Chimera
The Chimera is a monster from Greco-Roman mythology, described as a tripartite fire-breathing beast with the forequarters and head of a lion, the hindquarters and head of a goat, and a serpentine or draconic tail with a dragon's or snake's head. Exactly how that works out depends on the artist; perhaps the most iconic of real-world art depicts it as having a lion's head on its neck, a goat's head growing straight up out of the middle of its back, and the reptillian head replacing the tip of its tail, but the most common modern depiction has the three heads sharing the same neckstump. What doesn't vary, strangely enough, is that even though the original Chimera was female, it always has a mane (beard) on the lion, even in period art depicting it as a unique creature. It ravaged the land with its fiery breath until Bellepheron killed it by using Pegasus to fly out of range of the fire whilst carrying a lance with a big block of lead on its tip; he threw this at its mouth and the flames melted the lead so it poured down Chimera's throat and killed it. In the centuries since, the word chimera has gained a second more broad meaning, referring to any sort of weird mishmash between two or more different things Frankenseined together.
In Fantasy Gaming
Chimeras show up in a lot of fantasy games. Weirdly, they tend to have wings and be fliers (though admittedly they're usually very clumsy at it), despite the fact that the original Chimera was landlocked and this played a huge role in its defeat.
They are particularly prominent in Dungeons & Dragons (and thusly Pathfinder), where they are capable of speech, but usually not very bright. All the ego of a Red Dragon and none of the brains, essentially.
Chimeras also appear in Warhammer Fantasy and Age of Sigmar, where they are creatures of Chaos and so usually show up as mounts for the Chaos Lords.
In Warhammer 40000
Maybe you were looking for METHUL BAWKSES?
The Chimera Armored Transport is the Imperial Guard's main troop carrier, capable of transporting troops on the battlefield and giving them fire support.
Unlike the Rhino Transport of the Space Marines, the Chimera is an Infantry Fighting Vehicle, an infantry transport designed to transport men to where they need to be, then provide support fire and cover behind its armor. Remarkably survivable from the front and equippable with a wide array of weaponry, it has at least as much Infantry-killing firepower as 2 guard heavy weapon teams, as well as the ability to act as a mobile firepoint for guardsmen with Special Weapons that can shoot out from the vehicle. Adding both survivability and flexibility to an army that otherwise tends to be sluggish, the Chimera is a ubiquitous presence that finds a home in many Imperial Guard Army Lists. If a Soviet BMP, a Mark IV tank, and a Bradley engaged in a steamy three-way, the Chimera would be the offspring.
Overview
The Chimera is one of the most important vehicles in the Imperial Guard's arsenal: it is a fast moving, amphibious vehicle capable of traversing terrain that even a Leman Russ would find impossible to cross (swamps, marshes and even the occasional river). When the enemy neglects to defend these positions because of their perceived inaccessibility, they can expect a squadron or two of Chimeras in their flanks or rear.
In all seriousness, the Chimera is a fantastic asset. Have your CCS cower in it with pride, or shove them straight at that Carnifex over there (speaking of which, it resembles the Tyranid Tervigon as combat capable, grunts land transport).
The Chimera has several uses: it can be an armored taxi of sorts where it rushes in between the front lines to insert and/or pick up units, and it can go to the rear to pick up new units and deliver them to the heart of the battle. If needed they can serve as moving barriers, providing troops cover while they engage the enemy. A third use is that they rush towards the enemy, shrugging off small arms fire as they deliver their payload into the most defended positions. The Steel Legions of Armageddon, one of the chief manufacturing planets for the Chimera, are fully mechanized and can move across the ash planes of their home world at frightening speeds. Helped by the logistic simplicity of using electronic engines instead of fuel, one engine for each side though if one is destroyed we can assume the other can handle both at much slower speeds.
The Chimera can mount a variety of weapons to support the squads they carry. The most common and famous weapon associated with the Chimera is the Multilaser, a rapid-firing heavy weapon that is very effective against infantry and light vehicles. This weapon can be replaced with either Heavy Bolter or Heavy Flamer and can field either of those two in its hull. Forge World gives the Chimera even more blasty power with the ability to replace the main gun with an Autocannon, turning it into a different breed of threat altogether and according to the 40k wiki (not lexicanum, the other one), the Kronus schenanigans in Dark Crusade resulted in the discovery of how to mount a Predator turret with Predator autocannon on a Chimera. Each side of the tank features a row of three Lasgun turrets that embarked passengers may fire at enemy squads. The top of the passenger compartment can open, too, so the rest of the squad can join in the merry shooty fun. For added punch against vehicles, it can also mount a Hunter-Killer Missile.
However, probably due to the current Imperial Guard Codex, not so many Guard players use them, preferring the SIGAOD (Shooty Imperial Guard Army Of Doom), which is better supported by the Imperial Guard's other transport, the Taurox or Valkyrie. Mech Guard love the fucking things though, since for the points-cost they're one of the best investments a squad can make. 260 points will buy four squads a dedicated transport option that essentially removes the need to carry either Heavy Bolters or Autocannons.
