As a longtime Ultramarines fan and someone who was brought into the hobby because of the Ultramarines’ lore (specifically, “The Unremembered Empire”), 500 Worlds: Titus is the best thing we’ve gotten since Gathering Storm III. This book takes all the various Codex and Supplement lore from the past several years, and unifies it with both the Space Marine video game franchise and the Black Library novels. Thus harmonized, GW takes the story of the Ultramarines forward, now officially starring Captain Titus in this sprawling, splashy, supplement. While the story of the book set, the War for Novamangnor, is a relatively brief story and feels like a tweaked adaptation of a Space Marine video game, in this reviewer’s opinion that’s a good way to present our Main Hero to the tabletop game.

Before we continue, we’d like to thank Games Workshop for providing us with a preview copy of the book for review purposes.

Preliminary Background

The seeds of the Ultramarian Reclamation began shortly after Roboute Guilliman’s revival. The situation in Ultramar was absolutely dire: The Human Arch-Counsel of Macragge had been corrupted by Fulgrim and came close to corrupting Guilliman, Macragge itself had been invaded and the armies of Chaos came close to overwhelming the planet, and the entire Macragge star system was not faring any better. Guilliman responded by spending a month cleaning Chaos off of Macragge, then closed the Library of Ptolemy because it was “now an age of wrath and war, in which learning and lore must be set aside”. The Ultramarines then surged forth to reclaim the system, fighting Iron Warriors on Ardium and Alpha Legion in Laphis orbit. Guilliman decided that he needed to have the old 500 Worlds back, because things had absolutely fallen apart.

After Guilliman returned to Terra, commenced the Ultima Founding and brought forth the Primaris Space Marines, and launched the Indomitus Crusade, he declared the world of Vigilus must not be allowed to fall. Chief Librarian Tigurius of the Ultramarines then had a vision that Vigilus was in grave danger, and so he warned his Chapter Master Marneus Calgar of the threat. The two of them made haste to Vigilus (along with their armies) to fight Chaos, Xenos, and ultimately Abaddon the Despoiler.

Calgar and Tigurius fight the Black Legion on Vigilus. Credit: Contemptor Kevin Stillman

While abroad, Tigurius sensed the soul of a long-lost Ultramarine and a longtime priority of his and Calgar's. Aboard the Strike Cruiser Righteous Fury, they traveled to the besieged world of Kadaku. There, they found their long-lost Demetrian Titus serving as 1) a Blackshield in the Death Watch and 2) the main course at a Space Marine meal the Tyranids were having. The Ultramarines were able to save the gravely-wounded Titus by having him undergo the Calgarian Rites to be reborn a Primaris Space Marine. Calgar and Tigurius reinstated Titus to the Chapter, and gave him the job of Lieutenant in the 2nd Company.

Lieutenant Titus versus Hive Fleet Behemoth Termagants. Credit: Kevin Stillman

Refreshed and reborn, Titus takes Second Company Sixth Sergeant Gadriel and Battle Brother Chairon to the Hive World of Avarax and it's moon of Demerium. There, they do the main story of Space Marine II. After Titus saves both the Day (in general) and Calgar (specifically), Titus is formally welcomed back to the Ultramarines and has everyone's trust.

Afterwards, Titus heads off to the world of Zsah'uj alongside his old mentor's Bladeguard Veteran Squad. Chairon is promoted to Lieutenant himself, serving directly under Second Captain Acheran. They both die on the world of Trygg while fighting Genestealers. Calgar, knowing of Titus' exemplary service and ability to serve as a hero and poster boy for the multimedia franchise, restores Titus to the Captaincy of the Second Company.

Meanwhile, Roboute Guilliman is off leading the Indomitus Crusade across the galaxy from his new flagship the Dawn of Fire (until he reclaims his old flagship, Macragge’s Honour, from the Red Corsairs). This lasts until the Triumph of Raukos, where Guilliman “ends” the first stage of the Indomitus Crusade. Meeting with Uriel Ventris, Guilliman is told of the depredations of the Death Guard and thus he returns to Ultramar to fight Mortarion in Guy Haley’s Dark Imperium trilogy. Guilliman also brings his Primaris equerry Decimus Felix along for the ride.

Dramatis Persona

The book has main characters and secondary characters. Taking center stage is our hero, Demetrian Titus. In his Lieutenant form he has a miniature and three different action figures, but as a Captain his role is different. For the most part he is stuck in the Righteous Fury’s Strategium overseeing the Ultramarian Reclamation, where he has a bunch of Second Company assets and a Ultramar Defense Auxillia Army.

