For many hobbyists drawn to the sprawling universe of Warhammer 40,000, the lure is simple: gather your models, place them on the battlefield, and fight. The spectacle of armored tanks grinding forward, squads of infantry clashing under the shadow of titanic machines, and alien horrors ripping into humanity’s defenders is enough for many. But beneath the dice rolls, the painted miniatures, and the tactical maneuvers lies something deeper: the lore.
The phrase that has defined the game for decades sets the tone instantly: “In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war.” It’s a brutal, unflinching statement. Yet if one were to leave it at that, with no reasons, no stories, and no sense of the humanity or tragedy behind the endless battles, the universe would risk being shallow. That is why for countless players, the stories behind their armies matter just as much as the battles themselves.
Why Lore Shapes the Hobby
Lore breathes life into the miniatures on the table. A line of plastic soldiers becomes more than simply models when you know where they come from, what they believe, and what drives them forward. An army ceases to be a mere collection of painted figures and transforms into a living extension of a fictional culture, carrying with it grudges, glories, and histories.
Every time an Imperial Guard regiment deploys, one might ask: who are these men and women? Did they grow up in towering hive cities choked by smog, or pastoral worlds where the Emperor’s light is spoken of with reverence in every household? Do they fight with desperation, with zeal, or simply out of grim acceptance? Lore answers these questions, and in answering, makes each battle richer.
Building Identity in the Immaterium
Warhammer 40,000 thrives because it invites its players to not only participate in the tactical game but to act as world-builders. Each painted figure, each converted model, each regiment named by a player is an act of creation that mirrors the larger process of myth-making. Just as the fictional Imperium records its countless regimental histories across millennia of war, so too do players create their own regiments, fleets, or chapters.
This process does more than deepen personal enjoyment; it creates identity. A player who fields Jericho’s Favored does not simply push miniatures across the battlefield — they are re-enacting the deeds of soldiers from a grim mining world, hardened by loss and bound by vengeance. The dice rolls become not merely chance but fate, as the imagined history of the regiment unfolds with each victory or defeat.
The Role of Roleplay in Warhammer
Though the setting is dominated by the clash of armies, Warhammer 40,000 shares much with roleplaying. Even for those who never sit at a table rolling for initiative in a traditional RPG, the act of giving one’s army a backstory is inherently roleplay. It is storytelling woven into gameplay.
One does not simply say “these are guardsmen with lasguns.” Instead, one might say: “These soldiers are Jericho’s Favored, the pride of a storm-wracked industrial world. Their fathers and mothers were miners and manufacturing workers, their lungs blackened by the ash of their planet. Yet when the Dark Eldar raided their home, killing thousands and dragging tens of thousands into slavery, the survivors swore never to forget. Every Eldar corpse they leave on the battlefield is an offering to the memory of those taken.”
That difference is immense. Suddenly, a regiment is not faceless — it has motivation. Each action on the tabletop is a continuation of the story, a small chapter added to a larger narrative arc.
Tradition of Custom Armies
The creation of background fluff is not new. Since the early days of the hobby, players have been encouraged to imagine the backstories of their Space Marine Chapters, Ork warbands, Eldar craftworlds, and Guard regiments. Games Workshop itself provided tools for this through codices, narrative missions, and novels, but players were always free to expand upon what existed.
Entire communities have sprung up around sharing army lore, painting schemes, and stories. Some armies, first imagined in the mind of a single hobbyist, have become well-known within wider circles due to the richness of their histories. These efforts remind us that Warhammer 40,000 is not simply a game, but a collaborative mythos where players contribute as much as official writers.
Jericho’s Favored and the Power of Storytelling
Against this backdrop, the tale of Jericho’s Favored emerges. Born of a desire not just to collect and paint miniatures but to give them purpose, this regiment embodies the importance of lore. Their world, Jericho III, is not just a dot on a map; it is a mining and industrial planet with blackened skies and bitter people hardened by centuries of exploitation and attack. Their history is stained by Eldar raids, and their legacy entwined with the near-extinction of the Celestial Lions Chapter.
This background sets the stage for everything that follows. Jericho’s Favored fight not merely because the Imperium demands it, but because their story compels them. Each battle they take part in on the tabletop becomes a reflection of that deeper narrative, and for the player who fields them, it ensures that every model, every painted boot and lasgun, feels alive with meaning.
