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Loyalty's Reward

2021-10-28T08:11:20Z

2001:8003:1D0D:301:693F:3A5C:7389:195A: Undo revision 794154 by NoGoodIDNames (talk)

A story about a cultist serving under the [[Chimera Legion]].

By NoGoodIDNames
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'''"MOVE OUT!"'''

The order rang with tones of distortion and screeching metal, less a voiced command than a crash of thunder. As he stepped in time with his platoon, Lendus flexed the now unfamiliar muscles of his right arm. Once a mirror of his left, the flesh now ran together in strange ripples and ridges from the elbow down. Though his forefinger remained largely the same, his other three were melded into one powerful digit, tipped with a wicked talon. His thumb was similarly altered, a stubby nub ending in a black dewclaw. He had practiced his drills with it until he could hold his lasgun steady again, but its unfamiliarity continued to press on him. Three times that morning he had reached for some item and knocked it to the ground with uneven fingers.

It did not feel unpleasant, though. This was the blessing of the gods. He was stronger now, and though the deadly arm had the misfortune to be attached to his unworthy frame, it would help him serve his masters. And if he served them well, there would be more to follow. This Lendus had seen, time and again under the Chimera Legion.

He remembered the speech he had received upon swearing loyalty to the Legion, not four hours after leaving his Commissar the farewell gift of a trench knife in the back of the head. He remembered the awe and terror and ecstasy as a Fallen Astartes himself deigned to address the deserters. "I am Sergeant Karzan," he told them, with a voice of gravel and feedback. He walked among their prostrated forms, his own right arm a mass of twisted tendrils capped with a long, cruel spike. The quake of each slow step sent a burst of shakes through Lendus's body. "From this moment to the end of your miserable brief existence, your lives are forfeit to the legion."

THUMP. A massive, armored boot sent the world to shiver.

"You will serve us without question."

THUMP.

"You will worship the Four Ruinous Powers and the Crucible of the Void."

THUMP.

"And you will die at our command."
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Lendus looked back to Sergeant Karzan, whose armored squad towered over their mortal serfs, and felt that familiar rush of mixed emotions, awe and fear and shame swirled together. Since that great day, the massive sergeant had spared the cult under his command as much attention as that of a swarm of annoying insects, as had the rest of his squad. Lendus had broken three ribs when he had wandered into the path of a Chaos Marine. The immortal had swatted him away without so much as a glance downwards.

As was right. As was fitting. He was a servant. But still...

He had heard the whispers of the cult. They said that if a mortal proved himself, was devoted and loyal and brave beyond measure, they might be selected to join the ranks of the Chimera. It was one in a thousand, they said. No, one in a hundred thousand. But it was a chance.

The platoon shuddered to a halt. Lendus looked back again. Karzan stood with hand raised, eyes scouring the cliffs to either side of the narrow path. Though he wore no helmet, his face, as always, was almost unreadable.

His hand dipped down, came up again with a bolt pistol.

"DEFENSIVE POSITIONS!" he shouted. "AMBUSH!"

The world exploded into green.
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They had been setting up a forward camp. Lendus was hauling a rack of promethium canisters to the command building. Careful, careful, he thought. He could imagine the kind of chaos a dozen burst cans of fuel could do, and it wasn't the good kind.

He fumbled at the latch with his free hand, finally popping it open. The topmost canister, already precariously balanced, started slowly to roll out.

Lendus could have easily caught it. It was certainly his plan. But it wasn't until his arm was already halfway up to intercept it that he remembered that his hand had been somewhat altered. The massive talon drew a long scratch across the canister, and knocked it to the ground leaking promethium. Lendus instinctively went to grab at it with his left, only to hear the heart-stopping clatter of the rack he had been supporting tip and fall, spilling canisters across the ground.

As he stood in shock, afraid to move, trying to survey the damage, a massive hand fell upon his shoulder. He was spun around with dizzying force, to look up to the eyes of Sergeant Karzan.

The sergeant looked at him in silence for a moment, his enormous face as indecipherable as ever. Finally he leaned close.

"I crafted your arm myself," he growled, "in the foolish hope that you may be of some possible use to us, and not a useless bag of blood and guts. I have invested time and energy in your miserable life, and you have an obligation to at least take a single foe down before you die. Is that understood?" Lendus could only nod. "Good."
Karzan straightened. "Clean this up."

