2d4chan - User contributions [en]

Ordinatus

2020-12-02T18:43:38Z

2601:4C1:C400:4050:3C35:C8ED:9786:ECDC:

[[File:Ordinatus.jpg|400px|thumbnail|right| Yes, the little things on the bottom are buildings. '''It's that big'''. It is also [[Looted|looted,]] [[Emprah]] [[Rape|help us.]] ]]
{{topquote|A weapon the size of a [[Titan (Warhammer 40,000)|Titan]].

A near-perfect expression of the [[Omnissiah]]'s grandeur and, of course, his puissance. Armies are thrown to the wind by its glorious song, and mountains themselves skitter aside at its demand. Nothing stands before a sacred Machine Spirit so mighty without its consent.|Tech-Priest Garrulon Vyme}}

In the rare event that even the Titan Legions just can't get the job done, the [[Imperium of Man]] brings in the specialized war-machines known as the '''Ordinati'''. These are basically unintelligent (so far as we know) Bolos built with Imperial technology, and are the angry black matriarchs of the AdMech's arsenals.

The size of an Ordinatus varies '''''A. LOT.''''', if you thought the size of Titans was inconsistent as fuck, the Ordinatus got them beat. This is due to the fact that each Ordinatus is a unique specimen, meaning that the size of these things varies upon their specialization. Some like Ordinatus Golgotha is noted to have its missile to be as tall as a Reaver Titan, making it on the ''small'' end of things. Others like Ordinatus Armageddon mounts a [[Nova Cannon]], which if scaled properly (Assuming it isn't a miniaturisation), puts it in between 500-1800 meters, whilst the traitorous twin Ordinatii engines, Eradicant and Obliteratus, is described as having tracks two storeys high which ran for hundreds of metres. And then you have the Ork-looted Ordinatus Mars on the right, which is just fucking ridiculous.

*'''Length:''' 0.5-1.8km; approx

==Overview==

Unlike the standardized Titans, each Ordinatus is custom-built by the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] for a specific objective and named after the world it was constructed on. A special branch of the Admech called the Centurio Ordinatus is responsible for their creation, use, and maintenance, similar to the Collegia Titanica. The Ordinati themselves vary widely in armaments, size, shape, and role - some are armed with guns that would make an [[Imperator Battle Titan]] jealous, others are designed to carry entire battalions of troops, but all are more than capable of winning a war on their own. Most of them are only used for one battle and then get mothballed.

Using each one for only a single fight seems kind of wasteful given how stupidly powerful they're supposed to be, but you must first realize how the Mechanicum sees them. To the AdMech, innovation is one of the most dangerous things in the galaxy - if they invent a new Ordinatus it is only out of extremely dire need, and even then only the Centurio Ordinatus Magi are entrusted to do so. After it fulfills its purpose, the new Ordinatus should by all means be left alone unless it needs to perform its specialized role again. After all, it's a new technology not based at all on any pre-existing STC, and as such using it without a very, very good reason is seen as sacrilege if not outright tech-heresy, and if you push the wrong button you might vaporize somebody's favorite mountain by accident.

In light of that, actually deploying one at all is a very rare event compared to that of their Titan counterparts. Most of them were either destroyed, lost, damaged beyond repair, or just plain forgotten during the [[Horus Heresy]]. They're typically deployed separately from any Titan Legions or [[Skitarii]], and are used only when [[Imperial Guard|any]] [[Space Marines|other]] [[Exterminatus|options]] have failed. One was constructed in the middle of the First battle for Ullanor in [[the war of the beast]], and fired PLASMA DRIVES (famous for powering BATTLE BARGES on their own). This was so effective, it could one shot a column of Ork [[Gargant|Gargants]]. Unfortunately it met a sticky end when the Beast's PERSONAL TEMPLE-GARGANT fired all its weaponry (and there's a lot) at it, and still only just managed to cripple it. WOW.

Ordinatus engines are absolutely massive land crawlers that can run over and squash Baneblades, and are protected by a specialized energy field called a Dispersion Field on par with a Titan's void shields. Unlike the Titans, Ordinati are usually not meant to directly assault enemy positions, but tend to be better suited as really big back-line artillery. They are (very relatively) squishy for their size and firepower - and fairly indiscriminate at unleashing said firepower - so they need support armies to keep enemies at distance as they blow everything within several hundred miles of them to pieces.

Speaking about firepower... While Titans and huge ass super heavy tanks tend to have multiple guns on them, Ordinatus engines always mount only one ridiculously OP weapon system which can be as large as an actual ''Titan''. Most (if not all) of those systems were once specifically designed to solve one particularly difficult problem. Let me reiterate this: The Mechanicum, the guys who see innovation as one of the most perilous things in the galaxy, actually ''invented'' these things. Not just "in the distant past before much knowledge had being lost" but right the fuck NOW - some of the famous Ordinatus weapons were invented in M41 to fight off Waaagh! Ghazghkull. It's no surprise to anyone that the cogboys consider them the most sacred "relics" that they possess.

