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Ptera-squirrel

2023-06-07T19:15:31Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

[[File:Ptera-squirrel.jpg|right|300px]]

'''Ptera-squirrels''' are a species of mammal that seem to infest the planets, ships, naval stations... pretty much everywhere that the [[Imperium of Man]] controls. It is a rodent-like species the size and morphology similar to ancient Terran flying squirrels, only with slightly longer arms and fangs. Their flaps between their arms and legs allow them to glide across long areas, which gives them an important mobility advantage, on top of the natural agility they have from being squirrels.

It is very plausible their origins come from [[Terra]], but lack of data from the days before the [[Dark Age of Technology]] impedes further studies.

== Behavior ==

Ptera-squirrels are scavengers by nature. They are quite the opportunists, munching on anything that might feed them. Like the rodents of old, the ptera-squirrels reproduce like crazy, having numerous offspring in relatively short breeding cycles, and this and their ability to sneak around in human ships makes them quite able to infest their living spaces in no time. As such, they seem to be a prime candidate to drive other species away once they reach a new planet. While Ptera-squirrels seem to be relatively peaceful creatures most of the time, once in a while ptera-squirrels will give birth a generation much more aggressive than the ones before. They will [[Khorne|crave for blood]], and [[Red Thirst|will attack anyone and anything that might have it]], like some form of [[Blood Angels|vampire squirrels]]. These sudden periods are incredibly dangerous for those spaces affected, especially closed spaces such as the cargo bay of a ship, where they can use their small size, numbers and blood-thirst to wreak havoc upon the workers there. And, just as fast as it came, that rage will disappear and the ptera-squirrels will go back to their seemingly peaceful ways.

As you can imagine, this makes the ptera-squirrels to be considered as pests to be eradicated, though considering the amount of danger the galaxy has on a regular basis, dealing with these rodents is probably quite easy.

== Relationship with Mankind ==
[[File:Pterasquirrel model.jpg|left|300px]]

Humanity is probably guilty of spreading this species throughout the stars, and as such, they have coexisted for many millennia. While the sight of ptera-squirrels in hive cities and ships is not a particularly rare sight, there is no real urgency to deal with them. They are to be attacked and driven away on sight, yes, but there are [[orks|much]], [[genestealer|MUCH]] more dangerous pests throughout the Imperium, so they don't get that much attention outside of local authorities. Besides, humanity has probably developed quite a lot of ways to deal with them, just like they developed tools and protocols to stop rat infestations. Agriworlds might be much more prepared to deal with this pests due to the risk of them damaging their produce because of this, though the small size of the squirrels makes it very difficult to actually eradicate from open spaces.

Also, just as the ptera-squirrels can be seen attacking humans and feeding on their carcasses while available, it is not rare to see humans hunting down the rodents for their meat.

== How they came to be ==

Most studies seem to agree that the Ptera-squirrel came from [[Terra]], due to the previously mentioned similarities with the ancient flying squirrel. This would seem like a sensible option due to that species being quite adaptable and, with enough natural selection, evolve quickly into the ptera-squirrel. However, it cannot be confirmed due to the lack of genetic comparison and almost nonexistent records. Another possibility is genetic engineering, though what would be the point of that project is, again, a mystery.

There's also the possibility of slow mutations due to the influence of the [[Warp]]. Considering it has coexisted with Mankind for millenia, and one of its preferred modes of spreading is through human ships, warp capable ships, maybe they've been slowly altered by the mutating effects of the Warp through hundreds of thousands of generations. That would explain the random blood-thirst this species enters once in a while.

[[Category: Warhammer 40,000]]

[[Category: Xenos]]

Pisceans

2023-06-07T19:15:19Z

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{{Stub}}
A Xenos race that House Delaque of Necromunda has ties with. Perhaps a servant race to the slumbering enormous xenos gods the Delaque are said to worship, in a similar way that Deep Ones serve Dagon and Hydra in Lovecraft's works. They are stated to have sharklike heads, which has been compared to another fish like alien race in Warhammer 40,000 history, the [[Saharduin]], although it's unknown if the Pisceans are an extant group of the Saharduin. Despite being stated to have immense strength, they do eventually age and die, and choose to beach themselves upon death. House Delaque uses this as an opportunity to take their brains and put them in [[Piscean Spektor]]s. Since both House Delaque and the Pisceans are connected to the Psychoterica, this means that if Pisceans aren't already Psykers, they become one when placed in their new mechanical body, becoming a cyborg powerhouse of psychic might.

[[Category: Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Xenos]]

Human

2023-06-07T19:14:01Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

[[Image:Happy_human_killing_songs.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Humanity: everybody's friend. Also, no hard feelings guys. Happy human songs are about killing invading humans too.]]
{{Topquote|[[/tg/|Humans need fantasy to be human.]] To be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape.|[[Discworld|Sir Terry Pratchett, ''Hogfather'']]}}
{{Topquote|1=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McQ58nhhpHM I'M A PIONEER! I'M AN EXPLORER! I'M A HUMAN, AND I'M CUMMING!]|2=Alex Jones, alleged Human}}
{{Topquote|You are a violent and irrepressible miracle. The vacuum of cosmos and the stars burning in it are afraid of you. Given enough time you would wipe us all out and replace us with nothing — just by accident.|Disco Elysium}}
{{Topquote|I'm ahead, I'm a man, I'm the first mammal to wear pants, I'm at peace with my lust, I can kill 'cause in god I trust.|Pearl Jam, ''Do The Evolution''}}

'''Humans''' (Scientific name ''Homo sapiens'', "Inferior/simple-minded race" as seen by your [[Eldar|generic super-intelligent and advanced race]], "weak/frail race" as seen by your [[Orks|generic war-mongering race]], and "Nom noms" as seen by [[Tyranid|the race that only exists to consume and grow]]) are a species of bilaterally symmetrical carbon-based creatures native to a small rocky planet orbiting Sol.

Humans have five appendages: the two longest ones underneath for locomotion, two more flexible appendages in the middle that split into very fine tentacles on the ends for manipulation and pleasure, and a cranium up top for sensation. They stand upright and have nearly their entire cognitive organ contained within a bony shell inside the sensory limb, the rest of it in a bone sheathe in the middle "baggy" part. Humans on average stand erect between 1.5 and 2 meters in height, and mass between 50 and 100 kilograms.

Humans are descended from arboreal omnivores which migrated on the plains of a landmass in the Eastern hemisphere. They have gender dimorphism: females are smaller by 9% on average, only males have protrusions at the base of the locomotor limbs, and nearly all mature females have two protruding subdermal glands on their front thorax near the base of the manipulation limbs. A large sample of data from various competitions and world records based on gender have also shown human sexual dimorphism also extends to attributes of physical fitness. For example, males are slightly faster and considerably stronger than females, while females possess [http://www.latrobe.edu.au/news/articles/2011/opinion/women-and-their-resistance-to-disease greater resistance] [http://www.medicaldaily.com/man-flu-real-estrogen-makes-women-more-resistant-respiratory-diseases-men-307471 to diseases]. Both are particularly obsessed with mating.

Humans have an exceptionally high endurance (for killing aliens longer), and their long distance running is unmatched by all but a few species. Some speculate early Humans hunted simply by stalking prey till it had to rest then bashing its head in, though the practicality of this is questioned. Human pain tolerance is high enough that they willingly ingest plants [[Wikipedia:Capsaicin|high in irritants]] that render them unpalatable to most species. Humans must consume [[Wikipedia:Ascorbic acid|a variety]] [[Wikipedia:Retinoic acid|of acids]] [[Wikipedia:pantothenic acid|every day]] to maintain health. Failure to do so results in [[Wikipedia:Scurvy|weakness followed by death]]. Human blood is literally made of iron and [[Wikipedia:Blood#pH_values|capable of neutralizing acids]] if combined with them.

==...Okay, but seriously.==
Now on to the REAL reason you're on this page.

Humans are a playable race in almost every game, which is a complete mystery if contemplated long enough ([[derp|which may be too long]]). If you're going to imagine your character as a gunfightan, spell-slingan, wall-vaultan, asskickan superman, what's the point of suddenly slapping that little bit of realism in there? Therefore, they are largely overlooked in most games (except for 3.5e [[D&D]] players who HAD to have that extra first-level feat). Indeed, most descriptions of the species for playable races go something like "they're just like humans, except for this." Most of the time, you'll honestly prefer some of the actual DEFINING TRAITS that come with playing another race, whether it's Never-Say-Die Elfdar vehicles (as opposed to [[Space Marine]] 14-armor dickery) or some kind of crazy mutation/horns/dragon wings. Basically, the benefits can never truly erase the relative boredom you'll get from still being a human, despite all your other options.

Humans are represented in most games as the most balanced and widespread race, which is a blatant bit of self-flattery, or it can be read to mean that they are the most mediocre and suck equally at everything. Most notable can be in D&D 2.0, in which every race had a given benefit, save the humans who had nothing (unless you count the ability to be any class and reach max level in any of them, whereas other races had restricted classes and restricted levels in said classes - but then, everyone hated that rule and homebrewed it out anyway). When they ARE given distinct advantages, is to be more versatile, adaptable or "jack-of-all-trades" than other bipeds, which is kind of a non-advantage: "we didn't know what to give you, so here's a gift certificate at the local racial feature shop to buy something." You would think that humans' exceptional endurance compared to other Earth species would come into play, (we are one of the best long distance runners in the whole animal kingdom), but it never does; though there is a difference between animals and sapient humanoid races such as elves and dwarves.

On the other hand whenever there is a coalition of multiple races and humans are part of them, you can bet the one leading them will be human. Talk about self-flattery again. In sci-fi video games they also tend to be portrayed as skilled diplomats, which is ironic considering how most leaders [[Skub|never see eye-to-eye in real life]].

Then again, there's a certain appeal in [[Humanity Fuck Yeah|humans showing other species what they're truly capable of]].

==Human Physiology and Psychology==

Humans are medium creatures, averaging between 1.6-1.8 meters tall (though there are exceptions of course) and weighing in between 69-89 Kg. Appearance-wise there exists a wide diversity of skin tones and minor body features which was commonly described as "race" but has fallen out of favour due to gigatons of [[Skub|skub]] associated with the term. There is some difficulty on pinpointing a defining trait since our real life intelligence is moot if there are other sentients, but alternatively one could realistically invoke [[Humanity Fuck Yeah|"human grit and perseverance"]] since, again judging from real life, we survived so much shit and clawed our way to the top in spite of it (and ourselves) that it is at least somewhat deserved.

Body-wise humans have little obvious weapons, we can actually give a decent bite and our legs and fists can handle wolf-tier animals one-on-one with some ease, but realistically speaking without some sort of weapon, be it only a big rock or a stick, an average human will not get too far even against such "mid-tier" animals like boars or stags. That being said, humans do have some natural resilience and recent anthropological research has shown that we can also pride ourselves as being an "implacable man" style hunters - we will just casually follow an animal until it drops from exhaustion and we either tame it (horse) or nom it (pretty much everything else that can run fast, and yes [[/d/|that includes horse as well]]).

Due to their intelligence, social-cooperative nature and fecundity, humans generally occupy virtually all but the harshest environments of a given world or setting (and we will damn well try to settle those too). If there are other races/sentient species present the contact between them and humans runs the gamut of merry trading and [[Monstergirls|coexistence]], grudging tolerance and isolation to near-incessant warfare and genocide.

Human psychology is also a smorgasbord of various traits since we can form societies that are [[Mongols|barbarian reavers]] like Orks, [[China|introspective and ordered]] like Elves, [[Japan|industrious and seclusive]] like Dwarves an so on. A major innate psychological trait is human sociability, while there are "lone wolves" out there, most humans will want at least 2-3 companions, be they members of their own species or a fellow sentient, this trait also likely causes humans in most settings to develop civilizations of varying sophistication akin to Dwarves and Elves and as opposed to Ogres or Trolls, although depending on the setting humans can just as well be primal and savage with little or no civility.

==Human Culture(s)==

As previously mentioned, humans are a varied bunch so the cultures we develop will be such as well. In real life our societies tend to follow a few basic patterns like the rough social organisation (rulers-nobles-middle class-lower class) and a proclivity towards clannish organisation (this was prevalent in Europe too until the Church engaged in a feat of massive social engineering by banning cousin marriage and thus effectively destroying the clan structure in favour of a nuclear family). Aside from those, a given culture is also greatly influenced by its environment and availability of resources - [[Japan]] for instance places great emphasis on cooperation and social harmony since you need social cohesion to survive all the earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis, while [[Egypt]] was a totalitarian theocracy due to the Nile concentrating people along the fertile areas and being vital for survival thus making it one of the centers of life and religion.

In various fantasy and sci fi works, as mentioned in the Human Special Rules the cultures tend to broadly coalesce into fantasy Europe/Middle East/Asia with an occasional Mayincatec, African or Greco-romano-egyptian expies if the author is a bit more imaginative. Said societies also tend to have one trait increased out of proportion like war, trade or diplomacy. One can also expect a huge human empire in various stages of [[The Empire|advancement]] or [[Imperium of Man|degeneration]] which will often be inspired by Rome or HRE. Interestingly human societies are practically never shown as peaceful or pacifist, having almost always be(en) engaged in a war with other races or themselves, sometimes at the same time.

==Human Religion(s)==

Again, in real life humans have dozens of religious and hundreds of spiritual beliefs and systems, many of them offshoots of previous ones like Christianity and Islam or regional/national variations as with the bajilion sects of Buddhism and Protestantism OR Hinduism which is practically an entire world onto itself and that's before we even get to the indigenous world faiths or past religions.

In fantasy works humans however will generally fall into two broad categories:

- Worship of a pantheon of about half-dozen or dozen gods inspired by the ancient Bronze and Iron age civilizations of Earth. Said pantheon will likely have the equivalents of chief god, war god, magic god, harvest/life god, sea god and so on though certain settings will shake things up and give a more unusual pantheon.

- Worship of a Judeo-Christian equivalent commonly called Crystal Dragon Jesus by TvTropes. This religion will be monotheistic or have 2-3 gods at most with a [[Ecclesiarchy|Catholic or broadly Christian aesthetic and maybe some doctrinal similarities]]. Alternatively the inspirational source will be toned down and you will end up with one capital-g God and a "church" which may often be in conflict with a "pagan" pantheon though the latter will usually not be as powerful as a full fledged pantheon described in the first point.

- A combination of the prior two where depending on a region you will have religions centered around gods, a god, the God, immensely powerful beings (Dragons are usually the go-to race for this) and various minor spirits and others. Also expect any asian-based culture to have some sort of confucian equivalent that throws around words like "enlightenment" and "harmony", usually with little emphasis on gods.

In science fiction religion will often be handwaved as an afterthought or depicted as declining or nearly gone due to the supposedly enlightened humans no longer needing or deigning to believe in anything supernatural and aliens still believing in gods or having religious beliefs will either be shown as primitive or crusading zealots. Alternatively there will be races or beings present that will be so advanced that they may appear to be godlike or even become indistinguishable from what an actual deity would be (like in the Culture series where the AIs are so powerful that they can create real afterlives with relative ease). Lastly, humans may simply have their old 20th-21st century major religions in slightly altered form or have a new set of beliefs altogether.

==Human Flaws==

Humans will generally run the gamut of failings though a hack author or someone with an ax to grind may exaggerate certain flaws in order to prove a point or send a message. These usually take the form of humans being [[Imperium of Man|genocidal maniacs who are exterminating other races left, right and center for not much more than simple bigotry and xenophobia]].

This unfortunately has some basis in reality as the most immediately destructive human activity (warfare) has often been if not motivated, then at least shrouded in xenophobia and ethno-racial hatred in order to motivate the troops to slaughter the opponents when in reality the real goal was resources or territory.
Additionally Homo Sapiens Sapiens in general seems to have been at least partially somewhat genocide-happy if not callous in their expansion since many other species of humans are, well, not with us anymore. The Neanderthals are brought up as the most common example although the fact that modern Europeans and Asians have 1-2% of Neanderthal DNA so the truth may be a bit more balanced (a combination of genocide, displacement, grudging co-existence and intermixing).

On the physical side of things, Humans when compared to many other races or animals fall more or less into the mid category - not too bad but nothing to write home about either. A Human can with some effort take down most animals that are smaller than them (wolves, boars, deer etc.) when going 1-on-1, but increase the number of opponents or move into something that is heavier/bigger and we start having problems even with bladed weapons. Smaller humanoids (with possible exception of [[Dwarves]]) are also doable but anything ranging from [[Half-Orc]] and bulkier is going to be a challenge to say the least. This is usually not a problem what with Humans speccing into INT and CO-OP but in any situation or setting where physically stronger and organized opponents outnumber the Humans and technology is not the deciding factor will give Humanity some hurting.

More realistic settings will give humans a more balanced set of virtues and flaws if not outright eschewing this approach altogether and focusing on individuals.

==Human Special Rules==
# In every sci fi movie and game involving aliens, humans MUST suck. No exceptions. Unless they're [[Space Marine|grimdark psycho-indoctrinated, genetically enhanced, Catholic Space-Nazis]], an [[Chaos Space Marines|evil(er) version of thereof]] or the [[Primaris Space Marines|grimdark psycho-indoctrinated, genetically enhanced, Catholic Space-Nazis big brother]]. Or [[Setting:Halo|Master Chief]]. In which case, they're the best damn things in the setting where combat is concerned. In every fantasy movie and game involving elves, dwarves, goblins, etc. humans MUST be boring. No exceptions. Elves are the tall fast guys with great magic who live in the trees, Dwarves are the short strong guys with badass technology who live in the tunnels, humans are the boring medium guys with absolutely nothing special and completely average stats.
#* Unless this is John Carter of Mars in which the title human is an unstoppable one man army, who can kill four armed giant bug Martians with ease.
#* Or if it's [[Tolkien|Middle Earth]] (if you don't think the Edain are awesome, you probably don't know enough about the setting),
#* or [[Star Wars]] (where the humans are the most powerful, diverse, and influential race in the setting),
#* [[Star Trek]] (where the humans are the ones responsible for much of the good stuff in the setting),
#* or [[Avatar]] (where the humans are awesome, but portrayed as villains for being pragmatic).
# Humans ''always'' have the crappy weapons when fighting technologically advanced/intelligent xenos(eg: [[Setting:Halo|Halo]] - Bullets vs. Plasma. [[Warhammer 40,000]] - [[Lasgun|factory-built flashlights]] vs. alien [[Shuriken Catapult|ninja-star guns]]/[[Splinter Weapons|living poison guns]]/[[Gauss|molecular disassembly weapons]]/cursed-soul-shooting guns). In the case of simple-minded/primitive xenos, the humans must be eaten/dismembered/eviscerated/disemboweled/some combination thereof by said xenos (eg: Bugs vs Mobile infantry, Xenomorphs vs Colonial Marines). In fantasy, humans ''always'' have the boring practical weapons when fighting any other race (eg: Humans vs Elves or Dwarves - Long swords and crossbows vs. magic bows and badass knives or giant hammers and axes and cannons).
# in [[vidya|video games]], especially but in table top and roleplaying as well, humanity's special trait is always brute force. We're never as fast as the space elves, but we always build [[Basilisk Artillery Gun|really big guns]] (sometimes ones that are [[Ordinatus|utterly massive]]) and [[Titan (Warhammer 40,000)|massive humanoid robots covered with weapons]]. As another example, when I say "elf" you think archers in the woods, but when I say "fantasy human" you think a knight in full plate mail atop a horse, effectiveness may vary but humans' trait is normally thick armour and hitting hard.
# Compared to any other race, Humans must always be subjected to horrendous deaths in any war, real or fiction, by the hundreds, and often disproportionately to their involvement in said war.
# In every work that involves armed fictional conflict, there must always be one [[Mary Sue|heavily plot-armoured character that can beat the odds no matter how retardedly outnumbered and outgunned he is.]] This character is human if humans are involved in the conflict at all.
# In almost every setting where humans are not fanatical racist nut jobs, human are always the ones most likely to reproduce outside their species. If someone says they're a half-elf, dragon or demon, you never need to ask what the other half is. Among the first questions any human asks upon discovery of a new sapient is "can I have sex with it?", and then humans also ignore all rules of logic and genetics by managing to have kids with it.
# In most fantasy settings, humans create various "Western-European-like" nations, one "Middle-East-like" nation and one "Chinese-like" or "Japanese-like" nation.
# Despite any inferiority to other races; Humans '''ALWAYS WIN. ''ALWAYS''''', in the end of it all. Either by the efforts of pre-mentioned [[Mary Sue]] or through [[Imperial Guard|the well-honed tactic of drowning their enemies in their own blood and corpses]]. This is because we can't win any other way, unless you're SPESS MARHEENS (That's a fact). In rare cases conflict spans for a few centuries, and the setting it happens in isn't in medieval stasis, humans win through their adaptability due to their short lifespans combined with sufficient intellect, while more long-living races fail to change their society in response to evolving technology, even if they happen to out-science humans (which they usually don't), and less intelligent races get wiped out or enslaved due to the giant technological edge humans have against them.

Also, our butthurt knows no fucking bounds.

==Media That Prominently Feature Humans==
[[File:Ravenloft 3e Humans.png|thumb|right|250px|Humans tend to adopt different styles in different settings. These humans come from [[Ravenloft]], for example.]]

All of them. No really, all of them ([[Bionicle|almost]]). It's only natural that the only intelligent race we know of is the one we add everywhere and into everything. The reason for this can be numerous - It makes it easy to relate to it for most people when your race is represented, and since we ''are'' the only intelligent race we actually know, humans are the only template we can work off of.

Well, Dragonlance, but then, they had [[Kender]], so...

Some do it more than others, tho - e.g, everybody knows that DnD only has the Human race because some people are too xenophobic to play an actual interesting race, while other media, like in 40k, humans are the best goddamn thing ever.

==Human mating practices==

{{Topquote|And their reproductive system is the same as their waste-elimination system. Did you know that? It’s true. I’ve done the dissections.|Trazyn the Infinite}}

We do have these. The writers of this wiki have not studied them. Why should we?

In role-playing games, humans (especially those of the [[bard]] [[class]]) tend to be the most fertile race, and the one most amenable to interspecies romance and cross-breeding (rivalled only by [[dragon]]s).

P.S. If you don't know how babies are made just ask your parents what "fucking" is. They will be delighted to give you a detailed explanation.

==Humans in Dungeons & Dragons==
In [[Dungeons & Dragons]], humanity's "hat", or singular defining racial trait, is ''Versatility''. What this means in practice varies from edition to edition, but it generally means that humans may not get the specific bonuses that certain races do, but they don't get any penalties, either.

In [[Basic Dungeons & Dragons|Basic]], humanity's biggest strength was that they were the only race that could actually take classes like [[Fighter]], [[Thief]] or [[Wizard|Magic-User]]. Other races, like [[Elf]], [[Dwarf]], [[Halfling]], [[Goblin]], [[Orc]], [[Gnoll]], etc, were treated as classes in their own right (early D&D was ''weird''), and often relied on [[Variant Class]]-analogues to expand their options. 
For example, [[Dwarf#BECMI|Dwarves could be taken as Dwarf-Clerics]], who were like [[Clerics]] but: better fighters, unable to turn undead, could reach 12th level and, -- oh yeah -- they were mandated to '''avoid''' casting spells where non-Dwarves could see them do it (unless it was a matter of life and death).

In [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons|Advanced]], again, humanity's only major strength was their lack of penalties; humans alone could take any class to any level, whereas other races could only take specific classes, and could only rise to certain levels within those classes. It's unclear just how viable this was, because nobody seemed to really like the idea of non-humans having level limits based on their race; [[Baldur's Gate]] and [[Icewind Dale]] both dropped that mechanic like a hot potato. And even within the official supplements there were some treading on humanity's toes. 
For example, whilst the [[Paladin]] was envisioned as a human-only class, several races were released that could also become paladins, namely [[Rakasta]], [[Lupin|Lupins]], and [[Saurial|Saurials]]. 
Humans also had unique [[Multiclassing#Advanced_Dungeon_.26_Dragons|multiclassing]] mechanics in the form of [[Multiclassing#Dual-classing|dual-classing]], which involved basically completely stopping your advance in one class and starting over from scratch in another one. Which, if you weren't using level limits, was demonstrably inferior to the [[demihuman]] ability of [[Multiclassing#Multiclassing|multiclassing]], where you progress in multiple classes ''simultaneously'' from character creation.

In [[Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition|3rd Edition]], humanity again had no ability score modifiers. However, a trend started that would influence the next three editions (and one spin-off): human versatility was given a mechanical basis, with humans now gaining a bonus feat at character creation, an expanded array of skill points (+4 at first level, +1 at each level), and having a [[Favored Class]] of Any, allowing them to [[Multiclassing#3rd Edition & Pathfinder|multiclass]] freely and without suffering XP penalties if they weren't taking levels in their "iconic" class. 
[[Pathfinder]] followed the same idea as 3E. The only changes are system wide where they only get +1 skill point at every level starting from first (getting 4 times as many skill points at level 1 no longer exists for anyone, instead you get a +3 bonus to a skill if it's a class skill), and [[Favored Class]] was changed so drastically that it couldn't be a bonus. Still awesome since they still gain that bonus feat and now they get a +2 to any one ability score of their choice. Humans also get the best alternative [[Favored Class]] bonus for spontaneous casting classes, gaining an extra spell known (of one level than the highest you can cast).

Ironically, [[Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition|4th Edition]] did something similar: humans in that edition gained a +2 to a single ability score of their choice, and then progressed with a bonus skill (because in [[4e]] you're either proficient in a skill or not, there's no ascending scale anymore), a bonus feat, a +1 to all three of their [[Non Armor Defenses|NADs]], ''and'' a bonus At-Will power from their chosen class. 
This actually makes humans a pretty powerful race choice in their own right. Like the [[half-elf]], humans got the option to take a unique racial power instead of their bonus at-will: Heroic Effort lets them, once per encounter, add a +4 bonus to the result of either a missed attack roll or a failed saving throw.

Unfortunately, [[5e]] is where that winning streak basically collapsed. There are two different mechanical versions of humans in 5th edition; the standard human just gets a +1 to all six ability scores, which is... not ''bad'', but pretty low-down on the useful scale. Then there's the variant human, who instead gets a +1 to two ability scores of their choice, a bonus skill proficiency (5e skills working mostly like 4e skills) and a bonus feat. This makes variant humans '''the''' race of choice for power gaming, simply because feats in 5e are extremely powerful and other races can't get them until several levels into the game - and even then, only at the expense of an increase in ability scores. The [[Eberron]] Guidebook also included Dragonmarked subraces for humans that aren't as powerful as the PHB Variant Human, but still leaps ahead of the default mold.

Also, fun fact, 5e finally gave an explanation for why humans are the only race in the [[Great Wheel]] that don't have a single defining monolithic culture (orcs are savage brutes, elves are magic and nature-loving, etc): all the other races are like that because they have a racial god or pantheon of gods telling them how to behave. Humans originally had such a god, but they were killed very early in the Great Wheel's history. Info on this god is hard to come by, but secondhand sources say that it was Asmodeus' brother, and that he was the one who did the deed, but this sounds suspiciously similar to Pathfinder Asmodeus' backstory. All we know for sure is that we probably don't have to worry about [[Zarus]] rearing his nazi head any time soon.

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== Humans in Star Wars==
[[Star Wars]] is one of the many human-centric settings out there. Humans are the dominant and most populous species in the galaxy, [[What| despite the franchise explicitly being set in the distant past and another galaxy]]. Originally seeded throughout the galaxy as slaves by the long dead Rakata and the first post-Rakata species to discover hyperdrives on their own (aside from Duros, who invented it at roughly the same time), humans can be found almost anywhere in the known Galaxy. Most works of fiction in the Star Wars universe centre around the exploits of humans with non-humans as supporting cast. Ironically, the early ''Droids'', and ''Ewoks'' cartoons are still among the few that don't. Too be honest, all intelligent species in Star Wars act like human, from individual behaviors to social structure, they may has well just be different racial groups of humanity.

Human crossbreeds are actually quite limited in Star Wars. The only known crossbreeds are with near-human species that were human off-shoots in the first place, the result of Sith magic and possibly [[Twi'lek]]. The last one has one shown family of hybrids, but previous works explicitly established Humans and Twi'leks can't produce children. Since it wasn't ''explicitly'' a natural conception, it led to speculation it was the product of genetic engineering or other science. Even with near-humans, just because a crossbreed can be made doesn't mean they should: Hybrids can end up quite poorly. The most notorious being with the eyeless Miraluka who "see" through the force, who produce Human-Miraluka hybrids that most times end up with '''neither''' form of sight, producing an eyeless child that can't see through any means.

The Empire took human-centric to an extreme and became human supremacist. Aside from force sensitive minions (the early [[Star Wars d6]] content says the Emperor wanted to eventually establish a dark side theocracy with castes of Sith>Dark Jedi>Military>Everyone else, and that's still fits after 25 years of further material) and a few talented military leaders, most non-humans were second class citizens at best under the Empire. All stormtroopers are assumed to be human (or cloned human) under their armour. Ironically [[Nazi#Nazi_Portrayal|one of the fiercest supporters of this was not human]], but a hybrid of two near-human species with unusual skin tones that cancelled each other out. After the Battle of Endor and the descent of the remaining Imperials into factions ruled by warlords, this was often relaxed due to manpower shortages, factions being left far away from human-majority space, alien leaders, and plain-old the people that implemented it in the first place being dead.

Mechanically: The original [[Star Wars RPG|d6 based roleplaying game]] assumed a character was human if not stated otherwise. [[Star Wars d20]] literally uses the 3E D&D stats for humans with no changes except a minor difference in height and weight ranges (and that's mostly due to rounding when converting to metric system). d20 Humans were top of the pack since every other race was super weak, even compared to core 3.5. Saga Edition humans are virtually the same as d20 and 3.5, but are adjusted for the skill system working differently: They get an extra trained skill instead of bonus skill points. Saga edition buffed alien races enough and made class talent more important than feats that humans are actually fairly close in balance to other races. [[Star Wars Roleplaying Game|The system]] by [[Fantasy Flight Games]] has Humans in the core book of all three "games" (though for some reason it can't decide if humans should be listed first or alphabetically) and also takes the approach of giving humans a broader range of skills. There humans get balanced attributes (all 2s), 10% higher starting XP (point buy) and two extra skill points. Since humans are the majority of the population and near entirety of the Empire, disguise is most useful on a human.

== Humans in Magic: The Gathering ==
Humans in [[Magic: The Gathering]] are mostly defined and given a place in the colour pie by their class, so they can be anything. Humans do have a few common trends however. Firstly they are all generally either cheap+weak, or are Legendary (unique individuals). Human tribal tends to occur in White, though this is largely due to tribal itself favouring White.

==Humans in Warhammer Fantasy Battle==
Humans in WFB were a third race created by the [[Old Ones (Warhammer)|Old Ones]] to fight [[Chaos]], presumably in [[Nehekhara]] or [[Cathay]], and are implied to be a completely failed project, because unlike preceding [[High Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|Elves]] and [[Dwarfs (Warhammer Fantasy Battle)|Dwarfs]], they weren't particularly good at magic and were too easily corrupted. Their only advantage was fast breeding, and due to that, they were left by Old Ones on their own.

After the collapse of Polar Gates and the coming of Chaos, [[Warriors of Chaos|some people]] were corrupted or [[Beastmen|mutated]] by the Big Four, but generally human nations are Order-aligned. All of them are based on real-life nations and countries and are situated almost exactly in the same spot as their counterparts (like, for example, [[Albion]] is an island near [[Bretonnia]]). Generally speaking, they are the protagonists of WFB (especially [[The Empire (Warhammer Fantasy)|The Empire]]) and exist pretty much everywhere.

==Humans in Age of Sigmar==
After the death of the entire setting, a new one was presented, and unsurprisingly, it features the same set of generic fantasy races, although stupidly renamed. Humans managed to evade the renaming though, and are generally similar to WFB humans in pretty much everything. Only two differences exist - they have [[Stormcast Eternals|Sigmarines]], and the Order-aligned ones are generally unified under the command of [[Sigmar]] and inspired solely by Holy Roman Empire. At least Azyrite ones.

==Humans in Warhammer 40k==
<s>Same shit, but they're more unified than in WFB and much, much more xenophobic. There are also no independent undead factions, instead there are [[Squat|human biker dwarves]], [[Ogryn|human ogres]]</s> {{BLAM}} {{BLAM|Find out yourself, Heretic!}}

TLDR: Humanity fuck yeah, purge the xenos.

{{Template:Important Species in 40k}}

==Humans in Kings of War==
{{NotFunny Sourcebook}}
There are many humans splintered across the whole of Pannithor, some have been blessed/tainted by the Gods.
Like all humans they are of any alignment and fall into loose them vs us factions, including:
* [[Kings of War/Tactics/Kingdoms of Men|Kingdoms of Men]] - Human soup faction, meant to represent any and all "generic" kingdoms, in-lore however they are the various Successor Kingdoms.
* [[League of Rhordia]] - Humans and Halflings sharing an uneasy alliance.
* [[Basilea|Basileans]] - the holier-than-thou dictatorship of Good.
* [[Order of the Brothermark]] - a splinter faction made from some from the Basileans and the now disbanded [[Brotherhood]].
* [[Northern Alliance]] - a faction made from an alliance of the northern tribes of Dwarves, Elves, Naiads and Humans.
* [[Order of the Green Lady]] - a splinter faction made from some from the Forces of Nature and the now disbanded [[Brotherhood]].
* [[Abyssals|Forces of the Abyss]] - there are a few Humans, or whats left of their humanity within the ranks as Infantry and Cavalry.
* [[Twilight Kin]] - there are a few Humans, or whats left of their humanity within the ranks as Cavalry.
* [[Varangur]] - a Human faction which worship the old gods, considered evil by the other Pannithor dwellers.

The Humans even wield magic within some other factions
* The Druids within the [[Forces of Nature]] and [[The Herd]]
* The Necromancers of the [[Undead]]

'''Some notable Humans include:'''
* [[Danor the Wizard]]
* [[Gnaeus Sallustis]]
* [[Orlaf the Barbarian]]
* [[Clarion]]
* [[Javis]]
* [[The Captain]]
* [[Dogs of War]]
* [[Battle Shrine]]
* [[Lady Ilona]]
* [[Magnilde of the Fallen]]
* [[Swain]]

{{Pathfinder-Races}}
{{Starfinder-Races}}

[[Category:Scarred Lands Races]]

Grox

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[[File:Grox.jpg|thumb|250px|right|They look exactly as they sound like.]]
'''Grox''' are the primary livestock of the Imperium of Man and look pretty much like Grimdark Lizard Cows (there, a free awesome band name for you) or Morellatops from ARK. They're raised across countless number of worlds, because they can survive almost any environment, live on almost any plant food including driftwood and dead plants in soil, breed prolifically and (as a welcome deviation from the usual grimderp) are actually pretty damn tasty and nutritious. They're big (about 5 meters in length), agile and muscular. The only problem is that they're highly territorial, aggressive and generally need to be lobotomized to be wrangled, penned and bred. [[Leman Russ|They also smell bad]], but everything smells bad in the future. Also, your face'll probably end up ravaged by a carnifex at some point so it doesn't really matter.

[[Only War]] has rules for riding one as your "noble steed" in a cavalry regiment. /tg/ encourages this.

A subspecies herded by the Khornate Xur barbarians, the Xurunt, is native to the world also named Xurunt.

They are also mentioned offhand as existing in Ghur, the Realm of Beasts in Age of Sigmar. Flych Tattertail, a Skaven assassin, keeps the ear of a Grox as a lucky charm.

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]
[[Category:Food and Drink]]
[[Category:Xenos]]

Hive Mind

2023-06-07T19:11:21Z

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{{NeedsImages}}

{{Topquote|All consciousness is one, separated only by a thin veil of the physical|Jace Beleren, Vryn's planewalker}}

{{Topquote|What is a drop of rain, compared to the storm? What is a thought, compared to a mind? Our unity is full of wonder which your tiny individualism cannot even conceive.|The Many, System Shock 2}}

{{Topquote|Ĥ̸̦̘Ẽ̴̻͍͔̜̉͠Y̷̺̌̀͋̚ ̶̼̏G̵̬̬̑̿̒͝Ư̴̲̭̙̠͆̒̅Ȳ̶̧̙̩͌S̸̫̝͎̲̆̈̌̉.
̶̢͙̯̂̓̃̑A̷̺͙̯̟̓̎̃̉Ǹ̴̢͓̀̈́͠Y̵̜̱͚̪͗͊̈́O̶̡̥̾̍͝ͅṆ̶̡̰̓̑͑ͅE̴̘͍̊̀̏ ̴͕͈̓̂H̸̥̘̬̫͋̆U̶̮͉̜̝͌N̵̨̫͗̆̀G̷̩͇̀̕R̶̰̍Y̸̨̩͗̏ ̵̛̱̱̀̅T̷̘͖̂̔̓̐ͅO̵͙͋̎̽D̵͇͗͗Ä̷̫̝̅Y̸̬̑?̶̧͔̬͂̊͐ ̴̪̖͆́͠
̴͔͍̓̓͌͂B̵̘͓͖͝Ë̶͚̪͇͙́͌C̵͇͉̺͈̈́A̴̲̼̻͐ͅÚ̴̖͓͝S̶̈́̈͜E̴̡̛͔̲̓͘ ̸͚̋W̷̢͗ͅE̶̲̳̰͒̊̆̂ ̷̦̾̀̉S̷̱̻̳̐̈́͠U̸̦̫͕̽̍̉͝R̸̮͌͠È̴̟͠ ̵̢͚̣̻̍͆Á̶̳̗̈́̓͠R̵̪̉̒̒̕E̶̥͍̎̐̕̕.̷̦̎̏̀̈́.| [[Tyranid]] Hive Mind, TTS}}

{{Topquote|It is like talking to a herd of hungry sheep. It is unfulfilling and makes you look like an idiot.|[[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device|The Emperor on talking to the Hive Mind]]}}

You know how your brain is made of a bajillion on/off chemical switches? What if you had a meta-brain that was made of a bajillion brains? Congrats, you're now envisioning what is basically a '''hive mind'''. Some hive minds have a central hub 'queen', or multiple 'queens', while others have delegated thinking-drones with their own personalities (Type A). Others however have no sort of "core" units any more than you have "core" neurons (Type B). A hive mind race is depicted as either a race of individuals each in perpetual telepathic contact with all the others, or else, in the logical conclusion of the neuron analogy, the entire race is actually all a single person whose practically in multiple places at once.

Eusocial insects colonies like ants, termites, bees and wasps, are usually the textbook example of a hive mind. Ants, however do not have any dedicated thinking units, nor any command structure: their queens are just immobile baby factories. There is no single thinking body or overriding mind spread among the insects; each individual acts on its own volition, informed by its instincts and acts for the [[Greater Good]] of the colony. Said instincts, honed by evolution for social coexistence, gives each individual a predictable purpose and behavior independent of any higher thought organization. Each ant or bee is born knowing its place in the colony, and uses its own intelligence (humans have 344000 times more neurons than an ant) to perform actions that keep the whole colony alive, when said colony is reliant upon every other member of the colony also doing the same to manage resource intake, keeping the hive clean to limit sickness, protect the hive from other predators or rival colonies, and occasionally produce breeding members to make more colonies. Really creepy when you think about it too much.

With a hive mind, you can have from a dozen to a city full of faceless minions that never fail morale checks; because each individual is wholly devoted to serving the greater whole in a Type A hive mind, and because the single person is no more troubled by losing five bodies than you would be by losing five neurons in the Type B hive mind. Given this, their aforementioned connection to vermin, and the fact that the concept easily lends itself to a race of space communist(s) (even though having "core" units would make them a caste system), hive mind races are almost always the villain, being given a raging hard-on for imperialistic expansionism. {{Blam|Cease this instance Guardsman!}}

Despite this, a hive mind could logically serve several quite nonvillainous roles rather well. Depending on just how the multiple individuals/bodies actually communicate with one another, they could serve as [[Astropath|an excellent means of instant long-distance communication]], for example. But this is rare in fiction, the closest example of a 'good' hive mind are the Geth from [[/v/|Mass Effect]], and they're a loose example given the exact nature of how their intelligence works.

== Star Trek ==
Perhaps the most famous Hive Mind in science fiction is the '''Borg''' from [[Star Trek]]. A brutally utilitarian and hyper-expansionistic cyborg collective, the Borg are arguably the result of Trekkies learning about the Cybermen from [[Doctor Who]] and deciding to splice them with old anti-Communist propaganda. The Borg are a "hybrid" of artificial intelligence, cybernetic components, and captured organic species that have been forcibly linked together through the use of the aforementioned components. [[Zombie]]-like, they exist only to spread across the galaxy and assimilate all life into their collective.

Ironically, though firmly created as the type B Hive Mind, the Borg also popularized the Type A or "Hive Queen" variant when the Borg Queen was created as a kind of "face" to put on the collective as a whole.

== Aliens ==
The titular Xenomorphs were ultimately depicted as having a powerful racial psionic network, with the queens of the different hives as the ultimate leaders of their progeny, in the 80s and 90s comics and novels.

== Starcraft ==
The Zerg from [[Starcraft]] may be the most well-known "Hive Queen" style Hive Mind in sci-fi. Though most Zerg average out as "animal" on the intelligence scale, there are distinctly smarter strains of Zerg who can telepathically commune with and control the lesser Zerg as extensions of their own will. This chain of intelligence caps, in the original Starcraft, in the Cerebrates and the '''Overmind''', a singular organism which simultaneously exists within and separate from the collective psyches of the Zerg swarm. Destroying these "ruler-minds" is actually only supposed to be possible in-universe with the use of powerful psionic weapons that can cut them off from the collective mindscape of the Swarm, preventing them from just being downloaded into new bodies.

== Starship Troopers ==
The Bugs are described as being a eusocial species in the novels. The film turned this into a more sci-fi style Hive Mind, with a distinct caste of psionically adept "Brain Bugs" that literally control the lesser species like puppets, and which in turn bow to the Queen Bugs, which are simultaneously more powerful Brain Bugs and the birthing mothers of the swarms. This interpretation of the Bugs was subsequently ported into the Roughnecks: Starship Troopers cartoon and the D20 tabletop game.

== Warhammer 40,000 ==
In Warhammer 40k, the "Hive Mind" is the ultimate, supreme grand master awesome badass overlord of all [[Tyranids]] (let's put a pin in that thought for now). It blots out all psychic signals, including the [[Astronomican]], [[Astropath]] communications, and even the [[Warp]]. The latter is very upsetting to anyone that isn't a Tyranid (or a Necron, but the majority of them don't care either way).

The Hive Mind is made of literally every Tyranid creature, and the hive fleets are merely appendages of the Hive Mind. This means it is very, very, very big. Fucking huge, and some theorize that the Hive Mind is a new god of ''Order'': its capacity for violence and reach is far beyond that of [[Khorne]]'s while denying him any actual bloodlust, renders [[Tzeentch]]'s plans impotent (individual Tyranids have no minds to outsmart), the immortality offered as part of a greater whole is beyond the shambling eternity of [[Nurgle]], and no temptation nor depravity of [[Slaanesh]]'s can sway a Tyranid away from the Hive Mind any more than you or I could cajole a liver cell into acting like a kidney cell. The Emperor himself probably cannot penetrate the will of an entire spacefaring species acting as one, probably because the Hive Mind is essentially an individual acting through a "species" rather than a collective of minds.

If you want to know its full brilliance: it once outwitted the [[Ultramarines]]. There you go.

There are only two recorded cases of the Hive Mind being in any way foiled: Varro Tigurius (in a story written by [[Matt Ward]], natch), and one case when a besieged [[Eldar|Craftworld]] managed to get a distress call out past the Hive Mind to the [[Eldar]] pirate prince [[Yriel]] (this fleshing out of lore was also written by [[Matt Ward]], but here it was a concentrated effort by an entire planet of highly psychic aliens, and more than one of their best died from the strain).

When facing a Tyranid in battle it is not the individual before you that you fight, but the Hive Mind as a whole operating through the body of said critter. Now this actually is as bad as it sounds, but luckily for the other races of the galaxy the Hive Mind is not flawless. Its largest weakness is that it is pretty much a gestalt, its power and aptitude to influence events growing with the amount of individual bodies in a given place at a given time. There are [[Lictor|exceptions]] [[Genestealer Patriarch|to this rule]], but generally speaking a single isolated Tyranid organism isn't any more dangerous then, say, a hippo or a wolf. Sure, it can fuck you up; but without higher level thought it can't make a plan other than stampede, gore you and then stomp on the paste. It can't think beyond basic predator hunting tactics and forget about strategic thought. Even a large mass of Hormagaunts, while dangerous, has no ability to form tactics or act with forethought beyond that you would expect from a wolf pack, a wolf pack with swords instead of forelimbs mind you, but wolf pack none the less. But when expressed through the synapse creatures designed to channel it, the Hive Mind can express its full power through its otherwise stupid minions and the Tyranids can become a nigh-on unstoppable unless checked by an equal force, as happened on Octarius against the Orks. <s>Fun fact, that one actually ended up resulting in an Ork victory, which was kinda refreshing.</s> Nevermind, the Tyranids actually won this one.

Another weakness of the Hive Mind is that even when present in overwhelming numbers, it is neither omniscient nor omnipotent and it still can be tricked, outsmarted or even beaten into submission by sheer [[Necrons|resilience]] and/or [[Tau|firepower]]. This said: while the Hive Mind does make mistakes and can be outsmarted, you can fool it with the same trick only once; losses are anticipated and are useful either to cull the genepool, as fuel expended to ensure victory and/or simply to gather knowledge about a given lifeform to better adapt against it for the next time a Hive Fleet encounters said lifeform. The Tyranid Codex reminds us that even defeats anywhere may serve to ensure a victory somewhere else -- pray that you are at "anywhere" and not "somewhere else." Again though, for all its power, don't mistake the Hive Mind as more powerful than it actually is. A particularly interesting example of the Hive Mind outright failing can be found during the Devastation of Baal, when, at the height of the battle, the Great Rift opened across the galaxy, and severed Leviathan's connection to the Hive Mind. As in ALL of it. All of Hive Fleet Leviathan cut off from the Greater Hive Mind. And boy, the book makes it clear that the Space-Locusts were NOT ready for this. Even with the deployment of the Swarmlord, it was all the Tyranids could do not to completely lose any remaining cohesion. Then Ka'Bandha and his brodies manifested on one of Baal's moons, utterly upending a critical component of the Tyranids order of battle. And Guilliman's massive fuckoff War Fleets arrived in orbit. And the Legion of the Damned led by the Sanguinor appeared inside the 'Nids ranks to attack them. And Dante killed the Swarmlord. So the Hive Mind regaining some composure didn't quite work out, and, frankly their situation hasn't improved much since due to the impact and fallout of the Great Rift.

Despite the presence of Synapse creatures and [[Norn Queen]]s, the Hive Mind is much closer to Type B than Type A. You can separate individual Tyranids from the Hive Mind just like a stroke can separate brain cells, but those brain cells don't consider themselves "freed" and will do what they can to link back up.

Now remember that pin we use earlier? Let's pull it out now. The fluff is a little uncertain on if there is '''''A''''' Hive Mind or Multiple Hive Minds with one for each Hive Fleet. If there was a singular Hive Intelligence it would not explain why Tyranid hive fleets fight each other so often. It's theorized that this is a method of self improvement, throw two hive fleets at each other and the one with the best biomorphs wins and takes the losers biomass. That is what happens but if there was a central intelligence you think both hive fleets could improve with a horizontal gene transfer of useful information like how bacteria do rather then needing to fight and from that transfer compare the various biomorphs. Additionally a fight only proves who has the best biomorphs to fight other Tyranids not any other threat in the galaxy. It's also double strange when you compare Tyranids to Ants. Army ants are the most immediate comparison to a Hive Fleet with the whole colony always on the march looking for foot, and Army Ants specifically '''Do not''' fight other members of the same species. Most other ants do fight members of the same species but Army Ants and few others do not, thus implying that Hive Fleets are seen as more divergent then a species, as if other Hive Fleets were a different faction they are competing with rather then them all being on team Hive Mind. On the other rending claw there is case of [[Hive Fleet Kronos]] which often is ignored by other hive fleets with those fleets often leaving a planet half eaten for Kronos to get a free meal which is unheard of among Tyranids and does suggest a Full on all Tyranid Hive Mind working to keep Kronos, the anti demon specialists of the Tyranids in top fighting form. But the Kronos case also calls out just how bizarre this behavior as Hive Fleets never work together outside this case. There is also the Swarmlord which is seen among multiple hive fleets, but Tyranids are Tyranids and it's 100% possible the Swarmlord is just a swarmlord, a particularly powerful synapse used in the basel hive fleet that all hive fleets have the genetemplate to birth.

In any case, singular intelligence or many, it does not really matter much. Either way when you fight the Tyranids your fighting an army with perfect psychic wi-fi, connecting all aspects of it together at all times into a single command and control that can perfectly attack, defend, coordinate or strike with each part having zero self preservation or will.

[[Category: Warhammer 40,000]]

[[Category: Xenos]]

[[Category: Tyranid]]

Dawn of Fire

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{{wh40k-stub}}

The ''Dawn of Fire'' is an ongoing, [[Horus Heresy]]-like series of novels detailing the [[Indomitus Crusade]], essentially picking up where [[Gathering Storm|Gathering Storm's]] Rise of the Primarch left off. So much for [[Advancing the Storyline]]; we had [[Gathering Storm]], then the [[Plague Wars]] bookending the Indomitus Crusade ([[FAIL|since retconned to be like 12 years in instead]], thanks GW), then [[Psychic Awakening]] set ''during'' the Indomitus Crusade at random times in the 112 year period (if that number is still correct now after the DI retcon), and now Dawn of Fire moving through the Crusade in a more linear fashion. GW are on fine fucking form.

==The Series==
{{Spoilers}}
*'''''I - Avenging Son (Guy Haley):''''' ''A great darkness has befallen the galaxy, and the armies of Chaos are rampant. To survive, humanity must retaliate and take back what they have lost. By the will of the reborn primarch, Roboute Guilliman, is the Indomitus Crusade launched – a military undertaking that eclipses all others in known history. From the Throneworld of Terra does the Avenging Son hurl his fleets, their mission the very salvation of mankind. As vessels in their thousands burn through the cold void, the attention of Fleetmistress VanLeskus turns to the Machorta Sound – a region under attack by a dreaded Slaughter Host of the Dark Gods. The success of the Indomitus Crusade will be determined by this conflict, and the desperate mission of Battlegroup Saint Aster, led by Space Marine Lieutenant Messinius. Even then it is but a prelude to the forthcoming bloodshed.''
**The first book in the series. Set several months after [[Roboute Guilliman|Big Bobby G]] returned to Holy Terra, it gives a glimpse at the very earliest conception of the Indomitus Crusade, the beginning of the Primarch's attempts to form an actual, accurate, non-redacted history of the last ten thousand years in his absence, and some Firstborn Space Marines for a refreshing change of fucking pace. Has a lot of focus on the first naval engagements of the Crusade.

*'''''II - The Gate of Bones (Andy Clark):''''' ''A beleaguered Mordian general and a depleted preceptory of Sisters of the Argent Shroud are struggling to hold out against an overwhelming Word Bearers and Iron Warriors force. Their task is vital because Gathalamor is pivotal to Guilliman’s plans. As well as its value to the Imperium as a symbol of faith, it is one of the warp nexus worlds that allows egress out of the segmentum, and thus is tactically crucial for the ongoing momentum of the Indomitus Crusade. A relief effort in the form of nothing less than the Adeptus Custodes are sent ahead of a major vanguard of Fleet Primus to try to reinforce the defenders, but also to investigate the veracity of a psychic prognostication presaging an imminent calamity. In doing so, the Custodians uncover the tendrils of a much larger plot that ties to the recent emergence of blackstone and its harnessing as a weapon.''

*'''''III - The Wolftime (Gav Thorpe):'''''The Indomitus Crusade has brought the Emperor’s vengeance to thousands of star systems. The fleets and armies under the leadership of Roboute Guilliman fight for the survival of humanity against the forces of the Chaos Gods. But the traitors and heretics are not the only foe looking to destroy the rule of Terra. Xenos prey on human worlds in numbers not seen for millennia. Worst amongst them are the rampaging orks, whose migration conquests threaten to reverse many gains of Fleet Primus. And their throaty bellows carry a name not heard in years, of destruction made flesh, a bestial warlord without peer: Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka. In the midst of this brutal tide is Fenris, world of the Space Wolves under Logan Grimnar. Depleted by ever greater demands on their warriors, called upon by the Legion-breaker Guilliman, the Wolves of Fenris face a momentous decision. Grimnar and his counsellors must choose whether their fate is to ally themselves with an ancient rival and risk all that makes them the Vlka Fenryka, or to accept their demise and wait for the return of their own primarch, and the coming of the Wolftime.''''

*'''''IV - Throne of Light (Guy Haley) :'''''The Indomitus Crusade continues its war across the stars. The primarch Roboute Guilliman has finally broken through the orkish threat bedevilling the sectors near Fenris and makes ready to push on in his bid to stabilise Imperium Sanctus, but old foes have returned. Kor Phaeron, the Dark Cardinal, threatens the previously stable core of the Segmentum Solar. Waves of rebellion instigated by his evil priests suggest imminent, large-scale invasion by the Word Bearers Legion. Worse yet, the Dark Cardinal’s warriors are targeting the Black Ships, threatening to starve Terra of the psykers the Emperor needs to survive. Through this turbulent warzone Inquisitor Rostov continues his search for the Hand of Abaddon. Yet when strange, miraculous visions are traced back to the astropathic relay on Srinagar, his quest is diverted, for the visions are a foretelling of hope for the Imperium, a hope the fanatical worshippers of Chaos will do anything to snuff out…''''

*'''''V - The Iron Kingdom (Nick Kyme) :'''''The story rejoins the Indomitus Crusade many years on, its fleets bloodied, fatigued, and in desperate need of supplies. In the midst of this, White Consuls Captain Messinius must come to terms with his place in a galaxy that frequently resents the Imperium.

