Caestus Assault Ram

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A Caestus Assault Ram belonging to the Astral Claws Space Marine chapter.

The Caestus Assault Ram is one of the Imperium's solution to one of the conundrums of space battle when needing to capture an enemy voidship/its crew/its contents: can't shoot it since there's a big risk of blowing it up for good, docking with it is too slow and hazardous and teleporting squads inside is hard and imprecise. So what do they do in such cases? Send manned vehicles to ram the target and deliver a bunch of warriors straight into the voidship's bowels without damaging it too much, of course! (Whether this is stupidly hilarious or hilariously stupid, we'll let you judge. Just know that the Boarding Torpedo has been part of 40k's fluff since basically forever.)

The Caestus is the Space Marine-only version, a vehicle originally developed for boarding other spacecraft. Its magna-melta fires a shot to weaken the enemy's hull, and then the armored prow smashes its way in. Meanwhile, the occupants are held in an inertial dampening restraint system that protects them from the shock of impact; each restraint harness is so big, it can accommodate a Terminator or a regular Space Marine, so the Caestus can deliver a full squad of any kind of Marine imaginable, limited by the number of restraint harnesses aboard (thus ignoring the Bulky special rule). Once the Assault Ram has penetrated the enemy hull, the assault charges disrupt any defenders with a blast of shrapnel, the clamps release, the hatches drop, and the occupants charge into the fray.

Eventually, the Space Marines realized that the traits that made the Caestus so good at assaulting spacecraft made it very well-suited for ground attack as well. The magna-melta doesn't care whether it's melting a hull, a bunker, or a tank, and the restraint system and durable internal structure and hull meant that the Caestus could make steep orbital drops into zones too dangerous for a Thunderhawk or Drop Pod, especially once it had been upgraded with anti-gravity panels like the Land Speeder. Its frontal reinforcement, meant to ram its way into the often metres-thick outer hull of a capital voidship, also made it rather good at ramming pretty much everything else. So now some Space Marine chapters make ground assaults using Metal Boxes falling from the sky like Steel Rain.

The Caestus Assault Ram's model was created by Forge World for their Imperial Armour volumes covering the Badab War. Its rules are also now covered in Forge World's Horus Heresy series, confirming it was in use by many Legions during the 30k era, particularly the Imperial Fists Legion that often treats void warfare as a three-dimensional siege in space, with heavy preference for boarding actions by their Terminators and Breacher Squads delivered via Caestus.

Incidentally shares its name with a sort of Roman fighting glove weighted with iron or lead.

Also incidentally, this ship is a penis. Just look at it, before it hides itself fins deep into whatever orifice it blows its hot load into.

Also for when blowing up a giant space ship just isn't enough, one has to give it the Emprahs hot dickings to adeptus inseminate it, and fuck it to death.

While the quality of the game itself is a matter of opinion, the intro movie for the console game Kill Team showcases the Caestus Assault Ram quite nicely: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2v3KQcjX5M

The Fan series "Astartes" has an epic clip of it's use as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfGPMJ8A0QY&t=0s