===Ordinati Minoris===
The "small" Ordinati, which are still each the size of three [[Leman Russ]] tanks lined up end-to-end, are typically armed with weaponry normally seen on Titans. They're easily recognized in silhouette by the two pairs of tracks they possess: two at the front and two at the rear. All of the big, "regular" Ordinati have three pairs of treads. Granted, each of those treads could wholly crush an Ordinatus Minoris, but that is besides the point.

They're also the only Ordinati which have rules for them available and they can be taken in both 30k and <s>40k</s> (40k rules awaiting the release of Fires of Cyraxus) Admech lists. Both of the available Ordinati Minoris are Super-Heavy Vehicles with AV14/13/13, 14 Hull points, Blessed Autosimalcrum, Armored Ceramite, Anbaric Claws, an Ordinatus Dispersion Field (an improved Flare Shield that's most effective early in the game: initially it grants a -3 S to all shooting attacks and rolls on the D chart, which goes down by one until the third turn, where it remains at a -1 penalty to all incoming shooting attacks and strength D hits), three turret-mounted Volkite Culverins, and a built in 6++ save. The catch is that they also have their own Catastrophic Damage table in which the closest range is always Strength D no matter what gets rolled, so if it ever does go down it's guaranteed to fuck over anyone nearby.

The IRL reasons for the Minoris existence is because full size Ordinatus models would not only be larger than Emperor Titans, but larger than the table and cost at least double the price of both put together. Therefore, you are never going to see Ordinatus Majoris models outside of [[Epic]]. At the very least with the Minoris people will actually play with you. On that same note, trolling players who deploy Knights and Titans in [[Escalation]] will always be funny.

Currently, three Ordinatus Minoris variants have their own rules:

====Ordinatus Sagittar====
[[Image:99560108149_MechanicumOrdinatusSagittar01.jpg|300px|left|thumb|The Ordinatus Sagittar, the Ordinatus Gehenna's rotten stepchild.]]
{{Clear}}
The sniper and anti-titan of Ordinatus Minoris.

The Ordinatus Sagittar was a type of Ordinatus engine used during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. A smaller Ordinatus Minoris design, the Sagittar was equipped with a Belicosa-pattern [[Volcano Cannon]] used to destroy enemy Titans and most often carried on Warlord Class machines. Secondary weapons consisted of a trio of [[Volkite Culverin]]s.

Crunchwise, did you ever say to yourself "Hey, I wish I could mount a Titan-grade Volcano Cannon on something other than a Shadowsword"? Well, you're in luck- for "only" 700 points, the Ordinatus Sagittar can fire off a blast of Strength D Apocalyptic Blast goodness from '''180'''' away, allowing you to snipe enemy vehicles and everything vaguely close to them from the other side of the table. The Machine Destroyer rule on it is a little overkill, but very nice against Titans.

====Ordinatus Ulator====
[[Image:99560108145_MechanicumOrdinatusUlator_08.jpg|300px|left|thumb|The Ordinatus Ulator, the little brother of the Ordinatus Mars.]]
{{Clear}}
A rare and truly arcane weapon system of [[Star Wars|UNLIMITED POWA!!!,]] the Ulator is one of the most potent war machines at the Imperium’s disposal. In the time of the Great Crusade the Ordinatus macro engines were rarer than even the Battle Titans of the Collegia Titanica, and only a handful of Forge Worlds had the resources or indeed the doctrinal blessing and religious authority to produce or maintain such embodiment of the Omnissiah’s divine wrath. Such was the sacredness of these machines above all others, that an entire subcult of the Mechanicum was devoted to their worship and propitiation. The Ordinatus Ulator carries a trio of [[Volkite Culverin]]s as its secondary armaments, but its primary weapon is the terrifying Ulator class [[Sonic Destructor]].

On tabletop, 1075 points nets you the Ordinatus Mars' little brother, armed with its own Sonic Destructor. At first glance, its rules are nasty as hell- 72' range, AP1, Armorbane, Instant Death, Pinning, and Ignores Cover in one package. However, the meat of its effectiveness comes from its "Ulator Sonic Wave" rule. Instead of measuring the shot normally, you place a Massive Blast marker so it touches the Ordinatus' hull, and move it forward in any direction from its firing arc (so long as the first model hit by it is an enemy; mind you, friendly units can be hit afterwards) until it either reaches the max range or it leaves the table. Everything that the template passes over even partially is automatically hit, with squads taking a number of hits equal to the number of models that the template covered as it moved. Yes, this includes fliers too. From there, its strength changes depending on what got hit- it acts like S5 on infantry/bikes/beasts/jetbikes/cavalry, S8 on MCs and non-tank vehicles, S10 on tanks, and the almighty D to super-heavies, buildings, and GCs. Between its ability to tear apart an entire army in one shot regardless of what's being fielded and the fact that it ''literally'' cannot miss, it says a lot that this is still one of the "small" Ordinati. In addition, it sounds something like [https://youtu.be/P0DUsylJw9E this.]

