Space Wolves

"The Sons of Fenris they are, hardened in the forge of their harsh world, eager for battle and honour. They are the grey warriors, ashen like the wolf, whose greatest joy is to hear the clamour of steel amidst the din of war."

- The Space Wolves Catechism

The Space Wolves are one of the original 20 First Founding Space Marine Legions, and were once led by their famed Primarch, Leman Russ. The Space Wolves are renowned for their anti-authoritarian ways and their embrace of their homeworld Fenris' savage barbarian culture as well as their extreme deviation from the Codex Astartes in the Chapter's organisation. After the Horus Heresy and the resultant Second Founding reforms of the Adeptus Astartes, the Space Wolves Legion was divided into two Chapters: the new Space Wolves Chapter, which was not compliant with the dictates of the Codex Astartes and retained the name of its parent Legion, and the second Chapter which took the name of the Wolf Brothers. The Wolf Brothers suffered from rampant mutation of their gene-seed not long after their Founding and were later disbanded. It is currently unknown if there are any other Successor Chapters of the Space Wolves in the Imperium.

Leman Russ
The Primarch of the Space Wolves, Leman Russ, grew up on the distant, icy Death World of Fenris, a snow-covered, geologically unstable world inhabited by primitive, warlike tribes of barbaric humans. Russ arrived on the frigid planet as an infant after his gestation capsule was flung across the galaxy through the Warp from the Emperor's secret gene-laboratory deep beneath the Himalayan Mountains on Terra by the whim of the Chaos Gods. Russ was raised to his genetically-accelerated adulthood by a pack of the massive, semi-sentient Fenrisian Wolves that still prowl the snowy lands of that deadly world. Russ was eventually discovered by a man named Thengir, the King of the Russ, who had organised a party of hunters to clear the Fenrisian Wolf pack from his lands. As most of the wolves were slaughtered, the young man who had run with the pack was captured and brought to Thengir who took him into his care, and gave him the name Leman of the Russ. The Primarch learned the ways of Mankind quickly, and many legends sprang up about him among the Fenrisian tribes. Upon his adopted father's death, the kingship of the Russ passed to Leman. Leman became a mighty leader, winning many victories for his adopted people, often fighting alongside packs of Fenrisian Wolves, led by two of his Wolf-brothers who had escaped Thengir's hunters.

The Allfather
The Emperor of Mankind eventually traveled to Fenris, after having heard word of the exploits of Leman Russ. The Emperor had realised that such feats could only be the work of one of his missing Primarchs. At first Leman Russ refused to pay the Emperor homage, going so far as to challenge him to a series of competitions to determine who was the better man. The challenges consisted of three different contests, one being eating, the other drinking, and the third a fist-fight. Russ managed to beat the Emperor at both eating and drinking, but the third challenge was more to the Emperor's liking. Having at first seemed like nothing more than a disappointment, a barbarian drunkard and boaster, the Primarch suddenly launched a furious attack. The ferocity and skill of this assault proved to the Emperor that this was indeed one of his sons, as Russ fought with superhuman speed and power. After having the disappointment lifted from his spirit by his son's ferocity, the Emperor stopped holding back and quickly found an opening in Russ' defences. The Emperor raised his Power Fist and knocked the Primarch out with a single blow that would have killed a lesser man. Leman Russ awoke later and blamed his loss on the immense quantity of alcohol he had consumed, but in the end admitted defeat and swore fealty to the Emperor. Russ was put in command of the Astartes of the VI Space Marine Legion who bore his genetic imprint, and he soon renamed them the Space Wolves. Russ and his Legion then set off on his own leg of the Great Crusade to reunite all of humanity beneath the wings of the Imperium of Man.

The Great Crusade
Leman Russ fought well during the Great Crusade, gaining a reputation as a cunning and fierce, if slightly unstable, Imperial warrior and Astartes leader. At the time, the warriors of Russ referred to themselves as the Vlka Fenryka ( "Wolves of Fenris") or more simply, The Rout. Most Astartes of the VI Legion bristled at the title "Space Wolves", as it was what offworlders referred to them.

During a pacification war to bring a world into Imperial Compliance, the Dark Angels Legion aided the Space Wolves, and the leader of this particular planet insulted Leman Russ' honour. As such, Russ wanted to defeat the leader personally for the insult. The Dark Angels and Space Wolves, both lead by their respective Primarchs, assaulted the tower where the leader was located. Leman Russ burst into the throne room just in time to see the Dark Angels' Primarch, Lion El'Jonson, beheading the world's leader with his mighty blade. Angry that the honour was not his, Leman Russ marched up to the Lion and punched him in the jaw. This lead to a battle that lasted for a day or more, until finally Russ saw how immature their squabble was and started laughing. Lion El'Jonson took this action to be a direct insult to him because he mistakenly believed that Russ was mocking him with laughter and so he punched Leman Russ once more and knocked his brother Primarch into unconsciousness before leaving the planet in a dark mood with his Legion. This fight led to a bitter feud between the Legions (and the subsequent Chapters), which lasts to this day. Although recent events may finally have led to an end to the rivalry, it is still customary for selected champions from both Chapters to engage in a (usually) non-lethal duel whenever they meet in remembrance of this ancient feud.

The Horus Heresy
Just prior to the outbreak of the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves came into conflict with one of their brother Space Marine Legions once again. The Primarch of the Thousand Sons Space Marines, Magnus the Red, had ignored the Imperial proscription against the use of psychic sorcery that had been decided by the Emperor and the other Primarchs at the Council of Nikaea during the Great Crusade so that he could warn the Emperor in astral form that Horus had turned to Chaos. Magnus' psychic intrusion into the Imperial Palace on Terra had disrupted the Emperor's secret Imperial Webway Project and killed thousands of workers, Adepts and Servitors. To make matters worse, the Emperor refused to believe that his favoured son Horus had betrayed him and instead he believed that it was Magnus who had been corrupted by Chaos because of his continued use of sorcery. Leman Russ and the Space Wolves were then ordered by the Emperor to bring Magnus before him on Terra to account for his actions.

Fall of Prospero
However, the treacherous Warmaster Horus had other plans in mind. Ignorant of the changes in his brother Primarch since his corruption by the Chaos Gods, Russ was convinced by Horus' silver tongue to launch an all-out planetary assault on the seditious Thousand Sons rather than attempt to negotiate with them or bring their Primarch Magnus the Red back to Terra peacefully. Horus claimed that the Emperor wanted to punish Magnus, who had already shown himself disloyal by using the psychic sorcery that Horus knew Leman Russ found dishonourable in the extreme and had been absolutely forbidden by the edicts of the Council of Nikaea. The surprise assault upon the Thousand Sons' homeworld of Prospero was ferocious and brutally successful; however, many of the Thousand Sons, including Magnus himself, eventually gave themselves over to the Chaos God Tzeentch in order to save themselves and their precious collected arcane knowledge about the Warp and psychic power on Prospero from being destroyed by the Imperium. After agreeing to give themselves over to the Changer of Ways, the Thousand Sons escaped through his assistance into the Warp rift called the Eye of Terror and found a new home on the Daemon World known as the Planet of the Sorcerers. As a result of the Fall of Prospero, the two Legions came to bear a deep, abiding and eternal grudge against one another. This grudge is still very deep between the Space Wolves and the surviving Astartes of the Thousand Sons, who are now the Chaos Space Marines Traitor Legion dedicated solely to the service of Tzeentch.

Battle of Terra
During the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were far from Terra, fighting alongside the Dark Angels, and were unable to assist their Loyalist brethren in the defence of Mankind's homeworld during the Battle of Terra from the attack of the Warmaster's traitorous Forces of Chaos. Knowledge of the imminent arrival of the two Loyalist Legions, which would tip the balance in favour of the Loyalists, pushed Horus at the climax of the Battle of Terra into allowing the Emperor to personally teleport aboard his Battle Barge Vengeful Spirit in orbit over Terra in a desperate gamble to bring the terrible civil war to a swift conclusion. The two Legions arrived just after the battle concluded, with the Warmaster and the Blood Angels' Primarch Sanguinius (killed at the hands of Horus), already dead. The Emperor himself had been mortally wounded and interred within the arcane life support mechanisms of the Golden Throne by Rogal Dorn.

Post-Heresy
The Emperor's body had breathed its last breath, and his spirit achieved apotheosis and ascended into the Warp as a God after being interred within the Golden Throne. Leman Russ was devastated by his inability to save the Emperor during the final battle of the Horus Heresy aboard the Warmaster's battle barge. Following the conclusion of the Horus Heresy, the Imperium set out to quell the Chaotic uprisings against the Emperor's authority that still burned throughout the galaxy and restore order to itself. As word spread of the Warmaster's defeat throughout the Imperium, widespread fighting renewed. Revitalised by the news of the death of Horus and the routing of his Traitor Legions, the Loyalists fell upon the rebels with a vengeance. The Great Scouring had begun, as Imperial forces bled the rebels dry as they desperately turned on all within their reach in a final despairing orgy of destruction. The Space Wolves Legion spearheaded the Great Scouring, continuing to wage war on the Traitors for another seven years before the last rebel formation were destroyed or exiled to the isolated Warp Rift known as the Eye of Terror.

The Disappearance of Leman Russ
"Listen closely Brothers, for my life’s breath is all but spent. There shall come a time far from now when our Chapter itself is dying, even as I am now dying, and our foes shall gather to destroy us. Then my children, I shall listen to your call in whatever realm of death holds me, and come i shall, no matter what the laws of life or death forbid. At the end I will be there. For the final battle. For the Wolftime."

- Final words of the Primarch Leman Russ before his disappearance

Years later, at one particular “Feast of the Emperor’s Ascension" in honour of the day the Emperor defeated Horus and ascended to full divinity on the Golden Throne, Leman Russ quieted the great hall to speak, but then froze in place as his eyes glazed over as if seeing a vision. The assembled Space Wolves looked on in horror as their Primarch fell to his knees and called his elite Wolf Guard and closest retainers to him, all save the youngest, Bjorn the Fell-Handed. Giving his closest companions his instructions, Russ turned and left the Great Hall with his bodyguard in tow, leaving only Bjorn behind.

Every year afterwards, Russ' place was laid at the feast. Every year his drinking horn was filled should he return. For seven long, painful years the Space Wolves waited patiently for their lost Wolf-King to return, but when he failed to do so, Bjorn was elected the first Great Wolf and led the Chapter on their first Great Hunt to search for Russ. The Great Companies dispersed amongst the stars searching for their lord and Bjorn took his search to the Eye of Terror itself. There Bjorn was mortally wounded and entombed in a Dreadnought as the Space Wolves returned. Over the various Great Hunts many glorious victories have been won, each hunt beginning when Russ speaks through visions into the minds of the Rune Priests, granting his sons his wisdom from time to time and sending them on new Great Hunts to search for their lost Primarch. None have succeeded in this goal, but Russ assured his sons with his final words that he will return to them in time for the Chapter's final battle, what he called the "Wolftime."

The tale of Leman Russ' disappearance is retold every thousand years by the Dreadnought Bjorn the Fell-Handed, the oldest Astartes Dreadnought still in service in the entire Imperium. It is believed by some Astartes amongst the Space Wolves that Russ left Fenris and journeyed into the Eye of Terror to find the fabled Tree of Life, the only remaining font of uncorrupted Warp energy that still lies hidden somewhere within the Immaterium. Legend holds that the Tree of Life bears fruit said to be able to miraculously heal the Emperor and restore him to full life. Many Space Wolves also believe that the "Wolftime" that Russ spoke of before his disappearance is fast approaching for the Imperium of Man at the end of the 41st Millennium.