Beyond Battles: Living the Hobby
For those who dedicate time to crafting such histories, the reward extends far beyond the table. The painting desk becomes a shrine of storytelling, where colors chosen for uniforms reflect cultural traditions, and insignia painted on shoulder pads symbolize centuries of remembered pain. The process of naming officers, deciding why Commissars are so prevalent, or imagining the harsh training that stormtroopers endure enriches the connection to the army.
Even defeats on the tabletop become part of the narrative. If Jericho’s Favored are outflanked and crushed by Eldar forces during a game, the player does not simply record a loss. They imagine the searing rage of a regiment reliving their planet’s torment, vowing vengeance. In this way, the game evolves into a living chronicle, and the models into characters within it.
The World of Jericho III
To understand Jericho’s Favored, one must first understand the world that birthed them. In the universe of Warhammer 40,000, planets are more than backdrops. They are crucibles where billions of lives are shaped by harsh conditions, political pressures, and the endless needs of the Imperium. Jericho III is no exception. This industrial and mining world stands as both a fortress and a scar, its history tied to the survival of its people and the legacy of their Space Marine guardians, the Celestial Lions.
A Place in the Stars
Jericho III lies within the Spartus Sector of Segmentum Tempestus, an area marked by constant military demands and the unrelenting pull of the Imperium’s wars. It is the third world in the Jericho system, a cluster of seven planets that orbit their star like links in a chain of industry. While records of the system’s first compliance are fragmented, it is believed that the Emperor’s Great Crusade brought Jericho into the fold during the dying centuries of M31.
From orbit, the planet is a patchwork of dark continents and grey seas. Great smog clouds drift over its surface, churned from endless manufactoria and strip mines. Hive cities glimmer faintly beneath the clouds, their towering spires piercing upward like needles through ash. Jericho III is a world of function, a world where beauty has been long forgotten, sacrificed to the demands of ore, industry, and the Imperium’s unceasing hunger for resources.
The Environment of Jericho III
Despite its appearance, Jericho III’s surface is not entirely hostile. Average temperatures hover near 20 degrees Celsius, with broad shallow seas covering slightly more than half the planet. Yet what could have been a fertile and habitable world has been scarred by centuries of industrial activity.
The ground itself is stained black, its soil rich in pollutants, hostile to most plant life. Only stubborn weeds and fungus cling to existence here, eking out survival in cracks and ruins. Forests are absent, grasslands reduced to memories, and agriculture is impossible without extensive technology. Food imports are necessary for survival, arriving in vast convoys from Jericho II, the agricultural sibling of the system. This dependence creates tension, as any disruption to the convoys can trigger famine within weeks.
The skies are rarely clear. Smoke, ash, and toxins veil the horizon, a perpetual twilight that hangs over mining towns and manufactoria alike. The air is thick, often unsafe to breathe without filters in heavily industrialized regions. In the high mountains, however, the skies clear. Here the air is crisp, the peaks capped with snow, and the Celestial Lions have claimed their fortress monasteries above the clouds.
Hive Cities and Urbanization
Twelve great hive cities dominate Jericho III, each rising like vast cathedrals of steel and stone from the blackened plains. These hives serve as both population centers and engines of production, their upper spires home to the privileged few while the lower levels drown in poverty, crime, and industrial decay.
Life within a hive is harsh. Millions toil daily in manufactoria, crafting arms, armor, and ammunition for the wars of the Imperium. Others work in the refining of ores drawn from the planet’s crust and neighboring moons. The rhythm of hive life is dictated by sirens and schedules, the endless churn of production overriding personal freedom.
Among the hives, Canaan is of particular note. Not only does it serve as one of the largest industrial centers, but it also houses a Commissarial training school. Here, future political officers of the Imperial Guard are forged in an environment that combines rigid discipline, ideological indoctrination, and ruthless competition. For Jericho’s Favored, this presence ensures that Commissars are ever present, guiding and watching over every regiment raised from the planet.
Outside the hives, countless smaller towns and villages spread across the plains. These mining settlements, often bleak clusters of housing surrounding yawning pits, provide the ores that fuel the manufactoria. Life here is little easier than in the hives, but it is quieter, marked by the eternal grind of mining machines rather than the roar of factories.
Economy and Industry
The economy of Jericho III revolves almost entirely around mining and industry. Ores extracted from the planet’s crust are refined into metals and shipped to forges across the Imperium. Neighboring moons, rich in additional mineral wealth, provide further resources.