====Ordinatus Aktaeus====
[[Image:OrdinatusAktaeus.jpg|300px|left|thumb|This fell out from between an Imperator's legs, so they attached treads to it.]]
{{Clear}}
The Ordinatus Aktaeus is a type of Ordinatus engine used by the Mechanicum during the Horus Heresy.

Essentially a massive assault drill, the super-heavy transport is actually two vehicles combined into one. The first is the Ordinatus you see while the second is the giant drill, which is called the [[Tunneling Transport Vehicles#Mole|Mole]]; combined, this allowed for the delivery of troops directly into the heart of the battle. The weapon also unleashes potent seismic forces upon the enemy in the process.

The Adeptus Mechanicus of Forge World AcM3 have done it again, after vigorous field tests in catching the elusive 'road runner' they've finally cleared their giant novelty rocket for use as a war machine, right after they repurposed it into a drill. It's better known as the [[Tunneling Transport Vehicles|Mole]]. Presumably, they did so after playing a few too many games of [[FATAL]] and they wanted to make something so huge, no roll for [[Anal Circumference]] could possibly save you.

===Ordinatus Mars===
[[Image:OrdinatusMars.jpg|300px|left|thumb|The Ordinatus Mars. Suck on it, [[Noise Marines]].]]
{{Clear}}
During the Schism of Mars, one traitor Magos holed himself up in a mountain citadel, sending his armies to harass Loyalist factories. Four companies of [[Imperial Fists]] led by [[Sigismund]] were sent to stop him, but discovered that the Magos possessed a [[C'tan|peculiar xeno artifact]] that caused any ship that got too close to it to be blown up or thrown into the Warp. A ground attack was decided to be a more viable approach...if it weren't for the half-mile thick walls made of the toughest materials known to the Imperium.

The Mechanicum responded by creating the Ordinatus Mars, armed with a [[Sonic Disruptor]] that caused the citadel to shake itself apart with the force of its sound waves. As the walls of the fortress crumpled the Loyalist Tech-Guard was able to storm the citadel and execute the traitor Magos with no difficulty. Probably being used by the Fabricator-General for fuck all, as no-one knows what happened to it after that.

One Mars, Ordinatus Hervaras, as you may have already known from the image above, had been looted by Orks. One must wonder where the self-destruct button was.

===Ordinatus Golgotha===
[[Image:OrdinatusGolgotha.jpg|300px|left|thumb|The Ordinatus Golgotha. How do they reload those missiles, anyway?]]
{{Clear}}
After [[Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka]] fled Armageddon, [[Yarrick]] managed to track him down to the planet Golgotha. Sometime after his capture by the greenskins and later escape, he returned with a punitive force of Titans and Skitarii. The sheer size of the Ork WAAAGH! made it impossible for them to gain an advantage, warranting the creation of an Ordinatus made specifically to deal with overwhelmingly massive hordes.

Carrying six [[Hellfire Missile]]s, capable of annihilating massive swathes of enemy infantry and light vehicles. The Golgotha's Hellfire Missiles were perfect for the job, and routed the Orks within a week. Since then it's been deployed in any battle where the enemies of the Imperium outnumber even the Imperial Guard. To this day, no one knows how the great weapon is reloaded. The only real way they could pull that off is if it was loaded into an [[Ark Mechanicus]] or a Cruiser or something. Either way it would take the better part of a day or longer.

It was first used on the Squat homeworld of Golgotha against invading Orks.

===Ordinatus Armageddon===
[[Image:OrdinatusArmageddon.jpg|300px|left|thumb|The Ordinatus Armageddon, for when you really need a continent bathed in plasma.]]
{{Clear}}
The Ordinatus Armageddon was designed during the First War for Armageddon to defend against a particularly dangerous horde of [[Daemon Engine]]s. The plasma-based cannon gives it the ability to melt Titans in one shot and disintegrate entire tank battalions with a salvo. Supposedly, it was [[Original character, do not steal|'inspired']] by an old [[Squat]] [[Cyclops War Machine|anti-Titan vehicle.]] The book ''Helsreach'' speculates that the Ordinatus Armageddon's main gun was basically a [[Nova Cannon]] (a weapon typically used only on [[Imperial Navy]] warships) modified to use an auto-loading system instead of a crew of thousands of slave workers.

