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16th Altanian

Homeworld: Altan, a dense Hive World located core-ward in the Ultima Segmentum

Military Specialty: Urban Warfare

Order of Battle: 10 companies of light infantry, 5 companies of heavy infantry, 1 mobile command company with Valkyrie support.

Commanding Officer: Colonel Haylise Mondel, a gruff veteran with years of service, and a pragmatic view of warfare. She's respected by her people and isn't afraid to be in the thick of things, often commanding from one of the regimental Valkyries.

History/Summary: Altan is a densely populated Hive World with a kilometers-deep city covering virtually the entire planet. Altan is a vital trade hub in it's area, and to maintain order on the planet the governor maintains a sizable PDF force, which is constantly drilled in urban warfare - and it is from the elite of this force that the planet tithes guardsmen.

The 16th Altanian is a mix of well-armed light infantry who are able to move quickly through urban terrain, and well-armed heavy infantry who are capable of urban pacification. The entire regiment is capable of urban recon, building-to-building sweeps, stealthy ambush tactics and street-level crowd suppression. Light infantry units are usually backed by at least one sniper, and their heavy infantry make excellent use of heavy flamers. They regiment is backed-up by a mobile command company who operate out of Valkyries, giving the entire force the mobility to move quickly between different theatres of operation.

The most recent notable posting for the 16th was against a splinter of Hive Fleet Kraken moving against the planet Trulok IV. While other guard regiments were tied up on the front, the 16th was deployed in the capital to scour genestealer elements from the population. The fight ended up becoming full-on a street-to-street war as genestealer cultists began riots and used hit-and-run tactics against the guardsmen. The capital was brought under control only after Colonel Haylise Mondel ordered martial law, and enacted a brutal crackdown on any civil disobedience. Collateral damage and civilian casualties were inevitable, and what some (rightly) would have called a border-line atrocity earned Mondel a medal.

Miscellaneous: Urban Combat Training: In addition to basic guardsman training, members of the 16th are expected to be able to drive a standard land vehicle, repel down the side of a building and deal with civilians in a calm and officious manner. All light infantry forces are also trained in basic urban stealth and recon, and the entire regiment is equipped with urban camo, low-light goggles and short-range vox-beads.

Adventure Hooks: Fresh off their victory on Trulok IV, the 16th has had a series of fatal "accidents" among their ranks since being reassigned. The Commissariat and Regimental Command is concerned there may be genestealer cult infiltration among the guardsmen, and suspicion is beginning to run rampant. The party may have to root out the treasonous element of the regiment before it turns into a witch-hunt, and the force gets gutted.

RPG system notes: The 16th Altanian are "differently trained" guardsmen, who's basic combat doctrine is a little different than normal. They'd swap out some of the other basic guardsmen training (wilderness based skills, survival, etc) for their urban combat skills.

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Sons of the Hawk

Homeworld: Horval, homeworld of the Silver Hawks Space Marine Chapter, Obscuras Segmentum

Military Specialty: Heavy Infantry

Order of Battle: 10 companies of heavy infantry, numbering 100 men each. 1st company is a veteran unit, and 10th company is actually a light recon unit.

Commanding Officer: Knight-Colonel Sir Willem the Bold. Young, charismatic and idealistic, Sir Willem holds himself and all the men under his command to an exceptionally high standard.

History/Summary: The Sons of the Hawk are a rare breed of Imperial Guardsmen - all are Chapter Serfs sworn to the Silver Hawks Astates Chapter, and all are volunteers.

This unusual regiment came about many centuries past when the Silver Hawks homeworld of Horval was besieged during the 7th Black Crusade. As luck would have it, an Imperial Guard regiment was nearby, and was quickly deployed to assist the Silver Hawks to defend their planet. The regiment sacrificed itself to a man to help repel the Chaos incursion, saving the planet and the Chapter from annihilation.

The Silver Hawks Chapter Master was so impressed with the noble sacrifice of the guardsmen, he swore an oath that the Silver Hawks would ever help support the local Imperial Guard in times of need, and would also supply a regiment of able men to the Imperial Guard. The Sons of the Hawk are that regiment.

In the ensuing centuries, it has become almost as prestigious to the people of Horval to serve among the Sons of the Hawk as it is to be selected to become a Silver Hawk Space Marine. Indeed, the Silver Hawks now recruit solely from the most promising recruits of the Sons. Because of this, the Sons receive equipment and training almost unheard of amongst regular Imperial Guardsmen.

