2d4chan - User contributions [en]

Roland Flak Batterie

2020-09-16T05:49:25Z

2601:600:A07F:8FC0:3D12:DB53:B7F6:C823: /* IRL */

[[File:Roland Flak battery.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Rol Rol Rol your boat, gently down the stream...]]
The Flugabwehrpanzer Roland is a Mobile SAM (surface to air missile) platform that combines the might of the Roland SAM with the mobility of the Marder Chassis.

==In Team Yankee==
[[File:Roland Flak battery card.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Das Stats]]
The SAM Ying to the SPAAG Yang of the [[Gepard Flakpanzer Batterie|Gepard]], the Roland is a Decent SAM Platform for the West Germans.

Now, some of you may be wondering why you would ever take the Roland since the Gepard is arguably the best AA in the game, and that is completely justified. The Roland's sole missions is to "Shoot down Planez". You cannot engage anything other than enemy aircraft. Luckily that is something that the Roland excels at: parked into a corner of the map, it can cover the entire field whereas your Gepards only protect a limited range. 2 Rolands cost 3 points and can be bought in a battery of 2, 4 or 6 vehicles.

Just remember: you are only going to take this when you can't take any more Gepards. They might have range, but they're still a pretty crap unit.

They are surprisingly tanky against autocannon shots from the front and are immune to small arms fire. However, assaulting infantry will instantly capture them and they are totally incapable of defending themselves against ground troops.

==IRL==
[[File:Roland Flak Battery IRL.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Verpiss dich, Ivan! (Google the definition)]]

{{West German Forces in Team Yankee}}

[[Category:Vehicles]]

Clan Pestilens

2020-09-16T04:31:15Z

2601:600:A07F:8FC0:3D12:DB53:B7F6:C823: Not a stub anymore.

[[File:Clan Pestilens.jpg|thumb|right|300px]]
'''Clan Pestilens''' is one of the four great Skaven clans that are feared throughout their domain for the vile diseases and plagues these Skavens have mastered and unleashed upon this world. Probably the most feared out of all the Great Clans, these Skaven are feared by enemies and allies alike, having been the main aggressor and instigator of both of the two great Skaven Civil Wars that has ravaged much of the Under-Empire for four centuries, and almost overthrowing the Council of Thirteen from their power. Also known as Plague Monks, the disciples of disease and decay, these Skaven have dedicated an unhealthy fervor to spread pestilence and corruption in the name of the Horned Rat to all those they see fit, even their own brethren.

These foul warriors are not only recognizable by their characteristic appearances and looks, but also by the terrible stench and diseases that accompanies them, as the Clans doctrine believes that in order to truly obey the Horned Rat's wishes, they must be the very embodiment of their God's title as the Harbinger of Disease. Unlike their brother clans, Clan Pestilens doesn't sell their military service for mere economic gains; but rather to lend their warriors to any cause that they believe will only further their own objective. Their current leader, Lord Nurglich the VII, Plague-Lord of Clan Pestilens, has ensured a position of power within the Council of Thirteen.

==History==
Many have forgotten the original name of Clan Pestilens- long before they became masters of disease and suffering, they had a different name... though only the [[Horned Rat]] and the Verminlord that serves as Pestilens' representative on the Shadow Council likely remember what it was. All that anyone remembers is that, long ago- during the start of the Great Migration (starting in -1500 IC) -the Skaven of that clan and their Lord of Decay, like the forebears of [[Clan Eshin]] and [[Clan Moulder]], made their way out of Skavenblight- however, instead of journeying east like the Eshin (or north like the Moulder), these Skaven journeyed south into Araby. It wouldn't be until around -1420 when their clan was first sighted. Despite their being seen, the clan seemed to have uncovered a miracle- a series of tunnels leading under the great ocean to the New World. It was here that the troubles began...

===Origins of the Pestilent Brotherhood===
For roughly 21 long years, the Skaven made their way westward, eventually emerging within the ruined Lizardman city of Quetza. This swampland was nothing to the Skaven, but the diseases native to the area proved tougher than expected. Unrelenting, the diseases slaughtered the Skaven in droves until only 100 members of the clan had survived. Covered in cold sweat and driven to the point of insanity, it seemed the clan would perish. This wasn't the case.

Instead, the Skaven came to a truly mad idea- what if they grew to worship the Horned Rat, brought him sacrifices and revere the diseases that tore them to shreds? It was a desperate plan, even amongst Skaven, but their minds were so far gone, it is doubtful that they ever realized this fact. They set to work in their new mindset and, thus, the Plague Monks and their Pestilent Brotherhood was born. Slowly, they regrew their numbers, taking what secrets could be gleaned from the local ruins and sacrificing the local reptiles to their master. Eventually, a new ruler- Arch-Plaguelord [[Nurgle|Nurglitch]] the First -deemed it the ripe time to return to their homeland and claim a spot of power over their kin. What followed was a decade-long war to reach the coast. After cobbling together a fleet large enough to take most of Pestilens' forces back home, they set sail for the Southlands, which had long since flourished (for Skaven and humans alike). Once there, the Pestilens higher-ups sent emissaries to the Council of Thirteen, demanding three things: breeding rights (being plague carriers does horrors for procreation), warpstone tithes (every Skaven wants some of it) and a position on the Council. The other Lords of Decay, unimpressed, slaughtered the Skaven sent. This began the first Skaven Civil War.