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

Black Crusade

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{{heresy}}
{{fail}}

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

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

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

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

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

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

*{{anchor|1st Black Crusade}}'''1st Black Crusade''': Abaddon cemented the dominance of the [[Black Legion]] - and his rule over it - by defeating his chief rival Thagus Daravek, a [[Death Guard]] Sorcerer Lord commanding the Legion Host, and then scouring hundreds of worlds in Segmentum Obscurus. Even though his fleet eventually had to retreat, it took [[Sigismund]]'s and (allegedly) [[Rogal Dorn]]'s life to stop the crusade; the status of the former is confirmed, while the latter is frankly more of a placeholder as any offscreen death of a named character should be regarded more as a "for now", especially if it's a primarch, and ESPECIALLY especially one so [[Games Workshop|marketable]]. Douchebaddon also acquired [[Drach'nyen]] from the Tower of Silence on Uralan, apparently being directed there by what's implied to be the Deceiver. The Legion Host disintegrating after Daravek's death also spawned some of the first organized Warbands independently worshipping the Dark Gods and first raiding the Segmentum Obscurus. These were quickly joined by other Warbands.
*{{anchor|2nd Black Crusade}}'''2nd Black Crusade''': Also known as Black Crusade 2: Electric Boogaloo. Abaddon destroyed an Imperial Navy base and the shipyards on Belis Corona and cursed the planet's moon to unleash a mutagenic plague upon the planet's inhabitants in the future. Later sacked the Inquisitorial vaults on Nemesis Tessera – butchering the Imperials and freeing all the Daemons imprisoned in the fortress.
*{{anchor|3rd Black Crusade}}'''3rd Black Crusade''': The [[Daemon Prince]] Tallomin is unleashed on the Cadian Gate. [[Tallomin]] is banished by a dozen Chapters of Astartes, after slaughtering many millions of Imperial soldiers. [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX|It was all a distraction]], as Abaddon could now desecrate the tomb of Saint Gersthal on the shrine world of the same name without any resistance, [[Just as planned|thereby preventing a prophecy of ultimate Imperial victory from coming true]].
*{{anchor|4th Black Crusade}}'''4th Black Crusade''': Abaddon assaulted the world of El'Phanor, a stronghold of the Cadian Gate. The planet was left a dead wasteland, leaving Cadia vulnerable to later attack.
*{{anchor|5th Black Crusade}}'''5th Black Crusade''': The one where Abaddon summoned [[Doombreed]].
*{{anchor|6th Black Crusade}}'''6th Black Crusade''': Acting on a tip-off from [[Be'lakor]] (yes, the same guy from Fantasy), Abaddon allies with the Sons of the Eye, a splinter faction that had broken off from the [[Sons of Horus]] shortly after the [[Siege of Terra]]. After annihilating a Forge World with their help, Abaddon executes the Sons' warlord and forces him to watch his men pledge their loyalty to the [[Black Legion]] as he dies.
*{{anchor|7th Black Crusade}}'''7th Black Crusade''': Circa 811.M37, also known as "The Ghost War". Abaddon steals some Eldar artifacts from the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] of all people, and leaves before the Imperium can muster a response. The Blood Angels respond at chapter strength on the planet of Mackan but even with the [[Rampagers]] giving them back up they're outgunned and outmanned by many magnitudes. In a dickish parody of the final battle between [[Horus]] and [[Sanguinius]], Abaddon rips Captain [[Acrion]] of the Blood Angels completely apart with the talon of Horus, and the Ravagers 7th company was completely slaughtered. In a surprising turn of events, Reclusiarch [[Thalastian Jorus]] of the Blood Angels decided to be [[awesome]] that day. The Blood Angels [[Death Company]], now bloated from the rage induced from their loss, plagued the Black legion for weeks on end, before their [[Creed|gambit]] payed off. The lines of the Black legion were over-stretched and left them easy prey for the Death Company. The Blood Angels [[Rip and Tear|murdered]] their way through the Black Legionnaires until eventually the Death Company and the [[Bringers of Despair]] themselves locked blades. In the midst of the fray Reclusiarch Jorus fought the Despoiler in single combat to avenge his nearly extinct chapter. Almost the entirety of the Bringers of Despair honour guard had been destroyed and Abaddon himself had been gravely wounded - presumably including the loss of his arms - by the Reclusiarch. [[Lheorvine Ukris]], one of the Legion's founding members, was mortally wounded, most likely during this fight. Still, the numbers were terminally against the Blood Angels; the Black Legion eventually rallied and finished off the surviving Death Company and the Despoiler's wounded form was spirited away as Jorus was butchered--presumably with the smuggest of all grins on his face. In the aftermath, the [[Carcharodons]] burst from the warp with the Imperial Navy and the remnant of the Blood Angels--itching for a rematch. After mopping up the stragglers they were only greeted with a whole heaping helping of nothing as Abaddon the Despoiler had quit the field already and high-tailed it back to the Eye. All they found on the planet were the ruined corpses of the Blood Angel's who fell on Mackan, all of their progenoids ruined beyond all recognition--except for the Reclusiarch and the Death Company brethren. They were whole (save for the wounds the slew them of course)--their progenoids were untouched. To add to the unmitigated awesome of this entire story, Abaddon had taken the corpses and power armour of the slain honour guard and Black Legionaires and made a throne and dais for each and every one of the fallen Death Company. Reclusiarch Jorus was enthroned above them all for achieving the honour of leaving the Warmaster of Chaos scars he wears even to this day; a claim that [[Sigismund|very]] [[Saint Celestine|few]] [[Eldrad|can]] [[Garviel Loken|boast]].
tl;dr a cool retelling from the new index astartes that really makes everyone look fuckawesome, and adds a bit of much-needed character to ol' Abby.
*{{anchor|8th Black Crusade}}'''8th Black Crusade''': The Black Legion engages in a ritual sacrifice known as the Skullgather. They slaughter specific numbers of people on specific worlds, and arrange the dead in specific patterns. Hundreds of adepts of the [[Inquisition]] are driven insane in trying to break the cipher, while Imperial forces are too busy pursuing Abaddon's fleet to realize what he's doing. It ends with the council of Tech-Magi being sacrificed in the gears of the Forge World Rithcarn, completing the sequence of death and pleasing Tzeentch. Unbeknownst to anyone else, he also destroys several planets that were part of the [[Necron]] pylon network [[Cadia]] was a part of, and this was by far the most serious blow - something which wouldn't be discovered until the 13th Black Crusade.
*{{anchor|9th Black Crusade}}'''9th Black Crusade''': Abaddon musters several Traitor Legions for the purpose of strangling the power of Cancephalus, a naval fortress that acted as a base for Imperial ships patrolling the Eye of Terror for any activity. Abaddon proceeds to massacre and mutate the people of Antecanis, a heavily populated world that provided most recruits and officers for Cancephalus. The Traitors depart after having annihilated the response fleet from Cancephalus, thereby crippling the Imperial Navy's power and opening up new routes for Chaos Space Marines to exit the Eye of Terror.
*{{anchor|10th Black Crusade}}'''10th Black Crusade''': Abaddon assaults the Helica Subsector (of [[Eisenhorn]] fame) with the aid of the [[Iron Warriors]], sending out some of his minor warlords as a distraction while he and [[Perturabo]] attack the [[Iron Hands]]' homeworld of [[Medusa]]. The Iron Hands barely hold on, and Abaddon and Perturabo leave after they are satisfied with what they have learned about Medusa's defenses. While technically victorious, the Iron Hands have suffered severe casualties and many of the worlds in their system have been destroyed.
*{{anchor|11th Black Crusade}}'''11th Black Crusade''': After binding a Daemon of Tzeentch within the oculus of his vessel in the hope that it may find new routes through the Warp storms, Abaddon gets caught in a warp storm and ends up in orbit over the planet Relorria. There the Traitor Marines encounter Orks, and a three-sided war breaks out. Abaddon takes many Orks as prisoners, after which he departs and [[Dick|leaves the humans of Relorria to deal with the remaining Xenos]]. He later discovers their connection to the warp and begins experimenting with them to create Ork-Daemon hybrids (Cute, Abby, but [[Mortarion|Morty]] did it first in M36).
*{{anchor|12th Black Crusade}}'''12th Black Crusade''': The one where he got the [[Blackstone Fortress]]es. See the [[Gothic War]], also covered in [[Battlefleet Gothic]].
*{{anchor|13th Black Crusade}}'''13th Black Crusade''': The [[The 13th Black Crusade|latest Black Crusade]], launched at the closing years of the 41st Millennium. For the longest time, this was where the timeline literally ''stopped'', and remained the case for several editions. Until, that is, ''The [[Gathering Storm]]'' happened.

==The 13th Black Crusade V.1: The Eye of Terror Campaign==

Back in Third Edition, GW ran the "Eye of Terror" worldwide campaign to determine the outcome of the war. Going by the numbers of the battles sent in (admittedly not a tamper-proof measure), the forces of Chaos actually won the ground war, and the Imperium won the space war, since this was before GW had the "fuck our customers" mindset, they actually did wrap up the 13th Black Crusade... In the 18th issue of their Battlefleet Gothic Magazine. Yep, the major event that the whole setting stops at was wrapped up in an issue nobody bought (so a lot of people thought it never ended). Abaddon's fleets (including the Planet Killer and a [[Blackstone Fortress]]) were crippled and he and his generals were stranded on a dozen worlds. They continued to win the ground war on most planets, including Cadia, but even if they did capture those they'd be left stuck without any way of proceeding whereas the Imperium [[Exterminatus|could just virus bomb the captured worlds]].

==[[The 13th Black Crusade]] Ver 2.0: The Gathering Storm==

Four game editions and twenty-odd real world years later, Games Workshop decides to revisit Abby's 13th temper tantrum, as new company policy [[Advancing the Storyline|dictated that the timeline would ''finally'' advance]].

While it followed the same general beats of the Eye of Terror campaign, the massive Chaos force that broke upon the Cadian system was no longer the bulk of Abbadon's forces... but its ''vanguard''. A much larger Chaos fleet was inbound, led by the ''Vengeful Spirit'' itself, with the Blackstone Fortress ''Will of Eternity'' now as the Black Fleet's ace-in-the hole (which begs the question where the Planet Killer went to).

Despite all of this Abaddon wasn't going to get a victory handed to him on a golden platter, as the Imperials fought back as hard as anyone with their backs to the wall could. Battered battlefleets harried Abaddon's ships as they pushed through to Cadia, trying to buy as much time as they could for the defenders on the ground to shore up their fortifications.

And ''then'' when no one was expecting it, the '''Phalanx''' transitioned into the midst of the Black Fleet, and with its mighty bow guns, [[Awesome|crippled the Blackstone Fortress and a sizeable portion of the Black Fleet as a whole]]. So much for that ace in the hole.

The ground war fared much better for Abby's forces, but here again the Imperial forces fought tooth and nail, and although they were gradually pushed back from their ramparts and trenches, they made the Despoiler's lackeys pay for every bloody foot they took. Kasr Kraf, the last bastion, eventually fell, but the fight continued under the shadows of the Elysion Pylon fields, where Abaddon himself finally deigned to make an appearance to try and take out [[Creed]] and his command. The Lord Castellan escaped to fight another day, but not before losing his BFF Kell in the process.

When the Pylon Fields suddenly came to life (the results of a collaboration between Archmagos [[Belisarius Cawl]] and the [[Necron]] [[Trazyn the Infinite]]), Abaddon was forced to make a tactical withdrawal back to his flagship. Having enough of all this nonsense, Abaddon triggered his Plan B: '''throw the Blackstone Fortress at the planet.''' Which he accomplished by ordering his lackeys to ram the intact hulk of the fortress with their ships, straight into Cadia.

Cadia burned, and with its ancient pylon fields toppled, the Eye of Terror could no longer be contained. The [[Great Rift]] was born, and the Imperium of Mankind suddenly found itself effectively cut in half.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Battle of Coheria

2023-06-07T19:05:16Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

[[File:BattleOfCoheria.png|400px|thumb|right|Dick vs. Bigot]]
The '''Battle of Coheria''' is a conflict that occured close to the end of the 41st Millenium between the forces of the [[Deathwatch]] and the [[Harlequin]] allies of the infamous [[Farseer]] [[Eldrad]] Ulthran. What happened there set the stage for the [[Gathering Storm|galaxy-changing events that followed soon after]].

==Something About A Crystal Moon==
'''Coheria''' is the moon of Port Demesnus, known for its deserts full of crystal sands. Once a hub for the [[Imperial Navy|fleets of Port Demesnus]], it was abandoned by the [[Imperium of Man]] since people had a bad habit of going mad just by staying there.

The moon itself once lay at the edges of the ancient Eldar empire. At the birth of the [[Chaos God]] [[Slaanesh]], the moon was innundated by the psychic energies of the god's awakening, its crystal sands absorbing an echo of the death of countless Eldar souls. This psychic residue manifested in tortured whispers tugging at the edge of consciousness, and was the main cause of the rampant insanity plaguing the Imperial facilities that had been constructed on the moon.

Long forgotten by the collective consciousness of [[Craftworld]] Eldar, its rediscovery close to the end of the 41st Millennium by [[Illic Nightspear]] of [[Alaitoc]], it piqued the interest of a certain [[Eldrad|dick]], who saw a need to visit the moon personally.

==The Dick Hatches a Plan==
Seeing the potential of the moon's psychoactive crystal sands, the germ of an idea formed in Eldrad's mind: of a grand ritual, with Coheria as its focus, to prematurely awaken [[Ynnead]], the nascent God of the Dead, from its slumber. If the ritual succeeded,it was a chance for salvation for his race, as it meant that not all Eldar needed to die to birth the Doom of She Who Thirsts.

It was an audacious plan, and fraught with peril, but a small chance of success was better than no chance at all. Eldrad needed to visit Coheria, in person, so he reached out to his allies amongst the [[Harlequin]]s, and a Troupe that was part of '''Masque of the Midnight Sorrow''', led by the Death Jester '''Inriam's Spectre''', answered his call.

Eldrad laid out his plan, and the Death Jester found it agreeable, as it was ''so'' daring that even he couldn't help but be impressed. He aligned his Troupe to the Farseer's aim, and as a contingent escorted Eldrad to Coheria, others scattered to many Craftworlds to gather what was needed to make said plan work.

==Grand Theft Farseer==
Under the cover of their usual performances depicting the Dance Without End between [[Cegorach]] and [[Slaanesh]], which had been modified to add a new player coming unto the stage, the Harlequins stealthily absconded with the crystalized remains of Farseers from each Craftworld. These were brought to Coheria, and arrayed in a giant runic circle of Eldrad's devising.

Their purpose was clear: each fossilized Farseer was both an artifact of psychic might, and a link to the [[Infinity Circuit]] of their Craftworlds. Using these links, Eldrad intended to siphon the energies of all Eldar souls inhabiting the Infinity Circuit of all Craftworlds, focus it on sands of Coheria, and create a blazing psychic beacon ''so'' powerful that Ynnead couldn't help ''but'' wake up.

Of course, there's the ''tiny'' detail that Eldar Fleets and Craftworlds across the galaxy would be temporarily defenseless when the ritual hit its climax, never mind the countless Imperial ships thrown off course, [[Grimdark|but sacrifices had to be made]]...

After centuries of preparation, everything was ready upon Coheria. Now all that was needed was an uninterrupted casting of the ritual, and for that a diversion was in order.

==A Dick Plays His Hand==
A Warhost made out of forces from [[Craftworld]]s [[Ulthwe]] and [[Saim-Hann]] struck at Port Demesnus without warning. The forces of the Imperium scramble to respond, and soon all four of the planet's continents were ablaze with war.

One of the forces sent to the warzone was a [[Deathwatch]] Kill-Team from Talasa Prime led by [[Watch Captain]] Artemis. Experienced at dealing with Eldar and their convoluted ways, it occured to the good Captain that the planet might ''not'' be the real target at all.

With this hunch, and a little old-fashioned insubordination, Artemis gathered his Kill-Teams, loaded them back unto their [[Corvus Blackstar]]s, and set a course to the surface of Coheria.

==A Mon'Keigh Wrench thrown into the Plans==
Artemis found himself vindicated when he found Eldar signals upon the supposedly abadoned moon. As the Watch Captain readied his forces for deployment, he felt a psychic entreaty from Eldrad enter his mind, with the latter asking for a parlay, to allow the ritual to complete as it would benefit both Eldar and Human alike (which was ''technically'' true).

Unfortunately for Eldrad, Artemis was never in a diplomatic mood, ''especially'' with foul xenos. The Captain ordered the attack, and the Harlequins of the Midnight Sorrow lept to the Farseer's defense.

The battle became a wild and confused melee, not helped by the onset of mists charged with psychic power. The Deathwatch found themselves hard-pressed by the Harlequins, while Eldrad worked to bring the ritual to completion.

Then Artemis threw out a stasis bomb. This action caused a brief bump in the time stream, but it was enough to metaphorically throw the High Farseer's plans veering wildly off-script.

The Death Jester tried one more time to find common cause with Artemis, that this was the greatest chance all races had at striking a great blow against [[Chaos]], but it was for naught. The Watch Captain's hatred for all xenos was too great, and he rebuffed the offer of alliance as easily as he pulled the trigger to end the Death Jester's life.

The ritual reached its crescendo, but with the end of the Death Jester took the Laughing God's blessing with him. As Eldrad struggled to keep the spell from collapsing, a pulse of bright plasma roared in his direction. He let his concentration waver for a brief moment, to divert a small fraction of his power to protect himself, [[Fail|but that was all it took]].

The spell unravelled, and Ynnead's awakening was interrupted. All that gathered psychic energy caused the crystal seers to explode, after which it blazed through planet uncontrollably. Coheria was doomed.

As the Marines boarded their transports to escape, Eldrad staggered through a Webway Gate as well. As he mulled on his failure, he thought he saw a small spark of the consciousness he had sought to awaken fly off, though even he could not say [[Commorragh|where in the galaxy]] [[Yvraine|it would go]].

==Things Still (Kind Of) Worked Out==
Although Eldrad failed hard, [[Ynnead]] woke just long enough to send a fragment of its power into Realspace. At that same moment, in a colliseum in the [[Dark Eldar]] city of [[Commorragh]], a certain Eldar, who had lived the life of a Craftworlder, then an Outcast, then finally a Wych, was about to meet her end.

In that timeless moment, the fleeting consciousness of the God of the Dead looked upon the dying Eldar, and was pleased, as it gazed upon one of the rare members of her race who had trod upon ''all'' the Paths, both light and dark. Yes, she would do nicely indeed.

And so, it would come to pass that [[Yvraine]], Daughter of Shades, would be [[Ynnari|Reborn]]. [[Advancing_the_Storyline|And nothing, NOTHING, would be the same ever again]].

{{40k-Timeline}}

Gathering Storm

2023-06-07T19:04:02Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

{{Topquote|An icon will fall. A god will awaken. A primarch will rise. The galaxy will burn.|Teaser trailer of Battlefleet Gothic Armada II, basically summarizing the whole Gathering Storm.}}

The '''Gathering Storm''' is a set of campaigns for [[Warhammer 40k]], designed to [[Advancing_the_Storyline|advance the storyline]] after decades of stagnation. They are the last major campaigns for the 7th Edition, and the first introduction to the 8th edition.

==The story around it==

A series of events cause the status quo of the galaxy to be threatened, after millenia of stagnation. On one hand, Abaddon the Despoiler, after many centuries of planning, launches his [[13th Black Crusade]] to try and destroy the Imperium once and for all. Unlike the other many times he had tried that, however, this time he actually gets something done, destroying the fortress world of Cadia, one of the few things that could stop the growth of the Eye of Terror. The unlikely alliances made by the Imperium, Eldar and the Necron lord Trazyn are unable to protect the planet. The pylons are destroyed, Cadia is exterminated after Abaddon just said ''Fuck it'' and crashed one of his Blackstone Fortresses into the planet's surface, Creed is apparently dead (but not really, though), and all of this starts a chain reaction that causes the Eye of Terror to expand, creating the biggest warpstorm there's ever been, the Cicatrix Maledictum.

While all of this is going on, the Eldar Farseer Eldrad decides that the situation of the Eldar is too worrying, [[Battle of Coheria|and decides to start a ritual to bring Ynnead, the Eldar god of death, into being]]. This ends up pissing off everyone, most Eldar considering this as blasphemy (even [[HERESY]]), while the Inquisition don't trust the Eldar already. The summoning ritual gets interrupted by forces of the Deathwatch and only a small fragment of Ynnead comes to the material realm. This being reveals itself to a Yvrainne, a gladiator fighting in the arena of [[Commorragh]]. She heard the voice of Ynnead, and was transformed into its herald.

Unfortunately, this not only pissed everyone in Commorragh off, but it also caused the Gates of Khaine to weaken, allowing daemons to enter into the realm. They manage to fight their way out of the Dark City, and with the help of the harlequins, end up in [[Biel-Tan]]. Once there, Yvrainne starts to preach about Ynnead, telling the Eldar there that they don't have to all die to defeat She Who Thirsts. This causes more confusion and fights between the factions, and in the heat of it all, a Slaaneshi force attacks the craftworld, shattering it and fracturing it. They are saved by the formation of a physical avatar for Ynnead, the Yncarne, but now the craftworld is damaged and losing population fast. Yvraine's faction, now called the Ynnari, escape from there.

The Ynnari rescue the remnants of the fleeing Cadian forces, now called the Celestinian Crusade in honor of [[Saint Celestine]], at the ice moon of Klaisus, just as Abaddon's forces were closing in. The combined warhost drives off the Despoiler's forces, and a temporary alliance is forged. As one, it re-enters the Webway, with the aim of reaching the realm of [[Ultramar]].

And why? To wake up Roboute Guilliman, [[Primarch]] of the [[Ultramarines]], so he could serve as a figure that the forces of the Imperium can rally around, if it is to have any chance of surviving the upsurge in Chaos activity brought about by the [[Great Rift]].

Despite Ultramar already besieged by Chaos Legionnaires, the Celestinian Crusade is able to succeed at its goal, and at the climax of a pitched battle right inside the Hall of Correction, Roboute Guilliman is resurrected. The Primarch proceeds to lead the remnants of the Crusade as well as the Ultramarines in first driving off the invaders from the Fortress of Hera, then from the planet itself. After the arrival of various Imperial reinforcements, Guilliman leads a counter-attack that relieves the other core worlds of Ultramar from enemy attack.

With the situation at Ultramar stabilized, the Primarch then leads a force towards Terra. Now called the Terran Crusade, it is waylaid by [[Red Corsairs]] and daemons led by [[Kairos Fateweaver]]. Imprisoned on a [[Blackstone Fortress]], the crusade is freed by the mysterious [[Cypher]] and his [[Harlequin]] allies. The rescued crusade escapes into the Webway, but it is intercepted by the Thousand Sons. Led by the daemon primarch Magnus the Red, the battle spills onto the barren surface of Luna. Though Magnus has the upper hand, the arrival of [[Adeptus Custodes]] and the [[Sisters of Silence]] quickly even the odds in Guilliman's favor. Magnus is soon driven back into the Webway, and the battered and weary remnants of the crusade are escorted down to the Imperial Palace on Terra.

There Guilliman is allowed audience with his Father. When he finally re-emerged, and after driving off an attack of daemons upon the Palace itself, Guilliman announced the start of a new Crusade to stabilize the Imperium. The [[Indomitus Crusade]] had begun, and woe to all that would stand in the Avenging Son's way.

==What this means to the 40k universe==

The Gathering Storm events are the biggest shakeup of the status quo of the setting in a long time. Considering than in three books we've seen Cadia blown up, the Eye of Terror growing into massive proportions, an Eldar god being born, Commorragh being assaulted by daemons, a craftworld being almost destroyed, a loyalist Primarch being resurrected, a fight on the Moon between Guilliman and Magnus, the launch of a new crusade and the unveiling of a new breed of Space marine, we could safely say we're going somewhere now. This obviously brings forth the 8th edition, which creates its own changes in the crunch. Whilst the timeline has advanced to what we would think of as M42, a part of Guilliman's research revealed that the current timeline was incorrect, with a possible discrepancy of a thousand years. So it still count as 40,000.

==Works around The Gathering Storm==
*'''Fall of Cadia:''' [[Abaddon]] ragequits and throws his ship at [[Cadia]], breaking the planet and opening the [[Great Rift]]. While the original plan was this rift to drive straight into Terra, things went not as planned and it ended up dividing the Imperium in half instead. He still considers it a win since, you know, half the Imperium is cut off from the other and in constant risk of becoming daemon food.
*'''[[Battle of Coheria|Death Masque]]:''' Eldrad tries to wake up Ynnead, and gets interrupted by the Inquisition. Kind-of succeeds, and was able to bring Ynnead into existence even if it's only in a weakened form. Slaanesh is livid, while Nurgle and Khorne are just "meh".
*'''Fracture of Biel-Tan:''' Yvraine gets recruited by Ynnead, escapes from Commorragh and drives off a daemon incursion at Biel-Tan at the expense of severely damaging the Craftworld. Biel-Tan are now made of nomadic bands of survivors, and the growing group of Yvraine's followers prepares a plan to meet with the remaining Imperial forces who got out of Cadia.
*'''Rise of the Primarch:''' [[Yvraine]], [[Cawl|Cawl]] and Co. manage to wake up [[Roboute Guilliman|Guilliman]], then following much angsting the primarch has a talk with his [[Magnus the Red|red brother]] at Luna. The Chaos Gods are currently losing their shit over Guilliman being resurrected. [[Fulgrim]] and [[Mortarion]] are also less than thrilled.
*'''Devastation of Baal:''' [[Hive Fleet Leviathan]] vs the [[Blood Angels]] and most of it's successor chapters. The fighting eventually devolves into a triple-threat match with the Sons of Sanguinius, Leviathan, and a Khornate warband led by Ka'Bandha. Leviathan is repulsed, at the cost of numerous Blood Angel and successor losses, while Ka'Bandha fucks off after cleansing one of Baal's moons of life.
*'''Vaults of Terra/Watchers of the Throne:''' Detailed accounts of the Inquisition's activities on Terra directly prior to the Great Rift reaching Terra, and of the Imperial Senate/Adeptus Custodes/Sisters of Silence around the time of Gulliman's arrival to Terra.
*'''Dark Imperium:''' With the end of the Indomitus Crusade, Guilliman has to deal with a ton of things in Ultramar and the Imperium as a whole. About half the book's set in the perspective of a group of [[Unnumbered Sons]], with their leader who'd eventually become a lot bigger deal than he'd anticipated.
*'''Dark Imperium: Plague War:''' The sequel to ''Dark Imperium'', it continues the campaigns of the Plague Wars. Guilliman and Mortarion face each other, but most of the story revolves around a mysterious "saint" that might/might not be the Emperor. A lot of discussion about faith and the divinity of the Emperor.
*'''Battlefleet Gothic Armada II:''' The first vidya set up in the 8th edition version of 40k.

{{40k-Timeline}}

Tau Cadre

2023-06-07T19:03:07Z

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A '''cadre''' is a [[Tau]] military unit. Cadres are roughly the size of a company of [[Imperial Guard]], but are closer functionally to [[Imperial Guard Regiment|regiments]], as they are the Tau military's largest permanent fighting formation.

== Organization ==

Cadres are composed of ''teams'' of [[Fire Warrior]]s, [[Battlesuit]]s, [[Tau Pathfinder|Pathfinders]], and other infantry, and also have support in the form of tanks, gunships, and other vehicles. Unlike Imperial Guard companies and regiments, cadres are expected to be capable of serving almost any function, so they are fully combined, unlike the Imperial Guard's practice of organizing tanks, infantry, and artillery in separate formations and only integrating them at the battlefield.

When a single cadre isn't enough to get the job done, or where the job in question requires too many dissimilar elements to be reasonably organized into a cadre, several cadres may be combined into a ''contingent''. Such a formation is not permanent, although when several cadres are seen to work well together during a single campaign, they tend to stay together for the campaign's duration.

Contingents may be temporarily formed into ''communes'' for even larger operations. They tend to be made of cadres from different [[T%27au_Septs|septs]].

An entire world's complement of a single caste is organized into a ''command'', and the four commands at a single world (one for each caste) are organized into a ''coalition''.

All of these formations are commanded by "Commanders" (Shas'O), but cadres tend to be run by younger, newer Commanders, higher command levels are reserved for more senior and experienced Commanders. Ethereals usually stay at the contingent level and above, though they may attach themselves to cadres if they feel a situation demands their personal attention.

== Cadre Types ==

* '''Hunter Cadre.''' The "standard" cadre is the Hunter Cadre, the combined-arms force we all know and love. Two to six teams of [[Fire Warrior]]s form the core of the army, but they have pretty much their pick of whatever else they need. All other cadre types are specializations of the Hunter Cadre.
* '''Air Superiority Wing.''' [[Manta]]s and [[Tiger Shark]]s are all well and good, but sometimes the Tau just need a bunch of [[Razorshark Strike Fighter|Razorsharks]] to sweep the battlefield.
* '''Armored Interdiction Cadre.''' Way back when (4th and 5th editions), the Tau could field a formation of tanks that generated additional [[markerlight]] hits each turn. No reason they can't be house-ruled into new Apocalypse games, and as an Armored Spearhead, they could be even better!
* '''Counterstrike Cadre.''' No, not the computer game. This is a formation of infantry mechanized with [[Devilfish]]es to give them mobility, similar in purpose to Imperial Guard Armored Fist squads.
* '''Dispersed Retaliation Cadre.''' The only example we have consists of [[sniper drone]]s and [[Piranha]]s. Probably meant to harass the enemy without getting caught.
* '''Mobilized Hunter Cadre.''' Mechanized infantry with skimmer (e.g. [[Piranha]]) support.
* '''Optimized Stealth Group.''' All stealthsuits all the time. They sneak in and kill stuff, cover and surveillance be damned.
* '''Pathfinder Insertion Group.''' [[Tau Pathfinder|Pathfinders]] mechanized with [[Devilfish]].
* '''Rapid Deployment Force.''' This was (4th-5th editions) a formation of Devilfish specializing in rapid re-deployment. They are similar to the new Counterstrike Cadre, but not the same -- the Devilfish could pick up their squads and drop them off anywhere on the field once per game.
* '''Rapid Insertion Force.''' These consist of a [[stealthsuit]] team, a bunch of [[Crisis battlesuit]] teams, and an optional [[Riptide]]. The Stealth team marks targets and calls down the others.

== Tabletop ==

A standard tabletop army of Tau represents a generalist, combined-arms Hunter Cadre. Tau from different septs might paint a stripe of a particular color on their vehicles or helmets, but the color of their armor and composition of their force is determined by the situation on the ground, not by tradition.

That said, some of the variant cadres mentioned above have been represented in the rules by [[Apocalypse]] formations. They are composed of a limited subset of the units available to a Tau army, but gain certain special rules in compensation.

== See Also ==

* [[Tau Cadre Creation Tables]], a set of tables for randomly (or not-so-randomly) generating a Tau Cadre of your own.

[[Category: Warhammer 40,000]]

[[Category: Xenos]]

[[Category: Tau]]

Markerlight

2023-06-07T19:02:05Z

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[[File:MARKERLIGHTS.png|thumb|right|300px|Their glorious light will illuminate the grim darkness of the 41st millenium.]]

'''Markerlights''' are laser pointers with attitude, and a key component of [[Tau]] strategies. Not to be confused with the [[Lasgun|angry flashlight]], which is a [[Matt Ward|useless pile of shit]], and therefore the opposite of a markerlight. Every Tau player should be campaigning to make [[Rule 34]] apply to markerlighting, though I'm probably woefully innocent and it probably already does.

Whereas most armies in 40k <s>are</s> were really loosely based on older medieval themes (Black Templars on the Crusades, most Chaos on Viking pillagers, etc.) the Tau are vaguely based on modern military tactics and technology. In this regard, markerlights are based on laser designator technology, which send pulses of near-invisible lasers in specific sequences that can be interpreted by friendly electronics and guided munitions. As these pulses normally cannot be seen without special equipment (or a very keen eye) and can be used at long distances; they are an extremely subtle and effective tool for infiltrators to mark priority targets for elimination, without giving away their position.

==Tell Me More==
Markerlights hits are put on enemy units by Tau units that are equipped with markerlights, who 'fire' them using their Ballistic Skill as if they were lethal weapons (which, as every Tau player with a serviceable IQ should know, they totally are, indirectly speaking). They're functionally laser designators, and each hit puts a markerlight counter on the target. Markerlight counters can be removed to do one of the following:

* Improve one of your units' (which is firing at the markerlighted unit) BS by one (with no cap as of 6th Edition). So basically, your standard Fire Warriors can potentially become as accurate as the [[awesome|FUCKING AVATAR OF KHAINE]].
* Ignore the cover save of the markerlighted unit (by spending two markers) so that [[RIP AND TEAR|FUCKING UNIT OF CAMO-COVERED BASILISKS BEHIND THAT DAMN AEGIS CAN'T HIDE ANY MOAR]]! Ahem...back to [[derp|the Greater Good]].
* Fire a seeker missile from a vehicle with BS5, Ignores Cover and Homing (no line of sight required), and it doesn't count toward the amount of weapons that vehicle can fire per turn. The rest of the weapons on the vehicle have to fire at the same target, however. This one is awesome when that 8-point [[Devilfish]] seeker missile blows up a 250-point Defiler - yes, I have seen it happen.

And due to the fact that the markerlight does not inflict wounds on its target, the target does not get to save against the markerlight hit—no Cover Save, no Invulnerable Save, no Armour Save. This might not seem all that great until you realise that when you hit on a BS3 and your opponent has an Invulnerable Save of 4++, that's half your squad hitting, and half of those hits doing damage, on average. With markerlights you can, and will, make all of those shots hit before any further saves are made, effectively doubling the danger that one Fire Warrior squad poses to any enemy squad.

The only few exceptions of this are Eldar Super Heavy and their "reroll to hit with 4+" holofields. <s>Luckily, you aren't going to face this bullshit unless you're stupid enough to play a sorry excuse of a game, which current Apocalypse is.</s> Escalation says hello.

And that's not even the full extent of it!

Suffice to say, this is [[awesome]] and a component of what makes the [[Tau]] fun to play, since the markerlight support is so versatile and useful. Hell, entire combat styles can be built around the strategy of mass-markerlights and using Skyrays as artillery pieces, which, frankly, is sweet. There's also a lot of ways to get markerlights on the tabletop, from the heavily-armored [[Skyray Missile Gunship|Skyray]], to the mobile [[Tetra]] skimmer and stealthy [[Remora]] drones, to the lowly Pathfinder. Markerlights of any stripe act as a force-multiplier for the Tau, so if you play Tau, you want to keep them close enough to target the enemy but with enough breathing room to pull back when targeted in turn. Contrarily, if you are playing against Tau, you want to kill those damn little target-painting blue commies as quickly as possible and make the entire Tau strategy fall apart. Just make sure it is not [[Not as planned|another damn lure]].

For the Tau players, remember that almost all sources of markerlights (except the commander bomb and [[Skyray Missile Gunship|Skyray]] with its AV13 front armor) are really squishy and will go down like a sack of wet shit if targeted properly. If you are going to use them as a [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX|distraction]] then make sure they're in thick cover.

== Getting Markerlights ==

Yeah, we told you why and how markerlights are [[awesome| the goddamned center of your strategy]]. Now it's time to explain how you're going to get them out onto the battlefield to light up your life. (Note: This is limited to units and wargear from the base Codex, so if someone wants to add the Forge World stuff later, please do so.) Now with Forge World love.

=== Troops ===

Fire warriors do have access to markerlights, but they're permitted only one per squad. By upgrading one Shas'la to a Shas'ui (squad commander) he is allowed to take a markerlight and target-lock package deal, in total costing 34 points (9 for the Warrior, 10 for the Shas'ui upgrade, 15 for the markerlight and target-lock). One markerlight per squad might seem pointless, but it's the target-lock you want to look at. Your Shas'ui can now fire at another unit on the table seperate from his own unit's current target, effectively chaining his markerlight for another squad to fire at or to launch a desperate seeker missile. Not the most reliable tactic, but it's important to remember, especially for low point battles (500 or less).

=== Elites ===

Crisis suits don't have access to markerlights of their own, but they do have the option to take up to 2 drones each, meaning a squad of 3 Crisis suits can have up to 6 markerlights firing at BS2 (BS3 if you take a drone controller, though to be honest there are better ways to use that item). This choice is helped by the low cost for Crisis suits (22 points each), meaning you just got a 146-point (66 for suits, 72 for drones, 8 for controller) deep-striking blob of markerlights ready to drop wherever you want it. Alternatively, Stealthsuit team commanders can gain access to the marker light and target-lock combination the Fire Warrior Shas'ui can get, except with them you can have 2 per team and a higher degree of survivability. Having not tested this out yet, I can't speak to the effectiveness of this tactic, but Infiltrate, a 3+ Armour save, a 4+ cover save and a stimulant injector on your Stealthsuit Shas'vre commanders makes for a much more durable and [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX| aggravating]] target than some poor sap in the rank and file.

=== Fast Attack ===

Pathfinders. Pathfinders are the main source of markerlights in your army, and you need to remember a few facts about them: one, these guys are appreciably squishier than your Fire Warriors; two, they have (usually) inferior standard weapons without special drone support; three, they're scouts, meaning you can, and will, move them about before the battle begins. Seriously, these guys are the third squishiest unit in your army (the squishiest being the Kroot and Ethereals) and you are going to want to keep them behind cover and out of charging distance. Don't worry about them using markerlights on enemies in cover though; as long as you can draw line of sight, you can hit with a markerlight as your opponent gets no cover save against it. Also, they're infantry, so if you want them to move about the battlefield you are going to need to get them a Devilfish so they aren't arriving a day late and a dollar short. Next up, drone squadrons: how do they do in comparison to Pathfinders? Not badly; while they've got a higher base cost, worse leadership, lower BS, and can't take both a weapon and a markerlight, they've got better armour (4+), higher Toughness, higher Initiative, can deep-strike, and are counted as jetpack infantry (jump-shoot-jump), meaning if they do get in combat you might actually get lucky and pull them out without getting completely fucked by a lone Guardsman. You've also got the Sun Shark Bomber, a flyer with pulse bombs, two unique drones and a '''NETWORKED''' markerlight. Why did I highlight 'networked'? Because you can fire it and the unit that fired it can benefit from it. Duh. This is especially useful for a high-speed bomber as you can use it to reduce the scatter of your bombing run, take out opposing fliers with ease or just assist the efforts of the footslogging masses below; this gives your relatively average flyer a wealth of tactical versatility, something the Tau already have in droves, but should never pass up. This thing force-mutiplies itself, and considering how the game is becoming more flyer-heavy, this is a good way to make sure that your flyers retain their aura of danger. You've only got an AV of 11 on the front though, so don't get too carried away.

=== Heavy Support ===

For a section entitled Heavy 'Support' there are not many markerlights here—only 2 sources, and neither of them can put out a decent volume of markerlight hits. First up we've got the Skyray Missile Defence Gunship, a modified Hammerhead that carries 2 networked markerlights and 6 seeker missiles, and that's it's selling point. This thing is the producer of first turn Macross Missile Massacres, as it can deliver its entire payload on the first turn provided you have enough markerlight support, and if you play with a group of people who allow you to have infinite seeker missiles on your Skyray, then this is a cheesetastic hate machine, providing missile storms every turn that will cause [[Butthurt Marines|much hurt in the butt]] of your opponent. Granted, the only people who offer that rule have something to gain from it as well, so be careful lest your glee turn rapidly to pain and tears, but it's fun while it lasts. Another fun tactic is to give your Skyray a velocity tracker (which grants it Skyfire), meaning that its networked markerlights allow it to fire two BS5, S8, AP3 missiles at enemy aircraft, leading to fun times. (As of 6E, the velocity tracker comes as standard.) The other source of Heavy Support markerlights are the Firesight Sniper Drone teams, which consist of 1 controller and 3 Sniper drones. The controller is equipped with a pulse pistol, a drone controller (meaning your sniper drones fire at BS5) and a markerlight, letting him help his less accurate footsoldier brethren in a variety of ways. You can have up to 3 marksmen in a sniper team, but at 13 points each, it's an expensive method of getting markerlights. They are well-suited to mop-up duty, letting their drones shoot first, then hitting the remains of the enemy squad with their markerlights for any other units to clean up what they don't shoot dead.

=== HQ ===

There's a reason this section is left for last. Most of the markerlight strategies for your HQs are built off of the strategies that your other units use. For example, both Darkstrider and the Cadre Fireblades have access to markerlights, but Darkstrider is basically just a souped-up Pathfinder, and the Cadre Fireblade is just a souped-up Fire Warrior Shas'ui (he even comes complete with his own target-lock). A unique method for HQ markerlighting comes from the XV8-05 Crisis Battlesuit Commander. What you're probably going to do if you want to flood the table with BS5 markerlights is to take him with a drone controller, 2 Shas'vre bodyguards, and 6 marker drones, and then attach him to a drone squadron made of marker drones, making for a total of 14 (as the commander won't be able to join both his bodyguards and the drones) BS5 markerlight hits dropping out of the sky into your opponent's backyard. A good way to make your opponent shit bricks.

Now Forge World has given the Tau new ways to get markerlights in the HQ section. Commander R'alai and his Blacklight drones and the XV84 crisis suit.

R'alai is a pretty good HQ choice but not for markerlights. You can read more him on main Tau Tactic page. But he does come with two blacklight marker drone. Don't get excited all they are are markerdrones equipped with a blacklight filter. They ain't even networked. In short get R'alai for R'alai and accept the drones as a free bonus. If you want more markerlights you are better off getting somewhere else.

The XV84 Crisis suit is a signature sysyem crisis suit. For a flamer and a plasma pistol you get a networked markerlight and a target lock. Before you slap this in your commander or his bodyguard that it is a weapon system and the muti-tracker only let's you use two weapons. It's not a bad system but needs a unique suit build to get the most out if it. A body guard armed with this system, shield generator, stim injector and your favorite suit weapon might be the best way to go. Makes for a useful whipping body that still fires two weapons a turn.

== Using Markerlights ==

We've covered how you can get your markerlights onto the field. Now let's talk about using them to get your opponent off the field.

Now I hate repeating myself and repeating what other people have said, so go look at the top of the page and see those 3 bullet points. That's what you can use markerlights for. Read those bullet points and familiarise yourself with them; you're going to need to.

===Increasing BS===

First things first: you are playing Tau. You're a [[shooty]] (<strike>arguably</strike> the shootiest in 40k) army, you can outrange most people, and you can put out a suprising amount of fire and firepower at those ranges. None of that means shit, though, if you can't hit shit, and despite their style of warfare, the Tau are not naturally amazing at aiming. They are merely good at it. BS3 means your Fire Warriors and Pathfinders are only going to hit 50% of the time, and a S5, AP5 basic weapon means that most things are going to be able to save against their weaponry, even if it easier for them to wound than most other basic infantry. So with 50% of your shots hitting and a little more of those remaining shots causing wounds if you're fighting other basic infantry, at full range that's only around 3 or 4 wounds, even from a full Fire Warrior squad of 12 firing 12 shots. After Armour Saves, you'll kill maybe 2 or 3 guys on average, which seems like it should be a higher number coming from an army that specializes in ranged combat. Even with armies that field endless, teeming blobs of fodder for their Troop choices (Tyranids, Imperial Guard) whose basic troop saves you'll ignore anyway, you want more than just half of your shots to hit. Seeing as there is no limit on how much you can boost your units' BS with markerlights, if you want to, you can make those Fire Warriors BS 10, making that 1 in 2 miss chance a 1 in 36 miss chance on 12 shots at 30" and on 24 shots at 15". What this means is that without markerlights, you have an army of dudes who wouldn't completely embarrass themselves at the weeaboo gun range, and with them, you have an army of blue Annie Oakleys who could repeatedly shoot cigars out of an Ethereal's mouth without incident.

What this also means is that your opponent is going to target your markerlight units, and he is going to kill some of them, probably with concentrated fire and a shit-eating grin as he thinks he has just disrupted your entire strategy. If he has just wiped out all of your markerlights, then what the fuck is wrong with you, you had all of them out on the table straight away. Keep a couple back in reserve and then place them away from the assembled masses that your opponent just used to wipe out your lure(yeah, I got all your weaboo laser pointers WHY ARE YOU SMILING LIKE THAT OHGOD). They should be safe as markerlights max out at 36", outranging most Tau weaponry itself. This way, you can have your opponent zigzagging all over the table trying to decide which markerlight squad to take out first.

===Ignoring Cover===

Next up is Ignoring Cover, the most expensive ability of markerlights. This allows you to nullify your opponent's cover saves for 2 markerlight tokens. If I need to tell you why this is a good thing, then obviously you haven't been paying attention to recent waves of cover-based FPS vidya games. Let's just say that having a Hammerhead railgun salvo smash through the [[METAL BOXES|METAL BAWKS]] that [[Fish_of_Fury|your opponent is hiding behind]] and turning your target into a fine cloud of red mist is never a bad thing, mostly because you want your Hammerhead to be dealing with enemy armour, and Jink is fucking annoying on skimmers, jetbikes and flyers who usually have lighter armour than most other things, meaning that your S10, AP1 railgun just got that much more useful in dealing with those [[Gay|poncy space elves]], Doom-Croissants, Smurfs on bikes, and defectors from the Greater Good.

===Seeker Missiles===

Lastly, there's your seeker missiles, which are like buttholes (or [[Anal circumference|whatever weirdass alien ANALogue is applicable]]—[[Wat|I see what you did there]]) in the Tau army—everything has these, everything. Your Devilfish has these, your Hammerhead has these, your Broadsides have these, your Skyray comes loaded to the teeth with these. So what's the point of these? Simple: if you don't want a free BS5, S8, AP3 attack with unlimited range that ignores cover and line of sight for the cost of one markerlight token, then don't bother with these. If you do (and you do, [[Derp|stupid]]), then take as many of these things as you can on everything that can take them. At 8 points for one missile, they're cheap, reliable and can easily be fired first round for a quick Macross Missile Massacre, before you fire ze railguns or drop ze bombs, without costing you one of your two weapon attacks per shooting phase. Just remember that seeker missiles are single use only, so save one or two for late game in case your opponent decides he wants to drop a superheavy on your ass from reserve.

== Lights Out: The problems with markerlights ==

In an unexpected plot twist in the story of [[Games Workshop]]'s rulemaking, markerlights are not the broken, be-all-end-all of a Tau army. Unlike several other units, they have a few distinct problems, and knowing about these will help you in the long run. Firstly, they count as heavy weapons (one of the few infantry heavy weapons in the mostly fluid Tau weapons list), meaning your Pathfinders have to stand still to use them at full BS, or otherwise move and fire off Snap Shots at BS1, which, spoiler alert, will generally not be helpful in your war effort. Drones, as jetpack infantry, have the Relentless universal special rule, allowing them to fire at full BS with heavy weapons even when they move; have fun with that, but drones start at a lower BS, so use a drone controller if you can afford it. Your opponent is also going to gun for them, hard, and while you might be able to have your Pathfinders ducking about the table with the aid of a Devilfish, if your opponent gets to them, expect them to drop fast as he unloads his entire army's ammo stocks at them. Any units who are not Pathfinders or drones can only field an extremely limited amount of markerlights, meaning that you suddenly have to properly ration them out, make proper target prioritization choices, and pray that you don't botch your rolls.

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Tau]]

Spheres of Expansion

2023-06-07T18:49:57Z

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[[Image:Tau Map.JPG|thumb|right|The Spheres in general, as shown in general...in a sphere map.]]
The '''Spheres of Expansion''' is the term for the five major waves of [[Tau]] colonization and conquest that effectively exist as the slowly growing "borders" of their empire, characterized by the many Septs and satellite colonies and resource gathering operations that grew out of centuries of exploration, colonization, conquest, hard-fought wars, and ultimately further expansion once the resources were there to move on, in a glacially paced but never-ending cycle of the Tau Empire attempting to get getting bigger and more relevant to the Galaxy at large.

== Origins ==
With the Tau empire's founding, the obvious thing any empire does is look around at all the things that it ''could'' have and decide to make it theirs, in this case baked into the philosophy of every caste, where all castes inevitably see the stars as yet another place for the Greater Good to take root and build homes with. Though unlike Imperial expansions, that effectively dumped a mass of humans on planets only nominally agreeable to life and expect them to make it work, Spheres only ever come about when ordered by the [[Ethereal]]s, and only starts to take hold when a world has been completely scanned, vetted, colonized, and then utterly dominated by the Tau and have become a stable settlement. The first world to do so becomes a [[T'au Septs|Sept]]. While yes, the Tau take over star systems at a snail's pace, they do it in a much more stable fashion than their neighbors, with only a few central hubs where all the resources go and are sent from, and allows for the Tau military to iron out the kinks of [[Imperium of Man|whatever]] [[Space Marines| current]] [[Imperial Guard| problem]] [[Orks| happens]] [[Necrons|to]] [[Tyranids|be]] [[Farsight Enclaves|bothering]] [[Sisters of Battle|them]] [[Chaos|this week]], rebuild from the ordeal, and eventually move on when the next Sphere is declared.

While the Tau only control a relative handful of worlds, the work they had to put in to get each of the five spheres that exist put together and fully functional is considerable, especially in a galaxy that cares little for their optimism, and they will defend the borders of each sphere with pulse-dakka the likes of which would melt planets.

=== The First Sphere - The Greater Good's first real test ===
The very first and greatest expansion of the Tau, where all the biggest Septs that you may be marginally aware of come from, and the first sign that the Tau were on their way to becoming bigger players on the galactic stage. The seeds were planted as the lead planet of T'au began to experience overcrowding as the technology they had repurposed and built exploded out, and eventually the Ethereals at the time decided it was time that this Empire made their way into the stars, and called for the Earth and Air caste to start building colonization vessels, and turn their messengers into pilots. The progress was slow, as the Tau scanned their local star system and set up orbital stations, scouting probes, and extensive testing to ensure every planet they wanted to go visit wasn't going to rip them apart like their homeworld used to. It took well over a millennia to complete, but by the end, they had millions of their species across eight, tightly compacted worlds, all interconnected and working towards building the rest of the empire.

Of course, no gravy train lasts forever, and eventually the first Sphere's expansion came to an end due to two things: Lack of FTL travel...and Orks. Lots of Orks. The Tau, new to this whole "the entire Galaxy is trying to kill you" thing, took a considerable toll from their first interactions with the Green tide, and spent untold resources keeping their rowdy green neighbors from plundering every pulse rifle they could ever want. Further, while they had plenty of increasingly powerful and high tech shit to keep the bad alien at bay, their ability to traverse the stars were tapped, and even as the Ethereals tried pushing harder and harder, the reality that they faced was that they'd gone from a world bursting with blue communists to an empire stretched thinner than excuses for the plot armor their race had. Things looked like they were going to be stuck in their own stellar neighborhood for the forseeable future...right up until they met some Kroots getting attacked by Orks from orbit. They naturally showed up and pew-pew-pew'd their assailants, and met their new beakie friends. They liked the Kroots for their absolutely absurd numbers and fierceness in combat, and the Kroots liked hanging out with the Blue guys who could bullseye predators from a kilometer off. They decided to become best buds, and the Tau and Kroots helped kick the Orks out of each other's star systems (for the most part), and rope them off into fighting each other when they couldn't. Things began to even out for the Tau, as their discipline grew, their numbers grew, and the empire was finally beginning to look like an empire. A minuscule one, but an empire nonetheless.

And then the Fal'shia Sept suddenly had a massive breakthrough. And it was off to the races again.

=== Second Sphere - Cooking with gas, and the burns that result ===
It cannot be overstated how important the ZFR drive is to the Tau: without it, they'd still be struggling to hold eight worlds, occasionally backed up by Kroot. But once the ZFR drive was tested and proven, the Etherials decided that time was once again to go and spread the Greater Good to the universe, and this was by far their most aggressive expansion, nearly doubling up the number of Septs founded from the first, and to this day remains their most successful sphere. A good portion of that expansion came from [[Commander Puretide]], who began his legend during this crucial expansion, striking fear and concern into the heart of all orks everywhere by doing something Orks couldn't process: he made combat ''not fun.'' And nothing was worse than a fight that wasn't fun. These incredible tactical victories against such a foe were so great that the Tau were finally able to cross the Damocles Gulf for the first time, something that had eluded them for centuries.

Of course, it wasn't all sunshine and daisies; they were able to found just as many septs as they were because they continued to follow the same path of "closest cluster of stars and planets seems safest to go to", and were still running headlong into multitudes of Ork invasions. It was also here on the other side of the Damocles Gulf that the Tau got to meet the biggest power in the Galaxy: [[The Imperium of Man]], and humanity. Initially, they had run into only the very isolated and not all that loyal worlds just outside the gulf, who had been cut off by warp storms and Eldar Corsairs, and at that point were willing to take help from whoever could give it, meaning eventually the Tau ended up colonizing those worlds fairly quickly and painlessly, assuming that the Humans would be a fun new friend to bring the Greater Good.

And then the warp storms ended. [[Damocles Crusade| And the Imperium came back to see what had happened and were not fucking pleased by any of it.]]