Each heavy infantryman is equipped with heavy carapace armour and a human-scaled bolter, and the regiment is bolstered with Chimeras. Many of the Sons have also had the honour of training alongside Astartes of the Silver Hawks. The regiment proudly wears the Chapter colours of the Silver Hawks - silver and blue - but have their own unique heraldry. Their discipline also makes them very popular with the Commissariat.

The downside to all this is that the regiment was built by the Silver Hawks, and adheres to strict Chapter doctrine in terms of organization and tactics. This harsh rigidity makes it difficult (or even impossible) for the Sons of the Hawk to work well with more flexible guard units, and their high-minded idealism often causes clashes with more pragmatic guardsmen.

Miscellaneous: Unusual Structure: Due to the Sons of the Hawk being patterned after the Silver Hawks Space Marine Chapter, they have a slightly more unusual structure than a standard Imperial Guard regiment. In particular, each company is led by a Knight, who was been elevated to his position by the Knight-Colonel. Each company also maintains a "Chaplain" position often filled by a Commissar, an "Apothecary" position filled by a medic, and a "Standard Bearer."

Adventure Hooks: The party is part of an engagement that being overrun, and an order to fall back to another position has been sounded. However, they receive word that a Sons of the Hawk command company didn't receive the order and continued to push forward into the enemy lines, rather than retreat. Now they're in deep - and somebody is going to have to open a path for them to escape, and convince the suicidally brave guardsmen to fall back.

RPG system notes: The Sons of the Hawk are a guard regiment patterned after a Space Marine force. Imagine serving alongside a regiment of chivalric paladins, and you have an idea how these guys work. Most members of the regiment would probably have Forbidden Lore (Adeptus Astartes) due to the unusual closeness with the Silver Hawks.

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178th Silvanius Forest Runners

Homeworld: Silvanius Prime, a lush garden planet in the Pacificus Segmentum

Military Specialty: Forest Combat, killing Orks

Order of Battle: 10 companies of light infantry numbering around 500 men each. These are supported by 5 companies of mechanized infantry armed with Silvanius Pattern Sentinels and 2 companies of ratling guerrillas.

Commanding Officer: Colonel Eldrin Shadowflight and his XO, Major Rixi "The Pixie" Pindlebunt. Pindlebunt is a rare ratling officer in the Imperial Guard, and she and Colonel Shadowflight are rumoured to be lovers. Not to either of their faces.

History/Summary: Much of Silvanius Prime is covered with lush greenery, with the northern continent dominated by huge, building sized trees that can reach hundreds of feet into the air. The vegetation also grows quickly, meaning the population of the planet is constantly engaged in a battle with the forest which encroaches on civilization from all sides. Unsurprisingly, lumber and woodworking are the primary export of the planet.

The guardsmen tithed from Silvanius Prime are men and women who've grown up among the trees of their homeworld, learning to hunt, trap and cut trees from a young age. They are at home in the forest, able to blend in among the foliage and strike from unexpected angles. They are the undisputed masters of their terrain.

The 178th Silvanius Forest Runners have a long, proud history, and are noteworthy for being deployed during the Second War for Armageddon. Their effectiveness during the war resulted in the regiment being shuffled around from planet to planet where Orkish incursions were underway. They're now known as particularly skilled Ork killers, and have developed unique tactics for combating green-skins.

The 178th is also somewhat unique among guardsmen from their homeworld for the total integration of 2 abhuman ratling companies among their ranks. The ratlings and the humans get along very well, with Colonel Eldrin Shadowflight showing them a great deal of trust and respect, and even recently promoted one of their numbers to serve as regimental XO.

Miscellaneous: Custom Sentinels: Silvanius Forest Runner guardsmen are often supported by mechanized infantry utilizing the Silvanius Pattern Sentinel. The Silvanius pattern is light, like the basic Mars pattern, but encloses the cockpit to protect the pilot from wood-chips and splash-back from it's equipment. In place of the multi-laser, it's armed with a powerful (and highly corrosive) liquid defoliant spray, and a huge, powerful circular saw used for cutting down obstacles.

Adventure Hooks: Lately, a unit in the party's regiment has had a rash of thefts and, naturally, the ratlings of the 178th are being blamed. However, it could also be a mischievous local xeno species that has also been spotted lurking around the camp. Can the party find the real culprit and get back the stolen gear before things get ugly?

RPG system notes: The Silvanius Pattern Sentinel's circular saw would function as a massive, vehicle mounted chainsword. The defoliant sprayer functions like a vehicle mounted heavy flamer, except does toxic acidic damage instead of fire damage.