It is the only 'large' Ordinatus that can be properly estimated based on size. While not official, it can assumed that its maximum size puts it in the same weight category as Imperial Destroyers or Frigates. We got this size by estimating its Nova Cannon with that of Imperial Battleships and scaling it with the Armageddon. Of course do note that this is just taking into the presumption that the [[Nova Cannon]] on the Armageddon is the same size as those found on Battleships and that changes in its size can fluctuate. This is unlikely to be true because a titan is a hell of a lot smaller than a ship and requiring a "salvo" to destroy a tank battalion implies (relatively) rapid fire capability so the shots must be far smaller than those of a true nova cannon. So we may or may not be looking at a [[Macrocannon]] scenario with the likes of the [[Aquila Strongpoint]]. Nevertheless, an alternate answer is that the Nova Cannon is of the same size, but sacrifices power with an increase rate of fire. After all, starship Nova Cannons takes tens-of-minutes ''at best'' to reload every shot, whereas the one on the Armageddon could fire in 'salvos'. It also makes sense both in terms of behavior and cost-effectiveness to modify a pre-existing Nova Cannon than creating a entirely new, small but modular pint-size powerhouse (Just look at the AdMech and the [[Stormsword Cannon]] fiasco); the implications of which would be a game changer for the Imperium. [[Rape|Imagine, fielding Nova Cannons small enough that could be put on a ''Ordinatus Minoris''.]]

Anyway, during the battle of Helsreach the ranking Space Marine commander, Chaplain Grimaldus, ordered his Techmarine to go find the Ordinatus and reactivate it. This took about five straight weeks of hacking, just to get in the hangar bay's door. And when the Titan Legions found out the Marines had done this they threatened to ''destroy the Ordinatus and kill all the Space Marines'', that's how big a deal these machines and the "never use, ever" doctrines are to the Mechanicus. Luckily basic logic prevailed ("if you don't let us use this the Ork gargants are going to kill us and loot all our Titans) and the Mechanicus Titans stood aside to let the Ordinatus start shooting. The battle changed from an imminent Imperial defeat to a decisive victory shortly thereafter.

===Ordinatus Priam===
Essentially the [[Hades Breaching Drill]]'s big brother, the Priam was designed during the Siege of Priam to bypass the defenses of an occupied city by drilling directly through a planet's crust, traveling through the mantle underneath, and then reemerging behind enemy lines. It was successful at deploying four companies of Imperial Guard to break the aforementioned siege without incinerating them in the process, but was rendered inoperable afterwards due to its shielding partially failing during the attack. Since most Ordinati are only intended for one battle anyway, this wasn't an issue.

===Ordinatus Gehenna===
The Gehenna was armed with an Apocalypse Cannon strong enough to shoot straight through a planet's crust hard enough to trigger magma flows. It was fought over by the Imperium and [[Chaos]] during the 13th [[Black Crusade]]. I'm not sure what an Apocalypse Cannon is but i'ma go out on a limb and say that it's a beefier version of a Volcano Gun that can destabilize the geological activity of the planet it's sitting on.

===Ordinatus Volcanis Ultor===
A rare example of a Traitor Ordinatus, made by the Dark Mechanicum of Volcanis Ultor to wipe out an advancing force of [[Grey Knights]]. Its exact armament was never described, but judging by the description of it being able to fire pinpoint salvos of multiple warheads it may have been capable of firing missiles or shells of some kind. However, it was never actually used- the wreckage of a Grey Knight Strike Cruiser that had just been destroyed by the traitors' warships crashed on top of the war machine, [[fail|obliterating its cannon barrel and ammunition loading systems by accident]].

===Ordinatus Ullanor===
A destroyed [[Capitol Imperialis]] command vehicle and a ship-based [[Plasma Annihilator]] taken from a downed Ark Mechanicus, the Ordinatus Ullanor lived a brief life during the battle against WAAAAGH! Beast during the events of the ''Beast Arises'' series. It showed up, killed a few [[Gargant|Gargants,]] then got nuked by the beast's [[Temple Gargant|mountain-sized Gargant]] in one shot.

==Gallery==
<center>
<gallery>
File:OrdinatusFirepowah.jpg|The Ordinatus Mars, making [[Emperor Battle Titan|Emperor Battle Titans]] feel insecure since the 31st millennium.
File:Imperial_Battlefleet_&_Imperial_Landship_size_scale_(2).png|A size scale between the maximum to minimum possible size of the Ordinatus Armageddon. Makes you feel small eh?
Image:Ork_Ordinatus.JPG|[[Lolwut|Another Ordinatus Mars looted by Orks.]] [[Wat|How in the proverbial fuck]] [[Adeptus Mechanicus|these idiots]] [[Derp|keep on losing Ordinatii to Orks]] [[FAIL|''of all people'',]] [[Herp|we have no idea.]]
</gallery>
</center>

{{Mechanicus}}
{{40k-Imperial-Vehicles}}
{{40k-Imperial-Ships}}

Stormbird

2020-12-02T18:38:54Z

2601:4C1:C400:4050:3C35:C8ED:9786:ECDC: /* Overview */

[[File:Stormbird.PNG|thumb|350px|right|With this and the [[Warlord Battle Titan|Warlord]], all we need now is a model for the [[Imperator Battle Titan|Imperator]] and the [[Emperor]]. And a doctor to call when your dick is still hard, 4 hours later. [[Fail|It's also more aerodynamic than just about every Space Marine aircraft smaller than itself]] ]]
The Thunderhawk’s big older brother and predecessor, the '''Stormbird''' was to the [[Legiones Astartes]] of the Great Crusade what the [[Thunderhawk]] is to the Astartes Chapters of the 41st Millenium: a primary means of transport and air support for Space Marines. The Stormbird, however, was much bigger, able to carry up to 50 Space Marines as well as dreadnoughts and rhinos, protected by void shields, and armed with a ton of firepower. So it was basically an Imperial [[Manta]] for all intents and purposes. It replaced the Skylance used by the [[Thunder Warriors]].