So yeah. The Second Sphere's expansion period kinda ends in a hard snap after that whole debacle, and to this day the T'au borders rare if ever expand too far beyond the Damocles Gulf. And just when they started to consolidate resources and make ready for the next phase of their development, they got an uninvited visit from [[Hive Fleet Kraken]] and it's many splinter fleets. And the Orks came back in force, now fully interested in giving the Tau a taste of what REAL fun combat is supposed to be like, and were only finally beaten back after losses beyond measure by unfreezing one of [[Shadowsun| Puretide's greatest students]] and giving them near total control of the entire combined forces of the empire, and a thorough scrubbing thereafter.

Needless to say, it was a couple centuries of rebulding to go before the next Sphere got going.

=== Third Sphere - Sneaking back in ===
Having well-learned that going after the Neighbors without a plan was a BAD FUCKING IDEA under any circumstances, having still kept a good portion of the Septs they'd set up together, and now a fully realized understanding of what their neighbors were capable of and the tactics necessary to defeat them, The T'au decided it was once again time to go stretch their behooved legs across the galaxy, and this time, they'd come prepared. Long held zones of exclusion were entered by fleet after fleet, purging rebels, orcs, and Hrud wherever they could in order to set up new Septs. Further, their decision to use Water Caste ambassadors to undermine imperial authority on the otherside of the Damocles Gulf paid dividends in getting the humans on their side of the Gulf to give up and annex themselves without much fighting, ensuring that finally, they had a stranglehold on it.

Emboldened, Shadowsun dove deep into the imperium, using strategies and counterstrategies that seriously caught the worlds of the Emperor off-guard. And it all came to a head at Mu'Gulath Bay, where the Tau were dropped into the Imperium's style of Warfare: Bitter, grind-y, all out warfare they simply could not comprehend. Finally, the Assassinorum got involved and headshot'd a lot of Tau leadership, and all seemed lost right up until a [[Farsight| certain Pariah and his goons showed up and won the day,]] but not the war. The Humans blew Mu'Gulath bay sky-high, and set the entire Damocles Gulf on fire just to make sure this wouldn't happen again. It was those actions that brought the third sphere to a screeching halt, but had ensured that the edges of the Damocles Gulf would remain at least partly T'au-controlled for the time being.

=== Fourth Sphere - Mission Failed ===
The Fourth Sphere was a colossal and utter failure mostly brought about by terrible luck...and sheer fucking idiocy.

See, since the Damocles Rift was now on super-fire, going FTL through it was next to impossible, and had effectively put the entire Tau Empire into a playpen that the Imperium wouldn't have to deal with for another x-thousand years. Or, that was the idea anyway. Had they bothered to clean up any of the ships that'd been perforated by Railguns, they might've been able to stop what happened next, as the Tau reverse engineered parts of a Warp Drive, and fitted that into their new Armada, with the hope that they'd be able to cut through the Gulf again and get back to spreading the word of the Greater Good. And to do that, they set up their armadas right on Numenar Point, a place close to the Gulf, and had a big long broadcast about how much fun this was all gonna be and all the new places that were gonna be in on the greater good, and at the end of the speech, every single one of those '''experimental, not entirely well understood''' warp drives fired up at once just as the Great Rift opened, and every single one of those warp drives helped create a sudden, violent hole in reality that ate the entire fleet in front of an audience of billions, and while the Etherials worked overtime to ensure nobody was truly aware of what was going on, they decided that something like that ever happening again would be a deathblow to their credibility, and basically disassembled any further prototypes.

But then there was the matter of that hole, which had roughly healed into a wormhole known only as the Startide Nexus, from which the Etherials were ''very'' concerned if anything at all would come out of there. After all, they were now fighting against some warpfuckery that was dragging their Gue'Vesa and their non-Tau auxiliaries into total madness that they now had to deal with, as well as all the other things that usually came looking for a piece of the Tau, and they declared that the space around the Nexus should be well-defended, creating an enormous interconnected ring of fortress-space stations that basically had more guns than breathable spaces trained on it, just in case. It was said only T'au had more fortifications at the end of construction.

And then something unusual happened. A probe came out of the Nexus. A Tau probe.

From the Fourth Sphere Expedition Fleets. They'd survived after all.

=== Fifth Sphere - Deep Space N'Ine===
This is the current Sphere of Influence attempting to gain a foothold in M42. It took months of cajoling by the Fire Caste to attempt to cross the Nexus, but after a second probe was sent, this time with actual information from a major commander, the Etherials gave their blessing to allow an expeditionary fleet to cross into the Nexus, and when they did, they found that they had ended up in the Chalnanth expanse, a part of the [[Ghoul Stars]] ''far'' away from the Empire. Naturally, they enquired to the survivors as to what had happened, and the best answer they got was that they got sucked into the [[Warp]], and many of the Non-Tau auxiliaries perished in the process, if they were lucky. Of course, that didn't mean the Tau who made it to the other side of the rift hadn't been affected either; they seemed cold and distant, scarred by their sudden escape from the Immaterium, and ''very'' defensive around the Auxiliaries that the 5th Sphere brought with them, and basically had to be held away from any of them.

Of course, that didn't mean the Fifth Sphere had to stop. They had all those Fire Warriors and Battlesuits and goddamnit they were gonna have to use them if they wanted to make it in this absolutely terrifying new expanse of space. Using the chaos created by the Great Rift, they were able to once again convince dozens of worlds to join up with the empire, but soon had to basically haul almost the entire surviving part of the Fourth Sphere Expansion back to T'au for brainwashing, shaming, and reconditioning, as they were going around doing un-Taulike things like killing prisoners or taking pleasure in shooting non-Tau. The Etherials, naturally, recognized that while this Nexus was a massive boon, it would pretty easily be a curse if left carelessly undefended, as it empties out right in the Empire's backyard, and have taken great steps to fortify the new Septs that came about from this expansion, as well as the Nexus' end point with just as much orbital dakka as the beginning point, hopefully ready for what comes next.

And then the [[Death Guard]] showed up.

[[category:Warhammer 40,000]]
[[category:Tau]]

Chaos Android

2023-06-07T18:47:51Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

[[File:ChaosAndroid.jpg|200px|thumb|right|A Chaos Android ready for combat.]]
{{topquote|So here I sit, exploring: the ghost in this machine The most expensive spirit-trap the world has ever seen. You think it’s artificial, this Intelligence you’ve met. But don’t start bragging ‘til you see '''the data that you get!'''|The Squatter, Leslie Fish}}

Squats, being space dorfs, invent all sorts of things on the fly. Weapons, spaceships, super-computers that take 400 years to process anything, and, given the sci-fi nature of Warhammer 40k, robots. Robots are the best companions Squats can have. They're obedient, mannered, practical, and come in handy in times of need. However, these very same robots were squatted along with the actual Squats. Making it a double-squatting.

In the old days of [[Oldhammer|Oldhammer 40k]], every race in the setting was an echo of their Fantasy counterpart. Naturally, the Squats were exempted from this rule, because they had their de-facto rivals; the Chaos Squats, who happen to also be engineers and computer geniuses, minus the bull-god, because they are subordinates to other Chaos factions. And wouldn't you know, they had their own "robots". Applying the Robotnik principle to their design, they stuck very tiny daemons to metal skeletons and called it a day. So they had [[Derp|Human-sized mechas serving the interest of the Chaos Gods]].

The Chaos Androids as a concept are... [[Necoho|a paradox]], but also a vestige of what 40k once was; wacky fantasy [[Meme|IN SPESS]]. A snapshot of what the setting could've become down the line had GW stuck with the fantasy-in-space schtick. This is their story and their heritage.

==[[What]]==
[[File:KhornateChaosAndroids.jpeg|300px|thumb|left|"Today is National Kick Dreadnought Ass Day!"]]
So, you must be very confused as to what even is a Chaos Android. Well, allow us to shed some light on this very obscure army which never made it past First Edition.

So, along with the renowned [[Squats]] were the [[Chaos Dwarfs|Chaos Squats]]. Like their "good" counterparts, they made tons of different contraptions, and unlike their fantasy counterpart, they obeyed the [[Chaos Undivided|will]] [[Nurgle|of]] [[Khorne|the]] [[Slaanesh|Big]] [[Tzeentch|Four]]. With their forge set either at the very edge of, or very close to the [[Warp]], the technology of the Chaos Squats was influenced by the daemonic nature of their environment. Henceforth, a lot of their weapons rely on elements and other garbage generated by the Warp. Needless to say, their eldritch technology would make even a [[Mekboy]] shiver in fear.

One of their greatest achievements has to be the Chaos Android. Perfect pseudo-robots that are essentially miniature mechas. The way they function is very interesting. You see, the Chaos Squats hadn't developed any sort of AI, so instead of coding intelligence into them and essentially making them mindless, emotionless robots that directly serve Gods who use emotions to thrive, they decided to use daemons instead. You see, Chaos Androids are operated from the inside, being piloted by very tiny daemons. Not [[Nurgling|Nurglings]], but some daemonic entities that are so tiny, they could fit inside [[METAL BAWKSES|METAL SKELLIES]]. This greatly puts the Chaos Androids above any other robot, since they possess some form of consciousness and are able to make decisions based on what their priorities are during their missions.

You might wonder if the daemons inside of them would make good candidates to be pilots, and you'd be right to think that they're not. But here's the thing; Chaos Squats were smart enough to figure that Daemons would hate being stuck inside literal boxes, and they would do anything in their power to escape. To counter that problem, the Chaos Squats made the daemons unable to disobey them. That's right. That essentially turns the Chaos Squats into pseudo-androids/pseudo-robots. Yes, the daemon wants to come out and kick the fuck out the Squat that put him in there, but he cannot really find the will to escape, and he feels this unbeatable urge to obey...

There's one small issue though;

Yes, Chaos Androids would theoretically obey you. But if they get the opportunity to betray you or pervert their orders, they would immediately take it. Daemons, even inside robotic pile of chromed bones, are still daemons. As it turns out, daemons hate being stuck inside metallic vessels in which they cannot feel a thing, and being forced to obey a bunch of beardy nerds. Their mischievous nature cannot be completely tamed and overcome, making the Androids practical but dubious allies. They are strong indeed and will obey you, but there's always a chance they will turn their back on you.

Daemon-fuckery aside, the technical aspects of the Chaos Androids are as follows;
* In spite of their anatomical appearance, they are completely devoid of flesh and, ironically, actual bones. Their body is entirely made out of plasteel. The very same metal used by the Imperium to create [[Terminator]] Armor.
* Inside of them can be found the many contraptions trapping their literal inner-daemon, preventing it from escaping or breaking the whole body apart.
* From the very little depictions of the Chaos Androids, it seems that each God or Chaos Army had their attributed set of Androids, many being usually tied to [[Khorne]].
* Despite the engineering masterwork that they are, the Chaos Androids weren't given any sort of particular arsenal. They've been depicted as using lasguns, bayonets, and other sorts of weaponry already used by the [[Imperial Guard]].

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is all that we know about the Chaos Androids.

==Why==
[[File:ChaosAndroidSpaceCrusade.jpg|400px|thumb|left|The first (and last) official appearance of the Chaos Androids on a boxset.]]
In the early years of Warhammer 40k, the initial project was to create a setting almost similar to Fantasy but IN SPACE, with various differences being made here and there. This was back when the setting was significantly more tongue-in-cheek and less grimdark than it is now, but also back when a lot of the factions being implemented were just straight rip-offs from Fantasy itself. Well, not quite literally.

You could see the Chaos Androids being the equivalent of Fantasy's Undead, with the sharp difference being that they obeyed the forces of Chaos and not their equivalent of then-not-Egyptian Nagash or Vampire Counts, and also not literally being skeletons. The biggest difference with the Undead, though, were that the Chaos Androids did not even count as their own factions. They served as reinforcements for Chaos and their stats weren't an echo to the Undead Legions.

[[File:ChaosAndroidNecronComparison.jpeg|200px|thumb|right|The resemblance is uncanny.]]
There are very few words talking about the behind-the-scenes history of the Chaos Androids, but it's easy to assume that they were the prototype for what would become the [[Necrons]].

Back in their early years, the Necrons had a more significant amount of personality and general goofiness given to their characters, as they literally looked like skeletons wearing a robot costume, with the lot of them having a lot more personality in their appearance, demeanor, and their general design not really evoking their Egyptian vibes. Once they were given their proper codex and background, GW definitely dropped the Androids in favor of them. And with time, they completely removed some of the elements that were reminiscent of the Chaos bots. Their personality and daemonic nature? Gone. Their alignment with Chaos in general? Gone. Their general lack of motif in favor of visual plurality? Super gone. Eventually the Necrons looked like actual dead aliens with their own culture and weaponry, and not just an army of cartoon skeleton villains.
[[File:Old Necrons.jpg|200px|thumb|left|The Old Necrons, when they were more skelly than Egyptian.]]

So, the Chaos Androids wept along with the Chaos Squats and their non-Chaos brothers, never to be heard from again.

==Unsquating the unsquatable==
With the [[Squats]] coming back to kick some more ass, some have theorized that there could be a potential return of the Chaos Androids; in fact, there is a canon way to make them. It's as simple as putting daemon into one of the Leagues of Votann Ironkin (which we know can be done; that's how daemon engines are made, after all, by sticking and trapping daemons in machines) and '''BAM'''. It's actually very unlikely that they'll return officially but the conversion opportunity is there.

That being said, it's unknown what the Chaos God would think of this. [[Slaanesh]] for instance, wouldn't really appreciate to have his ''sensation/feeling-based'' demons being completely secluded from any form of touch or feeling, <s>unless they're in a giant dildo</s>. [[Tzeentch]] would probably tolerate the idea but only if it serves one of his plans. So, probably [[Just as planned|all the time]]. [[Nurgle]] doesn't have a good relationship with technology, and he tends to work with organic beings. So Chaos Androids might actually be Chaos... Cyborgs? Eh. Probably not.

Now, [[Khorne]] is an interesting case because one on hand, he does not care for who spoils the blood, but on the other, he hates pussies. So is using a metal compartment to fight a genuine approach to combat, or just a pussy move to have extra protection? Khorne to see the weak as just that, weaklings. But if his weaker demons could have a fighting chance in smaller mechas... Well then. That being said, it is often detailed that Daemons are put inside those machines against their will, which is a big massive no-no in Khorne's book. He's a bloodthristy tyranic god, but he's got a (albeit dubious) sense of honor. And he wouldn't let his demons being made prisonners.

And wherein lies the problem of the Chaos Androids by design in accordance to a possible alignment with the Big Four. The Daemons inside ''hate'' being in there, they constantly try to break free. Daemon Engines are made thanks to small unaligned daemons being shoved in amalgamations of machines and gears. Chaos Androids will sometime try to rebel. So unless the daemons grow to actually appreciate their new metal body, having an unreliable soldier who's sold to you as blindly obedient is a very bad deal for the Chaos Gods. That, plus neither Slaanesh, Tzeentch, Nurgle or Khorne would '''never''' allow ''their'' demons to be turned into fuel for machines. This is worthy of divine punishment. Yes, even for Papa Pestilence and the Blue Chicken.

Now, the minor Chaos Gods could see some use of the Androids. [[Vashtorr]] would be more than pleased to have those as parts of his army. I mean, hey, you get to enslave shit and have proto-robots as part of your corps? It's a free deal for him. Hell, [[Hashut]] would be all in on that with a side of fries! That is, IF he was in 40k. Though given the franchise-jumping nature of Chaos, that's probably possible. As for [[Malal]] and his pet gods [[Zuvassin]] and [[Necoho]] would... Erm... Uh...

In the Daemon 8th edition Codex, Vhostok Pistonhand of the Iron Warriors Traitor Legion had his entire planet of Diesos focus all its industry on making daemon engines for his army. His sorcerers summoned daemon after daemon and forcefully bound them to daemon engines. Apparently he overdid it because all four Chaos gods got pissed off at this and united in their outrage, each sending an entire daemon legion and conquering the planet within a month.

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]
[[Category:Dwarves]]
[[Category:Squats]]
[[Category:Chaos]]
[[Category:Under Development]]

Archeotech

2023-06-07T18:47:00Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

[[File:Archeotech Laspistol.png|300px|right|thumb|An Archeotech <s>flashlight</s> [[laspistol]]]]

{{topquote|Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.|[[Arthur C. Clarke]], ''Profiles of the Future: An Inquiry into the Limits of the Possible''}}

'''Archeotech''' (known by other spellings) is a term from [[Warhammer 40,000]] which refers to any of the vast array of mysterious ancient technologies developed during the [[Dark Age of Technology]], which the [[Imperium of Man]] still digs up and uses for its own purposes, despite not knowing the slightest bit how they work or how to rebuild them, and often misunderstanding what it's for in the first place. It's unclear if you pronounce it "ar-KEE-oh" like archeology or "ar-KAY-oh" like archaic. Both would be fitting.

Typically speaking, Archeotech tends to be insanely advanced even by the standards of the setting to the point where anyone or anything short of a [[Necron]] [[Cryptek]] or [[Jokaero]] would scratch their collective heads at how it works. Archeotech also tends to include highly advanced materials which cannot be replicated by any faction in the setting (i.e. Eldar, Dark Eldar, Tau, etc), and are so complicated and sophisticated in design that trying to understand the inner workings is an act of madness.

Examples of Archeotech include:

*Archeotech Pistols that were available to the highest ranking officers during the [[Great Crusade]]. These are the most common Archeotech that shows up. Fluff depictions differ but in the 30k Horus Heresy rule books they have stopping power that sits between a [[Bolter]] and a [[Plasma Pistol]]. Only [[Rogue Trader]]s and a few named characters seem to have them by the 42nd Millennium.
*Strange and hyperlethal guns of all sorts and sizes that could obliterate their targets in all kinds of ways. [[Disintegration Combi-Gun|Some]] [[Disintegration Pistol|would]] just vaporize their target until only atoms remained. [[Conversion Beamer|Others]] would turn their targets into pure explosive energy. [[Adrathic Weapons|There were even a few]] that were basically man-made versions of Necron Gauss weaponry.
*A [[Ark_Mechanicus#Speranza|ship with a gun]] that causes targets to telefrag themselves with a version of themselves from a fraction of a second in the future. It cannot miss, not because it is so accurate, but because [[Nasuverse|it rewrites reality so that it has always hit the target]] and brings that result backwards in time. Though it did miss once, thanks to [[Eldar]] psychic powers, [[Xeelee Sequence|reality was rewritten by the gun so it had never missed in the first place.]]
*A cure-all Panacea that uses quantum certainty/uncertainty to predict diseases that will form and can instantly adapt itself to cure any disease that it encounters.
*[[Votann|Hyper-intelligent Abominable Intelligences with godlike power]] and brains so massive that they shine like tiny Astronomicans in the Warp.
*[[Men of Iron|An entire race of AI]] that turned rogue, ended the Dark Age of Technology and nearly destroyed the human race, something no one else in the setting has even come close to achieving, despite having the potential to do so.
*A [[Titan (Warhammer 40,000)#Castigator Titan|titan]] so advanced it was capable of running, sprinting, jumping, and climbing, despite being bigger than any other Imperial Titan. It also had a Gatling Gun that shot Vortex Shells, though after it fell to chaos it shot [[Daemons]] as ammunition .
*A bomb that dropped living green flame that would move across the battlefield to hunt down victims, and seek out weak points on vehicles and buildings to get at the soft meat inside.
*A device that, when activated, shrouded the battlefield in a strange energy that made it so that the enemy couldn't see through an inky blackness even with Autosenses or Preysight while also making it seem bright as noon for the army that used it.
*Weapons that simultaneously atomize corporeal beings, and unmake (IE ''true death'' permakill) daemons and other denizens of the warp with ease. The destruction is such that some even [[Grimdark|sear their victims from memory itself]]. These can vary from [[Exterminatus]]-grade shipborne weaponry, down to small arms. Alone of the rest of the Imperium (the only exceptions being the Talons of the Emperor), the [[Dark Angels]] have a fuckhueg reserve of such kit, but as its use can only be authorized by the Lion himself (only the Dreadwing possesses limited authority to deploy ''some'' of it until he wakes back up), much of their most valuable gear has been collecting dust for the past 10,000 years. Which is a real shame for a multitude of obvious reasons, but not least of which being that recent fluff has revealed that the Dark Angel's collection even includes planet destroying ordnance capable of permakilling entire worlds engulfed in chaos or warp storms, phages for every enemy or occasion, and [[Awesome|FUNCTIONAL MEN OF IRON]].

This technology is obviously cheesetastic nightmares. Everyone should be thankful that the Imperuim can't mass deploy such artifacts.

Oh, and for these seemingly space magic powers such as causality-changing guns and quantum medicine, keep in mind that at the time humanity thought of magic powers as an interesting phenomenon but didn’t really know how to use it. [[What|THIS IS ALL PURE SCIENCE]].<s>Please, disregard the fact that the more advanced archeotech looks nothing like human-made, but closely resembles some ancient Xeno relics.</s> <s>How much of it was actually invented and not just stolen from the Akashic Records is also unclear.</s>
==See Also==
*[[LosTech]]

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]
[[Category: Imperial]]
[[Category:Squats]]
[[Category:Abhumans]]
[[Category:Under Development]]
[[Category:Gamer Slang]]

Hydraphur

2023-06-07T18:44:38Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

The Segmentum Fortress of Segmentum Pacificus.

Hydraphur is an Earth-like world on the edge of its Segmentum. While often described as a forge world, the planet itself is not a holding of Mars, but rather the Administratum and the Ecclesiarchy. Hydraphur is encircled by an artificial ring of staryards which serve as the headquarters for Battlefleet Pacificus. With so many intersecting interests, Hydraphur is a jurisdictional nightmare and thus one of the few planets where the Adeptus Arbites engages in low level policing.

During the [[Plague of Unbelief]] Hydraphur yielded to the forces of the Apostate Cardinal. Many ships of the battlefleet were lost in Bucharis's ill conceived attack on Fenris.

{{40k-Planets}}

WAAAGH

2023-06-07T18:43:48Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

[[File:Ork flowchart.png|thumb|right|The basic flowchart of how a WAAAGH! occurs.]]

{{Topquote|Da greatest war machine is da ork WAAAGH! We don't need no damn [[Titan| tinker'traption]] to be strong![[Awesome| WE IS STRONG!]] Listen to em! Screamin' wid one voice across da whole planet WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!|Gorgutz says it like it is}}

'''WAAAGH!''' is the battlecry of [[Ork]]s throughout the universe. Whether it's a natural noise or Orkification of the word 'war' is really, really unimportant. Pointless WAAAGHing will now follow.

Not to be confused with '''[[Matt_Ward|"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!"]]''', a cry often uttered by fa/tg/uys, but not associated with any kind of enjoyable activity.

An important note, remember that the 'G' is silent. Nothing can piss off a pedantic [[Neckbeard]] more than calling an Ork army a "[[WOG|wog]]".

==[[Rogue Trader|WAAAAGH]]==
===WAAAAGH===
WWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

==Ahem==
WAAAGH! has several meanings with the Orks. While it's most famous as a battle cry, it also refers to the military campaign and energy field surrounding the Orks. As a military campaign, a WAAAGH! is named after the [[Warboss]] who gathered it together and is generally described as a holy war, pub crawl and pillaging rolled into one great big party, where Orks travel from one planet to another, fighting anything and everything that they can find.

WAAAGH! also refers to the energy the Orks generate while in a campaign. A highly [[psyker|psychic]] race, Orks do not draw psychic power from the [[Warp]] like [[Human]]s and [[Eldar]], but instead from each other. This allows Ork psykers, dubbed Weirdboyz, to access a large amount of psychic energy. However, if they soak up too much energy, they end up exploding, taking several Orks with them. This energy field is actually vital to the Orks' war efforts, as their ramshackle technology relies on a sufficient number of Orks agreeing that it works that way as much as mechanical laws (e.g. their belief that "[[Blood Angels|red]] ones go faster" turns into a measurable increase in the top speed of a buggy with enough red paint on it). The Orks, however, do not understand that they are making this energy field, and simply assume that the technology works because they believe that is how the universe works.

Interestingly other races can also use WAAAGH! energy, even more adeptly than the Orks themselves. The Primarch [[Vulkan]], when facing off against the [[The Beast]] tapped into the primal WAAAGH! power itself and used it as a weapon against the Ork Warlord, indicating that a human can tap into and control WAAAGH! energy. This is particularly impressive considering even supposedly powerful psyker races, such as the Eldar, have never been capable of wielding WAAAGH! energy or the Psychic Energy produced by the Emperor either. Since [[Gork]] and [[Mork]] are real perhaps, then, this indicates that they simply favoured Vulkan as more Orky than the Orks themselves. Or it might be another proof of the axiom "[[Salamanders|Green]] iz da best".

And for the love of Gork (or Mork?) The "G" in "WAAAGH!" is silent. It is not pronounced "Warg", which is a bigger, eviler, smarter wolf - it is pronounced like British football hooligans would say "War".

==Notable WAAAGHs==
===From 40K===
*WAAAGH! [[Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka|Ghazgkhull]], which became infamous for the two wars it waged on [[Armageddon]]. Currently the largest known WAAAGH! in existence, and it's quite possible that it could unite the whole Ork race under one leader and cause so much WAAAGH! energy that Gork and Mork (Mork and Gork?) will come crashing out of the Warp and join the scrap.

*WAAAGH! [[Nazdreg_Ug_Urdgrub|Nazdreg]], which teamed with Ghazgkhull for a while but then take their balls and leave when things on Armageddon went boring due to all that season of fire shit. They also participated in the Medusa V campaign, which ensures major hilarity, like tellyporta-spamming a few hive cities to dust and hijacking a fully-operational Imperial ''battleship'' at evacuation stage. WAAAGH! Nazdreg is famous for being the most well-equipped WAAAGH! in the galaxy, having the most prominent Meks working for them (things like the Tellyporta and Submersible were actually invented by them). Nazdreg himself is like an orky Steve Jobs - ridiculously rich, arrogant, cunning, and merciless, but minus the cancer (Or perhaps, more. Ahh!! An Ork *WAAAAAAAAGH!!).

*WAAAGH! Snagrod, which became infamous for the near destruction of the [[Crimson Fists]] when it invaded Rynn's World. Snagrod and Chapter Master [[Pedro Kantor]] later fought in single combat; while Kantor took to the field in his full panoply of wargear, Sragrod made due with little more than a loincloth and two regular axes.

*WAAAGH! Skargor, which was the target of the Corinthian Crusade, taking on fifty [[Imperial Guard]] regiments and six Space Marine chapters. Skargor was eventually killed by Ancient Galatan of the [[Ultramarines]] at the cost of his own life.

*WAAAGH! [[The Beast]], a WAAAGH! led by an Ork Warboss known only as the Beast (Full name "The Great Beast who will bring much Slaughter") a few millennia after the Horus Heresy. It was the largest WAAAGH! to threaten the galaxy in general and the Imperium in particular in known history. The Imperium sacrificed a tremendous amount of manpower, including whole Space Marine Chapters (Including the entire [[Imperial Fists]], who were wiped out to a man, somehow), to subdue the threat. <s>That's practically all that was written about it.</s> NO LONGER. Black Library is getting a whole series of novels (with the Imperial Fists as main characters of the first book!) for the meanest [[Ork]] prior to Ghazghkull. Turns out the Beast was so mean he was the size of a hab-block, and his Nobs were the size of Dreadnoughts. Also, Ork attack moons, and by that we mean moons ''plural'', and with Orks it's probably going to be a lot. Oh and Orks with finely made wargear and use of tactics, oh and Ork diplomats. So basically super smart Orks led by an Ork theorized to be the same breed as the Ullanor Warlord, y'know the one that [[Horus]] personally had to kill.

*WAAAGH! [[Tuska Daemon-Killa|Tuska]], a WAAAGH! led by a Warboss nicknamed "Daemon-Killa". Tuska's fleet bypassed Cadia's defenses in order to breach the Eye of Terror and find daemons to stomp. His WAAAGH! krumped several daemons worlds in the warp, up until they got to a world ruled by a Khornate Daemon Prince, where he and his warband finally met their end, although not before impaling the prince with his power klaw, right in the nuts. This spectacle was so hilarious that Khorne resurrected Tuska's warband back in his Brass Citadel so that they can wage war against Khorne's daemons for all eternity.

*WAAAGH! Grizgutz, also known as 'the Lost Waaagh!' was lead into the Morloq system in 978.M41 by Ork Warlord Grizgutz, a noted kleptomaniac. Due to a strange accident of Warp-travel he returned to the system earlier in time than when he launched the WAAAGH! itself. Grizlutz murdered his doppelgänger to have a spare of his favorite gun and the resulting confusion stopped the WAAAGH! in its tracks.

*The Red WAAAGH!, a absolutely ''bloody'' affair which the Imperials call the Sanctus Reach campaign. It was headed by [[Grukk Face-Rippa]] at first but it soon became clear that this oaf-headed maniac weren't really the brains of the operation - that, and his WAAAGH! had a large amount of [[Gorkanaut|'Nauts]], [[Stompa|Stompas]] and other Mekky toys. As it turned out, his head Big Mek was the actual leader (though Grukk didn't know so) and after letting Grukk die in a burning [[Battlewagon]], he took over. Unfortunately that wasn't enough and the [[Imperial Guard|Guard]] and the [[Space Wolves]] managed to stop the WAAAGH! in its tracks regardless.

===From Fantasy===
*WAAAGH! Grom, was by far one of the deadliest WAAAGH!'s in fantasy. Surprisingly it was lead by the morbidly obese Goblin [[Grom_the_Paunch|Grom The Paunch]]. Grom and his boys went north towards the empire decimating a large number of Dawrven Karaks in the process. Once he and his boys arrived in the empire they marched all the way to Reikland and nearly destroyed the entire empire of man. However, Grom felt satisfied for a time so he just sat on his bulbous ass and relaxed. This resulted in most of his orcs leaving him. Not wanting to lose anything else, he and his remaining WAAAGH! set off for Ulthwan. They proceeded to nearly blow up the world with the power of the elven waystones by absorbing them into a shaman until [[Eltharion|Elven Batman]] swooped in at the last moment and lopped the Shaman's head off. Grom then went missing, and hasn't been seen since.

*The Beast WAAAGH! was Da biggest and bestist WAAAGH! of all time! During the End Times Grimgor Ironhide managed to destroy Cathay by breaking the great bastion, and then took it back from chaos. He united the Ogre Kingdoms under his banner, destroyed most of Clan Eshin and all of the Chaos Dwarves, and made the Chaos Gods stop their focus on the east. Soon he somehow became bound to the winds of beasts despite orcs having no connection to the winds of magic. [[Teclis]] then decided to put his chaotic destruction to good work by sending them to Middenheim where they then tore apart the empire. It didn't even end there though. Malekith being the pussy that he was proceeded to reason with Grimgor and convinced them that he would not be da best if Archie Boy took his place. Grimgor then managed to fuck up Archaon's helmet before he ultimately got impaled by him. By far the biggest WAAAGH! in fantasy history.

===From Games===
*WAAAGH! Orkamungus, which was an invasion of Tartarus during the first [[Dawn of War]] game. Their WAAAGH! was co-sponsored by the [[Alpha Legion]] to distract the Imperial Guard forces on Tartarus while they find the key to the Maledictium, although the Orks eventually planned to double cross the Alpha Legion after they were done. This didn't happen though as Orkamungus was eventually killed by [[Gabriel Angelos]]' 3rd Company in the middle of the Tartarus campaign, with his WAAAGH! ending shortly after.

*WAAAGH! [[Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter|Gorgutz]], which rampaged through Lorn V, Kronus, and the Kaurava system. He lost at Lorn V and Kronus but he conquered all of Kaurava, resulting in much sputtering confusion and butthurt as well as rejoicing from Ork fans. (A lot of this confusion is due to some conflict in lore about the outcome of this WAAAGH and there are those which hold that [http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Kaurava_System "Dawn of War II's References"] about the canon outcome are still correct in which the Imperial Guard are victorious). It then comes to Planet Archeron where technically; since the war there was over the spear of Khaine; Gorgutz also won since he was the one who walked home with the flash pointy stikk.

*WAAAGH! Bonesmasha, which was the first WAAAGH! to rampage through Aurelia during [[Dawn of War II]]. He was eventually killed by Force Commander Hair-gel and gang. Its destruction actually resulted in the creation of three "mini-WAAAGH!s", as it were... one of which was WAAAGH! Smashface, shown below.

*WAAAGH! Smashface, a WAAAGH! that was gaining steam in Aurelia during the events of DoW: Retribution. It was eventually thwarted in all cases by which ever army was chosen to play, where Smashface's supply convoys were destroyed and he himself died after trying to smash the faces of the gits who raided his convoys.

*WAAAGH! [[Grimskull]], which hit Graia and tried to loot some [[Titan (Warhammer 40,000)|Titans]]. His raid failed, he was killed when [[Captain Titus]] was finished with him, and the [[Blood Ravens]] probably got the Titans and claimed that it was "gifted" to their chapter.

== See also ==

*[[Dakka]]
*[[Choppa]]

[[Category: Warhammer 40,000]]

[[Category: Xenos]]

[[Category: Orks]]

Template:Marines-Official

2023-06-07T18:16:57Z

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<center>
{|class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed table" cellpadding=2 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;border-collapse: collapse;border-spacing:1em 0em;"
|-
! align=center colspan=2 style="background-color:#3399ff;color:white;" | [[Space Marine Chapter|Chapters]] of the [[Adeptus Astartes]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[First Founding]] (M29):''' || [[Blood Angels]] - [[Dark Angels]] - [[Imperial Fists]] [[Iron Hands]] - [[Raven Guard]] - [[Salamanders]] [[Space Wolves]] - [[Ultramarines]] - [[White Scars]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Second Founding]] (021.M31):''' || [[Angels of Absolution]] - [[Angels Encarmine]] - [[Angels Porphyr]] [[Angels of Redemption]] - [[Angels Sanguine]] - [[Angels of Vengeance]] [[Angels Vermillion]] - [[Aurora Chapter]] - [[Black Consuls]] [[Black Guard]] - [[Black Templars]] - [[Blood Drinkers]] [[Brazen Claws]] - [[Crimson Fists]] - [[Destroyers]] [[Doom Eagles]] - [[Eagle Warriors]] - [[Excoriators]] [[Fists Exemplar]] - [[Flesh Tearers]] - [[Genesis Chapter]] [[Inceptors]] - [[Iron Snakes]] - [[Libators]] [[Lions Sable]] - [[Marauders]] - [[Mortifactors]] [[Nemesis]] - [[Novamarines]] - [[Obsidian Glaives]] [[Patriarchs of Ulixis]] - [[Purple Stars]] - [[Praetors of Orpheus]] [[Rampagers]] - [[Raptors (Chapter)|Raptors]] - [[Red Talons]] [[Revilers]] - [[Silver Eagles]] - [[Silver Skulls]] [[Soul Drinkers]] - [[Storm Lords]] - [[White Consuls]] [[Wolf Brothers]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Third Founding|Third]] to Twelfth Founding (M32-M35):''' || [[Astral Claws]] - [[Angels Penitent]] - [[Angels Revenant]] [[Charnel Guard]] - [[Dark Paladins]] - [[Executioners]] - [[Flesh Eaters]] [[Halo Brethren]] - [[Howling Griffons]] - [[Iron Knights]] [[Mantis Warriors]] - [[Marines Malevolent]] - [[Night Swords]] [[Sable Swords]] (initial) - [[Scythes of the Emperor]] - [[Space Sharks]] [[Sons of Guilliman]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Thirteenth Founding]] (M35):''' || [[Death Spectres]] - [[Exorcists]]
|-
| align=right|'''Fourteenth to Twentieth Founding:''' || [[Angels of Fire]] - [[Avenging Sons]] - [[Celebrants]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Twenty-First Founding]] (991.M35):''' || [[Black Dragons]] - [[Blood Gorgons]] - [[Legion of the Damned|Fire Hawks]] [[Flame Falcons]] - [[Lamenters]] - [[Minotaurs]] [[Sons of Antaeus]] - [[Tiger Claws]]
|-
| align=right|'''Twenty-Second to Twenty-Sixth Founding (M35-M41):''' || [[Angels of Vigilance]] - [[Angels Excelsis]] - [[Celestial Lions]] - [[Dark Hunters]] [[Disciples of Caliban]] - [[Emperor's Spears]] - [[Fire Angels]] [[Golden Sons]] - [[Hospitallers]] - [[Imperial Harbingers]] - [[Iron Lords]] [[Knights of the Raven]] - [[Marines Errant]] - [[Mentors]] - [[Relictors|Fire Claws/Relictors]] [[Star Phantoms]] - [[Subjugators]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Ultima Founding]] (999.M41/000.M42 to 012.M42):''' || [[Angels of Defiance]] - [[Black Vipers]] - [[Blades of Vengeance]] [[Castellans of the Rift]] - [[Covenant of Fire]] - [[Dark Krakens]] [[Fulminators]] - [[Knights Cerulean]] - [[Knights of the Chalice]] [[Knights of Thunder]] - [[Necropolis Hawks]] - [[Nemesors]] - [[Praetors of Ultramar]] [[Prime Absolvers]] - [[Rift Stalkers]] - [[Silver Drakes]] - [[Silver Templars]] [[Sons of the Phoenix]] - [[Storm Reapers]] - [[Umbral Knights]] [[Unnumbered Sons]] - [[Valiant Blades]] - [[Void Tridents]] - [[Wolfspear]]
|-
| align=right|'''Unknown Founding:''' || [[Absolvers]] - [[Accipiters]] - [[Adulators]] [[Angel Guard]] - [[Angels Eradicant]] - [[Angels of Retribution]] [[Astral Knights]] - [[Blood Ravens]] - [[Blood Swords]] [[Brazen Drakes]] - [[Brothers Penitent]] - [[Carmine Blades]] - [[Cowled Wardens]] [[Crimson Castellans]] - [[Crimson Consuls]] - [[Crimson Scythes]] - [[Dark Hands]] [[Dark Sons]] - [[Death Eagles]] - [[Doom Warriors]] [[Emperor's Shadows]] - [[Fire Lords]] - [[Guardians of the Covenant]] [[Graven Spectres]] - [[Hammers of Dorn]] - [[Harbingers]] [[Hawk Lords]] - [[Invaders]] - [[Iron Crusaders]] [[Iron Talons]] - [[Jade Dragons]] - [[Knights of Blood]] [[Knights Unyielding]] - [[Marines Exemplar]] - [[The Nameless]] [[Night Watch]] - [[Rainbow Warriors]] - [[Reclaimers]] [[Red Hunters]] - [[Red Scorpions]] - [[Red Seraphs]] [[Red Templars]] - [[Retributors]] - [[Sable Swords]] (refounded) [[Shadow Wolves]] - [[Solar Hawks]] - [[Sons of Orar]] [[Star Dragons]] - [[Stormwatchers]] - [[Storm Giants]] [[Storm Wardens]] - [[Valedictors]] - [[Viper Legion]] [[Vorpal Swords]] - [[White Templars]] - [[Storm Wings]]
|-
| align=right|'''Unsanctioned Founding:''' || [[Consecrators]] (founding unknown, but likely after 2nd Founding) [[Sons of Medusa]] (separated from parent Chapters, ratified by edict) [[Steel Confessors]] (de facto 22nd Founding, de jure ratified by edict) [[Ashen Claws]] (separatist Raven Guard Legion exiles, nominal loyalists)
|-
| align=right|'''Others:''' || [[Astartes Praeses]] - [[Deathwatch]] - [[Grey Knights]] [[Judged]] - [[Legion of the Damned]]
|}
</center>[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Imperial]][[Category:Space Marines]][[Category:Official Space Marine Chapters]]<noinclude>[[Category:40k Templates]]</noinclude>

Template:Marines-Official

2023-06-07T18:16:24Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

<center>
{|class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed table" cellpadding=2 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;border-collapse: collapse;border-spacing:1em 0em;"
|-
! align=center colspan=2 style="background-color:#3399ff;color:white;" | [[Space Marine Chapter|Chapters]] of the [[Adeptus Astartes]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[First Founding]] (M29):''' || [[Blood Angels]] - [[Dark Angels]] - [[Imperial Fists]] [[Iron Hands]] - [[Raven Guard]] - [[Salamanders]] [[Space Wolves]] - [[Ultramarines]] - [[White Scars]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Second Founding]] (021.M31):''' || [[Angels of Absolution]] - [[Angels Encarmine]] - [[Angels Porphyr]] [[Angels of Redemption]] - [[Angels Sanguine]] - [[Angels of Vengeance]] [[Angels Vermillion]] - [[Aurora Chapter]] - [[Black Consuls]] [[Black Guard]] - [[Black Templars]] - [[Blood Drinkers]] [[Brazen Claws]] - [[Crimson Fists]] - [[Destroyers]] [[Doom Eagles]] - [[Eagle Warriors]] - [[Excoriators]] [[Fists Exemplar]] - [[Flesh Tearers]] - [[Genesis Chapter]] [[Inceptors]] - [[Iron Snakes]] - [[Libators]] [[Lions Sable]] - [[Marauders]] - [[Mortifactors]] [[Nemesis]] - [[Novamarines]] - [[Obsidian Glaives]] [[Patriarchs of Ulixis]] - [[Purple Stars]] - [[Praetors of Orpheus]] [[Rampagers]] - [[Raptors (Chapter)|Raptors]] - [[Red Talons]] [[Revilers]] - [[Silver Eagles]] - [[Silver Skulls]] [[Soul Drinkers]] - [[Storm Lords]] - [[White Consuls]] [[Wolf Brothers]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Third Founding|Third]] to Twelfth Founding (M32-M35):''' || [[Astral Claws]] - [[Angels Penitent]] - [[Angels Revenant]] [[Charnel Guard]] - [[Dark Paladins]] - [[Executioners]] - [[Flesh Eaters]] [[Halo Brethren]] - [[Howling Griffons]] - [[Iron Knights]] [[Mantis Warriors]] - [[Marines Malevolent]] - [[Night Swords]] [[Sable Swords]] (initial) - [[Scythes of the Emperor]] - [[Space Sharks]] [[Sons of Guilliman]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Thirteenth Founding]] (M35):''' || [[Death Spectres]] - [[Exorcists]]
|-
| align=right|'''Fourteenth to Twentieth Founding:''' || [[Angels of Fire]] - [[Avenging Sons]] - [[Celebrants]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Twenty-First Founding]] (991.M35):''' || [[Black Dragons]] - [[Blood Gorgons]] - [[Legion of the Damned|Fire Hawks]] [[Flame Falcons]] - [[Lamenters]] - [[Minotaurs]] [[Sons of Antaeus]] - [[Tiger Claws]]
|-
| align=right|'''Twenty-Second to Twenty-Sixth Founding (M35-M41):''' || [[Angels of Vigilance]] - [[Angels Excelsis]] - [[Celestial Lions]] - [[Dark Hunters]] [[Disciples of Caliban]] - [[Emperor's Spears]] - [[Fire Angels]] [[Golden Sons]] - [[Hospitallers]] - [[Imperial Harbingers]] - [[Iron Lords]] [[Knights of the Raven]] - [[Marines Errant]] - [[Mentors]] - [[Relictors|Fire Claws/Relictors]] [[Star Phantoms]] - [[Subjugators]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Ultima Founding]] (999.M41/000.M42 to 012.M42):''' || [[Angels of Defiance]] - [[Black Vipers]] - [[Blades of Vengeance]] [[Castellans of the Rift]] - [[Covenant of Fire]] - [[Dark Krakens]] [[Fulminators]] - [[Knights Cerulean]] - [[Knights of the Chalice]] [[Knights of Thunder]] - [[Necropolis Hawks]] - [[Nemesors]] - [[Praetors of Ultramar]] [[Prime Absolvers]] - [[Rift Stalkers]] - [[Silver Drakes]] - [[Silver Templars]] [[Sons of the Phoenix]] - [[Storm Reapers]] - [[Umbral Knights]] - [[Unnumbered Sons]] [[Valiant Blades]] - [[Void Tridents]] - [[Wolfspear]]
|-
| align=right|'''Unknown Founding:''' || [[Absolvers]] - [[Accipiters]] - [[Adulators]] [[Angel Guard]] - [[Angels Eradicant]] - [[Angels of Retribution]] [[Astral Knights]] - [[Blood Ravens]] - [[Blood Swords]] [[Brazen Drakes]] - [[Brothers Penitent]] - [[Carmine Blades]] - [[Cowled Wardens]] [[Crimson Castellans]] - [[Crimson Consuls]] - [[Crimson Scythes]] - [[Dark Hands]] [[Dark Sons]] - [[Death Eagles]] - [[Doom Warriors]] [[Emperor's Shadows]] - [[Fire Lords]] - [[Guardians of the Covenant]] [[Graven Spectres]] - [[Hammers of Dorn]] - [[Harbingers]] [[Hawk Lords]] - [[Invaders]] - [[Iron Crusaders]] [[Iron Talons]] - [[Jade Dragons]] - [[Knights of Blood]] [[Knights Unyielding]] - [[Marines Exemplar]] - [[The Nameless]] [[Night Watch]] - [[Rainbow Warriors]] - [[Reclaimers]] [[Red Hunters]] - [[Red Scorpions]] - [[Red Seraphs]] [[Red Templars]] - [[Retributors]] - [[Sable Swords]] (refounded) [[Shadow Wolves]] - [[Solar Hawks]] - [[Sons of Orar]] [[Star Dragons]] - [[Stormwatchers]] - [[Storm Giants]] [[Storm Wardens]] - [[Valedictors]] - [[Viper Legion]] [[Vorpal Swords]] - [[White Templars]] - [[Storm Wings]]
|-
| align=right|'''Unsanctioned Founding:''' || [[Consecrators]] (founding unknown, but likely after 2nd Founding) [[Sons of Medusa]] (separated from parent Chapters, ratified by edict) [[Steel Confessors]] (de facto 22nd Founding, de jure ratified by edict) [[Ashen Claws]] (separatist Raven Guard Legion exiles, nominal loyalists)
|-
| align=right|'''Others:''' || [[Astartes Praeses]] - [[Deathwatch]] - [[Grey Knights]] [[Judged]] - [[Legion of the Damned]]
|}
</center>[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Imperial]][[Category:Space Marines]][[Category:Official Space Marine Chapters]]<noinclude>[[Category:40k Templates]]</noinclude>

Template:Marines-Official

2023-06-07T18:15:48Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

<center>
{|class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed table" cellpadding=2 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;border-collapse: collapse;border-spacing:1em 0em;"
|-
! align=center colspan=2 style="background-color:#3399ff;color:white;" | [[Space Marine Chapter|Chapters]] of the [[Adeptus Astartes]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[First Founding]] (M29):''' || [[Blood Angels]] - [[Dark Angels]] - [[Imperial Fists]] [[Iron Hands]] - [[Raven Guard]] - [[Salamanders]] [[Space Wolves]] - [[Ultramarines]] - [[White Scars]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Second Founding]] (021.M31):''' || [[Angels of Absolution]] - [[Angels Encarmine]] - [[Angels Porphyr]] [[Angels of Redemption]] - [[Angels Sanguine]] - [[Angels of Vengeance]] [[Angels Vermillion]] - [[Aurora Chapter]] - [[Black Consuls]] [[Black Guard]] - [[Black Templars]] - [[Blood Drinkers]] [[Brazen Claws]] - [[Crimson Fists]] - [[Destroyers]] [[Doom Eagles]] - [[Eagle Warriors]] - [[Excoriators]] [[Fists Exemplar]] - [[Flesh Tearers]] - [[Genesis Chapter]] [[Inceptors]] - [[Iron Snakes]] - [[Libators]] [[Lions Sable]] - [[Marauders]] - [[Mortifactors]] [[Nemesis]] - [[Novamarines]] - [[Obsidian Glaives]] [[Patriarchs of Ulixis]] - [[Purple Stars]] - [[Praetors of Orpheus]] [[Rampagers]] - [[Raptors (Chapter)|Raptors]] - [[Red Talons]] [[Revilers]] - [[Silver Eagles]] - [[Silver Skulls]] [[Soul Drinkers]] - [[Storm Lords]] - [[White Consuls]] [[Wolf Brothers]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Third Founding|Third]] to Twelfth Founding (M32-M35):''' || [[Astral Claws]] - [[Angels Penitent]] - [[Angels Revenant]] [[Charnel Guard]] - [[Dark Paladins]] - [[Executioners]] - [[Flesh Eaters]] [[Halo Brethren]] - [[Howling Griffons]] - [[Iron Knights]] [[Mantis Warriors]] - [[Marines Malevolent]] - [[Night Swords]] [[Sable Swords]] (initial) - [[Scythes of the Emperor]] - [[Space Sharks]] [[Sons of Guilliman]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Thirteenth Founding]] (M35):''' || [[Death Spectres]] - [[Exorcists]]
|-
| align=right|'''Fourteenth to Twentieth Founding:''' || [[Angels of Fire]] - [[Avenging Sons]] - [[Celebrants]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Twenty-First Founding]] (991.M35):''' || [[Black Dragons]] - [[Blood Gorgons]] - [[Legion of the Damned|Fire Hawks]] [[Flame Falcons]] - [[Lamenters]] - [[Minotaurs]] [[Sons of Antaeus]] - [[Tiger Claws]]
|-
| align=right|'''Twenty-Second to Twenty-Sixth Founding (M35-M41):''' || [[Angels of Vigilance]] - [[Angels Excelsis]] - [[Celestial Lions]] - [[Dark Hunters]] [[Disciples of Caliban]] - [[Emperor's Spears]] - [[Fire Angels]] [[Golden Sons]] - [[Hospitallers]] - [[Imperial Harbingers]] - [[Iron Lords]] [[Knights of the Raven]] - [[Marines Errant]] - [[Mentors]] - [[Relictors|Fire Claws/Relictors]] [[Star Phantoms]] - [[Subjugators]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Ultima Founding]] (999.M41/000.M42 to 012.M42):''' || [[Angels of Defiance]] - [[Black Vipers]] - [[Blades of Vengeance]] [[Castellans of the Rift]] - [[Covenant of Fire]] - [[Dark Krakens]] [[Fulminators]] - [[Knights Cerulean]] - [[Knights of the Chalice]] [[Knights of Thunder]] - [[Necropolis Hawks]] - [[Nemesors]] - [[Praetors of Ultramar]] [[Prime Absolvers]] - [[Rift Stalkers]] - [[Silver Drakes]] - [[Silver Templars]] - [[Sons of the Phoenix]] [[Storm Reapers]] - [[Umbral Knights]] - [[Unnumbered Sons]] [[Valiant Blades]] - [[Void Tridents]] - [[Wolfspear]]
|-
| align=right|'''Unknown Founding:''' || [[Absolvers]] - [[Accipiters]] - [[Adulators]] [[Angel Guard]] - [[Angels Eradicant]] - [[Angels of Retribution]] [[Astral Knights]] - [[Blood Ravens]] - [[Blood Swords]] [[Brazen Drakes]] - [[Brothers Penitent]] - [[Carmine Blades]] - [[Cowled Wardens]] [[Crimson Castellans]] - [[Crimson Consuls]] - [[Crimson Scythes]] - [[Dark Hands]] [[Dark Sons]] - [[Death Eagles]] - [[Doom Warriors]] [[Emperor's Shadows]] - [[Fire Lords]] - [[Guardians of the Covenant]] [[Graven Spectres]] - [[Hammers of Dorn]] - [[Harbingers]] [[Hawk Lords]] - [[Invaders]] - [[Iron Crusaders]] [[Iron Talons]] - [[Jade Dragons]] - [[Knights of Blood]] [[Knights Unyielding]] - [[Marines Exemplar]] - [[The Nameless]] [[Night Watch]] - [[Rainbow Warriors]] - [[Reclaimers]] [[Red Hunters]] - [[Red Scorpions]] - [[Red Seraphs]] [[Red Templars]] - [[Retributors]] - [[Sable Swords]] (refounded) [[Shadow Wolves]] - [[Solar Hawks]] - [[Sons of Orar]] [[Star Dragons]] - [[Stormwatchers]] - [[Storm Giants]] [[Storm Wardens]] - [[Valedictors]] - [[Viper Legion]] [[Vorpal Swords]] - [[White Templars]] - [[Storm Wings]]
|-
| align=right|'''Unsanctioned Founding:''' || [[Consecrators]] (founding unknown, but likely after 2nd Founding) [[Sons of Medusa]] (separated from parent Chapters, ratified by edict) [[Steel Confessors]] (de facto 22nd Founding, de jure ratified by edict) [[Ashen Claws]] (separatist Raven Guard Legion exiles, nominal loyalists)
|-
| align=right|'''Others:''' || [[Astartes Praeses]] - [[Deathwatch]] - [[Grey Knights]] [[Judged]] - [[Legion of the Damned]]
|}
</center>[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Imperial]][[Category:Space Marines]][[Category:Official Space Marine Chapters]]<noinclude>[[Category:40k Templates]]</noinclude>

