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These men are my bodyguards, their lives forfeit to the guarantee of my physical safety. Of their loyalty to me there shall be no question nor doubt. I, and I alone, shall have the authority to stand in judgement over them. No other commander shall they have in battle nor in service. None shall bar them from me and none shall hamper or stall their mission. So it is decreed!

~ The Emperor of Mankind

Summary[]

"Each one of the Ten Thousand represents genetic lore acquired over many lifetimes. Each one of you is unique, a work of art never to be repeated. I am miserly with your lives, where I would spend so many others without a thought."
- The Emperor on his Custodes

The Adeptus Custodes, known as the Legio Custodes before the Horus Heresy, is the Imperial Adepta responsible for guarding the Imperial Palace and the physical body of the Emperor of Mankind. It is an elite cadre of genetically-engineered transhuman warriors who are even more potent in combat than the Adeptus Astartes. They are to the Space Marines as the Emperor is to His Primarchs, and it is rumoured that they were created using the Master of Mankind's own genecode.

Where Space Marines represent the mass-produced genetic soldiers of the Imperium, the Adeptus Custodes are a force of individual warriors, each a bastion in his own right. These warriors have stood in the presence of the immortal Emperor of Mankind since before the time of the Unification Wars. For ten thousand years and more, the Custodians have stood watch over their lord and master, serving as the Emperor's personal guardians and praetorian bodyguard. During the Great Crusade these resplendent warriors guarded the Emperor wherever He went and swore to give their lives to protect His.

After His incarceration in the Golden Throne following the Horus Heresy ten standard millennia ago, they have taken a far more limited role in the Imperium of Man. They almost never leave Terra and only very rarely leave the Imperial Palace as they watch over their recumbent master and patrol the precincts of the Emperor's Palace, ever vigilant of threats. It is only the Adeptus Custodes who decide who may enter the Sanctum Imperialis of the Emperor at the heart of the Inner Palace, and when they may do so.

Powers and Stats[]

Tier: At least 8-C, likely High 8-C physically, Varies from 8-C to 8-B with weaponry | At least 8-C, likely High 8-C physically, Varies from 8-C to 8-B with weaponry | At least High 8-C physically, Varies from 8-C to 8-B with weaponry

Key: Auramite Armor | Terminator Armor | Dreadnought

Name: Adeptus Custodes, the Brotherhood of Demigods, the Golden Legion, the Custodian Guard, Watchers of the Throne, the Ten Thousand, the Thousand Companions

Origin: Warhammer 40,000

Gender: All Male

Age: The oldest are over 10,000 years old

Classification: Elite Genetically-Engineered Transhuman Warrior, Personal Bodyguards of the Emperor

Powers and Abilities:

Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Large Size (Type 0; Custodes are stated to be ten feet tall[1]), Enhanced Senses (Each Custodian has his senses augmented to a degree far beyond an ordinary human being and even beyond a baseline Astartes warrior), Extrasensory Perception (Their extremely sophisticated armor contains highly sensitive proximity sensors that make it impossible for someone to catch its wearer by surprise[2]), Immortality (Types 1, 2, and 3; Custodes are stated to be unaging and functionally immortal[3]. They can also fight while missing half of their face and a significant portion of their skull and brain[4]), Regeneration (At least High-Low; Superior to Astartes who can regenerate nearly pulverized bones[5]), Precognition (Can "reach into the Numerology of the near future"[6] to predict the attacks and motion of enemies before they occur), Aura (Possess a powerful aura[1] which can cause people around them to kneel without them even intending to[7]), Holy Manipulation and Probability Manipulation (The Custodians are touched by a spark of the Emperor’s own power, which manifests as a supernatural warding, making it so that bullets and bolts are turned aside at the last moment, blades fail to strike home, and even the psychic powers of the foe can suddenly and inexplicably flicker away to nothing[8]), Energy Projection, Weapon Mastery and Martial Arts (Custodians spend many centuries honing their crafts, mastering all the different weapons at their disposal with unmatched skill, to the point where they can face off against a dozen experienced combatants singlehandedly[9]. Their skill is stated to be little short of supernatural[10]), Technology Manipulation (They interface with their suits as a second skin, implying they have some kind of Black Carapace equivalent that could allow them to meld their nervous system with other equipment as well[11]), Vehicular Mastery (All Custodes are trained in the use of vehicles, such as tanks, anti-gravity jetbikes, and more, many of which are the most complex and advanced of their kind in the entire Imperium), Social Influencing (Custodes are skilled in diplomacy and know secrets and techniques that allow them to easily charm and manipulate others[12]), Stealth Mastery (Custodians constantly have to protect the Imperial Palace, a vast sprawling complex the size of countries, making them as much intelligence agents and spies as warriors. The Captain-General during the end of the Reign of Blood managed to easily sneak through the blockade of Vandire's heavily fortified palace manned by the superbly trained[13] Brides of the Emperor straight to their leader), Matter Manipulation (Atomic) and Durability Negation (Power weapons disrupt the bonds of matter[14] by surrounding themselves in an energy field, of which the Custodes possess some of the most potent examples of[15]. Adrathic weapons can destroy matter on a molecular level, making it as if the target had never existed[16]), Explosion Manipulation (Guardian Spears and other weapons utilized by the Custodies possess built in bolters, which fire bolts that explode on impact[17]), Limited Flight (Via Venatari Squads, which possess Jump Packs[18]), Forcefield Creation (Via refractor fields[19], Iron Halos[20], and the like), Statistics Amplification (Via Vexilla Imperius, Imperial Standards that reinvigorate and even supercharge the power of nearby Custodes[21]), Light Manipulation, Limited Biological Manipulation, Perception Manipulation, and Mind Manipulation (Those who stare upon the Magnifica have their very sight rebel against them, their optic nerves burned out, and as a final effect, those who gaze upon the Magnifica have their thoughts patterns destroyed[22]), Genius Intelligence