*'''Length:''' 29-50m; approx, depending on Pattern
*'''Wingspan:''' 29-50m; approx, depending on Pattern
*'''Crew:''' 4 crew including 50 Astartes
*'''Acceleration:''' 1500-2000 kph approx
==Overview==
By the time of the Horus Heresy, though, while some of the bigger Legions insisted on keeping their Stormbirds in service, most had begun relying more and more on the smaller and easier to produce Thunderhawk. After the [[Codex Astartes]] reforms, the ability to carry half a company’s worth of marines all in one aircraft wasn’t even arguably economical anymore, and the remaining Imperial Stormbirds were finally mothballed. A rare case of a weapon disappearing from the Imperium's arsenal, not so much because of a lost ability to produce it, but because it simply didn't fit into the changing playbook of Astartes tactics anymore. One would think they would have re-purposed them for anti-Titan operations, into heavy bombers or for transporting vehicles full time.

If the Wrymworld size chart is correct it would be possible to fit a Fellblade or two inside this thing. All they would have to do is convert that empty space for Fellblade cannons, Turbo-Laser Destructors (kind of odd that the Thunderhawk is the only Space Marine plane with an actual anti-Titan weapons isn't it?) or maybe even weapons used by Knights. With enough left over for all the ammunition or power generators, coolant, and anything else they would need. However in the Imperium efficiency and creative thinking is considered [[Heresy|Tech Heresy]]. This is even worse now that the Horus Heresy novels revealed it actually had a dedicated STC loadout that carried macrobombs.

As of the 41st Millennium, it’s currently unknown if there are any Stormbirds still left in Loyalist vaults, though Traitor Legions like the [[Word Bearers]] are said to still have a few around, and if Forge World’s recent release of the model and 40k rules for the Stormbird is anything to go by, odds are there probably will be [[Ultramarines|a couple]] [[Dark Angels|of chapters]] that will be revealed to, surprise, surprise, still have their Stormbirds as well.

It is interesting to note, though, that Forge World's stormbird is almost an entirely different aircraft from the one pictured in older fluff. Where the old Stormbird looked like a giant [[Valkyrie]] with two tiltrotor turbofan engines each almost as big as the aircraft itself, the Sokar-pattern Stormbird is basically just a Thunderhawk on steroids (The old Stormbird was also fluffed as having a ''100-marine'' carrying capacity, rather than the Sokar's 50). A bit odd, as Forge World has generally tried to maintain the Rogue Trader look when updating the old material.

As it turns out, the Sokar is simply one of several very different patterns of the same general classification of aircraft (unlike the Thunderhawk, the Stormbird is not a standard template design, more like several STC patterns in the same role), and the Sokar itself is actually among the smallest of them. Legions variously fielded Condor- (Sons of Horus), Khonsu-, and Apophis-pattern (the Wolves deployed 30 on Prospero) Stormbirds, the latter being known as "sun-killers" for their size and appearance. There was also the Warhawk-pattern Stormbird, which can carry 100 marines like the Rogue Trader version and, given its description as "monstrous and fat-bodied", likely looked like that version as well.

Since half a company of Space Marines is you'll never see outside of Apocalypse level games and is already too much money for most players. Therefore (almost) no one would bother fielding an entire company just to stuff them into one vehicle. The most likely variant to see release in the coming decade or two would be the Stormbird pattern equivalent to [[Superheavy_Laser_Weapons#Single-Barrelled|Turbolaser]] Thunderhawks. With something akin to a rapid fire [[Volcano Cannon]] or a precursor to [[Macro-Accelerator Cannon]]s. Though it would just as much of a longshot for Forgeworld to release a new mold for the Sokar before 2040.

The Sokar, Khonsu and Apophis, sharing a naming convention (derived from minor Egyptian gods) are likely the last generation of Stormbirds to enter general service before the Crusade.

One notable Stormbird is the one Nathaniel Garro had pimped out for his personal use by Malcador so that he could cruise around the galaxy hunting down members for his loyalist A-Team.