===First Skaven Civil War===
Having been denied what they felt was their birthright, Pestilens began their assault. Several clans were destroyed- amongst them [[Clan Merkit]] -but, despite these losses, the Council of Thirteen remained firm. Launching legions of Clanrats backed by [[Clan Skryre]] weaponry, they hoped for a swift victory. Alas, the clans of the Southlands (for the most part) surrendered to Pestilens, fearful of their vicious diseases. Many clans would follow them (or go rogue and help neither side) as the years dragged on and the Council's forces became weaker. This state of affairs lasted four centuries and could've lasted longer if [[Clan Eshin]] hadn't made a fortuitous arrival. With their aid, the Council quickly destroyed any and all support for Pestilens. With the chips down and their backs collectively to the wall, Pestilens begged for a parley. The Council agreed (sending many assassins to try and kill Nurglitch), and Pestilens offered their disease-making ways to the Council- but not before the Arch-Plaguelord made clear that any further attempts on his life would force him to unleash a container of Yellow Skull Fever on the whole of Skavenblight. A trial by combat took place and, with a poison-laced bite delivered to Lord Vask- the weakest member of the Council at the time -Pestilens gained seat #7 on the Council.

===The Black Plague- Its Success, Failure and the Fallout that Followed===
It wouldn't be until IC year 1111- in the winter -that Pestilens left its first major mark on the Old World's surface- the Black Plague, which was field-tested to great (and horrific) effect on the humans of the Empire. Symptoms were quick to manifest- ominous blotches, swelling of joints, agonizing fever and finally a series of convulsions that lasted for seemingly endless hours before the body stopped shaking and turned ash grey. The virus spread through many cities, with only Middenheim staving off the sickness with the timely blocking off of the sewers and viaducts (which were how the disease, transported by Eshin adepts, reached so far and in such little time).

Fate was crueler still, as the spring saw the Warlord clans ravage what remained of the Imperial Army. Once they had passed (and the loathed Emperor Boris "Fat" Goldgather had passed away four years after the start of the plague), the Skaven ravaged the Empire for seven long, unforgiving years. Their pattern of attack was as follows:

1. Surround a farm/village.

2. Set fire to it.

3. Collect what stragglers ran out.

4. Rinse and repeat, as required.

With the success more than clear, Pestilens began to seize more and more power. Two extra Plaguelords joined the Council, ousting former members (much to the shock and [poorly-concealed] worry of the other Councilors). The only positive news for humanity came when the Skaven tried to raid the nearby province of Sylvania for warpstone. The local undead were a vexing reminder of Nagash's minions and, after a low-gain, high-pain result, the Skaven fled. With no success, they had only one major target left- the Empire city of Middenheim. It was here that the Skaven's reign would come undone and victory would return to order's side.

Many Skaven thought that the Emperor's death would leave the people of the Empire leaderless (mind you, they were essentially leaderless due to Boris' poor leadership skills, but the point still stands); nobody could blame them. Yet, despite their best intent, starting at IC 1118, Middenheim had become a veritable unbreakable bastion of hope. These hopes hinged on the life of Elector Count Mandred of Middenheim, who did all he could to stave off any attacks. With him leading the fights at their thickest points, the Skaven began to fall back. True failures began, however, when the very disease that slew so many of the Empire's people turned against them! With these weaknesses showing up, Mandred gathered everyone who could fight and began a crusade to drive these beasts back (though, unbeknowst to him, the Skaven built a hideout in Middenheim before retreating). One last fight remained- the fight that could give the Skaven control of the Empire back. Alas, the Warlord in charge was slain, shattering the army and sending all the Skaven scuttling into the Under-Empire.

The Council had hoped for a second go against the Empire once the whole of the Under-Empire had recovered... but this wasn't to be so. In just 25 years, the humans recovered (infrastructure wise) at breakneck speeds. Worse still, Mandred- now the Emperor of the humans -created the Sewer Watch, a new organization that would prove to a thorn (albeit a diminutive one) in the side of any Skaven infiltration force. Back at Skavenblight, the majority of the Council went ballistic against the Plaguelords- several clans had suffered from Pestilens' work and demanded compensation! Similarly, Pestilens claimed multiple assassination attempts had occurred recently. Eventually, the Empire was filed under "Unfinished Business"... but one last act- the death of the Emperor -was agreed on, and a young assassin by the name of Nartik dealt the blow (framing mutants for the dark work). With this event, the Skaven slowly returned to the annals of myth in the minds of the Empire's folk... unaware that they were very real and still alive!

===The Red Pox- or, a Bretonnian Rehash of the Empire Invasion===
With the attack against the Empire failed, Pestilens was left on the back-burner for Skaven politics. Lacking the military and munitions for a direct attack, the Skaven and their masters slowly restored their empire whilst sending the servants of Clan Eshin to sow general discord amongst other nations. Prime candidates for such work were the Crusades into Araby and a series of upheavals within Tilea. Despite this, neither of these battles (nor any other attempts) allowed for permanent change, so eventually, Pestilens was able to convince the Council that another full-out assault was necessary.

Hoping for a repeat of the Empire's escapades, a delivery of Red Pox was sent into the Bretonnian city of Bordeleaux. A whole third of the population was lost, but the ruling baron burnt the poor quarter, halting the contagion at the cost of several poor souls (and the loss of a decent amount of respect for the baron himself). 25 years later, the whole of Bretonnia (and the northern half of Tilea) were coated in Red Pox outbreaks. It was a repeat of the Empire for sure- small towns and villages alike were burned, and major cities suffered. However, just as before, the control was short-lived, as Parravon- and an unexpected delivery of aid from the Wood Elves -shattered the invasion at the Battle of Remarche. This was to prove more than what anyone could've expected from a failed takeover.