The Reformation and the Second Founding
Seven years after the death of the Great Evil One, Horus, the Second Founding occurred. The Horus Heresy had revealed weaknesses in the gene-seed of several Space Marine Legions. These defects had been exacerbated by the accelerated gene-seed cultivation techniques needed to keep the Space Marine Legions up to strength during the Great Crusade. The Ruinous Powers of Chaos were able to exploit the resultant physical and mental corruption and turned the Warmaster and the Traitor Legions under his command against the Emperor.

The first objective of the newly created military treatise known as the Codex Astartes (authored by the Ultramarines Legion's Primarch Roboute Guilliman) was to reorganize the Space Marine Legions into smaller military formations and expunge these weaknesses. The Legions were broken down into Chapters, an already extant Astartes military formation in some of the Legions that consisted of 1,000 Battle-Brothers of fighting strength. Never again would one man wield so much power over vast legions of superhuman troops at his command.

Never a very large Legion, the Space Wolves were divided only once, creating the ill-fated Wolf Brothers Chapter. The High Lords of Terra recognised the problems of genetic instability that would eventually plague the genetic seed of Leman Russ, giving rise in later times to the terrible curse of the Wulfen, and therefore decided against dividing and further spreading the Space Wolves' genetic base across the newly-Founded Adeptus Astartes. The Space Wolves' lack of Successor Chapters has often been noted as unusual given its status as a First Founding Legion with a history extending back to the legendary days of the Great Crusade.

Notable Campaigns

 * First Battle For The Fang (Unknown Date.M32) - Harek Ironhelm was the Chapter's Great Wolf during the 32nd Millennium. Ironhelm sought for many years to bring the Thousand Sons' Primarch Magnus the Red to battle. Several times Magnus appeared to him in visions amongst the ruins of devastated cities that had been laid to ruin by the Thousand Sons Traitor Legion striking from out of the Eye of Terror and taunted the Great Wolf for his inability to stop him. After many fruitless efforts to catch up with the Chaos Space Marines, Harek became obsessed, and took to searching worlds along the edge of the Eye of Terror itself. Eventually he found what he believed to be the Thousand Sons' secret base on the world of Gangava and launched a full-scale planetary assault against it. This was a deception intended to draw the bulk of the Space Wolves' forces from their homeworld, leaving it undefended; for in truth Gangava was held by a Chaos force allied to Magnus but it served only as a distraction, intended to draw the Space Wolves away from their homeworld so that a massive Thousand Sons' fleet could besiege Fenris itself. The Space Wolves' fortress-monastery, The Fang, was held by only a small force of Space Wolves and their Servitor-thralls. For forty days and forty nights the Thousand Sons assaulted the citadel. Bjorn the Fell-Handed, the most ancient of the Space Wolves' Dreadnoughts, was woken from his long sleep and took charge of the defence. The assault was held at bay as a force of Scout Marines under Haakon Blackwing escaped to Gangava to locate Harek. Shamed and furious, Harek Ironhelm returned to meet Magnus in battle on the slopes of the Fang itself. Although Magnus was terribly wounded, even Harek could not stand against the power of a Primarch who had been further exalted to become a Daemon Prince of Tzeentch. Harek was slain, but the Thousand Sons were ultimately defeated and scattered, the Traitor Legion's warbands forced to return to the Planet of the Sorcerers within the Eye of Terror.
 * Age of Apostasy, Second Battle for The Fang (Unknown Date.M36) - During the Age of Apostasy's Plague of Unbelief, Apostate Cardinal Bucharis of Gathalamore launched an invasion of Fenris on his way to Terra. For three years, Bucharis laid siege to the Fang after the Space Wolves' fleet waged furious battles against the Renegade Imperial Navy forces of Bucharis. Some of the Space Wolves' starships managed to break through, such as the cruiser named the Claw of Russ. However, the fighting saw millions of Fenrisians fall to the invaders as the people of Fenris, the Space Wolves and even the Fenrisian Wolves of the wild waged war against their corrupted Chaotic attackers. Despite numerous efforts to break the siege, the Space Wolves could not get through, until returning from a five-year-long expedition to the Eye of Terror, Kyrl Grimblood and his Great Company smashed through Bucharis' fleet and then launched a devastating assault on the rear of Bucharis' siege forces, killing thousands and sending many fleeing into the wilds of Fenris to die horribly at the claws of the unforgiving creatures and the touch of the deadly weather. With Kyrl's efforts weakening the invaders, the Space Wolves launched a break-out counteroffensive and smashed through their attackers, routing them. Bucharis was forced to flee and while his defeat at the hands of the Space Wolves did not end his reign, others fought against the "Plague of Unbelief" he had unleashed and Bucharis was eventually defeated by a resurgent Imperium. Yet it is due to the efforts of Kyrl Grimblood that the ambitions of the Apostate Cardinal Bucharis were brought to a turning point and the Second Battle for the Fang was won.
 * First War for Armageddon (444.M41) - The most famous action during the First War for Armageddon was when the Great Wolf Logan Grimnar lead 300 Space Wolves alongside 100 Grey Knights against the World Eaters' Daemon Primarch Angron and a diabolic horde of Khornate Berserkers. The Imperial forces eventually rose victorious and banished Angron back to the Warp from whence he came. The Space Wolves continued to fight in the First War for Armageddon through to its conclusion. However, following the conclusion of the war the Inquisition rounded up the surviving civilian population of the planet into labour camps to keep them from spreading tales of the Chaotic horrors they had seen and rendered them infertile so they would not be able to have their potentially corrupted bloodlines carry on. Eventually, these valiant defenders all died after a life of confinement in these camps. New colonists were brought in from the surrounding systems to repopulate the world of Armageddon with no one the wiser of the horrors that had occurred there. Wolf Lord Logan Grimnar took great offense to the Inquisition's actions, having fought so hard and valiantly alongside the brave people of Armageddon. Since this time the Space Wolves have had little but hostility to show towards the Inquisition and few indeed are the Inquisitors allowed into The Fang in recent times.
 * Third War for Armageddon (998.M41) - The Space Wolves fielded 5 Great Companies in the defence of the Hive World of Armageddon during the Third War for Armageddon and acquitted themselves admirably in the successful defence of this strategically vital hive world from the Orks of WAAAGH! Ghazghkull.
 * 13th Black Crusade (999.M41) - When Abaddon the Despoiler spilled forth from the Eye of Terror to launch the 13th Black Crusade, the Space Wolves were one of the first Chapters of the Space Marines to meet the challenge. Logan Grimnar and the Space Wolves were among the first Imperial defenders to arrive in the Cadian System to stem the tide of Chaotic filth. The entire Chapter deployed to support the Cadians, as the Space Wolves committed all 12 of their Great Companies against the Forces of Chaos. As Grimnar was among the oldest and wisest Space Marine commanders in the Imperium and possessed a stalwart reputation, he was elected to overall command of the Imperial defenders for the conflict. The Space Wolves are one of only four Space Marine Chapters to have fought in both the Third War for Armageddon and the 13th Black Crusade.
 * Centius Prime - The Space Wolves deployed a Land Raider Helios to defeat the Orks of Centius Prime.
 * Draxian Incursion - The Space Wolves entered the fray against the forces of the xenos Draxians during the Draxian Incursion into Imperial territory on the world of Medes 841.
 * Hesperida Campaign - The Space Wolves met the Forces of Chaos on the world of Hesperida. Portions of Ragnar Blackmane's Great Company saw action in this conflict.
 * Corinthus V - Ragnar Blackmane's Great Company was deployed to the Imperial world of Corinthus V to aid the regiments of the Imperial Guard in throwing back the Forces of Chaos.
 * Magdelon Confrontation - The Space Wolves deployed their Vindicators against the foe during the Magdelon Confrontation.
 * Battle of Garm and the Recovery of the Spear of Russ - The Space Wolves had deployed 11 of their 12 Great Companies to deal with attacks against worlds under their protection. One of these Great Companies was deployed to the world of Garm to recover the Chapter artefact called the Spear of Russ  from the Shrine of Garm's Skull located on the planet, which had long been one of the most venerated locations in Space Wolves' tradition. The Spear was lost when the Space Wolf Ragnar Blackmane used it to close a Warp Gate opened by the Thousand Sons Chaos Space Marines to keep them from laying their blasphemous boots upon the soil of this world sacred to the Chapter.

Chapter Organisation
The Space Wolves are known for their fiercely anti-authoritarian behaviour. They strongly resist the central command structure of the Imperium, organising themselves into Packs instead of the normal Squads and continue to refuse the dictates of the Codex Astartes, the standardised guide to Space Marine and Imperial Guard tactics created by the Ultramarines' Primarch Roboute Guilliman. The Space Wolves only accept some standard Imperial tactics that were considered useful for their own preferred style of warfare. As such, they have a reputation for being as ill-disciplined as they are fearless. It is often said that the best way to get a Space Wolf to do something is to tell him not to do it.