Nearly the same as before, with most abilities increased to higher level due to the better equipment available to Terminator veterans, along with Teleportation via Dimensional Travel (Can use the Warp for nigh-instantaneous teleportation[23])

Nearly the same as before, with most capabilities vastly improved by the massive Dreadnought walker, along with Large Size (Type 0), Cyborgization (Normal; The Custodian inside is usually reduced to several organs floating in an amniotic soup inside the cybernetic sarcophagus[24]), Temperature Manipulation (Via Multi-Melta[25])

Attack Potency: At least Building level (The Custodes are said to be to a Space Marine what a Space Marine is to an ordinary human[30]. 1,000 Custodians were capable of destroying Gharkhul Blackfang's Ork WAAAGH which had overwhelmed three Space Marine armies, killing 100,000 Orks and losing only 3 of their own[31]), likely Large Building level (Capable of cracking terminator armor[32] and one-shotting Ogryn[33] who themselves can damage terminator armor[34]) physically, Varies from Building level to City Block level with weaponry (Stated to possess some of the most devastating weapons in the Imperium[35], meaning their weapons should be stronger than those of the Adeptus Astartes). Several weapons ignore conventional durability | At least Building level, likely Large Building level physically, Varies from Building level to City Block level with weaponry (Should be comparable, if not superior to standard Custodes and far superior to standard Astartes Terminators) | At least Large Building level physically (Custodes' Dreadnoughts are likewise far superior to regular Dreadnoughts, and Custodian Terminators as well. They're stated to hold technology and weapons that the Imperium can no longer replicate[36]), Varies from Building level to City Block level with weaponry (Possess stronger weaponry than before, such as autocannons, multi-meltas, lascannons, and plasma cannons)

Speed: At least Subsonic movement speed (Much faster than Astartes), with at least Hypersonic, likely higher combat and reaction speed (Even the weakest Custodes have reactions far faster than that of Marines. Custodes have been shown capable of blocking lasfire[37]) and FTL perception speed (Average Custodes can process information in less than a microsecond[38]. Skilled Custodes should undoubtedly have faster reactions than experienced Marines who can process information in a nanosecond[39]) | Subsonic (A Custodes in Terminator Armor is generally as fast as an Astartes in regular Power Armor) with at least Hypersonic, likely higher combat and reaction speed and FTL perception speed (As far more experienced veterans, they should be superior to most other Custodes) | Below Average Human movement speed (Likely comparable to Astartes Dreadnoughts which move at a speed of 10 kmph[40]) with at least Hypersonic, likely higher combat and reaction speed and FTL perception speed (Only the most skilled and exceptional warriors of the Custodes are placed in Dreadnoughts)

Lifting Strength: At least Class 25, likely far higher (They should be far more powerful than Astartes Terminators) | At least Class 25, likely far higher | At least Class 100 (Are essentially walking tanks, far stronger than regular Castraferrum and Contemptor pattern Dreadnoughts, and should be able to flip vehicles as big if not far bigger than themselves)

Striking Strength: At least Building level, likely far higher | At least Building level, likely far higher | At least Large Building level

Durability: At least Large Building level (Custodes' Auramite armor is far more durable than Astartes' Terminator armor and can survive plasma weapons entirely unharmed[41]. The armor of a Custodes can rebound autocannon shots[42]) | At least Large Building level (As above their Auramite armor as regular Terminator plate is above Astartes' power armor. Capable of no-selling blasts from macro-cannons[43]) | At least Large Building level (Superior to regular Dreadnoughts which can shrug off the strongest plasma weapons, as well as Custodian Terminators)