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Adeptus Astra Telepathica Field Operating Section 1205 (aka “Camp XIII”)

Military Specialty: Psyker support, Psyker processing

Order of Battle: 1041 Unsanctioned Witches, 240 Sanctioned Psykers, 7 Primaris Psykers, 350 Camp guards of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica Security Detachment (Light Infantry), plus additional personnel from +++Redacted by Order of the Inquisition+++ 350 transport trucks, 5 Trojan class Tractors, 3 converted digging vehicles.

Commanding Officer: Commissar Vedrick, advised by Primaris Psyker Terminare of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica

History/Summary: Ordinarily, Adeptus Astra Telepathica Blackships ferry psykers harvested from loyal Imperial worlds to Terra for processing. However, when worlds fall to the enemies of mankind, it is impossible to police the spontaneous development of psychic potential amongst enslaved human populations.

As Imperial Guard armies crusade across entire Sectors, they invariably end up reconquering worlds which contain human communities. These populations contain a large number of unsanctioned psykers, who represent a grave threat to themselves and those around them.

The Black ships are precious resources, and cannot be committed to areas of conflict. As such, the Adeptus Astra Telepathica will occasionally operate elite units for the purpose of processing unsanctioned psykers encountered during the course of Imperial Crusades. .

These units are embedded within the Imperial Guard, and typically operate under +++Redacted by Order of the Inquisition+++ control. These units trail behind larger Imperial Crusades, setting up processing centres, where any humans encountered who are suspected of possessing psychic potential are secured.

These camps are grim places, and often double as mass graves; weaker psykers, or those which show signs of warp taint cannot be permitted to live, and are executed on the spot. Stronger unsanctioned psykers are separated out from these undesirables, and dealt with according to age. Younger psykers with strong potential are earmarked for transportation to rearguard crusade regions where the blackships are free to operate, older and more mentally unstable psykers are earmarked for a brutal process known as the “Harrowing.”

The Harrowing is designed to rapidly turn potentially dangerous psykers into living weapons to use against humanity’s enemies. Harrowing involves brutalisation of a psyker’s psyche through beatings, psychological torture and the implantation of psionic augmetics, usually without anaesthetic.

The whole process is designed to replicate the more orderly Sanctioning process in a far shorter timescale, though the Harrowed (as they are known) are not intended to survive long after their “training”. Rather, the Harrowed are intended for use as psychic timebombs against particularly potent psychic opponents such as +++Redacted by Order of the Inquisition+++.

Field Operating Section 1205 is a typical example of this type of unit. The unit operates from “Camp XIII,” a razorwire enclosed mobile facility which operates close behind Imperial lines. The camp contains a number of temporary structures which can be disassembled at short notice, and is internally divided into a number of zones. It is guarded by watchtowers, and all personnel are advised that they are under threat of death if they leave the camp without permission. The whole camp seethes with a disturbing psychic miasma of despair and fear, the psychic spoor of those interred within.

Miscellaneous: Psychological Impact upon Guard personnel: It is recommended that the camp be situated some distance from regular Imperial Guard regiments. Many Guardsmen have been known to react with fury over the treatment of many of the witches held within the camp, and violent incidents or assaults on the camp guards have been known to occur, though knowledge of these incidents are routinely suppressed by order of the regimental commissars.

Adventure Hooks: Escape from Camp XIII. One of the players is identified as a latent psyker. He is brought in chains to Camp XIII and subjected to the most horrific torture in order to turn him into a death weapon to use against the Imperium’s foes during the current war. His friendship with the other players means that his powers trigger images of the pain he is in to be transmitted to them. Will they attempt to rescue him? Or to put him out of his misery once and for all?

RPG Notes: Perhaps rules for a “Harrowed” witch. This whole article is an attempt to reconcile the Imperial Guard Codices – which present Sanctioned psykers as feared but marginally respected advisors and specialists – with Dan Abnett’s write up of Imperial Guard Psykers as horrifically abused victims of cruel oppressors. It struck me that there was a slight discrepancy here, so I’ve tried to reconcile the two views. If the Adeptus Astra telepathica is setting up camps for converting older psykers (who would otherwise be executed) into suicide weapons, then the treatment of guard psykers in “Only in Death” would make much more sense.
 

