Hey, just figured I'd put this post out there for people to list off their favorite regiment of the imperial guard, be it cadians or krieg or your own flavour let us know who they are, what they're about, why you like them and why they would make a great force to roleplay as.

I will of course go first, I don't know many of the imperial guard outfits but after reading Helsreach I took to really liking the Steel Legion. These are the standing forces of the planet armageddon and surrounding space. Living on one of the most heavily contested worlds in the imperium you know your planet will be wracked by terrible war and maybe even destroyed some day, but you can only hope the emperor will allow you to live out your life without seeing it. The steel legion wear heavy greatcloaks and rebreathers to protect them from the hostile forgeworld environment which leads to a rather faceless force for the most part but is also increadibly stylish. I think they would make a great group to RP as because they have tie ins to just about any enymy you could throw against them, they're almost always on the defensive but that always includes the option for quick raids to take out important enemy positions, even on ships or other worlds, and with the constant invasions you can easily create a scaling conflifct for your group to take part in. Starting out as little scouting missions and fel out attacks that need to be repelled and ending up as a full blown apocyliptic war.

What do all you think?

I like the Tallarn Desert Rangers. Mostly because of the Lawrence of Arabia style influence.

Either the Cadians or the Krieg Deth Korps. Cadia for their feel, they seem to me like allied WWII soldiers vaguely. They stand against chaos and are some of the best. Krieg for the feel of WWI Germans and their ethos of hardcore service and sacrifice to the Emperor. Both seem to have a pragmatic air to them, Krieg especially, as no one just gets a rank, they have to earn it and it is largely without social constraints.

Dulahan said:

Acck, Desert Raiders, not rangers. Can't edit the original anymore.

Tanith 1st and Only. I'm just in the middle of 1st book but I like it very much. Also I like Vostroyan Firstborn becouse they are so stylish

Cadia all the way =D

Mordians. Hit hard, stand stall and leave a fine dressed corpse.

Praetorians. I like the old British Expedition force look with their red jackets and pith helmets.

I'm a big fan of Cadia. Their guys look a lot like our own (America), they DON'T look like crazy Rambos, and they have a cool, important job that often lends itself to some awesome story options. The importance of their job also can get them some cool toys, and access to some cool NPCs, because whatever it takes, Cadia cannot fall. Other than the main team, I am also a fan of the Elysians; their ability to wage IG-style war effectively, WITHOUT the use of all the heavy machinery, made me a big fan, even if buying them from FW would make them cost as much as as regular IG and their tanks from GW. I appreciate that they show the Guard using other vehicles, besides tanks, but without them being mangy horses. If they had official biker troops, and if their jeeps were Codex-legal, they'd probably take the shine spot away from the Cadians, for me.

This would be why I picked the two above regiments to comprise my fanreg, the 1st Lokarin Shyshock Drop Troops, under Gov.Mil. Markus Krueger. They might be my true favs, but that's the bias of they're mine, and I have written some story for them, and I have about a dozen NPCs, waiting for this book to come out, so I can see if I can stat them, and use them around some players I might sucker.

So, the list:

1. 1st Lokarin Shyshock Drop Troops
2. (Official) Cadian Shock Troops
3. (Official) Elysian Airborne Infantry

Death Korps of Krieg. Their miniatures are sexy.

I'm not allowed to mention my favourite regiment, as it'd reveal things about the rulebook, but I am a fan of the Elysians (who, for some reason, I always imagine speaking with a South African accent) because drop troopers are cool, and the Krieg because their fatalistic determination makes for a surprisingly characterful regiment.

The Glen said:

Mr. Welch?

comradeda said:

This. Mainly for the same reason…

N0-1_H3r3 said:

****… guess that pretty much confirms it won't be Rogue Trader style 'build your own' regiment stuff in OW.

My own regiment, the 212th Drepanans. They're not really official, though I did manage to sneak them into the 13th Black Crusade sourcebook…If you look carefully they're on the order of battle list at the back of the book.

Valhallans in gerneral are probably my favorite. maybe becouse im from were there is only 2 seasons, winter(9 months a year) and road constrution

My favorites used to be Tanith first and only but at the moment my favorite is the Valhallan 597th other regiments i like include The Moradrian Iron Guard, Armageddon Steel legion and the Catachans

I do like the Catachans quite a bit myself. Granted, they can look a little goofy en masse, but I really like the idea of small squads of them roaming through all the nastiest jungles the galaxy has to offer and silently stalking their enemy. Plus they're bad ass enough that they don't even need to wear armor. And how many other regiments have veterans that have killed tyranids with their bare hands?

