Emperor's Children: Warhammer 40K Lore Guide

Once, they were the most favored sons of the Emperor of Mankind. They alone were permitted to bear his personal eagle upon their breastplates, and they strove to be flawless in every deed, every duel and every work of art. Now the Emperor's Children are the most decadent of the Traitor Legions of the Chaos Space Marines: pallid, pierced, drug-addled warriors in lurid pink and purple armor, who hunt sensation the way other armies hunt territory, and whose screaming sonic weapons turn battle into a deafening symphony.

Their fall is a parable about perfection. A Legion that sought to be the best at everything slid, step by step, into a pursuit of excess that has no ceiling. This guide follows the III Legion from the near-extinction of its early days and the rise of Fulgrim the Phoenician, through the cursed blade of Laeran and the murder of Ferrus Manus, to the shattered warbands of the Long War and the Phoenician's return to realspace in the 42nd Millennium, which arrived alongside the Legion's 2025 tabletop release.

Emperor's Children at a Glance

Chemos and the Phoenician

The infant Fulgrim landed on Chemos, a bleak industrial world where a dwindling population labored in grim factories under a polluted sky. Life there was colorless and joyless, and the young Primarch resolved to change it. He worked his way up through the manufactories, learned everything Chemos could teach him and eventually rose to lead its society, turning a dying world into a thriving one. From the beginning, Fulgrim craved more than survival: he wanted beauty, art and excellence, and he expected the same from everyone around him.

When the Emperor arrived, Fulgrim knelt willingly, one of the few Primarchs who did so without conflict. He was given command of the III Legion, and the Phoenician, as he came to be called, set out to make it the finest in the Imperium.

The Legion of Perfection

Fulgrim's Legion had nearly died before he ever saw it. Early in the Great Crusade, a catastrophic failure of its gene-seed had ravaged the III Legion, reducing it to a few hundred warriors who fought alongside Horus's Luna Wolves while they waited for their Primarch. Fulgrim rebuilt the Legion with recruits from Chemos, and his sons grew from a remnant into a proud and effective force.

The near-extinction marked them deeply. The Emperor's Children believed they had to justify their survival through flawless conduct, and the Emperor honored them by allowing them to bear the Palatine Aquila, his personal symbol, on their armor. They became famous for precise warfare, swordsmanship and artistic achievement, and for a pride that their brother Legions found increasingly hard to stomach. Among their notable figures were the Chief Apothecary Fabius, the gifted swordsman Lucius, Lord Commander Eidolon and Captain Saul Tarvitz, a plain-spoken officer whose loyalty would outlast his Legion's.

Fulgrim's closest bond was with Ferrus Manus of the Iron Hands. The two Primarchs exchanged legendary weapons: Fulgrim forged the hammer Forgebreaker for Ferrus, and Ferrus crafted the sword Fireblade for Fulgrim. That friendship would end in one of the most shocking betrayals of the Horus Heresy.

Laeran and the Daemon Blade

The fall began on Laeran, an ocean world inhabited by the Laer, a serpentine alien race whose culture was devoted to sensation and artistic excess. The Emperor's Children destroyed the Laer, but in their temple Fulgrim found a beautiful sword and took it for himself. The blade housed a daemon of Slaanesh. Slowly, through whispers and flattery, it began to shape the Primarch's thoughts, feeding his pride and his hunger for perfection.

The Legion followed its Primarch down the same path. Experiences grew more extreme, art more transgressive, discipline more theatrical. Fabius began experimenting on his brothers to "improve" them. By the time Horus rebelled, Fulgrim was ready to follow him, and the Emperor's Children took Slaanesh as their patron. To understand the god born from the Aeldari's ancient fall, and why excess is its only law, read our complete guide to Slaanesh, and for the race that birthed it, our Aeldari lore guide.

Isstvan: Betrayal and Fratricide

At Isstvan III, Horus purged the loyalists hidden in the traitor Legions. Saul Tarvitz refused to abandon them: he went down to the surface to warn his brothers and fought beside the loyalist survivors of four Legions until the end, a stand told in the Horus Heresy novel Galaxy in Flames. Lucius, once Tarvitz's friend, chose the other side.

