heir righteous fervour is unquenchable as they fight to conquer the galaxy in the name of the Emperor. With blade and brazier, Nick Kyme ventures into the grim culture of these relentless warrior-knights to get the low-down on the new codex from author Graham McNeill. Enemies of the Emperor beware – the Black Templars have returned!

The Black Templars take the Emperor’s light to the dark reaches of the galaxy with uncompromising zeal.

Of all the Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, it is the Black Templars that remain truest to the original mission of the Space Marines: to conquer the galaxy for their beloved Emperor and for the manifest destiny of Humanity. With their zealous Crusader doctrine and catechisms of purity, the Black Templars embody how the Space Marines were originally envisaged.

“They are essentially the Space Marines they were 10,000 years ago,” Graham explains. “[Black Templars are] closer to the Legions of old than many other Chapters, a lot of which have turned inward like the Dark Angels, who look to their past and become their own worst enemy by keeping secrets.”

"[That statement about Chapters applies to the] Ultramarines, too. While [they are] regarded as being the definitive Space Marines, what it means to ‘be’ a Space Marine changed over the millennia. They were never meant to be static holders of territory, like the Ultramarines, who own and maintain a realm. Of course, most Chapters have had to do that.”

As a result, the Black Templars have no homeworld, although they do establish a Chapter keep on every planet they conquer. “The keeps are used as staging posts, where the Black Templars can come back for fresh recruits or to re-arm and re-equip,” Graham says. "The Black Templars’ bases are mobile ones – powerful fleets of ships that carve their way through space and push the boundaries of the Imperium farther and farther as they go."

“ When we focused on the Chaplains, particularly Grimaldus, there was the idea of incorporating more mystique and resonance” - Mark Gibbons

ORIGINS
It was in the aftermath of the Horus Heresy that the Chapter was first formed. The great Space Marine Legions were broken up into Chapters at the decree of Roboute Guilliman. Rogal Dorn, Primarch of the Imperial Fists, reluctantly created the Crimson Fists and the Black Templars from his original Legion. Dorn chose Sigismund, the Emperor’s Champion, to lead the Black Templars. They subsequently adopted the black and white panoply of Sigismund’s personal heraldry. So the Chapter was born and their mission decided. "Sigismund vowed at the Chapter’s creation that they would eschew a homeworld and travel the galaxy," Graham adds.

KNIGHTS OF OLD
In gaming terms, the first mention of the Black Templars appeared in the original Codex: Sisters of Battle, but it was in Codex: Armageddon where they first came to prominence as a sub-list of Space Marines. Such was their popularity and importance to the Warhammer 40,000 universe that a dedicated Codex was inevitable.

The first-ever Codex: Black Templars is in the same mold as the latest Codex: Space Marines, however, it was important to give the Black Templars a strong image all of their own that would distinguish them from other Space Marine Chapters.

Real-world history was important in establishing the flavour and feel of these dour champions of the Emperor’s grand design and the Codex itself. “It’s very much influenced by the crusades,” Graham explains. “The Black Templars share themes with the Knight Templars of history.”

Even the tabards the Black Templars wear are similar to those of the historical Templars, instead emblazoned by the Black Templars’ cross of Sigismund. Wearing centuries-old armour in many cases and carrying all-manner of arcane equipment, the point is really driven home that the Black Templars are traditional warriors of legend. It’s a departure from the historical inspiration from which other incarnations of the Adeptus Astartes developed, as Graham attests, “Whereas a lot of Codex: Space Marines came from very Classical imagery, the Black Templars are very medieval and hard-edged.”