Dorn and khan dead?

[ZeroWolf]

4 hours ago, Karhedron said:

Officially, Dorn is dead. Unofficially he is MIA. The problem with this is the same for the Khan and Russ. If they are still alive, why have they not attempted to return to the Imperium in its hour of need? Guilliman and Johnson both had locked in sleep/stasis stories meaning that it required an outside agency to revive them. The missing Primarchs require a bit more storytelling effort to explain why they would return now and not X centuries ago. I think that we will likely see all the surviving Primarchs return in due course because they are huge money makers and GW are too savy to leave that cash in their customers' wallets. However they have made it clear that they don't plan to rush them. Also my expectation that we would be seeing Russ soon has ebbed since we got Logan on a primarch-sized base with a pair of Wolves and a tactical rock that brings him up to Primarch-size. He clearly looks like our Primarch stand-in for the next couple of editions.

 

 

To be fair, i do think Russ is next simply because space wolves have their own book and they dont have to sort out army issues unlike Dorn (Imperial Fists don't have their own book but their successor chapter, Black Templars do. Will Dorn rules go in there or what?). That being said, i get the feeling that while traitor primarchs just drop whenever, I get the feeling that GW would like to tie the loyalist into the end of edition plans. At earliest estimate, it means we could see Russ (or whoever really) in 2029. After that it will be 2035 before we could see anyone else (judging that loyalists seem to be every 2 editions thus far).

 

Of course now I realise my joke about Dorn returning in 2038 was actually wrong and it was actually 2041, oh well.

 

Worth pointing out that there is a lot of assumptions here mind.

[Mmmmm Napalm]

one can only hope they're dead for good...

Edited June 28 by Mmmmm Napalm

[Nephaston]

I'm in the alive camp for these, but I want them all to be some flavour of depressed and miserable. Simply dying isn't enough, they should live to witness the degradation of the imperium while simultaneously unable to fix it or turn away from it. Living, breathing controversies causing micro-schisms and imperial infighting, and the only effective change they can affect is even more war.

[ZeroWolf]

1 hour ago, Nephaston said:

I'm in the alive camp for these, but I want them all to be some flavour of depressed and miserable. Simply dying isn't enough, they should live to witness the degradation of the imperium while simultaneously unable to fix it or turn away from it. Living, breathing controversies causing micro-schisms and imperial infighting, and the only effective change they can affect is even more war.

Isn't that what we're getting currently? Both Lion'el and Roboute know that they alone are not going to fix anything in the grand scheme of things but they will do their duty regardless to the bitter end. I think the 10th edition trailer shown this quite well.

[Flaherty]

They're all pretty easy to bring back:

 

+ Dorn is imprisoned by the Alpha Legion and has spent 10,000 years plotting an escape while periodically having flashbacks to the Iron Cage.

+ Alpharius, Omegon, or the yet unrevealed third head of the hydra are doing mustache-twirling shennigans.

+ Khan has been in some kind of time dilation Webway loop and is shocked that 10,000 years have passed.

+ Ferrus Manus is the disembodied leader of the Legion of the Damned and is suffering from trauma-induced spiritual amnesia.

+ Sanguinius is going to be reborn in a super-sayin primaris move where the best and bravest of his sons, and the star of Space Marine III, makes the ultimate sacrifice  , providing a vessel for his rebirth.

+ Russ is Odin, or maybe a mega-werewolf, hiding from an Imperium who will not allow him to live

+ Vulkan Lives, Stomp, Stomp.

+ Peterturabo is on his way in 11th.

+ Lorgar is on the bench for 12th.

+ Curze is the only one who is really dead because he's a whiny git who was wholly upstaged by a random warband.

[Blindhamster]

Honestly I think for loyalists it’s most likely we see Russ then maybe we get Dorn come back but for Templars as a crusader rather than the dorn we remember - reason being I think we are more likely to see the separate books get primarchs before core marines get more, similar to how chaos has filled out the distinct codes roster of primarchs first.

