Blood Angels

Overview
In the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000, the Blood Angels are one of the twenty First Founding Legions of the Space Marines. They are well known for their bloodthirsty nature in battle, and feared for the curse they carry. They are among the longest lived of the Space Marine Chapters with some serving the Emperor for over a thousand years.

Sanguinius
When the twenty genetically engineered superhumans known as the Primarchs were scattered across the galaxy, some were afflicted by forms of mutation. Most affected was the infant that fell to the second moon of the world of Baal, the child-Primarch bearing vestigial wings from the time he was found by the Baalite tribe known as The Blood. Although they initially wanted to kill him because of his mutation, the tribe quickly recognized him as an angelic being in both body and soul, and named him Sanguinius, Angel of The Blood.

The tribes of Baal were miserable groups of individuals, forced to eke out an existence from the irradiated deserts of Baal Secundus. The levels of radiation experienced on the moon were capable of killing an unprotected man in mere moments. The Baalite tribes were forced to continually wear heavy, cumbersome radiation suits in their nomadic travels, and forced to continually defend themselves from cannibal-mutants.

Sanguinius, like all the Primarchs, grew at an impressive rate. After three weeks, he was strong enough to defeat a Fire Scorpion with his bare hands, a creature that stood twice the height of a grown man, and whose stinger carried a poison virulent enough to burn a man from within. A year after his landing on Baal Secundus, Sanguinius stood taller than any man on the moon. His form was perfect, despite the massive amounts of radiation he was exposed to. His wings had grown strong; pure-white pinions that could carry him into the sky.

Under his guidance and protection, The Blood prospered and grew. They were protected from the mutants that plagued the world of Baal Secundus by Sanguinius, the Primarch capable of defeating hundreds of mutants single handedly. The other pure-blood tribes soon united under Sanguinius' guidance, and a successful war of annihilation was waged against the mutants.

The Coming of the Emperor
When the Emperor found Baal in his search for the twenty Primarchs, he went to the surface to ascertain if the psychic signature he sensed was that of one of his sons. The Emperor entered the natural amphitheatre being used for the event known as the Conclave of Blood, and stood amongst the soldiers of The Blood, listening with humility to the speech of Sanguinius. The speech was said to lift the souls of Sanguinius's people, and at its conclusion, he soared into the air with a cry that every man present echoed.

It was also recorded that Sanguinius immediately recognized the Emperor for who he was, and bent down on his knee, pledging his service. In this, Sanguinius was one of the few Primarchs who did not challenge the Emperor upon their reunion. The Emperor then took Sanguinius and a number of his best warriors and placed him in the command of the Blood Angels Space Marine Legion.

The Great Crusade
The Blood Angels threw themselves into the Great Crusade, quickly finding a role as specialised assault troops, forming a rivalry with the similarly assault-oriented World Eaters Legion. Of all the Primarchs Sangunius formed the closest bond to Horus, Russ and The Khan.

Signus Prime
The Horus Heresy background books state that the Blood Angels Legion was sent to quell an uprising on the planet of Signus Prime. They discovered that the planet was infested by daemons. During the conflict Sanguinius was nearly killed by the mighty Bloodthirster Lord Ka'Bandha. The Primarch's legs were crushed and broken, but instead of killing the defenseless Primarch, the daemon said "Your legs will heal but this wound will always fester." Then, as Sanguinius was powerless to help them, hundreds of the Primarch's Marines were slaughtered by the daemon in a single rampage. The psychic backlash of so many loyalist deaths at once caused Sanguinius to black out.

While their Primarch was unconscious, the remaining Blood Angels felt a raging madness take over them as they slew the remaining Chaos cultists and daemonic legions without mercy. The Horus Heresy novels and artbooks hint this, as much as Sanguinius's death, is the cause of the Black Rage. The Khorne legions themselves, normally nigh-invincible, were banished, and Ka'Bandha quit the field.

When Sanguinius awoke, the surviving Space Marines were sullen and despairing, the berserker rage they experienced having left a brooding shadow on their souls. Shortly after the Blood Angels were recalled to Terra to aid the defense of the Emperor's Palace, leaving behind grim memories of Signus Prime.