Industrial production is equally vital. The world churns out countless arms and munitions: lasguns, ammunition packs, artillery shells, and armor plating. Jericho III’s manufactoria are part of the vast machine that sustains the Imperial Guard across Segmentum Tempestus. Yet despite this output, the planet remains dependent on imports. With agriculture impossible, food must arrive from Jericho II, as well as shipments of rare supplies and advanced machinery from other systems.
The discovery of strange green crystals in recent centuries has added a new dimension to the planet’s industry. Towering formations, some the size of hive spires, have emerged from the black soil. Their purpose and origin remain unknown, though Mechanicus expeditions have begun harvesting them for study. The crystals are said to emit faint radiation and hum with alien energy, but details are scarce. Rumors spread among miners that the crystals are cursed, linked to xenos or even the warp, but official reports deny such claims.
The Celestial Lions’ Presence
The Celestial Lions Space Marine Chapter casts a long shadow over Jericho III. Though nearly destroyed during the Third War for Armageddon, the survivors claimed the planet as their stronghold. From their mountain fortresses, they recruit aspirants from among the populace, offering a rare chance at glory.
The chapter’s relationship with Jericho III is complex. On one hand, their presence offers protection and pride; on the other, it fosters fear. The Inquisition has long been suspicious of the Lions, and many citizens fear retribution for sheltering them. Nonetheless, the Lions remain a symbol of defiance, their golden armor a reminder of survival against impossible odds.
For those who aspire to join their ranks, the trials are brutal. Few succeed, but those who fail often find themselves redirected into the stormtrooper battalions of the Jericho Special Forces. In this way, even rejection becomes a path to military service, ensuring that the planet’s martial culture is fed by the chapter’s influence.
Culture and Daily Life
The people of Jericho III are shaped by hardship. Generations of labor in polluted hives and mines have hardened them, instilling resilience, discipline, and a grim outlook. Hope is rare, replaced by faith in the Emperor and loyalty to survival.
Religious devotion is strong, fostered by the Ecclesiarchy’s ever-present shrines and sermons. The memory of the Dark Eldar raid of 694.M39 has only deepened this faith. The massacre of thousands and the enslavement of tens of thousands more scarred the planet, embedding a cultural hatred for all Eldar. Children are raised on stories of the raid, taught that vengeance against xenos is a sacred duty.
Life in the hives is hierarchical. The upper spires house overseers, Administratum officials, and military officers, while the lower levels teem with workers, criminals, and the destitute. Corruption is common, but Commissarial oversight and Ecclesiarchal presence maintain order through fear and devotion.
Family life is fragile, often secondary to the demands of work shifts. Children are commonly raised in communal facilities, their education oriented toward service to the Imperium. For many, the only escape from the cycle of labor is enlistment in the Guard, which promises not only rations and pay but also the honor of serving the Emperor directly.
Military Identity
Jericho III’s contribution to the Imperial Guard is shaped by its environment. Its regiments, collectively known as Jericho’s Favored, carry the weight of their planet’s culture. Grey uniforms and black armor mirror the color of their world’s soil and skies, while the blue piping of officers reflects both tradition and the influence of the Commissarial school.
The hatred of the Eldar permeates their doctrine. Veterans recount the atrocities of the raid, and training emphasizes xenos warfare. Units take grim satisfaction in fighting Eldar foes, seeing such battles not merely as duty but as justice. Commissars encourage this zeal, framing every encounter as a chance to avenge the dead and redeem the enslaved.
The stormtrooper battalions, drawn from failed Space Marine aspirants, add elite power to Jericho’s forces. These troops, drilled with ruthless efficiency, embody the martial pride of the planet. Together with the regular Guardsmen, they create regiments both disciplined and ferocious, marked by an unyielding resolve.
Symbolism of Jericho
Planets in Warhammer 40,000 are characters in their own right. Jericho III is no exception. It symbolizes resilience amid ruin, survival amid exploitation, and vengeance amid oppression. Its polluted skies and barren soil reflect the cost of industry, while its people embody the strength that arises from such hardship.
The presence of the Celestial Lions adds a mythic layer, a reminder of survival against near-genocide. The scars of the Eldar raid remind its citizens that their suffering has purpose — to fuel their hatred and their faith. For the Imperial Guard regiments it raises, Jericho III is not simply a birthplace; it is a brand, burned into their identity forever.