Lendus watched him walk away, blood rushing to his face in humiliation.

As he looked, though, the figure seemed to waver in the air, white fog seeping in at the edges of his vision. A sound was growing in the distance, a ringing that grew louder and louder until it eclipsed every sensation. What, he thought, what is this?
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With a great effort, he pulled himself to awareness. The memory was gone. He lay across two of his fellow soldiers, bodies mutilated beyond recognition. He had been fighting, he remembered, fighting the greenskins that had ambushed them, and one had caught him in the head with the flat of a crude axe...
An alien hand grasped his shoulder, flipping him to face the sky. An ork, peering at him through beady eyes, spread its fangs in a grin at finding a live victim. It raised its axe for a final stroke.

Lendus lashed out with a shout of revulsion. The talon of his right hand buried itself in the side of the ork's thick neck. It paused, eyes glazing for a moment, then clearing again as it brought the axe down. Lendus twisted and sent the blade deep into the corpse behind him. He heaved with his powerful arm, pulling himself upright and tearing the ork's throat out in one motion. It fell to its knees, then to the ground.

He looked about in dazed confusion. Battle still raged around him, though human and ork corpses were strewn about in equal number. The fighting now seemed contained to a few small groups around the dead.

He saw Sergeant Karzan, standing over two of his fallen brothers, dueling furiously with the largest ork he'd ever seen. Beset on all sides, the sergeant whirled to fire his bolt pistol through an ork's gaping mouth. His tentacled arm tensed, then pulsed, the mass of tendrils sending the spike bursting out with force enough to punch straight through another's chest. The maneuver cost him, however. The massive ork brought down a great chainfist in a heavy blow, grinding through Karzan's pauldron and digging deep into the flesh beneath. Karzan staggered backwards.

Rage bloomed in Lendus's chest, flooding his body with a terrible pounding heat. He found himself sprinting towards the ork, growling some inarticulate noise as he ran.
As the beast bent to grab the sergeant, Lendus leapt onto its back.
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The impact drove the breath from his body. Still wheezing out a low scream of rage, Lendus scrabbled for handholds among the scraps of rusted armor as the creature straightened in consternation. He grabbed a wedge of crudely welded metal at the ork's shoulder, heaving himself up, and swung his clawed arm across the other shoulder, grasping blindly.

One tremendous arm came back to pry him off. It crushed him against the sharp points of the beast's armor, but its fingers could not find him. Lendus grabbed again, and this time was rewarded with a howl of pain. His talon had hooked into the ork's mouth.

He held on grimly as the creature staggered backwards, holding tight in a cruel fish-hook. The chainfisted hand came up to grab him, but in the ork's agony he only gashed himself across the face with the whirling blades.

He became aware of Sergeant Karzan, upright and attacking once more. His bolt pistol barked, firing again and again, as his monstrous arm tensed and pulsed, driving the spike into the beast a dozen times.

Then the chainfist came up again, and found him. Lendus felt a tearing, excruciating pain along his side. Then he was up, and down, as the ork flipped him away.
He lay on the ground. His arm and his leg were gone, chewed away by the metal blades. His skin was burned and raw, layers of flesh disintegrated by the power field. He could see the shiny wet meat of his intestines, burst out of the terrible wound the fist had drawn across his body.

He saw Sergeant Karzan, standing over the slain ork. The sergeant looked at him, his face a tide of strange emotions.

And then he saw nothing.
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Lendus faded in and out of the world.

The pain was still there, flaring up in steady, regular bursts. Each burst came with a great, shaking noise, a concussive THUMP of steel meeting earth.

THUMP.

THUMP.

He drifted into coherency for a brief moment, enough to identify a curious sensation: that of being carried, almost cradled, in two enormous arms.

THUMP.

THUMP.

Again he regained his senses for a moment. He saw the flared tents and emblazoned symbols of the forward camp. He saw faces, many faces of soldiers. They gazed up at him, with awe and fear and ecstasy.

He struggled to pull his head up. On one side he saw the face of Sergeant Karzan, closer than ever before. He looked down at him, still with that strange mix of emotions.

To his other side, approaching slowly, was the chirurgeon's tent.

THUMP.

THUMP.
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He thought he had felt pain before. He was wrong. Fire coursed through his veins, spiraling inwards and outwards in strange patterns. His bones creaked and groaned as they moved in unfamiliar ways. His head was a nexus of agony.