 

im in the camp of not being opposed to sanguinius coming back, but only if they have him come back as a full blown warp entity, we already know he exists as such due to his appearance as shards or larger entity in multiple black library books. The alternative would be his soul to be given a new body, which I could also see.

 

tbh, I’d actually like to see alpha primus get a model and rules before any of the above though.

[Nagashsnee]

The Khan and his mates could literally just walk out of a webway portal talking about how they are sure those dark eldar went into this portal and it wouldnt even be a retcon.

 

Total time missing 1-5 mins. 

[Orange Knight]

On 6/29/2026 at 11:50 AM, Nagashsnee said:

The Khan and his mates could literally just walk out of a webway portal talking about how they are sure those dark eldar went into this portal and it wouldnt even be a retcon.

 

Total time missing 1-5 mins. 

 

That's a bit extreme even by Eldar standards. Is there an example of the webway transporting someone through time on such a scale?

But I agree that warp shennanigans can basically explain anything, although it can feel trite if done poorly.

[Karhedron]

53 minutes ago, Orange Knight said:

That's a bit extreme even by Eldar standards. Is there an example of the webway transporting someone through time on such a scale?

But I agree that warp shennanigans can basically explain anything, although it can feel trite if done poorly.

 

In the old 2nd edition lore, the Webway contained points called "crossroads of inertia" where time basically stands still. The Phoenix Lords are known to use them skip peaceful centuries until they are called to war once more. An unwary traveller wandering into one could be trapped for millennia, unaware of the passage of time outside.

 

Old lore but there is precedent.

[HeadlessCross]

On 6/28/2026 at 5:54 AM, phoenix01 said:

Also, a rule that "your army must be x points in size before you can add the primarch/special character" like back before 5th edition would be nice.

That never made any sense though. Was Brother Captain Stern so broken back in the day giving himself and your opponent free rerolls?

[Karhedron]

On 6/28/2026 at 1:54 PM, phoenix01 said:

Also, a rule that "your army must be x points in size before you can add the primarch/special character" like back before 5th edition would be nice.

 

This is less relevant in an edition where entire factions of Knights are a thing and lasguns can wound the biggest targets on a 6.

 

Also, big models tend to act as force multipliers more in recent editions. Although they are a big beatstick in small games, there is less force for them to multiply.

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

On 6/28/2026 at 10:47 AM, ZeroWolf said:

To be fair, i do think Russ is next simply because space wolves have their own book and they dont have to sort out army issues unlike Dorn (Imperial Fists don't have their own book but their successor chapter, Black Templars do. Will Dorn rules go in there or what?). That being said, i get the feeling that while traitor primarchs just drop whenever, I get the feeling that GW would like to tie the loyalist into the end of edition plans. At earliest estimate, it means we could see Russ (or whoever really) in 2029. After that it will be 2035 before we could see anyone else (judging that loyalists seem to be every 2 editions thus far).

 

Of course now I realise my joke about Dorn returning in 2038 was actually wrong and it was actually 2041, oh well.

 

Worth pointing out that there is a lot of assumptions here mind.

Simple codex IF, Dorn, all the BT datasheets, and 3 IF specific squads and 1 new special character.

or codex dorn, and future marine codexes/supps are based on geneseed rather than specific chapters, I.e. codex sanguinius, codex leman Russ, codex vulkan, etc.

 

Edited July 1 by Inquisitor_Lensoven

[kabaakaba]

26 minutes ago, Inquisitor_Lensoven said:

Simple codex IF, Dorn, all the BT datasheets, and 3 IF specific squads and 1 new special character.

or codex dorn, and future marine codexes/supps are based on geneseed rather than specific chapters, I.e. codex sanguinius, codex leman Russ, codex vulkan, etc.

 

And we at least get normal lore for successors chapters. 

[ZeroWolf]

2 hours ago, Inquisitor_Lensoven said:

Simple codex IF, Dorn, all the BT datasheets, and 3 IF specific squads and 1 new special character.

or codex dorn, and future marine codexes/supps are based on geneseed rather than specific chapters, I.e. codex sanguinius, codex leman Russ, codex vulkan, etc.