===The Second Skaven Civil War and its Concerning Conclusion===
With another failed takeover lambasting them, Pestilens was regarded as a waste of a clan. The public outcry was severe - "Throw the Plaguelords out!" ...Alas, nothing is ever this simple, especially NOT in Skaven society. Following a series of months worth of politicking, blackmail, bribes out the wazoo and assassinations and threats alike, a vote of the full Council was demanded. This would've settled things definitely... but Pestilens had other ideas. On the date for the vote, Pestilens tried to take over, saying the rest of the Council was formed of heretics. Several other Warlord clans, most of them members of the Pestilent Brotherhood (doubtlessly), joined and a vicious, three-way melee broke out between Plaguebringers, Warlords and the albino guards who served as guardians of both the Horned Rat's Temple and the Grey Seers.

Clan Skryre had seen this madness coming from centuries away and they decided to join the fight. Techno-sorcery proved more than a match for the Plague Monks and, within a few short weeks, the Temple fell to Skryre paws. Weapon Teams covering every possible entry point and Jezzails loaded into the bell tower made sure nobody but Skryre and their friends were allowed inside. Lord Morskittar - head of Clan Skryre and one of the highest ranking Councilors (beaten only by the Seerlord and the Horned Rat) - had taken the Temple and, in typical Skaven fashion, made himself Skavenblight's new king. He wanted to rebuild the Council, but the fighting was too far built up... the Second Skaven Civil War had begun!

Time dragged itself along - 400 years saw the civil war rage endlessly. Dozens of factions were present, though the greatest of them were still those who were the Greater Clans - Pestilens, Skryre and Moulder (and, to a lesser extent, Eshin, who served only the highest bidder at the time). Whilst war raged, Skryre set to work building technology into just about every inch of Skavenblight. By this time, the Great Chaos Invasion in the world above was soon to pass, but another event was coming... one that had far darker implications for the Skaven at large.

Clan Scruten and its Grey Seers were visiting every last base of power in the divided Under-Empire, with one message for all- arrive to the annual feast of Vermintide, or suffer the wrath of the Horned Rat! It was so horrid, all this fighting, that the Grey Seers were planning the most daring event in their history- the summoning of the Horned Rat. Many clans were uncertain of whether or not to go (a trap was likely), so representatives were sent out. Regardless, everyone made it to Skavenblight in time for the feast. In one of the rarest moments in Skaven history, one member from each of the clans stood at the Great Temple. Fear blanketed the air, as the whole Order of Grey Seers, all 169, arrived. Wielding a skin-bound book, Seerlord Kritislik led a dark incantation - 169 slaves were slaughtered by the Seers, each death more gruesome than the last. The Great Bell tolled a particularly ominous 13 times and, when silence fell, it happened- a vast cloud of dark vapor flooded out of the Seerlord, forming into the Great Horned Rat!

After consuming at least 13 paw-fulls of Skaven (because 13 is the Skaven's lucky number, so why not?), the Horned Rat decided to give a gift of sorts to his children - "a glowing pillar of purest warpstone" with 13 sides and (on each of these sides) 13 blocks of runes that translated to commandments of ruin and the rules for Skaven ruling, as well as prophecies of the Great Ascendancy. With that dealt with, the Horned Rat spoke to his children in a voice akin to a million rats: the wars from before, while entertaining, had to stop! Only when the Skaven had spread their complete and total corruption would they inherit the world and bring the Horned Rat back into reality entirely. Furthermore, the Council of Thirteen was to be remade at once; of course, only some figures would be allowed. To determine who was on the Council and who was to be ridiculed (or killed, whichever comes last), each clan leader was to touch the pillar before them. Those who survived (and were to be council members) would receive an aura of dark power, the greatest blessing that the Horned Rat could ever give. As can be imagined, Arch-Plaguelord Nurglitch the Seventh survived. To this day, there have been no new additions to the Council (In older fluff, this is no additions thing is not true).

===The End Times===
Clan Pestilens was second only to Clan Skyre in how much shit they got done during the end times (for reference, Skyre blew up Morrslieb the Chaos Moon.) Pestilens, on the other hand, decided to finally get the back at the lizardmen and invaded all of Lustria, infecting and generally being shitty as they went. Their general tactics consisted of surrounding a temple-city, throwing disease into it, then waiting until everything was dead. They also fucked up the city of mists by actually finding a way inside, then murdering all the guards, destroying spawning pools, stealing things, breaking whatever they could find, eating baby dinosaurs from the hatchery, and eventually just trying to get into the pyramids with the mage-priests in them. They only got a few before shit went wrong and Kroq-kar came over and took revenge. Also, a group of gutter runners with an assassin had a face-off with Chakax, where the big lizard got stabbed with a weeping blade and gave no shits.

This invasion finally culminated with the big battle near Hexoatl, where the full force of both groups was ready. Unfortunately for the lizardmen, Skyre decided now was a good time to blow up the moon, so muzmazdumi and lord kroak gave up their lives to stop the entire world from being destroyed, and the slann fucked off to space and left everyone behind. Kroq-kar stabbed skrolk with his magic spear, but a verminlord corruptor filled the hole up with tumors and barfed on Kroq-kar, then left. So, by the end, Pestilens was victorious, but had lost so many warriors that they were in no state to do anything else.

