TRAITOR GUARD
The Traitor Guard, officially designated as Traitoris Militarum or Hereticus Militarum, are former mortal soldiers of the Astra Militarum and Planetary Defence Forces who have turned renegade and sworn allegiance to Chaos. Unlike mindless cultists, Traitor Guardsmen are trained veteran forces that maintain strict military discipline, heavy armor, combined-arms tactics, and command hierarchies while fighting for the Chaos Gods.
Cronologia
Biografia
The Traitor Guard, known within Imperial nomenclature as the Traitoris Militarum or Renegade Guard, represents the corrupted military arms of the Astra Militarum and Planetary Defence Forces (PDF) that have forsaken their oaths to the God-Emperor. Wielding standard-issue lasguns, chainswords, and command structures alongside heavy armor like Leman Russ battle tanks and Chimeras, they form the disciplined, tactical backbone of Chaos mortal armies.
Rather than devolving into uncontrolled hordes, Traitor Guardsmen maintain strict military hierarchy, battlefield communication, and combined-arms doctrines. Across the galaxy, these traitorous regiments are led by demagogues, corrupted officers, Chaos Champions, or Heretic Astartes from legions like the Black Legion, Alpha Legion, and Death Guard. They fight across catastrophic conflicts such as the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, the Siege of Vraks, and the Moebian Fringe War.
While often deployed as frontline infantry or siege fodder by their dark masters, highly organized formations like the Blood Pact and Sons of Sek demonstrate martial prowess equal to or exceeding elite Imperial Stormtroopers. When dedicated to the Ruinous Powers, Traitor Guardsmen offer their military expertise in exchange for dark gifts, mutations, and forbidden weapons forged in the Hell-Forges of the Dark Mechanicum. Whether driven by despair, subversion, or rebellion against oppressive Imperial rule, they remain one of the most deadly mortal threats to the Imperium.
Storia
The origins of the Traitor Guard extend back to the Horus Heresy in the 31st Millennium, when massive contingents of the Imperial Army defected from the Emperor to join Horus's rebellion, culminating in millions of traitor mortal soldiers fighting during the Siege of Terra.
Over the ten thousand years since, entire regiments of the Astra Militarum, local PDF militias, and Adeptus Mechanicus Tech-Guard have continually fallen to Chaos corruption through warp exposure, insidious subversion, or outright mutiny. Imperial planets are defined by severe oppression, where the vast majority of human citizens suffer under extreme administrative tyranny.
Demagogues, Apostate Cardinals, and clandestine Chaos Cults exploit this widespread discontent, turning civilian trade unions, political movements, or planetary rebellions into Chaos uprisings. In other cases, military forces stationed on remote borders—such as the Moebian 6th Regiment in the Fringe Wars—are slowly corrupted during grueling campaigns against warp entities. When a military unit turns renegade, officers and soldiers seize their armories, war machines, and voidships before fleeing into Warp rifts like the Eye of Terror or the Maelstrom. There, they integrate into Chaos warbands, serving Dark Mechanicum Hereteks or Heretic Astartes in exchange for survival and military glory.
I PEZZI DI TRAITOR GUARD
Poteri & Abilità
* Standard military training and combat discipline retained from Imperial Guard or PDF service. * Tactical proficiency in combined-arms warfare, squad communication, and military chain-of-command. * Standard infantry firearms including lasguns, autoguns, laspistols, and close-combat chainswords. * Special heavy infantry weapons including plasma guns, meltaguns, flamers, and grenade launchers. * Heavy support armor and armored vehicles including Chimera personnel carriers and Leman Russ battle tanks.
* Heavy siege tanks and rare armaments such as the Minotaur heavy tank. * Technological augmentations and specialized war gear provided through trade with Dark Mechanicum Hell-Forges. * Blasphemous Warp rituals capable of summoning Daemons through sacrificial blood offerings. * Physical genetic mutations granted as gifts by the Chaos Gods, providing unnatural physical enhancements or monstrous traits. * Malignant Zombie Plague sorcery used to raise shambling undead soldiers to bolster infantry ranks. * Specialized chaos command assets including Traitor Enforcers, Traitor Commissars, and Chaos Ogryns.
Apparizioni
### Literature * **Gaunt's Ghosts Series (1999–Present)**: Novel series by Dan Abnett defining Traitor Guard doctrine through the Blood Pact and Sons of Sek. * **Storm of Iron (2002)**: Novel by Graham McNeill depicting Iron Warriors using vast Traitor Guard contingents in heavy siege warfare. * **The Horus Heresy & Siege of Terra Series (2008–2024)**: Book series including *Legion* (2008) and *The Lost and the Damned* (2019), detailing mortal army defections during the Heresy. * **Flesh and Iron (2011)**: Novel by Henry Zhou exploring the internal subversion of an Imperial Guard regiment. * **The Lords of Silence (2018)**: Novel by Chris Wraight following an Imperial officer slowly corrupted into serving the Death Guard. * **Urdesh Series (2021)**: Duology by Matthew Farrer highlighting massive mechanized Traitor Guard warfare. ### Animated Shows * **Hammer and Bolter (2021–Present)**: Warhammer+ animated series featuring Traitor Guard and traitor PDF forces in multiple episodes.
