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Rogal Dorn

2016-03-12T23:31:37Z

2601:44:0:67BF:D805:EFFE:1532:F39: /* Post-Heresy */

[[File:Rogal_Dorn_Portrait.png|400px|thumb|left|Rogal Dorn, bein his regular badass self. I see no Mustache though]]
[[File:DORNBABY.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Turn to the side and cough...]]
Rogal Dorn is the [[Primarch]] of the [[Imperial Fists]] Chapter, which was a Legion before [[Horus]] [[Horus Heresy|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 [[Noobs|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]], [[Konrad Curze|Curze]], [[Alpharius]], and.... Really anyone who wasn't [[Lion El'Jonson|the Lion]], [[Sanguinius]], [[Horus]], [[Leman]] or [[Roboute Guilliman|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?==

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''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.

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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, as well as ruling him out as a potential Warmaster. 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. As much as anything else, fixating on the need to conquer and secure the Galaxy kept Dorn free from troublesome questions about his nature and potential; questions that frightened him, although he's only known to have admitted this to Garviel Loken. 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. He alone saw what Horus became in the he end, and lived to tell of it - he understood better than anyone how far the Imperium's greatest hero had fallen. 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.

[[File:007 Dorn.jpg|thumb|right|]]
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.
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==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. [[Space Wolves|What.]] At some point Dorn conquered the Inwit system and somehow built the ''Phalanx''. He met the Emperor and built some fortresses for him.

Side note: the Inwit system is probably the most underused cool subculture in the whole Imperium. Given that they had a fully functioning star empire, it's bizarre that we don't hear or see more about them.

==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 [[Creed|''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 [[Imperial Navy|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. (The real reason was originally chapters were much smaller than they were portray now, the Ultramarines being 25,000 rather than now 250,000, and lore reason is that the new system while lacking in numbers is faster at deploying forces and more effective shown by the "red marked" tactical squad prototypes which curb stomp much larger legion forces) 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 ''[[Roboute Guilliman|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 [[Grimdark|use their fallen brethren for cover]] up until the [[Ultramarines|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 [[Abaddon|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 [[/tg/ gets shit done|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 [[Alpharius|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.

Is it really all that implausible though? After all, Russ' "lesson" to Angron relied on the premise that a bunch of Astarte's could take a Primarchs down. Corvus was apparently nearly done in by the Night Lords on Isstvan V. Dorn's attackers would've been full Khornate Berserkers, possibly aided by Daemons. As for circumstances, Dorn had already led a bunch of hit-and-run attacks, so probably somewhat worn down already, and fighting in cramped spaces where his sheer size would cause him problems. An Astarte's can be killed by a lucky human with a pointy stick, so Dorn's death is sadly quite plausible.

==Tabletop==
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" align="left"
! || WS || BS || S || T || W || I || A || Ld || Sv
|-
| '''Rogal Dorn:''' || 8 || 5 || 6 || 6 || 6 || 5 || 4 || 10 || 2+/4++
|}<br style="clear: left; height: 0px;" /><br>
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. This makes him good in a defensive army with fortifications, which is 80% of what the Fists are about, but Rogal himself is a melee powerhouse fit to go with a squad of Templars, which is the other 20% of the Fists.

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 Shred and Rampage, which previously was Unwieldy for no discernible reason, but now lets Dorn suffer -1 initiative for +1 attack provided someone is in base contact 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 <s>good old Perturabo</s> <span style='color:gold;font-size:250%'>NOT ON ''MY'' WIKI PAGE!!!</span>) 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:==
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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.
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* 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.

