Blood Angels

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Blood Angels (圣血天使) 133
Alias(es)	Sons of Sanguinius; descendants of the Ninth Legion 141 743
Species/Race	Adeptus Astartes (Space Marines) 721
Affiliation	Imperium of Man 133
Occupation/Role	Founding Space Marine Chapter; defenders of Baal and its surrounding systems 743 744
Homeworld	Baal, a crimson-lit desert world in the Baal system 133
Chapter Master	Dante 133
Status	Active; mustered over 40,000 sons of Sanguinius for the defense of Baal 743
First Appearance	Chapter 95 95

Background / History

Baal and the Chapter’s origins

Baal and its two moons were once comparatively hospitable worlds, with prosperous settlements, art, science, and monumental architecture. Catastrophic wars during the Dark Age of Technology or Age of Strife devastated their ecosystems with nuclear, viral, chemical, and radioactive contamination, turning the system into a hostile wasteland. 133

Before human settlement, Baal was inhabited by an unknown alien civilization whose legacy included worship of a golden angel and a dark angel. Their struggle in the Sea of Souls is presented as the deeper origin of the Black Rage: selfless protection strengthens the golden angel, while surrendering to rage strengthens the dark one. 133

Sanguinius transformed the brutal, ghoul-like Ninth Legion into the noble Blood Angels through personal example, strict discipline, and instruction in honor and mercy. 141 541 His death did not create the Black Rage, but triggered it within his sons and greatly deepened its effects. 133

Threefold Celestial Spheres

Sanguinius established the Threefold Celestial Spheres as a structure separate from the Legion’s ordinary company organization. Its purpose was to direct the Legion’s hunger and rage toward disciplined service rather than uncontrolled brutality. 141

Sphere	Membership	Function
Outermost sphere	Battlefield warriors	Fought with blades and bolters as the Legion’s main combat body. 141
Second sphere	Commanders and leaders	Carried out command responsibilities and executed Sanguinius’ will. 141
First sphere	Sanguinius’ personal guards	Undertook dangerous duties likely to trigger Bloodthirst; included the Sanguinary Guard and Crimson Paladins. 141

The Crimson Paladins served as Sanguinius’ inner guards during the Legion era. When equipped with Terminator armor as the “Immortals,” they acted as an unyielding shield for the Blood Angels. 141 Dante later ordered their restoration as a sign of the Chapter’s determination to confront its curses. 140

Genetic Curses

Bloodthirst

The Bloodthirst is the more controllable of the Blood Angels’ two genetic flaws, but indulging it risks reducing a warrior to a ghoul-like predator and betraying Sanguinius’ teachings. The Chapter conceals the condition to preserve its noble reputation. 133

Its degeneration causes pale, dry skin; overgrown canines; distorted limbs and joints; and increasingly monstrous facial features. Fresh blood temporarily reverses this decline. 261

• The Blood Angels and their successors maintain Blood Servants, mortal attendants who may be sacrificed to ease a warrior’s Bloodthirst. 261
• Dante once became dangerously weak after refusing blood for an extended period; an elderly Blood Servant gave his life to restore the Chapter Master’s strength. 261
• In 518.M40, Dante succumbed to Bloodthirst during fighting in Tobias Halt’s Hive City, killed six Chaos Space Marines, then attacked civilians until the Sanguinor incapacitated him. Surviving witnesses were executed to conceal the incident. 133

Black Rage

The Black Rage causes afflicted Blood Angels to relive Sanguinius’ final battle aboard the Vengeful Spirit, perceive enemies as Horus, and descend into indiscriminate fury. 144

• Warriors lost to the Black Rage are assigned to the Death Company, whose armor is painted black to symbolize their expected death in battle. 413
• Those who cannot be redeemed are imprisoned within Angel’s Fortress; others are sent on final, glorious charges under Reclusiarch supervision. 133 138
• Mephiston himself once fell to the Black Rage and was placed in the Death Company before recovering. 144

Blessed Wine

A substance called Blessed Wine, later identified as Rostov’s blessed wine “Loyalty,” suppresses Bloodthirst and can awaken warriors trapped in the Black Rage. 133 138 743

• Dante drank the wine and recovered from the weakness caused by abstaining from blood. 133
• Death Company warriors given sedatives mixed with small amounts of the wine became calm, though they did not initially fully awaken. 138
• Chen Xi and Mephiston reached an agreement for the Blood Angels to receive approximately 5,000 bottles annually. 141
• The wine allowed former Death Company members to return to service and contributed to the Blood Angels’ unusually stable morale before the Battle of Baal. 743

Organization

Command

• Dante — Chapter Master; a veteran who has served the Imperium for over 1,600 years. 133
• Mephiston — Chief Librarian; an exceptionally powerful psyker capable of protecting a strike cruiser in the Warp, acting as its navigator, and performing divination. 138
• Lemartes — Reclusiarch responsible for guiding Death Company warriors on their final charges and containing survivors afterward. 138
• Erasmus Tycho — Third Company Captain; commanded 107 Blood Angels sent to reinforce Kamas. 721