Template:Marines-Official

2023-06-07T18:15:20Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

<center>
{|class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed table" cellpadding=2 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;border-collapse: collapse;border-spacing:1em 0em;"
|-
! align=center colspan=2 style="background-color:#3399ff;color:white;" | [[Space Marine Chapter|Chapters]] of the [[Adeptus Astartes]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[First Founding]] (M29):''' || [[Blood Angels]] - [[Dark Angels]] - [[Imperial Fists]] [[Iron Hands]] - [[Raven Guard]] - [[Salamanders]] [[Space Wolves]] - [[Ultramarines]] - [[White Scars]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Second Founding]] (021.M31):''' || [[Angels of Absolution]] - [[Angels Encarmine]] - [[Angels Porphyr]] [[Angels of Redemption]] - [[Angels Sanguine]] - [[Angels of Vengeance]] [[Angels Vermillion]] - [[Aurora Chapter]] - [[Black Consuls]] [[Black Guard]] - [[Black Templars]] - [[Blood Drinkers]] [[Brazen Claws]] - [[Crimson Fists]] - [[Destroyers]] [[Doom Eagles]] - [[Eagle Warriors]] - [[Excoriators]] [[Fists Exemplar]] - [[Flesh Tearers]] - [[Genesis Chapter]] [[Inceptors]] - [[Iron Snakes]] - [[Libators]] [[Lions Sable]] - [[Marauders]] - [[Mortifactors]] [[Nemesis]] - [[Novamarines]] - [[Obsidian Glaives]] [[Patriarchs of Ulixis]] - [[Purple Stars]] - [[Praetors of Orpheus]] [[Rampagers]] - [[Raptors (Chapter)|Raptors]] - [[Red Talons]] [[Revilers]] - [[Silver Eagles]] - [[Silver Skulls]] [[Soul Drinkers]] - [[Storm Lords]] - [[White Consuls]] [[Wolf Brothers]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Third Founding|Third]] to Twelfth Founding (M32-M35):''' || [[Astral Claws]] - [[Angels Penitent]] - [[Angels Revenant]] [[Charnel Guard]] - [[Dark Paladins]] - [[Executioners]] - [[Flesh Eaters]] [[Halo Brethren]] - [[Howling Griffons]] - [[Iron Knights]] [[Mantis Warriors]] - [[Marines Malevolent]] - [[Night Swords]] [[Sable Swords]] (initial) - [[Scythes of the Emperor]] - [[Space Sharks]] [[Sons of Guilliman]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Thirteenth Founding]] (M35):''' || [[Death Spectres]] - [[Exorcists]]
|-
| align=right|'''Fourteenth to Twentieth Founding:''' || [[Angels of Fire]] - [[Avenging Sons]] - [[Celebrants]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Twenty-First Founding]] (991.M35):''' || [[Black Dragons]] - [[Blood Gorgons]] - [[Legion of the Damned|Fire Hawks]] [[Flame Falcons]] - [[Lamenters]] - [[Minotaurs]] [[Sons of Antaeus]] - [[Tiger Claws]]
|-
| align=right|'''Twenty-Second to Twenty-Sixth Founding (M35-M41):''' || [[Angels of Vigilance]] - [[Angels Excelsis]] - [[Celestial Lions]] - [[Dark Hunters]] [[Disciples of Caliban]] - [[Emperor's Spears]] - [[Fire Angels]] [[Golden Sons]] - [[Hospitallers]] - [[Imperial Harbingers]] - [[Iron Lords]] [[Knights of the Raven]] - [[Marines Errant]] - [[Mentors]] - [[Relictors|Fire Claws/Relictors]] [[Star Phantoms]] - [[Subjugators]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Ultima Founding]] (999.M41/000.M42 to 012.M42):''' || [[Angels of Defiance]] - [[Black Vipers]] - [[Blades of Vengeance]] [[Castellans of the Rift]] - [[Covenant of Fire]] - [[Dark Krakens]] [[Fulminators]] - [[Knights Cerulean]] - [[Knights of the Chalice]] [[Knights of Thunder]] - [[Necropolis Hawks]] - [[Nemesors]] - [[Praetors of Ultramar]] [[Prime Absolvers]] [[Rift Stalkers]] - [[Silver Drakes]] - [[Silver Templars]] - [[Sons of the Phoenix]] [[Storm Reapers]] - [[Umbral Knights]] - [[Unnumbered Sons]] [[Valiant Blades]] - [[Void Tridents]] - [[Wolfspear]]
|-
| align=right|'''Unknown Founding:''' || [[Absolvers]] - [[Accipiters]] - [[Adulators]] [[Angel Guard]] - [[Angels Eradicant]] - [[Angels of Retribution]] [[Astral Knights]] - [[Blood Ravens]] - [[Blood Swords]] [[Brazen Drakes]] - [[Brothers Penitent]] - [[Carmine Blades]] - [[Cowled Wardens]] [[Crimson Castellans]] - [[Crimson Consuls]] - [[Crimson Scythes]] - [[Dark Hands]] [[Dark Sons]] - [[Death Eagles]] - [[Doom Warriors]] [[Emperor's Shadows]] - [[Fire Lords]] - [[Guardians of the Covenant]] [[Graven Spectres]] - [[Hammers of Dorn]] - [[Harbingers]] [[Hawk Lords]] - [[Invaders]] - [[Iron Crusaders]] [[Iron Talons]] - [[Jade Dragons]] - [[Knights of Blood]] [[Knights Unyielding]] - [[Marines Exemplar]] - [[The Nameless]] [[Night Watch]] - [[Rainbow Warriors]] - [[Reclaimers]] [[Red Hunters]] - [[Red Scorpions]] - [[Red Seraphs]] [[Red Templars]] - [[Retributors]] - [[Sable Swords]] (refounded) [[Shadow Wolves]] - [[Solar Hawks]] - [[Sons of Orar]] [[Star Dragons]] - [[Stormwatchers]] - [[Storm Giants]] [[Storm Wardens]] - [[Valedictors]] - [[Viper Legion]] [[Vorpal Swords]] - [[White Templars]] - [[Storm Wings]]
|-
| align=right|'''Unsanctioned Founding:''' || [[Consecrators]] (founding unknown, but likely after 2nd Founding) [[Sons of Medusa]] (separated from parent Chapters, ratified by edict) [[Steel Confessors]] (de facto 22nd Founding, de jure ratified by edict) [[Ashen Claws]] (separatist Raven Guard Legion exiles, nominal loyalists)
|-
| align=right|'''Others:''' || [[Astartes Praeses]] - [[Deathwatch]] - [[Grey Knights]] [[Judged]] - [[Legion of the Damned]]
|}
</center>[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Imperial]][[Category:Space Marines]][[Category:Official Space Marine Chapters]]<noinclude>[[Category:40k Templates]]</noinclude>

Template:Marines-Official

2023-06-07T18:14:38Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

<center>
{|class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed table" cellpadding=2 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;border-collapse: collapse;border-spacing:1em 0em;"
|-
! align=center colspan=2 style="background-color:#3399ff;color:white;" | [[Space Marine Chapter|Chapters]] of the [[Adeptus Astartes]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[First Founding]] (M29):''' || [[Blood Angels]] - [[Dark Angels]] - [[Imperial Fists]] [[Iron Hands]] - [[Raven Guard]] - [[Salamanders]] [[Space Wolves]] - [[Ultramarines]] - [[White Scars]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Second Founding]] (021.M31):''' || [[Angels of Absolution]] - [[Angels Encarmine]] - [[Angels Porphyr]] [[Angels of Redemption]] - [[Angels Sanguine]] - [[Angels of Vengeance]] [[Angels Vermillion]] - [[Aurora Chapter]] - [[Black Consuls]] [[Black Guard]] - [[Black Templars]] - [[Blood Drinkers]] [[Brazen Claws]] - [[Crimson Fists]] - [[Destroyers]] [[Doom Eagles]] - [[Eagle Warriors]] - [[Excoriators]] [[Fists Exemplar]] - [[Flesh Tearers]] - [[Genesis Chapter]] [[Inceptors]] - [[Iron Snakes]] - [[Libators]] [[Lions Sable]] - [[Marauders]] - [[Mortifactors]] [[Nemesis]] - [[Novamarines]] - [[Obsidian Glaives]] [[Patriarchs of Ulixis]] - [[Purple Stars]] - [[Praetors of Orpheus]] [[Rampagers]] - [[Raptors (Chapter)|Raptors]] - [[Red Talons]] [[Revilers]] - [[Silver Eagles]] - [[Silver Skulls]] [[Soul Drinkers]] - [[Storm Lords]] - [[White Consuls]] [[Wolf Brothers]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Third Founding|Third]] to Twelfth Founding (M32-M35):''' || [[Astral Claws]] - [[Angels Penitent]] - [[Angels Revenant]] [[Charnel Guard]] - [[Dark Paladins]] - [[Executioners]] - [[Flesh Eaters]] [[Halo Brethren]] - [[Howling Griffons]] - [[Iron Knights]] [[Mantis Warriors]] - [[Marines Malevolent]] - [[Night Swords]] [[Sable Swords]] (initial) - [[Scythes of the Emperor]] - [[Space Sharks]] [[Sons of Guilliman]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Thirteenth Founding]] (M35):''' || [[Death Spectres]] - [[Exorcists]]
|-
| align=right|'''Fourteenth to Twentieth Founding:''' || [[Angels of Fire]] - [[Avenging Sons]] - [[Celebrants]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Twenty-First Founding]] (991.M35):''' || [[Black Dragons]] - [[Blood Gorgons]] - [[Legion of the Damned|Fire Hawks]] [[Flame Falcons]] - [[Lamenters]] - [[Minotaurs]] [[Sons of Antaeus]] - [[Tiger Claws]]
|-
| align=right|'''Twenty-Second to Twenty-Sixth Founding (M35-M41):''' || [[Angels of Vigilance]] - [[Angels Excelsis]] - [[Celestial Lions]] - [[Dark Hunters]] [[Disciples of Caliban]] - [[Emperor's Spears]] - [[Fire Angels]] [[Golden Sons]] - [[Hospitallers]] - [[Imperial Harbingers]] - [[Iron Lords]] [[Knights of the Raven]] - [[Marines Errant]] - [[Mentors]] - [[Relictors|Fire Claws/Relictors]] [[Star Phantoms]] - [[Subjugators]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Ultima Founding]] (999.M41/000.M42 to 012.M42):''' || [[Angels of Defiance]] - [[Black Vipers]] - [[Blades of Vengeance]] [[Castellans of the Rift]] - [[Covenant of Fire]] - [[Dark Krakens]] [[Fulminators]] - [[Knights Cerulean]] - [[Knights of the Chalice]] - [[Knights of Thunder]] [[Necropolis Hawks]] - [[Nemesors]] - [[Praetors of Ultramar]] [[Prime Absolvers]] [[Rift Stalkers]] - [[Silver Drakes]] - [[Silver Templars]] - [[Sons of the Phoenix]] [[Storm Reapers]] - [[Umbral Knights]] - [[Unnumbered Sons]] [[Valiant Blades]] - [[Void Tridents]] - [[Wolfspear]]
|-
| align=right|'''Unknown Founding:''' || [[Absolvers]] - [[Accipiters]] - [[Adulators]] [[Angel Guard]] - [[Angels Eradicant]] - [[Angels of Retribution]] [[Astral Knights]] - [[Blood Ravens]] - [[Blood Swords]] [[Brazen Drakes]] - [[Brothers Penitent]] - [[Carmine Blades]] - [[Cowled Wardens]] [[Crimson Castellans]] - [[Crimson Consuls]] - [[Crimson Scythes]] - [[Dark Hands]] [[Dark Sons]] - [[Death Eagles]] - [[Doom Warriors]] [[Emperor's Shadows]] - [[Fire Lords]] - [[Guardians of the Covenant]] [[Graven Spectres]] - [[Hammers of Dorn]] - [[Harbingers]] [[Hawk Lords]] - [[Invaders]] - [[Iron Crusaders]] [[Iron Talons]] - [[Jade Dragons]] - [[Knights of Blood]] [[Knights Unyielding]] - [[Marines Exemplar]] - [[The Nameless]] [[Night Watch]] - [[Rainbow Warriors]] - [[Reclaimers]] [[Red Hunters]] - [[Red Scorpions]] - [[Red Seraphs]] [[Red Templars]] - [[Retributors]] - [[Sable Swords]] (refounded) [[Shadow Wolves]] - [[Solar Hawks]] - [[Sons of Orar]] [[Star Dragons]] - [[Stormwatchers]] - [[Storm Giants]] [[Storm Wardens]] - [[Valedictors]] - [[Viper Legion]] [[Vorpal Swords]] - [[White Templars]] - [[Storm Wings]]
|-
| align=right|'''Unsanctioned Founding:''' || [[Consecrators]] (founding unknown, but likely after 2nd Founding) [[Sons of Medusa]] (separated from parent Chapters, ratified by edict) [[Steel Confessors]] (de facto 22nd Founding, de jure ratified by edict) [[Ashen Claws]] (separatist Raven Guard Legion exiles, nominal loyalists)
|-
| align=right|'''Others:''' || [[Astartes Praeses]] - [[Deathwatch]] - [[Grey Knights]] [[Judged]] - [[Legion of the Damned]]
|}
</center>[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Imperial]][[Category:Space Marines]][[Category:Official Space Marine Chapters]]<noinclude>[[Category:40k Templates]]</noinclude>

Template:Marines-Official

2023-06-07T18:13:59Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

<center>
{|class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed table" cellpadding=2 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;border-collapse: collapse;border-spacing:1em 0em;"
|-
! align=center colspan=2 style="background-color:#3399ff;color:white;" | [[Space Marine Chapter|Chapters]] of the [[Adeptus Astartes]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[First Founding]] (M29):''' || [[Blood Angels]] - [[Dark Angels]] - [[Imperial Fists]] [[Iron Hands]] - [[Raven Guard]] - [[Salamanders]] [[Space Wolves]] - [[Ultramarines]] - [[White Scars]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Second Founding]] (021.M31):''' || [[Angels of Absolution]] - [[Angels Encarmine]] - [[Angels Porphyr]] [[Angels of Redemption]] - [[Angels Sanguine]] - [[Angels of Vengeance]] [[Angels Vermillion]] - [[Aurora Chapter]] - [[Black Consuls]] [[Black Guard]] - [[Black Templars]] - [[Blood Drinkers]] [[Brazen Claws]] - [[Crimson Fists]] - [[Destroyers]] [[Doom Eagles]] - [[Eagle Warriors]] - [[Excoriators]] [[Fists Exemplar]] - [[Flesh Tearers]] - [[Genesis Chapter]] [[Inceptors]] - [[Iron Snakes]] - [[Libators]] [[Lions Sable]] - [[Marauders]] - [[Mortifactors]] [[Nemesis]] - [[Novamarines]] - [[Obsidian Glaives]] [[Patriarchs of Ulixis]] - [[Purple Stars]] - [[Praetors of Orpheus]] [[Rampagers]] - [[Raptors (Chapter)|Raptors]] - [[Red Talons]] [[Revilers]] - [[Silver Eagles]] - [[Silver Skulls]] [[Soul Drinkers]] - [[Storm Lords]] - [[White Consuls]] [[Wolf Brothers]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Third Founding|Third]] to Twelfth Founding (M32-M35):''' || [[Astral Claws]] - [[Angels Penitent]] - [[Angels Revenant]] [[Charnel Guard]] - [[Dark Paladins]] - [[Executioners]] - [[Flesh Eaters]] [[Halo Brethren]] - [[Howling Griffons]] - [[Iron Knights]] [[Mantis Warriors]] - [[Marines Malevolent]] - [[Night Swords]] [[Sable Swords]] (initial) - [[Scythes of the Emperor]] - [[Space Sharks]] [[Sons of Guilliman]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Thirteenth Founding]] (M35):''' || [[Death Spectres]] - [[Exorcists]]
|-
| align=right|'''Fourteenth to Twentieth Founding:''' || [[Angels of Fire]] - [[Avenging Sons]] - [[Celebrants]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Twenty-First Founding]] (991.M35):''' || [[Black Dragons]] - [[Blood Gorgons]] - [[Legion of the Damned|Fire Hawks]] [[Flame Falcons]] - [[Lamenters]] - [[Minotaurs]] [[Sons of Antaeus]] - [[Tiger Claws]]
|-
| align=right|'''Twenty-Second to Twenty-Sixth Founding (M35-M41):''' || [[Angels of Vigilance]] - [[Angels Excelsis]] - [[Celestial Lions]] - [[Dark Hunters]] [[Disciples of Caliban]] - [[Emperor's Spears]] - [[Fire Angels]] [[Golden Sons]] - [[Hospitallers]] - [[Imperial Harbingers]] - [[Iron Lords]] - [[Knights of the Raven]] [[Marines Errant]] - [[Mentors]] - [[Relictors|Fire Claws/Relictors]] [[Star Phantoms]] - [[Subjugators]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Ultima Founding]] (999.M41/000.M42 to 012.M42):''' || [[Angels of Defiance]] - [[Black Vipers]] - [[Blades of Vengeance]] [[Castellans of the Rift]] - [[Covenant of Fire]] - [[Dark Krakens]] [[Fulminators]] - [[Knights Cerulean]] - [[Knights of the Chalice]] - [[Knights of Thunder]] [[Necropolis Hawks]] - [[Nemesors]] - [[Praetors of Ultramar]] [[Prime Absolvers]] [[Rift Stalkers]] - [[Silver Drakes]] - [[Silver Templars]] - [[Sons of the Phoenix]] [[Storm Reapers]] - [[Umbral Knights]] - [[Unnumbered Sons]] [[Valiant Blades]] - [[Void Tridents]] - [[Wolfspear]]
|-
| align=right|'''Unknown Founding:''' || [[Absolvers]] - [[Accipiters]] - [[Adulators]] [[Angel Guard]] - [[Angels Eradicant]] - [[Angels of Retribution]] [[Astral Knights]] - [[Blood Ravens]] - [[Blood Swords]] [[Brazen Drakes]] - [[Brothers Penitent]] - [[Carmine Blades]] - [[Cowled Wardens]] [[Crimson Castellans]] - [[Crimson Consuls]] - [[Crimson Scythes]] - [[Dark Hands]] [[Dark Sons]] - [[Death Eagles]] - [[Doom Warriors]] [[Emperor's Shadows]] - [[Fire Lords]] - [[Guardians of the Covenant]] [[Graven Spectres]] - [[Hammers of Dorn]] - [[Harbingers]] [[Hawk Lords]] - [[Invaders]] - [[Iron Crusaders]] [[Iron Talons]] - [[Jade Dragons]] - [[Knights of Blood]] [[Knights Unyielding]] - [[Marines Exemplar]] - [[The Nameless]] [[Night Watch]] - [[Rainbow Warriors]] - [[Reclaimers]] [[Red Hunters]] - [[Red Scorpions]] - [[Red Seraphs]] [[Red Templars]] - [[Retributors]] - [[Sable Swords]] (refounded) [[Shadow Wolves]] - [[Solar Hawks]] - [[Sons of Orar]] [[Star Dragons]] - [[Stormwatchers]] - [[Storm Giants]] [[Storm Wardens]] - [[Valedictors]] - [[Viper Legion]] [[Vorpal Swords]] - [[White Templars]] - [[Storm Wings]]
|-
| align=right|'''Unsanctioned Founding:''' || [[Consecrators]] (founding unknown, but likely after 2nd Founding) [[Sons of Medusa]] (separated from parent Chapters, ratified by edict) [[Steel Confessors]] (de facto 22nd Founding, de jure ratified by edict) [[Ashen Claws]] (separatist Raven Guard Legion exiles, nominal loyalists)
|-
| align=right|'''Others:''' || [[Astartes Praeses]] - [[Deathwatch]] - [[Grey Knights]] [[Judged]] - [[Legion of the Damned]]
|}
</center>[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Imperial]][[Category:Space Marines]][[Category:Official Space Marine Chapters]]<noinclude>[[Category:40k Templates]]</noinclude>

Golden Sons

2023-06-07T18:12:19Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Golden Sons
|Heraldry = Unknown
|Battle Cry = Unknown
|Founding = Unknown, sometime in the 38th Millennium
|Successors of = [[Blood Angels]]
|Successor Chapters = None
|Chapter Master = Erden Cleeve (KIA)
|Primarch = [[Sanguinius]]
|Homeworld = Unknown
|Specialty = Using their Death Company as cannon fodder
|Strength = Nearly destroyed
|Allegiance = [[Imperium]]
|Colours = Unknown (but probably gold)
}}
The '''Golden Sons''' are a successor chapter of the Blood Angels, founded sometime in the 38th Millennium. Aside from being one of the many successors who turned up for the showdown with [[Hive Fleet Leviathan]] at [[Devastation of Baal|Baal]], they were notable mainly for having a much harsher attitude toward their [[Death Company]] Marines, flinging them into battle with no regard for their lives and using them as battering rams to break through enemy lines. They were nearly obliterated during the fighting at Baal; the chapter's entire fleet was lost, along with its Librarius, and their chapter master was killed on the ground, along with most of the Sons, leaving only a few scattered survivors. Got rebuilt with [[Primaris Marines]] at cost of losing their identity as warrior-scholars.

{{Marines-Official}}
[[Category:Blood Angels]]

Template:Marines-Official

2023-06-07T17:48:39Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

<center>
{|class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed table" cellpadding=2 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;border-collapse: collapse;border-spacing:1em 0em;"
|-
! align=center colspan=2 style="background-color:#3399ff;color:white;" | [[Space Marine Chapter|Chapters]] of the [[Adeptus Astartes]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[First Founding]] (M29):''' || [[Blood Angels]] - [[Dark Angels]] - [[Imperial Fists]] [[Iron Hands]] - [[Raven Guard]] - [[Salamanders]] [[Space Wolves]] - [[Ultramarines]] - [[White Scars]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Second Founding]] (021.M31):''' || [[Angels of Absolution]] - [[Angels Encarmine]] - [[Angels Porphyr]] [[Angels of Redemption]] - [[Angels Sanguine]] - [[Angels of Vengeance]] [[Angels Vermillion]] - [[Aurora Chapter]] - [[Black Consuls]] [[Black Guard]] - [[Black Templars]] - [[Blood Drinkers]] [[Brazen Claws]] - [[Crimson Fists]] - [[Destroyers]] [[Doom Eagles]] - [[Eagle Warriors]] - [[Excoriators]] [[Fists Exemplar]] - [[Flesh Tearers]] - [[Genesis Chapter]] [[Inceptors]] - [[Iron Snakes]] - [[Libators]] [[Lions Sable]] - [[Marauders]] - [[Mortifactors]] [[Nemesis]] - [[Novamarines]] - [[Obsidian Glaives]] [[Patriarchs of Ulixis]] - [[Purple Stars]] - [[Praetors of Orpheus]] [[Rampagers]] - [[Raptors (Chapter)|Raptors]] - [[Red Talons]] [[Revilers]] - [[Silver Eagles]] - [[Silver Skulls]] [[Soul Drinkers]] - [[Storm Lords]] - [[White Consuls]] [[Wolf Brothers]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Third Founding|Third]] to Twelfth Founding (M32-M35):''' || [[Astral Claws]] - [[Angels Penitent]] - [[Angels Revenant]] [[Charnel Guard]] - [[Dark Paladins]] - [[Executioners]] - [[Flesh Eaters]] [[Halo Brethren]] - [[Howling Griffons]] - [[Iron Knights]] [[Mantis Warriors]] - [[Marines Malevolent]] - [[Night Swords]] [[Sable Swords]] (initial) - [[Scythes of the Emperor]] - [[Space Sharks]] [[Sons of Guilliman]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Thirteenth Founding]] (M35):''' || [[Death Spectres]] - [[Exorcists]]
|-
| align=right|'''Fourteenth to Twentieth Founding:''' || [[Angels of Fire]] - [[Avenging Sons]] - [[Celebrants]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Twenty-First Founding]] (991.M35):''' || [[Black Dragons]] - [[Blood Gorgons]] - [[Legion of the Damned|Fire Hawks]] [[Flame Falcons]] - [[Lamenters]] - [[Minotaurs]] [[Sons of Antaeus]] - [[Tiger Claws]]
|-
| align=right|'''Twenty-Second to Twenty-Sixth Founding (M35-M41):''' || [[Angels of Vigilance]] - [[Angels Excelsis]] - [[Celestial Lions]] - [[Dark Hunters]] [[Disciples of Caliban]] - [[Emperor's Spears]] - [[Fire Angels]] [[Hospitallers]] - [[Imperial Harbingers]] - [[Iron Lords]] - [[Knights of the Raven]] [[Marines Errant]] - [[Mentors]] - [[Relictors|Fire Claws/Relictors]] [[Star Phantoms]] - [[Subjugators]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[Ultima Founding]] (999.M41/000.M42 to 012.M42):''' || [[Angels of Defiance]] - [[Black Vipers]] - [[Blades of Vengeance]] [[Castellans of the Rift]] - [[Covenant of Fire]] - [[Dark Krakens]] [[Fulminators]] - [[Knights Cerulean]] - [[Knights of the Chalice]] - [[Knights of Thunder]] [[Necropolis Hawks]] - [[Nemesors]] - [[Praetors of Ultramar]] [[Prime Absolvers]] [[Rift Stalkers]] - [[Silver Drakes]] - [[Silver Templars]] - [[Sons of the Phoenix]] [[Storm Reapers]] - [[Umbral Knights]] - [[Unnumbered Sons]] [[Valiant Blades]] - [[Void Tridents]] - [[Wolfspear]]
|-
| align=right|'''Unknown Founding:''' || [[Absolvers]] - [[Accipiters]] - [[Adulators]] [[Angel Guard]] - [[Angels Eradicant]] - [[Angels of Retribution]] [[Astral Knights]] - [[Blood Ravens]] - [[Blood Swords]] [[Brazen Drakes]] - [[Brothers Penitent]] - [[Carmine Blades]] - [[Cowled Wardens]] [[Crimson Castellans]] - [[Crimson Consuls]] - [[Crimson Scythes]] - [[Dark Hands]] [[Dark Sons]] - [[Death Eagles]] - [[Doom Warriors]] [[Emperor's Shadows]] - [[Fire Lords]] - [[Guardians of the Covenant]] [[Graven Spectres]] - [[Hammers of Dorn]] - [[Harbingers]] [[Hawk Lords]] - [[Invaders]] - [[Iron Crusaders]] [[Iron Talons]] - [[Jade Dragons]] - [[Knights of Blood]] [[Knights Unyielding]] - [[Marines Exemplar]] - [[The Nameless]] [[Night Watch]] - [[Rainbow Warriors]] - [[Reclaimers]] [[Red Hunters]] - [[Red Scorpions]] - [[Red Seraphs]] [[Red Templars]] - [[Retributors]] - [[Sable Swords]] (refounded) [[Shadow Wolves]] - [[Solar Hawks]] - [[Sons of Orar]] [[Star Dragons]] - [[Stormwatchers]] - [[Storm Giants]] [[Storm Wardens]] - [[Valedictors]] - [[Viper Legion]] [[Vorpal Swords]] - [[White Templars]] - [[Storm Wings]]
|-
| align=right|'''Unsanctioned Founding:''' || [[Consecrators]] (founding unknown, but likely after 2nd Founding) [[Sons of Medusa]] (separated from parent Chapters, ratified by edict) [[Steel Confessors]] (de facto 22nd Founding, de jure ratified by edict) [[Ashen Claws]] (separatist Raven Guard Legion exiles, nominal loyalists)
|-
| align=right|'''Others:''' || [[Astartes Praeses]] - [[Deathwatch]] - [[Grey Knights]] [[Judged]] - [[Legion of the Damned]]
|}
</center>[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Imperial]][[Category:Space Marines]][[Category:Official Space Marine Chapters]]<noinclude>[[Category:40k Templates]]</noinclude>

Angels Excelsis

2023-06-07T17:46:54Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Angels Excelsis
|Heraldry = A winged axe
|Battle Cry = "Slay, slay, slay! By the Blood! By the Great Angel!"
|Founding = Unknown, sometime during the 36th Millennium
|Successor Chapters = None
|Chapter Master = Follordark (KIA)
|Primarch = [[Sanguinius]]
|Homeworld = Fleet-based
|Specialty = Void warfare
|Strength = Destroyed
|Allegiance = [[Imperium]]
|Colours = White limbs and backpack and red torso
}}

The '''Angels Excelsis''' were a successor chapter of the Blood Angels, founded at some point in the 36th Millennium. They existed mainly to give the Blood Angels another chapter to feed into the grinder at the [[Devastation of Baal]]. They were notable mainly for being kind of assholes to their mortal serfs and sometimes to each other, if the behavior of their one of their captains, a fellow named Erwin, is anything to go by. Erwin was an arrogant, hardheaded jackass who routinely fucked up other people's plans, then refused to apologize for it, and his arrogant jackassery was directly responsible for the Arx Angelicum nearly being destroyed. To wit: he drove his strike cruiser too close to the [[Tyranid]] hive fleet while attempting to save a ship that had actually deliberately been abandoned and left to self-destruct. This allowed a [[Lictor]] to latch onto his ship's hull, xenomorph-queen style. When warned that this might have been the reason the Tyranids apparently retreated and let him get away, Erwin dismissed the possibility and refused to check his ship. Said lictor then made landfall on Baal, infiltrated the Arx Angelicum along with a bunch of genestealers during the battle, and wreaked havoc once inside, almost fatally compromising the Arx's defenses. Erwin, meanwhile, died in glorious void combat against Hive Fleet Leviathan, along with the rest of his chapter. They were apparently not rebuilt after the end of the Devastation.

{{Template:Marines-Official}}

Unfleshed

2023-06-07T17:44:51Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

{{sick|Highly mutated, skinless people that were injected with Geneseed in [[Daemonculaba|the worst Space Marine creation method known to man]], and left to die after being rejected from becoming Chaos Space Marines.}}
{{Heresy}}

The '''Unfleshed''' were a faction of mutants that were the results of rejected [[Chaos Space Marines]] "recruits" that were formed in the [[Eye of Terror]] thanks to a few [[Iron Warriors|sick]] [[Honsou|fucks]]. They were formed using the [[Daemonculaba]], which used human women who were physically bloated and twisted and then forcibly impregnated with adolescent human children with a reverse c-section, along with stolen or scavenged geneseed. Many of these kids were literally reborn as Chaos Space Marines, though most ended up dead or catastrophically mutated.

All of these kids are reborn with no skin upon them, and if they pass the Warsmith's standards for murder machines, they get new skin and a set of [[power armour]]. If they don't pass the mark (such as coming out dead or as a horrible abomination), they're [[Grimdark|quite literally flushed into the sewers]], and the few that survive are forced to live on without skin. The Unfleshed that survive are XBAWKS HUEG and humanoid (at best) with muscles that are as hard as iron and completely dulled to pain; and they are tough and numerous enough they've been able to build up a sizable population. They are also cannibals, and love those meaty little humiez. (Or are they? Cannibalism is eating beings of your own species, and I'm [[Grimdark|unsure Unfleshed can be called humans anymore]]...)

[[What|They also worship the]] [[God-Emperor of Mankind]], and even asked [[Ultramarines]] Captain [[Uriel Ventris]] for His forgiveness for being abominations, and they have a child-like mind set since they are literal man-children. In a way, it makes one feel kinda sorry because they are literally unwanted abominations that were forcibly brought into this world, and they just want to die.

They help Uriel, his buddy Pasanius, and their posse of outcast Space Marine guerrillas to take some revenge on the Iron Warriors and to do the Emperor's good work. They end up having to flee on a daemon engine to the world of Salinas. Uriel promises them a home somewhere in the Imperium, but he gets caught up in the local political struggle between the local insurgents (loyalists-turned-freedom-fighters) and the Imperial authorities (Imperial-Guard-turned-irredeemable-assholes). The former insurgent leader turns out to be a vengeful psyker, and is able to mind control the Unfleshed due to their (un)natural affinity with the Warp and the presence of a bunch of angry ghosts due to a recent massacre carried out upon the insurgents. The Grey Knights step in, and with their backing Uriel has to go pull an Old Yeller on the Unfleshed. The main Unfleshed character and leader (known only as the Lord of the Unfleshed) manages to get a "happy" final moment by seeing his reflection as it would be if he wasn't a skinless abomination.

{{Template:Chaos-Official}}
[[Category:Chaos]]

Template:Chaos-Official

2023-06-07T17:36:13Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

<center>
{|border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;"
|-
!align=center colspan=2 bgcolor="A05050" | The [[Chaos Space Marines|Traitor Legions and Warbands]] of [[Chaos]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[First Founding|Chaos Legions]]:''' || [[Alpha Legion]] - [[Black Legion]] - [[Death Guard]] [[Emperor's Children]] - [[Iron Warriors]] - [[Night Lords]] [[Thousand Sons]] - [[Word Bearers]] - [[World Eaters]]
|-
| align=right|'''Legion Offshoots:''' || [[Apostles of Contagion]] - [[Bloodborn]] - [[Broken Aquila]] [[Foresworn]] - [[Mouldering Claw]] - [[Plague Fleet]] - [[Prodigal Sons]] [[The Consortium (Warhammer 40,000)|The Consortium]] - [[Warband of Subsector Aurelia]]
|-
| align=right|'''Fallen Chapters (Including [[Judged]]):''' || [[Adharon's Reavers]] - [[Blood Gorgons]] - [[Company of Misery]] [[Corpus Brethren]] - [[Crimson Slaughter]] - [[Deathmongers]] [[Death Shadows]] - [[Invocators]] - [[Lords of Decay]] [[Oracles of Change]] - [[Red Corsairs]] - [[Brazen Drakes|Shriven]] [[The Brazen Beasts]] - [[The Flawless Host]] - [[The Scourged]] [[Skyrar's Dark Wolves]] - [[Steel Cobras]] - [[Voidrippers]]
|-
| align=right|'''Unknown/ Other:''' || [[Apostles of Minthras]] - [[Claws of Lorek]] - [[Disciples of Destruction]] [[Dragon Warriors]] - [[Extinction Angels]] - [[Hakanor's Reavers]] - [[Punishers]] [[The Cleaved]] - [[The Purge]] - [[The Pyre]] - [[Sons of Malice]] - [[Sons of Vengeance]] [[The Reborn]] - [[Violators]] - [[Warp Ghosts]] - [[Bleak Brotherhood]]
|}
</center>
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Chaos]][[Category:Chaos Space Marines]][[Category:Official Chaos Space Marine Warbands]]<noinclude>[[Category:40k Templates]]</noinclude>

Mouldering Claw

2023-06-07T17:35:09Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

{{Infobox CSM Warband
|Name = Mouldering Claw
|Battle Cry = Unknown
|Origin = Unknown
|Warband Leader = Unknown
|Base of Operations = Unknown
|Specialty = Melee
|Strength = Unknown
|Allegiance = Nurgle
|Colours = Dark Green with Sickly Green trim
}}

The Mouldering Claw are a warband of the Death Guard's 1st Plague Legion.They are what you would get if Khornate Berzerkers were instead Nurgle Berzerkers.They like to advance as much as they can during the battle and hack and slash the enemies with their plague ridden blades, because OF COURSE THEY WOULD. The Mouldering Claw is fanatically devoted to [[Typhus]], their disease spreading blades bring upon the battlefield fresh waves of Plague Zombies, because OF COURSE THEY WOULD.

They are one of those obscure Nurgle Warbands, like the Pallid Hand or the Putrid Choir. (Yes, the Putrid Choir sings while marching into battle. Imagine a fucking septic tank as a singer and you get the Putrid Choir.)

[[File:Mouldering Claw Marine.png|left|thumb|We're around too!]]

{{Chaos-Official}}

Mouldering Claw

2023-06-07T17:33:27Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

{{Infobox CSM Warband
|Name = Mouldering Claw
|Battle Cry = Unknown
|Origin = Unknown
|Warband Leader = Unknown
|Base of Operations = Unknown
|Specialty = Melee
|Strength = Unknown
|Allegiance = Nurgle
|Colours = Dark Green with Sickly Green trim
}}

The Mouldering Claw are a warband of the Death Guard's 1st Plague Legion.They are what you would get if Khornate Berzerkers were instead Nurgle Berzerkers.They like to advance as much as they can during the battle and hack and slash the enemies with their plague ridden blades, because OF COURSE THEY WOULD. The Mouldering Claw is fanatically devoted to [[Typhus]], their disease spreading blades bring upon the battlefield fresh waves of Plague Zombies, because OF COURSE THEY WOULD.

They are one of those obscure Nurgle Warbands, like the Pallid Hand or the Putrid Choir [Yes, the Putrid Choir sings while marching into battle.Imagine a fucking septic tank as a singer and you get the Putrid Choir]

[[File:Mouldering Claw Marine.png|left|thumb|We're around too!]]

{{Chaos-Official}}

Template:Chaos-Official

2023-06-07T17:32:52Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

<center>
{|border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;"
|-
!align=center colspan=2 bgcolor="A05050" | The [[Chaos Space Marines|Traitor Legions and Warbands]] of [[Chaos]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[First Founding|Chaos Legions]]:''' || [[Alpha Legion]] - [[Black Legion]] - [[Death Guard]] [[Emperor's Children]] - [[Iron Warriors]] - [[Night Lords]] [[Thousand Sons]] - [[Word Bearers]] - [[World Eaters]]
|-
| align=right|'''Legion Offshoots:''' || [[Apostles of Contagion]] - [[Bloodborn]] - [[Broken Aquila]] [[Foresworn]] - [[Plague Fleet]] - [[Prodigal Sons]] [[The Consortium (Warhammer 40,000)|The Consortium]] - [[Warband of Subsector Aurelia]]
|-
| align=right|'''Fallen Chapters (Including [[Judged]]):''' || [[Adharon's Reavers]] - [[Blood Gorgons]] - [[Company of Misery]] [[Corpus Brethren]] - [[Crimson Slaughter]] - [[Deathmongers]] [[Death Shadows]] - [[Invocators]] - [[Lords of Decay]] [[Oracles of Change]] - [[Red Corsairs]] - [[Brazen Drakes|Shriven]] [[The Brazen Beasts]] - [[The Flawless Host]] - [[The Scourged]] [[Skyrar's Dark Wolves]] - [[Steel Cobras]] - [[Voidrippers]]
|-
| align=right|'''Unknown/ Other:''' || [[Apostles of Minthras]] - [[Claws of Lorek]] - [[Disciples of Destruction]] [[Dragon Warriors]] - [[Extinction Angels]] - [[Hakanor's Reavers]] - [[Punishers]] [[The Cleaved]] - [[The Purge]] - [[The Pyre]] - [[Sons of Malice]] - [[Sons of Vengeance]] [[The Reborn]] - [[Violators]] - [[Warp Ghosts]] - [[Bleak Brotherhood]]
|}
</center>
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Chaos]][[Category:Chaos Space Marines]][[Category:Official Chaos Space Marine Warbands]]<noinclude>[[Category:40k Templates]]</noinclude>

Template:Chaos-Official

2023-06-07T17:32:22Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

<center>
{|border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;"
|-
!align=center colspan=2 bgcolor="A05050" | The [[Chaos Space Marines|Traitor Legions and Warbands]] of [[Chaos]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[First Founding|Chaos Legions]]:''' || [[Alpha Legion]] - [[Black Legion]] - [[Death Guard]] [[Emperor's Children]] - [[Iron Warriors]] - [[Night Lords]] [[Thousand Sons]] - [[Word Bearers]] - [[World Eaters]]
|-
| align=right|'''Legion Offshoots:''' || [[Apostles of Contagion]] - [[Bloodborn]] - [[Broken Aquila]] [[Foresworn]] - [[Plague Fleet]] - [[Prodigal Sons]] [[The Consortium (Warhammer 40,000)|The Consortium]] - [[Warband of Subsector Aurelia]]
|-
| align=right|'''Fallen Chapters (Including [[Judged]]):''' || [[Adharon's Reavers]] - [[Blood Gorgons]] - [[Company of Misery]] [[Corpus Brethren]] - [[Crimson Slaughter]] - [[Deathmongers]] [[Death Shadows]] - [[Invocators]] - [[Lords of Decay]] [[Oracles of Change]] - [[Red Corsairs]] - [[Brazen Drakes|Shriven]] [[The Brazen Beasts]] - [[The Flawless Host]] - [[The Scourged]] [[Skyrar's Dark Wolves]] - [[Steel Cobras]] - [[Voidrippers]]
|-
| align=right|'''Unknown/ Other:''' || [[Apostles of Minthras]] - [[Claws of Lorek]] - [[Disciples of Destruction]] [[Dragon Warriors]] - [[Extinction Angels]] - [[Hakanor's Reavers]] - [[Punishers]] [[The Cleaved]] - [[The Purge]] - [[The Pyre]] - [[Sons of Malice]] [[Sons of Vengeance]] - [[The Reborn]] - [[Violators]] - [[Warp Ghosts]] - [[Bleak Brotherhood]]
|}
</center>
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Chaos]][[Category:Chaos Space Marines]][[Category:Official Chaos Space Marine Warbands]]<noinclude>[[Category:40k Templates]]</noinclude>

Template:Chaos-Official

2023-06-07T17:31:25Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

<center>
{|border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;"
|-
!align=center colspan=2 bgcolor="A05050" | The [[Chaos Space Marines|Traitor Legions and Warbands]] of [[Chaos]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[First Founding|Chaos Legions]]:''' || [[Alpha Legion]] - [[Black Legion]] - [[Death Guard]] [[Emperor's Children]] - [[Iron Warriors]] - [[Night Lords]] [[Thousand Sons]] - [[Word Bearers]] - [[World Eaters]]
|-
| align=right|'''Legion Offshoots:''' || [[Apostles of Contagion]] - [[Bloodborn]] - [[Broken Aquila]] [[Foresworn]] - [[Plague Fleet]] - [[Prodigal Sons]] [[The Consortium (Warhammer 40,000)|The Consortium]] - [[Warband of Subsector Aurelia]]
|-
| align=right|'''Fallen Chapters (Including [[Judged]]):''' || [[Adharon's Reavers]] - [[Blood Gorgons]] - [[Company of Misery]] [[Corpus Brethren]] - [[Crimson Slaughter]] - [[Deathmongers]] [[Death Shadows]] - [[Invocators]] - [[Lords of Decay]] [[Oracles of Change]] - [[Red Corsairs]] - [[Brazen Drakes|Shriven]] [[The Brazen Beasts]] - [[The Flawless Host]] - [[The Scourged]] [[Skyrar's Dark Wolves]] - [[Steel Cobras]] - [[Voidrippers]]
|-
| align=right|'''Unknown/ Other:''' || [[Apostles of Minthras]] - [[Disciples of Destruction]] [[Dragon Warriors]] - [[Extinction Angels]] - [[Hakanor's Reavers]] - [[Punishers]] [[The Cleaved]] - [[The Purge]] - [[The Pyre]] - [[Sons of Malice]] [[Sons of Vengeance]] - [[The Reborn]] - [[Violators]] - [[Warp Ghosts]] - [[Bleak Brotherhood]]
|}
</center>
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Chaos]][[Category:Chaos Space Marines]][[Category:Official Chaos Space Marine Warbands]]<noinclude>[[Category:40k Templates]]</noinclude>

Template:Chaos-Official

2023-06-07T17:30:14Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

<center>
{|border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;"
|-
!align=center colspan=2 bgcolor="A05050" | The [[Chaos Space Marines|Traitor Legions and Warbands]] of [[Chaos]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[First Founding|Chaos Legions]]:''' || [[Alpha Legion]] - [[Black Legion]] - [[Death Guard]] [[Emperor's Children]] - [[Iron Warriors]] - [[Night Lords]] [[Thousand Sons]] - [[Word Bearers]] - [[World Eaters]]
|-
| align=right|'''Legion Offshoots:''' || [[Apostles of Contagion]] - [[Bloodborn]] - [[Broken Aquila]] [[Foresworn]] - [[Plague Fleet]] - [[Prodigal Sons]] [[The Consortium (Warhammer 40,000)|The Consortium]] - [[Warband of Subsector Aurelia]]
|-
| align=right|'''Fallen Chapters (Including [[Judged]]):''' || [[Adharon's Reavers]] - [[Blood Gorgons]] - [[Company of Misery]] [[Corpus Brethren]] - [[Crimson Slaughter]] - [[Deathmongers]] [[Death Shadows]] - [[Invocators]] - [[Lords of Decay]] [[Oracles of Change]] - [[Red Corsairs]] - [[Brazen Drakes|Shriven]] [[The Brazen Beasts]] - [[The Flawless Host]] - [[The Scourged]] [[Skyrar's Dark Wolves]] - [[Steel Cobras]] - [[Voidrippers]]
|-
| align=right|'''Unknown/ Other:''' || [[Apostles of Minthras]] - [[Disciples of Destruction]] - [[Dragon Warriors]] [[Extinction Angels]] - [[Hakanor's Reavers]] - [[Punishers]] - [[The Cleaved]] [[The Purge]] - [[The Pyre]] - [[Sons of Malice]] - [[Sons of Vengeance]] [[The Reborn]] - [[Violators]] - [[Warp Ghosts]] - [[Bleak Brotherhood]]
|}
</center>
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Chaos]][[Category:Chaos Space Marines]][[Category:Official Chaos Space Marine Warbands]]<noinclude>[[Category:40k Templates]]</noinclude>

Template:Chaos-Official

2023-06-07T17:29:24Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

<center>
{|border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;"
|-
!align=center colspan=2 bgcolor="A05050" | The [[Chaos Space Marines|Traitor Legions and Warbands]] of [[Chaos]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[First Founding|Chaos Legions]]:''' || [[Alpha Legion]] - [[Black Legion]] - [[Death Guard]] [[Emperor's Children]] - [[Iron Warriors]] - [[Night Lords]] [[Thousand Sons]] - [[Word Bearers]] - [[World Eaters]]
|-
| align=right|'''Legion Offshoots:''' || [[Apostles of Contagion]] - [[Bloodborn]] - [[Broken Aquila]] [[Foresworn]] - [[Plague Fleet]] - [[Prodigal Sons]] [[The Consortium (Warhammer 40,000)|The Consortium]] - [[Warband of Subsector Aurelia]]
|-
| align=right|'''Fallen Chapters (Including [[Judged]]):''' || [[Adharon's Reavers]] - [[Blood Gorgons]] - [[Company of Misery]] [[Corpus Brethren]] - [[Crimson Slaughter]] - [[Deathmongers]] [[Death Shadows]] - [[Invocators]] - [[Lords of Decay]] [[Oracles of Change]] - [[Red Corsairs]] - [[Brazen Drakes|Shriven]] [[The Brazen Beasts]] - [[The Flawless Host]] - [[The Scourged]] [[Skyrar's Dark Wolves]] - [[Steel Cobras]] - [[Voidrippers]]
|-
| align=right|'''Unknown/ Other:''' || [[Apostles of Minthras]] - [[Disciples of Destruction]] - [[Dragon Warriors]] [[Extinction Angels]] - [[Hakanor's Reavers]] - [[Punishers]] - [[The Cleaved]] - [[The Purge]] [[The Pyre]] - [[Sons of Malice]] - [[Sons of Vengeance]] [[The Reborn]] - [[Violators]] - [[Warp Ghosts]] - [[Bleak Brotherhood]]
|}
</center>
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Chaos]][[Category:Chaos Space Marines]][[Category:Official Chaos Space Marine Warbands]]<noinclude>[[Category:40k Templates]]</noinclude>

Hakanor's Reavers

2023-06-07T17:26:14Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

{{Infobox CSM Warband
|Name = Hakanor's Reavers
|Heraldry = [[File:HRSymbol.jpg]]
|Battle Cry = "You shall not pass" , probably
|Origin = Unknown
|Warband Leader = Daemon Prince Hakanor
|Base of Operations = Mines of Moria, most likely
|Specialty = Being Balrog marines
|Strength = Unknown
|Allegiance = [[Chaos Undivided]]
|Colours = Black with lava imagery and gold trim
}}

Hakanor's Reavers, interesting design, interesting concept, barely used.They are led by a Daemon Prince called Hakanor, who previously was Chapter Master Prometian of who knows what obscure Space Marine Chapter. Hakanor's Reavers armor burns with magic heat, cracking and reforming like lava, kinda looks like a Balrog from Lord of the Rings, don't they?

They have a small bit of lore where they helped some unnamed Chaos Cult with entrapping and destroying some Armageddon Steel Legion reinforcements, sometime one hundred years before the Second Armageddon War. How they did that you ask, well... they led the poor bastards in some buried Necron Monolith and were killed by the inhabitants.

A lot of potential for those guys to do something great, but not that used, not even a mention in any of Failbaddon's Black Crusades.

[[File:Hakanor's Reavers Marine.jpg|thumb|left|You shall not pass the bridge]]

{{Chaos-Official}}

Template:Chaos-Official

2023-06-07T17:25:50Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

<center>
{|border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;"
|-
!align=center colspan=2 bgcolor="A05050" | The [[Chaos Space Marines|Traitor Legions and Warbands]] of [[Chaos]]
|-
| align=right|'''[[First Founding|Chaos Legions]]:''' || [[Alpha Legion]] - [[Black Legion]] - [[Death Guard]] [[Emperor's Children]] - [[Iron Warriors]] - [[Night Lords]] [[Thousand Sons]] - [[Word Bearers]] - [[World Eaters]]
|-
| align=right|'''Legion Offshoots:''' || [[Apostles of Contagion]] - [[Bloodborn]] - [[Broken Aquila]] [[Foresworn]] - [[Plague Fleet]] - [[Prodigal Sons]] [[The Consortium (Warhammer 40,000)|The Consortium]] - [[Warband of Subsector Aurelia]]
|-
| align=right|'''Fallen Chapters (Including [[Judged]]):''' || [[Adharon's Reavers]] - [[Blood Gorgons]] - [[Company of Misery]] [[Corpus Brethren]] - [[Crimson Slaughter]] - [[Deathmongers]] [[Death Shadows]] - [[Invocators]] - [[Lords of Decay]] [[Oracles of Change]] - [[Red Corsairs]] - [[Brazen Drakes|Shriven]] [[The Brazen Beasts]] - [[The Flawless Host]] - [[The Scourged]] [[Skyrar's Dark Wolves]] - [[Steel Cobras]] - [[Voidrippers]]
|-
| align=right|'''Unknown/ Other:''' || [[Disciples of Destruction]] - [[Dragon Warriors]] - [[Extinction Angels]] [[Hakanor's Reavers]] - [[Punishers]] - [[The Cleaved]] - [[The Purge]] [[The Pyre]] - [[Sons of Malice]] - [[Sons of Vengeance]] [[The Reborn]] - [[Violators]] - [[Warp Ghosts]] - [[Bleak Brotherhood]]
|}
</center>
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Chaos]][[Category:Chaos Space Marines]][[Category:Official Chaos Space Marine Warbands]]<noinclude>[[Category:40k Templates]]</noinclude>

Tomb Citadel

2023-06-07T17:22:59Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

[[File:Citadel.jpg|thumb|right|Tomb Citadel model that FW want 128 of your hard earned dollars for. A monolith is resting on the Tomb Ziggurat.]]
Tomb citadels are [[Necron]] fortifications found on the outskirts of a tomb complex. Designed as watchtowers and outposts, they rise from the sands of the tomb world to act as first defence against hostile forces. They are incredibly strong and nearly impregnable fortresses, made of the same living metal as other Necron constructs and are therefore extremely durable and tough to bring down. In one corner of the citadel stands a Tomb Ziggurat, with possibly the most stupid name of anything in 40k, [[Blood Reaper|which]] [[Blood Slaughterer|is]] [[Noxious Blightbringer|really]] [[Furioso Dreadnought|saying]] [[Doom Blaster|something]]. It contains an Eternity Gate as well as the ability to allow [[Monolith|Monoliths]] or [[Necron_Pylon|Gauss Pylons]] to teleport there and provide fire support with empowered weaponry. In the opposite corner of the citadel stands a power crucible, which generates a shield around the citadel to deflect enemy fire while allowing weapons from within to fire at full effect. The crucible also enhances the repair and reanimation protocols of units in the citadel. In the other two corner there are additional weapon mounts for twin-linked [[Tesla#Tesla_Destructor|Tesla Destructors]] or [[Gauss#Gauss_Exterminator|Gauss Exterminators]].

==On the Tabletop==
Worthless. Not nearly [[Dakka|enuf dakka]] to even begin to get its points back. Just bring two Gauss Pylons instead unless you're playing narrative and reallllly want to act out yet another "imperial world turns out to be a tomb world and imperium accidentally wakes it up" scenario.

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]
[[Category:Necrons]]

Triarch

2023-06-07T17:22:45Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

{{wh40k-stub}}
[[File:Ankh of the Triarch.webp|200px|right|thumb|The Ankh of the Triarch. Commonly seen slapped on all non-important Necrons, random spots on their vehicles, or covered in copious amounts of gold (as it should be).]]
The '''Triarch''' were the overall rulers of the [[Necron|Necrontyr]] Empire. As the name suggests, they were a council of three [[Phaeron]]s. The most senior Phaeron was called the [[Silent King]] because he never spoke directly to his subjects; instead, the other two spoke for him.

While the Necrontyr Empire's [[Necron Dynasty|Dynasties]] were largely independent, and basically ran their military and civil affairs as they saw fit, they were bound by the Triarch under ancient codes of behavior. To enforce these codes, the Triarch raised forces of [[Triarch Praetorian|Praetorians]] and [[Triarch Stalker|Stalkers]] and sent them among the Dynasties to defend the Empire against the forces of rebellion and anarchy.

The pact with the [[C'tan]] placed all command authority with the last Silent King, [[Szarekh]], leaving the other two members of the Triarch, Hapthatra and Mesophet, as little more than figureheads. They were later destroyed in the rebellion against the C'tan at the end of the [[War in Heaven]]; as of the 41st Millennium, the only remnants of the Triarch are Szarekh (who has only recently returned to the galaxy after stumbling over the Tyranids in his self-imposed exile) and his [[Triarch Praetorian|Praetorians]], though it turns out Hapthatra and Mesophet survived the rebellion (probably got blasted and took a long time regenerating) and are still accompanying Szarekh.

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]
[[Category:Necrons]]

Dolmen Gate

2023-06-07T17:22:00Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

So space is big right? If you are here with us at [[/tg/]] you probably know that quote from The Hitchhikers Guide about how mind blastingly big it is. It's SO big that it makes the speed of light look slow in comparison. The Milky Way for reference is about 100,000 light years across. Its about 4.4 light years from here to Alpha Centauri. If you somehow managed to accelerate to ten times the speed of light it would still take you a handful of months to get there, and that's just to our our closest neighbor. At 10xC it would still take you 10,000 years to get from one side of the galaxy to the other.