 

That's actually not a bad idea...Now imagine if they also did chaos versions as well incase your own designed chapter called from less than pure gene seed.

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

2 hours ago, ZeroWolf said:

That's actually not a bad idea...Now imagine if they also did chaos versions as well incase your own designed chapter called from less than pure gene seed.

Yep, that’s what I’d expect would happen if they went that route for loyalists.

[Antarius]

It would mean a lot of new factions to support and balance, though. But of course, GW also need new stuff to release, so who knows where the chips will fall on that one?

[Rowland]

Do these guys wives not wake up to find Dorn (insert character) in the shower and it was all just a bad dream?

[Rowland]

11 hours ago, Inquisitor_Lensoven said:

Simple codex IF, Dorn, all the BT datasheets, and 3 IF specific squads and 1 new special character.

or codex dorn, and future marine codexes/supps are based on geneseed rather than specific chapters, I.e. codex sanguinius, codex leman Russ, codex vulkan, etc.

 

I personally think this sounds like a decent idea in so far as the Geneseed tends to inform the fighting style, is that correct?  I only have the Space Marine and Blood Angels codices.  I think it was the black rage which drew me to the BA, it seems like a really good tactical gamble adding flavour to a game (I’ve not even had a chance to use them yet!).  
I have absolutely no idea if this holds across all the geneseeds because I don’t own the codices.

Saying all this my geneseed comes from Mortarion but is loyal, so there’s that.

[kabaakaba]

20 minutes ago, Rowland said:

Do these guys wives not wake up to find Dorn (insert character) in the shower and it was all just a bad dream?

I think even GW don't have this level of boldness... Yet

 

They technically can said that Khan made new chogoris somewhere in galaxy unreachable by warp travel, and just pass geneseed from guys who were with him. An build new legion already. 

 

And for the Rogal I wanna a twist with him fall again in that madness like in when he in the Emperor palace, but this time he answered the question "For whom the blood" with the RIGHT answer...

[Arikel]

Sanguinius: coming back as anything like his original self would be pretty awful. It could only be balanced by the equally awful reappearance of Horus, reincarnated by the chaos gods as some kind of joke. This idea is so terrible that I’m convinced GW will make it happen.

 

Preferably he will continue to appear as visions, and temporary incarnations like The Sanguinor, in the physical realm. From what I can tell he’s the Emperor’s first and most powerful saint, with specific holidays and rituals to honour him built into most strains of the Imperial Faith. His physical form destroyed, whatever is left of Sanguinius is as much a warp entity as any of the greater servants of  chaos. As a greater demon(perhaps greatest demon) of the warp god of order and humanity that the Emperor has essentially become, manifesting in the physical realm is difficult, requiring a large amount of faith, warp energy and perhaps sacrifice (note the sanguinor generally appears when imperial forces are already hard pressed, either already in a last stand situation or rapidly being pushed into one). This would be much more in line with how he should appear the game, but I don’t trust GW would approach it from this way, almost too subtle and no huge new centerpiece unless they were to buff up the sanginor.

 

Dorn: The ultimate master of siege warfare and masochist extraordinaire. Already known to have had both his hands severed, though the rest of his corpse was missing.

 

Boring and trite: Brought back as a mighty warrior and strategist. Most interesting and so therefore most unlikely for this option would be he comes back changed, trading patient siege tactics for the fanatical and righteous fury of a vengeful crusader. The chains that bind weapons to a Templar’s hand are mere decoration for dorn, as his weapons have been surgically grafted to his stumps. 
 

My preferred and therefore most unlikely outcome, but one that resonates for me: Dorn returns, escaping desperately from his captors. Tortured endlessly for millennia by the servants of chaos, Dorn , the very model of the loyal, stoic primarch held true, never breaking his vows of service to the emperor. His mind and his body were shattered almost beyond recognition though. He is barely comprehensible, his speech spouting forth unfathomable gibberish mixed with the odd word of high gothic . His body is broken as his mind, bent double and scarred from the repeated torture measures, he walks with his forestumps grazing the ground, sometimes reverting to all 4’s like the now extinct gorilla of Ancient Terra. 