</div></div>

{{template:Primarchs}}
[[Category:Imperial]]

Imperial Fists

2016-03-12T23:23:02Z

2601:44:0:67BF:D805:EFFE:1532:F39:

{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Imperial Fists
|Heraldry = [[Image:Imperial_Fists_Livery.jpg|center|140px]]
|Battle Cry = "Primarch-Progenitor, to your glory and the glory of Him on earth!"
|Number = VII
|Founding = [[First Founding]]
|Successors of = N/A
|Successor Chapters = [[Black Templars]], [[Crimson Fists]], [[Excoriators]], Executioners, [[Hammers of Dorn]], Iron Knights, [[Soul Drinkers]](sort of), [[Celestial Lions]], Emperors Spears (not officially)
|Chapter Master = Vorn Hagan (formerly Vladimir Pugh)
|Primarch = [[Rogal Dorn]]
|Homeworld = Used to be [[Inwit]], then [[Terra]], now a giant space fortress called the ''Phalanx''
|Specialty = Defensive Siege Warfare/Urban Warfare
|Strength = 1000 Marines
|Allegiance = [[Imperium]]
|Colours = Yellow
}}

The Imperial Fists are a [[First Founding]] chapter of yellow [[Space Marines|guys]]. Descended from [[Rogal Dorn]], they are the forefathers of the [[Crimson Fists|blue guys with red hands]], as well as the [[Black Templars|in-game Angry Marines]]. Sometimes they get together with their successors and have a [[Feast of Blades|sword fighting tournament]]. They aren't as angry as the [[Angry Marines]] (close though), but they [[/tg/ gets shit done|get the shit done]]. Unlike [[Dark Angels|some people.]]

Basically they're the true Vanilla Marines, albeit the most badass vanilla marines ever. Probably best represented on the table top by IA: 10's [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Space_Marines/Siege_Assault_Vanguard(7E)|Siege Assault Vanguard list]], since it includes most codex space marine options, plus additional siege-y stuff.

They're well known for their fixation on physical and spiritual mortification, predominantly through a gadget called the "pain glove" which is apparently a fucking bodysuit hung on a gibbet or something that hurts you a lot. The name probably comes from "body glove" instead of the glove that goes on your hand. Reading between the lines in many of their fluff articles, especially in earlier editions, implies that as part of their genetic degradation (which means they don't develop the organs they need for spitting acid or entering stasis) they are, to a Marine, masochists. Yep, they're the only Space Marines chapter that officially has anything implicitly resembling a sexual appetite (Space Wolves anyone?) and it manifests as a love for having the shit beaten out of them. If taken as fact, this helps explain why they are so good at getting shit done; when getting hurt simply turns you on, you don't back down from anything, and you can keep going long after others would have fainted from the pain, because you just want to hurt ''more''.

On the other hand, some other fluff indicates they rather use pain as a focus, that is, running at top efficiency not because they enjoy the pain but because they are trained to react to pain in that way, making an even greater effort to get shit done when things are starting to fall apart. Differing from a Slaanesh follower who wants to experience the pain for the joy of it, your average Imperial Fist will avoid getting hurt whenever it isn't absolutely needed.

They appear in the [[Warhammer Films|Ultramarines movie]], ostensibly to teach aforementioned smurfs how to get the shit done, or probably steal the movie from the smurfs and make the Theater explode due to epicness and faithful Imperium subjects yelling as many literal one liners of 40k when they see the motherfucking Imperial Fists. Also, John Hurt plays an IF chaplain in said film. Sadly, due to the amount of Smurf Fanboyism in said film, all but two of them die, their Chaplain gets shot by SPOILER a daemon in disguise, and some scrawny Ultramarine recruit saves the day instead. Normally we'd say this is [[C.S. Goto|fucking retarded]], but the Fists die holding the line and fight to the last, both on-screen and off (and at the very least, one of the Fists survives the movie).

