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Presents
As featured in the June and July 2007 editions.
Revised and updated for the 5th edition of Warhammer 40,000
Chapter
Approved
Founding Chapters, the Blood
Angels have fought the enemies of
Mankind for 10 long millennia. Their
Primarch is revered across the Imperium,
and legends of the Chapter’s deeds have
reached every corner of the galaxy.
However, tales abound too of their
bloodthirsty exploits and the dark flaw
that mars them. Few know the whole
truth nor realize the inner pain and
anguish that drive the Blood Angels into
battle with a righteous fury that few
others can match.
Each Chapter of Space Marines owes
much to the characteristics and powers of
its Primarch. Just as the Space Wolves
reflect the ferocity and impetuousness of
Leman Russ, so do the Blood Angels share
some of the blighted, tragic destiny of their
Primarch, the noble Sanguinius.
Sanguinius distinguished himself during
the siege of Terra, when he organized the
final defense of the Emperor’s palace and
held the Ultimate Gate alone when all
others had fled. When the Emperor
teleported aboard Horus’s battle-barge for
his final confrontation with the rebel
Warmaster, Sanguinius was there.
Battle raged through the Daemon-
infested spacecraft, and Sanguinius became
separated from the Emperor. While he was
alone, he chanced upon Horus and
immediately attacked the Warmaster. But
Sanguinius was no match for Horus at the
height of his Daemon-gifted power and
was slain with contemptuous ease.
The psychic echo of this terrible death
can still sometimes be heard by those of
his gene-seed, causes a madness and fury
to come upon them, and taints their souls
with a dark vision of their own doom.
This official Codex for
the Blood Angels,
written by Jervis
Johnson, will be
presented in two parts,
and completely
replaces the published
Codex: Blood Angels
.
Now, you will need only
these two issues of
White Dwarf
and the
Warhammer 40,000
rulebook to field a
Blood Angels army.
1
A
s one of the most celebrated First
TM
The Blood Angels are a proud Chapter that can
trace its heritage back to the First Founding. In
this issue, we present the first part of the official
Codex, detailing the unique units, heroes, and
abilities of these noble, doomed warriors.
The Flaw
Although it is known to but a few, the Blood
Angels are a dying Chapter, for they suffer
from a dreadful flaw. This Chapter, once the
most golden and blessed of all, now shuns
the company of its fellows. Some Blood
Angels, it is said, are driven by a death-
seeking madness, brought on by visions of
the death of their Primarch. Others are
afflicted by the terrible Red Thirst, a craving
for blood that may be the first signs of
descent into Chaos. It is known that the
Blood Angels spend much of their time
seeking the cure for their condition,
although many have resigned themselves to
a slow and terrible decline.
Scholars claim that the flaw lies in the
process that is used to create each new
generation of Blood Angels, for the Blood
Angels use a process known as
Insanguination to activate their gene-seed.
The process was originally triggered by
injecting Aspirants with tiny samples of
Sanguinius’s own blood. This practice ended
with the death of the Primarch, but some of
his blood was preserved in the Red Grail.
The living blood could not be kept for long
and thus was injected into the veins of the
Sanguinary Priests, who became living hosts
to the power of Sanguinius. To this day,
drinking the collected blood of the
assembled Sanguinary Priests from the Red
Grail is part of the ritual of creation for new
members of this important order.
It is from these Priests that the blood is
taken to begin the transformation of
Aspirants into Space Marines. It is possible
that, over countless generations since the
time of the Heresy, these cells have mutated,
slowly at first but more quickly in recent
years, and that errors in replication have
resulted in the flaw.
Black Library publishes
several Blood Angels-
related titles, such as Deus
Encarmine, Deus
Sanguinius, and the
collected Bloodquest
graphic novels. Check
them out at:
www.theblacklibrary.com
2
The Inquisition and the
Administratum say we are
weak, because some of us have
given in to the Black Rage –
they are fools! The Black Rage
makes us strong, because we
must resist its temptations
every day of our lives or be
forever damned!
The Black Rage
The Blood Angels are unique in that deeply
engraved within their gene-seed is the
memory of the final battle between
Sanguinius and Horus. Sometimes an event
or circumstance will trigger this race
memory. This happens only rarely, often on
the eve of battle, but it is likely to be a fatal
experience for the battle-brother whose
mind is wrenched into the distant past.
What has become known as the Black
Rage overcomes him. The memories and
consciousness of Sanguinius intrude upon
his mind, and dire events 10,000 years old
flood into the present.
To others, a Space Marine overcome by
the Black Rage appears half mad with fury.
He is unable to distinguish past from
present and does not recognize his
comrades. As well as Sanguinius’s
memories, the Space Marine is touched
with a small portion of his unearthly
power, boosting his strength and vitality to
superhuman levels.
Emperor. It is better this way, for those who
survive almost always fall victim to the Red
Thirst and turn into creatures no better than
wild beasts craving flesh and blood. Better
by far to die cleanly and quickly in battle
than suffer such a fate.
The Red Thirst
The Red Thirst is the Blood Angels’ darkest
secret and greatest curse, but it is also their
greatest salvation, for it brings with it a
humility and understanding of their own
failings that make the Blood Angels the
most truly noble of the Legiones Astartes. It
is said that Sanguinius was cursed with the
gift of prophesy and knew he was to die at
Horus’s hand but went anyway in the
name of duty and honour. Many Blood
Angels battle constantly against visions of
death and feel the anguish of their
Primarch in his death throes. Some of these
brethren voluntarily join the Death
Company before the Black Rage takes
them, because they know what lies in store
for them should they live much longer.