Of course, the Valhallans are pretty great too, especially Commander Chenkov. He so perfectly exemplifies the Imperium's attitude that Guardsmen are about as valuable as the las guns they're carrying…actually, scratch that. Guardsmen are less valuable than las guns. You can recover a las gun from a corpse and pass it on to the new recruits, can't do much of anything with a corpse. The Valhallans put the grim in grim dark.

Savlar Chem Dogs, scum of the universe that will fight for whatever they can steal, even if it means hacking gold teeth out of someone's face with a bayonet and kept motivated in some sort of vague direction towards the enemy with a steady supply of combat drugs. Plus they're a politically incorrect, funny anacronism from the past you just couldn't sell in a PG13 games store anymore

I also really like the Elysian drop troops, having known a few para's in the past, they're all fairly much unhinged at some level.

The Tallarn Desert Raiders. They survived a full-out EXTERMINATUS of their planet (well, not technically Exterminatus, but the Virus bombing had the same effect in that it destroyed the ecosystem of the planet and reduced the surface to endless desert), rose up from underground bunkers, and then proceeded to have the galaxy's largest tank battle ever, single handedly beating back the Iron Warriors. They are very resourceful (such as two regiments switching to the use of horses and camels when their vehicles run out of fuel to attack the enemy), and can pretty much do anything, from light infantry to mechanized warfare to static trench warfare. They are quite well disciplined and very zealous; thinking of a Tallarn charge lead by a screaming preacher with an evicerator brings a smile to one's face. Plus, I love the old Arab style of their regiments.

Dulahan said:

He didnt say anything about us not having the possibility to build your own regiment.

Sister Callidia said:

No, but my hope was regiment wasn't structured or even really developed. as I am hoping that when you make your characters you do that completely agnostic of regiment, then go through some sort of 'tree' to collectively create the regiment you're all part of in a way similar to how Rogue Trader creates dynasties.

Now, this doesn't rule out some pre-made regiments of the big names and FFG's created version being done. But still, that statement makes it less likely.

Also, a big shame they haven't previewed that new regiment! Remember a couple years ago when someone decided to make a Storm Wardens army (company?) for charity?

If nothing else they could come out with a suplement such like the did with DW in which you can create your own regiment

mrady said:

To be fair. My objection is more that I don't want the regiment to be so important that it's anything but a background element. The more 'splatty' the regiments are, the more in the forefront they are. Though obviously it's a big deal for FFG, means they can get more money by including regiments in new books. There's also my worry that regiment being too major a thing could imply 'mixed' units. Which is also something I really was hoping wouldn't be the case, I really wanted a down and gritty part of a regiment thing, not a mixed unit special forces thing. That's what Deathwatch is for, if you ask me. Sure such a thing doesn't REQUIRE you to play mixed regiments, but let's be honest… you'd have to have a very tight or story driven group of players to convince people to all play the same regiment without something like this. There'll always be that one guy/gal who HAS to play their favorite regiment.

For me the ideal would be something like:

Orgin world: Hive - BS and Fel bonus and extra talents in those sorts of thing. Feral - Str, Toughness, and/or WS bonuses. Extra skill options or certain starting skills. Essentially stuff to represent the sort of person that comes from each world and ends up in the Guard.

Regiment Age - Not sure what sort of bonuses here, but maybe something. Just founded, decade, centuries, etc. Possibly something like the quality and sort of equipment you have at start and get access to. (Just founded? Shiny new stuff, but very uniform… OLD regiment? Not so good of equipment in general, but access to some 'looted' special stuff or something else to make up for it. Essentially, like the Ship Point/Profit Factor split in Rogue Trader)

Regiment Specialization - Drop Troops? Armored? Mechanized Infantry? Heavy Infantry? Stealth? Etc etc. Each one having some set skill bonus(es?), or a skill tree of 'elite advances' all PCs have access too. Basically this is the flavor that helps makes your regiment distinct from others of your world. Compared to Origin world which is what distinguishes you from other Guard Regiments of the same specialty.

Probably a couple other options somewhere to add more variety. But basically a framwork like this.

Perhaps options for prefered enemy - such as orks or tyranids - and maybe rare equipment employed by the regiment?