Before Isstvan V, Fulgrim tried to persuade Ferrus Manus to join the rebellion and failed. During the Dropsite Massacre, when the traitors turned on the loyalist landing forces, Fulgrim faced his old friend in battle and struck off his head. It was the first time one Primarch had killed another, and the deed broke something in Fulgrim. In his grief and horror, the daemon in his blade took possession of his body. The Iron Hands have hated the Emperor's Children ever since; for the loyalist Chapters who survived Isstvan, see our Space Marines lore guide.

Ascension, Excess and the Shattered Legion

Fulgrim eventually reclaimed his body and ascended as a Daemon Primarch of Slaanesh, a serpentine, many-armed being of terrible beauty. The Emperor's Children fought at the Siege of Terra, though their pursuit of sensation made them less a disciplined army than a horde of pleasure-seekers indulging in atrocities. After Horus fell, they withdrew into the Eye of Terror with the rest of the traitors, and Fulgrim departed for a daemon world of his own.

Without their Primarch, the Emperor's Children fell apart. During the Legion Wars they fought the World Eaters on Skalathrax, a battle that helped shatter both Legions. The once-proud Legion splintered into countless warbands, each chasing its own extremes, raiding across the galaxy for slaves, sensations and trophies. The Daemonettes and Keepers of Secrets of Slaanesh often join their revels; see our Chaos Daemons guide for their legions.

The Phoenician Returns: The Emperor's Children in M42

For most of the 41st Millennium, the Emperor's Children were a scattered menace with no Primarch in sight. The Great Rift and the age of the Daemon Primarchs' return changed that. Angron and Mortarion had already stalked the Era Indomitus, and Lion El'Jonson and Roboute Guilliman had returned on the loyalist side. In 2025 it was Fulgrim's turn. As Games Workshop put it when unveiling his new miniature, the Primarch had spent recent times in the Warp but was "making his grand return to realspace."

That return came with the Legion's biggest release in decades. In April 2025 the Emperor's Children became a standalone army with their own codex and a full range of new miniatures, including Fulgrim as a towering, winged, serpent-tailed Daemon Primarch armed with a perfect, straight blade inspired by the Fireblade and a twisted, curved mirror of it. As Games Workshop noted, it was his first miniature since a tiny Epic-scale model in the early 1990s. New warriors arrived alongside him: Infractors and Tormentors as the Legion's core, Flawless Blades as its elite duelists, redesigned Noise Marines, a Lord Exultant and a Lord Kakophonist, and a new version of Lucius the Eternal.

The return has also changed the Legion's place in the setting. For decades, the Emperor's Children were represented on the tabletop mostly through Noise Marines and a handful of characters within the wider Chaos Space Marines range. Today they stand beside the Death Guard, Thousand Sons and World Eaters as one of four god-specific Traitor Legions with their own army, completing the set of Daemon Primarchs dedicated to each of the Chaos Gods.

Key Characters of the Emperor's Children

• Fulgrim — the Phoenician, Daemon Primarch of Slaanesh. Vain, brilliant and utterly certain of his own perfection, he is one of the deadliest duelists in the galaxy.
• Lucius the Eternal — once a gifted swordsman of the Legion, now Slaanesh's favored champion. According to legend, anyone who kills Lucius and feels even a moment of satisfaction is slowly transformed into him, which is why his armor is covered in the screaming faces of those who tried.
• Fabius Bile — the Legion's former Chief Apothecary, a renegade geneticist who now pursues his own experiments across the galaxy rather than serving any Legion.
• Saul Tarvitz — the loyalist captain who died at Isstvan III, a reminder of what the Emperor's Children once were.

Noise Marines, Flawless Blades and Sonic Excess

Everything about an Emperor's Children warband is built for intensity.