No longer the fount of wisdom and strategic knowledge he once was, the ordo hereticus has laid their claim upon him, with the blessing  of the highest orders of the faith, the imperial lords, and even Gulliman himself.
 

It would be devastating to the faith if the unwashed masses of humanity were to have common knowledge that one of the imperium’s most powerful  heroes could be brought so low, body broken beyond repair, mind irretrievably shattered.

 

He is  kept under lock and key by the Ordo, under special guard of the Inquisitor-Rogalius, a position held by an experienced agent who is no longer fit for field duties. Located in a small underground facility on the shrine world near terra that displays his severed hands as relics, The inquisitor-rogalius is free to choose who of his personal retinues and henchmen shall serve with him. In addition, he can assume full command of the local arbites, PDF,  and the Sisters of the Severed (the Ordo Ponatus Minoris of the Adepta Sororitas that call the shrineworld home) as needed.

 

Diminished as he is, Dorn is still a very powerful being. To their delight, the Ordo Hereticus have determined his loyalty to the empire remains absolute. In several recent field tests, the twisted remnant of a Primarch has also shown real practical value. While no longer able to plot or strategize, the Ordo has discovered that he can be brought to battle, and  pointed in the general direction of even the most impregnable heretic fortification, even fortress relics from the dark ages of technology. Guided like a missile by his keepers, he will lope forward in his 4 limbed ape-like gait, and smash himself instinctively into the weakest point of the structure, so far immediately causing a breach that has turned several missions expected to require decades of siege or even possible exterminatus  into complete successful purges lasting only months.
 

“No longer can the heretic hide behind their walls, for the very master of stonemasonry has returned to his master’s side at the time of humanity’s greatest need. Repent heretic, for no fortress however strong is safe for you now.  The purging flames of the church and the Sororitas will reach you where ever you may be. In the Name of the God Emperor, we bring you his Love, his Warm and Blessed Mercy, though you Do not deserve such grace. Prospectus Scylla, you may unleash the Dorn.“
 

Inquisitor-Rogalius Alexei Rigaro, 10 minutes after arriving at the Citadel-Cathedral of Saint Anubar.
 

Defended by a well armed, well supplied Chaos Cult with supporters numbering in the low billions, the local Astra Militarum commanders estimated a 30 year campaign with casualties in the mid hundreds of billions under ideal conditions. Service orders were being requisitioned for the men and material already, and given a generously low estimate of 5 years to assemble enough men to commence the assault, until then only enough soldiers were available to attempt containment of the threat. Too many containment breaches had already occurred for the Ordo Hereticus’ liking, and this cult was particularly virulent and needed to be stopped. Exterminatus was deemed impossible however, based not only on rare metals the planet held , but the planets value as the original  home of Saint Anubar and his relics was deemed irreplaceable.

 

The ordo invited Alexei to test his theory that the pathetic thing that had once been a primarch might still be of use. The Inquisitor-rogalius was not only vindicated, but exceeded even his own expectations. 
 

Within a day, the walls were breached and Imperial services advanced into the Citadel-Cathedral proper. Within weeks the assault mellowed into mop up operations that would last through the next two years and the planet was totally freed of the cult’s taint. A miracle, granted directly to the ordo in the form of  his mad, damaged son.

 

”Praise be to the Emperor, Bringer of Love and Mercy to all Mankind, Our Protector Forever, the Light that shines in the dark. We thank you for this great victory over darkness and the opportunity to save these poor sinners souls in your name. May the scent of their burning flesh bring joy and delight to all your faithful as the fire purifies the souls of the damned so that you may receive them as the men they should  have been in life, pure of thought and purposr. Pater Imperia, lux tua amor est. Amen!”

 

Archbishop Maggit Furf, Prayer In Celebration of the Liberation of The Citadel-Cathedral of Saint Anubar.

[ZeroWolf]

3 hours ago, Arikel said:

Sanguinius: coming back as anything like his original self would be pretty awful. It could only be balanced by the equally awful reappearance of Horus, reincarnated by the chaos gods as some kind of joke. This idea is so terrible that I’m convinced GW will make it happen.

