Imperial Fists

The Imperial Fists are one of the First Founding Chapters of the Space Marines. They stand out from other Space Marine Chapters due to having no fixed home world, although they are most frequently based on Terra, using instead the 10,000 year old mobile space fortress, Phalanx, as their Fortress-Monastery. They maintain recruitment-chapels on various worlds spread throughout the Imperium. Part of their duties during the Great Crusade were to function as the Emperor's "personal praetorians", accompanying him everywhere and usually used to strike a decisive blow against the enemy. The role of the Emperor's bodyguard has since been taken over by the Adeptus Custodes.

The Imperial Fists' Power Armour is a golden yellow, with trim according to the Codex Astartes' recommended company colors. The Iron Fists' Primarch was named Rogal Dorn and is usually regarded as having been the most level-headed and fair of the Primarchs, although in the view of the Imperial Fists' great rivals, the Iron Warriors, he was arrogant and spiteful. The Imperial Fists were one of the three Space Marine First Founding Legions who defended the Emperor's Palace during the Horus Heresy. In fact, it was only due to the intervention and self-sacrifice of a squad of Imperial Fist Terminators that the Emperor was able to strike down Horus. It was Rogal Dorn who discovered the bodies of the Emperor, Sanguinius and Horus, receiving the last words of the Emperor, instructing him to build the Golden Throne in the Imperial Palace which sustains him to this day in a state neither alive nor truly dead.

The Imperial Fists, like the Iron Warriors, were the siege masters of the First Founding Chapters and as such rely greatly on artillery and heavy weapons, although not to the extent of their traitorous former brethren among the Iron Warriors. These two rivals' shared specialization led to great rivalry and eventually hatred between the two Legions and their Primarchs, and after the Heresy the Imperial Fists continued to pursue the Iron Warriors for some time, culminating in the incident of the "Iron Cage" - which essentially ended in a stalemate broken by the arrival of the Ultramarines Chapter.

After the Horus Heresy, the Imperial Fists were broken up into separate Chapters, as were the other remaining Loyalist Space Marine Legions, and their more notable Successor Chapters include the Crimson Fists and the Black Templars. The Imperial Fists, however, were among the slowest of the Chapters to co-operate with the tenets of the Codex Astartes written by the Primarch of the Ultramarines, Roboute Guilliman.

The Imperial Fists' gene-seed has been somewhat corrupted over the millennia, so two mutant traits have emerged. One is the loss of two of the special organs produced by the basic Space Marine genetic template: the Betcher's Gland, which allows a Marine to produce poisonous/acidic spittle, and the Sus-an Membrane, which allows a Marine to enter a state of suspended animation.

The Imperial Fists' are also distinguished by their over-zealous self-castigation. They often make use of a device called the pain glove, which encases the whole body and stimulates its pain neurons. The Imperial Fists constantly feel the need to punish themselves for the smallest inadequacy, failure or infraction. The last remaining relic of Rogal Dorn, his skeletal hand, is displayed in their fortress-monastery as a reminder of the ultimate dedication required of the Space Marines.

Although the Imperial Fists have a preference for long-range engagement and specialize in siege warfare, they are also well known for their passion for dueling, a trait inherited from the men of Terra from whom the original warriors of the Legion were recruited before the Great Crusade, and many can display scars from this time-honored practice.

The Imperial Fists are unique among the Space Marine Chapters because they have no fixed home planet and are officially based on Terra. This is because of their Terran origins, as well as their pre-Heresy role as the custodians of the Emperor, following him wherever he went in their vast, 10,000 year old mobile space fortress, Phalanx. They have transformed Phalanx into their primary fortress-monastery, although they also maintain recruitment-chapels on various worlds throughout the Imperium. It is known that the Emperor had reached the ice hives of Inwit when Rogal Dorn showed himself to the Emperor aboard Phalanx. Some thus take Inwit to be his homeworld, although this is not proven, and the truth has long since been lost over time.

Ian Watson's novel Space Marine revolves around the recruitment, training and combat experiences of an Imperial Fist.



The Great Crusade
The Imperial Fists were first formed on Terra, as shown by their earliest battle honour, 'Roma'. The Imperial Fists Legion had heavily recruited from the ice world of Inwit with over 70% of the Legion's strength as aspirant Space Marines from that hive world when Rogal Dorn joined them. This means that the Legion was relatively young when it was united with its Primarch, allowing them to form an unbreakable bond, based upon similar desires for self-discipline and total commitment to order. The few Battle-Brothers of the Imperial Fists who originated on Terra brought with them a tradition of honour duels, practiced even to this day. No one knows where or when this form of combat originated, but it served to bond the warriors together by giving and receiving honour while maintaining their Terran heritage.

After the Imperial Fists won a major victory against the Orks on the ash wastes of the hive world of Necromunda, the Hive Lords consented to recruits being drawn from their population in gratitude. A Fortress-Chapel was duly consecrated but the Imperial Fists were there as esteemed guests, not masters. Rogal Dorn asked no special rights on the worlds where the Fists recruited. Some Primarchs, such as the increasingly mercurial Perturabo, took every opportunity to garrison a world for their Legions and claim its tithes. Dorn is famously recorded as saying "I want recruits not vassals," and was always satisfied to keep his Legion as a military unit with none of the civil responsibilities that came with governing a homeworld.

