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Chick Tracts

2019-02-14T05:48:29Z

2001:8003:3800:800:31C8:CA3A:2763:15D2: Undo revision 553717 by 115.70.44.117 (talk)

{{Fail}}

Ah, Jack Chick. Will you ever stop failing?

''Even in death, he still fails.''

[[Image:0046_01.jpg|thumb|right|The legend.]]

Chick Tracts --being steaming piles of ignorance and batshit-lunacy ''even by the standards of religious fundamentalists''-- are a huge group of blatant moralfagging comics/stories done by Jack Chick Ministries, attempting to convince younger readers that evolution is a lie, rock and roll is the tool of the Devil, the Catholic Church created Islam, Communism, Nazism and the Freemasons, (only <s>two</s> one of whom didn't turn on them ), the Catholic Church is a vile conspiracy created by pagans (Hint: He was a savage anti-Catholic, an Islamaphobe, a homophobe, an anti-semite, an anti-indian, and anti-everything! Though, his second marriage was interracial, however, and lasted until his death.) and that celebrating Halloween makes you a satanist. He only avoided being a parody American Christianity by the unfortunate fact that he was a real guy. The only reason that Chick Tracts are notable on [[/tg/]] are two very specific reasons:

*1. They have a lengthy segment explaining how [[Dungeons and Dragons]] is [[Dark Dungeons|a gateway towards Satanism and Witchcraft]].
*2. They are ''so'' egregiously stupid that they've spawned dozens of instant [[meme]]s, including [http://1d4chan.org/wiki/File:Exterminatus.jpg this].

==History==
Jack Thomas Chick (April 13, 1924 - October 23, 2016) was an American publisher, writer and comic book artist of evangelical Christian tracts and comic books. He has been called the most published comic book author in the world. Yes, even beyond DC with its rodeo clown characters and prostitutes.

Chick was born somewhere in the unholy shitpit called California, for where else can such fail be given birth. The son of a commercial artist and his eldest at that, his family moved Alhambra wherein Whacky Jacky joined the High School drama club and was most un-Christian. Therefore proving that this man was a hypocrite and not a true believer in Lord Jesus Christ (A.S). So much so, that the true Christians who abode there avoided him. In his own words he claimed to be; "the last man on Earth who would accept Christ." Some believe that he went from being a complete dickhead who hates everyone who then "converted" to Christianity just so he could be a complete dickhead to everyone else while using his selected religion as an excuse to insult everything around him (this is most likely true as only a total fucktard like Jack would do something like this.)

After his graduation, he continued his drama education at the Pasadena Playhouse School of Theater on a two-year scholarship.In February 1943, Chick was drafted as a private in the U.S. Army. He served for three years in the Pacific theater, serving in New Guinea, Australia, the Philippines and Japan. Chick credits his time overseas with inspiring him to translate his tracts into many different languages and says he has "a special burden for missions and missionaries." Therefore proving that he was not only an incompetent combatant, but also irreligious. Afterwards, he returned to 'Murka and apparently converted to Christianity by listening to a fucking radio show. Yes, this man did not convert by reading the Bible, or searching his soul, longing for spiritual sustenance, nor did he do so for the lulz, he listened to a fucking radio show.

If you're wondering why his beliefs are so far out there that even many fundamentalists go "wait.. what?" it may be because he spent a little too much time listening to drug-addicted-former-occultist-conspiracy-theorist-sexual-predator, John Todd. Truly a credible source on the evils of D&D, Christian Rock and Catholicism.

In 2005, a fine thing called a heart attack struck at him but failed to kill him. But it is no less a hero for trying. Shortly thereafter he had a triple coronary artery bypass. He then returned to seclusion and <s>awaits death</s> finally kicked the bucket, and is standing before God who is yelling at him "How dare you presume to speak for me! I have a mind to create a hell just to throw YOU in, Jack. You made me look like some deranged, psychopathic, egomaniacal, self centered, vain bastard... GUARDS!!! GUARDS get in here, NOW!!!!!"

And as of October 23, 2016, it's finally happened. One less total paranoid incompetent loony now roams the earth. However, his legacy has been so entrenched that his work will surely outlive him as his ghost-artists and writers continue to carry up his absurd views for the foreseeable future.

==So, why is this guy so hated?==
Perhaps because he was woefully misinformed on several issues. Allow us to list his more general offenses against Religion, Rationality, Good taste and Tabletop.

*He was violently intolerant of all religions except his own. That includes but is not limited to: Islam, Judaism and ALL FORMS OF CHRISTIANITY THAT DO NOT FIT HIS PERSONAL VIEW. He had a special hatred of Roman Catholics, who he was sure were Satan's agents on Earth, and one of his tracts was (I kid you not) [http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0074/0074_01.asp THE DEATH COOKIE]. Yet somehow in one of his latest comics he portrayed Eastern Orthodox Christians in a positive light, though many would argue it is much more creepy and threatening when a batshit insane person likes you as opposed to hates you (especially when they involve you in one of their stupid and illogical conspiracy theories, which he, of course, did). Though it might simply be explained that he was just too uneducated about Orthodoxy, because if he would realize that Orthodox are quite similar to Catholics in absolute majority of things, he might've had... a different opinion...
**He has this insane obsession with the King James version of the Bible, an edition that's been since been considered inaccurate in interpretation when there have been better versions available. Being delusional, he considers this all a satanic plot made to mislead Christians into going to hell because he considers it right(while he was by no means the only fundie who refused to use any other translation, almost none of the world's KJV-onlyists have been ''this'' crazy).
**Non-Christians are invariably portrayed as either completely off their meds or pants-on-head retarded (usually leading to one of them asking "durr wuts a jesus" at some point), while Christians are invariably portrayed as smug, self-righteous twats, thereby managing to piss off everyone.
*He claimed that Dungeons and Dragons is a gateway to Satan, [[Satanic Panic|just like everyone else on that bandwagon]]. Nevermind the fact that Gygax himself was a Christian (...sort of; Gygax was a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses. It's an ongoing topic of debate that's beyond the scope of this wiki as to whether they should be considered a Christian denomination or their own separate religion, but that's still a far cry from outright ''Satanism'' [not that it would likely have made a difference to Jack, of course]), hence why Angels were the good guys and demons were evil. He had a similar view about [[Lord of the Rings]] and Harry Potter (probably due to Tolkien being a Catholic). And *that* is why he drew /tg/'s ire, attacking fantasy fiction that were often based on Christianity itself. Sadly, we have no knowledge on his opinions about Narnia, written by one of the most charismatic Christian authors (''unambiguously'' Christian, we might add), C.S Lewis. We can probably safely assume that he only had frothing hatred for it however, owing to his inability to read into anything that isn't the KJV Bible.
*He outlived [[Gary Gygax]] on both sides, which is like the cherry on this horrible sundae.
*His artwork is shitty. Fred Carter, a black guy who did the work for plenty of his tracts and comics, has a remarkably more realistic art style.

But, truly the only reason is due to his Dark Dungeons comic strip which is a vicious smorgasboard of unrivaled lulz that happens to be a metaphor for how Dungeons and Dragons is gateway to the Unholy. Due to the sheer audacity of this man daring to heap shame upon the favorite pastime of neckbeards, they have banded together unleash their copious rage and DERP upon him. Though they are justified in this, srsly, did you read the above?

However, any parodies of his comics espousing what is considered to be a more 'enlightened' point of view are often loaded with just as much FAIL and hypocrisy as the original tracts.

==Quotes==
* Ms. Frost: "Okay, Wizard, cast your spell!"
* Debbie: "Okay, Dungeon Master. My spell of light blinds the monster."

* Frost: "The thief, Black Leaf, did not find the poison trap, and I [[Railroad|declare her dead.]]"
* Marcie: '''"NO, NOT BLACK LEAF! NO, NO! I'M GOING TO DIE! Please don't make me quit the game! Somebody save me! You can't do this!"'''
* Frost: "Marcie, get out of here. '''YOU'RE DEAD!''' [[What|<u>You don't exist any more</u>.]]"
* Mrs Baxter: "Don't make the mistake of believing that good people go to heaven and bad people got to hell. That's a lie straight from the Devil." (The Tract this comes from concerns a little kid getting hit by a car on Halloween night after he went to a Haunted House. Guess where he went? Go on, guess.)

==See Also==
[[Dark Dungeons]]

[http://humpin.org/mst3kdd/ The righteous Mystery Science Theater 3000 parody of Dark Dungeons!]

[http://godlesscomics.com/comics The response if you're an atheist and/or annoyed.]

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=subQrEPKytA A "measured" review of the film.]

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category:FAIL]][[Category:Awesome]]

Genestealer Hybrids

2019-02-03T10:48:10Z

2001:8003:3800:800:31C8:CA3A:2763:15D2: /* Kelermorph Hybrids */

[[File:GenestealersGenerations.jpg|700px|right|thumb|'A ''Family'' Picture'.]]
A Hybrid is what happens when a [[Genestealer]] has done its [[/d/|'business']] with an impregnated victim before said victim starts to copulate and birth abominable spawns. Said spawns are called Hybrids and make up the majority of a [[Genestealer Cult]].

==Overview==
As touched briefly on the [[Genestealer]] page, Purestrain Genestealers can only reproduce by infecting a victim with their genetic material. The gene-host survives as a healthy human being, but, upon becoming a parent, the gene-host's firstborn child is indelibly marked by the gene-infection. Once the child matures into a Human-Genestealer Hybrid, it can pass the infection on to other Humans, whose firstborn will also be born as Hybrids. It is only the firstborn child of infected parents that is a Human-Genestealer Hybrid; later offspring will always be normal humans, though they will be similarly slaved to their hybrid siblings (see also [[Brood Brothers]]).

The first generation Hybrids closely resemble Purestrain Genestealers. But, with each new generation of Hybrids, Genestealer traits give way to Human traits, until fourth generation Hybrids are all but indistinguishable from untainted Humans. However, a Hybrid will always display the Genestealer's primal instincts; these always remain in their genetic structure, and - no matter how Human in appearance - a Hybrid belongs to the Genestealer brood.

Purestrain Genestealers are totally incapable of passing as Human. Their multiple arms, bulbous heads, glaring eyes, and animal crouch give them away; no amount of clothing and make-up can disguise such characteristics. However, later generations, particularly the third and fourth, become more humanoid in appearance. Indeed, many Genestealers of advanced generations can appear as Humans at first glance, especially if wearing concealing clothing. However, as their sharp teeth and hypnotic eyes are somewhat of a giveaway, they tend to avoid speaking to strangers or looking at people straight in the face.

It follows that, in many ways, the later generation Hybrids are the most dangerous - they can move freely among Humans, passing on their terrible disease unnoticed.

==Generations==
Each hybrid generation possesses a somewhat specific anatomy. By infecting a victim with its genetic material, a Genestealer passes on some of its physical characteristics to the victim's first offspring. In the first generation, this gives rise to a Hybrid with a number of Genestealer traits. Through successive generations of Hybrids these traits become less extreme, until in the fourth generation the Hybrids can pass as normal Humans. [[Genestealer Aberrants]] can appear in any of the generations without warning as well.

*'''First generation''': The first generation Hybrids are born to human (or otherwise) parents, one of which has been infected. Of all the generations they resemble Genestealers most closely. They have either three or four arms.
*'''Second generation''': Second generation hybrids always possess three arms, one of which ends in the Genestealer claw. However, their skin starts to become smoother and more human-like.
*'''Third Generation''': These hybrids possess bodies somewhere between the crouched bodies of Genestealers and the humanoid shapes of humans. They appear perpetually crouched, possess two or three arms, one of which might end in a Genestealer claw. Some lack the ovipositor of preceding generations; these are called drones or neuters, although they can still infect other races through their blood. The [[Genestealer Primus|Primus]] and Nexos may appear in either this generation or the fourth, depending on the needs of the Genestealer cult. Kelermorphs also begin appearing here.
*'''Fourth Generation''': This generation is virtually indistinguishable from members of the host species save for their hairless bodies and the slightly purplish tinge in their skin tone. They retain the hypnotic gaze of Genestealers, making them rather charismatic. A "mutant" which can appear among this generation is the [[Genestealer Magus|Magus]], which takes the highest position in a [[Genestealer Cult]], besides the [[Genestealer Patriarch]]. If needed, other types of specialists such as the [[Clamavus]], Biophagus, Sanctus, and Locus may also appear here. The first offspring of fourth generation hybrids are invariably purestrain genestealers, allowing the cycle to continue.

==Psychic Hybrids==
Purestrain Genestealers and first and second generation Hybrids have no psychic powers except for their innate abilities, Hypnotic Gaze and Brood Telepathy. Third and fourth generation Hybrids, however, will often have additional psychic powers. Inherited psychic traits passed on from infected psykers in the Hybrid's ancestry may become apparent in the near-human third and fourth generation Hybrids.

Purestrains and Hybrids can recognise human psykers when they find them. Genestealers are attracted to psykers, and share none of the normal human's prejudices against them, simply regarding them as exceptionally advanced specimens of the race. Consequently, the psykers in a community are among the first to be infected by the Stealer gene. This means that Human psychic traits will pass into the gene pool of the Hybrid brood, to be inherited by later generations. Thus, by the third and fourth generations, the Hybrids can develop full psychic powers in addition to possessing the two innate abilities of Genestealers.

Psychic Hybrids tap raw psychic energy emanating from the primitive Genestealer Power that exists in the warp - the shadow image of the Genestealer species' will to survive. Psychic Hybrids who worship a [[Chaos]] Power may of course draw psychic energy from their patron, thus tainting their simple Genestealer souls.

==Acolyte Hybrids==
[[File:99120117003_GenestealerAcolyteHybrids01.jpg|250px|right|thumb|What's worse than a normal Genestealer? A Genestealer with a fucking cement saw that can cut through tanks.]]

''Not to be confused with [[Acolyte]] which is a rank in the [[Inquisition]]''

Acolyte Hybrids are Genestealer Hybrids spawned from the first to second generation, thus they looked more like the Genestealers than the host-parents. During a Genestealer uprising, Acolytes specializes in close quarters combat, mixing their already dangerous physique with that of added Imperial weaponry and industrial equipment. When the time comes to throw off the torn robes they use to disguise their foulness, the Acolyte Hybrids crawl up to the surface and into the sunlight, their grotesque faces twisted in subhuman glee. They display a bizarre blend of the species from which they hail – the speed of a Purestrain Genestealer twinned with human cunning is a potent combination. These hybrids fire off volleys of pistol fire, before descending on the enemy in a riot of claws, close combat weapons and screamed praise to their masters.

Those Acolytes closest to the Patriarch form his inner coven - forming a cold intelligence which helps temper their [[RIP AND TEAR|less-than-human]] [[Rape|behaviors]] and makes them powerful agents of the cult in the process. Having assimilated an echo of their parent’s brain during gestation, they are able to use complex machinery and weaponry; some even carry industrial tools to battle, wreaking devastation upon the flesh of those who stand before them.

The most intelligent and capable of the Acolyte Hybrids will be entrusted with a sacred duty: the bearing of the cult’s colors into battle. These creatures are known as '''Acolyte Iconwards'''.

Acolyte Hybrids are armed with close range weapons, thus they are equipped with autopistols, close combat weapons, blasting charges and rending claws as well as hand flamers, a heavy rock saw, a heavy rock drill (with backpack) and a heavy rock cutter to [[RIP AND TEAR|rip apart]] tanks and armoured vehicles of the defenders. Acolyte Leaders can be armed with a bonesword and a lashwhip.

==Neophyte Hybrids==
[[File:99120117004_GenestealerNeophytes01.jpg|250px|right|thumb|The Neophyte Hybrids [[Blood Ravens|'thank']] the Imperial Guard for graciously giving them their entire detachments of [[Leman Russ Battle Tank|Leman Russ Tanks.]]]]

''Not to be confused with [[Neophyte]] which is a [[Space Marine]] in training''

Unlike the more grotesque Acolytes, Neophytes clearly come from third and fourth generation Genestealer Hybrids due to their more human looking qualities.

Of course, this is not often the case and is considered a broad generalization. In actuality, though they have a classic bipedal anatomy, their distended craniums, beetling foreheads and waxy pallor mean they are often seen as mutants, and are hence shunned and persecuted by the greater masses of the Imperium. Those of the fourth generation find it far easier to pass for human. Inveigling themselves into worker gangs, Administratum facilities, manufactorum shifts and hive networks.

While they lack in the extremely lethal claws of the Acolytes and more purestrains, Neophyte compensates this for their specialization in range combat as their more human hands and dexterity allows ease in holding a gun. Because of how human they look, Neophytes exploit this by joining the [[Imperial Guard]] or [[Planetary Defense Force]] in order to [[Blood Ravens|'loot or borrow']] powerful Imperial weaponry, equipment and even vehicles into the Cult's arsenal. When the Cult signals their attack, Neophytes swarm from sewers, catacombs and shadowy barracks, overwhelming their enemies and seizing control of entire planets within hours.

As they are more suited and trained in the Imperial Guard/PDF, Neophytes thus, work best in long range combat and are equipped with autoguns, autopistols and blasting charges as well as shotguns, seismic cannons, heavy stubbers or mining lasers to annihilate mass waves of infantry. A Neophyte Leader can be armed with a web pistol, autopistol or bolt pistol and a chainsword, power pick or close combat weapon.

On a more trivial note, due to their enhanced Tyranid musculature, Neophytes also serve as fine laborers, capable of toiling endlessly without complaint. This could partially explain why Genestealer Cults manage to somehow get a unlimited supply of mining and industrial equipment. [[Heresy|They sure like flexing those heretical xenos muscles.]]

==Hybrid Metamorphs==
[[File:99120117003_GenestealerMetamorphs01.jpg|250px|right|thumb|"Look Ma! Four Scything Talons!"]]
Hybrid Metamorphs are special types of Genestealer Hybrids that use weapons more commonly found on other [[Tyranid]] organisms. These Metamorphs scuttle forward with preternatural speed, weapon limbs thrashing and biomorphs pulsing with toxins. Spontaneously spawned in a cult’s later cycles, they are thought to be created when a Tyranid hive fleet nears a prey planet that is host to a [[Genestealer Cult]].

When the day of the uprising arrives, it is the Hybrid Metamorphs that take pride of place upon the front line. In a storm of iron-hard claws, sinewy tentacles and slashing talons they crush and hack their way through everything in their path, an inspiration to the broodkin that worship them as sainted heroes of the cult. Essentially speaking, the closer a Hive Fleet is to the targeted planet, the more likely that first and second generation Hybrids would sprout nifty biomorphs. As such, to the greater cult, the Metamorphs mutations are seen as blessings of a higher power. Hybrid Metamorphs are worshiped as [[Living Saint|living saints]] by the infected hosts that sire them. [[Just As Planned|In truth, they are created not by the Patriarch’s will, but by the immortal sentience of the Hive Mind.]]

Due to their flexibility, Hybrid Metamorphs gain weapons not commonly found on regular Hybrids such as Metamorph talons (read: [[Lictor]] talons), [[Carnifex]] crushing claws, and [[Tyranid Warrior|Warrior]] lashwhips. Other more common equipment for the Metamorphs includes autopistols, blasting charges, rending claws, feeder tendrils, hand flamers, a heavy rock saw, a heavy rock drill (with backpack) and a heavy claw cutter. Metamorph Leaders can be armed with a bonesword.

Though it is common for two of a Hybrid Metamorph’s weapon-limbs to become solely adapted for war, the third remains truly prehensile, able to manipulate complex machinery and utilize Human weaponry and technology.

==Kelermorph Hybrids==
[[File:Kelermorph.jpg| 250px|right|thumb|The Good, the Bad and the ''really'' fucking Ugly.]]
A new and cool Genestealer Hybrid, also known as McSkree. This gun-slinging Hybrid looks like he just got dropped in a Western and told to [[Pretend|'blend in',]] or if you're in the classics, they would look like the [[Awesome|lovechild between a Genestealer and Clint Eastwood.]] Seriously, with that poncho and pose, all it is missing is a cowboy hat.

Kelermorphs are a type of third-generation Genestealer Hybrid that specialize in killing the Cult's enemies in a blaze of high-caliber revolver fire. Because it resembles a fusion between Neophyte and Acolyte Hybrids, it would seem that the Kelermorph is in the 'intermediate' stage between the two.

Like an Acolyte Hybrid, the Kelermorph is less distinctly human and still possess three arms each ending in a humanoid hand. However, like the Neophyte Hybrid, it does not seem to suffer of being born with some Tyranid Biomorphs and retains all three humanoid fingers that whilst bestial, is at least somewhat articulate in function. So basically, the Kelermorph likes to abuse the hell out of it. As they say, the more hands the merrier.

Because of their nature of being vintage cowboy knockoffs, these chaps like to go in alone with very little form of visible backup. Thus, these lone wolves either [[Get shit done|get shit done]] or have his own band of Genestealer followers to get even ''more'' shit done. Many of them gain a reputation as folk heroes whose feats are whispered among anyone who's starting to distrust Imperial authority.

The most famous of these Kelermorph goes by the name of Ghyrson Starn, [[Lolwut|who is such a famous Genestealer cultist that he has his own band of fanboys following him around.]] He leads the kill team known as Starn's Disciples, which is composed of Acolytes and Metamorphs respectively. [[Lulz|Yeah, it is both ridiculous and hilarious that we have canonical Genestealer idols.]] Next thing you know, the [[Hive Mind]] would be formulating some devious plans to [[Extra Heresy|create a legion of kawaii xenos insect girls to]] [[Weeaboo|tempt the more weak-willed of Imperial followers.]]
{{Genestealer-Cult}}

Dante

2019-02-03T08:48:06Z

2001:8003:3800:800:31C8:CA3A:2763:15D2: /* The trials */

[[File:Dante book cover.jpg|thumb|400px|The man in action]]
{{Topquote|The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.|Robert Frost}}
{{Topquote|Are you only the legend, or are you the truth behind the legend?|Amphiaraus to Hercules}}

'''Dante''' is the [[Chapter Master|Lord Commander ]] of the [[Blood Angels]], and Warden of the [[Warhammer 40,000 8th edition|Imperium Nihilus]], basically second in command to only the [[Roboute Guilliman|Imperial Regent]] himself.

A legendary figure in the 42nd Millennium, Dante has been a Space Marine for over 1600 years, including the last 1200 as Chapter Master. He embodies the [[Noblebright#8chan Anon Explains the Grim/Noble and Dark/Bright Spectrum|Nobledark]] in the [[Grimdark]] of 40k, and has kicked the asses of countless xenos, mutants, heretics and daemons in countless wars upon countless worlds. If it exists, he killed at least one.

==Background==

===Early life===
[[File:Baal.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Where it all begins.]]
Dante's childhood is detailed in the novel ''Dante'' by Guy Haley. According to the book, Dante was born in the Great Salt Waste of Baal Secundus (Baalfora) in approximately 445.M40. His father, Arreas, was a kind but undistinguished member of the Salt clans (Irkuk clan to be specific) that made a living harvesting salt from the chemically contaminated land (they travel in sand roamers, very much like the sandcrawlers of Tatooine). His mother died giving birth to a younger brother when he was seven (452.M40), the baby [[grimdark|naturally]] dying as well.

Dante was the boy's 'Angel' name, equivalent to the traditional Christian baptismal name, whereas Luis was his personal name. Most Baalite clans used their Angel name in day-to-day life, but Dante's people preferred their personal names. So, Luis is generally used in the book for the scenes where Dante is a child.

As Baalfora was a post-apocalyptic hell-hole (think [[Fallout]] with a strong flavour of Mad Max), the Salt clans were malnourished, physically stunted, and suffering from radiation. The Blood Angels did not think highly of them as a source of potential recruits. An in-universe observation is made that the Salt Clans were small and scattered, and so the inference to be drawn is that there was not much fighting to be had to breed a martial culture among them. You can imagine Dante's relative chances of becoming a Space Marine in such conditions. That said, life in the Great Salt Waste was no easy-living. Dante killed his first man when he was ten, helping his people fight off nomads who had attacked their caravan.

===Journey to Angel's Fall===
Dante had grown up hearing the stories of the Blood Angels from his father. When news came that there was to be a trial (456.M40), Dante decided to attempt it. However, his father Arreas tried to discourage him from attempting to join by guilt tripping about abandoning family. Arreas also pointed out that Dante's chances were not good. As a boy of only eleven, Dante would be much smaller and weaker physically than other potential recruits. The ''Warlords of the Dark Millennium'' (WotDM) info book is more explicit in stating that Dante’s growth had been stunted by malnutrition, and his body damaged by exposure to the rad-deserts of Baalfora (but so too the case for everyone else). Regardless, Dante knew the next trials would be a generation away (probably he would be dead then or too old for the gene-seed implantation procedure if he did live that long), and so this was now or never. One night, Dante left home without a farewell to his father, making off for Angel's Fall where the trials were held.

Dante made it, showing bravery and character, but also benefiting from a combination of luck and fate. Dante fucked up at the very beginning, losing his roamer to a type of quick sand due to his own fault. He would have died of thirst while traveling across the sand dunes on foot, if not for the [[Sanguinor]], who appeared and pointed the way to life saving water. Dante subsequently befriended a pair of older aspirants (Florian and Daneill) who did not kill him opportunistically (what are the chances?), as you suspect might or should happen to small boys traveling alone in WH40K. Well, Florian and Daneill did contemplate snuffing Dante there and then, but you can only take [[Grimdark]] so far (plus with Dante's literal guardian angel hanging around, its not like this will get anywhere if they tried).

Thereafter there is a heroic episode in which Dante shows great bravery and resolve, but continuing to benefit from luck. It was the numbers that saw the boys through when attacked by a Fire Scorpion (and it was only a juvenile), but Daneill died when he drank 'thirst water', which [[grimdark|sucks the moisture out of anything it touches]]. The final hurdle is using a winged para-glider to traverse the canyon from the Heavenwall mountains (the 'Angel's Leap', here being where Sanguinius first flew). The potential aspirants were attacked by Blood Eagles, but Dante and Florian were one of the few survivors (both besties by now).

===The trials===
[[File:Blood angel aspirants.jpg|300px|thumb|right|The Blood Angels and their aspirants. Don't worry, you'll be as pretty as us in no time.]]
After receiving a pass for genetic compatibility, and potential (''First Winnowing''), Dante begins the first set of athletic trials, where he fails to distinguish himself. He expects to be failed at this stage (''Second Winnowing''), but makes it through into the second stages, which he also survives without distinction in feats of combat and physical valour. However, it is here that Dante begins to show a flair for leadership, which he uses to help guide his team to victory in the ''Trial of War''. Besides leadership, Dante's biggest strength and ultimate point of character, is his heart and morality. When it came to his final physical test (''Final Choosing''), the High Chaplain of the time pitted him against his best friend Florian, whom he was urged to kill. Although Florian had reluctantly committed himself to the task, Dante pulled a [[Star Wars|Luke Skywalker]] after getting the best of his friend and threw down his staff, telling the Chaplain to stuff it. To which the Chaplain gave him a pass--clearing the most treacherous test of all (Florian obviously failed), one called the [[Horus|Test of Horus]]. The Blood Angels egg on aspirants to shred their inhibitions about personal loyalty by matching them against those who were observed to be have become their friends or close comrades during earlier in the trials. First, the chaplains would urge them to kill comrades for the 'greater good' of serving the Emperor as remorseless killers. If that fails, aspirants are threatened with rejection, or tempted furthermore by promises of power and glory. Everything is a trick, patterned after Horus (aka Satan) tempting Sanguinius (aka Jesus Christ) on the Vengeful Spirit during the Siege of Terra. All true Blood Angels will do as Sanguinius did. [[Awesome|Fucking Brilliant]].

In the ultimate trial, the ''Winnowing of Weariness'', aspirants are made to take a long vigil without falling asleep. However, Dante fell asleep (failing the task), dreaming of his parents. It was the Sanguinor that roused him before the Blood Angels could catch on. Damn, he is a man of destiny [[Mary Sue|or what]].

During the gene-seed implantation (''Blood Change''), Dante drank from the chalice containing the blood of Sanguinius, and then [[Vampire|slumbered in a sarcophagus for a year]]. As was normal, Dante had visions of Sanguinius' life and times. What was unusual was that Dante survived drifting in and out of consciousness, while screaming the names of figures and events from Blood Angels history in great torment. Normally those who suffered like this died while trying to claw their way out, or emerged as monsters in the thralls of the [[Black Rage]]. However, Dante emerged in normal condition, every inch the angel that the gene-seed implantation was supposed to produce. Some Blood Angels believed that it was a sign of greatness. The Black Rage could not be held off forever, but only forestalled. Dante's mastery of his anger inside the sarcophagus basically foreshadowed his future potential to hold off the Black Rage for an absurd length of time (1600 years and counting).

Generally, the novelisation (if you can't tell by now, it is fucking awesome) tries to avoid making Dante a Mary Sue (Haley neatly undercuts the trope in chapter one), but it is clear that he is a man of destiny. So, there is a bit of a revisionism to the earlier fluff about his non-Mary sueishness that readers drew from the WotDM info book. Dante (at this stage) is clearly not the strongest, but he is good enough, and certainly good-hearted enough to be the chosen of whatever force that guides the Sanguinor.

==The Blood Angel==

===Scout to Chapter Master===
[[File:The_Red_Angel.jpg|thumb|400px|right|What he looked like before getting kitted in gold.]]
In the novels and the rest of the fluff, Lord Commander Dante is generally portrayed as a stern but kind fatherly figure to the Blood Angels, who's a good guy and [[Meme|doesn't afraid of anything]]. But before becoming a legend, he was simply Captain Dante, and before that Sergeant Dante, and of course, a battle-brother and a scout at the beginning.

;Scout
As a young Space Marine scout, Dante fought against the Orks in the Ash Wastes of the planet Rora, Eudyminous System (467.M40). It was Dante's 23rd engagement. Turns out that his sergeant, Gallileon, is assessing him for potential as a line officer, and so he gets put on the spot. Dante's tactical plan works, but then he was also at fault for leading the Orks onto his squad in the first place. So, good brain, but not an infallible warrior. The larger campaign is more difficult for the Blood Angels Company, and the Sanguinor himself has to bail them out.

A few years later in 470.M40, Dante fought under Sergeant Basileus on Ereus V, participating in the extermination of the Orreti. However, Dante [[heresy|sympathised with the fate of the pitiful Xenos race]]. Blood Angels indoctrination techniques are quite obviously a [[fail]], or perhaps Dante was too much for them, the [[noblebright|Mr. noblebright]] that he is. On the other hand, Dante and the Blood Angels do end up going all vampire on the Orreti, mercy be damned. Yeah, who would miss these sorry-ass aliens? <s>Ugluk</s> Basileus: looks like meat is back on the menu boys! Of course, this obviously has to be the first step on Dante's route to non-blood sucking enlightenment.

;Battle Brother
Dante has his first encounter (besides an aspirant who came back mad from inside the sarcophagus) with the Black Rage in the hive world of Tobias Halt (518.M40). Battling the Chaos marines of the ''Purge'' warband, Dante's battle-brother Laziel falls to the rage and thinks they are the old legion, relieving the siege of Terra. More problematically for Dante, his fury at his inability to protect the factory workers of Holywell Hive leads to his fall to a bloodlust which culminates in him slaughtering the traitor marines, and then draining the factory workers. After that he swore off the partaking of blood save for sacrimental rituals.

;Sergeant and Captain
Dante rose to become the Captain of the Blood Angels 5th company in 753.M40. He replaced Captain Avernis, who fell during the assault on the Odrius <s>pirate lair</s> freeport in Mas the year before. At that point, Dante had been a sergeant, leading 'Squad Dante'. The Eldar corsair king Hellaineth attempted to engage Dante in [[heresy|some philosophical discussions]], but Dante wisely turned him down. While the port was destroyed, Hellaineth escaped, and not before leaving Dante with some niggling doubts anyway. Damn Space Elves. But no worry, the Sanguinor is there to ensure the emperor's finest remains eternally committed to the good fight.

;Rise to Chapter Master

In the WotDM info book, Dante became the Chapter Master in approximately 900-999.M40. Turns out that Dante was not chosen because he was the best of the Captains, but simply because he was the only surviving line officer after the debilitating Kallius Insurrection that left no more than 200 Blood Angels alive. Some might interpret this as lessening Dante's legend, and indeed the point is raised in the infobook from an in-universe POV. As a legend of M41, there is a retrospective rose-tinted perception of his every deed, and how Dante became a Chapter Master is apparently a matter the Blood Angels care not to discuss. [[Derp|This is stupid]]. It is actually saying something that Dante is the only line officer left after perhaps the most dangerous campaign the Blood Angels had fought in a long time. In WH40K survivors are the winners, and Dante was a survivor. Whoever wrote that bit of fluff did not think it through.

The WotDM is only one version of how Dante became Chapter Master. Another version of his ascent involves the Secoris Disaster, which is similar enough to the Kallius Insurrection, whilst maintaining some key differences. In this, Captain Dante and Captain Kadeus were the only line officers who survived the Secoris Tragedy (996.M40), a disastrous attempt by the entire chapter (under Chapter Master Sangallo) to cleanse the [[Space Hulk]] Sin of Damnation. Only fifty Blood Angels survive. Kadeus would go on to become Chapter Master, and together with Dante, rebuild the chapter. Ultimately, Kadeus would die in the Blood Angels fortress-monastery on Baal, naming Dante as his successor and handing him the Axe Mortalis.

Obviously the dates are off, for the latest fluff has Dante as Chapter Master for over 1000 years. However, due to the Imperium's [[administratum|shitty record keeping]] (acknowledged from a meta POV in WotDM), it is quite possible to <s>correct</s> hedge the dates. Alternatively, Dante has been Chapter Master for less than thousand years, and the whole over a thousand year shtick is Imperium propaganda (possibility acknowledged in WotDM). To be sure, the Secoris tragedy comes from the earlier fluff by James Swallow (see ''Dante: Lord of the Host'') and Gav Thorpe (''Space Hulk''), but not that old. Moreover, the Sin of Damnation (Secoris incident) is mentioned prominently in the Blood Angels 7th ed (2014), whereas the dates for Dante's rule of the chapter is not quite clear from it.

Finally, note that Blood Angels codex like the 5th and 6th ed state that that [[Darnath Lysander|Lysander]] does not recall a time when Dante was not the Chapter Master of the Blood Angels. Since Lysander was lost in the warp in late M40, and reappeared almost a thousand years later in 964.M41 (Codex: Space Marines 5th ed), Dante must have been Chapter Master before the former date. Thus, it is probably the Secoris tragedy that has been retconned, or at least, given less precedence by recent BL writers.

Ultimately, whatever fluff you choose to follow, Dante was a badass. It was to him to lead the Blood Angels Chapter during the Dark Millennium that is M41.

That said, the 8th Edition Blood Angels Codex (most recent on the moment of writing) also reinforces previously mentioned info from 5th and 6th codexes, as [[Darnath Lysander|Captain Lysander]] still doesn't recall times when Blood Angels had the Chapter Master other than Dante, thus making his ascension after Kallius Insurrection more likely one, if not outright makes it canon.

===Lord Commander===
[[File:Vampire Awesomeness Incarnate.png|thumb|400px|right|One of the best ever pieces depicting Dante.]]
There is some fluff in the novels about Dante's personality as a leader. Basically, it can be said that he functions as an executive authority of the Blood Angels, rather than a 'lord' (like a Jedi Master of the High Council rather than the pre-Ruusan Reformation Jedi Lords). However, the title of ''Lord Commander'' is often used in conjunction with ''High Lord'' in the Blood Angels series by James Swallow. Meanwhile, the 7th ed codex and WotDM infobook seems to have shortened the title to just ''Commander'', while including subsidiary titles like ''Master of the Blood Angels'' and ''Lord of the Angelic Hosts''. It is not clear what exactly is the precise wording of the title. Swallow enjoys appending 'Lord' or 'High Lord' to Commander, but it could be just be reflecting the in-universe reverence of the Blood Angels for Dante. In any case, Dante behaves anything but like a 'lord' or 'master'. He is first-among-equals amongst the Blood Angels (or likes to think himself as such). He addresses First Captain [[Karlaen]] as brother, and brooks no ceremony while interacting with [[Mephiston]] and others.

According to the WotDM infobook, Dante has led the Blood Angels to their "most glorious and triumphant millennia since the time of the [[Great Scouring|Scouring]]". Some of his notable personal exploits are mentioned here.

; The Gates of Pandemonium (Undated; M40-M41?)
Dante kicked [[Skarbrand]]'s ass at Pandemonium sometime during M41, casting the creature back into the warp. With Skarbrand’s banishment, the Daemonic armies were overwhelmed by the Blood Angels.

; Skylos (Undated; M40-M41?)
Dante defeated a powerful Chaos chronomancer at Skylos, who had shrouded the whole planet with his dark sorcery. The chronomancer would attempt to use time as a weapon against Dante, even stealing several decades of his life. Unfortunately for the chronomancer, the loss of a few decades is irrelevant to one such as Dante, who [[awesome|hacked him down with the Axe Mortalis]] (detailed in the short story ''Dante: Lord of the Host'').

; Ruden III (Undated; M40-M41?)
Dante's victory over Eldar corsairs on Ruden III is mentioned as one of his legendary deeds in ''Shield of Baal: Exterminatus''.

; Vetrim (Undated; M40-M41?)
Dante's role in the liberation of Vetrim from its Tau overlords and human turncoats is one of the legendary deeds singled out in ''Shield of Baal: Exterminatus''.

; Orana (Undated; M40-41?)
Sometime during M41 Dante personally led the Blood Angels strike force that saved the planet of Orana from an invasion of Chaos Space Marines and Daemons. Orana's capital hive was transformed into a hideous Hellspire, with stone and metal transformed into bloody flesh and bone, and Chaos sorcerers summoning a powerful Daemon lord. When all seemed lost Dante launched himself at the Daemon lord, banishing him back into the warp. With the Daemon's banishment, the Chaos forces were overwhelmed and the planet saved for the Imperium.

; Alchonis Campaign (Undated; M40-M41?)
Not much details about this, but that badass "I have seen all the evil that the galaxy harbours...." quote of Dante was uttered at the start of this campaign, with Dante personally involved (Codex Blood Angels 3rd ed).

; Pyrus Reach (Undated; M40-M41?)
Dante personally led a Blood Angels force during the Pyrus Reach campaign, which is featured in the ''Dark Millenium'' cardgame.
The conflict involved forces of Chaos led by [[Erebus]] and his [[Word Bearers]], and an Ork Waaagh! led by Warboss Garzulk the Faceless from the mighty Goffs clan. Space Elves from a Craftworld are also involved, and as usual, involved in some behind the scenes shenanigans that got the [[Dark Angels]] into the mess as well.

; Canau (Undated; M40-M41?)
Dante led the Blood Angels to liberate the planet of Canau from the Orks. Singled out as one of his most legendary exploits, subject to much mythmaking where he slew so many Orks that even the [[Matt Ward|Dark Lord]] has trouble accepting the numbers cited.

; Ultima Macharia (Undated; M40-M41?)
Dante performed some memorable deed here (Blood Angels 5th ed). No details are given, but possibly something to do with the [[Macharian Heresy]]. Most probably it is mentioned because it is the farthest planet on the western half of the galaxy, providing a nice mirror to Dante's involvement in Jonol (see below), the planet on the edge of the Eastern Fringes of the Segmentum Ultima.

; Jonol (Undated; M40-M41?)
Dante is mentioned as being involved in some bloody victory on this planet. Jonol is the homeworld of the Honoured Sons Space Marine Chapter, on the Eastern Fringes of the Galaxy, and probably the rationale for its prominence in Dante's fluff is to show he has fought across the length and breadth of the Imperium.

; Terion (Early M41)
Dante led the Blood Angels to relieve the world of Terion at the dawn of the 41st Millennium, defeating an alliance of [[Night Lords]] and the Traitor warband known as the Brotherhood of Darkness. In an upbeat ending, the devastated Terion was rebuilt into a paradise, and all that remains of the war’s legacy is a colossal monument to Dante in the capital city. [[Grimdark]]? What grimdark?

; WAAAGH! Big Skorcha (798.M41)
Dante led the Blood Angels in defense of Baal and its moons from WAAAGH! Big Skorcha, which included numerous Orks from three entire Space Hulks.

; Battle of Stonehaven (901.M41)
Dante led the drop assault that broke WAAAGH! Bludcrumpa's decade-long siege of the Forge World Ironhelm.

; Kalagazaar (911.M41)
When Grey Knight prognosticars predicted [[Ka'bandha]] return to the mortal world, the Grey Knights revealed themselves to the Blood Angels, bringing the news to Dante and proposing a joint strike. The Blood Angels and Grey Knights then attacked Ka'Bandha at his fortress on the Daemon world Kalagazar, banishing him and his Daemonic legions and then subjecting the planet to exterminatus. At the end of the mission the surviving Blood Angels have their memories wiped, with Dante having agreed to that at the mission's start. The fluff does not make it clear if Dante himself actually participated in the mission, but it seems much more probable that he did than not (7th ed rulebook).

; Second War for Armageddon (941.M41)
Dante's reputation led Chapter Masters [[Tu'Shan]] of the [[Salamanders]] and [[Marneus Calgar]] of the [[Ultramarines]] to acknowledge his overall command of imperial forces in [[Armageddon]].

At the walls of Tartarus Hive, Dante and Tu'Shan would famously fight side by side against [[Ghazghkull Thraka]] and his bodyguard, winning the day for the Imperium. A generation later, Dante's name is still spoken with reverence in Armageddon, and one of the Armageddon system's deep space monitoring installations was named in his honour.

; Malogrim (Undated; 941-999.M41?)
Sometime during M41 Dante personally led the Blood Angels as they defended the planet of Malogrim from a three-way invasion involving Orks, Dark Eldar, and Chaos Space Marines of the [[Emperor's Children]]. The Orks were led personally by [[Ghazghkull Thraka]], and the Dark Eldar spearheaded by [[Lelith Hesperax]] and her Wych Cult of Strife.

This conflict is undated, but the appearance of Ghazghkull gives a date shortly before 941.M40, or sometime afterwards. Of course, there is no hard and fast canon, and this is from a card game the ''Siege of Malogrim Hive''. Possibly there was never a date indicated, just like what developers claimed for [[Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine]].

;The Gehenna Campaign (955.M41)
Dante and the Blood Angels 3rd Company battled against the Necron Legions of the [[Silent King]] on Gehenna, his leadership allowing the company to fight the enemy to a stalemate for three standard weeks. When a Tyranid splinter fleet enters orbit, the Blood Angels and the Necrons ally to fight the common foe successfully. However, it turns out that the Necrons were using the Blood Angels, letting them bore the brunt of the fighting (hmmm, perhaps Dante would have done well to internalise the lessons about Xenos perfidy). The Necrons fled before the Blood Angels recognised the treachery, but Blood Angels propaganda made it out that Dante let them leave in gratitude for their 'contributions' to the defense. Heh, perhaps not only his exploits, but also virtues and nobility are exaggerated. Just kidding, we know Dante is the man despite the frankly silly fluff.

; The Blackfang Crusade (994.M41)
Dante mobilised the whole Blood Angels chapter, leading them to drive the Orks from their empire (twelve worlds) in the Blackfang system, and also its two neighbouring systems. [[Awesome|All in a single standard year]].

; The Third Tyrannic War (997.M41-early.M42)
[[File:Dante-vs-Hive-Tyrant.png|300px|thumb|right|Dante taking on a hive tyrant]]
Hive Fleet Leviathan, the largest Tyranid force ever to invade the Galaxy, is eventually defeated at Baal. Dante and the Blood Angels play an important role, contributing decisively in the Cryptus Campaign and the defense of Baal (and its moons) itself. Responding to Dante's call-to-arms, every 2nd founding chapter of the Blood Angels and later descendants (save the [[Lamenters]]) assembled at Baal. During the fighting, Baal Primus (Baalind) and Baal Secundus (Baalfora) were both destroyed, but the arrival of a relief force led by Guilliman allowed the Blood Angels to claim victory on Baal (8th ed). Dante is alive when Guilliman arrives, but the specifics of the battle and his ultimate survival won't be clear until Haley's ''Devastation of Baal'' releases in November 2017. Spoilers for Devestation of Baal: As the destruction of Baal came to a close, Dante and a mere 2000 marines from various chapters found themselves in a last-stand scenario. With the Arx Angelicum's defenses destroyed and no hope for victory left, each and every marine present inducted themselves into the Death Conpany using ash, soot, and blood in place of paint to darken their armor. Dante gives one final speech to the assembled marines before they began their suicide charge. In the process of pushing towards the Swarmlord as their final hope of victory, Dante willingly succumbs to the Red Thirst and very nearly falls to the Black Rage, telling himself that he'll see the Swarmlord dead before he gives in completely. As he and his forces pushed forward and were thinned out by the swarm, the Sanguinor and Legion of the Damned showed up and assisted Dante in reaching the Swarmlord. In the ensuing duel, Dante found that for all his might and experience, it was nothing compared to the might of the Swarmlord. In their duel, Dante attempted to weave around the Swarmlord to get swings in with the Axe Mortalis or shots with his perdition pistol, but barely drew any blood. As his jump pack ran out of fuel, the Swarmlord took advantage and very nearlt killed Dante then and there, but Dante abandoned his backpack all together. However, this had the unfortunate side effect of his armor no longer having a power source and it rapidly began shutting down. Dante made one final charge, parrying and shattering one of the Swarmlord's bone swords, however, the momentum of the sword continued through the blow and impaled Dante through one of his hearts. Before the Swarmlord could cleave Dante in two, his armor's sealing foam melded it to the bone sword and caught the Swarmlord unawares. Using this momentary hesitation, Dante aimed his perdition pistol at the Swarmlord's face and held the trigger. As he melted the Swarmlord into hot Tyranid goop, the Swarmlord severed the arm that was impaled through Dante. As he fell, he blanked out because of the pain, but awoke to the sight of the Swarmlord keeling over and dying, but not before it got one hateful glare in with one of its eyes. It is here that Dante finally succumbs to his wounds, but not before wondering who the golden warrior that Sanguinius saw dying before the Emperor was. He awoke to the sight of the Sanguinor who heralded Sanguinius himself. Sanguinius called Dante the greatest of his sons and said that Dante had earned his right to rest beside him for all time. Dante begged for eternal rest, but Sanguinius told him that he had one final duty to do, and poured strength into Dante, reviving him.

===Dark Imperium===
Dante lives to see the Blood Angels and the Imperium win against the Tyrannids on Baal. He meets with Guilliman afterwards, who names him Warden of Imperium Nihilus, the supreme commander of Imperial forces north of the Cicatrix Maledictum. Guilliman basically orders Dante not to kneel before him and says that he, above all else, earned the right to stand up with him.

==Appearance==
[[File:Dante Bloodquest.jpg|thumb|200px|left|He looks like this, but much older and with white hair]]
[[File:Dante Wargear.jpg|thumb|400px|right|Cool guys like Dante always get cool stuff.]]

Dante's eyes are described as pale amber, while his once golden hair has long since turned white (WotDM and the novelisation ''Dante''). In the ''Blood Quest'' comic series, his hair is long, going down to his chest à la Thranduil/Lucius Malfoy. [[Pretty Marines|Bishounen]] much?

Dante is so old that his age shows; his face is deeply wrinkled, and incredibly for a Space Marine, there are tell-tale signs of physical aging like loosening skin folds and loss of muscle definition. How old you ask? Apparently, the skins of ancient marines became thick and seamed with shallow wrinkles akin to cracks in leather. Aaand Dante has gone even further beyond that. His wrinkles at one point were so deep that they sharpened his "fine bone" face to "the point of brittleness", while the eyes suck into their sockets. Mainly the reason why Dante never shows his face in public; seeing him uncovered would shatter the mystique of the immortal golden hero. Okay, so not that Bishounen. Think Jedi Master Cin Drallig, with a flavour of Grand Moff Tarkin.

In the novel ''Deus Encarmine'', Dante is described as having a 'hawkish countenance', including an aquiline jaw and nose. It is said he had the "aspect of a predator at rest". So, one can imagine a patrician face, which looks like a snarling Elrond when enraged. Aaand the fangs. Don't forget that Blood Angels like Dante have long fangs which grow as far to prickle the lower lip.

Dante swore off living blood after a nasty vampire incident. Towards the end of the novelisation, Dante drinks blood after fifteen hundred hundreds years, which somewhat reverses his physical aging. Still old, but the blood gives him strength and youth (well, he is a [[Indrick Boreale|spehss]] vampire after all). Dante had previously taken sacramental blood, which seems to be a big thing in ceremonies etc. There is no reason why this should not have restored his youth, and indeed, Dante describes it as "borrowed life" as well. Perhaps there is something in the Blood Angels gene that allows them to draw strength from 'living' blood particularly.

Note that in the novelisation Dante brings up the in-universe speculations about the 'functional immortality' of Space Marines. He thinks that marines had rarely survived long enough to test the theory, but seeing himself after sixteen hundred years he doubts it is true. He is old, and wonders how many years he had left in him.

;Voice
Dante has a deep, badass baritone voice in the ''Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon'' video game. However, the ''Bloodquest: Prisoner of the Eye of Terror'' audiobook portrays him as having a sophisticated RP - ancient, wise and fatherly. The different setting of these stories (warrior in a wargame vs background role as ancient authority figure) could explain the choice of voice.

==The Man, the Myth, the Legend==
[[File:Tearing wires.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Someone made up a drawing of Dante fucking up a motherfucking Titan. The Imperium approves.]]
{{topquote|You are the greatest hero of the Imperium! Who can claim to have lived so long or achieved so much?|Dante's equerry <s>Alfred</s> Arafeo}}
{{topquote|I have seen all the evil that the galaxy harbours, and I have slain all whose presence defiles the Emperor.|Dante to the Blood Angels}}
{{topquote|My son, my greatest son.|Sanguinius to Dante}}
{{topquote|My historitors have struggled to create a concise history of your life.|Roboute Guilliman to Dante}}

Fluffwise, the WotDM for Dante seems to push for a trinity of 'big three' Space Marine Commanders of M41, including [[Logan Grimnar]], [[Marneus Calgar]], and Dante himself. The fluff goes on to present Grimnar as the most beloved figure in a folk hero sort of way, while Calgar turns out to be a four-star badass that is most respected in his capacity as a Chapter Master. In comparison, Dante is presented as a distant hero figure to the people of the Imperium, an immortal golden warrior whose deeds have become indistinguishable from legend.
In fact, even the Space Marines are in awe of Dante. [[Tu'Shan]], Chapter Master of the [[Salamanders]], and his Firedrake elite, kneel to greet Dante in ''The Burden of Angels''. Aaaand do not forget the ''The Diadem of Dante'', a Golden Iron Halo forged in honour of Dante as a great hero of the Imperium, but now proudly paraded by the [[Blood Ravens|Magpies]]. It is said that all those wearing it hope that some of Dante's might would rub off on them.

The WotDM outlines the in-universe myths and legends surrounding Dante. He is basically to the Imperium what Calgar is to the [[Matt Ward|Dark Lord]]. According to the Imperium, he is the oldest Space Marine alive, whereas that distinction actually belongs to the Blood Angels Veteran Sergeant Cleutin. Who cares about sergeants, eh? (but note the Cleutin fluff was 2nd ed, maybe retconned). Much is also made of the fact that Dante has basically got more shit done than several entire chapters founded in M41. AND the WotDM goes on to state this is not enough for the Imperium, they go full ham in which legend is intertwined with truth à la 'if-it-didn't-happen-it-should-have-happened" myth-making. Funnily enough, the [[Matt Ward|Dark Lord]] is very meta about Dante's legend in the Blood Angels 5th ed. It is noted that Dante has lived so long that "his exploits have passed into myth". Thus, it is now "now impossible to say" how many Ork he slew single-handedly during Liberation of Canau, and that the "tally grows greater each time the story is recounted". The Dark Lord also questions if Dante "truly" defeated Skarbrand before the Gates of Pandemonium?, and if it was "indeed a single mighty blow that
clove the Daemon in twain"? Finally, it is noted that only Dante himself could reveal whether there is truth to these stories, and how much is just Imperial legend and propaganda that Dante tolerates for the sake of providing a hero. The Dark Lord's own view is quite apparent since it is claimed that the "exaggerated nature of such tales must rankle" Dante. There is some truth to this, for it turns out that the Grey Knights needed to team up with Dante and the Blood Angels to defeat [[Ka'bandha]] on Kalagazaar in 911.M41. While Haley would also take this stance in the novelisation, you have to wonder if the [[Matt Ward|Dark Lord]] was truly writing clever meta, or he was just taking the shine off the major threat to his beloved [[Marneus Calgar|spiritual liege]].

Note that Dante's legend is not just the result of deliberate Imperium propaganda. The Imperium is a decentralised empire of a million worlds, and Dante's legend has been distorted by time and flawed retellings across the galaxy. The WotDM goes on to offer Dante's possible reaction to his legend. One view is that Dante lets his legend grow because he knows mankind needs heroes in the Dark Millenium. Another is that Dante has better things to do than pay heed to the words of mortal men and women.

The novelisation ''Dante'' basically states outright that Dante has tolerated the embellishment of his legend to provide humanity with a hero. In the words of Dante himself "I allow my legend to grow beyond all measure of truthfulness. I allow men to think me infallible and potent beyond my means. I embrace it gladly for the service it gives mankind".

Dante himself remains grounded, and tired of the hero worship. He thinks he is no saint and that he has had to pretend to be something he is not. In his words, "...although I am mighty and wise, and of the Adeptus Astartes, I am just a man. Under my armour beats a human heart alongside the one gifted me by the Emperor". [[Awesome|Daaaamnn]].

==The Sanguinor==
[[File:Sanguinoranddante.jpg|thumb|500px|right|Dante and the Sanguinor.]]
Dante has a special relationship with the Sanguinor, who has come to him several times in aid.
*The first time to save Dante when he was dying of thirst while trekking to Angel's Fall for the Blood Angels trial.
*The second time to aid Dante during the trials by stopping him from falling asleep.
* The third time Sanguinor appeared to save a young Dante's company from the Orks on Rora.
* The fourth time the Sanguinor appeared to pull Dante from the depths of the Red Thirst on Tobias Halt.
* The fifth time to dispel Dante's doubts about the shitty human experience in the Imperium, just before he became Captain of the 5th company.
* The sixth time was shortly after Chapter Master Dante sacrificed the world of Aeros during the Cryptus Campaign to delay the Tyrannids from reaching Baal and with the Sanguinor answering Dante's question that there is still hope in saving their homeworld.
* The seventh time was when Dante was dying and the Sanguinor heralding Sanguinius before Dante is healed.

And...counting. Since becoming Chapter Master, Dante has seen Sangunior many a times. On the first occasion Dante had been praying to the Emperor to save him, and on the fifth occasion Dante had been invoking Sanguinius for guidance. This is interesting as the Blood Angels like Dante don't believe the Emperor and Sanguinius to be gods. Who is the Sanguinor and why does he help Dante? The Blood Angels do not consider him divine, but a mysterious entity which helps them in times of great peril. However, Dante was not yet a Space Marine when the Sanguinor first appeared to help him. So, the Sanguinor is some sort of Baalite entity, one who does not restrict himself to helping the Blood Angels.

Dante himself believes the Sanguinor to be a pure entity, and replied as such to an inquisitor who challenged the Blood Angels over the being's true nature. Interestingly, Dante feels close to Sanguinius during the Sanguinor's presence, almost as if "Sanguinius himself were there". Hmmmmm.

Update: The ''Devastation of Baal'' all but states Aratron still serves as the Herald for Sanguinius. Even in spirit form.

==More fluff==
[[File:SoB Ex Dante.png|thumb|400px|[[Ultramarines|Most Chapters]] [[Space Wolves|can only wish their Liege was this]] [[Emperor's Children|fabulous]].]]
===Dante and the Imperium===
{{topquote|All my life I have striven to serve not only the Imperium, but humanity.|Dante}}

In the novelisation, Dante is portrayed as being aware of the grim conditions of humans under the Imperium. Unlike most Imperial commanders, he is not okay with throwing away the lives of Imperial Guardsmen (for whom he has the highest respect), or any other soldier of the Imperium. In the short story, ''The Word of the Silent King'', Dante allies with the Necrons to defend Gehenna from the Tyrannids. Captain [[Erasmus Tycho|Tycho]] pointed out that chapters had been declared excommunicate traitoris for less, but Dante was prepared to risk it for the people of Gehenna. Admittedly, Dante does have a backup plan to assassinate the Silent King afterward, but he foregoes a much better opportunity in the first place to help defend the people.

Dante's views on the impotent administration of the Imperium are....well. The relevant quote from the novelisation is revealing, "I have fought every foe that mankind must face, from the overt aggression of the orks to the grindings of unthinking bureaucracy". Yeah, Dante just included the lovely chaps at the [[Administratum]] among all the vile enemies of mankind he had slain over the last 1600 years.

Dante also wonders, if Sanguinius was a hero, why did he leave the moons of Baal as wastelands, when he could have easily restored them. He questions if an 'Angel' would leave his people to suffer so that their strife-hardened children might make for good warriors. Ultimately, Dante answers his own question, "it was the way it was, because it had to be that way". [[Grimdark]].

===Dante on the Xenos===
[[File:Dante VS Avatar.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Fighting the xenos. Dante taking on a freaking [[Khaine|Avatar of Khaine]] like a boss.]]
The novel Dante reveals his views on the [[xenos]]. Dante thinks that he had been (rightfully) taught to mistrust xenos races, but that he never truly hated them. He proves sympathetic to the Orreti, a dying xenos race pitifully eking out a living by scavenging on dead worlds (think the gypsy). Unfortunately for the Orreti, dead Imperial worlds are still Imperial, and the Blood Angels exterminate them after they are thought to be responsible for the destruction of a colony world. [[Grimdark]]. Actually, exterminate wouldn't describe it. The Blood Angels went all vampire on the Orreti, and even 1500 years later, Dante remembers the incident with great regret.

Dante only truly hates the [[Tyranids]], and that is so because they seek to extinguish life itself. In a display of [[noblebright]], Dante believes "[[heresy|non-humans strove only to survive as mankind strove]]". Expect to see words like nobility, honour, mercy, and virtue in such scenes, but also perfidy, treachery, and atrocities. Dante would certainly be considered a heretic by many in the Imperium (but [[Roboute Guilliman#41st millennium / Gathering Storm|recent events]] might lead one to think otherwise.

Of course, Dante is no idealist opposed to human supremacy (he is a space marine after all). He desperately contemplates an alliance of races, but only for the great war against the Tyranids. However, Dante concedes that he not could not envisage true unity among humans, let alone between the different races. Ahem, suppose Dante has not [[Roboute Guilliman#41st millennium / Gathering Storm|got the memo yet]].

In conclusion, there are some elements which might make Dante seem to be a Mary Sue for WH40K. Oh, who are we kidding. He would be right at home in [[Star Trek]].

===Dante and the Imperial Cult===
[[File:Dante WH40K Armageddon.png|300px|left|thumb|Dante wearing the death mask of Sanguinius.]]
{{topquote|On this day, as on every other, I ask you grant me wisdom and strength, great Sanguinius, so I may guide our Chapter to ever greater glory.|Dante praying to Sanguinius}}

The Blood Angels generally keep to the [[Imperial Truth]], but venerate the Emperor and Sangunius as ancestral figures. However, it is not a stone-cold atheism that is shown by chapters like the [[Excoriators]]. There is a lot of room for doubt, and Dante at times finds himself agreeing with the [[Ecclesiarchy]] about the Emperor and Sanguinius (well, duh, the baroque Catholic vampires in spehss thing won't work otherwise).