Stamina: Superhuman (Custodians can fight for weeks on end with many debilitating injures, some which would kill regular humans several times over. They can still fight with half of their face missing as well as a portion of their skull removed entirely[44], and hardly anything less than a killing shot can put them down. Custodians towards the end of the Webway War had been fighting a weeks long campaign with no sleep and barely any rest at all)

Range: Several Meters physically, Kilometers with Bolters and other long-range weaponry (Bolters can accurately hit targets from 2.5 kilometers away[45]) | Several Meters physically, Kilometers with Bolters and other long-range Weaponry | Several Meters through sheer size, Kilometers with Long-range Weaponry

Standard Equipment: Auramite Power Armor, Guardian Spear, Sentinel Blade, Lastrum Storm Bolter, Praesidium Shield, Solerite Power Gauntlets & Power Talons, Adrastus Bolt Caliver, Adrathic Weaponry, Arae-Shrike, Custodes Vexilla, etc.

Intelligence: Genius (The Adeptus Custodes have an intellect enhanced far beyond that of the Astartes, combined with millennia of knowledge, combat training and experience. Their training and education renders them masters in the tenets of warfare in all its forms, as well as every method of assassination, counter-espionage, threat recognition and death dealing known to Mankind, but also in far more esoteric disciplines such as diplomacy and statecraft, astrogation and interstellar geography, history, philosophy, theosophy, artistry and countless other subjects, all of which they become masters of[46])

Weaknesses: None Notable

Note: This profile only contains stats for the average/baseline Custodian. Individual characters can possess much greater feats and subsequently rank far higher.

Gallery[]

Others[]

Notable Victories:

Notable Losses:

Inconclusive Matches:

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 The Gate of Bones; Chapter Seventeen
  2. Codex: Adeptus Custodes (9th Edition); pg 16
  3. Codex: Adeptus Custodes (8th Edition); pg 7
  4. The Master of Mankind; Chapter Sixteen
  5. Night Lords: The Omnibus
  6. Watchers of the Throne: The Emperor's Legion
  7. The Gate of Bones; Chapter Nineteen
  8. Codex: Adeptus Custodes (9th Edition); pg 88
  9. Codex: Adeptus Custodes (8th Edition); pg 6
  10. Codex: Adeptus Custodes (8th Edition); pg 6
  11. Space Marine Codex: 5th Edition; pg 11
  12. Codex: Adeptus Custodes (8th Edition); pg 37
  13. Codex: Sisters of Battle (2nd Edition); pg 13
  14. The Devastation of Baal; Chapter Twenty One
  15. Dark Imperium: Godblight; Chapter Nine
  16. The Horus Heresy Book Seven: Inferno; pg 245
  17. Dark Heresy 2nd Edition Core Rulebook; pg 151
  18. Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition); pg 100
  19. Codex: Adeptus Custodes (9th Edition); pg 16
  20. Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition); pg 52
  21. Codex: Adeptus Custodes (9th Edition); pg 97
  22. Codex: Adeptus Custodes (8th Edition); pg 40
  23. Codex: Adeptus Custodes (9th Edition); pg 88
  24. Codex: Adeptus Custodes (8th Edition); pg 42
  25. Dark Heresy 2nd Edition Core Rulebook; pg 155
  26. Watchers of the Throne: The Emperor's Legion
  27. The Master of Mankind; Chapter Sixteen
  28. Codex: Adeptus Custodes (8th Edition); pg 14
  29. Codex: Adeptus Custodes (9th Edition); pg 8
  30. Codex: Adeptus Custodes (9th Edition); pg 8
  31. Horus Heresy: Collected Visions
  32. Watchers of the Throne: The Emperor’s Legion
  33. The Gate of Bones; Chapter Twenty Five
  34. Dark Apostle; Chapter Thirteen
  35. Codex: Adeptus Custodes (9th Edition); pg 16
  36. Codex: Adeptus Custodes (8th Edition); pg 42
  37. The Master of Mankind; Chapter Eighteen
  38. Watchers of the Throne: The Emperor's Legion
  39. Battle for the Abyss; Chapter Five
  40. Imperial Armour Volume Two: Space Marines and Forces of the Inquisition; Imperial Armour pg 133
  41. The Gate of Bones; Chapter Twenty Six
  42. The Gate of Bones; Chapter Twenty Five
  43. Codex: Adeptus Custodes (8th Edition); pg 39
  44. The Master of Mankind; Chapter Sixteen
  45. Siege of Castellax; Chapter Eighteen
  46. Codex: Adeptus Custodes (9th Edition); pg 8


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