===Age of Sigmar===
With the majority of the original Pestilens going down with Lustria, the Thrall Clans Septik, Feesik, and Morbidus were taken to the Mortal Realms and created the new collective Clans Pestilens. They worship the Great Corruptor (an aspect of the Great Horned Rat), occasionally team up with [[Nurgle]], and now search for the fabled 13 plagues that can kill everything except them. So basically it’s the same story as Fantsy Battles, but on a larger scale, They have collected about half of these recipes, but they’ll probably end up like the lost artifacts of [[Vulkan]], where they'll never find the rest and the GW writers will forget about them.

The new Skaven Battletome suggests tensions between Pestilens and Skryre will start a third civil war. Some things never change.

==Notable figures/Famous Regiments==
'''The Beast of Clan Pestilens'''- long before Pestilens went the way of sickness bringers, the clan had a massive herd of Rat Ogres. One in particular- something akin to a "Super Rat Ogre" (if such a thing existed) -was especially brutish and unpleasant, growing more so with each step towards filthy damnation that the clan took. The creature had an unbeatable streak that seemed destined to exist until the End Times... but then Nakai, an "ancient and venerated Kroxigor" appeared during one battle, and everything changed. The battle was fierce, but the duel between these two titans was even worse! Eventually, Nakai broke the beast down, but fell into a coma induced by fever (one final blow from the gore-filled center of the beast). The creature fell, but Nakai would remain comatose for months... only to seek out Pestilens and its servants once again after finally staggering to his feet some time later.

'''Stinking Thing'''- before [and, more honestly, if] a leader of Clan Pestilens reaches the title of Plague Priest, they hold the title of "Stinking Thing". This is usually indicated by their foul stench, but lack of priestly garbs.

'''Rotten Rodents'''- lowly Plague Monks to be, these Skaven are little more than standard Clanrats, but coated in vile plagues.

'''Pusbags'''- plagues are a difficult industry to be in- you always need living test subjects to use them on! That's where the Skavenslaves come into play- they're the ideal test subjects. True, their lives are short and unpleasant... but then again, so are they!

'''Nurglitch I'''- the first of the Arch-Plaguelords. It is said that he was responsible for creating such diseased artifacts as the Blade of Corruption (a sword left to soak in the collective viruses in the Cauldron of One Thousand Poxes for 13 days) and the aptly-named Blade of Nurglitch. He was so bloated that he often rode to battle on a black Giant Rat with a rhino horn-like growth.

'''Skizzik the Filch'''- although it remains unclear how this brother of the Pestilent Ones managed to do it, Skizzik has become respectable in Skaven society and has also stolen potent relics from his own clan and from races all around the globe! During the campaign "The Conquest of Lustria", Skizzik ran an item shop- Skizzik's Yard Sale -and would willingly sell treasures to any of the forces that made it to his doorstep (be they Empire-born soldiers, Dwarven pirates, Undead corsairs or mighty [and mad] Greenskins), regardless of what their intent was.

'''Severin, Plague Cantor'''- a disgraced Plague Priest, Severin was banished from Clan Pestilens for reasons unknown (and considering he's a Plague Censer Bearer, it'd need to be pretty darn horrid to be worth banishment!). Somehow, he wound up in the pirate city of Sartosa- as is evidenced in the "Pirate Princes of Sartosa" campaign. He keeps to the shadows and back alleys at daytime, going through the city only at night. Many just mistake him for a beggar... often to their greatest regret! He hires himself out to anyone who can withstand his Plague Censer's stink.

'''Brinepox, Priest of the Horned One'''- a Plague Priest, Brinepox was a part of the "Blood in the Badlands" campaign. Having been ousted from Skavenblight under "mysterious circumstances", the poor stink-pile has thrown his lot in with a breakaway part of [[Clan Mors]], in the wild hopes of reclaiming prestige. Good luck, crazy!

'''Bearers of Creeping Death'''- the Cauldron of a Thousand Poxes has been the perfection site of- as the name suggests -a thousand poxes. The most dangerous, however, one that even senior Plague Monks can't stand, is the Creeping Death. At the apex of the plague, the stuff gets ladled over hot coals to produce the most deadly fumes imaginable. Only a crazed volunteer (or a plague monk that was doomed to die- which, considering their lifestyle, isn't too often an occurrence) would dare swing a censer filled with the stuff.

'''Bilekin Brotherhood'''- with a clan like Pestilens being one of the Greater Clans, it only makes sense that it would branch off into several schisms of faith. The Bilekin Brotherhood was one such group. Like their kind, they wore tattered green robes. The note of originality here is that they wore cream-colored cowls covered in jags and runes. Considered extremists (even by Pestilens' vile standards), the Brotherhood would bathe daily in the worst kind of filth imaginable, coating both themselves and their weapons in liquefied disease.

'''Chained Ones'''- life as a Skavenslave is already the pits; obviously, being a slave for the Pestilent Brotherhood is even worse! With countless horrible diseases killing slaves off in droves, the survivors- the aforementioned Chained Ones -were made all the more hardy. Their job was simple, but by no means easy- disassemble the Plagueclaw Catapults (of which there were 39), drag their parts through miles-long tunnels, and then reassemble them on the other side of the sea! What a drag... literally!

