I was just bored, and this led to thinking about two of my favorite hobbies: DND and Warhammer 40K. I got to thinking about how I would build certain characters in DND from Warhammer lore, and I decided to just make it a big design thing about all of the primarchs. This is going to be pretty shallow and mostly vibes based. I might go more in depth on each primarch and actually figure out how to build them as a DND PC.
Lion El’Jonson: The Lion is a pretty easy one in my mind to build. For the most part in 30k, he is a pretty standard Knight character with minimum magic powers. I would start off with Fighter for him, probably with the Battle Master subclass to let him have all of his fighting maneuvers. In 40K, he has some more magic abilities like his Forest Walk and whatever the emperor’s shield gives him, so he can also get a dash of Paladin. Overall, the Lion mechanically is straight forward and a Fighter/Paladin multi class reflects him best in my opinion.
Fulgrim: Fulgrim was a bit trickier for me to fully decide on classes without going for something too obvious. But, I think the obvious picks are the best. Those being Bard and Warlock for a classic Bardlock build. College of Swords fits his swordplay that seeks perfection best, while the Hexblade subclass is great thematically for his descent into chaos. Again, I feel like these are the most obvious choices for him vibe wise, so I imagine that this is not a shocking concept for DND fans.
Perturabo: Perturabo is one of the few primarchs who doesn’t really fit in the base DND classes well. None of them quite fit his design and personality well. But, the Artificer class from the Eberron setting is perfect. The mix of science with the fantasy fits his craftsman and tech mastery. The Battle smith sub class option might be the best fit for him. It does all of the basic building magic items that the Artificer does in general, but it also has the Steel Defender companion. This makes for an excellent version of his many automata he employed for his uses.
Jaghatai Khan: The Great Khan was harder for me to land on fully what classes I wanted him to have involved in his build. Fighter was a definite addition in his build no matter what. His martial skill demanded it, plus the Cavalier sub class was perfect for adding the Khan’s mounted combat skills to the play style. But, that isn’t quite enough to cover all of the Khan’s skills in my opinion. I believe that he also has a higher degree of charisma for a primarch and that the College of Swords Bard would also add to how I imagine his swordplay is utilized. The magic from the bard class would also work well to augment his own speed while on foot to just have a bit more of his “Speed Force” come into play that we have seen teased in certain moments.
Leman Russ: The Wolf King was obvious in certain elements. One of them was the obvious Barbarian Rage element he had. This both fit his unique savagery and signature martial prowess. A specific subclass was much trickier to pick out though as he had so many possible options that made sense. Ultimately, I went with the Path of the Totem Warrior. This one allowed him his rage, but it also had features that I believed best fit the magic of Fenris best and how Space Wolves would collect trophies to help grow their sagas. Leman Russ doesn’t end there though. He is more than just a raging barbarian. He is also one of the Emperor’s most loyal sons. This loyalty, along with some of his other feats, makes me think that a small dash of Paladin makes sense. Specifically Oath of Vengeance to help him fulfill his duty as the Emperor’s Executioner.
Rogal Dorn: The primarch of the Imperial Fists was another tricky one for me to work with. While he is an accomplished warrior like all the primarchs, Dorn was famous for his defensive skills in siege warfare. Now, no DND class is really siege centered. Oath of the Crown paladin is probably the best fit for him. This would allow him to be the warrior we know him to be. It would also add features to him that would enable him to help defend others and prolong a fight. Other than that, I couldn’t see any other options that suited him as well. I will also say that Dorn is one of my least favorite primarchs, and I have not looked into him much.
Konrad Curze: The Night Haunter is another clear cut one in my opinion. He has such well established design elements and fighting styles. With his brutal stealth combat, Rogue is definitely one of his must have classes when building him. No current subclass has an ability of foresight, but the Phabtom subclass fits his grim aesthetic well, and it bakes his haunted nature into the play style. Gives the Night Haunter creepily voices to talk to after he brutally enacts the Great Crusade. For further flavor, Way of the Shadow Monk is a great way to add more stealth and sneakiness to him. Really brings his ability to seemingly come out of the shadows into stark view. Again, no real way to bring his foresight into it as we need certain classes for more important features.
Sanguinius: Sanguinius, much like Konrad, has foresight in his lore. And, like Konrad, it’s not that important to him mechanically in DND. He doesn’t use his foresight enough in that fashion to justify it. Sanguinius is best known for being a shining example of how a primarch should be while concealing his dangerous flaws. Paladin is a great fit for him and his honorable noble side as well as his immense charisma. Oath of devotion fits him best as the Angel always tried to honor both the Imperium and his ideals of justice. There are a few other classes that would also be useful in trying to recreate him such a fighter and barbarian to help add to his fighting skills and fury, but I prefer to have Sanguinius remain as a pure paladin. I just think it fits him best and allows him to mechanically excel in the skills that the paladin class provides.
Ferrus Manus: The primarch of the Iron Hands is another one of the few who uses artificer in my mind. Ferrus was famous for his forging ability and his augmentations to his suit that allowed for him to utilize more in combat. For that reason, the Armorer subclass is a great fit for him in my opinion. Fighter is a great multiclass option for him as well. Just a small bit of it to help add to his combat prowess. I feel champion would be a great fit to help add to his particular flavor of being a warrior of renown. Other than that, I don’t have much thoughts on Ferrus Manus. He dies pretty easily, and he is more of a plot point for Fulgrim.