The other major use the Chimera finds is as a command vehicle; officers embarked inside can still issue orders, measuring their order radius from the tank's hull; this serves the dual purpose of increasing your order distance (since the Chimera is obviously larger than the man shouting orders from the hatch) and also keeping your HQ alive, since Guard HQ's are notoriously squishy.
One common trick with Chimeras is to, after unloading their passengers, form them into hunting packs (Soviet Bronegruppa IN SPACE) and have them roam around the battlefield pissing off targets of opportunity. with two long-ranged, rapid-fire weapons and surprising durability, they absolutely excel at punishing relatively anti-tank-light forces like the Orks and Tyranids.
One other tactic is to set a long line of chimeras across the board, screened by Hellhounds and screening heavy support. This provides a multi-tiered AV12 line charging straight at the enemy. Combine this with Vendettas to destroy enemy Armour or Valkyries to flank. Alternatively, focus all of your chimeras into a wedge, driving them straight into the middle/weakest part of the enemy line. This will, provided the enemy hasn't gone all out in anti-vehicle, tank shock your opponent off the board, separating their army in two and allowing your Chimeras and heavy support to surround and mop up the rest of their army. Schwerpunkt their HQ to dust.
The Hellhound, Devil Dog, and Bane Wolf are all closely related to the Chimera, and may or may not be either Chimera variants or a different mark of vehicle, depending on who you ask. Back in the days of the old Epic wargame, the Chimera had a few additional variants (details can be read below). Unfortunately, these more obscure variations have yet to be translated to the 40k tabletop. It would be nice if the Imperial Guard had a few more IFVs in their arsenal.
Variants
Chimerro
The camaro Chimerro is a variant of the standard Chimera and is by far, the most basic modification. Armed with an auto-loading hunter-killer missile and a multi-laser. It is used by the Astra Militarum and Skitarii.
As aforementioned, the Chimerro assault vehicles mount a standard hunter-killer missile tube with an autoloader on the side of the standard multi-laser turret. This addition gives the Chimerro a powerful long-range weapon, while the multi-laser still allows it to support its disembarked infantry by mowing down enemy troops.
The Chimerro maintains the full transport capacity of the Chimera and thus can be used to replace Chimeras on a one-for-one basis in Imperial forces. Chimerros can also be organized into Chimero Assault Squadrons, which are then attached to various infantry detachments.
The variant has been tested and approved by veteran regiments of the Astra Militarum and Skitarii, yet GW has not made a up-to-date model for it to be used in 8th Edition.
Chimerax
The Chimerax is a more heavily modified assault version of the Chimera utilized by the Astra Militarum and Skitarii, providing Imperial assaults with protection against enemy flyers and troops. It is armed with four autocannons making it the poor man's version of the Hydra Flak Tank.
Because the Chimerax are easily recognizable due to their upgraded turrets that mount four light autocannons, it makes the Chimerax somewhat vulnerable to be spotted and singled out by enemy forces. Nevertheless, these guns allow the Chimerax to lay down a curtain of fire; highly effective at keeping infantry, light skimmers and flyers at bay. However, unlike the Hydra, the Chimerax does not carry the complex tracking and ranging sensors that would make it truly effective at anti-aircraft.
The Chimerax maintains the full transport capacity of the Chimera and thus can be used to replace Chimeras on a one-for-one basis in Imperial forces. Chimerax can also be organized into Chimerax Assault Squadrons, which are then attached to various infantry detachments.
The variant has been tested and approved by veteran regiments of the Astra Militarum and Skitarii, yet GW has not made a up-to-date model for it to be used in 8th Edition.
Chimedon
The Thunderer Siege Tank of Chimeras. The Chimedon assault vehicle is the most heavily armed version of the Chimera, destroying enemy vehicles that stand in the way of Imperial advances. It is fielded by the Astra Militarum and Skitarii.
Chimedons have a strengthened turret, allowing it to mount a short-barrelled battle cannon, similar to the cannon carried by the Stormhammer. The shells fired by the Chimedon are armor-plated, and can damage enemy tanks and even Titans at medium range.
The Chimedon maintains the full transport capacity, maneuverability and sturdiness granted by its Chimera hull, giving it superb tactical flexibility. However, it always lacks defensive bolters, making the Chimedon vulnerable to infantry assaults. Despite this, the actual model seem to discount the fluff and mounts one anyway. Due to this, Chimedons are not often used to spearhead assaults.
The Chimedon can be used to replace Chimeras on a one-for-one basis in Imperial forces. Chimedons can also be organized into Chimedon Assault Squadrons, which are then attached to various infantry detachments.
The variant has been tested and approved by veteran regiments of the Astra Militarum and Skitarii, yet GW has not made a up-to-date model for it to be used in 8th Edition. However, if your FLGS is okay with homerules, consider suggesting a Chimera with a Taurox Battle Cannon as a counts as Chimedon.