He could feel his body convulsing on the table, and he could hear his own piercing screams. But he heard something else, as well. A voice like gravel and feedback, constantly speaking, even through the worst pain. He could not make out the words, but the tone was calming. Almost soothing.

The voice would return him to sanity. And then the agony would resume.
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He awoke. The tent was dark and quiet. The spindly arms of the medicae equipment hung in the air, unused for the moment.

He struggled to sit up, and fell off the table. Everything felt different. His arms would not move the way they should, nor his legs. His eyes struggled to focus, overlapping in queer ways.

A figure sat at the edge of the tent, watching him. Who was he? Lendus struggled to find the name, but it was so hard to think. His mind ran down strange paths, impossible to pull together into a coherent thought. Who is this, he thought. And who am I?

The figure stood up, and walked to him. Lendus felt no fear, only a certain sense of expectancy.

The towering man knelt down, and put his hand to Lendus's head. He was silent for a long time.

"I am Karzan," he said finally, "And you are Lendus." He stroked Lendus's head with a thumb. The gesture was surprisingly comforting. "From this moment to the end of your life, you are mine."

"You will serve me without question."

"You will hunt down my enemies, and drag them from dark and hidden places." Lendus tried to speak, but all that came out was a peculiar whine.

"And you will be loyal to me until the end."

Lendus pawed at Karzan's arm, then slobbered happily at him.

Karzan smiled.

THE END

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[[File:LoyRewInspiration.JPG|400px|thumb|left|The inspiration for the story.]]

M4 Sherman

2021-10-27T01:16:58Z

2001:8003:1D0D:301:693F:3A5C:7389:195A: Undo revision 793980 by 128.187.116.30 (talk)

{{topquote|A good plan violently executed right now is far better than a perfect plan executed next week.|General George S. Patton}}
The M4 Sherman is the poster child of freedom, the Freeaboo's ideal body type, and the backbone of the Western allies' armored forces. It was mass produced at a higher rate than even the Russian [[T-34]], and came out as the 2nd most produced tank of the war. It came in a dizzying number of variants, with a wide variety of weapons, engines, and even suspensions and hull types. It is one of only a few tanks to be deployed on all theaters of the war, including the Eastern Front, China, and the Pacific. It's one of the first tanks to enter service with stabilization for the main gun. It's reliable, easy to fix, ergonomic, and extremely versatile, both in Flames of War and in real life.

For all this, the Sherman tends to get a bad rep. Most of this centers on it's armor and firepower, which is weaker than [[Panther|German]] [[Tiger|tanks]] of the later war period. We won't get into this debate here more than to say that you will have to find ways to compensate for your weaker armor and cannon when going up against German and Soviet heavy tanks as a Late War Flames of War player. However, with effective combined arms, mobile tactics, and a little bit of luck the M4 will serve you just as reliably as it served the allies in World War 2.

==In Mid War==
===American===
===British===
==In Late War==
===American===
So far, the Americans have access to 3 different variants of Freedom's steed: the M4A1, the M4A1 (76), and the M4 (105). Each of them serves a different purpose in a well-balanced American force. What really makes the sherman stand out in the American force is its 'Stabilizer' special rule. This lets the M4 maintain it's rate of fire of 2 on the move, though it suffers a -1 to hit. This gives you a higher chance of hitting a shot in almost all situations, making the American M4 the king of mobile warfare and exceptionally flexible. A second point in the Sherman's favor is the sheer number of machineguns it brings, pumping out 5 shots per tank stationary and making it very capable at pinning enemy infantry and blocking enemy infantry assaults. Further M4 variants will be furnished in future installments, like the M4A3E8 "Easy Eight" and the M4A3E2 "Jumbo."

====M4 Sherman====
The M4A1 is just as it was in Mid War, but this time with far better crews! The Americans get the option of "trained" sherman crews that are hit on a 3+ and have a 3+ last stand, or "Veteran" Sherman crews that trade all that in for a 4+ to hit and a 3+ tactics. In both configurations the Sherman is a cheap middle of the road tank with a cannon that can deal with enemy medium tanks and armor that keeps it safe against light and medium antitank guns. That said, AT10 will struggle against the side armor of 8 on heavy tanks like the Tiger and IS-2, meaning that while the 75mm is a capable vehicle in most situations, it struggles against heavy tanks. Use the maneuverability provided by the stabilizer and artillery smoke to avoid enemy heavy tanks and heavy antitank guns and focus on breaking through and exploiting enemy light vehicles and medium tanks. This is where the M4 truly shines, being cheap and mobile. In addition, it has direct fire smoke, meaning that this tank can act in support to help smoke out enemy tanks and cover your own infantry and tanks from enemy infantry and antitank guns.