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21st Patrie 'Kings Own Musketeers'

Homeworld: Patrie/Fuedal World/Gulodus Sector/ Segmentum Obscuras

Military Specialty: Air-Mobile Infantry

Order of Battle: Originally 4400 Guardsmen in companies of 120 men (most currently under strength due to casualties) each with 10 Valkyries (or a fewer number of larger transports). In addition there are 15 support batteries of 3 air transported light artillery pieces (a mixture Battle Cannon and Vindicator cannon). They are medium infantry in custom flack armoured doublet, britches in the all the fine regalia of feudal royalty including feathered helmets or wide brimmed hats. They are usually armed with basket hilted longswords and Lumiere-musquets (standard las-carbines with custom hardwood and gold stock), Shotguns (similarly decorative) and long-barrelled decorative Las-pistols with flintlock style grips. They favour grenade launchers as special weapons but are well surprisingly well read and adaptable to high level technologies. They are famed for flanking and take and hold missions on enemy strong points, after clearing the position they often fly in light artillery to hold or provide cross fire on the enemy until they are relieved.

Commanding Officer : Sir Roman Castillo (Colonel).

History/Summary: Patrie is a little know Feudal agricultural world, it's only tithe (beyond psykers) took the form of a local grain and a number of fermented dairy products and alcoholic beverages. That was until the Waaagh Baddaz in M38.465. While it was not directly in the path of the Waaagh a number of Xeno vessels had split off to the system. Unable to commit any additional Imperial Guard forces the world, as the only inhabitable planet in the system, was to be left to its fate. The effectively defenceless world, with its black powder level of technology, would have almost certainly been lost if it had not been for a Cruiser Group Tumultuous. They destroyed 3 of the 4 Kill Kroozers but crippling the 4th in orbit of Patrie and destroying many of its landing craft. 

It was 164 years before the Ork war swung back in the Imperiums favour, and part of a major counter-attack landed on Patrie. The Imperial commanders had not had contact with the planet for 159 years (when the Capitals Astropath had sent the last message that the Governors palace was being overrun) and expected this planet have fallen. They were surprised to find that there was a battle going on with the 6 surviving Nations were in the process of holding off a major Ork attack. In the years following the nations of Patrie had gathered all their forces and was fighting the Orks where they landed. They had learned painful lessons about Xeno culture in the following decades and used this to hunt isolated Ork bands and their Depanfakirs (engineer wizard) technology.
After the fall of the original Capital, Gaulix, and number of nations capitals it was the King Salopard of the Normanie who had led the resistance and especially his elite Musketeers. The musketeers where elite swordsman and fine shots who travelled rapidly by horse before dismounting.
After the Ork war the planet gain much status and many riches from pilgrims, the Munitorium demanded that this world, despite it's out of the way location supply Imperial Guard regiments as few of the planets in the sector had remaining populations and none had a victorious history against the Orks. Most of the regiments supplied are light infantry with attached Artillery (as they are used to fighting), rough riders and 3 previous regiments of Kings Own Musketeer mechanised infantry. The 21 Patrie 'Kings Own Musketeers' is the first to use Valkyries and be deployed as Air Mobile infantry.
Miscellaneous: The 21st has long history of fighting Orks with no back up from the rest of the imperium. Like the other Musketeer regiments they are given a basket hilted broadsword made from Orkish metal (which in likelihood was previously looted from an Imperial world) and a blue brigandine doublet and helmet of Ork metal. They're bright blue uniforms and feathered helmets make them obvious on the battlefield and Guard Commander's use this to re-enforce troop moral as they see these dashing troops descend on their enemies flanks and vulnerable rear positions.

Motto: For Regie, For King, For the Emperor.

Adventure hooks: Forward scouts have located an Ork Mekboys workshop. The 21st Regie are planning a daring raid into Ork held territory to take it and the Mekboy out. The PC's are the dashing recruits to bolster their numbers.
A major battle is taking place against an Ork line, the PC's are tasked with taking and holding a vital position, as are the 21st Regie. Going to be cut off for a while and it's going to get pretty close in. 

RPG system notes: Character wise they seem to be the anti-thesis of most other guard regiments and rightly so. They have skill and knowledge of Orks bit not necessarily brute strength or toughness and are going to need to rely on both their guns and blades. In addition movement is key, to strike fast and get out, many of their opponents and much larger and more dangerous and avoiding their attacks is key.

