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Armor

2021-01-29T00:51:41Z

2601:280:5B7F:85C4:45ED:B107:1BF8:506B: /* Types of Body Armor */

'''''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. In fact not [[Wikipedia:Bamboo#Weapons|even]] [[Wikipedia:Toxicodendron_radicans|those]]. 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 specially treated leather to be effective. Another name for this is "cuir bouilli" or "cuirbouille". The exact method of creating is unclear, as simply boiling leather in water (as the French name implies) will result in leather that’s hard but highly brittle (like diamond) to the point it can be snapped with one's bare hands. The best guesses are that animal glue and/or oil were involved The high biodegradability (and, to many vermin, tastiness) of leather, especially with period natural treatment, has created a near total lack of historical examples surviving. Whatever it is, what is for certain is that this was the result was not flexible like a modern leather jacket, but would have a fairly solid shape (one possible method of creating it resulted in leather sturdy enough it could actually be used to ''chop wood''). The general consensus is that it had less presence in Europe (though there are surviving inventory accounts that confirm it existed), and while in the East (both middle and far) it did exist, it wasn't that much popular and widespread either. These circumstances became more prevalent as metalworking became more accessible. On the Central Asian steppes or in areas with large amounts of livestock, the leather was more widespread as lamellar or scale armor. This was likely a matter of resource availability as the nomadic tribes had little access to metal outside of trading and would prioritize using it for tools, swords, speartips, and arrowheads instead. Regarding the tribes in the Americas as well as the Polynesian and Austronesian islands, where metalworking was noticeably diminished or not present, leather armor was relatively common while bone, shell, and coins were used as external reinforcing elements. Some examples include the Baju/Baru war garb in the Nusantara Archipelago in Austronesia. On the other hand, all these regions gradually phased out leather once they gained reliable supplies of crafted metal or firearms via trading or learning metalsmithing. While phased out as as a primary form of protection, Buff coats were still made of leather and retained to act as cushioning underneath metal breastplates. It also served as slashing protection for exposed joints or in cases where wearing metal armor was inconvenient.
** Real-life note: while sometimes seen on TV and in video games, there is no such thing as studded leather armor as mentioned below in Brigandine's section. Think about it. How does adding a metal studs cause a significant increase to the armor's effectiveness? You will see this mistake in many RPGs. This idea probably came from people misunderstanding some of the other kinds of armor that use cloth as a binding agent on the outside.
*'''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, 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 from glancing stabs or slashes to survivable if debilitating, or even surface damage, with an added bonus of often catching enemy weapon (although given in most times where blades get stuck in padded cloth after stabbing through, they pierce deep enough to kill so it's more to the benefit of your companions than yours). Sometimes confused with Brigandine armor (which externally appeared to be made of cloth with metal studs but also contained overlapping metal pieces). Besides the Gambeson, some other historical examples include:
** The distinctive ancient Greek armor called "Linothorax" (literally meaning linen torso): believed to be made out of quilted linen with glue laminate and is presumed to fall under this category, though historians can't be entirely sure as no full examples survived the centuries. Lighter versions known as "Spola" were worn by the Greeks and Macedonians.
** A gambeson is unlike most “soft” armor in that we actually have a fairly good understanding of its construction due to some 15th century writing detailing how to make it (deer skin with a ~30 layers of linen).
*** Aketon is roughly equivilent to a gamebeson, being made of raw cotton (which is not the soft, smooth, fluffy stuff the clothes you're wearing are made out of) rather than linen. Generally assumed to be a corruption of the arabic word for cotton.
** A hard, quilted, and 2 inch-thick form of cotton armor was used by the Mesoamericans such as the Aztecs, Toltecs, and the Tlaxcalans. Called ”Ichcahuipilli” in the Nahuatl, it was often hardened with resin-like substances like brine salt. In combat, it was effective against obsidian-edged Macuahuitl/Macana sword-clubs and arrows. They were also effective enough that Spanish Conquistadors sometimes adopted them for use in the summer to avoid being baked alive in their steel cuirasses. Other related armor include decorated sets called "Tlahuiztli." Similar thickly padded cotton tunics were worn by Incan nobles and Muisca warriors in South America (with the former using small wooden planks to reinforce the back).
** An early bulletproof form of cotton armor worn by the 19th century Joseon Koreans called “Myeonje baegab.” It was invented when they confronting Western armies at the same time the Western powers began probing expeditions into Qing China and Tokugawa Japan (pre-Meiji Reformation). While effective against low velocity bullets from black powder firearms, it was prone to being burned from incendiary hazards like explosions or red-hot shrapnel.
** Various early forms of pistol-proof armor were documented that were made from layers of silk but were usually expensive and restricted to wealthy politicians or nobles (for example, [[The World Wars|Franz Ferdinand]] ironically was believed to have owned one but wasn't wearing it on his fateful final day, though as he was shot in the neck it wouldn't have made a difference).
*'''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 does not get wet, a bit of of an issue considering human beings tend to sweat when under the stress of matters of life-and-death. Indeed citizen, this is testable by you! Obtain a notebook and ensure it is tightly closed. Then, stab it with a knife as hard as possible.
*'''Scale armor''' - 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 most distinctly used to deck out their early heavy cavalrymen and horses both in this. These "Cataphracts" were said to be able [[Awesome|to get showered in arrows without getting hit]]. Used by Rome as the lorica squamata, apparently simultaneously with mail. The art of ''Grandes Chroniques de France'' shows (at least) helmets with such an appearance existed in Europe as lower class armor in or before 1270. Made a small, unsuccessful comeback in Dragon Skin
*'''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. It also is rather weather resistant.
*'''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. The plate itself was frequently a supplement over a suit of mail, but plenty of poor warriors throughout ancient history made due with hoping that no one would hit them around the single non-encompassing plate they strapped to their chest (beats having no armor..).
*'''[[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, butcher's gloves, animal control, 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. Note that it MUST be backed with leather or something stiff, otherwise knives will drive it into the body. Just for the love of god: don't get shot. The British tested this in WW1 and the bullets ends up dragging the links into the body with it. They did wind up using it to protect crew inside a tank from spalling that was reliably created from even non-penetrating hits against its armor (early tank armor just wasn't very thick, and the issue lessened by the time of World War II's technological advances in tanks).
*'''Plated Mail''' - Also known as Mail and Plate armor or splinted 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. A form of transitional armor in Europe alongside brigandine as knights gradually shifted from full mail to plate armor, it was popular with medieval Slavs, Eastern Europeans, Persians, Indians, and other Asian kingdoms.
*'''Laminar armor''' - armor made from overlapping bands of metal. A predecessor to full-body plate armor, most famous example is the ancient Roman [[wikipedia:Lorica_segmentata|Lorica Segmentata]], though it was less prevalent among the Romans than is usually portrayed and mail remained in use among the Romans' frontline infantry, even in the Segmentata's heyday. Other examples existed such as the Dendra armour from Mycenaean Greece or during the Renaissance such as the armor by the Polish Hussars but the latter was held together by sliding rivets rather than leather strips and laces used in Greek and Roman versions of the armor.
*'''Lamellar armor''' - <s>Essentially scale armor sewn together</s> Not exactly. 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 (unlike Scale or Beigandine). 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 (which was sometimes made of wood) and some minor stuff but was overall less complete than samurai armor.
*'''Brigandine''' - a.k.a "Corazzina,” “Coat-of-plates,” and “Jack of Plate” armor. Brigandine is a "poor man's plate" and was quite popular in medieval Europe as part of "transitional" armor alongside plated mail (when knights began transitioning from full mail to plate armor), when worn in combination with mail and metal splints covering the limbs. While it may not provide as sturdy protection compared to full plate, it was very easy to make and repair. Also, while not as flexible as mail, it had more rigid protection against blunt force trauma. In essence, it was a compromise between the two while also being cheaper. Even after nobles and knights began using full plate armor, it was still kept as a form of armor for all rank-and-file men-at-arms; even seeing use in the New World by colonists against the natives’ arrows. It was also widespread across all of Eurasia with evidence of its existence seen as far out as as Turkey, India, Russia, China, and even Japan. Often confused with "studded leather armour" or the padded cloth gambeson. In modern day warfare, ballistic vests with trauma plate inserts made from metal or ceramic on the front, back, and sides of the body are spiritual successors to this form of armor. <s>Construction-wise, it’s essentially an inverted suit of scale armor with the backing cloth on the outside</s> Not quite. Underneath the cloth and over the padding, 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 (or sewn in the Jack-of-Plate’s case) inside the leather/cloth and not on the outside and
** C) the plates are '''not''' linked together in any fashion and fully rely on their fastening to the backing to keep them where they're supposed to be.
*'''[[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 were essentially gauntlets, elbow plates, and shoulder guards linked together by chains and attached to the arms so that one could, at bare minimum, block slashes to their sides without getting cut, or use it as a improv shield against incoming sword attacks.
*'''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, protective sports gear, or motorcycle gear would be the go to, as well as whatever one can strap to themselves. Don't be wearing something that might shatter easily though if you expect to be shot at, because that might manage to injure you even worse with the flying bits.
*'''Flak Jackets''' - The first standard-issue 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 in conjuncture with manganese steel plates. While good against shrapnel and pistol rounds, it was still ineffective against rifle bullets. Before the invention of Kevlar and ballistic vests, this was the only kind of body armor available to modern soldiers expected to walk.
*'''Early 20th century armor''' - in WW1 and 2 many nations began experimenting with various forms of body armor to deal with shrapnel. This included steel breastplates, lamellar and steel plates in canvas carriers. This was more experimental than anything else. The biggest users of body armor in WW2 were the soviets who issued "steel bibs" to their soldiers. These could stop shrapnel fire and pistol bullets but were on the heavy side and were restricted to urban warfare or motorized infantry.
*'''Ceramic armor''' - Originally descended from the ceramic “Chicken plate” armor worn by helicopter gunship crews, it is typically, high-strength ceramic plates (typically made from boron carbide) are used as an energy-absorbing component in some ballistic vests (otherwise the wearer would suffer blunt trauma and internal bleeding from a bullet impacting the vest). A common myth is that Ceramic trauma plates shatter after only a 1-2 hits. This somewhat of an exaggeration, although generally plates are certified to take one well aimed steel-cored 7.62x63/53 mm rifle round (in layman's terms, a armor piercing sniper bullet) straight in and anything more you get out of it is pushing your luck. These are some of the best plates for infantry.
*'''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 but aren't used unless you're in a SWAT team or fighting in close quarters in a building.
**'''Ballistic Visor''' - A visor of transparent, bulletproof, plastic. Despite its weight, bulk and making it impossible to use a standard rifle properly, it's only really suitable against low powered handgun rounds and thus it sees little use outside of European SWAT counterparts.
*'''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 manual dexterity. So if a bomb goes off, you may be maimed and lose parts of your hands - but at least you're not dead or torn to ribbons by shrapnel! 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 current limits on battery power (all current examples are plugged into a power source). 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, and that's just stuff the manufacturer has paid the considerable expense to have tested by the NIJ instead of in-house). 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 likelihood of one surviving such a shot from the sheer force of it hitting them even without going into them is still 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]]