Wolf Packs
Instead of organising into the Tactical, Assault and Devastator Squads as the Codex Astartes dictates, the Space Wolves form their Battle-Brothers into Packs. Each Pack will generally be made up of Astartes who have fought together for some time and will work together as a pack of Fenrisian Wolves do on the hunt. For the Space Wolves their finely honed senses of smell and hearing are just as important to them as their keen eyesight. Packs will work together to sniff and sound out their foes, hunting their prey like the wolves of Fenris, identifying the locations of their comrades as much by their enhanced sense of smell as by any technological means. The Space Wolves have four primary types of Packs in the Chapter, including the Blood Claws, Grey Hunters, Long Fangs, and the Wolf Guard. There are also Wolf Scouts, who are an oddity among the Adeptus Astartes.
 * Blood Claws - Most Space Wolves start out as Blood Claws, hot-headed warriors who cannot wait to prove themselves, and are still struggling to control the beast within which is unleashed by the Canis Helix of Leman Russ' gene-seed. Blood Claws serve as the close combat Assault Squads of the Space Wolves, spearheading the majority of assaults with a joyous ferocity. They are usually equipped with Bolt Pistols and Chainswords, similar to the Assault Marines of standard Codex Astartes-compliant Chapters, though Blood Claws do not necessarily use Jump Packs as standard equipment unless they are Skyclaws. Blood Claws also take to battle upon Space Marine Assault Bikes, usually wielding close combat weapons.
 * Swiftclaws - A subset of the Blood Claws, the Swiftclaws are culled from the ranks of the Blood Claws when the Chapter needs a swift, hard-hitting assault force. The young and ambitious Blood Claws are well suited to this role. In addition to forming a lightning assault force, Swiftclaws will occasionally be tasked with a dangerous quest to track down and slay a particularly powerful enemy.
 * Skyclaws - Skyclaws are another subset of the Blood Claws, formed from the most troublesome and headstrong members of the Blood Claw Packs who wear Jump Packs into combat. A promotion to the Skyclaws is considered a dubious honour at best, for after all, Russ himself was always content to fight with his feet firmly on the ground and no self-respecting Space Wolf would fight any other way.
 * Grey Hunters - If Blood Claws survive long enough to mature into seasoned Astartes, they are promoted to the ranks of the Grey Hunters, tempered by battle, but always ready to do what is necessary for the Chapter and the Imperium of Man. Grey Hunters serve as the tactical backbone of a Space Wolf force, as they are equipped to serve in a variety of battle scenarios and thus serve essentially as the Space Wolves' Tactical Marines.
 * Long Fangs - When a Space Wolf is fully mature, "their hair grey and canines pronounced," they are inducted into the Long Fangs, those Veteran Space Wolves who have a reputation for being disciplined and cool-headed in the heat of battle. They are entrusted with the heavy weaponry possessed by their Great Company and so serve as that company's Devastator Squads, watching over and providing fire support for their younger brethren. Long Fang squad members are the only Space Wolves disciplined enough to choose their own targets individually and thus are one of the only units within the Chapter that can shoot at multiple targets.
 * Wolf Guard - Some Space Wolves, having achieved feats of exceptional valour and martial prowess, may become members of the Chapter's Wolf Guard. These mighty Astartes can lead smaller forces of Space Wolves drawn from other Packs, serve as the Space Wolves' version of an Honour Guard for the most experienced warrior in a deployed Space Wolves force or serve as the Pack leader for a Great Company's squads, imparting their knowledge and experience to their younger charges and serving as the equivalent of standard Space Marine Sergeants. In addition to access to the best suits of Power Armour and the most advanced wargear available to the Chapter, the Wolf Guard are the only Space Wolves with the right to wear Terminator Armour. Unlike in other Chapters, entrance into the elite ranks of the Wolf Guard is not the result of seniority or Veteran status but is an honour earned directly through merit, through the display of extraordinary acts of courage and heroism under fire. Eventually, it is possible for a Wolf Guard to rise to the position of Wolf Lord, the mighty officers equivalent to standard Space Marine Captains who command one of the 12 Great Companies that comprise the entirety of the Chapter.
 * Thunderwolf Cavalry - Thunderwolf Cavalry units are a sub-group of the Wolf Guard. According to official Imperial records, the Thunderwolf Cavalry doesn't exist and the Space Wolves keep them as a closely guarded secret. Thunderwolves are giant Fenrisian Wolves that stand about the height of a Terran rhinoceros and are used as mounts by the most elite members of the Wolf Guard. Thunderwolves are used in the near-mythical Thunderwolf Cavalry, and are often augmented with adamantium jaws, Imperial bionics, and back-jointed metal limbs that end in razor-sharp blades. The havoc that these creatures are capable of wreaking is said to be startling to even a hardened Veteran Space Wolf. The taming of a Thunderwolf is often used as a ritual trial for a Space Wolves Astartes who wishes to rise into the ranks of the Wolf Guards.
 * Wolf Scouts - For some Space Wolves Astartes, the close-knit and boisterous brotherhood of the Pack (squad) is not well suited to their personality, as they yearn for the open spaces and isolation of the Fenrisian tundra. These Space Marines are selected to become part of a Great Company's Wolf Scout force, providing reconnaissance and disrupting enemy movements. These Space Marines are often already Veterans, as opposed to the raw Neophytes commonly used in other Chapters' Scout Marines Squads.
 * Lone Wolves - Over time, as Space Wolves Packs take casualties and gain experience, they pass through the ranks, and eventually the last few survivors make it into the vaunted ranks of the Wolf Guard. However, sometimes a Pack will suffer particularly harsh casualties, leaving a lone survivor who has not yet earned a place in the Wolf Guard. These last standing Lone Wolves will take on an air of vengeance and doom, determined to regain the honour of their Pack in combat or die trying. Those who succeed in their quests to seek out and slay dangerous or potent enemies and survive are accepted into the Wolf Guard, while the rest have at least earned an honourable death in combat like their Packmates.
 * Wolfblades - Furthermore, some Space Wolves are sent to Terra to become the rare Wolfblades. Wolfblades are an ancient honour guard that protect the ancient Navigator House of Belisarius, long-time allies of the Space Wolves Chapter. This pact's origins are lost to legend, but the most commonly accepted version of the story dates it from the time of the Great Crusade and the friendship between Leman Russ and Alexander Belisarius. Belisarius was a Navigator of genius, who aided Russ on many of his adventures. On the day of the Feast of the Founding they are said to have sworn a pact of eternal friendship. As a sign of this friendship, the Belisarians agreed to provide Navigators for the Chapter in perpetuam, in return for the Space Wolves' martial aid. An entire Pack of Space Wolves would accompany the Celestarch of the House Belisarius as his bodyguard. Given the fractious nature of the Navigator Houses of the Navis Nobilitae, and a commercial rivalry which, at that time, could result in conflicts as large as wars, this was an alliance of vast importance for the Navigators. The Space Wolves still enjoy a close bond to House Belisarius, an alliance between a Navigator House and a Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes shared only by the Blood Ravens, White Scars, and Blood Angels Chapters.

Specialist Ranks

 * Great Wolf - The Great Wolf is the Space Wolves' equivalent of a Chapter Master. The Great Wolf is generally considered only a steward of the Chapter rather than its true lord, since he is only awaiting the return of the Primarch Leman Russ who has always been the Space Wolves' only true leader. The Great Wolf leads the Chapter in Russ’ absence. Chosen from among the Chapter's Wolf Lords, the current Great Wolf is Logan Grimnar, who has lead the Chapter for over eight standard centuries as of 999.M41.
 * Wolf Lords - A Wolf Lord is the Space Wolf officer who is the equivalent of a standard Space Marine Captain and who commands one of the 12 Great Companies that comprise the full Space Wolves Chapter's military force. A Wolf Lord may be accompanied by the huge Fenrisian Wolves and is always protected by a contingent of Wolf Guard specifically loyal to him. The Chapter's Great Companies are led by the 12 current Wolf Lords, a number that includes the current Great Wolf, Logan Grimnar. Much of the time the attrition rate for Wolf Lords is fairly significant because of the Chapter's preference for close combat. However, some Wolf Lords have managed to see their thousandth year pass in service to the Emperor. Ragnar Blackmane is one of the Chapter's current Wolf Lords and is in fact the youngest Astartes to have ascended to the rank of Wolf Lord in the Chapter's history. The current Wolf Lords of the Chapter include:
 * Logan Grimnar
 * Harald Deathwolf
 * Bjorn Stormwolf
 * Egil Ironwolf
 * Krom Dragongaze
 * Ragnar Blackmane
 * Sven Bloodhowl
 * Kjarl Grimblood
 * Bran Redmaw
 * Engir Krakendoom
 * Erik Morkai
 * Gunnar Redmoon
 * Iron Priests - The Iron Priests are the Chapter’s equivalent of Techmarines. Sent off for training at Mars with the Adeptus Mechanicus like all Techmarines, the Iron Priests maintain the Chapter's equipment and forge all necessary replacement wargear. Iron Priests are traditionally attached to the Great Wolf’s Company and re-assigned to other fighting forces on a situational basis. Iron Priests also have a place in the transformation and initiation of new recruits.
 * Wolf Priests - Wolf Priests are a unique officer class within the Chapter. A combination of the roles of Chaplain and Apothecary found in Codex-compliant Chapters, the Wolf Priests administer to the physical and mental well-being of the Chapter’s warriors and also choose the Aspirants to the Chapter from among the feral barbarian tribes of Fenris. Ulrik the Slayer is a famous Wolf Priest who mentored many notable members of the Chapter, including Logan Grimnar and Ragnar Blackmane.
 * Rune Priests - The Space Wolves do not have Librarians as such because of their great abhorrence of psychic abilities, which they equate with foul sorcery; instead the Chapter maintains a number of Rune Priests -- potent psykers who examine the minds of all Aspirants to the Chapter for any sign of Chaotic taint or treachery. Armed and equipped differently from Librarians, Rune Priests do not wear the Psychic Hoods of Librarians, and do not always carry Force Weapons, what the Space Wolves prefer to call Runic Weapons. The Rune Priests, however, are actually quite potent psykers in their own right and as fierce warriors as any man born of Fenris.
 * Venerable Dreadnoughts - The Dreadnoughts of the Space Wolves are generally ancient and wise warriors, who spend a great deal of time in dreamless sleep beneath The Fang. They are only awakened from their deep slumber in times of great need. The Venerable Dreadnoughts of the Space Wolves may sometimes even lead forces of their fellow Astartes into battle in the absence of another capable war leader, or sometimes in deference to their ancient wisdom and extensive tactical experience.

The Great Companies
Instead of dividing into Successor Chapters as per the requirements of the Codex Astartes, the Space Wolves Legion continued to split itself into 12 Great Companies (a Great Company being closer in size to an entire normal Space Marine Chapter than the company of 100 Astartes that normally comprises a Chapter's constituent units), with a 13th Company named in honour of a large group of Space Wolves who had disappeared during the Horus Heresy. This 13th Great Company came to represent all the Great Companies in the Space Wolves' history that had been destroyed, lost on campaign or had recanted their oath of loyalty to the Great Wolf. Each of these was led by a Wolf Lord (captain), who answered to the Chapter Master, the Great Wolf. Each Great Company is a free-standing body of troops in almost all respects; occupying its own territory in the massive fortress-monastery of the Space Wolves that is built inside a huge mountain known as The Fang, possessing its own equipment, forges and spacecraft, and following its own customs and heroes. Each Great Company takes its name from its current Wolf Lord, and also take the mythological Fenrisian symbol the new Lord associates with. When a Wolf Lord dies, another is chosen to replace him from the slain leader's Wolf Guard, causing the Great Company to reinvent itself. Thus, unlike the companies in other Space Marine Chapters, the Great Companies of the Space Wolves do not have fixed heraldry, but change through the ages.

Recruitment of a Space Wolf
Like all Astartes, new Space Wolves are recruited in early adolescence, selected from the most able youths of the feral tribes of their homeworld of Fenris. Unlike other Chapters, the Space Wolves have one of the longest and most arduous series of Trials ever crafted to test their Aspirants. Only the fiercest and most skilled young Fenrisian warriors are chosen after their heroism (or death in the heat of battle) is witnessed by a "Watcher" or a Wolf Priest. Shortly after, these Aspirants are taken to camps farther north where they are sorted into groups called Claws. For an indefinite amount of time or until their death, they endure fierce physical training and a series of almost fatal missions in the frozen wastes of the Asaheim Mountains of Fenris intended to prove their fitness for the life of an Astartes.

When they are finally deemed worthy, the Aspirants partake in a ceremony where they receive the Canis Helix, the spirit of the Wolf, which is actually a genetic cocktail drawn from the genome of Leman Russ. The mixture is drunk from the Space Wolves relic known as the Cup of Wulfen. An ancient legend of the Chapter tells how Leman Russ gave the Cup to his original followers, the first men from Fenris to join the VI Legion, telling them to drink from the Cup. The first man who drank, named Wulfen, was secretly jealous of Russ, drank, and became the first canine mutant known as the Wulfen, an angry amalgamation of the wolf spirit and the secret darkness that resided within the heart of the man. He leapt to attack Russ, who throttled him with one hand. Russ then declared that all those who were unworthy of becoming a Space Wolf would become a Wulfen after they drank from the Cup. Russ would allow any of those who had come to turn back from the path before drinking, but none did. Those who drank and survived became the first Space Wolves to be recruited from Fenris. In reality, those Aspirants who are likely to fall prey to the Wulfen mutation do not do so after immediately imbibing the Canis Helix mixture, but usually over the weeks and months of training that follow afterwards. After drinking from the Cup of Wulfen, the Aspirants are taken through the Gate of Morkai, a mystic gate deep within the Fang, the Space Wolves' fortress-monastery, where every Aspirant's mind is picked and probed by the Chapter's psychic Rune Priests (Librarians) for signs of corruption or mental weakness that will make them easy prey for the blandishments of Chaos. When and if the Aspriants pass this test, they are finally augmented with the gene-seed organs of Leman Russ as well as the anatomical gifts found within every one of the Emperor's Astartes. The next phase of their transformation into a full-fledged Space Wolf is a trial period of training in which the physical transformations wrought by the Canis Helix begin to manifest themselves. Many of the Aspirants will continue to grow into their newly-received genetic implants while others succumb completely to the Curse of the Wolf and become the blood-thirsty mutant creatures known as the Wulfen. If the Aspirant is fortunate enough to survive the transformation, he must endure his final trial, known as The Blooding. Equipped with nothing but a steel-tipped spear and dagger, he must brave the deadly wastes of Fenris and find his way back to the Fang alone. As if left for dead, they must use whatever means necessary to survive in the arctic tundra of Fenris. If the Aspirant faces a Fenrisian Wolf and slays it during this time, he is considered to be an especially promising candidate. When and if the Aspirant returns to The Fang, he is gifted with the ancient Power Armour of a fallen Wolf-Brother and welcomed into the ranks of one of the 12 Great Companies as a full Battle-Brother. For the Space Wolves, no Astartes is a Neophyte, instead each new man has been accepted into their ranks as a Blood Claw.