During the Great Crusade, the Imperial Fists acted as the strategic reserve of the Emperor's forces due to their ability to rapidly redeploy to battlefields aboard Phalanx. They made use of detailed planning and as such were soon found to be supreme urban fighters and siege specialists. After several campaigns and thousands of conquered worlds, the Emperor returned to Terra to build a capital from which he could run his new empire. He took the Imperial Fists with him, set them up as his praetorians and charged Dorn with the construction of the Imperial Palace, something that didn't go unnoticed by the other Primarchs. Perturabo flew into a rage upon hearing that Dorn thought the Imperial Palace would be proof against assault by even as mighty siege-masters as the Iron Warriors and unleashed a torrent of vitriol and accusations so unfounded that the onlookers were dumbstruck. After this outburst was reported, the two Primarchs rarely spoke, neither Legion serving in the same campaign again. The Imperial Fists were ever at the Emperor's side and the Iron Warriors were part of Horus' vanguard.

The Horus Heresy
Along with the White Scars and the Blood Angels Legions, the Imperial Fists put up a heroic defence of the Imperial Palace from the forces of Chaos that has since passed into legend. Then, when all hope seemed lost, they accompanied the Emperor in his last battle aboard the Warmaster Horus' battle barge. It fell to Dorn to discover the bodies of the Emperor, Horus and Sanguinius after the final drama had run its course. His grief was immense. Until that point Dorn had been true, noble and enduring, but now he became an avenging son. While the Ultramarines maintained order within the Imperium, the Imperial Fists hunted down the traitors, levelling fortress after fortress. Dorn led them, dressed in the black of mourning, his customary mercy set aside until the guilty were punished. While others shaped the new Imperium, Dorn immersed himself in implacable justice. It was rumoured that he saw the Emperor's death as his personal failure and his crusade as penance. After all, were the Traitors not his brothers? Whatever the cause, Rogal Dorn was absent from the highest councils until he was summoned back to Terra when Roboute Guilliman, Primarch of the Ultramarines presented his Codex Astartes as the future of the Space Marines.

After the Heresy
After the Heresy, the Imperial Fists were broken up, as were the other chapters, and their more notable successor chapters include the Crimson Fists, the Soul Drinkers and the Black Templars. The Imperial Fists, however, were among the slowest of the Chapters to co-operate with the tenets of the Codex Astartes.

The Iron Cage
The Imperial Fists, like the Iron Warriors, were siege masters and as such rely greatly on artillery and heavy weapons, although not to the extent of their traitorous former brethren. Their shared specialisation led to great rivalry and eventually hatred between the two chapters and their Primarchs, and after the Heresy the Imperial Fists continued to pursue the Iron Warriors for some time, culminating in the incident of the "Iron Cage".

Perturabo was a master of fortification whose writings had been retained by Guilliman in his Codex. Dorn had always been his match though and, what was more, his honest warrior's soul was indignant. The Iron Warriors had rebelled and lost. Their master was dead and the Emperor still ruled. Yet still they dared raise their heretical banners over another Imperial world as if they had some right to be there. Dorn would not tolerate this. Without his customary caution and planning, Dorn led his men into the heart of the Iron Warrior defences. The battle should have favoured the treacherous trench-fighters, but the Imperial Fists endured. They countered every ambush and fought their way out of every trap. Rogal Dorn was a colossus who personally turned back attack after attack. Ammunition expended, brothers fought in half-flooded trenches with combat knives, giving and expecting no quarter. Eventually it became apparent that the Iron Warriors could not finish them. For all their skill and ferocity, the Iron Warriors lacked the faith to make the ultimate sacrifice that victory demanded. While they paused, the Ultramarines intervened; Guilliman had decided that Perturabo's destruction was not worth the loss of Rogal Dorn and had brought his Chapter to drive off the Iron Warriors.

Cleansed by their sacrifice, the Imperial Fists immediately began their reorganisation. For the next two decades they went into retreat, their successor Chapters taking to the field in their stead. Dorn used this time to retrain the Chapter to embrace all aspects of the Codex Astartes. When they later emerged, their adherence to the Codex was matched only by the Ultramarines.2

Organisation
Initially, the Imperial Fists were an inflexible formation; each Company had an identical organisation and Company Commanders tended to be unimaginative. Overall planning was excellent however, and this, coupled with the unshakable determination of the individual Fists, made them an excellent assault formation against static defences. Through most of the Great Crusade, the Imperial Fists would be held in reserve, waiting while other Legions pinned the enemy in position and identified the keystone of their defence. Inevitably, that position would then be shattered by the Fists. They were equally valuable when resolutely blocking, and often totally defeated enemy breakthroughs. The Legion had a willingness to fight until they won which few opponents could match. Rogal Dorn led from the front, a tireless warrior who, having set the strategy for a battle, would unerringly place himself in the most critical engagements.