== Materials ==
The standard hard armor trifecta of UHMWPE, Steel, and Ceramic usually places Ceramic at the top. As ceramic is not vulnerable to steel-core or fast-moving threats, it does not fold to M855 and M193 at the NIJ III level like PE and Steel do, respectively.

== Yurop and Russia ==
Outside of the US, there are standards like VPAM and GOST, HOSDB and SK. Of these, the HOSDB is the only one not designed for military and civil use, while the rest are comprehensives intended for both military and civil protection.

==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. Alternately, if the Faulds are in two pieces (one for each leg), they're known as Tassets. If a separate piece protects the ass, it's called a culet.
:*Lance Rest - the lone offensive feature of armor (aside from the rare spikes), enables holding using a lance with less energy wasted on sliding around. Makes the energy transfer so efficent that lances can actually break when used.
*Gorget - protects the neck. With certain helmets, such as the Sallet, the gorget protected the lower head where the helmet did not.
**Bevor - a related piece of neck armor. Unlike the Gorget, these did not surround the entire neck but covered the front of the neck at the throat and chin. If segmented by folding laminate plates, it was called a Falling Buffe.
*[[Pauldrons]] - protects the shoulders. The real life versions are nowhere near as big as those on space marines.
**Spaulder - Armor used to protect the upper arm between the vambrace and the pauldron. Later replaced by the simpler Rebrace (also called an Upper Cannon).
*Gauntlets - protects the hands.
*Bracers (also call vambraces or braces) - protects the forearms and wrists.
**Manica - Armor that covers an arm, used primarily by the Romans. Typically used to protect the sword arm when it leaves the safety of a shield, but gladiators are known to have worn just it and the attached pauldron.
**Couter (also called Cowter or Elbow Cop) - essentially a metal elbow guard.
*Greaves - similar to modern shin guards, they protects the legs.
**Poleyn (alternatively called Genouillere) - basically a metal knee guard.
*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.
**Sashimono - Japanese equivalent. Essentially a way for armor to hold a small flag. Associated more with ashigaru armor than samurai, but samurai did wear them as well.