Dante prays daily to Sanguinius in ''Deus Encarmine'', albeit cynically noting in the novelisation ''Dante'' that Sangunius had never actually answered his prayers. Hmm, it would seem that Dante and the Blood Angels are yet to to identify why it is that the Sanguinor keeps bailing them out time and again. In the ''Gathering Storm'', it is confirmed that heroes like [[Saint Celestine]] and the [[Legion of the Damned]] are warp entities that the Emperor himself sends forth to save the day. While there is no confirmation, it is very strongly implied in the novelisation that the Sanguinor is indeed some sort of Blood Angels warp manifestation, and to be associated with Sanguinius in some fashion (the [[Inquisition]] likes to [[Chaos|think otherwise]]). When Dante has a moment of doubt, he prays to Sanguinius for reassurance, but doubts if the prayer will be answered. Not so co-incidentally, the Sanguinor appears at that precise moment and tells Dante there is hope for the Imperium.

James Swallow has also played on the atheist/religious angle in ''The Sanguinor: the Exemplar of the Host''. In the story, The Blood Angels veteran sergeant Ganon is a cynic and very atheistic, whereas others in his squad are more spiritual. In comparison, Blood Angels like Dante fall on the agnostic spectrum, and whether the Emperor (and Sanguinius) are divine or not depends on what exactly is a god in WH40k. The one thing that is clear is that there are 'higher powers' at work that help out the Blood Angels in their time of need.

;The Ecclesiarchy and Dante
[[File:Lord muthaflubbin dante by mrrumbles-d6mqupm.jpg|200px|right|thumb|pictured: too old for this shit.]]
A lot of people in the Imperium venerate the Space Marines as the Emperor's Angels, and the Blood Angels are at the very top when it comes to being revered (well, at least until Roboute-living-god-Guilliman showed up again). The Sanguinala is a Christmas/Easter like festival in honour of Sanguinius (aka spehss Jesus), and on that day the people of the Imperium wear the livery of the Blood Angels. You should not therefore be surprised to see the veneration even extending to the greatest warriors of the Blood Angels, including Dante. In the novelisation ''Mephiston: Blood of Sanguinius'', fanatical pilgrims and priests even travel to Baal to worship [[Mephiston]]. It is not clear how common it is, but evidently this is not considered [[heresy]] (note that the pilgrims were led by priests who needed Mephiston's superpowers to bail their planet out, and so this is possibly an one-off display of sycophancy). On the other hand, ''The Carrion Throne'' reveals that the 9 loyalist Primarchs are extolled as the archangels of the Emperor, created to battle the 9 "great devils" of Chaos. The word Primarch itself seems to have come to denote the greatest of angels. So, simply by virtue of descent the Space Marines (especially the greatest heroes) can be expected to be treated with a high degree of reverence, being lesser angels.

In the novelisation, [[Sisters of Battle|Sister]] Amity Hope of the [[Sisters of Battle|Order of the Sacred Rose]] tells Dante and the Blood Angels that they are the "sons" of the Emperor's most "holy offspring" Sanguinius, whose soul is guided by the Emperor, and works through them. Interesting. The Order of the Sacred Rose appears in the [[Dawn of War]] series and are rather antagonistic to the [[Blood Ravens]]. So, it seems that the Blood Angels find a place in the Imperial cult and are exempt from the contempt shown by some sisters to other chapters. Then again: dawn of war could be an exception to this rule given it's relative distance to the main 40k canon.

The GW website states this about Dante: "Amongst mortal men he is nothing less than a saviour, a golden god who descends from the heavens on wings of fire to smite his foes in deadly close combat". There is also a bit in the Blood Angels 7th ed about him being a "golden god" to the "common soldiers" of the Imperium.

===The Red Thirst===
[[File:Drink Dante.png|thumb|200px|right|Time for the drinks]]
{{topquote|He was an angel, not a monster.|Dante on why he refused to take living blood}}

Despite suffering from the [[Red Thirst]] like all Blood Angels, Dante refused to drink living blood for the longest time. There is a discrepancy in the novelisation about when he took the decision. On the one hand, Dante thinks at one point that he had not drank living blood since the incident on Ereus V, whereas the decision is shown as being taken after he lapses to the thirst at Tobias Halt. In any case, Dante consequently suffered from a constant hunger for blood, compared to an appetite "gnawing at his stomach and soul" and a "hunger that filled his dreams with the bright lustre of blood".

In one council scene, Dante is shown as counting blood drop rubies in a bowl, evidently said to help in meditation. While it is not explicitly stated that it is to ward off the thirst, the immediate context for the scene is his decision not to drink wine spiced with 'dead' blood, and so one can interpret it as an attempt to distract himself from the temptation. Note that Dante did occasionally drink wine spiced with blood. It is just that by that point in the book even the tiniest dollops of dead blood could drive him to almost intolerable temptations. He eventually drinks living blood at the end of the book, rejuvenating him to some extent.

===Codex Astartes/Codex Imperialis===
In ''Deus Encarmine'', the Blood Angel battle-brother Koris voices Dante's wisdom that a "Blood Angel who does not strive to question is no better than a mindless servitor". It can thus be argued that Dante is not an orthodox follower of the [[Codex Astartes]], or at least not in the manner many other chapters chose to interpret it. Note that this also depends on if you see the Codex as being an in-universe inflexible bible (see the page), and that bit might just be an innocuous line that has nothing to do with the codex otherwise. In fact, the context for the line in the book itself is about faith and belief. However, it would be still possible that Dante's wisdom encapsulates the codex. Finally, note that the Blood Angels 7th ed says that they adhere as closely to the Codex Astartes as possible, albeit with few important variations.

Interestingly, there is a scene in the novelisation ''Dante'' in which Dante reminisces about the glory days of the old legions, set in the context of the rising tide of enemies facing the Imperium. So, Dante seems to be one who would possibly not be adverse to the concentration of Space Marines in one single force, and indeed he calls all the Blood Angels descendants to Baal for the war against the Tyranids. His logic is that only the full strength of the Blood Angels and successors in one single point of action can hope to succeed.

''Devastation of Baal'' points to him being in favour of Guilliman's reforms.

===Friends, allies, and enemies===
[[File:BA's.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Tyranids vs Blood Angels, or how Dante sees the End Times]]
During the Second War for Armageddon, Dante became bros with the Chapter Master of the [[Salamanders]], [[Tu'Shan]]. He praised Tu’shan for his contributions, which the Salamanders take as a 'supreme gesture' (8th ed codex Space Marines). To commemorate their past victories and the bond between them, the Blood Angels and Salamanders meet every now and then to exchange counsel, trophies of war, and vows of friendship (''The Burden of Angels'' by Nick Kyme).

The Blood Angels-Salamanders bond is remarkably strong. On one occasion to celebrate the anniversary of their alliance on Armageddon, the Salamanders led by Tu’shan arrived on Hecatomb, a planet claimed by the Blood Angels. On this planet, long ago, Dante had vanquished the Chaos champion Raegus Malifact. While exchanging ritual vows, the Blood Angels librarian Abathor became possessed by the shattered blade of Raegus, which had contained some of his essence. Waves of Daemons spilled forth, and while the warpspawn and Raegus/Abathor were beaten back, the event triggered the Red Thirst in Dante and the Blood Angels. They fought. Dante vs Tu’shan. Blood Angels vs Salamanders. Before they became dinner, the Salamanders and Tu’shan were able to calm down Dante and the Blood Angels by appealing to their humanity. Despite the unsavoury incident, the Salamanders pledged to be as strong as friends as ever.

The Blood Angels under Dante also have the dubious distinction of becoming 'allies' with the Necrons, fighting together on Gehenna against the [[Tyranids]]. Dante has the supremely dubious honour of shaking hands with the Silent King himself, mono e mono. To be fair, the Blood Angels did fight the Necrons at the start, and it turned out that the [[Silent King]] had made an accord with Sanguinius 10,000 years before. So, this was just a (temporary) renewal of an ancient alliance. In a monologue, the Necron lord [[Anrakyr]] later admires the Blood Angels, giving honour to their dead on Gehenna.

Also to be noted are the Daemons of [[Khorne]]. [[Ka'bandha]], ancient foe of Dante and the Blood Angels, was leading a campaign against them when Hive Fleet Leviathan invaded Baal. As the dust of the conflict cleared, it became evident that the Khornate daemons actually fought against the Tyranids on Baalind (Baal Primus), leaving behind the eight-pointed star of Chaos made out of Tyranid skulls. Suffice to say that there is some degree of respect (perhaps Khorne still desires the Blood Angels as his own, hmmm) and, if anyone is to destroy the Blood Angels, Ka'Bandha thinks it should be him.

Unsurprisingly, gets on fabulously well with Roboute Guilliman (ironically a lot better than Calgar does).

==End Times==
{{Topquote|Death is lighter than a feather, duty heavier than a mountain.|Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors.}}
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">
In the novelisation, there is a prophecy made by Sanguinius about the End Times, where a great, golden warrior will stand between the [[Emperor]] and the darkness. Dante believes that this golden warrior is him despite most Blood Angels assuming it refers to the Sanguinor. Dante used to castigate himself for what he saw as his vainglory, but he is now increasingly convinced that this warrior is indeed him, holding onto it as his reason to keep fighting through increasingly terrible odds.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

"I fear what I have seen. My visions plague me with darkness. So little of comfort can be gleaned from them. The consequences of our victory are dire indeed, as I have described in these writings, and yet there are some things I cannot bring myself to record, visions so dark that they fill my heart with despair.

The dreams of my father are dead, that is certain. Long aeons await of war and suffering that would break the heart of the Emperor to perceive. He never showed any sign that He saw the dark future advancing towards us. Does He know? I cannot credit that He does not. My gift of foresight – if gift it can truly be named – descends from His, and His is more potent than I can conceive. Time and again I have asked myself, did He always know, and did He foresee all that has come to pass? Or was He, like me, taken unawares? The brighter future I once saw has been burned to ashes and a second, rotten potentiality raised in its place. I curse you, Horus, I curse you to the end of days.I have written too often on these matters. I still cannot divine the answer. I shall instead write down my dream of last night. This brought some comfort to me when no comfort ought to be expected, and is thus worthy of record.
Dante unrolled the scroll, exposing the next page.

There shall come to pass days of great darkness, when mankind is diminished and all the lights of the world shall be extinguished, and the final scraps of hope torn away. I dreamed I was upon a plain of black sand studded with diamond stars. In the dream there was [[Tyranids|a great hunger]] that pervaded all time and space, a more terrible and consuming appetite than the thirst that dogs my sons. It rose from the east of the night, and swallowed the moons of Baal that coursed across the unfamiliar sky. Before Baal Secundus was consumed, a bright light flashed upon it and sped away, outpacing the shadows.The hunger spread rapidly, bloated by its meal of my home. Fortified by the blood of Baal, the formless hunger took shape, becoming a ravenous dragon that consumed the stars in great mouthfuls, until the only light was the memory of their glory, trapped in the diamonds on the sand. As the last star was eaten, the hellish Octed of the traitors burned through the western sky, writ in fire on the starless void. Then this too went out, and I was alone in the dark.

Shadows swirled and parted. The vision lost its disguise of metaphor, and I looked upon a scene that may be a true echo of the future. I saw my father. Ruined. Broken. I knew it was Him, though His body was little more than a corpse, for I could feel His mind. His power was much reduced in potency, and I could feel no sense of consciousness there, merely raging, ungoverned power that threatened to obliterate my sleeping mind. This living corpse of my father was trapped in machinery that fed His soul the essence of others. I do not know if I should commit this to paper, even in my private writings. He cannot ever know of this fate, if He does not already. Or is He aware, and makes this choice between that life in death and the utter destruction of mankind? If so, my respect for my father grows.
As the guns of the Warmaster pound at the walls of the Palace, perhaps this miserable reality is the best that can be hoped for. Perhaps this is what I must die to ensure.

The hunger came for my father. The puppets of the Dark Gods clashed with the hunger for the pleasure of killing Him. There was a warrior in gold before the throne, surrounded by my father’s Custodians and other heroes who, mighty though they were, paled next to the lords of our days. There they fought, and there they died. The vision ended as the devourer of flesh and the devourers of souls closed in on my lord and creator. There was despair only, despair and more despair. But before I woke something more. I sensed stirring in the warp, and the touch of my father, His mind made anew, and the knowledge that all might be well.

As I am fated to, so too did this golden warrior lay down his life to protect my father. The precious seconds he bought with his blood could change everything, or they could change nothing. Maybe the vision is false. I pray the future is mutable, and so it has proved in the past. All but the moment that draws near, the reckoning when I must face my brother. That I cannot avoid.
I do not know who this golden warrior was. He appeared similar to my Herald, and I saw my own face depicted upon his mask, but he was not me, and he wore a form of armour I do not know. It is certain that he was one of my sons, and whether his sacrifice will prove to be in vain or not, I know this: that he was a noble warrior, true and purer than any of his age, and I love him for that, for it means that my works for the Emperor, at least, have not been undertaken in vain, and that my unavoidable death might also prove fruitful."</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">
Another prophecy concerning Dante comes from the WotDM infobook. In-universe, this prophecy was made by Sargon Eregesh, the Storm Oracle of the [[Black Legion]].
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{{Topquote|In the Time of Ending, we will see the final flight of the Dead Angel’s Host. They rise above us on howling wings. They fall upon us in a celestial storm. At their vanguard flies the Last Archangel. To the Neverborn, he will be the Death-that-Soars. To you and I, he will be a mortal man bearing the immortal face of his fallen father. To the Imperium of Man, he will be hope. A warrior of infinite courage. A soldier of infinite sorrows. Beware the golden mask that forever stares and never smiles, weeping tears of frozen gold.|The Mourner’s Prophecies.}}

This prophecy is independent of the one made by Sanguinius, but it is clear that the fluff has Dante fated for some epic climax. He is tired after sixteen hundred years of service, and clings onto the prospect of a final battle as personal motivation in these dark times.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">
Finally, this account of Dante's situation from the ''Shield of Baal: Exterminatus''.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
For over a thousand years, Commander Dante has been Chapter Master of the Blood Angels. Amongst the greatest of Adeptus Astartes lords, he has overseen centuries of war across the length and breadth of the Imperium. Always clad in ancient gold artificer armour, he wears the Death Mask of Sanguinius, which bears the likeness of his Primarch. To the Emperor’s armies Dante is a golden god and the doom of the enemies of Mankind, while to the Blood Angels he is revered and respected like no other since the days of Sanguinius. Dante’s deeds are legend across the Imperium, from slaying the Bloodthirster Skarbrand before the gates of Pandemonium to vanquishing the Eldar pirates of Ruden III; from freeing the Tau bond-world of Vetrim from its deceitful overlords, to winning victory during the Second War for Armageddon against the Ork hordes of Warboss Ghazghkull. And yet for all his triumphs a shadow hangs over Dante. The Chapter Master feels the weight of years of war heavy upon him. He has been forced to witness the slow degeneration of his battle-brothers as they succumb to their genetic curse. Like Sanguinary High Priest Corbulo, Dante hopes for a cure to the blood madness that afflicts his kin. Yet with every passing year that hope dwindles a little more. Only one thing keeps Dante from giving in completely to these doubts, a prophecy recorded in the oldest of the Chapter’s records. Penned by the Primarch himself, it speaks of a golden warrior standing in defence of the Emperor’s throne during the final battle for Mankind. Dante believes that he is the one the scroll speaks of, and so he fights on, awaiting the day when he will be needed to hold back the darkness one last time.</div></div></div></div>

The ''Devastation of Baal'' gives strong traction to the possibility Dante is the Golden Warrior of Sanguinius' prophecies.

==Miscellaneous==
[[File:Dante old art.jpg|400px|thumb|right|<s>Trainers</s> Chaos hates him. Here he is, the Last Archangel, falling upon the enemies of man.]]
===Music===
Dante has his own theme leitmotif in the Warhammer 40k Armageddon video game. It is titled 'Dante's Retribution' and is an epic boss type music that lets you know shit is about to go down. Not surprising, cause Dante is the Imperium's big bad boss to kick the shit out of enemy bosses like Skarbrand and Ghazghkull. You can listen to it here https://soundcloud.com/danbewick/dantes-retribution-from-the-warhammer-40k-armageddon-ogs. The composer is Dan Bewick.

Damn, just think of that score playing when Dante beats the crap out of Skarbrand and Ghazghkull. The ominous intro transitions to a heroic action beat, climaxing into the score of a victorious Imperium. THE EMPEROR PROTECTS!

===Video games===
Dante's dialogues in the Warhammer 40k Armageddon video game can be heard on playthroughs of the game on Youtube. He is also an HQ Unit in the Blood Angels mod for Soulstorm.

===Card games===
Dante and the Blood Angels were featured in the Warhammer 40k cardgames by Sabertooth Games. These are ''Siege of Malogrim Hive'' and ''Dark Millennium''. Note that Sabertooth Games is now defunct, and the cardgames no longer supported.

===Board games===
Dante and the Blood Angels are featured in the ''Battle for Armageddon'' board game.

==On the Tabletop==
[[File:99800101001 CommanderDanteNEW 01.jpg|300px|right|thumb|His Model]]

8th Edition Dante!

{| class=wikitable
! || Pts || WS || BS || S || T || W || A || Ld || Sv
|-
| '''Commander Dante:''' || 215 || 2+ || 2+ || 4 || 4 || 6 || 6 || 9 || 2+/4++
|}

Commander Dante himself, one of the [[Logan Grimnar|big]] [[Marneus Calgar|three]], and damn does it show. As of 8th Edition, he has changed. First off, his ability to hit or shoot anything on a flat 2+ is a great buff, but when combined with his ''Chapter Master'' ability which allows him and other units with the Blood Angels keyword within 6" to reroll failed hits, he and any force he accompanies quickly become a terror to behold. His Death Mask now inflicts a -1 modifier to enemy leadership for units within 3" of him.

As befitting of the oldest and most fabulous space vampire, he is no slouch in combat and has some great equipment. He comes with an inferno pistol that still has a 6" range, but it's an AP-4 weapon with D6 damage that gets to shoot while in melee. The Axe Mortalis has completely changed from seventh edition. It is now a S+2 AP-3 axe that does D3 damage and can reroll failed wound rolls against characters. Throw him at enemy characters and laugh as you tear them down while rerolling failed hit and wound rolls. Did I mention he has 6 attacks now? With lucky rolls, that's a potential 18 damage inflicted on one character or 6 elite models being struck down by this stone cold pimp.

{{Marines-Characters}}

[[Category:Space Marines Chapter Masters]]
[[Category:Blood Angels]]

Servo-skull

2019-01-22T07:21:27Z

2001:8003:3800:800:31C8:CA3A:2763:15D2: /* Famous Heads */

[[File:SAM_0765.jpg|thumb| In all their grimey fashion]]
A '''servo-skull''' is a kind of machine used by the [[Imperium of Man]]. They are made from the skull of a deceased Imperial servant with a cogitator, some sensoria, and a hover-drive installed to make it move. What better way to reward an adept of the [[Administratum]] for his decades of shuffling around papers that nobody ever reads again than to make his skull into a little flying robot?

==Uses==
Much like the [[Tau drone|drones]] used by the [[Tau]] Empire, the Imperium puts servo-skulls to many purposes. Some of them are used as pict-recorders and message couriers, others as remote viewers linked to a controlling [[tech-priest]], still others as psychic foci or targeting computers to assist [[Inquisitor]]s and their retinues. Occasionally they have pistol sized weapons and can be used as assassination tools or a hands-free ranged weapon.

On the 40k tabletop, if you field [[Grey Knights]] they are often considered a prerequisite. They are placed on the battlefield (and can be placed anywhere outside the enemy deployment zone) after deployment areas have been determined, but before any forces are deployed. Enemy infiltrators cannot set up within 12" of a Servo-skull and enemy scouts can't use their pre-game move to approach within 12" of a Servo-skull. A friendly unit arriving by Deep Strike rolls one D6 less for scatter if it aims to arrive within 12" of a Servo-skull and friendly blast templates placed within 12" of a Servo-skull roll one D6 less for scatter. They can't technically be destroyed, but if an enemy gets within 6" of one it will be removed from play.

Whilst in 30k, they behave as familiars and are taken as wargear attached to your characters. Granting them an extension of their senses, which translates into +1 to invulnerable saves due to enhanced reflexes and also allows them to re-roll characteristic tests ''(like Toughness or Initiative)''

==Famous Heads==
One particularly "renowned" Servo-Skull is that of Brother Brantor who was a marksman in the [[Deathwatch]]. Somehow rather than getting the honoured rest that he deserved, his head never left the service of the Ordos Xenos, who then fitted it with a stealth anti-grav and a whole range of sensors and auspexes (presumably because a Space Marine's skull might be big enough to fit everything) which makes it/him extremely useful for recon missions and the like. Improbably, the skull is also a better close combatant with an increased weapon skill, which certainly cannot be a carry over of experience, since all brain matter is replaced with cogitators, so obviously the Ordos Xenos still knows how to get access to high-quality [[Heresy|artificial intelligence]] or [[Tzeentch|warp shenanigans are afoot]].

An unusually talkative Servo-Skull is found among the crew of the Caestus Metallican in Mechanicus. Formerly a Magos Dominus, Servo-Skull Reditus acts considerably more intelligent than others of his kind, providing commentary on various issues faced by the tech-priests. In fact, the game's intro is narrated by Reditus as he waxes lyrical on the joys of being freed from flesh and serving the Omnissiah in death. His primary duty is to act as the POV camera for the turn-based battles against the Necrons, allowing player character Magos Dominus Faustinius to better command his troops. Considering that most other Servo-Skulls are creepy mute robo-drones and not undead tech-priests spouting philosophy he's probably an example of tech-heresy.

==Cherubim==
[[File:Cherub.png|300px|right|thumb|Wild flying babies. Unfortunately trying to put a diaper on one of them is a painful and arduous task.]]
One particularly messed-up variant of a servo-skull is the '''cherub''' (plural: '''cherubim'''), which uses a vat-grown baby instead of a dead servant's skull as the base structure and therefore have much more in common with your garden variety [[servitors]] rather than simple robotic machines.

It sounds like something [[Slaanesh]] dreamed up, but apparently it's all the rage for higher-ups in the [[Ecclesiarchy]] to have little choirs of the things to sing hymns.

One member of the GW staff went to an extraordinary length in describing where they came from and what various purposes they are suited for. According to the history, they first turned up in M33 to celebrate the ascension of the [[Emperor]] to the Golden Throne, where the [[Adeptus Mechanicus|Adeptus Biologicus]] released 2000 cherubs into the Throne Chamber (one for each year of his enthronement) where they all flew up into the rafters to sing hymns and remain there still, being maintained by the Mechanicum, and presumably shitting on everything just like pigeons do.

While singing hymnals is certainly what Cherubim are most well-known for, they do have a number of other roles, since unlike servo-skulls they do have at least some level of intellect to be able to perform complicated tasks.

Goge Vandire had them installed EVERYWHERE during the [[Age of Apostasy]], acting as mobile CCTV cameras so he could spy on everyone looking for sedition.

Some [[Rogue Trader (RPG)|starships]] have Cherubim aeries installed to help out with menial everyday tasks, though this generally freaks out the common crew as having feral babies flying above your head is pretty poor for morale.

Guilliman is not a fan of them.

===Types of Cherub===
Other less documented roles include:
*'''Butler''' - Basically a house menial, attends to cleaning and serving things when expected.
*'''Crusader''' - Adorable teddy bear sized servitors in plate mail, as if being surrounded by armoured babies makes you appear more threatening.
*'''Custodian''' - Tattooed with Hexagrammatic Wards, these ones are trusted to carry proscribed artifacts.
*'''Foci''' - Psychically attuned to their masters, and can be used as psyber familiars.
*'''[[Watchers in the Dark|Gregori]]''' - Little dudes with freakishly large eyes, fitted with auspex scanners
*'''Harpy''' - Babies with blades attached to their feet, are almost always female and are used as combat pests.
*'''Love Angel''' - Cupid in 40k for people who like to be [[/d/|watched by children while they do it]] ''(You wish I was kidding)''. They exude pheromones to heighten sexual attraction.
*'''Reaper''' - Babies dressed in dark robes, come equipped with digi-weapons to remove people bothering their masters.
*'''Shining''' - these have refractor fields built into somewhere in their bodies. Not really useful to its master unless you send it somewhere for a different reason where it's likely to be destroyed.
*'''Squire''' - Babies with muscle augmentations, which can hilariously make them stronger than full grown adult humans. Their purpose is to hold whatever gets passed to them by their master.
*'''Stenographer''' - a much more discrete quill servitor, records everything said in its location.
*'''Swift''' - Much larger wings which allows them to generate more thrust and speed.
*'''Sycophant''' - Carries around a mirror to let you know how special you are.
*'''Tailor''' - fixes clothing handed to them using an onboard supply of thread.
*'''Weapons Loader''' - exactly what it says, tiny people trained to reload a weapon when it's given to them.

While some Cherubs can be manufactured to perform multiple roles, there is always a limit to how much a single servitor can be expected to carry out. Hence, you might find a pack of cherubs built as butlers to attend the care of a household, but also double up as harpies to chase off unwelcome guests.

Thus there is actually a second list of more complicated tasks that Cherubim might also be created to perform usually to the exclusion of anything else:
*'''Chorister''' - The typical singing Cherub that is well known across the Imperium. Probably more complicated because they need to know an extensive back-catalogue of songs to sing. Some also know how to play instruments and carry around incense burners.
*'''Generator''' - Essentially a flying force-field. These ones have massive power field generators built into their bodies which are heavy and clunky.
*'''Grenadier''' - Dressed up like little soldiers, these ones carry bombs and set them up wherever ordered to by their masters.
*'''Healer''' - A medic, equipped with a variety of medicinal tools. Unlike a medical servo-skull which are tools for 40k doctors and carry their kit where directed, these little critters can actually attend to wounds and simple illnesses on their own without prompting.
*'''Jailer''' - Floating interrogation tools, carrying psy-nulling manacles, shock collars and a variety of drugs. Basically your BDSM baby.
*'''Messenger''' - much more complex than messenger servo-skulls. Rather than hunting for a person based on likeness alone, they are equipped with pheromone sensors and can track a target by smell and deliver a cogitators worth of information. They are also always built as '''Swift''' Cherubs too for quick movement.
*'''Pariah''' - They can do it via cloning anyway, making Inquisitorial Agents and Culexus Assassins, so why not have an untouchable baby? Comes with a handy limiter to turn the field on and off.
*'''Sage''' - Carries archeotech relics that perform specific effects, because nothing says opulence like having feral flying midgets using your most fragile and expensive equipment for you.
*'''Seer''' - Blind cherubs that have somehow been [[Astropath|Soul-bound]] to the Emperor, which must make them hellishly expensive/rare if this is the case. Their purpose though is to channel psychic backwash from perils of the warp from psychic masters.
*'''Spy''' - Little [[Ninja]] servitors often cloaked in Chameleoline, they have augmented lungs that allow them to resist airborne toxins, a sophisticated on-board suite of short ranged cyber senses for detecting poisons and they also have implanted multi-keys and know how to pick locks.

===Nephilim===
In quite possibly the most [[grimdark]] of grimdarkness, there is actually an upper category of Cherubim, referred to as '''Nephilim''' (which means [[Dark Angels|Fallen]]).

While it is rumoured that rarely a tech-priest can create a master-crafted Cherub with a considerably higher intellect, the truth is that occasionally Cherubs are manufactured using [[grimdark|ACTUAL BABIES]] rather than vat grown ones ''(perhaps too grimdark for mainstream GW, hence the article was labeled as "unofficial" with heavy emphasis on the inverted commas)''.

The difference is that vat-grown servitors have no developed central nervous system, which essentially makes them living vegetables until they are given a directive to follow. In the case of human-servitors, they already have a developed CNS and therefore are able to be trusted with multiple complicated tasks and actually use their initiative to figure out what needs doing.

Thankfully, it numbers the times that Nephilim have been made since they are regarded as extremely uncommon; only 22 times since M36 and each for personal reasons determined by the owner and not just for [[powergamer|creating a "better"]] Cherub.
*One Nephil, "L", was a psyker of such power that it was impossible to transport her via Black Ship, so the Inquisition fixed her into an angelic lightning rod that served the inquisitor for 157 years until it was destroyed by a Daemonhost.
*Another case file was on Maya's World in 076.M41, where a certain Lord Torrington had his comatose son made into a Nephil rather than watch him die. Unfortunately, due to [[Administratum|Imperial inheritance law]], the Servitor [[Fail|was eventually named Duke]] and has been the head of the house ever since.

{{Template:Inquisition}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]
[[Category:Imperial]]

Melta

2019-01-19T03:33:17Z

2001:8003:3800:800:31C8:CA3A:2763:15D2: /* Thermal Cannon */

[[File:Meltagun.png|400px|thumb|right|The ubiquitous meltagun, one of GW's [[Butthurt|only]] [[Awesome|original]] [[Skaven|ideas]]. Though forms of suspiciously similar real-life microwave-based weaponry predate WH40K by at least two decades.]]
'''Melta weapons''' are a type of anti-armor weapon used widely by the forces of the [[Imperium]] and [[Chaos]]; the [[Tau]], [[Eldar]] and [[Necrons]] also employ their own variants. Think of infrared ovens IN SPACE, infused with extra [[RAGE]], and shot out using a tremendous amount of infrared light to [[rage|super-agitate]] the target, so that it heats up to the point where it's hot enough to melt anything from power-armor to super-heavy tank armor.

The problem with melta-based weapons is that due to the super-high energy consumption and heat generation, it's only usable at short range. In comparison to the equally useful [[Plasma]]-based guns, meltas are a lot stronger but have a much shorter range, but then again meltas don't explode in your face on a bad roll, but on the gripping hand, Plasma weapons allow your troops some breathing room since they can be used at medium range so your troops aren't always at the risk of being caught in a vehicle's explosion, murdered in CQC, or ambushed by a nearby gunline after they fire off their guns in one turn.

Though suited towards tank hunting, the melta-based guns are good weapons for all-around attack, defense and infiltration, though it falls short in terms of range. Infiltration with this can [[Butthurt|take vehicles out of the fight before they even have a chance to fire their weapon]]... maybe [[Vance Motherfucking Stubbs|that's how the Baneblades were lost?]]

Depictions of melta weapons firing have been spotty in the face of publications and vidya gaems. In several publications and [[Dawn of War]]: Soulstorm, melta weapons fire a constant stream, like a laser-flame thrower. But in the [[Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine|Space Marine video game]] they fire a single rapid wave of energy (they're also essentially shot-guns; Titus dispersed the beam so he could kill more Orks per shot), and the [[Dawn of War II]] series have melta weapons firing a single blue/purple beam, while Dark Crusade uses discrete blobs of melt. In [[Eternal Crusade]] they fire a limited-range damage-over-time beam you have to keep on-target, presumable to make them less effective as an anti-infantry weapon.

==Imperial Melta Weapons==

===Melta Bomb===
[[image:MkXIXThermicCharge.jpeg|200px|right|thumb|Melta Bomb]]
Although the Imperium has not been successful at making pistol-sized Melta for cheap, it is very successful in the case of miniaturizing a hydrogen bomb.

For millennia, the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] had hypothesized that there was a Melta weapon with an even lesser range than the Meltagun, and sure enough, one day they found the Melta Bomb [[STC]] printout. Despite the tags, Melta Bombs are land mine-sized fusion charges used to destroy enemy vehicles and fortifications. Normally, Melta canisters come with a handle by the side of the cylinder. This Melta canister here has its handle by the end to facilitate throwing like a grenade. Because its shape is unlike a grenade, it is still pretty awkward to throw with, and the weight is probably not helping either. Because they have to be placed right next to the target to be satisfactorily effective, they are mostly given to assault units who get up close and personal with the enemy on a regular basis, which translates to better accuracy when throwing them, if not setting them up right were they should be. Back around ten thousand years ago, there were Melta Bombs which were quite smaller, at around the same size as a regular grenade. Whether there are differences between these two sizes of Melta Bombs is uncertain since there is no distinction in-between where stats are concerned. We may consider that the smaller version is simply compacted for easier carrying, and that both versions weigh about the same.

Only two units in a Space Marine army uses Melta Bombs, Assault Squads and Vanguard Veterans. Although alike in appearance, what the Armorium Cherub in the Devastator Squad is carrying is not a Melta Bomb, especially since Devastator Squads do not use it (''and don't really have any reason to as well''). The Armorium Cherub's purpose is to facilitate reloading, making that canister more likely to be fuel for Multi-Melta, rather than a Melta Bomb.
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MeltaBombModel.jpeg|<center>Model</center>
IF MkXIX Lucifer Pattern MeltaBomb.jpg|<center>Imperial Fists</center>
MeltaBombDeathshroud.jpg|<center>Heresy Era</center>
EldarMeltaBomb.jpg|<center>Eldar</center>
FireDragonMeltaBomb.jpg|<center>Fire Dragon</center>
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===Inferno Pistol===
[[File:InfernusPistolProfile.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Infernus Pistol]]
This microwave blowtorch is where the Imperium of Man's mass production capability reaches its limits in the Melta category.

Inferno Pistols are those rare Melta weapons where you only need one hand to fire out the heat. Where miniaturization is concerned, the Imperium has not sorted out the cost issue of this weapon just yet compared to other pistol-scaled weaponry such as the [[Bolter#Bolt_Pistol|Bolt Pistol]] and the [[Flamer#Hand_Flamer|Hand Flamer]]. Notable users of these blowtorches are the [[Sisters of Battle]] and the [[Blood Angels]], both of which having a pretty high affinity for burning stuff. The Blood Angels in particular seem to make their own in-house called the '''Infernus Pistol'''. [[Sanguinius]] used one in conjunction with his [[Power_weapon#Power_Sword|Power Sword]] for close combat, and his eldest living non-Dreadnought son to date, [[Dante]], currently wields an Artificer Infernus Pistol known as ''Perdition Pistol''. With their latest codex, the Inferno Pistol is now at home with the Blood Angels and available to a variety of their assault specialized units. Of course, the Inquisition and the Deathwatch have access to Inferno Pistols; specifically the [[Ordo Hereticus]] for the Inquisition, those [[Hats|big-hatted pastors]] love nothing more than the look on your face when they one-shot your Leman Russ. The Deathwatch has a variant called a Conflagration Pistol, which is one of the coolest names in all of 40K. It trades some ammo capacity for anti-armor punch. Dudes who came from the Salamanders love it.

Despite the fact that they used both these and Hand Flamers during that one [[Horus Heresy|heresy]], the [[Salamanders]] [[Derp|don't get them in regular 40k]].
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SisterOfBattleInfernoPistol.jpg|<center>Sisters of Battle</center>
InquisitorInfernoPistol.png|<center>Inquisitor</center>
BloodAngelsSergeantInfernoPistol.jpg|<center>Blood Angels</center>
DeathCompanyInfernoPistol.jpg|<center>Death Company</center>
ChaplainInfernusPistol.png|<center>Infernus Pistol</center>
SanguinaryGuardInfernoPistol.png|<center>Sanguinary Guard</center>
InfernusPistolDiagram.jpg|<center>''[[Dante]]'s''</center>
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===Gamma Pistol===
[[File:GammaPistol.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Gamma Pistol]]
You may have thought right off the bat that the Gamma Pistol is a kind of [[Radium Weaponry|Radium Weapon]]. Function-wise, however, it fits better as a Melta weapon.

Gamma Pistols are strange little weapons used by the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]], particularly the higher Tech-Priests, specifically Cybernetica Datasmiths. This weapon beams out ionizing radiation that can turn people into "blackened shadow" in a second. Basically, it skips the burning part and goes straight to the ash part. Of course, this is not the true potential of the weapon. Those who know how to tame its savage Machine Spirit – essentially knowing how the weapon actually works – can even cut holes into fortifications. This little gun shoots out beams that can melt stuff. Clearly, it is a Melta. Irradiation Projectors, though a similar weapon that projects actual radiation out, is not the same as the Gamma Pistol since it does not have the capability to engage armor and fortifications as effectively as the case of Melta. The short range of this weapon can be explained beyond its pocket-size. If you recall your Physics class back at school, there are several kinds of electromagnetic radiation, three of which we are interested in have a particular quality. Gamma ray, x-ray, and the higher portion of ultraviolet are ionizing, whereas the rest of the spectrum are not. Obviously, Gamma Pistols use the eponymous shortest wavelength, the one with the most penetrating power that comes from radioactive decay.

Whether there are other two variants of this type remains to be seen, though compared to Gamma Pistol, names like "''Extreme Ultraviolet Pistol''" and "''X-ray Pistol''" do sound a bit off.
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GammaPistolModelSide.jpg|<center>Right View</center>
GammaPistolModelProfile.jpg|<center>Left View</center>
GammaPistolPict.jpg|<center>Pict Capture</center>
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===Meltagun===
[[File:Meltagun2.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Meltagun]]
Contrary to the pistol variant, this size is a standard across the Imperium by the rule of thumb – if the [[Imperial Guard]] uses it, it is practically universal.

Meltaguns are distinctive by its cylindrical barrel with a number of either slits or holes depending on the model. Practically, there are two reasons to having holes on your gun barrel beyond cool-looking aesthetics. The holes allow high pressure gases to vent out when a bullet is fired, reducing the recoil by reducing the gas that will have kicked over to the back. A similar alternative to drilling holes is the muzzle brake which is attached by the front of the barrel. Considering the thickness of the barrel here, that of the Meltagun might just be a muzzlebrake, rather than the actual barrel. But since Meltaguns shoot out heat rays and not bullets, recoil shouldn't really be a problem. The second reason for those holes is rooted in insulation. The primary duty of a barrel shroud is to protect the user from touching the hot barrel. Those holes are there to keep a good airflow for that same barrel to cool down while being small enough that a finger will not slip through one. For a gun that shoots melting rays, it is obvious for its barrel to be insanely hot enough to warrant insulation. This is understandable since the user will probably want the heat ray to only come out of one end of the weapon, melting things that he wants to melt and not himself in the process. Whether you can take off that shroud and fire your Meltagun in a possibly spread pattern remains a speculation.

Aside from the Imperial Guard in Special Weapons Squads of three, Tactical Squads of the [[Space Marines]] may also take one. [[Sisters of Battle]] normally get two. If they happen to be Dominions, they can get up to four.
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CadianMeltagun.png|<center>Cadian</center>
MeltaSolarAuxiliaCommand.jpg|<center>Solar Auxilia</center>
BattleSisterMeltagun.png|<center>Sororitas</center>
SpaceMarineMeltagun30k.png|<center>Heresy Era</center>
ArmigerMeltagun.jpg|<center>Armiger Knight</center>
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====''Conflagration Mod''====
[[File:DeathwatchMeltagun.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Conflagration Meltagun]]
These are less of a distinct variant and more of a modification from the standard Meltaguns.

The [[Deathwatch]] Techmarine responsible for these modded heat guns was Enthor Calibos seconded from the Salamanders (''how surprising''). Once upon a time at Watch Fortress Erioch, he probably noticed that the Meltagun he was issued was not up to Salamanders pristine standard, and so he decided to modify them to his liking. Crafted in very limited numbers because this is just one Techmarine we're talking about, these compact, high-output Meltaguns have gained favor among those Battle-Brothers of the Deathwatch lucky enough to have wielded them. They are probably the reason to Calibos making more Conflagration modifications apart from those of his own arsenal in the first place. Reflecting the fine workmanship and deep love for cleansing flame of their creator, these powerful weapons have higher penetration and damage output at the expense of increased energy consumption. Because he possibly was feeling generous by then, Calibos also modified the in-house Infernus Pistols. Like their larger siblings, these weapons trade increased power usage for higher penetration and damage yield. They are a favorite of many Space Marines from the Salamanders Chapter as well as any other who happens to be a pyromaniac on the side.

In the end, these Conflagration Meltas are simply just better Meltas with the standard higher (''energy'') cost for better quality exchange.
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| Pistol
| 10m
| S/–/–
| 2d10 + 10E
| 15
| 2
| Full
| —
| 5
| 35
| Distinguished
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| S/–/–
| 2d10 + 10E
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| 4
| 2 Full
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| 14
| 35
| Distinguished
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===Beamer Meltagun===
[[File:BeamerMeltagunPlaceholder.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Beamer Meltagun]]
The Imperium has designed/found a Meltagun that fires at a decent range without sacrificing portability. The results? The usual.

The Beamer style of Meltagun was an attempt to create a longer-range Melta weapon that was still light enough to be easily carried into combat. Using fragments of decaying scrolls describing several ancient design patterns (''and after much divination and prayer''), the Zepherus Mark I "Beamer" Meltagun was developed. Though it still uses specialized gases melded and ignited into a sub-molecular thermal state like what a Melta should, this weapon features a longer barrel with a radiation beam surrounding the gaseous discharge. This low-level radiations acts as a harmonic wavefront for the super-hot release, allowing it to strike at longer distances. The necessary tuning for the beam to match the discharge proved impractical in the field, however, and only those willing (''or able'') to spend many hours of difficult correction after prolonged use still stand by the weapon – although given the sheer manpower of the Imperium, it shouldn't be out of place to assign some people exclusively for their maintenance. Almost no fighting units still utilize them despite the superior range, and their manufacture ceased after the first production run. On the other hand, there remains a possibility that the technical details for the Beamer Melta type have already circulated to several other Forge Worlds, continuing the legacy of this superior, albeit complex Meltagun under different aliases other than Zepherus Mark II.

Now prized as trophy weapons, some of these Zepherus still see use as part of elite mercenary groups or Inquisitorial Kill-teams.
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| Basic
| 40m
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| 12
| 6
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| 9
| Very Rare
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===Multi-Melta===
[[File:MMArt.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Multi-Melta]]
Different from other commonly Heavy weapons such as the Heavy Bolter and the Heavy Flamer, the heavier version of the Meltagun is not called Heavy Melta.

The Multi-Melta is essentially two Meltaguns strapped together and supercharged. In game terms, this only doubles the (''already sucky'') range and makes it a heavy weapon. Due to the size and especially weight, Multi-Meltas are usually mounted on vehicles rather than carried. The Leman Russ Demolisher may have them mounted by the sponsons, while the Land Raider Crusader may mount one on its pintle; the weapon fits seamlessly with both vehicles' emphasis on short-range firepower. The Immolator may choose to replace its Twin-Linked Heavy Flamers or Twin-Linked Heavy Bolters with a Twin-Linked Multi-Melta. Due to its satisfactory effectiveness when arrayed against armor and monsters as well as the improved effective range, many other vehicles of the Imperium also have them mounted such as Razorbacks, Land Speeders, Dreadnoughts, and even on the sidecar of Attack Bikes. Because Multi-Meltas are so heavy, the [[Imperial Guard]] do not employ them without vehicles. By merit of wearing Power Armour, [[Space Marines]] and [[Sisters of Battle]] – emphasis on the Sisters of Battle – can afford to carry them around. [[Thallax|Thallaxes]] in particular, being quite larger than Astartes, carry them around normally – that is, not bulky, and/or not with the universally cool chainsaw grip.

It is unknown whether efficiency for other Melta weapons can be improved in this manner. Imagine a really big cylinder filled with Meltaguns... [[Melta#Cyclonic_Melta_Lance|Oh, wait a minute-]]
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DevastatorMeltaBomb.png|<center>Fuel Canister</center>
MultiMeltaServitor.jpg|<center>Servitor</center>
PortableMultiMelta.png|<center>Sister of Battle</center>
MultiMeltaAstartes.jpg|<center>Astartes</center>
MultiMeltaDamnedLegionnaire.jpg|<center>Damned Legionnaire</center>
MultiMeltaMediantPattern.jpg|<center>Mediant Pattern</center>
MultiMeltaThallax.jpg|<center>Thallax</center>
MultiMeltaCastellax.jpg|<center>Castellax Automata</center>
MultiMeltaCastellaxBack.jpg|<center>Castellax Automata (Back)</center>
MultiMeltaDreadnought.jpg|<center>Castraferrum Dreadnought</center>
MultiMeltaContemptor.jpg|<center>Contemptor Dreadnought</center>
MultiMeltaLandSpeeder.jpg|<center>Land Speeder</center>
VehicleMultiMeltas.png|<center>Leman Russ</center>
ImmolatorMultiMelta.png|<center>Twin-linked Twin-linked Meltagun</center>
MultiMeltaLandRaiderCrusader.jpg|<center>Land Raider</center>
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===Firestorm Multi-Melta===
[[File:DeathwatchMultiMelta.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Firestorm Multi-Melta]]
Yet another "better" Melta weapon available to the [[Deathwatch]] because it is the Deathwatch.

Created millennia ago as a field modification of a damaged Maxima-pattern Multi-Melta by another Deathwatch Techmarine whose identity has been forgotten, though his name is likely not Firestorm, these Multi-Meltas trade higher energy consumption and shorter range for an even higher damage yield and the ability to fire in short bursts – the former being merely an upgrade just like the Conflagration mods, and the latter likely the reason to the Firestorm title. Although modifications of this kind/extent are typically frowned upon by the Mechanicus, the Deathwatch Techmarines of Watch Fortress Erioch have received special dispensation to perform this operation on limited numbers of existing weapons, so there is at least an official approval unlike some other field modifications we know of. Firestorm Multi-Meltas have a chance of bursting out a number of charges left in the fuel canister, so it is less of an ability and more of that it just happens to, which isn't exactly what we can call the most reliable feature since it relies on randomness and/or the resident Machine Spirit. Perhaps there is supposed to be a firing pattern in order to trigger the burst fire, but the correct sequence had already been lost in the typical Imperium fashion.

Just like the Conflagration mods, the Firestorm is simply a better Multi-Melta used by Watch Fortress Erioch.
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| S/2/–
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| 15
| 6
| 2 Full
| Blast (2), Recharge, Volatile
| 70
| 65
| Distinguished
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</center>

===Thermal Lance===
[[File:ThermalLancePlaceholder.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Thermal Lance]]
This is a weapon to choose when you want your Multi-Melta to be more precise, no matter the cost.

The Thermal Lance is a rare weapon, nearly as large as a standard Multi-Melta, though they both weigh about just the same. This one, however, fires a more accurate and directed heat beam using a much longer barrel with added directional containment beams to reduce dispersal, at the cost of lowered damage to the target compared to what the similarly-sized Multi-Melta can achieve. So what does this tell us about its appearance to imagine? The main barrel is explicitly stated to be longer, and that's definitely not something you see every day on a Meltagun. The presence of directional containment beams, which probably serve to do exactly what it says on the tin, likely suggests that there are additional smaller barrels which fire them. Since it's plural, we can be certain that there are at least two directional containment beams to keep the heat beam linearly together. Battlefield applications for the Thermal Lance is unknown, but for its pitiful range comparable to that of the Inferno Pistol, whatever that carries the weapon must be big and thrives in one-on-one close quarters combat. The big guy that carries this weapon is likely to be more of a "hunter" type since accurate beams allow for targeted strikes which isn't something you can just do with the regular, spread-out Meltagun.

All in all, the Thermal Lance is an alternative to a Multi-Melta for when what you want is a rifle (''without the good range'') and not a shotgun.
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| Heavy
| 10m
| S/–/–
| 2d10 + 10E
| 12
| 2
| 2 Full
| Accurate
| 40
| Rare
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===Solar Atomiser===
[[File:SolarAtomiserProfile.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Solar Atomiser]]
One of the perks for being at the upper end of the Mechanicum hierarchy is customized weaponry, and this is [[Cawl]]'s.

Although by appearance, it is far from a perfume spray as its name suggests. By functionality, however, the Solar Atomiser does spray out something, and that thing ain't nice. Using a complex focusing array of his own design, this weapon concentrates thermic energy and Melta-waves into a short-ranged but utterly unstoppable blast that can melt through an enemy war engine in seconds. And he's not kidding when he said it's short-ranged. For a size way bigger than a Multi-Melta, its effective range is only about half of what that can do. But we all know how the electromagnetic spectrum goes – the closer it is to the shorter wavelength side, the scarier it is. Though the Solar Atomiser probably doesn't operate under the same principles as the Gamma Pistol used by Datasmiths... you get the idea. Another thing to note is the "Solar" prefix which may have something to do with more than sounding fancy. As stated, the weapon concentrates thermic energy and Melta-waves. The thermic energy in question might have something to do with the "Solar" part of the name. Should that be the case, then this thermic energy is likely Plasma in origin, which would explain the middle part of the weapon, and make the Solar Atomiser a holy combination of Plasma and Melta technology.

So how would you describe this weapon here? '''''Super-Melta''''', obviously.
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SolarAtomiserBack.jpg|<center>Back View</center>
SolarAtomiserPict.jpg|<center>Pict Capture</center>
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{{40k-Ranged-Weapon-Profile-7-8|r7=12|s7=10|ap7=1|type7=Assault D3, Master-crafted, Melta|r8=12|s8=10|ap8=-4|d8=D3|type8=Assault D3|abil8=If target within half range, Damage is D6.}}
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===Cyclonic Melta Lance===
[[File:CyclonicMeltaLanceProfile.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Cyclonic Melta Lance]]
Surprise, surprise, turns out there really is a big cylinder filled with Meltaguns, and people call it the Cyclonic Melta Lance.

This Tri-Linked Multi-Melta here is made just for the massive size of the [[Dreadnought#Leviathan_Pattern|Leviathan Pattern Siege Dreadnought]], which shall also be known to us as the Hulkbuster Pattern. These Dreadnoughts have a Siege tag behind there for a reason, and its array of weaponry must correspond as such. Now, in a siege, you are supposed to go up close to a fortified position where you'll probably be shot dead halfway through. Thankfully, the Leviathan is such a bulk that it most likely has more chances of making it through than a Rhino. With that part already cleared, your Leviathan will need something to breach through walls and bunkers. Six super blowtorches should be just enough to melt the living and non-living shit out of anything. Of course, since it is comparatively bigger with triple the barrels, the Melta Lance is more destructive than your standard Multi-Melta. The rapid cycling this weapon goes through allows the Melta to discharge in a higher rate as well, though for some reason, the range is reduced, which is not really much of a problem for a Siege Dreadnought. If you don't know what rapid cycling is, and haven't figured it out from the arrangement of the barrels, then we suggest that you remind yourself what a Gatling gun looks like. Well, yes, you would be correct. This is a Gatling Melta.

Of note, these Cyclonic Meltas might be distantly related to an ''Exterminatus'' arsenal, [[Exterminatus#Cyclonic_Torpedoes|planet-killing bomb of the same name]], perhaps by technology.
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CyclonicMeltaLanceModel.jpg|<center>Model</center>
CyclonicMeltaLanceModel2.jpg|<center>Model</center>
CyclonicMeltaLance.jpg|<center>Front View</center>
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{{40k-Ranged-Weapon-Profile-7-8|r7=18|s7=9|ap7=1|type7=Heavy 3, Melta|r8=18|s8=9|ap8=-4|d8=D6|type8=Heavy 2D3|abil8=If target within half range, roll two dice for damage and discard the lowest result.}}
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===Magna-Melta===
[[File:DeimosPredatorMagnaMeltaProfile.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Magna-Melta]]
This is an instance where a weapon designed for space combat is appropriated for ground warfare.

The Magna-Melta is the primary weapon of the [[Caestus Assault Ram]], though calling it a weapon is technically untrue since the purpose of the Magna-Melta on that assault ram is to soften armour before the rams themselves dive straight through it, unloading its boarding party into enemy voidcraft. Since the timeframe of the distance before the ram hits the ship is small, the Magna-Melta must be very powerful in order to melt the armor at such a short period of time. Stopping by the ship before firing the Magna-Melta negates the purpose of the ram; besides, that is not cool, that's boring. The Caestus must come down to the ship like a Drop Pod, and the Magna-Melta recreates the heat from the atmospheric entry part. Of course, the action itself can also be recreated on other targets such as big fortifications which you are certain that won't topple down when the ram hits. Since the Caestus is such a sturdy metal box, it is often used as landing craft, and this is when the Astartes of the Great Crusade realized that the Magna-Melta is one hell of a Melta Cannon. Since flying the Caestus around the place just in case they needed that big Melta is impractical, they stripped off that Magna-Melta and popped it on their Deimos Predator. And by then, they had tanks with big twin-linked Melta Cannons roving around alongside as far as those two hundred years lasted.

By the present, these are mostly replaced by Land Raider Redeemers with pintle Multi-Meltas. Sadly, nobody seems to know how to mount a Magna-Melta over the hull instead of the Assault Cannons, or perhaps Magna-Melta is in low supply like pretty much every ten thousand years old relic of the Imperium.
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CaestusAssaultRamMagnaMelta2.png|<center>Caestus Assault Ram</center>
DeimosPredatorInfernusMagnaMelta.png|<center>Deimos Predator Infernus</center>
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===Melta-Cutter===
[[image:TermiteMeltaCutterProfile.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Melta-Cutter]]
Like the Magna-Melta, the Melta-Cutter is not intended to be used as a weapon. Unlike the Magna-Melta, the Melta-Cutter is not quite as effective when appropriated as a weapon.

While the bigger Magna-Melta is primarily used to melt ship armor and anything less durable, the Melta-Cutter is primarily concerned with the ground, specifically rocks that the drill cannot pierce through. Other than that, it operates the same principle – soften them up before punching through. The same can be said for anybody who happens to be in front of the drill. The Melta-Cutter of the [[Hades Breaching Drill]] should be seen as more of a construction equipment (''like our modern rock grinders''), since the main purpose of that machine is to dig tunnels. As a matter of fact, Melta-Cutters are industrial equipment for construction work used by the Imperium. In that respect, Melta-Cutters are then similar to the [[Flamer#Clearance_Incinerator|Clearance Incinerator]], and so it should be reasonable for Genestealer Cults to have them in their uprisings. The Melta-Cutter of the [[Tunneling_Transport_Vehicles#Termite|Termite]], however, is more in line with conventional Melta weaponry. Considering the build which is analogous to typical subterranean drills you'll find in the 50s and 60s, what the Termite is expected to punch through is definitely not just the ground, and so it is afforded with a better Melta-Cutter. Size might also come into play as well since a bigger body means more power to power stuff like heat ray cannons by the drill.

On tabletop, the Termite's Melta-Cutter is a 12" ranged assault D3 weapon with a Strength of 8, AP -4 and a damage of D6. Due to its high strength and great AP, you are able to auto-kill most GEQs, MEQs and seriously fuck up TEQs on an average basis. The Hades itself is an even bigger "''fuck you''" machine, with 1d6 WS3+ S10 AP-4 D1d3 melee attacks (D1d6 against Vehicles), and it has a [[Awesome|4++ invul in the fight phase thanks to its whirling blades]]. All in all, whilst predictably a short-range weapon, it is also one of the best of its category.
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HadesMeltaCutter.png|<center>Hades Breaching Drill</center>
TermiteMeltaCutter.png|<center>Termite Assault Drill</center>
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===Siege Melta Array===
[[File:MastodonSiegeMeltaArray.png|200px|right|thumb|Siege Melta Array]]
We may consider this thing here a Melta-Cutter properly adapted for military applications.

The [[Mastodon|Mastodon Heavy Assault Transport]], in addition to its other wonderful bullshits, sports a front-mounted battery consisting of eight Melta cannons in addition to a big one at the center, ideal for punching massive holes on the heaviest of targets. While this is perfect for opening breaches in fortresses for transport to vomit its forty-man capacity into, it is also an excellent answer to enemy super-heavies, or just deleting fortifications since its Stone Burner rule scores extra hits with every Penetrating Hit against one. Unfortunately, you should not expect it to do too well to enemies up close since most of the Melta array is just situated too high for it to really hit anything below. This is what happens when you decide that it is a great idea to place your forward weapon on a vehicle with a ridiculously huge profile. But then again, like the case of the [[Caestus Assault Ram|Caestus]], the Siege Melta Array is not supposed to mow down enemies; it is supposed to crack down on fortresses, which it compensates from the lack of speed with more Melta. Of note, while the eight smaller Melta cannons are the size of what you would find on the [[Devil Dog]] and the aforementioned Caestus, the bigger centerpiece is about the same size as what you'd find on Questoris Knights.

The Siege Melta Array is essentially what you'd need in order to add a dash of heat to your huge battering ram.
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SiegeMeltaArraySide.jpg|<center>Side Arrays</center>
SiegeMeltaArrayFrontClosed.jpg|<center>Front Closed</center>
SiegeMeltaArrayFrontOpened.jpg|<center>Front Opened</center>
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===Thermal Spear===
[[File:ArmigerWarglaiveThermalSpear.png|200px|right|thumb|Thermal Spear]]
It is essentially an oversized Multi-Melta that looks to be a baby brother to the Thermal Cannon below.

The Terminal Spear is a relatively large Melta weapon carried by combat walkers of the Imperial Knights, specifically the small Armiger class designated as Warglaive. Although reduced in size, even a single shot from this weapon here can still vaporize armor and melt through fortified walls and tanks alike. Unlike the similarly equipped Knight Errant, the Armiger chassis cannot afford to charge up close and wreak havoc at close range. It is too fragile for such maneuver since it is built for speed. It is nimble enough to employ harassment tactics, where the Warglaive shines. Swiftly, it moves up close and throws the Thermal Spear at pin-point precision to maximize its attack power before falling back to a safe distance. This is different from the Helverin variant which only have to maintain the distance to deliver its Autocannons. One may compare these two Armigers to our skirmishers of old, where the Helverins are archers whose range is far, while the Warglaives are javelinmen who have to get pretty close to unleash their payload. And do not think that having better range translates to archers being better. Just compare the size and weight difference between an arrow and a javelin and ask yourself which one has a better chance in planting you straight through to the ground when it hits.

The reason why they don't name this Melta cannon here with a more appropriate "Thermal Javelin" is probably because there is already an [[Javelin Attack Speeder|attack speeder]] with that name.
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ThermalSpearModel.jpg|<center>Model</center>
ThermalSpearView.jpg|<center>Alternate View</center>
ThermalSpearPict.jpg|<center>Pict Capture</center>
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===Thermal Cannon===
[[File:KnightErrantThermalCannon.png|200px|right|thumb|Thermal Cannon]]
This thing here is the Magna-Melta on steroids, or a bigger Thermal Spear with a rather distinctive shroud, should you prefer your descriptions more direct.

The Thermal Cannon is a large Melta weapon carried by the combat walkers of either the Questor Imperialis, the Questor Mechanicus, or the Questor Traitoris; the Imperial Knights, the Mechanicum Knights, and the Renegade Knights respectively. Chassis-wise, the Thermal Cannon is installed on the all-round Questoris class as the primary weapon of the Knight Errant, and the secondary weapon of the Knight Crusader. It is one of those weapons that can make even the most battle-hardened enemies have an [[Anal circumference|anal evacuation]], for such a weapon is capable of immolating most things in a wide radius, and probably effectively everything should it is fired at a closer range. The hissing blasts from a Thermal Cannon can melt through a fortress wall or turn a battle tank into a pile of bubbling slag. Against infantry, entire hordes can be reduced to a blackened shadow. Against vehicles, there is no armor that offers any proof against the Thermal Cannon's super-heated shots with the exception of armor found on larger Titan walkers. Outside of Knights, the Thermal Cannon is probably about the size to be mounted as the main gun for bigger tanks such as the Macharius, or even the Malcador. As of now, aside from the Mastodon, the only Melta tanks so far are smaller ones based on the Chimera and the Deimos Predator chassis.

All in all, for Knight Scions looking to up their anti-armor game, the Thermal Cannon delivers.
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ThermalCannonSide.jpg|<center>Side View</center>
ThermalCannonPict.jpg|<center>Pict Capture</center>
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===Melta Cannon===
[[File:ReaverTitanMeltaCannon.png|200px|right|thumb|(Reaver) Melta Cannon]]
The reader should be informed that there are two kinds of Melta Cannons. The first is the kind you usually see carried by Reaver Battle Titans. The second kind is the one you can find attached on the [[Hellhound]] flame tank variant called [[Hellhound#Devil_Dog|Devil Dog]], which is pretty much what you should have in your mind for a Melta Cannon.