A notable coincidence is that the former medium tank of the Imperial Guard was called the Carnodon, thus, as the Chimedon is effectively to the Chimera as the Razorback is to the Rhino, it could easily be named as a combination of 'Chimera' and 'Carnodon'.
Pegasus
For main page, see here:
The even more aquatic version of the Chimera, but one so modified that it requires its own page. The Pegasus has a really bizarre history/relationship with a couple of vehicles which can be further explained in the main page.
Faction Specific Aspects
Genestealer Cults
With the latest release of the new revamped Genestealer Cult, it seems that certain generations of Genestealers was able to successfully infiltrate even the commanding office of the Imperial Guard (How the upper Imperial authorities and local Imperial paranoia failed to locate THAT kind of Heresy is unknown), and are thus, able to steal some Chimeras and hoard it in the gigantic sewers of an Imperial underhive. A Genestealer Chimera functions the same as a regular Chimera only with Genestealer insignia.
Inquisition
The Inquisition can take chimeras for ten points cheaper, but they lose the mobile command vehicle rule. Loses some of the Imperial Guard vehicle options, but can purchase psybolt ammunition instead to make its heavy bolter(s) and storm bolter more powerful. They look normal from the outside, but open up to something that no one expects.
Rules of Note
There are actually written rules that say this particular Metal Box is also a boat. Its Amphibious rule allows it to move across water terrain. This would mean that it could ram an Ork Submersible, or tank shock a Saharduin squad. Sadly, since nobody uses water terrain, plays apocalypse, or has more than one Saharduin model, Amphibious is a totally useless rule.
Another rule of note is the one that lets you use orders whilst riding in a chimera. This one's actually pretty useful.
Weaknesses
The Chimera's front armor is durable, but its side and rear armor are much more flimsy. While it's generally tougher than a Rhino, it also tends to be a bigger target since the Chimera's weapons are often too big for armies that rely on light armor (Dark Eldar, Orks, etc) to ignore, whereas a Rhino tends to be less of an obvious target. It also has only a single small access point (its rear door), which is such a glaring issue that it gets its own separate subsection.
The Rear Door Paradigm
The Chimera's only access point is its (comparatively tiny) rear door. Embarking rules state that every unit about to board a transport has to be within 2 inches of an access point, which means it's very hard (if not impossible) to fit more than 6 or so models into a Chimera during an embarking phase, when the Chimera has room for 12. This is a problem that the METAL BOX and GIANT METAL BOX just don't have, either because they have multiple doors, or because their access point is so big it makes the issue moot.
This doesn't preclude larger units from starting the game already loaded in the Chimera, nor does it stop smaller units from using the damned thing like they pretty much always have, but it does mean that taking an Armored Fist Squad of 10 soldiers can quickly turn into a wonderful impersonation of when a fa/tg/uy tries to unpack and then repack a suitcase. You're generally not getting a larger unit back into the Chimera it disembarked from, so it's probably better for the Chimera to drive off and make new friends while the unit camps the objective. On the other hand, if you're willing to make the sacrifice, you can split your team members of the armored fist (or other) between two or more Chimera. This has its own obvious benefits and costs. But hey, you can always just rely on a Guardsman’s life expectancy to fix the issue for you.
Note that as of 8th edition, embarking only requires models to be within 3" of the vehicle rather than an access point. As a result, the rear door problem isn't a problem any more.
Star Wars
The Chimaera was introduced as Thrawn's flagship in Heir to the Empire and would quickly become one of the most prominent ships in the EU. This is despite it being a mere Imperial II class when many other Imperial warlords had Super Star Destroyers or some manner of super weapon. The Chimaera had a cloaking device... which was deemed useless without an allied force user because you can't see where you're going when cloaked without the force and all non-force base communications were blocked.
Star Wars doesn't have Greek mythology, but it was assumed to refer to genetic Chimeras or, at least, some mad science hybrid beast since Star Wars has genetics advanced enough to produce human clones.
Monstergirls
 | This article or section is about Monstergirls (or a monster that is frequently depicted as a Monstergirl), something that /tg/ widely considers to be the purest form of awesome. Expect PROMOTIONS! and /d/elight in equal measure, often with drawfaggotry or writefaggotry to match. |
Chimera monstergirls are a rare breed, mostly because designers struggle with how to incorporate the three heads and tripartite body into one design.
In the Monster Girl Encyclopedia, the "Chimaera" belongs to the small family of "Demon Beasts", and has the form of a lion-girl with goat's horns and legs, a serpent for a tail, a leonic paw for a right arm, a draconic paw for a left arm, and pauldrons reminiscent of a lion and a dragon's heads. Extremely powerful and destructive, it has a bad case of split personalities, with one persona for each of the four beasts that work as a team to support her in her goal of finding and keeping a lover.