Regimental Doctrines
Although there is a great deal of standardisation within the Imperial Guard there are many regimental traditions and skills peculiar to their homeworld that make many regiments slightly different. It is this universal diversity that produces the myriad of different colours and flavours of Imperial Guard troopers and regiments, and to allow players to use the army list to produce their own specialised regiments we have introduced a system called 'Doctrines'.
Doctrines are variations in training and organisation that have an effect on the way a regiment fights. They are only relevant if you want your army to represent a particular regiment with minimal external support. Using the full list without Doctrines is always a valid option and is perfectly representative of any number of regiments from Cadian Shock Troops to Catachan Jungle Fighters to Drookian Fen Troopers.
If you want to use Doctrines, the procedure is quite simple:
- You are allowed five Doctrine points to define your regiment's specialisations. You do not have to use all five but there is no benefit in using less.
- All unit entries shown under the Restricted Troops heading below are unavailable, unless you 'buy back' these troops with some of your five Doctrine points.
- Doctrine points can also be expended to give the regiment a different alternate organisational structure, skills, drills and special equipment.
- Purchase of some Doctrines may increase the basic costs associated with the various troop types.
Unless specifically stated, Doctrines cannot be taken more than once and never 'stack' in any way. Doctrines cannot be used by troops who are allied to the Imperial Guard army, such as indentured Imperial Guard in an inquisitorial allied contingent.
On the Famous Regiments page we have included some famous regiments and the Doctrines which represent their typical organisation in battle. You will notice that some regiments may have more than five Doctrines; this is a reflection of their glorious history. In practice five Doctrines is plenty to give a regiment a distinctive slant. Again, there is no requirement to use the Doctrines rules for fielding any particular regiment.
Doctrines are spread across four broad categories: Restricted Troops, Alternate Regimental Organisation, Skills and Drills and Special Equipment.
Guard Infantry
In several of the following Doctrine descriptions, the term Guard Infantry unit is used. In this context, the definition includes any command squad along with its Officer and any attached advisors, Anti-tank squads, Fire Support squads, Special Weapons squads (if the regiment may use them), Mortar squads, Hardened Veteran squads, normal Infantry Platoon squads and Armoured Fist squads.
Errata — Chapter Approved: Codex: Imperial Guard Q&A (v1.0): Where a Doctrine gives a single points cost "for Guard Infantry," that cost covers a command squad and any advisors attached to it as one lump sum — it is not paid separately per attached Commissar, Priest, or Sanctioned Psyker. Any reference elsewhere to "Infantry" in a Doctrine (rather than specifically "Infantry Platoons") should be read using this same broad 'Guard Infantry' definition. Storm Troopers do not cost a Doctrine point on their own — they're Imperial troops assigned to a regiment, so fielding them (via the Storm Trooper squads Restricted Troops choice) and taking the separate Grenadiers Doctrine (elite members of the same regiment, fielded as Troops) are independent choices; you don't need one to get the other. Inducted Imperial Guard fielded in a Daemonhunters army may not use Doctrines at all. An Imperial Guard army that has Daemonhunters as allies can still use its own Doctrines normally — it's only the allied Daemonhunters contingent that cannot. Beyond the specific restrictions the Codex itself lists (eg the Kroot exception), allies for a DIY Imperial Guard army are only permitted by special arrangement with your opponent, or where a Codex explicitly details the option.
Restricted Troops
The first category of Doctrines allows the regiment to select Restricted Troops. If you do not select a troop type as a Restricted Unit Doctrine then you may not include them in your army. Each of the entries listed on the right that you wish to use will take up one of your available Doctrine choices. Selecting any of these Doctrines will allow you to select the army list entry specified. The choices made say a lot about the world on which your regiment was recruited: Ratling and Ogryn squads imply a tolerance for abhumans that is not that commonplace as well as the existence of a community of these creatures on or close to the regiment's home world, Enginseers are representative of close ties to the Adeptus Mechanicus, Conscript platoons denote a heavily populated or highly militarised world, and so on.
For example, in the Death Korps of Krieg, infantry regiments are often closely supported by the Death Riders, a local form of Rough Rider mounted on cybernetically-altered steeds. If you wanted to use Doctrines to define the Death Korps then you would start by selecting the Rough Rider Doctrine to allow you to field units of Death Riders.
This Doctrine may be taken more than once to allow access to several Restricted troop types.
Restricted Troops
- Priests
- Techpriest Enginseers
- Sanctioned Psykers
- Storm Trooper squads
- Ratling squads
- Ogryn squads
- Special Weapon squads
- Conscript Platoons
- Rough Rider squadrons
- Heavy Weapon platoons
You will note that there are ten restricted troop types on the list so with only five Doctrines at your disposal a regiment designed using Doctrines will always be slightly more restrictive than armies designed using the full list. This is counterbalanced by the alternate organisations and the skills and drills listed below which can only be used by a regiment designed using the Doctrines system.