Adeptus Custodes armour

[Ufthak]

Hey guys.

 

I recently flicked through the "Horus Heresy: Collected Visions" and had a closer look at the Custodians. The first thing one notices is that they have a wide array of different units and different types of armour. For example, they have terminators in tactical dreadnought armour (wielding some sort of Flamer), they have "Lentum Foot Knights" (with swords and shields), "Fulman Cavalry" (on jetbikes with shields and lances) as well as the standard Custodians.

Now, the standard Custodians appear - usually - to be armed with their pike/bolter and wearing the golden armour with the high helmet and red plume, but there are also pictures of the same Custodians, only wearing smaller, simpler, vaguely MkII-ish black helmets with helmet spikes, often wielding bolters instead of the pikes. They are also sometimes depicted wearing the standard armour patterns used by the Astartes. Also, in the famous pic of the Emperor facing Horus (Linky) the Custodians appear to be wearing said MkII-ish armour and wielding bolters, only their armour isn't gold, it's entirely black or at least gunmetal grey.

The only reason for having black armour that I can think of is that black symbolizes the devotion to the Emperor (which is why Sigismund, as Emperor's Champion, had black armour, and also the reason why the Black Templars and the Chaplains have black armour too).

 

Has anyone any idea how the Custodians are subdivided, how the rules and limitations for their armour are, and why some would have black armour and some gold? If I decided to make a squad of Custodians for the tabletop, what would I want to do, what would the limitations be?

 

Would really appreciate help :whistling:

[Ufthak]

A couple of Links:

 

Linky 1

 

Linky 2

 

Linky 3

 

Linky 4 (Awesome!)

 

Linky 5

 

--Ufthak--

[wizard12]

I don't know much about this but I asume that the ones in the different armour are more like standard foot soldiers for when the emperour was on campaign. I guess this because the ones to the far right of this picture are armed and armouored as normal space marines.

 

PS: awesome pictures by the way.

[mob16151]

The Custodes wore Gold before the emperor's ascending to the Golden Throne. They now where black as a mark of there failure to keep him alive during the Heresy.

[Ufthak]

I know that Post-Heresy the Custondians changed into black robes (though there are quite a few pictures which show the Emperor on the Golden Throne with armoured Custodians standing guard, so I guess they adopted the black robes in addition to their golden armour), but as stated that is post-heresy.

 

Wizard12 might be right - the Custodians in black armour appear to be wearing less sophisticated armour and weapons, so maybe they're the foot-slogging all-purpose-infantry within his Guard.

 

Anyone got further ideas?

[Captain Juan Juarez]

Blood Games in the Tales of Heresy anthology is about Custodes, have you read that?

[Chaplain Kharn]

i do believe i have an idea. Firstly even though the piece of art of Horus and the emperor facing off is awesome it does not mean it is fully correct.

 

Number one:The emperor is described in several books as having a face that is so perfect it is impossible to look at it fully where as in this art he has wrinkles, obviously the artist was making a story (making the emperor look older to show he's shocked about his favorite son trying to kill him)

 

Number2: Those may not be custodians, as firstly the emperor is on Horus's flagship just because they are on the same side of the picture as he is doesn't mean they are his soldiers they may be black legion.

 

Number3:The custodians with golden Armour and black helmets are foot troopers the one's with golden helmets may be sergeants/inner sanctum custodians/ elite custodians

 

Hope i helped! :D

[Ufthak]

@Captain Juan Juarez:

No, I haven't read that book yet, "Tales of Heresy" is the next one on the list (I've just finished Mechanicum, and if I remember well that's the next one in the series) - why, have you read it? Are there details in it?

 

@Chaplain Khârn:

You may be right, as with so much of the Horus Heresy art being incorrect and/or contradictory (though I'm sure that's just the evil powers of Chaos twisting it in our minds' eye...) :o

Concerning the Emperor:

Perfection is a relative/subjective thing, though I must concur, the Emperor is ugly in the pic.

Concerning the Custodians on the pic:

First of all, they're surely no Black Legion, since it didn't exist at the time - if anything, then Sons of Horus. I'm not going to re-start the debate on whether Sons of Horus' armour was green, grey, black or all three, but generally I guess they could be Sons of Horus. But I do have my strong doubts since their armour seems a lot more special and sophisticated than that of the helmless brutes standing behind Horus, and their armour is also covered in Aquilas, which the Sons of Horus would probably have exchanged for eight-pointed-stars, eyes or bits of human skin.