The Horus Heresy
The Blood Angels were present for the titanic final battle of the Horus Heresy, the Siege of the Emperor's Palace. The Blood Angels, Imperial Fists and White Scars defended the Imperial Palace with zealous fervour. Sanguinius himself led the defence of the outer walls. Three times the Warmaster's troops gained footholds on the walls, and three times they were driven back by Sanguinius and his Blood Angels.

When the wall was broken by attacks from Chaos Titans, Sanguinius organised the retreat to the Inner Palace. At Eternity Gate, Sanguinius defied the Chaos horde long enough to buy time for loyalist wounded to be carried inside. As the last were carried in, Sanguinius went to return to the palace. Before the gates could shut, Ka'Bandha, Arch Daemon and Lord of all the Bloodthirsters, attacked the Primarch. The Angel and daemon fought in the air, but Sanguinius, weary and taken by surprise, was cast down. Ka'Bandha hovered in the air, laughing gutturally at his opponent's despair. Sanguinius, however, was not dead. Sanguinius regained his senses, and took to the air. Flying as swift as a missile, the Primarch seized the daemon's ankle and lifted it high into the air. Before the daemon could bellow its fury, Sanguinius broke its back over his knee. He hurled the carcass back at the Chaos horde, who howled in fury. The Ultimate Gate was closed.

When the arrival of the Space Wolves, Dark Angels and Ultramarines Legions forced Horus to drop the shields protecting his battle barge, Sanguinius, Rogal Dorn of the Imperial Fists, and the Adeptus Custodes joined the Emperor in a teleport assault upon the vessel. The Chaos magicks protecting the ship scattered the Loyalists throughout the ship. Sanguinius was the first to make it onto the bridge of the battle barge, confronting the corrupted Warmaster. As Sanguinius possessed the ability of foresight, it seems almost certain that he knew he was going to his death. It remains unknown whether fatalism or loyalty brought Sanguinius aboard. The Blood Angels themselves have no doubt on the matter.

The two Primarchs and former friends finally met on the command deck. Horus offered Sanguinius a position of power if he renounced his loyalty to the Emperor, and Sanguinius refused. Even though he was wounded and weary from his battles on Terra, Sanguinius was able to match Horus' martial prowess, even at the height of his daemonic power, and Horus was forced to deal with the Angel by psychic methods. In his limitless malice, Horus made sure that Sanguinius' death was the most painful and foul that the boundless evils in his service could administer. The Warmaster's psychic assault was so powerful it echoed down through the generations of Sanguinius's sons who are haunted by its echo within their souls to this day.

The Curse
The Curse of the Blood Angels has been attributed to a combination of the defects in the Legion's Omophagea gene-seed implant, and the psychic disturbance created during the final seconds of Sanguinius's life. Every Space Marine created from the gene-seed of Sanguinius was doomed to fall to the Curse, and in the ten-thousand year history of the Legion (and after the Second Founding, Chapters), only three Space Marines have managed to defeat the Curse (Chief Librarian Mephiston and Brother Rafen - both with the assistance of the Primarch, and the librarian Ashok of the later Angels Sanguine suppressed the black rage as well).

The Black Rage
The Blood Angels and their Successor Chapters still suffer from the psychic imprint left by Sanguinius's death (or by the "wound" caused on Signus Prime). This can cause them to go insane prior to or during battle and feel the rage that Sanguinius himself felt during the Battle of Terra. The condition is largely irrecoverable and only a few Blood Angels have managed to defeat the "Gene Curse". Victims are locked away in the "Tower of Amareo" (named after an ancient master of the Blood Angels) on the Blood Angels' homeworld. This insanity is known as the Black Rage.

Rather than let them face a slow, insane death, Blood Angels will form those who have newly succumbed to the Black Rage into a special unit known as the Death Company. They wear specially painted black armour, and are often led by the few Chapter officers, notably Chaplains, who are able to communicate orders to the insane troops. They are then sent out to perform the most dangerous assaults, hoping for a quick and honourable death in combat. The Rage seems to lend those afflicted with a measure of the Primarch's might, granting them the strength to rend their foes limb from limb in bloody melee.

However, by some unknown means, the Black Rage seems capable of extending the victim's lifespan, that is until he succumbs to the Rage. Commander Dante is by far the oldest living Space Marine (not including those interred in a Holy Dreadnought), born more than 1000 years before the present setting.