The Making of Jericho’s Favored
The men and women of the Imperial Guard are countless, drawn from a million worlds across the Imperium. Each regiment is shaped by the world that raised it, and every regiment carries with it the imprint of its culture, history, and scars. Among these legions, Jericho’s Favored stand apart as the product of a world marked by pollution, vengeance, and survival. They are soldiers forged in the furnaces of their hive cities and the shadows of their mountain fortresses, molded by Commissars, hardened by tragedy, and forever driven by their hatred of the Eldar.
Origins of the Regiment
Imperial Guard regiments are not raised casually. To found a regiment requires authorization from the Departmento Munitorum, the colossal bureaucracy that organizes the military strength of the Imperium. Jericho III’s long tradition of service ensured its eligibility, but it was tragedy that cemented the planet’s role as a source of soldiers.
The Dark Eldar raid of 694.M39, in which thousands were killed and tens of thousands enslaved, created a wound that never healed. To rebuild morale, the Munitorum ordered the creation of new regiments drawn directly from the survivors’ descendants. These regiments were intended to channel grief and anger into loyalty and martial pride. Thus, Jericho’s Favored were born, named not for privilege or wealth but for the grim honor of serving as their planet’s chosen defenders.
Their title, “Favored,” is both ironic and symbolic. To be favored by Jericho III is to inherit its hardships: lungs filled with ash, bodies hardened by labor, and minds scarred by stories of loss. It is a favor bestowed through suffering, and one that binds every Guardsman of Jericho’s Favored to their world and its vengeance.
Recruitment and Training
The regiment’s recruitment begins early. Children in Jericho’s hives and mining towns are raised with military discipline. Schooling emphasizes loyalty to the Emperor, hatred of the alien, and obedience to authority. Physical endurance tests are common, preparing them for the strains of war.
Those who show exceptional promise are often tested by the Celestial Lions’ recruiters. Only a handful ever ascend to the ranks of the Adeptus Astartes, but many more fall short. These aspirants, already hardened by grueling trials, are funneled into the Jericho Special Forces stormtrooper program. For the rest, conscription into the regular Guard is almost inevitable.
Training is relentless. Recruits are marched through the wastes, forced to endure polluted air without respirators, and drilled in hive combat until exhaustion claims them. Commissarial officers oversee every step, ensuring that discipline is absolute and that faith is never forgotten. Failure is not tolerated. Those who falter in training are given two options: death, or reassignment to penal units where survival is unlikely. Such harsh measures ensure that only the strongest enter Jericho’s Favored, and that fear of failure is burned into their souls.
The Commissarial Presence
Perhaps the most defining feature of Jericho’s Favored is the omnipresent Commissariat. Unlike many regiments where Commissars are occasional figures, Jericho III maintains a Commissarial training academy within Hive Canaan. As a result, every regiment raised from the planet is steeped in Commissarial oversight.
For Guardsmen, this means the gaze of a political officer is always upon them. Commissars ensure morale, crush dissent, and drive discipline into every soldier. They preach faith in the Emperor, glorify sacrifice, and punish cowardice with immediate execution. In Jericho’s Favored, this oversight creates an army both disciplined and zealous, their loyalty not just to the Imperium but to the Emperor’s ideals as framed by the Commissariat.
Officers often find themselves balancing the practicalities of command with the ideological demands of their Commissarial counterparts. Yet over centuries, this dual command has become normalized. For the men and women of Jericho’s Favored, Commissars are not just feared overseers — they are part of the regiment’s very identity.
Uniforms and Symbols
The appearance of Jericho’s Favored reflects their world. Standard uniforms are grey, the color of the planet’s ash-stained soil and smoke-filled skies. Black leather boots and body armor add to the somber tone, creating an image of grim functionality.
Officers bear a touch of distinction in the form of blue piping around their wrists, a subtle nod to the Commissarial academy in Canaan, which incorporates blue into its heraldry. Regimental numbers are worn with pride, identifying units within the larger structure of the Guard.
Insignia often feature motifs tied to the planet’s history. Skulls, chains, and stylized crystals — inspired by the strange green formations discovered across Jericho III — appear on banners and shoulder plates. Some units even mark their armor with tally marks, recording Eldar kills as a grim reminder of their eternal vendetta.
