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Consul
From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
Consuls, or Legiones Consularis, were Legion Centurions specialized in certain aspects of warfare during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy.[2a]
Overview
Consuls specialized in many esoteric arts of combat and war, and were called upon to provide strategical and tactical advantages to the Legions in warfare.[2b]
Known types of Consuls
- Armistos
- These officers were charged with maintaining, categorizing, requisitioning, and dispensing the vast arsenals of a Space Marine Legion. Beyond this, they worked to improve the weaponry of the Legion and ran simulations and field tests. The skill required of an Armistos was much sought after by the Master of the Arsenal, and the most prized candidates were those of level temperament who were capable of supporting and supplying their Battle-Brothers without desire for aggrandizement.[7d]
- Champion
-
- Chosen from the best blades of the Legion, a Champion bears the honour of their chapter or company in battle, and is armed with a Paragon Blade. Their sworn task is to seek out the foe’s mightiest warriors, and slay them as an object lesson in the Imperium’s superiority.[7f]
- Chaplain
-
- Fearsome veteran warriors who enforce a cohesion of doctrine and belief in the scattered and increasingly idiosyncratic Legions. Theirs was a mortuary symbol of sacrifice graven in the form of an ornate staff, mace or axe: the Crozius Arcanum, which served as both a badge of office and a deadly weapon.[7e]
- Delegatus
- These officers were tasked with specific missions by a Legion's high command, allowing them to act with full authority. As such, they could mobilize the Legion's resources, deploy assets independently, and perform vital strategic missions.[6a]
- Esoterist
-
- Members of the Librarius who returned to their studies with or without the blessing of their Primarch and delved into forbidden lore that saw common use on the battlefield.[1b] Esoterists aligned with the Traitor Legions[1b] are able to open rifts trough the warp and summon Ruinstorm Daemons to do their bidding[7g], while those aligned with the Loyalist Legions have the power to close those rifts.[1b]
- Forge Lord
-
- Masters of the machine and foundry, Forge Lords are the most experienced and skillful of the Legion’s Techmarines. These warrior-smiths are skilled battle-leaders as much as they are artisans of war, and are often appointed to the command of Legion detachments comprised largely of tanks and armoured vehicles or battle-automata, as well as serving as stewards to a Legion’s Dreadnoughts.[7a]
- Herald
-
- These officers carried the official banner of their lords, be they Primarch or otherwise. They often oversaw and undertook the interests of their Legions in key missions, acting most commonly as emissaries[7c]
- Librarian
-
- For many years the Legions maintained cadres of battle-psykers in their ranks, warriors who fused these esoteric powers with a Space Marine’s superhuman physical power. They used powers such as Divination, Pyromancy, Telekinesis, Telepathy, Thaumaturgy, and were equipped with a Psychic Hood.[7b]
- Master of Signals
- The Master of Signals is a strategic and communications specialist capable of interpreting and directing the flow of battle around them and calling in support strikes from distant batteries and orbiting vessels.[7b]
- Moritat
-
- Cold-blooded murderers who fought with a suicidal fervour.[5]
- Mortification
-
- These specialized Techmarines were responsible for their Legion's Dreadnoughts. They showed a near-fanatical devotion to their charge of managing the Legion's honored dead, and in some cases went so far as to contravene the tenets of the Cult Mechanicus adopted by the Masters of the Forge. A Mortificator's primary duties included the protection during slumber and rousing during war of the Legion's Dreadnoughts, and when necessary, extends to the controlling of those Dreadnoughts too asleep or too choleric to be considered wholly sane.[1c]
- Pathfinder
- Within the ranks of the Legions at the time of the outbreak of the Horus Heresy there were few remaining Scout cohorts, with most companies equipped with scout armour long since reassigned to Reconnaissance detachments.[7c]
- Opsequiari
-
- A rank of disciplinary officer.