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3rd Haritanian Irregulars "Chemists"

Homeworld: Haritan, a mid-sized Hive World, Segmentum Pacificus

Military Speciality: Chemical Warfare, Urban Operations

Order of Battle: 10 chemical assault infantry companies (classified as heavy infantry)

Commanding Officier: Lt. Colonel Hector Sebastian Sethi, assisted by Commisar General Fabius Reventi

History: Haritan is an unremarkable hive world located in the Segmetum Pacificus not far from the border of the notorious Sabbath Cluster. The local industry is famous for the high grade chemicals - particulary ionized gas for plasma turbines - which makes the local aristocracy very rich, thanks to the commerce with the Adeptus Mechanicus. According to the imperial records Haritan was among the worlds reclaimed by Warmaster Solar Macharius during the first phase of his legenadary crusade.

The world doesn't appear in any imperial record for the next century when the Administratum called for the first Guard Foundation. Apparently elements of some schismatic cult had infiltrated the upper echelon of the local goverment and military, as a consequence they refused to carry out the foundation. The local ministrorum and few mid-tier military officiers were outrage by this insult to the majesty of the Imperium. Within a few weeks many priests started to proclaim the need for the local population to rise against their corrupted governants and rstore the rightful servants of the Emperor. The goverment fielded their PDF regiments to silence the preachers and secure several key installations across the hives (like the Astrophats towers and tha Arbites prencits), it was the beginning of the Haritanian civil war.

While the bulk of the PDF remained blindly loyal to the goverment a few mid and low level officiers (non above the rank of captain) choose to side with the Imperium. These man and their supporters, while hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned, were able to provide a tenacious resistance, hoping that the Imperial forces would arrive soon. As the months passed the loyalists were forced back into the lower hives were they found an unexpected help. The workers of the lower hives were an incredibly tough breed - thanks to centuries of exposure to the worst byproducts of the chemical industries- and fiercely loyal to the Emperor. The officier saw the potential and started recruiting them in irregular formations arming them with whatever piece of gear they could salvage. These unlikely crews proved their worth in battle, especially when it became clear that their super-polluted environment had made them extremely resistant to many chemicals. Pushing the chemical factories in super-production, the loyalist were able to get a significant advantage and keeping the schismatics locked in a stall until the arrival of the Imperial fleet.

The Adeptus took over the planetary goverment and several Inquisitorial units were dispatched to ivestigate the planet but, in the meantime, the problem of raising the regiments remained. It was captain Horatio Raasi (later Colonel of the Haritan 1st) that suggested to recruit and reorganized the workers into proper Guard regiments. He cited their physical endurance and fighting spirti as decisive factors, he also underlined the benefit of using chemical attacks as mean to retake key positions without damaging them. The Munitorium wasn't happy to field troops with such high apparent level of mutations, but the benefits and the need of the Imperium outweighted their concerns and the first four Haritanian regiments were founded.

Miscellanea: being chemical warfare specialists the Haritanians' kit is quite different from the standard guardsman's. Instead of the usual flak armor they use a sealed acid-proof carapace with redundant chemical locks, this makes them highly suited troops to operate on several death worlds. Their units field an unusually high number of flamers, modified to deliver clouds of high pressure gasses, defoliant, nebulized acids or other chemicals. As a result the Haritanians are a high manteinance troop, which makes them very close to the Adeptus Mechanicus.

The rebellious past of their homeworld had brought the Haritanians under close scrutiny of the commisariat, to the point of assigning a Commisar-General to each regiment.

Adventure Hooks: the Haritanians are fielded alongside an elite regiment of the Guard. Their reputation and their almost abhuman status makes the cohexistance almost impossible. When a Haritanian unit is butchered outside their barracks the situation start to escalate. And things only get more compplicatd as the medicae exams reveal that all the killed were further mutating. Who is the real culprit then? The rival regiment? or perhaps a concerned comrade?

RPG notes: the Haritanian are my attempt to convey the idea that there's a thin line between human and mutant. What is a simple local trait for someone, might be considered a dangerous mutation by another. The Haritanian exist on a thin line between serving the Emperor and being purged as mutants. The toxic flamers use the same rules as the Tox Spray Flamer described in the Inquisitor Handbook for DH.

Lightbringer said:

I quite enjoy this idea and it isn't too far-fetched. It's also worth noticing that the psykers from "Only in Death" were mostly low-to-mid level, since Alpha dn Beta level psykers are usually too valuable for battlefield duties. It makes sense that lower level psi are trained to be used as "live bombs", considering the Imperium approach to human resources.

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The Avernus Avengers

Avernus (Hive World, Segementum Obscurus)

Hostile conditions-specialist Light Infantry (Avernus is a hot, dry hellhole.) 