The Stormtrooper Tradition
Among Jericho’s forces, the stormtrooper battalions hold special prestige. Formed largely from aspirants who failed the trials of the Celestial Lions, these elite troops retain a measure of the pride and martial culture of the Space Marines.
Stormtroopers are trained to operate independently, carrying out surgical strikes, deep infiltration, and shock assaults. Their armor is darker than that of regular Guardsmen, often customized with additional plating and advanced equipment. Their discipline and skill make them a crucial asset, often deployed in the most dangerous operations.
For many citizens of Jericho III, service in the stormtroopers is the highest attainable honor. To fail the trials of the Lions but still serve as one of Jericho’s finest warriors is considered a mark of resilience, a reminder that even rejection can be reforged into glory.
Hatred of the Eldar
No element of Jericho’s Favored is more defining than their hatred of the Eldar. The massacre and enslavement inflicted by the Dark Eldar left a cultural scar passed down across generations. Families tell the story of the raid as though it happened yesterday, ensuring that each new recruit grows up steeped in bitterness.
This hatred manifests in doctrine and battlefield behavior. When facing Eldar forces, Jericho’s Favored fight with unmatched ferocity, often ignoring tactical withdrawals in their zeal to destroy their hated enemy. Commissars encourage this behavior, framing it as righteous vengeance.
Propaganda reinforces the vendetta. Training exercises regularly include simulations of Eldar attacks, and victory parades often feature displays of captured or destroyed xenos technology. For Jericho’s Favored, every Eldar killed is more than a military achievement — it is a personal and cultural act of justice.
Regimental Structure
Jericho’s Favored follow the standard organization of the Astra Militarum, but with local variations. Commissars are more numerous, often attached not only to command staff but to individual companies. This creates an environment where discipline is absolute and faith constantly reinforced.
Stormtrooper detachments are integrated directly into the regiments rather than serving as separate formations, allowing for combined operations. These units often spearhead assaults, supported by the rank-and-file Guardsmen.
Artillery and armored divisions are drawn from the planet’s manufactoria, which produce tanks and heavy weapons alongside infantry equipment. Jericho’s factories may not rival the forges of Armageddon or Cadia, but they provide enough to ensure that their regiments march to war with formidable firepower.
Battlefield Character
On the battlefield, Jericho’s Favored are known for their grim determination. They advance methodically, supported by artillery barrages and stormtrooper strikes. Their discipline allows them to hold lines even under immense pressure, while their Commissars ensure that retreat is unthinkable.
Against Eldar foes, their ferocity borders on recklessness. They are willing to accept heavy casualties to secure vengeance, their zeal blinding them to tactical concerns. While this can lead to devastating losses, it also makes them unpredictable opponents, capable of overwhelming enemies through sheer fury.
Their resilience has earned them respect among other Imperial forces. Commanders value their discipline, while fellow Guardsmen admire their willingness to endure hardships without complaint. Yet their zealotry and Commissarial oversight make them less flexible than some regiments, and their single-minded hatred of the Eldar can sometimes cloud strategic judgment.
The Human Cost
Behind their discipline and fury lies the human reality of Jericho’s Favored. They are not unfeeling machines but men and women who have known loss since childhood. Every Guardsman carries the weight of a poisoned world, the shadow of the Celestial Lions, and the memory of the Dark Eldar raid.
Letters home are filled with references to vengeance, faith, and endurance. Soldiers often mark their armor with the names of family members lost in the raid, or carve prayers into their weapons. For them, death in service to the Emperor is not only a duty but a release — a chance to finally join those who were taken.
Legacy and Warfare of Jericho’s Favored
The soldiers of Jericho III, known across the Imperium as Jericho’s Favored, are not simply another number in the endless roll call of the Astra Militarum. They are the embodiment of their planet’s pain, pride, and defiance. Every lasgun they raise, every trench they dig, and every enemy they bring low adds to a legacy carved into the blackened soil of their home world. To understand their place in the grim darkness of the 41st millennium, one must see not just their formation, but the long shadow they cast on the battlefields of the galaxy.
War Without End
The history of Jericho’s Favored is not a tidy chronicle of victories and defeats. It is a tapestry of endless deployments, scattered across countless campaigns. The Imperium’s wars are as vast as its territory, and the regiments raised on Jericho III have fought in conflicts stretching from neighboring sectors to distant crusades in Segmentum Tempestus.