The fate of those overtaken completely
by the Red Thirst is a secret kept dutifully
within the Chapter. There are tales of a
secret chamber atop the Tower of Amareo
on Baal and of the howling cries that
demand the blood of the living, but none
are willing to say for certain what lies
hidden in this haunted, desolate place.
The Chapter Today
Physically, the Blood Angels are among the
longest lived of all Space Marines. One of
the peculiarities of the Flaw is that it vastly
increases the lifespan of those who survive.
Thus, it is not uncommon for Blood Angels
to live for a thousand years. Indeed, the
current Commander of the Chapter, Dante,
was born nearly 1,100 years ago. These
vastly extended lifespans allow the Blood
Angels to perfect their techniques in art as
well as in war. They have centuries in
which to perfect the disciplines to which
they turn their minds, accounting for the
fact that the Blood Angels’ armor and
banners are among the most ornate ever
produced by Space Marine artificers.
The outlook of Sanguinius has done
much to shape his Chapter. There is a
mystical vein to many of the Blood Angels’
doctrines and also a strong belief that
things can be changed for the better, for
Sanguinius was a visionary who desired a
new and better life for all Mankind. This
belief can be seen in all things the Blood
Angels do. They strive for perfection, and
their martial disciplines are practiced
unceasingly. However, as the Flaw has
become more evident, this belief has
turned into an altogether darker thing. They
also see evidence of Mankind’s capacity for
folly and destruction, and the Chapter’s
doctrines are permeated with a sense of
mortality and the fallen greatness of Man.
Chaplain Argastes
The Red Thirst is the Blood
Angels’ darkest secret and
greatest curse, but it is also
their greatest salvation.
Blood Angels afflicted by the Black
Rage are formed into special units called
the Death Company. Suffused with the
dying memories of their Chapter’s
Primarch, these cursed warriors seek only
death in battle against the enemies of the
3
FORCES OF THE BLOOD ANGELS
I
n this section, you will find details of
Unique Equipment
You will find that some items of equipment
are unique to particular characters or units,
while others are used by more than one
unit. When an item is unique, it is detailed
in the entry for its owner. When an item is
not unique, it is detailed in the wargear
section. A good example is the Perdition
pistol, which is a potent weapon carried
only by Commander Dante. As such, its
rules are detailed in Dante’s entry.
Over-Charged
Engines
The Baal Predator and
Blood Angels Rhinos
are fitted with specially
modified engines.
These over-charged
engines allow the
vehicle to attempt to
go faster but at the risk
of stalling the engines.
You may declare that
an eligible vehicle is
going to use its over-
charged engines in any
Movement Phase just
before you move it.
Blood Angels Special Rules
The models in the Blood Angels army use a
number of special rules, detailed here, that
are common to more than one unit.
And They Shall Know No Fear
Space Marines automatically pass tests to
regroup and can take such tests even if the
squad has been reduced to less than 50%
by casualties, though all other criteria
apply. If Space Marines are caught by a
sweeping advance, they are not destroyed
and will instead continue to fight normally.
If this happens, then the unit is subject to
the No Retreat! rule in that round of close
combat and may therefore lose additional
casualties. Usually troops that regroup may
not move normally and always count as
moving whether they do or not, but these
restrictions do not apply to models with
this special rule.
Remember that units that include
Servitors are still subject to this rule as long
as the squad contains at least one Space
Marine.
Combat Squads
A number of 10-man units in a Blood
Angels army have the option of breaking
down into two 5-man units, called Combat
Squads. This option is clearly specified in
the unit’s entry. For example, a 10-man
Veteran Assault Squad can either fight as a
10-man unit or break down into two 5-
man Combat Squads.
The units that can be split into Combat
squads are as follows.
If you decide to break the unit down, then
each Combat Squad is treated as a separate
unit for all game purposes from that point
onwards. Units held in Reserve cannot be
split into Combat Squads.
For Victory Points purposes, each
Combat Squad is worth a number of
Victory Points equal to half of the points
value of the unit. For example, a 10-man
Tactical Squad upgraded to include a
lascannon and a meltagun is worth a total
of 220 points. If the squad was to be
broken down into Combat Squads, each
would be worth 110 Victory Points
(regardless of which models were assigned
to each Combat Squad). If at the end of the
game, one Combat squad had been wiped
out and the other was reduced to two
models, the enemy would score
165 points.
Roll a D6. On the roll of
1, the engine stalls, and
the vehicle may not
move at all this turn.
On the roll of 2-3, the
boosters fail to kick in,
and the vehicle moves
normally. On the roll of
4-6, the boosters work,
and the vehicle is
treated as a fast vehicle
for the entire turn.
• Veteran Assault Squads
• Scout Squads
• Tactical Squads
• Assault Squads
• Devastator Squads
The decision to split a unit into Combat
Squads, as well as which models go into
each Combat Squad, must be made when
the unit is deployed. Both Combat Squads
are deployed at the same time but may be
may be deployed in separate locations.
77
the unique elements used by the Blood
Angels – their weapons, units, and
famous special characters. Each entry
describes the unit and gives the rules to
use it in your games.
Next issue, you’ll get the complete
army list, which will include all the units
you can field.
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