====M4 (76)W====
The M4A1 (76) is a capable enough antitank vehicle, with a 76mm high velocity gun that bumps the antitank up to 12, wet stowage that gives it a 3+ remount, and a front armor of 7 thanks to the up armored T23 turret. This, combined with the stabilizer, makes it a capable QRF vehicle for dealing with heavy tank breakthroughs as well as the king of dueling with enemy medium tanks. It also makes it a relatively pricy vehicle, with a full veteran platoon coming in at 28 points for 5. Nevertheless, this is currently ''the'' final word in American antitank and will serve you well if used properly. Consider escorting them with some form of infantry to help assault and capture enemy tanks, because FP3+ always bails when you need it to kill and chances are you really can't afford to lose these tanks. Something worth noting is the "No HE" rule on the main gun, meaning it suffers against infantry, but if you were looking for an infantry killer you shoulda just gone with the cheaper 75mm anyway.

====M4 (105)====
The M4 (105) is the odd one out here, being essentially an artillery/assault gun variant on the Sherman. It's got an AT9, FP2+, Brutal and Slow-Firing 105mm gun as well as the FA7 of the 76mm Sherman. All in all, it's kinda hard to find a place for, trying to fill a niche that doesn't really exist. It's got the armor to go toe to toe with enemy mediums, but not the penetration. It's helpless against heavies. It's job as artillery is done better by the cheaper priest and 105mm towed artillery. It lacks the volume of fire to deal with enemy infantry platoons in direct fire. It may find a place hunting enemy light and medium AT guns, but it will get slaughtered by enemy heavy AT. It might be useful as an integrated artillery asset in an M4 tank company, but you have so many other units you can put in there, why bother. If someone comes up with a use for this thing, let me know!

===British===
The US provided the British with 17,184 Sherman Tanks of all models throughout the war.

A notable British variant was the Firefly, which carried a QF 17-pounder 76.2mm cannon. Introduced in early 1944, Sherman Fireflies could pierce the armor of Panther and Tiger Tanks.

As a notable aside, it was the Brits who decided to give the M4 medium tank the official designation of Sherman.

===Soviet===
Some 4,102 Sherman Tanks were sent to the USSR as part of Lend Lease. These were notably equipped with Diesel Engines so they could use the same fuel that T-34s used.

==In Real Life==

{{US Forces in Flames of War}}
{{British Forces in Flames of War}}
{{Soviet Forces in Flames of War}}

Arkhan Land

2021-10-23T06:08:53Z

2001:8003:1D0D:301:693F:3A5C:7389:195A: Undo revision 793267 by 88.195.122.96 (talk) British series

[[Arkhan Land]] was one of the most important [[techpriest|techpriests]] the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] have ever had in their ranks. Considered a genius (if quite eccentric even by the AdMech's standards) by every other member of the [[Machine Cult]], he is responsible for some of the greatest technological advances during the time of the [[Great Crusade]]. How big is his contribution to the Imperium, exactly? Every vehicle the Imperium uses with the word "land" on them directly comes from his work. That's right, it's not because machines like the [[Land Raider]], the [[Land Crawler]] or the [[Land Speeder]] (and its many later [[Spartan Assault Tank|derivatives]]) are vehicles that work on land, it's because they were named in his honour (it's widely believed this was a retcon because someone at GeeDubs was anxious about the Land Speeder technically being an aircraft). Why they weren't named Arkhan is a mystery in universe, but out of universe it's probably to avoid association with the [[Arkhan the Black|second spookiest skeleton in Warhammer Fantasy.]] Given his immense arrogance and propensity to name tech after himself, he can also be viewed as [[Cawl]]'s spiritual predecessor. We should probably be so thankful that none of the schematics he discovered would be used for planes or spacecraft...