== 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 consider most modern rifle ammo utterly pointless. The problem is, it starts getting shaky at the 12.7mm level, which... Unfortunately for the Imperial Guard, a ''lot'' of stuff can be considered "higher" than said level.
*[[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 its 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]]

[[Category: Weapons]]

[[Category: Medieval Weaponry]]

[[Category: Armour]]

{{MedievalWeaponry}}

Alpharius

2021-01-29T00:45:14Z

2601:280:5B7F:85C4:45ED:B107:1BF8:506B: /* But Wait! */

{{heresy}}
[[File:Alpharius2.jpg|400px|thumb|right|Remembrancer sketch of Alpharius... Or is it?]]

{{Topquote|We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.|Kurt Vonnegut}}

{{Topquote|I don't exist.|Malal}}

{{Topquote|Will the real Alpharius please stand up?|The Emperor}}

{{Topquote|Alpharius Omegon had huge anonymity issues.|[[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device|The Emperor complaining about Alpharius]]}}

{{Topquote|What kind of fool do you take me for? He's Alpharius, He's Alpharius, '''You're''' Alpharius?! '''I'M ALPHARIUS!! ARE THERE ANY MORE ALPHARIUS' I SHOULD KNOW ABOUT?!!'''|Alpharius' real estate agent}}

No such Primarch exists, please redirect yourself to the [[Main Page|main page]].

==No, Seriously==
[[File:Alpharius.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Artistic rendering. Omitted from the picture is his magnificent, 18-inch long penis. <s>What the hell Alpharius? We snuck in here to write that?!</s> <s>Shut up, Omegon. You're ''ruining'' it</s>.]]
'''Alpharius''', also known as '''The Last Primarch''', '''Lord of Serpents''', '''Lorum Ipsum''', '''Anonymous''' and '''I AM ALPHARIUS!''' was the mysterious Primarch of the [[Alpha Legion]]. We don't have much information on him other than that [[Omegon]], his twin-brother, looks identical to Alpharius.

During the Alpha Legion assault on Pluto Alpharius dueled Rogal and was killed. ''However''....

He was supposedly killed by [[Roboute Guilliman]] of the [[Ultramarines]] ''again'', but it may be Omegon who Guilliman killed.

Alpharius was the last [[Primarch]] found by the [[Emperor]] - long after the Emperor had established most of the Space Marine legions, and was in the process of reclaiming the galaxy for humanity. Whilst most of the Primarchs wound up on worlds in Imperial space, Alpharius wound up picked up by derelicts from some unknown world and grew into a Space Pirate - long before [[Red Corsairs|Huron Blackheart]] made it cool.

[[File:AlphariusReal.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Fuck yeah. Alpharius in front, Omegon in back. Or maybe not.]]

One day, on a patrol in a no-name system, [[Horus]]' strike group came under attack by pirate forces - mostly small (and ancient by modern standards) fighter craft. The attack was carefully-staged, and the pirates managed to cripple one of the advance ships the fleet had, which forced Horus to move his own ship in to do something about it. When Horus managed to board the advance ship with his retinue, he was shocked to learn that a small team of pirates had somehow gotten on-board and were fighting their way to the bridge. Fighting their way past the chapter serfs, a squad of five burst into the bridge, whereupon Horus opened fire with his [[Bolter|Combi-bolter]]. Four were taken down by Horus' suppressing fire, but the fifth one, who towered over even the Space Marines in Horus' retinue, dodged Horus' barrage and continued to advance regardless of the oncoming fire. It was only when Alpharius got to close range that he stopped his [[Eversor]]-esque charge, as both he and Horus immediately recognized the physical similarity between the two. Horus smiled, for he had found the last of his missing brothers. [[Just as planned]]. Or it would be. But unfortunately, this story is a lie.

In any case, Horus did not immediately send Alpharius back to Terra - instead, he kept Alpharius around for months, showing him how to [[/tg/ gets shit done|get shit done]]. Alpharius quickly formed a pretty strong bond with Horus, since [[meme|he seemed like a pretty coolguy who killed aliens and doesn't afraid of anything]], and Alpharius and his men quickly adopted the Imperial creed. Horus was greatly impressed with Alpharius' skill, though Alpharius [[troll]]ed Horus mercilessly by refusing to tell Horus what world he was from, and instead [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z4m4lnjxkY denied that any of the worlds Horus captured and brought into Imperial compliance were his point of origin]. The Emperor was pleased when Alpharius was finally found, but by this point, there wasn't much time for celebrations - the Great Crusade was in full swing. Alpharius was given command of the newly-formed 20th Space Marine legion, dubbed the [[Alpha Legion]], and proceeded to get to work.

(THIS is without the memes? oh /tg/...)

===But Wait!===
The above account is considered the most well-known by fa/tg/uys and the gaming community in general, but "[[Games Workshop|recorded]] [[Forgeworld|facts]]" tell varying different stories. The [[Horus Heresy]] series of books suggests that the above origin story is a lie and gives <u>three more</u> discovery tales about Alpharius, then goes on to assert [[Meme|that they are all lies too]] but that they contain grains of truth that could lead to an even greater secret.

These are:
*1. Growing up on a dead world with absolutely no-one to raise and educate him, only escaping by commandeering a Xenos vessel that had landed to plunder the planet's ruins, he then left to discover who made him. But this story is a lie.
*2. Landing on a human world and living amongst them for ten years, but the planet is then attacked by the [[Slaugth]] who kept him as a curiosity and killed the remainder of the population. Alpharius would be saved by the Emperor directly but kept him hidden from public knowledge for many years while his son was rehabilitated. But this story is a lie.
*3. Alpharius was not fully completed at the time of the scattering of the primarchs, thus was spared '''OR''' some part of him remained behind ''(potentially [[Omegon]]?)''. Either way he remained at the Emperor's side at the beginning of the Great Crusade and acted as His hidden agent until the time was right to reveal him. But this story is a lie.
* In his personal Primarch story, the author uses ALL of these. Alpharius was found near Terra and raised in secret, because the Emperor wasn't sure how many primarchs survived (3). Alpharius hears about a warrior that sounds like a primarch and goes to investigate. The person is on a dead, Slaugh infected world (1 & 2). However, he hasn't been tortured or corrupted by the Slaugth. Eventually, the two decide to go introduce themselves to Horus, and Omegon proceeds to attack his ship, infiltrate it, and reveal himself to Horus. Therefor EVERY Alpha legion "origin" has some level of truth. Well played Black Library. On top of that, it was Alpharius who had the slate-grey armor and infiltrating each of his brothers' legions when they were introduced to their fathers while Omegon was the one in the Pythian Scales with the Pale Spear when Alpharius found him. The fact the prologue and the epilogue both contain Alpharius' remark that "[He] is Alpharius, this is/was a lie" makes it even more confusing as to which is Omegon and Alpharius.