They are known for being one of the Chapters who try to keep the Imperium together as the Emperor intended the most, and defends Imperial soil with tenacity and stoic contempt. This harkens back to their Legion being one of the most Imperial in morals, and known as the "true Imperial Legion", beside the [[Blood Angels]] (although only outwards - [[Red Thirst|Things weren't as well internally]]) and the [[Ultramarines]]. They even recruit people from all the worlds of the Imperium, showing traits from Hive worlds, Agriworlds, Death Worlds, Ocean Worlds, etc. They even recruit from Terra itself, making them to a degree Terra's marines and being known as the [[Awesome|Defenders of Terra]]. Combining this with their standard reaction to pain ("This sucks... I'LL DEFEND IT EVEN MORE!!!") paints a picture of a stubborn Chapter who refuses to let go of the ideals that the Imperium was founded on, but unlike the [[Dark Angels|catholics]] aren't afraid of showing it, and aren't a dick about it, like the [[Space Wolves|vikings]].

==History==
[[File:Imperialfist78.jpg|450px|thumb|left|Chaos proctologists]]

They were masters of siege warfare and construction, like the [[Iron Warriors]], though the [[Horus Heresy]] series tells us that it was [[Perturabo]] who turned the Iron Warriors into siege specialists with his head for numbers and engineering ''(they were intended as a "workhorse" legion)''. The Imperial Fists were designed to consolidate their victories and build fortresses in their wake, leaving well defended systems upon which the Imperium could count ''(contrasting with the [[World Eaters|War Hounds]] who were absolute destroyers)''.

Since '''ALL''' [[First Founding]] Legions originally recruited from Terra, their first home-world was officially Rogal Dorn's planet of [[Inwit]] which is exactly as it sounds, a frozen planet of low-tech Inuit people, though Dorn was such an impressive dude he managed to turn the feral worlders and their ice caves into a sprawling interplanetary Empire ''(beat THAT [[Roboute Guilliman|Girly-pants!]], though to be fair Guilliman was probably better at actually setting up and "running" societies, while Dorn was better at crusading and consolidating)''.

Rogal Dorn was the only Primarch ''(aside from [[Magnus the Red]])'' to actively seek out the Emperor rather than be discovered by him, so when he showed up with the '''Phalanx''', big Emps was like ''"oh Hai... erm... I wasn't expecting you yet... Dorn? was it? okay here's your Legion."''
And then when Dorn met the Space Marine who was the place-holder Legion Master he simply said ''"Cheers dude, you're in command of [[Inwit]] now, make me thirty more regiments of you guys, I'm off on a crusade"'' (seriously, that's pretty much how it went).

It wasn't all [[Noblebright]] crusades though, they were described as [[Black Templars|zealous]] as the [[Ultramarines]] or [[Word Bearers]] when it came to conquering and drawing recruits. On one feral world they recruited EVERY SINGLE male child old enough to hold a spear, whilst on one hive world they went down into the [[Necromunda|underhives]] and walked away with half of the male population. This was perhaps not the best way to get results, and most of the potential recruits would end up dead, though one can guess that the ones that survived would be guaranteed to be the best of the crop, probably in a similar way to how the [[Space Wolves]] whittle out the weaklings from the strong.

They did so well at crusading during the Great Crusade ''(go figure)'' that the Emperor landed more honours on them than anyone else and fought alongside them more often than any other. One might wonder why Dorn wasn't named Warmaster, but was probably more to do with Horus being '''a)''' already well established and crusading on his own, '''b)''' presumably a better all-round general than Dorn and '''c)''' Dorn was noted as lacking in the interpersonal skills necessary to keep the primarchs in line. The Imperial Fists were considered by many to be the bedrock of the Imperium (and most associated with the Emperor, thus midway through the Great Crusade when big Emps retired to his dungeons to play with warp trinkets, they got the job of guarding [[Terra]] and the surrounding solar system ''(but not guarding the [[Emperor]] himself since the [[Adeptus Custodes|Custodians]] already had that job)'', fortifying the Imperial Palace and so they became the most publicly visible loyalist Astartes during the time of the [[Horus Heresy]]. Not only that, their Primarch, along with [[Jaghatai Khan|the Khan]] personally carried the Emperor's fucked up body all the way to the Golden Throne.