Arkhan Land's very existence lead to a meme among the more grimdank fans: the [[Emperor]]'s true name being Jimmy Space, since he created the [[Space Marines]]. This backfired when [[derp|GW actually did that]]: retconning the Adeptus Astartes to be named in honor of a scientist named Astarte, but that's a story for another time.
==Early life and the expedition to the Librarius Omnis==
Even during his early years, Arkhan Land was considered a brilliant individual. Fluent in many tech-languages before his childhood had ended, he quickly rose on the hierarchy of the Mechanicum, even if he rejected many of the popular body-enhancements the Mechanicus are famous for applying to themselves, to the point of looking like an actual person, rather than an amalgamation of many pieces of machine stuck together over the framework of a human). However, his fame would not really explode until his expedition to the Librarius Omnis.

The Librarius Omnis is a massive region located somewhere below the forgotten catacombs of [[Mars]]. It's a massive, continent spanning area filled to the brim with old tech, and as such, it has attracted an immense amount of techpriests and explorers to it, trying to uncover rests of old technology. However, it also guards many dangers, and the practical majority of people who go in search for this legendary place never really reach it, and much less come back. During the early days of the Great Crusade, Land organized an expedition in search for a fully functional [[STC]], and after three years of exploring the place, and after many considered him lost to the unknown, he came back with some of the biggest discoveries done in the history of the Imperium.

==Arkhan Land's discoveries and later work==
While he did not find a fully functional STC, Land was able to bring to light a massive amount of lost knowledge, which would quickly become part of the backbone of the logistic structure of the Imperium at large. Land's discoveries can be divided into three:

*The first discovery was an almost complete schematic of a battle tank, which served as the basis to create the Land Raider. While it was one of the best designs the Imperium had at the time, the necessities of the Great Crusade forced Land to deviate from the standard to adapt it to the needs of Astartes. After all, the original creators of the Land Raider had regular humans in mind, not hulking behemoths in power armour, so he had to adjust the design to Space Marine's size and weight. Following this principle, the Spartan Assault Tank was created from the blueprints of the Land Raider. It is also possible that many other tanks were modified to include some of the improvements discovered with the Land Raider's blueprint. Land was infamously blase about the tank, referring to it specifically as Land's Raider or the Raider pattern tank. The pedant wrote a huge essay about the importance of the difference.
*The second discovery was a series of remainings of anti-grav technology from the DAoT. While this was not an STC in the strict sense of the word, Land was sensible (or [[heresy|irresponsible]], depending on whom you ask) to just reverse engineer this pieces. By doing that, he discovered many of the fundamental principles of anti-gravity technology, so he was able to apply it to many imperial designs, from civilian to military. Jetbikes and Land Speeders owe their existence to this, and while most of the heavy uses of Land's anti-grav tech was seemingly lost during the [[Horus Heresy]], Archmagos [[Cawl]]'s designs for Primaris Vehicles such as the Repulsor Tank or the Astraeus Super-Heavy Tank heavily hint to a rediscovery of Land's ideas (considering Land and Cawl were alive at the same time, and also that Cawl has brought many other things from the early days of the Imperium, as well as the miraculous developement of the [[Primaris Marines]], he could have improved Land's ideas. Either that or he copied Eldar anti-grav tech, [[skub|you make the call]]).
*The third major discovery was the Land Crawler. While this was in theory just an agricultural vehicle, the efficiency, reliability and easyness of production of this vehicle basically keeps the Imperium alive. The food production of the Imperium would be a fraction of what it is now without the efforts of this vehicle, and many consider it Land's greatest contribution to Mankind. The design has also been applied to many war vehicles, specially in roles such as troop transport and the like, but also as a more traditional combat vehicle.

This discoveries catapulted Land into becoming the most famous figure in the whole Mechanicum, even if he never really became Fabricator-General - partly because he was insufferably arrogant and contemptuous of anyone who wasn't as clever as him (and kept pissing off more senior members of the Mechanicum). While these are his most important works, he also had his hands on other projects, such as the development of the Mars Universal Land Engine (or M.U.L.E.), which was inspired in the movement of ancient terran insects to create the [[Onager Dunecrawler]].

He was also requested by the Emperor Himself to study [[Angron]]'s Butchers Nails, how they functioned and if there was any possible way of removing them. In this endeavour he failed, being unable to find a way to cure Angron from this device. But the simple fact Big. E. entrusted him with that task speaks highly of Land's exceptional intelligence and acumen.