What this suggests, if all four stories are true and taken into context is that the twins were separated at the scattering, with one landing on a separate planet ''(the human world becoming the dead world when the xenos arrived)'' and was then raised by Xenos, but escaped ''(or was rescued)'' and attempted to search for his creator, finding Horus. While the one grew up in secrecy with the Emperor and accounts for much of the actions of the [[Alpha Legion|XXth legion]] LONG before the Primarch's "official" discovery.

This is supported in both the short stories, ''First Legion'' and ''The Last Council''. In the former an individual calling himself ''"Alpharius"'' from the XXth Legion comes to the aid of [[Lion El'Jonson]] during the [[Rangdan Xenocides]] nearly 90 years before Alpharius was ''officially'' discovered and the [[Alpha Legion]] was given its name. In the latter, Alpharius informs Horus about Malcador's plan to commit damnatio memoriae on one of the [[Primarch#Two_Missing_Primarchs_.7C_The_Forgotten_.26_The_Purged|2nd or 11th legions Primarchs]]; but considering that both of the [[Primarch#Two_Missing_Primarchs_.7C_The_Forgotten_.26_The_Purged|the 2nd and 11th]] were dead and condemned by 963.M30, and Alpharius didn't join the Great Crusade until 981.M30. Granted in each story neither of the individuals may been one of the twin Primarchs and the Primarch simply took the name after they were eventually recovered. But it shows that someone called "Alpharius" was active before his official discovery, certainly adding fuel to the fire that one of the twins was in the service of the Emperor long before his counterpart was picked up at the end of the Great Crusade.

The fact that one of the twins is loyal to the Emperor while the other isn't, is supported in ''Vengeful Spirit'' by Graham McNeill, during a conversation between Malcador and the Emperor, Malcador reveals that the Dark Angels had come to the aid of Leman Russ and the Space Wolves against the Alpha Legion, to which the Emperor replies: ''"Alpharius...my son, what chance did you give my dream?"'' indicates that the Emperor is either unaware that Alpharius Omegon is actually two twin Primarchs, which seems unlikely given his whole creation of them using parts of his godlike power and psyche, '''or''' that he IS aware of their dual nature but knows that the other twin: Omegon, would never turn on him. This is practically confirmed in the short story ''The Board is Set'' where in the allegorical game of strategies used to represent the outcomes of the Primarchs' destinies there were two pieces for the "Twins"; [[Meme|one red and one blue]], representing their chosen side in the conflict. It also showed that at least some of the actions of the Emperor were done in order to ensure that the blue Twin did not switch sides and cause an overall Chaos victory. This means that the Emperor and Malcador were both fully aware of the nature of the Twin Primarchs if not their exact whereabouts and activities, as well as knowing that they were at odds with one another and striving to ensure that one of them remained loyal.

===Great Crusade===

Alpharius, unusual for the Primarchs, developed a very unusual approach to his missions, focusing primarily on flexibility and personal initiative and making extensive use of subterfuge and non-Astartes specialist operatives. This was reflected with the Alpha Legion's symbol - a Hydra, which could strike from multiple directions at once, and which could keep going even with the loss of a head. This multiple-fronts, seemingly-unstructured approach towards warfare, naturally, pissed off [[Roboute Guilliman]], who Alpharius refused to recognize as his [[Matt Ward|spiritual liege]], and Guilliman openly called Alpharius' tactics cowardly. Unlike most similar arguments (such as between [[Lion El'Jonson|the Lion]] and [[Leman Russ]]), this one turned violent in record time when Guilliman pointed to the [[Ultramarines]]' own record, something Alpharius could never hope to achieve, since Guilliman [[Derp|had a 100-year head-start on the Alpha Legion]], which is partly false since the XXth ''"Ghost Legion"'' had existed since the early years of the Great Crusade and done the [[Emperor]]'s wetwork in secret, though Guilliman probably wouldn't have known that. This might sting even more if the twins were separated as one of the origin stories suggest, and were actually were in command of the ''Ghost Legion'' decades before Guilliman's discovery, meaning that Alpharius/Omegon could have actually had the headstart.

Determined to prove he was an infinitely better commander than Guilliman could hope to be, Alpharius took his forces and went on their very first assignment - a world that had thrown off Imperial rule, and was openly stating its intention to fight off Imperial forces. Rather than land immediately and bring the world to heel through force, Alpharius delayed, and the world fortified heavily. By this point, some two million PDF troopers stood ready to repulse the Space Marine invasion. It was only now that Alpharius struck - by taking advantage of and equipping Imperial-loyal citizens on the planet, Alpharius' forces managed to cause several diversionary attacks that drew the PDF away from their held locations, before a series of bombings cut them off, and the Alpha Legion cut the power to the city's central hive. Within a week, Alpharius had subjugated the world - ''having lost less than 3 dozen Space Marines'' in the process. Beaming with pride at his accomplishments, Alpharius returned to a meeting with his brothers with all the smug satisfaction of a [[Fur heresy|Dark Heresy player that had just]] [[Chakats Meet the Hammer of the Emperor|derailed his GM's campaign]].

What he got was not what he expected. Instead of praising him Guilliman rebuked him pretty harshly, claiming that Alpharius' method had been "A waste of time, effort, and the Emperor's bolt-shells". The reason was that, while Guilliman certainly could appreciate the masterful organization and lack of casualties, he was an empire builder and looked beyond immediate conquest and compliance. Guilliman knew that leaving planets "conquered" but in ruins made for difficulty in rebuilding afterwards, and that it costed more effort and pain in the long run than a more strictly clinical alpha strike and that direct approaches (like he had his own Ultramarines do whenever possible) left planets in a better state to use and integrate in the Imperium once the ass-kicking was done. Ultrasmurf style was meant to inspire respect and make it easier to build/rebuild support for the Emprah, instead of leaving a traumatised, resentful population. Alpharius' stratagems had indeed spared Space Marine lives, but in doing so had totaled the rebels' infrastructure which seriously hurt the civilian population and would cost the Imperium much larger amounts of resources to set the planet back on its feet than if he'd gone in openly and just punched the fuckers in the face.