== Tabletop ==
Funnily enough, the reasons the Imperial Manta was mothballed in the fluff are also kind of represented in the crunch. The Stormbird is one of those units that could be tentatively referred to as Mega-Super-Heavies (like the Reaver, Warlord, and the actual Manta for instance). Units that are just so big and so expensive that outside of the very biggest games (as in, boards where Basilisks run out of range), they have close to zero practicality. In the case of the [[Stormbird]], a [[Thunderhawk]] probably ''would'' be a more economical option most of the time. With all that said, though, the Stormbird certainly delivers your points worth. The Stormbird has 14/13/12/ and 12 HP. It comes with five turreted Twin-linked [[Lascannon]]s (so right then and there, you got more laser [[dakka]] than a Terminus Ultra), six Dreadstrike Missiles (S10 AP2 Ordnance, small blast) which can be replaced with a single use 3D6 Apocalyptic Barrage that hits like a Battle cannon. It can buy an Orbital Strike, with Strength D AP1, Massive blast, Indirect fire only and '''multiple use''' for the low, low price of 150 pts. Its 2 Void Shields can become a 12" bubble if you go into hover mode, which is a safe idea since you also get Armoured ceramite and a 5++ invul. Transport capacity of 50 can carry pretty much everything including Dreadnoughts and (possibly fully loaded) Rhinos which take up 10/25 slots respectively. Good thing the Age of Darkness FoC limits you to 25% spending on LOWs and no one actually has the money to play Apoc with FW, right?

8E Sokar Pattern Stormbirds are different. ''2117'' points to put one on the field, though you are rewarded well. 40 wounds, T9, 3++ save and 5++ Invuln makes it a tanky bugger. Four twin [[Lascannon]]s, three twin [[Heavy Bolter]]s and a battery of [[Hellstrike Missile]]s add to the firepower of the thing, and it retains it's 50 Marine transport capacity, as well as it's expanding Void Shields. Power of the Marine Spirit allows the plane to fire all 32 of its shot even if it moved. Though most players won't even bother because it's better to have it camp at optimal Lascannon range. Though it lost its Orbital Strike capability.

While it can't kill Super Heavies as fast as a Turbolaser Thunderhawk. The Void Shields and two squads of Lascannon Devastators(4 cannons per squad plus the Sarge) should allow it to outlast anything smaller than a [[Warlord_Battle_Titan|Warlord]]. Airborne and a Move of 50" with an Advance of 20" allows it to scream across the map at a -1 to hit - and you really need all the dice you can with that T9 3++ save to begin with - and drop Assault Terminators right in your gunline.

== Gallery ==

<gallery>
Image:StormbirdOld.jpg|The only image of a Stormbird people had for years (and the basis for many an [[awesome]] scratch-build) before Forge World came out with the Sokar Pattern.
Image:Stormbird_Scratchbuild.JPG|One of said scratch-builds. The new Stormbird model is cool and all, but work like [http://www.tanksandtrolls.co.uk/40k%20Stormbird%20Troop%20Transport.htm this] kinda makes you wish Forge World had stayed closer to the original.
</gallery>

{{Template:40k-Imperial-Vehicles}}

{{40k-Imperial-Ships}}

{{40k-Chaos-Ships}}

{|align=center border=2 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=4
|-
!colspan=1| Adeptus Astartes!! Other Imperials!! Chaos
|- valign=top
|
{{Template:Marines-Forces}}
|
{{Custodes}}
|
{{Chaos Space Marines}}
{{Death Guard}}
{{Emperor's Children}}
|}

[[Category: Warhammer 40,000]]

[[Category: Imperial]]

[[Category: Space Marines]]

[[Category: Vehicles]]

[[Category: Flyers]]

Fellblade

2020-12-02T12:11:22Z

2601:4C1:C400:4050:3C35:C8ED:9786:ECDC: /* Falchion */

[[File:Fellblade2.jpg|400px|right|thumb|The Space Marines felt jelly when they saw the Imperial Army and their wide assortments of superheavy tanks. So they produced their own...to kill superheavy tanks.]]

The '''Fellblade''' Super-Heavy Tank is a [[Space Marine]] tank based on the [[Baneblade]] chassis, used during the [[Horus Heresy]]. Like the [[Predator Tank]]s of that era, it has a bubble-top turret (like the [[T55AM2|T-55]] and any later Soviet tanks), though it also built with a more durable internal structure and power plant (apparently, it took nearly thirty thousand years to get the secrets of arc reactor technology from Stark Industries). This tank, along with many other tank classes during the Great Crusade, was equipped with a Flare Shield. This is basically the E-Web from Babylon 5; it reduces the energy (kinetic or otherwise) from concentrated strikes and it spreads any damage out across the armor and shields. It's a lot more potent than it sounds (seriously, think about it - the reason the bullets and weapons generally work at all is by focusing energy onto very small points. It takes a lot of energy to punch through solid metal, but you generally only need to bust through a small area of it to deliver murder to the delicious squishy internals. The smaller the area you can deliver force to the lower energy needed to reach punch through because that's how pressure works, force over area. So if the shielding can increase the effective surface area of projectiles even by small amounts it hugely decreases the rounds ability to punch through armor.)

On the other hand, you might have been here looking for the ''other'' Warhammer item of note by this name, the legendary [[warpstone|warpstone]]-[[Gromril|gromril]] blade of the [[Skaven]] that was used to fell [[Nagash]]. [[Fellblade#Warhammer_Fantasy|See the bottom of the page instead.]]