 

Preferably he will continue to appear as visions, and temporary incarnations like The Sanguinor, in the physical realm. From what I can tell he’s the Emperor’s first and most powerful saint, with specific holidays and rituals to honour him built into most strains of the Imperial Faith. His physical form destroyed, whatever is left of Sanguinius is as much a warp entity as any of the greater servants of  chaos. As a greater demon(perhaps greatest demon) of the warp god of order and humanity that the Emperor has essentially become, manifesting in the physical realm is difficult, requiring a large amount of faith, warp energy and perhaps sacrifice (note the sanguinor generally appears when imperial forces are already hard pressed, either already in a last stand situation or rapidly being pushed into one). This would be much more in line with how he should appear the game, but I don’t trust GW would approach it from this way, almost too subtle and no huge new centerpiece unless they were to buff up the sanginor.

 

Dorn: The ultimate master of siege warfare and masochist extraordinaire. Already known to have had both his hands severed, though the rest of his corpse was missing.

 

Boring and trite: Brought back as a mighty warrior and strategist. Most interesting and so therefore most unlikely for this option would be he comes back changed, trading patient siege tactics for the fanatical and righteous fury of a vengeful crusader. The chains that bind weapons to a Templar’s hand are mere decoration for dorn, as his weapons have been surgically grafted to his stumps. 
 

My preferred and therefore most unlikely outcome, but one that resonates for me: Dorn returns, escaping desperately from his captors. Tortured endlessly for millennia by the servants of chaos, Dorn , the very model of the loyal, stoic primarch held true, never breaking his vows of service to the emperor. His mind and his body were shattered almost beyond recognition though. He is barely comprehensible, his speech spouting forth unfathomable gibberish mixed with the odd word of high gothic . His body is broken as his mind, bent double and scarred from the repeated torture measures, he walks with his forestumps grazing the ground, sometimes reverting to all 4’s like the now extinct gorilla of Ancient Terra. 

No longer the fount of wisdom and strategic knowledge he once was, the ordo hereticus has laid their claim upon him, with the blessing  of the highest orders of the faith, the imperial lords, and even Gulliman himself.
 

It would be devastating to the faith if the unwashed masses of humanity were to have common knowledge that one of the imperium’s most powerful  heroes could be brought so low, body broken beyond repair, mind irretrievably shattered.

 

He is  kept under lock and key by the Ordo, under special guard of the Inquisitor-Rogalius, a position held by an experienced agent who is no longer fit for field duties. Located in a small underground facility on the shrine world near terra that displays his severed hands as relics, The inquisitor-rogalius is free to choose who of his personal retinues and henchmen shall serve with him. In addition, he can assume full command of the local arbites, PDF,  and the Sisters of the Severed (the Ordo Ponatus Minoris of the Adepta Sororitas that call the shrineworld home) as needed.

 

Diminished as he is, Dorn is still a very powerful being. To their delight, the Ordo Hereticus have determined his loyalty to the empire remains absolute. In several recent field tests, the twisted remnant of a Primarch has also shown real practical value. While no longer able to plot or strategize, the Ordo has discovered that he can be brought to battle, and  pointed in the general direction of even the most impregnable heretic fortification, even fortress relics from the dark ages of technology. Guided like a missile by his keepers, he will lope forward in his 4 limbed ape-like gait, and smash himself instinctively into the weakest point of the structure, so far immediately causing a breach that has turned several missions expected to require decades of siege or even possible exterminatus  into complete successful purges lasting only months.
 

“No longer can the heretic hide behind their walls, for the very master of stonemasonry has returned to his master’s side at the time of humanity’s greatest need. Repent heretic, for no fortress however strong is safe for you now.  The purging flames of the church and the Sororitas will reach you where ever you may be. In the Name of the God Emperor, we bring you his Love, his Warm and Blessed Mercy, though you Do not deserve such grace. Prospectus Scylla, you may unleash the Dorn.“
 

Inquisitor-Rogalius Alexei Rigaro, 10 minutes after arriving at the Citadel-Cathedral of Saint Anubar.
 