Alpharius was likewise admonished by [[Rogal Dorn]] who, while acknowledging the sheer magnitude of what Alpharius had accomplished, dismissed his methods as [[-4 Str|unmanly]] and that his legion were "not fit to bear the Emperor's mark" because of the harm it did to the civilians on the planet. He didn't get on well with [[Mortarion]] or Russ either, coming close to conflict due to his lack of adherence to battlefield commands ''(though it seems the lord of the Death Guard rubs everyone up the wrong way)''. [[Magnus]] and his [[Thousand Sons]] went out of their way to avoid Alpharius wherever possible, but for unreported reasons. Rotten cherry on top of an already spoiled cake, even fucking ''[[Konrad Curze]]'' openly mocked Alpharius and his Legion for "hiding his sins in a shroud of lies". (Yeah, because he never hid anything, the bloody prison rapist that he is... Wait, actually he didn't - he displayed his kills openly and broadcast that shit all over the place for all to see and fear.)

Suffice to say, Alpharius was [[rage|fucking pissed]]. Many argue he was simply unlucky - had he been on the other side of the galaxy at the time, he would have likely hooked up with other brothers who may have been not only impressed with Alpharius' stunning accomplishment, but likely would have noted it for their own tactical use later and taught him to think about preserving non-combatant lives while he was at it. Though it was noted ''(with a hint of surprise)'' that Alpharius successfully campaigned briefly with the [[Lion El'Jonson|Lion]] and [[Ferrus Manus]] without incident. It's unfortunate that he/they never got the chance to fight side-by-side with [[Corax]] or even better, [[Vulkan]]. Not only is Vulkan THE bro-ing-est Primarch, who not even Mortarion or Curze could hate, Vulkan was one of the Primarch's who firmly instilled the creed of 'Mortals are people too. They don't have our strength, speed or wisdom. They do the best they can with what they have. Look after them', meaning he and Alpharius would've gotten on like a house on fire.

But yeah, sadly enough, Alpharius got chewed up by the stuck-ups and fed up with his available brothers being [[butthurt]], he took off, believing fervently (and pretty accurately) that Guilliman hated him.

'''Important note''' ''Some or potentially all of this may well be Old Fluff. We've learned a lot about Alpharius in recent years as well as getting a more personal picture of the others and this story really does not fit with either of them. We know now that Alpharius was working for the Cabal and thus didn't join Horus because he was pissed or anything, in fact he was working AGAINST Horus so this squabbly stuff doesn't really fit. Perhaps Alpharius wanted to appear bitter and resentful and a natural choice for Horus to recruit but that's clearly not the whole truth. On top of that the spat with Guilliman doesn't sound like the Guilliman we've seen in the books. His own writings specifically say that whatever wins the battle is the right strategy and as a master of logistics, it seems weird for Guilliman to bitch about Alpharius winning by using the least resources possible. Maybe he thought Alpharius took too long or left the planet ripe for another rebellion but that's not the same as calling him a coward. On top of that given that a legion like the World Eaters or Iron Warriors would probably have butchered every single person on the planet in a rave-orgy of blood and death, calling a more restrained approach 'cowardly' just doesn't fit. It maybe sounds like Dorn to be pissed off for not developing and fortifying the worlds Alpharius conquered but only the Imperial Fists, Word Bearers and Ultramarines really did that; the other legions leaving it to the Imperials following behind them to re-build stuff. Whether Alpharius was playing up the rift to ensure Horus came calling or if this is just totally out of date is unknown but it's safe to say that this stuff isn't the whole truth. [[Just as planned]]...''

===Horus Heresy===
When Horus turned to Chaos during the Horus heresy, Alpharius really had only met one brother who had not treated him like shit, and that was Horus - so it comes as no surprise that Alpharius followed Horus' descent into Chaos... Actually, this is another lie. The real reason Alpharius joined the Warmaster was because a [[The Cabal|Cabal of Xenos]] showed him that if Horus won, then Chaos would be defeated but only due to all of humanity stop feeding warp power to chaos by the virtue of everyone being dead. Hence the Alpha legion is all a bunch of <s>closet loyalists</s> Malal worshipers, seriously they are chaos worshipers trying to kill chaos. ''(So... double traitors? but unlike double heresy, it's like a double negative?)'' Could just be that Alpharius preferred the future that ensured humanity's continued existence rather than the one that had humanity go extinct at the hands of a victorious Horus; pro-humanity.

Alpharius also engages in a friendly bit of [[Rip and tear|legion purging]] in the book The Seventh Serpent. He masquerades as Shadrak Meduson of the [[Iron Hands]] and sways Captain Cadmus Tyro and the ship Sisypheum starring Sabik Wayland and [[Raven Guard|Nykona Sharrowkyn]] to destroy the loyalist Alpha Legion strike-cruiser Sigma led by Legate Chaitan during ship-refueling operations under the pretense of striking at Alpharius. The promethium fuel was sabotaged and the entire ship becomes an enormous bomb. Said bomb exploding on the sub-orbital refueling depot Lerna Two-Twelve while Iron Hands are still on it, killing more loyalists among the Iron Hands too. What a [[Eldrad|dick]].

Engages in more mind-fuckery during the ensuing fight with Nykona and spares his life when he says that [[Magnus]] asked him to, seeding doubt in the Iron Hands. [[Just as planned]].

==BUT THERE WAS MORE==
[[Image:NotSoFast.PNG|center]]

As it turns out, Alpharius' greatest secret was not his homeworld - it was that he had [[Skub|an identical twin]], named [[Omegon]]. It is not clear if the Emperor [[Not as planned|intended this]], nor was he even aware of it. Alpharius and Omegon are, in fact, ''both'' the Primarch of the Alpha Legion, although 'Alpharius' is the public face and appears as the more senior of the two. Both look alike, however, and the two switch their roles ''often.'' Alpha Legion marines have described this well-kept secret as the pair sharing one soul between two bodies, and the other Primarchs, unaware of the Alpha Legion Primarch's true nature, simply believed they WERE one person, named, appropriately enough, [[Derp|Alpharius Omegon]]. The only true way to tell the difference between the two was <s>their armor, with Omegon's being all black due to his role as a stealth specialist</s> whichever one you thought you weren't looking at, it was the other one? In addition to this, it's rumoured that Alpharius, or Omegon, or both of them, or someone, maybe... My head hurts!