So right now, we know a few sizes all these Meltas come in. The very first one is the smallest Inferno Pistol size, which is pretty rare since it is not on the mass production line. Next to that is the standard Meltagun size which you may find carried by some soldiers as well as on many vehicles in the form of Multi-Melta. The Melta Cannon here is the next in line whose bore size is about what you'd find on the Magna-Melta and possibly the Thermal Spear too. It is unknown what the Imperium calls the size of Thermal Cannon, but it is likely folded as Melta Cannon just like the Titan size we have here. Note that it is rather unlikely for that size to be called "Thermal Cannon" since that prefix so far is only used where Knights are concerned, and it might be their own jargon for the modification fitted for those combat walkers. Now about this largest size we have here, notice how it is considerably longer relative to the size of the vehicle it is installed on. This might be an attempt to increase its range so that the Titan would not need to get too close in order to melt something. Because of the lack of range, it is unlikely for there to be a super-heavy tank such as the Baneblade mounting this as its main gun, although there is still a slight chance since the Imperium thinks mounting a giant flamethrower on the [[Malcador]] chassis is a good idea. The trapezoidal shroud is also rather unique as much as the pole below it; that pole is for hanging down flags, apparently.

This thing dumps small blasts worth of Multi-Melta statline upon anything it deems unlucky for that day, and it is one of the best ways of dealing with [[Terminator|Terminators]]. [[Titans (Warhammer 40,000)|Titans]] get an even bigger Melta Cannon with absolutely rapetastic statline – S10 AP1 10" (yes, TEN inches) blast that always rolls extra D6 on partials and 2D6 on direct hits. And due to being Primary Weapon, it also allows you to reroll primary to-pen dice. The only two downsides are its mediocre (''for a Titan'') range and lack of ignores cover, which is silly because fluff-wise, this thing will melt through any wall and bunker like it is made of butter, not to mention some silly ruins and trees.
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DevilDogCannon.png|<center>The smaller Devil Dog's</center>
MeltaCannon.jpg|<center>Front View</center>
MeltaCannonSide.jpg|<center>Side View</center>
MeltaCannonCrossSection.jpg|<center>Cross Section</center>
Meltablast.jpg|<center>There is no better kill than overkill</center>
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{{Template:40k-Imperial-Weapons}}
{{40k-Chaos-Weapons}}

== Eldar Melta Weapons ==
The [[Eldar]] employ fusion guns, fusion pistols, and fire pikes for their portable anti-tank weaponry. Fusion guns and fusion pistols are meltaguns and inferno pistols in a shape more pleasing to Eldar aesthetics, but fire pikes are longer range (18") meltaguns with no additional downsides. Fire Dragons can take a fusion gun on every squad member and their sergeant can take a fire pike.

===Fusion Pistol===
[[File:EldarHarlequinFusionPistol.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Fusion Pistol]]
The Fusion Pistol is a handheld, heat-based weapon – a Melta pistol used by the Eldar, and the baby brother of their Fusion family.

For a race that is not plagued by bureaucratic nightmares, the Fusion Pistol is curiously rather hard to find among Craftworlders – even the [[Aspect_Warrior#Fire_Dragons|Aspect Warriors who are all about the heat]] do not carry them. Only the Autarchs seem to carry them to battle. This might mean that the Fusion Pistol is similarly difficult to make like the Inferno Pistol, or that there is an Aspect Shrine exclusively tailored for usage of Fusion Pistols that we do not know about. The first conjecture is odd since, as mentioned, the Craftworld Eldar do not really stagnate in the same manner as the Imperium/Mechanicum. The second conjecture presents Aspect Warriors somehow exclusively using Fusion Pistols while remaining distinct from the Fire Dragons. These theoretical fusion cowboys might emphasize on swiftness in contrast to the Fire Dragons, taking advantage of the small size of their primary weapon. Conjectures aside, another fact here is that the Harlequin Eldar carry these quite frequent. Since this lot prefers close quarters combat, it makes sense for them to have a good number of Fusion Pistols in store just in case they have to dance straight to a tank or something similarly tough. The Harlequins might actually make these Fusion Pistols in-house, and distribute the surplus to Craftworlds.

The Fusion Pistol is practically identical to the Imperium's Inferno Pistol as far as stats are concerned.
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AutarchFusionPistol.jpg|<center>Autarch</center>
HarlequinFusionPistol.png|<center>Harlequin</center>
Skyraider's_Kiss.png|<center>''Eternal Crusade''</center>
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===Fusion Gun===
[[File:FusionGunProfile.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Fusion Gun]]
The Eldar possess an unsurpassed mastery in heat-based weapons, and they take savage delight in the devastation they create.

The Fusion Gun is by far one of the most common heat-based weapons of the Eldar, deployed in high numbers among the Aspect Warriors known as Fire Dragons. Though it can only be used at short range, it possesses a sophisticated targeting system, as befits high status troops like Aspect Warriors. Like most Eldar technology, the weapon is psychically activated, its resonant Wraithbone construction being sensitive to the Eldar's innately psychic mind. A Fire Dragons' Fusion Gun is linked to its targeter through the handle. It is common knowledge to always replace your Eldar Flamer with a Fusion Gun as the Fusion Gun just does the Flamer's job so much better for roughly the same cost and effectiveness. The ''Skyraider's Kiss'' can be utilized by both [[Fire Dragons]], [[Aspect Warriors]] as well as [[Storm Guardians|Storm Guardian]] units. This Fusion Gun variant was initially developed for deployment on Bethalmae. The "''Skyraider's Kiss''" design was [[Blood Ravens|"borrowed"]] from Craftworld Mymeara after their prototypes proved capable at functioning at well below sub-zero conditions. The addition of extra cabling to the weapon to shunt extra coolant also allows this variant to be fired more frequently, requiring less time to cool down between shots. The trade-off for the extra cooling is that the additional coolant has to be stored within weapon, making the whole thing heavier as a result.

Despite its overall superiority in fluff, the Fusion Gun is also practically identical to the Imperium's Meltagun in terms of stats.
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EldarFusionGun.jpg|<center>Variant</center>
StormGuardianFusionGun.jpg|<center>Storm Guardian</center>
AutarchFusionGun.jpg|<center>Autarch</center>
FireDragonFusionGun.png|<center>Fire Dragon</center>
Fusion_Gun.jpg|<center>''Skyraider's Kiss''</center>
FusionGunPict.jpg|<center>Pict Capture</center>
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===Fire Pike===
[[File:Fire_Pike.PNG|200px|right|thumb|Fire Pike]]
Instead of making a bigger Melta and carrying it in the same manner a Dark Reaper would, the Fire Dragons realized that to increase range, they only needed to extend the barrel.

The Fire Pike is essentially a Fusion Gun with a flag pole for a barrel exclusively carried by Eldar Exarchs of the Fire Dragons Aspect Shrine. Think of it as an elongated Fusion Gun that looks [[/d/|strangely phallic and erect]]. The lengthened barrel is not just for show, however. In fact, the Fire Pike is their only handheld Melta that is actually able to hit its target beyond three meters; an exceptional feat for its size. Although the bulkier Multi-Melta still maintains a longer range, smaller frames like regular Humans and Eldar would need Power Armour to carry it around. For a Melta weapon, the Fire Pike projects its radiating heat beam a considerable distance further than the standard range of regular Melta weapons of the same size/weight melting through the toughest armor with deadly precision. Fire Pikes predate the existence of the Imperium of Man, having been created by Eldar artisans long millennia ago. And so they are pretty rare among the arsenals of the Eldar, most often borne by the mightiest champions of their kind as [[STC|relic weapons beyond contemporary means to reproduce]] even for the Eldar Craftworlds. This may translate as Fire Pikes being rather common in the past, perhaps available to all Fire Dragons. Imagine a pike square consisted of Fire Pikes. Good luck running your tanks over that.

Stats-wise, the Fire Pike is literally just the Fusion Gun with six extra inches of range. That's it.
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FireDragonExarchFireLance.png|<center>Fire Dragon Exarch</center>
FueganFirepike.png|<center>''[[Phoenix_Lord#Fuegan|Fuegan]]'s''</center>
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===Inferno Lance===
[[File:Inferno Lance.PNG|200px|right|thumb|Inferno Lance]]
The Inferno Lance is the largest Melta weapon the Eldar so far has to offer.

Inferno Lances are carried by the more elite [[Wraithknight|Skathach Wraithknights]] who can afford better gear such as the alternative [[Monofilament_Weapons#Deathshroud_Cannon|Deathshroud Cannon]]. As you can tell from the apparent barrel long enough to almost convince you that it is a long-range cannon, the weapon is a refinement based on the previous Fire Pike of the Fire Dragons. Powered by the Skathach's integral generator, the Inferno Lance is capable of burning through the armor of even the mightiest enemy war machine in a single, sustained burst of super-heated particles and high-band radiation. To make the best use of the Inferno Lances, the Wraithknights usually equip these in a pair for twice the ''Dakka''. A shame that it is not found as secondary weapons on Eldar Titans such as the [[Revenant Scout Titan]] or the more powerful [[Phantom Battle Titan]], as this would give the Space Elves a good chance in poking a dent on the Titans of the Imperium; unless, of course, they already have something bigger and better. If that is the case, it better not be another long-barreled Fusion Gun... speaking of which, since the Fire Pike is essentially a branch off the regular Fusion Gun, we have not yet seen what the Eldar "''Fusion Cannon''" proper looks like. But if one were to guess, it wouldn't have a long barrel for a start.

Strangely enough, the equivalent weapon by the Imperium's side, the Thermal Cannon, has better stats than this, though we can certainly attribute that to lighter weight and the fact that the Inferno Lance is cheaper as well.
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InfernoLance.png|<center>Alternate View</center>
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{{40k-Eldar-Weapons}}

== Dark Eldar Melta Weapons ==

===Heat Lance===
[[File:Heat_Lance.png|200px|right|thumb|Heat Lance]]
The Heat Lance is a rare occurrence of a two-in-one 40k weapon that is actually something more than two different (''or the same'') kind of weapons soldered together.

A rather mysterious weapon lacking in detail beyond that brief description, all we know for sure about the Heat Lance is that it is a one-of-a-kind combination of Las and Melta. This hot rod obliterates any vehicle that gets too close. In a sense, instead of dispersing the obscene heat that most Melta weapons should in order to cover as much as area as possible, the Heat Lance actually focuses the discharged super-heated gas into a point like a Las weapon. This intensifies its armor penetration capability to puncture even the toughest of armor. As with every melta weapon, the heat lance has short range but is extremely devastating. Considering that the Heat Lance is the only Melta weapon available to the [[Dark Eldar]] so far, there is a possibility that the Heat Lance is a modification of a Las weapon. Another modification candidate is a weapon of the Fire Dragons Exarch, the Fire Pike – in fact, both weapons have remarkably similar stat lines. Unlike those Craftworlders, Heat Lances are not carried by pyromaniacs. Possibly due to being light in weight, some [[Scourges]] carry one over their fly-bys. With possibly the same logic, the [[Reaver Jetbike|Reavers]] may also have one attached on the Jetbike. The most bulky... thing that carries the Heat Lance is the [[Talos Pain Engine]], specifically two by the end of the tail.

As stated, the Heat Lance is essentially the Dark Eldar's [[Melta#Fire_Pike|Fire Pike]] that compensates the shorter range from shorter length with Laser technology.
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ScourgeHeatLance.png|<center>Scourge</center>
HeatLanceReaver.jpg|<center>Reaver Jetbike</center>
HeatLanceTalos.jpg|<center>Talos Pain Engine</center>
HeatLancePict.jpg|<center>Sketch</center>
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{{Template:40k-DEldar-Weapons}}

== Necron Melta Weapons ==
Yep that's right, even the [[Necrons]] have Melta-Weapons in the form of the Heat Ray that can be used either as a focused beam (two shots at STR8 AP1) or as a heavy flamer (AP4 STR5) is used exclusively by the [[Triarch Stalker]], and the short-ranged but very destructive Heat Cannon used by Sentry Pylons.

===Cutting Beam===
[[File:AcanthriteThermalCutting.png|200px|right|thumb|Cutting Beam]]
The Cutting Beam is a Necron weapon only utilized by the insect-like constructs known as [[Canoptek Acanthrite|Canoptek Acanthrites]].

This Cutting Beam mounted within the Acanthrite's thorax is capable of firing a short range, highly concentrated shaft of thermic energy ray that is able to slice apart the toughest of materials, dissecting steel, stone and flesh with equal ease and precision of a surgeon’s scalpel blade. Canoptek Acanthrites often use their Cutting Beams for the destruction of armored vehicles and troops, as well as the systematic and rapid dismemberment of bunkers and fortifications. Of note, unlike the similarly focused Fire Pike and Heat Lance of the Eldar, the Cutting Beam of the Necrons is much more similar to that of a standard Meltagun, save for being far more focused and prolonged. This distinction doesn't make their effectiveness any better, though, because the Cutting Beam is more or less the same as any Meltagun out there. We may infer this similarity to the supposed function of these Canoptek constructs. Acanthrites are deployed in swarms for the purpose of systematic disintegration of enemy fortifications and pretty much anything else that just has to be in their way. This means that the Cutting Beam is more akin to that of a precision tool for Necron mass demolitions job that just happens to be good at killing combatants who are encased in armor like a tank.

In battle, this weapon-worthy quality translates to the Acanthrites, being vanguard units, using them to soften up the enemy defenses for the following main forces to easily engage.
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CuttingBeamSketch.jpg|<center>Sketch</center>
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===Heat Ray===
[[File:NecronHeatRaySide.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Heat Ray]]
This here is a weapon ripped straight out of H.G. Wells '''''War of the Worlds''''' in both name and possibly function.

A Heat Ray is a multi-purpose Necron fusion weapon – that is, Melta – and it is most commonly mounted on [[Triarch Stalker|Triarch Stalkers]] whose role is to engage heavy armor and provide close fire support. Heat Rays are potent weapons in that they are capable of firing in two different modes just like those of the Orks'. Unlike the Burnas, however, the Necrons' "''cuttin flame''" actually goes well beyond melee range. If an enemy tank stalls the main Necron attack, a single Focused blast from the Heat Ray is sufficient to end the threat. Similarly, if dug-in infantry are hampering an advance, a Triarch Stalker can break the deadlock by setting the Heat Ray to fire a Dispersed beam, sending a wide cone of scorching plasma swirling into every crevasse to boil the enemy alive. Whereas a focused beam is akin to a Melta Weapon with a significant range comparable to a Multi-Melta, the Dispersed beam is more similar to a Heavy Flamer in terms of the potential damage it can inflict. Of note, this ability of changing between Dispersed and Focused firing modes is remarkably similar to another weapon of the Salamanders, the Pyroclast Flame Projector. It seems Vulkan had been tinkering with Necron tech prior to the Horus Heresy, or that both him and the cannon found inspiration from the novel.

Or he might have found inspiration from the Orks instead. Fluff-wise, the Burna of the Orks is likely inspired by the Heat Ray of the Necrons – and hopefully not the other way around.
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Heat_Ray.jpg|<center>Front View</center>
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===Heat Cannon===
[[File:SentryPylonHeatCannonSide.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Heat Cannon]]
What we see here is the Heat Ray's bigger brother. But since it is big enough to mount on a turret, it is now a cannon.

The Heat Cannon is a Necron thermal energy weapon with qualities from appearance to destructive capability similar to that of the smaller Heat Ray, only much bigger, and it is one of the three primary weapon choices for a [[Sentry Pylon]]. Unlike the Heat Ray, however, it does not have a Dispersed firing mode, and there really isn't any big reason to equip a static weapons platform with a flame cannon unless the feature is complimentary. The Heat Cannon is a weapon of extraordinary power. This giant ray gun can reduce the most heavily-armored tanks into piles of molten slag and burn its way through the most heavily-protected fortifications at relatively great distances. With every beam it fires, it is capable of vaporizing everything in an area with a small blast, and its rate of fire allows it to continually bombard an area with impunity. By its capabilities, it is equivalent to the Thermal Cannon sported by the Questoris Knights of the Imperium of Man. Speaking of which, their possible rendition of the Knight Errant is an interesting prospect, though since it is the Necrons we're talking about, the construct in question will probably have at least six legs and not two. Well, there are the Bone Giants, but that's their Tomb Kings incarnation over Warhammer Fantasy.

However, like two other two cannons of total destruction, the Heat Cannon might actually require a lot of power and space supported by the frame of a Sentry Pylon in order to operate.
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SentryPylonHeatCannon.png|<center>Model</center>
Heat_Cannon.jpg|<center>Sketch</center>
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{{40k-Necron-Weapons}}

== Tau Melta Weapons ==

===Fusion Blaster===
[[File:FusionBlasterSide.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Fusion Blaster]]
While the Imperium probably has been using Melta ever since the Emperor kick-started it, the Tau Empire probably invented Melta by themselves at some point. That's cute.

The primary Melta weapon of the [[Tau]] is the Fusion Blaster, the equivalent to the standard Imperial Meltagun, only with a slightly longer range because the thing is about as bulky as a Multi-Melta, though not as powerful. Like all Melta weapons, the Fusion Blaster agitates the sub-atomic particles of the target, causing a massive build-up of heat. Living targets are often completely vaporized, and non-living targets, even the most heavily armored vehicles and fortifications, can be reduced to slag in the blink of an eye with its nuclear-fusion-powered blast. The Fusion Blaster is most commonly utilized as a weapons system on standard Battlesuits because the size is just right. Even Commander Shadowsun dual-wields the damn thing. Bigger Battlesuits may attach a couple of Fusion Blasters as side weaponry, or might as well use a couple of them as another weapon. Outside of Battlesuits, Piranha skimmers may also take it as its primary weapon if it just so happens to be more appropriate for the upcoming battle than the Burst Cannon.

A variant exclusively deployed by the Farsight Enclaves as an alternative if the Battlesuit in question happens to have at least two Fusion Blasters installed comes in a pair, collectively called '''Fusion Blades'''. While it is more or less the same pair of Fusion Blasters when fired at range and possibly appearance, when activated for melee in exchange for a huge power drain, the stream of Melta supposedly shortens and concentrates, resembling a blade in both form and function. This modification was first requested by Commander Brightsword III. This thing was so badass that Commander Brightsword VII went full-on Jedi Knight on the Tyranids with the thing. Indeed, this variant is the closest the Tau gets to a Lightsaber.
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CrisisFusionBlaster.png|<center>XV8 Crisis Battlesuit</center>
StealthsuitFusionBlaster.jpg|<center>XV25 Stealth Battlesuit</center>
PiranhaFusionBlaster.jpg|<center>TX4 Piranha</center>
GhostkeelFusionBlaster.jpg|<center>XV95 Ghostkeel Battlesuit</center>
RiptideFusionBlaster.jpg|<center>XV104 Riptide Battlesuit</center>
ShadowsunFusionBlaster.jpg|<center>Commander Shadowsun</center>
Fusion_Blaster.jpg|<center>Sketch</center>
ShadowsunFusionBlasterPict.jpg|<center>Pict Capture</center>
ShadowsunFusionBlasterPict2.jpg|<center>Pict Capture</center>
ShadowsunFusionBlasterPict3.jpg|<center>Pict Capture</center>
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=== Fusion Cascade ===
[[File:FusionCascadeSide.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Fusion Cascade]]
Although the appearance is drastically different, the Fusion Cascade is a modification of the Fusion Blaster possibly tailor-made just for the [[Battlesuit#XV9_Hazard_Battlesuit|XV9 "Hazard" Battlesuits]].

An experimental Battlesuits should also use experimental weapons, and the Fusion Cascade is one of the options the XV9 has in store. Indeed, the weapon is simply a (''likely heavily'') modified version of the standard Fusion Blaster which trades raw power in exchange for a vastly improved rate of fire – basically, a Melta machine gun. Since the barrel is conveniently cylindrical, it opens up the possibility that it spins like a Gatling. This will make the Fusion Cascade a '''''Melta Minigun'''''. Designed to be used with the XV9 Hazard Suits whose operational keyword is "Close Support," the Fusion Cascade unleashes a blistering torrent of energy that punches holes in armor with ease and transforms everything else in its path to swirling ash. Of course, in exchange for the microwave Dakka, the Fusion Cascade has a rather short effective range equivalent to that of the common Imperial Meltagun. This forces the possibly foolhardy pilot of the XV9 equipped with this to engage the enemy at an uncomfortably close range. Do remember, this is the Tau we're talking about here. By effectiveness, interestingly enough, the Fusion Cascade is at about the same level as the Thermal Spear fitted on Armiger Knights, though our Warglaives can afford more than double the range of this tube.

So if you want some rapid-firing Melta cannons in your army for the Greater Good, you must get the XV9.
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HazardFusionCascade.png|<center>Front View</center>
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===Fusion Collider===
[[File:Fusion_Collider.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Fusion Collider]]
By merit of being a bigger Battlesuit, the XV95 gets its own collection of weapons developed including this Melta cannon.

The XV95 Ghostkeel Battlesuit may be armed with a Fusion Collider, one of the foremost tank-busting weapons in the Tau arsenal by being really big and also due to the tactics deployed by its users. Fitted with power dispersal exchangers which might be some fancy coolant systems, this weapon can fire a searing blaze of energy capable of destroying the most heavily armored foe like what a Melta should be able to. This particular one, however, has no risk of detection by enemy imaging, which might be the fancy coolant doing its thing. The Fusion Collider's comparatively short range at the about same distance as the normal Fusion Blaster is seen as little impediment to the Ghostkeel's Shas'vre pilot – that is, Fire Caste Level 4 who is also a Stealthsuit veteran – for the Battlesuit has been specifically engineered to enter close range without harm. Frequently, the detection part is off the table for these big ninjas. Often the first sign of a Ghostkeel's presence is the mushroom cloud explosion of a choice target detonating from within, flames rippling across the XV95's stealth field as it withdraws into the gloom within the relative safety of that same stealth field once more. This is a weapon to take up if you, the Ghostkeel pilot, are in the mood to backstab tank columns.

The Fusion Collider is functionally a Fusion Blaster with a D3 shots, allowing it to destroy tightly packed TEQ's and Vehicles.
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===Fusion Cannon===
[[File:FusionCannonModel.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Fusion Cannon]]
This is basically the Fusion Blaster, but bigger and most notably longer.

Indeed, the Fusion Cannon is essentially a larger version of the Battlesuit-mounted Fusion Blaster above. The Fusion Cannon has an extended range compared to a Fusion Blaster, comparable to the Imperium's Multi-Melta in that respect and destructive capabilities in fact. A larger blast radius allows it to fire and destroy closely packed groups of enemy vehicles and heavy infantry. [[Hammerhead Gunship|Hammerhead Gunships]] are the only Tau unit armed with Fusion Cannons, as they may be mounted as a twin-linked primary turret weapons system in place of a more common Railgun or Ion Cannon. You'd think something rather basic like this would find more usage in their armies. The Fusion Cannon is one of the experimental weapons systems that were first deployed (''i.e. field-tested'') against the Imperium during the Taros Campaign. Judging from its rarity, either the Earth Caste engineers or the Fire Caste soldiers were probably not too keen about this particular one. Since the only specimen that uses this uses in a pair, it opens up a possibility for the Farsight Enclaves to implement their Fusion Blades system on the much larger Fusion Cannons, although this application would be most likely very limited since Fusion Blades work so well with Battlesuits precisely because arms are flexible – turrets are not flexible.

[[Forge World]] used to produce a variant turret for the Hammerhead Gunship for the twin-linked Fusion Cannon, which is the equivalent of the [[Devil Dog]]'s Melta Cannon, but with two shots instead of D3. But since it "used to," your only choices of getting one are either finding people who sell it, whipping out your conversion expertise, or the [[Proxy|universal solution]].
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===Fusion Eradicator===
[[File:FusionEradicatorSide.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Fusion Eradicator]]
Frankly, the Tau might have gone overboard with making the next size in their array of Melta weaponry.

While the ''gorillas'' made their Melta Cannons huge in size with similarly huge blasts, the Tau took a different approach and basically created a gatling Multi-Melta that definitely wasn't inspired by a one Cyclonic Melta Lance. Designed as a radical solution to the limitations of current Tau Fusion/Melta weapons technology, the Fusion Eradicator combines a battery of multiple synchronized firing chambers, ten to be exact. By appearance, it looks like the Earth Caste engineers have figured out a design paradigm behind the Imperial weapons, and they applied that theory accordingly by strapping not two, not three, but five Fusion Cascades together. This ridiculous weapon creates a blast of energy so potent that solid matter caught in its path is torn apart at a molecular level by brute thermal force, and no physical material yet known to the Tau can survive its destructive power save perhaps their plot armor. The cost in materials and expertise to create a single Fusion Eradicator is immense, and the natural endurance of each weapon is limited often to a single battle. Each Fusion Eradicator is then discarded and must be replaced. This is different from Imperial technology where every fucking thing over there lasts for a heck of a long time. However, as the Imperial Knights lead the Imperium's counter-attack to retake the Damocles Gulf, a weapon capable of reliably one-shotting them is worth any price.

The Fusion Eradicator on tabletop is a Titanic weapon that can be mounted on the Tau KX139 Ta’unar Supremacy Armor. The weapon itself is a five-shot Fusion Blaster with an extra 6" range. Once you realize that each Fusion Blaster is a 1D6 damage weapon, you'll know that it's gonna do a lot of hurt.
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{{40k-Tau-Weapons}}

[[Category:Chaos]][[Category:Necrons]]

Codex Astartes

2019-01-15T07:52:41Z

2001:8003:3800:800:31C8:CA3A:2763:15D2: /* The Fleet */

{{Topquote|The Codex Astartes is a set of rules. They guide us. Shape us as Ultramarines. Teach us how to hold duty and honor sacred above all. But how we live with those rules is the true test of a Space Marine.|[[Captain Titus]], [[Ultramarines]] 2nd Company}}

{{Topquote|[[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device|It was OK]]|Rogal Dorn}}

The Codex Astartes (a.k.a Codex Asstardes) is the collective name given to a series of tactical and organisational guides written by [[Roboute Guilliman]] over the course of his life, compiled at the end of the [[Horus Heresy]]. The Codex's organizational mandates split the remaining [[First Founding|Space Marine Legions]] into smaller chapters, for reasons discussed below. It also includes many tactical doctrines and stratagems for just about every situation, like the formidable [[Steel Rain|STEEL REHN!]] Most loyalist Space Marine chapters follow the Codex Astartes to varying degrees, with [[Ultramarines]] and their successors seeing it as literal holy writ, while some chapters like the [[Black Templars]] and [[Space Wolves]] merely see it as a book of tactics to be referred to when necessary. Most chapters will fall somewhere between those two extremes, using the codex where necessary but making adaptations where necessary (the [[Imperial Fists]], for example, use the Codex, but have a special appendix on how to Fist better, called the Book of Five Spheres. I guess Dorn was a fan of Musashi?). Almost all chapters will make a few minor alterations at the very least, usually just superficial things accounting for the chapter's culture. Now that Guilliman woke up, odds are he's going to update the codex like a fa/tg/uy updating his army lists, so the boys in blue should have some new reading material soon. Fortunately, since he's been adding Primaris Marines to Chapters that already have a thousand Marines, Guilliman has probably thrown out the number limit thing, realizing it was really stupid (or that no one noticed the Great Crusade never officially ended and so all Chapters are technically crusading and so have no number limits in the first place).

A certain detail needs to be mentioned that seems to have been missed by the Adeptus Astartes by the 41st millennium. Namely the fact that Chapters fought together in the same battles during the Great Crusade. It is highly likely that Guilliman fully expected this practice to continue after splitting the legions up. But, then the Chapters went and parceled out their companies (and sometimes squads) throughout the galaxy. As a result, while they often win, their loses are also famous and their victories tend to be somewhat costly. If the entire Chapter fought together, though, they would win too quickly for casualties to reach any notworthy number and could swiftly zip from world-to-world kicking the absolute shit out of anything and everything. Case in point: Black Templars.

==What the Codex set out to Accomplish==

The Codex Astartes was written with three main purposes in mind.

First, the Codex is a tactical and strategic guide. It contains tips and plans on how to handle nearly any battle situation imaginable, and then some. The Codex served with flying colors until the modern day of the setting, when its weaknesses began to show against certain [[Tyranids|unconventional]] [[Necrons|enemies]]. Much like ''The Art of War'' or the FBI tactical guidebook, if you can get your hands on a copy you can anticipate the actions of those that use it, but countering it is '''really''' fucking hard because of just how comprehensive the Codex is. It doesn't just tell you "When your enemy is doing B, do C to counter it," it also says, "And when the enemy counters C with X and Y, use Z to shut down their counter." Sun Tzu's ''Art of War'' is still being taught millennia after its publication; now imagine that same spark of tactical genius manifesting inside the mind of a superhumanly intelligent demigod. The Codex isn't perfect - no tactical treatise is - but it's damn close.

Second, the Codex is an organizational guide. Guilliman was a flawed genius, an organizational savant literally unmatched in the galaxy, and more than a little OCD when it came to detail. Beyond simple mandates about the composition of the Chapters, the Codex contains information on the minutia of administration. Details on every subject from bolt shells to bread, water distribution to weapon production, organization of auxiliary forces, suggested countermeasures to [[Nurgle|viral]] outbreaks, training schedules, troop morale, ammunition production, distribution of that ammunition to terrestrial and naval combat units, how large reserves can be built up, how long those reserves will last when production stopped, ration distribution for militant and civilian populations, how those rations can be stored, food cycling to avoid waste, integration of chain of command with allied and auxiliary forces, integration of militia into formal military, suggested staging area locations relative to battle lines, suggested landing area locations relative to battle lines, prioritizing access to and from these areas, [[derp|guides to avoiding massive compound sentences]], fortification locations, demolition strategies for those fortifications in the event that they must be abandoned, and I could go on. It also has plenty to say on how to live your day to day life, with everything from codes of honor to follow, to how your boots should be laced. Seriously, the Codex can tell you how to spend every minute of your life from birth to death, and pretty much every part of it is either acceptable or outstanding, if admittedly inflexible.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the final version of the Codex is designed to keep the power of the Imperium decentralized. At the end of the Heresy, Guilliman wanted to ensure there wouldn't be any repeating performances of the strife that had gripped the galaxy. To this end, he split the Imperial Army into the [[Imperial Navy]] and the [[Imperial Guard]], and broke up the Legions, to keep one person from ever having the power to cause such massive chaos. Whether or not this was a good move is [[skub|a subject of ongoing debate]]. Detractors would point out that the newly decentralized and feudal Imperium is nowhere near as capable of unified action as it was before the heresy, pointing at how this decentralization screwed the Imperium over during [[the War of The Beast]], while its defenders would point out the examples of The [[Badab War]] (which wouldn't have gotten to that point if Astartes could legally have mustered a force to destroy the Maelstroms threats like the Tyrant of Badab wanted to and could've if not for Guilliman's splitting of power and so the Badab War wouldn't have happened) or the [[Macharian Crusade]] (Same issue as the Badab War as there would've been a unified structure everyone followed, preventing the in-fighting in the first place, which is why the Great Crusade was so successful) as examples of too much centralized power devolving into a clusterfuck (but only did so ''because'' they were decentralized, thereby preventing them from ''not'' becoming a clusterfuck as there was no structure for everyone to follow), to say nothing of the Horus Heresy demonstrating why giving any one person too much power over the Imperium is a ''very bad idea''.

However, one thing that people often forget when they argue about whether Legions or post-Heresy Chapters are better is that the Legions and Chapters have very different roles. Legions of a hundred thousand Astartes are great when you want to steamroll the galaxy - ''which is also exactly what the original Legions designed for'' - but such huge armies are not so great when you want to maintain peace in a sprawling galaxy-spanning empire. What the post-[[great Scouring|Scouring]] Imperium really needed were small-scale elite rapid-response forces, which is exactly the kind of role that the Chapters are most suited for. Well, that coupled with a large normal army to act as first-responders very quickly and hold the line for the big boys to come smash face.

And this is also a much more efficient use of the Astartes. You don't need a space marine to man a gun line or garrison a fort - why let a marine do a guardsman's job? - and considering how long it takes to create a fully-fledged Astartes, you'll want to get the most out of every single one of them. Also remember that there weren't all that many loyalist Astartes left alive after the Heresy. Getting a thousand Astartes killed just to win a battle may have been A-OK during the Great Crusade or the Heresy, but the post-Heresy Imperium just couldn't afford losses like that anymore (for a while, at least). Hence, it only makes sense for the space marines to conform to tactics where your average space marine battle will result in few marine casualties, if any. Guilliman designed the Codex marine armies to be modular, precise, and efficient in ways that the original legions weren't.

Of course, the trade-off is that the marines are no longer well suited for large-scale warfare. But large-scale warfare and armoured warfare are now the Imperial Guard's job, anyway. On top of that, Legion-sized (or at least multichapter) deployments can and will still happen whenever necessary, like with the [[Armageddon|Armageddon wars]] or the [[Black Crusade|Black Crusades]] or the Wall of the Imperial Fist Legion during the War of the Beast. But all that being said; yes, there are situations in M41 where the Legions of old would probably be more effective than any gathering of Chapters. Especially the [[Tyranids]] and the bigger [[Necrons|Necron]] dynasties come to mind, though there's also less formidable threats like the [[Tau]] (who are still powerful enough to inflict unaffordable losses on a space marine Chapter (the more Marines fighting the more quickly the enemy dies before they can inflict significant loses, though)). But even there, the Guard is a perfectly fine substitute for a Legion in most if not all of those cases. Especially with their godly mechanization, tanks, and artillery. Hell, their standard procedure is to simply use various artillery to eradicate everyone and everywhere the enemy could hide (bunkers, trenches, buildings, tunnels, ''anything'') then send in tanks to wipe out any resistance and the ground pounders to hunt down the survivors. We have billions of Guardsmen dying every day, but the number of Guardsmen makes billions a day look like literally a drop in a literal ocean. So, incredibly minute casualties on the whole. Because of massive guns and lots of them. This means that the Astartes are not needed nearly as often as the Guard. Especially since the Guard almost always operates on the defensive, which means that line-breaking supersoldier armies are rarely needed.

Interestingly enough, the original version of the Codex had no plans to break apart the Legions at all. Instead, it proposed their unification into a single Legion formed from multiple self-sufficient Chapters, which would merge and break up as needed regardless of which Primarch they descended from. While this may have been able to preserve the advantages of being a Legion better, the other [[High Lords of Terra]] were scared shitless by the idea of the Space Marines unifying and promptly rebelling a second time, so the original plan Guilliman had in mind never came to pass. Even the idea of it happening was enough for the 41st millennium-era High Lords to plot Guilliman's overthrow when they heard he might resume his old position. Which shows how dumb they are. The Primarchs are the sons of the Emperor for a reason. They are '''''really fucking scary dudes'''''. Besides, the Space Marines would unify as much or as little as they choose and there really isn't anything the High Lords can do about it. So, their concerns over Guilliman's original intentions for Chapters didn't matter and the changes didn't matter, either. They still operate the same way Guilliman had intended but with far less communication and co-ordination unless they needed. Since they usually don't needed, it doesn't really matter at all.

When Guilliman finally got off his ass, he began to see the flaws that came from strict adherence to the Codex Astartes. Thus, he has begun reforming its guidelines and got rid of several of its restrictions on Space Marines. He currently hopes to replace it entirely with the Codex Imperialis when the latter is complete.

==Chapter Organisation==
Under the Codex Astartes, the Space Marine legions were to be split into groups of 1000 fighting men, called a [[Space Marine Chapter|Chapter]]. While many people assume this means a chapter is composed of 1000 men, this is a bit misleading, because that 1000 man number does not include a chapter's upper echelons, support structure, auxiliary units, dreadnought-interred veterans, the librarius, vehicle crews, honor guard, and specialists (tech marines, apothacaries, chaplains, etc). This means that a chapter will commonly have upwards of 1100 space marines while still being codex compliant, and many chapters will have large units of mortal retainers to serve as auxiliary forces, so it's not uncommon for a chapter to have tens of thousands of soldiers to call upon, though only a minority of them will actually be Adeptus Astartes. It's important to note that the Chapter was already an existing sub-unit within the pre-Heresy legions, and those were organized much as they were in the Codex.

By the 42nd Millennium, the reawakened Guilliman has set about redrafting the Codex Astartes to accommodate the inclusion of Primaris Marines, who do not form the same sorts of squads as their traditional brothers. However he has not massively changed the organisational units of "Chapter" and/or "Company". With the new codex, the space marine company is still 100 men on paper, but can be organised in a far more flexible arrangement of squads and can accommodate additional squads drawn from reserve companies. It also means that whole Companies ''(or even Chapters)'' of Primaris Marines can be formed without the need to makes exceptions for them.

The 1st Company is composed of [[Veteran Squad|Veterans]], and only marines who have served in the first company are allowed to wear [[Terminator|terminator armor]].

The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Companies are Battle Companies. Guilliman's reorganisation allows companies to be composed of as many as twenty squads of five men, there will always be least six Battle line squads, at least two Fire Support squads, and least two Close Support squads. They train together, and when a Space Marine Company deploys as a single unit, it will be one of these.

The 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th Companies are Reserve Companies, and are more specialized than the first five companies. The 6th and 7th Companies are composed entirely of Battleline squads (whose Tactical Marines also specialize in using [[Bike Squad|bikes]] and [[Land Speeder]]s, respectively), the 8th Company of Close Support squads and the 9th Company entirely of Fire Support squads.

The 10th Company is composed entirely of [[Scout]] Marines, who are eventually promoted to other companies after a certain number of years. It's worthy of note that the 10th company is typically the largest in the chapter, containing 100 neophytes in addition to veterans seconded to the company for training. Additionally, the 10th company's 100 man limit is often uncapped so as to keep the chapter's flow of new marines steady in times of great loss.

There is a fair amount of leeway given to what roles the reserve companies can maintain. The 7th company, for instance, is given the moniker of "tactical reserve." Some chapters field these companies as bodies to replace losses from the battle companies. Some use them to train landspeeder pilots (the Codex states the entire company should be able to ride landspeeders.). Some chapters, such as the [[Salamanders]], use the 7th company to train fighter pilots for their Air Force. Others, typically those suffering from heavy losses, use it in place of the tech auxillera for tank crews. Still others keep weapon specialists, such as dedicated plasma-gunners, on hand to replace battle company soldiers as need demands.

===Marine roles===

Among the tenets of the Codex, Guilliman outlined the roles of various Marines to be used in Chapters. They include the following:

====Battle Line====
*'''[[Tactical Squad|Tactical]]''': The backbone of a Battle Company, Tactical Marines are those who are flexible in combat, relying on both ranged weapons and melee weapons in combat. Note that due to the order of the Companies, they usually have served as both Assault and Devastator Marines, so they definitely know the basics of both, granting the majority of the chapter great theoretical tactical flexibility.
*'''[[Intercessor]] Squad''': Those Primaris Marines who are armed uniformly with some version of Bolt Rifle-either the standard version, the more mobile Auto Bolt Rifle, or the longer-ranged Stalker bolt rifle. Their role on the battlefield is to set up lines of fire and advance on and secure objectives much in a similar way to Tactical Squads; although they lack their little brothers' overall flexibility due to their exclusive use of Bolt Rifle variants, it is said that a combination of these units with other squads is invaluable to a commander.

====Fire Support====
*'''[[Devastator Squad|Devastator]]''': Devastator Marines can be summed up in three words: Blow shit up. The purpose of the Devastator is to provide heavy weapons fire in battle, artillery strikes, and hunting tanks. Once a Scout earns his Black Carapace and Power Armor, he will be attached to a Devastator Squad, allowing him to gain battlefield experience by watching the conflict from afar, with the added perk of allowing a new marine to bond with his armor while learning its strengths by lugging heavy weapons around. Unlike [[Sisters of Battle]], the Devastator title refers to organization rather than weapon skill. Devastator squads will contain both heavy weapons and bolter marines who act as spotters and loaders. Likewise, the heavy weapon marines in tactical squads are tactical marines, not devastators.
**'''Devastator [[Centurion Squad]]s:''' Devastators trained to wear Centurion Warsuits, allowing them to carry considerably more firepower than any other marine short of a dreadnought. Centurion squads are organised in combat squads of three rather than five, which means that the reorganization of the codex to accommodate more variety actually means leftover soldiers can bulk up other Demi-squads without interfering with the 100 man standard.
*'''[[Hellblaster]] Squads:''' Primaris Marines who show a particular talent for marksmanship are elevated to the position of Hellblaster, which makes them a sort of elite promotion rather than Devastators who are often newbies. The reason for this is because the Plasma Incinerators they wield are very rare and difficult to maintain, and so are be entrusted to the care of a warrior who can put them to best use. Their role is to provide dedicated anti-armor firepower without sacrificing mobility in the process, and assault and heavy variants of the Plasma Incinerator also exist for greater effectiveness against massed light infantry and vehicles, respectively.
*'''[[Aggressor]] Squads:''' Primaris marines equipped with Mk X Gravis Armour and Auto Boltstorm Gauntlets and Flame Gauntlets (essentially power fists with built-in bolters or flamers, respectively).; in the case of the former, they may also use shoulder-mounted grenade launchers to further supplement their firepower. Aggressors fulfill a similar role to Centurions and are also organised into combat squads of three, but Aggressors are somewhat more lightly armed in exchange for superior maneuverability. Their role is to provide close-range anti-infantry fire support to an advancing force as they move in for the kill.

====Close Support====
*'''[[Assault Squad|Assault]]''': Assault Marines are those who specialize in melee combat, using [[Chainsword|Chain]] and [[Power weapon]]s alike to fuck up the enemies of the [[Imperium of Man]]. In addition, they also take to the field wearing jump packs which allows them to deepstrike onto the battlefield, move quickly from point to point, and even execute a jet-fueled charge of awesomeness into the enemy. This is the next stop in a new Marine's career when he graduates from the Devastator squads, helping to familiarize him with any weapons he hasn't used yet, and putting him through the crushing psychological stress of hand-to-hand combat under something resembling optimal conditions. Assault marines can also use bikes, attack bikes, landspeeders, drop pods, Rhinos, and Razorbacks.
**'''Assault Centurion Squads:''' Assault Marines trained to use the Centurion warsuits for siege breaking and trench clearing.
*'''[[Inceptor]] Squads:''' Primaris marines who fulfill an analogue to the Assault squad role, though their function is less about engaging the enemy at close quarters and more to act as the spearhead unit that will arrive in advance of the main force and secure the drop zone. Their Assault Bolters and Plasma Exterminators are surprisingly powerful for their size, allowing Inceptors to perform deadly hit-and-run attacks.
*'''[[Reiver]] Squads:''' Primaris specialists in shock and awe tactics, who fill a role somewhere between Assault Squad and Scouts. Their mission profile is to create confusion and terror by attacking from unexpected angles, so to do this they can either infiltrate onto the battlefield or glide in silently on grav chutes. In battle, they can choose to wield either a paired combat blade and heavy bolt pistol for melee use or a bolt carbine for close-quarters firefights.

====Others====
*'''[[Scout|Scout Squad]]''': Scout Marines are Neophyte Space Marines who are charged with scouting terrain and enemy positions, in addition to demolitions and what we would today call special forces operations. A risky job, but this has the effect of ensuring that the more cautious ones survive while the reckless and foolish are weeded out.

*'''[[Veteran Squad|Veteran]]''': Veteran Marines are those who have seen through several centuries, allowing them access to all the cool toys in the Chapter's armory. They're hopefully experienced and cool-headed enough not to, say, [[Dakka|super-glue the relic blade of the founder to the codpiece of their armor to skullfuck the enemies of mankind.]] A Chapter's first company veterans get to wear [[Terminator]] armor (the Crux Terminatus is a cross between a medal and authorization papers), but they sometimes stay with normally-sized power armor instead, which is instead slowly turned into Artificer armor by all the bling and enhancements. Power-armored Veterans are divided into two subgroups: Vanguard (who focus on close quarters combat) and Sternguard (who focus on bolter drills and other forms of ranged warfare).

The first and tenth companies '''very''' rarely take to the field as single formations. Instead, the veterans are seconded to other companies, often serving as commanding officers and sergeants to other squads, so as to spread their experience and skill as widely as possible. Whilst the same is also said of Scouts, who are attached to other companies as auxiliary units so that they can learn their trades alongside their more experienced brothers.

A very common codex variant is to keep a company's veterans attached to their parent company permanently, acting as an additional squad in a company and assisting the captain and his command staff where necessary, filling the role of champion, standard bearer and any other administrative positions. These men are very seldom counted as part of the 100 man structure of the company and are instead counted amongst the command staff. More rarely the Veterans will supplant one of the tactical squads, particularly when they act autonomously from the Captain and form the line of battle instead of as a command squad, or in an even greater deviation from the codex, adding an extra squad that is counted amongst the company's order of battle. This organization is used by the [[Space Sharks]], [[Iron Hands]], [[Iron Snakes]], [[Executioners]], [[Dark Angels]] and others.

===Ranks===

The Codex Astartes formalized and simplified the ranks among the Adeptus Astartes, eliminating some ranks like "commander", while adding some more. They include:

*'''[[Chapter Master]]''': The grand poobah of the Chapter. He is the one who gives Marine companies their assignments, and is under no obligation to recognize any external authority save for the [[God-Emperor of Mankind]], though most Chapter masters will recognize and honor (if not obey) the authority of the Inquisition and the Administratum. A chapter master is not merely the commander-in-chief of the chapter, he is also expected to be an administrator, a paragon of martial skill, a councilor, a tactician, a strategist, and often even an admiral or a planetary governor, as the chapter master will typically have ultimate authority over the chapter's homeworld, or home fleet in the case of crusading chapters. Needless to say, chapter masters are some of the most formidable individuals in the galaxy, rivaled only by the greatest heroes and monsters of other races.

*'''[[Brother-Captain|Captain]]''': Captains are the commanders of Companies, overseeing their Marines from the front line instead of the back. Captains are usually promoted from the senior Sergeant in the Company. The most senior is the First Captain, who commands the Veteran 1st Company, and is often the official heir apparent to the Chapter Master. Each Company Captain also holds a Chapter-level position of authority, supervising his Chapter's fleet, vehicle pool, recruits, or territory, for example.

*'''Lieutenant:''' with the unveiling of Cawl's new Primaris Marines came a slight reorganisation of codex companies and delegation of officers duties. Each space marine company would have two lieutenants subservient to its captain, though their exact duties can vary from chapter to chapter. ''(Salamanders lieutenants are [[This Guy|ceremonial bodyguards]] for their Captain, whilst Iron Hands lieutenants are [[That Guy|naysmiths]] charged with arguing against their Captain's battle plans in order to ensure his logic is free from human error)'' Largely, their main function is to act as an executive to their Captain and take command of the demi-companies when the company splits (one per demi-company), and allowing specialist officers such as Chaplains and Librarians to actually focus on their roles rather than taking command themselves. Which makes sense considering specialist officers trained for a particular duty may be no more qualified to command than any other battle brother.
**As with Captains, there is no actual requirement for Lieutenants to be Primaris Marines, and as it stands, regular Astartes lieutenants are more flexible thanks to the wider range of compatible wargear.
*'''Force Commander''': Not a rank but a title given to the commander of a task force (duh), either given if more than one company is fighting at the same time in which case it would be the senior captain or if the company has to split up and a junior officer such as a lieutenant takes command of forces aside from his own captain.

*'''[[Brother-Sergeant|Sergeant]]''': Sergeants lead squads of four to nine other Marines depending on the influx of recruits. There are approximately ten sergeants per Codex approved Company. Often, the most senior sergeant will be the commander of a company's "First Squad" ''(usually a Tactical Squad)'' and will likely be next in line for a promotion if the Captain is ever slain, but not always. Members of the Captain's Command Squad may also be Sergeants who get additional duties as the Captain's role might require.

*'''[[Veteran Squad|Veteran-Sergeant]]''': Not a "rank" exactly, but more of a recognition of status for those who have been members of a Chapter's First Company, quite frequently these guys get redistributed back to the lower companies to act as squad leaders where their experience will do some good, hence "Veteran Sergeant". These guys will usually get to wear the "Crux Terminatus" even when in power armour, to represent the fact that they have earned the right to use Terminator Armour. Note that Veteran Sergeants can serve in the ranks of the Scouts, Devastators, and Assault Marines despite being technically overqualified, in each case helping the new recruits to adapt to Chapter life. In old 3rd Edition rules you could get Captains without terminator honours, which kind of implied that they never passed through the first company but still got command, nowadays a Captain is just one thing.

*'''Champion''': Champion is actually a number of positions within a chapter, with each company having a champion, the chapter as a whole having a champion, and a champion being drawn from within the ranks of the honour guard to serve as the personal champion of the chapter master (though these last two positions are often held by the same marine). A champion is theoretically the best close quarters fighter in a company, charged with protection of the Captain from all threats. Given that your average Captain is a badass in power armor, this may seem redundant, but it's supposed to allow him to focus on coordinating the battle. One of the biggest dissonances between the crunch and fluff is manifested with the champions, in that on the tabletop officers are almost universally more formidable than the champions that are supposedly there to protect them. Also, rather hilariously, the current status of their chapter champion is one of the only breaks the Ultramarines have with the Codex Astartes, due to the raging ego of one [[Cato Sicarius]].

*'''[[Honour Guard]]''': Like a veteran-veteran, assumed to be the best of the best. These guys get bunched together and given some of the best gear available to the chapter. The fluff tells us that these guys are peers of Captains in terms of battlefield experience, but do not have the command rank to actually issue any orders, though when Honour Guard speak up it's advised that the officers nearby listen carefully. Thankfully the tabletop game is balanced not to give a whole squad full of Captain-equivalent soldiers.

*'''Standard Bearer''': The Company Standard Bearer, given the title of '''Ancient''' ''(the old term for Ensign, who was traditional standard bearer)'', is charged with carrying and protecting the Company Standard, or banner. Also frequently joins the Command Squad. Should a Company Standard Bearer drop the banner and let it fall to the ground, he will essentially forfeit his honor. If the Standard Bearer should be killed and the banner stolen, then the entire Company will be dishonored until the banner is reclaimed. Which means that if you steal a Company Standard, you now have nearly one hundred Space Marines who were just trying to kill you, but now you had to go and make it personal. The most elite of these is the Chapter Standard Bearer ''(often a member of the Honour Guard)'', who carries the Chapter banner in war.

===Other Departments===
Outside of the above mentioned battle ranks, there are other positions within a Chapter:

====Librarium====
A chapter may have any number of librarians, with no Codex-mandated minimum or maximum. The fact that psykers, let alone Astartes psykers, are rare makes the position self-limiting.
*'''Chief Librarian''': The head of the Librarium, who assigns [[Librarian]]s to assist in battlefield communications. Also tests to see whether or not his battle-brothers are tainted by [[Chaos]] ("Yes brother, this is [[Rape|standard Codex procedure]]." *Snaps Latex gloves*
*'''Epistolary:''' The highest rank below Chief Librarian, Epistolaries serve as the main communication aides on the battlefield.
*'''Codicier:''' Mid-level Librarians, who evaluate reports from campaigns and document them in their Librariums.
*'''Lexicanum:''' Entry-level Librarians, they are responsible for compiling battlefield reports for the Codiciers.
*'''Acolytum:''' Neophytes who have been identified as psykers.

====Apothecarion====
A chapter may have any number of apothecaries, although the Codex mandates at least 11 (one per Company, plus the Chief Apothecary).

*'''Master of the Apothecarion''': The head of the Apothecarion, who assigns an [[Apothecary]] to each Company. The Apothecarion in turn also takes care of the [[gene-seed]] that Chapters place such holy emphasis on, and for good reason: no gene-seed - no new recruits. Also, considering the relatively practical and utilitarian approach marines take to science, Masters of the Apothacarion are some of the only actual scientists in the entire freaking Imperium, if you don't count the ones that pray to their own bionic elbows, which you shouldn't.

====The Chaplaincy====
A chapter may have any number of chaplains, although the Codex mandates at ''least'' 11 (One per Company, plus the Reclusiarch/Master of Sanctity).
*'''Master of Sanctity''': The head of the Chaplaincy, and spiritual leader of the Chapter. He assigns [[Chaplain]]s to the Companies to oversee the spiritual health of the Chapter. This position is often, but not always, held by the chapter's Reclusiarch. Though it might be tempting to compare them to warrior bishops, they're actually atheists, seeing the Emperor as an honored predecessor and the epitome of humanity, but not a god.
*'''Reclusiarch''': The Chaplain who oversees the Chapter's Reclusiam ''(where they keep the relics and other secret historical stuff)''. But quite often the job gets rolled-up into the Master of Sanctity's job description (particularly if the Chapter is relatively young and has not accrued entire millennia worth of trinkets). It's uncertain what interaction ''(if any)'' they have with the Master of Relics, or it is quite possible that a Chaplain receives the role if that Captain of the 9th company gets a different position. Or, maybe, the Reclusiarch looks after the more "holy" and historically significant relics, and distributes some of them to Chaplains to carry in battle, while the Master of Relics okays the deployment of precious but combat worthy stuff like ancient marks of power armour or Heresy-era tanks, as Master of the Forge is technically a specialist position, not an authoritative one.

====Armoury====
A Chapter's armoury consists of any number of [[Techmarine]]s and dedicated vehicle operators, who do not formally get assigned to any Company.
*'''Master of the Forge''': The head of the Armoury, who assigns [[Techmarine]]s to oversee maintenance of the machine-spirits of the chapter's wargear and motor pool. Their position often overlaps to some degree with the Chapter's Reclusiarch, given that both are responsible for keeping the chapter's relics in good condition, so many artifacts will fall under both of their duties. Again, given that their religious zeal is tempered by the practical mindset of a space marine, Masters of the Forge are some of the only engineers in the galaxy that are actually still innovating to any degree, which really shows when you compare the armories of the modern space marine chapters with their traitorous counterparts.
*All Space Marines are required to familiarise themselves with operation of Rhino tanks at the very least as part of their standard training.
**Drivers of the armoury vehicles are referred to as '''Custodians''' ''(unrelated to the [[Adeptus Custodes|golden bananas]])'' many of whom are assigned when necessary from the squads of the 6th & 7th reserve companies. They are expected to continue their development through the companies and learn ''every'' aspect of war so that vehicle commanders better anticipate the roles of Tactical/Assault/Devastator and provide battlefield support without even being requested. That is unless they get assigned to the armoury on a more permanent basis, such as being trained to operate larger, more precious vehicles and/or end up specialising in armoured operations.
**Battlefield support vehicles tend not to be assigned permanent crews, and are manned by individuals capable of operating a number of chapter vehicles, helped in part to the ubiquity of the Rhino chassis and the standard training.
*Dreadnoughts are typically assigned back to their original companies, and appear sporadically across a chapters roster, though some chapters assign Dreadnoughts to their own formations instead. However the technology to build even the most basic dreadnought is rare and time consuming; even for master artificers, so the number is limited. But even then, the frequency of wakefulness decreases over time and they get used less and less.

====The Fleet====
A chapter is allowed a fleet of as many ships as it can get together, and may assign Marines to these ships as permanent staff, in a similar fashion to the Armoury, although the Codex is significantly more flexible on Fleet staff. A chapter can be Codex compliant without any Marines in their Fleet at all. Ship designations made for Space Marines have a fairly narrow band of marine transport capacity, between one to three companies worth, which does not change significantly between chapters. Therefore, while a chapter could theoretically muster a fleet of any size, the practical restraints limit the upper and lower bands of a chapter fleet's size.

*'''Lord Admiral''': Often the Captain of the 4th company gets this position by default as "Master of the Fleet", but it's [[Uriel Ventris|not unheard of for a Captain to step down]] from the position if someone else would be better suited to the role; they call that person "Lord Admiral", and he gets command over the Chapter's fleet assets. Though it might be perfectly reasonable that that space marine holds a battlefield rank of Battle-Brother or Sergeant, so he's probably just temporary until the Captain ''(or his replacement)'' wants the job back.
*'''Lieutenant Commander''': In the days of the Great Crusade, these individuals commanded battalions of five companies, outranking Captains and were subservient to Chapter Masters. We know of [[Marines Errant|only one example]] of this rank though it is uncertain whether the title holds the same authority as before. From what we know it now applies to the commander of a vessel, which makes sense since most Space Marine chapters have more ships than Captains, so ''somebody'' has to get the job of commanding them. Though often we assume it's just a techmarine or sergeant of whichever squad gets attached to that vessel or more likely a badass high ranking [[Chapter Serf]] who doesn't need to be superhuman to understand how spaceships operate.
**With the advent of the company rank of Lieutenant, it is uncertain as to how the Lieutenant Commander actually fits in the new command structure: whether it is a superior form of Lieutenant with new duties ''(which is what the rank itself implies)'' or if it is a Lieutenant who has been officially combined with the Force Commander role ''(see above)'' and has his own units set aside from his company that he commands on a full time basis. Or more likely, considering that Space Marines tend to hold to an army chain of command rather than a naval hierarchy, the rank is probably an honorific title that stands alongside their company rank such as with the Lord Admiral. It is also quite possible this is now the same as a old ''naval'' Lieutenant Commander, which was a ''Lieutenant'' serving as the ''Commander'' of a vessel.

==Codex Skub==
In case you haven't picked up on it yet, the Codex is rather controversial, for a number of reasons. First off, and perhaps most significantly, is the fact that even GW's own writers don't agree on what the codex is. [[Dan Abnett|Saint Abnett]] views it as a book of tips and strategies, comparable to ''The Art of War''. Graham McNeill (the guy who wrote the Ultramarines Omnibus) sees it as a comprehensive but inflexible guide to strategy, organization, and conduct. Matt Ward quite famously sees it as a literal Space Marine Bible, a holy book that all marines follow to the letter. Like a lot of GW lore, the canon is up in the air, and as such it's kind of open to interpretation. When it comes down to it, most of the argument over the codex comes down to people saying, "The Codex is a detrimental, absurd tome written by an OCD faggot, that only serves to weaken the Imperium!" and others saying, "The Codex is one of the most important things in the entire imperium, setting down the rules that have allowed it to survive to the modern day!" Both people are correct because of the nebulous canon. Many writers are clearly very critical of the Codex, and portray it as antiquated and damaging, whereas others portray it as comprehensive and useful, but increasingly antiquated. Also there's Ward, but let's not talk about him. Which version is true? Yes.

It's also worthy of note that many people within the Ultramarines take the Codex with a grain of salt. [[Captain Titus]], [[Uriel Ventris]], and even [[Marneus Calgar]] and the freaking [[Roboute Guilliman|primarch himself]] have all been critical of the codex at various times, or rather, been critical of people's reception of it. All of these people see the codex as useful and important, but take issue with people, Ultramarines or otherwise, that see it as a holy book that contains everything you need to know. Perhaps Guilliman himself put it best, saying, ''"[My teachings] are yet flawed. No one, not even one such as I, can anticipate every possible outcome of battle. My words are not some holy writ that must be obeyed. There must always be room for personal initiative on the battlefield. You and I both know how one spark of heroism can turn the tide of battle. That knowledge and personal experience can only be earned in blood, and the leader in the field must always be the ultimate arbiter of what course of action should be followed."'' As the opening quote implies, Captain Titus is also quite critical of Leandros's interpretation of the codex, pointing out that personal initiative is just as important as adhering to the codex. Then again, Titus is also quite clearly a company champion who got mixed up for a captain, what with his disregard for tactics in favor of glorious melee, so maybe we should just ignore what he thinks.

Ultimately, your own take on the codex is going to depend on a number of things, including whose canon you believe, you opinion of the Legions, your opinion of Guilliman, and a dozen other things, just decide for yourself. Don't let yourself get pulled in by the fanboys saying the Codex is the perfect guide to everything, and conversely don't listen to the idiots who say the Codex is only useful as toilet paper.

=="Codex" Chapters with doctrinal variations==
More commonly, are those chapters which follow the codex at an organisational level, but disregard certain tactical aspects contained within, most likely because they have their own modus-operandi that they have a preference for, or because they create their own unique tactics that had never been considered.

'''[[Aurora Chapter]]'''
*Follows the Codex Astartes, yet has a large number of vehicles.
*They have a lot of vehicles.
*For a 1000 man sized Chapter, they have a lot of tanks.
*Of all the Codex Chapters they have the most tanks.
*Their armored spearhead attacks are pretty devastating.