Largely diminished by a civil war, caused by the Planetary Governor's attempt to secede from the Imperium forty years ago. Down to a few thousand men, but very well supplied; Avernus is a wealthy world with vast promethium reserves, so the Gelt pours in and the troopers have very well-maintained equipment. The Tauros is the vehicle of choice for the regiment, who generally do not favor heavier tanks and artillery pieces.

Colonel Ollanius Weaver. A former Storm Trooper, with a hefty service record stretching back to the attempted secession. He is generally kind to his men, and fearless in battle. Old fighting claimed both of his eyes, and both the arm and leg on his right side. Quality bionics replaced these. Rumors among the recruits say he once faced an Astartes, but he quickly shuts these stories down as complete idiocy.

Avernus is a Hive World known for promethium refining. The sector it inhabits is fairly peaceful as far as Imperial space goes, with the only major conflict coming in the shape of a planetary civil war on Avernus forty years ago. The Planetary governor, one Lord Severus Grave, attempted to secede from the Imperium. The madman turned half of the regiment to his cause with insidious propaganda, along with the bulk of the Avernus PDF. He supplemented these ranks with an army of mercenaries and a small warband of traitor Astartes. The loyal Avengers allied with Cadian Shock Troops and Elysian Drop Troopers to reclaim their world, with a year-long siege on the capitol Hive breaking only when a small Inquisitorial strike team executed Grave. Since then, the Avengers have been eager to prove both their worth and their loyalty with a short but prestigious record of quality fighting against Mankind's enemies.

The Avernus Avengers have close ties to both the Imperial Navy and the Adeptus Mechanicus, who were instrumental in liberating their world from the heretical governor's grip. These ties (and the planet's natural wealth) mean that the regiment enjoys support from some nontraditional vehicles. Numerous Valkyrie gunships travel with the regiment, and a majority of the troopers are trained in the operation of the speedy Tauros assault vehicle. 

Adventure hooks: 

-Smugglers are wandering the wastes of Avernus in search of traitor Astartes artefacts. These weapons and armour may well be Chaos-tainted, and cannot be allowed to be sold.

-Lord Grave and those loyal to his cause were publicly executed, but many who survived the war were and still are loyal to his cause. Many of these men are still in lofty positions of power.

RPG system notes: Bonuses to wealth if possible, and perhaps a hatred of traitor Astartes. 

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87th Provendus Women's Brigade "The Kroot Krushers"

Homeworld: Provendus, an agri-world located on the border of the Obscuras Segmentum and the Pacificus Segmentum.

Military Specialty: Heavy Mechanized Infantry, Defense Busters

Order of Battle: 8 companies of heavy infantry, 700 women each, supported by Gorgon Armoured Assault Transports.

Commanding Officer: Colonel Brigit de LaCroix, an aged matriarchal commander with a dim view of shenanigans, and a severe demeanor. This is almost certainly her last tour, and she's looking forward to a quiet retirement.

History/Summary: The planet Provendus is an agricultural planet that had fallen to feudalism before being rediscovered by the Imperium. Due to a quirk of the abundant local food supply, men are rarely born on Provendus - only about 1 in 100 children have a Y chromosome. In spite of this, the population has survived due mainly to men filling a cultural niche where they are honoured breeding stock, serving as "mate" to several women chosen for being worthy of passing on their genes to the next generation. The men are pampered by the women they serve… but given little real freedom. All other societal roles, from the governess on down, are filled by women.

Unsurprisingly, this means the local PDF is "manned" entirely by women, who in turn form the entirety of Provendus' tithes to the Imperial Guard.

The 87th Provendus Women's Brigade are tough, hard-bitten ladies who love to be in the thick of things. They use Gorgon Armoured Assault Transports to force their way through fortifications, and unload heavily armed squads to run rampant through the enemy lines.

Their nickname "The Kroot Krushers" comes from a posting along the Tau front where the 87th used their Gorgons in a brutal assault on a Kroot command camp. It's said their vehicles were dripping green with Kroot blood when they returned from the assault. Since then, they've kept their Gorgons painted green, and decorate them with Kroot skulls.

Miscellaneous: Matriarchy: With men being so uncommon on Provendus, the women of the 87th are unused to seeing them in the numbers they're fielded by other regiments, which can lead new recruits to be gob-struck. They're also not used to treating men as equals, which leads to a lot of casual sexism from the women. Their current Commissar, Buck Tannison, has his hands full just trying to get their respect.

