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so due to my insomniac nature and a lack of important political situations in my local area, i have decided to name each of my ~150 guardsmen army, so far i have named the 8 officers, platoon leaders and Commissars. in addition to naming them i have plans to write a 250 word back story for each of them.
To all you naysayers!! I have completed the officers, sergeants, and vox casters. as well as a cadence call and answer like Thunder-Flash from WWII. and some back story. it may look like a wall of text (cuz it is) but it is very simple and streamlined.

so here we go. this is it so far.


The Red Guard

THE ORDER OF THE RED GUARD-
Some time in the years after the second war for Armageddon, a conspiracy that bordered on heresy rocked the foundation of Holy Terra; High Lord Cassius Cane revealed he had produced three bastard sons and scattered them throughout the Empire. Two found themselves upon a colony ship to the edge of the empire itself the third had been lost in the vastness of the Empire. The two brothers enlisted as officers after showing great tactical prowess, Edgar was quick with his mind and maintained a calm, collected visage in the face of the terrible perils of extended warp travel, as well as the many battles the colony fleet had to participate in along the way. Darius was younger and much more eager to orate the emperor’s will, thus his fearlessness and genetic knack for leadership lead him to the life of a commissar eventually regaining his title on the fields of Takan IV after the colony had been formed.
The Red Guard formed as homage to the red star that dominated the skies of Takan IV, the other Star only giving off a dim green light that continuously grows foliage on the six Eden planets of the Takan System. Takan IV was Chosen as the Core planet for its Seven moons, six of which were habitable and just as lush as the six Eden’s and the seventh moon so rich in rare minerals it became forge-world to pump out weapons, armor and vehicles for the Red Guard. Takan I is the only planet in the system that has no moons but instead has a thick field of asteroids that orbit creating a protective force field of rocks that make landing large ships virtually impossible, thus Takan I has been deemed a System Command planet where the Red Guard Officers train at the imperial Academy. In addition to providing a protective barrier the asteroids also provides a thousand gun platform field. The Red Guard Takan I fortress is better known as “The Iron Gate”. The Iron Planet specifically breeds soldiers and officers for the Red Guard and over a thousand facilities create various environments for each regiment to train in. The Forward Legion is specifically commended as they hold course records on all of the simulation battlefields for not only seizing all of the objectives but also completing each course in record time.

Takan II is a mining and agricultural world that is populated by penal servants and people who had sworn fealty to the Emperor and the bastard lords on their long journey to the Takan system.

Takan III and it’s pair of moons are the dockyards for the Red Guard Navy with over sixty ships created every month it is one of the highest producing planets in the imperium.

Takan IV is the central planet of the Takan System; it houses the Cane Palace a massive fortress palace where the descendents of the Cane family rule the Takan System.

Takan V was the intended to be the original fortress world but was found wanting after the warp storm that brought the chaos marines devoured the surface of the planet. The hive cities built by the original colonists lay in ruins but the agricultural infrastructure continues to remain intact.

Takan VI was utterly destroyed when storm troopers failed to secure the warp-gate being powered by the core of the planet, with no options left the storm troopers set atomic charges off to create a chain reaction within the planet. The Storm Troopers just barely made it off the surface of the planet as it was torn asunder and disappeared into the warp.


:: Cadence of the Red Guard ::
Call: Answer:
1-“When My Shield is Broken…” “The Emperor Protects”
2-“When My Sword is Shattered…” “The Emperor is Your Blade”
3- “When Darkness Gathers…” “The Emperor’s Light is Brightest”
4-“When My Eyes are Blinded…” “The Emperor Gives You True Sight”
5-“When My Ears are Deafened…” “The Emperor Speaks Only Truths”
6-“When My Legs have Gone…” “The Emperor Carries You”
7-“When My Throat is Cut…” “The Emperor is Your Voice”
8-“When I am Lost…” “The Emperor is Your Guide”
9-“When Death Comes…” “The Emperor Protects”


:: Notable Characters of the Red Guard ::
Supreme Lord and Commander: Lord Edgar “The Red Baron” Cane is the eldest of the Bastard sons of the Lords of Holy Terra he is the leader of the Red Guard and studied the greatest tacticians of all of the major empires. In addition to his Tactical Genius the Red Baron is the lord of the Takan system and the master of its Eden Worlds. Upon the discovery of the ancient underground cities and the warp gates powered by the cores of the planets, the Baron ordered the storm trooper strikes on each facility thereby saving billions of lives and regained the Imperium‘s Favour.