<s>How smurfs became more famous for writing a book about how to be a Space Marine than the chapter who did all the shit for/with the Emperor, the [[Imperium]] may never know.</s> Actually that's pretty well-known. Dorn blamed himself for failing the Emprah and Sanguinius for not being there when they faced Horus, so he was a bit [[rage|angry]] and wanted nothing else than punish the traitors.

When [[Roboute Guilliman|Rowboat Girlyman]] arrived with his "Bro', I've got an awesome [[Imperium Secundus|idea]]!" for the Imperium, Dorn first answered "GTFO! Gotta punish traitors! You should punish traitors too!". Then he got [[troll]]ed by [[Perturabo]] and lost many of his Battle-Brothers, and when Girlyman came again with his "Bro', you should really listen to my awesome [[Codex Astartes|idea]]", he was a bit down because he just got trolled, and listened to Girlyman. Okay... one mistake in a whole lifetime! Awesome Primarch is still fuckin' Awesome!!

[[Rogal Dorn|Rogal Dorn]] is also portrayed as having a manly mustaches and/or sideburns. This naturally solidifies his position as demigod. He died (or didn't? See 6th Ed Space Marines Codex fluff) after skullfucking an entire Chaos armada with a handful of Marines in rowboats he built in a cave, with a box of scraps.

Not all bad things though, since he split his legion into the ever raging [[Black Templars]] which remains ''the'' largest and busiest Chapter to date, and the conservative [[Crimson Fists]] who actually have brains and don't throw themselves wastefully into wars about glory or honour.

The series The Beast arises, shows that Dorn serectly made a plan that if something bad happens to the main chapter all the Imperial Fists chapters will united again as a full legion.

==Ultimate Badasses==

[[Image:275px-Imperial Fists Sternguard.jpg|thumb|right|Washing away the [[Rage|sour disposition]] most of us have towards [[Marines Malevolent|yellow armour]].]]

If you still doubt that the Imperial Fists are awesome, then look at this guy, First Captain [[Darnath Lysander]]. You see Lysander was a Terminator, he and almost the entire first company teleported down on a planet, all regular business, but the Chaos Cultists used the warp to send most of the company into a mountain side (Good excuse for not loading the P-code into their GPS!). [[Just as planned]]. Lysander found the Company Captain dying, but before he died he gave him the thunder hammer named, Fist of Dorn. After that, Lysander was named 1st Company Captain, he did so much crazy shit most people thought he was insane, but he was just awesome. Lysander lead a force of Fists into a warp stormed planet, hey not his best move but nobody is perfect. Many thought Lysander and all those with him died, but they re-emerged out of the Warp in a hijacked Iron Warrior Ship. You see, Lysander and his force were taken prisoner by the [[Iron Warriors]]. Eventually Lysander, without weapons or armor, escaped and fought his way out to freedom. When he returned to the Imperial Fists Chapter, several centuries had passed in the material universe. After they made sure he wasn't corrupted by the years he spent in [[Warp|that god forsaken place]], Lysander returned back his position as Captain of the 1st Company. Lysander then led a force to fuck up the Iron Warriors, and killed them all. Not forgetting he likes to hunt Titans on foot, getting his Titanhammer squads to reduce them to extra parts for use in the TV show "Scrapyard Wars". Also, he's technically older than even Commander Dante, with only Bjorn being an older living SM, since he was a sergeant (~approx 150yrs) in 567.m40, making him roughly 1600yrs old. No mention is ever made of what happened to the guy who was already leading the first company when Lysander returned. (Actually, he was named Chapter Champion and accepted it, presumably while giving Lysander a brofist of badassery)

In short, Lysander is badass, he's [[Mary Sue|not perfect]] (ironically, he's even less of a Mary Sue in the Matt-Ward written supplement for the Imperial Fists - as it turns out, he was demoted to 3rd Company Captain after a bout of stubbornness considered suicidal even by Imperial Fist standards led to the near-destruction of the 3rd Company), he's no smurf, but he is still awesome, and don't believe me, check Lexicanum out; http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Lysander. And he's tough as shit: 4 wounds @ 2+/3++ with eternal warrior to boot. And his hammer is arguably one of the best anti-tank weapons in the game. Nope, nothin' wrong here.