*'''Length:''' 12.5m
*'''Weight:''' 302 tonnes
*'''Crew:''' 4 crew
*'''Max Speed:''' 32kph
== Model and Rules ==

[[Games Workshop]] first released rules for Space Marine super-heavy tanks in a [[White Dwarf]] expansion to ''Space Marine'' (the game that later became [[Epic]]); these were the Glaive, the equivalent of the [[Baneblade]], and the Falchion, a [[Shadowsword]] equivalent.

The Fellblade name first appeared in the [[Horus Heresy]] collectible card game, around the year 2005, though it would not receive rules until after the release of [[Apocalypse]] in 2007; inspired by the inclusion of Baneblades and other super-heavy vehicles in 28mm-scale [[Warhammer 40,000]] games, Bell of Lost Souls wrote a datasheet for the Fellblade, based on the Baneblade datasheet. It was generally well-received.

Around 2010, some guy called Machinator wrote updated rules for four Fellblade variants - the Glaive, the Lance (anti-tank las/plas variant), the Broadsword (anti-infantry/fast dakka/flamer variant), and the Warmaul (anti-fortification [[Vindicator|giant Demolisher Cannon]] variant). He did this partially because it's cool, [[Blood and Skulls Industry|and partially to sell bits from his eBay store]].

In 2012, [[Forge World]] released a line of books and models tying into the [[Horus Heresy]] era, and the Fellblade is part of their first wave of models, coinciding with the release of the first book, ''Betrayal''. It looks like a Baneblade with smooth sides and a larger engine (presumably representing the ceramite armor and arc reactor, respectively), topped with a monster Deimos [[Predator Tank]] turret with a twin-linked rape cannon on the top. And that's in addition to the hull Demolisher Cannon, the twin-linked hull heavy bolters, and the two quad lascannon batteries (just like ones on the [[Spartan Assault Tank]]), for a total of THIRTEEN BARRELS OF HELL (all for only 25 points more than a vanilla Baneblade, if you don't spring for the +1 BS upgrade). If that's still not enough guns, it can also be outfitted with hull-mounted [[Combi-weapons]], a [[Havoc Missile Launcher]], and a [[Hunter-Killer Missile]] Launcher. Marine fanboys everywhere wet their pants.

== Variants ==

Like the Baneblade, there are a few Fellblade variants; unlike the Baneblade, Space Marines are creative with naming their super-heavy tanks, as opposed to rolling dice which say "Bane," "Sword," "Storm," "Shadow," "Blade" and "Hammer" on them.

=== Fellblade ===
[[Image:Fellblade.jpg|right|thumb|300px|13 Barrels of Hell for Marines.]]

The "original" Space Marine super-heavy, released in ''Betrayal''. The Fellblade was most notable for its use of both Mechanicum atomantic arc-reactor technology (clearly it took the Mechanicus 28000 years to finally get the STC off of Stark Industries) and a reinforced metaplas alloy chassis superior to that of the Baneblade. It mounted a twin-linked [[Accelerator Cannon]] as its primary weapon and would also take to the field equipped with a suite of secondary weapons: a [[Demolisher Cannon|demolisher cannon]], sponson-mounted quad-[[lascannon]]s or [[Laser Destroyer|laser destroyers]], hull-mounted twin-linked [[Heavy Flamer|heavy flamers]] or [[Heavy Bolter|heavy bolters]], and a variety of pintle-mounted weapons.

At 302 tons, the Fellblade is lighter than the Baneblade. This can be attributed to its reinforced metaplas alloy which seems to be far lighter than, but just as strong as (pound for pound), the ceramite armor found in most Imperial vehicles. This is akin to advanced composite armor in comparison to conventional homogeneous rolled steel.

Rules-wise, its primary weapon is the above-mentioned twin-linked turret-mounted [[Accelerator Cannon]] that can either fire high-explosive shells comparable to a super-charged Battle Cannon (S8 AP3 7" Blast) or armor-piercing shells comparable to the Vanquisher battle cannon (S9 AP2 3" Blast, rolling 2d6 for armor penetration), so it's good for nearly any situation. Also comes equipped with a demolisher cannon and twin-linked heavy bolter. It has double twin-linked lascannon sponsons as well, for extra [[dakka]], which can be switched out for laser destroyers if you have to fight another superheavy. Fancy enough that Argel Tal, arguably the Word Bearers' most senior Chapter Master, had one as his personal tank.

=== Glaive ===
[[File:Glaive.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Nothing like the smell of burning chaos in the morning. Scaled up, that barrel would be more than five feet wide.]]

Released in Book Two: Massacre, the Glaive Super-heavy Special Weapons Tank or '''Fellglaive''', was a variant of the Fellblade, armed with a [[Volkite Carronade]], designed to destroy xenos beasts and enemy light vehicles in a single overwhelming shot. Its primary weapon is so ridiculously overpowered that the Techpriests of Mars only agreed with some acrimony to the Emperors demand that only a tank could be armed with it. 'Cause even the Imperium have standards.

