Salvo 3/5 (so no shooting and assaulting) and Rending. Lastly, he gets access (like good old Perturabo) to his own pimped ride, the Aetos Dios, a modified Thunderhawk usable in games of 3000+ points as a dedicated transport. The Aetos Dios is armed with a Turbolaser and also has a single void shield, IWND, and a 4+ invulnerable save against all missile attacks. Like Perturabo's Tormentor, it doesn't take up a Lord of War slot.

Rogal Dorn 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 about how Rogal Dorn fares against other Primarchs Mathhammer wise. Please note that all the various abilities are taken into accounts when possible 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. In essence, the fights are supposed to happen in a "Vacuum" for simplicity, but notes are added to make things clearer in particular instances. Also all of the Primarch use their most powerful weapons (because why have a contest if you don't do your best?). Also an additional note: Dorn doesn't use Sundering Blow because against Primarch it would be weaker than his normal attacks.

• Rogal Dorn VS Horus
  • Horus hits 3 times (Talon), wounds 2.667 times, 1.333 after saves and IWND will take that down to 1 wounds at the start of the next turn.
  • Dorn hits 2 times and wounds 1.5 times, 0.5 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.222 wounds at the start of the next turn.
  • As always, Horus take down the challenger without problems.

• Rogal Dorn VS Angron
  • Angron Round 1: hits 5.333 times, wounds 3.556 times, 1.778 after saves, and IWND take it down to 1.444.
  • Angron Round 2 and thereafter: hits 4 times, wounds 2.667 times, 1.333 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 1 wounds at the start of the next turn.
  • Dorn hits 2 times, wounds 1.5 times, 0.625 wounds after saves and FNP and IWND will take that down to 0.291 wounds at the start of the next turn.
  • Dorn lose.

• Rogal Dorn vs Mortarion
  • Mortarion hits 2.5 times, wounds 1.666, 0.833 wounds after saves and 0.5 wounds after IWND.
  • Dorn hits 2.666 times, wounds 1.48 times, 0.74 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.185 wounds at the start of the next turn
  • Dorn lose.

• Rogal Dorn vs Fulgrim
  • Fulgrim hits 4.5 times, wounds 3, 1.5 wounds after saves and 1.167 wounds after IWND.
  • Dorn hits 2 times, wounds 1.5 times, 0.5 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.167 wounds at the start of the next turn.
  • Dorn lose again.

• Rogal Dorn vs Ferrus Manus
  • Ferrus hits 2.5 times, wounds 1.667 times, 0.833 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.5 wounds at the start of the next turn.
  • Dorn hits 2.667 times, wounds 1.481 times, 0.494 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.16 wounds at the start of the next turn.
  • Dorn lose.

• Rogal Dorn VS Vulkan
  • Vulkan hits 2 times, wounds 1.333 times, 0.667 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.333 wounds at the start of the next turn.
  • Dorn hits 2.667 times, wounds 1.481 times, 0.494 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0 wounds at the start of the next turn.
  • Dorn lose.

• Rogal Dorn VS Lorgar
  • Lorgar hits 2.5 times, wounds 1.666 times, 0.833 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.5 wounds at the start of the next turn.
  • Rogal Dorn Rund 1: hits 2.37 times , wounds 1.579 times, 0.789 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.456 wounds at the start of the next turn.
  • Rogal Dorn Round 2: hits 2.666 times, wounds 2 times, 1 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.667 wounds at the start of the next turn.
  • Dorn win this fight.
  • Note: as always, no psychic powers.

• Rogal Dorn VS Perturabo
  • Perturabo hits 2 times, wounds 1.333 times, 0.667 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.333 wounds at the start of the next turn.
  • Dorn hits 2 times, wounds 1.5 times, 0.5 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.167 wounds at the start of the next turn.
  • Dorn lose.

• Rogal Dorn vs Konrad Curze
  • Curze hits 3 times, wounds 2.25 times, 1.125 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.792 wounds at the start of the next turn.
  • Dorn hits 2 times, wounds 1.5 times, 0.75 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.417 wounds at the start of the next turn.
  • Dorn lose.

• Rogal Dorn vs Alpharius
  • Alpharius hits 2.92 times and wounds 1.701 times, 0.851 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.517 wounds at the start of the next turn.
  • Dorn hits 2.667 times, wounds 2 times, 1 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.667 wounds at the start of the next turn.
  • Dorn actually wins.

• Rogal Dorn VS Corvus Corax
  • Corvus hits 4 times (Scourge)/3 times (Shadow-walk), wounds 3 times (Scourge)/2.25 times (Shadow-walk), 1.5 wounds (Scourge)/1.125 wounds (Shadow-walk) after saves and IWND will take that down to 1.167/0.792 wounds at the start of the next turn.
  • Dorn hits 2.667/2 times and wounds 2/1.5 times, 1.333/1 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 1/0.667 wounds at the start of the next turn.
  • Even without factoring in Hit & Run bonus, Dorn still lose, even if not by much.

• Rogal Dorn VS Roboute Guilliman
  • 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.
  • 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, 0.375 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.042 wounds at the start of the next turn.
  • Dorn lose badly.

• TLDR version: Seriously, it depresses me to no end to see the Praetorian in such a sorry state. Statistically, he would lose to any other Primarch barring Alpharius and Lorgar (without powers), meaning he is actually one of the weakest Primarchs. He doesn't lose really badly in most fights meaning he isn't easily put down during a normal game. Even though he is not strong in Primarch vs Primarch duels he is still very lethal against anything else and is the third cheapest Primarch who also gives a lot to his Legion, so in the end it all balance itself pretty well.

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