Okay! Back on track. It's rumoured that ''someone'' had several of the Alpha Legion Marines surgically altered to look exactly like them so they could stand in as ''extra'' body doubles if/when it was needed. This was easier for the Alphas than it would've been for any other Legion, because some alpha legionnaires were unusually freakishly tall, and their primarchs looked normal, rather than being giants with [[Magnus the Red | one eye]], [[Sanguinius | wings]], and/or [[Ferrus Manus | metal hands]]. It also helped that digesting a small portion of their primarch's blood made those body-doubles powerful enough to be mistaken as true Primarchs not only by appearance but also by their combat prowess for quite a long time (up to a several hours), although it isn't known if this were a common ability amongst Alpha Legionnaires, or was it artificially engineered only for the body-doubles.

It's unknown if Guilliman killed Omegon, or simply some dipshit Alpha Legion Marine who decided to pull a Spartacus and pose as them. OR NEITHER. So you can see where the [[meme]]s come from. Who the ''hell'' did Guilliman kill?

Maybe the whole war on Eskrador was a big chunk of disinformation trolling made by Alpha Legion agents to fake their primarch's death. Or they want the Inquisition to think so. After all the only source of information about said war was Inquisitor Kravin's report - who mysteriously disappeared shortly after and may or may not be an Alpha Legion agent undercover. That being said: The Ultramarines have no records about the Eskrador war, but again those records may or may not be lost or may or may not be destroyed due to some Alpha Legion black ops... or just lost due to shitty imperial record keeping, as it would not be the first time that's happened.

And to keep up the mystery, when [[Gregor Eisenhorn]] needed someone to keep Alizabeth Bequin's clone Alizabeth 'Beta' Bequin safe he got someone whose only response was "I am Alpharius" and can make an Emperor's Children Space Marine run away just by showing his face.

... Goddamnit this is ''confusing.''

It gets worse. A short story printed in ''The Primarchs'' Horus Heresy book shows that by drinking the Primarch's blood an Alpha Legion Marine took on the genetic coding of the primarchs, fooling even the apothecary on the mission. Also at the end Alpharius and Omegon are speaking about the necessities of war as the mission before was a one way trip including the death of a rogue psyker who became close to Omegon. Omegon seemed to think the sacrifice was not necessary whilst Alpharius believed it was, hinting that the brothers were not in agreement on all things. As their plan in ''Legion'' relied on killing off humanity to kill off chaos, Omegon is probably looking for another option. This may or may not mean the Alpha Legion has some connection to [[The Purge]], but as with all other things on this page nobody fucking knows.

It is notable that in Deliverance Lost, the Alpha Legion betrayed even the Cabal. And the third Forge World Horus Heresy book includes a large story which ended with Alpharius (or was it?) screwing over Horus by not garrisoning an area after the Alpha Legion conquered it. At this point, combined with how even Alpharius and Omegon don't seem to agree, it's questionable if the Alpha Legion is even unified in its purpose. [[The Fallen|They wouldn't be the only ones]] divided over betraying the Imperium.

==Death==
In ''Praetorians of Dorn'', it was revealed that the blood memory method thing that Sheed Ranko used to "become" Omegon wasn't the only way for a Primarch to operate outside of their bodies. The legion possessed psykers with the ability to transfer the consciousness of a primarch into a legionary.

However, all speculation above may now be moot. In the same book, Alpharius himself (apparently not a proxy, having been pulling shit no mere Legionary's body could have done) led an attack on the Sol System, Dorn tanks a shot in his shoulder to pin Alpharius in place then ripped his skull apart with his big-ass chainsword. Alpharius is actually DEAD. Omegon, half the galaxy away, sensed it and decided to adopt Alpharius's identity permanently.

(Actually, Alpharius has his psyche reconstructed to resemble that of the legion Harrowmaster, Silonius. He does this to mask his presence on Terra from the Emperor, Malcador and co. Alpharius actually physically goes into the fight. He slowly unlocks his mental blocks as the Legion's plan reaches its climax. Then he ambushes (and subsequently tries to reason with or confuse) Dorn, who ignores everything and proceeds to shred Alpharius' body. YEAH. He dead.)

This is unlikely with the kinds of shit the Alpha Legion pull all the time, but we will let the Imperial Fister who wrote the last paragraph keep seeing the world in black and white.... or should I say yellow and teal?

Nope, OG is right. Alpharius is roadkill. [[John French]] has confirmed it in [https://theimperialtruth.com/episode-067-adb-and-john-french/ an interview(in 30:35~31:30)] and Omegon felt his brother's death. That's the cool thing about this book: It shows us that the Alpha Legion is smart as fuck but ain't invincible. Just as planned can get tiring when you have too many twist, turns and loop de loops like these two clowns insist on doing.

Whilst Alpharius is super dead from the whole Pluto thing, there is yet another account from of Alpharius dying that is less known. In the short story Hunter's Moon a Space Wolf named Torbjorn (insert shitty Overwatch meme here) details how he killed Alpharius by arriving on his ship peacefully and then shooting him in the head. Okay it wasn't that simple. He arrived on the ship for some diplomacy stuff and to verify if the Alpha Legion were super tra7itor heretics or not. Basically the Space Wolves squad was there to guard Alpharius in case he DID go traitor so they could murder the fuck out of him the moment they turned. Alpharius saw right through that shit (because duh), but he was still playing along. Then Alpharius asked them to kneel. Unfortunately for all parties involved, Space Wolves are very stubborn regarding such things. Then Alpharius threw a stupid babby hissy fit about them and their "rightful" burning of Prospero (as Torbjorn is the speaker we know that he isn't the most reliable source as the entire story rings of Space Wolf propaganda, but we do know that the events do seem to have happened as he said, but most likely the "ignoble and rash" Alpharius was probably just pointing out just how fucking stupid destroying an entire loyal legion and then being self righteous about it is. Anyway, Alpha Legion fan-wankery aside the two groups broke into battle. Alpharius then killed some Space Wolves in CQC and then got shot in the face dead by Torbjorn. Torbjorn then jacked an Alpha Legion ship and fled to the planet they were orbiting, Pelago. He then told the story to some fishermen and noted he would likely either be found by Alpha Legion or Space Wolf forces very soon since he put out a distress call. A few hours of sailing later a Space Wolf Stormbird appeared from the sky, to Torbjorn's brief delight, opened the back door revealing Alpharius to Torbjorn's confusion as he was notably not dead and had his skull perfectly intact and unblemished and then the Alpha Legion murdered Torbjorn and two of the three sailors, leaving one alive. This was likely to seed fear of the Alpha Legion into Pelago because the Alpha Legion loves mind games. What the point was of taking the effort to repaint a stormbird was is debatable, but perhaps Alpharius just wanted to see the look on his face.