The 13th Company


The Space Wolves' most coveted legend states that the group that came to be known as the Space Wolves' 13th Company was ordered by their Primarch Leman Russ to pursue the Thousand Sons Legion into the Warp, after the failed attempt to eliminate that Traitor Legion on their homeworld of Prospero at the very start of the Horus Heresy. The 13th Company vanished from Imperial records, and their loss is honoured by a black stone in the Grand Annulus (the record of Space Wolf Great Companies).

Just before the outbreak of the Horus Heresy, the Primarch of the Thousand Sons Legion, Magnus the Red, sent his astral body through the Warp using the Eldar Webway to reach Terra and warn his father the Emperor of Mankind of the Warmaster Horus' turn to Chaos and his betrayal of the Imperium. Magnus had by then already been unwittingly corrupted by the Chaos God Tzeentch and his psychic intrusion destroyed the psychic barriers around Terra and the Golden Throne. Magnus' arrival on Terra killed all of the human cult members on Prospero who had initiated the spell that allowed Magnus to enter the Webway, drove thousands of people involved in the Emperor's Webway Project on Terra insane because of the phenomenal energies released upon his arrival, killed all of the workers, Adepts and Servitors working on the psychic amplifier known as the Golden Throne and opened dangerous portals through the Warp to Terra, through which daemons and other Warp entities could invade the homeworld of Mankind.

Unfortunately, Magnus' continued use of sorcery was a direct violation on the ban of its use within the Imperium imposed at the Council of Nikaea during the Great Crusade. The Emperor also refused to believe that his beloved son Horus could possibly betray him and mistakenly believed that it was Magnus, not Horus, who had truly betrayed him. The Emperor ordered Leman Russ and his Space Wolves to bring Magnus to Terra to face judgment for his defiance of the Council of Nikaea's ban on the use of sorcery. Horus convinced Leman Russ that it would be a waste of time bringing Magnus to Terra and that he should be killed on Prospero for his defiance of the Emperor's will. The Space Wolves were accompanied by the Sisters of Silence and the Adeptus Custodes and their attack on Prospero proceeded smoothly largely because Magnus refused at first to join the fray, believing that his world and Legion should fall because he had inadvertently allowed himself to become a pawn of the Chaos Gods.

In the final moments of the Battle of Prospero, the Thousand Sons were already reduced to a force of only about 1,000 Space Marines and the Space Wolves, Adeptus Custodes and Sisters of Silence possessed approximately 3,000 warriors combined. The Thousand Sons took shelter in the Pyramind of Photep, the Sanctum of Magnus on Prospero, while their Primarch dueled with Leman Russ outside. The battle between Leman Russ and Magnus was quick and brutal. Magnus drove his fist into Russ’ chest, the icy breastplate cracking open with a sound like planets colliding, and shards of ceramite stabbed the Wolf King’s heart. In return, Russ snapped Magnus’ arm back, and the Thousand Sons sorcerer Ahriman heard it shatter into a thousand pieces. A blade composed of pure psychic energy unsheathed from Magnus’ other arm, and he drove it deep into Russ’ chest through his shattered Power Armour. The blade burst from Russ’ back and the Wolf King loosed a deafening bellow of pain. Magnus and Leman Russ found themselves locked in battle high above the causeway, the furious horror of their struggle obscured by ethereal fire and bursts of lightning. A flare of black light erupted and Russ cried out in agony. His blade lashed out blindly and struck a fateful blow against his foe’s most dreaded weapon: his eye. In an instant, the pyrotechnic cascade of light and fire was extinguished and a stunning silence swept outwards. All motion ceased, and the titans battling on the causeway were no more, each Primarch now restored to his customary stature. Magnus reeled back from the Wolf King, one hand clutched to his eye as his shattered arm crackled with regenerative energies.

As broken and bloodied as Leman Russ was, he was warrior enough to seize his opportunity. He barreled into Magnus and gripped him around the waist like a wrestler, roaring as he lifted his brother’s body high above his head. All eyes turned to Russ as he brought Magnus down across his knee, and the sound of the Crimson King’s back breaking tore through every Thousand Sons’ heart. With the last of his strength, Magnus turned his head, and his ravaged eye found Ahriman. Leman Russ’ blade swept down, but before its lethal edge struck, Magnus whispered unnatural syllables. Magnus’ body underwent an instantaneous dissolution, its entire structure unmade with a word, and Ahriman gasped as vast and depthless power surged into his body. Then the Thousand Sons, each carrying a crystal from the refracting caves on Prospero, vanished into the Warp at Ahriman's word and were transported to the Planet of the Sorcerers, a Daemon World prepared for them by Tzeentch. Leman Russ then ordered the 13th Company of the Space Wolves to be sent into the Eye of Terror to pursue the Thousand Sons and put an end to their threat to the Imperium once and for all.

The 13th Company's reappearance at the beginning of Abaddon the Despoiler’s 13th Black Crusade returned them to realspace for the first time in over 10,000 years. They appear to still be in pursuit of the goal Leman Russ set for them and still desire the destruction of the Thousand Sons at all costs and possess an abiding hatred for sorcery and all forms of psychic powers.

The 13th Company's organisation departs heavily even from the already-independent Space Wolf norms, due to their lack of reinforcements and new recruits, the inability to train members in specialist roles, the lack of heavy equipment, and the effect of having to exist within the Eye of Terror for 10,000 standard years. The core of a 13th Company warband are the Grey Slayers. Similar to Grey Hunters but far beyond them in skill, they fulfill the same tactical roles in battle. Because of the impossibility of recruiting new brethren, there are no Blood Claws in the 13th Company. Each and every Blood Claw of the 13th Company has long since advanced to a higher rank. The Company's assault specialists are the Storm Claws. They are equally experienced, but still more hot-headed and aggressive than the Grey Slayers. The key to the 13th Company's movement through the Warp were its Rune Priests. Because the Eye of Terror unlocked hidden psychic powers in many of the 13th Company's original Astartes, the Company had no shortage of these highly gifted individuals.

The Wulfen
The Space Wolves suffer from a flaw in their gene-seed found in the Canis Helix of Leman Russ, the genetic cocktail which every Space Wolf Aspirant imbibes from the Cup of Wulfen to begin their transformation into full Astartes. This flaw often leads them to take on many canine traits as they age, such as enlarged canine teeth, yellow eyes and abnormal growths of hair. Unfortunately, in some Space Wolves the mutation proceeds too far and transforms them during the heat and passion of battle into more bestial, wolf-like humanoids. These Space Marines are said to bear the "Mark of the Wulfen" by the other members of the Chapter because they grow elongated canine teeth and bestial claws. The only time that the Space Wolves turn into fully wolf-like humanoid mutants called the Wulfen is when they are exposed to large amounts of Warp energy (such as the Space Wolves' 13th Company in the Eye of Terror). In this case, the metamorphosis is not a Chaotic mutation, but rather a defensive mechanism induced when the Space Wolves' altered DNA is flooded by the power of Chaos, for such bestial mutants actually possess more resistance to Chaotic corruption than standard Astartes.

The Space Marines who mutate into Wulfen bear a dim resemblance to the werewolves of ancient human myth in much the same way that certain members of the Blood Angels Chapter who suffer from the Red Thirst desire to ingest blood like the legendary vampire. Space Marines who fully mutate into Wulfen usually escape to the hinterlands of Fenris, or are locked up or sorrowfully put down by their fellow Battle-Brothers. The "Mark of the Wulfen" normally manifests itself at the Neophyte stage of Space Marine development and thus new Space Wolves must spend time during their training in scenarios designed to determine which of their number will suffer from the change.

Though the Space Wolves sometimes use individual Wulfen in battle, the legendary 13th Company use entire packs of the mutants. Each and every member of the 13th Company carries this genetic flaw, and it manifests itself in these Space Wolves at different times. The flaw has manifested itself so strongly in the 13th Company because it was suffused with the influence of Chaos which was rampant in the Warp where the 13th Company was trapped for the last ten millennia. Yet, as noted above, this flaw can also serve as a form of spiritual and biological defence mechanism since beings whose sentience has been compromised tend to be corrupted far less easily by Chaos. As a result, the Space Wolves are exceptionally resistant to the malign influence of Chaos compared even to other Space Marines. It is believed by members of the Adeptus Mechanicus that the 13th Company were only able to remain uncorrupted during their 10,000 year sojourn in the Eye of Terror precisely because they all carried this "flaw."