Though all eighteen Legiones Astartes received limited quantities of Glaives, the [[Salamanders]] and [[Dark Angels]] were noted to operate them more regularly. Its rarity was because the Glaive was an overcomplicated trainwreck to produce and cost an equally ridiculous amount of Imperial moolah. The Dark Angels were given specialized Fellglaives for use in the Dreadwing which were designed by the Emperor's greatest armorers. [[Cheese|These vehicles were equipped with]] [[Warp Weapons|Vortex Weapons]] in place of its volkite carronade, [[That Guy|because they're Dark Angels,]] [[Bullshit|why the fuck not?]]

On tabletop, the Glaive has that big [[Volkite Carronade]], which fires a big beam that hits everything in front of it at S8 AP2; combined with Haywire and the Deflagrate ability inherent to Volkite weaponry, its short range is compensated for quite nicely with its knack for vaporizing anything in front of it (unfortunately, this includes any allied units which happen to be in the beam's path, so use carefully). In addition, should it hit a Super-Heavy or Gargantuan Creature, they take an extra D3 hits. Doesn't have a Demolisher, though.

=== Falchion ===
[[File:Falchion.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Oh Lord! There are too many lasers! Too many lasers! Quickly someone tell [[C.S. Goto|CS Goto!]]]]

Sure enough, announced as part of the run-up to Book Three: Extermination, we have the Falchion Super-Heavy Tank Destroyer. Also known as the '''Mammoth''' in a clear and blatant nod to [[Command and Conquer|a particular RTS game.]]

The Falchion uses a potent weapon which combines technologies fielded in the Fellblade and the Shadowsword super-heavy tank. It's got a twin-linked [[Volcano Cannon]] guaranteed to ruin the day of any [[Titan (Warhammer 40,000)|Titan]] or super-heavy tank that gets in range. Like the Glaive, it misses out on a Demolisher and twin-linked heavy bolter, though unlike the Glaive, it must bodily aim its Volcano Cannons at the target: the capacitors for the twin cannons are too bulky to put inside a turret. The miniaturization of the Falchion's Volcano Cannon's power source as well as the fact that they need to twin-link it, made the Falchion a stupidly expensive investment even when compared to its sister tanks, so don't expect to see that much of them in the 41st Millennium.

Interestingly enough, the Falchion was developed long before the outbreak of the [[Horus Heresy]] and as such its prey was not the enemy Titans it would later see such extensive combat against. As the [[Great Crusade]] expanded ever outward, the Expeditionary Fleets encountered a staggering array of foes, some of whom were of a truly gargantuan scale, but all were turned to molten swiss cheese once this tank rolls onto the fields.

The best upgrade for the Falchion is the Neutron Wave Capacitor. Forcing any vehicle that survives the laser volley to only fire snapshots. Hilarious when used against Knights and Titans. The major downside is Feedback which is Gets Hot for vehicles that only happens when it misses. It can be made almost non-existent if given a Space Marine Crew to increase its Ballistic Skill to four.

{{Marines-Forces}}
{{Chaos Space Marines}}
{{40k-Imperial-Vehicles}}
[[Category:Warhammer Fantasy]]
{{40k-Imperial-Ships}}
{{40k-Chaos-Ships}}
{{clear}}

==Warhammer Fantasy==
In [[Warhammer Fantasy Battles]], the Fellblade is the name of a legendary magical artifact, a sword crafted by the [[Skaven]] Grey Seers from a cocktail of [[warpstone]] and gromril, bathed in the most potent killing curses the Grey Seers could invent (inscribed with runes so deadly simply reading them would kill the reader). The result, in the game, is a weapon regarded as one of the most outright killy in existence, so deadly even holding the thing will eventually kill whoever is wielding it.

The Fellblade was created for one purpose, and one purpose only: to kill [[Nagash]], who at that time was preparing to perform his Great Ritual, which eventually reduced [[Nehekhara]] into the land of the dead that it is today. Also Nagash was sitting on a big vein of Warpstone, which was the reason skaven wanted the Great Necromancer dead in first place. Using a human pawn, the Skaven succeeded, inflicting the first death of Nagash. In fact, they did even better than they knew; according to the 8th edition, the Fellblade not only killed Nagash, it kept on killing him, leaving a curse that meant each subsequent reincarnation of Nagash was weaker and weaker. For this reason, the Fellblade was one of the artifacts sought to resurrect Nagash before the beginning of [[The End Times]], with [[Mannfred von Carstein]], [[Mortarch]] of Shadow, eventually recovering it during The Battle of Mordkin Lair. During the dread ritual that restored unlife to the Great Necromancer, the Fellblade was destroyed, undoing its baleful effect on Nagash's spirit.

The most recent rules for the Fellblade were in the 7th edition Skaven armybook. It's a magic weapon that costs an insane 100 points with the following effects: attacks from it are Strength 10 and force a reroll of successful Ward saves, with each unsaved Wound being multiplied into D6 wounds, but the wielder must roll a D3 on the end of each of his turns; on a 1, he suffers 1 Wound with no armor saves allowed.