Now we have three stories of Alpharius' death. On Pluto, where he certainly did bite the dust, on Pelago where he certainly didn’t, and on Eskrador, where it might have been Omegon who was killed. Or we can apply some common sense and realize there is no way in Hell shooting a Primarch in the head would kill him. Probably not even hurt him. Hell, there are stories of normal Astartes shrugging off boltgun headshots.

In any case, with his Legion's ability to transfer memories and consciousness, even if their physical bodies are well and truly dead, the Primarch's minds may be fragmented throughout the members of the Legion and influencing them to the point that it becomes impossible to say where Legionaries end and their Primarch begins ...again ...meta.

To cap this fuckfest of a conspiracy off, there also appears to be an Alpha Legion Chaos Lord claiming to be none other than the big man himself, even sending all six of his would be assassin's heads into the food storage halls of the fucking High Lords on Terra.

==Tabletop==
[[File:AlphariusModel.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Alpharius' [[awesome]] new model... [[Omegon#Tabletop|or is it?]] Also note the massive red pimple in the middle of his forehead.]]
{| class=wikitable
! || WS || BS || S || T || W || I || A || Ld || Sv
|-
| '''Alpharius:''' || 7 || 7 || 6 || 6 || 6 || 6 || 5 || 10 || 2+/4++
|}

While not a monster of close combat like other Primarchs, Alpharius gives candy to his army while [[Tzeentch|fucking with the opponents]] like no one but him can (That being said, even the worst of combat primarchs will whomp just about anything else). Sire of the Alpha Legion grants all Alpha Legion units Preferred Enemy ([[Rape|Everything]]) and gives Alpharius Preferred Enemy (Everything), Counter attack, Move through Cover, Scout, and Crusader- but not right away. You see, after both sides deploy he can opt out of deploying normally or via deep striking and choose to hide in any Alpha Legion Infantry unit which is part of the Primary Detachment, disguised as a rank-and-file model, but can reveal himself starting at turn 2 (and does so automatically at turn 5) replacing a model and gaining all of the above buffs. If the unit he's hiding in is "falling back" when he reveals himself, it auto-rallies, and if it's destroyed while he's still hiding (or if it is in a Transport and there is no space for him), he just goes into reserves (you must write which unit is hiding Alpharius...but if you're a true Alpha Legionnaire you'd have 6 different notes, ''none of them with your actual handwriting style''). Be careful though: remember that he is Bulky and that he can only be revealed at the beginning of your own turn, so if he is hiding in a transport at full capacity he could be impossible to place (for example in a ten man Breacher squad inside a Rhino) unless you already disembarked the Squad on the previous turn, so plan accordingly. He can also Seize the Initiative on a 4+, give units arriving via Outflank a +D3 movement bonus and, best of all, [[Troll|if an enemy unit is successfully brought in from reserves and your army has an identical version of that same type also in reserve, roll a D6: on a 4+, the opponent brings in your unit instead]]. ''Combine him with his Legion RoW to almost guarantee going first and almost completely negate your enemy's reserves''.

As far as equipment goes: on defense,'''The Pythian Scales''' gives him 2+ armor save and 4+ invulnerable save and also ignores the effects of Poison and Fleshbane. Not bad. His weapon, '''The Pale Spear''' doesn't boost his Strength, but it does have AP1, Armourbane, and Instant Death along with Two-Handed (as an interesting note, this actually makes him one of the best Primarchs for murdering monsters: he is one of the few Primarchs with access to Instant Death without a proc from a dice roll. He could reasonably take out a trio of Carnifex in a single round of CQC, or more topically, a squad of Taghmatta). He also has the following equipment: '''Venom Spheres''', '''Master-Crafted Plasma Blaster''', '''Cognis Signum''', '''Nuncio Vox''' and '''Camelioline''', making him quite the force multiplier and perfectly capable to adapt to a variety of circumstances, like he should be.

All in all, Alpharius is one of the if not flat out the single best force multiplier in Warhammer 30k, as his value for money only increases the larger battles get. In 3000pts games, stubborn and other once per game abilities are useful. At 1000pts they are less so. Preferred enemy (Everything) is universally useful and becomes more useful the larger the armies become (seriously, you'd happily pay 415 points to give your apocalypse army preferred enemy anyway, never mind that you're also getting a Primarch as well).

===Alpharius VS other Primarchs:===
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">
Primarch fighting, while fun to see, isn't a very competitive thing to do as it'll usually tie up both Primarchs for the entire game without either of them dying. With that in mind, this section is about how Alpharius fares against other Primarchs Mathhammer wise. Please note that all the various abilities are taken into accounts when possible and the match-ups assume the Primarchs are the only ones involved in the fighting, so various abilities like Angron's "The Butcher's Nails" and Rampage do not provide any bonuses. In essence, the fights are supposed to happen in a "Vacuum" for simplicity, but notes are added to make things clearer in particular instances. Also, all of the Primarch use their most powerful weapons (because why have a contest if you don't do your best?).
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* Alpharius VS Horus
**Horus hits 4 times (Talon), wounds 3.556 times, 1.778 after saves and IWND will take that down to 1.444 wounds at the start of the next turn.
**Alpharius hits 2.92 times and wounds 1.701 times, 0.567 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.234 wounds at the start of the next turn.
**Alpharius loses. Badly.

* Alpharius VS Angron
**Angron Round 1: hits 5.333 times, wounds 4.444 times, 2.222 after saves, and IWND take it down to 1.889.
**Angron Round 2 and thereafter: hits 4 times, wounds 3.333 times, 1.667 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 1.333 wounds at the start of the next turn.
**Alpharius hits 2.92 times and wounds 1.701 times, 0.851 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.518 wounds at the start of the next turn.
**Alpharius loses really badly.