Notable Space Wolves

 * Leman Russ - Leman Russ was the Primarch of the Space Wolves who led his Legion to uncounted victories during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy. After the Heresy, Russ disappeared during the Feast of the Emperor’s Ascension in 197 standard years after the Emperor was entombed within the Golden Throne. Overcome by a mysterious vision, Russ gathered his Wolf Guard, save for the youngest, Bjorn the Fell-Handed, and departed The Fang. It is believed by some Astartes amongst the Space Wolves that Russ left Fenris and journeyed into the Eye of Terror.
 * Bjorn the Fell-Handed - Bjorn the Fell-Handed is the oldest Venerable Dreadnought in the Imperium. Bjorn fought alongside Leman Russ during the Horus Heresy and was the only member of Russ' retinue left behind by the Primarch when he disappeared. He became the first Great Wolf after Russ disappeared and led the Space Wolves on the first Great Hunt, the Chapter's epic but fruitless quest to find Russ, and it was he who reluctantly gave the order to cease the hunt. He believes that Russ will one day return to their Chapter, and he plans on being there to meet the Primarch in person.
 * Garm - Garm is one of the first and greatest of the Wolf Lords who rose to fight alongside Leman Russ during the Great Crusade. Garm fell in battle on the world that carries his name to defend the Space Wolves' Primarch. He was honoured with a shrine-tomb on that world called the Shrine of Garm's Skull. The Spear of Russ was entrusted to the Shrine of Garm's Skull and worked into the ornate sarcophagus of Garm himself. It is said that the shrine still carries a measure of the Primarch's power and many of the Space Wolves who make the pilgrimage to the shrine leave changed in mind, heart and soul. The shrine has a permanent garrison of Space Wolves to protect it from looters and invaders. It is a great honour within the Chapter to be selected to serve for a time as an honour guard for the shrine.
 * Logan Grimnar - Logan Grimnar has been the Great Wolf (Chapter Master) of the Space Wolves for the better part of the 41st Millennium and he is over 800 standard years old, displaying the typical longevity of the Scions of Russ.
 * Anakron Silvermane - Silvermane was Logan Grimnar's direct predecessor as the Great Wolf of the Chapter. His final stand took place nearly four Terran centuries ago on the world of Melkior where his command post came under a surprise assault by an Eldar warhost. Logan Grimnar and Wolf Guard Pack Leader Hakon both participated in the battle.
 * Fenrik Grimheart - Great Wolf Grimheart led the Space Wolves to victory in the Battle of Balinor, one of the Chapter's most renowned battles of the 38th Millennium.
 * Arvek Hren Kjarlkskar - Great Wolf successor of Harek Ironhelm following his death during the First Battle of the Fang in the 32nd Millennium.
 * Harek Eireik "Ironhelm" Eireiksson - Harek Eireik Eireksson was a Great Wolf of the Chapter during the 32nd Millennium. He was also known as "Ironhelm" due to the cybernetic implants he received within his skull. Throughout his years as Great Wolf, Harek became obsessed with hunting down Magnus the Red, for Magnus was able to escape him time and time again. Ultimately, Eireksson fell in battle against that Daemon Primarch during the final day of the First Battle of The Fang.
 * Ragnar Blackmane - Ragnar Blackmane is the youngest Wolf Lord in the Space Wolves' history and the protagonist of the Space Wolf novel series. Blackmane's Great Company frequently has the honour of leading the Space Wolves' planetary assaults, a role at which Ragnar and his warriors excel, for his packs are the undisputed masters of the Drop Pod assaults known as the Claws of Russ. He is the only Space Wolf to become a Wolf Lord without first becoming a Grey Hunter. Blackmane is the current Champion of the Chapter and bearer of the Wolf Helm of Russ, which he presented to Ulrik the Slayer as a sign of respect. Blackmane prevented the return of the Thousand Sons Legion to the world of Garm, a planet sacred to the Space Wolves because it was the home of the Shrine of Garm's Skull, by casting the Spear of Russ into a Warp Gate, an action which for a time earned him the bitter enmity of his fellow Battle-Brothers before his actions earned redemption.
 * Berek Thunderfist - Berek Thunderfist was the Wolf Lord of the Great Company to which Ragnar Blackmane was originally assigned and served as a teacher and an inspiration for the young Blood Claw at the time. Berek was a legendary warrior within the Chapter, named after his bionic hand and his preferred use of a Power Fist in battle.
 * Sigrid Trollbane - The principal rival of the popular Berek Thunderfist, Sigrid was a more devious political animal and tactician and did little to hide his desire to attain the rank of Great Wolf.
 * Sven Bloodhowl - Current Wolf Lord of one of the Chapter's Great Companies. Sven has embraced the sign of the Fire Breather, a volcano that lies a hundred leagues north of The Fang. Bloodhowl goes to war amidst a great horde of close combat specialists, breathing flame into the ranks of their foe. The warriors of Bloodhowl's Great Company tattoo themselves with runes, interlacing designs and scenes from their own sagas. Sven's own saga is so extensive that every inch of his body is tattooed. He has taken to using the skins of his victims as a canvas with which to chronicle his latest deeds.
 * Harald Deathwolf - Current Wolf Lord of one of the Chapter's Great Companies. His symbol is that of the Ravening Jaw, which symbolises the Wolftime -- the end of all things, when Morkai will eat the sun and eternal night will shroud the stars.
 * Krom Dragongaze - Current Wolf Lord of one of the Chapter's Great Companies. Krom's sigil is that of the Sun Wolf, who makes the belly of the sun his lair, and attacks Fenris anew with every dawn. Known as the "Fierce-eye," his presence and sheer force of will can be petrifying to a lesser man. He keeps a great many Wolf Guard in his Company, for the Fierce-eye believes that valour should be rewarded wherever it is to be found.
 * Kjarl Grimblood - Current Wolf Lord of one of the Chapter's Great Companies. Kjarl Grimblood is a fierce rival of Sven Bloodhowl. He and his Great Company bear the sigil of the Fire Wolf. In Fenrisian myth the Fire Wolf burns without being consumed, and it is his voice of flame that melts the snows and thaws the glaciers before each season. They say that Kjarl's foresight is so supernaturally acute that it is whispered that he possessed the Gift, able to see the future in the flames. His Great Company favours a great many flame weapons, boasting no fewer than twelve Land Raider Redeemers. His Grey Hunters have a special rite of passage -- once they have killed his prey with flame, they have earned the right to paint their face with blood before each battle, the crimson flames upon their countenance marking them as a Red Hunter for all to see.
 * Egil Iron Wolf - Current Wolf Lord of one of the Chapter's Great Companies. Egil has taken the totem of the Iron Wolf. In Fenrisian mythology, the Iron Wolf lies dormant beneath the continent of Asaheim, a beast so vast that the mountains are the fur on his back and the seams of metal within them are his veins. Egil's company is famous across the Fenris System for its armoured assaults, with the Iron Wolf himself riding at the head of each assault in a personalised Land Raider.
 * Engir Krakendoom - Current Wolf Lord of one of the Chapter's Great Companies. Born of hardy stock, his people are dark of skin and temperament. Engir comes from a proud line of warlords who rule over the southernmost isles of Fenris. Accomplished explorers and oarsmen, they ply the infested oceans of Fenris in search of sea monsters. It is said Engir was given the name Krakendoom after he was borne under the waves by a giant, many-limbed sea devil. When they eventually surfaced, Engir alone roared in triumph. He has taken the sigil of the Sea Wolf. His Great Company prefers to go to war in armoured transports, and boasts many Swiftclaws that act as outriders for the main force. His Great Company excels in ship-to-ship conflicts and boarding actions.
 * Erik Morkai - Current Wolf Lord of one of the Chapter's Great Companies. Named after the Deathwolf long before he took the sign of the two-headed beast, Erik has always been grim and stern of aspect. His Great Company boasts many Wolf Scouts. Fellow Veterans appreciate their master's taciturn demeanour and no-nonsense approach. He has a tendency to solve problems with swift and bloody acts of violence. His more stable twin, Irnist the Wise, left Erik's side to serve as a Rune Priest to the Great Wolf; an act for which Erik has never truly forgiven him.
 * Bran Redmaw - Known as the Curs'd Lord, Wulfen-Kin and The Bloodied Hunter, Bran Redmaw serves as the current Wolf Lord of one of the Chapter's Great Companies. He and his Great Company are looked upon with suspicion by the other 11 Wolf Lords, for they are regarded as tainted. More Space Wolves bearing the Curse of the Wulfen serve alongside Redmaw's company than in any other. The unspoken truth is that Redmaw has risen to become a Wolf Lord despite himself being afflicted with the curse.
 * Gunnar Red Moon - Current Wolf Lord of one of the Chapter's Great Companies. The Wolf of the Red Moon is a terrible god of vengeance in Fenrisian society; a great skeletal beast that prowls the Seven Hells, eternally devouring the bodies of the unworthy and yet never growing fat. A broad, roaring, laughing bear of a man, Gunnar favours his Long Fangs more than most, for he reasons that Veterans make the best companions in the feast hall as well as upon the battlefield.
 * Bjorn Stormwolf - Current Wolf Lord of one of the Chapter's Great Companies. Bjorn's Great Company is notable for their noisy, intimidating splendour on the battlefield. He has taken the Thunderwolf as his symbol, for he too is a creature of might and ferocity over stealth. This Wolf Lord's spectacular assaults reflect his impatient and aggressive nature, and invariably include lots of heavy weapons, Bike Squads and Vindicators. The Great Wolf employs Bjorn's company for frontal assaults rather than stealth missions.
 * Gnyrll Bluetooth - In 999.M41, Bluetooth was the commander of the Strike Cruiser Wolf of Fenris. Lured into a trap, the Renegade Space Marines warband known as the Red Corsairs ambushed the Space Wolves' warship and boarded it. Wolf Lord Gnyrll Bluetooth fought the infamous Chaos Lord Huron Blackheart in hand-to-hand combat on the bridge of the Strike Cruiser. Unfortunately, Gnyrll was no match for the Chaos Lord and was torn apart by Huron's Power Claws. The Wolf of Fenris became one of Huron Blackheart's greatest prizes.
 * Hrothgar Ironblade - Wolf Lord Ironblade captured the Mars-class Battlecruiser The Resolute, a warship that had formerly served in the Battlefleet Obscuras but had joined the Arch-Heretic Vortigern during the Alphalus Insurrection of the late 39th Millennium. With his great ship lost, Lord Ironblade took control of the Resolute during the Battle of Sestus Proxima and returned it to the service of the Imperium under the new name Fist of Russ. Despite the objections of the Imperial Navy, the Space Wolves retained the vessel and it continued to serve the Great Company up through the command of Berek Thunderfist.
 * Sven Ironhand - In 815.M41, Wolf Lord Ironhand led his Great Company into exile in the Eastern Fringe, forswearing his oaths. The Great Wolf Logan Grimnar declared Ironhand Renegade and ordered a new Great Company formed to replace the Ironhand Great Company. Sven Ironhand is only one of many Wolf Lords that have led their Companies away from The Fang and become "Lost" but he is noted as the most recent to have done so.
 * Kyrl Grimblood - A mighty Wolf Lord of the Chapter whose deeds in the 36th Millennium during the infamous Plague of Unbelief saved the Chapter's homeworld of Fenris in its time of ultimate peril.
 * Hef Icenheart - Wolf Lord during the Age of Apostasy in the 36th Millennium.
 * Borek Salvrgrim – Wolf Lord of the 2nd Great Company during the 32nd Millennium.
 * Morskarl – Wolf Lord of the 3rd Great Company during the 32nd Millennium.