Defended by a well armed, well supplied Chaos Cult with supporters numbering in the low billions, the local Astra Militarum commanders estimated a 30 year campaign with casualties in the mid hundreds of billions under ideal conditions. Service orders were being requisitioned for the men and material already, and given a generously low estimate of 5 years to assemble enough men to commence the assault, until then only enough soldiers were available to attempt containment of the threat. Too many containment breaches had already occurred for the Ordo Hereticus’ liking, and this cult was particularly virulent and needed to be stopped. Exterminatus was deemed impossible however, based not only on rare metals the planet held , but the planets value as the original  home of Saint Anubar and his relics was deemed irreplaceable.

 

The ordo invited Alexei to test his theory that the pathetic thing that had once been a primarch might still be of use. The Inquisitor-rogalius was not only vindicated, but exceeded even his own expectations. 
 

Within a day, the walls were breached and Imperial services advanced into the Citadel-Cathedral proper. Within weeks the assault mellowed into mop up operations that would last through the next two years and the planet was totally freed of the cult’s taint. A miracle, granted directly to the ordo in the form of  his mad, damaged son.

 

”Praise be to the Emperor, Bringer of Love and Mercy to all Mankind, Our Protector Forever, the Light that shines in the dark. We thank you for this great victory over darkness and the opportunity to save these poor sinners souls in your name. May the scent of their burning flesh bring joy and delight to all your faithful as the fire purifies the souls of the damned so that you may receive them as the men they should  have been in life, pure of thought and purposr. Pater Imperia, lux tua amor est. Amen!”

 

Archbishop Maggit Furf, Prayer In Celebration of the Liberation of The Citadel-Cathedral of Saint Anubar.

Actually its only one hand he lost now. That's why fan speculation is that it was Omegon he fought because Dorn took Alpharius hand off before killing him.

 

Plus you want to be technical about it, we've already had Horus come back...and die again from the time Fabius Bile created a clone of him that Abaddon killed. Plus we do still have a good clone of Fulgrim around, albeit in Trazyn's museum.

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

6 hours ago, Rowland said:

I personally think this sounds like a decent idea in so far as the Geneseed tends to inform the fighting style, is that correct?  I only have the Space Marine and Blood Angels codices.  I think it was the black rage which drew me to the BA, it seems like a really good tactical gamble adding flavour to a game (I’ve not even had a chance to use them yet!).  
I have absolutely no idea if this holds across all the geneseeds because I don’t own the codices.

Saying all this my geneseed comes from Mortarion but is loyal, so there’s that.

Generally yes but there are exceptions like the black templars

 

5 hours ago, Arikel said:

Sanguinius: coming back as anything like his original self would be pretty awful. It could only be balanced by the equally awful reappearance of Horus, reincarnated by the chaos gods as some kind of joke. This idea is so terrible that I’m convinced GW will make it happen.

 

Preferably he will continue to appear as visions, and temporary incarnations like The Sanguinor, in the physical realm. From what I can tell he’s the Emperor’s first and most powerful saint, with specific holidays and rituals to honour him built into most strains of the Imperial Faith. His physical form destroyed, whatever is left of Sanguinius is as much a warp entity as any of the greater servants of  chaos. As a greater demon(perhaps greatest demon) of the warp god of order and humanity that the Emperor has essentially become, manifesting in the physical realm is difficult, requiring a large amount of faith, warp energy and perhaps sacrifice (note the sanguinor generally appears when imperial forces are already hard pressed, either already in a last stand situation or rapidly being pushed into one). This would be much more in line with how he should appear the game, but I don’t trust GW would approach it from this way, almost too subtle and no huge new centerpiece unless they were to buff up the sanginor.

 

Dorn: The ultimate master of siege warfare and masochist extraordinaire. Already known to have had both his hands severed, though the rest of his corpse was missing.