- Overseer
- Also known as Legion Overseers, they were charged with ensuring the common troopers of the Imperial Army functioned acceptably alongside the Space Marine Legions, during battles. At these times, the Overseers were able to take three of an Imperial Army's Solar Auxilia Lasrifle Sections or Imperialis Militia Infantry Squads as part of their personal retinue. Though it was far from the most far glorious assignment, the Overseers' work was appreciated by depleted Legion forces who had to rely on the Imperial Army to bolster their shattered battle lines. Both the Loyalist and Traitor Legions used Overseers, during the Horus Heresy but they went about commanding their Imperial Army troopers differently. Loyalist Overseers usually sought to command their troopers through respect and led from the front with ornate power mauls. They also relied on using stirring rhetoric and wearing highly decorated power armor to inspire their charges.[12] Traitor Overseers, though, commanded their troopers by using fear instead.[13]
- Praevian
-
- On the field of battle they marched at the forefront of Battle-Automata forces, guiding them through the engagement[6c]
- Primus Medicae
-
- High officers of the Legion Apothecarion, the primus medicae of a Legion ensures the battle-readiness and physical well-being of their battle-brothers. This is an authority which none but a Primarch or his chosen deputy can overrule, and such warriors are dedicated to preserving the gene-seed of the Legion from loss or contamination at any cost.[7a]
- Primus Nullificator
- These warriors were pioneers of early attempts by the Legiones Astartes to counter the Daemonic once the spawn of the Warp began to appear in number during the Heresy. They sanctioned research into esoteric artefacts and weapons and openly sought prohibited lore in the hope that it would provide wisdom capable of combating the Daemonic.[1b]
- Siege-Breaker
- The wreckers of cities and fortresses, Siege Breakers were officers whose specialty is applied to the destruction of strategic targets. They were often placed in command of armoured spearhead assaults and frontline artillery units, preferring to closely observe their work rather than sat back behind the rear[7d]
- Warmonger
- These Centurions were hardened commanders who were much respected for their willingness to heroically throw themselves and their men into the toughest resistance, and are entrusted to prosecute shock assaults which crush the foe in a single action.[1a]
Legion-Specific Consuls
- Caster of Runes
-
- A librarian from the Space Wolves Legion.[11]
- Dark Emissary
- A rank established for the Sons of Horus, they were charged with ensuring their Primarch's allies and servants remained unquestioningly loyal to him. The Dark Emissaries also guided the Warmaster's forces with their strategic experience and served as a paragon of skill and martial prowess. However they would also serve as executioners for anyone that failed to live up to the their exacting Primarch's expectations or displayed seditious intentions. These could be carried out by the Dark Emissaries' Staff of Dark Authority.[8]
- Paladin
-
- Commanders[14] of the Orders of the Dark Angels Hekatonystika.[7h]
- Saboteur
- A rank used by the Alpha Legion, Saboteur Consuls were expert assassins, masters of misdirection and infiltrators who were dedicated to upending their enemies' best-laid plans. They were so skilled, that Saboteurs could stroll into the ranks of their opponents without revealing themselves and cause havoc behind enemy lines or eliminate high-ranking targets by using their equipment of a sling of explosive devices, a Power Dagger, and an Astartes Shotgun.[9]
- Stormseer
-
- A librarian from the White Scars Legion.[4]
Miniatures
Alpha Legion Saboteur Consul[9]
Loyalist Champion Consul
Traitor Champion Consul
Sons of Horus Dark Emissary[8]
Esoterist
Siege-Breaker Consul[10]
Sources
- 1: The Horus Heresy Book Eight - Malevolence:
- 2: Liber Hereticus
- 3: Warhammer Community: The Librarian Consul Boils Space Marines With Warp Lightning, Even if the Emperor Says Not To (posted 13/4/2023) (last accessed 13/4/2023)
- 4: Warhammer Community: Master the Meteorological With the Mystical White Scars Stormseer Consul (Posted on 09/11/2023) (Last accessed on 09/11/2023)
- 5: The Horus Heresy Book Three - Extermination, pg. 153
- 6: The Horus Heresy Book Six - Retribution:
- 7: Liber Astartes:
- 8: Warhammer Community: Heresy Thursday – The Dark Emissary Brings The Warmaster’s Unrelenting Gaze (Posted on 30/11/2023) (Last accessed on 30/11/2023)
- 9: Warhammer Community: Heresy Thursday – Hoodwink Your Foes With the Alpha Legion Saboteur (Posted on 07/12/2023) (Last accessed on 07/12/2023)
- 10: Warhammer Community: Bring the House Down With the Siege Breaker Consul (Posted on 08/02/2024) (Last accessed on 08/02/2024)
- 11: Warhammer Community: Heresy Thursday – Summon the winds of Fenris to scour your foes with the Caster of Runes (Saved archive page, dated 28 Nov 2024, last accessed 28 November 2024, original link: https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-gb/articles/pzb6o0wj/heresy-thursday-summon-the-winds-of-fenris-to-scour-your-foes-with-the-caster-of-runes/)
- 12: Warhammer Community: Heresy Thursday – Legion Overseers show humans how it’s done (Saved archive page, dated 19 December 2024, last accessed 19 December 2024, original link: https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-gb/articles/pg6rmzvk/heresy-thursday-legion-overseers-show-humans-how-its-done/)
- 13: Warhammer Community: Heresy Thursday – Keep the Human Rabble in Line With a Traitor Legion Overseer (Saved archive page, dated 15 February 2025, last accessed 15 February 2025, original link: https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-gb/articles/epxcccfa/heresy-thursday-keep-the-human-rabble-in-line-with-a-traitor-legion-overseer/)
- 14: Angels of Caliban (Novel), Chapter 17