Lord Commissar, second in command of the Red Guard: Lord Darius “The White Knight” Cane is the Second of the Bastard sons of the lords of holy terra and he is also the Second in Command of the Takan system. Lord Darius became the White Knight of the emperor after single handedly slaying 70 daemons that tried to get through the warp gate and emerging unscathed with a handful of veterans who stood their ground inspired by his courage and undaunting purity. Xander “Black Hand” Baptiste was the lone sergeant to emerge and has sworn fealty to “the White Knight”

Colonel: Rendar Antarus was one of the first officers to fight the chaos on the surface of Takan VI, his orders Rang through the perilous night as the transport ships evacuated the planet to the central fortress world Takan IV. It is uncontested that his actions as a commander and his men ensured the safety of the Takan IV system and the evacuation of the Takan VI civilians.

Major: Davak “Tankbusta” Jasson got his nick name as a young guardsman when his lascannon squad was under heavy assult from chaos space marines, after oredering the squad to blast away the marines the squad was left with 3 marines who proceeded hack and slash their way through the guardsmen. Davak’s spotter held off one of the marines in time for Davak to get a two for one shot with his lascannon. His spotter was cut in two, and Davak managed to stab the marine in the face with his standard issue combat knife. After the melee subsided Davak looked to the ridge to see 3 chaos Predators charing his position. Davak dug in and went from one lascannon to the other destroying each tank with a single shot. He held his position alone for three more days until re-enforcements arrived to find a battered furious man surrounded by a score of las charred chaos marines and shells of seven chaos tanks.

Captain: Franco Marcanan was a sergeant on the day the Chaos Marines emerged from the warp storms above Takan VI, after the central column of the Takan VI Red Guard was obliterated under orbital strikes He took central command of the forward platoons and rallied the troops to re-forge the lines into a stalwart defense that was able to repel the chaos marines.

Captain of Ordnance: Salazar “Danger Close” Czarem is the Red Guard Basilisk commander, he has a knack for calling artillery barrages a little too close for most infantry commanders to enjoy, but his abilities also allow him to pinpoint the guns to actually hit the correct targets.

Lieutenant: Xander “Black Hand” Baptiste was one of the few sergeants to enter the underground cities with Lord Darius and the only one to return. He led the veteran Engineers of the Forward Legion, a special branch Of the Red Guard dedicated to setting up beach heads and clearing defensive positions for the main force of the Red Guard. During the defense of the warp gate deep in the underground city his engineers stood by the Lord Commissar melting daemons with the emperor’s fury and a little promethium. Xander’s position was assaulted by the daemons that arose from the warp gate and in the hours upon hours of fighting neither side gained ground until the daemons made their final push tearing through the Forward Legion decimating their numbers and engaging them in close combat. Xander met the daemons head on and his left arm was torn from its socket his other hand was fused inside his powerfist as he held a daemon aloft for his four engineers to burn it away, charring the metal and coining his name Xander “Black Hand” Baptiste. After several hours of hand to hand combat with daemons Xander and his engineers were surrounded by the smoldering corpses of daemons, but even more so Lord Darius stood atop a mound of daemonic corpses all cut down by his power weapon. Since the reclaiming of the Takan System Xander has been promoted to the platoon commander of the Forward Legion which is freshly stocked with Red Guard Regulars, he and his team of flamers lead the charge into the defensive positions of the Emperors Enemies.