 

Boring and trite: Brought back as a mighty warrior and strategist. Most interesting and so therefore most unlikely for this option would be he comes back changed, trading patient siege tactics for the fanatical and righteous fury of a vengeful crusader. The chains that bind weapons to a Templar’s hand are mere decoration for dorn, as his weapons have been surgically grafted to his stumps. 
 

My preferred and therefore most unlikely outcome, but one that resonates for me: Dorn returns, escaping desperately from his captors. Tortured endlessly for millennia by the servants of chaos, Dorn , the very model of the loyal, stoic primarch held true, never breaking his vows of service to the emperor. His mind and his body were shattered almost beyond recognition though. He is barely comprehensible, his speech spouting forth unfathomable gibberish mixed with the odd word of high gothic . His body is broken as his mind, bent double and scarred from the repeated torture measures, he walks with his forestumps grazing the ground, sometimes reverting to all 4’s like the now extinct gorilla of Ancient Terra. 

No longer the fount of wisdom and strategic knowledge he once was, the ordo hereticus has laid their claim upon him, with the blessing  of the highest orders of the faith, the imperial lords, and even Gulliman himself.
 

It would be devastating to the faith if the unwashed masses of humanity were to have common knowledge that one of the imperium’s most powerful  heroes could be brought so low, body broken beyond repair, mind irretrievably shattered.

 

He is  kept under lock and key by the Ordo, under special guard of the Inquisitor-Rogalius, a position held by an experienced agent who is no longer fit for field duties. Located in a small underground facility on the shrine world near terra that displays his severed hands as relics, The inquisitor-rogalius is free to choose who of his personal retinues and henchmen shall serve with him. In addition, he can assume full command of the local arbites, PDF,  and the Sisters of the Severed (the Ordo Ponatus Minoris of the Adepta Sororitas that call the shrineworld home) as needed.

 

Diminished as he is, Dorn is still a very powerful being. To their delight, the Ordo Hereticus have determined his loyalty to the empire remains absolute. In several recent field tests, the twisted remnant of a Primarch has also shown real practical value. While no longer able to plot or strategize, the Ordo has discovered that he can be brought to battle, and  pointed in the general direction of even the most impregnable heretic fortification, even fortress relics from the dark ages of technology. Guided like a missile by his keepers, he will lope forward in his 4 limbed ape-like gait, and smash himself instinctively into the weakest point of the structure, so far immediately causing a breach that has turned several missions expected to require decades of siege or even possible exterminatus  into complete successful purges lasting only months.
 

“No longer can the heretic hide behind their walls, for the very master of stonemasonry has returned to his master’s side at the time of humanity’s greatest need. Repent heretic, for no fortress however strong is safe for you now.  The purging flames of the church and the Sororitas will reach you where ever you may be. In the Name of the God Emperor, we bring you his Love, his Warm and Blessed Mercy, though you Do not deserve such grace. Prospectus Scylla, you may unleash the Dorn.“
 

Inquisitor-Rogalius Alexei Rigaro, 10 minutes after arriving at the Citadel-Cathedral of Saint Anubar.
 

Defended by a well armed, well supplied Chaos Cult with supporters numbering in the low billions, the local Astra Militarum commanders estimated a 30 year campaign with casualties in the mid hundreds of billions under ideal conditions. Service orders were being requisitioned for the men and material already, and given a generously low estimate of 5 years to assemble enough men to commence the assault, until then only enough soldiers were available to attempt containment of the threat. Too many containment breaches had already occurred for the Ordo Hereticus’ liking, and this cult was particularly virulent and needed to be stopped. Exterminatus was deemed impossible however, based not only on rare metals the planet held , but the planets value as the original  home of Saint Anubar and his relics was deemed irreplaceable.

 

The ordo invited Alexei to test his theory that the pathetic thing that had once been a primarch might still be of use. The Inquisitor-rogalius was not only vindicated, but exceeded even his own expectations. 
 

Within a day, the walls were breached and Imperial services advanced into the Citadel-Cathedral proper. Within weeks the assault mellowed into mop up operations that would last through the next two years and the planet was totally freed of the cult’s taint. A miracle, granted directly to the ordo in the form of  his mad, damaged son.