• Noise Marines — warriors whose senses have been so overstimulated that only the loudest noise can move them. Their sonic blasters, blastmasters and doom sirens turn sound into a weapon that shatters armor and minds alike. In the Heresy era, similar warriors were known as the Kakophoni.
• Infractors and Tormentors — the two squads that form the Legion's core infantry, hyper-stimulated, combat-drug-laced warriors who chase the thrill of the hunt and the kill.
• Flawless Blades — elite duelists who seek perfection in single combat, the closest thing the modern Legion has to its old pride.
• Lords and sorcerers — Lords Exultant, Lords Kakophonist and Sorcerers of Slaanesh who lead warbands and conduct the Legion's cacophonous rites.
• Daemon engines and Terminators — Chaos Terminators in ornate, perverse plate and daemon engines such as the Maulerfiend, all dedicated to the Dark Prince.

How the Emperor's Children Play on the Tabletop

On the tabletop, the Emperor's Children are fast, precise and elite. Their identity is built on speed, lethal close combat and the sonic firepower of Noise Marines, with characters who excel at dueling enemy leaders. Since the 2025 release, they field one of the most modern model ranges among the Chaos armies, which makes them a striking project for painters who enjoy bold, unusual color schemes.

Being elite comes with a cost. With relatively few models, the army punishes poor positioning, and losing a key unit early hurts. Players who enjoy picking the right fight at the right moment get the most out of them. For a side-by-side comparison with the other Chaos and Imperial forces, see the Emperor's Children entry in our Warhammer 40K factions guide.

Emperor's Children FAQ

Why are they called the Emperor's Children?

The III Legion bore the name from the Great Crusade, reflecting its devotion to the Emperor. Its warriors were also the only Legion allowed to display the Emperor's personal eagle, the Palatine Aquila, on their armor, a sign of his favor that made their later betrayal even more bitter.

Who killed Ferrus Manus?

Fulgrim did. During the Dropsite Massacre at Isstvan V, Fulgrim beheaded Ferrus Manus, Primarch of the Iron Hands and his closest friend among his brothers. It was the first time one Primarch killed another, and the shock of it allowed the daemon in Fulgrim's sword to take control of his body.

Is Fulgrim back in Warhammer 40K?

Yes. Fulgrim returned to realspace in the 42nd Millennium, and Games Workshop released a new Fulgrim, Daemon Primarch of Slaanesh miniature in 2025 alongside the standalone Emperor's Children army and codex.

What are Noise Marines?

Noise Marines are Emperor's Children who have dulled their senses through endless excess, so that only extreme sound can still thrill them. They carry sonic weapons that emit devastating waves of noise and music, and they are among the most iconic units of the Legion.

Are the Emperor's Children a separate army from the Chaos Space Marines?

In the lore they are one of the original Traitor Legions, like the Black Legion or the Death Guard. On the tabletop they have been a standalone army since 2025, with their own codex and dedicated miniatures, rather than a subfaction of the general Chaos Space Marines.

Who is Lucius the Eternal?

Lucius was once one of the finest swordsmen of the Emperor's Children and a friend of Saul Tarvitz. After the Legion's fall he became Slaanesh's favored champion. He cannot truly die: whoever kills him and feels pride in the deed slowly becomes Lucius, while the soul of the victor joins the screaming faces on his armor.

Continue Exploring

• Warhammer 40K Factions: Complete Guide to All 29 Armies — every army, its lore and how it plays
• Chaos Space Marines — the Traitor Legions, the Black Legion and the Long War against the Imperium.
• The World Eaters — Angron's berserkers, their enemies at Skalathrax.
• The Death Guard — Mortarion's plague Legion, sworn to Nurgle.
• The Thousand Sons — Magnus's sorcerer Legion of Tzeentch.
• Slaanesh: The Dark Prince — the god of excess who claimed Fulgrim and his sons.

Name your own champion of excess with the Chaos Space Marine name generator, or browse every guide in the Warhammer 40K lore hub. To chronicle a warband's decadent crusade, Anima is free and runs in your browser with no account: a wiki, a timeline, and campaigns with a live DM screen.