This has been long asked for, so hopefully I have done them their dues. This month has been crazy busy so if you enjoyed this one please do hit the LIKE - interested to hear everyones own opinions about the origins as to the Legion of the Damned. Think thats all I've got for this month?? YOUR WRONG - ANOTHER full vid coming this weekend.

The Legion of the Damned feels to me like a more sinister version of living saints, not fuelled by faith but by penitence for past misdeeds, quite a fascinating group.

The Legion of the Damned always struck me as the souls of dead traitors who in their final moments pleaded to the emperor for forgiveness, and thus they are given one last chance to serve the imperium and repent their sins in the fires of war.

I like the theory that the legion of the damned are the Emperors equivalent of “warp daemons” since the emperor has a strong connection to the warp and can’t exactly move about, he projects his will through the warp to aid his imperium when needed

Can you imagine these badasses showing up at the end of Space Marine 2 during a moment where Titus is making a final stand against a tryanid horde with his brothers? Gives me shivers just thinking about it.

In a galaxy of Xenos and demons and other warp horrors, there's something especially cool about having, what is essentially a ghost story in the Legion of the Damned.

I like them and hope they pop up more often. Funny seeing them just spawn around Dante during Dev of Baal and he pays almost no mind to it.

My personal theory: They are one of the lost legions. The second or eleventh legion having been twisted and altered by the warp. That would explain why the emperor didn't want anyone to remember them, because he didn't want anyone to understand the warp. Having a literal warp legion kinda goes against the emperor's ideals.

Perdition's Flame is a short "horror" story that briefly touches on the Inquisition's attempt to "contain" a captured member of the Legion of the Damned. Worth a listen.

I´ve been waiting a long time for this one. Bless you, Luetin. The Emperor protects!

The second theory is my preferred, as the Emperor summoned the ten thousand to turn the tide of an otherwise inevitable defeat. Being the emperor’s psychic will made manifest but only in the most dire and vital of battles, as when they were first summoned. With the Centurion lore, it can make sense that over time the legion gained some additional souls from those that meet the standard sought by the emperor when he summoned them.

I really like the Imperial rage demon theory. “Only in death does duty end. And even in death I serve.” marines that die with un resolved rage, or with such will they they refuse to stop. But I also really like the time travel theory, that they are from a future so grim and forsaken that the Ordo Chronus is actively sending Astartes back to pivotal moments. The time travel through the Warp is so harsh it burns away most of their little remaining humanity and makes them nigh unstoppable beings, but at a cost. Once their battle is won, and Time set to right, they vanish because they no longer exist. They erase themselves from reality. Though that may just be me really loving heroic sacrifices like that.

3 1/2 years sober today. The initial hump of getting over the withdraws I watched Luetin09 so I could take my mind of the pain. Still going sstrong. Thanks Brother...

Luetin's been AT IT these past few months, love to see it.

My favorite theory of their origin is that these are the space marines, who fell in battle against traitors on Istvaan III. I don't know how probable that is but I like it 😁

I like the idea that the legion of the dammed are effectively the daemons of the emperor. Much as the chaos gods have their daemons, the emperors will within the warp has his own as well.

there was an inquisitor of the ordo chronos which had a legion of the damned detained in a book called 'perditions flame', it is part of the warhammer horror series and we know it is one of them by the complete match of the description and the fact that the man telling us the story had to keep repeating the story to us to remember the event and not forget it

Don't think I've ever commented on your channel before, I've been listening for a year or so. Just to say thank you, you make great content.

The end credit with the music swelling and evocative images of imperial glory gets me rock hard everytime..for the Emperor of course. Seen so many and still gets me pumped up

I personally like the idea that the Legion belonged to one (or a combination of both) of the lost Primarchs. The use of the word "legion" here would track. I like to think that despite whatever drove the two unknown Primarchs to their dooms, the souls of their lost Legions were restless in the Warp, and after the Emperor was interred into the Golden Throne, he offered them deliverance and replenishment via the souls of others if they would once again serve his will in the most critical of moments.

"The legion showeing the fists how its done" got a good laugh out of me. Yet damn Lutin how hard you feeling against Dorns boys?

We seriously need new Legion of the Damned models! They look so badass and have some interesting lore implications such as them maybe being Imperial Daemons....