'''[[Charnel Guard]]'''
*Cannot say too much about those guys since they are very secretive, thus their organisation and structure are completely unknown.
*Are confirmed to be Blood Angels successors, yet as said before, they are totally unknown from a organisational and structural P.O.V.
*Have a lot of Great Crusade and Horus Heresy Era stuff, including a Fellblade.

'''[[Crimson Fists]]'''
*More tactically oriented [[Imperial Fists]].
*Actually do follow the Codex more closely than other Sons of Dorn (but not that much like the Hammers of Dorn).
*At the time of their founding, they were known to be the most level-headed members of the Imperial Fists Legion, therefore took in the Codex much faster and easier.
*Only deviation is the existence of a Crusader Company that is a 1st Company that has 128 Veterans. A result of an event where they were reduced to 128 members during the Crusade of Righteous Liberation.
*Due to the whole situation with Rynn's World, the Chapter became very capable at fighting [[Orks]].

'''[[Emperor's Shadows]]'''
*Iron Hands Successors that follow the Codex.
*Put more emphasis on projectile weapons (like Bolter Weapons) and Dreadnoughts.

'''[[Hammers of Dorn]]'''
*Follow the Codex to the letter, yet do put more emphasis on heavy weapons and overwhelming firepower.
*No really, they follow the ABSOLUTE LETTER of the codex.
*Not even the [[Ultramarines]](Famous for having the primarch that wrote the damn thing) follow the codex more rigidly than them.
*They probably actually read the Codex from cover to cover.

'''[[Hawk Lords]]'''
*Codex compliant, yet put large emphasis on flyers.

'''[[Minotaurs]]'''
*Instead of sending out a single company, the Minotaurs utilize mob and berserker tactics along with sending out all ten of their companies to utterly overwhelm and crush their foes.

'''[[Raptors]]'''
*[[Reasonable Marines|Camouflage Power Armour]]. Technically this IS in the codex, but they're the [[Derp|only space marine chapter out of literally thousands]] that actually bothers to do it. They're also sneeki beekies, just like their Raven Guard progenitors.

'''[[Raven Guard]]'''
*Sneeki Cheeki [[beakie|Beekies]]. While they do follow the codex, their chapter is renowned for its skill with [[Reasonable Marines|stealth tactics and guerilla warfare]]. It also made extensive use of mutants (during the [[Horus Heresy]]) due to their situation after the Drop Site Massacre.

'''[[Space Sharks|Space Sharks/Carcharodons]]'''
*Greater emphasis on infantry and terror tactics.
*Will sneak up as close as possible to the enemy to later tear them a new one in close combat while berserking.
*May be organisationally non compliant as well, but they are quite tight lipped about it.
*Like the Iron Hands and Dark Angels, they keep veterans in their battle companies to maintain coherency within the companies.

'''[[Storm Giants]]'''
*Codex compliant, but utilize armoured assaults, Drop Pod strikes, and heavily use Scouts to get intel before ruining someone's day.
*Due to their heavy use of Scouts, they have a larger than average 10th Company.

'''[[White Scars]] and some Successors'''
*Disproportionate emphasis put on bikes and speeders compared to heavy vehicles, still adhering to codex formation however.

==Chapters with differences in formations or composition==
Some chapters have taken the idea of a "Chapter" and tweaked it with their own unique spin on its organization, either by adding units or ranks that aren't found anywhere else, or have their own composition of companies that doesn't fit with the approved codex model. In some cases they may ignore the codex altogether and do their own thing.

'''[[Black Dragons]]'''
*Dragon Claw squads, made up of mutants who make use of adamantium-coated wrist blades.

'''[[Blood Ravens]]'''
*'''Pre-Aurelian Crusade''':
**Usually, the Chapter Master was the Chief Librarian too, like [[Azariah Kyras]]. This tradition of Chapter Master/Librarian combo started with Azariah Vidya (as in Vidya Games or the Indian term for knowledge, science, scholarship, learning and etc.).
**Their gene seed causes them to have an above average number of Librarians, so many they can field two whole squads of them in the First Company. Librarians are so recurrent among Blood Ravens that it's not uncommon for one to even be a Captain.
**Actually Codex Compliant in structure, yet utilize their Librarians to scry and predict the movements of their enemies (so their Scouts are Librarians too?) and use the intel to formulate a counter strategy (because they appeared in [[Dawn of War]], their way of war is an emulation of how RTS gamers play when they are serious).
**Non-standard patterns of [[Apollo_Diomedes|speech]], incidents of [[Blood_Ravens_Force_Commander|hairesy]], compulsive [[Blood_Ravens#Bloody_Magpies|kleptomania]] and emphasis on [[Indrick_Boreale|devastating, defensive deepstrikes]].
*'''Post-Aurelian Crusade''':
**With [[Gabriel Angelos]], a non-psyker, taking the position of Chapter Master and separating the Chapter Master and Chief Librarian positions, they returned to a more codex-compliant organization, albeit severely undermanned.

'''[[Blood Angels]] and Successors'''
*[[Scout]]s graduate to [[Assault Squad]]s rather than to Devastator squads.
*The use of [[Heresy|non-standard tech]], like Baal Predators, Furioso and [[Dreadnought#Chapter_Specific_Dreads|Librarian Dreadnoughts]].
*Sanguinary Priests (Apothecaries) make up part of the chapter priesthood equivalent to Chaplains, who are busy tending to...
*...The [[Death Company]].

'''[[Dark Angels]] and Successors'''
*The [[Deathwing]] & [[Ravenwing]] instead of First and Second companies. As of 8th edition, this modification has been officially approved by Guilliman, ostensibly on account of their proven effectiveness.
*Inner Circle in place of usual chapter command structure.
*Chaplains taking the additional role of [[Chaplain#Dark_Angels_Interrogator-Chaplain|Interrogators]].
*Battle Companies incorporate an additional squad of [[Veteran Squad|veteran marines]].
*Some nifty STC that they do not share with anybody apart from their own successors.

'''[[Executioners]]'''
*Disregard many of the Codex's rules and trappings, but nonetheless follow the ten company outline.
*Choose to go into close combat with the enemy, while heavily preferring Land Speeders over Bikes.
*Heavy emphasis on their own skills and superhuman abilities enhanced with sheer determination.
*Each company has three [[Chaplain|Death Speakers]].
*Battle Companies have only one Devastator Squad each, but can field their own Veteran Squads.

'''[[Exorcists]]'''
*Have two additional scout companies to account for the high attrition rate amongst recruits.
*...said attrition rate being caused by subjecting recruits to daemonic possession.

'''[[Iron Hands]]'''
*Have a Chapter Council instead of a fixed [[Chapter Master]], though a leader may be nominated.
*Chaplain Techmarines, aka "[[Chaplain#Iron_Hands_Iron_Father|Iron Fathers]]".
**The current leader is thus a Chapter Master Chaplain Techmarine. And people say the Blood Ravens are the crazy ones.
*Each Clan Company has its own armoury, rather than a single armoury for the whole chapter.
*Terminator Armour was distributed to squad sergeants instead of being reserved only for the First company.
*Pre-6th Edition fluff indicated that individual companies (clans) had their own veterans and recruits, newer fluff put them more in line with the Codex.

'''[[Iron Snakes]]'''
*Instead of having five regular battle companies and five reserve companies, the Iron Snakes have ten battle companies with an equal number of veterans, regulars and neophytes for perfect balance.
*Each squad has a Apothecary, personal Squad Standard Bearer and a number of specialists of their own.

'''[[Red Scorpions]]'''
*Apothecaries act in squad command roles instead of sergeants.
*Functionally the opposite of the Raptors, the Red Scorpions ignore all of the codex's teachings on stealth.

'''[[Salamanders]]'''
*Have seven oversized companies instead of ten, but otherwise broadly conform to the codex.

'''[[Star Phantoms]]'''
*Each company takes a [[Devastator Squad]] over a [[Tactical Squad]], leaving five Tactical and three Devastators in the battle companies
*The chapter is never at full strength, seldom even at half, but maintains weapons as though they were. Their "tactical" reserve companies can fill in for full devastator squads, if needed.

'''[[Storm Wardens]]'''
*Tempest Blades being a non-codex formation.
*Heavy emphasis on mechanized warfare and mano-a-mano honorable duels to the death.

'''[[Ultramarines]]'''
*Tyrannic War Veterans are a non-codex formation.
*Originally, Guilliman deliberately gave himself an 11th company in contravention of his own rules for the sole purpose of guarding the [[Imperium Secundus|Pharos]]. Though this company got [[Scythes of the Emperor|rolled into its own chapter]] while the Adeptus Terra were doing their audits for an unanticipated Third Founding.
*The Ultramarines still have an [[Ultramarines Honour Company|"apparent" 11th company]] that guards the Eye of Terror; made up of volunteer squads donated from their successors but all wearing Ultramarine uniforms.

'''[[White Consuls]]'''
*Have [[Alpharius|two Chapter Masters]] instead of one

==Non-Codex Chapters==
As mentioned, there are so many chapters in the Imperium and very few of them follow the codex absolutely to the letter. Many chapters have their own preferred mode of warfare based upon their experiences, supplies and dispositions, often they generate their own interpretations and deviations from the codex. Here follows a comparative listing of those chapters and the way in which they differ from what the codex actually prescribes.

'''[[Astral Claws]]'''
*'''Pre-[[Red Corsairs]] Times''': Before [[Lugft Huron]] went pants-on-heads retarded, the Chapter was known for being exceptionally stubborn with skilled Bikers and favoring lightning strikes and boarding actions while still following the Codex.
*'''[[Badab War]] Times''':
**Due to Huron's pants-on-heads retarded thinking, the Chapter seized the Badab Sector's industry and made it so that Bolter rounds and Rhinos were mass-produced to the point being expendable, not to mention the larger-than-standard number of marines due to them purposefully not paying their geneseed tithe.
**Emergence of specialized units (such as the hated Corpse-Takers) and human Auxilia. Squads larger due to aforementioned not paying of the geneseed tithe.

'''[[Black Templars]]'''
*"Chapter" made up of ad-hoc crusade fleets and fighting companies, their numbers thus swelling up to six times the size of everyone else's.
*No Scout company, instead recruits are apprenticed to fully fledged battle-brothers, aka "Crusader squads".
*No Librarians.
*Doctrinal emphasis on close quarters combat.
**Abundance of previously unsanctioned Land Raider "Crusader"s to deliver said Crusader squads to CQC. See the trend here?
*May or may not deify the Emperor. The canon is kind of up in the air right now.
**The position of "Emperor's Champion", a Chapter Champion-esque title but of faith significance.

'''[[Grey Knights]]'''
*Due to their unique training and equipment (not to mention the [[Chaos|intimidatingly]] [[Chaos Space Marines|insane]] [[Daemon|shit]] they have to deal with), the Codex would actually hamper them instead.
*All psyker Chapter of Demon hunting marines. Nuff said.
*The infamous [[Dreadknight]].
*When the Neophyte ends his training, he becomes a battle brother and is issued a suit of power armour and his standard wargear.
*Do not have any artillery weapons like Whirlwind Artillery Tanks or lack of certain vehicles other Chapters have.

'''[[Legion of the Damned]]'''
*Previously Codex adherent [[Fire Hawks]] (maybe, now it's uncertain if they are Fire Hawks or somebody/something completely different), now a horde of angry hellfire powered, space/time/dimension travelling, [[AWESOME|spectrerevenantdemonspacemarines]].
*Utilize more powerful, but unstable early versions of existing Imperial Weapons like early Horus Heresy Era Plasma Weapons.

'''[[Space Wolves]]'''
*Ignore the organizational parts of the codex outright. It would be easier to go [[Space Wolves|their page]] to find out how they are organised.
*Simply put, [[Leman Russ]] wanted them to be forged in his vision instead that of Roboute Guilliman, and Guilliman gave him permission to do so.
*Although they do however take some useful tactics from the codex because they like them, they see them as just that: useful tactics, and nothing more.
*Fenrisian Wolves/Thunderwolves used by the Chapter. This may or may not be heresy.
*Have more than a thousand marines, yet not that much as the Black Templars.
*Threw the typical training process out the window because of the Canis Helix.
*In the previous editions, they had access to Leman Russ tanks (since the tank was named after their Primarch).
*Wolf Priests combine both Chaplain and Apothecary roles.

==Purpose for Gamers==

Of course, there's a reason [[Games Workshop]] included the Codex Astartes in their fluff (long before Matt Ward came along, by the way). Basically, it makes it easier for players to invent their own Chapters.

Players who just have an idea for a cool color scheme or name but don't want to put any effort into making up a whole organizational layout can just make a Chapter that rigidly follows the Codex, like the [[Ultramarines]]. Those who want to have one or two unique organizational or tactical features can make a Chapter that generally follows the Codex but has some variances, like...well, most of them (see above). And players that want to make up entirely independent structures themselves can make Chapters that ignore the Codex entirely, like the [[Space Wolves]] or the [[Black Templars]].

This means that [[Matt Ward]]'s Codex worship isn't just lame, but actually bad for GW's business: By telling players that only Codex Chapters are any good, he's discouraging players with their own ideas from investing in models, paints, tournaments, and maybe even later editions of the game. Truly, there is no end to his failure.

{{Marines-Forces}}

Armor

2019-01-14T05:37:07Z

2001:8003:3800:800:31C8:CA3A:2763:15D2: Keep in mind that that distinction was bullshit the Victorians made up

'''''Armor''''' (also spelled Armour) is a protective layer of material used to protect something from damage. Some types of armor includes armor for buildings, armor for vehicles and armor for personnel (generally referred to as body armor). Putting armor on people or putting them in [[Rhino|metal boxes]] to keep them safe is important because we can be [[Rip and Tear|killed]] by sharp rocks or branches or basically anything else at all except grass and leaves. This is because because our skin is not armor and it [[FAIL|sucks]]. This article will focus mostly on body armor.

[[File:ERA man.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Here you see a highly advanced tactical soldier well equipped for battle with the latest in ERA technology]]

== Types of Body Armor ==
Numerous forms of body armor have been developed over the millennia by civilizations with various levels of technology and resources on hand.

*'''Leather armor''' - not just any leather would do; soft leather offers no protection against blades. You need hard, boiled leather to be effective. It's a matter of heated debates whether it actually even existed historically, as it's highly impractical and too expensive compared to padded cloth while offering largely the same or even lower level of protection. The general consensus is that it surely didn't have any noticeable presence in Europe, and while in the East (both middle and far) it did exist, it wasn't that much popular and widespread either. In the Americas, where metalworking was noticeably diminished or not present, leather armor was relatively common. Another name for this is "cuir bouilli" or "cuirbouille".
*'''Padded cloth armor''' - Cloth bundled in sufficient thickness was one of the first forms of armor, since bronze armors tended to be too expensive or too heavy to be widely used. Cloth continued to be used mostly as padding underneath metal armor (called a Gambeson), to help absorb blows and all through the middle ages continued to be the go to protection for men-at-arms in lieu of expensive metal plate or mail. Despite what you might think it (obviously) provided one of the best protection against percussive strikes, second only to full plate (which have padded cloth integrated into it), surprisingly high level of protection against slashes and swings, unless the blade is razor sharp (most historical blades weren't that sharp) and while it barely ever provides full protection against piercing weapon heavier than a shortbow arrow, it does lower the depth of penetration, often turning instantly lethal wounds to survivable if debilitating, or even surface damage, with an added bonus of often catching enemy weapon (although given most times blades get stuck in padded cloth they pierce deep enough to kill, it's more to the benefit of your companions than yours).
*'''Paper armor''' - this one sounds crazy, but apparently it was actually a thing in ancient China. The Mythbusters tested it out and it might have been actually effective... at least, so long as it doesn't rain.
*'''Scale armor''' - <s>an early form of mail</s> {{BLAM}}{{BLAM|HERESY!}}an early form of armour, sporting overlapping metal (cuirbouille and lacquered leather were also used) plates arranged in a similar fashion to roofing tiles, which were riveted/sewn onto a backing cloth or leather and oftentimes loosely laced together in rows. One of the earliest examples of armour, used predominantly in Eastern cultures and Middle East and Rome. Also fish scale style was popular.
*'''Bamboo armor''' - basically wooden armor, but with the advantage in that you can shape bamboo more easily. Bamboo is also notable in the sense that it has a high strength weight ratio.
*'''Mirror armor''' - an early form of plate, this was a small round bronze plate attached to the torso. Besides physical protection, it was also believed to ward off the supernatural.
*'''Chain [[Mail]]''' - the iconic armor made of interlocking rings. One of the most common and effective type of armor from the ancient world to the middle ages. Flexible and easy (though time-consuming) to make, it was widely used by many cultures. It was also significantly easier to repair, as a break could easily be mended by replacing a few rings, whereas a hole in plate armor might require a complete replacement. While fairly effective against foot soldiers, the crossbow and the lance charge required knights to wear extra armor over mail for additional protection. In the modern era, they are used for non-combative roles, such as shark suits and dealing with high-power electrical wiring (because electrons "slide" along the mesh rather than penetrate", admittedly the mesh must be very tightly made). Some nations still use mail armor to supplement riot gear.
*'''Plated Mail''' - this is not what some sourcebooks refer to as platemail, which is basically just plate armor worn over a mail hauberk. Plated mail integrates metal plates into the rest of the mail pattern, ranging from large rectangular plates on areas like the chest, to small plates arranged like fish scales on areas that require more dexterity, such as near the shoulders and back. This was popular with medieval Persians and Indians.
*'''Laminar armor''' - armor made from bands of metal. The most famous example is the ancient Roman [[wikipedia:Lorica_segmentata|Lorica Segmentata]].
*'''Lamellar armor''' - armor made from overlapping pieces of leather or metal, each piece being laced side-by-side to create semi-rigid rows, which then are laced together to form a complete suit of armour. This form differs from other "overlapping plates" types of armour in that it is self-contained and does not rely on backing material to keep the all the pieces together. Again it is one of the oldest types of armour and was still in use as recently as 1930s.
*'''[[Samurai]] armor''' - depending on the period, it could be lamellar, laminar, or even western plate (but not wood. That has no basis in history). The helmet (kabuto) had a distinct shape that often featured ornaments and even a removable facemask (Darth Vader's helmet is said to be a hybrid of a kabuto and a German stahlhelm).
**'''Ashigaru armor''' - Worn by conscripts, it featured the same kinds of breastplates, a lesser helmet and some minor stuff but was overall less complete than samurai armor.
*'''Brigandine''' - a.k.a "corazzina". <s>Similar to lamellar, except the pieces of metal are riveted into a leather jacket rather than laced together.</s> Very close, but not quite. A "brig" is built from overlapping plates of various sizes and shapes, riveted onto a leather or cloth "jacket", but it differs from other "overlapping plates" armours in that A) the plates are *usually* bigger and shaped according to where they go on the armour (scale and lamellar mostly use same-sized, same-shape plates), B) they are riveted inside the leather/cloth and not on the outside and C) the plates are '''not''' linked together in any fashion and fully rely on backing to keep them where they're supposed to be. Brigandine is a "poor man's plate" and was quite popular in medieval Europe. Often confused with "studded leather armour".
*'''[[Plate armor]]''' - armor made from single, solid pieces of metal. Bronze plate armor had been used in ancient times, but was limited to helmets and sometimes breastplates due to the weight of the armor. Full suits of plate armor were not possible until improvements in smithing allowed for large bars of steel to be hammered out into single pieces. A popular misconception about full plate is that it's very hard to move in, to a point it's exclusive to cavalry. While this is true for a '''tourney plate''' specifically designed for maximum protection in jousting tournaments, an actual battle plate was designed with maximum mobility in mind, and it was not uncommon for a knight (or later an officer) to do a somersault or dance with his lady while testing his new plate armor. Technically speaking, modern body armor for many nations use are in sense partially plate armor, with a carrier holding a solid plate.
*'''Jack Chains''' - if you were too poor to afford proper plate armor, you could at least add some metal reinforcements to your gambeson called Jack Chains. These attached to the arms so that one could, at bare minimum, block slashes to their sides without getting cut.
*'''Makeshift Armor''' - Not really a set of armor in the traditional sense, generally makeshift armor is what ever one could scrounge up to make a protective wear. In the modern day, this is a protestor (think 2014 Ukraine Revolution) go to for long term engagement. Generally, motorcycle and safety helmets alongside heavy thick jackets would be the go to, as well as whatever one can strap to themselves.
*'''Flak Jackets''' - The first modern body armor to be developed, Flak Jackets were developed in WWII out of high-strength nylon to protect aircrews from fragments fired from flak cannons. Before the invention of Kevlar and ballistic vests, this was the only kind of armor available to modern soldiers.
*'''Ceramic armor''' - typically, high-strength ceramic plates (typically made from boron carbide) are used as an energy-absorbing component in some ballistic vests. These are typically single-use only due to their the tendency to break up a bit after the first shot. A good plate however, usually will catch a few more in the same spot. These are some of the best plates for infantry... Unless you got your hands on a 1/2in steel. That, while heavy, will stop just about anything.
*'''Ballistic vests''' - "bulletproof" armor vests able to stop bullets of varying sizes and speeds. For "soft" armor, the use of high-strength fibers that "catch" the projectile, thereby slowing them down enough to prevent them from penetrating, are used, typically for security guards, low-intensity combat areas jobs, and cops. For "hard" armor, ceramic/metal/ultra-high-strength plastic/combination-of-the-previous may be used in the form of solid plates. Body armor may come in as either a standalone vest (i.e. "soft" kevlar vest) or a carrier (which can further more simply be a holder for a solid plate or a combination of "soft" and "hard" armor). Options of groin, neck, and shoulder protection may be included with the vests.
*'''Blast suits''' - full-body armors capable of absorbing the heat and shrapnel of a bomb blast. The only part that isn't protected are the hands, since wearing thick gloves is detrimental to finesse, so if a bomb goes off you may be maimed - but at least you're not dead! May also include a closed air supply in the case of biological or chemical bombs. Commonly worn by EOD technicians.
*'''[[Power Armor]]''' - As of current, we already have prototype exoskeletons, but they're one of the many inventions that isn't in common use purely because of limits on battery power. There isn't as much a need for such strength in direct combat like in fiction, as it's designed more for load-bearing in mind, allowing for bigger, heavier guns and/or more ammo. However, that could include allowing the user to wear heavier armor as well. Generally speaking, the servos and external components are rather exposed. Think STALKER's exoskeleton for modern military exoskeleton prototypes.

== Modern Body Armor ==
With modern technology and all it's amenities, a large choices of body armor exists on the market (the NIJ level approved list for body armor products consumes 212 pages on a PDF file). That said it is good to know what levels of protection for both ballistic and melee threats are.

[[image:NIJ Ballistic Protection Rating.JPG|thumb|250px|right|NIJ Ballistic Standard]]
[[image:UL 752 Bullet Resistance Chart.PNG|thumb|250px|right|UL 752 Ballistic Standard]]

*'''Ballistic threats''' Aka bullets most of the time. Soft body armor (aka Kevlar, UHMW Polyethylene, Dyneema, etc) that is rather flexible, but also vulnerable to high velocity threats. Thus most body armor of that class is relegated between II to IIIA. From there on out, it's hard body armor, which usually consists of some sort of metallic (usually steel, but titanium and high-strength aluminum are options too), ceramics, and composites. NIJ Standard III to IV stop those threats. Technically, though only rated up to 30-06 AP rounds (IV), some plates of body armor offer higher than IV. Some have even shown to stop a .50 BMG round, though the likely hood of one surviving such a shot is in question. Standard helmets only go up to level III
** Since some common threats are ''just'' above certain ratings, like 55 grain 5.56 from a 20 inch barrel penetrating level III or 5.7 pistols beating most soft armor, the NIJ system is currently undergoing an overhaul. While most western countries use NIJ rating standards, at least as a secondary, Russia has its own completely unconnected system for rating armor.

*'''Stab threats''' Protects against low energy stabbing objects (aka knives and maybe some small swords). Stab and piercing vest should not be trusted for higher level threats such a two handed weapons such as an pickaxe, sledgehammer, axe, spear, and even affixed bayonets. Even a knife in the hands of someone who can put an unusually high amount of force into stabbing can defeat a stab vest. However it is still great for stuff people would likely to conceal where rapid quick jabbing is likely to occur. Of course there is probably protective gear such as riot gear that could be more withstanding of heavier two handed threats, but it's likely best to not take a pickaxe to the chest in the first place.

Overlap between the two categories is minimal. Metal ballistic plates will stop knifes, though said plate covers minimal body area and is typically heavy. Soft armor is one or the other, though one could be worn over the other at the cost of bulk.

[[image:NIJ Stab level.PNG|thumb|200px|right|NIJ Stab standard]]

==Anatomy of armor==
[[File:HenryVIIIArmor.jpg|right|thumb|300px|You thought we were joking about the dick armor?]]
Basic terminology of the different parts of armor. Unless you were very wealthy, such as a knight, not everyone had every part of their body covered in armor.

*[[Helmet]] - protects the head, one of the most common pieces of armor.
*Gambeson - padded cloth armor suit worn underneath metal armor to absorb blunt force and protect the wearer from the armor itself (metal and boiled leather aren't nice to unprotected humans skin, especially under extreme temperatures). Later variants often reinforced with sown-in mail in places actual metal armor above it have gaps and joints.
*Cuirass - protects the torso. If its made from a single piece of metal, it is a breastplate. Most breastplate are associated with full-body steel plate armor, but ancient Greeks had a bronze version called the "heroic Cuirass", or the Roman "Lorica Musculata", often molded with fake muscles and various decorations.
:*Plackart - lower torso reinforcement that would overlap with a breastplate for extra protection, and connected to the faulds. The reason for this reinforcement is to act as a cushion for blows to the chest, as there is enough space between the plackart and curiass that it acts as additional padding to prevent soft tissue damage underneath.
:*Faulds - a metal skirt attached to the breastplate, allowing some leg protection while offering mobility.
*Gorget - protects the neck. With certain helmets, such as the Sallet, the gorget protected the lower head where the helmet did not.
*[[Pauldrons]] - protects the shoulders. The real life versions are nowhere near as big as those on space marines.
*Gauntlets - protects the hands.
*Greaves - protects the legs.
*Sabatons - protects the feet (you don't want some smartass spearman stabbing at your unarmored feet now, would you?)
*Codpiece - Yes, believe it or not, you could get dick armor too. Ordinarily this was just to armor the [[Slaanesh|groin area]] like an athletic cup, but some people like King Henry VIII made [[Kaldor Draigo|massive codpieces]] to show off how well-endowed they were.
*Tabard - Technically not armor, but was the decorative sleeveless coat that would drape over the armor of knights. Besides being used as an identifier through the knight's [[Imperial Knight|heraldry]], it also shielded armor from the desert sun so that the knight wouldn't boil in their own armor.

== Warhammer 40k ==
*[[Flak Armor]]: This is actually a ballistic vest, not Flak armor. Think an ESAPI (or the new XSAPI)plate modeled off of a cuirass. It can withstand stubber fire all across, up to rifle caliber, so if you were to magdump 20 7.62x39mm rounds into the plate, it could stand up to it. That's about it though. Anything higher, and SHING!, slices through.
*[[Carapace Armor]]: Better flak armor (the 40K kind which is a ballistic vest) but with much more coverage and better quality materials. Generally [[Neckbeard|heavier and cumbersome]], but only issued really to those more capable of making the most use out of it.
*[[Power Armour|Powered armor]]: Space marine general issue, as well as several powerful Imperial organizations. Comes with both long term and short term necessities, with high grade ceramite and admantium for protection, stabilizing and targeting gear to assist, and general life support if the being inside doesn't already have some. Very fancy. Honestly it has it's own article for a reason and this list section would do it no justice.

== Armor in Fiction ==

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Musclecuirass.JPG| Greek bronze Muscle Cuirass
Image:Linothorax.jpg| Greek Linothorax, a bronze-reinforced linen armor
Image:Roman Soldier mail.jpg|Roman Mail
Image:LoricaSegmentata.jpg|Roman Lorica Segmentata, a type of Laminar
Image:MirrorArmor.JPG|Mirror armor over a mail shirt
Image:ScaleArmor.JPG|Indian Scale armor
Image:Plated mail.jpg|Indian Plated Mail
Image:Bechter.jpg|Close-up of Eastern-European plated-mail pattern
Image:Koryak.jpg|Koryak warriors wearing traditional lamellar armour
Image:Lamellar.JPG|Japanese Lamellar
Image:Samurai armor.jpg|Japanese Laminar
Image:Gambeson.jpg| European Gambeson, a padded cloth armor used by both commoners and knights
Image:Brigandine.jpg|European Brigandine
Image:visby.jpg|Inside view of some DIYfag's homemade "Visby-pattern" brigandine
Image:Plate armor.jpg|European Plate
Image:FlakJacket.png| Flak Jacket
Image:BallisticVest.JPG|Ballistic Vest
Image:Bombsuit.jpg|Bombsuit
Image:IOTV_(OCP_variant).jpg|Improved Outer Tactical Vest
Image:SPS_(Soldier_Protection_System).jpg|Soldier Protection System, set to replace the IOTV in 2019. Designed with both mobility and protection in mind.
</gallery>

== See also ==
*[[Fantasy Armor]] for one of the usual flame wars involved in "armor".
*[[Armor Save]]

[[category: History]]

Rhino Transport

2019-01-14T00:43:21Z

2001:8003:3800:800:31C8:CA3A:2763:15D2: Undo revision 546329 by 184.1.92.102 (talk)

{{Topquote|Look, Rhinos,'' '''''RRRRRRHHHHIIIIIIINNNNNOOOSSSSS!!!!''''' ''Our enemies hide in'' '''''[[METAL BOXES]]''''','' DA KOWARDZ! TEH FEWLZ!! We...*space asthma* We should take away their METAL BAWKSES!!|[[Firaeveus Carron|Chaos Lord Firaeveus Carron of the Alpha Legion]]}}

[[Image:StandardRhino.png|right|thumb|Standard Rhino]]
[[Image:DarkAngelsRhino.jpg|right|thumb|[[METAL BAWKSES]]!]]

'''Rhinos''' are the primary Armored Personnel Carrier of the Space Marines (both [[Chaos Space Marines|Traitor]] and [[Space Marines|Loyalist]] alike), and are without a doubt one of the most useful and ubiquitous vehicles in the entire Warhammer 40K universe. As an easy bake oven (read [[STC]]) produced vehicle, the Rhino dates back to the distant time of Mankind's initial colonization of the galaxy. Originally, they were named "RH1 N0 - Tracked Exploration and Multi-defence. This means that 'L33T SP34K' is still used in the distant grim dark future. Also it being created for "Multi-defence" hints at the possible fact that creation of this STC took place between 1970 and whenever [[C.S. Goto]] will finally draw his last breath.

==Overview==
They are the most ubiquitous vehicle period on the tabletop, as well; they are cheap, effective, easily-modded, and useful in a wide array of scenarios. They give Devastators the ability to get where they need to set up, Rubrics mobility, and if nothing else are something to hide behind when [[Eldar]]/[[Imperial Guard]] starts trying to snipe your commander with Brightlance/[[Lascannon]] fire. They can also be used as battering rams and for Tank Shocking enemy units. Topping it all off, they can pump some ammo down-range for when you really need to squeeze out some extra fire. If you ''don't'' take them out while their cargo is inside, you'd better take them before they do such dick moves as acting as moving cover, providing fire support (for the Chaos version,though the loyalists can do the same with the Razorback) and acting as tank shockers, since the annoyance factor of these things racks up in a hurry.

Rhinos aren't terribly well-armed OR well-armored; their front and side armor are AV11, and their rear armor is AV10. Their only weapon is a Storm Bolter (Combi-Bolter for the Chaos version). However, they are impervious to most antipersonnel fire from the front or sides (unless you fight Necrons or Tau), and the fact that they're ''so frickin' cheap'' to use - means they see a ''lot'' of use in literally every Space Marine and Chaos army that isn't completely drop-pod/teleport happy (and even then they may see quite a few Rhinos). It's so simple that it can be repaired by your average [[Imperial Guard|Guardsman]] (seriously), and its armor is thick enough to hold off considerable amounts of anti-personnel fire - handy against the [[Ork]]s and [[Dark Eldar]].

[[Firaeveus Carron]] hates the things for some reason. Brother Albus of the [[Thousand Sons]] has informed us that this was because Carron was dropped on his head during his gene-seeding process. Like, for the entire day he was dropped on his head over and over.

Also, Brother Vold, also of the [[Thousand Sons]], has hinted that the first thing he saw as a mortal was a single Rhino running over a lot of his hometown. Which would be badass if it wasn't so unbelievable.

As a broad counterpoint, there are a couple reasons to not utilize Rhinos. Firstly, as a cheap, efficient transport, they have a deleterious "pounds to points" ratio. Building up a large force of the transports does not swell a starting army quickly and they are thus shied from by players looking to start a force. Secondly, they have little offensive presence, especially with tank shocks being wholly unreliable. Certain editions favored raw aggression and static firebases, which left Rhinos out cold. In a similar vein, they did not always transport troops faster or more safely than walking, again edition-dependent. An early exploded transport was slower and could cause more damage to a squad than the stray rokkit that blew the Rhino up. Additionally, they can't carry bulky models or be used for scouting or infiltration well, thus closing off other combat styles from finding their use.

==Rhinos in Action==
[[Image:ChaosBoxes.jpg|right|thumb|[[METAL BOXES|SPIKY BOXES]]!]]

There are seven main kinds of Metal Box currently available; the Loyalist Version, the Mechanicus Version, the Custodes/Sisters of Silence Version, the Inquisition Version and the Chaos Version along with the Sororitas. All absolutely kick ass. Essentially speaking, almost everyone uses the damned [[METAL BOXES|Metal Box]] like the 40k equivalent of fucking iPhones. Even the [[Squats]] [[What|of all people]] are known to use the Rhino. Guess it really is that good eh?

'''Rhino Transport'''
The Loyalist Rhino is basic with lots of options. It has a Storm Bolter, which is generally better than a Combi-Bolter at longer ranges, and it can mount a wide variety of weapons as well, including things like Hunter-Killer missiles (infinite range one-shot Krak Missile). Additionally, dozer blades for Loyalist Rhinos work at speeds higher than 6", so it's possible for a Loyalist Rhino to move at cruise speed (or even [[Blood Angels|flat-out]]) and still get the bonus on Difficult Terrain tests. This makes the Loyalist Rhino useful as an assault transport, and generally ensures that it can get where it needs to go in a hurry.

'''Custodes Rhino/Null-Maiden Rhino'''
As expected from the [[Emprah|Emprah's]] [[Adeptus Custodes]] and [[Sisters of Silence]], they themselves have access to the Rhino to help assist them in the 41st millennium. However it is a bit sad seeing as how the Custodes and Sisters went from having [[Caladius Grav-Tank|anti-grav vehicles that could one shot most enemy tanks]] and [[Kharon Pattern Acquistor|stealthed APC's with anti-tank missiles]] during the [[Great Crusade]] to now being bound to one of the most simple vehicles of the Imperium. That or maybe the forces of the Talons of the Emperor are having budget cuts and decide to use the Rhinos as compensation so they could use their more advance vehicles as a backup. The differences between a Custodes and Null-Maiden Rhino other then troop compartment is that the Custodes version gets aegis (+5 invulnerable save) and venerable special rules while the Null-Maiden has a radius special rule that effectively can [[Cheese|turn off all psyker powers,]] so you can [[Troll|troll]] [[Thousand Sons]] and [[Eldar]] players. As expected, these Rhinos are covered in gold which somehow automatically improves its status as [[Wat|''''venerable''''.]] I guess gold paint really is the answer to everything.

'''Adepta Sororitas Rhino'''
Like their Space Marine siblings, the Adepta Sororitas have access to the Rhino. It's very similar to the normal Rhino (same equipment, same options). The only different things about it, aside from it's aesthetics, are that it has can take a Laud Hailer (basically a megaphone that constantly broadcasts prayers and hymns, which helps the Sisters with their acts of faith) and the fact that it comes with a 6+ Invulnerable and Adamantium Will. As you can imagine, this makes it just as awesome, if not more, than the Space Marine Rhino.

'''Chaos Rhino aka The Hedgehog'''
The main difference between loyalist and chaos version of Rhinos is that the ones of chaos have SPIEKS! In a few ways, the Chaos Rhino is a better deal than the Loyalist version. It lacks some of the nifty-bang-splat weapons of the Loyalists, but has a Combi-Bolter, which is better at close range than the Storm Bolter of the Loyalist Rhino. It also can pack on more extra stuff to make the model itself larger - which whilst has the potential to make your Rhino a larger (and easier to hit) target, also makes it do its job of providing cover in an emergency that much better. Chaos Rhinos can also mount Dirge Casters ([[rape|no overwatch for the enemies in 6"]]), and their vehicle can be possessed (immune to shaken/stunned results but becomes BS3/WS3 in exchange and can occasionally OMNOMNOM unlucky passenger). Its best-known and possibly-coolest advantage over the Loyalist Rhino is the [[Havoc Launcher]], which gives it a long-range twin-linked frag missile launcher that allows the Rhino to join in the fun and spray off some explosives to support its squad. It totally makes up for the fact that Chaos fellows don't get Razorbacks.

'''Mechanicus Rhino'''
The Mechanicus also deploys the Rhino but in less frequency due to having most of its forces as cyborgs and robots. It is similar to the loyalist counterparts but with Mechanicum iconography and stuff. They're also painted in Mechanicum red, black and white to show that yes, the Rhino is part of the Mechanicum forces. Although the Mechanicum don't really use them as much, the [[Skitarii]] found them to be quite useful in regards of not getting sniped in the battlefield. Plus the Mechanicum needs something that would led their [[Tech Thrall|expendable robo-men]] to do something rather than instantly dying in droves.

'''Inquisition Rhino'''
The Inquisition not only has the Rhino but also other supposed 'Space Marine Exclusive' vehicles such as two patterns of [[Land Raider|Land Raiders]] and the [[Razorback]]. The Inquisition being some sort of pseudo-army (A large independent militia is a more accurate term) needed a transport vehicle to carry the [[Inquisitor]] and his merry men of psychos and sociopaths cheaply and safely. So it is of no surprise that the Inquisition would choose the famous Rhino and its versatility. While the Inquisition do also have access to the [[Chimera Personnel Carrier|Chimera]], it is more regulated to act as a support vehicle rather then being a dedicated transport, so the Inquisition rolls with it.

'''Squat Rhino'''
Yeah the Squats have them too. Back in the ye olde days, the Squats were able to gain access to the Rhino in the Ork and Squat Warlords army book back in 1992. While the Squats already have their oversized machines and [[Land Train|Land Trains]], they found out that they are in dire need of some surface crawling troop transport. So they got the Rhino in exchange for the Imperium getting the [[Leviathan]]. The deal worked, and now our little space dwarfs can ride inside a metal box while being supported by ''even bigger'' [[Colossus War Machine|Metal]] [[Cyclops War Machine|Boxes.]]

'''Real Rhino'''
The people over at Relic Games commissioned a true-to-scale Rhino for the Grim Dark Present of the Third Millennium. Oddly, they must have only had a Guardsman model on hand for scale purposes (This is because they didn't make one, they dressed up a FV432). [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PEU_201IfI See it here.] While badass, perhaps the money they put into that Rhino should have been put into [[Dawn of War II]].

==Other Rhino variants==
Because the Rhino is an incredibly easy vehicle to both make, maintain, and customize, the Imperium has developed several vehicles based on the Rhino chassis, though nearly all of them are exclusive to the Spehs Mahrens.

===[[Predator Tank]]===
The Predator tank is the Space Marine's standard battle tank that uses an armored up Rhino chassis, but has no more transport capabilities as its weapons and ammunition take up the space. Instead, it has a turret-mounted autocannon and 2-side mounted Heavy-Bolter sponsons and even heavier armor. The autocannon and Sponsons can be swapped for lascannons for tank-hunting though. There's also the [[Blood Angels]]' custom version called the ''Baal Predator'', which mounts a twin-linked assault cannon or a flamestorm cannon for a turret.

Back then, the traditional all-rounder of the Predator was the Twin-linked lascannon turret and H.Bolter side-sponsons. Now, with the changes in the lascannon's stats and price, it's now reversed with the autocannon turret and lascannon sponsons, as this is now the cheaper option. If you use the 4th edition combo now, you're probably better off with a [[Land Raider]].

===[[Razorback Transport]]===
A heavier Rhino that eschews some personnel-carrying capacity for heavier weaponry. More expensive, but it can now mount shinier bits like Multi-Meltas and lascannons, which means it can act as a useful close-support unit as well as a transport, if the Predator is your Main Battle tank, the Razorback is your light Infantry Fighting Vehicle.

Particularly useful for marine [[Devastator Squad]]s which provides them with much needed mobility and can provide effective support for them as their weapons can match the range devastators typically fight from.

===[[Whirlwind]]===
The Whirlwind artillery tank is the Spehss Mahrens' primary artillery piece. It can't exactly contest with the IG's artillery in terms of power, but it is more mobile than most of them. It's optimized for screwing over infantry, it can either fire an AP4 shell for anyone in the open, or another one that ignores cover saves.

===[[Vindicator]]===
Probably the only good thing [[Roboute Guilliman]] did during the Horus Heresy is inventing the Vindicator. The Vindicator is the nightmare of every other thing out there. The Vindicator mounts a Demolisher Cannon, which is basically a S10 AP2 pieplate shotgun and coupled mad-tough frontal armor.....with a fucking dozer blade that makes it look cool and makes sure that even difficult terrain can't stop it from fucking someone's day up. In short, think of it as a battering ram ... With a Demolisher cannon. If something expensive gets in it's firing range, it's 98% guaranteed dead, or at least messed up badly. With 6th ed rules any vehicle even touched by the deathpie template gets the full brunt of fuck, instead of just half.

It's even scarier when it's with Chaos version, [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX|throw in a havoc launcher and daemonic possession and then watch your opponent devote retarded amounts of firepower to keep the Khorne-incarnate rape-engine down.]]

===[[Space Marine Stalker|Stalker]]===
A new Pattern, introduced in the 6th edition codex for the [[Space Marines]]. Looks like an overhauled [[Whirlwind]], but replacing the Missile launcher with Anti-air cannons and MOAR plates, making it a Flak tank of sorts. Can target multiple enemy targets firing normally, or one target with twin-linked.

===[[Space Marine Hunter|Hunter]]===
Anti-aircraft vehicle. It kills flyers by pelting them with dead people.

===[[Sabre Tank Hunter|Sabre]]===
The Sabre is an old Pattern used during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. It is basically a self-propelled tank destroyer that usually uses either a hull-mounted lascannon or autocannon. Its nothing really fancy. Its a simple Rhino with a gun, with the transport ability removed as the passenger compartment is used to store ammo.

Think of a Jagdpanther and you're pretty close.

===[[Immolator]]===
A Sisters of Battle only variant, the Immolator mounts a pair of Heavy Flamers standard, but can switch it for a pair of Heavy Bolters or a pair of Multi-Meltas, thereby completing the Holy Trinity of Bolter/Flamer/Melta. Formerly a go-to unit for anyone playing Witch Hunters, but when the Inquisition got split off and Sisters got their own separate army, the points got jacked up and it stopped being as popular. It came back in force with the 6e digital update, with a points decrease, every unit in the army having easy access to it and a free upgrade to multi-melta.

It's worth pointing out that it, like the Sister Rhino variant you can build from the same box (protip: The difference is whether the glass canopy on top is open or closed) are absolutely gorgeous models. But then, having gorgeous models has never been an issue for Sisters.

===[[Exorcist]]===
The Sister's primary artillery piece and in true Sister fashion it's a tasty blend of awesome looking and insane. Similar to the Whirlwind, except it replaces the regular old rocket launcher with a missile spewing pipe organ. However, due to the frosty relations between the Ecclesiarchy and the Mechanicus, they don't get as much proper maintenance as they should, resulting in an appropriately moody machine spirit that might decide to sulk and only spit out one missile... or go mad with battle fury and unload a whopping six onto your enemy's face.

===Deimos-Pattern Rhino===
An earlier version of the Rhino used during the Great Crusade, the Deimos-Pattern Rhino is somewhat better armed than the currently used version with two turret-mounted bolters (which could be replaced with a pintle-mounted combi-bolter, heavy bolter, heavy flamer, or Havoc missile launcher). However, this extra firepower came at the [[Wat|expense of front armor]], and without an assault ramp it was not quite as good at carrying assault troops into battle.

===Rhino Advancer===
The Rhino Advancer AKA the Space Marine Limo was a long bodied, open-topped variant of the Deimos-Pattern Rhino modified to carry a greater number of Space Marines while also letting them deploy more rapidly. This was due to the larger, 20 man Tactical Squads of the Crusade/Heresy Era. They have since fallen out of use as their increased capacity was of little benefit after the Legions were divided into smaller Chapters.

===[[Grav-Rhino]]===
This Rhino was specially equipped with grav-plates similar to the [[Land Speeder]] and further enhanced with technology reverse-engineered from Eldar transports, allowing them to hover over the ground and fly to a limited extent. Only the [[Adeptus Custodes]] and the Sisters of Silence have been known to use them, and even then they have never been deployed since the Siege of Terra. It's been theorized that they were meant to carry troops to and from the Imperial Webway that the Emperor was attempting to construct.

===Castellan Rhino===
Like anything else associated with the [[Iron Warriors]], the Castellan Rhinos were designed with siege warfare in mind. While it was still perfectly usable as a transport, its real value stemmed from the unfolding armor bracing that allowed it to be quickly repurposed into an instant bunker.

===Rhino Primaris===
A new command Rhino announced as an exclusive for Warhammer World, it differs from other Rhinos by using a twin-linked Plasma Gun as its main weapon instead of a Storm Bolter. But more importantly, as a command tank it gets a fun batch of toys- anytime past the first turn, its orbital array either allows it to bring in one unit from reserves (bypassing the reserves roll entirely) or call down a Chapter Master-style orbital bombardment once per game (S10 AP1 with Ordnance 1, Barrage, Massive Blast, and always rolls 2d6 for scatter regardless of BS). Additionally, it has a Servo Skull Hub that gives out one of three buffs to anyone within 12" (each of which is usable once per game): grant a unit Fearless, repair a nearby vehicle for one Hull Point on a 2+, or allow a unit to fire Snap Shots and Overwatch at their full BS. It's meant to be used alongside the Land Raider Excelsior, and as a result it gives the LR +1 BS as long as it stays within 24" of it.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Null-Rhino-2.jpg|Custodes/Null-Maiden Rhino
Image:SororitasRhino.png|Sisters of Battle Rhino
Image:Battle+Sisters+2nd+Rhino.jpg|Sisters of Battle Rhino
Image:Mechanicus_Rhino.JPG|Mechanicus Rhino
Image:Inquisition_Rhino.jpg|Inquisition Rhino
Image:Squat_Rhino.jpg|Squat Rhino
image:DeimosRhino.png|Deimos Pattern
Image:20141220_154906-1.jpg|Deimos Pattern
Image:Rhino_Limo.jpg|Rhino Advancer
Image:Space-Marine-Rhino-Primaris-Command-Tank.jpg|Rhino Primaris
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Land Raider]]
{{40k-Imperial-Vehicles}}

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!colspan=1| Adeptus Astartes!! Other Imperials!! Chaos
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{{Marines-Forces}}
{{Blood Angels}}
{{Dark Angels}}
{{Deathwatch}}
{{Grey Knights}}
{{Space Wolves}}
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{{Custodes}}
{{Sisters-of-Silence}}
{{Sisters-of-Battle}}
{{Mechanicus}}
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Space Wolves

2019-01-13T03:16:44Z

2001:8003:3800:800:31C8:CA3A:2763:15D2: /* Gallery */

{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Space Wolves / Vlka Fenryka
|Heraldry = [[File:Spacewolveslogo.png|200px]]
|Battle Cry = "For Russ and the All father!"|Number = VI
|Founding = [[First Founding]]
|Successors of = N/A
|Successor Chapters = [[Wolf Brothers]]<BR>[[Wolfspear]]
|Chapter Master = [[Logan Grimnar]]
|Primarch = [[Leman Russ]]
|Homeworld = [[Fenris]]
|Specialty = CQC, shock assaults, infantry, encirclement tactics
|Strength = 2-3000, fluff is vague
|Allegiance = [[Imperium of Man]]
|Colours = Grey-blue and Yellow
}}
{{topquote|Let a man never stir on his road a step without his weapons of war; for unsure is the knowing when need shall arise of a [[Wolfspear|spear]] on the way without.|Havamal}}

{{Topquote|FUCKING FURRIES!!!|Magnus the Red when Space Wolves are mentioned near him}}

The '''Vlka Fenryka''' (Internally called The Rout, known to the wider Imperium and most of the fans as the Space Wolves) are a loyalist Chapter of [[Viking]]-inspired [[Space Marines]]. They're as [[Manly Marines|manly]] as the Angry Marines are [[Angry Marines|angry]]. Big fans of wolves. Extremely [[Viking|Nordic]], very melee oriented, and often found drinking and feasting when not at war. Given that they're honor and legacy obsessed Nordic melee powerhouses, one can draw many parallels between the Wolves and [[Dwarfs (Warhammer Fantasy)|Dwarfs]] and [[Warriors of Chaos]] from Warhammer Fantasy. The chapter is traditionally rivals with the Thousand Sons, though one might see the Wolves as a direct loyalist counterpart for the [[World Eaters]] and [[Night Lords]] due to their penchant both for suicidal, berserk charges and individualistic, undisciplined attitudes. However, the Wolves fight to protect people and do their duty to the Emperor, not for the hell of it. They're as cunning as the [[Raven Guard]] and as bold as the [[Blood Angels]], with fierce pride in their culture and individual prowess. More so than any other chapter, every Space Wolf is a unique and proud hero of the Imperium.

That said, they aren't all fun and bar-room games, as they have their unique flaws. These are elaborated on below.

They're one of the more "controversial" chapters, because fans will circlejerk them to death about how amazing the Chapter is, though the chapter's numerous detractors will rant endlessly about how the Chapter are all furries. Much of this conflict comes from GW's dissonance between the Vlka Fenryka of the books, and the Space Wolves of the tabletop game. The Vlka Fenryka of the Black Library books are a chapter with many different tribal and historical inspirations, drawing on Viking and Germanic culture along with their favorite totem and symbol, the wolf. The Space Wolves of the tabletop game ride wolves into battle, adorn themselves with wolves, name their gear and vehicles after wolves. That said, this difference is only bad translations and cultural changes over 10,000 years.

Ultimately, what defines the Space Wolves isn't their predatory, barbaric instincts- it's how they accept and use their savagery '''without''' being controlled by it or forgetting its downsides, pretty hard to do in 40k for [[Khorne|various reasons]]. Fenris is a world of constant warfare, where resources are scarce, monsters are omnipresent, and other humans constantly threaten every potential Space Wolf. Their initiation ritual involves implanting the candidate with the Canis Helix, then leaving them out in the wild to fight their way back to the Fang. To become a son of Russ, one has to make it back without giving in to their inner beast. They're fully aware of their own potential for senseless violence, and choose to fight the biggest monsters and save the people of the Imperium rather than giving in.

==Brief History and Main Overview==
Before Russ was discovered, the Wolves were a bunch of dicks. They were [[World Eaters|uncontrollable]] [[Night Lords|bullies]]. They were developed in isolation along with the [[Salamanders]] and [[Alpha Legion]], and were considered a fractious and undisciplined force, to the degree of officers losing control of their troops in the middle of a battle. To make matters worse, they often slaughtered civilians who had no way of fighting back. Their geneseed was also extremely difficult to implant in aspirants, often killing them.

Leman Russ was basically [[Viking]] Mowgli, being raised by wolves before he was captured (or possibly chose to/was talked into joining them, fluff varies) by the humans of Fenris and became adopted son to Jarl Thengir. When Thengir passed, Leman became Jarl by virtue of being the biggest badass on Fenris. And that's saying something. Ol' Empy came along and said 'JOIN ME!' in his typical dickish fashion. Leman then called him out to <s>three contests</s> (STOP! [[retcon|RETCON]] TIME!) a combat (double retcon: the Horus Heresy book Wolfsbane brought back the drinking contest as canon). The Emperor agreed to the duel and they went at it so enthusiastically they wrecked the feast hall they were in pretty thoroughly as Leman gave a good account of himself. In the end, Big. E (rather unsurprisingly) proved the better warrior and he knocked Russ out. When he finally woke up from his pummelling, Leman recognised the Emperor as a worthy master, and agreed to serve.

(Older fluff had Russ call Emps out to three challenges: drinking, eating, and fighting (though goodness knows why they didn't do the fighting bit first. If your fighters are drunk and stuffed, the fight will be less interesting). Leman showed up the Emperor in the first two contests, supposedly eating an entire ox and drinking a dozen barrels of mead. When the two of them fought, though, the Emperor was the victor, punching Russ out fair and square on the spot. But a one-shot knock out didn't make for a great story so it got changed into a proper fight.)

Leman very much remade his Legion. The Wolf King used a combination of myth-as-metaphor, genuine superstition, and the influence of Fenrisian veterans to promote discipline and obedience. He taught his warriors to control their bloodlust and kill who they had to rather than butcher everything in sight. That said, the VIth Legion would cross any line and kill any traitor for the Emprah. They fought to make the galaxy safe for humanity, but they were willing to accept the loss of human life. After Yarant and the battle with the Alpha Legion, they started to reevaluate this attitude. It was a process rather than a sudden snap, but they gradually focused less on punishing oathbreakers and more on protecting innocents.

One further thing of note is that it is implied by an offhand comment of Russ's in the Horus Heresy books that the two missing legions were destroyed or at least broken by the Space Wolves, so if it is true then that brings their legion kill tally to three.

The Space Wolves are another example on how Games Workshop lusts after medieval Scandinavian history and mythology. As if the [[Warriors of Chaos]] weren't already enough of a tip off to that. Given that they are the only Space Marines to have wolves, beards, wield axes, laugh boisterously, and act like something more than sombre, grim assholes, and because they have names like 'Ragnar' and 'Bjorn' they are instantly considered manlier than all other Spehss Mehreens, including the Chaos ones.

The Space Wolves also have a complex relationship with religion. The people of Fenris had several deities and considered the Fang to be a hall of immortals where the valorous dead went even during the Great Crusade, which Big E overlooked because the results produced in the form of the Space Wolves were worth it. After a Fenrisian warrior proves his mettle while a Wolf Priest (equivalent to a [[Valkyrie]] except it's a power-armored old man instead of a sexy shieldmaiden) is watching, he gets taken to the Fang (which is the equivalent of [[Valhalla]]) and given superhuman abilities and immortality to feast and train for the final battle; so this is true, in an Obi-Wan Kenobi sort of way. After becoming a Space Marine, they take on a more secular worldview, though superstition and storytelling remain. However, even though they describe Russ as performing impossible feats or act like talismans will protect them, many of their stories are in point of fact allegorical, and their superstitious beliefs are implied to be more of a subconscious way of steeling themselves against the possibility of death. So at the end of the day, your average Space Wolf (if such a thing is possible) believes that his necklace will ward off bad luck and the runes on his armor will protect him from sorcery while saying that Russ defeated the two-headed god of death and made him work for him, he's using the necklace to make himself more willing to risk death, a belief in runes to help resist psychic powers, and really saying that Russ harnessed the bloodlust of the VIth and gave it purpose. That said, he probably believes that Russ literally wrestled Morkai into submission too. Which means the Wolves of the novels have a rich cultural depth, while the Wolves of the tabletop are wolfy wolves who wolve wolves.

Based on their characterization in Prospero Burns and Battle for the Fang, they hold relatively little regard for "mortals" but without ignoring them outright or being dicks to them, and they highly respect bravery in battle. On top of all that, they happen to have the most compassionate and bro-tier Chapter Masters ever, [[Logan Grimnar]]. Logan is known for being famously sympathetic to the common man of the Imperium, defending his mortal charges with a passion beyond reason. This attitude has earned him a somewhat mixed reputation among the upper echelons of the Imperium, because while Grimnar is much loved by the people of the Imperium, he also has a bad habit of leading his chapter [[Armageddon#First War for Armageddon|into conflict]] with other factions of the Imperium when he deems it necessary.

If they were in a vidya game, they'd probably be voiced by Brian Blessed, or his royal Cinemaness CHRISTOPHER LEE, may he glory and feast forever in Valhalla.

They also once managed to kill an entire [[Void whale|VOID WHALE]]! (If a hideously malformed one) Scary Badass Grampa Werewolf Viking FTW!

In older codices, Leman Russ also killed and skinned a colossal deepsea creature that was confirmed to have Tyranid DNA, before the Emprah showed up. Like with a spear and wooden boat. Suck it, [[Macragge]]

Spess Wohlfs, if not already obvious, draw upon a heavy Viking theme, an equally heavy werewolf theme, and wolves in general. As such, the Space Wolves, Black Templars, White Scars, World Eaters and Khornate Worshipers in general, are the few people to realize that they all live in a fantasy universe with spaceships.

Another question that might come up if one thought about it is what happened to all of their extra marines. Even between the Burning of Prospero, a brutal void battle with the Alpha Legion straight afterwards and the rest of the Horus Heresy, the Wolves and their descendants were reduced to a chapter strength of about 1200 marines by the 41st Millenium. Even with attrition over the years, they should have been left with thousands of marines to split into different chapters. The main school of thought is that the Wolves split into two chapters, the original Space Wolves as well as the Wolf Brothers. While the Wolf Brothers would eventually be disbanded due to [[Mutant|genetic instability]], it would still leave the Space Wolves several thousand marines strong. It's thought that the rest of the Sons of Russ would eventually be brought down to close to Codex Chapter strength by attrition, as their numbers were overcome by casualties, the rise of the Mark of the Wulfen, and alcohol poisoning. Another hypothesis is that there would be other chapters that would split off from the Wolves, albeit unofficially or by their origins being proscribed for...whatever reason. However, if the Wolves were indeed left to be several hundred strong after Guilliman got his reform on, it would mean that after Russ's disappearance, the wolves [[Grimdark|were slowly dying out]] after their recruitment numbers dwindled to the dozens per year. (Though the natural ratio of recruits-to-casualties probably reached an equilibrium point at some point a few centuries afterwords, and has hovered right around that point for a long time. [[Grimdark]] doesn't always mean [[Fail|Grimderp]].)

In M32, a small but influential faction within the Rout started experimenting on the Canis Helix, trying to make it less wolfy but preserve the general badassery of Russ' gene seed. This was aimed at realising Russ' dream of Wolves descendants - the reformers saw their Chapter becoming steadily more isolated, making it harder for them to defend the Imperium. Some even claimed that the Imperium would start to question the Wolves' loyalties because of the wulfen issue, putting their existence at risk. They faced lots of internal opposition, but the gene-splicing began to pay off and the Legion's "apotheosis" was looming. Then [[Magnus the Red|this usually level-headed guy]] heard about it, didn't like it and attacked Fenris with extreme prejudice. Magnus' attack left the Fang all but broken and the current Great Wolf dead, along with most of the reformers. Magnus took a thrashing from [[Bjorn the Fell-handed|the bear guy in a Dreadnought]] in the process, but finally had a comeback to all Russ' "forever alone" jokes (fuck, even the Salamanders probably have successors these days). As predicted, although the Wolves are still revered throughout much of the Imperium, they're also mistrusted by its rulers and institutions. Inquisition tried pretty hard to bring them to heel over the whole Armageddon fracas - it's a fair bet that they wouldn't have tried this if the Wolves had a few successor Chapters to call on. Oh, and their attack on the Fang did a similar amount of damage to what Magnus managed.