Credit: Kevin Stillman

Titus also has his friends, the new Wardens of Ultramar unit. We get a rundown of the Wardens: Returning from Space Marine II is Titus' buddy Ancient Gadriel, who got the job and promotion after inspiring a bunch of Guardsmen in dire straits, and returning from Secret Level "And they Shall Know No Fear" is Veteran Sergeant Metaurus. He's old-but-not-as-old-as-Chaplain Cassius, and harbors just a bit of suspicion as to how far Titus will go to do his duty.

Our new friends are:

Gaius Silva, Titus' space commander who both commands battlefleets and smooths things over with the human crews when the Ultramarines ask them to do something nuts.
Aemelia Minervas, a "Legatus" in the Ultramar Defense Auxilia. She commands the 30th Macragge Defense Auxilia, and has adapted the Codex Astartes to the needs of the Guard.
Dainal Kornelius, an Astropath who is both very hard-working and a gigantic jerk.
Lucia Vestha, a diplomat/politician who is very good at her job.

Together, they fight crime.

Opposing them are the Necrons. We get a reminder of whom the Nightbringer is (C’Tan Star God who is responsible for most species' understanding and fear of death), and the various types of Necron Destroyer units.

Credit: Blake Law

The big new Necron character in this release is Nekrosor Ammentar, the Triarch's Punishment. He is reputed to be the original Destroyer, ancient and insane and extremely powerful. No one knows where it really came from, which scares even the Overlords because that information isn't usually hidden. We don't get a lot of discussion of its personality, except that it's psychotic and forces slave Crypteks to continue to give it more weapons. To the extent the thing has periods of lucidity, it wants to reconstitute the Nightbringer in order to kill everything. The Silent King does not appear to be a fan of the Nekrosor, but he's busy still dealing with the 9th Edition storyline and can't deal with a psychotic war machine at the moment.

The Ultramarian Reclamation

Organization

The story of 500 Worlds: Titus begins in earnest in the novel "Dark Imperium", Chapter 20. Guilliman announced the grand Council of Hera, to take place within the Hall of Maxellus. There, amidst many Space Marine Chapter Masters, Captains, Inquisitors, Knight Households, Archmagi, mortal armed forces, and countless diplomats, Guilliman had a table "heaped with ancient tomes, maps, and treaties: symbols of obligation assumed long defunct by many of the dignitaries present." Guilliman has arrived in Ultramar to boot Mortarion out, and also to ensure Ultramar "will be better defended, better organized, and more resilient than it has been for many generations." Guilliman explains that he screwed up after the Heresy by reducing official Ultramar to a size that the Ultramarines' single Chapter could manage, and that Guilliman's proclamation that the 500 Worlds needed to be restored was henceforth going to be an immediate priority. Guilliman appointed Tetrarchs to govern the 500 Worlds:

Severus Agemann, First Captain of the Ultramarines and Regent of Ultramar, is the Tetrach of Konor.
Portan, Second Captain of the Genesis Chapter, is the Tetrarch of Andermung. Guilliman specifically picked him because of successes in rebuilding the Diamat Cluster in the past. This front is the smallest, but filled with pirates and labyrinthine warp corridors.
Balthus of the Doom Eagles is the third Tetrarch of Protos. The Protos Front is said to have a haunted and dark reputation.
Decimus Felix, Unnumbered Captain of the Ultramarines, was to become the Tetrarch of Vespator.
Calgar remained the master of "classic" Ultramar, except for Konor which was given to his right hand man. Calgar was not pleased by this.

Ultramarines Terminator Captain Agemann vs Winged Tyranid Prime from Issue #1 of Warhammer 40K: Combat Patrol. Credit: Contemptor Kevin Stillman

Guilliman also assigned an additional 8 Chapters of Ultramarines Successors to Greater Ultramar, to reinforce the Ultramarines and the Scythes of the Emperor. The human rulers of the world were not necessarily fired, but given a deferred resignation program lasting ten years. They could either retire or work as the new Administrators for their Space Marine masters. The human leaders were not altogether happy about this outcome, but they did not have a choice in the matter.

The Ultramarian Reclamation Begins

The book itself opens following Guilliman's victory in the Plague Wars and the final shutdown of the Pharos at Sotha. We are given a speech from Guilliman where he appeals to the values held by the 41st Millennium's Imperium, as he seeks to inspire them to take on a gigantic military campaign. The text notes that, "For almost anyone else [other than Guilliman], even conceiving a viable plan for the conquest of Greater Ultramar would have been impossible bordering upon farcical." While Guilliman can come up with the plan, he has to "trust lesser minds and wills than his own in its execution, and all the warriors who fight beneath the banners of Ultramar prove themselves worthy of his trust."