Records note their early deployments against orks along the fringe of the Spartus Sector. These wars of attrition tested their endurance, forcing Guardsmen raised in hive streets to adapt to open plains choked with spores and alien savagery. It was here that their reputation for holding the line began. Entire companies were lost to ork charges, but the regiments never broke, standing firm until reinforcements arrived or artillery fire turned the tide.
Later campaigns placed them against traitor forces of Chaos, where their Commissarial oversight became invaluable. The whispers of heresy, always dangerous in warzones touched by the warp, were ruthlessly silenced. Jericho’s Favored endured the horrors of daemonic incursions with the same grim acceptance they carried into every battle, their faith in the Emperor reinforced by the sermons of their ever-present Commissars.
Yet it is against the Eldar, both Craftworld and Dark Kin, that their legend is most deeply written. Every clash with xenos forces is fought with unmatched ferocity. Jericho’s Favored refuse surrender when Eldar are involved, their hatred eclipsing all other considerations. Victories are celebrated with solemn rituals, defeats remembered as sacred debts to be repaid in blood.
Campaigns of Note
Several campaigns have etched Jericho’s Favored into regimental lore. Among them:
The Defense of Myrval IX – A barren mining colony, Myrval IX came under attack by Dark Eldar raiders. Jericho’s Favored, still haunted by the raid on their own home centuries earlier, fought with savage determination. Entire platoons sacrificed themselves to hold choke points, buying time for evacuation ships to flee. Though casualties were appalling, the regiment saved nearly half the colony’s population from enslavement. Survivors claimed the Guardsmen fought “as if the Emperor Himself watched them,” their fury so fierce that even the Dark Eldar hesitated.
The Ferris Rift Crusade – Deployed alongside several other Imperial Guard regiments and a Titan legion, Jericho’s Favored fought against heretical forces entrenched within a cluster of warp-tainted systems. The campaign lasted decades, and though victory was eventually declared, the price was staggering. Jericho’s Favored left behind more dead than living. Those who returned bore scars not only of battle but of constant Commissarial purges, as suspicion of corruption ran rampant. Yet their resolve never faltered, and their discipline earned them the respect of their allies.
The Cleansing of Ythariel’s Gate – A war fought directly against Craftworld Eldar who sought to manipulate a webway portal in Imperial space. Jericho’s Favored were deployed as the spearhead, storming fortified alien positions with artillery support and stormtrooper strikes. Though they suffered crippling losses, their relentless advance forced the Eldar to withdraw. The victory was celebrated on Jericho III as divine vengeance, with banners raised in every hive city to commemorate the slaughter of their most hated foe.
Regimental Memory and Myth
The survival of a regiment depends as much on memory as on numbers. For Jericho’s Favored, this memory is carefully cultivated through ritual and tradition. Before battle, soldiers gather to hear sermons recounting the Dark Eldar raid on Jericho III. Names of the slain are recited, their spirits invoked as witnesses to the coming fight.
Veterans tell stories around dim fires in trench lines, recounting past battles with a mix of pride and bitterness. Each story reinforces the identity of the regiment: unyielding, vengeful, and faithful. Symbols carved into armor, tally marks of Eldar slain, and whispered prayers all become part of the living myth.
This regimental culture ensures that every soldier sees themselves as part of a larger whole. Their deaths are not wasted but added to the endless chain of sacrifice stretching back to their planet’s scarred history. It is this sense of continuity that keeps them fighting when others might break.
The Human Face of War
Despite their discipline and ferocity, Jericho’s Favored remain human. They bleed, suffer, and die like all Guardsmen. Letters carried back to Jericho III speak of exhaustion, of longing for home, and of the crushing weight of endless war. Parents who send their children to the Guard know they may never see them again, but they take pride in their service. To die in the Emperor’s name is considered a holy duty, and families often display regimental banners over their homes in memory of the fallen.
For individual soldiers, survival is a constant struggle. Trenches reek of blood and filth, barracks are cramped and suffocating, and every battle brings the likelihood of death. Yet among comrades, bonds form that are stronger than steel. Soldiers fight not only for vengeance or the Emperor but for the man or woman beside them. In this way, Jericho’s Favored embodies the paradox of the Imperial Guard: ordinary people made extraordinary by circumstance, bound together by shared suffering.
