13th Penal Legion
GW canon
Category
Regiment
Description
Unlike ordinary penal legions the unit is not squandered as cannon fodder but used for far-reaching suicide missions that Schaeffer undertakes on behalf of the Inquisition. His great age and these connections suggest that he has already raised several successive “13th Penal Legions”, each for its own purposes.
Their story is told above all from the perspective of Lieutenant Kage. In “13th Legion” he fights with the legion against Orks, Eldar and Chaos; in “Kill Team” Schaeffer fetches him from prison to kill a T'au general. “Annihilation Squad” takes the band, shrunk to some thirty men and women and largely made up of new recruits, into the Third War for Armageddon, where Kage drags the traitor von Strab to his death in Hive Acheron and is himself presumed dead. Only “Armageddon Saint” (2019) reveals that he survived and gathered a following, until he allies himself with Schaeffer once more. The Last Chancers are known from Gav Thorpe's novels and from a range of 1990s metal miniatures with their own rules.
Arm of service
Penal regiments
Additional Information
Homeworld
No fixed homeworld — most of its members are hand-picked by Colonel Schaeffer from Imperial prisons and penal camps across the entire galaxy; a few random transfers join them
Nickname
“Last Chancers” — the last chance of a pardon
Specialisation
A penal legion that, unlike ordinary Penal Legions, is not squandered as cannon fodder but serves as an experimental elite unit for suicide missions: assassinations, reconnaissance, infiltration of fortified positions, destruction of enemy war materiel. Months of drill in close combat, sabotage and survival
Principal equipment
Las-carbine with four charge packs, two mono-knives, three frag and three krak grenades, flak vest and flak helmet, four doses of the combat stimulant Frenzon, gas mask and inhaler, micro-bead, Uplifting Primer. Colonel Schaeffer carries a power sword and plasma pistol
Commanders
Colonel Schaeffer — uncompromising commander from the Commissariat, over 300 years old and repeatedly restored by Inquisition tech-priests (rebuilt spine, replaced arm, exchanged ice-blue eyes); Lieutenant “Hero” Green (killed on Ichar IV); Lieutenant Kage as his successor
Notable members
Lieutenant Kage — latent psyker, served twice in the legion (brought back from prison for an assassination mission the second time), was possessed by a daemonic entity on Armageddon, regained control and dragged the traitor Herman von Strab off a balcony into the depths; afterwards presumed dead, he survived and gathered a following on Armageddon (“Armageddon Saint”). Other members: “Animal”, “Brains”, “Demolition Man”, “Fingers”, “Grease-Monkey”, “Ox”, “Rocket Girl” (Mikhaels), “Scope”, “Shiv”, “Warrior Woman”
Battles and events
Coritanorum on Typhos Prime — destruction of a fortress city infested by Genestealers; Ichar IV — where Lieutenant “Hero” Green fell; assassination mission against a T'au general (“Kill Team”); Third War for Armageddon — an operation inside Hive Acheron that ended with von Strab's death, after which Kage was presumed dead; later Kage's return and renewed alliance with Schaeffer on Armageddon (“Armageddon Saint”)
Known from
Gav Thorpe: “13th Legion”, “Kill Team” (2001), “Annihilation Squad” (2004) and “Armageddon Saint” (digital 2019, print 2020), the omnibus “Last Chancers”; Codex: Imperial Guard; Only War: Hammer of the Emperor; the Citadel metal miniatures “Schaeffer's Last Chancers” (1990s, twelve figures) with their own rules
Sources
Gav Thorpe, “13th Legion”, “Kill Team”, “Annihilation Squad”, “Armageddon Saint”; the omnibus “Last Chancers”; Codex: Imperial Guard; Only War: Hammer of the Emperor; Dakka Dakka Wiki (Last Chancers, rules); Lexicanum
The pictures in this entry are fan art made for Anvil of War — not official depictions by Games Workshop. All famous regiments →