So why the crash course in science I hear you ask? Well because you need to understand the distance involved and how long it takes to travel them to really get a good sense of just how utterly ''fucked'' the [[Necron|Necrontyr]] were in their war against the [[Old Ones]]. In the old fluff for them the distances across the galaxy weren't too much of a major issue since they had inertialess drives that could propel them to many many times the speed of light, but this created a bit of a plot hole since if they could move that fast why did they need to go to war and why did they get out maneuvered and beaten? In the more recent fluff however the Necrontyr never actually broke the light barrier (or if they did it wasn't by a huge margin) and instead got from system to system by freezing themselves in cryo pods (which incidentally also fixed the problem of the Necrontyr spending huge amounts of their short lives twiddling their thumbs in space, but in a way they don't actually enjoy). While they were at peace the travel time between star systems was an annoyance, but a manageable one, but during war time the delay was crippling. The Old Ones could travel halfway across the galaxy in a matter of weeks via the [[Webway]] which meant that they could strike with relative impunity at the Necrontyr supply lines (star bases, agri worlds et al) and it might take the Necrontyr literal ''decades'' before they would even hear about it, much less get a ship there to respond.

Someone at [[Games Workshop|GW]] realized that even after getting their minds crammed into tin cans this would still have been a major problem, even with the super powered [[C'tan]] since its very hard to kill something you can't catch and Webway travel will always be significantly quicker then slower-than-light travel. Thus the Dolmen Gates were written into existence. Described as a series of "living stone portals" (apparently [[Necrodermis]] wasn't good enough...?) created by the C'tan known as The Burning One, the Dolmen Gates allow access to the Webway, but only for limited periods of time and to limited points. The Webway is apparently at least partially alive and can detect when there is a breach. When it does it seals off access to most of its paths and attempts to squeeze the intruders out. Thus if you access the Webway from a Dolmen Gate you can only exit it from another Dolmen Gate, and you need to be quick about it lest you get crushed. So they basically act as wormholes, one way in one way out. Access to the Webway, even in this limited capacity for was more or less the final nail in the coffin for the Old Ones since they [[Grimdark|no longer had anywhere they could run or hide]].

The Dolmen Gates make an appearance in [[Battlefleet Gothic: Armada II]] during the Necron campaign and serve as their only method of moving from one system to another, although you can move from any given gate to any other you control. On one hand it means you only have one way into a system, and if its heavy guarded you are right up shit creek, on the other hand it means you can keep all your fleets at central points (like systems where they can be repaired quickly) and dispatch then to where they are needed when they are needed. The game also brings a good hint to solve the previous contradicting lore on Necron FTL, Necron ships actually have inertialess drives, they allow them to instantly teleport to another location, however, their range is limited and a ship requires a considerable time to reload its drive, so while the Necrontyr could have probably made their torchships travel faster than light thanks to its drive these were still heavily limited in range when facing the far more efficient and galaxy-encroaching Webway and thus making its control a major war asset, [[God-Emperor_of_Mankind|and if this sounds familiar to you then good, you are paying attention]].

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]
[[Category:Necrons]]

Warhammer

2023-06-07T17:20:14Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

A '''warhammer''' is a hammer wielded for war, rather than construction. Just like the [[battleaxe]]s, they evolved from the tools and could be used as ones outside the battle. Unlike the battleaxes, warhammers didn't see much use until the late medieval era. The closest cousin of the warhammer was the pickaroon: a logging and siege engineering tool consisting of a stick with a heavy spike and sometimes a hammer used for manhandling large logs.

[[image:RealWarhammer.png|thumb|300px|right|Fullmetal one handed warhammer. A big "Fuck You" towards full plated knights.]]

Real warhammers have smallish heads on long shafts, designed more like claw hammers or pickaxes, and were used to both hammer unprotected heads and bash and break plate armor to the point where it became useless. To put it simply, they can do maul's and axe's work, and two handed ones can also be used to grapple things like [[Pole-arm|halberds]]. The blunt side of the warhammer could be used as a less-lethal weapon, for when you need to capture some aristocrat and later torture some information out of him or sell him to his relatives. Otherwise it was damn handy for reducing people into bags of broken bones and shredded flesh. The spiked side of the warhammer had one of the best armour-piercing capability of its time, rivaled only by the ridiculously slow [[Firearm|musket]] (yes, better than arquebuses and pistols; a well-drilled soldier could get off two or three shots per minute with a flintlock, three or four with a caplock musket). The main downside of the spike is that the it usually stuck inside armour after penetration, forcing the user to either spend a few precious seconds to pull it out, or just leave the weapon there. For this reason one-handed warhammers were usually carried by knights and elite troopers as their sidearm, and used only against armored opponents as one-shot weapons. They also had a degree of effectiveness against cavalry, as they could be used to break a horse's legs to knock their riders to the ground.

Two-handed warhammers on the other side become "poor man's halberds" - a cheap and effective weapon to make militiamen somewhat not useless against knights.

Versions without the hammer part and the beak part being bladed existed, but mostly outside the western Europe, most famous being eastern European chekan, and Japanaese kama, which both despite being invented half the world from each other and even evolving from different tools (axe and scythe respectively) ended up being pretty much the same. Bladed spike served primarily to make extracting it out of the enemy (or corpse) easier, but also helped with using it for grapling - not by increasing the reliability of grapple (in fact it lowered it), but by slicing arms and necks it was used to grapple.

In Fantasy, however, warhammers are instead usually depicted as sledgehammers with massive heads the size of anvils, used to bash people into a pulp. It is obvious that nobody actually used weapons like these because they were too goddamn heavy to carry to battle, let alone swing without throwing your back out. The only possible exception would be some of the larger all-wood or metal-reinforced mauls, but even those were intended more for bashing down doors and pegs than skulls, though they actually were used in battle historically like at the Battle of Agincourt (granted, as more of an improvised use when you really had to).

==Warhammer and GW==
[[Games Workshop]] has named several of their games after this classic weapon:
*[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]] (or WHFB), a [[wargame]] taking place in a fantasy universe (orcs, elves, dwarves, magic, etc.). The game is named after Emperor [[Sigmar]]'s [[Ghal-Maraz|iconic weapon]].
**[[Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]] (WHFRP), a [[RPG]] based on the Warhammer Fantasy Battles world.
**[[Warhammer: The Old World]] (WTOW), a prequel to Warhammer Fantasy battle set several centuries before [[The End Times]] destroyed it.
*[[Warhammer: Age of Sigmar]] (or just AoS) is the sequel to FB, being another fantasy Wargame, although it is a ''lot'' more High Fantasy than its predecessor.
*[[Warhammer 40,000]] (WH40k or just 40k), another wargame, but this time taking place in a distant future, sci-fi version of the fantasy universe. Originally intended to be WHFB In Space, the two series are now considered completely separate.
** [[Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay]] (WH40KRP), a system of role-playing games set in the grim, dark future. Funnily enough, except for the little "Warhammer 40,000" logo on the covers, none of the games themselves actually have the word "Warhammer" anywhere in their titles.
* [[Warhammer Ancient Battles]], a mostly forgotten historical miniatures wargame. Notable for being a GW game that never received official miniatures, meaning you could field entire armies from third-party companies.
*[[Warhammer Wednesday]] isn't directly GW-related, but is the forge that holds the fires from which /tg/ was born.

{{MedievalWeaponry}}

[[category:wargames]]

Talon of Horus

2023-06-07T17:19:47Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

The '''Talon of Horus''' is the [[lightning claw]] formerly wielded by [[Horus]], now wielded by [[Abaddon the Despoiler]]. After the Warmaster was killed in his [[Siege of Terra|confrontation with the Emperor]], Abaddon took the weapon from his father's body and has used it since. Unlike most lightning claws, it has an integrated combi-bolter.

The weapon has an incredibly impressive kill count, including [[Sanguinius]], Fabius Bile's clone of Horus and [[Sigismund]]. Not to mention [[The God-Emperor of Mankind|Big E]] himself was injured by it. According to [[Iskandar Khayon]], the psychic aura the weapon projects is overbearing, and any [[Blood Angel]] that confronts Abaddon goes [[Black Rage|completely berzerk]] due to it having been used to kill their [[Primarch]].

Crunch-wise, it's a [[Rape|Sx2 AP-3 lightning claw]] with a combi-bolter attached in 40k. In 30k it's an AP2 lightning claw that debuffs anyone wounded but no killed by it with -1WS and -1S, allowing Horus to win every duel he gets into.

==The Novel==
It's also a book by [[Aaron Dembski-Bowden]] about the founding of the [[Black Legion]], and part 1 of his rehabilitation of Abaddon's reputation. The novel follows Iskandar Khayon, a former [[Thousand Sons]] sorcerer, and his involvement in the hunt for Abaddon and the ''[[Vengeful Spirit]]''.

===What's awesome===
*A good part of the story is a somewhat longer [[What it's like]], about how politics, power and daily life for a Chaos Marine works in the [[Eye of Terror]].
*The protagonist and his confederates aren't portrayed as one-dimensional cartoon villains, but as calculating demi-gods who have their own reasons for wanting the Legion Wars to end.
*Sheds a good light on Abaddon, making him seem like a man who warriors would want to follow. Either he's much less arrogant than he was portrayed during the [[Horus Heresy]] novels, or he was putting on an act for Khayon and co. Either way, shows he's at least somewhat capable.
*Features a good example of a (relatively) reasonable Khorne devotee: Lheor.

===What's not awesome===
*Bit of [[skub]], people think ADB is a Chaos Fanboy because he happens to write good books where Chaos wins. It should be pointed that he wrote other books like Helsreach, Ragnar Blackmane and Emperor's Gift, which shows the Imperium kickin ass.
*There's a fair amount of [[skub]] around Khayon's two companions: a [[Mary Sue|Dark Eldar Scourge/Incubi who Khayon is keeping alive with psychic powers]], and a [[Derp|benign daemon or warp-creature that acts as his familiar]].
*Seeing as the entirety of the book is dictated to the [[Inquisition]] while the narrator is in custody, many of the things he says are suspect (such as his claim that Chaos is fated to eventually overthrow the Imperium).
*The main character is a bullshit powerful Mary Sue, so much so there's an entire section about it on [[Iskandar Khayon|his page.]]

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Chaos Space Marines]][[Category:Weapons]][[Category:Black Legion]]

Sword

2023-06-07T17:18:31Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

[[image:gladius.jpg|thumb|300px|right|A Roman gladius (Pompeii Variant), one type of sword]]
{{topquote|You can't give her that!' she screamed. 'It's not safe!' '''IT'S A SWORD''', said the Hogfather. '''THEY'RE NOT MEANT TO BE SAFE'''. 'She's a child!' shouted Crumley. '''IT'S EDUCATIONAL'''. 'What if she cuts herself?' '''THAT WILL BE AN IMPORTANT LESSON'''.|[[Discworld|Hogfather]]}}

Swords are probably the most commonly used weapon in Fantasy, especially by main characters. While certain fantasy races have certain specific weapons associated with them (Dwarves and Axes, Elves and Bows), all of them will make use of swords at least on the sidelines.

Real life shit: A '''sword''' is a melee weapon comprised of a long, sharp blade and a hilt to hold it with. In the real world, the blades of swords normally range between 50 to 150cm long and typically weigh between 1 to 4 kilograms, depending on the size and composition. Numerous variants of swords exist and have been employed since some ancient Mesopotamian metalworker decided to make the blade of a dagger much longer than usual.

== Love and Hate ==
There are various types of sword related retards.

*'''Sword Wankers''': Overly romantic morons who believe that the sword is the be all end all weapon until people got good with guns and tragically ended that. Buying into all that chivalry/Bushido nonsense when it was really just a hypocritical class control measure.

*'''Anti-Sword Wankers''': People who respond to the sword wankers by going too far the other way. Seeing swords as worthless weapons that were only carried by overly romantic morons. Thinking that sword blades would always shatter on impact with plate armor and ten swordsmen would easily die to one guy with a spear and ignoring how basically every civilization with metalworking and some that didn't have it all used swords at some point.

*'''Nipponese Wankers''': People who claims that [[Katanas are Underpowered in d20|Japanese swords are THE BEST]], magically sharp and indestructible because the metal has been folded a thousands times, able to cut through a Tank's armour and pierce steel plate. Western swords are, by comparison, unsharpened metal slabs used by hairy barbarians.

*'''Western Wankers''': On the opposite spectrum, these guys think that katanas are at best crude baseball bats that stands no chance against GLORIOUS EUROPEAN PLATE, and that by comparison European swords are the best thing around in terms of technology, sharpness, usability (such as glorious half swording and usage of mordhau tactics), and resemblance to the cross.

[[Skub|All of them are stupid]]. Swords were not the be-all end-all of medieval warfare. Other weapons did have their advantages. [[Mace]]s did concussive damage even if someone was wearing heavy armor and could break bones. [[Spear]]s had a longer reach and were better against cavalry. Halberds could deliver a devastating chop at range. This did not mean that swords were worthless. They were versatile -- short swords were excellent as a fallback weapon: when the foe was trying to get your spear out of his shield, you gutted him with your sword. Double-handed Zweihanders could be devastating. Nevertheless, morons who think in bare basic binary believe that they are either the weapon of the gods or worthless rubbish. There is a reason why any civilization that developed metalworking (and a couple that didn't) eventually came up with swords in one form or another, and there is likewise a reason why the sword was not the only weapon ever created.

In the same way, people comparing western and eastern swords should take in account that while Europe was and is a big place with lots of trade and plenty of steel, Japan was not. So European swords faced lots of tough metal armour, and there was a sort of "arms race" where swords became increasingly good against armour, that in turn became better at stopping swords and so on. This got to a point where people stopped carrying [[shield|shields]] around because armour was just that good, and swords became increasingly narrow and quick because slashing or piercing plate armour was totally ineffective and your best bet was stabbing weak points.

Japan on the contrary had a lot less metal around, so there was less armour and good quality metal was rarer and costly. There was just no point in developing pointy (AH!) uber-piercing swords, and they had to use the metal they had in a smarter way, such as the practice of 'folded steel', a smithing technique to make crappy steel more passable in quality (hence that '1,000-folded metal' bullshit that weeaboos go on about). This does NOT mean they were worse: they were perfectly good for use in the role they had in the place they were, and developing European-like swords would be pointless. This is discussed below in greater details.

== So why are swords so popular? ==
Swords generally have five major advantages over other weapons:
* '''Ease of carrying''' - Almost all types of swords fit in a sheath or scabbard and are generally compact and light enough to not cause any discomfort when carried on person. If you have a sword, you can keep it as a backup weapon for when your main one is at major disadvantage, is damaged or lost, a bit like a pistol to modern soldiers (and even this comparison gives the sword less credit than it deserves, as the former criteria was a lot more likely than a modern soldier having their rifle break/run out of ammunition throughout a battle). You can also comfortably carry it out of the battlefield as a self-defense weapon.
* '''Versatility''' - While most battlefield weapons are specialized in chopping, piercing or crushing people, swords can generally do anything, if a bit worse than any weapon specialized in it. Even if the sword is specialized, like the thrusting rapier or the slashing sabre it still gives you more options than say an axe or a spear.
* '''Reach''' - Swords are good at a wide array of ranges, most importantly at extremely close range, where most other battlefield weapons suffer badly. If you're stuck in a close melee, fighting indoors or in the narrow streets, sword is your friend.
* '''Defense''' - Swords are made of metal, are generally quite long and most have crossguards or some other hand protection, which means that aside from the shield no other weapon is as good at parrying enemy blows.
* '''Lethality''' - Swords are great at disabling and killing unarmored humans with as little strength spent as possible. They generally don't cut through any kind of armour, but on the plus side most people didn't wear full sets on the battlefield (and in the hot regions it was quite common for people to go to battle almost naked), and advanced control of the blade sword provides makes hitting unarmored body parts easier than most other weapons.

There is also another half reason of '''status''' - quality metal was often relatively expensive, and the skills required to make a sword were likewise very specialised and expensive. Therefore, swords were a good way to show off how baller you were.

Considering all of this, the sword was mostly used on the battlefield as a backup weapon, as while most soldiers through history went to battle with something way more specialized, almost anyone who could carry the sword would, often even choosing it over better armour if he cannot afford or carry both. Out of the battlefield it held the title the best self-defense weapon up until revolver pistols were invented.

That being said, swords are weapons and weapons only. You cannot use them to cut firewood like battleaxes, construct the camp or set field fortifications like warhammers, or use them as carving knives like daggers, and not a great choice for hunting. Going against a bear with a sword is generally a fucking stupid idea, even more so if you face things like battle elephants; you need either pole-arms or ranged weapons against them unless you have a death wish. Their sole function is to kill other humans. To warriors and societies run by warriors it's only natural that some symbolism would wear off.

Considering all this, it's strange that swords are the go-to weapons of your average melee [[murderhobo]]s in any fantasy setting where they are supposed to fight giants and dragons on a daily basis. Though this may partly be the fault of unimaginative game designers or GMs, as the majority of magic weapons tend to be swords, or else you need to specialize in order to train with another weapon even if said weapon would realistically require less training in real life. Then again, murderhobos almost exclusively fight in duels and smaller skirmishes rather than large formation warfare, where bringing a pike or other main battlefield weapon would be stupid in comparison. The close confines of the average dungeon also rule out the use of polearms in most cases, to say nothing of the ability to carry a sword and still leave the other hand free.

== Dissection of swords in battle ==
Because swords are so versatile, it's best to go over a few of their various benefits to the user and why they're so commonly used:

*'''Balance:''' To start off, most combat swords have their center of mass near the handle. This means you have much better control over their movement than with any other weapon, able to stop it or change the movement angle much faster. However this same balance has a double edge, thanks to their good balance a sword can't hit as hard as an unbalanced weapon since you have less weight and mass at the point of impact. It's why relatively untrained axemen and halberds are still a strong threat, the heavy weight of the head means that when you hit, you hit hard, even if it is hard to change your blow's speed or angle and it's why swordsmen need more training than with other weapons.

*'''Defense:''' Swords also offer more protection than most other weapons - most swords are one handed, so it's easy to use a shield with most types. You can also use them to parry other weapons if you're really desperate, however parrying anything but another sword is generally difficult and/or dangerous. Spears, pole-arms, and other weapons designed for thrusting (including some swords) are hard to parry, weapons that have gathered huge momentum, such as axes or maces, would have a high chance of damaging either your weapon or your hand, or throwing you off your balance and flails (at full speed) can hardly be parried at all, but that's to be expected given it's their main shtick. However the sword shines in attacking first before they build up the momentum which the sword's superior agility can allow. Or, if you are skilled enough, you can try to redirect their momentum so their weapon misses you instead of parrying it head-on with your edge and then counter-attack while they are trying to recover. Most swords also usually include crossguards to protect the hands of anybody using them unlike... pretty much every other common weapon.

*'''Training Time:''' One of the worst things about swords, they require more skill than most other close combat weapons, and while untrained militiamen with spears, halberds, or axes still could be a threatening foes, untrained men with swords possess a danger mainly to themselves. While high skill floor is a definite disadvantage, skill ceiling with a sword fighting is also much higher than with most other weapons, meaning if you can dump a lot of time into training sword, that training would give you more result - one more reason for it to be a staple weapon of warrior/noble classes in most culture. Additionally, a sword is just a sharp metal stick with a handle, so if you manage to master it, most of the core swordsmanship skills and martial art basics in general transfer well to other long, shafted weapons like axes, spears and quarterstaves, if you decide to train in using them.

*'''Space:''' One-handed swords require much less space to build momentum, so you can effectively use them in a tight shoulder-to-shoulder formation (unlike axes, maces and hammers), even two-handed swords will usually have a Ricasso (an unsharpened part of the blade immediately above the crossguard) which can be used to allow them to fight better in close quarters and even if they don't, they still don't require nearly as much space as great axes or two-handed warhammers and if you're really hard pressed (let's say somebody comes at you in armor), a fighting technique of the time was to just hold your sword by the blade and just clobber your opponent with the guard (a German technique called "mordhau" meaning "murder stroke"). Or you could hold the sword in the middle (even though it's sharp, it's okay if you use gloves; it's called half-swording) and use it like a makeshift short spear, doing quick jabs with its point or trying to wrestle your opponent to the ground by using your sword as a lever. All of these are fairly good techniques for very close quarters combat, and can be seen in historical manuals (yes, ''manuals'').

*'''Availability and Reliability:''' Swords ran the gamut between very cheap and very expensive, more so than pretty much any other weapon of the time. Using England in the middle ages as an example, a sword could cost between 3 pence and thousands of pounds. A line archer made 3 pence a day on average while a professional archer made around 10. This means that the cheapest of swords were extremely affordable for pretty much anyone who actually needed them (remember, mythical beasts didn't tend to run around in real life), even if the sword was of lower quality it was still a tool of war and useable. Depending on the period of time and region, swords were legally made "nobility only" weapons of status, though in practice many people got around this through rule lawyering, most commonly by simply calling a particular type of sword a "big knife." Fun-fact: the rapier (commonly thought of as a nobility-only dueling sword) was an extremely common back-up weapon for soldiers.

*'''Lethality:''' How a sword kills is entirely dependent on the type of sword that it is (this will be covered more later). The main types of damage they inflict could be divided into three categories:
:*''Slashing'' deals huge, extremely painful and bleeding wounds. The pain alone would incapacitate most foes, leaving them to the finishing blow, and if you didn't finish them, they would just bleed to death in a matter of minutes. It's effective against opponents with partial armor, prevalent through most of the history, as limb hits are just as painful and lethal as body hits, and limbs are usually more exposed, and if your opponent happen to have no chest piece, disemboweling becomes a nice effective option. Two main issues with slashing is that pretty much any armor renders it completely useless, and that opponents with high enough pain tolerance (Berzerkers and Mameluks did it through painkiller drugs) can continue fighting for minutes even with their lethal wounds, taking their killers (and likely more poor bastards) with them.
:*''Stabs'' from a sword on the on the other hand can be instantly fatal since if you hit someone pretty much anywhere on the torso you are almost guaranteed to hit an organ that's full of blood like a liver or a kidney, and then have the blood pour out of the big hole you just made in them. The issue with stabs is if your opponent wears any kind of metal armor on his torso (like all soldiers worth their salt before the age of the musketeer), your stabs generally cannot do shit unless you manage to get that sharp point between the gaps between the plates. Another issue with stabs is that they lack in stopping power, and while they're considerably more immediately lethal than any other attacking move other than chopping the head off, they're not ''instantly'' lethal, so they guy you've just impaled on your sword still have few seconds to take you with him if he's angry, crazy or high enough.
:*''Half-swording'', or grabbing your sword by the blade and stabbing it at the enemy like a spear. It may seem utterly retarded at first, and you need a bit of practice not to cut off your fingers, but works surprisingly well against armoured opponent. If you encounter an enemy in full plate, chain-mail, or a fully padded gamberson, you'd better forget about hitting him with a blade, as it would only serve to damage your weapon, as swords don't cut through metal well. Like at all. You'd be far better with ''bashing'' him with a pommel with a related half-swording technique known as "mordhau" (German for "deathblow"). Alternatively called Mordstreich or Mordschlag, it consists of holding your sword by the blade with both hands while the pommel is facing forward, and bashing your enemy with a pommel or a cross-guard like a makeshift mace or warhammer respectively. A good tactic would be using the mordhau to either beat your armored opponent senseless (assuming your sword doesn't have a sharpened crossguard to pierce stressed metal like a pickax) or snag his leg by the crossguard and pull to trip him before flipping the blade and half-swording it to stab into any gaps in their armor such as joints or the neck. The two techniques were infamous to the point that swordsmanship manuals had whole pages dedicated to countering half-swording and mordhau techniques. By the end of the Medieval period, when plate became widespread, pommels and cross guards became arguably more important than the blade itself, especially if you want to [[Meme|End Him Rightly]]. And if you hold your sword with the main hand on the handle and the off-hand on the blade close to the tip you get a short spear or a dagger with a very long handle, that you can jam between the plates of your opponent's armor. It was also a good way to use the Zweihander against pike and halberd formations: You used the long blade to cast the pikes aside, and when you're inside the ranks you switch to half-swording and started slashing and stabbing around.
:*"Chopping" is more common in axes, but the element is still present in some swords. The chopping value of a heavy, weighted sword allows it to slice through tissue and bone, cutting off part or all or a limb or neck. In areas with plentiful armour, this feature is less effective and therefore less common. However, warm areas such as Southeast Asia have machete-like blades intended to do just that.

== Types of Swords ==
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">

Unlike, say, the [[spear]] or the [[mace]], which were pretty much the same all over, swords, being essentially jack-of-all-trades weapons that could also be designed to excel in specific circumstances, came in a bewildering array of shapes and sizes to fit the needs of the people using them. This is not a complete list (nor should it be, go to wikipedia's [[wikipedia:Types of swords|page on sword types]]), but it should give you a good introduction.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
===The Ancient Days===

A fair number of early bronze-age swords look like big knives because that was basically what they were. Societies figured out bronze working or learned it from someone else, found out that they could make serviceable bronze knives like their older rock ones, then began enlarging the shape. They also were composed of just a blade with a handle (or hilt) bolted on, rather than having a tang, Others were simply a single piece of bronze with maybe some leather or cloth tied around the handle to make it easier to hold. While bronze is quite easy to forge and shape, it's a relative rarity compared to iron and its softness means that bronze wasn't an ideal cutting material; swords made of bronze can't be too large or they'll bend after a strike, and they can't hold an edge as well. Later societies moved to iron, and then steel, once they mastered the smelting techniques necessary, which made swords more available.

[[image:Khopesh.jpg|thumb|300px|right|An Egyptian Khopesh, a serviceable first draft that would be overshadowed by latter models]]

*'''Khopesh''': One of the oldest sword varieties with a distinct sickle shape. Originally of Egyptian design, this weapon's distinctive blade allowed it to cut, hook shields, and even thrust. It was fairly good for its day in the bronze age, but in that day armor better than leather or padded cloth was a rarity. Its time was done once [[mail|chainmail]] and scale armor became common in the iron age. Despite most fantasy depictions of khopeshes having them as long as longswords, these blades were fairly small at 50-60 cm, since anything bigger made out of bronze tended to get bent easily. A related blade, the shotel, was also used among the Ethiopian people while other similar blades were adopted in the Middle East during the Bronze Age.
*'''Kopis''': An ancient Greek short sword from the age of Hoplites, about 50-70 centimeters long. It curved inward and was a single-bladed weapon on the inward curve. This did limit flexibility in slashing attacks somewhat when compared with swords with blades on both sides, but meant that a sharper edge could be put on the edged side, which was important since at this point the Greeks only had bronze to make weapons, which does not hold an edge very well. A similar sword, the Falcata, was used by the Iberians, which also featured a knuckle guard and was double-edged.
*'''Xiphos''': Another Greek short sword, this one was double-edged and the blade resembled more of a leaf shape, giving it some extra heft toward the point. A secondary, cut-and-thrust weapon.
*'''Gladius''': The standard sword of the Roman Legions, a short sword about 60 to 80 centimeters long. This sword was the (main?) weapon for the average Roman legionary. As one of the smallest one-handed swords of its time, the gladius was decent at chopping and slashing, but excelled at stabbing; combined with Roman shield formations and the bash-step-stab-block move, this gave it a deceptively large effective range surpassed only by [[polearm]]s. The fact that Roman legionnaire maniples could crush Macedonian phalanxes in melee should tell you a lot about their effectiveness (though outflanking the formation helped). It was later phased out in favor of the longer spatha (a cavalry weapon adapted by the infantry, mainly as a reaction to increasingly mounted adversaries), which was itself a precursor to the viking sword, and by extension arming swords and longswords. (Historians are actually still divided on whether the pilum, a cross between a javelin and a spear, or the gladius was the legionnaire's main weapon. What is known is that each legionnaire carried two pilii and a gladius, but whether they were supposed to throw both and engage with their swords or keep one to engage in melee and only draw their sword later is unclear, with surviving evidence hinting at both tactics being used.)
*'''Macuahuitl''': Also called the Macana or just "obsidian sword", these were Mesoamerican swords, made without the use of any metalworking. They consisted of a sturdy wooden paddle whose edge was beset with rows of sharpened obsidian. This made the sword ridiculously sharp, but also ridiculously prone to chipping.
*'''Leiomano''': The Polynesian version of the macuahuitl, usually made of hardwood clubs strung with "blades" of shark teeth. Some versions were made with marlin/swordfish bills as piercing weapons or were given spiked wooden pommels so you could cut and stab with opposite ends of the weapon.

===Medieval Times===

As a rule, during the Middle Ages in Europe most peoples settled on straight double edged swords for the most part.

*'''Arming Sword''': Also known as the side-sword, this was a one handed weapon about 70 to 90 centimeters pretty much carried by every decently equipped man-at-arms/archer/spearman/knight ever. This was also the sword that developed the cruciform crossguard, which would be used by nearly every European sword design due to its defense value and versatility. Often carried with a shield of some sort, it can also be used if your main weapon breaks or happens to be too long to use in corridors. The standby weapon of knights, it retained some degree of use even after the advent of longswords due to their greater degree of adaptability. When most people hear the word "sword", this sword is what most often comes to mind. Often incorrectly called a longsword in games and other fiction.
:*'''Viking Sword''': Often considered the progenitor of the arming sword, the Viking swords featured ornamental hilts, and many had unusually high-quality steel for their time, particularly the [[wikipedia:Ulfberht_swords|Ulfberht swords]]. Viking Swords are descended from "migration period" swords of the late Roman Empire.
:*'''Messer''' A straight single-edged sword, this German weapon also featured an early knuckleguard called a "Nagel", or nail, which became very useful for parrying blows. It may have later had a role in the evolution of the dussack, and other proto-sabers. The word "Messer" means knife in German and gets its name from how it was constructed; instead of having a shaft and pommel, the sword had a tang with rivets. The reason behind this was so knife-smith guilds could make them without getting into hot water with sword-smith guilds, as by legal definition messer counted as a knife.
*'''Longsword''': A 90 to 120 cm long knightly sword, befit of any self-respecting knightly individual, it's your two-handed or hand and a half go-to man killer with multiple functions such as sword(duh), crowbar, spear, and hammer. Though there are dozens of techniques to use the longsword, two of the most common and useful styles (and two whose manuals have survived somewhat intact to be studied by HEMA practitioners today) were the Italian and German styles. The Italian longsword technique allowed wielders to strike and parry quickly, greatly emphasizing on using the general physics of a longsword combined with well-planned footwork, and creating a unified combat system that also incorporated things like grappling and wrestling. The German style of gripping the sword with the right hand on the handle and the left on the percussion point of the sword (creating a characteristic “thumb grip“ that makes it easy to tell whether or not a sword was built for German fencing based on whether or not it incorporated a “thumb ring“ to guard the finger) emphasized heavy aggression and trying to take out the opponent before they had a chance to react with explosive speed and power, treating other weapons and modes of combat as their own distinct disciplines. It is also good to note that the longsword strikes faster and harder than the arming sword because two hands are used to wield it (though it could be wielded with one hand in order to use a shield in the other, albeit not quite as effectively).
*'''Falchion''': This single-edged sword almost resembles a great machete, designed to combine the advantages of a sword and an axe. The blade is much wider in order to increase its weight, giving it better chopping power at the expense of balance and thrusting ability. Interestingly enough, there is very little information on how falchions were used in combat, though it is theorized that it was used with a shield (quite unlike the common fantasy depiction of a big two-handed fuck-off machete).
*'''Cinquedea''': Literally "five fingers", this Venetian blade straddled the line between a short sword and a long dagger (about 18-20 inches). One noteworthy feature was that the blade was obscenely wide, being as wide as five fingers, hence the name. It was a civilian weapon used in narrow streets, and frequently pimped out with etched blades. While the wide blade won't do much good against armor, it can give an unarmored opponent a pretty nasty wound.
*'''Estoc''': When plate armor became more common, some men carried the Estoc, which was basically a longsword with no sharpened edges but a very sharp and narrow point. The edges were left unsharpened, partly because a slash does no good against most armor, and partly because the actual blade wasn't flat and wide, but thick and narrow, reducing flex and making it more rigid for dealing with heavy armor. The blade could be triangular, square, or even hexagonal.
*'''Greatsword''': Or Zweihander, is a mighty 120-150 centimeter blade that appeared somewhere around the 15th century which was mainly carried by fuckhuge men with fuckhuge biceps and fuckhuge balls whose jobs were to run forth as the vanguard and hack enemy pikes, pikemen, swordsmen, and occasionally cavalry to meaty chunks or to guard vulnerable flanks. Greatswords bear many of the same qualities as the longsword, though it was a bit slower and struck harder due to the weight, and also require even '''more''' training. One unique ability of the Greatsword was that it could be wielded like a short spear, featuring an extra handguard past the primary hilt. Good greatswords were some of the most expensive close combat weapons in medieval Europe, and good [[landsknecht]]s were the most expensive foot soldiers, but for the good reason, as they combined the devastating killing blow and armor piercing capability of the axe, speed of the sword, and were also able do chop through tough spear or halberd formations (and mind you Swiss pikemen, and later halberdiers, were the deathstars of this era). This, however, comes at a great risk, as while a highly skilled landsknecht can swing the zweihander pretty fast, he cannot react fast enough to reliably block enemy strikes because of the fuckhuge momentum of his sword, leaving him vulnerable to counter-attack if something survives his swing - even while they usually wore heavy armor, landsknechts were known to die young.
:*'''Claymore''': Scottish variant of the Greatsword. The claymore is distinguished by its forward-sweeping hilt ending in [[wikipedia:quatrefoil|quatrefoils]]. Not to be confused with later basket-hilted swords of the same name. These things stuck around for use as weapons into the Napoleonic era, for their intimidation and national pride as much as practicality.

===The Far East===
{{topquote|In few countries has the sword had so much attention and honour paid it as in Japan; for regarded as being of divine origin, it has been worshipped as such.|Francis James Norman, ''The Fightning Man of Japan'' (1905)}}
Like in the West, the peoples of East Asia made use of a wide and diverse variety of swords which evolved on their own lines. Here are a few of these.

*'''Katana:''' [[Katanas are Underpowered in d20|The unstoppable God-weapons that can cleave through tanks, cut through time, and cure cancer]]. ''No wait, come back!'' That's all bull and no one who isn't stupid disputes this. ''But'', they were perfectly functional swords for their place and time. See the "Folded a thousand times" section below to learn why.
:*'''Wakizashi''' - essentially a shortsword version of the Katana, it is usually worn alongside the the Katana as a visual badge of status for the samurai but can also be used in situations where a katana would be too unwieldy to use (e.g. in narrow corridors).
:*'''Tachi''' - The katana's predecessor was between 68 to 79 cm long and had slightly more curvature, though direct visual comparison would be difficult. The real difference is how the blade was signed by the smith and the way it was worn (edge down) compared to a katana (edge up), even the word "''Katana''" means "''Sword that is different from a tachi''." The additional length and the extra curvature made the blade more suitable for cavalry, which was the primary role of the samurai at the time. The later katana was shorter and straighter which was more practical for a footman or a duelist. It replaced the old single edged, straight bladed swords in Japan called "Chokutō" after the Japanese were subject to the effectiveness of curved sabers during the Mongol invasions. Another related type of blade, which descended from the Tachi, is the "Uchigatana".
:*'''No-Dachi''' ''(or O-dachi)'' - Translates as "Fuck-Massive Tachi" which was the Japanese version of the greatsword. Made famous to the west by [[/v/|Sephiroth]]. They had a blade usually 120 to 150 cm length and was a weapon intended for infantry, though the shortest could also be used on horseback, though it then focused on downward cuts rather than side to side slashes which could rape hordes (Samurai prefered to use bows or Yari (Sengoku) and Naginata (prior Sengoku) when on horseback, since it did a better job than making one's Tachi longer). Some of the biggest Nodachi include ''Tarômaru'' (Nagasa 180cm, Zenchô 262cm, 7.2 kg, forged in Kamakura period, widely considered to be the golden age of Nihontô), ''Nenekirimaru'' (Zenchô 324cm, Nagasa 215cm, weight unknown, forged in Nanbokuchô period) or ''Tarôtachi'' (Nagasa 220cm, 4.5 kg, total lenght around 3m). The latter belonged to a Sengoku period General, [[Gabriel Seth|Makara Jûrôzaemon Naotaka]], who actually [[Kor'sarro Khan|wielded it on horseback]]. Such swords are the longest, biggest and highest quality blades around. Generally got banned by the Tokugawa Shogunate when they legislated how long a samurai's swords could be, so most of them got cut down or relegated to ceremonial duties. A lower quality version of the Nodachi called Wodao (Japanese Sword) was used by the Chinese after a Kage-ryû manual got [[looted]] by the Chinese Imperial army, who then mass produced it to use against northern barbarians in [[Landsknecht|specialized units]], unlike in Japan where only specialized individual fighters used them (contrary to popular ''[[Total War|Shogun Total War]]'' induced beliefs).
:*'''Kodachi''' Like the Messer mentioned above, a sword that's ''technically'' a knife for classes not allowed to own/carry swords.
::*'''Legendary Blades:''' So you might have heard in RPG's of the the Masamune and Muramasa blades, but in real life these actually refer to specific swordsmiths (though Japanese swords are often called by the name of their smith in a pseudo-brand sort of way) of which Masamune is the most famous, being lauded as one of the greatest sword-smiths of all time and his swords are held as national treasures even today. Muramasa came 200 years later and produced swords during the Muromachi period. In modern fantasy fiction, Masamune's blades are far more elegant and the mark of a more refined warrior while Muramasa's blades were considered to be bloodthirsty and were even banned by the Tokugawa Shogunate. Though directly comparing them is unfair, as they were both the greatest masters limited only by the processes of their time. Masamune's era had less technical knowledge to process the impurities from iron creating brittle metals, but Masamune worked this disadvantage into his blades as an artistic expression, causing crystals of impurities to form making his swords appear to sparkle. By contrast Muramasa most likely had all the same technical knowledge of Masamune in addition to 200 years of engineering development and suffered a bad reputation because the shogun of his time found himself on the wrong end of Muramasa's blades frequently enough to order them banned out of spite.
*'''To''': Korean sabers were 60 to 86cm in length and have a very similar appearance to Japanese katanas, though straighter and often with a shorter handle, making them primarily one-handed which is more suitable for its function as a cavalry saber. In fact, many katanas could have been converted into ''To'' by cutting down the length of the handle, but considering the shape of most surviving Korean swords, it is unlikely they did it a lot. Contrary to popular belief on both the Western and Eastern side of the Internet, caused by K-Pop propaganda, the [[Tau|Koreans]] DID NOT had traditional schools of swordsmanship, Muyedobotongji was published in 1790. This is because Korean had a mainly Confucianist society dispising violence under the Kingship of the Joseon dynasty, and as such had no martial culture. Before the Invasion of Korea by the Toyotomi clan's Hosts (1592 - 1598), they used mostly Chinese style Jian (referred to by them as the Geum/Gum), which the Koreans wore hung diagonaly from a waist or a shoulder in back to front. This is because the only traditional martial art of Korea was archery. Because of those reasons, the Imjin war was initialy a huge success for the Japanese Samurai armies ; on the land it failed in the end for logistic and strategic reason rather than tactical ones, and on the sea it failed due to very recently developped Korean warships (ironicaly, based on the Japanese warships), as it is often the case (for exemple, in the Satsuma rebellion during the Meiji era, the samurai rebels killed twice their numbers, but lost because they were outnumbered and lacked guns, artillery, munitions, comfort, support...). Even after the war, the Korean used mostly blades who were abandoned / forgotten during the Japanese retreat, or low quality replicas of Nihontô. All those swords were often rusted, because unlike the Japanese, Koreans didn't knew how to maintain them healthy. Some other exemples of the [[Derp|low quality of ancient Koreans replicas of Japanese swords]] include the absence of ''Kogai'' (kind of stylet) and thus the uselessness of holes in Korean ''Tsuba'', the absence of ''Shinogi'' (or only 1 sided Shinogi) or the use of hardware to keep the blade inside the sheath (while the Japanese Sword do have a Habaki that will fit the Saya perfectly). Those latter Korean swords' sheath were not kept hung by the swordsman, but thrown away as to not be bothersome, and indeed, none of the many illustrations of Korean ancient martial arts books are shown wearing a sheath, and does not mention the sheating process (unlike Japanese ''Iaijutsu'' and ''Battôjutsu''). One might hence wonder from where does come from Haidong Kumdo, Taekwondo, Hapkido and others. Those were in fact derived from Japanese Martial Arts taught to Koreans by the Japanese for purposes of cultural exchange and peaceful cohabitation through sportsmanship, mostly during the occupation in the Shôwa era, which is why they use Japanese inspired clothing, weapons and techniques, but also have controversial stories when trying to pass as older as they really are (mostly for [[Edgy|Nationalistic purposes]]).
**Of note, you might have heard of the '''ninja-to''', a fictional weapon invented by Hollywood to be used as props for movie [[Ninja]]s and perpetuated by RPGs and video games (including D&D). Well the Korean ''to'' is probably the closest physical analogue to the ninja-to (besides the Chokutō that was replaced by the Tachi and Katana) as there has never been any historical evidence of ninja-to's as a ninja would never be stupid enough to carry a weapon that would identify him as such. Save for the Japanese Historicaly acurate ''Shikomizue'', which came in a variety of forms, some easier to hide than others (similar to the European cane sword).

[[File:Chinese_Dadao.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The Chinese 29th Division all carrying dadao against katana-wielding IJA troops.]]

*'''Dadao:''' A Chinese sabre meaning "Big Knife" in English. It has a thick, long, curved blade, and often has a handle half-as big as the blade itself, much like a very thick falchion or großemesser two-handed sword. Alongside it's smaller partner, the Jian, it was a member of the classical Chinese quartet of weapons as mentioned below as is called the "General of Weapons". This made the blade extremely durable and tough. During World War II, the Chinese Nationalists used them for defending Chinese territory against Japanese invaders. To just about everyone's surprise, was actually fairly effective in deterring any Japanese troops from getting too close, which was very useful when your foe likes to bayonet charge when they run out of ammunition. One highly specialized division, the 29th, (Ershi jiu jun) specialized in the dadao and became infamous for their beheading cavalry raids used at night against unsuspecting IJN troops at the Great Wall during their Inner Mongolian Pacification campaign in 1933. It's name is also shared by a sword from the Naga people of India alongside other tribes in south eastern asia but that design has a long rectangular shaped blade with no pointed tip and slightly wider edges at the front. Another relative, the dha, is a form of curved saber in South Eastern Asia, it is also referred to as the daab or darb and featuring a round cross guard like those on Japanese swords.

*'''Jian:''' A straight, double edged sword from China, it was first made during the Warring States Period with a wide blade similar to a gladius before evolving overtime with the blade become narrower and with a wider crossguard (similar to the arming sword in Europe). It was deemed the "Gentleman of Weapons" within the classical Chinese quartet of weapons (the others being the Gùn staff, Qiang spear, and the Dao sabre). A related sword, the "Taijijian," is also used alongside it on classical sword play.

*'''Bolo:''' A Phillipine sword that resembles a machete in almost every aspect. Originally designed as an agricultural tool for cutting rattan and bamboo, it comes in many shapes and lengths, but your battle-ready bolo was typically between 60-90cm with a wide, slightly curved blade. The bolo lacks a cross guard, leaving the hand vulnerable, but the traditional martial arts of the region (Kali/Eskrima/Arnis, depending on when/where/who you’re asking) favor using it more like an axe, with the sword arm frequently in constant motion. When the Spanish showed up in the 16th/17th centuries they outlawed both the weapon and the martial arts, leading it to be kept alive through practice and ritual using hardened rattan sticks which are still used for practice in the sport today. Sometimes paired with a second Bolo (for maximum shred) or a dagger called a Begaw or, the latter of which grew in popularity under the Spanish who imported their style of Espada y Daga (English: sword and dagger).

===Other places===

The guys outside of east Asia and Europe did some swordsmithing of their own, here we acknowledge their contributions to the world of swords.
*'''Ida''': A sword design native to Sub Saharan Africa (specifically Nigeria). There were a fair number of several types of swords used by sub-Saharan African peoples, some of which being similar to Middle Eastern scimitars, a few of which having a fairly common straight sword shape more commonly associated with European swords and others had rather exotic shapes. The ida is notable for having a straight blade which bulges towards the point.

*'''Macuahuitl:''' Some would dispute this weapon is a sword, but it still deserves a mention. The macuahuitl is from Central America and was used by the Aztecs and such civilization. Basically, imagine a paddle with grooves in the narrow faces that hold sharpened obsidian to make the cutting edge. Shards of obsidian can get really really damn sharp, sometimes having a monomolecular edge (confirmed by electron microscope imaging), and as such a macuahuitl could cut through flesh and bone like nobody's business. But this sharpness comes from obsidian's nature as a volcanic ''glass'', which means when a macuahuitl went up against metallic armor (such as, for example, the breastplate worn by a Spanish conquistador), said bits of glass would shatter and leave its wielder helpless against the wearer of the aforementioned armor. The Spaniards, though, feared the Aztec warriors, who could almost behead their horses in but one swing.

*'''Scimitar:''' A family of swords of Middle Eastern design, including a number of offshoots such as the tulwar or shamshir, the scimitar was a curved single bladed sword, but could be one-handed or two-handed depending on its function or region of manufacture. Was made extremely popular by [[Drizzt]], who was famous for fighting with two of them on foot, though historically they were far more suited for fighting from horseback as the curved blade allows for fly-by attacks without the blade getting caught in the victim's bodies and pulling the rider off his horse. Replacing the double edged straight Saif swords that the Arabs used to use after seeing the speedy effectiveness of Turkish & Mongol sabers, these blades were lighter than European counterparts (such as the sabre and the falchion) and had limited flexibility (since they only had one edge), but they were remarkably quick and sharp. Scimitars are one of the few blade weapons still in actual use today, with some Middle Eastern nations using them for executions of criminals. Fantasy scimitars and real scimitars are often two entirely different beasts. Fantasy scimitars tend to look like thinner, slightly more curved sabers while real scimitars were usually very thin and had such an extreme curve it was essentially impossible to stab with them.

*'''Yatagan:''' An inward-curved sword, popularized by Turkish Janissary, and adopted by many nations that fought against them or were conquered by them. Legally counted as a knife (seeing a trend here?), since Janissary being slave-soldiers weren't allowed to wield swords which were weapons of free people. Notable by being the least skill-demanding sword in the Middle East and later Balkans and being not as terrible at fighting people in armor as most other swords.

===Sword and Shot===

The age of the sword did not end the second someone worked out that a combination of a strong tube with one end sealed off, some black powder, and some pebbles could be used to shoot one's enemies. Swords and [[Firearm|guns]] coexisted for nearly a thousand years. The following latter-day swords arose and were used alongside (and sometimes by) arquebusier, msuketeers, dragoons, and riflemen:

*'''Flamberge''': Not actually a sword but a technique for making a blade meaning "Flame Bladed Sword" which was a primarily decorative single-handed blade usually used by officers who practiced rapier forms. While it could be said that the blades caused more damage due to the curves on the edge giving a saw-like motion with each swing; remember that rapier forms were practiced during the gunpowder-era where there were much easier ways to kill a man, and to properly utilise this in combat would require a very different form that required swinging rather than thrusting. Therefore the flamberge's REAL benefit was that anyone who attempted to parry a strike from a waved blade would catch their sword on the curves and unbalance their hold on their own weapon or make their arms ache. This is all theory, of course, as the minor discomfort from parrying a flammarded blade would only really build up over time... and personal combat doesn't last that long.

*'''Flambard''': Forget what you think you know from fantasy books and video games, flambards are the two-handed versions of flamberges. Unfortunately, the terminology has been confused mostly by fanboys and collectors in the same manner as katanas have been. Just like a zweihander blade, flambards were meant to be heavy and the blows inflicted by them were absolutely lethal, so you could easily chop lumps out of dudes stupid enough to get close to you. On the other hand, the waved blade served a different purpose than the flamberge, of focusing force in a smaller area, thus increasing cutting power in a similar way axes do. This allowed it to cut through shields and armour almost as good as great axes (and don't get stuck inside them as often as axes tend to), while retaining the speed and versatility of the zweihander. Flambard got a really bad reputation, due to ragged wounds left by its waved blade having a nasty tendency of catching a gangrene (as this factors in ''after'' the battle it ''does not give the wielder any advantage'', maybe aside some psychological pressure if his opponent knows about this effect), so people assumed the blade itself was "wicked", "cursed", or even "demonic" - during the Reformation wars people carrying ones were often blamed as Devil-worshipers by Catholics (who banned it as unholy weapon) and subsequently BLAMmed, which naturally meant surrender was not an option for flambard-wielding protestant landsknechts. In a way this reputation had partially carried to modern days, where flambards are often carried by villains and outright demons in fantasy or even historical fiction. Once again, this is all theory and there has been no proven advantage to having a flammarded blade. In fact, many historians lump the flamberge style weapons in with the flambard style weapons as it is simply that, a blade style.

*'''Kriegsmesser''': A single-edged rigid top-heavy balanced longsword (sometimes slightly curved, sometimes not), favored by many German and Swedish mercenaries during the clusterfuck the 30-year war was. Basically what katanas should have been if Japanese swordsmiths had all the technology Europeans stole from Arabs (who stole it from Indians) and all the juicy high-quality iron ore - it had the same benefit of easy cutting even without much training (very useful for a merc), but made with a spring steel it was quite resilient to bending and chipping, and of course it had cross-guards and a pommel, unlike it's eastern analogue. Despite the benefit of ease of use, however, the main reason mercenaries used kriegsmesser was because in some of the German states it was illegal for a commoner to own a "knightly" longsword. It was mostly used as a sidearm alongside some-pole-arm or a musket, and later fell out of use in favor of much cheaper arming swords.

*'''Cutlass''': A European broadsword from the age of Enlightenment. Cutlasses had a point which went off to one side and were often slightly curved, but were usually double bladed. A very effective weapon for chopping and cutting. The stereotypical user of this sword is a pirate, which is not an exaggeration as it was commonly used by sailors and pirates during the age of sail, though it also saw use on the ground in the hands of infantry. Cutlasses were still used into the first world war, although they had largely been superseded by close-combat firearms.

*'''Basket-hilted sword''': A medium length, heavy, straight, double edged blade with a heavy guard for the hand. Suitable for both chopping and stabbing, these were generally used by armored cavalry between the English civil war and the Napoleonic wars. The basket hilt served to protect the sword hand (try fighting and controlling a horse one-handed) and could be used to punch with.

*'''Rapier:''' As firearms became more prominent, swords became relegated to the purposes of self-defense and dueling rather than full-fledged military warfare. Unlike most swords, rapiers possess long, thin blades (commonly about a meter long and 2.5 centimeters wide) with a sharpened point- useless for cutting, (somewhat untrue. While there were edgeless rapiers, the term "rapier" comes from and includes the Spanish espada ropera "dressing sword" which popularized the thin, long sword archetype in europe and was sharp enough to allow a strong man to cut a pig in two. They were used mostly for thrusting simply because period clothing was too thick to reliably cut through regardless of blade edge) but perfect for thrusting. They were frequently made with elaborate hilts meant to guard the wielder's hands more effectively, preventing them from being disarmed (both figuratively and literally). They could theoretically be wielded in pairs (dubbed a case of rapiers), but doing so was difficult and reserved for experts. Over time, the rapier evolved into the smallsword; as the name suggests, the blade was made shorter and the hilt was simplified. At this point, they served more as status symbols than weapons in their own right, as duels to the death (at least with swords) had become increasingly frowned upon. While often portrayed in media as light and flexible due to their conflation with their descendents, the modern fencing foil and épée, real life rapiers were nothing but: they were about as heavy as an arming swords and about as stiff as technologically possible, and given they were longer than arming swords, fighting with a rapier was actually more taxing on the wielder's strength, contrary to "go-to weapon for [[-4 Str|girls and feminine guys]]" reputation they have nowadays. Rapiers were actually extremely common as infantry weapons and were not the sole purview of the nobility, with their identification as a noble's weapon occurring long after their military use had ceased. Smallswords are still used by some military branches as part of their formal/ceremonial uniforms. In some dense areas, such as Venice and Italy where street violence was common but guns would attract attention, rapier fighting evolved to use small metal shields as well.

*'''Pistol Sword:''' In the 1600s, someone got a bright idea that seemed ingenious at the time: what if you stuck a [[firearm|gun]] barrel onto the side of a sword so you wouldn't have to fumble around changing your weapons in the middle of a battle? Unfortunately they were born well before they could make this into a videogame weapon, and much like most things in real life, the answer was not as cool as it sounds - instead of getting a weapon that could be used both as a sword and a pistol, you got a sword that was unbalanced and a pistol that was too heavy to aim with (and was also too expensive to mass-produce). Needless to say, they weren't all that popular, and remained more of a curiosity than anything else. The one thing they were good at was finishing game, so rich guys bought them to show off when hunting.

*'''Backsword''': An in-between between Cutlasses and Sabers, Backswords (Or ''Pallaschs'' in German, ''Pallos'' in Hungarian, where they originated) were heavy, strictly single-handed straight swords intended for heavy cavalry. Contrary to Cutlasses, they only had one sharpened edge.

*'''Saber:''' The last type of sword to see any type of major military use. After firearms became the dominant battlefield weapon, sabers were still primarily used by infantry officers and cavalry up until WWI, when cavalry was finally made obsolete by machineguns and trench warfare, and more portable short-range firearms such as revolvers and submachineguns were readily available. Some officers still carry sabers today, such as those of the US Marine Corps, though for purely ceremonial purposes. While both cutlasses and sabers are curved weapons, the saber is distinguished from a cutlass in that they were mostly derived from the Middle-eastern Mameluke sword, being longer and more slender than the thick and short cutlass. The extra reach was more useful for cavalry while the weight of a cutlass was unnecessary for attacking at a full gallop.