IMPORTANT NOTE: While many say that the Imperial Fists do not follow the Codex Astartes, this is in fact incorrect. While they do not follow it as obsessively as the Smurfs, the very reason why Dorn participated in the Iron Cage was not only to atone for the sin of letting the Emprah die, but also to create a force of hardened warriors ready to follow the Codex. If you read the unofficial 40 wiki (http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Imperial_Fists), you'll see that their adherence to it is second only to the Smurfs (at least until the appearance of [[Red Scorpions|these guys]]). A key difference however, is that the Fists combine the formidable wisdom contained in the Codex with actual brains and thus win more battles than the faggots in blue.

In fact, thanks to the existence of the Ultramarines' non-Codex Tyrannic War Veterans, the Imperial Fists are - in organizational terms - [[Derp|more Codex-adherent than the Ultramarines]].

If this '''still''' doesn't convince you, then consider the following.

==What it means to be an Imperial Fist==
You are an Imperial Fist, a member of the VII Legion, you are charged with the defense of Terra, the seat of Imperial Power. When the news came to you that Horus had betrayed mankind, it felt as if someone had placed a knife in your heart and left it there after twisting it and turning it. Horus, greatest of the Primarchs, had turned from the Emperor. This is impossible, he is either ill or deranged. The very core of your beliefs is rocked; if one such as he could turn, what about you? You steel yourself to do what must be done, trusting in your Primarch, who would never lead you astray. You slowly begin to tear down the Imperial Palace and in its place build a monstrosity of fire lanes, choke points, barricades, battlements, and gun pits. Razorwire replaces rose gardens; trenches replace esplanades, all by your hand. The Emperor is close but never seen; this makes you happy to know that he doesn’t see the horrors you commit to this edifice of his glory. You continue on for years until finally, the forces of the Warmaster are on the approach. Smashing aside all resistance, they fight their way to Terra and make orbit above the cradle of mankind. You take your post, readying your mind to kill whatever comes, warriors whom you might know or have even shared a similar battlement with. The warriors of the Blood Angels and White Scars lend their aid, but in your heart you know it isn’t enough. You will not give in to your fear, because you are fear incarnate, you are an Imperial Fist. The skies darken in an unnatural storm, the drop ships of the traitors speed towards the planet. Fiery comets of malice come not to conquer, but to destroy. What spills from the bellies of the Stormbirds and Thunderhawks are not the noble warriors of the Legions you once knew, but twisted and corrupted mockeries of Space Marines. Spikes and kill trophies of loyalists hang from their backs in a grisly spectacle. You hold the line, you fire magazine after magazine into them. Decaying members of the Death Guard plod towards you, soaking up every round you fire and shambling forward as if against a light breeze. World Eaters throw themselves into your fire zone, bodies piling one on top of another, having no more effect than to slow their traitorous brethren. Creatures from nightmares assail you from all angles, battlements being no more tangible to them than wind to your armored gauntlet. Your efforts are not enough and slowly, inch-by-inch, they gain on you until you have to retreat deeper and deeper into the palace. Now, you really feel the pressure, your enhanced psyche is pushed to its limits. Warp-spawned abominations do battle with your brothers, reaping terrible rents in your defenses, the great cannons of your hated rivals, the Iron Warriors, pound night and day with out cease.