This said, he wasn't entirely infallible. For some fucking dumb reason, he thought ancient monkeys on Earth had venom in their tails because the idea of them hanging from trees was APPARENTLY ludicrous. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Palace_Dinosaurs Real life paleontology can make some questionable assumptions at times], but not even one picture, nor a photo, nor a preserved specimen, nor a complete fossil of a monkey survived to the 30th millenium? This is incredibly stupid when you realise that monkeys have appeared in Warhammer 40k's current era and ''the goddamned official art of Land shows him with a pet monkey.''

==Land during the Horus Heresy==
Arkhan Land firmly stood with the loyalists during the civil war, seeing the Emperor as the Omnissiah himself, while also respecting him as the greatest scientific mind there has ever been. Land became embroiled in the first moments of the Death of Innocence events in Mars, although he was one of the priority targets for both sides (the traitors could not leave a mind as brilliant as Land's to undermine Horus' plans, whereas the loyalists needed as many big Mechanicum personalities to keep the war efforts), and he was saved by an [[Imperial Fists|Imperial Fist]] rescue party. He was busy during the war improving the armoury and vehicles of the [[Adeptus Custodes]], hence the many anti-grav vehicles they and the [[Sisters of Silence]] have, and even accompanied them to the War on the Webway. That event kinda traumatized him, seeing too many daemons for a sane mind to comprehend, though he never went mad or corrupted.

During the Seige of Terra, Land was mostly forgotten about and took it upon himself to go around the various ammo forges to optimise them. Rogal Dorn got him to come up with a method of creating quick setting rockcrete to trap a huge Sons of Horus attack underground.

After the Heresy was done, he organized a second expedition to the Librarius Omnis, due to many technologies becoming lost or corrupted during the war. Trying to recover as much as possible like he did the first time, he organized a massive expedition with whatever Mechanicum resource he could find, but this time he didn't come back. His diaries were discovered two centuries later, which hint at him and the rest of his expedition being slowly killed by an unknown entity under the catacombs of Mars.(or taken over by The void dr1010101010122011010200220200101010100202010101010020202020201010101010201220101020201010100000000202021102202010101010200201010202020202020202020201000120202010102020101010202010101020202202011010202020202020202020100110101010100

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]] [[Category:Imperial]] [[Category: Adeptus Mechanicus]]

Basilisk Artillery Gun

2021-10-23T01:52:22Z

2001:8003:1D0D:301:693F:3A5C:7389:195A: And you're still wrong. Take it to the talk page at this point.

[[Image:Basilisk.png|thumb|right|It's almost as fuckawesome as the [[Baneblade]].]]

:''This article is about the [[Imperial Guard]] artillery tank. For the creature, see [[Basilisk]].''

{{topquote|Artillery adds dignity to what would otherwise be a vulgar brawl.|Frederick II of Prussia}}

{{topquote|Though my guards may sleep and my ships may lay at anchor, our foes know full well that the big guns never tire.|[[Lugft Huron]]}}

{{topquote|SHATTER. THEIR. SKY!|Basilisk commander from Dawn of War 1, about to fire the [[rape|earth shaker round]].}}

The '''Basilisk Artillery Gun''' is the iconic [[Imperial Guard]] self-propelled artillery piece. It is based on the versatile [[Chimera Transport|Chimera]] chassis, and it carries a massive [[Earthshaker]] cannon. It dates at least as far back as the [[Great Crusade]], where it was used by the artillery batteries of the [[Space Marine]] Legions and Imperial Army; though they were too slow for the slimmer, faster post-[[Codex Astartes]] Space Marines, they could move at just the right pace to keep up with an [[Imperial Guard]] siege operation.

Of course, given its tremendous range, it doesn't need to move very fast to keep pounding the enemy, and it's not supposed to be at the front line -- rather, the Basilisk crews get told where to shoot, they launch great quantities of shells in that direction, and then they move away before they get hit by counter-battery fire.