*'''Shashka:''' When Russians conquered the Caucasian mountains, they banned locals from owning swords because they tended to rebel all the time and because it was a good excuse to prosecute undesirables. Apparently, Russians weren't paying attention to German and Turkish history, and predictably the Caucasians made a saber that by legal definition counted as a big knife and named it (you guess it) "A Big Knife", or Shashka in Adyghe. It's heavier and straighter than a proper saber and lacks a guard, so it's a bit worse at drive-bying people from a horseback, but better at slicing them open when fighting on foot, being a bit of an all-rounder well suited for a region that favors cavalry that can fight on foot (because of all that mountains and valleys). Naturally, Russian cossacks that handled the brunt of peacekeeping/oppressing (depending on your view) work in the region found out it was a damn fine weapon for the task and adopted it to the point it quickly became their hallmark weapon. Later shashkas became so popular in Russia they almost pushed out sabers from the military and civilian use and by the late 18th century only hussars and high nobility were still using sabers instead of shashkas. Modern Russian Cossacks still wear them, but nowadays they're mostly ceremonial. Though is it really a good idea to piss off a Cossack?

*'''Cane Sword''': A thin straight sword which can be concealed in a walking stick. Popular among elites in the 18th and 19th century among gentlemen which might find themselves accosted by crude ruffians.

*'''Machete''': Somewhere between a short sword and a long knife, the machete is, like the bayonet, still with us today. Essentially a short one-handed blade with a curved edge, it is mostly intended for cutting through undergrowth in tropical climates in the modern era. However, it is just as effective at cutting through flesh, and the ease of their acquisition by civilians has made them popular among guerillas and other paramilitary forces, especially in Latin America and parts of West Africa.

*'''Kukri''': Same story as the Machete, except in Nepal, India, and surrounding areas. The sharpened edge curves forward in a vaguely boomeranged shape, excellent for chopping through vegetation. Still standard issue in several armies and paramilitary police units, famously the Gurkha Contingent in Singapore.

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== Sword-related stupidity ==

Oh there is so much of it...

=== Carrying a sword ===

For some reason, everyone in fiction carries their sword on either the left hip or on the back, from the right shoulder to the left hip. The latter we will come to in a moment, first we will discuss the hip-holstered sword.

While it is certainly true that carrying a sword on the hip opposed to one's sword arm, one has plenty of room to dramatically unsheathe their sword. In the Middle Ages and earlier though, this was not always done like that for a few practical reasons. First up is the shield: when one is in formation and wants to draw their swords having a raised shield in one hand means that one has to keep their shield hand out of the way when drawing their sword, compromising their defense, or by turning it so the tip is pointed to the side, and drawing it to one's sword arm side, though this could risk hitting someone else's leg with the scabbard, or in the face with the pommel if in formation. If one is mounted on a [[horse]] (like a [[knight]]) however, the sword is not carried on the opposing hip for a different reason: drawing one's sword form the opposing hip would mean either pulling the sword past the reins or the horse's neck, which might very well result in cutting the reins or the animal's neck. These two problems for both mounted and pedestrian soldiers was solved in a very simple way: the sword was carried on the same hip as one's sword arm. This limits one's drawing distance, but unless one is a [[C.S.Goto|deformed munchkin]] you should be perfectly fine drawing a one-handed sword from the same hip as the sword arm. Romans for instance always carried their swords on the right for this reason. The katana on the other hand were always carried on the opposite hip, but this was because the Katana was a slashing weapon as such you could turn your draw motion into a cut.

The second point is back-mounted sheaths. Useful for carrying, not combat. Unless you are Dhalsim from Street Fighter or are armed with knives you are not going to be able to draw a single-handed sword from your back. Doing so would involve over-stretching, pulling the sheath down with your shield arm (giving up your defence, a big no-no) and a short sword. Go watch a movie featuring someone with back-mounted swords: you never see them draw their weapons on-screen. And two-handed weapons are right out. Carrying a sword on your back is for hiking across open country, NOT marching to the battlefield. Soldiers armed with large two-handed swords carried them into battle much like their [[spear]]-wielding colleagues: [[Dwarf|held over the shoulders as the soldiers sung songs of war and victory.]] Though that doesn't mean that fantasy or sci fi settings can't have any back-carry, period. A commong way of addressing this in sci fi is to have essentially have some form of magnet on the back which engages when the sword makes contact (this is oftentimes also used to carry long guns), though the precise practicality of this method is questionable. In fantasy then this may be achieved through specialized back scabbards; the Middle Earth games, for example, feature a type of scabbard where part of the flat is exposed; and then there's the finned scabbard design as popularized by the content creator and fantasy novelist Shad Brooks. Another feasible means of doing a ''type'' of back-carried, back-drawn sword is to carry the sword on the side of a backpack, and then draw the sword in the same motion as one is removing the backpack.

===Sharpness===
There are two misconceptions about swords - one is that combat swords were rather blunt and relied on the power of impact, and another that they were sharp enough to shave with and could cut padded cloth with little to no effort. The truth as always in the middle - blunt blades are obviously stupidly impractical (such a "blunt edge" usually comes from a flanged mace, not a sword), and extra sharpness leads to a brittle blade, making the edge extremely vulnerable to chipping. Sure, in some cultures swordsmiths could get away with razor sharpness if metallic armor and shields weren't widespread and fencing styles developed in ways to avoid parrying, but really it only lasted for very long in Japan. With ''modern'' swordsmithing, using modern materials and techiques it's quite possible to make the blade both resilient and razor sharp, but even then most HEMA practitioners prefer reasonably sharp swords, because they last fucking FOREVER when made with top-grade modern steel, while razor-sharp ones made from the same stuff would ''eventually'' wear down from use.

Ironically, some of the absolute sharpest swords are also the most primitive. Stone swords made from obsidian or other vitreous (i.e, glass-like) rocks are absolutely sharp enough to shave with- hell, obsidian blades can have a cutting edge as thin as 3 nanometers (which incidentally makes them prized by surgeons, who appreciate the need to make precise incisions). However, any sort of vitreous material tends to be quite brittle. Some swordsmiths circumvented this by setting many sharp "teeth" into a sturdier frame (e.g. the Aztec macuahuitl/macana that used obsidian shards embedded on the edges of what was essentially a cricket bat).

===Reverse grip===
Yes, reverse-grip fighting looks really cool with lightsabers in [[Star Wars]]. But in reality, except in some fringe cases (finishing a downed enemy, for instance) reverse-grip was not used in swordfighting. Now, early medieval daggers were held in reverse grip to stab down with more force and pierce through mail, that is indeed correct. Open any serious book on knife-fighting today and you will find some reverse grip techniques, correct again. But those are meant for small and light weapons. The moment you reach the size of a larger parrying dagger, it simply becomes impractical to use a reverse grip as it greatly reduces reach and control one has over their weapon. This is even more true for even a small sword like an arming sword, and becomes ridiculous for one meant to be used with two hands. As a general rule, the longer the weapon is, the less practical it is to use reverse grip.

===Cutting off limbs and heads===
Possible, but heavily impractical and dangerous (to one attempting it). The reason is swords are really bad at cutting through solid hard materials, and one of such materials is bone. You can cut through a bone with a sword, but it needs excessive force, meaning either excessive speed of a swing or mass of a sword itself, to a point it becomes hard to control the sword and can lead to a dangerous overswing that leaves you '''dead''' open to counterattack if you don't end up hitting yourself by mistake. And because the sword blade isn't magically immune to damage, it '''would''' blunt, chip, or even break in contact with a human bone. Worse even, it could ''stuck'' in the bone, effectively disarming you. And the best part is, cutting ''to'' the bone most times does as much damage as cutting ''through'' it - a man with his neck arteries and veins cut is just as dead as the one with his head chopped off, and an arm or leg with severed muscles and strings is just as useless and painful as the one cut off clean. And don't even start with cleaving people in half. Machetes are better at damaging bone because they are meant to chop hard material such as wood and sugarcane, though at best it would cause a compound fracture. There are a few varieties of swords created for untrained peasants that were made to be both heavy and cheap, hoping to cause a single limb or head cut. Some swords were specifically made to cut off heads, but they were meant to be used as executioner's tools rather than weapons and are highly unlikely to have been used on a battlefield.

=== Parrying all day long ===

If you have a sword and your enemy has a sword, one thing that you can do is use your sword to stop the enemy's blade. This is called Parrying and it is a valid action in a sword fight. However, in fiction (especially visual fiction) sword fights will often involve each side constantly slashing each other for minutes at a time hitting nothing but the opponent's blade. In real life this did not happen. Usually a sword fight is over in a few swings, especially one on a battlefield. Even in a "pure" sword duel (No shields), opponents do not slash and parry continuously like how they're stereotypically portrayed in media and instead only attack in short intervals before retreating and attacking again or until one of you suffers a fatal wound. This was the case for three reasons:
*Eventually, you will suffer from fatigue and make a mistake, costing you your head if you don't take a few seconds to catch your breath and your rational opponent will be thinking the same.
*Dodging the attack completely is preferable to parrying as it leaves your sword intact and actually leaves your opponent open for an attack.
*Unless both of you have Slaaneshi-tier reflexes and are telepathic, it is nearly impossible for any sword fighter to match their opponent's moves in that magnitude for minutes-on-end that doesn't involve the duel being choreographed like a play (even if you were trained by the same teacher).

A real sword fight is NOT parrying all day, as seen [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQMqlFY7T64 here]

The first reason why this is the case is simple, the objective in a sword fight is to get your sword to hit the enemy, not his blade. The second reason is (if you have one) a shield is better suited to staving off an enemy blow than a sword. The third is that in a battle situation, you are vulnerable to another attacker if you are occupied in endless parrying. The fourth is that swords are not magically immune to other swords. If you parry a blow, your sword gets damaged, which is why the sort of "edge-to-edge" parry you always see in movies are questionable. It would dig huge divots out of the softer sword, if not both of them at once. Sword fighters of some schools tended parry with the flat of the blade unless they're using a specialized weapon with flanges or notches to catch and disarm or break the other weapon, while in others edge-to-edge was considered an acceptable move, since it provided better grip, more reliable block, better use of cross-guards and inevitable blade damage could be repaired later, while your cracked skull could not. It was a matter of [[skub]] both when sword-fighting was relevant and in modern HEMA community.

For those wondering why movies do this if it's so unrealistic and bad, it's simple: most actors and stunt doubles aren't trained swordsmen. But, considering even a dull prop sword without edge is still a heavy lump of metal that can hurt someone very badly if taken fully in the face; parrying all day is performed for safety reasons. The trick here is that, while learning to correctly handle a sword takes a long time; it is easy to train someone that has never wielded one before to perform a couple of very basic and predictable routines that [[pretend|make it looks like]] they're trying to hit their opponent. Said routine is then mirrored by the other person they're 'fighting' with, resulting in safe moves where the swords rhythmically and repeatedly clang loudly against one another (a practice called "Flynning" or "pirate halves" after [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Errol_Flynn Errol Flynn] swashbuckling pirate movies; or "ferrailler" in French, i.e. clanging metal together.) The cool metal-on-metal sound effects give the impression both 'combatants' are really going at it, where in reality they actually are playing it really safe with moves both know are coming and how to deal with. Said impression of a dynamic can then easily be enhanced even further with taking shots from different angles and other camera tricks for a movie, and by having the two characters play off each other in various ways during the fight.

=== Swords and dual wielding ===

If you go to battle with a one-handed sword, you'd generally want some other weapon in your off hand as well. Ideally it should be a shield or a buckler, but lets face it: if you're going into battle, a sword is probably your sidearm, and your main weapon is likely to be two-handed or incompatible with shields in some other ways, and if you use a sword for self-defense against bandits or assassins on the town's street, chances are you didn't bring a huge-ass shield as part of your civilian outfit, and the only other weapon on you would likely be a dagger. So you grab your ''other'' sidearm, like a dagger or a small axe, or maybe even a mace or warhammer. Why not another sword? Well, wielding a single sword requires a lot of skill and attention to do it properly, and operating two requires ''more'' than twice of both, since you use the other sword with your off-hand, which by definition is weaker and less dexterous. That's not to say, master swordsmen didn't try it - some of them did, often with quite a success on tourneys and duels, but none of them was crazy enough to go to war with double swords when sword and something less skill-intensive is so much more sensible. Once you got two weapons in your hand you ''do not'' get to attack twice as often, like it's normally portrayed in traditional or video games - a good attack move requires muscle effort from a whole body, but by attacking with both hands simultaneously (like with showy "scissors" move movies and video games so love) you can only use your arms and to an extend shoulder strength. What dual wielding is really about, is attacking with one weapon and defending with another. This allows you to parry an enemy attack with one weapon and simultaneously retaliate with another, or attack with one weapon without compromising your own defense (much). So contrary to how it's normally portrayed in media and games, dual-wielding is a defensive technique rather then offensive one. And you'd need that extra defense, since with one-handed weapons you would have lower reach. This is also the reason why people didn't block enemy attacks by both their weapons crossed, which is another showy but extremely impractical move popularized by media - one weapon is almost always enough to deflect a blow, and using both you'd just throw away the immediate counter-attack feature, which is the prime selling point of double-wielding. Now double-wielding might look to you like a poor man's sword-and-shield style, but there is one more thing: your options for attack angles are doubled with two different lethal weapons no less, which makes defending against your attacks hell of a lot more difficult for your opponent. Sure, shields and bucklers could and would be used for bashing people, but it's nowhere near as lethal as dagger or axe to the face.

Now, in the Renaissance there was such a thing called the main-gauche or "parrying dagger," but these usually required special training to use effectively, and some models came with specialized designs to aid in parrying; for example, "swordbreakers" had notches to catch the enemy blade and twist it out of their hands, while the trident dagger had spring-loaded sides that could also catch the blade. However, daggers were not used to attack unless the wielder was able to lock blades and close in... which would put you in range of the other guy's dagger as well.

Another notable exception are the Chinese Butterfly Swords, a pair of short single-edged swords used in Wing Chun martial arts. The blades have to be short so that the user doesn't accidentally stab themselves as they swing them around; its also very handy to keep them short since using the swords just require the same moves as unarmed Wing Chun, so no specialized training was needed if you were already a practitioner. As far as we know, these were never used as battlefield weapons, but were pretty handy in a street fight.

There were also several schools of swordplay that focused on the use of two full-sized swords, such as the Japanese Niten Ichi-Ryu school founded by the swordmaster Miyamoto Musashi, but these took years of training to become proficient in let alone master. Generally, these schools required that would-be practitioners have extensive experience in wielding a sword in the off-hand and strongly advised against use by amateurs.

=== Cutting arrows and bullets ===

Actually, this is possible: if hit straight-on, a sword will cut a bullet in half in mid-flight. Sometimes you'll see this as evidence by the Katana-cultists ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPQ1W3qobys The glorious bastards actually tried it!]) that the Katana is a uniquely sharp/strong weapon, but ''any'' blade will cut through a fast-moving block of lead, even a butter knife. The problem with this is that you are standing right behind where the bullet is going, you are now shot twice. If you're not standing right behind where the bullet is going... why are you bothering cutting it in half? The same goes for arrows, but there is likely more batting aside involved (sort of like it goes in [[Star Wars]] with lightsabers and blaster bolts). Also the arrow won't split in half like a bullet, for various reasons related to wood grain, arrow wobble, etc. and unrelated to swords. The thing is, if you can move so fast that you can deflect incoming projectiles (the projectile from a decent [[Bows and Arrows|bow]] can easily go faster than your car does at close range) you should be able to just dodge them instead of bothering with looking fancy. But no human being is capable of dodging a battlefield's worth of arrows/bullets because those thing are just too fast and you do not (or even cannot) see them coming. So unless you're precognitive or have some kind of [[Weeaboo Fightan Magic]] you're not going to do well stopping projectiles with your sword. Oh, and this damages your sword of course. As you can see in the test video above the blade only broke on the seventh impact, but each bullet being cut chipped away at the blade... and would all other things have been equal, forging a blade costs one hell of a lot more money and time than casting and loading a cartridge. Just get the hell out of the way!

=== Pistol and Sword ===

40k is in love with combining a sword in one hand and a pistol in the other and as far as 40K weapon stupidity goes, Games Workshop actually gets it almost right this time. In ye olden times, pistols were slow to reload and inaccurate so it only made sense to have a melee weapon along with the pistol. Pirates were partially famed for this combo. Rather than shoot at range and run the risk of missing, they would close to melee range, deflect the enemy's sword, then stick the pistol in the enemy's gut and pull the trigger. Afterward, they would either drop the gun and draw another or flip it round and hold it by the barrel to use it like a club, only reloading in opportune times. Beyond pirates, this was basically universal practice among all civilian or military sailors at the time.

The other and somewhat more relevant reason that 40K uses pistol and sword was because this was a common weapon combination of the assault troopers in World War I; if you look at the Imperium's other tech, they take a lot of "inspiration" from WWI (several tanks are blatant ripoffs of real world tanks of the era). As the war progressed, commanders realized that defending a trench from an oncoming wave of men was handled sufficiently with bolt action long rifles supported by static machine guns, but these were useless when assaulting a trench. Thus, after discussing with the men who had the most experience in taking enemy trenches, they gave them the weapons they requested: small, handheld weapons that were easy to use and wield within the confines of a trench: especially pistols, trench knives, clubs, sharpened shovels (and later trench guns and sub-machineguns). These were much easier to bring to bear in narrow, muddy trenches where the rifles of the defenders were much harder to maneuver. Officers in WWI were also equipped with a sword and pistol as standard, and they weren't just for show, they'd get used both to direct their own troops and to clear trenches, both theirs and the enemy's.

Also, there are several additional reasons why it makes perfect sense in the 40k or 19th century context:
* A sword can never run out of ammunition. Handy when you are engaging [[Tyranids|a swarm of enemies]]. Though you still need to sharpen and repair it from time to time, this isn't nearly as much of a problem as it is for earlier firearms.
* A sword can parry. If you are fighting in melee against [[Orks|an opponent who prefers hand weapons]], and are armed with just a rifle or a pistol, you can only hope to hit your enemy and incapacitate him before he chops you down. Good luck doing that to an Ork. On the other hand, having a sword means you can at least try to defend yourself against other melee weapons. Makes sense now why a sword continued to be an officer's and nobleman's weapon well into the gunpowder age?
* A sword is not that noisy compared to firearms (or bolters, for that matter). Sure, a melee fight isn't silent, there are bound to be clangs and screams, but it's not nearly as overt as an unsuppressed firearm discharge which can easily reach an ear-shattering 130 dB. There is a reason why people need to wear ear protection at gun ranges. Never mind it also produces flash and smoke, more so if you are using non-smokeless powder. So if you, say, managed to take an isolated enemy position within a wider front line [[Kayvaan_Shrike|with melee weapons only]], there is a good chance the enemy won't know about it for a while. Granted, you can [[Raptors_(Chapter)|snipe from afar using advanced suppressed rifles and scopes]]- but you don't always have the luxury of doing that and ''swords are still quieter''. All of this is assuming you aren’t using a chainsword of course.
* [http://www.military-today.com/life/stab_vest_vs_bullet_proof_vest_the_definitive_guide.htm Bulletproof vests often struggle against knives] (Armor resistance to piercing vs slashing vs. crushing damage is one of the most common "realism" systems done in RPGs and tactics games, both /v/ and /tg/, for a reason.)
* 40k has [[Power Armour]], which can only be reliably threatened either by melee [[Power_weapon|Power Weapons]], or goddamn anti-tank guns. And unless you are a Space Marine yourself, you can't just fasten a [[Lascannon]] onto your belt and call it a day, so if you don't want to end up facing a Space Marine or [[Tyranid_Warrior|a similarly armored xeno monstrocity]] with just a lasgun, grab that power sword. On the reverse side, while Space Marines are superior to regular humans at any combat range, this is particularly true at close range, where their shock value is much greater and enemies could not focus fire to capitalize on their numerical superiority or use cover to compensate for their squishyness compared to marines. Whether marines struggle against particularly competent force of humans or [[Tau|shooty Xenos]], finding a way to break through their fire and enter melee (which is not always easy) is a key to victory both on tabletop and in the lore. Also, in fluff (and RPGs), power swords are remarkably good at breaking enemy non-power weapons while parrying or being parried, adding to their value in defense. Two reasons why they are very popular amongst officers and champions alike.
**This means there are gradations in weapon/armour interaction; [[Flak_Armor|flak armour]] defeats weaker [[Autogun|firearms]] and [[Lasgun|lasguns]], but falls to [[Bolter|bigger]] [[Shuriken_Catapult|and]] [[Gauss#Necrons|scarier]] [[Plasma#Pulse_Weapons|advanced]] guns, which are nigh useless against [[Power_Armour|power armour]], which can't protect against [[Power_weapon|power weapons]] or [[Plasma_gun|advanced]] [[Meltagun|anti-tank]] guns. So unless you happen to have the latter either [[Incubi|on very fast elite melee units]], on [[XV-8 Crisis Battlesuit|sufficiently mobile weapon platforms]], or simply [[Aspect_Warrior#Fire_Dragons|in abundance]], when Adeptus Astartes come for you, you are beyond screwed, just as in fluff.
**While [[Terminator]] armor does protect against most common power weapons, the aforementioned advanced anti-tank guns still have a good chance at hurting them anyway and the greatly reduced speed puts them at a disadvantage against enemies that are either faster than they are or can hit them from far away. And while they do have Power Fists equipped as standard, they're slow enough to give an appropriately geared opponent the chance to kill them before they get a chance to use said power fists. So it all works out...unless you're dealing with Assault Terminators, that is. In that case, you're screwed if you're stuck in melee with them if you're not a Dreadnought or something equally big and nasty.
[[C.S. Goto|With that said, sometimes]] [[Matthew Ward|GW takes it a little too far.]]

=== Unsheathing fun ===

Quick: what sound does a sword (or any blade weapon) make when you unsheathe it? If your answer is something along the lines of SHWING!, think about how a sword would make this sound upon being drawn. It has to be dragged against other metal, but this can causes a whole series of engineering nightmares: if your sword is dragged alongside its sharp edge it blunts, which is obviously not desirable. If you draw it against it flat (or its non-sharp edge if your sword is single-edged) the engineering involved would have to be so precise that the sound is produced, but this would create such a narrow fit for your blade that it would be very difficult and heavy to draw and sheathe, and when temperatures cause the metal to expand or contract your sword gets either stuck or dangles loose in its scabbard. This is obviously not desirable as well.

A more accurate reproduction of what sound a sword makes is to pull up the sleeves of whatever shirt you are wearing: a soft "ffffp"-esque sound. This is because sword sheathes were often made out of wood or leather, with sometimes some kind of fur inside of it. This held the blade snugly in place, would prevent it from falling out if held upside down and would not provide more wear on your sword than combat would.

And whatever dumbass thinks he's 2cool4sheathes will soon learn that cutting his furniture/legs is a very good reason to start wearing a sheathe for his sword.

=== How not to make swords ===

[[image:Conan sword casting.jpg|thumb|300px|left|How to make a sword shaped ingot of pig iron which is of less value to you in a fight than a nice heavy stick]]

Making a sword from steel is a fairly complex and tricky process. Generally it was done by specialized swordsmiths once societies got big enough to support them. Common village blacksmiths could make swords, though not good ones. Making a steel sword involves taking a form of ferrous metal (be it an ingot of iron, a hunk of scrap metal or a sandwich of different types of steels) and heating it until it got soft, gradually hammering it into a sword shape, re-heating periodically as it cools during forging and then getting reheating it again to temper it and quenching in oil to give it strength. A sword does take a fair bit of time to make. As it's a tricky job, swordsmiths did not live alone in isolated workshops but rather worked together in guilds to help train new swordsmiths, while whole families (male and female) were involved in the process of making swords one way or another. They were also not adverse to using mechanical assistance such as water powered trip hammers to help them get things done quickly and efficiently, though forging by hand did allow them to be more precise about things, so it was a case of "Am I being commissioned to outfit a unit in bulk or to make a masterpiece for an officer?".

[[image:Chinese_Trip_Hammers.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Trip Hammers, for when a smith does not want to use his muscle for all the hammering]]

In any case, as it gets the hell beaten out of it during forging what you start with does not look like what you get when your done. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E6TzT0eCYs What a medieval swordsmith would not do is cast a sword shaped form of Pig Iron (the type of liquid iron which you can make with pre-industrial technology, full of impurities and carbon), wait for it to cool into a semi-solid form, hammer it on an anvil for a bit and dunk it into water.] If you try that and it does not shatter on the anvil or shatter after being dunked into water due to cooling so rapidly, it will shatter after the first blow. Note that casting was a legitimate way to make one type of sword; the ones made of bronze, although bronze swords do not match up to the performance of a properly-made iron sword. (Note for the pedantic: you CAN quench in water instead of oil, but it's extra work for no real benefit since you risk warping the blade and need to temper it afterward).

Also, nobody ever quenched a blade by thrusting it into a living guy's chest. That is an obvious bit of often repeated embellishment and rumor about Damascus Steel blades (which were made with the previously mentioned sandwiches of steels) which wormed its way into folklore and you're a moron if you think otherwise.
Firts there's a, let's say, logistical problem: a sword is a meter long or more, and you need to immerse it completely to get a proper quench - and the supply of people at least a meter thick is quite unreliable outside America... Or did they use elephants and walruses? Then there's the metallurgical problem: when you quench steel you want it to cool in a quick, controlled and homogeneous way to avoid warping and having differtial hardening where you don't want differtial hardening. Flesh is not a good at dispersing heat, so your sword will probably not harden at all, and even if this gruesome process did somehow work, you'd need an army of clones to get repeatable results.

=== Folded a thousand times ===
[[image:Forging_Techniques.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Various Japanese forging styles.]]

''Ah, Guroriasu Nippon Sutiru, Foruded Ova 1000 Times....''

This is, as you might expect, bullshit, even if it contains a (small) grain of truth. Japanese swords were created by combining three types of iron alloys, which (if you drop weaboo names) were basically low carbon steel, high-carbon steel and extra-high-carbon pig iron. The limitations of Japanese smithing techniques made it so smelting of those alloys happened below their melting point temperature (or, in other words, they became soft and malleable but not liquid), hence they were unhomogeneous and contained lots of impurities. So it was ultimately plain common sense to "knead" the mix (like you would do with bread) to get an homogeneous bar by stretching it on an anvil, folding it back, forge-welding the 2 parts together again. Repeat, repeat and repeat until (almost) all of the impurities were driven out.

This process, called lamination, was meant to spread the carbon content in the steel and remove inclusions by bringing them to the surface where they could be hammered away as slag. It also created layered laminated steel with layers of hard but brittle high-carbon steel and soft but plastic low-carbon steel (actually pig iron and high-carbon layers initially, but by the time laminating was done enough carbon would burn out of them to change their type) which combines the strong points of both, so the blade could be almost as sharp as hard steel and almost as flexible as soft steel. (You have to give it to them, the Japanese swordsmiths really did do a good job considering the limitations they had to work with.) This was however an horribly time-consuming process (and thus costly), not to say prone to errors. And even if everything works correctly, the very act of working the steel means you lose some every time you work it: external layers of steel burn off, slag detaches from the workpiece, small pieces fly away with every hammer strike - so you would try to keep work to a minimum. Keep in mind that the number of layers of your sword doubles with every fold: 2-4-8-16... and so on, so after 10 folds you get 1024 layers, and after 20 your steel is as homogeneous as it can get due to having over a million layers that blend in each other, losing all the sexy benefits of laminating. One thousand folds would theoretically get you more layers than there are atoms in the perceivable Universe (it's 302-digit number in case you wonder), you'd also end up with only a small fraction of steel you started working with, and almost all the carbon in it would burn out long before you reach 100 foldings, leaving you with almost useless soft iron. A traditionally forged Katana isn't folded a thousand times (perhaps a dozen, if even that), though it does possess over a thousand discernible layers in its structure when looked at with a microscope.

Other nations also used techniques similar to folding (welding) to get over impurities and make layered steel sandwiches, but then one day some smart Indian smith invented crucible smelting to make much purer steel right of the bat, and after that another Indian smith invented tempering which was cheaper, easier and more cost-effective than laminating. Some enterprising Chinese and Arabian traders spread these techniques all over Asia and Europe, so people there immediately stopped folding/welding their Glorious Steel and adopted the better (mostly less time-consuming and hence cheaper) technology. All, of course, except for the isolationist hicks that decided to isolate themselves from the rest of the world and only found about these technologies when Commodore Perry gently knocked their front door off.

A huge chunk of the reputation of Japanese swordsmithing comes from the fact that, by the time Europeans forced their way into the island, swords had became largely a ceremonial part of officers' uniforms in the Western militaries and so little attention was given to their crafting that their quality had become quite poor, not even half as good as they were made but a century before. Low-tech Japanese swords, on the other hand, were still crafted for actual battle and killing people rather then pointing at the enemy to inspire your troops, so they were of the highest quality their technology allowed. Naturally westerners were amazed by the quality of Japanese swords compared to their own stamped mass-produced junk (and keep in mind this was during a low point for Japanese swordsmithing due to reduced demand for swords- a law passed in 1876 banned the public carry of swords for all but a small number of military officials), and here's where the Glorious Nippon Steel bullshit took its origins.

One a sidenote: none of the swords the IJA used during WW2 were Katanas, they were actually similar-looking Guntō; mass-produced with modern means. The ones made for NCOs were produced from train tracks while the officers got hand made units, and due to a shortage of the steel traditionally used for making swords they were often made from steel that wasn't layered at all. While effective when compared to mass produced bayonets, this was the age of automatic weapons where bringing a blade to a gun fight was pretty much suicide in most instances- as a matter of fact, since they were made with the same mass production process that led to the decline of sword quality in the West, these swords were actually ''worse'' overall than the old Katanas. Anybody who claims that they got a genuine Katana from killing a Japanese soldier in WW2 or that their grandfather picked one off the body of a dead officer are full of shit, since construction of traditional-style katanas didn't restart until 1953. While modern katanas are of much better quality, this is due more to the extensive quality control standards placed on swordsmiths by the Japanese government rather than the quality of the steel itself. That said, you can always buy mall ninja grade trash that looks like a katana but is actually stamped stainless steel less deadly than a heavy stick.

Odds are if your buddies claim to own a genuine katana at all they're either mistaken or lying; genuine katanas cost $3,000 at the very least, and that's before factoring in the cost for a licence to own them due to their legal status as art objects. That if they can make it on to the waiting list, as only a few thousand are produced a year. It's much more likely they own a replica made with modern machine production techniques and composed of ordinary stainless steel. While stainless steel may not get rusty and works fine for kitchen knives, it's much too brittle to be used for any sword that isn't purely ornamental.

== Swords in Fantasy & Science Fiction ==

Swords are probably the most commonly used weapon in Fantasy, especially by main characters (the characteristic of the sword listed above makes it symbolic for a leader). While certain fantasy races have certain specific weapons associated with them (Dwarves and Axes, Elves and Bows), all of them will make use of swords at least on the sidelines.

Alongside the usual racial variants, many fantasy universes has some kinds of sword you wouldn't see in the real world.

Swords have an occasional presence in Science Fiction as well. Said presence is usually "justified" by the inclusion of either Magical Pseudoscientific Bullshit, or very special considerations, depending on how justified the "justification" is. (For an example of probably valid special considerations: You need a weapon that can be used around explosive gasses that also doesn't have any EM emissions and doesn't make much noise? You're pretty much down to a melee weapon (of which the sword is probably the best all-rounder) or a harpoon.) In [[Star Wars]], the justification is that through use of the Force, they can make up for anything their weapon lacks in range, particularly by deflecting blaster bolts back at their shooters. In [[Star Trek]], the justification is that in boarding actions which is the basis for most on-foot fights in the setting, fighting is usually done in relatively cramped spaces (though even still, to species who use them, they tend to do so partially for cultural reasons, as with the Klingons). In [[Halo]], the energy swords and gravity hammers have deep cultural importance for the Sangheili and Jiralhanae respectively, hence why they often bring them into battle together with their other weapons. In [[Dune]], the Holtzman Effect allows for shields which prevent anything that moves too fast from getting through, forcing battles to primarily be fought with blades. However, probably the easiest justification is by combining supersoldiers with melee weapons, as supersoldiers would often be most effective against regular soldiers at close range, as their protection tends to make them difficult to damage with most weapons that can be used at such a range and their value as shocktroops is greatly enhanced as well from such a range.

===Lightsabers===
[[Lightsaber]]s are the iconic weapon of the [[Star Wars]] universe, and argued over sufficiently enough - especially with regards to sword-related stupidity as covered in the section above - that we have an article linked just for them. Much of what's said there also applies to their many knockoffs throughout numerous sci-fi settings.

===Busters===
Named after the "Buster Sword" from [[/v/|Final Fantasy VII]]: these are basically unrealistically huge greatswords. By unrealistically huge; we mean that a Buster Sword is about as tall and wide as a fully-grown adult human, with the weight being a dozen or more kilos. Depending on the make, it's either shaped and used like a giant greatsword used to chop unfortunate enemies with extreme prejudice or it can also be a heap of metal affixed to a grip where it can be used to bludgeon targets with maniacal glee. There's no strict criteria on what exactly qualifies as a buster sword, but if its almost as tall and wide as its wielder (or larger); it gets lumped into this category. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cHqPYnnLpo Much to the joy of neckbeards everywere, somewhere in Martha's Vineyard there's a guy who makes real Buster Swords and similar insane weapons for a living, and he's as awesome as you'd expect.]

Realistically speaking: busters would be unsurprisingly unwieldy to use. Its heft and size makes would make it nearly impossible to be wielded effectively during a confrontation where a more agile opponent can simply avoid the first swing and attack while the wielder takes their time readying the damn thing for another go, it'd be like trying to swat a fly with a tree trunk. Not to mention because the weight of the sword isn't focused on single point (like how the weight of a battle axe is largely focused on the axe head instead of all over itself), trying to damage armored opponents would be an incredibly tough, if not impossible affair (Plus a blade this large would have to be hardened to withstand the heavy damage done by its attacks; so this also isn't counting the blade doesn't outright shatter under its own weight after striking plate armor).

That also isn't counting that your wielder would have to rival the strength of an Olympic body builder in order to even bring it to bear in combat in the first place ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BIfrA6CIIk and using it combat is another problem due to the weight]), something an army would not bother with, given the tons of better, much more cost-effective alternatives - most appropriately battle axes. When you swing a top-heavy heavy object in one direction with all your might; the inertia of that is incredibly hard, if not impossible to, stop mid-swing for a normal human being (if you do, your joints and muscles will pay the price), so unless you happen to be a heavily augmented super-strong cyborg or blessed with inhuman muscular bulk to put most strongmen to shame; you will either only be doing vertical downward slashes (which isn't really that effective, unless your opponent is stunned in place) or spin around like an out-of-control top while swinging it horizontally (in which case, you might get one lucky kill before you collapse from dizziness and someone else gives you a good stomping).

Unrealistic though they may be, '''there is however one RECORDED example of a buster sword.''' During the mustering of the Iowa militia in advance of the abortive Honey War with Missouri in 1839, one member (having no gun) arrived with [[Weeaboo|nothing but a 6' homemade sword]] that was basically just a sharpened iron bar. Other improvised weapons in that mustering included several farm scythes and a flail made out of sausage grinder blades.

In fantasy, however, the rule of cool takes over and the lore can make up a proper explanation for why that particular universe need these fuckheug weapons. Busters in fantasy (or really any impractically large weapon) are typically used in settings where they make a lick more sense; a fantasy world populated by giant creatures. You see, if you were to bring something like a claymore or a gladius to your ho-hum fantasy setting; chances are that they'll lack the mass to cut through monsters the size of city buses and beyond. With a sword as big as a human being, however; the weapon's size and weight plus the user's presumably augmented strength and the fantasy's general disregard for inconvenient things like realism and physics, allows them to cleave through thick materials like scales, bones, armor, muscles...etc, with ease. Its not the most practical way to go about it, but then again this is fantasy; your imagination and sanity is the limit.

More examples of Busters could be the [[Iron Kingdoms]], who have a type of sword called "Caspian Battleblades", very heavy, dull swords with a head that spikes out to either side broader than the blade, made crucial for warfare because of all the [[Warjack|heavy armour]] walking about, and tend to have lots of cut-outs in the blade's center to reduce its weight. [[Berserk]]'s Guts also wields an ordinary Buster Sword, though he's super-humanly strong, has a mechanical arm, and regularly battles giants and demons. Curiously 40k of all settings managed to make its two busters more or less reasonable or at least usable: Eviscerators are outfitted with their own anti-gravity propulsion systems, throwing most issues with busters out of the window, and Incubi Klaives ares made out of light materials and have extra grips, so they can be used like polearms despite looking like giant swords.

===Gunblades/Pistol Swords===
As mentioned before, they were an idea that started in Ye Olden Times of the 16th century, where a flintlock or revolver pistol was given a blade or bayonet attachment to so that the user could get the benefits of two weapons in one system- only to get the drawbacks of both weapons in just the right way to make it worthless as a sword ''or'' a pistol. It evolved from the idea of mounting daggers on pistols, which had a bit more practical sense in comparison.

[[/v/|Final Fantasy VIII]], however, took it a step further and made a sword with a fucking pistol-grip for a handle, a revolver's chamber built into the hilt, and a long, rifle-like barrel welded to the flat side of its one-edged blade. Though, this is offset by the fact that the weapon isn't meant to be fired in the traditional sense at all; all bullets fired by a gunblade are blanks, intended to [[What|set the blade oscillating such that it cuts through monsters and other opponents better, like a chainsaw.]] (See also: Oscillating Blades.) Which begs the question: if it doesn't even deal damage by firing a projectile, why build a gun mechanism into the sword at all? The answer, of course, is the Rule of Cool.

In other works of fiction, this problem is solved with [[Necron|advanced technology]]. Starting off with the most well known [[/tg/]] example from Warhammer 40K, we have the Sentinel Warblades used by the golden BFFs of the [[Emperor of Mankind]]. The [[Adeptus Custodes]] put the short barrel equivalent of a [[Storm Bolter]] with a halved range on their massive swords. Since Custodes are larger than a Space Marine on average, they might as well be full sized guns. They also have direct energy weapons on their Guardian Spears, which is a better option than a projectile weapon as the user won't have to reload as often. Reduced range is not much of a problem for the Custodes; there won't be many survivors left after they are hit with [[Anal_circumference|Melta Beams or Adrathic Destructors.]] After a few volleys, the Golden Bananas will charge the unlucky bastards who weren't vaporized.

The transforming variant from gun to blade or vise-versa is often used in Japanese Media, mostly [[/m/|Tokusatsu]]. The earliest examples are from Kamen Rider 555; one is a primary weapon of the main character, Kamen Rider Faiz. Toei, unlike a [[Games Workshop|certain model making company]], likes to stretch a budget and tries to outdo themselves as technology advances. Many Kamen Rider and Super Sentai (too many to list here) will have transforming Gunblades just about every other season, some bigger or more detailed than the last. If the Sentai Team or Kamen Rider of the season has tech based powers, these Gunblades fire lasers or some other form of energy beam.

Special Police Dekaranger has a strange example in the form of the D-Sword Vega, a sword that was used as a ranged weapon on two occasions. [[What|The special effects imply it is both a blade and a direct energy weapon]]. The primary user, Doggie Kruger, typically [[awesome|shoots lightening]] out of it as his finishing movie. However, since the Space Police in the show have more advanced technology than a typical terrestrial officer the D-sword Vega itself is a century or more ahead of anything in IRL or most works of fiction have.

So TL:DR. Gunblades, while possible to turn into a useful weapon sometime in the future, will require advancements that have yet to be made and are likely to require incorporating directed energy weapons rather than solid projectiles. While fixing the gun part will be easy enough, another problem is the blade itself, which can't be easily replaced on the user end. If and when this becomes possible. In practice, the sword part would still be of questionable use compared to the gun part, and we already have bayonets for that.

===Oscillating blades===

Also known as: "vibraknives," "high-frequency blades," et cetera, these are blades made so that they vibrate at such extreme speeds that they weaken the molecular bonds of the material being slashed, translating into the blade being able to cut things that a normal sword would snap against and making them nearly indestructible in the process. These actually have a real-world counterpart in the form of electric knives and jigsaws, which are saw-toothed and cut a variety of materials, but not to the degree or speed that proper HF blades can. Completely relegated to sci-fi stories and vidya.

In Star Wars, vibroblades are the standard issue blades for regular non-Force using troops, allowing them to cut through droids and armor if they ever need to fight at close range. In the Old Republic times, there was a time during which personal energy shields became effective enough that they could protect their users from blasters. During this time, sword-sized vibroblades became more common as the energy shields were much less effective against them. Eventually, blasters would become more effective at going through such shields, hence why vibroswords are rarely seen in the times depicted in most Star Wars media.

The Old Republic era is also a time during which Jedi and Sith were much more common than in times depicted in the movies and while regular troops would stand little change against strong Force users like Satele Shan or Darth Malgus, their abundance meant that there was plenty of weak Jedi and Sith around and regular troops received training in how to deal with them. For this purpose, vibroswords were made out of an alloy containing cortosis, a lightsaber resistant material which in it's pure form can force lightsabers to shut down. While a sword made of such alloy cannot quite do that, it does allow for the sword to be resistant against lightsabers.

One of the most famous examples of a high-frequency blade is Metal Gear Rising: [[Derp|Revengeance,]] featuring a psychopathic weeaboo cyborg with a high-frequency katana against the world. The HF blade is depicted as being capable of slicing through everything, except materials capable of withstanding HF weapons. Against these, they have to be weakened enough that the HF blade can chop it into mincemeat.

The science SEEMS sound, but they don't ever explain how the extreme vibration needed to electrically sever molecular bonds doesn't shake apart the human wielder's skeleton or the sword itself, which is why even if it was possible to make them, they'd likely never be used in real life. After all, Newton's third law is still in effect. You can test this yourself and try holding any vibrating appliance for a few minutes; your muscles will start feeling numb from all the vibrations. They also state that the power of an HF blade is determined on how the original blade was forged before being modified, meaning that higher-quality blades yield better HF blades, as the HF technology only augments the properties sword. Though Jetstream Sam, a Brazilian samurai in the game, wields his own master forged high frequency blade, which is so good that it could slice pretty much anything, even the megalomaniac final boss ''who manages to block and snap Raiden's sword in half with his bare hands''.

While his blade is apparently made from a well-forged katana that has been passed down in Sam's family since the 16th century; they don't ever really elaborate on how the blade's quality affects the transition into an HF blade, especially when Raiden's modern-forged blade is somehow of lesser quality than a genuine Japanese katana made of low-quality steel folded in forging to work out the heavy impurities. The only way this makes sense is if the Katana was reforged with more durable materiel. As even the best weapon will break down with regular use. It could have been explained better by stating that HF Blades have Monomolecular edges and are built with Carbon Nanotubes like the cyborgs themselves. But it seems that Platinum is ignorant about how swords are made like most [[Fail|fan fic writers]]. At least they acknowledge how bad of a weapon they are. As one character mentions that a Plasma Sword would be superior to High Frequency Blades. In a setting where lasers and vehicle/drone mounted plasma cannons exist.

===Monomolecular Swords===

A feature in some sci-fi RPG settings, particularly those with a cyberpunk theme, these are swords made of exotic but scientifically plausible materials such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, etc. A common element to these is that they are supposed to be exceedingly sharp, with a blade literally ending in a sharp line a single atom thick. They may also have other attributes such as being self-mending, or have electrical effects like heating up or being selectively flexible and thus worn as clothing (like a belt). Another quality of these sorts of blades is they almost universally defeat commonplace means of detection such as metal detectors and x-ray machines.

Tragically (or perhaps fortunately), research into metamaterials and carbon composites hasn't yielded anything that actually works like this, although maybe they have and the super spies are keeping it to themselves.

It should be added that monomolecular blades are a thing that actual exists in the real world; the trade off is that the edge rapidly decays. And we're talking as in an expected cutting lifetime before needing sharpening of ''seconds''. More common is blades whose edge molecules can be counted in the ''hundreds'', which are used in eye surgery and electron microscopes; the two materials used for these are diamond (which is expensive) and glass (particularly obsidian). Neither is a particularly sturdy material (while diamond ''is'' [[meme|the hardest metal known to man]], it's very hardness makes it particularly prone to fracturing when any amount of force is applied), so a large blade made of either is going to be useless pretty much instantly--although see the Macuahuitl in several places around this article for a way around that.

===Mechanically-powered weapon===

This basically means that the sword is powered by an external power source, like motors. The [[chainsword]] for example, is common in sci-fi worlds that have close combat, as it's basically a chainsaw in sword form and the motor helps the sword do more then if it was just a sharp chunk of steel. Realistically speaking, power weapons would be bottom heavy, making them awkward to use, and if it goes the chainsaw route, then it would be hilariously impractical to use at all in combat situations; things softer than wood or ice tend to get caught in and gum up the teeth of a chainsaw, flesh being one such material. So, your custom chainsword would be rendered useless almost immediately, and in fact would be rendered less useful than an ordinary sword against whatever you were trying to [[RIP AND TEAR]] at the time. And spinning blades such as saws carry so much angular momentum that they resist movement in the same fashion as a gyroscope.

One could argue that the chainswords in 40K are made differently from actual chainsaws in that they're designed for cutting people in mind; the teeth are mono-molecular and are shaped like knives rather than the thick, axe-like notched blades of real chainsaws (which are designed to chew away at thicker and harder materials, like wood); allowing them to nick through flesh more cleanly than your everyday chainsaw. The motor would have to be more powerful than a car's engine, yet light enough to be carried in one hand, allowing it to run the blade at speeds that it the teeth won't get caught, while still making it as maneuverable as a standard sword. But that's technology in the grim future, as trying to make a chainsword with today's technology and engineering would make for a very impractical weapon. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gj8pAN7Y7E]]

Impracticality aside, there's an argument to be made that in the 40k universe that chainswords and their non-imperial equivalents have a well-established purpose in the setting, analogous to the Buster swords 40k generally eschews. Beyond rogue humans or possibly Eldar (for which any sharpened stick should be a more sensible weapon), most opponents of the imperium pack incredibly tough flesh, extremely heavy armor, sheer mass enough to ignore grievous wounds, or any combination of the three. A chainsword, for all its downsides, can inexpensively provide some measure of response to any of these. The additional power yielded by the engine would exacerbate physical trauma, blowing physical injuries way out of human proportion. The sharp teeth provide concentration of force beyond any sword and can scrape through or catch in the gaps and seams inherent in any armor designed to move. The added motion and dimensions of force applied would help the wielder cut through limbs or body parts far too thick to slice apart for the same reason a chainsaw can gouge through thick tree trunks. All in all a chainsword gives the imperium a cheap one-size-fits-all answer to killing up close, with the acknowledgement that the weapon must be wielded not like a sword but like a saw. For all its technological improvement, the downsides are largely the same as they would be today: the wielder gives up grace, balance, most ability to parry, and accepts that they will be wounded by almost anything they fight. To take it one step further, it's an apt metaphor for the imperium itself: capable of grinding down anything through sheer low-tech single-mindedness, but always at grim cost in blood and lives.

===Magical materials===

In folk lore you can make weapons, typically swords since they are the weapon most associated with nobles in most cultures, out of any of a number of different types of special materials that have properties that grant it magical properties. A few of the more common examples are:

*'''Treasure Steel:''' the legendary super-steel from the Slavic and Norse mythology. Legends attribute it with extreme durability and ability to cut through "lesser steel". It was for a long time thought completely fictional or just the name for an Iranian Bulat steel, but eventually historians found out the stories were based on the early steel-age forging techniques. IRL it was just an alloyed high-carbon steel in the early age of very low-quality unhardened steel. It was made with a very wasteful process that included burying a huge steel ingot into the ground (aka "Treasure"), letting it rust for few years and reforging the remnants - then repeating the process several times each time the ingot losing a sizeable percent of its mass to the rust and smelting burnout. As iron corrodes faster then natural alloys found in the ore and carbon, repeated treasuring and reforging increased alloy and carbon concentration resulting in a great metal for its time. Needless to say, only the nobility could afford to waste so much iron, so it also became a trademark of warlords and their champions. Mostly due to how shitty everyone else had it, these things were nasty.
*'''Thunderbolt Iron''', which is a fancy term for weapons made from meteorites. In fantasy space iron swords tend to have magical properties or are treated as some kind of super steel: in D&D they are the source of adamantine. In real life, this was for many civilizations their first experience with iron and for some civilizations, a lump of iron-rich meteorite could be many times purer than what they could naturally forge and smith. That is if they could even make iron at all: the otherwise Bronze Age Egyptians managed to get a meteoric iron dagger into King Tutankhamun's tomb. The problem of course is the term "iron-rich" and many meteorites are either very small or made of rock or nickel that can't actually be forged; there is a good reason why Tutankhamun had a dagger and not a sword. Additionally, many meteorites have [http://xkcd.com/1114/ impurities that weaken the blade]. Still, bad iron is better than no iron and we do get plenty of big meteors to make swords out of. The late [[Discworld|Sir Terry Pratchett]] famously [[Awesome|forged his own sword out of a meteorite when he was knighted]].
*'''Cold Iron''', On the other hand, just being made out of iron by itself was enough to grant magical properties, as Rudyard Kipling said, ''"But Iron — Cold Iron — is master of them all."'' Iron, and by extension steel, have strong folklore traditions perhaps because that blood smells and taste metallic due to its iron content, or perhaps the "mystical" attraction of a lodestone to iron. In folklore, you could use iron scissors to ward off changelings, nail an iron horseshoe to your door to give luck, while an iron knife buried under the entrance to your home would keep witches away. In the modern "sci-fi approach," fantasy iron weapon's "magical" abilities are sometimes explained by its magnetic properties that can disrupt "magical" being's senses and abilities based on electromagnetism, and in some instances can cause them great pain or even instant death just from a physical contact or even being near. ''"All well and good,"'' I hear you say ''"but what does this mean for swords?"'', well honestly not much. It does mean your best weapon against things not weak to some other magical material like silver, such as fairies or demons, is a steel sword, but you were going to use that anyway since steel is better than any material not from the future. The importance of iron as an anti magic weapon only becomes important in settings where iron as a weapon is rare. The "cold" part is often a point of contention and it can mean that the iron has to be cold forged, i.e. never heated, or that it's just not hot now, or sometimes it's just a poetic term for any iron, Room-temperature metals feel cool to the touch because, when held, they conduct heat out of the skin more readily than air does, the same way we use the term "Hot Lead". [[Changeling: The Lost]] defines it to mean 'relatively pure iron (i.e. no steels, oxides, or alloys- if it's something that the average person would think of as being made of iron, it counts)'. While iron in general has adverse effects on anything touched by Faerie, the most potent kind of all is "cold iron" (that is, iron that was never worked using any kind of heat and did not involve magic being used in its creation at any point in time). This means iron fresh out of the ground does the most damage (but is obviously just a rock so using it is hard), and Meteoric Iron (see above) since it's never been heated by man, but re-entry smelted it making it easier to work with by comparison. On the other hand, weapons of pure iron tend to be less sharp and durable when compared to steel and other alloys- and are consequently much trickier to find outside of an antique collection. You're probably best off breaking off a piece of a wrought iron fence and making it into a weapon. Even then it's not guaranteed it'll be pure enough to have any special effects since almost all "wrought iron" products made nowadays are actually made of low-carbon steel.
*'''Silver''', unlike iron and meteoric Iron, doesn't work as weapon material in real life. Cost aside, silver is softer, heavier, and dulls much easier than a steel blade, but silver's tradition of magic goes further back than iron and in settings with werewolves a silver sword may be your best friend. The reason why Silver's magical tradition likely goes back further than iron (at this rate may as well make a page for magical metals) is because of a unique property of silver: [http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Silver_as_an_Antimicrobial_Agent water in silver pitcher takes a lot longer for it to get scummy, as silver ions damage bacterial DNA and enzymes]. This led to it having a reputation for healing and since healing is good (duh), for being holy. This trait of silver is also why we get the reputation for why vampires can't cast a reflection: old timey mirrors used a silver backing to get a clear reflection, and since vampires are unholy, they wouldn't cast a reflection in the holy silver. As for werewolves, in olden times it was thought werewolveism was also like rabies, hence the whole 'you become a werewolf if bitten by one', bring to mind rabid animals hence silver against werewolves stems from it's anti microbial, and so healing, properties. In modern times though the logic behind silver and werewolves tends to be that since silver is the same color as moonlight and werewolves are empowered by the moon, it would suppress their powers or otherwise weaken them. In fantasy settings, silver weapons often do less base damage but deal more damage against, or are the only thing that can hurt, unholy monsters like ghosts. It is also possible to [[Grey Knight|coat your realistic steel blade with silver]] (or gold, for that matter) without dulling it too much, and keeping it dangerous for supernatural creatures weak against silver. Real world silver-coated stuff is usually bronze or stainless steel, as silver and iron themselves exhibit anode-cathode behavior (which will quickly oxidize the silver in a matter of weeks) and tends to be used in the chemical/maritime industry as silver is very resistant to chlorine.
** As an aside, [[The Witcher]] series' uses for silvered weapons are usually given a pass here due to two factors: 1) the silver sword is carried as a specialist weapon for silver-vulnerable monsters alongside an steel one <ref>The games make a hard split between steel==kill_people and silver==kill_any_monster, thus overusing the silver one, but in the core books steel sword is for anything that will bleed, while silver is for very, very special and rare occasions</ref>, and 2) Witchers explicitly spend a lot of time maintaining their equipment, and a Witcher is at least as much an alchemist as a fighter so they'd know the hows and whys of effectively maintaining such a weapon.