After months of this you still hold, you are still alive, you still are invigorated when the Primarch commands you. They will never take him from you, your rock and shelter. The Primarch will see you through this, he has never failed before, why should you now, at his greatest test, see him break. One day, you are swept up into a mob of your brothers. Horus has lowered his shields! The Emperor is leading a counter thrust! You grab whatever you can and continue in the fumbling ecstasy; this is your chance for revenge. This could end it all and the Great Crusade could begin again! Mankind will see even greater growth with the Emperor at its head, and you will live to see it; you must. Blood Angels, White Scars, Imperial Fists, Custodes, and even Imperial Soldiers fill the vast teleporter arrays. A green light fills your vision and when you are brought back to your senses the ship you once knew as the Vengeful Spirit lies before you. It has become a foul reflection of the ship you once walked through with your brothers from the Luna Wolves. You are alone, and for the first time in your life, physically scared. This is unlike anything you have ever seen or known. Monsters lay into you, the very material of the ship is anathema to you. In a great chamber you manage to link up with more loyalists. What luck! One of them knows where your group is located, and better yet the way to the last known rendezvous, Lupercal’s Court. Running through the corridors, you no longer take any notice of the battle around you, your combat reflexes take over and you fight on autopilot. You must get to the Primarch, he will know what to do. When you finally meet back up with him, it is not what you expect, it is what you feared. The Primarch lies weeping over the Emperor’s body, his ear pressed to the barely moving lips of the broken form of the man at whose word worlds moved and stars died. First Captain Sigismund, his black and white heraldry gore-spattered and his armor rent from dozens of weapons, is being restrained by Captain Polux. Members of the Huscarls kneel around the Primarch, sharing tear-filled glances. The Primarch wordlessly lifts the Emperor’s body and signals for the remaining Imperials to be teleported back to the surface.

The Primarch is a broken man. Having donned the black armor of mourning, he waits for Guilliman and his Ultramarines, Jonson and his Angels, and Russ and his Wolves. When they arrive it is not the homecoming they want. How dare they come here after what you have been through and demand status updates and military courtesies? What have they done? Who have they lost? You were there when the Emperor fell; where were the Ultramarines, and the Dark Angels, and the Space Wolves? Everyone you know is dead, everyone. You are the only remaining member of your company, of the three companies that made up the great company. The Legion went from being a glorious manifestation of the Emperor's power, to a ghost of its former glory. Only those ruined at Istvaan could know this pain. The Dark Angels and Space Wolves are insufferable, especially the Space Wolves. They camp on the sites where you lost everything. You even see one spit into a trench where you fought tooth and nail with a dark champion of the World Eaters, curse them. The Dark Angels are morbid and quiet, you can suffer that. You even begrudge them a recounting of the Emperor’s fall. You feel ashamed as you do it. It is wrong to even think about that horrible scene ever again. You decide that you won't tell it again. The Blood Angels have long since left, what can a Legion do without its Primarch? Doomed to a slow death, you hope that you may fight alongside them again before the end. Lord Dorn quickly relinquishes command of Terra to Guilliman. You and the rest of the Imperial Fists board the Phalanx, and the Scouring begins.

On worlds that you once fought to conquer in the name of the Emperor, you now fight to liberate again, although this time you fight those who fought alongside you the first time. The Scouring takes years. More of your brothers live and die, especially die. You no longer joke with your friends after battles, because you have no friends remaining; and why would you make new ones when they will all be killed eventually? But not you, no you will live forever in this endless cycle of death, you will endure, for you are an Imperial Fist and sacrifice is your nature. The High Lords have decreed that the Legions will be broken up, so that treason of this magnitude can never happen again. Dorn will not bow to these councilors and mortals who had no part in the War. These men are more concerned with reacquiring the taxes and tithes of the worlds lost to the traitors and xenos than returning the Imperium to its former glory. It comes to a head when Guilliman declares Dorn no better than the traitors and accuses him of power-mongering. In your wisdom, you can see Guilliman’s point: Lord Dorn has been on Crusade since the Siege, he has sat out the most important meeting and forfeited his vote on the matters at hand. Though he conceals it deep down, you can see the disdain Guilliman has for your Legion, he no doubt thinks that if it had been him, the Emperor and Sanguinius would still be alive. You hate him for that. He would have fared no better, what right has he to judge you! You, who fought day and night with no rest, no respite! You, who watched the same patch of ground for weeks, ever vigilant! You, who was there to see the Emperor’s greatest mistake.