* Alpharius vs Mortarion
**Mortarion hits 2.5 times, wounds 1.667 times, 0.833 wounds after saves and 0.5 wounds after IWND.
**Alpharius hits 2.92 times and wounds 1.136 times, 0.568 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.0124 wounds at the start of the next turn.
**Alpharius loses badly

* Alpharius vs Fulgrim
**Fulgrim hits 5.333 times, wounds 3.556, 1.778 wounds after saves and 1.444 wounds after IWND.
**Alpharius hits 2.92 times and wounds 1.701 times, 0.567 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.234 wounds at the start of the next turn.
**Alpharius loses badly.

* Alpharius vs Ferrus Manus
**Ferrus hits 2.5 times, wounds 2.083 times, 1.042 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.709 wounds at the start of the next turn.
**Alpharius hits 2.92 times and wounds 1.136 times, 0.379 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.045 wounds at the start of the next turn.
**Alpharius loses. Again, badly.

* Alpharius VS Vulkan
**Vulkan hits 2 times, wounds 1.667 times, 0.833 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.5 wounds at the start of the next turn.
**Alpharius hits 2.92 times and wounds 1.136 times, 0.379 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0 wounds at the start of the next turn.
**Alpharius loses and can't even wound Vulkan at all.

* Alpharius VS Lorgar
**Lorgar hits 2.5 times, wounds 2.083 times, 1.041 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.708 wounds at the start of the next turn.
**Alpharius round 1: hits 3.333 times, wounds 1.9444 times, 0.972 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.639 wounds at the start of the next turn.
**Alpharius round 2: hits 3.889 times, wounds 2.268 times, 1.134 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.801 wounds at the start of the next turn.
**Now this was a fight! Alpharius finally wins against the weakest of the Primarchs! Let's not say to him he wasn't using his Psychic Powers...

* Alpharius VS Perturabo
**Perturabo hits 2.667 times, wounds 2.222 times, 1.111 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.778 wounds at the start of the next turn.
**Alpharius hits 2.92 times and wounds 1.701 times, 0.567 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.234 wounds at the start of the next turn.
**Alpharius loses.

* Alpharius vs Konrad Curze
**Curze hits 4 times, wounds 3 times, 1.5 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 1.167 wounds at the start of the next turn.
**Alpharius hits 2.92 times and wounds 1.701 times, 0.851 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.517 wounds at the start of the next turn.
**Alpharius loses.

* Alpharius VS Rogal Dorn
**Dorn hits 2.667 times, wounds 2 times, 1 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.667 wounds at the start of the next turn.
**Alpharius hits 2.92 times and wounds 1.701 times, 0.851 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.517 wounds at the start of the next turn.
**Alpharius still loses, but not by much this time.

* Alpharius VS Corvus Corax
**Corvus hits 4 times (Scourge)/3 times (Shadow-walk), wounds 3 times (Scourge)/2.25 times (Shadow-walk), 1.5 wounds (Scourge)/1.125 wounds (Shadow-walk) after saves and IWND will take that down to 1.167/0.792 wounds at the start of the next turn.
**Alpharius hits 2.92/1.944 times and wounds 1.701/1.134 times, 1.134/0.756 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.801/0.423 wounds at the start of the next turn.
**Even without counting Hit and Run bonuses, Alpharius still loses.

* Alpharius VS Roboute Guilliman
**Guilliman Round 1: hits 2.5 times, wounds 2.222 times, 1.111 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.778 wounds at the start of the next turn.
**Guilliman Round 2 and thereafter: hits 3.333 times, wounds 2.963 times, 1.482 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 1.148 wounds at the start of the next turn.
***Alpharius hits 2.92 times and wounds 1.701 times (Remember he got Preferred Enemy), 0.851 wounds after saves and 0.425 after Armor of Reason. And IWND will take that down to 0.092 wounds at the start of the next turn.
**Guilliman wins really easily, as the damage Alpharius does is almost irrelevant, thus making the claim that he personally killed the lord of the Alpha Legion actually believable...But then again, every Primarch could have actually killed him!

* Alpharius VS Leman Russ
**Russ hits 4 times, wounds 3 times, 1.5 times after saves, plus 0.583 wounds from Sever Life for a whole 2.083 wounds and IWND will take that down to 1.75 wounds at the start of the next turn.
**Alpharius round 1: hits 1.944 times, wounds 1.134 times, 0.567 times after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.231.
**Alpharius Round 2 and thereafter: hits 0.972 times, wounds 0.567 times, 0.283 times after saves and IWND will take that down to -0.049 wounds.
**Alpharius is utterly destroyed.

* Jaghatai VS Alpharius
**Jaghatai hits 4 times, wounds 2 times, 1 wound after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.666
**Alpharius hits 2.92 times and wounds 1.136 times, 0.379 wounds after saves and IWND will take that down to 0.045 wounds at the start of the next turn.
**Khan easily slays Alpharius.

* TLDR version: Alpharius is not really in the same league as the others in terms of raw balls out combat power. Oh he's still crazy deadly against most things but against other Primarchs, even weakened by shooting, he doesn't really compete. Which makes sense as he was the physically smallest and preferred to win by cunning. As a result, he functions more as a strategic asset/force multiplier. His other rules make him unlikely to be fighting unless it's on his terms, appearing from the shadows to eat a terminator squad before you can drop Angron on him (he's especially and hilariously deadly against expensive multi-wound terminators who can't even hide behind feel no pain). Guess he was <s>the last son for a reason</s> kinda busy stealing your reserves, buffing his army and sneaking into the perfect position to win the war in a single strike to focus as much on fighting face to face. If you are a true son of Alpharius then you'll use his weakness to your advantage, keeping your enemy guessing where he'll appear and letting an opposing Primarch chase him around salivating at the idea of killing a brother so much that they forget that half their army hasn't shown up and the few units they roll for are actually Alpha Legionnaires in disguise. He's a subtle leader of a subtle legion. Used wisely his abilities can swing any battle but if you try to use him just as a giant beatstick then you'll waste a lot of points and get the invisible brother killed. At least if that happens you can rest assured that your legion will continue to fight and win, unlike a certain armless failure. Also, since Alpharius may be considered 'only half a primarch', these fights put him at an unfair disadvantage, obviously. A true son of Alpharius would field him and Omegon and have them fight enemy primarchs together in order to win.
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{{Primarchs}}

[[Category:Imperial]][[Category:Chaos]][[Category:Chaos Space Marines]]