 * Egial Vraksson – Wolf Lord of the 5th Great Company during the 32nd Millennium.
 * Rekki Oirreisson – Wolf Lord of the 7th Great Company during the 32nd Millennium, a hirsute monster with a heavy jawline and bunched shoulders.
 * Vaer "White Wolf" Greyloc - Vaer Greyloc was the Wolf Lord of the 12th Great Company during the 32nd Millennium. Nicknamed the "White Wolf" for his especially pale skin, Greyloc led the defence of the Aett during the First Battle of The Fang.
 * Osric Three-Fists - Osric was as famed for the ugliness of his mien as he was for his victories in battle. He had the honour to lead a Great Hunt, which was ambushed by a massive Chaos warfleet as the hunt neared its end. Osric's ship, Voidfang, was crippled by the Chaos flagship Storm of Hate. Despite the severe disadvantage, Osric led his warriors out the Voidfang 's airlocks and assaulted the Chaos flagship. Despite barely thirty warriors making it to the hull of the Chaotic ship, the Space Wolves succeeded in hammering their way inside, slaughtering a path to the bridge and turning the Chaos vessel's guns against the rest of the Chaos fleet. This act of insane bravado secured victory from certain defeat and is the epitome of the tenacity and determination displayed by the Space Wolves in the face of extreme odds.
 * Ogvai Helmschrot - Wolf Lord of the 3rd Company during the Great Crusade.
 * Amlodhi Skarssen Skarssensson - Wolf Lord of the 5th Company during the Great Crusade. Fought alongside the Thousand Sons Legion on Heliosa during the Ark Reach Campaign. Later, participated in the Burning of Prospero.
 * Bulveye - Wolf Lord of the Space Wolves 13th Company. Bulveye is 10,000 standard years old and fought at the side of Leman Russ during the Great Crusade.
 * Njal Stormcaller - The Space Wolves' greatest Rune Priest, accompanied by his companion Nightwing, the psyker raven.
 * Ohthere Wyrdmake - Rune Priest of the Space Wolves during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy. Ohthere befriended Ahriman of the Thousand Sons in an attempt to learn about the sorcerous tenets of the Legion and spoke against the Thousand Sons on that basis during the Council of Nikea.
 * Ulrik the Slayer -The Space Wolves' oldest Wolf Priest, and mentor to many of their greatest heroes. Ulrik has had a hand in training both Ragnar Blackmane and (allegedly) Logan Grimnar; however the chronology of the Warhammer 40,000 universe actually makes this impossible with regards to Logan, not least because Logan reached the position of Great Wolf (leader of the Space Wolves Chapter) before Ulrik was even promoted to Wolf Priest. This could be explained by the mention of a different Ulric (spelt differently to that of Ulrik the Slayer) though so far Games Workshop has not cleared up the discrepancy.
 * Irnist the Wise - Twin brother to Erik Morkai and advisor to the Great Wolf Logan Grimnar.
 * Hrothgar - Rune Priest who currently serves with Ragnar Blackmane's Great Company.
 * Ranek Icewalker - Wolf Priest of the Chapter. Ranek was the Wolf Priest who chose Ragnar Blackmane to become a Neophyte of the Chapter and first saw greatness in him. Ranek was Blackmane's friend and mentor and was one of the few Space Wolves to praise Blackmane for losing the Spear of Russ to prevent the emergence of the Thousand Sons Daemon Primarch, Magnus the Red, from the Warp on the world of Garm. He has remained the youngest Wolf Lord's close mentor and confidante.
 * Thrar "Wyrmblade" Hraldir - Wolf Priest during the 32nd Millennium. He was instrumental in the gene program known as The Tempering -- the effort to expunge the genetic deficiencies of the Space Wolves' gene-seed in order to create new Successor Chapters. He had come closer than any other since the time of the Emperor himself at understanding the Canis Helix. During the First Battle of The Fang, he confronted the Thousand Sons Daemon Primarch Magnus the Red and was slain. With his death, the secrets of the Space Wolves gene-seed and how to remove the taint of the Curse of the Wulfen died with him.
 * Sigurd - A young Wolf Priest, Sigurd fought alongside Ragnar Blackmane during his time in the Wolf Blade and would later fight alongside him when he became the Wolf Lord of his own Great Company. While initially at odds with Blackmane, Sigurd learned to value Ragnar's abilities as a warrior and a leader and is now amongst that Wolf Lord's most trusted officers.
 * Vagnai Ravenmane - Recorded the re-telling of Russ' disappearance by Bjorn the Fell-Handed in the 35th Millennium.
 * Lauf Cloudbreaker - Rune Priest during the 32nd Millennium.
 * Odain Sturmhjart - Rune Priest during the 32nd Millennium.
 * Torvald - Rune Priest of the 13th Great Company. Known as Torvald the Reaver of Red Kraken Hold. This mighty Son of Russ was one of the Space Wolves' first Rune Priests. He fought by the side of Russ himself during the Great Crusade and has been Bulveye's lieutenant since that bygone era.
 * Rorik - A senior member of the Chapter's Iron Priests, Rorik serves as an advisor to the Great Wolf Logan Grimnar.
 * Jurgen - Iron Priest currently serving with Ragnar Blackmane's Great Company.
 * Garjek Arfang - Iron Priest that served in the 12th Great Company during the 32nd Millennium.
 * Berensson Gassijk Rendmar - Senior Iron Priest during the 32nd Millennium.
 * Wolf Guard Arjac Rockfist - Arjac Rockfist, also known as The Man-Mountain, Grimnar's Champion and the Anvil of Fenris, is the personal champion of the Great Wolf Logan Grimnar. Arjac was formally a blacksmith of the Bear Claw tribe of Fenris, whose true skills lie not in the forge, but in the crucible of battle. His incredible strength and fortitude so impressed the Great Wolf that he was made his personal champion even before he was inducted into the Space Wolves.
 * Wolf Guard Havard - Member of Logan Grimnar's Bodyguard.
 * Wolf Guard Holger - Leader of a Grey Hunter Pack in Logan Grimnar's Great Company.
 * Wolf Guard Per - Member of Logan Grimnar's Bodyguard.
 * Wolf Guard Lars Helltongue - Personal Herald of the Great Wolf Logan Grimnar.
 * Wolf Guard Red Erik - Member of Ragnar Blackmane's bodyguard, killed fighting the Thousand Sons on Hesperida.
 * Wolf Guard Liet - Member of Logan Grimnar's Bodyguard.
 * Wolf Guard Olaf - Member of Logan Grimnar's Bodyguard.
 * Wolf Guard Mikal Sternmark - Wolf Guard Champion to Wolf Lord Berek Thunderfist, Mikal had to take charge of the Thunderfist Great Company during the Charys Campaign. At the height of the fighting and the sorcerous influence of the Thousand Sons Mikal succumbed to the call of the Wulfen and in a fit of rage slaughtered the Imperial General Lady Commander Athelstane. He was placed under the care of the Wolf Priests for some time, but returned to serve as Berek's Champion one last time in his final stand and died at the side of his Wolf Lord. Mikal wielded the relic Power Sword Redclaw.
 * Wolf Guard Thorin Shieldsplitter - Former Champion of the Thunderfist Company, the aging Thorin was replaced by the upcoming Mikal Sternmark but remained a loyal and dependable warrior. During the Charys Campaign it was Thorin who stood over the bier of the Wolf Lord Thunderfist with his two-handed Power Axe, prepared to defend the comatose Wolf Lord with his life if need be, and should he recognize death as imminent, his task was to trigger the Melta-charges planted within Berek's bier and make sure that the enemy would not get the chance to sully the body of the Wolf Lord.
 * Wolf Guard Horgrim - Wolf Guard to Berek Thunderfist.
 * Wolf Guard Bjorn - Member of Mikal Sternmark's Wolf Guard Terminator Pack during the Charys Campaign.
 * Wolf Guard Haakon - Member of Mikal Sternmark's Wolf Guard Terminator Pack during the Charys Campaign. Haakon was armed with a massive Cyclone Missile Launcher mounted to his back and after it ran out of missiles used the targeter built into his left fist to guide his Battle-Brothers' aim.
 * Wolf Guard Karl - Member of Mikal Sternmark's Wolf Guard Terminator Pack during the Charys Campaign.
 * Wolf Guard Nils - Member of Mikal Sternmark's Wolf Guard Terminator Pack during the Charys Campaign.
 * Wolf Guard Snurri - Member of Mikal Sternmark's Wolf Guard Terminator Pack during the Charys Campaign.
 * Wolf Guard Morgrim Silvertongue - Wolf Guard and Skald of Wolf Lord Berek Thunderfist's Great Company.
 * Wolf Guard Jurgen Whitemane - Jurgen Whitemane commanded the Space Wolf garrison on Garm. Whitemane was one of the oldest living Space Wolves of the time and amongst the few surviving contemporaries of the Great Wolf Logan Grimnar and the Wolf Guard Pack Leader Hakon. His death was a serious blow to the Chapter and a slight that would not go unavenged.
 * Wolf Guard Kaarlson - Kaarlson is a legend within the Chapter, having reputedly survived being stepped upon by a Titan.
 * Wolf Guard Durfast of Mordrak - While investigating the Dead World of Mordrak, the Space Wolves found themselves thinly stretched when attacked by a massive force of Ork raiders. Durfast took command of three packs of Space Wolves to defeat the incursion of Orks that numbered several hundred. Thanks to Durfast, the surviving Space Wolves made it out alive. He later succeeded to the leadership of his Great Company and went on to fight many more battles.
 * Wolf Guard Ranulf - Ranulf is supposedly the largest Space Wolf in the Chapter’s entire history, said to have rivalled even the mighty Leman Russ in size. Ranulf was a legend in his day as a member of the Wolf Guard Terminators and remains a legendary figure in the Chapter even now. His specially-customised Terminator Armour rests in the Hall of Heroes in The Fang, towering over all who view it.
 * Wolf Guard Brynngar Sturmdreng - Wolf Guard Brynngar was a senior officer of the Legion during the later days of the Great Crusade and the beginning of the Horus Heresy. Brynngar was stationed on the Vangelis way-station awaiting pick up along with a scattered group of Space Marines from other Legions including some of the grizzled Veteran's contemporaries from the Ultramarines Legion. Captain Cestus of the Ultramarines was fighting alongside the Space Wolves on Carthis against the Kolobite xenos. Brynngar had saved Cestus' life during that battle but had lost an eye in the process, though in true Space Wolf fashion, he had the mandible of the creature that took his eye fashioned into the Rune Axe Felltooth.
 * Lukas the Trickster - Lukas the Trickster is a notorious character amidst the ranks of the Space Wolves, a raucous and ebullient figure who defies authority just as willingly as he defies the enemies of the Chapter. He is a Blood Claw, and will forever be a member of that immature group of Space Wolves.
 * Thunderwolf Rider Canis Wolfborn, The Lone Wolf - Canis Wolfborn is a loner, a warrior who is more at home in the company of Fenrisian Wolves than men. Though he is a member of the Wolf Guard of Harald Deathwolf's Great Company, Canis Wolfborn's saga is utterly different from those of his peers, and his prowess in combat is unmatched. He rides a Fenrisian Thunderwolf into battle.
 * Wolf Guard Thunderwolf Rider Hagni - Hagni rode the Thunderwolf Warg, but he fell to the Curse of the Wulfen and presumably killed his own mount as well as his Brother Barak and his Thunderwolf mount. The Thunderwolf Pack of Skaeln Icefang chased him across the frozen surface of Skorbad until he led them to a last member of the Scions of Pestilence who was possessed by a Greater Daemon who had somehow avoided the other hunters.
 * Wolf Guard Thunderwolf Rider Skaeln Icefang  - Skaeln rides the Thunderwolf Fenrir and led the Thunderwolf Pack deployed to Skorbad to fight against the Death Guard Traitor Legion warband known as the Scions of Pestilence. For three weeks the pack hunted the Scions and killed them one by one, leaving just a mass of leaderless Plague Zombies for the Imperial Guard to mop up. Skaeln wields a rune-etched Power Axe. Fenrir was killed during an attack on a Plague Zombie-infested Cadian Bastion. An Autocannon tore the Thunderwolf apart just as the Space Wolves reached the gates.