'''[[Morbus Sanguis]]'''- is a favored agent of the Plaguelords of Clan Pestilens, an agent they can trust (relatively speaking) to get a tough job done. So much so that, in the contest against Klawmunkast of Clan Skyre, Morbus ultimately prevailed even though his enemy had a steam tank at his disposal. Morbus is known as a breeder of disease, such as his most recent creation of the Yellow Death, called so after the way it turns its victims yellow before their bodies become bloated with toxins and they die. Even looking at Morbus-his patchy fur and sloughed face-it's obvious he's a Skaven truly blessed by disease. Great weeping sores and inflamed buboes cover his paws. His left arm is withered, and the skin on his tail is scabbed and scaly. He is so hideous to look at his very presence causes fear among the enemy and ally alike, a fear that only compounded to allies by his reputation. Morbus is uncompromising in his demands, and if any of his followers show weakness in the face of righteous battle, he puts them to death himself. In the End Times Morbus took part in the Lustria invasion, fighting with distinction across the continent. Ultimately, he died in Lustria at the claws of Nakai the Wanderer. The sacred kroxigor succumbed to Sanguis' Yellow Death in the process.

'''[[Lord Skrolk]]'''- The playable lord of Pestilens from Total War Warhammer, as well as one of 9 legendary Plaguelords. He gets stronger with every disease caught on and is therefore immortal. [[Nurgle|He also clawed his own eyes out after witnessing Arch-Plaguelord Nurglitch's plague because it was so beautiful]]. Despite having no eyes, he claims to have magical vision where he can see the plague in the air and it do Daredevil (that blind superhero) shit. He has 2 artifacts: Rod of Corruption and Liber Bubonicus, a book that contained many dreadful plague spells.

'''Archdeacon of Disease (Lord Skrimanx)'''- The Archdeacon of disease seems to be a glorified second in command to the first position. This is a post that requires a harsh taskmaster to drive the plague hosts to victory. Lord Skrimanx personifies his role and is known for being a tough taskmaster, even among the Skaven. A slave that slows his pace for even but a moment is viciously beaten by the whips of the overseers. Skrimanx was extraordinarily ambitious, described as climbing over entire mountains of dead Skaven to achieve his position, and aimed higher still. Though a talented battlefield leader, he also was unimaginative, and after one such failure, this lack of imagination saw him executed by Lord Skrolk.

'''Great Potentate of Postulates (Lord Gritch)'''- This position seems to require a lot of zeal, for it allows the holder of the office oversight over some of Clan Pestilens most magical scrolls and lore, including the Liber Bubonicus. The current officeholder, Lord Gritch, is known as one of the greediest Skaven ever to live. He is also shown to be a brutal taskmaster and competent besieger.

'''The Ravener (Lord Kreegix)'''- A position that seems emblematic of the Plaguelords zealotry, the Plaguelords here are known for surrounding themselves in dizzying fields of plague fumes and charging into combat. Unusual for Skaven the leaders here lead from the front, not the rear.

'''Spreader of the Word (Lord Blistrox)'''- This Plaguelord is in charge of managing Clan Pestilens' Thrall and Allied
Clans in an affiliation known as the ‘Pestilent Brotherhood.' The current leader, Lord Blistrox, is known for his
unorthodoxy in acquiring the services of Moulder, Eshin, and even the hated Clan Skyre, to known success. During the End Times, they formed the main thrust of the Clan Pestilens attack on Xlanhuapec, City of Mists and overran the city. They suffered massive losses by the forces of Kroq-Gar when he marched on the ruined city to avenge it while the Clans, less devout in their fanaticism than the zealots of their Parent-Clan, were busy looting.

'''Master of the Contagion Conclave (Lord Grilok)'''- Master of the mighty magical artifacts the Cauldrons of a Thousand Poxes, the Contagion Conclave are responsible for creating the holy weaponized plagues that Clan Pestilens spreads throughout the world. During the End Times, they were led by Plaguelord Grilok and used the collected plagues, diseases, viruses, poxes, maladies and other weapons they devised over the years to great effect in the Assault on Itza.

{{Skaven-Clans}}

Stormtrooper

2020-09-16T04:26:11Z

2601:600:A07F:8FC0:3D12:DB53:B7F6:C823:

[[File:Stormtrooper1.jpg|right|300px|thumb|"I smoke Marlboro, you smoke cock."]]
{{Topquote|I don't care how many there are, FIGHT!|[[Scott McNeil|Kasrkin Sergeant McNeil, shortly before being overrun.]]}}

'''Stormtroopers''' (''Sturmtruppen'') were specialist close assault raiders in the German army during World War I. It is also the English name of the ''Sturmabteilung'', the notorious paramilitary arm of the [[Nazi]] party. Their Nazi notoriety, Imperial German connotations, plus a cool name that's historical and thus freely usable, means they show up a lot as fictional specialist units. The association with the Nazis makes fictional units bearing this name more likely to be part of less than benevolent governments.

== Warhammer 40,000 ==
In [[Warhammer 40,000]], Stormtroopers (officially called '''Tempestus Scions''') are the elite of the [[Imperial Guard]] and the core of the [[Militarum Tempestus]]; [[Skub|they're the best general-combat infantry that the Imperial Guard can field, and are the toughest, best-equipped, and best-trained soldiers available to an Imperial commander that isn't a]] [[Space Marines|SPESS MEHREEN]]. While most of the Guard is armed with your typical [[Lasgun|angry flashlight]] and [[Flak Armor]] or Flak Vest, Stormtroopers normally pack Hotshot [[Lasgun]]s, which fire much more penetrating shots that are capable of piercing most infantry armor with ease, and they are clad in [[Carapace Armor]], which gives them substantially higher survivability on the battlefield.