Angron: Angron is one of the easiest to give a class to with his trademark anger and rage: Barbarian. And the classic Berserker subclass is also the best for him. Angron was best known for being very angry and reckless and a terror to fight against, but his recklessness did have its cost against him. A few levels of Battle Master Fighter is another add to him that I believe should happen. He was a skilled gladiator and combatant despite his flaws, and this would help convey that skill in arms without detracting from his wrathful side.
Roboute Guilliman: The Avenging Son is another straightforward one. Guilliman is best known for being a logistical wonder. Battlemaster fighter fits his adaptive and logical fighting style the best. It’s simply an efficient and logical choice for him. To help add more of his demigod and Avenging Son motifs, I think Oath of Glory is actually a good fit. Guilliman is such an important figure for the imperium and is striving to both expand and preserve its legacy as an empire. He seeks to bring glory to it and humanity. Plus the features that help aid his allies fits his ability to be a charismatic leader as well as excellent tactician.
Mortarion: The Death Guard’s primarch is renowned for his resilience and now for his plague inducing presence. Before his corruption, Mortarion was best made as a Fighter of some type. The main important thing would be selecting the Defense fighting style. Mortarion is best known for being tough and hard to kill. After his descent into Chaos, he does get Plague powers from Nurgle. The Undead Warlock subclass has a transformation mechanic that symbolizes that descent well, and it also gives him access to necrotic damage that can help simulate the effects of diseases as well as spells to help with that as well.
Magnus the Red: Magnus the Red is renowned for his magical capabilities in the 40K universe. His magic comes from multiple sources: his natural talent, his study of knowledge, and his deals with the Warp. Sorcerer fits his natural talent at magic, specifically the Aberrant Mind subclass and its more Psionic lean as that fits the psyker magic styling. For his Wizard subclass, the Evocation subclass is a classic that fits his sheer magical prowess. The Warlock subclass that best fits is the Great Old One. That particular patron, while it does overlap with the Aberrant Mind sorcerer, fits best with his pact with Tzeentech. This would make him spread out mechanically a bit, but it suits how he utilizes different sources of magic throughout his life.
Horus: Horus is a fun one to classify. Horus before he commits his heresy is a classic Oath of devotion paladin. He follows the Emperor and the Great crusade without fail. When he starts his terrible betrayal, he becomes an Oathbreaker. It suits him very well as he betrays his former cause and gains dark powers as a result. The Fiend Warlock is also fun addition to him to help show his particular relationship with the dark gods of Chaos. Very straightforward in how to build him and flavor. For those interested in third party content, MCDM’s Illrigger is another solid class choice for him.
Lorgar: Lorgar is of course the primacy that best fits the cleric subclass. Everything he does is rooted in his faith. Oddly enough, unlike Horus, his subclass remains the same at being a War Cleric. Each type of god he follows leads him to War and conquest. When he sides with chaos, he does get some more magic powers to his repertoire. This does mean that the Fiend Warlock fits him as well. This makes him a little MAD, but Lorgar isn’t strong in lore anyway.
Vulkan: I will admit that Vulkan was more difficult for me than most of his fellow primarchs. His calls to fame are his forging skills, his notoriously hard to kill nature as a Perpetual, and a penchant for fire damage. The Forge Domain cleric suits him quite well surprisingly, and it helps to separate him from Ferrus Manus. Adding in just enough Artificer to get the artillerist and add a magical flamethrower is another fun way to add his flavor into how he plays. For making him tough to kill, adding Rune Knight Fighter is not bad. It helps to make the character bigger, and his runes help with various things and the flavor of crafting more magical items with a little more work.
Corvus Corax: The Raven Guard’s primarch is another of the three sneaky primarchs. Like Curze, Way of the Shadow Monk is useful here. The ability to teleport from shadow to shadow is just to invaluable in making a sneaky warrior. Unlike Curze, he is a more standard sort of rogue. He is more disciplined and emotionally adjusted for the most part. The Thief may seem like a basic subclass for him, but the straightforward nature of it suits his more special ops feel of stealth. Now, it should be mentioned that Corvus has apparently mutated into a Warp Monster of shadow and terror, but not enough has been revealed about what he can do now to truly try and build this monstrous form of him.
Alpharius Omegon: The last of the sneaky primarchs is yet again sneaky in a very different fashion. Much more based on deception and misdirection, the Twin Primarchs rely on confusion in their enemies to enact their sneaky plans. This makes the Assassin Subclass a great fit for them. With their abilities to disguise themselves and to take advantage of that, this subclass fits them very well. The Mastermind is also a possible fit, but it does lack his signature disguise facet. Unlike his fellow sneaky primarchs, there will be no Shadow monk. He disappears into the crowds of his legions’ faces, not the shadows. To help sell this and help build his martial abilities, adding the Echo Knight fighter subclass to the build is a great way to help bring the twin aspect into this moment and it does have some repositioning shenanigans involved as well.
