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Psyker

2018-10-05T04:47:40Z

2A02:587:3A02:F600:A0E3:5D52:4BBD:951A:

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[[Image:imperialpsyker.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Good thing [[Games Workshop]] has an extremely liberal interpretation of the word 'psychic'. Magic IN SPEHSS!]]
{{topquote|He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster.|Friedrich Nietzsche}}
{{topquote|We always vilify what we don't understand.|Nenia Campbell}}

A '''psyker''', in the [[Warhammer 40,000]] universe, is an individual with psychic powers capable of accessing the [[Warp]]. This is both a blessing and a curse; though psykers are often able to achieve spectacular feats with their abilities, the Warp is a perilous place, and whenever a psyker uses their abilities there is a chance that they will be subject to the Perils of the Warp. Death is one of the milder results of this; extremely unlucky psykers might actually be raped in countless ways by [[daemon]]s and used as a gateway from the Warp into the physical world. Luckily, in the ranks of the [[Imperial Guard]], where there's a psyker, there's usually a [[Commissar]] ready to unleash the power of [[Blam]].

==Types of Psyker==
The different races of the setting perceive psykers in different ways.

===Imperium===
The [[Imperium of Man]] regards most psykers as extremely dangerous, because these are people with scary powers, and the influence of the Warp tends not to let them stay sane for very long, but hey, space wizards are cool{{BLAM}} {{BLAM|HERESY!}}. There is also the threat of [[Chaos]] possessing them and summoning daemons. Thus, the [[Inquisition]] hunts them down so they can either be sacrificed to feed the [[Empra]] or sanctioned and made to serve the Imperium (under an inquisitor's watchful eye). Such psykers appear as a unit in the Dawn of War games and like to scream incomprehensible one-liners so mind-numbingly loud that they may very well actually make your head explode. [[Space Marines]] make their psykers into [[Librarian]]s: in addition to psychic support on the battlefield, they compile records in the Librarium, serve to assist in battlefield communications, and test their brothers for Chaotic contamination. [[Imperial Guard]] Sanctioned Psykers combine psychic powers with Standard Issue Balls of Steel that every Imperial Guard member has. In addition, they have a nasty reputation for being BLAMMED by Commissars. "Rogue Psykers" is the official designation for any psyker who hasn't been collared by the Imperium yet and are often hated by more puritan worlds, in extreme cases routinely being hunted down and killed; but on most worlds being sactioned (assuming you survive and don't mind the side affects) gives an air of authority and orthodoxy to an otherwise hated thing. People still hate you, but instead of treating you like a particularly verbose bit of dung, now you're hated the way tax collectors are hated. Astropaths are beyond such venom, partly because they are less prone to possession and mostly because they are a planet's only way of communicating with the greater Imperium. People still feel uneasy around them, but even [[Black Templars]] have to cope with them and make nice faces. However, the [[God-Emperor of Mankind|Emperor]] <s>was</s> is a psyker, so the next time some idiot tells you that Psykers are heresy, use this little fact on their fa--{{BLAM}} {{BLAM|EXTRA HERESY!}}. Well, actually not, since for an average citizen of the Imperium the Emperor is God, so His wielding godly powers in the [[Great_Crusade|glory days]] before His ascension is actually the core tenet of the Imperial Cult and proof of his divinity. Not so for mere mortal psykers, who are rightly considered unholy and corruptible.

Humanity, being the stars of the show, obviously have arguably the greatest psychic potential overall (because of course they do), with a psychic evolution (which could take countless centuries or even millennia to take place, even if they can survive it) into a fully psychic race which the Emperor himself has said may very well equal or even possibly surpass even the Eldar at their peak, although with the loss of the Webway project even the Emperor admits that this path is pretty much now closed to humanity. Becoming a psychic race doesn't suddenly make you god tier, it just makes you psychic; the Eldar are a full-blown psychic race and they aren't exactly doing brilliantly.
*Like all of his interactions with others, anything that the Emperor says should be treated as a possible falsehood (he's a bit of a compulsive liar and manipulator). His whole speech to Ra about humanity's possible psychic might may well have been just what the Emperor wanted Ra to hear in order to prepare him to make his sacrifice at the end of the book.

Humanity has managed to produce some of the strongest Psykers in the history of the Galaxy but most didn't come into being through natural means:

*[[The Emperor]] is obviously the first that springs to mind as he is unquestionably the strongest mortal psyker that has yet been seen, unless you count the [[Old Ones]] (Emps could be an Old One masquerading as a human). The question is however: is he even human? There are many theories surrounding the Emperor's origins and his exact nature. Was he born or is he a construct from the Dark age of technology that believes itself to be human? If we take the whole Shaman origin as fact then his psychic might is due to the large number of psychic beings merging their minds into one which is certainly not the norm (strangely something similar happened to [[Ephrael Stern]]). Even if we assume he's a single entity that [[Perpetual|happens to be immortal]], there is the whole deal with the Chaos gods which may or may not have boosted his already considerable power (and yes, it is stated that he needed a ship to get there, but didn't need one to get back). The Emperor is clear proof that, whatever he might be, the most powerful psyker in existence has indisputably allied itself with humanity.
*[[Magnus]] is a Primarch and should in no way be considered entirely human. He, like all his kind, are artificial beings created through Warp shenanigans and advanced bio-engineering. There is nothing natural about him or his psychic might.
*[[Malcador]] is the only truly natural (depending upon what happens with his backstory once it is finally revealed) human standout amongst the big names. He may play second fiddle to the likes of the abominations that are the Emperor and Magnus, but he is still the strongest "human" psyker on the list. Natural humans are never going to be able to compete with the gods of the Warp, but a race of potential Malcadors doesn't sound too shabby, does it?

Human psykers (with occasional exceptions, like Space Marine Librarians) tend to be one trick ponies; if they are telepathic, then that is what they can do - it is very unlikely that they will have any skill in something like telekinesis, pyromancy, or divination. If this was an RPG, then they would be the guys who put all their experience into learning one or two skills until they have maxed them out, but end up having nothing left to spend on anything else. Yes, they can create a very powerful fireball, but that's all they can do.

====Squats====
The [[Squat]]s that grow very old are called "living ancestors". They are extremely rare, and develop psychic powers by communing with the spirits of their predecessors. And you could put them in an egg-shaped terminator armor, then onto a trike, with a bolt-firing cavalry lan-{{BLAM}} {{BLAM|Squats are ''heresy''!}}

===Forces of Chaos===
[[Chaos]] tends to have...varied opinions on psykers.
*[[Daemon]]s are made out of the stuff of the Warp, and using psychic powers is shaping and throwing out a little bit of the Warp, so a daemon using psychic powers is the rough equivalent of [[Rip and tear|taking a severed limb or some bones and throwing it]] as a viable attack. While that sounds pretty fucking metal, [[Khorne]] thinks that pulling this bullshit is a sign that you're not manly enough to get into the thick of it and handle the situation on your own, and opinion is shared by his daemons and mortal followers. Not only do they not use psychic powers, but they actively hate any pussified deadbeat who uses them, and they even get toys that fuck with anybody trying to use those powers. However, it should be said that (deeply confused) Khornate traitor librarians exist - Khorne's opinion of them doesn't stop them from idolizing him. They just don't receive his favor, obviously (Unless your name is [[Sindri Myr|SSSSSSIIIINDDDRRRIIII]]).
*On the other end of the spectrum, [[Tzeentch]], being the god of magic, is hugely into psychic powers, and he likes making new ones that do all kinds of mix-and-match effects, though only the best are actually rolled out. That's the official line. He's actually a closeted pyro, and a lot of his powers are burny or...do weird shit. Being the patron of psykers, if people get Tzeentch's attention because they're scholars or [[Just As Planned|David Xanatos]], they'll eventually develop psychic power whether they like it or not. Due to higher exposure to Warp energy via psychic powers and serving the god of change, Tzeentch's minions, and more often, ''their'' minions have the highest rates of mutation and turning into [[Chaos Spawn|Chao--er, tentacly gribblies]]. [[Ahriman]], possibly the greatest of Tzeentch's servants barring Magnus himself, was so powerful a Psyker that he was able to defeat Ulthwe's most venerated Psyker, Kyaduras the Anchorite, with ease, and, in the same battle, also casually defeated [[Yvraine]], the Yncarne, and the Visarch.
*In the middle, [[Nurgle]] likes any psykers that spread his gifts around, but doesn't really go out of his way to promote them in his followers either, probably on account of his direct opposition to Tzeentch. Needless to say, his powers all revolve around inflicting people with horrible diseases or boosting their endurance to unnatural levels.
*Similarly, [[Slaanesh]] thinks Tzeentch is a [[Neckbeard|giant nerd]], whose overdevotion to his nerdy hobby of inventing new psychic powers will never get him laid. We think it says this because Tzeentch <s>refuses to sleep with it (it almost certainly likes his tentacles and crotch mouth)</s> is afraid he might catch Warp chlamydia, and he's just not willing to give Nurgle that kind of [[Just as Planned|satisfaction]]. Slaaneshi psykers emphasize powers that make the [[Chaos|hurt feel good]], or have effects that look like the target might have [[Drug|snorted]] the psychic power off of a stripper's ass.

Being able to combine psychic powers, sorcery, and the favours of the Dark Gods easily makes the psychic followers of Chaos amongst the most powerful and dangerous individuals to have ever existed within the 40k setting.

===Eldar===
====Craftworld====
The [[Eldar|Craftworld Eldar]] are a strongly psychically-attuned race. While the regular, off-the-street Eldar will restrain themselves from using any psychic powers beside basic telepathic communication and the ability to use their psychic technology out of fear of being mindraped by Slaaneshi daemons, they can join the [[Paths of the Eldar|Path of the Seer]] and train to better control their innate abilities. Eldar who go on this path with previous experience as Aspect Warriors become [[Warlock_(Eldar)| Warlocks]], while the most powerful seers can become [[Farseer]]s and leaders of their people. They're ridiculously powerful psykers because of that deep imprint in the Warp to draw power, combined with their Spehss Ehlvan minds and willpower. They just need to be fucking careful and avoid unwanted attention unless they like [[Slaanesh|tentacles]].

