142 Sample Characters

142 ready-to-play characters for Wrath & Glory, from lone operatives to full warbands.

Understanding Warhammer 40K RPG Characters

In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. In Wrath & Glory you build a character (an Agent) from a campaign Tier, a Species and an Archetype; the archetype also fixes your Faction and Keywords. Unlike other RPGs, the 41st Millennium is a universe where heroism and corruption walk hand in hand, where loyalty to the Emperor is the highest virtue, and where xenos, heretics, and daemons threaten humanity's very existence.

flowchart TD T[Tier] --> X[Starting XP = 100 × Tier] S[Species] --> SA[Speed, attribute limits,<br/>species abilities] A[Archetype] --> AF[Faction, Keywords,<br/>archetype ability, gear] X --> B[Spend XP on Attributes,<br/>Skills and Talents] SA --> C[Your Agent] AF --> C B --> C C --> D[Traits: Defence, Resilience,<br/>Wounds, Shock, Conviction]

Species, Archetype and Faction

Beyond the Tier you play at, every servant of the Emperor (or enemy of humanity) is defined by three elements:

Real-World Analogy

Think of Warhammer 40K character creation like joining a massive military-industrial complex during wartime. Your species is your basic nature - human, posthuman, or alien. Your archetype is your military occupation specialty - infantry, tech support, intelligence, logistics. Your faction is which army you serve and their particular methods and beliefs. Just as a Navy SEAL and an Army medic are both human soldiers but with vastly different training and capabilities, 40K archetypes provide focused roles within the broader context of eternal war.

The Imperium of Man

Most player characters serve the God-Emperor of Mankind in some capacity, whether as fanatical believers, pragmatic servants, or reluctant conscripts. The Imperium is a galaxy-spanning fascist theocracy where ignorance is strength, knowledge is dangerous, and mutation is abhorrent. Faith, hatred, and duty drive the million worlds of humanity forward in their struggle for survival.

Character Creation Process

Creating a Wrath & Glory character is a points-buy: the Tier sets your XP, your Species and Archetype take their share, and the rest buys Attributes, Skills and Talents. Every Agent starts with 0 Corruption.

flowchart TD A[Group agrees Tier and Framework] --> B[Choose Species] B --> C[Choose Archetype:<br/>sets Faction and Keywords] C --> D[Spend remaining XP on<br/>Attributes, Skills, Talents] D --> E[Work out Traits:<br/>Defence, Resilience, Wounds, Shock] E --> F[Background and Objective] F --> G[Starting wargear] G --> H[Ready to play]

When to Use These Sample Characters

Tier Considerations

These characters span different power levels within the 40K universe:

The revised core rulebook has four Tiers, so every character on this page is Tier 1–4, and an archetype can only be taken at or above its own Tier (a Tactical Space Marine needs Tier 3, for example). Starting XP is 100 × Tier.

Reading the Cards

Load them into your sheets. All 142 characters on this page can go straight into the Character Sheets: press Load sample characters there, or download the sample sheet file and use Import. Each sheet has the species, archetype, faction, Tier and keywords, all seven Attributes (so Defence, Resilience, Wounds, Shock, Resolve, Conviction and every skill pool work themselves out), the eight Skills at the card's ratings, the Talents, both Objectives and the Corruption score, with any equipment under Wargear & Equipment and the background and the reason for the Corruption under Notes. Group members get their group's name and the rest of its roster under Languages & Contacts. The sheets are now playable as they stand: each one is a legal build for its Tier from the core rulebook's XP costs (Rank 1, Wrath 2, archetype ability, untrained skills at 0, archetype minimums met, suggested core talents bought with spare XP, Faith for Faith talents), with the archetype's starting wargear and real core-book weapon and armour profiles, psychic powers for psykers, and Speed and Size for every species. Characters whose card values already cost more XP than their Tier allows are marked as veterans, and GM-built xenos and constructs use labelled core-book stand-ins; the Notes on each sheet say what was filled and which parts are GM choices. Each card below shows its key numbers and wargear.

Solo Characters

Duos

Teams of Three

Teams of Four

Teams of Five

Teams of Six

Larger Groups

Special Characters & Unique Builds

The Outliers

How to Use These Characters in Your Games

For Game Masters

These Warhammer 40K characters serve multiple crucial purposes in your grimdark campaigns:

graph TD A[Sample Characters] --> B[Player Characters] A --> C[NPCs] A --> D[Antagonists] B --> E[Inquisition Retinues] B --> F[Military Units] C --> G[Authority Figures] C --> H[Allies & Contacts] D --> I[Chaos Threats] D --> J[Heretical Cults]

Campaign Integration

Warhammer 40K campaigns thrive on the tension between duty and corruption, faith and doubt:

Scaling for Different Threat Levels

These characters support various campaign styles:

Corruption and Character Development

In the 41st Millennium, corruption is not just a game mechanic but the central theme of character development. Even the most faithful servants of the Emperor can fall to Chaos if they are not vigilant.

Sources of Corruption

When an Agent is exposed to the warp, the GM calls for a Corruption test, which is a Conviction test against a DN. If you fail, you gain Corruption equal to the number of Icons you fell short. Common sources:

flowchart TD A[Exposure: warp, daemons,<br/>forbidden lore, dark deeds] --> B[Corruption test:<br/>Conviction vs DN] B -->|Pass| C[No Corruption] B -->|Fail| D[Gain Corruption equal to<br/>the Icons you fell short] D --> E[Corruption builds up] E --> F[Mutation tests and<br/>mutations from the tables] F --> G[Lost to Chaos]

Corruption and Roleplay

The numbers on the cards are this page's own shorthand for how far each character has slipped. The bands below are for roleplay; the rulebook's Corruption track decides when mutations actually arrive.

Adventure Hooks and Mission Types

These character backgrounds suggest numerous adventure possibilities across the spectrum of 40K gameplay.

Investigation Missions

Military Campaigns

Exploration Missions

Appendix: Quick Reference

Character Count by Faction

Character Count by Tier

Keywords Index

Common keywords found throughout these characters:

For the Emperor! Death to the heretic! Purge the alien! In the name of the Machine God! WAAAGH!

© 2026 Ray de la Paz. The Wrath & Glory Guide. All rights reserved. · Ray's House of Fun
Warhammer 40,000 and Wrath & Glory are trademarks of Games Workshop Limited; Wrath & Glory is published under licence by Cubicle 7 Entertainment. This guide is an unofficial fan resource, not endorsed by either.