The Sergeants
Veteran Sergeant of the Plasma Corps: Rodney Silvantez.
Originally a colonist on Takan V, Rodney was an overseer at the agricultural sector near Hive Hubris during the Chaos marine attack. A team of Guardsmen from the plasma corps of the Red Guard was set to form a gunline along the outskirts of the agricultural sector, with total devotion to the Red Guard and the defense of his fields Rodney ordered his servitors to dig trenches for the Plasma corps. After He had been ordered to retreat to the hive star ports he picked up a harvester power machete and stood on the front lines with the Plasma Corp. As the battle raged on one of the Guardsmen was struck down, Rodney picked up his plasma gun and took his position in the line blasting away Chaos terminators and marines alike. After the Guardsmen were all but depleted Rodney stood above a mound of dead marines holding his power machete. His line had held, he was immediately conscripted into the guard and worked his way to the Plasma Corp. in his service to the emperor and the defense of Takan V he had lost both of his eyes and his left hand is a brutal battle, but the medics of the Red Guard would not let him die, they replaced his injuries with bionics and he continues to serve wherever the Guard orders him to.


Veteran Sergeant of the Melta Corps: Max Yamamoto.
Max Yamamoto comes from a long line of Guardsmen, he holds his ancestry to be the reason he has survived so long in the Melta Corp, he fears no enemy and expects his men to do the same. Since his life expectancy is so low he has forgone traditional procreation and leaves a pregnant lover on every world he can.

Veteran Sergeant of the Grenadier Corps: Nathan O’Neil.
Nathan was born on one of the colony ships that began the imperial Presence in the Takan System, he was a teenager when the guard came searching for volunteers, Nathan was immediately put into Basic and given a platoon. After three months of drills he was a competent leader and his grenadiers were the best in the platoon. Before Basic was even finished Takan V fell prey to chaos marines and demons, his unit was sent to intervene after surviving six battles his unit was transferred to the 35th Red Guard Forward Legion.

:: First Platoon ::

Sergeant of the Bayonet Regulars: Gerard Legur.
Sgt. Legur was one of the first men to engage in melee combat with the Chaos Space Marines on Takan V, just a regular at the time he quickly became a force to be reckoned with when his Sergeant was cut down in a hail of bolter fire, after retrieving a bolt pistol from the corpse of a nearby marine Sgt. Legur then charged into battle with his remaining platoon and stalled the Chaos marines long enough for the Leman Russ Executioners to get into position and turn the small ridgeline into a killing field.




Sergeant of the Rear Guard Regulars: Tavial McLornish
Sgt. Tavial seeks to do the Bear minimum at all times and avoids effort if he can manage it, chaining Lho sticks along the way. The Rear Guard is a punishment for Tavial for ploughing a fleet admirals daughter; a punishment Tavial Gladly accepts.

:: Second Platoon ::
Sergeant of the Bayonet regulars: Foz “Kabbs” Kabberwajzoki
Sgt. Kabbs is a Fresh Recruit from the Imperial Academy on The Iron Gate, he has yet to prove his worth but is eager to do so.

Sergeant of the Rear Guard Regulars: Andre Echzer.
Sgt. Echzer is a close training ally to Kabbs and together their platoon has scored third highest on the “Mozeki Encounter” during the academy.

Sergeant of the Venerable Engineers: Galron Vezcky.
Sgt. Vezcky leads the “old men” as they are dubbed by their peers. The Old men have a long history of serving the Red Guard as Vehicle
Support and have donned a Yellow “armor” shoulder pad to show their profession.

:: Vox Comms Corps ::
Vox Corporal, Company Command Squad: Trent Basse
Trooper Basse is the Baron’s personal Vox operator his position has been so since the Baron first took command.

Vox Corporal: Bill Hightower.
Corporal Hightower was once a professor of xeno-archeology on Takan VI with no home or work to return to he volunteered for the guard and was placed under the command of Baptiste after boot camp. Hightower continues to serve as a Vox Communications officer for the 35th Takans.

Vox Corporal: Uthor Sanhara
Corporal Sanhara spent most of his early years on the colony ships headed for the Takan system as a tech assistant to the Vox master. After he signed onto the guard he becam an invaluable member of the Vox Corps and was assigned to the rear guard of the 1st platoon.

Vox Corporal: Syan Remzy.
Corporal Remzy oftern joked he would join the guard to ensure his wealthy parents would keep funneling money into his accounts, until one day when a nearby commissar was drunk and on a recruitment binge. Seven hours later the industrial giant’s son found himself being shot at with stun-lasguns at basic. He remains one of the most talentless Vox operators in the legion and is often the butt of “pretty boy” jokes, but he is favored by the more greedy sergeants for the under the table payments his parents make to them to keep him out of death’s clutches.