Death Company

The Death Company is composed of Blood Angels who have succumbed to the Black Rage and are considered beyond normal recovery. Its warriors are marked apart from the Chapter and committed to the most dangerous assaults. 139 413

The prospect of Blessed Wine changed this role: Mephiston and Lemartes brought half a company of Death Company warriors to Rostov II in the hope that they could be awakened. 139

Recruitment

The Blood Angels possessed sarcophagi based on Blood Coffin STC technology, in which gene-seed recipients could sleep for a year while their transformation matured. This allowed the Ninth Legion to create Space Marines from recruits whom other Legions might have rejected, including severely deformed mutants. 104

Equipment

• Crimson power armor — The Chapter’s characteristic armor color; Tycho’s armor bears the Blood Angels emblem and personal honors. 407 721
• Bolters and chainswords — Common battlefield weapons used in close-range assaults against daemons and other enemies. 729 730
• Power swords, power fists, and lightning claws — Employed by Blood Angels in close combat. 311 730
• Jump packs — Used by Blood Knights, a Blood Angels successor Chapter, for high-speed assault charges. 311
• Saturnine Pattern Terminator Armor — Rare Legion-era armor retained in Baal’s deepest armories and later acquired through Rostov production and relic restoration. 408 743
  • Approximately 200 combat-ready Saturnine suits were fielded at Baal. 743
  • The armor includes teleportation coordinators, thermal diffraction fields, heavy disintegrators, and disruption fists. 408
• Crimson Paladin Terminator armor — Used by the restored honor guard descended from Sanguinius’ inner guardians. 140 141

Relationships

• Sanguinius — Primarch and gene-father; his teachings, death, and legacy define the Chapter’s ideals and curses. 133 141
• Dante — Chapter Master who led efforts to suppress the Bloodthirst, rebuild the Crimson Paladins, and organize Baal’s defense. 133 140 744
• Mephiston — Chief Librarian and envoy to Rostov II; sought Blessed Wine as a possible means to restore Death Company warriors. 138 139
• Lemartes — Reclusiarch whose duties center on the Death Company and the hope of saving afflicted brothers. 138
• Erasmus Tycho — Third Company Captain; represented the Blood Angels in dealings with Chen Xi and led reinforcements at Kamas. 407 721
• Chen Xi — Inquisitor and supplier of Blessed Wine and Saturnine Pattern Terminator Armor; his aid helped the Blood Angels suppress their curses and rearm. 141 408 743
• Lion El’Jonson — Dark Angels Primarch who answered Baal’s call for aid due to both strategic necessity and his bond with Sanguinius. 742 743
• Flesh Tearers and Blood Knights — Successor Chapters burdened by especially severe Black Rage and Bloodthirst respectively; the Blood Angels advocated for their recognition and restoration. 260 407

Story Role / Major Arcs

Search for a cure

After Dante’s recovery through Blessed Wine, the Blood Angels dispatched Mephiston, Lemartes, and Death Company warriors to Rostov II. Mephiston’s divinations revealed only a golden flame, while the Chapter hoped the wine could awaken the Black Rage-afflicted. 138 139

The Blood Angels negotiated a continuing wine supply with Chen Xi and considered collective gatherings, modeled after the Imperial Fists’ Feast of Blades, to manage Bloodthirst across Sanguinius’ bloodline. 141

Re-equipment and successor-Chapter support

Tycho sought formal recognition for the Blood Knights and Flesh Tearers, attempting to clear their names before the High Lords of Terra. 407 He also pursued Saturnine Pattern Terminator Armor for the Blood Angels, promising that the Chapter would pay any cost it could afford. 408

Rostov’s restored Saturnine production eventually enabled Dante to expand the Chapter’s Terminator strength through new purchases and repaired ancient armor. 743

Battle of Kamas

Tycho led 107 Blood Angels to reinforce the Crimson Crescent Chapter in the Kamas Sector. Blood Angels veterans trained and fought alongside Crimson Crescent recruits, sharing their experience against Chaos. 721

Under Leona’s command, the Blood Angels launched counterattacks against Chaos landing forces and formed the core of a wedge assault into Hera City. 724 729 Tycho later led the frontal Blood Angels assault that enabled Leona’s elite force to infiltrate toward the daemon-summoning ritual. 737

Defense of Baal

When a Tyranid Swarm threatened Baal, Dante prepared the system as a fortress and requested aid from Lion El’Jonson. 742 By the Dark Angels’ arrival, the Blood Angels had assembled more than 40,000 sons of Sanguinius, including 1,000 Terminators and 200 Saturnine-armored warriors. 743

Dante identified the Stygian system as the first defensive line, intending to inflict maximum casualties and delay the Tyranid vanguard before Baal Prime’s final defense. 744

As Baal’s Void Shield collapsed and the Swarm breached the outer defenses, Dante commanded the ground defense and ordered the remaining forces to consolidate within Angel’s Fortress. 758 The Blood Angels fought through its corridors, halls, and stairwells while Mephiston and the Chapter’s psykers resisted the Hive Mind’s psychic pressure. 758 760

When the battle reached desperation, Dante accepted Angel’s Fortress as the “Anvil” in a plan to lure the Tyranid main force into range of a Dark Angels orbital “Hammer” assault. 761