* **Pariah Nexus (2023)**: Warhammer+ animated series showing mortal soldiers and Chaos corruption in the Nephilim Sector. ### Video Games * **Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Dark Crusade (2006)**: PC strategy game featuring Renegade Guardsmen as Chaos units. * **Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Soulstorm (2008)**: PC strategy game featuring Heretic Guardsmen. * **Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Retribution (2011)**: PC game featuring corrupted Imperial Guard units as narrative enemies. * **Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine (2011)**: Action game featuring Renegade Guardsmen supporting the Black Legion. * **Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr (2018)**: Action RPG featuring Renegade Militia forces and Traitor Guard squads. * **Warhammer 40,000: Darktide (2022)**: Co-op shooter featuring the Nurgle-corrupted Moebian 6th Regiment ("Scabs") as primary antagonists. * **Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader (2023)**: Tactical RPG featuring Chaos Renegade Guardsmen and traitor officers. * **Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (2024)**: Action game featuring mortal Chaos auxiliary forces alongside Thousand Sons Astartes.
Relazioni
### Key Leaders & Figures * **Archon Urlock Gaur**: Overall military leader of the Blood Pact warhost. * **Anakwanar Sek**: Chaos warlord known as "the Anarch," creator and commander of the Sons of Sek. * **Captain Biron Wolfer**: Leader of the Moebian 6th Regiment ("Scabs"). * **Lieutenant Rodin & Lieutenant Rinda Karnak**: High-ranking officer lieutenants of the Moebian 6th Regiment. * **Cardinal Xaphan**: Apostate demagogue whose arch-heresy incited the 17-year Siege of Vraks. ### Regiments & Factions * **Blood Pact**: Highly organized Khorne-aligned martial order wearing iron masks ("grimvisages").
* **Sons of Sek**: Disciplined Traitor Guard formation created to match Imperial Stormtroopers. * **Moebian 6th Regiment ("Scabs")**: Former elite defenders of the Moebian Domain who fell to Nurgle during the Fringe Wars. * **Vraksian Renegade Militia**: Planetary Defence Force turned renegade during the Siege of Vraks. * **Chaos Space Marine Legions**: Heretic Astartes warbands (such as the Black Legion, Alpha Legion, and Death Guard) who command Traitor Guard auxiliary forces. * **Dark Mechanicum**: Hell-Forge Tech-Priests who supply Traitor Guard armies with war machines and weaponry. * **Astra Militarum & Imperium of Man**: Former parent empire and primary sworn archenemy.
Evoluzione
The representation of the Traitor Guard on the tabletop and in lore has evolved dramatically over four decades. First introduced during Rogue Trader in 1988's *Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness* and 1990's *The Lost and the Damned*, Chaos mortal infantry were established as military deserters fighting alongside Daemons and Heretic Astartes. In 2nd Edition's *Codex: Chaos* (1995) and 3rd Edition's *Codex: Chaos Space Marines* (1999) and *Codex: Eye of Terror* (2003), Games Workshop codified 'The Lost and the Damned' army list, allowing players to build standalone mortal armies with traitor artillery and mutants.
Between 2007 and 2014, Forge World expanded the faction's lore through the *Imperial Armour* series, detailing the Vraksian Renegade Militia in *The Siege of Vraks* volumes (5–7) and super-heavy armor in Volume 13. Miniatures transitioned to plastic in 2018 with *Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress*, which introduced push-fit Traitor Guardsmen and Enforcers under the *Servants of the Abyss* label. The faction received a dedicated multi-part plastic release with 2022's *Kill Team: Blooded*, introducing Chaos Ogryns and Traitor Enforcers. By 9th and 10th Edition *Codex: Chaos Space Marines*, Traitor Guardsmen Squads became standardized core options, culminating in 2024 standalone boxed releases.
Da Collezione
For miniature collectors and action figure hobbyists, the Traitor Guard represents an iconic faction with a deep modeling history. For years, collectors relied on Forge World's detailed resin conversion kits for the Vraksian Renegade Militia (2007–2009) to customize Imperial Guard models into Chaos renegades. Modern plastic collecting officially began with the 2018 push-fit sculpts in *Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress*, providing crisp modern plastic representations of corrupted Guardsmen and Commissars.
The definitive box set for tabletop modeling came with 2022's *Kill Team: Blooded*, which Games Workshop re-boxed in 2024–2025 as a standalone *Traitor Guardsmen Squad* plastic kit for 10th Edition Chaos Space Marine players. Beyond 28mm gaming miniatures, figure collectors can collect 7-inch action figures from McFarlane Toys featuring the Moebian 6th Traitor Guard from *Darktide*, alongside highly poseable 1/18 scale action figures produced by JoyToy. Out-of-print Forge World resin kits remain prized collector items among Chaos army veteran builders.
Curiosità
* Members of the Khornate Traitor Guard regiment known as the Blood Pact wear distinctive iron facial masks called "grimvisages". * The warlord Anakwanar Sek built the "Sons of Sek" specifically to replicate the strict training and discipline of Imperial Stormtroopers.
* The 17-year Siege of Vraks was ignited by a single demagogue, Apostate Cardinal Xaphan, who turned an entire planetary defense force renegade. * The primary antagonist faction in the video game *Warhammer 40,000: Darktide* is the Moebian 6th Regiment, elite border soldiers who fell to Nurgle during the Moebian Fringe War.