Lord Dorn relents, but only on one condition: that Guilliman allow him to fight the thrice-cursed Perturabo, alone, at his Eternal Fortress. The last charge of the Imperial Fists Legion. The chance to cleanse yourself through sacrifice. The battle is more bitter than the Siege, it is the explosion of hatred held by both Legions. At first, it seemed as if the battle would be fought in noble virtue, with steel and fire. But Perturabo has different plans for you. First comes the explosions, trapping you on the planet, then the ambushes from well-concealed tunnels. You reap a bloody toll upon the traitors but their spite knows no bounds. They slowly and surely break you apart, until again you are all alone, surrounded by the piled bodies of your brothers and foes. Night and day you fight alone, crawling on your belly through the no-mans-land, trying to find anyone, friend or foe. The shelling is constant, the Iron Warriors have no lack of ammunition. The ground becomes an ever-changing bog, the blood mixing with the rain, eventually covering every part of your armor until the gold of the Legion is completely covered. The days blur together and you no longer know how long you have been crawling, until fate intervenes and again you find yourself in the presence of the Primarch. He is not as you remember. His black armor is pitted and scarred, the mud covers most of it. The rest of the first company shares the harrowed appearance of the Primarch. The once proud Templars of Sigismund, who used to wear the finest tabards of rich cream, their company heraldry displayed by devotion markings now show their devotion in scars and burns. Their bolters have long since been discarded and they now use bits of chain and razorwire to keep their swords fastened to their arms. Sigismund is no longer the Champion you remember hurling back the traitors single-handed, but a relentless whirlwind of destruction. All caution thrown to the wind, the First Company charges the traitors at every opportunity, their losses only driving them to greater heights of rage. The Iron Warriors fall before them like long grass to a scythe, the traitors' only recourse is to shell their own positions. The fighting continues as such for what seems like years, every firefight seems like a lifetime. All military objectives have long been abandoned, the only mission is to find Perturabo and destroy him. The senior captains call for a breakout, but the Primarch will not relent, he will kill Perturabo. You continue on day and night until, one day, the tide turns. The Ultramarines have come. Their Thunderhawks bombard the traitor positions, their Battle Barges fire volley after volley into the central keep. Lord Dorn is incensed; when Guilliman makes landfall at your position you half expect the Primarch to strike him down, but it does not happen. As the last of your brothers board the Thunderhawk, Dorn takes one last look at the battlefield, and steps aboard wordlessly.

You leave over four hundred brothers un-recovered on the battlefield. That figure does not include the dead that have been brought back. The Legion is no more, it was able to end with its honor intact. The successors are formed, Lord Dorn gives Sigismund the first of the successors and commands him to keep true to the original virtues of the Astartes. The First Captain leads those still thirsty for vengeance on an Eternal Crusade, forever carrying the Legion's memory as a torch. Master Polux is given the other successor and takes the newest members of the Legion on Crusade as well, but not with the zeal of Sigismund’s Black Templars. Polux uses the bloodied fist as a metaphor for the Chapter. It symbolizes your tradition of sacrifice in the Emperor's name. The new Chapters take to the field in your Chapter's stead, winning much honor for the Primarch. You rebuild. It is a sombre process, few remain who fought at the Cage and fewer still who fought at the Siege. You see faces that might have been at there, but you aren’t sure. The Chapter slowly takes shape, with the Codex at its heart. You endure, ever more.