== Variants ==

; Standard Pattern: You know'em, you love'em. The OG Basilisk with the famous gun shield. It is by far one of the most iconic vehicles from the Imperium of Man, let alone the Imperial Guard and stands equal with the [[Leman Russ Battle Tank]], [[Baneblade]], [[Land Raider]] and [[Rhino]] as most famous tank.
; Armageddon Pattern : Because [[Armageddon]] is a <s>desert world</s> <s>irradiated, poisonous shithole</s> [[Ork|Ork]] playground, they developed a Basilisk pattern that fully enclosed the entire tank, sheltering the loading mechanism (and, coincidentally, the loader and gunner) from the <s>harsh environment</s> [[Dakka|retarded amounts of small-arms fire constantly filling the air]]. <span style='color:green;font-size:115%'>Kallin' Ork gunz small? I oughter give yer a stamp!</span>
; [[Basilisk Magnus]] : A variant of the Basilisk fielded by [[Vance Motherfucking Stubbs]], which seems to be dug into an immobile concrete position. It's like a regular Basilisk, except it can strike targets anywhere within the Imperial Dussala Precinct base, fires an absurdly powerful Earthshaker shell, and has styrofoam for armor. However along with the 100 [[Baneblade]]s, Stubbs lost the targeting matrix for the thing and so it requires a spotter every time it shoots. Its size compared to the turret and crew suggest it would also be as well proportioned for mounting on a Macharius tank chassis as a normal Earthshaker is on a chimera chassis. Dis gon b gud.
; Legion Basilisk : Before the [[Codex Astartes]] reforms, the [[Space Marine Legions]] operated some artillery of their own, including the Basilisk. The gun shield and crew compartment looks beefier, and the engine exhausts run out the sides of the tank.
; [[Solar Auxilia]] Basilisk : Like the Armageddon Pattern, the gun and its crew are entirely enclosed, but the chassis is built around a Leman Russ rather than a Chimera. The gun is placed to the right of driver's compartment while the engine is left exposed behind the driver's compartment like the Mars-Alpha Pattern Leman Russ.
; Vanaheim Pattern : It's the same as the original Basilisk, with a less goofy-looking gun shield which offers additional protection for the gun crew from both the front and sides. Although its overall protection is not to the extent as that of the Armageddon Pattern or the Legion Basilisks.
; [[Fail|Basilisk Anti-Aircraft Emplacement]]: [https://www.warhammer-community.com/2020/10/20/flight-plan-youre-grounded/ It exists]...don't ask us how the fuck it works. While the first assumption might be 'AAA' (Anti-Air Artillery), there's a reason such guns were entirely different from the regular howitzers and field guns. If a Basilisk was modified to act as an AAA gun, it'd require so much change to its system and design that it'd no longer be a similar gun. The Imperium seemingly forgot how to make surface to air missiles viable on emplacements, even though [[Space Marine Hunter|there]] [[Whirlwind#Hyperios|are]] [[Manticore Launcher Tank|several]] [[Praetor Armoured Assault Launcher|artillery]] [[Exorcist|pieces]] that can make use of said surface to air missiles.

<gallery>

File:OG_Basilisk.jpg|Standard Pattern Basilisk

File:armageddon-basilisk.jpg|Armageddon Pattern Basilisk

File:SoulstormBasiliskMagnus.png|Basilisk Magnus

File:Legion_basilisk.jpg|A Legion Basilisk of the [[Iron Warriors]].

File:SolarAuxiliaBasilisk.jpg|Solar Auxilia Basilisk

File:Vanaheim_Basilisk.jpg|Vanaheim Pattern Basilisk

File:AntiAirBasilisk.jpg|Anti-Air Basilisk Emplacement

</gallery>

== Tabletop ==

The Basilisk's Earthshaker cannon has the longest range of any Imperial Guard weapon, beating out the Banesword's Quake Cannon by a good 100 inches(the Deathstrike lost its infinite range and the Manticore's was cut to 120"), able to drop a shell anywhere within 20 feet (which is pitifully small when scaled up to real-world dimensions...but so are all 40K weapon ranges). That is enough range to target an enemy on the next TABLE and is more than enough even for apocalypse. Prior to 8th it was possible for a single IG army to have up to nine of these monsters (three per Heavy Support slot, times three Heavy Support choices) for just under 1000 points, which would rapidly turn the entire battlefield into a moonscape.

In the couple of editions leading up to 8th, the Basilisk was something of an awkward middle child between the powerful Manticore and the Infantry shredding Wyvern. The Manticore launcher could provide more destruction pound for pound if you just wanted to plonk 1 ordnance template on the field, whilst the Wyvern (or even mortars) were far cheaper. In 8th, the Basilisk truly shines as it is meant to be played: in groups. An economy of scale with 3 of these boys will cost just over 300 points, but every turn you will likely destroy at the very least a Leman Russ, and at the very best a Baneblade. The Basilisk must take a support role, but when aided with a Master of Ordnance and a cup of hot cocoa, it will make your army suited to dealing with whatever your opponent may throw at you. MEQs, tanks and even Terminators can not afford to scoff at shots that deal 2D6 (pick highest) S9 AP-3 hits with D3 damage (just don't expect to quickly wipe out blobs with a single gun). The Emperor's Wrath Artillery Company specialist detachment makes them even stronger, giving the option for a unit to shoot twice and ''really'' lay down the hate, or else suppress a target of choice, at a fairly low CP cost.

