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Description

The personal servants of the Primarch of the 11th Legion, Saito Musashibo Benkei, the Great Guard (Oban), are the life wards of the Primarch, sworn to protect his body with their very lives. Occasionally, members of the Great Guard would be deputized to a Legion commander to protect them and to better enact their Primarch's will.

Organization

The Great Guard is divided into three distinct orders: Horse, Escort, and Foot Guards.

The O Uma Mawari (Great Horse Guards) is the fast attack element of the Great Guard. They are masters of shock assault and hit-and-run tactics. The Legionaries in the Horse Guards ride into battle on all-terrain bikes and anti-gravity units armed with plasma and volkite weapons.

The Kojunin ( Escort Guards) are the Legion's Terminator Elite and serve as the hammer to the Horse Guard's scalpel. The Escort Guards are optimized for close-quarter engagements, as their terminator plate renders them nearly invulnerable and are often equipped for assault operations. Kojunin uses Land Raiders with anti-gravity plates to keep up with the Horse Guards.

Supporting the Escort Guard are the Foot Guards or kachi; they are organized for long-range engagements and armed with potent plasma and volkite weapons. Like the escort guards, the foot guards go into battle in Land Raiders with anti-grav plates.

At the beginning of the Great Crusade, the Great Guard comprised three double-strength companies. But, as the 11th grew in size, so did the guard, topping out at around 6,000, organized into six 1,000-man Guard companies. Guard companies are divided into Battle Companies, Demi-Companies, and squads.

Hierarchy

At the top of the Great Guard's command structure is the Captain-Commander. He is the 11th ultimate bodyguard and is considered one of the most trusted advisers. Below the Captain-Commander is the six Sub-Commanders, each analogous to a Senior Captain of a Grand Company. Under the sub-Commanders are the Guard captains and lieutenants, followed by the sergeants and the guardsmen.

Specialist Formations

Shoinban

The Shoinban (Body Guard) is responsible for defending the person of the Primarch. They are hand-picked by the Captain-Commander, who chooses his candidates based on performance in both training and battle. This honor is not permanent; a tour in the Shoinban lasts for at least ten Terran years or attrition.

Inner Guard

The Inner Guard (Koshoban) is tasked with the defense of the Legion's primary fortress of Edo castle and other installations such as Nijo castle. The commanders in charge of these strongholds are known as Jodai or castellan.

The Courier Guard

Serving as messengers and emissaries, the Courier Guard (sukai-ban) is a subunit of the Horse Guards that acts as liaisons in battle. They rode to Legion commanders in the field with verbal and written instructions that were too sensitive to be relayed over vox. The Guardsmen wore a large sashimono to increase their visibility.

Recruitment

Like all space marine legion honor guards, the Oban is the finest the 11th Legion could offer. Recruitment is straightforward and complicated. Each chapter sends candidates to the Oban from all their first- and second-line companies. Aspirants will face a series of initiation trials that vary and change with each new Captain-Commander.

Appearance

Like other elite troops of the 11th Legion, the Great Guard color their armor in an almost black shade of cyan with a dark red left pauldron with a variant gold veteran cross, the flower cross. The Oban wear bone-white helms to show their veteran status.

Unit Composition (Horse Guards)

3-10 horse guardsmen mounted in the mix of jet bikes and land speeders

1 Great Guard Sargent

Wargear

Power Armour

Volkite Serpenta or Plasma Pistol

Saber-Ax or Power Lance

Frag Grenades

Krak Grenades

Space Marine Jetbike with Volkite Charger, Land Speeder with Plasma Cannon

Optional Wargear

Multi-Melta

Plasma Cannon

Volkite Charger

Optional Wargear (Great Guard Sargent)

Hand Flamer

Power Fist

Single Lightning Claw

Melta Bombs

Horsemen’s Pick

Iron Halo (kuwagata)

Unit Composition (Escort Guards)

1 Great Guard Terminator Sargent

4-9 Great Guard Terminators

Wargear

Terminator Armour

Power Dagger-axe

Volkite Charger

Plasma Blaster

Optional Wargear

Power Fist

Volkite Cavitor

Plasma Blaster

Heavy Flamer

Conversion Beamer

Optional Wargear (Sargent Only)

Grenade Harness

Iron Halo (kuwagata)

Saber-Ax

Dedicated Transport

Land Raider Proteus or Land Raider Phobos

Dreadclaw Drop Pod

Spartan Assault Tank

Unit Composition (Foot Guard)

4-9 Foot Guardsmen

1 Great Guard Sargent

Dedicated Transport

Land Raider Proteus or Land Raider Phobos

Dreadclaw Drop Pod

Wargear

Power Armour

Master-Crafted Plasma gun or Volkite Caliver

Frag Grenades

Krak Grenades

Optional Wargear

Close Combat Weapon (Saber-Ax, Power Weapon, Lightning Claws, Plasma Pistol, Volkite Serpenta, or Power Fist)

Melta Bomb

Combi-Melta, Combi-flamer, Combi-plasma gun,or Combi-volkite

Flamer

Meltagun

Heavy Bolter

Multi-Melta

Missile Launcher

Plasma Gun

Plasma Cannon

Heavy Flamer

Lascannon

Volkite Culverin

Description

The personal servants of the Primarch of the 11th Legion, Saito Musashibo Benkei, the Great Guard (Oban), are the life wards of the Primarch, sworn to protect his body with their very lives. Occasionally, members of the Great Guard would be deputized to a Legion commander to protect them and to better enact their Primarch's will.