Adventure Hooks: While on a recon mission, the party happens upon a stranded Gorgon Assault Transport from the 87th. The vehicle is beyond saving, but the 40 women aboard are raring to get back into the fight. If the party is mostly made up of men, the Kroot Krushers will defer to the women, regardless of rank - and if they're all men, the ladies just take charge. The men also might find themselves the subject of some aggressive propositions from the gritty ladies. It's a long two days back to camp.

RPG system notes: Nothing special here. Just a colourful regiment with some unusual roleplaying opportunities built in.

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0th Braelinian Rifle Regiment "The Naughts"

Homeworld: Braelin III, an agri-world in the Ultima Segmentum.

Military Specialty: Infantry

Order of Battle: 10 companies of infantrymen, numbering 1000 men each.

Commanding Officer: Colonel Egbert Pundrick-Littlewood, a portly, haughty man full of bluster and a gung-ho attitude.

History/Summary: Due to a clerical error, the "10th" rifle regiment to be founded from the populous agri-planet Braelin III was instead officially created as the "0th." This would prove to be a somewhat prophetic moment - "The Naughts" as they are called, are quite probably one of the most unlucky regiments in the history of the Imperial Guard.

Since their founding, the 0th Braelinian Rifle Regiment have been involved in twelve major battles, and in each case it has been a complete disaster. On Tuson Beta they used the wrong map, and led an expeditionary force off a cliff. On Armageddon they accidentally engaged in a four day firefight with their own side. During the Levris Civil War, a rounding error had them deploy with only one lasgun clip. Nothing ever seems to go quite right with them around.

In spite of this, the regiment has somehow managed to survive each insane situation they land in - often to the detriment of other guard regiments deployed alongside them. Their penchant for somehow surviving their impossibly bad luck, coupled with regimental command's skill at brown-nosing, has even given the Lord-General an overly inflated opinion of the regiment. An unearned one, at that - the unit barely does any actual fighting, and most of the problems they solve were caused by them to begin with.

The Naughts are intensely proud, haughty and consider themselves to be "gentlemen" of the finest sort. Their uniform is bright blue and purple, making them look like a bunch of peacocks. Oh, they're companionable enough - but they've bought their own hype. As far as they're concerned they're the cream of the crop! Right up until something goes wrong. And it always will.

Miscellaneous: Unlucky: The Naughts are about as unlucky as they come - but their luck tends to affect everyone around them far worse than it ever hits home. Generally speaking, if something CAN go wrong with The Naughts around - it WILL go wrong. And worse, it's The Naughts who end up "saving the day" and coming out smelling like roses.

Adventure Hooks: While in an active warzone alongside The Naughts, the party is sent to scout ahead of a redeployment. They find an ambush lying in wait, but when they communicate it back to command, they discover The Naughts are already marching toward the ambush zone - and sure enough, their vox systems are down. The party has to save the regiment by foiling the ambush - and of course it's The Naughts who'll get the credit for doing it.

RPG system notes: A mean GM might fudge dice for anyone fighting alongside The Naughts. Double the likelihood of weapon jams, give people negative modifiers to basic rolls, have equipment get lost or misplaced. These guys are the worst - and they turn up like a bad penny.

 Hmm. Consider this a placeholder for a Skitarii regiment.

Does the Guard have access to Knight Titans?

(26)

Placeholder for Cocodan Nuclear Guard, Heavy Infantry + Nuclear Weapory using bastards from a peaceful Hive World.

After work I will write this up better.

  Dige

Plushy said:

Technically both Skitarii and Titans aren't part of the Guard, they are part of the Adeptus Mechanicus. While they usually operate alongside Guard units they have a separate chain of command.

71st Phornax "Phoenixes"

Homeworld Phornax V, Imperial World, Fearchus Sector, Mallus Subsector, Ultima Segmentum (Sector is bordering the Maelstorm in the galactic north of the Badab sector)

 
Military Specialty Shock Assault Troops
 

Order of Battle Approx. 10,000 men divided into 38 companies (36 battle, 1 support, 1 command).  The regiment is typically split into 4 Brigades of 9 battle companies.  Battle Companies are made up of 1 command squad led by a Captain, 4 platoons each made up of about 47 men (Platoon Command, 3 infantry squads, 2 heavy weapon squads), 5 squads of Chimera-Grenadiers.  The Command Company has the Colonel, the regiment elite known as the "skulls," attached Psyker Battle Squads, and Ministorum Priests.  While the Grenadiers ride in Chimeras, the Platoons each use a massive "Mammoth" half-track to mobilize.  
 