Skip ahead to current time and the Space Wolves are still on edge with the rest of the Imperium, though mostly due to their refusal to back down when taunted and by getting confrontational with all of their allies. Despite the Wulfen then becoming a pretty overt thing with the return of the 13th Company from the Eye of Terror (all of whom had become Wulfen), the Space Wolves remained out of the Inquisition's ire due to the 13th Black Crusade. Que the Thousand Sons, however, as Magnus bee-lined straight for [[Fenris]] and the system goes to hell. Fenris, despite fighting off Magnus' advances, then gets butchered by the [[Grey Knights]] and the Inquisition because the Fenrissians had been exposed to Chaos. Unable to really do anything about it, the Space Wolves take it on the cheek as they're too busy trying to stop Chaos from fucking everyone else over and avenging their fallen. They send men to Cadia to stop Abbadon, but ultimately; Cadia breaks.

Eventually [[Roboute Guilliman|Grandpappy Smurf]] wakes up and takes charge of the Imperium and dishes out his new shiny [[Primaris Marines]] to everyone who needs them. This bolsters the Space Wolves' numbers after they were clusterfucked by basically everyone possible, and the Rune Priests declare Fenris' spirit to be renewed, even though their system is basically ripped in half. In addition, the whole forever alone thing is in question now, since they were given a new successor chapter, the [[Wolfspear]] (because naming them something without 'wolf' in the name wouldn't be possible). Since the Wolfspear are all Primaris, [[Cawl]] has modified their genetic structure, they seem to be immune to the Canis Helix going extreme and turning them into monsters like the Wolf Brothers; though it's yet to be seen if the Space Wolves will actually accept them as kin. In fact, the Wolfspear have severe daddy issues in the idea that they believe their Primaris status would make the Space Wolves see them as lesser (despite acknowledging the fact that the Space Wolves themselves actually took in a bunch of Primaris into their own chapter).

==Relationship with the Thousand Sons==
Space Wolves have a talent for [[rage]], and it is thought by some that they pride themselves with the sheer number of enemies they have. But the [[Thousand Sons]] Chaos Legion is by and large their greatest enemy, at least that's what they think. The fact is that the rivalry began when the Space Wolves (with help from Custodians and Sisters of Silence) kicked the living shit out of the Thousand Sons on their home planet, which is like having your country host the Olympics and then getting last place in every event (much like Canada in the 1976 Summer Olympics and again in the 1988 Winter Olympics). Before that, [[Leman Russ]], [[Primarch]] of the Space Wolves, broke the back of [[Magnus the Red]], who is Primarch of the Thousand Sons. TO BE FAIR, Magnus felt that he deserved it and therefore ordered his warriors to deactivate all planetary defenses (he actually deactivated it himself and even killed one of his own captains to hide the coming of the invasion fleet). If the Thousand Sons had their defenses active, the Wolf of the Wolf Wolf Wolves probably would have had a much harder time of it. As it is, even with all the backup the Wolves had, once they ran out of planetary defense forces in parade uniforms to slaughter, and came across the Thousand Sons, the Wolves/Custodians/Sisters were slowed down a little until Tzeentch pulled the troll lever (though he might've been bolstering the Sons' powers already, which the Ruinous Powers later did with Horus, and this was just a side effect) and the Sons' greatest psykers started mutating and exploding like Tetsuo from Akira.

Considering the [[Emprah]] basically just asked for Leman Russ to give Magnus a ride to Earth, this is more like your parents asking you to tell your younger sibling to come out of their room and clean up the mess they made, only for you to go in there, shoot off both their legs, take a dump on the floor and set the room on fire, chase them out into the streets, murder his best friends, and then tell your parents that the brat suffered for not taking responsibility for the five or so school books on the couch. Of course, [[Horus]] helped that all along, having already went full daddy hate:he twisted Big big E's orders into "rape prospero, k tnx", being a loyal lapdog Russ just rolled with it. Just as planned. Chief Custodian Valdor also urged Russ to curbstomp Magnus for good, presumably because he was concerned what kind of damage Magnus could do in person, given how much trouble he caused from millions of light-years away.

This set the tone for the rest of their unhealthy relationship. The Thousand Sons do something to piss off the Space Wolves, usually some brilliant, convoluted plan, and the Space Wolves just charge and beat the living shit out of them and laugh in their faces when they find out how much work those [[Tzeentch]]ies put into their plots. Sadly, this usually comes at a staggering toll in Space Wolf lives. So [[grimdark]]. Oh, and the Thousand Son's usually accomplish some underlying secret objective.

Many theories are abound as to why the Space Wolves hate the Thousand Sons and their sorcery so much. The most popular amongst fa/tg/uys is that the Thousand Sons Primarch, Magnus, being aware of Russ's [[furry|bestiality]], was always watching him from his magical lookout, riding up and down his sorcerer's tower to observe Russ from every height and depth, intently channeling the power of his one-eyed cyclops to pierce into Russ's most intimate chambers. Understandably, this left Russ very (literally) [[butthurt]] indeed and eager for vengeance. Or because Magnus is a NERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD.

One theory disclosed to the Khan, admittedly from the probably-not-very-reliable source of a shade of Magnus left behind on Prospero, suggests that there could be an even more sinister reason for the hatred, suggesting that there is a dark reason why the Wolves put runes of protection on every part of their wargear (other books suggest the Wolves place huge importance on runes and symbolism).

Also while it may seem laughable that the axe dragging wolf-fucking barbarians continually thwart the plans of the hyper-intelligent sorcerers, the wolves are actually probably the most ideal chapter to fight them (except, perhaps, the [[Grey Knights]], for obvious reasons). They have the Canis Helix which causes them to wolf out rather than be corrupted by chaos, and the Rune "Magic" that their Rune Priests use is literally the closest thing to sorcery used in the Imperium. Add to that the fact that they have one of the most impressive fleets in the entire Imperium, making them somewhat less worried about warp storms, and you have a group almost tailor-made to resist the Thousand Sons.

Other people believe that Space Wolves are indeed a traitor legion and the Thousand Sons a loyal one. Think a second about it. What are the benefits of the Mark of Khorne? Rage and counterattack, exactly the same rules Blood Claws have. Why Russ destroyed completely Prospero if Magnus was not defending himself and his only sin was warning the Emperor about the Horus Heresy? Why Russ went to the Warp? To become a Daemon-Prince? Why they don't recognized Guilliman as their spiritual leader? Why they don't follow the codex who has given so much prosperity to the Imperium? What are those mutations wulfen have? Gifts of Chaos? However, these people are idiots who don't read the lore and have bad grammar, so you shouldn't listen to them.

===Ragnar Blackmane===
[[File:Yiff yaff.jpg|300px|thumb|right|HERESY]]
Perhaps the best example can be found in ''The Space Wolf Omnibus'', in which [[Ragnar Blackmane]], who is at that time a Bloodclaw (neophyte), not only fucks over a Sorcerer, but Magnus the Red himself. The Sorcerer, [[Madox]], is so pissed at being foiled by Ragnar that he bitches about it to other Thousand Sons, who find this hilarious, and goes around making plots, which Ragnar manages to fuck up nicely, thereby saving the galaxy. Ragnar even took the spear of his Primarch and hurled it into the eye of Magnus the Red. Do note that this is as much canon as other [[Black Library|BL]] anti-fluff shit.

Because of this, the [[Blood Ravens]] forge a weapon named after Ragnar, who tells them to keep their toys because he doesn't need it (though in all reality he had a suspicion that they were trying to 'fence' their 'gift' by giving it to him to evade Imperial authorities).

He and his pack (and about 30 Militarum Tempestus Stormtroopers people somehow always forget to mention (because theyd all be dead before they got to attack obviously)once fought off 40 odd genestealers in close combat. In the actual game and fluff; fighting this many 'stealers in melee is a one way ticket to massive rending claw induced ASSRAPE for anything short of a vehicle with AV 14 on its backside, and a roughly equal number of Genestealers tore apart Marduk's Terminator Armoured Wordbearers and accompanying Khornate Berzerkers and Possessed Marine and wiped out more than half of the strike force he took. Yet somehow he managed to avoid being torn into gory paper thin pieces and come out on top (like this kind of thing is really uncommon with book marines). He manages this <s>without</s> ''by'' being a [[Mary Sue|Mary]] [[Ultramarines|Sue]]. Why?/How? It's because he's a motherfucking Space Viking. Also they were helped by about forty Militarum Tempestus Stormtroopers and two Inquisitors, so it wasn't quite as one sided as it sounds.

==The Fate of Leman Russ==
Of Leman Himself, you ask? Legends state that after a great feast, He said unto his warriors:

<blockquote>"Listen closely Brothers, for my time is short. . There shall come a time far from now when our Chapter itself is dying, even as I am now dying, and our foes shall gather to destroy us. Then my children, I shall listen for your call in whatever realm of death holds me, and come I shall, no matter what the laws of life and death forbid. At the end I will be there. For the final battle. For the Wolftime."</blockquote>

And so, Leman departed, with his closest retinue... No, not you Bjorn... Some say he searches for a means to revive His God-Emperor.. But despite the efforts of the Great Hunt, Leman remains beyond the reach of Man... Who knows what great feats of Heroism he undertakes....

. . . Oh, who the fuck are we kidding? Leman got lost in the [[Warp]] and became a Daemon Primarch of Kho-

{{BLAM|//Historitor 109.163.233.200 decommissioned by Inquisitorial decree.//}}

He was, in fact, [[Horo|turned into a small girl]]. (Holy shit! A [[Tzeentch|change]] like that can only mean that Magnus must have gotten revenge.) And if by that you think we mean, "Russ had a shitton of bastard children everywhere and one was a mutant that could shapeshift" then yes; only because Russ's kids turning into [[Werewolf|wolves]] is nothing new. Nobody really knows if this had happened before he went to [[Warhammer Fantasy]] and made the Norscans or not, but since they aren't vikings out of a shoujo anime, we can make a pretty good educated guess. Somehow, he found his way back to the Dark Millenium, still stuck in the form of a [[Horo|small girl]].

(But seriously, we have no idea. There HAVE been sporadic reports of sightings of the 13th great Company with Russ leading them, for what that's worth. And Magnus has mentioned that he knows exactly what happened to Russ, but it's not like he'd ever tell them.)

Actually he has entered Slaanesh's realm of eternal yiff, meaning we will never see him again.

Until GW releases him, because they've said at least 2 more loyalist Primarchs are coming and its obviously the Lion and the Wolf since Guilliman can kind of stand in for the space marines covered by the regular space marine codex while Russ' legion really could use him back after the ass kicking they got from Magnus and the Inquisition, and the Dark Angels' storyline is rather clearly leading to the Lion's reawakening.

==Organization==
[[File:Tyranid Attack.jpeg|350px|right|thumb|The wolves taking on a [[Tyranid]] horde.]]
Since they only see the [[Codex Astartes]] as a source of toilet paper (when they bother to wipe), the Space Wolves have roles and titles far different from the standard Space Marine chapters. Additionally, while traditional chapters each hold ten ~100-strong companies, the Space Wolves instead have 12 autonomous companies, each of which is in varying strength and since they aren't bound by the Codex, each company may have more than 100 marines on hand (in fact, a full list of the members of Grimnar's company gives them a strength of nearly 200). However, the Space Wolf legion were never particularly numerous following the [[Horus Heresy]] in the part due to their unstable gene-seed and the fact they they were restricted to recruiting from one world ''(The fact that [[Magnus the Red]] destroyed the long-sought cure to this during his attack on Fenris for this didn't help, but it should be noted that it wasn't that big of a victory for Magnus, as Bjorn made it quite clear he would have destroyed the project when he found out about it)'' but also the battles of the Horus Heresy hurt the Space Wolves legion badly; culminating in the [[Battle of Trisolian]] which effectively ended their existence as a "Legion" altogether.

Even so, with 12 independent Great Companies (each with their own fleets, logistics support etc), this means that even if each Great Company had 100 brothers, they would outnumber a normal codex-compliant Spess Mehreens chapters by at least 20%. This is corroborated by the 7E codex which has rules for playing a Great Company on its own; consisting of eleven squads of varying size.

However since each Great Company doesn't bother to limit themselves to 100 (some Space Wolves great companies sometimes number over 300 brothers) it means that they outnumber codex chapters by an even greater degree, so with that said, the [[Apocalypse]] formation for the same thing has no hard limit on the number of Blood Claw squads that may be taken, so will probably represent a good period of recruitment for the Chapter. Therefore the total numbers will vary over time in response to casualties and recruitment rates but can reasonably reach estimations of 3000 marines or more; several times the official codex strength at peak times.

As of 998.M41, [[Logan Grimnar]]'s own company was the largest in the chapter and it totaled 200 exactly ''(not counting the "Great Wolf" assets like Dreadnoughts & Priests)'' whilst [[Ragnar Blackmane]]'s was said to be second, sitting at 162 marines. Following the return of Magnus and the battle of Fenris this number would undoubtedly be diminished, though after the [[Ultima Founding]], the number probably remains about the same if not slightly higher as the chapter would be bolstered with Primaris reinforcements. Guilliman probably has more sense than delivering 1000 new warriors to a chapter which already "should" have around 1000 warriors; for excess Primaris Marines we have the [[Wolfspear]] Chapter.

===Hierarchy===
The different ranks and assignments for the Wolves are the following:

*'''Great Wolf''': The [[Chapter Master]] of the Space Wolves, the Great Wolf (also known as the ''High King'' by people who want to tone down the overwolf (i.e. everyone)) is chosen from among the Wolf Lords by virtue of <s>having the most furry porn</s> being the most badass of an army of space vikings. The Great Wolf is effectively the First Captain of the Space Wolves, commanding an elite Great Company that includes the members of the three Priesthoods and the Chapter's Dreadnoughts. [[Logan Grimnar]] serves as the current Great Wolf.
*'''[[Wolf Lord]]''': The [[Brother-Captain]]s of a company in Codex Chapters (although more like a watered-down vanilla chapter master), Wolf Lords (AKA the ''Jarls'') lead their Great Companies and charge the Iron Priests with maintenance of its motor pool and the Wolf Priests with recruiting new Astartes.
* '''[[Wolf Guard]]''': A cross between [[Veteran Squad|Veterans]] and [[Honour Guard]], Wolf Guards (''Thanes'') serve as the body guard of the Wolf Lord and leading packs in battle, serving as the Space Wolves version of a [[Brother-Sergeant]]. They also get [[Terminator]] armour. In ''Second Edition'' they also got to take any weapons they liked and could be built from stock parts with an Assault Cannon and Cyclone Missile Launcher. This led to many games being won as Assault Force Dickhead rampaged across the table murdering everything.
* '''[[Wolf Priest]]''': Combining the role of [[Apothecary]] and [[Chaplain]], the Wolf Priests do the standard roles of preaching and medical duties, but are also charged with recruiting Aspirants for their companies. Plus they have a secret role on the battlefield, trying to prevent their battle-brothers from turning into Wulfen.
* '''[[Iron Priest]]''': The Iron Priests serve the role of [[Techmarine]]s, overseeing the motorpool and equipment of the companies they belong to.
* '''[[Rune Priest]]''': Taking the role of [[Librarian]]s in Codex Chapters, Rune Priests are the [[psyker]]s of the Space Wolves. However, instead of seeing their powers as coming from the [[Warp]], they hold that their powers come from the world spirit of Fenris, and consult the runes in a means to divine the future. Trying to explain to the Rune Priests that they're drawing power from the Warp, and that they cannot "draw their powers from Fenris" while being half-Galaxy away from it will usually result in the non-Space Wolf getting a month's stay in the Apothecarion. The ultimate irony of this is that they are, in reality, Sorcerers, the very thing they denounced the Thousand Sons for being. Whether they are psykers or not. Besides, if Fenris has a world spirit, it is something akin to a Daemon World...
* '''Wolf Scouts''': Each Great Company will have members who shun their pack brothers and are shunned in return, preferring the company of more somber individuals, Wolf Scouts serve to scout out enemy positions and terrain. As opposed to the regular codex, Wolf Scouts tend to be veterans of battle able to rein in their savage rage.
* '''Lone Wolf''': Space Wolves who are the last of their pack. The loss of their brethren drive them to seek a glorious death in combat at the hands of some form a fell enemy. Think of Dwarf Slayers only a few metres tall with powered armour and weapons of doom and destruction. Often the only way out of the Lone Wolf lifestyle is managing to kill something that the individual shouldn't have survived killing and being elevated into the Wolf Guard.
* '''[[Skyclaw]]s''': Skyclaws are the trouble makers among a Chapter of trouble makers, forced to wear Jump Packs. The Space Wolves view Jump Packs as an insult, reasoning that if the Emperor wanted them to fly, he would have given them wings. Snide comments regarding [[Sanguinius]] result in a short game of tug-o-war involving the offending battle-brother's beard.
* '''[[Thunderwolf Cavalry]]''': Space Wolves who function in a manner similar to a [[Bike Squad]], but instead of actual bikes, they use Thunderwolves, which can be the size of a small car.
* '''[[Long Fang]]s''': Taking the role of [[Devastator Squad|Devastators]], Long Fangs are veterans who have grown long in the fang. No pun here - Space Wolves' teeth actually lengthen as they age, as an effect of a mutated Betcher's Gland.
* '''[[Grey Hunter]]s''': Having the role of [[Tactical Squad|Tactical Marines]], Grey Hunters are those Marines who have survived long enough as Blood Claws to quell the worst of their ferocity and blood lust (read: wear a helmet in battle). Their new found experience and control allows them to shoot and fight better than their younger brethren.
* '''[[Blood Claw]]s''': Neophyte Space Wolves who serve in the [[Assault Squad|Assault Marine]] roles of Codex Chapters.

=== Other Assets ===
The Space Wolves have an impressive number of other gadgets and gizmos going for them.

Not least the fact that the Fang (''Aett'') is one of the three most defended locations in the entire Imperium ''(the other two being the Imperial Palace on '''Terra''' and the Keep Inviolate on '''Kolossi''' the homeworld of [[Imperial Knight|House Raven]])'' and is tall enough that entire [[Imperial Navy|battlefleets]] can dock with the fortress.

Speaking of battlefleets; the Wolves themselves have a navy to rival most others, with eight Battle Barges and more than thirty Strike Cruisers, which in terms of logistical support could accommodate over 5400 fighting men. As well as this, they have '''TWO''' Star Forts and over forty escort '''squadrons'''. To let you know how much firepower this counts as, some lesser known chapters would consider themselves fortunate to have even a single battle-barge. Even the [[Grey Knights]] have only four Barges and twelve strike cruisers, so basically when Fenris held off the [[Grey Knights]] during the Months of Shame, they had plenty going for them. They used to have even more ships, and a star-fort network that could put the infamous Iron Circle of Badab to shame before the Thousand Sons attacked Fenris in M33.

They also have '''''over''''' one-hundred [[Dreadnought]]s stored in stasis vaults within their fortress depths, where/how they accumulated them is [[Blood Ravens|uncertain]] and considering that most other chapters tend to have around two or three Dreadnoughts per company, they likely outnumber nearly anyone else by a considerable margin. ''(For comparison, the [[Blood Angels]] have 35 dreadnoughts listed in their rolls of battle)'' This can likely be traced to their viking tendencies to super pillage everything they come across. I mean Logan's got a daemon axe so I'm just assuming they are just ripping daemons out of chaos dreadnought hulls, slapping a new coat of paint, some wolf sigils and motifs on and dropping their wounded brothers in and no one will ever know.

Not to mention the packs of feral wulfen that they can scrounge up... Yeah they might happen to have a shit ton of unregistered mutated werewolf murder machines lying around as ''''failed'''' aspirants. That said, Fenris is far less populous than the likes of Macragge, and feral Wulfen are basically wildlife, so this is a moot point.

Oh, and all the "actual" Fenrisian Wolves & Thunderwolves that the chapter can muster.

They also uniquely possess [[Helfrost Weaponry]] thanks to rare, Fenrisian crystals.

==Combat doctrine==
{{topquote|The best way to defeat a Space Wolf is to wolf his wolf. You must be careful, though, because if the Space Wolf wolfs your wolf first, then your wolf is wolfed.|Attributed to Wolf Rider Volk Wolfclaw, ''On the Weaknesses of the Space Wolf Doctrine''}}
{{topquote|A good way to get into a state of pure wolfness, would be that you shall wolf the wolf until the wolfing wolf wolfs. Then, when the wolf wolfs your wolfness, the wolves of the wild will wolf your wolf up. Wolf!|Attributed to Wolf Master Jonal Wolfhand, "The Call of the Nightblizzard''}}
{{topquote|Wolf wolf wolf wolf wolfity wolf. Wolf wolf, wolfo wolfy wolf wolf wolf. Wolf? Wolf!|Attributed to Wolf Lord Egil Ironwolf, ''On the Intricacies of Tactical Wolffare''}}

Jokes aside, the Space Wolves are rather unusual when it comes to organisation and tactics. Contrary to what many fans will tell you, they do actually study the Codex Astartes's points on combat, though they completely reject it from an organizational standpoint. In battle the warriors of the Rout will usually work on their own initiative and experience, but at the same time, they don't disrespect or ignore the lessons of the codex. Their battle strategies tend to be neglected in favor of localized battlefield tactics. They keep to their wolf theme by working as a "pack", with very "make it up as we go along" tactics. This doesn't bite them in the ass as much as it would other space marine chapters, because they can "smell the plan" (I can't make this shit up). The books try to base this off of how normal wolves coordinate hunts, with nonverbal cues being premium. The idea is that the wolves can read the situation by [[Hive Mind|smelling their pack member's moods and thoughts]], using natural pheromone cues (and a few added by the Canis Helix) to anticipate the moods of those around them. This is actually why most wolves prefer to fight without helmets: you can't smell anything in the sealed environment of closed power armor.

== Flaws ==
As many on /tg/ will happily tell you, the Wolves are far from perfect. Where the [[Imperial Fists]] are inflexible and stubborn and the [[Dark Angels]] are unreliable and austere, the Wolves are boisterous and arrogant. During the Heresy (and/or when Chris Wraight is writing them) they were incredibly brutal toward those they saw as oath-breakers, even if the oath-breaker in question was a fleeing, defenseless civilian. The Ragnar Blackmane books further emphasize this and also portrayed the Chapter as willing to ignore the misdeeds of their heroes in spite of the importance they place on honor. This, combined with the Wolves hating the Thousand Sons for being psykers [[Rune Priest|while also using psykers]] led many to label the Wolves hypocrites, especially since the Space Wolves pick a fight with the Flesh Tearers for killing civilians in spite of their own troubled history in that regard. Fans are quick to point out that the Rune Priests are much more cautious than the Thousand Sons, who actually used Goddamn Chaos familiars during the Great Crusade, and newer fluff further emphasizes that the Wolves hate the Thousand Sons for having no control while pretending they have a better understanding of the Warp, NOT just for being psykers. Furthermore, by the 41st Milennium, the Wolves nearly always stuck out their necks to protect the people of the Imperium, and actively stopped the Flesh Tearers' rampage. Now, everyone including Wolves players admit that the Sons of Russ are entirely too short-sighted and prone to making enemies for their own good. During the Heresy, almost nobody liking them bit them in the ass at Alaxxes Nebula, but fast-forward to M41 and they're happily pissing off the Inquisition, Ecclesiarchy, Dark Angels, Ultramarines, etc. During Warzone Fenris, the galaxy at large is only too ready to write the Wolves off as heretics. Fans and detractors alike also note that it's [[Skub|arguable]] whether being so quick to make enemies and disobey orders to save civilians really saves more people in the long run, especially at Armageddon, where the Wolves' actions backfire badly.

== Civilians ==
Of all the inconsistently written aspects of the Chapter, this is by far the worst offender. Sometimes, the Space Wolves are written as brutal and merciless, giving zero fucks about collateral damage or civilian casualties. On the other hand, sometimes the Wolves [[Salamanders|put their lives on the line to protect the innocent.]] This can induce [[Rage]] in just about any fan, because some people get into the Space Wolves seeing them as heroes while others prefer their more savage, bloodthirsty tendencies. The best fluff attempts to find a middle ground by presenting them as violent and pragmatic, but disciplined during the Heresy and increasingly heroic over time. By M41, the Wolves actively stop the Flesh Tearers from murdering Imperial civilians at Honour's End, disobey orders to protect the settlers at Thressiax, and play chicken with the Inquisition to save the people of Armageddon : this example is particularly notable, because the Wolves didn't just attempt to save the civilians from the Inquisition, for the first few months of the conflict they did so with passive resistance, defending civilian transports with the shields and hulls of their own ships, never firing back. This paints a picture of [[Awesome|a Chapter that actually becomes MOAR independent and heroic as the galaxy goes to shit around them.]] Then Warzone Fenris happened. In it, the Wolves pretty much abandon their allies to focus on the Wulfen. On the plus side, they send warriors to Cadia and Maccrage in spite of the mauling the Thousand Sons hand them.

==Daily rituals of a Space Wolf==
13:00 - Wake Up with Hangover - The Space Wolf awakens from his booze-induced coma and begins the day. Headaches abound. Aspirin is consumed by the ton.<br>
13:10 - Morning Piss - The Space Wolf empties the alcohol that has accumulated in his bladder(s) in the Sacred Alcohol Excretion Grounds.<br>
13:11 - Morning Fart - The Space Wolf empties his intestines. Pissing without farting is like going to a holy site without praying to the Emperor, which is heresy.<br>
13:20 - Morning Piss Ends - The Space Wolves have finally finished urinating.<br>
13:30 - Ritual Intake of Alcoholic Beverages - The Space Wolf now cracks open his first cold one of the day. The first of many. Cheerios may be consumed as well.<br>
13:45 - Firing Drills - The Space Wolf consumes another liter of alcohol before going out back and shooting empty beer bottles with his bolter. This takes place far away from the Alcohol Excretion Grounds, after that one time Brother Brynjolf accidentally lit his own piss on fire, and ended up in the sickbay until his beard grew back and he was thus fit to be seen in public again.<br>
14:00 - Freeze your Gonads - The Space Wolf sheds his armor and most of his clothing to wander around Asaheim for an hour.<br>
15:00 - Feeding of the Land Raiders - Space Wolf observes a feast with his brothers in honour of the chapter's revered battle machines. Blood Claws are still wandering around outside naked in the snow.<br>
15:30 - Boozing of the Land Raiders - No feast is complete without shittons of liquor. Ale and beer are poured and scrubbed all over the most honoured of the chapter's war machines. Many still have bullet holes, sometimes allowing beer to get into the exhaust ports and make for kickass explosions later. Blood Claws are still wandering around outside naked in the snow.<br>
16:00 - Wolf your Wolf - Grey Hunters and older Space Wolves take this time to play with their favourite 4-legged companions. Blood Claws are still wandering around outside naked in the snow.<br>
16:30 - Save the Blood Claws - Blood Claws are brought in from the cold. Most are frozen blue or black - and hungry for more.<br>
17:00 - Evening feast - Eat. Drink. Start brawls. The usual non-warzone Space Wolf thing.<br>
18:00 - Try to wake up [[Bjorn the Fell Handed|Bjorn]].<br>
18:10 - Give up, try to find something fun on the Vox Saga.<br>
19:00 - Night shitter break.<br>
20:00 - Night firing drills - Much to the Iron Priest's dismay, the Space Wolves practice writing their names in the snow with bolters. In runes. In the dark.<br>
21:00 - Ritual Intake of Narcotics and Purging of Testicles - bitches and blow.<br>
05:00 - Daily Rest - The Space Wolf passes out.<br>

==A Quick Word Out of Character==
The true reason for all this, is that, we at /tg/, in our pathetic, low-reaching mastery of comedy, have seen how idiotic it is that every goddamn Space Wolf codex unnecessarily uses the word "wolf" as a prefix or a suffix every 3rd sentence (similar to the [[Robin Cruddace|Tyranid codex]] shoe-horning the prefix ''bio-'' into every 3rd sentence). Since /tg/ is an easily angered monster, not unlike an [[Angry Marine]], we furiously attempt to link Space Wolves to furries (it's really fucking annoying), as we are as fucked up as [[Chaos Pretty Marines]].

It has been established in the ''[[Horus Heresy]]'' series that the VI Legion doesn't employ the word "wolf" as much as they appear to do. Wolves are readily apparent in their motifs, such as Leman Russ's titles as "Wolf-King" and "Great Wolf," as well as in the formal name of the Wolf Guard, but it's not as overblown as it's made out to be. Apparently, whoever did the Fenrisian-to-Gothic translation made a few errors. First off, they don't call themselves "the Space Wolves." When speaking formally, they refer to themselves as the ''Vlka Fenryka'', which we can look at a few ways. "Fenris" is easy, a reference to Fenrir from Norse mythology. "Vlka" has a couple options; if you walk it backwards through the Germanic ''Volk'' you get "Folk of Fenris". This supports a common theory on 1d4chan where a bunch of colonists landed on a planet, bred giant dogs from their great, great, grand-children (more on that in a minute) then thought, "You know what's better than planet Unicorn? Planet fucking Fenris". So the the ''Vlka Fenryka'' are literally the folk of Fenris. Alternately ''Vlka'' can be translated from Slavic to get the "Wolves of Fenris" again.

No matter what you conclude on, you get Dan Abnett using linguistics to reinforce his theme that the Space Wolves are misunderstood by the rest of the Imperium - calling the Space Wolves because of a mistranslated word. One could even argue they are actually called "Space People", would make sense since Ragnar referred to them as "Star warriors" in the William King novels and their Fenrisian ''Kaerl'' auxiliaries call them "sky warriors," but the lore from these novels has been left by the wayside so take that as you will. When speaking informally, they refer to themselves as "the Rout", solidifying their purpose as the Emperor's executioners/snowflakes. Additionally, the post of "Wolf-Lord" is also a mistranslation, as they refer to their Company commanders as ''Jarl''. Finally, they don't call their fortress-monastery the Fang, but rather the ''Aett'', which can be literally translated as "clan home." There's also this in-universe [[meme]] "there are no wolves on Fenris." At all. This was started by one of the primarchs remarking that they should be called xenos, because they're natives of an alien planet, and it quickly morphed into a joke. As it turns out, this is literally true.

With regards to the [[Fenrisian Wolf|Fenrisian wolves]], the origin a little more freaky than expected: they're not wolves, but descendants of human-wolf mutants. Back when Fenris was first settled, the colonists had the ''Canis helix'' added to help them adapt to the harsh environment by adding wolf genes to their genetic-makeup. Unfortunately, it worked a little too well--the ''canix helix'' caused a number of settlers to degrade into wolfmen and wolfwomen. Following this, they bred and produced a new strain of wolf into the environment. So there are no ''wolves'' on Fenris. They're just the descendants of human mutants. Which might explain why, post-Heresy, only Fenrisians can become Space Wolves (assuming that's why the successor chapters couldn't handle Russ' gene seed).

So yes, naming the planet after the wolves means we really do just end up all the way back at Wolves of Wolves after all. Whelp.

Of course, that means that the Space Wolves are wearing pelts made of [[Fabius Bile|human skin]], but lets not dwell on that - after all it's fairly common in the Imperium to wear human skulls... WolfyWolfWolf {{BLAM|''' *BLAM*}}.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Lightning2.jpg|'Tis only a matter of time until Steve Blum voices 'em. Apparently, this set somehow makes things you hit weigh less.
File:Warlord of Fenris by NachoMon.jpg|Totally not overcompensating...Yeah he's just hiding a massive hardon with the skull
File:Lemanruss39.jpg|Leman Russ. About to mercilessly fuck over the Thousand Sons.
File:Prospero.jpg|Is he carrying a wooden shield? Really? Against a bolt shell? It better be a Combat Shield.
File:Stormrider.jpg|You better watch out, you better not die, you better not fight, I'm telling you why: Santa Grimnar's coming to town
[[File:http://l.wigflip.com/DucDpDtG/roflbot.jpg]]|Pretty cool guys to hang with.
File:SneakySpaceWolves.png|Space Wolves? Using stealth? [[Heresy]].
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Bjorn the Fell Handed]]
*[[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Space Wolves(8E)|Tactics/Space Wolves]]
*[[Warriors of Chaos]] - With whom they get into bar brawls and drinking contests to see who is moar [[Viking]]
*[[Skyrar's Dark Wolves]] - Before calling your [[Dark Angels]] brothers [[Troll|traitors]] read [[Svane_Vulfbad|this]] first to understand [[Fallen_Angels|their]][[ rage]].
*[[Legion Consul]] - The old "Commissars" of the VI legion.
*[https://youtu.be/Bh_5ofa__pY/ Space Wolves theme song]

{{Marines-Official}}
{{Space Wolves}}

Rune Priest

2019-01-13T03:14:26Z

2001:8003:3800:800:31C8:CA3A:2763:15D2: Undo revision 546194 by Lawrencefox (talk) Take it to the talk page first

--If looking for the [[Dungeons & Dragons]] class, see [[Runepriest]].

[[File:Rune_priest_by_adrian_smith.jpg|280px|right|thumb|We are totally not psykers! The lightning you see is our animal spirits helping us! Its all true! We swear on our wolfy wolfs!]]
Rune Priest are fucking [[Librarian|Librarians]] of the [[Space Wolves|Space Corgis]] and their existence is one of the most infuriating for those who despise the fucking [[Yiff|yiffers]]. Part of the reason why is because of the notion that the closet furries have a particular hate boner for psykers, especially the [[Thousand Sons]], and are known to treat psykers with suspicion and mistrust. As you can imagine, during the burning of [[Prospero]], [[Magnus the Red|Magnus]] pretty much went, "''What the absolute Fuck on Tizca's Tip, Russ! You hate our people for who we are and yet you yourself use psykers in your ranks!?''", to which [[Leman Russ|Leman]] promptly rebutted, "''You betrayed the Emprah! FUCK YOU!""

Thing is, the Rune Priests use shamanic rituals to avoid being sucked into the Warp. Totems and runes allow the Rune Priests to exercise caution and precision with their powers, but they know damn well to watch out for psychic predators and know their fucking limits. The Thousand Sons are reckless and self-indulgent with their powers. They consorted with daemons even before Magnus singlehandedly shattered the Emperor's design to utilize the (much safer) Webway. The Wolves don't hate the Thousand Sons because they're psykers; they hate them because the Vlka Fenryka had been fighting monsters and uncontrolled psykers since Russ was found, possibly including the two missing Legions, and the Thousand Sons gleefully charged down the path to damnation while treating the Space Wolves and everyone else like idiotic barbarians, and then acted like victims when their hubris and Tzeentch conspired to bite them in the ass.

Anyways, like the Librarians of Codex Chapters, Rune Priests are combatant psykers, using their psychic abilities to aid their brothers on the battlefield; off the battlefield, they are the keepers of the chapter's librarium and store of knowledge. The major difference is that Rune Priests do not believe their psychic abilities are derived from the Warp, but rather from the animistic spirits of their homeworld, Fenris; which is channeled through totems and runes on their armour, which as you can imagine, [[Bullshit|is fucking bullshit]] and is just more excuses for the Wolves to say, "Nuh-uh! Erh Meh Gerd! Des Tertelley Nert Psykers At All!".

There does seem to be an element of in-universe discrepancy on this: In ''Thousand Sons'' Ohthere Wyrdmake and [[Leman Russ]] say repeatedly that the Rune Priests did not use the power of the warp, even while accusing the [[Thousand Sons]] of corruption at the [[Council of Nikaea]]. However, in ''Prospero Burns'' Helwintr and Russ don't even mention this bullshit. The Space Wolves are not the savage ignoramuses that they want everyone to believe they are and seem to have a perfect grasp of the situation and can clearly differentiate between psyker and sorcerer, which is conveniently compatible with what will happen after the heresy. But the Thousands Sons seem to fall for it, so in their eyes, that fact that the Wolves would utter this kind of stupid nonsense is somewhat believable.

None of which changes the fact the Space Wolves have either deluded themselves or are lying to everyone else about where their own psychic powers come from, making them either idiots or hypocrites respectively. Also, if you think about it, their excuse for their hostility makes it even more hypocritical: they're just enjoying doing what they've always did and glorifying their burning of Prospero by pasting a lame ''"It's not personal, it's because you 'hindered' the Emperor, no wait, that still sounds too tepid... I'm just going to assume YOU BETRAYED THE EMPRAH WITH FULL MALICIOUS INTENT LIKE THE OTHER TRAITOR LEGIONS!"''.

The discrepancy between the depictions of "ignorant savage" vs "lying hypocrite" is addressed somewhat in ''Wolfsblade''. The Rune Priest traditions were descended from the shamanistic rituals of Fenris's native tribes, and have remained unchanged for countless centuries. Russ continues claiming that his Rune Seers do not draw on the warp; that they ''(and the Stormseers of the [[White Scars]])'' use "older traditions" which shield themselves from corruption from the warp by limiting the power they can draw from it directly; they acknowledge both the power of Fenris and the Warp side-by-side, essentially making their culture a lens through which the Warp can be viewed ''comparatively'' safely.

Russ even takes a jaunt into the '''Underverse''' ''(essentially a sanitised version of the Warp)'' to entreat with the [[Daemon|Wights]] to provide a means for wounding [[Horus]], which Russ succeeded in because he understood and respected the symbolism of the realm. One might say that the Underverse is exactly the same as the Warp, but the Underverse comes with rules and conditions to prevent travelers from wandering astray. ''("Drink, but don't eat the [[Meatbread|meat]]" etc)'' Because of this Russ is flat out called a hypocrite by [[Rogal Dorn]] ''(who coincidentally was the only Primarch who still adhered to the Edict of Nikaea at that point)'' who points out that there are no limits on power. Later Russ begins to wonder if he really was a hypocrite and privately resolves to examine his Rune Priests' relationship with the warp on another day. Whether he actually did this or not is anyone's guess.

==Chapter Role==
Rune Priests preserve their Chapter's entire history not in written form, but memorize it in great sagas. A Rune Priest who begins his training as a Skald is usually assigned to a single Great Company where he is taught its tales. With every new Great Year he joins another Company until he has learned the Chapter's full history and can be sent to whichever Rune Priest needs an apprentice.

The basic weapons of the Rune Priests are their psychically charged Runic Weapons. A common power among Rune Priests is the ability to summon storms across the battlefield which can cover the army's advance. Furthermore, they can cast runes which predict the ebb and flow of future events. These runes are usually carved from the bones or teeth of totem animals.

Many Rune Priests are psyber-linked to cyber-ravens, which are known as "Choosers of the Slain" to the Space Wolves. Their link enables them to see through the ravens, eyes and control them, thus allowing them to use them as scouts and messengers.

{{Space Wolves}}

[[Category:Space Wolves]]

Rune Priest

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2001:8003:3800:800:31C8:CA3A:2763:15D2: Undo revision 546195 by Lawrencefox (talk)

Motor Rifle Company

2019-01-11T23:13:33Z

2001:8003:3800:800:31C8:CA3A:2763:15D2: Undo revision 545829 by Catnip212 (talk) Please address me on the talk page before undoing this again.

{{topquote|The Hammer, the Sickle, the AK-47|Ahoy}}

While tanks were the icon of the Warsaw Pact's militaries, it was the infantry that allowed these tanks to lead feared charges into Western Europe. With hordes upon hordes deployed, the Eastern Bloc often combined Soviet doctrine with training and doctrine from World War 2 or even earlier. For example, Poland's militaristic culture combined nicely with Communism while the NVA combined Soviet technology to Wehrmacht doctrine and the German reputation for precision. Regardless of their origins and uniforms, the infantry of the Eastern Bloc lacked the advanced technology that defined NATO forces but made up for it with reliable tools in sheer numbers.

Despite having nearly identical equipment, each faction employs its infantry in different roles thanks to the varying lists and stats.

==Motor Rifle Company==
[[File:Motorrifle Company.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Ivan! Keep up you ''debil''!]]
{{topquote|In the Soviet Army, it takes more courage to retreat than to attack.|Iosef Stalin}}
The base of all Soviet Infantry armed with AK74s for the most part. Additional weapons include PKM light machineguns, RPG-7s and a SA-14 Gremlin AA missile team. The differences in game vary mostly in specializing transport like the VDV with their Hinds and the Hardened veterans of the Afghan wars.

===In Team Yankee===
[[File:Soviet_MRC.jpg|300px|left|thumb|The Stats. Cyka Blyat?]]
The motorstrelki have the most options for a singular unit. In addition to additional weapons, you have a choice of three transports: BMP-2s, BMP-1s and BTR-60s. A good PACT player can be told from a great one from how they build their motorized infantry lists. There is no correct answer; each of these units are competitive and have their own niche. While your infantry company WILL overwhelm a NATO platoon in a head-on fight, they require support to get there. All the infantry bases in the world are next to useless when hit by machine gun fire and artillery without cover: smoke, artillery and pinning the enemy are essential to making your motor-rifles work, and also a key reason why PACT forces are far less beginner friendly than NATO units which can mostly function on their own (but not ideally).

While their PACT brethren may have 4+ skill, orders are not totally essential when commanding a solid wall of men. The key stats that make Soviet infantry so deadly in the game is 3+ morale and 3+ rally which allow them to recover from pinning most of the time. This means less time spent hugging the ground and more time to carry out your plan, whether its repelling attacks from a building or slowly advancing with smoke to cover. 3+ counterattack is nice to have, but not required in most game plans.

They might be expensive, but are more versatile and have easy access to BMP-2s across most formations, unlike their PACT comrades.

===IRL===
[[File:Soveit BMP & Infantry.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Ignore the dust comrade! It will only make you stronker!]]
Soviet Motor Rifle infantry, known as Motostrelki, were the bread and butter of the Soviet Armed Forces since the reformation of the Red Army into the Soviet Armed Forces in 1946. As the name implies Motorstrelki, or MR as they're abbreviated to, were all motorized infantry who were to act as the main Soviet force in any conventional or unconventional conflict. Their job would to act tactically as motorized infantry, and on what the Soviets dubbed the 'operational' level, a level of warfare between the strategic and tactical levels, help in the exploitation, reinforcement, and line holding duties, alongside supplementing tank units, their all motorized nature allowing them to keep up with the extremely high tempo warfare they had planned on.

Their use in battle was to dismount from their BMP, BTR, and MT-LB vehicles at a few hundred meters from their targets, and advance with their attached tanks at roughly equal pace which should, at least in theory, allow for infantry to keep pace with the tanks, allowing the tanks to cover the infantry, and vice versa with targets being pointed out to the tanks through the use of tracers the Motostrelki are given.
{{clear}}

==Mot-Schützen Kompanie==
[[File:Mot-Schützen Kompanie.jpg|300px|right|thumb|"Franz...are we the baddies, again?"]]
The ''Nationale Volksarmee'' was regarded as the best trained of the Warsaw Pact client states, including both their NCOs and officers who were considered to be a cut above their less motivated allies. Constructed on a base of communist die-hards and reformed ex-Wehrmacht veterans the ''NVA'' combined the traditions of a German Army with battle-tested Soviet doctrine. Armed with their older MPi KM (AKM) rifles, the Mot-Schützen lack the added firepower of the under-barrel grenade launcher of their Soviet comrades (reflected in the stats), though they were known for a greater usage of RPKs in the SAW role (not reflected in the stats).

===In Team Yankee===
[[File:Mot-Schützen_Kompanie_Card.jpg|300px|left|thumb|The Stat Card...]]
[[File:TV113.jpg|300px|right|thumb|and the heavy weapons. Achtung!]]
Like any PACT army, the East Germans have a tendency towards hordes of men and machines, and the Mot-Schützen Kompanie is no different. They are functionally identical to Soviet motorized rifles with identical point costs. However, they gain 4+ skill and drop to 4+ rally: expect them to pass orders most of the time, but they are more vulnerable to being pinned. Experienced players will realize the importance of 3+ rally when their infantry choose to stay pinned instead of moving forward, which is the main issue stopping the East Germans from being strictly better Soviets. Motorschützen also lack 5+ firepower on their assault rifles. Take note of this when planning attacks on entrenched or garrisoned infantry.

The two fundamental parts of your unit are the AKM Teams and your RPG-7 teams, but added weapon teams make this unit more interesting. For 1 point each, you can take an AGS-17 grenade launcher team, up to two Spigot ATGM teams and/or one Gremlin MANPAD team. Considering that you can take smaller infantry companies to bring more heavy weapons to the field, certain units may become redundant. For example, 3-4 companies of Mot-Schützen with Gremlin MANPADs could fill your anti-air role in games with point values below 30. Spigots are not purchasable for BMP mounted troops, as your transports are already capable of firing missiles.

Points cost for the motorschutzen are identical to Soviet motor rifles, including the cost of transports.
{{clear}}

===IRL===
[[File:Mot-Schützen_Kompanie_BTR.jpg|300px|right|thumb|East German tourists, posing for a picture near the border.]]
One of the smaller armies of the Warsaw Pact the NVA maintained a high level of readiness like their Soviet comrades in the GSFG garrison, ready to mobilize for war within hours, and remember Berlin was split right in half with western armed forces behind the border in east German territory. If war started the first order of business was wiping those troops off the map as-fast-as-possible so they don't cause trouble. In the event of war, the NVA was to be placed directly into the 5 Soviet Armies of the GSFG, as opposed to their larger allies Poland and Czechoslovakia who would have their own Army-sized units.

You might be wondering why the East Germans have their own infantry models while the other to PACT nations have to make do with painting soviet infantry in different colors. When the National Volksarmee was formed in the late 1950s, they desperately wanted to prevent their soldiers from looking like Red Army clones, as the atrocities committed against the German people in the closing days of the war by the soviets were still very much in the public consciousness. In an effort to minimize obvious red army influences, many Wehrmacht traditions were transplanted directly into the Volksarmee, such as goose stepping on parade, and peacetime uniforms were almost a direct copy of the ones worn by their fathers, just with communist iconography rather than fascist ones. Their signature helmet was actually a wartime design, trailed in 1943 but never put into service due to the fact that helmet factories would have to have been retooled (it was thought that the West Germans would keep using the stalhelm, so to prevent friendly fire they needed something different).

The Volksarmee was so proud of its direct lineage from the Wehrmacht, that they often accused their western counterpart of "selling out" to the west in general and the Americans in particular, as the Bundeswehr had gone to great lengths to distance itself from the past by adopting American gear like the M1 helmet and by removing almost all of the past Nazi traditons.
{{clear}}

==Zmotory Kompania==

===In Team Yankee===
[[File:Slide1.JPG|300px|thumb|left|Polish Stats, towarzysz!]]

The motorized rifle company (zmotoryzowana kompania piechoty) have a very weird place in the Pact forces as having the best statline for frontline troops: resistant to morale shock and pinning but paying for it in points and weak equipment. Notably, your rifle teams don't have RPG-18s. All anti-tank duties are delegated to your RPG-7 teams, which may or may not be very significant depending on whether you expect your infantry to serve as all-rounders or to fight other infantry for the most part. They do have 4+ skill, which means you should be using orders whenever possible.

As with other PACT forces, try not to have these teams in close combat. You may have plenty of bases, but 5+ assault means you will only land one hit per three teams.

Polish motorized rifles (BTR/OT-64s) may purchase the following heavy weapon teams: 2 Spigot ATGM teams for 2 points each, and an SA-7 Strela team for one point.

Mechanized rifles (BMP-1s/BMP-2s) may purchase only a single SA-7 team, with the BMP-1 mounted team costing 1 point and the BMP-2 mounted team costing 2 points. Companies above the smallest size get 2 PKM LMG teams though, which offer a very solid base of fire that can pin a NATO platoon or shred through [https://www.callofduty.com/ca/en/| doughboys in the open].

Without mass BMP-2s, Polish players are forced to rely on the BMP-1: a decent vehicle, but lacking the AT21 ATGMs that make the BMP-2 so strong. The cost discounts of NVA and Czech riflemen balance this out, something your Poles do NOT get.

However, they do have the best statline second to the VDV if you want your infantry to push forward or just to bog the enemy down without becoming pinned. With 4+ skill and orders, you will have an easier time giving orders to blitz or dig-in and have the required stats to minimize the chances that they will panic and go to ground when hammered by artillery or machinegun fire. 5+ FP means that they excel in close-range firefights against enemy infantry...once you get close enough of course. Use smoke, artillery and cunning plans to ensure that these men can get close and do their job.

A key point with Polish units is that with BMP-1 and BMP-2 mounted infantry, you are paying premium points for the combination of elite infantry and 4+ BMPs with ATGMs. In fact, the maxed out BMP platoons cost 5 points more than their Soviet counterparts. For once you will probably outnumber the enemy 3 to 2 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epeQwq-aYV0 instead of the usual 1-40 that your Poles are used to].

Mediocre with BMPs, excellent with BTRs/OTs.

===IRL===
[[File:PolishFlavour1TeamYankee.jpeg|300px|right|thumb|Onwards, when no-one else will!]]
{{clear}}

==Motorizovaná Pěchota==

===In Team Yankee===
[[File:Slide7.JPG|300px|thumb|left|Onwards, when no one is left!]]

[[File:Slide4.JPG|300px|thumb|right|We are 'eavy weapons guys]]

The Motorizovaná Pěchota společnost (motorized infantry company) of the Czechs represent the cheapest infantry one can buy in Team Yankee and interestingly, are the only ones presented as a true conscript force with unmotivated, underequipped soldiers who would rather be getting pissed in babushka's basement than being shot at by strange men shooting at them with big black cannons.

Unlike their Pact brethren, Czech infantry are atrocious on the offensive. Like the East Germans they have 4+ skill to make use of cover, but their 5+ rally stat mean that once pinned by artillery or machine gun fire, they are going to stay there for 3 turns statistically speaking.

In a firefight, the Czechs are rather mediocre. With their Vz.58 rifles having an 8" range, FP6, and pinned ROF 1, they are incredibly unlikely to actually do any damage once suppressed by artillery or gunfire. They may have the numbers, but they don't have the guts to actually fire back at the enemy or close in where their ROF3 Vz.58s can do their work. If you don't run minimum sized companies the Vz.59 LMG team(s) can try to get a few shots off, but you only get one or two depending on your transport choice.

On the attack, a pinned company is a dead company that will fall to machine gun fire, rockets and almost anything that the enemy has to offer. On the defensive? This is where things start to change....

It may seem the Czechs have THE most worthless infantry in the game, which is false thanks to one redeeming factor: cost. While your infantry won't make their points back against all but the worst opponents, infantry in Team Yankee are still the toughest units to dislodge when <s>hiding in</s> taking bulletproof cover. And with skill 4+ you stand a decent chance of digging in. Taken as a single allied company, your conscript horde will HOLD the objective. Any player who has tried to repel dug-in British infantry will give horror stories of these troops gunning down all who tried to get close, before tearing through their men with 3+ assault. NATO players can look forward to sharing their own story, where an objective was protected by 7-21 bases of dug-in infantry. Your dug in infantry company can literally outlast your opponents, having enough bodies that it becomes a mathematical impossibility to capture objectives unless all firepower is focused on killing the defending company. The body-blocking tactics are a possibility with Czech players thanks to their discounts.

You can pay 1 or 2 points for a single stand of AGS-17 grenade launchers and/or SA-7 AA missiles per company with a transport for each team, with the BMP-2 mounted teams costing more. OT-64 mounted infantry also have the option of taking up to 2 stands of AT-4 ATGM for 2 points per team and transport. If you are attacking then these are just extra points for a single stand that will probably spend most of the game moving or pinned down. On the defense the AT-4 ATGM teams, while pretty mediocre, at least mean the enemy can't ignore the company until it is convenient for him to close in, but taking them nullifies any points you saved by not bringing BMPs. Take any points you were considering investing in the AGS-17 and/or SA-7 teams and just bring [[ZSU 23-4 Shilka|Shilkas]]

With BTR-60 and OT-64 mounted infantry you can purchase a 4 point company with 4 rifle teams and 3 RPG teams mounted in 4 vehicles, an 8 point company with 7 rifle teams, 6 RPG teams and 1 LMG team with 8 vehicles, or 13 points gets you 10 rifle teams, 9 RPG teams and 1 LMG team with 11 vehicles. The BTR-60 is slightly less likely to get stuck in terrain, where the OT-64 is can dash a few inches more.

BMP-1 mounted infantry can get a 5 point company with 4 rifle teams and 3 RPG teams mounted in 4 BMP-1s, a 10 point company with 7 rifle teams 6 RPG teams and 2 LMG teams mounted in 9 BMP-1s, or a 12 point company with 10 rifle teams 9 RPG teams and 2 LMG teams mounted in 12 BMP-1s.

BMP-2 mounted infantry can get a 7 point company with 4 rifle teams and 3 RPG teams mounted in 4 BMP-2s, a 13 point company with 7 rifle teams 6 RPG teams and 2 LMG teams teams mounted in 9 BMP-2s, or an 18 point company with 10 rifle teams 9 RPG teams and 2 LMG teams mounted in 12 BMP-2s.

===IRL===
[[File:CzechFlavour1TeamYankee.jpeg|300px|right|thumb|KSC men looking badass, proper firing posture not included.]]
{{clear}}

{{Soviet Forces in Team Yankee}}
{{East German Forces in Team Yankee}}
{{Polish Forces in Team Yankee}}
{{Czech Forces in Team Yankee}}

[[Category:Team Yankee]]

Imperial Navy

2019-01-11T19:43:08Z

2001:8003:3800:800:31C8:CA3A:2763:15D2: /* Frigates */

[[File:imperialnavy1.jpg|400px|thumb||Cathedrals IN SPEHSS!]]

{{Topquote|When you began, you couldn’t have possessed enough bones for the whole ship. It would look stupid with a few dozen skeletons nailed to the walls. So, how do you start? Do you save up enough bodies for a corridor at a time, or put them away until you have enough to decorate the entire vessel?’|Jain Zar,-Storm of Silence}}

The '''Imperial Navy''' is one of the main branches of the [[Imperium of Man|Imperial]] military in [[Warhammer 40,000]] (although very little of the Navy actually appears in the tabletop game). They are also one of the main factions in the beloved spin-off game [[Battlefleet Gothic]].

Unlike the [[Imperial Guard]], who get killed in the <s>thousands</s> <s>millions</s> billions every day, the Imperial Navy rarely suffers that many casualties. This is because, unlike the [[lasgun|flashlight]] used by Guardsmen, the main weapon of the Navy is a giant, heavily-armed, heavily-armored battleship that puts other races' spaceships to shame (well, except [[Necrons]]). These ships are also [[Awesome|massive, flying, Gothic cathedrals]].

Depending on how you look at it (and who you're looking at), the officers of the Navy are either wealthy cowards or badass gentlemen. In either case, their ships have crews numbering the hundreds of thousands or even millions (we're not kidding when we say that each ship has its own language(s) and culture(s)), since the Imperial Navy doesn't understand how auto-loaders work, so loading a gun requires thousands of slaves running on treadmills. Of course, this might be the fault of [[Adeptus Mechanicus|a certain other branch of the Imperium, who, coincidentally, ''do'' have working auto-loaders on their ships]]. In any case, [[Grimdark|the Imperium has found it cheaper and ''more effective'' to use manpower because they have ''that many people'' to throw at even the tiniest of problems.]] Of course, for a major officer, most days simply require him to press a button and blow something up, then go back to drinking his tea. Oh, and ''maybe'' scramble the ground-support flyers, if he's feeling charitable that day.

Note that, back in the [[Great Crusade]], the Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy were one and the same, operating under the far-less-badass name of "Imperial Army." However, thanks to the [[Horus Heresy]], the two got split up, so that a single military commander couldn't control too many forces; a Guard commander isn't able to get off any given planet without the Navy, and the Navy isn't able to conduct wars (and, you know, occupy territory) without the Guard. ([[troll|And neither can do their job without the Adeptus Munitorum giving them fuel and ammo.]] Thanks, [[Roboute Guilliman|Bobby!]]) You'd think that this enforced mutual co-dependence would make them collaborate, but [[grimdark|of course]], despite how much they need each other, the two bicker constantly, which, in fact, may be the reason for all the [[fail|stupidity]] the 40k universe is saddled with.