In ''Second Edition'', where it first appeared, the Basilisk featured epic levels of [[RAGE|bullshit]] since it rolled a D3 for damage to vehicles even if it ''didn't'' penetrate armour, and since the template usually hit every location on the vehicle it was statistically likely that anything hit by a Basilisk would be crippled or destroyed even if all AP rolls failed. Thanks to the preliminary barrage rule, it also got to fire a battle cannon round (somehow) before the game had actually started.

== [[Dawn of War]] ==

These babies were in Dawn of War 1 and BY THE EMPEROR they are awesome. They are one of the "must-get" units for the Imperial Guard faction because they make up for the Guards' shitty early game when they don't have more models and plasma gun upgrade, and they are one of the reasons people play IG (the others being THE BANEEEEEBLADE and the Commissar). They are best at blowing up infantry blobs and scattering them like frigging marbles for the Guardsmen to mop up. Most importantly, their Earthshaker round deals a fuck load of damage to ANYTHING.

== Notable Basilisks ==

; Fluffy : The personal attack vehicle/pet of [[Commissar Dan]]. Being the retard that he is, he uses the thing as a front line assault tank instead of a full-time artillery piece.

== Why A Basilisk is The Best Place To Be In The Whole Goddamn Imperium ==

* You're ten miles from the front lines and whatever [[Grimdark|fanged horrors]] or [[World Eaters|berserk]] supersoldiers are invading the [[Imperium]] this week.
* You get to fire a MASSIVE fucking gun and blow shit up. It's one of the best artillery weapons in the galaxy, able to mow down whole swathes of armies in minutes. Thus, the [[Tyranid]]s' numerical superiority is irrelevant.
* If your regiment is commanded by [[Creed]], you're one of a select few that knows how it is possible to deploy a dozen pieces of mobile artillery inside an impenetrable [[Ork]] stronghold.
* All the [[Commissar|commissars]] (save [[Ciaphas Cain|one]]) are also at the front lines, seeing as that is where the business of <s>executing cowa..</s> erm ''upholding morale'' is most wanted.
* You can probably even get away with complaining about the [[High Lords of Terra]] and their general not giving a shit, seeing as there are no senior officers, no [[Inquisitor]]s (since you're probably in a depopulated area far away from Inquisitorial interest), and no fucking [[Commissar|commiss]]{{BLAM}}
* You're not at risk of being blown up when your commander tells the artillery to shoot right in front of his own troops. Though you will probably hear their screams over your vox-unit, and any complaints about your orders will get you {{BLAM}}'med.
* Canon says you're going to go deaf, but whatever right? Hearing problems are the least [[grimdark]] thing in the entire setting. Or just stuff your ears with wads from your [[Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer|Uplifting Primer-]]{{BLAM}}
* Not just anybody can drive one of these, therefore you are not as expendable as other Guardsmen, and Commissars are less likely to shoot you if you start fleeing (which is frankly what you '''SHOULD''' do if the enemy comes close to your art{{BLAM}}

[[Category: Warhammer 40,000]]

[[Category: Imperial]]

[[Category: Imperial Guard]]

[[Category: Chaos]]

[[Category: Lost and the Damned]]

[[Category: Vehicles]]

{{40k-Imperial-Vehicles}}

{{Template:Imperial-Guard}}

{{Lost-and-Damned}}

Basilisk Artillery Gun

2021-10-22T13:45:08Z

2001:8003:1D0D:301:693F:3A5C:7389:195A: Undo revision 793133 by 2A02:1811:3B7F:800:783E:C564:A798:7A0A (talk) Because you're adding strikethroughs and arguing on the main page

Basilisk Artillery Gun

2021-10-22T04:40:07Z

2001:8003:1D0D:301:693F:3A5C:7389:195A: Undo revision 792753 by 2A02:1811:3B7F:800:4437:1569:764C:54A3 (talk) Strikethroughs and arguing