After the losses incurred during the Iron Cage, what remained of the Imperial Fists was a hardened, veteran force fully able to embrace the concepts of the Codex Astartes; alongside the Ultramarines, the Imperial Fists have become the epitome of Codex doctrine. All ranks are able to make tactical decisions and are encouraged to act on initiative. The Imperial Fists combine all arms in flexible balanced battle groups each of which can present an opponent with a diversity of threats then press their attack so swiftly that the foe is overwhelmed before he can react. They retain their traditional skills in urban and siege warfare, although they are quite willing to engage and defeat the enemy in open battle. They will use fortifications on the defensive, but only after all more aggressive options have been exhausted. Their only weakness is perhaps a reluctance to accept the possibility of defeat that sometimes blinds them to risk.2

The Imperial Fists' geneseed has been somewhat corrupted over the millennia, so two traits have emerged. One is the loss of two of the special organs produced by Space Marines: the Betcher's Gland, which allows the Marine to produce poisonous/acidic spittle, and the Sus-an Membrane, which allows a Marine to enter a state of suspended animation.

The second is the Imperial Fists' over-zealous self-castigation. They often make use of a device called the Pain Glove, which encases the whole body and stimulates pain neurons. The Imperial Fists constantly feel the need to punish themselves for the smallest inadequacy, failure or infraction. The holiest relic of Rogal Dorn, his skeletal hand, is displayed in their fortress monastery as a reminder of the ultimate dedication required of the Space Marines.

Although the Imperial Fists have a preference for long range engagement and specialise in siege warfare, they are also well known for their passion for dueling, a trait inherited from the men of Terra from whom the originally warriors of the legion were recruited, and many can display scars from this time honoured practice.

Like all Codex chapters, the Imperial Fists are divided into ten Companies. Each Company is led by a hero of the Chapter, who - in addition to his Company command - is in charge of a particular aspect of the Chapter's logistics.

Recruitment
The Imperial Fists take their potential recruits from many worlds, among which are Terra, Necromunda and Inwit. On each of these worlds they maintain a chapter keep. However they have no special rights as to where they recruit their neophytes.

Once recruits are selected, their criminal record is examined, and they undergo a battery of tests: musculature, psychological profile ("Psychosis level"), psychic level, eye reflexes, intelligence, the ability to shoot, pain resistance, dexterity.

Recruits spend six months in the fortress-monastery where they learn proper Imperial Gothic through a hypnocasque before undergoing their initiation in the "tunnel of terror." In the latter, they face extreme heat, cold, empty space, etc. The severity increases along the way. If the initiate passes, he becomes a cadet and the symbol of the Imperial Fists is marked on his buttock. Then begins the indoctrination, training and the actual surgery that will make them Marines.

To celebrate the introduction of the Preomnor implant, cadets eat poisonous plants, venomous animals, etc. For the Omophagea, they consume meat (some of the meat they eat is human flesh) and must divine from the meat a few details about the actual animal.

After the initiation ceremony, the cadet's family is informed that their child has become a Space Marine.3

Fleet Disposition
The Chapter fleet includes the Gothic Battleship Imperial Power, as well as Cobra Class Destroyers4. At least three strike cruisers took part in the attack on the Chaos forces in the Peleons Belt heretic anchorage. One of the chapter's strike cruisers is called the Titus1

Known Campaigns
Imperial Fists Marines were involved in the Sabbat worlds Crusade, being present at the mop-up of Verghast, destroying the spike.

Notable Imperial Fists

 * Rogal Dorn - Primarch of the Imperial Fists
 * Captain Lysander - Captain of the First Company, Overseer of the Armoury and Watch Commander of the Phalanx
 * Vladimir Pugh - Chapter Master
 * Sigismund - First Captain of the Imperial Fists, and later founder of the Black Templars chapter
 * Lo Chang - The moon-faced Chaplain is marked by crater-like wounds incurred when his helmet failed him. When Lo Chang preaches, he is swept up in devout ecstasy wherein his passion can inspire any Imperial Fists Space Marine to strive to be a true child of Dorn. Appeared in the out-of-print novel Space Marine by Ian Watson.
 * Franz Grenzstein - An intense and preoccupied Librarian, taking his responsibilities to keep the Imperial Fists safe from psychic or daemonic enemies very seriously. On the rare occasions an Imperial Fists Space Marine is in contact with Chaos, it is Grenzstein who will be assigned to help them regain their mental stability and ensure they have not brought Chaos's taint with them. Grenzstein was killed during a search-and-destroy mission against Tyranids; appeared in the novel Space Marine by Ian Watson.
 * Lexandro D'Arquebus - Former Captain. A high-hab resident of the Trazior hive on Necromunda before his recruitment into the Imperial Fists, Lexandro rose rapidly through the ranks of the Space Marines. He is the only surviving one of the "Three Brothers" of Trazior; the finger bones of his left hand are inscribed with the names of the two deceased brothers as a permanent memorial to them. He is one of the main characters of Ian Watson's 1993 novel Space Marine, and also appears in his Inquisition War trilogy.