In earlier editions of the game, they were favored as "Light Marines," since they had fairly similar performance to Space Marines but cost considerably less due to their weaker gear. As of 6th edition, they're now a dedicated elite choice, with all the pros and cons that implies. Unless you use their own mini-codex, of course. Then they become troops.

There is a key difference between true Stormtroopers and many different types of regimental proxies/wannabies, the former originate from Schola Progenium, the latter are simple top-notch regimental soldiers. There is also a line between Stormtroopers analogues and Grenadiers (or Heavy Infantry Regiments): [[Cadia]] for example fields Kasrkin, Armageddon fields Steel Legion Stormtroopers, [[Death Korps of Krieg]] field Grenadiers (all three of those are armed with hellguns instead of hotshots), but the [[Harakoni Warhawks]] are grenadiers by Guard classification, armed with humble lasguns and not expected to meet Stormtroopers standards despite being clad in Carapace Armor. The [[Inquisition]] also fields their own branch called the "Inquisitorial Stormtroopers" who form the Inquisition's main offensive force and are basically 5% of Schola Progenium Stormtroopers deemed pure, faithful and overall good enough to help your average Inquisitor meet the horrors that are part of his job head-on. Regardless of their appearance or gear, they're all incredibly potent if used correctly.

Unfortunately, in terms of actual models, the only stormtroopers you can currently get (besides the Death Korps Grenadiers) are the Tempestus Scions. If you're lucky, GW may have some Kasrkin available for Made-to-Order, but only some of the time, and only in metal. If you want them in plastic, you'll have to resort to kitbashing Scions with conversion bits.

While this sounds all proper and awesome, the average Guardsman in the street can't stand them, referring to them as "glory boys" and resenting the fact that they're a good deal less likely to die, given that they're given better equipment than standard issue cardboard armor with a flashlight. The Kasrkin (and probably Death Korps Grenadiers, since dead men don't care for glory), who are revered and respected amongst Cadia, are a curious exception. This is likely due to the fact that, unlike most stormtroopers, who are raised and trained in the prestigious [[Schola Progenium]], Kasrkin are all trained right on Cadia and experience the same hellish conditions as everyone else, so they also strongly believe that THIS WILL BE DA DAY UF GLOREE. More canonically, it is because Kasrkin have the same equipment as the grunt Guardsmen they serve with except they have a hellgun - and yet in spite of the shitty everything else, they're WAY more badass than the stormtroopers. ''That'' is why they are inspiring to the average Guardsmen: Kasrkin show them what normal humans can really do, even the Imperial Guard.

===In [[Dawn of War]]===
Kasrkin are available for the Imperial Guard starting in Winter Assault, and they're one of the better choices the Guard has. They suffer the same problem that almost every unit in Winter Assault has, however, in that they're redundant - they utterly replace Guardsmen by Tier 3 in that game, and in every game of WA that makes it that far, your sole mission objective from then on is to spam Kasrkin endlessly.

In the later games - Dark Crusade and Soulstorm - their numbers were hardcapped, ergo ensuring that you can only use one squad at a time. They were also added in as a main unit in the Inquisition Daemonhunt mod/Ultimate Apocalypse, and made hideously OP after Dark Crusade's infamous moving debuff, as their ridiculous rate of fire meant that, even with 15%, hit chance they were still going to get a decent DPS.

===In Dawn of War 2===
Stormtroopers are DoW 2's equivalent of DOW's Kasrkin, they appear in all games but only become widely playable during Retribution, where the Guard becomes a playable faction. You only fight alongside them in the original DoW 2 and you get to control two squads of them on one mission during Chaos Rising. They use Hot-Shot lasguns with armor-piercing effects. Stormtroopers can be upgraded with multiple "kits" that lets them be more effective to different targets and fit certain circumstances.

The kits are:
* Assault kit, which increases their fire rate and range, but now actually costs something <strike>and makes them take more damage as well (Outdated as of version 3.18, more info on the Retribution wiki comments)</strike>. Usually passed up in favour of melta, but still useful for dealing with some elite infantry and commanders.
* Anti-tank kit, which easily makes them the best hunter-killer unit the Imperial Guard have available in the game. Their melta guns and melta bombs allow them to wreck vehicles, fuck up enemy power supplies, and to a lesser extent, tear up enemy commanders and superheavies.

Unlike their original appearance in DoW, stormtroopers this time round actually have a role other than being guardsman squad 2.0. Their weapon options and ability to infiltrate make them ideal for removing high priority targets like enemy vehicles, elite units, or commanders. They can also be used to disrupt power supplies and decap points. Although stormtroopers are a bit tougher and have more [[dakka]] than regular guardsmen, their unit size is much smaller (compare 5 troopers to an infantry squad's maximum of 12) and they fare even worse in melee. With the addition of a sergeant and [[commissar]], guardsman infantry squads can reinforce three troopers at a time for a fraction of the cost of a stormtrooper, which makes them a whole lot more resilient in the field when combined with a reinforcement point such as a [[Chimera]].

In [[Last Stand]] the Stormtroopers are an available command accessory for the Lord-General, allowing him to call down a squad of them at any time in order to assist. While this gives a major reduction in energy expenditure via their passive and offer the only mobility boost available, they are pretty much dead last in terms of utility. You get only a small few of them - they aren't tanky like ogryns, they aren't very good in close quarters like the catachans and they can't take any other weapons like the guardsmen.