Legacy Within the Imperium
Within the vast bureaucracy of the Munitorum, Jericho’s Favored are but a number. Yet among those who have fought beside them, their reputation is enduring. Other regiments respect their discipline and ferocity, though some whisper that their hatred of the Eldar blinds them to strategy. Commissars from other worlds often study at Canaan’s academy, learning from the methods that keep the regiment so tightly bound to faith and duty.
The Adeptus Astartes, particularly the Celestial Lions, regard them with a measure of respect. Though Guardsmen can never match the might of a Space Marine, Jericho’s Favored represent the resilience of humanity that the Lions themselves swore to protect. In times of dire need, the Lions have fought alongside their homeworld’s regiments, and though they rarely acknowledge it openly, they see in Jericho’s Favored the echo of their own near-annihilation: survival against impossible odds.
The Role of Storytelling
Beyond the battlefields of the 41st millennium, Jericho’s Favored exist in the imagination of the hobbyist who created them. Their story illustrates why lore matters in Warhammer 40,000. Without narrative, an army is a collection of miniatures. With narrative, it becomes a living thing, tied to a world, a history, and a legacy.
For those who play, the story enriches every game. Victories and defeats on the tabletop become chapters in a saga. A crushing loss to Eldar is no longer just a tally mark in a log but another scar in the regiment’s vendetta. A triumph against Chaos becomes proof of their unbreakable discipline. The narrative transforms dice rolls into fate, models into heroes, and battles into legends.
The galaxy of Warhammer 40,000 is one of despair and endless war, yet within it, stories like that of Jericho’s Favored create meaning. They show that even in a universe consumed by darkness, humanity endures. Worlds like Jericho III continue to send their sons and daughters into the fire, and regiments like Jericho’s Favored continue to carve out their legacy.
This legacy matters because it reflects the truth of the setting: that the Imperium survives not through the deeds of demigods alone, but through the sacrifices of countless ordinary soldiers. Jericho’s Favored are faceless to the galaxy at large, but to those who know their story, they are unforgettable.
Final Thoughts
When I first sat down to sketch out the identity of my Imperial Guard regiment, I didn’t know just how deep I would go. What began as a simple exercise in naming a force and choosing a uniform soon unraveled into something much larger — a living history, a culture, a legacy. Jericho’s Favored became not only an army to place on the tabletop but a story that binds every miniature, every dice roll, and every battle together.
The grim universe of Warhammer 40,000 can often feel overwhelming. Its scale is vast, its factions innumerable, and its themes relentlessly dark. Yet within that immensity, there is a quiet beauty in focusing on something small, something personal. A single regiment, a single world, a single story. Through that lens, the endless war becomes meaningful. Jericho’s Favored are not just nameless troops in grey and black; they are people of a scarred planet, driven by vengeance, bound by duty, and shaped by tragedy.
Across the four parts of this chronicle, I’ve explored their origins on Jericho III, the harsh environment that molds them, the structure of their military life, and the long campaigns that cement their reputation. Each detail adds another brushstroke to the canvas, until a clearer picture emerges. And in doing so, I’ve come to appreciate the value of storytelling in this hobby even more.
For some, Warhammer is about strategy, rules, and the thrill of victory. For others, it’s about painting, modeling, and the joy of creation. For me, it’s about narrative — about making sure that when I place Jericho’s Favored on the table, I know who they are, why they fight, and what they’ve already endured in the Emperor’s name. That knowledge changes everything. A lost battle is no longer just bad dice; it becomes another chapter of sacrifice. A win is not just a tally mark but a hard-earned triumph in a saga that stretches back millennia.
In the end, that is why I took the time to write all this down. Jericho’s Favored are my own contribution to the endless tapestry of the 41st millennium. They may not be famous in the wider lore, but they matter in the story I tell with my games, my models, and my imagination. And perhaps that is the greatest strength of this setting — that every hobbyist can carve out a corner of the galaxy and make it their own.
So as I gather my minis, paint their grey uniforms, and prepare them for battle, I carry with me not just an army but a history. Jericho’s Favored march across the stars with me, their legacy woven into every campaign I play. In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war — but there is also story, and it is through story that the war becomes more than endless destruction. It becomes something we can invest in, something we can cherish, and something we can share.
That, to me, is the true reward of creating background for an army: the transformation of models into characters, dice rolls into destiny, and a hobby into a saga. And with Jericho’s Favored, that saga has only just begun.