==Types of Ships==
The Imperial Navy has four types of ships they hide their cowardly asses in. The main ships are battleships, cruisers, escorts, and fighters

===Battleship===
Supposedly rare, but every Grand Marshal and High Admiral has at least one and often several or even dozens to hide in because GW is completely and hopelessly inconsistent with fleet sizes, though as of late it seems that GW is leaning towards big fleets and big armies when it gives numbers. Bonus points if that coward is also Chaos. The biggest heaviest hitters available, these things are like actual medieval cathedrals in that the grandchildren of the workers who start building them get to live to see their completion. Fuckheug, lots (and lots, and lots) of guns and most can deploy fighters and bombers.
*'''Ordnance-boats:'''
**'''Retribution:''' Packing all gun batteries, the ship can devastate an entire continent in one broadside, but for some reason cannot destroy a hive city or fort with [[void shields]] - [[What|or in some cases, ones without any shields at all]]; either that or GW was just pulling another [[Derp|Michael Bay]] out of their asses again since, they have no idea how [[Herp|consistency works, let alone basic physics.]] Of course, considering the Dark Angels fortress-monastery and the huge chunk of land surrounding it survived the bombardment which turned Caliban into a bunch of space dust, it is perfectly reasonable that something that merely glasses half a continent would not destroy a void shielded city or other major fortification. If anything, this provides a degree of insight into why land battles in 40k are so massive in the first place. Because orbital artillery doesn't have many targets of opportunity it is actually capable of exploiting.
**'''Invincible:''' An interesting class, dubbed a 'fast battleship', these were designed to chase down xenos and chaos raiders, and then use them to make the vast, empty tracts of space more interesting by filling it with their enemies' debris fields. This type of battleship combines the firepower of a ''Retribution'' with the speed of a ''Dauntless''. The problem with this is the general incompetence of Imperial tacticians. It looks exactly like a ''Retribution'' and has the guns to match, so it must be one, right? NO. They excelled at the role they were designed for, but throw them into gunfights against dedicated battleships, and these things tended to come apart easier than wet cardboard, earning them the nickname 'Kisher's Kombustibles' and the scorn of many admirals. Admirals who ignored the fact that the reports detailing the introduction of the ship and how to best use it (it's tactics also included in the Tactica Imperialis) explicitly state not to use it on a gun-line and that it is for fast-ship interdiction. The ship's Commissars must be particularly incompetent to let this slide as in the Guard the generals would be executed quickly for such incompetence. Of course, these are also the Commissars who do nothing when troop transports' escorts frequently run off to fight while the transports lose a significant percentage of their ships. Perhaps if they would actually enforce their orders to stay with the transports, the Imperium would have won most of the campaigns it has lost. Given that they still often win even with a fraction of their beginning ground forces actually managing to make landfall. [[Grimdark|Because they have THAT many men to throw at the enemy.]]
***Much like the Chalice-class of Battlecruisers, the Invincibles are a big reference to the real life Battlecruisers of World War 1, especially with the term "Kisher's Kombustibles" (real life Battlecruisers were referred to as "Fisher's Combustibles") and the fact that three blew up in a single battle (referencing Jutland).
*'''Lance-boat:'''
**'''Apocalypse:''' One of the oldest ship designs (predating the ''Retribution'', which is also one of the oldest ship designs), this ship packs a lot of [[lances]] and a [[Nova Cannon]]. Good for taking out lots of smaller sized ships with massed lance fire. It's also described in fluff as being able to cripple anything up to a cruiser with a single, concentrated broadside. They're fairly rare, since the Imperium doesn't know how to build them anymore, and the ones still operating are so old, their weapons systems have degraded permanently, forcing them to fire their lances at only a fraction of their full power. Shares all the disadvantages of a ''Gothic''-class cruiser.
***Despite the fluff stating that the Apocalypse and Oberon classes are unique in that they lack figure-heads, the artwork and [[Crunch|models]] [[Derp|give them one anyway.]]
**'''Victory:''' Possibly an attempt to recreate the ''Apocalypse'' class, the ''Victory'' is basically a ''Retribution'' with a bunch of lances replacing its broadside cannons, and a Nova Cannon instead of torpedoes. Has the range that fluff states the ''Apocalypses'' once had, but lacks the same level of firepower. Effective at sniping, and hilarious when used against escort heavy fleets.
**'''Desolator:''' A ridiculously old design. Designed to emphasize range and carries Torpedos, Broadside Lances and Dorsal Macrobatteries. Like most keel-built ships, the Desolators ended up mothballed or went traitor.
*'''Carrier:'''
**'''Emperor:''' The "standard" battleship of the 40k 'verse, the ship has multiple fighter decks and weapons batteries. Unfortunately, most commanders like to use this ship as a hideout, causing the lack of sufficient air support in the ground wars even though the Navy's atmospheric aircraft are completely different from its much bigger space based strike craft. Tabletop-wise, its status as the official battleship of Battlefleet Gothic doesn't stop it from losing carrier duels against the Chaos equivalent.
***Ironically, the idea of the Emperor being the standard battleship conflicts with the fluff about the Navy hating Carriers. Go figure.
**'''Nemesis:''' The super-carrier of the Imperial Navy. It has SIX flight decks (the size of towns or small cities, each), more than any other ship in the galaxy. But because of Rule of Cool, it is incredibly rare since the Navy captains prefer to get up close broadside their enemies, or actually rather because all of the ships in this class were just ships modified from Emperor class ships in one particular war, because they were damaged or otherwise. Naturally, the Navy never considers making them based on the Invincible instead (the Invincible was mass-produced).
**'''Desecrator:''' The carrier variant of the Despoiler. Replaces half the Broadside Lances with Landing Bays. Shared the same fate as its sister class and is now only seen in Chaos fleets. Traitorous despite its clearly pious and Emperor-loving name.
**'''Despoiler:''' Oh boy, where do we start? The Despoiler-class came about after the cogboys discovered plans for a carrier on Barbarus. The catch? Well, Barbarus is the former homeworld of the [[Death Guard]], and the plans were for the same class of ship that the [[Terminus Est]] is a part of. Showing a complete lack of common sense, the Imperial Navy decided to build ships of this class, only for them all to go traitor due to the class's inherent [[Gellar Field]] flaws. [[Fail|Oops]]. The Despoilers at first don't appear to be that unique, as they have Dorsal Lances and Broadside Landing Bays and Weapons Batteries. Their difference is that, like the Terminus Est, they managed to have a Prow Landing Bay as well.
***Despite being a new class, GW fucked up their fluff and had [[Rogal Dorn]] disappear aboard a Despoiler, [[What|5000 years before the class was created]]. Note this class was actually already named "Despoiler-class" by the Imperium. Yet, they were ''surprised'' the things went traitor. Wow. Also, after fixing the Gellar Field problem, the Imperium still decided not to build more, which was stupid since there was no longer a reason not to. I get not wanting to chance it, but beggars can't be choosers.
*'''Aircraft:''' As part of the reforms falling the Horus Heresy the Imperial army was not just split into regiments to insure that no one imperial army could be self sufficient if it fell to heresy or rebellion, the army was also split from it's air power which was given to the Imperial navy. Strictly speaking all atmospheric aircraft are also part of the Imperial Navy, with only [[Phantine Air Corps| few general exceptions]].
*'''Other:'''
**'''Gloriana:''' Massive, terrifying and capable of decimating entire fleets on their own, these were the personal flagships of the Primarchs during the Great Crusade. Very few, if any, are still around in the Imperium in M41, though a few such as Horus's flagship ''Vengeful Spirit'' are still tooling around inside the Eye of Terror. Because they were dickheads, the [[Alpha Legion]] had two, creatively named the ''Alpha'' and the ''Beta''. Interestingly, the Ultramarines have one, the ''Macragge's Honour'', but didn't [[derp|fucking]] use it, the whole fucking time until [[Roboute Guilliman]] returned. It shows up again in ''Dark Imperium,'' with the Smurfs having stolen it back from the Red Corsairs, which at least is fucking funny even if it makes no sense. The Imperial Fist had the ''Eternal Crusader'', but it was never their flagship since the [[Phalanx]] is so much better, so [[Rogal Dorn]] gave it to the [[Black Templars]] in the [[Second Founding]]. The Emperor is known to have had at least one, called the ''Bucephalus'', which he ditched after upgrading to an enormous golden space palace called ''Imperator Somnium''. Wait, did Emps just see the Phalanx and decide to build his own bigger better version?! [[Eldrad|DICK]]
**'''Oberon:''' The mixed-breed bastard of the Imperial Navy. It has [[lances]], fighter bays, and weapon batteries. Its a powerful ship... <s>when fighting foes half its size</s> "Newer" fluff says the Oberon is rare, but a complete success in making a ship capable of killing anything it comes across, alone. Unfortunately, fluff also says a ridiculously low number of these (apparently) powerful ships were made (like, 3 or so). Then again: only four Iowa class battleships ships were built (technically 6, but 2 were scrapped before completion), and we know HOW to build them. It makes sense in a way. Attack craft can cripple an enemy's main weapons and engines and likely ultimately damage the power transfer from generators to void shields. Combined with macro-batteries hammering away and the enemy's weakened ability to maintain its shields would cause them to drop much quicker than usual. Then the city-sized lance-batteries rip the enemy in half. If used against enemy escorts to support attacks on large enemy ships like battleships and grandcruisers, this would work extremely well to the point an Oberon would likely become a priority target for enemy ships.

===Grand Cruiser===
Only slightly weaker and less powerful than Battleships, Grand Cruisers were the Battlecruisers of the ancient Imperium (modern Battlecruisers are simply outclassed by these venerable vessels). Nowadays most of them run on archeotech that is barely understood and hard to repair with current Imperial knowledge. These grand ships are often used as flagships in lieu of extremely rare Battleships. Basically, they are the quintessential Battlecruisers; tougher and deadlier than Cruisers and yet more mobile than Battleships.
*'''Basic'''
**'''Vengeance/Furious:''' The granddaddy of "modern" Imperial warships. The ''Vengeance'' was the winner of a GW-sponsored ship design contest, and was originally known as the ''Furious''. Highlights include heavy shielding and armour (though lacking the prow armour of later designs), as well as both lances and long range weapons batteries, making this the sniper of the Imperium's Grand Cruisers.
**'''Repulsive:''' Originally named the Corinatus Class, before being renamed after many fell to Chaos by an overly literal Mechanicum designation. Whilst the Repulsive Grand Cruisers are exceedingly maneuverable heavy warships (and therefore exceedingly useful because they can fill a hole in the Imperial tactical lineup), they are considered a cursed class due to the majority of them falling to chaos, [[Fail|which unfortunately was the result of experimental warp drives which occasionally interfered with the Gellar Field (OMGWTFBBQTIME)]]. Only the Emperor knows what kind of complete moron would deploy ships equipped with that. The ones that remain in Imperial control are kept mothballed in reserve fleets and segmentum fortresses (imagine giant glass boxes with 'In Case of Emergency, Break Glass' signs). It doesn't say anything about their warp drives being swapped out for something that isn't shitty or perhaps a completed and no longer experimental version of their own.
*'''Ordnance-boat:'''
**'''Avenger:''' The short range brawler of the Imperium's Grand Cruisers, it's a ''Vengeance'' with only macrobatteries (kilometres of Macrobattery broadsides). Intended to break the line of battle like Nelson's ships at Trafalgar, while suffering from the lack of an armored prow. Unfortunately line-breaking is quite a dangerous role for any ship, even a Grand Cruiser that excels at doing it, and so not many exist in the 41st Millennium. Those that have survived are known for being exceedingly reliable and faithful; it takes a lot of damage or mistreatment to cause these noble vessels to give trouble. If you spoke with members of the Imperium (both members of the public and the navy), this is the vessel they would think of if you asked them about Grand Cruisers. Now, if only the Imperium realized a slower but more heavily armored and shielded ship would fare better in its role.
*'''Lance-boat:'''
**'''Executor:''' The sniper of the Vengeances, the Executor replaces its Broadside Macrobatteries with even more Lances. Unfortunately, the last remaining Imperial Executors decided to act retarded and chase a fleet into the Eye of Terror, meaning that all of the ships are chaos aligned now.
*'''Carrier:'''
**'''Exorcist:''' A ''Vengeance'' that has carrier bays in place of lances. Useful in providing carrier support to any Imperial fleet. As a bonus, being Grand Cuisers mean they can outrun anything except battleships to save their vulnerable carrier self while their attack craft are away. Originally designed for extended operations alone on the Frontiers of Imperial Space, either on Patrol or by exploring into the unknown, the Exorcist developed quite a reputation for 'boldly going where no man has gone before'. Whilst not many remain in Imperial Service due to maintenance difficulties, they still find use in the hands of Rogue Traders who need vessels capable of long cruises and of defending themselves against anything they might encounter. So much for maintenance difficulties.
**'''Retaliator:''' A mix of a Repulsive and a Vengeance, but as a Carrier. Has Lances, Launch Bays and Macrobatteries on its Broadsides. Unfortunately, it has the Repulsive's tendency to go traitor.

===Battlecruiser===
What do you do when you forget how to maintain an entire category of heavy warships? You build a new bunch of heavy warships, with simpler technology.

Battlecruisers are basically upgunned cruisers, with more weapons (usually adding dorsal weapons and some armor), and are intended to fill the gap between true battleships, which are rare, and normal cruisers, which tend to die really easily to the ancient Chaos cruisers and grand cruisers. Battle cruisers were tried in real life as some way to combine battleship firepower or armor and cruiser speed. They did not always work, and much like reality these things have their share of problems. Chaos operates their own versions known as Heavy Cruisers.
*'''Basic:'''
**'''Armageddon Battlecruiser:''' An upgraded variant of the Lunar Class Cruiser (YAY! ANOTHER ONE!). A rather new innovation, the Armageddon class is basically made up from recovered Lunar Class Hulks that have been extensively repaired and then retrofitted with more armour and more weapons. The base hull was never designed to cope with all this extra equipment (and the extra crew to man said equipment) and so it has problems operating independently for long periods of time. This isn’t really a problem, though, since they wouldn’t be operating away from a fleet anyway. Though reinforcing its frame to handle the added mass would be a smart thing to do to save immensely in future maintenace costs over the centuries. Battlefleets won't say no to them because more guns = better!
**'''Hellfire Heavy Cruiser:''' An upgunned Murder-class. Has the same issues as the Armageddon, slow as fuck and has power and supply issues. [[What|Also, lacks Void Shields]]. Most mutinied and joined Chaos, which decided to use them for some reason.
*'''Ordnance-boat:'''
**'''Overlord Battlecruiser:''' The Classic Imperial Battlecruiser. Using the standard Imperial doctrine of - Macrobatteries, Lances and Torpedoes, the Overlord has become the most effective Battlecruiser simply because it really complements standard Imperial Navy Tactics. As an added bonus, its simplicity of design makes it easier to produce and one can be built within a decade. The only negative (if you can call it a negative), is that it's not really useful for anything except war.
**'''Chalice Battlecruiser:''' A fast heavy cruiser. Unique to the Calixis sector and an exceedingly new design, the Chalice was conceived as a Battlecruiser that could either out-run or out-manoeuvre anything it can't kill. Which means it was conceived to be a plain ‘ol normal battlecruiser. Whilst good in theory, unfortunately, speed came at the cost of armour and durability and so whilst these vessels punch hard, they can't take as many hits as other cruisers. In addition, it carries an experimental plasma drive layout, which while boosting power efficiency, also makes it rather vulnerable to lighting up like a roman candle. Imperial Propaganda is currently trying to cover up their failings and is lauding them as the Poster-ships of the Calixis Sector and therefore a lot of people think they're the 'Best Battlecruisers Eva!'. If they would just use a normal plasma drive and make the whole ship bigger, it would be fast enough, armored enough, and even better armed. Unfortunately, not being stupid is heresy in Calixis.
***The idea of a ship that can "either out-run or out-manoeuvre anything it can't kill" that turns out to be really poor at taking hits was the original design of real life Battlecruisers, which although being up-gunned Cruisers (which are the equivalent of Frigates IRL, not Ships of the Line), were used as discount Battleships at Jutland were they turned out to lack the armour required for a proper fight. Thus, if the Imperials were smart, they would be using the Chalice as a commerce raider, not a ship of the line.
**'''Long Serpent Battlecruiser:''' A true success story, this is what the ''Chalice'' wishes it was. Taking a battlecruiser's armour and firepower, and giving it the engine suite of a battleship, this thing can kick the shit out of anything short of a grand cruiser or battleship, while being able to keep up with raiders. It's only real flaw is that when one is taken out, it has a better than average chance of rupturing its warp drive. As a result, the names of ''Long Serpents'' that have been destroyed are usually accompanied by those of allied ships that were too close. Which is somewhat odd since the reasoning is that the Long Serpent also has a battleship's warp core (who knows why, it isn't big enough to need it). Given the small difference in size between this ship and other "normal" cruisers which are the mainstays of the fleet, the Imperium could just choose to use a smaller warp core suitable for this ship's size and focus on mass-producing the Long Serpent to replace basically every other class of ship except battleships , Cobras, and carriers. Fewer would be made but, unlike video games, swarming a capital ship with escorts does not work at all. The escorts are slaughtered and the capital ship like this one is left unharmed. But doing this would require common sense, which is [[Heresy]]. Like properly using the Invincible-class must be.
**'''Mercury Battlecruiser:''' Another fast Battlecruiser. It's a cruiser with a Battleships's engines. Nothing more.
**'''Hades Heavy Cruiser:''' A long-ranged brawler. Carries Broadside Macrobatteries and Dorsal and Prow Lances. Got phased out like most keel-built designs, but Chaos still uses them.
*'''Lance-boats:'''
**'''Acheron Heavy Cruiser:''' Designed to test new Lances and Macrobatteries. The Imperials only built one, which went traitor. Carries Broadside and Dorsal Lances with Prow Macrobatteries.
*'''Carriers:'''
**'''Mars Battlecruiser:''' In a word - Mediocre. Some Imperials say it's versatile due to its diverse weapons loadout but in reality it makes it an awkward duckling to use. The Nova Cannon and Launch bays would be good on a ship holding back and harassing enemies at range and yet it has Macrobatteries and Lances which are great for brawling. So if you sit back and harass or go in and brawl, you're wasting half your ship. The Imperial Navy never really got on with it either and so it has gone out of production on most Forge-Worlds. Which is a shame because if they would replace the macrobatteries and lances with larger, long-range lances, and a great number of small, short range weapons batteries for fighter support and self-defense respectively, this would be a great ship in any fleet. It's nova cannon clears a hole in the enemy escort screen, the attack craft rush through to wreck the weapons and engines of light capital ships while long-range lances assist other Imperial ships in slaughtering targets of opportunity. The destroyed enemy light capital ships leaves all the other big ships vulnerable to mass, concentrated torpedo attack from friendly ships. Attack craft return to the fight to tear up the no-doubt seriously damaged enemy big ships and lances win the day. Then just send in friendly light capital ships with attack craft support to finish off the surviving escorts. That would almost make this ship into a sort of miniature "I Win" button. Almost. Especially in a squadron of two, as they could assist each other against any opponents that slip through to them with their combined, close-range firepower, lances, and whatever attack craft they kept back for defense ripping the enemy weapons and engines apart to let the close-range macrobatteries have fun.
**'''Dominion Battlecruiser:''' Basically a fixed Mars, some tech priest got it in their head that, maybe, it'd make more sense to replace the Macrobatteries with Lance Batteries instead, making it a dedicated support ship, harrassing enemy ships at range whilst the big guns go out and fight. Apparently not that successful, a number were used at the Battle for Maccrage (Of course the fucking Smurfs get them) against the tyranids, though apparently they all got fucked up and have been in drydock since, which is why up until now no-one's seen them.
**'''Styx Heavy Cruiser:''' A pure carrier. Has Broadside Launch Bays, Dorsal Lances and and Prow Macrobatteries. For some reason the Imperial phased it out for the Mars, so only Chaos uses them now.
**'''Hecate Heavy Cruiser:''' An attempt to replace the Styx. Swaps out some of the Launch Bays for Macrobatteries. Believed to have an inherent design flaw that made them go traitor, so they were decommissioned.

===Cruiser===
Cruisers are the bread and butter of the Imperial Navy. Much larger than escorts and light cruisers, but less rare than battleships, cruisers are what the Imperial Navy (and Chaos and Xenos) use to fight their campaigns across the stars. Thus far, all Imperial Cruisers have been shown to utilize the same hull-type: a squat armored prow in front, capable of mounting a prow-mounted weapon system, and a big bunch of engines in the back, with baroque and Gothic architecture in-between. Most cruisers can effectively be placed in four categories:
*'''Basic:''' The Jack of All Trades cruiser. Carries both Broadside Lances and Macrobatteries.
**'''Lunar:''' The Lunar. You've heard so much about it and now you want to know what it makes it the standard Imperial Cruiser. First of all, it's one of the oldest designs still in use by the Imperium and is so easy to build that even less advanced worlds can produce them. They're quite versatile due to their weapons loadout (a balanced build of Macrobatteries, Lances and Torpedoes) and make up the backbone of Battlefleets throughout the entire Imperium. This is the cruiser against which all other cruisers are measured.
**'''Emasculator:''' Considered a failure by the Imperium at large, Emasculators have the same basic load-out as the Lunar, but are keel-built, lacking the armored prow and replacing the torpedo tubes with more weapons batteries. This means they require different tactics to a Lunar, using their speed and longer ranged weapons to pound ships from a distance. As this fits with Chaos tactics more than Imperials. most of them ended up as traitors. [[/d/|The name Emasculator is due to them being seen mostly as Slaaneshi ships, their original name is unknown.]]
**'''Slaughter:''' A special type of Cruiser, the Slaughter-class has a more powerful drive called the Scartix Engine Coil, but lacks prow weapons. Armed with short ranged, but powerful lances and macrobatteries, the Slaughter is designed to get in close, blast away and retreat. Unfortunately, the Imperium can't build them anymore because one went traitor and destroyed the plans for the Scartix Coil. It is unknown if they were always called the Slaughter-class or were renamed when most went traitor.
**'''Inferno:''' A earlier counterpart to the Carnage-class, carrying more lances in exchange for some Macrobatteries. Had the same difficulties as the Carnage and was mothballed, though a few went renegade beforehand.
*'''Lance-boat:''' Replaces Macrobatteries with more Lances. Rarer as they have a weakness to Void Shields and require better drives due to the power requirements of the lances.
**'''Gothic:''' Another variant of the Lunar Class, the Gothic is designed as a heavy Lance gunship. Due to the amount of Lance Weaponry it carries, it can easily deal with ships of its own size or larger but often does require an escort or a partner to strip enemy void shields first in order to use its own weaponry to the maximum effect. When supported and used correctly, Gothic Cruisers are the most efficient way to deal with enemy capital ships.
*'''Ordnance-boat:''' Opposite of the Lance-boat, replaces Lances with more Macrobatteries. Usually this is because they need extra power due to mounting a Nova Cannon or having power-hungry macrobatteries such as Plasma Cannons.
**'''Dominator:''' A variant of the Lunar Class, the Dominator is designed primarily for planetary bombardment and assault. Not generally used in fleet actions even though it can provide support with its Nova Cannon when necessary. After one Dominator fucked over a Chaos Cruiser with said Nova Cannon during the Gothic War, the Navy took note and started making more Dominators. [[Awesome|Additionally, another Dominator came close to destroying the Terminus Est (''aka the toughest Battleship in the galaxy''), before being destroyed.]]
**'''Tyrant:''' The Tyrant was originally intended as a stand-off vessel; it would stay at long range and bombard enemies from afar with superfired plasma weaponry. Unfortunately, due to design compromises where it mixed both short range and long range weaponry to save on power, it wasn't really deadly enough at long range to do its job. Therefore the Imperial Navy is trying to replace the short range weapons with ancient Long-range weaponry (that doesn't use a lot of power) recovered from Space Hulks or Renegade Ships. The Hull itself is a rather effective design and so the Tyrant has become very popular with Rogue Traders who generally replace all of the Plasma Weaponry in order to have more power available compared with other cruisers.
**'''Relentless/Carnage:''' Another attempt at a fleet support ship with Plasma weapons, the Relentless ended up with technical difficulties and, when these were overcome, [[Heresy|most ships ended up turning traitor]] [[Fail|(including the lead ship of the class)]]. [[Tzeentch|This is theorised to be due to something wrong with the geometry of the ship's design]], as the Relentless-class is keel built, like most older ships (This also means the Relentless lacks an armored prow and torpedo tubes, carrying more plasma batteries instead). The tendency of these ships to turn to Chaos, along with changing tactics, led to the class being renamed the Carnage-class and mothballed in favor of the Tyrant-class, though their speed means they suit Chaos tactics famously.
*'''Carrier:''' The red-haired stepchild of the Navy. Replaces the Lances with Launch Bays and is disliked by most Admirals due to the stigma against Attack Craft. Chaos likes them more because they can fill the bays with Assault Boats. Some Carriers are also made from wrecked cruisers of other types, in which case damaged broadside weapons are ripped out and replaced by launch bays.
**'''Dictator:''' A Carrier retrofit of extremely damaged Lunar Class Cruisers. If a Lunar class has its lance weaponry destroyed, it's quicker, easier and cheaper to replace those with heavy launch bays for strike craft. This makes it quite versatile and able to deal with virtually all situations and interestingly enough, makes it more effective than the original Lunar Class at everything except fighting as a ship of the line. Unfortunately, the Lunar Class is designed for fighting as a ship of the line, so Admirals dislike Dictators.
**'''Jupiter:''' A kitbashed design, converted from other classes of cruiser that have been heavily damaged in battle. By stripping out all the damaged components and replacing them with launch bays, you get a pretty sturdy carrier. Just don't let the enemy get anywhere near it. Apparently the Imperium doesn't build these normally at all, likely because they are absolutely shit at defending themselves from other Cruisers.
**'''Devastation:''' Deviating from the standard Carrier design, the Devastation-class carries Lances instead of Macrobatteries. Mostly turned traitor or mothballed, as they lack armored prows and torpedos; and are keel-built. Chaos likes them, as they can pack them with mutants and sit back to spam assault boats and lances at anything that looks at them funny.
*'''Other:''' Various other cruiser types exist, but are rarer.
**'''Ambition:''' Custom-made Cruisers for the exceedingly affluent - it's the Rolls Royce of the Cruiser World. Most Rogue Trader ships are second-hand, battle-scarred, tired and worn ex-navy vessels but the Ambition is not. It's the only cruiser class that can be bought brand spanking new by Private parties in the Imperium and each one is unique and built to the customer's specifications. These exclusive ships, whilst still cruisers and deadly in their own right, are stately homes and status symbols. Some durability sacrifices have been made in order to make them the most opulent and luxurious ships on the market but for eccentric people like Rogue Traders, it's generally worth it.
**'''Conquest-Class Star Galleon:''' Built for the very first Rogue Traders on the orders of the Emperor himself, the Star Galleon is an ancient and noble design. Whilst not considered heavily armed by modern standards, they're still formidable opponents and yet as specialist exploration vessels they are able to operate independently for many years and can transport greater quantities than other Cruisers. In effect, it's a cruiser fused with a transport and looks fucking amazing.
**'''Murder:''' The predecessor to the Lunar. Differs by being keel-built, exchanging their torpedos for Lances and having more powerful macrobatteries. The majority that appear in modern 40k are Chaos-aligned, as the Imperials mothballed theirs in favor of the Lunar. A few carried lances as well as Macrobatteries, meaning they don't fit into any category. As with the Slaughter, it is unknown if Murder-class is their original name or they were renamed.

===Light Cruiser===
Smaller than true cruisers, light cruisers are used in two ways. Either you use a fast, maneuverable light cruiser like the Dauntless to add some extra firepower to a scouting squadron or long-range patrol, or you use a pocket cruiser like the Voss light cruisers to add some heavy firepower and armor to a convoy, fleet, or base. The advantage of the light cruisers are that they're cheaper to build and operate than real cruisers. Like the Cruiser, they fit into a few base categories.
*'''Basic:''' Same as its larger sibling, a Jack of All Trades.
**'''Dauntless;''' The standard Light Cruiser of the Imperium; it's a Jack-of-all-Trades. You can't go wrong with the Dauntless even though other Light Cruisers may be better for certain tasks. Considered 'scouting' cruisers, these make up the bulk of Imperial Patrol Squadron leaders.
**'''Defender:''' A convoy escort variant of the Dauntless, with added dorsal weaponry.
**'''Endeavour;''' A 'heavy', Light Cruiser, designed as a stop-gap between the 'lighter' light cruisers and true cruisers. Whilst they can slug it out in a fleet fight, they can easily be overwhelmed because they simply aren't cruisers and don't have the equivalent fire-power or hull integrity. As an added titbit, most of Battlefleet Koronus' patrols consist of an Endeavour and a pair of frigates.
**'''Lathe-class Monitor-Cruiser;''' An Adeptus Mechanicus Light Cruiser designed around deep space exploration and extreme self-reliance. These ships, when properly outfitted, can operate for decades without returning to imperial space for resupply. These would make up the bulk of Explorator fleets.
**'''Secutor-class Monitor-Cruiser;''' An Adeptus Mechanicus Light Cruiser designed to excel at the art of war. Tougher than all of the other Light Cruisers and yet still more mobile than true Cruisers. Due to being designed from the ground up to be a Warship, this Light Cruiser is fitted with Cruiser sized Void Shield Generators.
**'''Siluria;''' Three-quarters the cost of the Endeavor, and about three-quarters the ship. Standard weapon batteries only, no fancy frills to speak of. Cheap and effective, at short range, to catch enemy torpedoes.
*'''Lance-boat:''' Also the same as the Cruiser version, though some have weak weapons batteries for better defence.
**'''Endurance;''' Light Cruiser with just enough guns to claim it has them, lance batteries and a couple of torpedoes. It's the lance half of a Lunar, nothing more.
*'''Carrier:''' More useful as a Light Cruiser, as it can act as backup for patrols.
**'''Enforcer:''' A carrier variant of the Dauntless. Designed to maintain control of rebellious planets via intimidation [[Grimdark|(and possible orbital bombardment)]]. Given one managed to stop the rebellion of an ''entire sub-sector'', its a shame the Imperium doesn't build more of them.
**'''Defiant;''' A carrier variant of the Endeavour. It's quite versatile (by virtue of being a carrier) and so has found a home in many Rogue Trader houses but unfortunately the Imperial Navy doesn't consider it as useful because they can't stand by themselves and require an escort. Due to being based off of the Endeavour, it's relatively well armoured for a Light Cruiser and that does help with its survivability.

===Ironclad===
8 kilometer long battering rams. No, really. Tyranids and Orks are busy taking notes.

===Frigates===
Ranging from about 1.4-2km long. They are used for all sorts of duties from convoy escorts to attack or patrol squadrons. Ironically named, as in real life Frigates were the same as Cruisers (which were not Ships of the Line).
*'''Basic:''' Laser batteries only, maybe some Torpedoes if you're lucky. Named after types of swords.
**'''Sword Frigate:''' The most common warship in the Imperial Navy, and one of the simplest. No torpedoes or lances to distract you here; a Sword puts two massive laser batteries behind a pointed armored prow and cuts into enemy formations like [[C.S Goto|a multi-laser through canon.]]
**'''Falchion Frigate:''' A new (245 years old) class of escort ship built by [[Forgeworld|Voss Prime]]. Slow as balls but still capable of firing torpedoes. While Cobras are used offensively in fleet actions, Falchion's are designed to be convoy escorts and stick close to larger warships to defend them from enemy escorts. Effectively a Voss-pattern Sword with torpedo tubes and one laser battery.
**'''Claymore Corvette:''' Designed entirely around escorting vulnerable transports and protecting them against light raiders in order to allow true Frigates to accompany more valuable ships such as Battleships, Battlecruisers and Cruisers. The Claymore Corvettes are easy to mass produce and maintain and are exceedingly common in the private sector, as they are simply a discount Sword.
**'''Gladius Rapid Strike Frigate:''' A modified version of the Sword-class, used by the [[Space Marines]] as an escort for their strike cruisers. Has 20% more powerful engines than a Sword, making it more mobile, which suits the Marines strategy perfectly. [[Matt_Ward|No prizes for guessing]] [[Ultramarines|why it's called the Gladius.]]
**'''Turbulent Heavy Frigate:''' Heavy Naval Escorts; these things have comparable armour to cruisers. They're built to sally forth ahead of the main fleet and win skirmishes against enemy scouting forces and vanguard elements. They've garnered a reputation for being lucky; they've contributed to many glorious victories and survived catastrophes that other ship classes have not. Their only downside is that they have rather antiquated communication equipment, probably equipped for durability, not ease of use.
*'''Lance-boat:''' Rarer for Frigates, as they need a Prow slot to mount a Lance.
**'''Firestorm Frigate:''' A Sword-class frigate with a prow-mounted Lance replacing one laser battery. Gives the Sword some extra anti-ship punch that it dearly needs. For some reason it's two hundred metres longer than the sword and yet it's apparently only a refit, though the gun sticking out of the front likely is to blame for the extra length. The Navy does not like the Marines having them, for some reason.
**'''Thunderbolt Heavy Frigate:''' Not much information on this one, but implied to be a Lance version of the Turbulent, like how the Firestorm is the Lance version of the Sword.
**'''Nova Rapid Strike Frigate:''' A super-special version of the Firestorm for the Marines. As Lance armed ships are optimised for fighting other ships instead of attacking planets, the Navy considers the Nova to infringe on its turf and gets uppity when a Chapter has too many, thus they are uncommon.
**[[Derp|Given the general naming scheme for Frigate classes is naming them after weapons (Claymore, Sword, Falchion, Gladius etc), the Firestorm would make more sense being called the ''Lance''-class due to its role.]]
*'''Brawler:''' Mostly upgunned Frigates. Can carry a mix of macrobatteries and small lances.
**'''Tempest Strike Frigate:''' Specialized Brawling frigate designed for devastating enemies at close range. Basically a Sword with a triple armoured prow and heavy short-range broadside batteries. They're often equipped with Assault Boats and Barracks for boarding actions.

===Destroyers/Raiders===
The most common warship class. Their tasks range from scouting to shuttling VIPs or fighting in fleet engagements in large squadrons. Most pirates use these speedy, nimble vessels to prey upon transport ships.
*'''Basic:''' Usually mounts Prow Torpedos and a Macrobattery.
**'''Cobra Destroyer:''' The PT-Boats of the Imperial Navy. Small, fast, and lightly armed, their one purpose in life is to fire shoals of torpedoes from 3-8 ship squadrons. A great part of the Imperium's military advantage (in fluff and [[Battlefleet Gothic|on the tabletop]]) comes from all the torpedoes they can fire at the enemy, and the Cobras are a big part of that.
**'''Hunter Destroyer:''' A Space Marine [[Original character, do not steal|knockoff]] of the Cobra. Mostly used by the [[Dark Angels]] as <s>their mistrust of other factions means they can't acquire actual Cobras or [[Fallen Angels|ask the Navy for help.]]</s> {{Blam|+++the Dark Angels simply do not want to bother the Navy with their hunt for traitors with no connection to the First Legion}}
**'''Havoc Destroyer:''' Small, yet fast raider sized vessels almost rivaling frigates in firepower. In large squadrons these can easily overwhelm larger vessels by weight of fire.
**'''Infidel Raider:''' Was meant to replace the Cobra, but the plans [[Blood Ravens|were stolen]] by Chaos. Armed with Prow Torpedos and a Macrobattery like its predecessor, though some Chaos fleets upgrade them to Heavy Raiders by adding another Macrobattery.
**'''Iconoclast Destroyer:''' If there ever was an Guardsman of starships, the Iconoclast is it. A destroyer so shitty the Navy doesn't want it, the Iconoclast mounts 1-2 macrobatteries and is used by Rogue Traders, Chaos and Pirates. Notable for being one of the few ships to have a forward placed bridge, likely due to the smoke-stack like pylons along its spine.
*'''Lance-boat:''' Rather rare among Raiders, as most use their Prow slots for Torpedos.
**'''Apostate Heavy Raider:''' A variant of the Infidel. Somehow those heretics managed to shove a full sized Lance into a Dorsal slot, which only Light Cruiser and bigger can normally manage.
**'''Idolator Raider:''' Also known as the "WTF is this" ship, the Idolator is the lovechild of a Infidel, a Firestorm and Xenotech. Has a prow lance and a macrobattery.
*'''Other:''' Mostly weak scouts.
**'''Viper Scout Sloop:''' Smallest warp-capable ship in mass production. It is an exceedingly fast scout ship with ridiculously powerful realspace engines and high-tech auspex scanners. In support of Naval Operations these vessels would burn into enemy territory at high speed, collect as much information as possible and then warp back to friendly territory. Unfortunately they are so specialized that they can't do much else apart from that.
**'''Rudense "Class":''' A small ship designed post Gathering Storm to be as fast, heavily armed, and densely armoured as possible, which they do with aplomb. You may ask yourselves, why are they not used in more regular combat roles? Well, the answer is that they are a specialised orbital insertion ship - designed to get as close to the atmosphere of a heavily defended planet as possible, drop it's cargo of primaris marines into the top layer, and get out of there. Whilst this may seem too specialised to be practical, few enemies are ready for half a company of marines dropping in to their base unexpectedly. (Nb - the class hasn't been formally named yet but the only example of it thus far was named the Rudense).

===Fighter===
The fighter's main role is to stop enemy torpedoes and bombers before they can [[anal circumference|rip your flying cathedral multiple new assholes]]. Comes in different models like the [[Fury Interceptor]] or the Thunderbolt Fighter. The main difference is that some can enter a planet's atmosphere to dogfight and/or strafe ground targets where others are limited to space combat.

===Bomber===
Basically reusable torpedoes. Come in different models like the [[Marauder Bomber]] and the [[Starhawk Bomber]], but again the main difference is that some can dip in a planet's atmosphere and drop bombs on ground-pounders where others are space-combat only.

===Armed Freighter (in the Battlefleet)===
Ships bought, borrowed or stolen and then armed in the misguided attempt to boost the strength of a fleet in desperate need of ships (instead of simply using the legio cybernetica to make robots to do the monotonous manual labor so 90% of the hundred thousand crew members can be spread out amongst a hundred more warships)

===Fire Ship===
A fancy name for a fuckheug bomb. A old, damaged or for whatever reason no longer usable ship is packed to the brim with explosives and flown straight into the heart of the enemy formation. Again, Orks are busy taking notes for their Roks.

===Logistic Vessels===
Ships used for the transportation of cargo or individuals. The majority of Imperial ships would fall into this category.

*'''Carrack-Class Transport Ship;''' A newer version of the Conquest Star Galleon. It's a hardy vessel that can defend itself quite well against raiders. The profile even looks like a Military Vessel so opponents who can't distinguish between Imperial Ships could be scared off.

*'''Goliath-Class Factory Ship;''' An Adeptus Mechanicus vessel designed to harvest plasma from Stars. These ships supply the fuel for the entirety of the Imperium. Other ships can be fitted with Plasma Scoops to top up their own tanks but this is the true fuel-harvesting-workhorse of the Imperium.

*'''Jericho-Class Pilgrim Vessel:''' Refinery ships that have been converted into personnel carriers, the majority of which will be transporting poor-er passengers. Can't really defend itself but usually not even worth the bother for pirates.

*'''Loki-Class Q Ship;''' Converted Cargo ships designed to sacrifice some space for added weaponry. They can serve as Convoy defence in a pinch and can surprise the odd pirate who may underestimate them.

*'''Orion-Class Star Clipper;''' Blockade runners through and through. They're designed to transport low-volume but high-quality goods, even through hostile space. Speed is the name of their game. Hell, these things can put some Eldar ships to shame.

*'''Universe-Class Mass Conveyor;''' Think Super-Tanker in space. It's the largest standardized Cargo hauler in the Imperium and is 12km long. It looks freaking awesome too.

*'''Vagabond-Class Merchant Trader;''' Rather small cargo vessel but extremely common. As if to assist with its 'commoner' theme, it makes you yawn just looking at it.

==Important Details==

===Crews===
''Navy crews are made up of officers, techpriests, slave drivers, and slaves.''

A bit of an over-simplification, but broadly true. Due to the Imperium's aversion to AI and Automation each ship needs at least thousands of people to man it. Whenever the crew count gets low, the Imperial Navy sets up fake strip clubs on a planet claiming "Free Hookers" to lure in unsuspecting men (and the occasional woman). Once a future crewman steps in, he's knocked out, bound, gagged, and taken to the ship, [[grimdark|where they'll slave away the rest of their soon-to-be-short existence]] doing everything needed to make flying through space and fighting in the void possible.

This includes dragging shells the size of houses into cannons while being whipped. Still, at least for the crew sex is allowed, in fact encouraged, if for no other reason than maintaining the crew complement. Seriously, whole fucking cities and civilizations arise from the more massive ships, every bit as intricate as a long lived Hive City. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax7wcShvrus Here is an idea of how it works, right up to the Roman armor, whips and beatings.] Oh and apparently besides whole civilizations, there are whole civilizations of mutants around too. They can more or less settle new worlds for da [[Emprah]] by simply disgorging their excess population, which the crew is probably all too happy to do.

One area where fluff [[Black Library|hasn't been consistent]] is in the uniform worn by Imperial Navy crewmen. Some sources suggest that uniforms are divided by segmentum of the Imperium, while others suggest that it is a sector-by-sector fashion choice. Given the scale the of the Imperium and the fact that Navy fleets are already identified by hull color, it's probably on a segmentum basis, but [[Games Workshop]] doesn't care enough to make a decision about it. For the ranks of the aforementioned shell draggers at the bottom of the naval hierarchy they'd wear a motley collection of their old civilian clothes and whatever they could scrounge up and sew together.

===Travel===
The ships of the [[Imperium]] travel through the [[Warp]] using what's called a warp drive to get to where they're going. However, this isn't your happy, fancy tunnel-of-light like in Star Wars, or everything-moves-fast Star Trek, it is an alternate dimension full of [[Chaos]]. In order to avoid being turned inside-out (think Event Horizon) and getting hentai-raped by every daemon in the warp, the ships rely on what is called the [[Gellar Field]] to keep the [[furries]], undesirables, and various other evil beings out of their ship when traveling through. The Baroque decorations are also implied in helping to ward off said daemons. They rely on a [[Navigator]] that uses the [[Empra]] as a beacon to safely navigate the Warp, hence the title "Navigator".

==Ranks in the Navy==
While the Imperial Navy uses a lot of the ranks in similar fashion to modern militaries, they invariably hold to a more archaic form and are not equivalent to modern day ranking systems. Particularly since it's quite clear that commissions in 40k can often be purchased rather than earned, and that a "Warrant" would most likely hold to the original term and be an "officer by appointment" rather than an enlisted grade. Though considering the immense variety of units within the Imperium, this may not necessarily be the case galaxy-wide, so all options are equally valid.

===Officer Ranks===
*'''Lord-High Admiral of the Imperial Navy''' - This guy is a [[High Lords of Terra|High Lord]] and is the single dude responsible for the '''ENTIRE''' Imperial Navy, though likely he doesn't do much other than delegate to his subordinates and attend tedious High Lord meetings.
*'''Lord-High Admiral''' - There are five of these guys, one for each Segmentum. While they're probably never anywhere near the front lines they probably have more to do, since its their job to oversee the deployment of fleets and materials from sector to sector.
*'''Lord Admiral''' - The guy in charge of a sector fleet who gets direct command of vessels and formations. You see these guys in the fluff quite regularly when "key" worlds ''(like Armageddon)'' need defended or attacked.
*'''Solar Admiral''' - Often a ''terminal'' rank... no really. Occasionally regular Admirals who do good jobs can put themselves forward for promotion to this position, which needs to be approved by the Lord-High Admiral, then the officer needs to travel to Terra be reviewed by the Lord-High Admiral of the Imperial Navy. Obviously this can take a very, ''VERY'' long time to approve. So they might often be [[Grimdark|dead before the promotion gets approved]]. If they get approved they are likely to get promoted straight up to sector commander (see Lord Admiral) as a position will have probably opened up while he was waiting. More rarely, Solar Admirals can get sent on "detached duties" which is basically a license to do as they please with their independent fleets.
*'''High Admiral''' - Commands several group of naval fleets (e.g. Battlegroups), often the most senior Navy officer in a Crusade but the things these fucks usually do is just having snacks with their Imperial Guard counterparts and leaving the combat duties to their subordinate Admirals
*'''Admiral''' - Gets put in charge of a fleet and told to oversee some subsectors. He's usually the highest of the "front line" ranks and much of his time will be on active duty patrolling his assigned region.
*'''Vice Admiral''' - Fleets traditionally get split into three parts, with the highest Admiral taking up the portion containing the larger ships, while the "Vice" Admiral takes the "Vanguard" portion of faster moving ships.
*'''Rear Admiral''' - the third portion of a fleet would be the "Rearguard" and usually gets assigned to the youngest/least experienced Admiral in the fleet. His job is usually the quietest one as he gets the mop-up and repair duties.
*'''Commodore''' - an experienced Captain in command of a squadron of capital ships. It's traditionally only a temporary rank, as capital ships don't always get assigned to each other the same way that escorts do. But the realities of war often mean that ships stay together for extended periods, often well beyond the lifespans of generations of captains.
*'''Lord Captain''' - not actually a rank, but an honourific applied to Captains of detached vessels operating independently. The '''"Lord-"''' part implies that they operate with the full authority of the the Imperial Navy when they act so they can deal with outside organisations (like planetary governors, Space Marines or Imperial Guard) on relatively even footing. Sometimes also known by the more archaic term of "Flag-Captain", since as the commander of a detached vessel they figuratively carry their own flag.
*'''Captain''' The commander of a single capital ship or the lead starship in an escort squadron.
*'''Commander''' - Usually the commander of an escort vessel. Is also the ranking officer on board orbital space stations. It also gets used as the terminal rank amongst Pilots, since small attack craft all fall under the remit of the Navy; so a '''Wing Commander''' would get command over all pilots based on a single carrier.
*'''Lord Lieutenant''' - The second-in-command to captains of capital ships, bizarrely Commanders don't hold that role and hold their own positions. Thankfully because a chain of command exists in any military, despite a Wing Commander holding higher "actual" rank over a Lieutenant on a carrier vessel he would not hold any higher authority on that ship than his duties allow for.
*'''Lieutenant''' - a "working" rank. Either holds command over small system vessels or acts as second in command to Commanders of escorts, or as department heads on Capital ships. They are also Squadron leaders amongst pilots.
*'''Sub-Lieutenant / Ensign''' - Team leaders or attack craft pilots
*'''Midshipman''' - Apprentice officers who haven't passed any exams or earned any responsibility, they would exist below the Warrant Officers in terms of authority, despite holding a commission. Midshipmen are commissioned from Imperial Nobility as part of the [[Administratum|Imperial Tithe]] ''(which can mean virtually anyone gets the job if they send their useless heirs just to keep the best ones at home)'' but they are also assigned from the [[Schola Progenium]]. In addition, Midshipmen also may be taken on as a personal favour from the Captain of a vessel if he knows the family. This echoes the ancient real-world practice of young noblemen showing up while the vessel was in dock with a letter from their family and being granted a commission on the Captain's say-so.

===NCO Ranks===
*'''Ship Master''' - the most senior Warrant officer on board a starship, also quite possibly the busiest man on the starship. It's his job to maintain the logs, update stellar navigation charts, oversee ships stores and order supplies, and command a hangar deck if there is one. Basically he's the guy who knows the ship better than anyone. In real-world historical usage, this guy would have an authority equivalent to a Lieutenant on board a starship, and would "mess" ''(ie: occupy the same space)'' as the other officers do.
*'''Bosun''' - ''(Shorthand for Boatswain)'' The NCO directly responsible for all of the common crew members, including [[Commissar|maintaining discipline]]. Despite his position, his actual rank may vary depending upon the size of vessel or operational requirements, in practice it never really matters since he's unlikely to ever meet another Boatswain. ''(real-world Boatswains are typically petty officers or warrant officers, but could be of any rank. They held responsibility over all areas of the ship other than Engineering, which was left to the Chief Engineer, as if the bosun disciplined/executed/imprisoned a skilled crewman from that department the ship could be crippled because of it)''.
**Note that most Capital Ships, but not all Escort ships, may have an actual Naval [[Commissar]] on board in this role, tasked with maintaining discipline up to and [[Blam|including]] the Officer compliment.
*'''Chief Warrant Officer''' - Also called "Chief Petty Officer" on some vessels. Will often be given command of important ship sections ''(like Chief Engineers, helmsmen, or auspex control, as these are are critical to ongoing operation of a starship)''
*'''Warrant Officer''' - You'll find lots of guys of equivalent rank on a ship, in command of various operational sections keeping the ship running at all times:
**Masters of Ordnance - make certain that Torpedoes and Attack craft (if any) are fueled and maintained.
**Master Gunner - have responsibility over all of the weapons batteries and make ensure they are loaded and fired when required.
**Master-at-Arms - responsible for all "small" arms on board a starship, overseeing all Sergeants-at-Arms, as well as maintaining order over any barracked Guard regiments currently in transit.
**Master of the Vox - making sense out of the bazillions of messages that run through the bridge at any given moment both internally and externally ''(crews can get pretty massive, and a lot of traffic can come through at once)''.
**Steward - the guy who keeps everyone else well fed.
*'''Gun Captain''' - Funnily enough, the man in charge of a single gun crew. Makes sure that the weapon is taken care of, is reloaded quickly enough, and is accurate when asked to fire. All of that comes back to this guy.
*'''Sergeant-at-Arms''' - Man in charge of the weapons lockers and leader of boarding parties, as well as maintaining ship-board security. Usually they are transferred from [[Imperial Guard]] regiments so that they don't have any prior association with the crew.
*'''Armsmen''' - Crewmen trusted to carry weapons. They are not true soldiers as offensive boarding actions tend to be rare. So these guys still have their own regular responsibilities on board ship. Since they are trusted more, they have slightly more freedom to move around the vessel as well, though most Imperial employees really don't want the job, since it means they get scrutinised more, or they could end up beating up their buddies.
*'''Voidsmen''' - the lowest rank of crewman on board a Naval Starship above the [[Servitor]]s unless the Captain is cool with slavery. If they have a skill or a trade they may be referred to as '''Able Voidsmen''' which is an official rank that might require examinations. Additionally, if they show leadership qualities they might be promoted to '''Leading Voidsman''' and put in charge of work gangs and be considered for promotion to Warrant Officer if a position opens up.

==Notable Problems==
These are problems some have with the Imperial Navy and their fluff....

===General Logistical Problems===
The big problem that the Imperial Navy has is that it's the only organised navy in the galaxy that's trying to defend its massive amounts of space. To do this takes vast numbers of ships but rather thinly spread out. Given the problems of warp travel it's also extremely hard to reinforce friendly fleets under attack. The foes of the navy come essentially in two flavours; raiders who might just manage to scrape together a few converted transports (building even escort-sized ships is a huge undertaking, akin to building damn near the entire American Navy combined from iron ore and making it fly) which take an escort squadron to murder, and huge organized invasion fleets that take a whole fleet to fight. These combine together to mean that outside of fleet bases and important strategic worlds there is nowhere in the Imperium that is actually well-defended. At best a fleet has to be formed and sent out and they could arrive months later. Travel takes a lot of time, and out in the void it can be extremely hard to know what you are actually fighting against, especially since the enemy tend to kill anyone who tries to look at them. So when there's a large enemy force that you absolutely must fight (not fighting is much preferable) you don't just band together whoever was within shouting distance of the flagship and go murdering, you pull together every single vessel in the sector and hope to the Emperor it's enough to do the job.

Warships genuinely are vast things and obscenely expensive and risking them at all in major actions is not something anyone does lightly. Each cruiser is larger and more complex than a fully-kitted titan legion. These things are MASSIVE. In the BFG book there's a fluff story of a cruiser being built at a shipyard that orbits a primitive world. The entire population of the planet were given over to mining the resources needed to build one single cruiser. It took them eleven years to mine the ore. Sure, that's a primitive world, but if you think about it that makes carving out the rocks for it the largest single project ever engaged upon without mechanization. If you add together all seven wonders of the world you aren't even close to the pile of rock we're talking about. So these things are a big fucking investment and the high lords really don't like risking them without a really good reason (makes you questioning why they wouldn't build 20 smaller ships instead).

So if you ever wondered why the Navy doesn't get more action, now you know. By the time the big, awesome ships get on the scene the invasion already probably finished and the bad guys moved on. Then you nuke the shit out of them from orbit or drop millions of poor bastards into the meat grinder. Far better idea all round. It's the reason that the enemy, even nutters like Chaos, don't fight in the void without reason. On the ground it's just a scrap, and maybe you win or maybe you don't. If you lose in the void then your campaign on the surface is dead. No reinforcements, no support and a massive constant orbital bombardment to kill everyone left (which sometimes doesn't happen, because, you know, plot armour). That tends to mean fleets hover around and not fighting, one ensuring the other can't directly interfere with the surface war. This is actually an excellent and realistic explanation for why there is significant ground warfare in 40k. Also, ground-based defenses, mobile theater-shields, etc. are common. So, attacking a planet worth anything is like attacking a planet-sized Death Star without the super-weapon. Your ground forces taking out shields and anti-space batteries is critical to achieving anything. But, by that point, most of the enemy is dead and the survivors have either moved to the next defended region or got so stuck-in with your dudes that you can't shoot without killing your own army. Unless you worship Khorne, in which case you really couldn't care less who you kill, even yourself.

So, the navies of the galaxy ultimately get pushed down into either raiders, escorts against raiders, raider-hunters, or babysitting and logistical duty for groundpounders. Which of course brings back the question of why the Navy has such a desire to get more interceptors and bombers for ship-to-ship combat when they rarely engage in combat in the first place and the attack craft are insufficient. Could be to weaken the enemy ships' ability to shoot at the surface, but by the point they would have a target it would have (as stated) gone to a new defended location or whatever else, defeating the point of sending attack craft to weaken the enemy ships' offensive power. They won't shoot at each other, and they can't shoot at the surface (or at least can't shoot anything worth shooting at). In exchange for packing in so many attack craft into hangars designed for countless atmospheric air support fighters and bombers, the Imperial Guard has to die in radically greater numbers than they have any need to since they have limited anti-air capabilities and all of their enemies have no problem sending massive swarms of fighters and bombers at them. That is without even getting to engage the enemy on the ground and not counting the countless soldiers killed as the transports are shot to pieces due to their escorts commonly ditching them to go after obvious bait tactics.

Thus the rumor that the Navy has no balls. But who needs balls when you have a nova cannon sized dick and eighteen dice worth of fire power.

===Ship Size===
No one is quite sure how big the ships really are. One story claims the Retribution-Class is a mere 3 kilometers long, while another says it is 9 kilometers and up to 20 kilometers.

Your best bet is Rogue Trader, although going by those figures, anything bigger than a cruiser has an average density around that of hydrogen... From a helpful poster on [http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showthread.php?t=63267&page=2 Heresy-Online] we have this:

For the most accurate scale, look towards the Battlefleet Koronus Expansion, as it is more a stat/rule book than a story. That and previous consensi, as well as cross referencing with the Horus Heresy rulebooks by Forge World (which places Battleships at 8-12km) place Cruisers just above 5 kms, and Battleships in the mid 8s. Please note that most ships above the size of 8ish kilometers are either a unique modified/purpose built flagship or a ship of a small class that is not in widespread calculations. For a sense of scale the largest warship in the world is currently the US Navy's Ford Class Aircraft Carrier measuring in at 337 meters long or 0.337km making the USS Ford the size of a cannon. They have guns literally the length of an Aircraft carrier!

*Transports and other Attack Craft, typically rated for atmospheric operation; also includes ships designed to be boarding torpedoes.
**<1 kilometer. That's the small ones, there are super transports in 40k as well. (A [[thunderhawk]] would go here).
*Escorts are "small" ships, like the Cobra, designed to flank foes and operate in squads.
**1-2 kilometers.
**Heavy Frigates
**Frigates
**Corvettes
**Destroyers
**Freighters
*Light Cruiser, a smaller Cruiser.
**3-5 kilometers.
*Cruiser, the standard fighting vessel; every Imperial fleet has them.
**5-6 Kilometers.
*Battle Cruiser, a beefed up Cruiser; generally more 'modern' than a Grand Cruiser.
**6-7 kilometers.
*Grand Cruiser; pocket-sized Battleship, very old.
**7-8 kilometers.
*Battleship; the biggest of the lot, simply put.
**8-12 kilometers.
**Battleships
**Fleet Carriers

The Horus Heresy novel "Know No Fear" had this to say about ship sizes, taken from [http://archive.foolz.us/tg/thread/22848349/ /tg/] who quoted it from the book and written here is just the lengths and names of the ships, for simplicity and space:

*Macragge’s Honour. Twenty-six kilometers - Flagship
*Spirit of Konor. Seventeen kilometers - Battleship
*Antrodamicus. Twelve kilometers - Grand Cruiser
*Antipathy. Nine kilometers - Cruiser (note that the book said it had "six thousand lives" on board, which would be an absurdly small crew for its size by 40k or even 21st century standards - Cruisers normally have 85-95 thousand crew in 40k, and that's for normal sized ones, not double length ones like this one. But this is a Horus Heresy ship, so perhaps it's automation was much better then a later 40k ship)
*Aegis of Occluda. Seven kilometers - Class unknown
*Gladius. Four kilometers - Escort
*Then there is the Abyss-class created by Lorgar that is said to match the Phalanx in size. He made three of them.

===Weapon Effects===
If the weapons can annihilate a continent, why can't it destroy a mere hive? Because different writers don't talk to each other that's why. Also shields maybe.

Alternate take: Sure these weapons can destroy continents, but generally speaking why would the Imperial Navy want to bombard a probably Imperial Hive? Another thing to consider is that while Imperial warships are capable of *BLAM*-ing a planet, it requires a lot of ships firing either specialized planet-killing ordnance or just bombarding round the clock. One virus bomb/Cyclonic torpedo/lance shot would do comparatively little damage. But it does make you think about how powerful those void shields must be.

Another take: Something to keep in mind is the different size of ships and thus cannon barrels. A Retribution-class battleship is a lot bigger than a Mars-class battlecruiser is a lot bigger than a Turbulent-class heavy frigate, just to name a few. Different ships have different weapons.

Another Alternate take : The heresy novels elaborate a little on little on the practicalities of Orbital bombardment as a battlefield weapon. Whilst it is occasionally used tactically and reserved as a strategic level weapon, it requires utterly pinpoint accuracy (targeting being off by a millimetre in orbit could result in a shot being kilometres off on the ground) which is only possible when orbit is completely uncontested. It's use during land battles is the VERY definition of Danger Close and often a dead giveaway to the enemy, as allied forces have to withdraw kilometres away before ordering a bombardment, letting an enemy force bunker down or get out the way. Ships are also very easy targets for anti-orbital weapons during bombardment and the effect of a starship hulk hitting a planet you're fighting for is not something to be risked.

===Lack of Balls===
It is well-known that most Imperial Navy Officers don't have em.

An Imperial Navy fleet is most effective when Inquisitors take it over. [[Exterminatus|See Here]].

==Music of the Imperial Navy==
Not to be outdone by the Imperial Guard (as well as to compensate for their aforementioned lack of balls), the Imperial Navy has begun collecting music to either be blared on loudspeakers when not in active use, or in the case of battleship command decks, played live by orchestra. the first four are taken from [[Battlefleet Gothic Armada|Battlefleet Gothic Armada.]]

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DhAAGZVAVo [[Awesome|This one is by far the best.]]
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80QrqY_FgQ8
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is0I7M0W_Ig
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFREOz5CvDs
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AlLNITLk8A - A piece dating back to the Armada Imperialis' of the Great Crusade, but is still played regularly.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5STVoaxz8-Y - This instrumental is rumored to date back to some epic naval battle during the later dark age of technology.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJEgAFR9vDc - While not quite fitting for battleships and grand cruisers, this piece dates back to when humanity was just beginning to march upon the stars, and as such, is heard regularly in ships captained by sentimental officers.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUrSQNSN6_c - This fitting instrumental is often played in bastion fleets whenever they are mustered to put down [[Black Crusade|yet another temper tantrum.]]
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAw1KlZ8C-A - Battlefleet Gothic Imperial port theme.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlcUwUwjLrs - This ancient piece, a popular mobilization theme for the Imperial Navy, was apparently created during a time in which humanity was at war with a xeno species known as "Cylons". [[Humanity Fuck Yeah|No other records of this species can be found.]]
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so10dKbhorI - Another piece from the same era that the Cylons existed, it was created to commemorate a successful assault on a planet known as New Caprica, what is now an imperial hive world.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFEHCuSnun0 - This was commissioned by a very srs bzns admiral.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gii4e-h3DBc - This was commissioned by a very srs bzns admiral from Praetoria.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7qOJrT_lUg - One of the pieces Lord High Admiral Langsung ordered to be played during the Battle for Port Sanctus.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu_Lp51wyao - This dated back to the glory days of human stellar exploration, when the universe was less grimdark, but is still a favorite for exploratory fleets, or for trying to distract yourself from the fact that you're just one [[Gellar Field|energy field]] away from a level 99 rapefest.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPLXNmKvLBQ - One of many favorites of those captaining Ironclads.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TXlJ5DMq5o - A favorite of Vostroyan admirals.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elK5iReyAMI - Played during ceremonial ship or fleet launches since the great crusade.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR5N0-DqZoU - One of many pieces played when the fleets return victorious.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm3q6dCeP7M - An orchestral litany created to aid in battles against chaos ships.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvriqdS3vsc - A common theme of blockade runners, more nimble imperial vessels, and rogue traders plundering xeno planets in the name of the God Emperor.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbh6HT7lLx8 - Popular among fleets in Segmentum Pacificus.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NDn6WtZBJY - Popular among fleets in Segmentum Pacificus led by admirals from oriental cultures.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KylMqxLzNGo - Music played whenever the Navy has to perform exterminatus.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZcj56XXrPM - A personal favorite of an admiral from Armageddon.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3iwvG2ZKuw - The christening and launch of a new ship, straight out of the docks.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9mFPDRZIgE - Encountering a Tyranid Hive Fleet

==External Links==
* [http://www.darkreign.org/sites/default/files/BFG%20FAQ%202010_0.pdf/ A Comprehensive List of Ships]
* [http://yenlowang.free.fr/warhammer-forum/BFG/BFG_-_Additional_Ships_Compendium_1.4.pdf Battlefleet Gothic Additional Ships Compendium]
* [https://i.imgur.com/2q7J2Xv.jpg A big poster of fictional navies], with 40k in the center left

==Gallery==
<gallery>
image: EMP-Class.jpg|The Lord Admiral's Love Shack
image: Avenger.jpg| The Grand Marshal's Summer Palace of PWNAGE
image: Lunar-Class.jpg|<s>Imagine how quick land battles would be if these things actually helped</s> They do help, but they can't do it too much or they risk fucking up the planet they came to save, also you try aiming a lance cannon at a spot a meter wide from orbit without hitting your mates on the ground
image: RapidStrikeVessels.JPG|The Bullet-Catchers of the Navy
image: Imperial Fleet Size Sca.jpg|Another demonstration of too much spare time
image: Flagship-mk2.JPG|One of the revered ships of Battlefleet [[/tg/]]: [[Flankitus]]
File:Warhammer Imperial Cruisers by mik.jpg|
File:M1130006 Gothic Art Cover.jpg|
</gallery>

{{Template:Imperium}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Imperial]]

Motor Rifle Company

2019-01-11T18:15:16Z

2001:8003:3800:800:31C8:CA3A:2763:15D2: Undo revision 545763 by Catnip212 (talk) Please stop undoing my edits or take it to the talk page

{{topquote|The Hammer, the Sickle, the AK-47|Ahoy}}

While tanks were the icon of the Warsaw Pact's militaries, it was the infantry that allowed these tanks to lead feared charges into Western Europe. With hordes upon hordes deployed, the Eastern Bloc often combined Soviet doctrine with training and doctrine from World War 2 or even earlier. For example, Poland's militaristic culture combined nicely with Communism while the NVA combined Soviet technology to Wehrmacht doctrine and the German reputation for precision. Regardless of their origins and uniforms, the infantry of the Eastern Bloc lacked the advanced technology that defined NATO forces but made up for it with reliable tools in sheer numbers.