 * Wolf Guard Thunderwolf Rider Afgar Ironmane - Afgar rides the Thunderwolf Skoll. Skoll drowned when it and Afgar fell through the ice whilst crossing a frozen lake. Afgar was dragged to safety by his Battle-Brothers but Skoll was far too heavy and sunk to the frigid depths. Afgar succumbed to his many and severe wounds after he and Skaeln had cleansed the Plague Zombie-infested Bastion.
 * Wolf Guard Thunderwolf Rider Thorgard - Thorgard rides the Thunderwolf Magni. Magni was killed by a daemon-possessed Traitor Marine of the Scions of Pestilence. Thorgard himself fell trying to slay Hagni who had become overcome by the Curse of the Wulfen. The stealthy and jovial Thorgard wielded a pair of Wolf Claws.
 * Wolf Guard Thunderwolf Rider Barak Thunderborn - Barak rode the Thunderwolf Garrik, and both were killed during the Skorbad Campaign.
 * Alrik - One of the Chapter's mighty and revered Dreadnoughts.
 * Grendel - One of the Chapter's most ancient and Venerable Dreadnoughts who participated in the Battle of Granica.
 * Gymir the Ice-Fisted - One of the Chapter's Ancients (Dreadnoughts) who participated in the Battle for Hyades with the Wolf Lord Berek Thunderfist's Great Company.
 * Thorir - One of the Chapter's Ancients (Dreadnoughts) that fought alongside Kyrl Grimblood's Great Company during the First Battle of The Fang in the 36th Millennium.
 * Aesir - Chapter Dreadnought in service during the Horus Heresy.
 * Ymir - Chapter Dreadnought in service during the Horus Heresy.
 * Pack Leader Ragnild - Leader of a Grey Hunter Pack in Egil Ironwolf's Great Company.
 * Pack Leader Anders - Pack Leader in Ragnar Blackmane's Great Company.
 * Pack Leader Einar - Leader of Sven's Grey Hunter Pack in the Thunderfist Great Company. Lost an arm to an Eviscerator and entered the Red Dream during the Battle for Charys. He appears to have survived his injuries and continues to lead packs of Space Wolves in Ragnar Blackmane's Great Company.
 * Pack Leader Hogun - Pack Leader of Ragnar's Blackmane Great Company, Hogun lost himself to the Curse of the Wulfen and killed several members of his pack. Rather than killing him, Ragnar got him under control and returned him to the Company to serve as a warrior Marked by the Wulfen. He was placed in the care of Wolf Priest Sigurd.
 * Pack Leader Leif - Leader of a Grey Hunter Pack in Ragnar Blackmane's Great Company.
 * Pack Leader Magnus - Leader of a Grey Hunter Pack in Ragnar Blackmane's Great Company.
 * Pack Leader Ranulf - Leader of a Grey Hunter Pack in Ragnar Blackmane's Great Company.
 * Pack Leader Stiggar - Leader of a Long Fang Pack in Ragnar Blackmane's Great Company.
 * Pack Leader Tor - Leader of a Grey Hunter Pack in the Ragnar Blackmane's Great Company.
 * Pack Leader Uller - Leader of a Grey Hunter Pack in the Ragnar Blackmane's Great Company.
 * Pack Leader Urlec - Pack Leader in Ragnar Blackmane's Great Company. Promoted to command of a pack after the death of Pack Leader Vitulv, the young Urlec questioned Ragnar's decisions as Wolf Lord in private quite often until he saw the true prowess of the Wolf Lord in close combat with a Chaos Sorcerer of the Thousand Sons.
 * Pack Leader Vitulv - Former Leader of Urlec's Pack in Ragnar Blackmane's Great Company.
 * Pack Leader Petur - Leader of a Wolf Scout Pack in Ragnar Blackmane's Great Company.
 * Pack Leader Joris - Pack Leader Joris replaced Hakon as the commander of Ragnar Blackmane's Blood Claw Pack during the Campaign for Garm.
 * Pack Leader Hakon - Senior officer entrusted with training and leading new packs of Blood Claws. Critically wounded on Garm, the venerable Astartes lived but was badly injured and would never fight again.
 * Pack Leader Ferek - Pack Leader of Berek Thunderfist's Great Company who participated in a boarding action against a Chaos warship during the Garm Campaign. Ferek's squad nearly managed to fight their way into one of the Chaos warship's magazines but were at last repelled by heavy weapons fire. This was somewhat fortunate for if Ferek and his squad had succeeded they might well have blown the entire ship apart and the Thunderfist Great Company with it.
 * Pack Leader Hengist - Leader of Ragnar's Blood Claw Pack during their first deployments on Fenris, Hengist was killed by the Thousand Sons fighting in a rearguard action to give Ragnar and his companions time to reach the surface with a warning for the Chapter.
 * Pack Leader Urlek - Leader of a Blood Claw Pack despatched into the rugged wilds of Asaheim to investigate a potential meteor impact. Instead of a routine piece of rock the pack discovered an infiltration force of the Thousand Sons and were overwhelmed. The fate of Urlek's pack was discovered later by Wolf Guard Hengist's Pack and the news of the Thousand Sons' presence cost many of his pack's lives as well as that of Hengist himself.
 * Pack Leader Hef - Pack Leader of Berek Thunderfist's Great Company. Hef's pack participated in a boarding action against a Chaos warship during the Garm Campaign. Hef's pack came under heavy assault and would have been overrun, but the crafty Space Wolves escaped through ventilation ducts and left proximity mines to kill their attackers when they eventually got the courage to investigate the abandoned position. Hef's pack acted as the rearguard for the Space Wolves' fighting withdrawal to the Fist of Russ but could not stay ahead of the mutants attempting to run down the Space Wolves. Hef's pack then turned and made a last stand, sacrificing themselves to allow the rest of the Great Company to escape the doomed Chaos warship.
 * Pack Leader Krom - Leader of a Grey Hunter Pack in Berek Thunderfist's Great Company.
 * Pack Leader Thorvald - Leader of a Grey Hunter Pack of the Thunderfist Great Company.
 * Pack Leader Varig - Pack Leader of Berek Thunderfist's Great Company. Varig's pack participated in a boarding action against a Chaos warship during the Garm Campaign during which Varig led his squad in attacking a sizable horde of Chaos mutants from two directions and kept them pinned within a large corridor. Varig's men then used demolition charges to collapse both ends of the tunnel and trap the mutants inside.
 * Pack Leader Njan 'Greyflank' Anjeborn - Grey Hunter during the 32nd Millennium who commanded the Strike Cruiser Skraemar. He was left behind on void duty when the entirety of his Chapter, under the command of Great Wolf Harek Ironhelm, departed to confront the Thousand Sons on Gangava. When the Thousand Sons appeared in-system with a sizable attack fleet, he bought valuable time for the defenders on Fenris to prepare for the inevitable assault by the Traitor Legion, sacrificing himself and destroying four enemy vessels in the process.
 * Pack Leader Mjollnir - Leader of a Wolf Guard Pack during the Horus Heresy.
 * Pack Leader Thorlief - Leader of a Wolf Guard Pack during the Horus Heresy.
 * Pack Leader Skirnir - Leader of a Wolf Guard Pack during the Horus Heresy.
 * Patrekr the Great Fanged - Hero of the Space Wolves during the Horus Heresy.
 * Pack Leader Guntor - Pack Leader of the Fenris Bloods during the Horus Heresy.
 * Pack Leader Kolbyr - Pack Leader of a Hunter Support Squad during the Horus Heresy.
 * Pack Leader Sigfasti - Pack Leader of a Seeker Squad during the Horus Heresy.
 * Pack Leader Thorbrand - Pack Leader of a Hunter Squad during the Horus Heresy.
 * Pack Leader Ragvard - Pack Leader of a Sky Claw Assault Squad during the Horus Heresy.
 * Pack Leader Horgun - Leader of a Blood Claw Pack during the Horus Heresy.
 * Pack Leader Jorlund - Pack Leader of a Hunter Support Squad during the Horus Heresy.
 * Pack Leader Garan - Leader of a Blood Claw Pack during the Horus Heresy.
 * Pack Leader Jortan - Leader of a Stalker Pack during the Horus Heresy.
 * Pack Leader Davyn - Leader of a Fire Team during the Horus Heresy.
 * Pack Leader Ansuarr - Leader of a Blood Claw Pack during the Horus Heresy.
 * Pack Leader Leiknir - Leader of a Wulfen Pack during the Horus Heresy.
 * Pack Leader Tammikk - Leader of a Wulfen Pack during the Horus Heresy.
 * Pack Leader Ornulfer - Pack Leader of a Hunter Squad during the Horus Heresy.
 * Pack Leader Aldrim - Pack Leader of a Hunter Squad during the Horus Heresy.
 * Pack Leader Leiknir - Leader of a Wulfen Pack during the Horus Heresy.
 * Sven Dragonfire - Grey Hunter in Berek Thunderfist's Great Company. One of Ragnar Blackmane's original pack brothers during his days as a Blood Claw. Short and stout for a Space Wolf, Sven eventually became one of Ragnar's closest friends before his exile to Terra.
 * Strybjorn Grimskull - Grey Hunter in Berek Thunderfist's Great Company. One of Ragnar Blackmane's original pack brothers during his days as a Blood Claw. Before being chosen to become a Sky Warrior, Strybjorn was a member of the raiding party that wiped out the Thunderfist clan. As a result of this, there was enmity between him and Ragnar during their training days at Russvik and also during their first mission as Blood Claws.
 * Lars - Blood Claw. One of Ragnar Blackmane's original pack brothers during his days as a Blood Claw. Lars was regarded as a strange fey youth who would one day join the ranks of the Rune Priests. He was killed on the planet Galt by an Ork warlord during the mission to reclaim an ancient Eldar talisman.
 * Nils - Blood Claw. One of Ragnar Blackmane's original pack brothers during his days as a Blood Claw. Nils fell to the Nurglite daemon known as Botchulaz on the planet Aerius during the mission to reclaim an ancient Eldar talisman.
 * Valkoth - A senior member of the Wolfblade and superior to Ragnar, Haegr and Torin, Valkoth is well versed in Navigator House politics and just how dangerous they can be.
 * Haegr the Mountain - Haegr's legendary size was matched only by his legendary appetite. Friend and comrade to Ragnar Blackmane and fellow member of the Wolfblade bodyguard assigned to the Navigator House Bellisarius, Haegr was a Space Wolf of immense size whose bulk was the result of an aberrant mutation in his development in which he simply did not stop growing. Although many saw Haegr as a strange simpleton, Haegr was nevertheless relentless, loyal and fiercely potent in combat. Haegr met his end during the Charys Campaign, but in doing so saved the Chapter with his sacrifice, using his last moments of life to wrest the Spear of Russ from the grasp of the Thousand Sons and thwarting their attempt to destroy the Space Wolves.
 * Magni - A young and impetuous Astartes recently assigned to the Wolfblade, Magni fought with distinction but was killed during the Battle for Hyades.
 * Skander - Previous bearer of the Frost Blade now wielded by Ragnar, Skander was killed in the assassination of the Patriarch of the Navigator House Bellisarius. Ragnar replaced him in the ranks of the Wolfblade and after losing his Chainsword while fighting to save the new ruler of the Navigator House he was gifted the Frost Blade as a replacement and reward.
 * Torin the Wayfarer - The second companion and friend of Ragnar Blackmane in the Wolfblade, Torin was a cunning if eccentric Space Wolf, who had the rare talent of understanding foreign cultures and politics. His service with the Wolfblade was exemplary, but like many Astartes of the Chapter sent to serve in the Wolfblade, he was not well suited to life with the rest of the Chapter. He was the only Space Wolf to voluntarily become a member.
 * Freyr - A Space Wolves Long Fang during the Horus Heresy.
 * Skold Greypelt - Greypelt is a Space Wolves Astartes of unknown rank and company. Greypelt led a detachment of Space Wolves against the Tyranids on the Ice World of Shadrac.
 * Haakon "Blackwing" Gylfasson  - Wolf Scout during the 32nd Millennium. He did not speak like a typical Space Marine, and had none of the overt, bristling threat about him that most Astartes did. His colouring was dark, and his facial hair thick and matted. He was slighter than most pack members, even when kitted out in his full array of Scout Carapace Armour. He was left behind on void duty in command of the Scout Ship Nauro when the entirety of his Chapter, under the command of Great Wolf Harek Ironhelm, departed to confront the Thousand Sons on Gangava. When the Thousand Sons appeared in-system with a sizable attack fleet to unleash the First Battle of The Fang, he was ordered to flee the system to bring word to the Great Wolf of the attack on Fenris by the Thousand Sons, and successfully accomplished this mission