Possibly GW hadn't yet decided what exactly the Custodians were gonna look like when the artist made his painting, and as a result he clad them in "early MkIV variant armour" (as the John Blanche sketch says) and did their armour black because he thought it would fit well with the idea that black symbolized the devotion to the Emperor.

 

Hmmm...you may be quite right about the golden-helmeted ones being elites/inner sanctum soldiers though, definitely makes sense...

[Verythrax Draconis]

I always tought that the black helmet one were some kind of standard custodian. The high helmets were:

 

- just some kind of parade uniform;

 

OR

 

- some more graduated officials (like the Emperor's own body/honour guard)

 

And the terminators with the high winged aquilas rules!

[Raven Angel]

I belive that the troops in the first pic are actually supose too be Imperial Fist Marines not Custodias. The egale on the Armour represent the Legions status as Patorians at that time.

[Captain Kael]

I belive that the troops in the first pic are actually supose too be Imperial Fist Marines not Custodias. The egale on the Armour represent the Legions status as Patorians at that time.

 

Could you please provide a quote for that, I am very interested in HH fluff and would love to read it. As to my knowledge, the only legion who was allowed to where the aquila was the Emperor's Children, and that was only because the Emperor allowed it to be so.

 

Captain Kael :P

[Verythrax Draconis]

According to Collected Visions, those are Custodes for sure.

 

Unless the book is wrong.

[nurgling6688]

I would say that the Custodes in the picture of the dual between the Emp and Horus are the dark color they are for pure artistic reasons. If Adrian Smith had painted them in their typical gold armor it would have detracted from the glory of the Emp and the fallen form of sanguinius. He is using them as more of a framing aspect in that painting.

[Brother-chaplain Astador]

I agree completely^

 

They are without a doubt custodes though, they have the symbol of the emp on their armour, his personal sunburst, and also eaglehead, which no other chapter was allowed to bear

 

They certaintly arent sonns of horus, as the sons are standing behind Horus, and look very different

[Raven Angel]

I can't find it yet and will keep looking but I remeber reading in one of my really old books that Dorn and Sanguinius brought a small group of their own Marines with them and it was the Fist that made it to the chamber first after the Emperor's fight. In truth the pic while very cool does not represent any version of the battle story I have ever herd or read. Besides Castodias should be carring Guardian spears not normal bolters.

[Ufthak]

@Raven Angel:

There are many pics depicting Custodians carrying simple bolters, not the pikes, so I guess many if not most do not have the pikes. You are right though that the pic of the showdown is inaccurate; there are at least 3 different versions of the story - if I remember well, in the 1st version the Emperor assaulted with Custodians, Blood Angel and Imperial Fist marines/termies, and Imperial Army soldiers; it was once such simple soldier (his name was Pius or something) who was obliterated by Horus, thereby allowing the Emperor to destroy him. In the 2nd version the Emp is only accompanied by Custodians and Imperial Fist Terminators, no mention is made of the Blood Angels though they probably assaulted as well. In this version, an Imperial Fist termintor gets killed by Horus. In the latest version the Emp teleports with Custodians, Imperial Fist termies and possibly Blood Angels; and it is a Custodian who is killed by Horus.

Personally, I like the first version best :)

[Lt. Smash]

The guardsman who sacrifices himself is something like Ollanius Pius.

[Brother-chaplain Astador]

Ollanius Pius is a legendary figure, said to be a Guardsman who sacrificed his life to save the Emperor during the Horus Heresy. He is considered a saint within the Imperial Guard and his image is often displayed on regimental banners.

 

His role in the Heresy was later taken by an Imperial Fist Marine and then a Custodes.

 

Ollanius Pius is given a more recent mention in Andy Hoare's Rogue Star: ...Lucian lifted the winged medal of the Order of Ollanius Pius. Bearing the golden face of an angelic youth, laurel leaves arrayed across his noble brow, the medal represented the very highest honour a mortal man could earn in the service of the Imperium.

 

from Lexicanum

 

I prefer the Pius story aswell tbh

 

ah well

 

with regards to the pc its all artistic liscence

[Verythrax Draconis]

We could even say that wasn't a guard that died and that Pius didn't even existed - but the Imperial propaganda thought useful creating this legend for the IG morale ;)

 

That way, all or some versions can still be true, without denying each other :P

[Raven Angel]

At the time I don't think Gaurd morale would really need boosting as they where replacing the Astartes as the Imperiums main combat arm.