Vox Corporal: Kagg Damsic.
Corporal Damsic was on a mission with his squad when a radiation bomb was tossed into their fox hole, ever the glory-hog Kagg jumped on it to save his squad from certain doom. While he survived long enough to receive medical treatment his skin is pitch black from the intense burst of radiation.

Vox Corporal: “Mad Dog” Hoggs
Corporal Hoggs is the Vox operator for the Old Men his ability to hunt down obscure vox casts under heavy fire earned him the name “Mad Dog” and has since stopped using his real name.

Veteran Vox Corporal: Ivan Perzeczky.
Corporal Ivan Perzeczky is the Melta Corps Vox caster; he dares each mission with a bigger target than his squad-mates and does so with pride. His only goal in life is to die gloriously after a hard fought fight with a worthy enemy and good friends.

Veteran Vox Corporal: Jo “clicks” Utani.
Corporal “clicks” is the Vox caster for the Plasma Corps vets, he recived his nickname after a plasma pistol exploded in his hand. Since then his bionic hand has been clicking away.

Veteran Vox Corporal: Arnold Quade.
Corporal Quade is the Vox caster for the grenadiers of the 35th, he follows his orders to the letter and has more than once saved a comrade from trouble both on and off the battle field.

Vox Corporal: Olson Wolf.
Corporal Wolf is the Vox caster for Major Jasson who has recently been retooled as a Grenadier command squad for the 2nd platoon.

Good luck, and I hope you have a good funeral.

Don't worry I ll be attending...

I always imagined it would be an awesome way to write a story, to just write down EVERYTHING that happens in a game of 40k, and base a story on that.

Would be cool if you involved your army of named guardsmen in a longer piece like that.

Name all the Catachans Leroy. They look like they enjoy running head on into dangerous situations.

I don't even name most sergeants in my IG army because they die so fast. Sometimes veteran sergeants get names, and company commanders usually do too. Naming every guardsman sounds like absolute madness though. I did have the idea a few days ago to start a game with a conscript squad, then if anyone survives the conscript squad, mark them down and promote them to regular guardsmen. If any of them survive, promote them to veterans. If any of them survive, to sergeants, and so on. It would be kinda fun but I don't think many would get past guardsman

Brother SRM wrote:I don't even name most sergeants in my IG army because they die so fast. Sometimes veteran sergeants get names, and company commanders usually do too. Naming every guardsman sounds like absolute madness though. I did have the idea a few days ago to start a game with a conscript squad, then if anyone survives the conscript squad, mark them down and promote them to regular guardsmen. If any of them survive, promote them to veterans. If any of them survive, to sergeants, and so on. It would be kinda fun but I don't think many would get past guardsman

I'm a fan of Kentucky Fried Guardsmen myself. Tzeentch flamers cook them, and daemonettes cut them into little bitz. Num nums.

I'll start you with Barbra, now on you go.


On a more serious note, one of my friends did this, he put the names on the side of the bases. It actually makes it really easy to just say "Right that Finikin guy is dead" instead of "the guy on the right. no MY right. Yeah the one with the flamer. No the one WITH THE FLAMER NOT PLASMA PISTOL!!!!". That and it is great when "riffkin" gets totally pwned the first round he is on the table!

Horst wrote:I always imagined it would be an awesome way to write a story, to just write down EVERYTHING that happens in a game of 40k, and base a story on that.

Would be cool if you involved your army of named guardsmen in a longer piece like that.

Indeed, I'm tempted to do the same as OP and even include a record of achievements, advancements and deaths. The important thing to remember with it is that they don't always die when they're removed from the game. For big things like tanks, power weapons, MC, etc then I'd say they're dead if they're removed. But stuff like small arms fire and the like they could survive a couple times before you count them as outright dead.

Neat Idea, This would be hard for orks = P

Guitarquero wrote:Neat Idea, This would be hard for orks = P

Depends what kind of army it was...