The Red Thirst
A side effect of the Black Rage is the Blood Angels' vampire-like tendencies. They generally have pale skin, and a strong urge to drink the blood of their enemies. This flaw is known as the Red Thirst. These traits have also been passed on to their Successor Chapters, such as the Flesh Tearers, Blood Drinkers, and Angels Sanguine.

One Successor Chapter, the Lamenters, managed, by unknown means, to eliminate the flaws from Sanguinius' gene-seed, but has been stricken by extraordinary bad luck in battle, suffering an improbable series of unlikely catastrophes, and as such has been nearly annihilated.

Blood Angels who have overcome the curse

 * Lord Mephiston: Originally Brother Calistarius, a Blood Angels Librarian of some ability and strength of character, he was almost overcome by the Curse when part of the relief force for Hades hive during the Second Battle of Armageddon, where, having suffered for 7 days and nights when trapped in the rubble of the collapsed Ecclesorium building, a vision of Sanguinius helped him fight off the effects. He was reborn Mephiston – Lord of Death, and with his full psychic potential unlocked, quickly achieved the position of Chief Librarian. He has become seen as the spiritual son of Sanguinius, a figure of hope to his chapter.


 * Brother Rafen: A battle brother who, after killing his brother Arkio who was claiming to be Sanguinius reborn but was made into such a likeness by Chaos, had to succumb to the Curse to unleash the power of the Holy Spear of Telesto (a weapon wielded by Sanguinius himself) in order to defeat a Lord of Change (Greater Daemon of Tzeentch) and was able to pull himself to the surface of his consciousness, and succeeded in helping Mephiston to defeat the Black Rage within himself a second time. A character taken from the novels Deus Encarmine and Deus Sanguinius.

Organization
The Blood Angels and their Successors adhere to the Codex Astartes in general, but deviate in several regards. The most obvious of these is the preponderance of close-combat troops. The role of Assault Marine is heavily sought, and the entire First Company fights as assault troops when not deployed as Terminators. The entire Eighth Company is tooled towards assault combat; the Marines that do not gain access to Jump Packs before a battle often deploy in support of their rapid moving brethren, through the use of Land Speeders and Attack Bikes. Even the Librarians of the Blood Angels Chapter excel at hand to hand fighting.

The remaining Companies deploy as per the Codex Astartes, but often modify the engines of the Rhino APCs assigned to them in order to increase their speed. These modifications have a negative effect on the vehicle as a whole, and the Blood Angels' Rhinos are prone to breakdowns if their engines are pushed too hard.

Other vehicles have been modified by the Blood Angels. The Baal Predator mounts a twin-linked assault cannon, and is modified to lay down a torrent of fire as the Blood Angels advance, devastating infantry and light vehicles. The Furioso Dreadnought eschews the heavy weaponry normally carried by Space Marine Dreadnoughts, replacing it with a second close combat weapon.

The Blood Angels' headquarters division contains several ranks not present in other Space Marine Chapters. The Sanguinary Priests are the custodians of the blood of Sanguinius himself. They serve as Apothecaries, as well as partially fulfilling the role of spiritual leaders within the Chapter. The role of Chaplains also differs in the Blood Angels Chapter as their responsibilities are solely geared towards guarding against the Black Rage and ministering to those who fall to both it and the Red Thirst.

Most notable of the deviances from the Codex Astartes is the Death Company. Not an actual part of the Blood Angels' standard organization, the Death Company is made up of those unfortunates who completely succumb to the Black Rage just before a battle. These fanatical troops are led into battle by a Sanguiniary Priest or Chaplain. The Marines of the Death Company are unstoppable, fighting on with wounds that should stop even a Space Marine.

Headquarters
The Fortress-Monastery of the Blood Angels is located on the world of Baal, and recruits are taken from the moon of Baal Secundus. The world and its moons were once Earth-like in their climate, but have since become wastelands. Evidence points to a nuclear war at some point prior to the Age of Strife, destroying the sophisticated human culture that inhabited the world and its moons.

The few survivors became scavengers, relying on cumbersome radiation suits to protect them from the fatal levels of radiation, and picking from the scraps of their once-great society to survive. Some of the survivors resorted to cannibalism to survive, and others became horribly mutated as an effect of the radiation.

Recruitment
To ascertain who is worthy to join the ranks of the Blood Angels, the adolescents of the tribes of Baal Secundus take part in violent games and tournaments, battling against the harsh landscape and their peers. The contests are held at 'Angel's Fall', the location of Sanguinius' landing, and are heralded by the arrival of Thunderhawk Gunships from the Chapter.

