Space Wolves

13th Company Space Wolves
Primarch:	Leman Russ
Battlecry:	"For Russ and the Allfather!" or an ancient and feral howl.

Space Wolves Marine — Space Wolves Chapter Colour Scheme

Wulfen Marine — Pre-Heresy Space Wolves Chapter Colour Scheme

Leman Russ - Prospero — Primarch Leman Russ of the **Space Wolves** Legion

Great Crusade Wolves — Space Wolves bring a newly discovered world into compliance during the Great Crusade

Scouring of Prospero — The Space Wolves Legion during the Burning of Prospero

The Space Wolves are one of the original 20 First Founding Space Marine Legions, and were once led by their famed Primarch, Leman Russ. 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.

Chapter History

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 Man 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, as well as slightly unstable, Imperial warrior and Astartes leader. 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.

Burning 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. 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. As a result of the Burning of Prospero, the two Legions came to bear an ageless grudge against one another. This grudge is still very deep between the Space Wolves and the survivors of the Thousand Sons, who are now the Chaos Space Marines solely dedicated to the service of Tzeentch.

Battle of Terra

Siege Imperial Palace — The Traitor Legions lay siege to the Imperial Palace

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 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 hell-system of Warp Storms 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 I shall answer, no matter what the laws of life or death forbid. At the end I will be there. For the final battle. For the Wolftime.” - Dying words of Primarch Leman Russ

Years later, at one particular “Feast of the Emperor’s Ascension" in honour of the day the Emperor defeated Horus and ascended to godhood 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 for his 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, his 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. None have succeeded in their final goal, but Russ has assured his sons with his final words that he will return to them for the final battle, for what he called the "Wolftime." many Space Wolves believe that time fast approaches now 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

Heart of Darkness — Space Wolves in combat against the Orks during the Third War for Armageddon

First Battle For The Fang (32nd Millennnium) - 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 among the ruins of devastated cities 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 attack against it. This was a deception intended to draw the bulk of the Space Wolves' forces from their homeworld, leaving it undefended; Gangava was held by a Chaos force allied to Magnus but it served only as a distraction, allowing a massive Thousand Sons' fleet to 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, Harek, a regular Space Marine, 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 defeated and scattered.
Age of Apostasy, Second Battle for The Fang (36th Millennium) - 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 clwas 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' former Primarch (now Daemon Prince) 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 of the Space Wolves arrived to support the Cadians, the Space Wolves committing all 12 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.

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

A Space Wolves Bloodclaw on his Assault Bike

Long Fangs — A Veteran Space Wolves Long Fang armed with a Heavy Weapon

Elite Space Wolves Veterans of the Wolf Guard charge into the fray

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 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, which 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, the Veteran Space Wolves Space Marines 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 that can shoot at multiple targets.
Wolf Guards - Some Space Wolves, having achieved feats of exceptional valour and martial prowess, may become Wolf Guards. These mighty warriors lead small forces of Space Wolves, provide a retinue for the most experienced warrior in the force or lead a Great Company's squads, thus serving as the equivalent of standard Space Marine Sergeants or members of a company Honour Guard. Besides the standard Power Armour, Wolf Guards also earn the right to don Terminator Armour. From here, one may rise to the position of Wolf Lord, the mighty officers equivalent to a standard Space Marine Captain who command one of the 12 Great Companies that comprise the full Space Wolf military force. A Wolf Lord may be accompanied by the huge Fenrisian Wolves.
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 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 the Chapter Master; the Great Wolf is generally considered a steward awaiting the return of the Primarch Leman Russ. 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 centuries as of 999.M41.
Wolf Lords - The war leaders of the Great Companies who are the Space Wolves' equivalent of company captains, the Chapter includes eleven Wolf Lords. 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 Wolf Lord in the Chapter's history.
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 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 Adeptus Astartes. 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 Dreadnaughts - The Dreadnaughts of the Space Wolves are generally ancient and wise warriors, who spend a great deal of time in dreamless sleep beneath the fang, only awakened in times of great need. The Venerable Dreadnaughts of the Space Wolves may sometimes even lead forces of wolves into battle in the absence of another capable war leader, or sometimes in deference to their ancient wisdom.

The Great Companies

Grand Annulus 2 — The current Company Badges of the 12 Great Companies, as displayed on the Grand Annulus; notice the missing badge of the 13th Company

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

Space Wolves are recruited, like other Space Marines, at a young age in early adolescence, selected from the most able youths of the feral tribes of their homeworld of Fenris. Uniquely enough, only the fiercest and most skilled young 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 almost fatal missions in the frozen wastes of the Asaheim Mountains of Fenris.

When they are finally deemed worthy, they 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. Then, they are taken to 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. When and if they pass this test, they are finally augmented with the gene-seed of Leman Russ as well as the anatomical gifts found within everyone of the Emperor's Astartes. The next phase of their transformation into a full-fledged Space Wolf is a trial period in which the Canis Helix begins to manifest itself. Many will continue to grow into their newly received genetic implants while others succumb completely to the Wolf and become blood-thirsty mutant creatures known as Wulfen. If the aspirant is fortunate enough to survive the transformation, he must endure his final test. Equipped with nothing but a spear and dagger, he must brave the 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. When they return, they are gifted with the ancient Power Armour of a fallen Wolf-Brother and sent to be welcomed into one of the 12 Great Companies.

The 13th Company

Space Wolves' legend states that the group that came to be known as the Space Wolves' 13th Company was sent 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

Blood Claws 3 — A pack of feral Wulfen attack their terrified foes

The Space Wolves suffer from a flaw in their gene-seed, the Canis Helix of Leman Russ which every Space Wolf imbibes to begin their transformation into full Astartes, that 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

Logan Grimnar - Logan 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.
Ragnar Blackmane - Youngest Wolf Lord in the Space Wolves' history and protagonist of the Space Wolf novel series. 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 by casting the Spear of Russ into a Warp Gate.
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 commented on this.
Bjorn the Fell-Handed - 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. He predicted that Russ will come again.
Njal Stormcaller - The Space Wolves' greatest Rune Priest, accompanied by his companion Nightwing, the psyker raven.
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 one of that immature group of Space Wolves Astartes.
Canis Wolfborn - 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, Canis Wolfborn's story is utterly different from those of his peers, and his prowess in combat is unmatched.

Chapter Appearance

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 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.

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.

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.

Sources

Johnson, Jervis; Chambers, Andy, and Thorpe, Gav (2000). Codex: Space Wolves (3rd Edition). Nottingham: Games Workshop.
The Space Wolves series of novels:
- King, William (2003). Space Wolf. Nottingham: Black Library.
- King, William (2003). Wolfblade. Nottingham: Black Library.
- King, William (2004). Grey Hunter. Nottingham: Black Library.
- King, William (2004). Ragnar's Claw. Nottingham: Black Library.
- Lightner, Lee (2007). Sons of Fenris. Nottingham: Black Library.
McNeill, Graham (2006). False Gods. Nottingham: Black Library.
(May 2000) "Sons of Russ". White Dwarf: Australian Edition (245).
(July 2000) "Codicium Imperialis – The Space Wolves". White Dwarf: Australian Edition (247).
(July 2001) "Index Astartes – The Space Wolves". White Dwarf: Australian Edition (259).
(July 2003) "Index Astartes – 13th Company". White Dwarf: Australian Edition (283).
Chambers, Andy; Haines, Pete and Kelly, Phil and McNeill, Graham and Reynolds, Anthony (2002). Index Astartes II. Nottingham: Games Workshop.
McNeill, Graham (2010). A Thousand Sons. Nottingham: Black Library.