You continue on, true to the Emperor that was. When word reaches you of a Black Crusade driving into the heart of the Imperium, a chance for vengeance is at hand. The Primarch takes three hundred warriors to hold the forces of chaos back until the rest of the Chapter can join him. But, it does not happen. The Primarch is laid low, and you fight to recover his remains. It is the saddest moment of your life, the Primarch is gone, the Emperor is gone, and the Legion is gone. You bear his remains back to the Phalanx where they will rest for eternity. You endure. You relive your nightmares when Vandire causes a second Imperial Civil War, and you fight through the same corridors you once defended. The Tau menace is thwarted by you and the Ultramarines, fighting alongside each other once more. On Miral the horror of the Great Devourer is thrown back by your hand. You are there when First Captain Lysander returns in time to stop the Traitors from ruining the Imperium during the 13th Black Crusade. You fight across the bleak moors of Cadia, against the sons of the monster who crippled your Master so long ago; it is a wound that still drives so much of your being so many years later. You sacrifice and you believe. You will fight the enemies of the Emperor for all eternity, you endure. That is what it is to be a Son of Dorn.

==Daily routine==

3:00-Reveille: The Imperial Fists are roused from their iron slabs and spiked beds to start the day. Morning Prayer is still an hour away, but it takes that long just to get past the locks and barricades they put up the night before.<br>
4:00-Morning Prayer: The Imperial Fists assemble for a sermon by the Chaplains. The poses of fealty they maintain are specifically designed to be the most physically uncomfortable possible.<br>
5:00-Morning Firing Rites: The Imperial Fists assemble to practice their firing drills. You can imagine everyone's surprise when the Chapter serfs learn that the Fists have built up fortifications around their firing ranges.<br>
6:00-Battle Practice: The Imperial Fists descend into the battle cages for practice in close combat and moving targets. Frequently the Imperial Fists will forgo medical attention for injuries. <br>
10:00-Pain Stimulation: The Imperial Fists undergo pain stimulation and endurance tests. Such tests range from the Pain Glove to sitting naked in rooms where the temperature is designed to simulate the night-side of [[Inwit]] during winter.<br>
12:00-Midday meal: A light meal is prepared by the Chapter serfs. Showing pleasure at the taste earns you an hour in the Pain Glove. Rumors that Imperial Fists deliberately say they enjoyed the meal to get into the Pain Glove have never been proven.<br>
12:30-Tactical Indoctrination: The Imperial Fists undergo tactical indoctrination on what sort of enemies they can expect to be crusading against in the near future, how to best design fortifications to stop them, and what sort of pain contact with their weapons causes.<br>
16:00-Evening Firing rites: The Imperial Fists engage in evening firing drills.<br>
20:00-Evening Prayer: The Imperial Fists assemble for a sermon by the Chaplains.<br>
21:00-Evening Meal: A feast is prepared for the Imperial Fists by the Chapter serfs.<br>
22:00-Evening Fortifications: The Imperial Fists set up fortifications in their cells to make sure no one can get into their room and surprise them while sleeping.<br>
23:00-Rest: The Imperial Fists retire to their iron slabs or spiked beds for the evening.

==See Also==

*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdlAerT2aT0 Their theme], done by [[HMKids]], Fucking [[Awesome]]!
*Read "The Beast Arises: I am Slaughter", by Dan Abnett: <s>seems the Fists' are no more...</s> They got NEARLY destroyed, praise the [[emprah]].

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:5bb1320db65801446d0238d653385da7.jpg|Line Holding Specialty. Angry Prussians in Space FTW!
File:Marcius Flavius Color.jpg|[[Marcius Flavius]], the first(and only) space marine assigned to a Federation starship in the historic Federation-Imperium officer exchange program
Image:Lysanderart.jpg|First Captain (later Third Captain) Lysander.
Image:RogalDorn.jpg|Rogal Dorn.
</gallery>

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[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Imperial]][[Category:Space Marines]]