===On Tabletop===
[[File:Tempestor.jpg|300px|thumb|right|What they look like.]]
Scions/Stormtroopers are difficult to classify in tabletop. Many players eschew them, since the Imperial Guard used to be able to field cheaper <STRIKE>Infiltrators with</STRIKE> carapace armor (and better range as part of the bargain) via Veteran Squads, and Veterans had Objective Secured as part of the bargain (but now so do Scions, who can be taken as Troops). On the other hand, Scions Deep Strike by default and come with AP-2 weapons which can put the hurt on just about anything, including Marines.

As of 8th Scions have effectively replaced Veterans as an up-armored, elite Troops choice. Although Veterans can still take heavy weapon teams and heavy flamers (which makes them a better choice for a static gunline) they have lost infiltrate ''and'' their old doctrines (carapace armor, camo-cloaks, snare mines), making them worth just about fuck-all to anyone who isn't running a Vanguard.

Where Scions come into their own, however, is as surgical strike units. Suffice to say, Scions are amazing units when used for target elimination - nobody likes taking AP-2 fire from anything (except, you know, [[MEQ|TEQ]]) and they provide easy deep-striking plasma and meltas that the [[Imperial Guard]] lacks. Scions are a comparatively mobile and deadly force whose basic guns now have better AP than a goddamn ''bolter''. Access to up to 4x special weapons and BS+3 doesn't hurt either - well, unless you're the enemy. Then it actually does hurt. A lot.

Scions can take a transport such as a [[Chimera]] or [[Taurox|Taurox Prime]], however, Valkries and Vendettas are much more reliable than simply deep striking. In 8th they can also be taken as their own stand-alone regiment and come with interesting stratagems and special rules. For instance, their Warlords can Deny the Witch as if they were a psyker; with '''Superior Intelligence''' you can shoot at deep strikers within 12" the instant they arrive; combine the '''Tactical Auto-Reliquary of Tiberius''' with Master of Command and your Tempestor Prime becomes a 40 pt Creed; and if your Stormies are in double-tap range then their weapons gets an extra shot whenever you roll 6+ to hit.

A common joke amongst /tg/ is that in order to win, you must spam '''MOAR STORMTROOPERS'''.

===Tales of Hilarity===
Almost ''every'' 40K oldfag can tell you a tale of their first (and often most memorable) encounter with Stormtroopers; usually it pans out around the same way: the player (often playing something lighter-armored, like [[Tyranids]], [[Orks]], or [[Eldar]]) has fought a lot of Guard units, but hasn't really ''seen'' Stormtroopers in action before, and the Storms are usually camping an objective or getting ready to clear an area. The unwitting player moves in to intercept, expecting just another Guardsman squad, and proceeds to learn that Carapace Armor is a thing and it makes its wearer substantially harder to kill than Guardsmen are. The Stormtroopers then immediately return fire and quickly mulch the squad with their BS4 and AP3 Hellguns (AP5 in the previous editions, but with 24" range) weapons, and the young player quickly learns to never take a unit lightly again.

Another humorous tale that is constantly related regarding Stormtroopers is when Inquisitorial Stormtrooper Sergeants, in 3rd edition, were able to, due to a typo in earlier prints of the codex, take Thunder Hammers. This was expensive, but since a standard power weapon was only 10 less, this quickly became a thing wherein a Stormtrooper squad could be an effective charge deterrent, as enemies would assault the squad, the Stormtroopers would armor save most of the damage, and the hits from the Thunder Hammer would screw the attacker's initiative, resulting in the one thing every close-combat squad fears: Losing an assault to a bunch of Squishy humies. This was errata'd away in later editions, though there ''was'' an article on Games-Workshop's website condoning the practice back in 2006.

{{Militarum-Tempestus}}
{{Imperial-Guard}}
{{Inquisition}}

== Star Wars ==
[[Image:Imperial_Stormtroopers.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Note the substantial height differences in a group that's supposedly a bunch of clones. There's a reason the EU didn't go with the idea that ''all'' Stormtroopers are clones. At least not clones of the same person.]]
In [[Star Wars]] Stormtroopers are the iconic white armored soldiers of the Galactic Empire. They were formed out of the remaining clones of the Grand Army of the Republic when it was dissolved into the Empire. The increase in numbers needed to ''hold'' territory instead of just take it combined with a clone rebellion and exhaustion of the original Jango Fett DNA has seen the Empire transition away from a force exclusively made up of clones. As a result, rather than be children of a single clone daddy, Stormtroopers are made up of recruited humans as well as clones of newer templates created by Spaarti cloning, a process that produced much faster results than the Kaminoan cloning used by the original clones at the cost of lower quality. Their fancy armor isn't very good against blasters, even within the films.