Commanding Officer Colonel Rigel Maile XIV, "the dirty badger".  Rigel comes from a respected Noble family on Phornax V and is known to have a dirty sense of humor that comes out at inappropriate times.  Now in his late fifties, his rise to Colonel took decades of hard fought service where he earned the nickname badger.  Over the years, troopers began to refer to him lovingly as the dirty ole' badger.
 

History/Summary: Commissar XXXX, I hope this finds you in good health and this information benefits you during your new assignment to the Phornax 71st.  The first thing you may notice is the large number of Ministorum Priests attached.  On the surface, Phornax tends to breed pious men, but the longer I served with them, the more I feel it is some form of atonement for past sins.  The men seem to come from one of two backgrounds, the noble Hyperions or the low Plebians.  If a Lt. is young, he is probably an inexperianced Hyperion.  If he is older, he is probably a Plebian raised from somewhere in the company.  If the Hyperion was a good officier, he would be Captain or Colonel. 

There is some occasional tension between the two groups that you will have to deal with, but for the most part, it doesn't hurt their fighting ability.  The 71st are a bit green though.  They have served with distinction in crushing the uprising on Sebulius II and received laurels for their efforts in defeating the Ork Raiders on Verna Prime, but both were smaller scale actions.  Their morale is high, but don't let them get over-confident.  They have not been truly tested yet.
 

Miscellaneous: The Chimera-Grenadiers like to think of themselves as storm troopers.  However, they are not quite as well equipped and completely lacking in the specialized deployment and infiltration training.  The Chimera-Grenadiers do make an effective assault troop though and are made up of the best men the regiment has to offer.  As their name suggestions, they are always mounted in Chimeras.  Wearing Enforcer light carapace, they are armed with assault lasguns, shotguns and a good mix of special weapons.  The Grenadiers often employ demolition charges and smoke gernades to assist with their assaults.  

Adventure hooks: 

1. During the course of a battle, the player characters may find themselves receiving poor orders from an overly zealous Hyperion officer and forced to follow them or deal with the officer and suffer the consequences of their actions later (once their mission has been successfully completed).  
2. One of the psyker battle squads attached to the Command Company have come back from the frontline and gone mad!!!  They are raising all kinds of hell (maybe literally) behind Imperial lines and need to be put down!  Can any of them be saved?  If calmed down / captured, can you convince anyone not to put them down?
3. A priest attached to your squad sees heresy everywhere.  Eventually he accuses a player character of heresy for a perceived fault or misunderstood action and demands his squad executes him.  This occurs during a mission or right before an enemy attack. 

RPG system notes: Phornax guardsmen in the standard platoons use standard equipment.  It is the GMs discretion to promote or start the player characters as a Chimera-Grenadier squad with some of the equipment I listed above.
 

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Regiment Name:
Aislin 9th 'Armored Fists' Heavy Mechanized Regiment

Homeworld:
Aislin Alpha Tertius

Military Specialization:
Heavy Shock Infantry, Mechanized Assault, Siege Tactics, and Super-Heavy Support

Order of Battle:
The regiment is estimated at 10,000 men plus auxiliaries. The regiment is divided into 10 Battle Groups that each is made up of 10 Companies and each Company is divided into 10 Platoons. The Platoons then are divided into 5 10-man squads and a 20 to 50-man Conscripted squad of PDF Trainees.
- Battle Group 0: Shock Infantry
- Battle Group 1: Mechanized Infantry
- Battle Group 2: Mechanized Infantry
- Battle Group 3: Mechanized Infantry
- Battle Group 4: Mechanized Infantry
- Battle Group 5: Mechanized Infantry
- Battle Group 6: Artillery Support
- Battle Group 7: Armor Support
- Battle Group 8: Super-Heavy Artillery Support
- Battle Group 9: Super-Heavy Armor Support

Commanding Officer:
Colonel Joseph Ezra Godwyn, Arch-Militant of Rogue Trader Dynasty Aislin a Trader Militant House that functions in the Corvidae Expanse.

History:
Recent and early history is wildly speculated as the records have not yet been compiled of all the actions taken in the Corvidae Expanse yet you can follow the documentation at the Regimental Archives. [ LINK ]

Miscellaneous:
The Asilin 9th are tasked with the escort and protection of House Aislin as they engage in the Corvidae Expanse and attempt to reclaim the expanse for the Imperium of Man and House Aislin.

Adventure Hooks:
The players are assigned to terminate a charismatic leader in the heart of a neutral world and they have to make the termination look like an accident that can not be traced back to the Aislin 9th.