The first trial is to reach the 'Place of Challenge' by any means necessary. The aspirants must make their way across the hostile desert, leaping from high cliffs with only a crude hang-glider to cross the gap with. They must avoid Fire Scorpions and other predator species that inhabit the canyons, then climb the mountain to the Place of Challenge.

Upon arrival, gladiatorial contests are held, of which only a handful of the original aspirants will survive. From this group, roughly fifty will be taken by the Blood Angels, while the remainder are tasked to protect the Place of Challenge until the next generation's aspirants begin their competition for acceptance.

The successful aspirants are taken to the Blood Angels' Fortress-Monastery on Baal itself, and are paraded before members of the Chapter, before being escorted into the Great Chapel. Here, the aspirants must observe a three-day vigil without sustenance or rest; those who fall asleep are taken away and never seen again. At the conclusion of the three days, a group of Sanguinary Priests will enter and offer each aspirant a sip from a chalice believed to contain some of Sanguinius' blood. Upon drinking this, the aspirants fall into a deep sleep, during which the gene-seed implants of the Chapter are inserted into the body of each aspirant.

Entranced by a death-like slumber, the aspirants are transported to the Hall of Sarcophagi, and interred in great golden sarcophagi, each twice the size of a grown man. The aspirants are attached to an array of life support equipment, before being sealed in for a year. They are fed intravenously, the combination of nutrients and the Blood of Sanguinius instigating the changes in the aspirant's body necessary to make him a Space Marine. Many aspirants fail at this point, their bodies unable to cope with the massive changes wrought by the gene-seed. Those that survive grow strong and pure, granted visions and dreams that depict the memory of Sanguinius. On rare occasions, an aspirant will awaken well before the year is up, and will be forced to contemplate the claustrophobic darkness. Emerging from the sarcophagi these unfortunates are afflicted with mental infirmity.

After the year has passed, the aspirants are awoken and retrieved from their imprisonment. They bear little physical resemblance to the frail, radiation-warped adolescents that entered a year before. Their restructured bodies take on a form reminiscent of their Primarch, keener and stronger than any mortal man. Even so, they have only completed the first stage of becoming a Space Marine. There is then the typical tradition of serving in the 10th Company Scout force before joining one of the other Companies as a fully fledged Marine.

Combat Doctrine
The Companies of the Blood Angels generally fight in a similar fashion as most other Space Marine forces, with a extended tendency toward aggressive and decisive assault actions utilising highly mobile forces. This usually results in actions in which dedicated assault units, including the Death Company, close with the weakest point of the enemy position at the earliest opportunity under covering fire, and then are supported by mounted tactical units and armoured forces to exploit the breakthrough. This then allows the assault units to carry on into successive enemy positions behind the front line, preventing an organised response, while the rest of the units conduct a mop-up of the remaining enemy and move into positions of support, pinning down the next target with available firepower. Their passion for perfection in all things martial and otherwise, added to their longevity in which to achieve this, can be seen their strategic and tactical planning, which is exemplary. However, they cannot be counted upon to hold a position in the same disciplined way as the Ultramarines or Dark Angels, as the Black Rage can afflict any Marine in the midst of battle, inciting him to charge forward in an attempt to tear the enemy limb from limb. This often has the benefit of creating victories in the unlikeliest situations through sheer aggression, although Imperial Commanders have been known to refrain from asking for the assistance of the Blood Angels due to fears that such savagery could become uncontrollable. This has been comically turned into a joke, where it would be a nightmare for anyone to be charged by the Death Company.

Appearance


The Blood Angels paint their armour blood red, with a black Chapter symbol, and squad markings in the colouration of the Marine's Company. Trim varies but are usually the same red as the armour or black. The Aquila on the chest is usually yellow, gold, white or black. Instead of using symbols to show a unit's role, the helmets are painted for distinction; red for Tactical, blue for Devastator, and yellow for Assault. Members of the Chapter's 1st Company fight as assault troops wearing yellow helmets, in tactical dreadnought (terminator) armour or as a Company's Honour Guard wearing gold helmets.

The Chapter's symbol is of a blood drop flanked by white wings. When portrayed on armour, this design is stylised and painted black, on the left shoulder guard. Sergeants of the army have both shoulder guards painted black, with a yellow Chapter symbol on instead, to distinguish them.

