The Imperial Guard

Multiplayer designer Josh Long talks about development of the Imperial Guard for Dawn of War II: Retribution.  Click here for the full article.

Armed with only a lasgun and a flak jacket, the typical Imperial Guard infantryman enters the wondrous and brutal world of Warhammer 40,000 at an unmistakable disadvantage. Giant robots and godlike beings roam a battlefield full of psychics and terrifying technologies. Fighting is not a choice however; as foul xenos encroach on the beleaguered Imperium of humanity, the Imperial Guard are most often the first and only line of defense.

Inception - How we made the Imperial Guard

We set about researching the newest race for translation from tabletop to the Dawn of War II universe. Various sources were consulted, from codex and official fiction to general opinions around the office and those of avid Imperial Guard tabletop players here at Relic. While there were numerous interesting aspects to this new faction history had shown (dating back to the original Dawn of War) that many of our preferred race designs had benefitted from focusing on one or two key themes. It’s all too easy to get caught up trying to include every neat detail that make a 40k race special.  We had to pick our battles and choose the strongest elements on which to focus and polish.    In some ways the Imperial Guard lack the outlandish flash that makes Warhammer 40,000 so distinct from other sci-fi universes. They’re not superhuman like Space Marines, nor are they championed by 20 ft daemonic abominations like Chaos. They’re not particularly psychic, nor do they possess elegant technology like the Eldar. Orks are funny when they talk, and love a good fight.

All this culminated into one simple question : What makes the Imperial Guard cool? ...more.