Despite having nearly identical equipment, each faction employs its infantry in different roles thanks to the varying lists and stats.

==Motor Rifle Company==
[[File:Motorrifle Company.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Ivan! Keep up you ''debil''!]]
{{topquote|In the Soviet Army, it takes more courage to retreat than to attack.|Iosef Stalin}}
The base of all Soviet Infantry armed with AK74s for the most part. Additional weapons include PKM light machineguns, RPG-7s and a SA-14 Gremlin AA missile team. The differences in game vary mostly in specializing transport like the VDV with their Hinds and the Hardened veterans of the Afghan wars.

===In Team Yankee===
[[File:Soviet_MRC.jpg|300px|left|thumb|The Stats. Cyka Blyat?]]
The motorstrelki have the most options for a singular unit. In addition to additional weapons, you have a choice of three transports: BMP-2s, BMP-1s and BTR-60s. A good PACT player can be told from a great one from how they build their motorized infantry lists. There is no correct answer; each of these units are competitive and have their own niche. While your infantry company WILL overwhelm a NATO platoon in a head-on fight, they require support to get there. All the infantry bases in the world are next to useless when hit by machine gun fire and artillery without cover: smoke, artillery and pinning the enemy are essential to making your motor-rifles work, and also a key reason why PACT forces are far less beginner friendly than NATO units which can mostly function on their own (but not ideally).

While their PACT brethren may have 4+ skill, orders are not totally essential when commanding a solid wall of men. The key stats that make Soviet infantry so deadly in the game is 3+ morale and 3+ rally which allow them to recover from pinning most of the time. This means less time spent hugging the ground and more time to carry out your plan, whether its repelling attacks from a building or slowly advancing with smoke to cover. 3+ counterattack is nice to have, but not required in most game plans.

They might be expensive, but are more versatile and have easy access to BMP-2s across most formations, unlike their PACT comrades.

===IRL===
[[File:Soveit BMP & Infantry.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Ignore the dust comrade! It will only make you stronker!]]
Soviet Motor Rifle infantry, known as Motostrelki, were the bread and butter of the Soviet Armed Forces since the reformation of the Red Army into the Soviet Armed Forces in 1946. As the name implies Motorstrelki, or MR as they're abbreviated to, were all motorized infantry who were to act as the main Soviet force in any conventional or unconventional conflict. Their job would to act tactically as motorized infantry, and on what the Soviets dubbed the 'operational' level, a level of warfare between the strategic and tactical levels, help in the exploitation, reinforcement, and line holding duties, alongside supplementing tank units, their all motorized nature allowing them to keep up with the extremely high tempo warfare they had planned on.

Their use in battle was to dismount from their BMP, BTR, and MT-LB vehicles at a few hundred meters from their targets, and advance with their attached tanks at roughly equal pace which should, at least in theory, allow for infantry to keep pace with the tanks, allowing the tanks to cover the infantry, and vice versa with targets being pointed out to the tanks through the use of tracers the Motostrelki are given.
{{clear}}

==Mot-Schützen Kompanie==
[[File:Mot-Schützen Kompanie.jpg|300px|right|thumb|"Franz...are we the baddies, again?"]]
The ''Nationale Volksarmee'' was regarded as the best trained of the Warsaw Pact client states, including both their NCOs and officers who were considered to be a cut above their lesser motivated allies. Constructed on a base of communist diehards and reformed ex-Wehrmacht veterans the ''NVA'' combined the traditions of a German Army with battletested Soviet doctrine. Armed with their older MPi KM (AKM) rifles the Mot-Schützen lack the added firepower of the under-barrel grenade launcher of their soviet comrades (reflected in the stats). Though they were known for a greater usage of RPKs in the SAW role (not reflected in the stats).

===In Team Yankee===
[[File:Mot-Schützen_Kompanie_Card.jpg|300px|left|thumb|The Stat Card...]]
[[File:TV113.jpg|300px|right|thumb|and the heavy weapons. Achtung!]]
Like any PACT army, the East Germans have a tendency towards hoards of men and machines and the Mot-Schützen Kompanie is no different. They are functionally identical to Soviet motorized rifles with identical point costs. However, they gain 4+ skill and drop to 4+ rally: expect them to pass orders most of the time, but are more vulnerable to pinning. Experienced players will realize the importance of 3+ rally when their infantry choose to stay pinned instead of moving forward, which is the main issue stopping the East Germans from being strictly better Soviets. Motorshutzen also lack 5+ firepower on their assault rifles. Take note of this when planning attacks on entrenched or garrisoned infantry.

The two fundamental parts of your unit is the AKM Teams and your RPG-7 teams, but weapon teams make this unit more interesting. For 1 point each, you can take: an AGS-17 grenade launcher team, up to two Spigot ATGM teams and/or one Gremlin MANPAD team. Considering that you can take smaller infantry companies to bring more heavy weapons to the field, certain units may become redundant. For example, 3-4 companies of mot-schutzen with Gremlin MANPADs could fill your anti-air role in games with point values below 30. Spigots are not purchasable for BMP mounted troops, as your transports are already capable of firing missiles.

Points cost for the motorschutzen are identical to Soviet motor rifles, including the cost of transports.
{{clear}}

===IRL===
[[File:Mot-Schützen_Kompanie_BTR.jpg|300px|right|thumb|East German tourists, posing for a picture near the border.]]
One of the smaller armies of the Warsaw Pact the NVA maintained a high level of readiness like their Soviet comrades in the GSFG garrison, ready to mobilize for war within hours, and remember Berlin was split right in half with western armed forces behind the border in east German territory. If war started the first order of business was wiping those troops off the map as-fast-as-possible so they don't cause trouble. In the event of war, the NVA was to be placed directly into the 5 Soviet Armies of the GSFG, as opposed to their larger allies Poland and Czechoslovakia who would have their own Army-sized units.

You might be wondering why the East Germans have their own infantry models while the other to PACT nations have to make do with painting soviet infantry in different colors. When the National Volksarmee was formed in the late 1950s, they desperately wanted to prevent their soldiers from looking like Red Army clones, as the atrocities committed against the German people in the closing days of the war by the soviets were still very much in the public consciousness. In an effort to minimize obvious red army influences, many Wehrmacht traditions were transplanted directly into the Volksarmee, such as goose stepping on parade, and peacetime uniforms were almost a direct copy of the ones worn by their fathers, just with communist iconography rather than fascist ones. Their signature helmet was actually a wartime design, trailed in 1943 but never put into service due to the fact that helmet factories would have to have been retooled (it was thought that the West Germans would keep using the stalhelm, so to prevent friendly fire they needed something different).

The Volksarmee was so proud of its direct lineage from the Wehrmacht, that they often accused their western counterpart of "selling out" to the west in general and the Americans in particular, as the Bundeswehr had gone to great lengths to distance itself from the past by adopting American gear like the M1 helmet and by removing almost all of the past Nazi traditons.
{{clear}}

==Zmotory Kompania==

===In Team Yankee===
[[File:Slide1.JPG|300px|thumb|left|Polish Stats, towarzysz!]]

The motorized rifle company (zmotoryzowana kompania piechoty) have a very weird place in the Pact forces as having the best statline for frontline troops: resistant to morale shock and pinning but paying for it in points and weak equipment. Notably, your rifle teams don't have RPG-18s. All anti-tank duties are delegated to your RPG-7 teams, which may or may not be very significant depending on whether you expect your infantry to serve as all-rounders or to fight other infantry for the most part. They do have 4+ skill, which means you should be using orders whenever possible.

As with other PACT forces, try not to have these teams in close combat. You may have plenty of bases, but 5+ assault means you will only land one hit per three teams.

Polish motorized rifles (BTR/OT-64s) may purchase the following heavy weapon teams: 2 Spigot ATGM teams for 2 points each, and an SA-7 Strela team for one point.

Mechanized rifles (BMP-1s/BMP-2s) may purchase only a single SA-7 team, with the BMP-1 mounted team costing 1 point and the BMP-2 mounted team costing 2 points. Companies above the smallest size get 2 PKM LMG teams though, which offer a very solid base of fire that can pin a NATO platoon or shred through [https://www.callofduty.com/ca/en/| doughboys in the open].

Without mass BMP-2s, Polish players are forced to rely on the BMP-1: a decent vehicle, but lacking the AT21 ATGMs that make the BMP-2 so strong. The cost discounts of NVA and Czech riflemen balance this out, something your Poles do NOT get.

However, they do have the best statline second to the VDV if you want your infantry to push forward or just to bog the enemy down without becoming pinned. With 4+ skill and orders, you will have an easier time giving orders to blitz or dig-in and have the required stats to minimize the chances that they will panic and go to ground when hammered by artillery or machinegun fire. 5+ FP means that they excel in close-range firefights against enemy infantry...once you get close enough of course. Use smoke, artillery and cunning plans to ensure that these men can get close and do their job.

A key point with Polish units is that with BMP-1 and BMP-2 mounted infantry, you are paying premium points for the combination of elite infantry and 4+ BMPs with ATGMs. In fact, the maxed out BMP platoons cost 5 points more than their Soviet counterparts. For once you will probably outnumber the enemy 3 to 2 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epeQwq-aYV0 instead of the usual 1-40 that your Poles are used to].

Mediocre with BMPs, excellent with BTRs/OTs.

===IRL===
[[File:PolishFlavour1TeamYankee.jpeg|300px|right|thumb|Onwards, when no-one else will!]]
{{clear}}

==Motorizovaná Pěchota==

===In Team Yankee===
[[File:Slide7.JPG|300px|thumb|left|Onwards, when no one is left!]]

[[File:Slide4.JPG|300px|thumb|right|We are 'eavy weapons guys]]

The Motorizovaná Pěchota společnost (motorized infantry company) of the Czechs represent the cheapest infantry one can buy in Team Yankee and interestingly, are the only ones presented as a true conscript force with demoralized, underequipped soldiers who would rather be getting pissed in babushka's basement than being shot at by strange men shooting at them with big black cannons.

Unlike their Pact brethren, Czech infantry are atrocious on the offensive. Like the East Germans they have 4+ skill to make use of cover, but their 5+ rally stat mean that once pinned by artillery or machine gun fire, they are going to stay there for 3 turns statistically speaking.

In a firefight, the Czechs are rather mediocre. With their Vz.58 rifles having an 8" range, FP6, and pinned ROF 1, they are incredibly unlikely to actually do any damage once suppressed by artillery or gunfire. They may have the numbers, but they don't have the guts to actually fire back at the enemy or close in where their ROF3 Vz58s can do their work. If you don't run minimum sized companies the Vz.59 LMG team(s) can try to get a few shots off, but you only get one or two depending on your transport choice.

You can pay 2 points for a single stand of AGS-17 grenade launchers and/or SA-7 AA missiles per company. OT-64 mounted infantry also have the option of taking up to 2 stands of AT-4 ATGM for 2 points per team. If you are attacking then these are just extra points for a single stand that will probably spend most of the game moving or pinned down.

On the attack, a pinned company is a dead company that will fall to machine gun fire, rockets and almost anything that the enemy has to offer. On the defensive? This is where things start to change....

It may seem the Czechs have THE most worthless infantry in the game, which is false thanks to one redeeming factor: cost. While your infantry won't make their points back against all but the worst opponents, infantry in Team Yankee are still the toughest units to dislodge when <s>hiding in</s> taking bulletproof cover. And with skill 4+ you stand a decent chance of digging in. Taken as a single allied company, your conscript horde will HOLD the objective. Any player who has tried to repel dug-in British infantry will give horror stories of these troops gunning down all who tried to get close, before tearing through their men with 3+ assault. NATO players can look forward to sharing their own story, where an objective was protected by 7-21 bases of dug-in infantry. Your dug in infantry company can literally outlast your opponents, having enough bodies that it becomes a mathematical impossibility to capture objectives unless all firepower is focused on killing the defending company. The body-blocking tactics are a possibility with Czech players thanks to their discounts.

BTR/OT-64 mounted infantry can purchase AGS-17, up to 2 AT-4 Spigots, and/or an SA-7 Strela missile team. You can purchase a 4 point company with 4 rifle teams and 3 RPG teams mounted in 4 vehicles. 13 points gets you 10 rifle teams, 9 RPG teams and 1 LMG team with 11 BTRs or OT-64s.

BMP mounted infantry may only add on the AGS-17 and SA-7 Strela teams if desired. You can get a 5 point company with 4 rifle teams and 3 RPG teams mounted in 4 BMP-1s, or 7 points for BMP-2s.

Maximum sized infantry companies may ride on 12 BMP-2s for 18 points or 12 BMP-1s for 14 points.

===IRL===
[[File:CzechFlavour1TeamYankee.jpeg|300px|right|thumb|KSC men looking badass, proper firing posture not included.]]
{{clear}}

{{Soviet Forces in Team Yankee}}
{{East German Forces in Team Yankee}}
{{Polish Forces in Team Yankee}}
{{Czech Forces in Team Yankee}}

[[Category:Team Yankee]]

Rune Priest

2019-01-11T11:01:27Z

2001:8003:3800:800:31C8:CA3A:2763:15D2: Undo revision 545646 by 75.169.44.101 (talk)

[[File:Rune_priest_by_adrian_smith.jpg|280px|right|thumb|We are totally not psykers! The lightning you see is our animal spirits helping us! Its all true! We swear on our wolfy wolfs!]]
Rune Priest are fucking [[Librarian|Librarians]] of the [[Space Wolves|Space Corgis]] and their existence is one of the most infuriating for those who despise the fucking [[Yiff|yiffers]]. Part of the reason why is because of the notion that the closet furries have a particular hate boner for psykers, especially the [[Thousand Sons]], and are known to treat psykers with suspicion and mistrust. As you can imagine, during the burning of [[Prospero]], [[Magnus the Red|Magnus]] pretty much went, "''What the absolute Fuck on Tizca's Tip, Russ! You hate our people for who we are and yet you yourself use psykers in your ranks!?''", to which [[Leman Russ|Leman]] promptly rebutted, "''You betrayed the Emprah! FUCK YOU!""

Thing is, the Rune Priests use shamanic rituals to avoid being sucked into the Warp. Totems and runes allow the Rune Priests to exercise caution and precision with their powers, but they know damn well to watch out for psychic predators and know their fucking limits. The Thousand Sons are reckless and self-indulgent with their powers. They consorted with daemons even before Magnus singlehandedly shattered the Emperor's design to utilize the (much safer) Webway. The Wolves don't hate the Thousand Sons because they're psykers; they hate them because the Vlka Fenryka had been fighting monsters and uncontrolled psykers since Russ was found, possibly including the two missing Legions, and the Thousand Sons gleefully charged down the path to damnation while treating the Space Wolves and everyone else like idiotic barbarians, and then acted like victims when their hubris and Tzeentch conspired to bite them in the ass.

Anyways, like the Librarians of Codex Chapters, Rune Priests are combatant psykers, using their psychic abilities to aid their brothers on the battlefield; off the battlefield, they are the keepers of the chapter's librarium and store of knowledge. The major difference is that Rune Priests do not believe their psychic abilities are derived from the Warp, but rather from the animistic spirits of their homeworld, Fenris; which is channeled through totems and runes on their armour, which as you can imagine, [[Bullshit|is fucking bullshit]] and is just more excuses for the Wolves to say, "Nuh-uh! Erh Meh Gerd! Des Tertelley Nert Psykers At All!".

There does seem to be an element of in-universe discrepancy on this: In ''Thousand Sons'' Ohthere Wyrdmake and [[Leman Russ]] say repeatedly that the Rune Priests did not use the power of the warp, even while accusing the [[Thousand Sons]] of corruption at the [[Council of Nikaea]]. However, in ''Prospero Burns'' Helwintr and Russ don't even mention this bullshit. The Space Wolves are not the savage ignoramuses that they want everyone to believe they are and seem to have a perfect grasp of the situation and can clearly differentiate between psyker and sorcerer, which is conveniently compatible with what will happen after the heresy. But the Thousands Sons seem to fall for it, so in their eyes, that fact that the Wolves would utter this kind of stupid nonsense is somewhat believable.

None of which changes the fact the Space Wolves have either deluded themselves or are lying to everyone else about where their own psychic powers come from, making them either idiots or hypocrites respectively. Also, if you think about it, their excuse for their hostility makes it even more hypocritical: they're just enjoying doing what they've always did and glorifying their burning of Prospero by pasting a lame ''"It's not personal, it's because you 'hindered' the Emperor, no wait, that still sounds too tepid... I'm just going to assume YOU BETRAYED THE EMPRAH WITH FULL MALICIOUS INTENT LIKE THE OTHER TRAITOR LEGIONS!"''.

The discrepancy between the depictions of "ignorant savage" vs "lying hypocrite" is addressed somewhat in ''Wolfsblade''. The Rune Priest traditions were descended from the shamanistic rituals of Fenris's native tribes, and have remained unchanged for countless centuries. Russ continues claiming that his Rune Seers do not draw on the warp; that they ''(and the Stormseers of the [[White Scars]])'' use "older traditions" which shield themselves from corruption from the warp by limiting the power they can draw from it directly; they acknowledge both the power of Fenris and the Warp side-by-side, essentially making their culture a lens through which the Warp can be viewed ''comparatively'' safely.

Russ even takes a jaunt into the '''Underverse''' ''(essentially a sanitised version of the Warp)'' to entreat with the [[Daemon|Wights]] to provide a means for wounding [[Horus]], which Russ succeeded in because he understood and respected the symbolism of the realm. One might say that the Underverse is exactly the same as the Warp, but the Underverse comes with rules and conditions to prevent travelers from wandering astray. ''("Drink, but don't eat the [[Meatbread|meat]]" etc)'' Because of this Russ is flat out called a hypocrite by [[Rogal Dorn]] ''(who coincidentally was the only Primarch who still adhered to the Edict of Nikaea at that point)'' who points out that there are no limits on power. Later Russ begins to wonder if he really was a hypocrite and privately resolves to examine his Rune Priests' relationship with the warp on another day. Whether he actually did this or not is anyone's guess.

==Chapter Role==
Rune Priests preserve their Chapter's entire history not in written form, but memorize it in great sagas. A Rune Priest who begins his training as a Skald is usually assigned to a single Great Company where he is taught its tales. With every new Great Year he joins another Company until he has learned the Chapter's full history and can be sent to whichever Rune Priest needs an apprentice.

The basic weapons of the Rune Priests are their psychically charged Runic Weapons. A common power among Rune Priests is the ability to summon storms across the battlefield which can cover the army's advance. Furthermore, they can cast runes which predict the ebb and flow of future events. These runes are usually carved from the bones or teeth of totem animals.

Many Rune Priests are psyber-linked to cyber-ravens, which are known as "Choosers of the Slain" to the Space Wolves. Their link enables them to see through the ravens, eyes and control them, thus allowing them to use them as scouts and messengers.

{{Space Wolves}}

[[Category:Space Wolves]]

Motor Rifle Company

2019-01-11T07:29:14Z

2001:8003:3800:800:31C8:CA3A:2763:15D2: /* In Team Yankee */ Again, 40-1 refers to when they were outnumbered

{{topquote|The Hammer, the Sickle, the AK-47|Ahoy}}

While tanks were the icon of the Warsaw Pact's militaries, it was the infantry that allowed these tanks to lead feared charges into Western Europe. With hordes upon hordes deployed, the Eastern Bloc often combined Soviet doctrine with training and doctrine from World War 2 or even earlier. For example, Poland's militaristic culture combined nicely with Communism while the NVA combined Soviet technology to Wehrmacht doctrine and the German reputation for precision. Regardless of their origins and uniforms, the infantry of the Eastern Bloc lacked the advanced technology that defined NATO forces but made up for it with reliable tools in sheer numbers.

Despite having nearly identical equipment, each faction employs its infantry in different roles thanks to the varying lists and stats.

==Motor Rifle Company==
[[File:Motorrifle Company.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Ivan! Keep up you ''debil''!]]
{{topquote|In the Soviet Army, it takes more courage to retreat than to attack.|Iosef Stalin}}
The base of all Soviet Infantry armed with AK74s for the most part. Additional weapons include PKM light machineguns, RPG-7s and a SA-14 Gremlin AA missile team. The differences in game vary mostly in specializing transport like the VDV with their Hinds and the Hardened veterans of the Afghan wars.

===In Team Yankee===
[[File:Soviet_MRC.jpg|300px|left|thumb|The Stats. Cyka Blyat?]]
The motorstrelki have the most options for a singular unit. In addition to additional weapons, you have a choice of three transports: BMP-2s, BMP-1s and BTR-60s. A good PACT player can be told from a great one from how they build their motorized infantry lists. There is no correct answer; each of these units are competitive and have their own niche. While your infantry company WILL overwhelm a NATO platoon in a head-on fight, they require support to get there. All the infantry bases in the world are next to useless when hit by machine gun fire and artillery without cover: smoke, artillery and pinning the enemy are essential to making your motor-rifles work, and also a key reason why PACT forces are far less beginner friendly than NATO units which can mostly function on their own (but not ideally).

While their PACT brethren may have 4+ skill, orders are not totally essential when commanding a solid wall of men. The key stats that make Soviet infantry so deadly in the game is 3+ morale and 3+ rally which allow them to recover from pinning most of the time. This means less time spent hugging the ground and more time to carry out your plan, whether its repelling attacks from a building or slowly advancing with smoke to cover. 3+ counterattack is nice to have, but not required in most game plans.

They might be expensive, but are more versatile and have easy access to BMP-2s across most formations, unlike their PACT comrades.

===IRL===
[[File:Soveit BMP & Infantry.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Ignore the dust comrade! It will only make you stronker!]]
Soviet Motor Rifle infantry, known as Motostrelki, were the bread and butter of the Soviet Armed Forces since the reformation of the Red Army into the Soviet Armed Forces in 1946. As the name implies Motorstrelki, or MR as they're abbreviated to, were all motorized infantry who were to act as the main Soviet force in any conventional or unconventional conflict. Their job would to act tactically as motorized infantry, and on what the Soviets dubbed the 'operational' level, a level of warfare between the strategic and tactical levels, help in the exploitation, reinforcement, and line holding duties, alongside supplementing tank units, their all motorized nature allowing them to keep up with the extremely high tempo warfare they had planned on.

Their use in battle was to dismount from their BMP, BTR, and MT-LB vehicles at a few hundred meters from their targets, and advance with their attached tanks at roughly equal pace which should, at least in theory, allow for infantry to keep pace with the tanks, allowing the tanks to cover the infantry, and vice versa with targets being pointed out to the tanks through the use of tracers the Motostrelki are given.
{{clear}}

==Mot-Schützen Kompanie==
[[File:Mot-Schützen Kompanie.jpg|300px|right|thumb|"Franz...are we the baddies, again?"]]
The ''Nationale Volksarmee'' was regarded as the best trained of the Warsaw Pact client states, including both their NCOs and officers who were considered to be a cut above their lesser motivated allies. Constructed on a base of communist diehards and reformed ex-Wehrmacht veterans the ''NVA'' combined the traditions of a German Army with battletested Soviet doctrine. Armed with their older MPi KM (AKM) rifles the Mot-Schützen lack the added firepower of the under-barrel grenade launcher of their soviet comrades (reflected in the stats). Though they were known for a greater usage of RPKs in the SAW role (not reflected in the stats).

===In Team Yankee===
[[File:Mot-Schützen_Kompanie_Card.jpg|300px|left|thumb|The Stat Card...]]
[[File:TV113.jpg|300px|right|thumb|and the heavy weapons. Achtung!]]
Like any PACT army, the East Germans have a tendency towards hoards of men and machines and the Mot-Schützen Kompanie is no different. They are functionally identical to Soviet motorized rifles with identical point costs. However, they gain 4+ skill and drop to 4+ rally: expect them to pass orders most of the time, but are more vulnerable to pinning. Experienced players will realize the importance of 3+ rally when their infantry choose to stay pinned instead of moving forward, which is the main issue stopping the East Germans from being strictly better Soviets. Motorshutzen also lack 5+ firepower on their assault rifles. Take note of this when planning attacks on entrenched or garrisoned infantry.

The two fundamental parts of your unit is the AKM Teams and your RPG-7 teams, but weapon teams make this unit more interesting. For 1 point each, you can take: an AGS-17 grenade launcher team, up to two Spigot ATGM teams and/or one Gremlin MANPAD team. Considering that you can take smaller infantry companies to bring more heavy weapons to the field, certain units may become redundant. For example, 3-4 companies of mot-schutzen with Gremlin MANPADs could fill your anti-air role in games with point values below 30. Spigots are not purchasable for BMP mounted troops, as your transports are already capable of firing missiles.

Points cost for the motorschutzen are identical to Soviet motor rifles, including the cost of transports.
{{clear}}

===IRL===
[[File:Mot-Schützen_Kompanie_BTR.jpg|300px|right|thumb|East German tourists, posing for a picture near the border.]]
One of the smaller armies of the Warsaw Pact the NVA maintained a high level of readiness like their Soviet comrades in the GSFG garrison, ready to mobilize for war within hours, and remember Berlin was split right in half with western armed forces behind the border in east German territory. If war started the first order of business was wiping those troops off the map as-fast-as-possible so they don't cause trouble. In the event of war, the NVA was to be placed directly into the 5 Soviet Armies of the GSFG, as opposed to their larger allies Poland and Czechoslovakia who would have their own Army-sized units.

You might be wondering why the East Germans have their own infantry models while the other to PACT nations have to make do with painting soviet infantry in different colors. When the National Volksarmee was formed in the late 1950s, they desperately wanted to prevent their soldiers from looking like Red Army clones, as the atrocities committed against the German people in the closing days of the war by the soviets were still very much in the public consciousness. In an effort to minimize obvious red army influences, many Wehrmacht traditions were transplanted directly into the Volksarmee, such as goose stepping on parade, and peacetime uniforms were almost a direct copy of the ones worn by their fathers, just with communist iconography rather than fascist ones. Their signature helmet was actually a wartime design, trailed in 1943 but never put into service due to the fact that helmet factories would have to have been retooled (it was thought that the West Germans would keep using the stalhelm, so to prevent friendly fire they needed something different).

The Volksarmee was so proud of its direct lineage from the Wehrmacht, that they often accused their western counterpart of "selling out" to the west in general and the Americans in particular, as the Bundeswehr had gone to great lengths to distance itself from the past by adopting American gear like the M1 helmet and by removing almost all of the past Nazi traditons.
{{clear}}

==Zmotory Kompania==

===In Team Yankee===
[[File:Slide1.JPG|300px|thumb|left|Polish Stats, towarzysz!]]

The motorized rifle company (zmotoryzowana kompania piechoty) have a very weird place in the Pact forces as having the best statline for frontline troops: resistant to morale shock and pinning but paying for it in points and weak equipment. Notably, your rifle teams don't have RPG-18s. All anti-tank duties are delegated to your RPG-7 teams, which may or may not be very significant depending on whether you expect your infantry to serve as all-rounders or to fight other infantry for the most part. They do have 4+ skill, which means you should be using orders whenever possible.

As with other PACT forces, try not to have these teams in close combat. You may have plenty of bases, but 5+ assault means you will only land one hit per three teams.

Polish motorized rifles (BTR/OT-64s) may purchase the following heavy weapon teams: 2 Spigot ATGM teams for 2 points each, and an SA-7 Strela team for one point.

Mechanized rifles (BMP-1s/BMP-2s) may purchase only a single SA-7 team, with the BMP-1 mounted team costing 1 point and the BMP-2 mounted team costing 2 points. Companies above the smallest size get 2 PKM LMG teams though, which offer a very solid base of fire that can pin a NATO platoon or shred through [https://www.callofduty.com/ca/en/| doughboys in the open].

Without mass BMP-2s, Polish players are forced to rely on the BMP-1: a decent vehicle, but lacking the AT21 ATGMs that make the BMP-2 so strong. The cost discounts of NVA and Czech riflemen balance this out, something your Poles do NOT get.

However, they do have the best statline second to the VDV if you want your infantry to push forward or just to bog the enemy down without becoming pinned. With 4+ skill and orders, you will have an easier time giving orders to blitz or dig-in and have the required stats to minimize the chances that they will panic and go to ground when hammered by artillery or machinegun fire. 5+ FP means that they excel in close-range firefights against enemy infantry...once you get close enough of course. Use smoke, artillery and cunning plans to ensure that these men can get close and do their job.

A key point with Polish units is that with BMP-1 and BMP-2 mounted infantry, you are paying premium points for the combination of elite infantry and 4+ BMPs with ATGMs. In fact, the maxed out BMP platoons cost 5 points more than their Soviet counterparts. For once you will probably outnumber the enemy 3 to 2 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epeQwq-aYV0 instead of the usual 1-40 that your Poles are used to].

Mediocre with BMPs, excellent with BTRs/OTs.

===IRL===
[[File:PolishFlavour1TeamYankee.jpeg|300px|right|thumb|Onwards, when no-one else will!]]
{{clear}}

==Motorizovaná Pěchota==

===In Team Yankee===
[[File:Slide7.JPG|300px|thumb|left|Onwards, when no one is left!]]

[[File:Slide4.JPG|300px|thumb|right|We are 'eavy weapons guys]]

The Motorizovaná Pěchota společnost (motorized infantry company) of the Czechs represent the cheapest infantry one can buy in Team Yankee and interestingly, are the only ones presented as a true conscript force with demoralized, underequipped soldiers who would rather be getting pissed in babushka's basement than being shot at by strange men shooting at them with big black cannons.

Unlike their Pact brethren, Czech infantry are atrocious on the offensive. Like the East Germans they have 4+ skill to make use of cover, but their 5+ rally stat mean that once pinned by artillery or machine gun fire, they are going to stay there for 3 turns statistically speaking.

In a firefight, the Czechs are rather mediocre. With their Vz.58 rifles having an 8" range, FP6, and pinned ROF 1, they are incredibly unlikely to actually do any damage once suppressed by artillery or gunfire. They may have the numbers, but they don't have the guts to actually fire back at the enemy or close in where their ROF3 Vz58s can do their work. If you don't run minimum sized companies the Vz.59 LMG team(s) can try to get a few shots off, but you only get one or two depending on your transport choice.

You can pay 2 points for a single stand of AGS-17 grenade launchers and/or SA-7 AA missiles per company. OT-64 mounted infantry also have the option of taking up to 2 stands of AT-4 ATGM for 2 points per team. If you are attacking then these are just extra points for a single stand that will probably spend most of the game moving or pinned down.

On the attack, a pinned company is a dead company that will fall to machine gun fire, rockets and almost anything that the enemy has to offer. On the defensive? This is where things start to change....

It may seem the Czechs have THE most worthless infantry in the game, which is false thanks to one redeeming factor: cost. While your infantry won't make their points back against all but the worst opponents, infantry in Team Yankee are still the toughest units to dislodge when <s>hiding in</s> taking bulletproof cover. And with skill 4+ you stand a decent chance of digging in. Taken as a single allied company, your conscript horde will HOLD the objective. Any player who has tried to repel dug-in British infantry will give horror stories of these troops gunning down all who tried to get close, before tearing through their men with 3+ assault. NATO players can look forward to sharing their own story, where an objective was protected by 7-21 bases of dug-in infantry. Your dug in infantry company can literally outlast your opponents, having enough bodies that it becomes a mathematical impossibility to capture objectives unless all firepower is focused on killing the defending company. The body-blocking tactics are a possibility with Czech players thanks to their discounts.

BTR/OT-64 mounted infantry can purchase AGS-17, up to 2 AT-4 Spigots, and/or an SA-7 Strela missile team. You can purchase a 4 point company with 4 rifle teams and 3 RPG teams mounted in 4 vehicles. 13 points gets you 10 rifle teams, 9 RPG teams and 1 LMG team with 11 BTRs or OT-64s.

BMP mounted infantry may only add on the AGS-17 and SA-7 Strela teams if desired. You can get a 5 point company with 4 rifle teams and 3 RPG teams mounted in 4 BMP-1s, or 7 points for BMP-2s.

Maximum sized infantry companies may ride on 12 BMP-2s for 18 points or 12 BMP-1s for 14 points.

===IRL===
[[File:CzechFlavour1TeamYankee.jpeg|300px|right|thumb|KSC men looking badass, proper firing posture not included.]]
{{clear}}

{{Soviet Forces in Team Yankee}}
{{East German Forces in Team Yankee}}
{{Polish Forces in Team Yankee}}
{{Czech Forces in Team Yankee}}

[[Category:Team Yankee]]

Chem Weapons

2019-01-09T09:19:40Z

2001:8003:3800:800:31C8:CA3A:2763:15D2: /* Blight Launcher */ I wish

Chem weapons are any weapons that use chemicals (Either artificially or biologically) to break down organic or inorganic substances down to its basic, soupy elements. Basically, we are talking about acid here, the type that makes the Wicked Witch of the West scream, "I'm melting!". These weapons can also be derived from biological sources that rapidly accelerate decay, leaving whatever
they touch as a mass of liquified, rotted flesh. Typically the most common user of Chem Weapons are Tyranids, but they basically have their [[Tyranid Bio-Weapons|own page for that.]] The other common user are the [[Death Guard]], which is unsurprising given [[Nurgle]]'s fondness for decay.

Chem Weapons are often used as a 'cleaner' counterpart to [[Flamer|Flamers]], as most chem acids are so powerful that the resultant victim is reduced to liquefied carbon composite that can be washed away with a spray of water. Furthermore, acids have the chance of weakening certain materials, which makes it great against power armor. Of course, that also means that certain materials can be so resistant to that particular acid compound that they can just laugh it off like water. Additionally, Chem Weapons just don't have the same psychological impact as Flamers as well as the fact that they don't have the unique aspects on sucking any breathable air in an enclosed space. [[Phosphor Weaponry|Then again, nobody said that they can't combine the aspects of both....]]

==Imperium==

===Chem Cannon===
[[File:Chem_Cannon.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Chem Cannon]]
The main armament of the [[Bane Wolf]], the Chem Cannon smother their targets in broiling clouds of noxious gas that dissolve organic material in moments. The victims' blood boils in their own veins and their flesh sloughs from one as the mixture of toxins do their horrific work before rendering even that down into a bubbling pool of rank, festering ooze.

Unfortunately, the acidic clouds of a Chem Cannon are known to drift according to wind direction, [[FAIL|sometimes even back towards Imperial forces.]] So it is in the Commissar's responsibility to maintain at least a bag of chem resistant suits for his troops to survive.

In 8th Edition, Chem Cannon wounds everything that's not a vehicle on 2s, with an improved AP-3 (at the cost of range, only 8", and shot count, only 1d6 vs the Hellhound's 2d6). Between the wounding improvement and the AP improvement, this will outperform the Inferno Cannon against MEQ even before you account for its reduced cost - the range is the primary issue, as 8.1" charges will ignore it on Overwatch, and the secondary issue is that while it's obviously incredible against monsters and Primarchs especially, it's absolute garbage against vehicles, and utterly inferior to the Hellhound versus anything not MEQ or MC.

{{40k-Imperial-Weapons}}

==Chaos==

===Injector Pistol===
[[File:Injector_Pistol.png|200px|right|thumb|Injector Pistol]]
Injector Pistols are the infamous weapon of Death Guard [[Biologus Putrifier|Biologus Putrifiers.]]

These weapons are only used on subjects the Putrifier wishes to study the effects of his latest strain of plague on and are often carefully selected among the enemy on the battlefield. They fire their Injector Pistols into vulnerable spots such as exposed flesh, chinks in armor and eye lenses before squeezing a concentrated dose of foulness into the target's body. A shot by an Injector Pistol injects a concentrated dose of Daemonic disease into the victim, causing him to erupt in explosive boils and clouds of flies.

Those specimens whose deaths are especially fascinating are pierced with injector pistols once again, this time to extract whatever clotted foulness now passes for their blood, ready for later study.

===Bile Spewer===
[[File:Bile_Spewer.PNG|200px|right|thumb|Bile Spewer]]
Technically not a flamer since it doesn't shoot fire but is still based on it. Papa Nurgle's forces doesn't use fire-based weapons because it doesn't leave anything for decay (since the flesh is burned off). Instead, his forces use "Bile Spewers", weapons using the flamer as the base weapon but the promethium tank is instead replaced with a tank full of toxic substances that does the same job as a flamer (efficiently kill infantry anywhere, be it in cover or in the open) but leaves a chance for the target's corpse to rot and decay, just as Papa Nurgle would like it.

Usually most players would swap the Bile Spewer for something better, but for a starting weapon, the Bile Spewer is a relatively decent weapon against horde armies and light to medium infantry. Even light vehicles aren't safe from this gun.

So far, this weapon's been only featured in Dawn of War II and is a great alternative to the Imperial Guard's Bane Wolf. It was later added in the Death Guard codex as the Plague Belcher; in this form, its statline is similar to a flamer but has one extra inch of range- a seemingly small change, but one that greatly improves its effectiveness in overwatch.

===Plague Sprayer===
[[File:Plague_Sprayer.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Plague Sprayer]]
AKA, the Nurglite Water Hose. A Plague Sprayer is the primary weapon of the abominable Plague Marines of the Death Guard Traitor Legion known as [[Foul Blightspawn]]. These cruel and malignant warriors take sick pleasure in watching their victims suffer in the grip of Nurgle's plagues.

On the field of battle, these foul servants of the Plague God spread putrescence and disease with their Plague Sprayers, which unleash a stream of stinking, infectious slime that is so potent that it can melt armor and flesh alike, rotting the souls of their unfortunate victims from within. The Plague Sprayer is attached to a contraption called the malignant churn, which the Blightspawn uses to mix and prepare his foul brew, stored in an "incubatum" worn on his back.

On the tabletop, the Plague Sprayer is a 9" Assault 1d6 S2d6 AP-3 D3 Plague Weapon that autohits like a flamer, which means that with a good enough roll for its S and number of shots it can trash anything from MEQs to vehicles.

If you want to go hunt monsters and tanks through making the most of his Plaguesprayer's high damage, than it is recommended to putt him near a Warlord with the Arch-Contaminator trait. You've got a 40% chance with T7 and a 68% chance with T8 to wound on 5s. Otherwise the Foul Blightspawn is best suited to take care of medium-to-low toughness units with multiple wounds, like Characters or Terminators.

===Plague Spewer===
[[File:Plague_Spewer.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Plague Spewer]]
The Bile Spewer's bigger brother. Plague Spewers are a type of Plague Weapon used by followers of Nurgle such as the [[Death Guard]]. They are one of the primary weapons of the elite [[Blightlord Terminator|Blightlord Terminators]], along with the Blight Launcher. They are pretty much the Nurglite equivalent to a Heavy Flamer.

In terms of crunch, the Plague Spewer is the same as the Plague Belcher but with heavy D6 S5 and AP-1. The plague equivalent of the heavy flamer. Stronger, but keep in mind that you still can't shoot it after advancing, which is pretty important given your slow movement. It also come at an ungodly price of 19pts.

Daemon Princes of Nurgle can now also bring a Plague Spewer, which makes up for not having a Warp Bolter, but still doesn't get Inexorable Advance, because Death Guard are bad at trait sharing; because the weapon automatically hits, this doesn't actually matter, but it's still massive [[Derp|derp.]]

===Plaguespitter===
[[File:Plaguespitter.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Plaguespitter]]
Plaguespitters are the primary armament of the [[Foetid Bloat-Drone]]. [[Pretend|Despite looking a lot like a]] [[Lascannon]] in appearance, the Plaguespitter functions in a completely different way.

Not much is completely known about the Plaguespitter other than the face that its name heavily alludes that it fires off like a machinegun rather than the pinpoint accuracy of a Lascannon. Furthermore, it could be assumed that the bullets or projectile it fires are drenched in disease and corrosive chemicals. This is supported by the fact that the Plaguespitter functions a lot like a Pus Cannon, in that it uses the mashed remains of flesh-mower victims for excellent fuel. [[Grimdark|So in a sense, this gun fires projectiles made up of your dead and rotting friends.]] How pleasant.

The above is now officially more or less confirmed. As the Bloat-drone or Plagueburst Crawlers slurps up diseased innards and maggot-thick mud through its strange metallic cables until its flesh starts to strains and pulsates, refining a hideous cocktail of hyper-concentrated toxic slime. Then, with a sudden spasm of regurgitation, the drone or Crawler squirts the resultant soup through its Plaguespitters, spraying it in great fans across the foe.

On tabletop, the Plaguespitter is an assault D6, S6 weapon that can re-roll 1 to wound, making it quite the threat to normal infantry.

===Blight Launcher===
[[File:Blight_Launcher.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Blight Launcher]]
Blight Launchers are a type of heavy Grenade Launcher used by Death Guard [[Blightlord Terminator|Blightlord Terminators]] and [[Plague Marines]]. This, along with the Plague Spewer is one of the primary range weapons of the Blightlords.

Blight Launchers are basically the Nurglite version of Plasma Cannons as it primarily fucks up most types of infantry. As Plasma Cannons vaporize any disease upon impact, the Blight Launcher acts as a compensation for Papa Nurgle; hitting with roughly the same force as a Plasma Cannon whilst leaving a pool of toxic chemicals in which Papa Nurgle loves the best. How considerate of Nurgle.

In terms of crunch, they are 24" Assault 2 S6 AP-2 D d3 plague weapons. A hard-hitting anti-infantry weapon that's also good against light vehicles. It can very well substitute plasma weapons if you want some more range in exchange with AP. It also has some really nice combo with Arch Contaminator. Now four points cheaper thanks to Chapter Approved!

===Heavy Blight Launcher===
[[File:HBlight_Launcher.png|200px|right|thumb|Heavy Blight Launcher]]
Take three normal Blight Launchers, duct taped them into a symbol of Nurgle and then [[Powergamer|supercharged]] that motherfucker. A Heavy Blight Launcher is a type of heavy Grenade Launcher used by the forces of the Death Guard Traitor Legion.

This ugly piece of daemonic tech is capable of firing three armor-piercing blight shells at a time drawn from a rusting drum magazine in rippling volleys. This rain of disease-ridden shells can reduce a battle tank to a corroded, collapsing wreck in moments, or bring whole squads of heavily armored infantry such as Terminators to their knees.

Furthermore, the Heavy Blight Launcher have a much more higher rate of fire then the regular Blight Launcher, enabling to sustain a consistent volley of weaponized space herpes at the enemy. Hence, it acts more of a anti-tank weapon than a light artillery.

On tabletop,Heavy Blight Launchers are basically three normal Blight Launchers with 12" more range; considering that it's got a 4+ to hit, and can't get Inexorable Advance. This may ''seem'' like a mediocre option at best, but in practice, it is actually a lot better than you'd think. 8th edition has many, many fast moving assault armies and plenty of units that can charge out of deepstrike to be on top of your fire support elements in the blink of an eye. Whilst other Death Guard units are too slow to react, move and counterattack a wide form of lightning bruisers like Assault Marines, Helldrakes and Flyrants; enter the Bloat Drone. The Plaguespitters are great, but if you need some long range fire support that can't get tied up by enemy assaults, the Heavy Blight Launcher has you covered. It can fly, its (important) stats don't go down as it takes damage, it's tough as nails for its cost, and it can play keep away with assault elements in the enemy army without sacrificing its usefulness.

===Plagueburst Mortar===
[[File:PlagueburstMortarMini.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Plagueburst Mortar]]
The quintessential Chem artillery. The Plagueburst Mortar is the primary weapon of the [[Plagueburst Crawler]], a [[Daemon Engine]] that provides mobile artillery support to the Death Guard. These Plagueburst Mortars boast a parabolic fire arc and very good range, while the shells they fire combine high-radius explosives with lethal clouds of corrosive daemonic spores to inflict damage comparable to that of Imperial Demolisher Cannons. The drawback of this weapon is its inability to fire at targets that are closer than its minimum range. Every shot spreads billowing clouds of lethal spores amidst shock waves of fire and shrapnel.

An area under sustained bombardment from these weapons can become so saturated with these spore clouds that it would become for all intents and purposes, [[Exterminatus|unable to support life again.]] Seriously, not even the rotting lifeforms of Nurgle could survive these clouds, these shells are baller as fuck. Daaaammmnnnn, these things make a Virus Bomb look as inept as a firecracker.

Because of such extreme chemical affects. Armor provides scant protection, as these spores somehow [[Wat|chew through ventilator grills and enviro-seals, corrode the thickest adamantium plating, and wear through rockcrete layer by layer until they spill into even the deepest and most well-protected bunkers.]] These effects have made the Plagueburst Crawler a much-hated weapon of war. Enemies strive to destroy them at any cost, while even the daemons of Nurgle look at them askance. After all, where the Plagueburst Crawlers strike, there can be no cycle of rebirth, no matter how foul. If all this sounds super [[Edgy]] to you, its because it is. Its creator is [[Mortarion|Ol' Morty]] himself, a weapon clearly crafted from the sheer bitterness of the Daemon Primarch.

On tabletop, the mortar is Heavy D6, S8, AP-2, Dd6 and can shoot at targets 12"-48" away, even if it cannot see them and it's also a Plague Weapon.

===Rot Cannon===
[[File:Rot_Cannon.png|200px|right|thumb|Rot Cannon]]
The Rot Cannon is a large weapon similar in size to a Battle Cannon used by Imperial main battle tanks. The Rot Cannon is carried into battle by [[Plague Hulk]] [[Daemon Engines]] used by the Forces of Chaos.

The weapon is an arcane device of unknown, although <s>possibly</s> obviously daemonic origin and is fused to the end of the creature's right arm. The Rot Cannon belches out shells that are so impregnated with dark ichor and infection that a mere scratch from the weapon's bone fragments will immediately and agonizingly fester into a crippling injury.

The Plague Hulk itself is a lumbering brute of rotting meat and metal, but its slow speed and large size means that it can't really afford to charge through an open battlefield even with its crazy Nurglite resilience. A battery of Basilisks Earthshaker Cannons can do a number on you, no matter how tough. Hence, the need for a Plague Hulk to have a range weapon such as the Rot Cannon is of much importance.

In 8th Edition, the Rot Cannon is largely unchanged but with new stats, 36" Heavy D6, S6 AP-3 D2 and all wound against Infantry are rerolled (cool).

===Pus Cannon===
[[File:Puscannon.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Pus Cannon]]
The biggest chem weapon to date short of Virus Bombs. The Pus Cannon is a disgusting weapon (And we mean <u>''disgusting''</u>, just look at the fucking thing) made up of a biological tube mounted in a normal gun turret. This weapon is fed by two large rendering vats full of rancid lard and rotten meat. The Pus cannon fires a gob of this vile goo at the enemy. Those who aren't drowned in filth fall ill, and promptly die from a deadly bacterial infection. It is mounted on the Nurgle [[Plaguereaper]], a possessed Baneblade but could also be found on the [[Contagion]] and [[Nurgle Plague Tower]]. However, the latter two daemon engines are fixed mounted to the front, reducing the weapon's true capabilities.

Like the smaller Plaguespitter, the Pus Cannon's ammunition refill works via dumping as much dead bodies in its two septic tanks as possible. The bodies than liquefy into a soupy goop of pure nasty before being discharged into the weapon's barrel.

Due to the fact that the Pus Cannon looks like [[/d/|a dick with severe space genital warts and that it,]] for all intents and purposes, [[NSFW|ejaculate its thick, slimy juices at people.]] It is pretty flabbergasting that this phallic shit was not part of a [[Slaanesh|Slaaneshi]] armory instead.
{{40k-Chaos-Weapons}}

==Dark Eldar==

===Liquifier Gun===
[[File:Liquifier Gun2.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Liquifier Gun]]
In simpler terms, they are the Dark Eldar's version of a Bile Spewer. More specifically however, Liquifier Guns are Dark Eldar weapons which spray a huge amount of potent acid that melt through body and armor alike. Minions of feared Haemonculi usually have built-in liquifier guns attached to their arms and by extention, their heavily mutagenic bloodstream from which they can fire their own acid-like blood onto the enemies.

Just as its name implies, Liquifier Guns reduce biological and inorganic materials into a chemical soup as the chemicals within these weapons are so potent (Thanks to the advancement in biological and chemical technology of the Dark Eldar) that very few factions can rival it.

In terms of crunch, Liquifier Guns is a D6 weapon that auto-hits with AP-D3. Even the worst roll for the AP still screws with armor and that 33% chance of turning power armour into a 6+ save is fantastic. Unfortunately it only has the strength of 3.

===Destructor===
[[File:DE_Destructor.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Destructor]]
The Destructor is a Dark Eldar weapon used primarily by [[Haemonculi]]. It resembles a long tube, with a cavity to slip one's hand into up to the elbow. The ammunition for the weapon is carried in a small container the Haemonculus wears, fed through a series of tubes. The Destructor sprays a wide stream of an incredibly corrosive organo-acidic compound when fired. This toxin can eat through any known armour, burn flesh, and once inside the target's system can cause, "blood vessel explosion or implosion; pharyngeal contraction; extensive haemolysis; skeletal disintegration; sclerotic corrosion; intercostal spasms; hyper-reacted thermoreceptors and chemoreceptors; Eustachian damage; retinal scarring; cardiac and respiratory atrophy and aqueous humor deprivation."

This device's effectiveness in combat has been confirmed time and again, with reports of a single Haemonculus able to decimate an entire squad of Space Marines with a single well-aimed volley, every man among them dying from sheer pain, or worse, leaving them alive but immobilized - blind, hideously burned, hemorrhaging blood from every orifice, wracked in unimaginable amounts of agony, helpless and in the twisted hands of the Haemonculi.

{{40k-DEldar-Weapons}}

Necropolis Hawks

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2001:8003:3800:800:31C8:CA3A:2763:15D2: Undo revision 544238 by 86.3.218.74 (talk) Not every Primaris chapter is Traitor Successors, idiot

{{wh40k-stub}}
[[File:Necropolis_hawks_color_scheme.jpg|250px|thumb|left|Color Scheme of the Necropolis Hawks]]
{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Necropolis Hawks
|Heraldry = [[File:Necropolis_hawks_heraldry.png|200px]]
|Battle Cry = "We claim this domain for the Emperor!"
|Founding = [[Ultima Founding]]
|Successors of = [[Raven Guard]]
|Successor Chapters = None
|Chapter Master = Raquilon Zandtus
|Primarch = [[Corvus Corax]]
|Homeworld = Unknown
|Strength = Unknown
|Specialty = Urban warfare
|Allegiance = [[Imperium]]
|Colours = Blue and white
}}
'''Necropolis Hawks''' are one of [[Roboute Guilliman]]'s new [[Primaris Marines|Primaris]] [[Space Marine Chapter|Chapter]]s.

Trained extensively in close-quarters warfare and veterans of a dozen close-fought cityfights, the Necropolis Hawks are stoic and efficient in their warfare. They bear their battlefield role insignia upon their backpacks so that their comrades can identify them even in the choking smoke and dust of urban war.

{{Marines-Official}}

[[Category:Primaris Marines]]

Black Crusade

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2001:8003:3800:800:31C8:CA3A:2763:15D2: Undo revision 543537 by 78.175.49.122 (talk)

{{heresy}}
''This article is about the crusades waged by the forces of [[Chaos]] in [[Warhammer 40,000]]. For the role-playing game by [[Fantasy Flight Games]], see [[Black Crusade (RPG)]].''
[[File:13th Black Crusade.jpg|thumb|right|480px|You gone done it now, [[Imperium of Man|corpse worshippers]].]]
{{Topquote|When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come.” And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.|Revelation 6:3-4}}

{{Topquote|When I was a young boy<br>My father took me into the city<br>To see the Black Crusade<br>He said,"Son, when you grow up<br>Would you be the leader of the broken<br>The beaten and the damned?"<br>He said, "Will you unleash them,<br>Your demons, and all the non-believers<br>The plans that they have made?<br>Because one day I'll leave you<br>A phantom to lead you in the summer<br>To join the Black Crusade.|Abbadon on Horus M.30}}

Just as the [[Imperium of Man]] wages Crusades against [[Xenos]] and [[Chaos]], starting with the [[Great Crusade]], led by the [[God-Emperor of Mankind|Emperor of Mankind]] Himself, the minions of the [[Chaos Gods|Ruinous Powers]] have launched several Black Crusades against the civilizations of the galaxy.

== Horus Heresy ==
The [[Horus Heresy]] might be thought of as first and the biggest Black Crusade of all, when Warmaster [[Horus]], [[Primarch]] of the soon-to-be [[Black Legion]], led his Legion and eight others, the very first [[Chaos Space Marines]], to try and overthrow the Emperor. They left the Imperium in ruins, but were narrowly defeated in orbit around [[Terra]].

==Abaddon's Black Crusades==
[[Abaddon|Ezekyle Abaddon]] is the galactic champion of launching failed assaults on the Imperium. Despite having titan legions, traitor legions, neckbeard legions, daemon legions, and the backing of four literal gods, Abaddon has managed to accomplish nothing but get his shit wrecked for millennia. Eventually he throws a tantrum so hard that he just drops a [[Blackstone Fortress]] on Cadia, destroying what might be the last weapon capable of hurting some of Chaos' [[C'tan|most dangerous foes]]. That's why his arms fell off and why he will look mad forever.
===A new perspective===
These constant failures have not escaped the eyes of the fanbase, and so Games Workshop (read: [[Aaron Dembski-Bowden]]) has rewritten the first twelve Black Crusades, now explaining that the first twelve were not for the purpose of conquering Cadia or Terra: they were simply aimed at gathering various superweapons, undermining the Imperium, and generally preparing for the "main event" of the thirteenth. Regardless, /tg/ tends to continue to mock Abaddon and his "failures", because memes are fun and/or everything Games Workshop does is to be mocked. Conversely in the fluff, a [[Racial Holy War|White Crusade]] is an Imperial led equivalent against Chaos, although it never really caught on.

A full list of what he actually did is as follows:

*{{anchor|1st Black Crusade}}'''1st Black Crusade''': Abaddon cemented the dominance of the [[Black Legion]] - and his rule over it - by defeating his chief rival Thagus Daravek and then scouring hundreds of worlds in Segmentum Obscurus. Even though his fleet eventually had to retreat, it took Sigismund's and (allegedly) Rogal Dorn's life to stop the crusade. He also acquired Drach'nyen from the Tower of Silence on Uralan.
*{{anchor|2nd Black Crusade}}'''2nd Black Crusade''': Abaddon destroyed an Imperial Navy base and the shipyards on Belis Corona and cursed the planet's moon to unleash a mutagenic plague upon the planet's inhabitants in the future. Later sacked the Inquisitorial vaults on Nemesis Tessera – butchering the Imperials and freeing all the Daemons imprisoned in the fortress.
*{{anchor|3rd Black Crusade}}'''3rd Black Crusade''': The Daemon Prince Tallomin is unleashed on the Cadian Gate. Tallomin is banished by a dozen Chapters of Astartes, after slaughtering many millions of Imperial soldiers. [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX|It was all a distraction]], as Abaddon could now desecrate the tomb of Saint Gersthal on the shrine world of the same name without any resistance, [[Just as planned|thereby preventing a prophecy of ultimate Imperial victory from coming true]].
*{{anchor|4th Black Crusade}}'''4th Black Crusade''': Abaddon assaulted the world of El'Phanor, a stronghold of the Cadian Gate. The planet was left a dead wasteland, leaving Cadia vulnerable to later attack.
*{{anchor|5th Black Crusade}}'''5th Black Crusade''': The one where Abaddon summoned [[Doombreed]].
*{{anchor|6th Black Crusade}}'''6th Black Crusade''': Acting on a tip-off from [[Be'lakor]] (yes, the same guy from Fantasy), Abaddon allies with the Sons of the Eye, a splinter faction that had broken off from the [[Sons of Horus]] shortly after the [[Siege of Terra]]. After annihilating a Forge World with their help, Abaddon executes the Sons' warlord and forces him to watch his men pledge their loyalty to the Black Legion as he dies.
*{{anchor|7th Black Crusade}}'''7th Black Crusade''': Circa 811.M37, also known as "The Ghost War". Abaddon steals some Eldar artifacts from the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] and leaves before the Imperium can muster a response. The Blood Angels respond at chapter strength on the planet of Mackan but even with the [[Rampagers]] giving them back up they're outgunned and outmanned by many magnitudes. In a dickish parody of the final battle between [[Horus]] and [[Sanguinius]], Abaddon rips Captain [[Acrion]] of the Blood Angels completely apart with the talon of Horus, and the Ravagers 7th company was completely slaughtered. In a surprising turn of events, Reclusiarch [[Thalastian Jorus]] of the Blood Angels decided to be [[awesome]] that day. The Blood Angels [[Death Company]], now bloated from the rage induced from their loss, plagued the Black legion for weeks on end, before their [[Creed| gambit]] payed off. The lines of the Black legion were over-stretched and left them easy prey for the Death Company. The Blood Angels [[Rip and Tear|murdered]] their way through the Black Legionnaires until eventually the Death Company and the [[Bringers of Despair]] themselves locked blades. In the midst of the fray Reclusiarch Jorus fought the Despoiler in single combat to avenge his nearly extinct chapter. Almost the entirety of the Bringers of Despair honour guard had been destroyed and Abaddon himself had been gravely wounded - presumably including the loss of his arms - by the Reclusiarch. Lheorvine Ukris, one of the Legion's founding members, was mortally wounded, most likely during this fight. Still, the numbers were terminally against the Blood Angels; the Black Legion eventually rallied and finished off the surviving Death Company and the Despoiler's wounded form was spirited away as Jorus was butchered--presumably with the smuggest of all grins on his face. In the aftermath, the [[Carcharodons]] burst from the warp with the Imperial Navy and the remnant of the Blood Angels--itching for a rematch. After mopping up the stragglers they were only greeted with a whole heaping helping of nothing as Abaddon the Despoiler had quit the field already and high-tailed it back to the Eye. All they found on the planet were the ruined corpses of the Blood Angel's who fell on Mackan, all of their progenoids ruined beyond all recognition--except for the Reclusiarch and the Death Company brethren. They were whole (save for the wounds the slew them of course)--their progenoids were untouched. To add to the unmitigated awesome of this entire story, Abaddon had taken the corpses and power armour of the slain honour guard and Black Legionaires and made a throne and dais for each and every one of the fallen Death Company. Reclusiarch Jorus was enthroned above them all for achieving the honour of leaving the Warmaster of Chaos scars he wears even to this day; a claim that [[Sigismund|very]] [[Saint Celestine|few]] [[Eldrad|can]] [[Garviel Loken|boast]].
tl;dr a cool retelling from the new index astartes that really makes everyone look fuckawesome, and adds a bit of character to ol' Abby.
*{{anchor|8th Black Crusade}}'''8th Black Crusade''': The Black Legion engages in a ritual sacrifice known as the Skullgather. They slaughter specific numbers of people on specific worlds, and arrange the dead in specific patterns. Hundreds of adepts of the Inquisition are driven insane in trying to break the cipher, while Imperial forces are too busy pursuing Abaddon's fleet to realize what he's doing. It ends with the council of Tech-Magi being sacrificed in the gears of the Forge World Rithcarn, completing the sequence of death and pleasing Tzeentch. Unbeknownst to anyone else, he also destroys several planets that were part of the pylon network Cadia was a part of- something which wouldn't be discovered until the 13th Black Crusade.
*{{anchor|9th Black Crusade}}'''9th Black Crusade''': Abaddon musters several Traitor Legions for the purpose of strangling the power of Cancephalus, a naval fortress that acted as a base for Imperial ships patrolling the Eye of Terror for any activity. Abaddon proceeds to massacre and mutate the people of Antecanis, a heavily populated world that provided most recruits and officers for Cancephalus. The Traitors depart after having annihilated the response fleet from Cancephalus, thereby crippling the Imperial Navy's power and opening up new routes for Chaos Space Marines to exit the Eye of Terror.
*{{anchor|10th Black Crusade}}'''10th Black Crusade''': Abaddon assaults the Helica Subsector (of [[Eisenhorn]] fame) with the aid of the [[Iron Warriors]], sending out some of his minor warlords as a distraction while he and [[Perturabo]] attack the [[Iron Hands]]' homeworld of [[Medusa]]. The Iron Hands barely hold on, and Abaddon and Perturabo leave after they are satisfied with what they have learned about Medusa's defenses. While technically victorious, the Iron Hands have suffered severe casualties and many of the worlds in their system have been destroyed.
*{{anchor|11th Black Crusade}}'''11th Black Crusade''': After binding a Daemon of Tzeentch within the oculus of his vessel in the hope that it may find new routes through the Warp storms, Abaddon gets caught in a warp storm and ends up in orbit over the planet Relorria. There the Traitor Marines encounter Orks, and a three-sided war breaks out. Abaddon takes many Orks as prisoners, after which he departs and leaves the humans of Relorria to deal with the remaining Xenos. He later discovers their connection to the warp and begins experimenting with them to see if they could be used to create Ork-Daemon hybrids.
*{{anchor|12th Black Crusade}}'''12th Black Crusade''': The one where he got the [[Blackstone Fortress]]es. See [[Battlefleet Gothic]].
*{{anchor|13th Black Crusade}}'''13th Black Crusade''': The latest Black Crusade, launched at the closing years of the 41st Millennium. For the longest time, this was where the timeline literally ''stopped'', and remained the case for several editions. Until, that is, ''The [[Gathering Storm]]'' happened.