You know it's going to be great when the first segment is called "True Fear"

"So does it make sense that the Legion of the Damned are Time-Warriors _attempting_ _to_ _set_ _right_ _what_ _once_ _went_ _wrong._ _Hoping_ _in_ _each_ appearance, _this_ _one_ _is_ _going_ _to_ _be_ _the_ _one_ _to_ _get_ _them_ _home._ " Luten ~ _(in_ _italics_ _Luten_ _quoting_ Quantum Leap _intro)_ Time Stamp 1:05:00 I LOVE the niche reference, the cheesy wholesomeness of Quantum Leap makes it clear inserting its "good is predestined to triumph over evil because of time travel" is not appropriate for Warhammer 40,000

I wrote a short story about the Legion. The implications I used were that they're a psychic manifestation of dead Astartes. Astartes dying in a state of betrayal or a thirst for vengeance. I even included the legionnaires selecting recently dead Astartes to join their ranks. A legion of vengeance. I also included a very large legionnair, headless, carrying a large skull upon his chest plate.

I always liked the idea that if Living Saints are like Deamon Princes for the Star Child, the Legion is the equivalent of demons. Yeah the rules for them merely rhyme with other demons, but it's also been shown that manifestations of the Emperor's Will can appear in situations where the Warp should not be present. Clearly the mechanisms of the Star Child's power is not the same as the Chaos Gods. Maybe it all operates on some Other dimension than the Materium or Warp, similar to how Gork and Mork aren't in the Warp or (presumably) Webway

I tend to subscribe to the Istvaan theory. Imagine all the feelings of hurt, betrayal and anger consolidated in the warp by that much death and the mental scars of the death of Ferus Manus. Pair thst with the superhuman fanaticism of loyalist marines and I can see those feelings being made solid in the warp. So much so that they even develop their own recruitment strategy and signature fighting style and strategy.

I loved the story where one was captured and being transported by the inquisition. The story does throw most theories away. Where the Inquisition is using psykers as batteries to keep it imprisoned but the ship is experiencing ghosts of dead marines as a consequence, with wrap based foolery going on. Which leans on the theory that theyre space marines, that have died with their souls given form in the wrap. But also leans on that theyre the emperors deamons.

When they first appeared in that White Dwarf issue so long ago in the 80's, they became my favorite legion. Thank you for covering them so thoroughly!

Fell on hard times, audible actually allows us to keep our membership, but just freeze billing for a few cycles (like through holidays for me) this was a really good touch. Thought I would mention it. Discovered my love for Audible from this channel.

Lamenters are my favorite chapter. Guilliman is my favorite primarch. But the Legion of The Damned has always held a very special place in my heart.

This might be one of those occasions where the entitity would be a lot more interesting if they stopped adding to it - just having a ghostly legion that sometimes helps out for whatever reason is a lot more interesting to me than a guy talking about a debt of souls and converting some of them, the original myth feels better when there's absolutely no dialogue imo

I love how the LotD have the ability to strike absolute terror in beings that rarely if ever feel fear.

Oh I absolutely LOVE these guys !!!! Imagine the soul of every dead Astartes being given one....last.... chance to serve the God Emperor. As a wreathed in fire daemon for the good of Humanity.

I really do miss these guys. They would make a great kill team kit and im a bit surprised GW has just more or less abandoned them.

The music you pick for these videos is so fitting and is so appropriately 40k in nature that I'm a bit in awe of how good you are at it.

They share striking similarities in appearance and fighting tactics with the sons of malice. Food for thought. For example "the legendary doomed ones", "fighting in complete silence". Emperor is probably Malice.

Nothing gets you quite as cozily set in for a lutin video as the recounting of a drukhari being disembowled :)

They're basically the "Mysterious Stranger" of WH40k

“Comic sans-using gundam pilots” is one of the best descriptions for the tau I have heard in a while

the intro and outro music is sooo good on all your vids

Honestly the coolest legion in my opinion. For them even in death they still serve zombie astartes. Maybe the FH as they were dying in the warp came into contact with the legion and were saved by them in exchange for becoming members. Imagine they’d jump at the chance

Ahhh the Legion of the Damned. Time to dive into the murky depths of obscure lore and the Emperor's "Will"

With the information regarding Attica Centurius, I believe that the Legion of the Damned is a force that is a much more brutal manifestation of the souls of the Imperium's most devout warriors who are tasked with exacting eternal vengeance on the enemies of man

Legion of the damned are cool af, would like to see and hear more of them within the current setting of 40k

Wow, you are cranking them out lately!! Thanks man, can't express how much your videos help me relax/fall asleep. And let's be real, without sleep, life is awful.