My necrons get numbered by their squads, so it makes it very easy.
for My Word bearers, each used to have a name, but, they've all lost them over time. only ones I recall are my Sorcerer lords name and 3 of my champions names.

i think an added bonus to this is an emotional connection to my guardsmen, if guardsmen 847231 dies who gives a rats #$% but if Jakob Ursal; father of 3, ex professor of flamer tactics at the Iron hold Military Academy who also happens to be a mustache enthusiast dies...i might just pick up my game

I've not gone as far as everyone in my army. Think i'd run out of names, I hope you do it though. All my officers Snr & JR have names, commissars, priests, (named characters) and a few sergeants (two I think). They've all got fluff though.

You going to name vehicles and their crews or just the vehicles?

I don't even name most sergeants in my IG army because they die so fast. Sometimes veteran sergeants get names, and company commanders usually do too. Naming every guardsman sounds like absolute madness though. I did have the idea a few days ago to start a game with a conscript squad, then if anyone survives the conscript squad, mark them down and promote them to regular guardsmen. If any of them survive, promote them to veterans. If any of them survive, to sergeants, and so on. It would be kinda fun but I don't think many would get past guardsman

I was tempted to do this, was also tempted to model damage and kill markings on all my tanks for everytime they died or got a kill. However given the speed that my stuff dies I don't think there would be much tank left.

I was thinking of naming my IG army, it'd be kind of fun.
No need for a back story though, since 95% of them will be "born, educated, joined the army".

dreadfury101 wrote:i think an added bonus to this is an emotional connection to my guardsmen, if guardsmen 847231 dies who gives a rats #$% but if Jakob Ursal; father of 3, ex professor of flamer tactics at the Iron hold Military Academy who also happens to be a mustache enthusiast dies...i might just pick up my game

Hahaha, He sounds like a charming fellow...

Joey wrote:I was thinking of naming my IG army, it'd be kind of fun.
No need for a back story though, since 95% of them will be "born, educated, joined the army".

I'm pretty sure step two is optional for the Guard
Naming models in my Wolf Guard Terminator squads was good, since they all had different equipment. It was easier to say "Sven takes an armor save, Hrolf takes an armor save" than "guy with stormbolter, frostblade, wolf pelt and runic charm takes a save, guy with chainfist, combi-plasma gun, wolf pelt and runic charm takes a save" and so on.

ha i might even take individual pictures of each of them to keep a profile going!!! this might be a winter break thing, stuck inside and all that

A few years ago I gave everyone of my eighty or so strong Witch Hunters army a name for a campaign. Some of them got a backstory, but you'd probably be killing yourself if you wanted to write more than a paragraph for each of yourss. At the rate that guard get killed it'd probably be best to say that they were just injured instead (nothing too fatal mind, just run of the mill fleash wounds) so as you aren't having to recruit a new batch every game. Stick to the regiment's homeworld and some of its colonies so as not to complicate things too much too. Honestly it all seems a tad frivilous to bother giving a character a backstory at all until they've done something to deserve it (least then it could be a bit more characterful).

It honestly sounds like Necromunda would be more your taste, OP.

Thranriel wrote:That and it is great when "riffkin" gets totally pwned the first round he is on the table!

Loved shooting him out of his pretty sentinel with a twin-linked bolter!

so far it has been exponentially harder than i thought it would be, im trudging through my sergeants right now, then im going to follow it up with Vox's and break it down my weapons and special weapons.

on the upside my creative writing skills are improving

I keep meaning to do the same. Some of my guys have names. I like the idea of writing them on the bases. You can cheat and use variations of names in the naming tables in the FF games Especially Dark Heresy and a bit from Rogue Trader. Or take fairly common names and spell them differently which I've seen done a lot in the fluff.

Anyway, that's what I turn to when I have to make up Imperial names en masse.

Theres a guy that plays Orks that has named all of Da Boyz in my local area.

I want to build an Elysian army and/or a Crimson Fists army and paint the names of every model on the base. Would be so cool I think.

I plan on naming the Archon for my DE but thats about it. Good luck with your IG tho

just updated it if any one is interested

I am impressed with your dedication. My only question is if you name one of your models and he dies in a campaign or tournament do you have to come up with a new name to replace him??

Only my Farseers and Warlocks are ever given names.

If I need to refer to a Guardian or Aspect warrior in fluff terms, then I make up a name for him/her at that time and probably will never use it again unless they do something ah-may-zing; then they get promoted.

Iranna.