Back in Third Edition, GW ran the "Eye of Terror" worldwide campaign to determine the outcome of the war. Going by the numbers of the battles sent in (admittedly not a tamper-proof measure), the forces of Chaos actually won the ground war, and the Imperium won the space war, since this was before GW had the "fuck our customers" mindset, they actually did wrap up the 13th Black Crusade... In the 18th issue of their Battlefleet Gothic Magazine. Yep, the major event that the whole setting stops at was wrapped up in an issue nobody bought. Abaddon's fleets (including the Planet Killer and a [[Blackstone Fortress]]) were crippled and he and his generals were stranded on a dozen worlds. They continued to win the ground war on most planets, including Cadia, but even if they did capture those they'd be left stuck without any way of proceeding whereas the Imperium [[Exterminatus|could just virus bomb the captured worlds]].

Eventually GW decided that change was both terrible and terrifying, so they retconned it away. In the new version, Abaddon beat the odds and somehow managed to actually take Cadia, despite losing a considerable amount of his own forces to the unholy alliance of Imperial and [[Necron]] forces ([[Trazyn the Infinite|Trazyn]] was bored that day and wanted to be in on the historical event, although sadly his attempt at taking Abbadon as a souvenir didn't work out) that tried to stop him. As a result, the Eye of Terror grew at an explosive rate, forming [[Great Rift|a massive Warp rift]] that has effectively cut the Imperium in half.

Despite a predictable amount of fragmentation among the constituent warbands occurring after Cadia's fall, the Black Crusade is still ongoing.

==14th Black Crusade==
[[/tg/]] has gotten tired of the so-called "Failbaddon's" antics, and so somebody decided to take matters into his own hands and launched Abaddon Quest, in which /tg/ controls [[Abaddon's 14th Black Crusade]]. He's doing much better this time around (barring a few acts of sexual deviancy that even Chaos Marines found unsettling).

==Minor Black Crusades==
While Abaddon is the favored son of [[Chaos]]; several other Chaos leaders, like [[Chaos Lord|Chaos Lords]], [[Sorcerer|Sorcerers]] or [[Daemon Prince|Daemon Princes]] have launched their own Black Crusades. Usually, these minor crusades will be launched from a coalition of sorts between several chaos warbands, as few have the resources needed to launch them on their own (Think about Marines, heretics, tanks, daemon engines numbering in the hundreds of thousands and a [[Titan (Warhammer 40,000)|Titan]] or several). However, those who have them (like Abaddon, some Daemon Princes or VERY successful Lords like maybe [[Huron Blackheart]]) also have the benefit of a centralized command and honor no pact to an external force, which sometimes lead to a more successful campaign.

These engagements pale in comparison with Abaddon's but they're far greater than your average saturday-night chaos raid. These conflicts can reach anywhere from sub-sectors, whole sectors or several; depending of the objectives or ambition of the one who put themselves in charge (usually by skullbashing) and the bloodlust of his troops. Regardless, these "minor" Black Crusades are awful events (save for Chaos, obviously) that see billions dead and war at great scale, to the point that even [[Space Marines|Astartes]]' plot armor barely make it and many forces are drawn into the meat grinder to halt them. However they're usually halted, or not. It depends of the mood of the gods or the importance the Militarum Command puts on them.

To finish: [[Campaign|Have you ever played a multi-game or map campaign with your CSM army, specially with Chaos Allies?]] [[Black Crusade (RPG)|Or you and your heretic friends thought of make some use to the tons of troops that pledged themselves to you and start a war to gain the last ounces of favor needed for Apotheosis?]] Then congrats, [[Your Dudes|you have, or are on the way to, lead your very own Black Crusade!]] Now go out there and smack some more loyalist ass, champ!

{{Template:40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Chaos]]

Hammerhead Gunship

2019-01-01T06:06:39Z

2001:8003:3800:800:31C8:CA3A:2763:15D2: Undo revision 543469 by 2607:F2C0:E748:C50:4C9D:DF3E:8B03:21DC (talk) Except they do

[[Image:T hammerhead.jpg|thumb|500px|right|[[Magical Realm|Dare you enter my Anti-Armour Realm?]]]]
The '''TX7 Hammerhead Gunship''' is the [[Tau]]'s analogue to a tank. It has a distinctly piscine name and can be considered the Tau Empire's main battle tank, being a general purpose combat vehicle. It can mount either a [[railgun]] or an [[ion cannon]] as its primary weapon. Both have two firing modes: one against hordes of infantry while the other works better against tougher targets. [[Forge World]] used to make some additional primary weapon options for the Hammerhead: two long-barrelled burst cannons, twin-linked [[missile pod]]s, two plasma cannons, or two fusion cannons. Unfortunately those parts are no longer in production, so you better get busy converting some of your own if you want them. Rules for these systems can be found in the Imperial Armour Index: Xenos.

Secondarily it is equipped with either a pair of independently targeting [[gun drone]]s, a twin-linked pair of [[burst cannon]]s, or a twin-linked smart missile system. The gun drones' advantage is that their guns count as being the Hammerhead's as long as they are embarked, making their weapons a lot more reliable and don't suffer from the -1 To Hit if the Hammerhead moves as they are Assault weapons. Don't forget that they have two Pulse Carbines, giving the pair a total of 4x2 shots. The Burst Cannons have the exact same stats, but they cannot be detached and added to a unit to give them two abalative wounds. Smart Missile Systems meanwhile are double the firepower and nearly double the range with the same stats, but at the cost of costing twice as much and being Heavy weapons. Most of the time though these secondary weapons are moot points unless there's an emergency, since the Hammerhead will usually try to stay outside ranges at which it needs to use them anyway, so most people take drones and detach them to press forward or create cover and distraction targets while Hammerhead stays on the back lines.

Fluff says that it and the Leman Russ tank are more or less equally matched. Given the number of Leman Russes in existence compared to the number of Hammerheads, though... probably sucks to be a Hammerhead in the fluff. On the other hand, in the Taros Campaign the Imperial Guard lost five to six Russes for every Hammerhead destroyed, though considering they were waging war in the flat, open desert with no cover, under constant markerlight-guided missile barrage, and with supply lines being cut almost the second they were established, those statistics may be misleading. Unlike the Leman Russ, the Hammerhead is not intended to smash its way into enemy lines, instead hanging back and exploiting the 72" range of the railgun to put holes in the Tau's enemies while taunting them to try and rush it.

In 4th and 5th Editions, the Hammerhead competed with Broadside [[Battlesuit]]s for heavy support slots. For roughly the same cost, a trio of Broadsides could put three twin-linked railgun shots on target compared to the single-shot Hammerhead. However, the Hammerhead could move further before shooting, and could fire the S6, AP4 large blast template to vaporize light infantry, while Broadsides could only, at best, bump off three soldiers with a lucky round of shooting. For the 6th Edition [[Codex]], [[Games Workshop]] decided to "resolve" the conflict (read: give people a reason to spend their money on both Broadsides ''and'' Hammerheads) by changing the Broadside's main weapon to the "heavy rail rifle"—nerfed to S8, but with the option of getting Skyfire, making them a threat to flyers in a way that a lone Hammerhead never could be. Although admittedly this nerfing makes sense fluff-wise since the Hammerhead's railgun was always larger than a Broadside Battlesuit's.

==Comparison to the Leman Russ==
[[Image:Tau_Firepower_Demotivator.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Sniping tanks for the Greater Good.]]
'''"Shas'ui, I have spotted the Gue'la tanks sitting on the horizon line, twelve kilometers downrange! Engaging now!"'''
:Three seconds later* '''CLANG, KA-BOOM!''' ''The Leman Russ spontaneously explodes''

Design-wise, it's interesting to note that while the Russ looks like (as the [[Leman Russ Battle Tank|Russ's 1d4chan article]] says) "A drunken three-way between an old [[Wikipedia:Mark V tank|British Mark-V]], a [[Wikipedia:M3 Lee|M3 Lee]], and a [[Wikipedia:T-34|T-34]]", the Hammerhead looks more like the love child conceived after a night of red wine between an [[M1 Abrams]] and the [[Wikipedia:Railgun#U.S._Navy_tests|U.S. Navy rail gun program]]. And then the child was spoiled rotten by Grandma [[Wikipedia:Attack helicopter|Attack Helicopter]].

Much like a cold war tank, the Hammerhead is low to the ground with good (if the model is any indication) gun depression (said to be from -10° to +28°), with a main gun that can be either anti-tank or anti-infantry depending on its firing mode, while being blisteringly fast. Further, its role is more akin to a U.S. tank than a Soviet one, as western tanks were built to take on lots and lots of Soviet tanks at once. As mentioned, Hammerheads are almost always drastically outnumbered by Leman Russes. (Who are the communists supposed to be here, again?)

Tactically they fill the same niche as a modern tank, an element supporting mechanized infantry advancing very, very quickly, and taking out armor while using its machine guns on infantry, and The ion cannon fills a role similar to a Bradley's chain gun by taking out infantry and (if a modern military ever faced power armor) heavy infantry. While it does have rather fine armor, Hammerhead rely more on evasive maneuvers, disruption pods and straight up outranging it's opponents to survive, so it can potentially withstand twice to trice more anti-tank fire than most imperial tanks. The Leman Russ, on the other hand, is a World War II tank and it shows; it's much slower and has a much broader silhouette, but it's bristling with guns and relying purely on it's thick armor, while lacking more sophisticated defense systems.

==On the Tabletop==
The Hammerhead carries a decent profile: T7 W13 3+ means it can take a beating, while its BS3+ lets it fire its weapons reliably even when utilizing its 12" Fly movement. It does degrade over time at 6 and 3 wounds: each time its movement halves and its BS becomes 1 worse, and its attacks degrade like every other tank. A basic Hammerhead clocks in at 133 with two drones. You then have to pick either a Railgun or an Ion Cannon:

* The Railgun is the cheaper option of the two and nets you either a 72" Heavy 1 S10 AP-4 DD6 shot that deals an additional D3 Mortal Wounds on a 6 To Wound, of a 72" Heavy D6 S6 AP-1 D1 shot that can put a dent in hordes. This is the inferior option however: the massive amount of Burst Cannons and Pulse weapons mean that you've got plenty of options to deal with everything below [[MEQ]].
* The Ion Cannon gives you a choice as well: either a 60" Heavy 3 S7 AP-2 D2 shot or a 60" Heavy D3 S7 AP-2 D3 shot that goes up to Heavy D6 against units 10+ models in size, but causes a Mortal Wound for every 1 you roll To Hit. Generally the Ion Cannon is not really worth it: you have better guns to deal with [[TEQ]]s aand the overcharge shot is only the superior option when dealing with large units, which rarely warrant the D3 anwyay.

Then there are the support weapons. Two gun drones at 16 points is a nice deal, granting you 8 extra shots at close range to deal with light infantry. Not only that you can detach them near an Infantry or Battlesuit unit to give them two extra wounds, which is immensely helpful with your more expensive units. For 20 points you can instead take two Burst Cannons, but those have the same firepower as the drones do and can't detach. The Smart Missile Systems are expensive at 20 ''each'', but ignore cover bonuses and can be fired blind at the cost of being Heavy weapons, but this is offset by the Hammerhead's BS3+ and high rate of fire. Finally it can take up to two Seeker Missiles at 5 points each, which is always welcome.

The Forge World versions suffer from being massively [[overcosted]]. Their primary problem is that the hull itself already clocks in at 161 points, and it doesn't even have guns at that point. If you want to make a powerful missile boat out of the Heavy Bombardment Hammerhead with its standard High Yield Missile Pods, two Smart Missile Systems and two Seeker Missiles you're looking at almost 300 points. And the 8 S7 AP-1 DD3 and 8 S5 AP0 D1 shots just are not worth it. Even going with the cheapest option you're looking at a tank that's 100 points more exensive than the Railgun Hammerhead. The Fire Support Hammerhead is 171 bare and requires some very expensive weapons:

* The Twin Fusion Cannon is the ''cheapest'' at 54 points. They're a pair of Fusion Blasters with 24" range delivering a Heavy 2 shot and nets a reroll of the damage within half range. On paper it's better at popping tanks than the Railgun and utilizes the tank's speed and Fly ability to get close, but afterwards you'll be a sitting duck, which is pricy for a model that's almost 250 points.
* The Twin T'au Plasma Cannon is a pair of souped-up Plasma Rifles, shooting 4 shots at 48" S7 AP-3 D2. This makes the gun surprisingly effective at taking down [[TEQ]]s from a distance, but its 60 point price tag makes it five and a half times as expensives as a regular Plasma Rifle.
* The Twin Heavy Burst Cannon is the closest the Tau have to a Leman Russ Punisher. A whopping '''16''' shots at 36" dealing S6 AP-1 D1 damage, it can tear through entire infantry squads in one turn. The downside is, once agian, its cost: 70 points. While it's tempting to give your Hammerhead this weapon and two regular Burst Cannons for some delicious [[dakka]] goodness, remember that this will set you back 261 points, which is way too expensive for what it does.

Finally there's the option of taking [[Longstrike]]. Costing only 20 ponits you'll get BS2+, +1 to wound against Vehicles and Monsters, +1 To Hit for other Hammerheads within 6" and has For the Greater Good, netting you some extra shots in case of a charge. To get the most out of him you'll need at least one additional Hammerhead, but it's worth it for the improved performance.

The Hammerhead's signature railgun is also carried by the [[XV88 Broadside Battlesuit]], who have a lighter but faster firing Rail Rifle. If you want pure Rail goodness the Hammerhead is currently the superior option: the Hammerhead is slightly cheaper but far sturdier and can lay down more reliable damage, even when counting the fact it fires more slowly. Overall the Hammerhead is an excellent tank and a mainstay of Tau armies for a good reason.

===Power Ratings===
With Power Ratings the Hammerheads are slightly behind the 20-points-per-power curve, but still make for excellent tank hunters. Longstrike is still worth it as well, costing 11 power. The real stars are the Forge World configurations: costing the same 10 points as the regular Hammerheads they suddenly become viable. The missile hell of the Heavy Bombardment Hammerhead is suddenly a lot more viable and outclasses the similarly-armed Broadside greatly, while Fire Support Hammerheads become usable as well. The Twin Fusion Cannons might still not be entirely worth it, but the Twin T'au Plasma Cannons become an option and the concentrated fire of the Twin Heavy Burst Cannons let you concentrate your firepower on a single unit.

{{Tau}}

[[Category:Vehicles]]

Beholder

2018-12-31T02:44:54Z

2001:8003:3800:800:31C8:CA3A:2763:15D2:

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category:Monsters]]
[[Image:Beholder_balloon.jpg|thumb|right|Drow clowns make a different kind of balloon animal]]

A '''beholder''' is a giant lumpy... thing that looks like a floating octopus with a giant eye in the middle. The tentacles also have eyes at the end of them. Yuck.

Beholders, like [[Illithid|Mind Flayer]]s, are considered "intellectual property" of <s>TSR</s> Wizards of the Coast, so they aren't allowed to be used in third party D&D supplements or in [[Pathfinder]] as they were not covered under the [[OGL|Open Gaming License]]. This naturally doesn't stop [[ChapterHouse Studios|weirdly]] [[Original character, do not steal|similar]] creatures from appearing in various [[weeaboo]] JRPGs and related works, where they're usually called "gazers" or similar. Yes, this includes [[Monstergirls]]. Of course one game even used the name beholder, but we all excuse it, because this game is [[Heroes of Might and Magic|THE GAME. THE LEGEND.]]

==Personality and Characteristics==
Beholders are selfish bastards who love to manipulate and enslave any races considered beneath themselves (i.e. every other species). They are extremely [[Imperium|xenophobic]] even going so far as to kill other individuals of their species that look even ''slightly'' different from themselves, though they always go after the more extreme divergences first; two beholders will gang up on the "freak" with scales and fiery eyes before trying to kill each other over the differences in their numbers of teeth. Soooo basically the D&D equivalent of a [[Doctor Who|Dalek]].

Despite this, or perhaps because of it, the beholder race has a lot of genetic variety (as evidenced by the number of Beholder variants, all of whom hate each other, as listed below). They are greedy, often living in dungeons stuffed with valuables. They can cast magic from their eyes and often rule over unwilling souls through domination. One even runs the Thieves' Guild of Skullport, the most recent of several beholders to have done so.

Beholders worship the [[Great Mother]] and due to their massive egos, they are convinced that the Great Mother looks exactly like theirself.

==Notable Variants==
===2nd & 3rd Edition===
* Beholder: Your basic beholder. A central eye that projects an anti-magic cone and ten smaller eyes that each fire a different ray, such as charm person, disintegrate, and flesh to stone.
* Gauth: basically, babby's first beholder, with only 6 eyestalks of doom and a reduced ability to disintegrate everyone.
* Eyeball: tiny beholder, best used as a familiar. Pretty damn adorable for a beholder, still Neutral Evil.
* Death Tyrant: basically, a Beholder lich. Yeah, you're probably fucked.
* Death Kiss: instead of dispensing death-beams from its eyestalks, they use them to suck your blood.
* Astereater: giant space-faring asteroid beholderkin with no eyestalks that eats your ship. For some reason it likes to enslave [[Giff]] to use as soldiers. [[Spelljammer]] was weird. Beholders and other beholderkin insist that they have no relation to them.
* Examiner: Four eyestalks, four limbs, and no central eye. Their limbs let them use tools and weapons, and they can create magic items. They also regenerate 1 hit point every round.
* Lensman: The lowest of all beholderkin. Looks like a cross between a starfish and an ape with a single eye, which may have one of six different powers.
* Watcher: the second lowest of beholderkin. Has three normal eyes around its body and a large compound eye on the top surrounded by six eyespots, and a single tentacle on the bottom which can inflict electric shocks. Its three regular eyes each have two different powers, and the compound eye can use three of those powers. Can cast the message and tounges spells. They are cowardly and manly act as scouts.
* Elder Orb: A larger beholder with a much longer than normal lifespan. Always has at least 6 levels of sorcerer.
* Hive Mother/[[Hive Tyrant]]: The highest ranked of all beholders and beholderkin. basically a bigger meaner beholder that holds beholders and beholderkin under its sway.
* Spectator: true neutral beholderkin. It's actually pretty swell, as far as beholders go. Remember that one beholder in Baldur's Gate? They can be summoned with a ritual using four beholder's eyestalks
* Overseer: a beholderkin that looks like a giant fleshy tree trunk with thirteen eyestalk branches, tentacles for roots, and several mouths at the base. Yes, I realize that it looks nothing like a beholder, but the book says it is so fuck it, let's call it a beholder. Like the hive mother, it also has the ability to dominate other beholders.
* Eye of the Deep: it's like a beholder BUT UNDERWATER! And it tastes oddly of shrimp. Also, it's got little arms with crab-pincers. Only has two eye stalks and the central eye can flash blinding light. Also can cast the spell persistent image, which it uses to create [[Trap|illusion of mermaids]] and other things to lure victims closer.
* Director: a beholderkin with three bottom tentacles that it uses to ride vermin, usually giant centipedes. Because haven't we all wanted to ride a giant centipede like a pony up and down the streets... SHUT UP, I DON'T JUDGE YOU! Has six eye stalks and its central eye generates a protective forcefield around itself and its mount.
* Beholder mage: when the DM wants the entire party to die horrible deaths but doesn't feel like using rocks. This is a special character class that only true beholders can take, which requires them to remove their anti-magic eye, and whenever they gain a the ability to cast a new level of spells must sacrifice one of their eye powers to turn that eyestalk into a spellstalk which casts spells of that level. At level 10, it's empty eye socket can absorb spells to heal it. All the cheese of a wizard with more spells per day, the ability to blast 10 spells at once at you as free actions, and fucking spontaneous casting. Even munchkins shit their pants in fear when they hear of these things. One of the unholy trinity of fuck off broken PCs that you can technically enter, the others being tainted scholars and Illithid Savants. And that's before you start optimizing the bastard because the fucker can still take ten more levels before becoming epic.
* Gouger: A beholderkin created to fight beholders. It does not have any eye powers other than the antimagic eye. It attacks with a long barbed tongue which it uses to disable other beholder's eyes. Larger than regular beholders and has four small legs hanging off of their body.
* Gorbel: A clawed beholder with no eye powers that likes to explode.
* Orbus: A spellcasting beholder with no eyes other than the anti-magic central eye.
* Doomsphere: A ghost beholder created by a magical explosion.
* Kasharin: A disease carrying zombie beholder.

===4th edition===
4e made use of quite a few different kinds of beholder, though almost all of them were pretty rapetastic, being made for higher levels. Most kinds of beholders had a Telekinesis Ray that they could use to slide enemies about, though for most that's all they do.

* Gauth - Pretty much the same as old editions, this is the pitiful little baby of the beholder family in 4e, and something you can toss at low-level parties to scare them without killing them. Level 5 Elites that can shoot fire, sleeping rays and exhaustion rays, and immobilise with its central eye.
* Bloodkiss - Another carry-over, and the second-weakest beholder statted, this one got the Undead subtype for some reason (guess they didn't read up and thought it was "just" a beholder vampire). Level 9 Solo Controller that relies on its blood-sucking tentacles to rip up anything in reach, though it also packs a psychic + dazing effect Death Scream attack and can hit people a lot of times.
* Eye of Shadow - Beholders who spent too long in the shadowfell, dissolving into a blot of darkness and hate. Fairly puny (level 12 Elite), but seriously trolling, with blinding rays, thundering rays, freezing rays, and the ability to pull off a "teleport 20 squares and then be invisible" trick.
* Eye of Flame - A beholder that specialises in burninating shit. Central eye gives vulnerability to fire and causes fire attacks to do ongoing, eyestalks blast foes with fire and fear effects. A low-Paragon tier (level 13 Elite) foe.
* Eye of Frost - We got a burn-your-ass beholder, so evidently we need a freezinating beholder. Slightly tougher (1 level higher) than its counterpart. Central eye means cold damage can immobilise those it looks at... weirdly, its got two kinds of freezing rays; one that does a lot of cold damage, one that does less cold damage but freezes your ass solid.
* Beholder Spawn - Baby beholders wanna eat your face, too. Level 15 Minions that can bite or do elemental damage with their eye-rays.
* Death Tyrant - Zombie Eye Tyrants, pretty much. Way weaker than their older namesakes (level 15 Solo). Central eye can strip away necrotic resistance (guess what kind of damage it does most) and slow you, and eyebeams focused on kill-you-dead. Choice is whether it just necrotic damages you to death, petrifies you, makes you die, or makes you die and then come back as a ghoul. Oh, and it has a fear ray too.
* Ghost Beholder - Dead Eye Tyrant who came back as a ghost. A level weaker and only an Elite, but still pretty nasty. Freezing eye rays and the ability to possess and mind control your dudes: not a lot of fun if your Will is shitty.
* Eye Tyrant - Your basic beholder for this edition, and pretty damn nasty (level 19 Solo). Can daze you with its central eye, or use its eyestalks to cause radiant and necrotic damage, put you to sleep, paralyze you, confuse you, terrify you, petrify you, disintegrate you or kill you outright.
* Eye of Chaos - Now we're getting into the big guns. Level 25 Elites that will drive you almost as crazy as themselves, with the ability to lock you down to at-will powers only with their central eye and hit you with rays of force, blinding, confounding, madness, fear or teleportation.
* Ultimate Tyrant - They ain't fucking kidding when they named this bastard. Level 29 Solo - there are ancient dragons that aren't this nasty! Central eye locks you down, other eyes can drive you mad, unravel you, dissolve you, burn you, freeze you, drag you around, petrify you, disintegrate you, pull you closer or hurl you away.

===5th Edition===
5e's first Monster Manual provides three forms of beholder; common beholder (or Eye Tyrant), Death Tyrant, and Spectator. The first two variants are what 5e calls Legendary creatures, meaning they have extra powers in their lairs that they can trigger on Initiative Count 20, certain specific effects mark the regions in which they lair, and they have special Legendary Actions that they can perform outside of the normal turn sequence. Their legendary ego has been given up a serious boost; now, beholders mutate at random just by accidentally thinking too hard, their ego is that overpowering. This is also how they reproduce: by sleeping and dreaming of other beholders, bending reality in that way.

* Beholder: You know it, you hate it. Challenge level 13. Has its old antimagic cone central eye back, a bite attack for piercing damage, and ten eye rays, of which it can use three each round, rolling randomly to determine which three it has. Charm ray, paralyzing ray, fear ray, slowing ray, enervation ray, telekinetic ray, sleep ray, petrification ray, disintegration ray and death ray. It can burn one of its three legendary actions at the end of another creature's turn to blast somebody with a random eye ray. Its lair effects consist of three options; change a 50ft square up to 120ft distant into slimy difficult terrain, make any walls within 120ft sprout flailing appendages that'll grapple anyone within 10ft who can't beat a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check, or cause an eye to pop up on any solid surface within 60ft that can then shoot a random eye ray at any enemy within its sight. For region effects, they're all fluffy; creatures within 1 mile sometimes feel they're being watched, or minor reality warps that affect inanimate objects (markings changing on a wall, slime coating a statue, etc) pop up whilst the beholder is sleeping. Volo's Guide to Monsters introduced a table of potential alternate eye rays, in case your party was feeling complacent.
* Death Tyrant: A beholder who dreamed of living forever. So it died in its sleep and became an undead beholder skull with ghostly eyes. It trades the antimagic cone for a negative energy cone (creatures can't regain hitpoints, humanoids that die in its area of effect become zombies under the death tyrant's command on the next turn). It has the same eye rays and legendary actions as the beholder. Its lair actions are variants of the beholder's - its grabbing walls are DC 17 and reach into the Ethereal Plane, it creates a 50ft cube of lightly obscured difficult terrain, and it can create a spectral eye at any point within 50ft, which can also target foes on the Ethereal Plane. It has one crunchy regional effect; a creature that is both hostile to the death tyrant and aware of its existence must roll a D20 if it finishes a long rest within 1 mile of the death tyrant's lair. On a 10 or less, it gets zapped with a random eye ray.
* Spectator: A lesser beholder variant with only four eye stalks, conjured from another plane of existence via a ritual that requires four beholder eyestalks as material components. It's only Challenge level 3 and it's Lawful Neutral, rather than the Lawful Evil of the others. It has a Confusion Ray, a Paralyzing Ray, a Fear Ray and a Wounding Ray, and it can magically create all the food and water it needs to sustain itself each day. It's a fool's gambit to attack it with spells thanks to its Spell Reflection reaction, which lets it retarget a spell that missed the spectator, or which forced a save that the spectator passed, against another creature within the spectator's line of sight and that is at least 30 feet from the spectator.
* Beholder Zombie: Much weaker than a living beholder. Loses most of its eye rays and its anti-magic cone.
* Death's Kiss: A Beholder who had nightmares about bleeding out spawns a vampiric tentacle monster, using toothy mouth-stalks to voraciously suck the blood from other creatures. It also bleeds lightning, for some reason. Not as smart as a normal beholder, but for this reason not as egotistical or paranoid. Added in Volo's Guide to Monsters.
* Gauth: A smaller beholder who sometimes shows up if you screw up the ritual to summon a spectator; it's got six eyestalks, four tentacles, and smaller eyes all around its central eye, so it's hard to understand how wizards can get confused when it lies and claims to be the real deal. The issue is that Gauths are magic eaters, sucking the juice from magical items to sustain themselves, so you can see why that makes them pretty piss-poor guards for a wizard's lair. They're weaker than true beholders and also less xenophobic. Also, they explode when you kill them.
* Gazer: A ridiculously adorable and weak little beholder (only Challenge 1/2 - that is, a ''twenty-sixth'' of the strength of a true beholder) that is sometimes dreamed into being. They're so amusingly pathetic that even pure beholders often keep them as pets, and they have the same sadistic ego of a full beholder in miniature. Have caused a lot of argument over whether the sidebar on gazer familiars is intended for PCs as well or just for mage NPCs, and if so if house rules should be used to slot them in as Chain Pact warlock familiars, let them take the action to fire their eye-rays, etc.
* Mindwitness: A beholder converted into an [[illithid]]-like creature via ceremorphosis. Now that those of you who aren't currently running from your computers in terror have stopped screaming, the end result is less "terrifying perfect marriage of beholder eye-rays with illithid mind rape and the combined egotism of both" and more "quasi-lobotomized docile [[Adeptus Astra Telepathica#Astropaths|glorified psionic email server]]," though still smarter than the average human. Notably, if the illithids and elder brains they serve are slaughtered and they survive, mindwitnesses tend to drift around looking for other psionic creatures to serve, taking on the alignments and worldviews of those they meet, be they kindly [[flumph]]s or evil [[demon]]s. Four of their eyestalks become tentacles, but they have six kinds of eyerays: fear, telekinetic, and slowing rays like those of their normal cousins, but also aversion rays that cause disadvantage on attack rolls, stunning rays that stun creatures, and a psychic ray that just causes a pile of psychic damage.

==Similar Monsters==
Beholders are not the only monsters that look like floating orbs with eyes.
* Gas Spore: Not a true beholder or beholderkin, but a [[fungus]] that resembles a beholder. May have been created by a beholder mage, or may be a fungus that took on the form of the beholder that it fed on, or maybe it's just mundane evolutionary mimicry.
* Thagar: A predator that eats beholders. Is a giant orb covered in eyes with several mouths on the ends of stalks. Is immune to mind affecting magic and highly resistant to it's body being affected by magic, so there isn't much a beholder can do against it
* Deep spawn: An orb with six large tentacles and several retractable eye stalk. Three of it's tentacles end in mouths, and the other three can wield weapons. It has the ability to give birth to loyal clones of creatures it has previously eaten, making them useful for villains who want to populate their dungeons with a variety of monsters.
* Gibbering Orb: An epic version of the [[Gibbering Mouther]]. An amorphous orb covered in mouths and eyes, which have eye rays similar to a beholder. Possibly is the common ancestor of beholders and gibbering mouthers
* Lurking strangler: These creatures are to beholders what monkeys are to humans. A tiny aberration that looks like a pair of flying eyeballs connected by a cord of muscle. It likes to strangling sleeping enemies to death, and it can put enemies to sleep with one of its two eye rays. Beholders sometimes keep these things as pets.
* Fihyr: A living manifestation of nightmares that forms when a large number of people in an area all have nightmares in one night. It has a roughly spherical body covered in eyes, mouths, and tentacles.

==Notable Beholders==
*That beholder head of the thieves' guild who was the first major boss in [[Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance]]
*Another beholder head of another thieves' guild who was the final boss of the first Eye of the Beholder game.
*That funny spectator you kept running into and quasi-befriended in [[Baldur's Gate|Baldur's Gate II]]
*That blind death tyrant boss you had to get a special god-killing magic wand to kill in [[Baldur's Gate|Baldur's Gate II]]
*That beholder in [[Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes]]
*That beholder in Futurama who's there for no apparent reason (was meant to be guarding some passage in the Central Bureaucracy but fell asleep on the job)
*Xanathar, the writer of "Xanathar's guide to everything" and head of Skullport's Thieves' Guild, which includes new options for classes and backgrounds, along with his snide comments running throughout. Apparently he's only one of many beholders to have used the title since the first one seized power. He really loves his pet goldfish. It is kind of adorable. What he doesn't know is that his beloved goldfish has been replaced several times by the Thieves' Guild since goldfish don't live very long and he would [[RAGE|not be happy if he ever found out]].

==Beholders as Monstergirls==
[[File:Gazer.jpg|200px|thumb|right|No, you're not dreaming, this is a Beholder in monstergirl form.]]{{Monstergirls}}

[[rule 34|The proof that nothing, ab-so-lu-te-ly nothing is sacred,]] even Beholders got anthropomorphised into a sexy almost-human female by [[/d/|those irremediably insane weebs]]. Goddamit, Japan!

Gazers (as they are typically known due to copyright) are often depicted as arrogant, selfish beings that do not hesitate to use their eye ray powers to get what they want. Of course, fitting for a [[monstergirl]]s setting, their powers are [[PROMOTIONS|less destructive]] than that of a D&D Beholder, going more toward charm, hypnotism and mind control.

Still, beholder-girls are a rarity, simply because there's something rather counter-intuitive about turning a floating head full of teeth and eyes into a monstergirl. Perhaps the most well known example of them on /tg/ is the Gazer of the [[Monster Girl Encyclopedia]], whose smug grin currently adorns this section of the page. Described as spiteful and full of themselves, their deepest secret is that this is mostly bluster to cover up feelings of insecurity about their looks. They specialize in hypnotic spells, mostly to brainwash men into falling in love with them.

==Gallery==
<center>
<gallery>
File:Awesome Beholder.png
File:The-bard-and-the-beholder.jpg
</gallery>
</center>

Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Old/Order/Free Peoples

2018-12-30T03:18:43Z

2001:8003:3800:800:31C8:CA3A:2763:15D2: Undo revision 543148 by 198.90.109.99 (talk) FREE PEOPLES is the Keyword, not FREEGUILD

==2nd edition Age of Sigmar==
With 2nd edition release take all of this with some salt. While we do know that the warscrolls are going to be the same, we also know that new things (such as command points) are being added that will change tactics. One thing you may have noticed is that certain auras (Indomitable trait for example) got their range doubled ''at the expense of becoming wholly within''.

==Why Play The Free Peoples==
Do you want to fight the good fight? Are you partial to moustaches and feathers as signs of authority, instead of huge pauldrons or a huge frog-gut? Are you prepared to fight the thinking man's fight and to be prepared to utilize all the tools in Order's proverbial shed? If so, go get your completely regular sword and shield, find a little armor, put a feather in your hat and stand for inspection! See Impossible Sights and Bang [[Zombie|Improbable Chicks]]! Fight the Unending Hordes of Chaos, give [[Nagash|that dead fellow]] the fucking finger and Rebuild the Realms! Die for the Cause! Sigmar Needs You To Join the Freeguild!

The Free Peoples, or more accurately, the Freeguild w/ Friends, is a weird faction in Age of Sigmar. Compromising most of the left-over Empire models that aren't war-machines, holy or magical, the Free Peoples are the exact opposite of most Age of Sigmar armies: Defensive and ranged, in comparison to aggressive and melee-oriented. Not that they can't or won't fight in melee (they will, but don't forget they are no Stormcast, they aren't really suited to anything beyond defensive combat), but Free Peoples have easy access to a lot of ranged units that can really make the difference in a battle, especially against opponents who have no ways of protecting themselves against it. Plus, Free Peoples have some really great synergy, which you should totally built around: The Freeguild Guard is phenomenal as a huge, 30 something mob with swords and shields and a little bit of buffs from characters around them, and the Greatsword can really be a good melee elite unit with the right timing. This, of course, gets even better with the addition of the other mortal Order armies like the Collegiate Arcane or the Devoted to Sigmar who can give back the magic and faith that this army lost. Or the Stormcast Eternals who can add great hammer and anvil units to this force.

Essentially, the Free Peoples are the Imperial Guard to the Stormcast's Space Marines and should be treated as such, as the two forces synergize just as well as their 40k counterparts.

==Rulebooks==
There isn't currently a Battletome for Free Peoples.
*The ''Grand Alliance Order'' book has all the Warscrolls and Battalions.
*This should be supplemented with the Grand Alliance Order ''Errata'' and ''Designers' Commentary'' from the [https://www.warhammer-community.com/faqs/ FAQs].
*Allegiance Abilities are in the ''General's Handbook 2018''.
*Matched play points are in the ''General's Handbook 2018''.
*Alternatively up to date Warscrolls can be found in the ''WH AoS'' app.

As with all factions you'll want:
*The core rules are either [https://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/Warhammer-Age-of-Sigmar-Rules downloadable] or in the ''Core Book''.
*Games taking place in a Realm need the Realm of Battle rules from the ''Core Book''.
*In you want to take advantage of realm specific artefacts you'll need the Artefacts Of The Realms section from the ''Malign Sorcery'' book.
*Matched play battleplans are split across the ''Core Book'' and ''General's handbook 2018''.
*''All'' books should be supplemented with any updates from the [https://www.warhammer-community.com/faqs/ FAQs].

==Allegiance Abilities==
With the advent of the General's Handbook Part Deux, the Freeguilds have now become even better with new Battle Traits, Command Traits and Artefacts! Now the mortal armies of Sigmar are even stronger than before!
*If your army has the Free Peoples Allegiance, Greatswords and Demigryph Knights count as Battleline choices!

===Battle Traits===
*'''Defiant Avengers:''' Basically the same as the normal ORDER Allegiance; Re-role battleshock tests for FREE PEOPLES units. Especially useful for Free People, since it stacks with both the unit and Freeguild General banners to make us surprisingly safe from Battleshock (but still far from immune).
*'''Freeguild Great Companies:''' DETACHMENTS 2.0! Yes, the old detachments system from the old [[The_Empire_(Warhammer_Fantasy)|Empire]] returns, but with a twist! Now any unit with FREEGUILD in its keywords can support their brethren in battle!
**The Great Company is made up of 3 units, one of which has to be a Freeguild Guard unit with at least 20 models in it. The other two choices choices each require at the least 10 models, but are otherwise entirely up to you.
***Take into account that Demigryph Knights can be included in a Company, but the must be 10 at least, which puts them at 560 points in matched.
**What do you get from this? Well, at the end of the enemy charge phase, units in a Great Company can support each other by Shooting as if it were the shooting phase, or Charging as if it were the charging phase, so long as:
***The Unit lending support is more than 3" away from the enemy.
***The unit being supported is within 3" of the enemy.
***Both units are wholly within 12" of each other.
**The Freeguild Regiment Battalion can form 3 Great Companies on its own. Use this to your advantage!
**If you have the feel that both the musicians' effect and the companies work similarly, you've been paying attention. But there's a key difference here: '''companies only affect the members of their company''' while '''musicians have no such limitation and can use their effects in units outside their company'''. This can be used to inter-company and/or hero support which is awesome all in itself.

===Command Traits===
*'''1. Inspiring:''' FREE PEOPLES units that are wholly within 12" of your General DO NOT HAVE TO TAKE BATTLESHOCK TESTS. While still good, note that it is not as useful on Freeguild as it would be on other factions due to our banner induced bravery shenanigans.
*'''2. Battle-tested Veteran:''' At the start of the hero phase, as long as your general is still on the battlefield roll a dice. On a 5+ you gain 1 additional command point. Glory to Cadia! *ahem* This is a sure way to make your opponent cry as you rack up additional command points for that major push. On average you should get 2 additional command points during a standard game.
*'''3. Shrewd Commander:''' Roll in the Triumph table at the start of a battle. This is in addition tomorrow winning a major victory in your last battle. Pretty great in matched play if you fall short some ten points or so. Two rolls on the triumph table? Two sets of re-rolls to wound, to hit or saves? Yes please.
*'''4. Indomitable:''' Add 1 to the save rolls of friendly FREE PEOPLES units wholly within 12” of your general so long as they didn't charge. With this trait your expendable, cheap-as-shit Guard models go to a 3+ re-rolling 1s in combat. Throw down a block of guard, use it in a grand company of Handgunners and laugh your heart out, you sick bastard. Though this will mean that you will have to clump your units up a bit (wholly within 12" folks), but fortunately Free Peoples are pretty much designed to work as a giant blob army. Note it also brings your General up to a 2+ (because you took a shield like a good boy, didn't you?).
*'''5. Righteous Fury:''' Add 1 to the general's wound rolls if the target has the CHAOS keyword. Very situational
*'''6. Grim Resolve:''' This trait adds one additional wound to your general. Not a game changer, but definitely useful on a normal Freeguild General

===Artefacts===
*'''1. The Armor of Meteoric Iron:''' This returning piece of armor adds 1 to save rolls to the model. While it doesn't protect against mortal wounds, sticking this bad boy on a Freeguild General with a Shield can make your enemy have a tough time wounding without high Rending weapons.
*'''2. Blade of the Realms:''' Pick one of your weapons, and if you roll a 6 or more for your weapon, the target suffers a mortal wound, IN ADDITION to any other damage that the attack inflicts.
*'''3. Luckstone:''' Re-roll one failed hit, wound or save roll for the model EACH PLAYER turn (not Battle Round). Useful on an Indomitable General so he can reroll his first failed 2+ each turn.
*'''4. The Broken Shackle:''' The unit wearing these broken ass boots may retreat or charge as if they could fly, AND can retreat and charge in the same turn. Most useful on a Griffon General, as it'd allow you to charge into, and subsequently hop over any tarpit lines to get at the juicy backfield units.
*'''5. Writ of Dominion:''' Plant your feet in the ground, roll out a piece of paper, and declare that everything Chaos owns is yours now; you add 1 to the wound rolls made for friendly FREE PEOPLES units that are wholly within 12" of the person who has this artefact. Combo with Hold The Line! on a unit of 30 Crossbows and you will mulch anything short of the gods themselves in a single turn.
*'''6. Flag of the Conquerors:''' Add 1 to the Bravery of FREE PEOPLES units wholly within 12" of the model holding this glorious flag. Also, it lets you re-roll charges for units that are supporting another unit in their Great Company.

====Notable Artifacts of the Realms====

==Wargear==
While there's gear exclusive to the different units, there's several pieces of wargear common army-wide and have the same effect. To count:

*'''Shields:''' Army wide, our shields allow us to reroll save rolls of 1, except for Generals who instead add +1 to their save. Helps add some more resilience to your meatshields and makes your Griffon as protected as a Steam Tank.

*'''Banner:''' Their bonus is the same army wide, and it allows you to pass battleshock tests on a roll of 1 without losing any models. GREAT when you lose 6+ models in a single phase.

*'''Musician:''' This is when the Free Guild gets fun. Remember the Detachments of [[The_Empire_(Warhammer_Fantasy)|the Old Empire]]? Their descendants do and trigger those effects with their musicians. We have 3 main types:
**'''Melee infantry (Guard, Greatswords):''' Lets you attempt a d6 counter-charge to get more units into combat. Really fun for swarming over-reaching enemies. It's also not effected by hold the line since these charged happen in the enemy phase, not your own.
**'''Ranged Infantry (Crossbowmen, Handgunners):''' If a ranged unit with musician gets charged you can fire all your guns/crossbows at the unit that charged you BEFORE they get to swing. That's right, we have "Stand and Shoot"! Even better, the shooting unit DOESN'T have to be the one charged, so if you have two ranged units and one is charged both can shoot the charging bastards.
**'''Light Cavalry (Pistoliers, Outriders):''' This allow the unit to [[Eldar|run, shoot and charge]]. A godsend because it lets the unit to close in and shoot hell on the enemy or flee a dangerous situation while still being on the offensive.
**'''Heavy Cavalry (Demigryph Knights):''' Get 2 extra inches on your charge rolls. Useful.

==Warscrolls==

===Heroes===
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-freeguild-general-griffon-en.pdf Freeguild General on Griffon]:''' It's a general, on a Griffon. Oh my lord, this is magical. Has access to a Sigmarite Runesword for anti-infantry, a Sigmarite Greathammer (aka Mini-Ghal) for heroes and elite killing and the Freeguild Lance for monster killing. Here, the Hammer might actually be the best choice as you can take a shield with any weapon and the Hammer is pretty strong with its high Rend. Since the Griffon itself is actually pretty damn killy, with two high Damage Beak attacks and quite a lot of Fang attacks with 2 Damage, it can really rip into a Manticore or a Terrorgheist who got too close to your lines. Now, the biggest change from the Freeguild General below is, that this guy has a very, very offensive Command Ability, which boosts Bravery, charge range and Hit rate, but only to one unit, unfortunately. In addition, you can use the Shield with any weapon, which the General can. Do you want to kill things? This' the guy.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-freeguild-general-en.pdf Freeguild General]:''' Mr. Moustache and quite the leader for a Freeguard army. Despite being a regular human, he still has a 4+ and five Wounds, and some surprisingly great weapons: Sigmarite Weapon and Shield for infantry-mulching, Great Weapon for elite-killing and Freeguild Lance for monster and hero-hunting, give him what he needs to fulfill whatever role you need him to. While he can do a pretty good job in melee, he's still not a duelist and should be kept safe so he can keep using his Command Ability. Now, this thing is just plain fun, it allows up to three Freeguild units within 15" to add 1 to their Hit and Wound rolls, but they can't Move or Charge on their turn (but apparently can do so on their enemies' turn, like drummers' countercharge). Put this German mofo in the middle of it all and anchor one hell of a gunline. Be careful to not overlap buffs. Of course you can give him a horsey, <s>but since the Knights have been removed</s> you can still "ally" them to the knights in the legacy list with no issue UNLESS it's 2nd Edition in which they lost their points cost; regardless, this may help if you want to keep him close to the cavalry. If you want to charge though, take the Griffy-Genny up top.
**'''Freeguild General with Stately Banner''': How's that no one did this yet? Anyway, the Stately Banner is an optional upgrade to your General that [[Skub|''supposedly'']] doesn't interfere with the others (the Warscroll Builder takes that it does but there's no FAQ clearing the issue, though). With this Mr. Nice Moustache gains '''TOTEM''' and all '''Free Peoples''' units at 24" check battleshock with two dice and choose the lower. Alone it's already interesting, but along the units' banners and benefits of the Regiment, Defiant Avengers, the Flag of the Conquerors can and will make your soldiers surprisingly effective against battleshock. Let's check how: at 24" all units roll battleshock with two dices, rerolling failures and all 1 and 2 are auto-success and atv 12" with their Bravery at least at 6. WOW.

===Foot Troops===
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-freeguild-guard-en.pdf Freeguild Guard]:''' Your basic infantry. With sword and shield your guys make an amazing anvil (dirt cheap and a 4+ save, though only in combat so nothing against missiles), but that's not to say other load outs don't have merit. With halberds, you get a unit that can mow through skeleton and skaven hordes pretty quickly, and with spears, you gain a little bit of reach. Arguably sword and shield are the best loadout, with halberds coming next. Another interesting loadout for them is using militia weapons, which are the same statline as swords in close combat (no parry bonus though), but it also unlocks a 14" ranged attack for the unit. At 20 men in the squad they get +1 to hit, at 30 they get +2, and at 40 models or larger you get 3+ to your hit rolls. Putting a few squads of these in either the Freeguild Regiment or the State Troop detachment and popping hold the line will give you an amazing anvil unit that can dish out the pain (under the right buffs, you can easily get to 2+/3+/-/1).

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-freeguild-greatswords-en.pdf Freeguild Greatswords]:''' With Oathsworn Honour Guard and Hold the Line! Greatswords have the potential to deal 2 attacks each at 2+ to hit and wound if they stand still. Compared to other Elite infantry like Stormvermin, Bestigors, Wildwood Rangers etc. Greatswords are an absolutely brilliant and powerful unit, even more so with all the buffs your army has going. Also, remember that their Save is 4+ without all the ifs and buts that your Guard has to deal with.
**One great thing about Greatswords is that they're one of the few rare "elite" units on 25mm bases (usually reserved for chaff units or "shorter than humans" models like stormvermin). This means they can attack in 2 ranks with their 1" weapons.

===Ranged Troops===
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-freeguild-crossbowmen-en.pdf Freeguild Crossbowmen]:''' With the aid of your General, they're a solid ranged unit to have. If you're looking for some decent 20" shots to throw out, consider getting 30 of them so you don't lose the bonus as soon as the first guy dies. If you can't afford the 30 model count or aren't planning to use a general to buff, then it might be best to pass.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-freeguild-handgunners-en.pdf Freeguild Handgunners]:''' Handgunners, at the beginning, seem bad. A sucky save, low bravery and a short-ranged missile weapon that needs a 5+ to hit. Now you look at it's 3+ and it's -1 rend and think: it's not that bad. Then you look at their skills: 20+ models give +1 to hit and if there are no enemies close them and they didn't move, they add another +1 to hit. Now couple them with an Empire general and State Troop Detachment. Pick 3 units of handgunners and don't space them too much. Enjoy 90 auto-hits (not in match play, where it'll be on a 2+ instead) and nigh ensured damage. Skeletons will shit bricks.
** '''Hot Take:''' Given the FAQ buff to crossbowmen not needing to stand still to get off two shots, handguns are no longer the king of massive units. What they are perfectly priced to do now, however, is to function as 100 point mini warmachines. Take MSU of 10, equip each squad with a Long Rifle and then relish in having 30" snipers that are sitting on 3+/3+ if they've not moved before even factoring in any other buffs. Leave the volleys to crossbowmen, but allow your handgunners to function as sniper squads. The other 9 bodies throwing out their cheap Rend is just icing on the cake, along with an ability to make an enemy cavalry charging pay a price when they get with the the Stand and Shoot before -- let's be honest -- probably wiping out the squad.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-freeguild-archers-en.pdf Freeguild Archers]:''' Honestly worth a second look after admiring the insane combos available from Crossbowmen and Handgunners. A free move before the game begins and an 18" range mean these boys can reach out and poke someone quicker and easier than the handgunners. An average profile of 4+/4+/-/1, but you can ''reroll hit rolls of 1 or 2'' if the unit has 20+ models, or ''all'' rolls to hit if they have 30. The bonus, however, is the fact they can shoot this well while on the move, while crossbowmen and handgunners have to remain stationary.

===Cavalry===
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-freeguild-outriders-en.pdf Freeguild Outriders]:''' Decent-ranged guns and a bonus to hit if they stand still, with an impressive number of shots, but in exchange, they are quite a bit worse in melee (where you don't want them anyway).

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-freeguild-pistoliers-en.pdf Freeguild Pistoliers]:''' Very short-ranged guns and awful Bravery. They do bring Rend and a lot of attacks, but since you have Demigryphs for smashy, you may want to skip Pistoliers for Outriders. Unlike practically any other unit, their melee attacks are exactly the same ones as their ranged ones (they shoot the same pistols point-blank). So, if you can charge the same thing you shoot and get the priority in that combat, they can make a good name for themselves, because they may very well kill their targets before they even get a chance to swing.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-demigryph-knights-en.pdf Demigryph Knights]:''' These monsters can chuck out a ridiculous amount of attacks for what they are and have a total of 4 FUCKING WOUNDS EACH. Not to mention they can move 10" like all Empire cavalry, they can and will charge into a unit and hurt it bad. Good at clearing hordes with the mounts 3 rending attacks each and rider's 2 attacks with either weapon. Personally, I would recommend giving them sword and lance as it does 2 damage on the charge and will wound on a 3+ like the halberd but this requires care with who they charge as they will lose effectiveness on the second round of combat. Not to mention the models look awesome as hell. Got a 20 point price reduction in the 2018 General's Handbook, putting them at only slightly more expensive than the two units above. Did I mention that these guys are battleline if your main force is Free Guild?

==Battalions==

===Freeguild Regiment===
'''''One Freeguild General or Freeguild General on Griffon, one unit of Demigryph Knights, one unit of Freeguild Greatswords, 3 units of Freeguild Guard, 3 units of either Freeguild Archers, Freeguild Crossbowmen or Freeguild Handgunners in any combination, 1 unit of Freeguild Pistoliers, and 1 unit of Freeguild Outriders.''''' '''(Min: 1390, Max: 417)'''

This Battalion is humongous! Even at minimum unit sizes, you're looking at an army of 80+ models! The benefits of such a huge battalion are the following:
*'''Stand Together, Stand Strong:''' Add 1 to hit rolls if the unit attack is within 6" of another unit from the battalion when the attack is made. This is especially deadly to your foes with the new Great Company ability, which has you keeping your army close together in order to reap the benefits.
*'''Regimental Discipline:''' Units in this Battalion have +1 Bravery when they're within 10' of their General, and NO models flee when taking a Battleshock test if you roll a 1; If the units include Standard Bearers, no models flee on a one or two. Combined with their Allegiance ability, "Inspiring" Command Trait and the Flag of the Conquerors, this basically makes the Freeguild almost unbreakable if they stay close to their general.

==Army Building==
At it's core, Freeguild armies are horde armies, and starting with at least 2 20-man guard squads to act as a bubble-wrap for the wrest of your army, a general, and some Greatswords will give you a good core to expand off from. From there, adding in Handgunners or outriders for ranged support, more infantry for some staying power, or adding in some Demigryph Knights and allies for more punch, it's all a matter of what you want your army to play like. A huge part of making this list effective is stacking buffs and synergies to upgrade your crappy state troops to mustachioed sons of Sigmar. Unlike like some more elite armies (Stormcast Eternals) your units don't really do amazing independently, and when you take stock of their special rules you see that they are meant to played as mutually-supporting hoard. Things like the state troop detachment, hold the line, and other buffs that apply to FREE PEOPLES are almost mandatory from a more 'competitive' side of things. By themselves: a single guard squad will not do much beyond stall deadlier units or die, but with the right support they can make just about anything think twice. But this can also be a double-edged sword, as tactical errors that take out key aspects of your army (like your general or a sudden loss of Freeguild Guard) can cause the rest of your army to crumble. So it may be wise when list-building to include redundancies in case of surprise losses.

With the new Freeguild Allegiance, various points changes across the board and the new Allies system, things just a whole lot more interesting when fielding an army of the Free Peoples!
*A Freeguild army can draw up to 400 pts of allies and still keep their Allegiance abilities. The Allies that they can draw from include the Collegiate Arcane, the Devoted of Sigmar, the Ironweld Arsenal and the Stormcast Eternals. They don't count towards the number of Battleline choices you pick; however, they do count towards the number of Leader, Behemoth and Artillery choices you have, so choose wisely.

==Tactics==

As said up there, the Free Peoples is defensive first and ranged second. However, in a more generalist view, the Free Peoples have some pillars:

*'''2+/2+ with 30+ guys''': Let's be honest there. On their own, the Free Peoples units aren't good: crappy save and meh to hit and to wound rolls, not to mention their below average Bravery. They're outclassed by everyone. However they have the hidden strength to buff themselves to the stratosphere by numbers, Hold the Line or allies, which turns really ugly with units above 30 models. This is vital for them, and what makes them actually dangerous in competitive. Facing 40 guys with 4+/4+/-1/1 is already bad, but when it's 2+/2+/-1/1 is WAY worse.

*'''Protecting yourself against Bravery''': As mentioned earlier, Free Peoples have low Bravery, usually in the range of 5 to 7. Take into account that the moment they charge you, you're losing people in heaps, so all Bravery rolls are gonna hurt. ''A lot.'' Unfortunately the Free Peoples doesn't have means to buff their Bravery or [[Commissars]], but we have means to modify the Bravery rolls. Standard bearers auto-passes on 1s, Stately Banners makes roll two dice and choose the lower, Defiant Avengers rerolls failures... We have many means to make the Bravery roll our bitch and you should do it, lest you lose a unit the moment is charged. However, this makes them far from immune so be aware of that.

*'''Great Companies and music''': No unit of the Free Peoples fights alone. Ever. Or shouldn't fight alone. Both the Grrat Companies faction rule and the musicians enable your units to support another if the need arises and acts as a deterrent for really nasty charges (I've seen '''[[Archaon|ARCHAON]] falling to a musician-inspired Stand and Shoot of 50 Handgunners''', go figure) or turn a combat in your favor. However, be aware that: you MUST include a 20+ Guard unit for each Company, all units MUST be 10+ models, [[Wat|even Demigryph Knights]] and their support ONLY affects units in their Company. For inter-Company support there's the musicians, which you should include in every unit you have.

In 2nd Edition there are two changes that change the way of play of the Free Peoples significantly: the Command Points and the reworking of Command Abilities. The latter means that any General you have can use their CA using CM as fuel. This is awesome as it doesn't makes the General on foot/horse an auto-General.

Unlike the [[Imperial Guard]] the Freeguilds can't bloat themselves fat on Command Points: our only Batallion is expensive as hell and usually the allied ones go over the points limit. This mean that we only get 1 CP per turn, so learning where to put it to use it's important. A hint is to not make that charge with Rousing Battle Cry the same turn the enemy closes in to your line infantry, for the HtL! buff might save your units. Thinking one or two turns ahead and adapting to the situation in the case that you lose initiative is useful in the management of CPs.

==Allied Armies==

*'''Stormcast Eternals''' With the Freeguild General's incredible buffs, you have pretty good anvils and shooting in your Battleline already so you do not strictly need things like Stormcasts Liberators and Judicators. While these units are obviously much better per model than Freeguild equivalents and don't require as much support from generals and characters. The point of allies is to find things that you are lacking, not what can give an alternative to what you already have (especially since allies don't count towards Battleline). Thus, if you want these guys, you want Paladins and Dracothian Guard. A couple Retributors can do you some good as this army is lacking in Mortal Wounds and the fact that Dracothian Guard are ridiculously powerful even without buffs makes a couple Concussors a great addition as well. As what these guys really need is fast moving, high damage options with versatility. Demigryph Knights are great but they got nothing on the Extremis Chamber. Vanguard-Hunters, Vanguard-Palladors and Vanguard-Raptors could also prove useful as a distraction while your army moves up the field.
**However, if you're looking for a force multiplier the Stormcast possess a gem in the form of the Knight Azyros. The Azyros possess a fast, durable platform, the capability to pump out D3 wounds in an 8 inch bubble (D6 on Chaos because fuck 'em) and with the ability to give all your shooting attacks re-rolls of 1 against nearby enemies the Azyros will boost your gunline to unprecedented levels at an arguably criminal price. Keep your Azyros right behind your tarpit lines, giving out re-rolls and slapping out mortals when your lines eventually get swarmed, and you will aggravate your opponent to no end.
*'''Ironweld Arsenal:''' This, right here. The best choice. It gives you your cannons back.
*'''Collegiate Arcane:''' And this is also great as it gives you your Wizards back. Revel in the utter bullshit of the Celestial Hurricanum or give your Greatswords some Wildform.
*'''Dispossessed''' <s>Eh. Yeah, Irondrakes may be great, but a nice big buffed block of Handgunners is almost as good and you don't need any faction shuffling for those.</s> Dispossessed make for great allies for free peoples; they form better anvils than our state troops, all the while having more sturdy ranged units and good beat-stick characters. However, if you want to reap the benefits of the Freeguild Allegiance, you're probably gonna want to stick with the units you have, as the Dispossessed are not one of the armies the Free Peoples can draw Allies from [[Wat|despite the fact the Free Peoples can draw allies from the Ironweld Arsenal, who have Duardin in their ranks]]
*'''The Empire:''' Gives you your old knights and Empire artillery pieces back but you will have to give up the Free Peoples Allegiance since no one can ally with compendium units. You're better off sticking to the stuff you've got anyway, considering the recent neutering of all the legacy armies. And lets all be honest with ourselves there's no telling how much longer GW will continue to tolerate the legacy lists, with the neutering probably being a veiled attempt to tell players to move on.

[[Category:Age of Sigmar]] [[Category:Age of Sigmar/Tactics]]
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