===Super Sword===
Super Swords are a broad category of fictional weapons includes weapons made with advanced technology (Lightsabers, Necron Phase swords), Magic (Shardblades from Words of Radiance), divine origins or just are the product of super duper swordsmithing abilities (your memetic Katana). What they have in common is the fact that they can cut through basically anything with minimal resistance. They'll cut through armor and steel like nothing. Generally another super sword can resist them and maybe a few special items, but they'll go through a boulder like nothing.

==Worldbuilding Considerations==

One further point, if you're doing worldbuilding: Swords, due to their versatility, will always be important in military contexts '''until''' four weapons appear, each of which absorbs a lot of the sword's unique functionality:

# The decline of the sword will usually begin when guns start appearing; the obvious combination of guns and spears to protect them quickly moves combat ranges to the point that swords are almost never needed in planned, open field combat outside of full-on charges. At this point, they still have a role in unplanned or close-quarters combat and will probably still see civilian use, although that will diminish as gun technology improves. Further, the close quarters and unplanned combat utility will eventually be completely absorbed by knives and other weapons that double as useful tools. For example, you wouldn't use a sword to cut through thick vegetation while a Machete can do both that and fill the sword's combat niche for less money.
# Reliable repeating handguns finish removing the sword from civilian contexts, as they are both more comfortable, easier to learn to use, and less difficult to repair than a sword (although, admittedly, more prone to breaking in the first place). You don't have to be an expert armorer with thousand of dollars worth of equipment to fix a firearm.
# [[Shotgun]]s and sub-machine guns are superior to swords in the field of close quarters fighting; as soon as this is realized, that's another major area the sword vanishes from. In particular, hallways are called "death tunnels/corridors" by the military for a reason: there is little room for fancy maneuvers such as dodging bullets.
# Reliable machine guns prevent open field cavalry charges, which is usually the last vestige of military value the sword has.

Equivalent weapons to the above work just as well in absorbing the sword's usefulness, so long as they remain ''reliable''. As each of these show up, expect the sword to vanish steadily from importance; the last stop before vanishing entirely will probably be as a symbol of office for officers, even among republics swords have an a kind "nobility" air about them and still have strong associations with leadership, it's why even states born of revolution from monarchies tend to keep dress swords around.

Superswords, or shielding that interferes with guns but not short range weapons, are necessary for swords to reappear. Keep in mind, though, that this can easily be overdone to the point of wankery. If this supersword is in any way unique, you probably have a [[Mary Sue]] on your hands, which is usually felt to be a bad thing.

In more advanced settings a Plasma or Laser weapon could plausibly emulate an energy blade or create a [[Meltagun]] style burst (e.g. the Plasma Gun from [[Doom|Doom 2016]] does the latter). While serving as a close range armor/door/wall breacher at the same time. This also makes swords redundant, but in situations where defenses against energy-based weapons and projectiles are used, the sword (and other melee weapons at that matter) can still make a comeback as a weapon. (Case in point, 40K- a bolter might not be able to penetrate power armor, but a power sword can do so, and unlike plasma guns, power weapons don't run the risk of a lethal overheating accident.) Or you can go the [[Dune]] route and make it so that armor is ''so'' advanced that only swords work on them because they're too ''primitive'' to be blocked so remain the only viable choice without being forced to chuck nukes at individual enemy infantry.

{{MedievalWeaponry}}

Spear

2023-06-07T17:12:00Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

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[[image:Yari_spear.jpg|thumb|300px|right|A Yari Spear]]

Behold the most simple yet [[OP]] weapon to have ever been made!

Several million years ago among our primitive ancestors who still walked on all fours, was an ape who figured something out about sticks. A long, solid pointy stick could penetrate the skin of an enemy, a predator, or prey at a distance. This sort of thinking caught on and became common. Eventually these primates worked out how to make sticks pointy by chewing or using tools to carve out a point. Much later they figured out that fire could make the points harder and better at poking through stuff, and eventually that a triangular pointy rock tied to one end was even better than that. This is the origin of one of the oldest and most extensively used weapons in human history: the '''Spear''', the first of the many types of weapons collectively known as [[pole-arm]]s. The spear, having been in use for over 500,000 years, is older than the human species and the only melee weapon [http://www.businessinsider.com/the-most-famous-bayonet-charge-of-modern-conflict-2012-10 still in common use today], and has occasionally been seen being used by chimpanzees (albeit in a far cruder form than any human-made ones). It is therefore an objectively correct statement to say that the spear is one of the most effective and versatile weapons ever devised.

In fantasy settings, spears are often a universal weapon, with all races typically making use of them in some way because of their tactical significance in warfare, relative simplicity of use (compared to other weapons), and ease in manufacturing, compared to other weapons.

== Spears in Warfare after the agricultural revolution ==
[[image:Greek_Hoplites.jpg|thumb|300px|left|A Group of Greek Hoplites demonstrating the phalanx formation.]]
First off, a general fact. Spears are designed to do one thing: poking the enemy to death. They do this very well, but they are pretty poor at other things. If they run at you, or you run at them (or better still, are on a horse running at them) that momentum makes the poking all the more effective. Two-handed spears can be longer, up to 7 meters and like a Pokémon get a new name, '''Pikes.''' One-handed spears leave the other free to hold a shield for better protection (granted, there certainly were ancient example of pikemen also holding shields, though they certainly weren't actively blocking with them and were just worn while hoping for attacks might end up into them).

In melee combat on foot spears have one big advantage as far as weapons go: reach. With a spear you can attack your enemy from further away than you could if you had an axe or sword. Your blade, after all, is at the end of a shaft of wood at least a meter and a half long. However, if your enemy should get past the point of your spear and has a sword, mace, or axe, you are at a big disadvantage and are generally screwed. The best way around this fact is to gather up a bunch of spearmen and stand shoulder to shoulder, with more men behind you in case you miss. Thanks to the length of the spear and the simplicity of its combat use (stabbing) it was possible for those in the back ranks to fight over the shoulders of the guys in front of them. These formations can be very resistant to cavalry charges since one: you can stab the guy off his horse. Two, horses' momentum is working against him, increasing the strength of the stab the faster he rides towards you. And three, horses often balk and shy away from charging headlong into spears killing the momentum of their charge and of the horses behind them. A major downside of spears is their cumbersomeness. Due to their length, spears work very well in narrow avenues, but are impossible to wield at very close quarters. That's why elite or well equipped spearmen usually carried short swords or daggers for when enemies come really close or their spear broke in the middle of battle (being made of mostly wood they tended to do this quite often).

Another important fact about spears is that they are dirt cheap and easy to train with. A perfectly adequate steel tipped spear could be made by a village blacksmith or farrier in about three hours. [[Katanas are Underpowered in d20|A good sword]] would take a whole lot longer to forge, more iron and fuel to heat, and generally require a more skilled smith. If you want to raise a bunch of conscripts or [[militia]] and can't/don't want to pay a lot of money training and equipping them, or you want it done fast; a spear is your go-to weapon. They are so ubiquitous in ancient warfare that in China, as the Qiang, it is called the "King of Weapons" in the classical weapons quartet (the others being the Jian sword, Gùn staff, and the Dao sabre).

Unlike with swords, axes or bows, spear wielders benefit the most not from the personal skill, but from discipline, as their strength is usually in formations that prevent their foes from coming dangerously close. While technically spears are a hard counter to cavalry, medieval knights [[rape|utterly curb-stomped]] undisciplined spear-armed militiamen, while similarly armed but heavily-drilled Italian and Swiss mercenaries with pikes [[anal circumference|royally buttfucked]] any heavy cavalry stupid enough to charge them... from the front. That is of course the other problem with spears: because they work best in tight formations, outflanking and hitting the side of the formation is often a slaughter as the tightly packed men can't turn well to adjust to the new threat on their side. Alexander solved this by putting lighter troops on the flank, later the Europeans would use hand gunners to help repel charges. Swiss, however, solved this problem completely by training the everloving shit out of their soldiers so their pikemen blocks could switch direction in a matter of seconds, turning former flanks into new front and vice versa, all while RUNNING at the enemy in perfect formation (something no other spearmen in history had ever done before, though the descendants of [[Vikings|these nutters]] would later adopt the idea). They were so OP at their time, other nations ''waged wars'' for the right to hire them and in fact the modern Swiss constitution makes it outright illegal for the Swiss to serve as soldiers for other nations, with ONE exception: the Swiss Guard who have been guarding the Pope ever since 1506, yes, over 500 years, making them one of the, if not the, longest serving military units in history.

Spears were also perfectly functional naval weapons used by marines. Two vessels that came alongside for boarding actions would often have teams of fighters as dedicated spearmen to stop enemy soldiers coming on board by jumping between ships and clear spaces on the opposing vessel for their own swordsmen to board themselves.

Spears are often portrayed as being used overhand, meaning that if you point your fist outwards the tip is pointing down. While this may sound like a bad idea, as it creates an incredibly unwieldy angle to use your weapon at, limits your thrusting strength and does not allow you to stab as far as an underhand grip, it does allow to stab over your shield and this style of spear use was widely practiced by the Greek Hoplites. (as the picture above shows). This is incorrect and a common misconception, spears, unless they were Macedonian sarissas, were held in phalanx formation at around belly height, underhand. As a nice trick it also doubles as throwing stance (so you can launch your spear in surprise attack without telling it to your opponent with a sudden stance-change). Speaking of which:

===Spears at Long Range===
So far this has all been about spears as melee weapons. Spears can also be thrown, though for best results you usually need specialized spears. Thrown spears (or '''Javelins''') are typically shorter and lighter than melee spears, but heavier than arrows. They don't have the same speed or range, but since they are heavier they can make quite an impact. Regular one-handed spears while not designed for it, could be thrown too, though at far less distances, and throwing your main close combat weapon at enemy is usually a bad idea, unless he retreats or is a giant hulking elephant you don't want to face in melee.

Notable users of throwing-spears were Roman legionnaires, whose ''pila'' were specifically engineered to sink into a shield, bend at the long, flexible barbed tip to make removal just about impossible, and then detach from their handles. This served the three-fold purpose of making the ''pilum'' unusable for the enemies thus attacked, ruining any shields they happened to sink into, and being nearly impossible to treat without heavy surgery off the field, and these were the days before penicillin, meaning you were more likely to die of infection even if the surgery went well. For these reasons Pila were effective at inflicting significant losses even on armored opponents.

Other famous throwing spear users were the Aztecs who used the ancient atlatl to throw stone-tipped spears with enough force to penetrate Spanish steel mail or brigandine armor. There is some evidence that Ice Age humans who first developed atalatls in the region could use them to penetrate into the armoured hides of glyptodonts (basically really big armadillos), resulting in an extinction overkill event for the large mammals. The people of the Iberian peninsula were also famous historically for the use of javelins, and even kept using them from horseback to some degree while absolutely everyone else was shooting guns while mounted instead. Native Americans also used these. Ancient Greeks and Romans had leather straps called an amentum as a similar throwing device. Many throughout history experimented with better ways to throw spears.

== Long Spears (Pikes) ==
[[File:Pikemen.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Assume hedgehog formation!]]
Spears are good at keeping a enemy at a distance so one day some king from Macedonia made the spear three times longer, called it the '''sarissa''', [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great and then his son went and took over the known world with it.] A longer spear means that you can have more guys fighting at a time and so make dense blocks of men more dangerous.

You know how spears can fight three ranks deep in [[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]? Well, real life Macedonian phalanxes could fight around five ranks deep, meaning [[RAPE|more spearheads than available targets]]. It was said that a pike formation facing forward could only be broken by a charge of elephants, though this probably has less to do with elephants being invincible and more to do with soldiers shitting themselves at being charged by elephants, especially since elephants aren't insane themselves either and probably wouldn't like to actually run into hundreds of pointy bits if the men holding the pointy bits were brave enough to stand their ground.

After Alexander's death, the idea fell by the wayside, mostly as the generals following him assumed their pike formations were invulnerable and forgot about combined-arms tactics and protecting the vulnerable flanks of their pike formations with spearmen, swordsmen, or their own cavalry. Thus, the first Roman-style professional armies could outflank the formation and take it apart (Though doing so required them to sacrifice a couple line of their own guys to tie up the blocks of pikes so they couldn't reorient themselves in time to prevent said outflanking). Then the stirrup was invented, which allowed cavalry to really charge home, putting the full weight of the horse behind the lance and allowing cavalry to overrun infantry formations.

But like a swinging pendulum, the pike's day was coming back. The Swiss are known today for clocks and little knives that do everything, but back in the 15th century, the Swiss were known for being the greatest mercenaries in Europe. There is a reason why the Pope chose the Swiss out of all of Christendom for his guards: the Swiss solved issues with pikes by having much stronger training programs so their pikemen could be much more aggressive by closing with the enemy rather than "poking" from seven meters away, giving guys in the front rank swords or daggers while the men behind him stabbed forwards. Later, the addition of early hand guns made a match truly from hell as pikemen could be used to protect the vulnerable musketeers from cavalry charges.

To understand 15th century tactics, go play Warhammer Fantasy as the Empire. Seriously, they're so similar to each other it practically a learning experience.

Also Oda Nobunaga had lots of ashigaru armed with the magae yari, which was 5 to 6 meters long. He would go on to unify half of Japan before being assassinated by a subordinate (Oda had other things going for him like how willing he was to use guns) and said subordinate and his rival, Toyotomi Hideyoshi continued this. After Hideyoshi fucked up bad at Korea and died, Tokugawa Ieayasu and the Daimyo opposed to him fought like this at Sekigahara too - by the end of the Sengoku era and the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Japan was basically in a Pike and Shot period of warfare that wouldn't have any real battles until the Boshin War and the Imperial Restoration, which had post-Napoleonic line warfare that was having its bad days with good artillery and breech loader rifles making it more and more impractical.

===Death of the Pike===
Guns and cannons finally killed the pikeman: a gun took only modestly more training than a pike, but a musketeer or rifleman can kill you from considerably farther than seven meters away (like ten meters for early firearms). That said, pikes and guns worked together for much of the 1500's to the late 1600's, where men with black powder guns were protected from dangerous cavalry rushes by being combined into mixed Pike and Shot formations with well trained pikemen.

However, as the development of ranged weaponry progressed, having large formations of men became tactically unsound. Massed firepower or artillery could easily wipe out blocks of soldiers. This meant that being a professional pikeman was quickly becoming suicide, as the enemies were less and less likely to engage you in melee and more likely to use you as target practice. So the "deep" formations of the past were phased out in preference to smaller, tighter "lines" of men, which meant that bouncing cannon balls would go through far fewer targets. Pikemen only really work in deep formations, since that's the whole point of a long-ass spear which is otherwise a bit cumbersome to use against someone within the 3-meter range.

[[File:Defenders NGM-v31-p369-A.jpg|thumb|right|300px|the spear is still in use in modern times, though given the length of those things they're more like Glaives]]

However, this was not the final deal breaker for pikes. After all, guns or not, cavalry were still a problem until rifles gave infantry enough range to overcome the speed advantage of cavalry. What truly finished off pike formations off were '''bayonets'''. Why let a man only have a spear when you could give a man a gun that could stab, or rather a spear that could shoot (since smoothbore firearms sucked in every regard except armor penetration and ease of training)? This dual purpose would allow formations of musketeers to ward off cavalry charges and protect themselves in melee engagements from other infantry just like if they had a pike while still keeping up with their barrage of shots while unengaged. Fortunately for the spear, the bayonet long remained a vital weapon even as guns improved - seriously, military officers for centuries never thought themselves as winning a battle until they expected to be able to drive the enemy from the field at a bayonet's point, and this viewpoint would have merit until the 20th century. Better practiced gunners with more advanced and rifled guns were later capable of achieving high enough rates of fire at long enough ranges to no longer need the help of pikemen to ward off incoming charges; given that cavalry themselves were rendered obsolete by the advent of machine guns and other automatic weaponry, the need for bayonets diminished to nearly nothing. Soldiers today still carry bayonets for emergencies and the odd (successful) bayonet charge can occasionally be heard about, but most modern bayonets are meant pretty much just for aggression training, POW control, and then to double as normal knives as well.

{{MedievalWeaponry}}

Sling

2023-06-07T17:11:15Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

[[image:Rhodian slingers.jpeg|thumb|450px|right|Rhodians, known for annihilating their enemies with high velocity rocks]]
{{Topquote|DEXAI|Inscribed on Slingstones, translated to "Catch"}}

Roughly one million years ago our pre-human ancestors figured out that throwing rocks at other beings hurts them and it allows you to stay away from their teeth, claws or tusks. It took quite a long time and some evolutionary changes to the brain to improve the concept, though.

Meet the '''sling''' - the most ancient ranged weapon known to mankind. At its most basic, it's just a rope with a cloth or leather pouch in the middle. You put a rock in that pouch, fold that rope in half and give it a good swing before releasing one of its ends, thus sending a stone flying at a speed much higher that you can by just throwing it with your hand. You might imagine throwing pebbles at, say, a deer would not be very lethal and thus not very good for hunting, but the point is, it doesn't need to be lethal - a good shot from a sling would cripple and slow it down, so you can come close and finish it with your spear or dagger or whatever you have. If you manage to score a headshot, you're looking at at least heavy concussion, at best an outright kill. And if you're hunting rabbits, it gets instantly lethal no matter where you hit. Come to think of it, a hunting bow isn't much more lethal, and that's for the better; crippling and slowing down prey is already enough, and with a bow you're likely putting a hole in the pelt.

Naturally, people quickly found out that it was good enough for killing or crippling their fellow humans. It didn't even need that much of an upgrade compared to hunting bows versus war bows - just get a bigger pouch to shoot bigger pebbles at people. Maybe make a rope longer to rain stones on the enemy formation from larger distance - it's not like you need that accuracy to hit a block of men standing shoulder-to-shoulder. Replace a pebble with a smaller lead bullet if you want it to shoot further, hit harder and potentially penetrate cloth and skin. And it worked fairly well.

From the Stone Age until early Medieval times, slings were actually dominating long-ranged combat for two simple reasons: cheapness and ease of training. A bow requires good-quality wood and strings, more so if you want it to be used to shoot humans wearing at least cloth armor and basic helmets to death, and it requires fairly expensive arrows to shoot. Sling? You can make three for cheaper than a single arrow, and stones are basically free. Even if you decide to use more expensive ceramic stones or lead bullets, they're still dirt cheap compared to arrows, and were even better compared to them in terms of range and lethality for many centuries (after which they weren't, then archery became more popular). To train a proper bowman you should start with a kid, while with a sling you can grab a bunch of peasants, drill them for a few months and voila - you have a working unit of ranged fighters. Chances are you wouldn't even need to train them, as many peasants would learn sling techniques on their own to hunt some rabbits or to protect sheep from the wolves. Of course they wouldn't be as accurate, but who cares if you can field two dozens of slingers for the cost of a single archer, and replace them in no time if they happen to die?

Considering all this and adding the ease with which a sling could be carried it wouldn't take much money and effort to arm and train your spearmen and swordsmen with slings too. Romans did it with their legionaries, and it basically allowed the unengaged maniples to drive off enemy skirmishers and keep them off the backs of their fellows going in Phalanx-style.

Naturally there's a reason why people continued to train expensive bowmen despite the awesomeness of the sling. First off, slings are probably the least accurate military-grade ranged weapon (maybe second-least if you include throwing axes). Secondly, they lack in damage department: while it's true that blunt damage gives zero shits about most types of armor, it would not stick into their body, impeding their movements or incapacitating them via pain shock and blood loss like arrows do. Only lead balls at around 15-30m will do that. However, headshots can and will kill people, with the most notable instance of this being recorded in the book of 1 Samuel/Samuel 17, when the future King David sent Goliath right to hell with a single headshot from his sling.

Lastly, a volley of rocks or lead bullets flying at you is almost invisible, while a volley of arrows or bolts bloating the sky is terrifyingly visible and prone to cause panic or at least disruptions in formation, and these disruptions became more and more valuable then the actual damage as warfare progressed.

The former, of course, is bullshit once the [[Awesome|Balearic Slingers]] enter the stage; those fuckers were described as having the damage output of ''catapults'', were said to have more range and precision than recurve bows of the Romans (and this was stated by the same Romans who fought them). Legend and history say they were trained from childhood following a training regime quite strict (as in, if you didn't get good at shooting you'd STARVE to death). Hannibal and Caesar had made a lot of use of them, and considered them highly important assets.

One last bit about slings, is that they can throw things other than stones or bullets. Like vials of Greek Fire, or Chinese bombs, or grenades. In this last capacity they survived even past the Great War, showing up in professional hands during the Spanish Civil War and more notoriously the Winter War. During the Winter War sling fired Molotovs were the only Finnish weapon effective against Soviet tanks aside from spamming anti-tank mines. They only fell out of use with the introduction of sub-munition grenades and auxiliary grenade launchers, and even then you can find under-equipped armies without the aforementioned inventions trying it out with Molotov cocktails or even grenades.

There also exists a sling-like weapon called an atlatl, amentum, or womera that fired spears. It was favored by many early peoples and could whip spears faster and further than a human arm could alone. There is some evidence that they were even used to pierce the armoured hides of glyptodonts.

Fantasy and traditional games tend to ignore slings or pretend they don't exist. When they are included they are usually portrayed poorly and have close to unusable (or straight-up unusable) stats in the crunch. The only time you would see them used is in the hands of a DnD cleric when they were forbidden from using sharp weapons, or if some race (Halfings are the most common pick) get a sizeable bonus to damage or accuracy with it. You'd think Alchemists would use it to throw potions and bombs at things, but seems like no one among the writers and developers gave it a good thought. In Warhammer Fantasy, Skavenslaves get slings, but they're the only thing in the whole game that does. They are also completely useless.

Funnily enough, slings are probably actually the only medieval ranged weapon that still sees any much practical use in this day and age - outside of practicing the tradition as a hobby (the aforementioned Baleric people still hold competitions), remote and poor areas still have sheepherders carry slings to cheaply fend off wildlife and steer their sheep by tossing rocks at the opposite direction they want them to go.

Most recently, a company called SpinLaunch (aka YeetLaunch) wants to build a gigantic enclosed metal sling to throw shit into space. They've built a 20% scale model (100' diameter) that can throw projectiles up 20k feet.

{{MedievalWeaponry}}

Shield

2023-06-07T17:10:24Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216: /* Unusual/Exotic Shields */

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[[image:Roman_shield.jpg|thumb|300px|right|A Scutum (Roman Legionary's Shield)]]

Straddling the line between body armor and weapon is the '''shield'''. A shield is a hand held barrier used to deflect or otherwise stop incoming blows. Usually a shield would be carried in the user's secondary hand while the favored hand would carry a weapon (the right hand in most cases). Shields have been in use since at least the neolithic period, and have been used by people from Europe to Australia to the Americas. Shields have been constructed from a variety of materials, including woven reeds, animal hides, and textiles over frames made of wood, bone, or metal.

== Shields in Warfare ==

While swords and axes gets all the glory in fantasy literature, the humble shield is probably the most ubiquitous piece of equipment that could be found on the battlefield. If you look at any ancient depiction of a battle you will see plenty of different weapons around, but nearly everybody that was not using 2-handed weapons would carry a shield, from the knight in shining armour to the lowly peasant.

The first well-attested military formation to make good use of the shield was the Greek [[Phalanx]], a square formation of heavy infantry. The soldiers, standing shoulder to shoulder, locked their shields together forming a wall, then pointed their spears forward and started marching. With a judicious use of the Phalanx Alexander The Great steamrolled half of Asia, creating one of the greatest empires of the ancient world.

Similar to this formation - albeit armed with swords and javelins, not with 8-9 foot long pikes - was the famous and equally effective Roman ''testudo''. The testudo, along with a couple of innovations like 'squads' and more flexible battle-lines, were used to steamroll Europe and create another big-ass Empire. If you're starting to see a pattern here, congratulations: you've just passed Ancient History 101. Every culture in ancient to medieval warfare used a form or another of the shield wall for their infantry, the alternative being quickly and mercilessly butchered and forgotten. They stopped only with the introduction of artillery, that made tight formations nothing but a huge target and hence highly inadvisable.

Outside of strictly military use police forces everywhere still use riot shields when they need to quell any particularly violent revolt or need to get up close and personal with some protesters.

In addition to defense, shields can also be used offensively. A good solid shield is a broad heavy object, and it can be used to bash people. A blow to the head would cause great damage even to an armoured enemy, and could kill or at least disorient the opposition. The Romans were very fond of this. Some forms of shield had spikes added to them in order to make the most out of bashing attacks.

Another way to use a shield is not to use a shield, carry only a weapon leaving the shield work and defense to another guy you had trained with, namely the Shield Bearer. The shield bearer is often talked about in ancient texts and while he may have just been slave who carried the heaviest chunk of gear, he could also have been a highly trained solider who fought with and defended the swordsmen. Evidence for trained shield bearers comes from various Middle Eastern Bronze Age sources, such the Old testament where Jonathan and his shield bearer routed a philistine advance guard unit of maybe 20 guys, and from the Egyptian New Kingdom, in which chariots were often described as being crewed by a warrior/driver and shield-bearer. The (extremely biased and propagandist) poem describing the Battle of Qadesh on the walls at Karnak has Ramesses II giving a speech to inspire his wavering shield bearer. There's also the relevant argument that "Would a sane mind trust his life to a slave, given the history of [[slavery]]?"

== Types of Shields ==

*'''Buckler''': The smallest of the shields, no bigger than 6-18 inches in diameter and light enough to be held in one fist, often made of metal with a leather fronting. They were also one of the few shields light enough to be regularly carried on one's person (let's be honest, how many knights do you think carried a full-sized shield on their back at all times?), as it was meant for personal defense rather than warfare, although it was often carried as a backup defensive weapon by infantry during the 14th and 15th centuries, such as Archers or Billmen, and is sometimes listed as issued (livery) kit for levies in English muster rolls. It was too small to block arrows and projectiles, but its light weight made it excellent for protecting the sword hand and deflecting an enemy's weapons in melee combat. It could also double as a punching weapon. The term "swashbuckler" comes from the rather theatrical fighting style employed by the swordsmen who favored fighting with a sword and buckler. The English and the Spanish were both famous for their sword and buckler fencing.

*'''Heater Shield''': Named by Victorian antiquarians for their similar shape to a clothes iron, heater shields were relatively light while still providing a fair degree of protection, making them an ideal form of protection when paired with a [[sword]]. (This is the shield most people think of when they think of a sword-and-shield combination.) Heater shields became dominant both for their ease of use, and the fact that more advanced armors meant that shields didn't need to cover the whole body, they just needed to deflect blows. This was emphasised by the way they blocked; whereas older and larger shields block in a punching motion, heaters are used to push enemy weapons away from the body. Later versions had small notches just large enough for the user to place his [[lance]] on it as a guide while jousting. They were often carved from a single piece of wood, and could have laminations of bone or horn, with canvas or rawhide outer layers, and thick pads of wool or fabric on the back to protect the shield arm. Heater shields made entirely from metal are a completely modern invention.

*'''Hoplon''': A large round shield made of wood with outer layers of bronze. It was one of the most important pieces of equipment for classical Greek heavy infantry called [[Hoplite]]s. It was employed to devastating effect in the famous [[Phalanx]] formation, the most powerful military tactic for several hundred years, capable of crushing enemy armies many times their size through superb defense and nigh-unbreakable lines. The main advantage of the Hoplon was that the shields easily overlapped with one another to form an extremely sturdy shield wall. The Hoplon was eventually replaced with a much smaller shield only because the Greeks realised that they didn't even need shields if they could just use really long spears and overlap them five layers deep, preventing any enemy from even getting close. It should be noted that, while many round wooden shields existed, the term Hoplon is used almost exclusively to describe the Greek variety.
** Some other, less well-known Greek shields include the thyreos/thureos oval-shaped shield which became common around 3rd BC (reflecting developments in making infantry more versatile than the slowly-moving spiked walls that were Hoplites), and peltasts (essentially skirmishers) were, like, hoplites, originally named for their using a unique crescent-shaped shield called a pelte. The aforementioned smaller shields used by later phalanxes above was believed to have been called a Telemon or pelta shield.

*'''Round shield''': A common early historical shield made of wood, with a large and prominent metal boss in the center. This was the favored shield of [[Vikings]] and other early medieval forces. While the soldiers wielding them didn't perform Testudos or Phalanxes like their ancient counterparts could, the shield was large and serviceable enough for even hastily trained militia to form a basic shield wall by interlocking shields.

*'''Scutum''': A massive shield almost as large as a man's body that was the mainstay of the Roman legions, and possibly the most widely-produced shield of all time. These were often used alongside a javelin and gladius to either charge at an opponent or to provide cover when throwing javelins. A particularly favored formation that utilised the scutum was the testudo (literally "tortoise")- the soldiers on the front and sides of the formation would hold their shields outward, while the remainder would overlap their shields above the heads of the formation, creating a box over themselves which was invaluable in siege warfare for its ability to block attacks from all sides (mainly projectile attacks; because of how tight and difficult it is to see and move in this formation, it was not recommended for melee. One of the worst defeats even dealt to the Romans at the Battle of Carrhae happened because Parthian horse archers with a baggage train of ALL OF THE ARROWS forced the Romans in advance in testudo, allowing the Parthian heavy lancers to charge them to death as piecemeal). This is what most often comes to mind when you mention "tower shields" in RPGs.
** While the classic large rectangle is the Roman shield in popular consciousness, Rome's military eventually switched to smaller, oval shields called a Skutos. Smaller, round shields also saw use in Roman hands; from skirmishers to eventually frontline infantry, foreshadowing the shields that would be used for some centuries in the wake of the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

*'''Pavise''': Imagine something between smaller doors and Scutum. This shield was really big, able to cover a user's entire body up to the chin. It originated in Italy, but quickly became popular in late 14th and early 15th century all over Europe. It was usually used to cover crossbowman, who could reload his weapon behind the shield (yeah, some pavises got a "stick" on the backside, so they can stand without someone actually holding them). On the other hand, Czech Hussites took those shields, mixed them with battlewagons (actually used as mobile trench/firepoint), early gunpowder weapons and all sorts of choppy-and-pointy things on a sticks and managed to run a 15 years of religious rebellion (and yes, it's not lost on us that they basically invented the tank). They were popular with many lower ranking infantrymen during the 15th century since they mitigated the effect of wearing cheaper armour by defending more of the body. As a result, commoner infantry were often called "pavisiers".

*'''Targe''': A relative of the buckler developed in Scotland, targes are round shields about 18-21 inches in diameter with two loops on the back- one for the arm to pass through and another to be held in one's hands, essentially allowing the wielder to have some degree of protection even while wielding a two-handed weapon (e.g. a claymore) or allowing one to use a pistol or dirk in the shield hand. The center of the shield was frequently equipped with a large spike, making it fairly effective as a weapon on its own as well. (Fun fact- the term "target" is derived from the general size and shape of the targe.) This shield in particular saw use much later in history alongside guns for the Scottish "Highland charge", where the Scots took advantage of muskets' poor fire-rate by approaching close, shooting, crouching down low to avoid the return volley, dropping unnecessary equipment, then charging the enemy line; using their targe to deflect the swords or bayonets their English adversaries tried to defend themselves with before landing a killing blow against them while they were vulnerable with a one-handed blade. This tactic was eventually defeated by the English regulars being trained to alleviate the targe pushing off their bayonets away and not (understandably) completely-lose-their-shit by stabbing at the other Scot to their left regardless.

*'''Kite Shield''': A large shield with a distinctive upside-down teardrop shape which allowed users to guard both the forelegs and the upper body. As body armor became more prevalent (thus minimizing the need for leg cover), it was eventually superseded by the heater shield. This type of shield worked well for Norman cavalry, as the extra length afforded protection for both the rider and the horse. As with the heater, they were never made from metal.

*'''Riot and Ballistic shields''': Shields are still being made, albeit relegated to situational uses (mostly within riot control divisions of law enforcement agencies). Ballistic shields are used when storming a house by SWAT troops expecting to fight in close quarters and are made to stop rifle rounds or shotgun shells. Riot shields are on the other hand made more to stop people using improvised weapons like rocks and Molotov cocktails (but are still reasonably effective against small caliber gunfire) and are also used to form shield "Walls" to physically stop an unruly mob (on a bad enough occasion, they might be even seen forming a testudo!). Both kinds are either made of transparent plastics or have a small slit in the middle to allow the user to see while still keeping the shield up, allowing a sidearm or PDW to be fired with an acceptable degree of accuracy while advancing.

== Unusual/Exotic Shields ==

*'''Gun Shield:''' A metal shield with a breech-loading pistol barrel in the center, the Gun Shield was created by commission for King Henry the VIII, practically on a whim. Despite being too heavy to effectively aim, and impractical to attempt to reload, the king was enamoured by the idea of this weapon for his bodyguard and ordered a hundred, where they promptly proceeded to gather dust. It was tried again to double as a shovel in World War 1, being too heavy for use as a shovel and too light for armor. Did have some success guarding snipers, but before some major advances in cold plasma maintenance there is next to no use. On vehicle pintle mounts and for static weapons however, it's pretty damn convenient.

*'''Lantern Shield''': This is a very unusual piece of equipment from 16th and 17th Century Renaissance. It is a glove with a built in buckler that also has a compartment for a lantern (hence the name: Lantern Shield), build in blades and sword catchers. So, a lantern-knife-shield-glove. Despite seeming like something from bad fantasy fic, the Lantern Shield was used and useful in two ''very'' specific cases - by night watchmen on patrol, and by duellists duelling at dawn. The weapon has likely emerged back then when duellists used to wield lanterns in duels in order to blind their opponents. They even had fencing manuals where they had lanterns integrated into their training, thus allowing them to not only parry, but also, as mentioned previously, to blind their opponents. Thus the Lantern Shield appeared. From looking at it, there will be people who'd like to have something like that into their D&D games or any other fantasy pen and paper RPG. Sadly there are no rules for using it in games such as Dungeons and Dragons (alternative for it would be the Spiked Shield). Seriously, this should get more attention. The only place we can think of where 'dueling with a lantern' is called out as thing is the "[[Lamentations of the Flame Princess]]" supplment "[[A Red and Pleasant Land]]" which calls out that "''Either party may hold a lantern or torch in the off hand''".

*'''German Duelling Shield/Two-Handed Shield''': A unique piece of equipment intended more for formalized duels in controlled environments rather than the battlefield, the German dueling shield is a long, thin shield roughly the length of a Roman scutum. Usually constructed out of wood with a thicker metal rim than usual, it is most distinguished by the presence of one or multiple spikes at the top and bottom edges intended for impaling the opponent. Less lethal versions also existed with a blunt hook instead for pinning the opponent's neck. It is used in a flexible manner, serving as a somewhat awkward and heavy scutum alongside a one-handed weapon, which can be dropped mid-fight to wield the shield with both hands like a bat'leth from Star Trek.

*'''Rattan Shield''': Used by the medieval Chinese or Koreans; while the shape of the shield isn't terribly different from round shields, [https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1B69HgukJL1JjSZFmq6Aw0XXaf/5sizes-top-quality-wushu-kung-fu-shields-Pure-manual-weaving-rattan-shield-martial-arts-cane-shield.jpg it distinctly looks] a lot like someone's trying to protect themselves with a fucking basket. As the name indicates, they were created from woven [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rattan#Weaponry rattan], a sort of wood-like vine.

*'''Timbe:''' A buckler-type shield of Okinawan origin. The Timbe could be made from a variety of materials, but the most notable one was [[wat|made from polished turtle shell]].

*'''Ngoni Shield:''' A catchall term for an oval cowhide shield of the Ngoni people that could also be used for bashing enemies or hooking them off-balance before stabbing them with a killing blow. Made famous due to Zulu warfare.

*'''Ōsode:''' Worn from shoulders which would technically make them [[pauldrons]] but they were effectively used by [[samurai]] as wearable shields. Early samurai were primarily horse archers and the obvious problem with a shield is that one really cannot use a bow while using one, especially when also riding a horse at the same time. So what the samurai did instead is that they hung these large (around 51 cm in height and 36 in width) square-shape pieces of lamellar armor from their shoulders which could easily be pushed out of the way when shooting a bow and then moved back in place when one needs them for protection.

[[Category: History]]

[[Category: Weapons]]

[[Category: Medieval Weaponry]]

[[Category: Armour]]

{{MedievalWeaponry}}

==Warhammer 40,000==
In the grim darkness of the 41st millennium, shields are in again. They still serve their typical protective role, though with some technological flair that makes them able to protect from [[Lasgun|the average flashlight]].

===Imperial Shields===
Shields in the [[Imperium of Man]] are generally limited to higher-ranking combatants, such as [[Space Marine|SPHESS MEHREEN]]S, [[Inquisitors]], [[Crusaders]], [[Adeptus Arbites]], et cetera. Many of the Astartes shields are used by the [[Chaos Space Marines]] as well.

====Combat Shield====
[[File:Astartes Combat Shield.webp|thumb|100px|Combat Shield]]

A lighter version of the Storm Shield, the Astartes Combat Shield does not incorporate the force field of its bigger brethren, though it makes up for that by being more versatile and having the ability to be arm-mounted without requiring hand support. As such, it can leave a hand free, though [[Derp|Geedubs never thinks to model this fact]].

It's also technically a [[power weapon]] in a pinch, having a molecular disruption field built in. Said field was originally intended to make the shield more protective than the hunk of Plasteel it actually is, though you won't argue with its offensive use when it plows through you like you're jelly.
<gallery>
File:Combat shield.PNG|[[Ultramarines|Ultrasmurfs]] Combat Shield
</gallery>

====Suppression Shield====
[[File:Hydraphur-Pattern Suppression Shield.webp|thumb|100px|Supression Shield]]
The [[Adeptus Arbites]]' defensive workhorse, the Suppression Shield is a modern riot shield given a dose of [[Grimdark]]. Utilizing an electro-shock unit to taze any <s>peaceful protestors</s> {{BLAM}} {{BLAM|They are SEDITIOUS HERETICS!}} that dare touch it, these symbols of the iron grip of Imperial law see common use in dispersing crowds and shutting down riots. Different patterns exist with additional features: the Hydraphur-pattern can discharge a more lethal dose of electricity in the event of a life-or-death situation, while the "Lockshield" features mag-locks which allow the shield to interlink with others of its type to form a riot wall.

====Boarding Shield====
[[File:Boarding shield.PNG|thumb|100px|Boarding Shield]]
The Combat Shield's bigger brother. A pre-Horus Heresy relic of the time before the discovery of the Storm Shield STC, Boarding Shields (also known as Breacher Shields) are massive slabs of pure metal that were once favored by the Legiones Astartes for their effectiveness in boarding actions & defending from them (hence their more common name). Their disruption fields were tuned to protect against both close combat and ranged weapons (though the shield's size and weight meant that said molecular disruption fields couldn't be easily repurposed for smashing heretics), with many being designed to have a slot for their wielder's gun to shoot through. Due to their role, they were commonly paired with [[Power Armour#Mark III: Iron Armour|MKIII Power Armour]].

However, due to both the Horus Heresy fucking everyone over and Storm Shields having much better protective capabilities at a fraction of the weight, they would be phased out and replaced. The few remaining in the 41st millennium are now prized relics of the Chapters that have them, or were taken with the traitors. They are now commonly associated with the [[Imperial Fists]] and the [[Iron Warriors]].
<gallery>
File:Phalanx Warder Sarge..webp|An [[Imperial Fists]] Legion Phalanx Warder Sergeant with a Boarding Shield
</gallery>

====Storm Shield====
[[File:StormShield.jpg|thumb|100px|Storm Shield]]
The most iconic of the shields in the 41st millennium, the Storm Shield is a defensive powerhouse that combines a medium-weight form factor with both a Molecular Disruption Field and Forcefield, allowing the user to shrug off blows that a normal shield would give like butter under. Like its smaller Combat Shield cousin, it can also be used as a blunt instrument, its Disruption Field being more than enough to do major damage to whatever it hits.

Different patterns exist that are stylized after different shield shapes, though the most ubiquitous is the cross-shaped Mark II pattern used by most Assault Terminators.
<gallery>
File:SWShield.jpg|A Sigilite-pattern Storm Shield, commonly used by the [[Space Wolves]]
File:Primaris salamander captain.PNG|A [[Primaris Space Marines|Primaris]] [[Salamanders|Salamander]] Bladeguard Captain with a relic Storm Shield
File:1mc7oetqfo451.jpg|Ditto, but [[Ultramarines|Ultrasmurf]] (and therefore less cool)
</gallery>

====Praesidium Shield====
[[File:Praesidium Shield.PNG|thumb|100px|Praesidium Shield]]
Of course, [[Adeptus Custodes|the Emperor's favorite golden banana boys]] have to get the best toys, so they get the best personal shields in the Imperium. Combining layers of Auramite and Ceramite alongside layered Forcefields, these gilded walls make the Custodes that wield them nigh-immovable objects, being able to shrug off anti-armor weaponry without much issue. They are typically seen paired with a [[Power weapon#Sentinel Blade|Sentinel Blade]], being part of the standard wargear of [[Sentinel Guard]]s. They are also used by some non-Terminator [[Vexilus Praetor]]s. We assume some, because [[Derp|all of them choosing to forego at least some actual means of self-defense would be pretty fucking stupid]]. At least take a usually-ceremonial [[Misericordia]], for Emprah's sake.
<gallery>
File:CustodesSentinel.png|A [[Sentinel Guard]] with a Praesidium Shield
File:Praetor shield.webp|A [[Vexilus Praetor]] with a Praesidium Shield
</gallery>

====Dreadnought Praesidium Shield====
[[File:Galatus Praesidium Shield.webp|thumb|120px|Dreadnought Praesidium Shield]]
A Praesidium Shield upscaled for use by a [[Contemptor-Galatus Dreadnought]]. If you thought the Golden Wall was tough before, guess again, since this thing makes the Dreadnought holding it even more of a tough nut than it normally is. With one of these, the Galatus can charge through an anti-armor line, [[rape|the shield in front absorbing all the fire as the Dreadnought mows down the poor sods]]. Since the Dreadnought also doesn't really have to worry about its weight, you can bet some of the mowing is being done by this thing smacking weak bitches aside with bone-crushing force.

===Necron Shields===
[[Necron]]s really only have one known shield, but it's a fucking doozy.

====Dispersion Shield====
[[File:Dispersionshield10.webp|100px|thumb|Dispersion Shield]]
Used by the Necron [[Lychguard]]s, the Dispersion Shield is often paired with a [[Power weapon#Hyperphase Sword|Hyperphase Sword]] and is used to protect its user from all but the most potent weapons. In fact, it can reflect enemy projectiles ([[What|even large & solid ones like tank shells]]), with [[Internet Troll|Lychguards commonly positioning the shield so the angle of reflection results in accidental friendly fire for the one who shot at them]]. Or just pull a "[[Meme|no u]]" and kill the asshole shooting at them if they feel like it. This ability to act like a mirror to almost anything was once even in [[crunch]], but has since been removed from tabletop. Overpowering these things isn't an option for the average Imperial soldier, so taking down the boney guy holding it requires shooting around it when the Lychguard has its guard down.

However, for its user there is the downside that this thing with its fancy Necron tech weighs a fuckton, meaning any speed and mobility they previously had would vanish merely from needing to lug it around. Definitely worth the reflecting phase energy force barriers and [[Necrodermis]] self repair, though.
<gallery>
File:Lychshield.PNG|Lychguard with Dispersion Shield
</gallery>

Shield

2023-06-07T17:09:54Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

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[[image:Roman_shield.jpg|thumb|300px|right|A Scutum (Roman Legionary's Shield)]]

Straddling the line between body armor and weapon is the '''shield'''. A shield is a hand held barrier used to deflect or otherwise stop incoming blows. Usually a shield would be carried in the user's secondary hand while the favored hand would carry a weapon (the right hand in most cases). Shields have been in use since at least the neolithic period, and have been used by people from Europe to Australia to the Americas. Shields have been constructed from a variety of materials, including woven reeds, animal hides, and textiles over frames made of wood, bone, or metal.

== Shields in Warfare ==

While swords and axes gets all the glory in fantasy literature, the humble shield is probably the most ubiquitous piece of equipment that could be found on the battlefield. If you look at any ancient depiction of a battle you will see plenty of different weapons around, but nearly everybody that was not using 2-handed weapons would carry a shield, from the knight in shining armour to the lowly peasant.

The first well-attested military formation to make good use of the shield was the Greek [[Phalanx]], a square formation of heavy infantry. The soldiers, standing shoulder to shoulder, locked their shields together forming a wall, then pointed their spears forward and started marching. With a judicious use of the Phalanx Alexander The Great steamrolled half of Asia, creating one of the greatest empires of the ancient world.

Similar to this formation - albeit armed with swords and javelins, not with 8-9 foot long pikes - was the famous and equally effective Roman ''testudo''. The testudo, along with a couple of innovations like 'squads' and more flexible battle-lines, were used to steamroll Europe and create another big-ass Empire. If you're starting to see a pattern here, congratulations: you've just passed Ancient History 101. Every culture in ancient to medieval warfare used a form or another of the shield wall for their infantry, the alternative being quickly and mercilessly butchered and forgotten. They stopped only with the introduction of artillery, that made tight formations nothing but a huge target and hence highly inadvisable.

Outside of strictly military use police forces everywhere still use riot shields when they need to quell any particularly violent revolt or need to get up close and personal with some protesters.

In addition to defense, shields can also be used offensively. A good solid shield is a broad heavy object, and it can be used to bash people. A blow to the head would cause great damage even to an armoured enemy, and could kill or at least disorient the opposition. The Romans were very fond of this. Some forms of shield had spikes added to them in order to make the most out of bashing attacks.

Another way to use a shield is not to use a shield, carry only a weapon leaving the shield work and defense to another guy you had trained with, namely the Shield Bearer. The shield bearer is often talked about in ancient texts and while he may have just been slave who carried the heaviest chunk of gear, he could also have been a highly trained solider who fought with and defended the swordsmen. Evidence for trained shield bearers comes from various Middle Eastern Bronze Age sources, such the Old testament where Jonathan and his shield bearer routed a philistine advance guard unit of maybe 20 guys, and from the Egyptian New Kingdom, in which chariots were often described as being crewed by a warrior/driver and shield-bearer. The (extremely biased and propagandist) poem describing the Battle of Qadesh on the walls at Karnak has Ramesses II giving a speech to inspire his wavering shield bearer. There's also the relevant argument that "Would a sane mind trust his life to a slave, given the history of [[slavery]]?"

== Types of Shields ==

*'''Buckler''': The smallest of the shields, no bigger than 6-18 inches in diameter and light enough to be held in one fist, often made of metal with a leather fronting. They were also one of the few shields light enough to be regularly carried on one's person (let's be honest, how many knights do you think carried a full-sized shield on their back at all times?), as it was meant for personal defense rather than warfare, although it was often carried as a backup defensive weapon by infantry during the 14th and 15th centuries, such as Archers or Billmen, and is sometimes listed as issued (livery) kit for levies in English muster rolls. It was too small to block arrows and projectiles, but its light weight made it excellent for protecting the sword hand and deflecting an enemy's weapons in melee combat. It could also double as a punching weapon. The term "swashbuckler" comes from the rather theatrical fighting style employed by the swordsmen who favored fighting with a sword and buckler. The English and the Spanish were both famous for their sword and buckler fencing.

*'''Heater Shield''': Named by Victorian antiquarians for their similar shape to a clothes iron, heater shields were relatively light while still providing a fair degree of protection, making them an ideal form of protection when paired with a [[sword]]. (This is the shield most people think of when they think of a sword-and-shield combination.) Heater shields became dominant both for their ease of use, and the fact that more advanced armors meant that shields didn't need to cover the whole body, they just needed to deflect blows. This was emphasised by the way they blocked; whereas older and larger shields block in a punching motion, heaters are used to push enemy weapons away from the body. Later versions had small notches just large enough for the user to place his [[lance]] on it as a guide while jousting. They were often carved from a single piece of wood, and could have laminations of bone or horn, with canvas or rawhide outer layers, and thick pads of wool or fabric on the back to protect the shield arm. Heater shields made entirely from metal are a completely modern invention.

*'''Hoplon''': A large round shield made of wood with outer layers of bronze. It was one of the most important pieces of equipment for classical Greek heavy infantry called [[Hoplite]]s. It was employed to devastating effect in the famous [[Phalanx]] formation, the most powerful military tactic for several hundred years, capable of crushing enemy armies many times their size through superb defense and nigh-unbreakable lines. The main advantage of the Hoplon was that the shields easily overlapped with one another to form an extremely sturdy shield wall. The Hoplon was eventually replaced with a much smaller shield only because the Greeks realised that they didn't even need shields if they could just use really long spears and overlap them five layers deep, preventing any enemy from even getting close. It should be noted that, while many round wooden shields existed, the term Hoplon is used almost exclusively to describe the Greek variety.
** Some other, less well-known Greek shields include the thyreos/thureos oval-shaped shield which became common around 3rd BC (reflecting developments in making infantry more versatile than the slowly-moving spiked walls that were Hoplites), and peltasts (essentially skirmishers) were, like, hoplites, originally named for their using a unique crescent-shaped shield called a pelte. The aforementioned smaller shields used by later phalanxes above was believed to have been called a Telemon or pelta shield.

*'''Round shield''': A common early historical shield made of wood, with a large and prominent metal boss in the center. This was the favored shield of [[Vikings]] and other early medieval forces. While the soldiers wielding them didn't perform Testudos or Phalanxes like their ancient counterparts could, the shield was large and serviceable enough for even hastily trained militia to form a basic shield wall by interlocking shields.

*'''Scutum''': A massive shield almost as large as a man's body that was the mainstay of the Roman legions, and possibly the most widely-produced shield of all time. These were often used alongside a javelin and gladius to either charge at an opponent or to provide cover when throwing javelins. A particularly favored formation that utilised the scutum was the testudo (literally "tortoise")- the soldiers on the front and sides of the formation would hold their shields outward, while the remainder would overlap their shields above the heads of the formation, creating a box over themselves which was invaluable in siege warfare for its ability to block attacks from all sides (mainly projectile attacks; because of how tight and difficult it is to see and move in this formation, it was not recommended for melee. One of the worst defeats even dealt to the Romans at the Battle of Carrhae happened because Parthian horse archers with a baggage train of ALL OF THE ARROWS forced the Romans in advance in testudo, allowing the Parthian heavy lancers to charge them to death as piecemeal). This is what most often comes to mind when you mention "tower shields" in RPGs.
** While the classic large rectangle is the Roman shield in popular consciousness, Rome's military eventually switched to smaller, oval shields called a Skutos. Smaller, round shields also saw use in Roman hands; from skirmishers to eventually frontline infantry, foreshadowing the shields that would be used for some centuries in the wake of the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

*'''Pavise''': Imagine something between smaller doors and Scutum. This shield was really big, able to cover a user's entire body up to the chin. It originated in Italy, but quickly became popular in late 14th and early 15th century all over Europe. It was usually used to cover crossbowman, who could reload his weapon behind the shield (yeah, some pavises got a "stick" on the backside, so they can stand without someone actually holding them). On the other hand, Czech Hussites took those shields, mixed them with battlewagons (actually used as mobile trench/firepoint), early gunpowder weapons and all sorts of choppy-and-pointy things on a sticks and managed to run a 15 years of religious rebellion (and yes, it's not lost on us that they basically invented the tank). They were popular with many lower ranking infantrymen during the 15th century since they mitigated the effect of wearing cheaper armour by defending more of the body. As a result, commoner infantry were often called "pavisiers".

*'''Targe''': A relative of the buckler developed in Scotland, targes are round shields about 18-21 inches in diameter with two loops on the back- one for the arm to pass through and another to be held in one's hands, essentially allowing the wielder to have some degree of protection even while wielding a two-handed weapon (e.g. a claymore) or allowing one to use a pistol or dirk in the shield hand. The center of the shield was frequently equipped with a large spike, making it fairly effective as a weapon on its own as well. (Fun fact- the term "target" is derived from the general size and shape of the targe.) This shield in particular saw use much later in history alongside guns for the Scottish "Highland charge", where the Scots took advantage of muskets' poor fire-rate by approaching close, shooting, crouching down low to avoid the return volley, dropping unnecessary equipment, then charging the enemy line; using their targe to deflect the swords or bayonets their English adversaries tried to defend themselves with before landing a killing blow against them while they were vulnerable with a one-handed blade. This tactic was eventually defeated by the English regulars being trained to alleviate the targe pushing off their bayonets away and not (understandably) completely-lose-their-shit by stabbing at the other Scot to their left regardless.

*'''Kite Shield''': A large shield with a distinctive upside-down teardrop shape which allowed users to guard both the forelegs and the upper body. As body armor became more prevalent (thus minimizing the need for leg cover), it was eventually superseded by the heater shield. This type of shield worked well for Norman cavalry, as the extra length afforded protection for both the rider and the horse. As with the heater, they were never made from metal.

*'''Riot and Ballistic shields''': Shields are still being made, albeit relegated to situational uses (mostly within riot control divisions of law enforcement agencies). Ballistic shields are used when storming a house by SWAT troops expecting to fight in close quarters and are made to stop rifle rounds or shotgun shells. Riot shields are on the other hand made more to stop people using improvised weapons like rocks and Molotov cocktails (but are still reasonably effective against small caliber gunfire) and are also used to form shield "Walls" to physically stop an unruly mob (on a bad enough occasion, they might be even seen forming a testudo!). Both kinds are either made of transparent plastics or have a small slit in the middle to allow the user to see while still keeping the shield up, allowing a sidearm or PDW to be fired with an acceptable degree of accuracy while advancing.