Perfect timing man, I've been feeling 40k burnout, your lore videos always help

What if they are one of the 2 lost primarchs legions and one of them were "lost" or erased on purpose by the emporer and used as his get out of jail free card? Or they were erased for using the warp (which explains why everyone forgets them) against the emporers will and were remorseful of their disobedience? As penance they use their knowledge of the warp to serve the emporer as his black ops unit, the emporer using his godlike foresight sending them into what would be important battles that would have been a defeat to change the future in mankind's favor.

I think they are like what I think the other warp creatures are. They can see everything across all time, and interject to maintain the causal flow. I think they are within the warp, but not of it. One of my most loved 40k lore.

Praise to the emperor! Wake and Bake and a fresh drop from the lore master.

I can imagine the Legion of the Dammed thinks: “Bro I can’t believe our brothers of the Imperium are throwing the game this hard”

42:06 still love this moment in Battlefleet Gothic Armada 2. "I reckon they've wolves loose in their belly. The fangs of Fenris bite deep!"

This takes me back to one of my first marines I painted. "We march for Macragge! - And we shall know no fear"

Perfect Luetin, perfection. I swear, GW should hire you to check over all future books they publish for lore discrepancies.

I really enjoyed this one. I remember the Legion being released and extended discussions as to their nature with my fellow 40k geek, as it wasn't quite the hobby powerhouse it is today. The release of the Legion coincided with a small Spacewolves campaign book which mentioned the disappearance of a portion of the chapter into the warp, and I always liked the idea that it was them. I like the theory that they are essentially Daemons, having been twisted into immortality, unable to return to the Emperor by their own nature, they exist outside time, like other creatures in the warp may do and that their timeliness is not due to being able to perceive the future, but having already done it in their own past.

My first encounter with the legion of the damned is in perdition's flame. A great and interesting novella that really encapsulates the horror of witnessing one of these beings and the mental trauma associated with them. As for theories, considering the use of "legion" in their name I think a fun idea is the emperor forgiving traitors and they do his will as penitence for their actions. They further recruit loyalists who are prime examples loyalty to the emperor and capture souls of the less faithful to feed the emperor. Likely untrue, but a fun idea. That being said, I personally want to believe the true leader is a headless Ferris manus because I love the concept, but I fully accept it is likely not the case.

Hey Luetin thank you for your hard work I knew nothing about 40k a year ago now I’m a full fledge imperial fan boy and obsessed with the story lines in large part do to your videos thanks again bro, For the imperium!!!!

I would love some more books on these guys! I feel like you could have a real plot arc that could tie the emperor to events happening in real time and the warp with these as his personal legion. I love the idea of the legion being the risen of Istavan, at least, originally, and then being bolstered by the fire hawks as well. I look forward to the black library expanding their lore!

The music in these videos are so absolutely beautiful.

Legion of the damned! Spoooooky! Since we're talking about the damned, you should do a video on the Imperium's greatest victories! Teach these Heretics about the strength of man!

Funny enough, The Legion Of the Damned was the first Legion I actually learned about. Not blood Angels, not fists, not the smurfs, but the damned

I can listen to Luetin while I work, I can watch Luetin fullscreen, I can reference Luetin videos when I can't remember things. The gold standard.

Perhaps one of my favorite mysteries in 40k being covered by one of my favorite 40k lore channels, truly the Emperor has blessed me this day. Thank you for an amazing video that I'm going to binge over and over

Luetin I don't say it often, but I love this work

That was a fascinating one, LT. Unfortunately it leaves us with almost as many questions as answers lol I like to think of them as Emps' own "demon force" which will become more active the nearer Emps' gets to Godhood.