 

”Praise be to the Emperor, Bringer of Love and Mercy to all Mankind, Our Protector Forever, the Light that shines in the dark. We thank you for this great victory over darkness and the opportunity to save these poor sinners souls in your name. May the scent of their burning flesh bring joy and delight to all your faithful as the fire purifies the souls of the damned so that you may receive them as the men they should  have been in life, pure of thought and purposr. Pater Imperia, lux tua amor est. Amen!”

 

Archbishop Maggit Furf, Prayer In Celebration of the Liberation of The Citadel-Cathedral of Saint Anubar.

Tbf I was expecting a much bolder and larger model for the new sanguinor than what we got for exactly that reason 

[Deus de Mortalis]

I really hope some of the primarchs are confirmed dead. It would really put a bad taste in my mouth for the setting if they brought them all back. Or they had better have a great story. Like Rogal Dorn is dead makes a lot of sense. Jaghatai Khan is dead makes a lot of sense. It would be really hard, bordering on the miraculous to bring them back, but not as silly as Ferrus Manus or Sanguinius. The Khan maybe kept prisoner and tortured, but 10 thousand years is a long time.... Maybe he switched sides?

 

Russ could have been lost in the warp and then reappeared ten thousand years later. That would be cool and awesome, maybe only decades passing to him, but millenia passing in real space. 

[Brother Tyler]

Given the tongue in cheek nature of the premise, I'm moving this over to the + ADEPTUS ASTARTES / LOYALIST LEGIONES ASTARTES + forum.

[Karhedron]

7 hours ago, Deus de Mortalis said:

I really hope some of the primarchs are confirmed dead. It would really put a bad taste in my mouth for the setting if they brought them all back. Or they had better have a great story. Like Rogal Dorn is dead makes a lot of sense. Jaghatai Khan is dead makes a lot of sense. It would be really hard, bordering on the miraculous to bring them back, but not as silly as Ferrus Manus or Sanguinius. The Khan maybe kept prisoner and tortured, but 10 thousand years is a long time.... Maybe he switched sides?

 

Here is the status of the Loyalist Primarchs according to the latest lore.

 

Guilliman - Returned

The Lion - Returned

Russ - Went missing 197 years after the end of the Heresy. May be searching for the mythical "tree of life" to heal the Emperor. The tree of life may actually by the Eldar Goddess of life, Isha who is being held prisoner in the Garden of Nurgle. His armour was found in a Chaos temple on the edge of the EoT.

Corax - Vanished into the EOT 1 year after the end of the Heresy to hunt the traitor Primarchs. Last appearance was kicking Lorgar's golden butt so hard he locked himself away for 9000 years. 

Vulkan - Last seen during the War of the Beast about 1500 years after the Heresy. Vanished destroying the Ork Waagh reactor. Unknown if his Perpetual regeneration can bring him back from that.

Khan - Vanished into the Maelstrom chasing DE raiders about 65 years after the Heresy

Dorn - Believed killed in the attack on the Chaos Battleship Sword of Sacrilege nearly 800 years after the Heresy.

Ferrus - Dead (maybe part of the Legion of the Damned)

Sanguinius - Dead but regularly appears to his sons in visions so his soul appears to be alive in the warp

 

So we have 2 dead, 2 returned and 5 missing. 3 of the missing Primarchs disappeared into the EOT or warp-related phenomena so could emerge at any time thinking that only a short time had passed. Vulkan is a big unknown. Maybe the Salamanders' quest to retrieve his lost artifacts will trigger him to regenerate again like Numeon's sacrifice did during the Horus Heresy. Dorn missing (presumed dead) as his body was never recovered. His hand was found is now one of the Imperial Fists' most revered relics but we know that he cut off Alpharius' hands just before killing him during the HH. He could have dropped a hand as a decoy and then vanished undercover.

 

So 3 of missing Primarchs could return without too much effort. 2 could return with a bit more narrative effort. 2 are dead and should probably stay that way as their deaths have a big impact on the character of their successor chapters.