== Unusual/Exotic Shields ==

*'''Gun Shield:''' A metal shield with a breech-loading pistol barrel in the center, the Gun Shield was created by commission for King Henry the VIII, practically on a whim. Despite being too heavy to effectively aim, and impractical to attempt to reload, the king was enamoured by the idea of this weapon for his bodyguard and ordered a hundred, where they promptly proceeded to gather dust. It was tried again to double as a shovel in World War 1, being too heavy for use as a shovel and too light for armor. Did have some success guarding snipers, but before some major advances in cold plasma maintenance there is next to no use. On vehicle pintle mounts and for static weapons however, it's pretty damn convenient.

*'''Lantern Shield''': This is a very unusual piece of equipment from 16th and 17th Century Renaissance. It is a glove with a built in buckler that also has a compartment for a lantern (hence the name: Lantern Shield), build in blades and sword catchers. So, a lantern-knife-shield-glove. Despite seeming like something from bad fantasy fic, the Lantern Shield was used and useful in two ''very'' specific cases - by night watchmen on patrol, and by duellists duelling at dawn. The weapon has likely emerged back then when duellists used to wield lanterns in duels in order to blind their opponents. They even had fencing manuals where they had lanterns integrated into their training, thus allowing them to not only parry, but also, as mentioned previously, to blind their opponents. Thus the Lantern Shield appeared. From looking at it, there will be people who'd like to have something like that into their D&D games or any other fantasy pen and paper RPG. Sadly there are no rules for using it in games such as Dungeons and Dragons (alternative for it would be the Spiked Shield). Seriously, this should get more attention. The only place we can think of where 'dueling with a lantern' is called out as thing is the "[[Lamentations of the Flame Princess]]" supplment "[[A Red and Pleasant Land]]" which calls out that "''Either party may hold a lantern or torch in the off hand,''

*'''German Duelling Shield/Two-Handed Shield''': A unique piece of equipment intended more for formalized duels in controlled environments rather than the battlefield, the German dueling shield is a long, thin shield roughly the length of a Roman scutum. Usually constructed out of wood with a thicker metal rim than usual, it is most distinguished by the presence of one or multiple spikes at the top and bottom edges intended for impaling the opponent. Less lethal versions also existed with a blunt hook instead for pinning the opponent's neck. It is used in a flexible manner, serving as a somewhat awkward and heavy scutum alongside a one-handed weapon, which can be dropped mid-fight to wield the shield with both hands like a bat'leth from Star Trek.

*'''Rattan Shield''': Used by the medieval Chinese or Koreans; while the shape of the shield isn't terribly different from round shields, [https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1B69HgukJL1JjSZFmq6Aw0XXaf/5sizes-top-quality-wushu-kung-fu-shields-Pure-manual-weaving-rattan-shield-martial-arts-cane-shield.jpg it distinctly looks] a lot like someone's trying to protect themselves with a fucking basket. As the name indicates, they were created from woven [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rattan#Weaponry rattan], a sort of wood-like vine.

*'''Timbe:''' A buckler-type shield of Okinawan origin. The Timbe could be made from a variety of materials, but the most notable one was [[wat|made from polished turtle shell]].

*'''Ngoni Shield:''' A catchall term for an oval cowhide shield of the Ngoni people that could also be used for bashing enemies or hooking them off-balance before stabbing them with a killing blow. Made famous due to Zulu warfare.

*'''Ōsode:''' Worn from shoulders which would technically make them [[pauldrons]] but they were effectively used by [[samurai]] as wearable shields. Early samurai were primarily horse archers and the obvious problem with a shield is that one really cannot use a bow while using one, especially when also riding a horse at the same time. So what the samurai did instead is that they hung these large (around 51 cm in height and 36 in width) square-shape pieces of lamellar armor from their shoulders which could easily be pushed out of the way when shooting a bow and then moved back in place when one needs them for protection.

[[Category: History]]

[[Category: Weapons]]

[[Category: Medieval Weaponry]]

[[Category: Armour]]

{{MedievalWeaponry}}

==Warhammer 40,000==
In the grim darkness of the 41st millennium, shields are in again. They still serve their typical protective role, though with some technological flair that makes them able to protect from [[Lasgun|the average flashlight]].

===Imperial Shields===
Shields in the [[Imperium of Man]] are generally limited to higher-ranking combatants, such as [[Space Marine|SPHESS MEHREEN]]S, [[Inquisitors]], [[Crusaders]], [[Adeptus Arbites]], et cetera. Many of the Astartes shields are used by the [[Chaos Space Marines]] as well.

====Combat Shield====
[[File:Astartes Combat Shield.webp|thumb|100px|Combat Shield]]

A lighter version of the Storm Shield, the Astartes Combat Shield does not incorporate the force field of its bigger brethren, though it makes up for that by being more versatile and having the ability to be arm-mounted without requiring hand support. As such, it can leave a hand free, though [[Derp|Geedubs never thinks to model this fact]].

It's also technically a [[power weapon]] in a pinch, having a molecular disruption field built in. Said field was originally intended to make the shield more protective than the hunk of Plasteel it actually is, though you won't argue with its offensive use when it plows through you like you're jelly.
<gallery>
File:Combat shield.PNG|[[Ultramarines|Ultrasmurfs]] Combat Shield
</gallery>

====Suppression Shield====
[[File:Hydraphur-Pattern Suppression Shield.webp|thumb|100px|Supression Shield]]
The [[Adeptus Arbites]]' defensive workhorse, the Suppression Shield is a modern riot shield given a dose of [[Grimdark]]. Utilizing an electro-shock unit to taze any <s>peaceful protestors</s> {{BLAM}} {{BLAM|They are SEDITIOUS HERETICS!}} that dare touch it, these symbols of the iron grip of Imperial law see common use in dispersing crowds and shutting down riots. Different patterns exist with additional features: the Hydraphur-pattern can discharge a more lethal dose of electricity in the event of a life-or-death situation, while the "Lockshield" features mag-locks which allow the shield to interlink with others of its type to form a riot wall.

====Boarding Shield====
[[File:Boarding shield.PNG|thumb|100px|Boarding Shield]]
The Combat Shield's bigger brother. A pre-Horus Heresy relic of the time before the discovery of the Storm Shield STC, Boarding Shields (also known as Breacher Shields) are massive slabs of pure metal that were once favored by the Legiones Astartes for their effectiveness in boarding actions & defending from them (hence their more common name). Their disruption fields were tuned to protect against both close combat and ranged weapons (though the shield's size and weight meant that said molecular disruption fields couldn't be easily repurposed for smashing heretics), with many being designed to have a slot for their wielder's gun to shoot through. Due to their role, they were commonly paired with [[Power Armour#Mark III: Iron Armour|MKIII Power Armour]].

However, due to both the Horus Heresy fucking everyone over and Storm Shields having much better protective capabilities at a fraction of the weight, they would be phased out and replaced. The few remaining in the 41st millennium are now prized relics of the Chapters that have them, or were taken with the traitors. They are now commonly associated with the [[Imperial Fists]] and the [[Iron Warriors]].
<gallery>
File:Phalanx Warder Sarge..webp|An [[Imperial Fists]] Legion Phalanx Warder Sergeant with a Boarding Shield
</gallery>

====Storm Shield====
[[File:StormShield.jpg|thumb|100px|Storm Shield]]
The most iconic of the shields in the 41st millennium, the Storm Shield is a defensive powerhouse that combines a medium-weight form factor with both a Molecular Disruption Field and Forcefield, allowing the user to shrug off blows that a normal shield would give like butter under. Like its smaller Combat Shield cousin, it can also be used as a blunt instrument, its Disruption Field being more than enough to do major damage to whatever it hits.

Different patterns exist that are stylized after different shield shapes, though the most ubiquitous is the cross-shaped Mark II pattern used by most Assault Terminators.
<gallery>
File:SWShield.jpg|A Sigilite-pattern Storm Shield, commonly used by the [[Space Wolves]]
File:Primaris salamander captain.PNG|A [[Primaris Space Marines|Primaris]] [[Salamanders|Salamander]] Bladeguard Captain with a relic Storm Shield
File:1mc7oetqfo451.jpg|Ditto, but [[Ultramarines|Ultrasmurf]] (and therefore less cool)
</gallery>

====Praesidium Shield====
[[File:Praesidium Shield.PNG|thumb|100px|Praesidium Shield]]
Of course, [[Adeptus Custodes|the Emperor's favorite golden banana boys]] have to get the best toys, so they get the best personal shields in the Imperium. Combining layers of Auramite and Ceramite alongside layered Forcefields, these gilded walls make the Custodes that wield them nigh-immovable objects, being able to shrug off anti-armor weaponry without much issue. They are typically seen paired with a [[Power weapon#Sentinel Blade|Sentinel Blade]], being part of the standard wargear of [[Sentinel Guard]]s. They are also used by some non-Terminator [[Vexilus Praetor]]s. We assume some, because [[Derp|all of them choosing to forego at least some actual means of self-defense would be pretty fucking stupid]]. At least take a usually-ceremonial [[Misericordia]], for Emprah's sake.
<gallery>
File:CustodesSentinel.png|A [[Sentinel Guard]] with a Praesidium Shield
File:Praetor shield.webp|A [[Vexilus Praetor]] with a Praesidium Shield
</gallery>

====Dreadnought Praesidium Shield====
[[File:Galatus Praesidium Shield.webp|thumb|120px|Dreadnought Praesidium Shield]]
A Praesidium Shield upscaled for use by a [[Contemptor-Galatus Dreadnought]]. If you thought the Golden Wall was tough before, guess again, since this thing makes the Dreadnought holding it even more of a tough nut than it normally is. With one of these, the Galatus can charge through an anti-armor line, [[rape|the shield in front absorbing all the fire as the Dreadnought mows down the poor sods]]. Since the Dreadnought also doesn't really have to worry about its weight, you can bet some of the mowing is being done by this thing smacking weak bitches aside with bone-crushing force.

===Necron Shields===
[[Necron]]s really only have one known shield, but it's a fucking doozy.

====Dispersion Shield====
[[File:Dispersionshield10.webp|100px|thumb|Dispersion Shield]]
Used by the Necron [[Lychguard]]s, the Dispersion Shield is often paired with a [[Power weapon#Hyperphase Sword|Hyperphase Sword]] and is used to protect its user from all but the most potent weapons. In fact, it can reflect enemy projectiles ([[What|even large & solid ones like tank shells]]), with [[Internet Troll|Lychguards commonly positioning the shield so the angle of reflection results in accidental friendly fire for the one who shot at them]]. Or just pull a "[[Meme|no u]]" and kill the asshole shooting at them if they feel like it. This ability to act like a mirror to almost anything was once even in [[crunch]], but has since been removed from tabletop. Overpowering these things isn't an option for the average Imperial soldier, so taking down the boney guy holding it requires shooting around it when the Lychguard has its guard down.

However, for its user there is the downside that this thing with its fancy Necron tech weighs a fuckton, meaning any speed and mobility they previously had would vanish merely from needing to lug it around. Definitely worth the reflecting phase energy force barriers and [[Necrodermis]] self repair, though.
<gallery>
File:Lychshield.PNG|Lychguard with Dispersion Shield
</gallery>

Rocket

2023-06-07T17:07:33Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

Historically there have been many methods in which humanity has sought to cheat death. In China, the desire for immortality lead to the practice of alchemy. Needless to say, the Chinese did not find the source of eternal life, but their alchemical pursuits did discover one thing (among many others): gunpowder. Despite the modern name, "gunpowder", guns and firearms were only invented and used later. Rockets came first.

==The Physics of Rocketry==

The functioning and physics of rockets generally revolves around Newton's Third Law of Motion, commonly simplified as "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." All a rocket boils down to is a tube filled with something either very explosive (like, say, gunpowder) or something under pressure that wants to get out of the tube (like, say, steam or water). When you close one end of that tube, the contents will force their way out of the open end, causing a reaction that pushes the tube into the air. This is of course assuming that the tube is made of a material of sufficient strength to survive the reaction or else what you have is a bomb, not a rocket. It ain't rocket sci— Wait a minute...

The ballistics of rockets work a little bit differently than those of, say, bullets or arrows. In a bullet, the propelling force comes from outside; the bullet is pushed by expanding gasses, but once it's left the gun there is nothing to continue moving it forwards and it will start to decelerate. Rockets, on the other hand, generally produce continuous but much weaker thrust for the first few seconds of their trajectory, leading to slower acceleration but generally longer time in flight.

==Rockets and Missiles==

Technically, rockets ''are'' missiles, as a missile is just a projectile-based weapon (an arrow or javelin can be classified as a missile, which is why games tend to refer to their users as missile troops).

However, in modern parlance, the term "[[Missile Launcher|missile]]" is generally used to refer to guided projectiles. These weapons can steer themselves mid-flight, either automatically or with guidance from the shooter. This is in contrast to rockets, which are fired and the forces of gravity and inertia does the rest. Additionally, rockets tend to use a standalone rocket motor (basically an one-side, open-ended engine with stored oxidizer and solid propellant). Meanwhile, some larger style missiles will use a jet engine (with a mouth and exhaust to scoop air in as an oxidizer and preserve space for storing only liquid propellant fuel).

==A Brief History of Rockets==
*'''400-100 BCE:''' A prototypical rocket is developed in Greece. A Roman named Aulus Gellius writes of how the Greeks would entertain the people of the city of Tarentum with a wooden pigeon on a wire propelled by steam. Three hundred years later, Hero of Alexandria describes the Aeolipile: a metal ball on a water kettle. When the kettle is heated, the water turns into steam, goes up the pipes, and spins the ball around by escaping two L-shaped nozzles. While not rockets per se, they operate in the same manner through the usage of hot gas escaping in order to create movement. The Greeks never expanded on this concept beyond mere amusements, so these remain only as interesting footnotes in rocket history.

*'''1000s-1200s CE:''' At this point, the Chinese are believed to have invented the rocket proper, although not until 1232 is solid evidence established with records mentioning the Chinese attacking invading Mongols with "Arrows of flying fire". These "Fire arrows" were regular arrows with rockets attached or rockets with primitive warheads. Rockets also make an appearance in Europe around this time. Arabs wrote about rockets which the Mongols used to help capture Baghdad. The Arabs, in turn, used this rocket technology against the French during the Seventh Crusade.

*'''1300s CE:''' Around this time “Huolongjing,” a tactical black powder weapon primer, is written in China. Included are 10th-century fire arrows, rocket launchers, two-stage rockets, winged rockets, land mines, naval mines, their triggers, and several other weapons of the class. Notably, this book is the first to establish the design of a multi-stage rocket: the "fire-dragon issuing from the water"/''Huo Long Chu Shui''. The Fire Dragon is a tube set borne by rockets, with more rockets inside of it. When the booster rockets ignite mid-flight, their ignition launches the secondary rockets from the front. The Fire Dragon was used mostly by the Chinese Navy. However, the Koreans invented a type of Fire Arrow cart, known as the "Hwacha,” that could fire 100-200 fire arrows in quick succession (like those Russian Grad rocket trucks). Just a few dozen of these could be rapidly deployed to drive back any massed force, making them decisive defensive weapons.

*'''1400 CE:''' Military Rockets are used by Europe itself rather than Europeans simply getting rocketed by the Ottomans in the Middle East or at Constantinople. Then again, the Ottomans received the burny-end of early flamethrowers, so let’s call it even.

*'''1500s CE:''' The earliest experiments with multistage rockets in Europe are made. The Koreans use massed Hwacha barrages and rocket-firing cannon in their wars against Japan. Moving on.

*'''1600s CE:''' The "Artis Magnae Artilleriae pars prima" (''Great Art of Artillery, the First Part'', also known as ''The Complete Art of Artillery'') is printed in Amsterdam and used, naturally, as an Artillery manual. It includes instructions on the production and properties of Rockets; including multi-stage rockets, batteries, and rockets with wing stabilizers rather than the big sticks typically used until then.

*'''1700s CE:''' the first all-metal rockets are developed in India in the Kingdom of Mysore. The Mysore rockets were used very successfully against the British East India company (East India Company brief summary: think a cyberpunk mega corporation but with tea and racism) and the British were surprised by what these rockets could do. Their all-metal design allowed more fuel meaning they had a lot more range (2 kilometers) then what the British had seen a rocket do, and so like any good British man, they stole a few and sent them back home so that they could learn how to make more.

*'''1800s CE:'''* The British invent the Congreve rocket from their study of the Mysore rockets. The Congreve was very effective for its day; while it lacked the same range as cannons it could be fired a great deal faster, was generally more mobile, and could carry variable payloads. Thanks to slower acceleration on launch rockets could carry incendiaries, airbursting warheads, or even solid heads designed to bounce through groups of close infantry. The "rockets red glare" in the star spangled banner is referring to these, the British used some in the 25 hour bombardment of Fort McHenry. In 1844 William Hale came up with the Hale Rocket, a much more accurate version of the Congreve without the need of a stick to stabilize itself since it was able to spin itself like a rifled bullet. That said, rockets will gradually decline over the late 19th century as improvements to cannons let them shoot faster, farther and hit harder thanks to higher speeds and explosive warheads.

*'''1900-early 1945s CE:'''* Now things get interesting. Up to now, humans only had experience with solid fuel rocket engines, mostly of gunpowder, but by the early 20th century the first liquid fuel rockets started to be developed and rocketry came back into the public eye with the establishment of numerous scientific and amateur research groups. Military rocketry had largely died off by the beginning of World War 1; everything a rocket could do a howitzer could do better since the design of shells had become much more advanced. Rockets saw some use during the Great War, primarily as an anti-zeppelin weapon; they could deliver a heavy incendiary payload but were light enough to mount on a plane. Over the course of the war, much research was done into rockets on both sides, with important implications in the postwar period. After the diktat of Versailles war though Germany found itself with a problem: their army was forbidden from possessing long-ranged artillery. Like good rules lawyers, they found a loophole and funded rocket research instead. As the Germans had learned in WW1, the best artillery barrage was short, sudden, and overwhelming- the speed with which rockets could be fired made them perfect for this. So they invented the ''Nebelwerfer'', which was basically a bunch of launch tubes strapped together that could fire a volley of rockets all at once. It worked really well, the only major disadvantage being the long reloading time of the weapon. Meanwhile the Soviets developed their own cheaper, easier version and mass-produced their ''Katyusha'' launcher so they could put it everywhere they could think of. Every-fucking-where, from man-pulled sleds to the back of trucks, to atop of trains, to boats, to fixed emplacements; all in order to rain explosive death down on top of anything in front of them. As tanks became increasingly prevalent on the battlefields of the Second World War, rockets saw handheld use as well- a shoulder-launched rocket could carry a warhead big enough to crack a tank but still be light enough for infantry to carry, and this idea reached its conclusion in the American Bazooka and German Panzerfaust anti-tank weapons. Both sides developed a variety of anti-ship, anti-air and anti-building rockets, though Germany led the way in their use. The most famous rocket of the war was, of course, the German V2 ballistic missile, the first of its kind- though inaccurate, unreliable and incredibly expensive, it would provide the basis for basically every liquid-fuelled rocket or missile that came afterwards.

*'''Late 1945s-2000s CE:'''* As the fragmenting Allied powers snapped up every German rocket scientist they could in the aftermath of the War, missiles came to dominate the weapons and scientific systems of the future. The Germans had laid some groundwork for inertial navigation systems with a basic gyroscopic mechanism that kept their V2 rockets on course; and it took all of ten seconds after the war for everyone to realize such a rocket could be used to get something else than an explosive charge where it was needed without the need of a pilot inside the thing. Sergei Korelev designs the R7 Rocket, which is used to deliver the first artificial object, dog and man into space. Meanwhile, anti-tank weapons took notes from the Bazooka and Panzerfaust to create cheaper rocket launchers such as the RPG and LAW or dedicated antiaircraft weapons like the Igla or Stinger launchers. Things like a big camera in space to <s>spy on your enemies</s> peacefully observe the weather and what happens on the other side of the world. As technology advanced the Space Race saw newer, larger and improved rockets put scientific probes into orbit and culminated with astronauts landing on the Moon, but also saw the same platforms used for the delivery of nuclear weapons. Missiles also came to dominate the atmosphere, becoming the standard weapon for aircraft the world over. Rockets and missiles are still ubiquitous for ground forces, and the Soviet Rocket-Propelled Grenade launchers are an international symbol of asymmetrical warfare. In addition, new missile guidance systems began to emerge in co-evolution with countermeasure systems; infrared-guided missiles can be defeated by flares and smoke, leading to the development of wire-guided missiles, which can be blocked by reactive armor or active protection systems, leading to more creative warhead designs such as the mortar-like firing arc of the FGM-148 Javelin or the use of tandem warheads to make an opening for the real warhead.

*'''Looking Ahead:''' Unlike firearms which have the Railgun of Damocles hanging over their future, Rockets and Missiles always seem to stick around in how we picture future wars thanks to their various advantages over guns: the ability to carry an explosive payload and computer guidance systems, effectiveness in the vacuum of space, and sharing lots of components with non-military rocketry all imply rockets in the form of the [[Missile Launcher]] are here to stay for the foreseeable future. Rockets as vehicles are still being developed, with SpaceX trying to create cheap reusable rockets capable of landing vertically so that they can deliver large payloads of material to distant worlds.

==Rockets in fantasy==
Rockets are fairly common in fantasy works, but only as a means of launching fireworks rather than as a combat weapon. Even in settings with gunpowder weapons, the somewhat spotty history of rocket weaponry in wide usage means that they seldom get more than a passing mention. Asian-themed settings may tend to feature them more heavily, for obvious reasons, but guns will always be king.

Rockets make an appearance in [[Warhammer Fantasy]]. Cathay (Warhammer China, of course) came up with them and makes heavy use of them in artillery and airships. The Empire saw them and decided to copy them for some of their artillery. Skaven clan Skryre has the occasional handheld version. In Total War: Warhammer they also have [[Awesome|tactical nukes]].

Rockets also make an appearance in [[The Lord of the Rings]], albeit as fireworks rather than weapons of war.

{{MedievalWeaponry}}

Pole-arm

2023-06-07T17:06:51Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

[[image:Polearms.jpg|thumb|300px|right|And those are just the ''most common European'' varieties, too!]]
A '''Pole-Arm''' technically refers to any type of weapon consisting of a metal head with a long wooden pole. [[Spear|Spears]] fall under this classification, but more often than not it is used to refer to weapons with something more than just a point at the end to stick people with. Pole-arms were usually capable of any combination of chopping, cutting, smashing, or stabbing an enemy by attaching [[Battleaxe|axe]]-heads, spikes, hammers, and various blades to the end of a long shaft. Due to their relative ease of use and the sheer versatility they offered, pole-arms have been used by civilizations across the length and breadth of the globe and have proven themselves to be very effective in mass combat, even up to the Napoleonic and American Revolutionary wars.

The sheer number of different weapons the term covers means that attempting to classify them can get confusing, especially with some of the ones from Europe. Since there was no rigorous system of classification in place and several weapons like the bill, war scythe, and military fork were developed from peasants' hand tools, several different weapons have been called by the same name, and several different names have been applied to the same weapon; and that's '''without''' getting into things like glaive-guisarmes, fauchard-forks, and the various other combination weapons people tried to kill each other with over the centuries. As you might expect, this has sparked [[Skub|many arguments]] over what is called what.
== Pole-arms in warfare ==
When compared to spears, pole-arms retain some of the advantage of reach while gaining more flexibility in how they attack. A spearman is limited to simply poking his enemies to death, whereas a halberdier or billman can also hack at them and even drag horsemen off their mounts with the hooks on their weapons.

Pole-arms became the predominant infantry weapon of the middle ages because of this versatility. They offer the reach to defeat swords and axes and cavalry, and the power to crack armor and shields. A halberd head requires no more metal to make than a sword, yet a halberdier with modest training can keep all but the most experienced swordsmen at bay without the cost and encumbrance of armor. These qualities made pole-arms ideal for quickly outfitting a very large force of common soldiers.

==Types of Pole-arm==
Spears are far from being the only form of pole-arm; there are numerous others, most of which tend to be difficult to distinguish from one another. A short list of some of the more notable types is as follows:

*'''Ahlspiess/Awl Pike:''' Take a spear, then replace the spearhead with a three-foot-long metal spike with a disc to protect the user's hand and you have the ahlspiess. The name comes from the fact it resembled an awl, a tool used to pierce holes in leather and wood, which fit rather well considering how good it was at poking holes in people. Unlike a normal spear the metal spike was impossible to cut though with a sword, which made it quite effective in a melee, if a bit on the heavy side.

*'''Bardiche/Berdiche:''' A Russian polearm taking the form of a long handled axe with a broad curved axehead on a long handle typically 1.5 meters in length. The lower end of the axe-head was attached to the shaft, while the upper end extended several inches above it. It was notable in that it was often used as a monopod by Streltsi (an elite force of musketeers that existed from the reign of Ivan the Terrible to Peter the Great).

*'''Bayonet:''' Honorable mention goes to the blade at the end of a gun, which was extremely handy back in the days where it took a long time to reload. Not used very often in modern times except by the British, who have engaged in bayonet charges during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Modern bayonets attachments would make guns more similar to a glaive than a spear though (with a big curve similar to that said weapon).

*'''Bill:''' Derived from a pruning tool called the billhook, a bill consists of a cutting blade that curves forward to form a hook, with later versions adding a spike on the top and a hook on the back of the blade. This combined the stopping power of a spear with the cutting ability of an axe, giving it the ability to pull horsemen out of the saddle, hamstring man and mount alike, '''and''' pierce gaps in the protection of heavily armored opponents. For this reason, it was the national weapon of England well into the 16th century. Interestingly, at a time when all the continental armies were using pikemen to form the bulk of their foot soldiers, an English army of hastily-raised levies (most of the English army being abroad in France, dying of dysentery and being of minor annoyance to the French) devastated a Scottish army, whose principle weapon was the pike, at Flodden Fields to such an extent they took a generation to recover. Often conflated with the guisarme due to their similar origins and use, they may very well be regional variants of the same general weapon.

*'''Bohemian Earspoon:''' This oddly-named pole-arm really existed; it was used in central Europe around the 14th and 15th centuries. It consisted of a tapered blade with a medial ridge and pair of lugs beneath the blade, similar to a boar spear, to prevent an impaled target working its way down the pole to reach you.

*'''Brandistock''': An unusual 16th century Italian thrusting polearm in that, not only did it possess three spikes at the end, but they were also retractable.

*'''Falx''': The Falx is an oddity that doesn't easily fit any category; most historians list it as a polearm as, despite being somewhat shorter than an ordinary polearm, it's shaft is too long to be considered a sword. This weapon was used by the ancient Dacians and Thracians against the Romans, and featured a 3 foot sickle-shaped blade with an equally long shaft, meant to be used two-handed and could deliver devastating downward blows, splitting shields and helmets alike. It's for that reason that the Roman Gallic helmet has a special ridge specifically for blocking falx blows. In fantasy, the Falx has been re-purposed as an Elven Greatsword of sorts, owing to its more unusual shape.

*'''Fauchard''': In many respects a fauchard is very similar to a glaive, except that it has a hook somewhere on the cutting edge, and above the hook the blade tapers into a sharp point.

*'''Glaive:''' The glaive was equipped with a single-edged tapering blade (like a kitchen knife) affixed similarly to an axe head. Some variations (called glaive-guisarmes) had a small hook on the end meant for catching horsemen, like a bill, or for locking enemies' blades in combat. Glaives often came in a very wide variety of bizarre shapes, so oftentimes it is used to describe a polearm with a blade shape that doesn't fit any of the other categories.

*'''Goedendag:''' the goedendag was a Flemish combination of a spear and club. It's believed to have been first used like a spear to blunt a charge, but then as a club once the melee is joined. Making it good against armored knights, and it was used to defeat French knights at the "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5ksuFG8YaY Battle of the Golden Spurs]". The word "Goedendag" means "good day" in Dutch, so if nothing else this proves that the Flemish have a sense of humor.

*'''Guan-Dao:''' The Guan-Dao is a chinese polearm with a ''huge'' fucking blade at the end of a five-foot pole, with a small prong at the back and usually a tassle or two for ceremonial purposes. It is named after a popular character from the 14th century novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms called Guan Yu, who is often depicted as using a particularly beautiful Guan-Dao (even though he almost certainly didn't do so in reality, as the weapon didn't exist at the time). A similar predecessor in China is the "Pudao" (and the similar Korean "Hyeopdo"). A related pole-arm in Joseon Korea was based off of it and was referred to as the "Woldo".

*'''Halberd:''' One of the most iconic pole-arms, differing from the poleaxe in both form and function. Intended as more of a formation weapon than an individual weapon, both the shaft and spike were longer, as it was primarily a thrusting weapon. While possessing an ax's blade (which typically featured a slant pointing downward as opposed to a straight parallel or circular edge), it was less used for chopping (due to its unwieldy nature) and more as an extra attack; the ax was used in a draw cut in case the thrust missed its target and attempted to close in. The blade could also pull a mounted [[knight]] off his horse, though the bill was better known for this tactic. In the early Renaissance, the Halberd was a favorite weapon of the Dobbeltsöldner, being a good weapon to bump away enemy pikes and then blend the innards of the peasants holding the pikes.

*'''Ji''': A common Chinese polearm that evolved over time; early versions took the form of a "dagger-axe," more properly called a "Ge," which was little more than a short blade that stuck out perpendicular to the shaft, then sloped down the shaft a bit to form the axe-head. The Ji evolved from the Ge by adding a spike to the top, turning it more into a halberd-type weapon. Finally, the blade was replaced with an inverted crescent shape, sometimes double bitted. This was famously the preferred weapon of Lu Bu, a warlord from the Three Kingdoms era.

*'''[[Lance]]:''' A bigger, heavier spear intended for [[knight]]s and other mounted warriors. They were too bulky to be wielded on foot and too heavy to throw, relegating them to use on horseback; however, they could be absolutely devastating during a cavalry charge. Variations of the lance continued to be used until World War I. They were also the go-to weapon for jousting tournaments.

*'''Lucerne Hammer:''' Basically a warhammer with a very long shaft, the hammer's head was pronged to better pierce the plate armor in use at the time. It also bore a long spike opposite the hammer and an even longer spike extending from the top. The name comes from the city of Lucerne, Switzerland, where many of them have been discovered.

*'''Man Catcher:''' A pole with a two pronged semicircular head which sometimes has spikes inside it and possibly a mechanism to close it, designed for immobilizing enemies by catching their limbs or neck and pining them down and also for knocking enemies off of horses. Less lethal versions of this weapon were, and still are in some places, used for catching escaping criminals.

*'''Military Fork:''' It's basically a big pitchfork. The prongs made it effective at piercing plate armor and some had hooks much like other polearms to counter cavalry.

*'''Naginata:''' Similar to the glaive, the naginata is a wooden shaft with a large curved blade at the end which was covered with a sheath when not in use. Like the katana, it became a favored weapon of the [[samurai]], particularly the women (who were especially appreciative of its ability to keep opponents at a distance, thus compensating for [[-4 Str|the difference in raw strength between the sexes]]) in fact learning how to use a Naginata was mandatory for school girls in the Empire of Japan and it's still popular there. While they can be used to stab and hook opponents, the curved blade makes naginatas most effective as a cutting weapon; although it lacks the speed, control, and longer cutting edge of a katana, it makes up for it with superior reach and better leverage. Fun fact; sometimes when a katana broke, the blade would be reused to make a naginata. A similar but more ornate pole-arm was the "Nagamaki".

*'''Partisan:''' A relative newcomer to the pole-arm family, coming about only during the Renaissance but becoming obsolete in the same way as every other pole arm - via the advent of firearms. It was a weapon that consisted of a spearhead (broader and larger than normal) mounted on a relatively long shaft with protrusions on the sides of the spear head which aided the user in parrying sword thrusts, setting the weapon apart from its predecessors. The weapon was designed for both cutting and thrusting (albeit with a larger focus on the latter rather than the former), unlike a normal spear, but it was still somewhat smaller than normal polearms at 1.8—2m (5.9—6.6ft). It remains in use as a ceremonial weapon in some countries. Party-focused politicians are known for fighting with these in political debates.

[[File:Pikemen.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Cavalry? We ain't afraid of no stinking cavalry!]]
*'''Pike:''' Perhaps the most effective of the pole weapons, but certainly the most widespread. The pike was, at its heart, a very long, sharp stick. We're talking 10-25 feet, here. It was ideal for defensive maneuvers, especially when wielded ''en masse''; each rank of pikemen was trained to hold their pikes so any charging enemy infantry had to deal with more sharp spiky objects than a hedgehog convention pointed at them. However, the tight formations needed to pull this off made pikemen vulnerable to archers and the unwieldy size of the pikes made it too difficult for them to effectively defend themselves if outflanked. Nevertheless, their lethality and defensive skill made them popular into the late 1600s, at which time people realized standing around in dense formations made pikemen an easy target for [[Firearm|arquebusiers]] and artillery. Both the [[Landsknecht]]s and the Swiss became famous for their proficiency with pikes. It survived a few centuries after the introduction of gunpowder with the usage of Pike and Shot formations (with the pikemen being near the edges to keep cavalry at bay as the arquebusiers volley fired). Some Japanese yari would be long enough to qualify as pikes and were used in a similar manner as the Europeans did.

*'''Poleaxe:''' It's an axe head on a pole, just as the name suggests. Compared to a halberd, it has a smaller head, which focuses kinetic energy onto a smaller area and lets it cut through armor more effectively. In other words, while the halberd prioritizes thrusting, the poleaxe prioritizes chopping. The spike on the end of the pole's butt also made it useful for thrusting attacks, and it could be used to block in the same way as a quarterstaff. Generally a poleaxe has a spike at the tip, rather like a spear head, an axe blade and a hammer on the opposite side of the axe blade - the hammer was all but necessary to crush plate armour and the man within, after all.

*'''Pilum''': The standard polearm in the service of the ancient Roman Legions. Defies the categorization of this page a bit, since it's not particularly large (about 2 meters at most) and wasn't used like we would think a polearm would be used. The Pilum was an iron tipped javelin, thrown against enemy formations before the charge. Its very thin tip concentrated most of its force in a very small area, making is possible to pierce most kinds of armour and shields the enemy would use. As an additional feature, the shaft was of the tip was made from a softer iron than the tip itself, meaning that even if you blocked a Pilum with your shield, the Pilum would get stuck and bend, adding a 1 kilogram heavy paperweight to it and limiting your manuverability severly.

*'''Quarterstaff:''' The simplest type of polearm there is, inasmuch as it is an actual pole. It's probably the oldest, too; smacking someone with a stick is easier to think of than sharpening it so you can stab them. A favored weapon of [[monk]]s and other unarmed classes in DnD, these could be used both as a blunt implement and as a thrusting weapon, while a carefully aimed sweeping blow aimed at the legs could easily knock a foe off his feet and send him sprawling onto the ground. It's not too likely that these were used in actual warfare, as they were mainly meant for self-defense and martial arts; in many cultures with martial arts traditions the staff was regarded as providing the strongest defense of the basic types of weapons. They were also useful as walking sticks, of course. In China, where it is known as the Gùn or Bang staff, it is called the "Grandfather of Weapons" in the classical weapons quartet (the others being the Jian sword, Qiang spear, and the Dao sabre).

*'''Shaolin Spade:''': As the name suggests, it's a weapon with a spade-shaped blade on one end, with a crescent shaped blade on the other. The Shaolin monks used this weapon for two purposes: to bury the dead, and for defense against bandits. Possibly one after the other.

*'''Spetum:''' A spear-like weapon with two smaller, single-edged blades extending at acute angles from the base of the spear's head. Not only could it be used to impale and stab with the main spearhead, the smaller blades made it effective at knocking aside shields and severing limbs as well.

*'''Swinefeather/Swedish Feather:''' A predecessor to the bayonet, this was a musket rest combined with a spear, which allowed early musketeers to defend themselves against cavalry. As its name suggests, it was heavily used by the Swedes during the Thirty Years War, with the weird name possibly coming from the Swedish word for 'pig-sticker'.

*'''Swordstaff:''' Take a full sized doubled edged sword, including the guard, but replace grip with a long pole. Swordstaff like weapons pop up in fantasy every once in a while but were rare in history, so not much is known about how they were used.

*'''Trident:''' The go-to weapon for a water-themed character. Mostly this was used by fishermen to skewer fish. The retiarius, a type of gladiator, used a trident alongside a dagger and net.

*'''Voulge:''' While superficially similar to the glaive, the voulge had a broader blade meant for hacking rather than cutting. Think of it as a meat cleaver on a pole and you have the general idea of how it worked. Also like the glaive, some forms (called voulge-guisarmes) had hooks added to the back of the blade, along with a pointed tip for stabbing.

*'''War Scythe:''' Contrary to popular belief, a scythe on its own is too unwieldy to make a good weapon. But if the scythe's blade is re-mounted to extend upward instead of out to the side, it can be fairly effective as far as improvised weapons go. Because of the ease with which they could be repurposed from common tools, they were one of the most likely weapons to be used in peasant uprisings. War scythes were the preferred polearm of the Poles (no pun intended).

==Gallery==
<gallery>
image:Polearms-Geneva.jpg|Various 15th century European pole-arms
image:ahlspiess.jpg|An ahlspiess
image:01_108_Book_illustrations_of_Historical_description_of_the_clothes_and_weapons_of_Russian_troops.jpg|Russian '''streltsi''', each carrying a musket and a bardiche
image:Bec_de_Corbin.jpg|A bec-de-corbin or Lucerne hammer, depending on who you ask
image:Long_handled_bill_hook.jpg|A simple bill
image:Glouchester-billmen.jpg|Re-enactors holding examples of Italian and English bills
image:Bohemian-earspoon.jpg| A modern reproduction of a bohemian earspoon
image:naginata.jpg|A Japanese Naginata
image:Voulges.png|Several different kinds of voulge
</gallery>
{{MedievalWeaponry}}

Plate armor

2023-06-07T17:05:50Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

{{Stub}}

{{awesome}}

'''Plate Armor''' is, simply put, armor made of solid plates of metal, essentially a slab of metal made to be worn by people. The cumbersomeness and the lack of mobility is often exaggerated in media, mostly due to confusing tourney armor with combat armor. Tourney armor indeed was unreasonably heavy, thick and restricting in movement, precisely because no one wanted to die or just break a rib (which considering the shitty medicine of that days could be fatal as well) on a tourney, but when knights and men at arms went to war, they clad themselves in a much lighter combat armor, in which they could run, jump, or even perform a somersault ''more'' easily than chain mail (which had its weight distributed almost entirely on the shoulders) - because in a real fight you should fight for hours rather than few minutes, and mobility is just as important as armor for survivability (though that being said, funnily enough tests have noted that modern soldiers carry a similar weight on them to a full suit of plate armor. Their load is less taxing because more of it weighs down on their back instead of their legs). What we think of as Plate Armor began to take shape around the late 1300s and became what most people thought of as plate armor in the 1400s - partial plate armor has existed for centuries before that, with (albeit not steel) breastplates existing since classical antiquity, such as the Greeks' bronze muscle cuirasses or the literally-oldest-surviving Western armor that is the Dendra panoply...not to mention that armor at its most conceptually-simple (getting some thing that is more solid than you and attaching it to you) is pretty much like plate armor.

A decent plate armored suit could deflect or shatter most blades and arrows that struck it due to its hardiness, requiring those who wielded these weapons to either find chinks in the armor to stab at the wearer (which is a bit hard when he's trying to chop your head off with impunity), or use concussive/heavy piercing weapons like [[mace]]s and [[warhammer]]s, which could either bypass or penetrate the plating and still at the absolute worst probably cause the wearer to be terribly shaken from the impact. Arrows had limited effect as well, although bolts shot from [[crossbow]]s typically had enough power to at least dent plate armor, and heavy crossbows might do so while leaving the wearer bruised. Contrary to popular belief, guns didn't pierce through plate with ease - only high-caliber muskets had enough power in their shot to reliably pierce though the plate, and much like heavy crossbows they paid for it with their sluggishly slow firing rate. From the times of sword and shot also originate the term "bullet-proof", as when a noble or a mercenary went to buy a new set of armor (or just a plate cuirass), he got a pistol with him, and "proofed" his buy by shooting at it at point-blank - good armor suit were supposed to hold that shot, and good luck selling anyone a suit which hadn't passed the test, because who the fuck gonna buy an armor that couldn't stop a pistol in times when everyone and his dog is armed with one. Unscrupulous smiths were known to use a round-ended hammer to create a fake bullet mark on their armour in order to sell poorly-made products to unsuspecting rubes. Even in Sengoku era Japan, where militaries absolutely spammed guns, most conscript soldiers had breastplates.

Fiction often portrays plate armor as the most expensive armor there is, but it really wasn't. By the 15th century (not that far after plate armor itself was invented) high demand and the invention of the automatic (water wheel powered) hammer resulted in "munitions grade" plate being produced in large quantities. Conversely, [[mail]] remained very labor intense to make and was entirely obsolete beyond armoring joints. Never the less, a suit of custom made full plate was well beyond what most people could afford back in the day. Even with modern day tools, getting a suit of armor is still expensive since it has to be made to order to fit your body, and you have to maintain your current body weight or else it won’t fit. Because of how a full suit is dependent on interlocking pieces, getting the dimensions just right is crucial. Munition armor was rarely ever full plate, usually limited to a cuirass and helmet, or a “half-plate” suit of armor that only covered the upper body.

Nonetheless, military history clearly moved away from plate armor, finding it logistically impractical to pay and supply blade-immune and bullet-resistant armor to their troops compared to just getting more men and guns, even before guns improved to an extent that no worn armor would have been able to stop bullets and still be light enough to run around in until kevlar was created. The factions of WWI experimented with putting body armor on their soldiers sufficient at protecting them against small arms, but as previously implied, found that stacking enough metal on a man to protect him from rifle bullets made it unfeasible for him to even move - the Germans adopted "Sappenpanzer" body armor to some extent, but reserved it to sentries and static machine-gunners that didn't risk exhaustion from use while only expecting it to protect against shrapnel...but at this point of time, with good-quality rifle-resistant body armor consisting of armor plates inserted into "carrier" vests, plate armor to some extent is back baby! Humanity just had to think up fancier materials than steel.

In fantasy, plate armor is typically given to warrior classes to denote their position as the front-line close combat fighters. It's commonly also the victim of [[Fantasy Armor]] syndrome where the armor is so bulky beyond belief that you start to wonder how the wearer is able to move, much less fight, when the armor is twice as big and heavy as him.

== Parts of Plate Armor ==
[[File:Plate armor.jpg|250px|thumb|right|A standard suit of plate armor. Use the list to the left to reference the parts]]
*Plate helmet (many variants existed, although they're all designed to protect the head)
**Visor (Covered the face. Was usually hinged with the helmet, although some people did not bother with visors)
*Gorget (covers the entire neck)
**Bevor/Falling Buffe (covers front of neck)
*Spaulders (covers the shoulders)
**[[Pauldrons]] (an evolution of the spaulders. Pauldrons are larger than spaulders, not only covering the shoulder, but most of the upper arm as well. They're also reliable as blunt implements to shoulder charge somebody with.)
*Rerebraces (covers the upper arms)
*Couter (covers the elbows)
*Vambraces (covers the forearms)
*Gauntlets (covers the hands)
*Curiass (plate which covers the torso)
*Breastplate (single plate which covers the front of the torso)
*Backplate (covers the back of the torso)
*Tassets (covers the upper legs. They're the plate skirt that covered the cuisse)
*Cuisses (covers the thighs)
*Poleyn (covers the knees)
*Greaves (covers the lower legs)
*Sabatons (boots for walking and covers the feet)

Notable things that are not part of real world or realistic plate armor:
*[[Fantasy Armor#.22Breast.22plate_a.k.a._.22Boobplate.22|Boobs]]

== Plate armour by region ==

* Ancient Greece

* Medieval Europe

* Japan

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Minoan_plate.jpg|Dendra Panoply - arguably the first plate armor.
Image:Crupellarius_legioXXX_3.jpg|The closest ancient Romans got to the concept.
Image:Fantasy_spectrum_female_armor.png|Take your pick!
Image:Knight_and_horse_armor.jpg|For when you need to larp as a tank in the Middle Ages.
Image:Raps_giant_plate_knight_girl.png|Or an Imperial Titan.
Image:Warhammer_imperial_knight.png|An straight A+ for style, but a D for functionality, let that chaos warrior hook his axe on and the guy is toast!
Image:Uruk-Hai_armor.png|Orks/Orcs are generally bad enough without plate, with it you got an almost astartes-level ally...or problem.
Image:Indecent_explatesure.jpg|This...makes some sense when you think about it...
Image:Ousa_armor_heavenswheel-animu_armor.jpg|Anime can really go out-there with armor designs.
</gallery>

[[Category: History]]

[[Category: Weapons]]

[[Category: Medieval Weaponry]]

[[Category: Armour]]

{{MedievalWeaponry}}

Pauldrons

2023-06-07T16:43:27Z

2A02:1810:4E2C:A900:B1DB:DD21:1188:2216:

[[Image:Emperor.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Emprah]] shows off his mighty pauldrons.]]
[[Image:Epic_vladimir_tzepesci_full.jpg|thumb|right|They can clang shut over his head to deflect well-aimed arrows.]]

In the [[grimdark|grim darkness]] of the [[41st millennium|far future]]/[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle|Renaissance Europe]], there is only war. Unless you have Imperial [[Power Armor]]/Chaos Plate or Norscan Marauder's hide armor, in which case there are also '''pauldrons'''. Pauldrons are the sections of armor that cover the shoulders, and are well known for the tendency of [[Drawfag|artists]] drawing ''[[Warhammer 40k]]'' material to make them ridiculously huge (''[[World of Warcraft]]'' armor also tends towards oversized shoulder-plates).

After all, in the far far grimdark future... Manliness is measured in the size of your pauldrons.

It is theorized that position in Imperial society is directly related to how large your pauldrons are, as exemplified by artwork of the [[Empra]] himself, who has power armor with pauldrons so massive He cannot see over His own shoulders or raise His arms to more than a forty-five degree angle.

[[Serious Business|Imperial Power armor bypasses this inhibition]] by having their pauldrons being automated. Thus when an Astartes must look over his shoulders, the pauldrons will automatically lower. <s>Then why raise them back up in the first place?</s>{{blam}} {{blam|To protect the valiant Astartes from a cowardly flanking attack from heretics such as yourself!}} As for moving their limbs fluidly, one must keep in mind that the average Space Marines has tremendous physical strength, and thus would be capable of lifting his arms fluidly despite the weight of the armor. And the power armor is automated anyway, so they move for him at the speed of thought... or so the Adeptus Mechanicus would have you believe.

In truth, pauldrons simply redirect all incoming projectiles back to the enemy so the wearer doesn't even have to move. In the absence of incoming projectiles, they instead draw in and focus all available sunlight on the target, which is why the setting has no light and is so [[Grimdark]].

With regards to space marines in particular, the the big round upper-arm-covering pauldrons are so ubiquitous that using a different design (see the [[Primarchs]] or [[Cypher]]'s new model) has become easy visual shorthand for 'this character is a big fucking deal'.

[[Commissar|Those unfortunate enough not to be equipped with power armor]] instead use the size of their [[hats]] or collars in a similar manner. (Although most guard regiments, particularly cadians, tend to wear pauldrons rather than more useful armour like breastplates, gauntlets, or legpads.)

Privateer Press also has copied the style of the huge pauldrons of ''[[Warhammer 40k]]'' and added comically large pauldrons to some of the characters in its ''[[Warmachine]]'' game. This is most prominent in the Khadoran army, but recent releases for the Retribution of Scyrah have challenged Khadoran pauldron supremacy. A prime example is Vlad Tzepesci, aka "Lord No-Peripheral-Vision", to the extent that the pads on Vlad's third incarnation are probably a massive [[troll]]. A few other models, like the Great Bears of Gallowswood, are certainly not innocent either. The fluff reason is supposedly to protect the head from a warjack punch, but really it's just because PP's concept artists have pauldron envy. When Warmachine: Tactics came out, a computer game set in the Warmachine world, the pauldrons actually had to be downsized so the animation team could render things like swinging an arm upward without decapitation.

==Summarised In a [[Chaos]]y Fashion==
Our enemy wears [[METAL BOXES|MEHTAL BAWKSES, DA COWHARDS, DA FUHLES!]] we... weeee shall wear ''bigger'' meatle bawkses...

==Summarised In a [[Eldar]]y Fashion==
We prefer pauldron-sized helmets. Maugan Ra loves those pauldrons though...

==Summarised in a [[Tau]] Fashion==
''''<strike>cough' Armor envy 'cough'</strike> Actually, proportionately ours are bigger. '''

==Summarised In a [[Necron]]y Fashion==
-. . -.-. .-. --- -. .../ -.. --- -. .----. -/ -. . . -../ .--. .- ..- .-.. -.. .-. --- -. ... --..--/ .- .-.. ... --- --..--/ -.-- --- ..-/ .... .- ...- ./ .-- .- -.--/ - --- ---/ -- ..- -.-. ..../ - .. -- ./ --- -./ -.-- --- ..- .-./ .... .- -. -.. .../ ../ -- . .- -./ ... . .-. .. --- ..- ... .-.. -.-- --..--/ .-- .... -.--/ .-- --- ..- .-.. -../ -.-- --- ..-/ -... --- - .... . .-./ - .-. .- -. ... .-.. .- - .. -. --./ .- .-.. .-../ --- ..-./ - .... .. ... .-.-.-/ .- .-.. ... ---/ -.. --- -. .----. -/ ..-. --- .-. --. . -/ - .... .- -/ --- ...- .- .-.. - .. -. ./ .- -. -../ ../ .... --- .--. ./ -.-- --- ..-/ --. . -/ - .... .- -/ .-. . ..-. . .-. . -. -.-. ./ {{BLAM|-... .-.. .- -- -.-.--/ - .... . -.--/ -. . . -../.--. .- ..- .-.. -.. .-. --- -. .../ . ...- . -./ .. ..-./ - .... . -.--/ .- .-. ./ -- .- -.. ./ --- ..-./ .- -. -.-. .. . -. -/ -- . - .- .-../ -... .- .-- -.- ... . ... .-.-.- .-.-.- .-.-.- .- .-.. ... --- --..--/ ../ -.. --- -. .----. -/ .-.. .. -.- ./ -.-. --- -- -- . .-. -.-. .. .- .-.. ... .-.-.-}} {{BLAM| -... .-.. .- -- -.-.-- / -.-- --- ..- / -.. .- .-. . / .. -. ... ..- .-.. - / - .... . / . -- .--. . .-. --- .-. .----. ... / -.-. --- -- -- . .-. -.-. .. .- .-.. ... ..--..}} {{heresy| / .... . .-. . - .. -.-.}}

==Summarised for the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]]==

01011001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01110011 01101000 01101111 01110101 01101100 01100100 00100000 01101011 01101110 01101111 01110111 00100000 01100001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01100001 01100010 01101111 01110101 01110100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01100010 01100101 01100011 01100001 01110101 01110011 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01101101 01100001 01101011 01100101 00100000 01101001 01110100 00101110 00001010 01100001 01101100 01110011 01101111 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100100 01101111 01101110 00100111 01110100 00100000 01101110 01100101 01100101 01100100 00100000 01110000 01100001 01110101 01101100 01100100 01110010 01101111 01101110 01110011 00100000 01101001 01100110 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100100 01101111 01101110 00100111 01110100 00100000 01101000 01100001 01110110 01100101 00100000 01110011 01101000 01101111 01110101 01101100 01100100 01100101 01110010 01110011

==Summarised In an [[Ork]]y Fashion==
'ERE BOSS, YOO WAN GET US SUM OF DEM METEL PLATES? ILL GET DA MEK.

==Summarised for [[Tyranids]]==
Pauldrons are hard to get through, but when you do... pauldron wearers taste good. KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEZERGRUSHDEVOURNOMNOMNOMNOM

==Summarised by the [[Imperial Guard]]==
Armor is for PUSSIES.

==Summarised in [[Dark Eldar]] fashion==
Heh, you know what they say about hunks with huge pauldrons... *fapfapfap*

== The Truth ==

The real, secret reason that Imperial society features such massive pauldrons is so that Games Workshop can claim that their armour is distinctive enough to justify suing the pants off any rivals/imitators/well-meaning fans who produce anything that could be used with their products. Seriously, check [https://web.archive.org/web/20170603052244/http://archive.courthousenews.com:80/cnsnews/Story/Index/52810 this shit out].

also: they help hide cracks and joints between the arm and the body thus allowing you to [[THIN YOUR PAINTS|cover up modelling mistakes]], or allow for a bit more flexibility in posing. In the case of Space Marines they're also vaguely evocative of a [https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/Xp_fCSoCMeanrQnvV02S.w--/aD04Mjk7dz0xMjYyO3NtPTE7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/d4a7470450b43726800f6a7067008a47.jpg Papal mantle], assisting their Catholic space-monk imagery, although whether this is intentional or just a happy accident is up for debate. And, also, bigger pauldrons do make it easier to freehand sigils for custom chapters and junk.

'''In reality''' the use of over-sized pauldrons was a real thing in some medieval militaries but most famously with the [[Samurai]] of Japan. The reason for this was so the pauldrons could protect its user to some degree like shields, leaving the hands free to fight with. In their case, a bow requiring two hands (when samurai pauldrons were at its biggest), or a polearm, or a two-handed sword. In 40K, bolter, bolter and chainsword, heavy weapons, extra shield, and anything else. Plus, their ammo is stored under the pauldrons to prevent it from, y'know, ''blowing up''.

[[File:Pauldronius.png|400px|center|thumb|'''EXTERMINATUS-PROOF''']]

https://www.belloflostsouls.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/blogger-image-1090197420.jpg
Apparently this is early MK1 Termie plate/Oldass GW designs.

[[Category: History]]

[[Category: Weapons]]

[[Category: Medieval Weaponry]]

[[Category: Armour]]

[[Category: Warhammer 40,000]]

[[Category: Meme]]

{{MedievalWeaponry}}