My head canon is that the legion of the damned is the culled mysterious 2nd (or 11th) legion. I think that the 2nd legion was genetically made to be more attuned to the warp and maybe even made aware of the chaos gods. More like early versions of the grey knights. When the 2nd legion primarch was found, maybe his warp-attuned abilities allowed him to find the chaos gods earlier on and get corrupted, because he was scattered like the rest of the primarchs by the chaos gods and unable to get his father's guidance about chaos. So the Emperor had the primarch killed and his legion as well out of association, even if they were loyal and uncorrupted. This probably convinced the emperor to hide the truth of chaos from the other primarchs and legions. But since the 2nd legion that was killed was warp-attuned, they live on as the legion of the damned, wanting to be loyal to the emperor. Serving a penance for their failed primarch. This would explain why they're called a legion and legionnaires. Keep in mind this is all my head canon, but I feel this is an interesting avenue of approach and there can be so many other ideas to build off of this.

Man, KZfaq is gonna think i have a newfound fanatcism about 40k, but I just cant sleep and this dude's voice is so close to getting me there

Hoped for this episode and it was finally delivered. Thank You. /btw. I find it very interesting that on Malcador's graphic art when he sits on a throne symbols II and XI are highlithed. I personally think that Legion of the Damned might be simply lost Legion (II or XI) that went ahead of themselfs and lost their way inside the warp millenia ago or... were simply "designed" by the Emperor to act as Legion that operates inside the warp.

i really like the theory of the Legion of the Damned being sort of ''imperial demons'', a manifestation of the Emperors wrath, the tortured and betrayed souls of the dead of Istvaan .....or one of the 2 legions, the purged and the forgotten, maybe lost in a warp storm or sent into the eye as penance for past crimes only to swallowed by the warp and ''rediscovered'' by the emperor after being put on the throne

Rewatching this, I missed that you mentioned Primer during the segment on time travel last time. It is the best time travel movie, and probably the only one that does it in a consistent way.

"Force the curious and mysterious apart" Love that phrasing man. Very nice.

I always thought of them as the first steps of Imperium Daemons. Using a mortal soul bound by the Emperor’s power. Possible a reflection of the zingiest the Imperium, as well as that fractured aspect of the Emperors mind/soul.

A video about phantom space marines covered in skulls and ethereal fire called the Legion of the Damned. Very well timed with Halloween just around the corner :)

Man, these videos and the lore is absolutely EPIC

That sergeant centurious is hard core. I always saw the legion as the souls of Astartes turn into daemons of source but that recount it his kind of changes things

1 min ago this was posted. Now we are here.

The consistency of your uploads truly amaze and fills me with joy because it's always a pleasant surprise to get more lore to delve into. May the god emperor's light always shine on your path to knowledge

I remember seeing Legion of the Damned miniatures in White Dwarf in the mid 90s and they were the sickest looking things ever

Another theory: Tzeentch knows that humans souls/emotions are required to fuel the warp, and sends demons in the rough guise of Astartes to critical battles in order to keep the great game going

Great video as always, Luetin. I only discovered Warhammer 40k after I discovered Warhammer Fantasy, which I discovered through Total War: Warhammer. Anyway, you brought up a good topic for another video in this one. A video about Be'lakor, the first Daemon Prince, or really Daemon Princes in general, would be a good topic for a video in the future.

This guy fuels my focus at work like nothing else. Keep the prime cuts of content coming good sir.

the legion of the damned to me feels like the souls of istvaan IV, summoned out of the same sheer desperation they faced at the drop site massacre, fueled by hate and vengance, the emerge from the warp to wreak havoc on the very same traitors that sent them to the hellish realm.

My favourite chapter, I've been waiting for this one for a while. Great work as always.

So many of the units in warhammer 40k are just mind blowing. Previous favourite was the death company because of their unrivalled lunacy. I think legion of the damned take first place now. Awesome video.

Finally, my favorite legion

Luetin describing Aeldari as spiteful and embittered is honest. Lmao

6:22 "a righteous tsunami of vengeance" such beautifully descriptive language

Not gonna lie, Im excited for this one! Always loved the legion ever since the first models came out... love the videos often fall asleep to them and have the most insane dreams

I love the Legion of the Damned, thank you so much for covering them.