Chapter Fleet
The Space Wolves possess and maintain 15 starships in their Chapter fleet, one for each Great Company and 3 held in reserve. Each of the 15 vessels is unique unto itself, and the fleet includes many different classes and configurations of vessels.

Notable Chapter Vessels

 * Blood Eagle - Rapid strike Frigate of the Space Wolves that was responsible for inserting the Space Wolves' Scout Teams onto the Forge World of Cambion.
 * The Fist of Russ - Starship formerly commanded by Berek Thunderfist. Lost in the Charys Campaign.
 * Gotthammar - Strike Cruiser under the command of Wolf Lord Arvek Hren Kjarlskar, Jarl of the 4th Great Company in the 32nd Millennium.
 * The Holmgang - Starship of an unknown class that served as the flagship of the Thunderfist Great Company during the Charys Campaign.
 * Hrafnkel - A massive vessel of an unknown class that served as Leman Russ' flagship during the Great Crusade in the early 31st Millennium.
 * The Iron Wolf - Second largest ship of the Chapter fleet and a former Battleship of the Imperial Navy, under the command of Egil Ironwolf.
 * The Iron Wolf - Battle Barge in service to the 13th Company during the latter days of the Great Crusade.
 * Nauro - Scout ship of unknown class in service to the 12th Great Company in the 32nd Millennium, under the command of Wolf Scout Haakon Blackwing.
 * Nidhoggur - Warship of unknown class used by the 3rd Great Company during the Great Crusade.
 * The Pride of Fenris - Battle Barge of Logan Grimnar and the largest warship of the Space Wolves' Chapter fleet.
 * Retribution - Unknown class of starship in the Space Wolves' Chapter fleet.
 * Russvangum - A Battle Barge that served as the Chapter flagship during the 32nd Millennium, under the command of the Great Wolf Harek Ironhelm.
 * Skraemar - Strike Cruiser in service to the 12th Great Company in the 32nd Millennium.
 * The Stormblade - Strike Cruiser in service to the 13th Company during the latter days of the Great Crusade.
 * The Stormwolf - Strike Cruiser in service to Ragnar Blackmane's Great Company.
 * Vengeance - One of the Chapter's starships of an unknown class lost above the world of Jytor.
 * The Wolf of Fenris - Strike Cruiser of the Chapter captured in the Parenxes System by the Red Corsairs.
 * The Wolf Spirit - Battle Barge in service with the 13th Company during the Horus Heresy.

Physical Appearance
Due to an unusual mutation in the gene-seed inherited from their Primarch Leman Russ through the Canis Helix mixture taken by every Space Wolf Astartes during their recruitment, as a Space Wolf warrior grows older his hair turns a particular shade of grey and his canines lengthen into true, wolf-like fangs. Even his skin becomes thicker and more leathery like a wolf pelt and all Space Wolf Marines are usually quite hirsuite. These traits in their fully matured form are usually emblematic of a Space Wolf who has become a Grey Hunter, the name given to the Veteran Marines of this unusual Chapter. Of course, in a few Space Wolves this mutation proceeds too far and results in the ultimate transformation of the individual into a feral Wulfen mutant, as noted above.

Chapter Colours
Prior to the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves Legion wore grey Power Armour, with a red snarling wolf as the Legion's badge. In the 41st Millennium, the Space Wolves' Power Armour is a blue-grey, with other colours as highlights, most commonly red and yellow. The armour is often adorned with tokens taken from Fenrisian wolves, such as pelts, tails and teeth. Great Company symbols vary, but are taken from Fenrisian mythology and are always related in some way to the Twelve Wolves of Fenris. The 13th Company Space Wolves Marines retain the old, darker grey and red Legion badge and markings, although the different warbands vary their precise markings along (albeit similar) red wolf themes.

Chapter Badge
The Space Wolves' Chapter badge is a black wolf's head on a yellow background. A more elaborate wolf's head badge worked in silver and laced on a silver diamond background is also sometimes used. Most Space Wolves Marines wear the chosen sigil of their Great Company rather than that of the Chapter as a whole, which is only worn by the Great Wolf and the elite warriors of his Great Company.

The Space Wolves use a radically different system of markings than that used by Codex-compliant Chapters. Rather than using the company markings as laid down in the Codex Astartes, the Space Wolves use a number of different wolf badges to denote the different Great Companies that make up the Chapter. These include some form of a stylized wolf sigil denoting some aspect of the native Fenrisian mythology. These are chosen by a new Wolf Lord upon his election from the ranks of the Wolf Guard, and are adopted by all of the Space Wolves within the Great Company as a mark of fealty. They are also woven onto the various Great Company banners. The badge remains with the Great Company until the Wolf Lord falls in battle, whereupon a new Wolf Lord is chosen, and so the badge changes.

Even these badges bow to the Space Wolves' reputation for nonconformity, and hence lack of any formal system for determining the nature of the Great Company badges. There is never only one way to represent a Great Company badge, and within a Great Company it is likely to find a number of variants of the badge being used at the same time. Indeed, there are currently three different stylizations of the Blakmane Wolf emblem (currently used by Ragnar Blackmane's Great Company) in Imperial records. Indeed, over the centuries many hundreds of different styles of badges have been recorded by Imperial scribes.

The one Great Company that does not change its badge when its leader falls is the household of the Great Wolf. The household uses "The Wolf That Stalks Between Stars," the badge of Leman Russ himself, as its emblem. This badge is perhaps unique within the Space Wolves, as there are no recorded variants of it, a testament to the respect that the Space Wolves have always possessed for their Primarch. It is this badge that represents the Space Wolves as a Chapter, and is woven on the Chapter's banner.

Also, many of the Space Wolves most honoured and treasured relics carry this badge, having been in the possession or service of the Chapter (and hence the Imperium) since the days when Russ walked among the stars. Many of the Chapter's most sacred banners have a rendition of this badge on them, a tangible link to the time when Russ still led his Space Wolves into battle. Whilst many of these are treasured in their own right, perhaps the most treasured of all is the Dreadnought Bjorn the Fell-Handed, who fought alongside Russ during the Great Crusade 10,000 standard years ago. He carries the mark on his Dreadnought shell to show his unique status in the Chapter.

Honour Markings
The Space Wolves most appreciate acts of bravery, courage and skill among their comrades and proudly display markings and personally chosen badges that denote these acts. These markings are normally painted or carved into the Power Armour and personal weapons of the Space Wolf. There is no formal system of honour awards in the Chapter, all that matters is that the Space Wolf's Pack understands the significance of the symbol to him. However, some honour markings have acquired a special significance to the Space Wolves over time, and the Sergeant and Veteran badges used by the Chapter are good examples of this. The Chapter also has a rudimentary system of symbols that are repeated in many honour markings, including badges with bones that tend to signify wounds suffered in battle; knife and claw sigils that represent ferocity and bravery in combat and wolf tails that signify an event when the Space Wolf displayed exemplary courage under fire.

Task Force Markings
It is common for units from several different Great Companies to be deployed together to serve during a particular campaign. Every Space Wolf Astartes and every Space Wolf vehicle in this task force often displays a special badge on their armour which designates service within it. Of particular note is that used by the current task force of Ragnar Blackmane: a fanged wolf skull superimposed over two crossed bones, mounted on a black lozenge. This particular badge has appeared many times in the past, and therefore probably has some special significance to the space wolves.

Chapter Relics

 * The Axe Morkai - The Axe of Morkai is a legendary twin-headed axe wielded by the Great Wolf Logan Grimnar. The axe is a trophy siezed by the Space Wolves from a Champion of Chaos and re-forged into a mighty weapon of the Imperium.
 * Belts of Russ - Each Great Company has in it’s armory a single Belt of Russ. Powerful girdles incorporating potent forcefields that protect the wearer. Forged by the master Iron Priest Stef Blacksoul after the disappearance of Russ the belts are important relics of the Chapter.
 * Foehammer - A potent relic of the Space Wolves wielded by Grimnar's Champion Arjac Rockfist, Foehammer is a rune-inscribed Thunder Hammer with an in-built teleportation device that returns the weapon to Arjac's hand should he throw it at a foe or far more rarely, lose it in combat.
 * Anvil Shield - The Anvil Shield is a mighty Storm Shield. This large slab of obstinite laced with adamantium is wielded by Arjac Rockfist as much as a weapon as a form of protection, having crushed the skulls of numerous foes.
 * Frost Blades - Frost blades usually take the forms of chainswords or chainaxes. Ancient and masterfully artificed weapons made from the teeth of Ice Krakens Frost Blades are potent weapons unique to the Space Wolves, that can carve through the heaviest armor with ease. Some Frost Axes have blades of energised diamond giving the weapons the appearance of lethal shards of ice.
 * Frostfang - Frostfang is a mighty weapon crafted centuries ago by the Iron Priest Fergus Forgrim, the famed master craftsman of the Space Wolves. Its chainsaw blade is fashioned from a rare metal whose secret died with the ancient Iron Priest.
 * The Helm of Durfast - Forged in the stasis-bound iron furnaces beneath the Fang, this ancient helmet was made for the Space Wolf Durfast, Champion of Mordrak. The Helm has a temporal distort circuit which enables the wearer prescient vision and to be keenly aware of the past, present, and future - enabling him to readily spot any foes in cover or in hiding.
 * The Hood of Gnyrll - The Hood of Gnyrll is a special crafted psychic hood said to enable a Rune Priest additional psychic abilities.
 * The Pelt of the Doppleganger - Lukas the Trickster is the only individual in the Space Wolves history who has managed to track and slay one of the legendary chameleonic Doppleganger. Lukas wears the pelt as a trophy and uses it's innate abilities to assist him in battle, and probably mischief.
 * Hrulf's Hood of Darkness - The Hood of Darkness is an ancient device of obscure alien origin. In battle, when activated this device cloaks the wearer in interdimensional darkness. It also provides the wearer protection from psychic powers whilst cloaked, but he may not use psychic powers either.
 * The Cyber-raven Nightwing - Njal the Stormcaller saved Iron Priest Ulf Blackbrow's life during the battle of Rust World. Blackbrow was not one to owe others favors and so the accomplished smith crafted a particularly sophisticated cyber-raven named Nightwing for Njal. Nightwing has since saved Njal's life many times and is ever swift to aid the legendary Rune Priest in combat.
 * Runic Terminator Armor of Njal Stormcaller - Njal alone has the skill to craft Runic Terminator armor and his suit is currently the only one of it's kind in the Chapter.
 * The Pelt of the Wulfen - This ancient pelt is from a massive Wolf of Fenris, the largest ever slain by a warrior of the Space Wolves. This ancient and venerable hide has been interwoven with a modified cameleoline web.
 * Staff of the Stormcaller - The Runic Staff wielded by Njal Stormcaller, the Staff of the Stormcaller is a venerable weapon and relic of the Space Wolves.
 * Wolf Helm of Russ - The Wolf Helm of Russ is an ancient artifact of the Chapter said to have been worn by their Primarch Leman Russ himself. Tradition has it that this ancient helm was fashioned by the Emperor's artificiers and given to his Primarch son. The Helm is awarded to a Great Company after a tournament of champions, the last winner was Ragnar Blackmane who then presented the Helm to the Wolf Priest Ranek as a sign of respect.
 * Runic Staffs - Runic Staffs are mighty artifacts carried by Rune Priests that are imbued with the most powerful wards the Rune Priests can devise that protect the wielder from the psychic attacks of his enemies.
 * Torgarl's Plasma Blade - Though this weapon appears to be an ancient and finely decorated knife, it actually houses a plasma generator in the handle. When thrown the blade generates an intense plasma field which can penetrate most armour.
 * The Wulfen Stone - This ancient gem was worked into a suit of Power Armour by the great artificer Iron Priest Fengri and is one of the Space Wolves' greatest treasures. Within its murky depths lies the raging image of the Were, the monster of Fenris that lies coiled within the gene-helix of ever Space Wolf. As the bearer charges into combat his image changes into that of the Wulfen, its horror can be borne by few creatures.

Chapter Background Inspiration
The most recent incarnation of the Space Wolves is described as "a fantasy-style army in a science fiction universe." The backstory and "character" of the army is inspired by Germanic and Celtic barbarian mythology with a strong focus on the mythology of the Norse Vikings. The Space Wolves are reluctant to use some forms of "advanced" technology in a desire to fight in the style of their Primarch and feral homeworld. This is, of course, reflected in the Chapter's army list and specialist rules used by Space Wolf players. They are often (mistakenly) perceived to be an all-out assault army, like the Blood Angels or Black Templars; this is, however, erroneous, for the Space Wolves have a much more flexible and balanced play style and a greater behavioural reliability than either of the above mentioned Chapters. They do favour shorter-ranged confrontation than the traditional "shooty" Codex Astartes-compliant Chapters like the Ultramarines, however.

Gallery
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