Vehicles of the Imperium of Man
Walkers Brutalis Dreadnought - Contemptor-Galatus Dreadnought - Contemptor-Incaendius Dreadnought
Death Company Dreadnought - Deathwatch Dreadnought - Dreadnought - Nemesis Dreadknight
Doomglaive Dreadnought - Furioso Dreadnought - Ironstrider Ballistarius - Invictor Tactical Warsuit
Librarian Dreadnought - Mortifier - Mortis Dreadnought - Onager Dunecrawler - Penitent Engine
Redemptor Dreadnought - Sentinel - Space Wolves Venerable Dreadnought - Sydonian Dragoon
Telemon Heavy Dreadnought - Throne of Judgement - Wulfen Dreadnought - Paragon Warsuit
Arachni-rig - Ballistus Dreadnought - Eldthursar - Hrimthursar - Ridge Walker
Unmanned
Robots
Auto-Gurney - Ambot - Castellan-class robot - Cataphract-class robot - Colossus-class robot
Conqueror-class robot - Crusader-class robot - Cyclops Demolition Vehicle - CATs - Nuncio-Aquila
Robot Crawler - Sanctioner Pattern Automaton - Servo-Automata - Servo-skull - Scyllax-class robot
Thanatar-class robot - Thunderfire Cannon - Vultarax stratos-automata
Transports Aurox - Chimera - Coronus Grav Carrier - Crassus Armored Assault Transport - Chronos Pattern Ironcrawler
Goliath Truck - Gorgon Armored Assault Transport - Hades Breaching Drill - Immolator - Impulsor - Macro-Hauler
Pegasus AAV - Razorback Transport - Repressor - Rhino - Road-Wheeler - Taurox - Testudo - Titan Train
Trojan Support Vehicle - Triaros Armoured Conveyer - Tunneling Transport Vehicles
Light
Vehicles
Atlas Recovery Tank - Achilles Ridgerunner - Bane Wolf - Bike Squad - Cargo-8 Ridgehauler - Centaur Utility Vehicle
Devil Dog - Field Ordnance Battery - Galvanic Servohauler - Goliath Mauler - Heavy Quad-Launcher - Hellhound
Invader ATV - Land Crawler - Outrider Quad - Pegasus AFV - Salamander Reconnaissance Tank - Scylla Light Tank
Siegfried - Squat Bike - Squat Trike - Tauros - Tectonic Fragdrill - Venator - Wolfquad
Battle
Tanks
Castigator Tank - Caladius Grav-Tank - Gladiator Tank - Kratos Heavy Assault Tank - Krios Battle Tank
Land Raider - Leman Russ Battle Tank - Predator - Ragnarok - Repulsor Tank - Rogal Dorn Battle Tank
Sabre Tank Hunter - Sicaran Battle Tank - Spartan Assault Tank - Vindicator
Ordnance Basilisk Artillery Gun - Colossus Bombard - Deathstrike Missile Launcher - Exorcist
Goliath Mega-Cannon - Griffon Heavy Mortar Carrier - Hunter - Hydra Flak Tank
Legion Arquitor Bombard - Manticore Launcher Tank - Medusa Siege Gun
Rapier Armoured Carrier - Stalker - Whirlwind - Wyvern Suppression Tank
Superheavy
Tanks
Astraeus - Baneblade - Capitol Imperialis - Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer - Fellblade
Leviathan - Macharius Heavy Tank - Macrocarid Explorator - Malcador Heavy Tank
Mobile Cathedral - Mastodon - Ordinatus - Typhon Heavy Siege Tank
Skimmers Dawneagle Jetbike - Escher Cutter - Gyrfalcon Pattern Jetbike - Imperial Jetbike
Javelin Attack Speeder - Grav-Cutter - Grav-Rhino - Kharon - Kyzagan Assault Speeder
Land Speeder - Land Speeder Vengeance - Pulpit of Saint Holline's Basilica
Skorpius Hover Tank - Stormrider - Storm Speeder - Pallas Grav-Attack - Abeyant
Flyers Archaeocopter - Ares Gunship - Caestus Assault Ram - Container Transporter - Corvus Blackstar
Fire Raptor - Iron Eagle Gyrocopter - Nephilim Jetfighter - Orgus Flyer - Orion Gunship - Overlord Gunship
Sky Talon - Space Marine Landing Craft - Storm Eagle - Stormbird - Stormhawk - Chiropteran
Stormraven - Stormtalon - Stormwolf - Thunderhawk - Whispercutter - Valkyrie - Vendetta - Vulture
Fighters &
Bombers
Avenger Strike Fighter - Lightning Fighter - Marauder Bomber
Stormfang - Thunderbolt Fighter - Xiphon Interceptor
Spacecraft Aquila Lander - Arvus Lighter - Boarding Torpedo - Devourer Dropship - Drop Pod
Faustus Interceptor - Fury Interceptor - Gun-Cutter - Shark Assault Boat
Starhawk Bomber - Tetrarch Heavy Lander - Galaxy Troop Ship
Titans Imperial Knight - Warhound Scout Titan - Dire Wolf Heavy Scout Titan - Reaver Battle Titan
Warbringer Nemesis Titan - Warlord Battle Titan - Warmaster Heavy Battle Titan - Emperor Battle Titan
Forces of the Codex Compliant Astartes
Command: Apothecary - Brother-Captain - Brother-Sergeant - Chaplain - Chapter Master
Command Squad - Honour Guard - Librarian - Techmarine
Troops: Assault Squad - Centurion Squad - Chapter Serf - CATs - Devastator Squad
Scout Squad - Servo-skull (Data Skull - Skull Probe) - Tactical Squad
Terminator Squad - Veteran Squad
Great Crusade-era: Breacher Siege Squad - Consul - Despoiler Squad - Destroyer Squad
Legiones Decurion - Legion Herald - Legion Outrider Squad - Legion Vigilator
Moritat - Master of the Signal - Praetor - Reconnaissance Squad - Seeker Squad
Sky Hunter Squad - Tactical Support Squad - Inductii
Structures: Castellum Stronghold
Walkers: Dreadnought (Castraferrum - Contemptor - Deredeo - Leviathan)
Transports: Land Raider - Mastodon Heavy Assault Transport - Razorback Transport
Rhino Transport - Spartan Assault Tank - Termite
Vehicles: Bike Squad - Javelin Attack Speeder - Jetbike - Kratos Heavy Assault Tank
Land Speeder - Predator Tank - Sabre Tank Hunter - Sicaran Battle Tank
Vindicator
Ordnance: Hunter - Legion Arquitor Bombard - Rapier Armoured Carrier - Stalker
Thunderfire Cannon - Whirlwind
Flyers: Caestus Assault Ram - Fire Raptor - Orgus Flyer - Storm Eagle - Stormbird
Stormhawk - Stormraven - Stormtalon - Thunderhawk - Xiphon Interceptor
Superheavy Tanks: Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer - Fellblade Super-Heavy Tank
Typhon Heavy Siege Tank
Spacecraft: Boarding Torpedo - Drop Pod - Space Marine Landing Craft
Allied Space Marines: Fallen Angel - Primaris Marine - Blood Angels - Dark Angels
Deathwatch - Grey Knights - Space Wolves - Black Templars