I listen to your videos every night when I’m in bed, learning all I can. If I fall asleep during one video, I will listen the next day to what I missed. Last night I was listening to this one and fell asleep but woke up around 1:11:12 and BOY did that get me hyped!! So damn cool! Woke me right up and I had to rewind and listen from where I left off! I’d never heard of this legion before but wow! I’m new to warhammer but love the lore and absolutely LOVE your videos! Thank you so much for all the hard work and effort you put into these!

Thanks luetin09, youve answered the question of who the legion are. The legion are, 1. Demons 2. The dead astartes of Istvan V, 3. A direct manifestation of the emperor 4. Fearus Manis is the de facto primarch 5. They are deployed by the emperors shattered psyche to critical junctures in time.

If they are warp-tainted on a personal vendetta against evil from the shadows, that reminds me of the Soul Drinkers who came to roughly the same conclusion. That would be a cool expose if you were to make a video about them! One of my favorite chapters probably, I just like the color purple and the way they fight

I’m always interested in the Audible recommendations. The short story anthologies being a great jumping off point for 40k is also a really good suggestion. Also, Echoes of Eternity, the new Heresy/Siege of Terra novel was great, instantly one of my favorites. Thanks as always for the content! Always long form and never boring. I can’t say enough nice things without seeming weird or disingenuous lol. Great video.

Love just editing away while listening to your videos. Great food for thought as well as entertaining.

A couple of thoughts: 1. Upon returning to Prospero after the detruction of the Thousand Sons, Ahriman witnesses a very similar psychic after image that conjures up the entire battle again. An after-image that can actually harm them. So the idea of the 'psychic resonance' from the Emperor might not be a strange one. (all of the marines are there, including apparitions of Russ and Magnus). 2. The Malcador's Staff-mission was the one standing out a bit: we know that the Emperor and Malcador were able to create the Titan-moon where the Grey Knights resided for a long time outside of real-space, so it's not a far stretch for me to think that - if a relic was found similar to that skull - they would try and harness it, even if heretical, to set it up like this. 3. That being said: this comparison goes further, when thinking of that short story about the Grey Knight found in his casket, who is able to come alive as a wraith/skull in his harness to complete their mission... (just saying...). 4. All of the above fits in with them replenishing their legion when finding some elite astartes during an encounter, who would otherwise be lost anyways. (like some 'Knight Errant', yep...) 5. We should also consider - still - that the Warp has not always been just this place of pure evil, so even though it would be considered heretical by the empire, it's quite possible that they found some part or relic that would allow them to make use of it for this legion, which would also explain their tally in the form of required souls. That's also the most obvious tell by the way, of this being connected to the Emperor/some elite group established by either him or Malcador. 6. And lastly - and I hate to do this to you - but the idea of the multiverse and timelines has already been breached: in Ahriman's story, where he tries to 'fix' his brothers who are suffering the flesh-change, he and his fellow psykers actually browse through all versions of the future, seeking to find one where the Thousand Sons are actually helped and saved. Interestingly and foreboding is the fact that they don't actually find one where their legion survives as is, but pick one that comes closest to it. (dum, dum, dum...) Considering the video and the above, it's paramount for this legion to stay invisible and pick their moments. As their origin might very well be deemed 'heretical'. After-thought: if the Emperor is residing somewhere in the materium/warp, and is still influencing reality through belief and followers, seeking to be reborn. Wouldn't that technically also make him a Chaos God?

Such a cool faction, it's a shame they likely won't be revised for 9th edition and onward especially since they seem like an awesome counter balance to the Grey Knights.

I liked to imagine the legion of the damned were the fallen loyalist rage in the drop site massacre.

I'm not sure how it works, but I would love the audio from these long form videos to be accessible on audible to listen to while working or painting without having to worry about KZfaq remaining on. Great lore dive as always.

I've thought on this before and maybe the legion of the damned are one of the lost legions. Like all Primarchs and legions are a reflection or a facet of the Emperors personality. The legion of the damned are a legion that embodies the warp power facet of the Emperor.

Well told and again you made a seemingly impossible subject work somehow - at least within WH40K context. A supernatural legion that collects new members into service by harvesting their doomed but proven souls. This sounds quite similar to the legend of Davy Jones but with a WH40K twist.