Librarians have blue armour with the left shoulder pad painted red. The Chapter symbol is located on the right kneepad, black with a red background.

Apothecaries have red armour trimmed in white, with a white Chapter symbol on their left shoulder guard.

The Death Company vary significantly from their brethren; their armour is repainted black, with red crosses, symbolizing the sacrifice of Sanguinius.

A Blood Angels company's markings differ from the Codex Astartes by utilising symbols on the right shoulder guard instead of different colored trim and numbers. Only in special cases does the Chapter symbol not appear on the left shoulder guard. The following is a list of how each company represents itself:


 * 1st Company (Veteran) : A white skull over red background on the right shoulder guard. On Terminator (Tactical Dreadnought), the left shoulder guard shows the First Company's heraldry, the right shoulder guard display the Chapter Icon in black (yellow for Sergeants).
 * 2nd Company (Battle) : A single yellow blood drop.
 * 3rd Company (Battle) : A single white blood drop.
 * 4th Company (Battle) : A single green blood drop.
 * 5th Company (Battle) : A single black blood drop.
 * 6th Company (Reserve Tactical) : Twin yellow blood drops, side by side.
 * 7th Company (Reserve Tactical) : Twin white blood drops, side by side.
 * 8th Company (Reserve Assault) : Twin green blood drops, side by side.
 * 9th Company (Reserve Devastator) : Twin black blood drops, side by side.
 * 10th Company (Scouts) : The scout company wears a black skull on the right shoulder pad, and the Chaptor symbol on the left.

The Chapter Master's personal bodyguard wears gold armour with black trim, painting the right shoulder guard red. The Chapter symbol is displayed on the left shoulder guard, a white skull displayed on the right.

Notable Members

 * Commander Dante - Chapter Master during the 41st millennium.
 * Lord Mephiston - Chief Librarian during the 41st millennium. He gained immense power after overcoming the Black Rage.
 * Brother-Captain Tycho - Commander of the Blood Angels' Third Company. Half his face was destroyed during the Second War for Armageddon which affected his psyche. He constantly thirsts for revenge against the orks who wounded him. He finally attained peace when he died during his actions in the Third War for Armageddon.
 * Captain Michaelus Raphael of the 1st Company of the Blood Angels. He led his company to glory and cleansed the Genestealers from their Space Hulk. He is the commander of the Blood Angels in the board game, Space Hulk.
 * Chaplain Lemartes - known as the "Guardian of the Lost." His stern voice can cut through even the battle frenzy induced by the Black Rage.
 * Brother Corbulo - mightiest amongst the Sanguinary Priests and Bearer of the Red Grail.
 * Moriar the Chosen - Once a captain of the Blood Angels, he fell in battle and so great were his deeds he was honoured by being entombed in a Furioso Dreadnought - a walking mechanical sarcophagus bristling with powerful weaponry. However upon entering his new body he experienced the visions of Sanguinius during the Heresy and succumbed to the Black Rage thus becoming the Death Company Dreadnought - an almost unstoppable force in battle.
 * Brother Rafen - From the books Deus Encarmine and Deus Sanguinius. He saves the Blood Angels Chapter from a bloody civil war, but in doing so is forced to kill his brother Arkio. He is also one of the few Blood Angels to defeat the Gene Curse.
 * Arkio the Blessed - Featured in the books Deus Encarmine and Deus Sanguinius. He was a pawn of Tzeentch mutated to resemble Sanguinius in order to try and take control of the Blood Angels chapter, but was killed by his genetic brother, Rafen, at the Battle of Sabien.
 * Captain Leonatos - Hero of the Blood Quest, exiled until the Blade Encarmine is recovered.

4th Edition

 * In late May 2007, in White Dwarf 330 (UK)/329 (US)/138 (DE), the first part of a 2 part Blood Angels Codex update appeared. This update contained new rules and background for the Blood Angels and rules for the unique Blood Angels units and special characters. The concluding part of the codex, in White Dwarf 331 (UK)/330 (US)/139(DE), published in June, contained the full army list for the Blood Angels. These updates are official and override the 3rd edition of Codex: Blood Angels. They are currently available for download on the Games Workshop website and is also a stand alone codex, much like the Dark Angels and Black Templars Codexes.