=== Clones? Skill Level? ===
Lucas has waffled on if Stormtroopers are cloned or not. The original films had large groups of uneven height stand next to each other and in his early notes for Expanded Universe material, he stated there were female Stormtroopers at other duty stations. Later on he made edits in the special edition and other rereleases, plus a gag in the prequels that the Stromtrooper hitting his head was inherited from Jango, that implied they were. Stormtroopers are also said to be elite soldiers with peerless marksmanship ("Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise."). Despite this, their poor showing during the Death Star escape (people often forget they were ''intentionally'' letting them get away to track them) and the Battle of Endor (for which there is no excuse) and minimal appearance of "normal" Imperial soldiers (The Holiday Special and SOLO: A Star Wars story are the only places in live action where they're anything but background details, though don't mention the first one to George Lucas and the second one is [[skub]] due to the Disney reboot) have resulted in the expanded universe and most RPGs showing them as disposable mooks. These were ''eventually'' rectified by establishing that while Vader's personal 501st Legion, the only ones Kenobi was familiar with (besides his own unit from the Clone Wars, the 212 under Cody, and other GAR units who obviously are better than conscript masses due to combat experience), were indeed cloned elites and the only unit to fully retain the Jango Fett template due to them being fanatically loyal, the majority of Stormtroopers in the galaxy are merely recruited humans with much lower standards or cloned from younger, inferior, clone daddies. The Commando Clones were also brought into the 501 and the rest of the Fett clones either retired early due to accelerated aging, defected to Mandalore through Kal Skirata or gave training to others. The 501st Legion were retired by Endor due to the aging problems with clones and degradation in the original DNA sample, which helps explain their losses there. Thrawn later rebuilt the 501st with elite recruits and this version of the unit continues for more than a century with the best of the best being placed there.

Another phenomena in the expanded universe is attempts to explain the poor accuracy with gear issues. These range from poor vision in helmets to defective components in blasters. These two could be used together, saying that the armor was designed for a very limited size range (a literal bunch of clones) and fit poorly on recruited soldiers. This is especially so when it's outright canon that early generation clone armor was made by non-humans and did indeed impede movement. However it is also worth pointing out that in the real world: 90% of a shots a solider take miss anyway.

Where Stormtroopers do excel consistently is in fights against equally nameless foes. All RPGs stats and asymmetrical video games show Stormtroopers are flat out better than the typical Rebel soldier, B1 droid or Hutt thug. This isn't so curbstompingly better that Stormtroopers would win with 2-1 odds without better tactics (which they'd have in narrative but isn't represented mechanically) but they do have better stats. Officially they're just worse than any hero. If you watch the original Star Wars movie (whether remastered or not), the Stormtroopers whenever fighting non-plot armored people absolutely ''curbstomp''. Like in the first scene of the movie when they go through a single-file door into a heavily defended and narrow corridor and yet slaughter the absolute ''fuck'' out of the Rebels. In fact, the only time we see them faring badly in firefights in the movies is on the Death Star in the first movie (when there was a beacon on the Falcon and so their misses were likely due to orders to let the heroes escape), against Luke on Cloud City in The Empire Strikes Back (he's a freaking Force-sensitive with some training and combat experience, oh and also the son of the literal Chosen One of the setting, so that isn't a fair measurement), and we don't really see anything in Return of the Jedi due to Ewok shenanigans. When the Millennium Falcon was escaping Tatooine where the troopers were arguably trying to damage the ship's engines and not actively trying to shoot Han Solo.

Within the Disney canon, Rogue One also indicates another factor in which Force Adept Chirrut Imwe walks out of cover (after a Rebel Soldier gets wasted by Stormtroopers for being exposed from cover for a second) and walks through a hail of blaster fire sedately while chanting a matra to the Force. This indicates that the Force is to some degree actively intervening for force sensitive individuals by making shots run astray, though even this is not a 100% fool proof solution as he was eventually gunned down.

=== Variants ===
Since the Empire is large and includes every biome known to man and several fictional ones (and the Star Wars franchise is built on toy sales), the Stormtrooper Corps has specialized units for nearly everything imaginable. On top of this, there have also been many attempts to create [[Primaris Space Marines|even more elite versions]] of normal Stormtroopers.

* Cold assault stormtrooper: More commonly known as snowtroopers, this is a normal group of Stormtroopers outfited with cold weather gear. It is most infamous for its actions on Hoth, but the equipment has also seen many other frozen battlefields. One of the two non-standard variants seen on film.
* Dark Trooper: A series of battle droids (and cybernetically augmented soldiers depending on iteration) and [[Power Armor]] for a next generation Stormtrooper. Discontinued after Kyle Katarn blew up their mobile production facility, taking the project notes and designer with it, in ''Dark Forces''.
* Jump Trooper: AKA Rocket Trooper, Sky Trooper and Air Assault Trooper. Stormtroopers with jetpacks. Originally only suitable for short jumps, by the New Republic era technology has evolved enough for them to progress into power armor that can fly indefinitely.
* Scout trooper (Storm Commando): Scout troopers have a distinct helmet that allows for greater visibility as well as lighter leg and shoulder armor for greater mobility. Serving as a combination of scout (duh) and marksman, they typically use [[Speederbike]]s and long ranged rifles. Scout troopers are [[Reasonable Marines|the only type of Stormtrooper known to regularly make use of camouflage]] (though the ones at Endor did not). One of the two variants shown on film.
* Wetland assault stormtrooper: More commonly known as swamptroopers, this branch wears green colored gear optimized for swamps. Would be obscure if not for the fact that they show up in both ''Jedi Outcast'' and ''Galaxies''.
* Zero-G assault stormtrooper: More commonly known as spacetroopers, this branch wears [[Power Armor]] designed for boarding and capturing disabled ships. They are first mentioned in [[Star Wars RPG]] materials by [[West End Games]], but are most famous for their appearance in the climax of ''Heir to the Empire'', the first book of the Thrawn trilogy. There is a pair of Stormtroopers with an unusual backpack (possibly a jetpack) that are ''very'' briefly seen in the original movie, but they look nothing like future deceptions of spacetroopers, fanoned as that configuration being more for guys patrolling out of atmosphere but in gravity. They also appear in the computer game X-Wing: Alliance.
*Like a billion other variants in Legends. No joke, just look at the Wookiepedia page.