Organization

The Great Guard is divided into three distinct orders: Horse, Escort, and Foot Guards.

The O Uma Mawari (Great Horse Guards) is the fast attack element of the Great Guard. They are masters of shock assault and hit-and-run tactics. The Legionaries in the Horse Guards ride into battle on all-terrain bikes and anti-gravity units armed with plasma and volkite weapons.

The Kojunin ( Escort Guards) are the Legion's Terminator Elite and serve as the hammer to the Horse Guard's scalpel. The Escort Guards are optimized for close-quarter engagements, as their terminator plate renders them nearly invulnerable and are often equipped for assault operations. Kojunin uses Land Raiders with anti-gravity plates to keep up with the Horse Guards.

Supporting the Escort Guard are the Foot Guards or kachi; they are organized for long-range engagements and armed with potent plasma and volkite weapons. Like the escort guards, the foot guards go into battle in Land Raiders with anti-grav plates.

At the beginning of the Great Crusade, the Great Guard comprised three double-strength companies. But, as the 11th grew in size, so did the guard, topping out at around 6,000, organized into six 1,000-man Guard companies. Guard companies are divided into Battle Companies, Demi-Companies, and squads.

Hierarchy

At the top of the Great Guard's command structure is the Captain-Commander. He is the 11th ultimate bodyguard and is considered one of the most trusted advisers. Below the Captain-Commander is the six Sub-Commanders, each analogous to a Senior Captain of a Grand Company. Under the sub-Commanders are the Guard captains and lieutenants, followed by the sergeants and the guardsmen.

Specialist Formations

Shoinban

The Shoinban (Body Guard) is responsible for defending the person of the Primarch. They are hand-picked by the Captain-Commander, who chooses his candidates based on performance in both training and battle. This honor is not permanent; a tour in the Shoinban lasts for at least ten Terran years or attrition.

Inner Guard

The Inner Guard (Koshoban) is tasked with the defense of the Legion's primary fortress of Edo castle and other installations such as Nijo castle. The commanders in charge of these strongholds are known as Jodai or castellan.

The Courier Guard

Serving as messengers and emissaries, the Courier Guard (sukai-ban) is a subunit of the Horse Guards that acts as liaisons in battle. They rode to Legion commanders in the field with verbal and written instructions that were too sensitive to be relayed over vox. The Guardsmen wore a large sashimono to increase their visibility.

Recruitment

Like all space marine legion honor guards, the Oban is the finest the 11th Legion could offer. Recruitment is straightforward and complicated. Each chapter sends candidates to the Oban from all their first- and second-line companies. Aspirants will face a series of initiation trials that vary and change with each new Captain-Commander.

Appearance

Like other elite troops of the 11th Legion, the Great Guard color their armor in an almost black shade of cyan with a dark red left pauldron with a variant gold veteran cross, the flower cross. The Oban wear bone-white helms to show their veteran status.

Unit Composition (Horse Guards)

3-10 horse guardsmen mounted in the mix of jet bikes and land speeders

1 Great Guard Sargent

Wargear

Power Armour

Volkite Serpenta or Plasma Pistol

Saber-Ax or Power Lance

Frag Grenades

Krak Grenades

Space Marine Jetbike with Volkite Charger, Land Speeder with Plasma Cannon

Optional Wargear

Multi-Melta

Plasma Cannon

Volkite Charger

Optional Wargear (Great Guard Sargent)

Hand Flamer

Power Fist

Single Lightning Claw

Melta Bombs

Horsemen’s Pick

Iron Halo (kuwagata)

Unit Composition (Escort Guards)

1 Great Guard Terminator Sargent

4-9 Great Guard Terminators

Wargear

Terminator Armour

Power Dagger-axe

Volkite Charger

Plasma Blaster

Optional Wargear

Power Fist

Volkite Cavitor

Plasma Blaster

Heavy Flamer

Conversion Beamer

Optional Wargear (Sargent Only)

Grenade Harness

Iron Halo (kuwagata)

Saber-Ax

Dedicated Transport

Land Raider Proteus or Land Raider Phobos

Dreadclaw Drop Pod

Spartan Assault Tank

Unit Composition (Foot Guard)

4-9 Foot Guardsmen

1 Great Guard Sargent

Dedicated Transport

Land Raider Proteus or Land Raider Phobos

Dreadclaw Drop Pod

Wargear

Power Armour

Master-Crafted Plasma gun or Volkite Caliver

Frag Grenades

Krak Grenades

Optional Wargear

Close Combat Weapon (Saber-Ax, Power Weapon, Lightning Claws, Plasma Pistol, Volkite Serpenta, or Power Fist)

Melta Bomb

Combi-Melta, Combi-flamer, Combi-plasma gun,or Combi-volkite

Flamer

Meltagun

Heavy Bolter

Multi-Melta

Missile Launcher

Plasma Gun

Plasma Cannon

Heavy Flamer

Lascannon

Volkite Culverin