In addition to the Tetrarchs and Calgar, we are also informed that following the death of Captain Acheran, Demetrian Titus has been promoted back to Captain of the Second Company and is in Ultramar ready to defend it. Likewise, we are given a revised list of the Shield Chapters of Ultramar. In a small change from "Dark Imperium", a few pre-existing Chapters are folded into this list: the Silver Skulls, Novamarines, the Doom Eagles, and the Sons of Orar now number amongst the Shield chapters. We get pictures of miniatures of these chapters. Sadly, we do not get pictures of the Marines of the new chapters.

We are also given some snippets of the worlds within the 500 Worlds: their names, what they exist for, and what their current status is as of the start of the campaign.

The War for Novamangor

We start out with a brief description of the worlds of Heliodras, a star system that belongs to the Imperium and is due for reincorporation into the 500 Worlds of Ultramar. We have the agri-world of Idarus, the "industrialized pre-hive world" of Novamangor, the feral world of Cornovium, and a gas giant Lyrior. Meanwhile Orks are in-system controlling the asteroid fields. But unfortunately for the Sons and subjects of Guilliman, Orks were not the only aliens within the Heliodras system.

The Battle of Idarus

The war begins on the Agri-World Idarus, which is getting eaten by Hive Fleet Leviathan. Titus and his fleet arrive and Commodore Silva attacks the Hive Ships, deploying Ultramarines into the Hive Ships in order to blow them up. After the Hive Ships sustain heavy damage, the Ultramarines drop onto Idarus, they purge the Tyranids, kill the Tyranid Prime, and save the world. However, Astropath Kornelius and his friends followed the Tyranids' path back through space, and that they should have attacked Novamangor but for some mysterious reason Chose Not To. Titus is fully aware that the reason is generally "World is a Necron Tomb World", so off the Righteous Fury goes to fight some Necrons.

Terror of the Tomb Ship!

And the Ultramarines arrive not a moment too soon! Instead of a productive pre-Hive World, they find an Imperial World fighting for its life against Necrons. The planet is covered in a mysterious cloud cover, and the Ultramarines are busy trying to figure out what to do when what should rise from the seas but a gigantic, badly damaged Necron Warship. Titus himself and the Second Company board the Tomb Ship to find out what's going on, engage in numerous boarding actions, and discover a mysterious Necron artifact. Adeptus Mechanicus Archmagos Oct recommends that Titus not blow up the artifact, because it could be a powerful weapon that could explode if it is destroyed. Accordingly, the Space Marines should give him the artifact so he can take it to an Adeptus Mechanics base on the planet below and neutralize the artifact there. Titus agrees, and gives Oct the artifact while he and the Wardens prepare to liberate Novamangor.

Futile Escape

Unfortunately, once they descend below the cloud cover, they find the planet is in ruins with Necron towers having emerged from the landscape, shattering the cities. However, the Mechanicus Shrine and the Imperial Governor's Bastion were intact. The Governor quickly let Titus take command, because she was in (through no fault of her own) way, way, way over her head. She tells Titus that the main Necron Tomb Complex, Site Umbra, remained quiet. Titus believes that the Necrons may be in the midst of a civil war or some other mysterious conflict, so they grab a Vortex Bomb and go to investigate the Site Umbra tomb.

Inside the tomb, they find Necrons strewn about everywhere undamaged but inactive. Finding what they believe is the center of the tomb, with a giant Necron column at the center, Titus orders the bomb deployed. At this point Titus starts to think that they can win the war without a battle.

Unsurprisingly, this is when their auspex scanners begin picking up contacts. Metaurus and the Bladeguard are assigned to watch the bomb while Titus and the rest investigate. A number of Hexmark Destroyers beam in, and begin shooting. When the Ultramarines begin to fight the Hexmarks, Ophydian Destroyers burst out of the floor and walls. Assault Marines and Eradicators fight back, but then Lokhust Destroyers fly down and begin shooting. To make matters worse, Skorpekh Destroyers emerge from portals at the base of the pillar. The Ultramarines are in deep, deep doo-doo. The Ultramarines grab the Vortex Bomb and prepare to head out under fire, but then who should make its appearance? Nekrosor Ammentar! He vaporizes the last Tech-Priest who could set off the Vortex Bomb, and then begins to chop up Ultramarines. Titus exercises the better part of valor and begins a retrograde tactical advance against the Destroyers, leaving the Vortex Bomb behind.

Fleeing the Site Umbra Tomb, Titus and friends realize the Destroyer Cults have taken over the complex. Cryptics and Canopteks are converting Necrons into Destroyers, which immediately open fire on the Ultramarines. Eventually the Ultramarines escape the tomb and onto waiting Thunderhawks, having lost half their number.

Dance of the Cryptek

Returning to the Fortress, things are grim. Now that the Nekrosor has appeared, the Necron attack begins in earnest with Destroyers attacking everywhere across the planet. Even worse, there are reports that the Nightbringer itself is abroad! Titus nevertheless refuses to leave the planet: even though the Codex Astartes would approve of that action, politically it would be calamitous if the Ultramarines turned tail and ran from defending a world of Ultramar. So he calls for aid and digs in for the war. Titus reasons that the Necron Tomb Ship was trying to run away from the Nekrosor, and that bringing the artifact back to the planet may have been a bad idea. So he decides to head to the Mechanicus Forge Shrine to have a chat with Archmagos Oct. First though, he has to deal with the Nightbringer. The solution? Repulsors! While they couldn't do much against the Nightbringer, they could deal with the Nightbringer's Legions. Upon killing enough of those legionaries, the Necrons beam out to softer parts of the planet. Before Titus can go investigate the artifact and finally ask Oct what he's up to, the Captain has to figure out how to stop Szarekhan Necrons from continuing to beam in and augment the dwindling Sautekh Necrons. The solution was the Vortex Bomb they left behind in the Site Umbra Tomb. Gathering every last Ultramarine, Titus set off through underground tunnels to blow up Site Umbra. Meanwhile, deep within Site Umbra, the Nekrosor's madness increases and it plans to attack the humans and Space Marines in order to obtain the mysterious artifact. He attacks the Governor’s Bastion. Governor Gallow herself takes personal command of the battle fighting against the Nekrosor with a Baneblade. Unfortunately, the Baneblade struggled to hit the Nekrosor through all the other Guardsmen, and a Skorpekh Lord was able to destroy the Baneblade and its crew. However, instead of immediately finishing off Governor Gallow, the Nekrosor turns to head to the Mechanicum Forge Shrine.

What Titus and the Ultramarines are unaware of is that Archmagos Oct worships the Void Dragon and would like to restore the C'Tan Star Gods. And that he knows exactly what the mysterious artifact is: a Tesseract Vault containing a shard of the Nightbringer. His attempts to commune with the imprisoned star god go nowhere. The Nekrosor is also aware of the Nightbringer, and hungers for the shard. He kills the Mechanicum Defenders, tosses Oct to the rest of the Destroyers for chopping apart, and releases the Nightbringer Shard.

Fight for Honor

Titus was angered that Archmagos Oct refused to send assistance to the rest of the planet, while the Defense Auxilia and Ultramarines are forced to fall back and evacuate. However, while Oct was reaping the rewards of his faithlessness and treachery, Titus and the Ultramarines enter an underground tunnel to find a back way into Site Umbra, kicking Necron butt along the way. Once back inside Site Umbra, the Techmarines locate the Void Bomb. However, it is defended by the last stable Necron on the planet: Nemesor Anhutek. The Techmarines began the work of readying the bomb for deployment, while the Nemesor and her phalanx attacked the Ultramarines. Eventually, even Ancient Gadriel falls wounded, leaving only Anhutek and Titus to duke it out. The lengthy battle, however, causes Anhutek's sanity to slip just enough to overextend herself and let Titus finish her off.

The Techmarines finish deploying the bomb, and everyone gets the hell out of Site Umbra. Titus' Thunderhawks return to evacuate what's left of the Ultramarines' Strike Force from the collapsing tomb complex, saving even a wounded Redemptor Dreadnought before the Tomb Complex goes boom. Technically, the Ultramarines won and Legate Minervas was able to save a huge chunk of the Planetary Defense Force and Ultramar Auxilia. However, Governor Gallow was dead, the planetary capital overrun by Necron Destroyers, and Nekrosor Ammentar had escaped with the Nightbringer Shard. While Novamangor may yet be salvaged, the price was steep in both courage and honor.

Final Thoughts

This entire release is almost tailor-made for me. The book starts off by aligning all the various Ultramarine lore sources from the past twenty years into a coherent narrative, and then pushing the story of Demetrian Titus and Roboute Guilliman forward. The main action of the book feels like trying to turn a Space Marine video game into a tabletop event, with the “starter villain” of the Tyranids giving way to the real villains of the Necrons. There are awesome bosses for Titus to fight, even if the story is otherwise predictable. The only regrets that this book has for me are that we don’t get to see any studio paint schemes for the Ultramar Defense Auxillia. Given that we have a named character for the UDA and they play an integral and heroic role in this story, I wish we could have seen it. I also don’t think that Nemesor Anhutek has a specific model (as to which Necron HQ choice she is), because I would want her as an HQ for a Necron Boarding Patrol.

Anyways, I must be going now: this book has inspired me to actually start up a Necron Boarding Patrol to challenge my Ultramarines *in addition* to continue work on refreshing my Ultramarines to go alongside Captain Titus. I also have to make JD, Craig, and Campbell memorize this book before Adepticon 2026 trivia. Just in case I forget something.

Until next time Ultramarines fans!

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Tags: ultramarines | lore review | The Lore Explainer | 500 worlds