The true capacity and depth of Eldar psychic abilities tend to be rather watered down or just plain ignored outright, due to the demands of the plot which is almost always told with the Imperium as the protagonist of the story. Within most stories the authors will tend to use the "M. Night Shyamalan" style of writing, which means having the Eldar Farseers getting a vision of events that are going to happen in the future and set out to stop it, only to discover that they either had it wrong the whole time, or they themselves brought about the very event that they wished to prevent; all the while the authors are hopping around shouting "WHAT A TWIST" at the top of their lungs. Due to the vast focus put upon the forces of the Imperium it is not a surprise that there is such an abundance of named human Psykers running rampant across the galaxy, but remember that humans only produce an exceptional psychic individual once in a blue moon; those humans that prove themselves strong and stable enough to join the ranks of the Marines as Librarians are a rare breed but more than prove their worth over multiple centuries of service.

By comparison, every Eldar citizen can, if they wish to, potentially become a Farseer; although no Farseer will ever manage to reach the same level of power as the likes of Magnus it's not really a fair comparison as he really isn't [[Primarch|human]] and did not come into existence through natural means. In a slightly darker turn of events, where the likes of [[Spiritseer]]s, who are able to commune with and manipulate the souls of the Eldar dead, the Ynnari actually amplify their existing powers through absorbing the souls of previous Eldar, which many Eldar among the Craftworlds consider to be horrifying. GW's "fuck what the Xenos are supposed to be able to do; the Imperium and Chaos are the stars of this setting" rule is seen many times in the story itself, with powerful Eldar Psykers like Eldrad very rarely performing impressive feats within the stories they are featured in, and you are just told that they are very powerful before they are inevitably defeated by the glorious human protagonist (Loyalist or otherwise). Eldar Farseers, in particular, suffer from the "Worf effect" more then most, despite often being heralded as great seers they have a terrible track record within the storyline itself, very rarely succeeding in any of their endeavors. An important thing to keep in mind is that The Black Library writers love to add their very own super duper special human snowflake Psyker into the story because the "Rule of Cool" demands it, with many in the lore being attributed with the ability to destroy Titans and armies. Farseers on the other hand are often shown being incapable of even defeating a single Space Marine, let alone a tank, army or Titan, and Farseers are, explicitly, meant to be the most powerful Eldar Psykers in the galaxy. However, this could simply be either a way of keeping it so they don't win by default due to knowing exactly how a battle will go or (much more likely) [[derp|Black Library incompetence]] making it impossible to get a remotely [[awesome|accurate depiction of what their powers can do.]]

The 8th edition codex seems to have made an attempt to address this situation. Whilst all Eldar walking upon the Witch Paths are capable of mastering many different physic disciplines throughout their long lives, they tend to avoid developing their more destructive powers, instead focusing all their efforts on developing their more “helpful” and “creative” powers; such as the Bonesingers, who use their powers to create and then craft Wraithbone. This goes well with the Craftworlder’s mindset when it comes to avoiding their darker more destructive sides.

Those who find it easier to master the more destructive disciplines tend to be those who have walked the Path of the Warrior and have already had their more violent impulses tested. These individuals will become Warlocks, and can make use of their more destructive powers upon the battlefield without putting those around them in danger; as they already have their War Masks in place, to help focus them and to separate their warlike selves from their normal selves.

Farseers will unfortunately still suck in any story that they are featured in, but they are not supposed to be just weapons, they are guides and advisers who help guide the blade, not swing it themselves. This, of course, doesn’t help the fact that they are still going to be treated like a bunch of red shirts, that will inevitably fail at every single opportunity by the writers at GW.

The Eldar make use of Rune Stones that act as conduits through which they can manipulate the psychic energies of a the Warp without actually having to interact with the Warp directly; though this does limit their overall psychic power level it does provide them with a much safer and controlled way to access the energies of the Warp. The Rune stones also act as psychic fuses burning out and cutting the link to the Warp should an Eldar try to tap into too much power before they are ready. As they develop their control and skill the Eldar psykers will eventually be able to use a far greater number of stones, which allows them to tap into far greater pools of power.

Eldar tend to be the Swiss Army knife of psykers; being able to learn many different psychic disciplines. If this was an RPG then they would be the guys who spread their experience out over a wide range of powers and abilities. They don't tend to max out their powers, but instead end up with a much wider skill set to call upon.

====Harlequins====
[[Harlequin]]s are also psychic, which really comes out in their shows, and although only the [[Shadowseer]] can use powers in a fight, other Harlequins do enjoy the benefits of psychic senses and silent telepathic communication.

====Dark====
The [[Dark Eldar]], however, are psychically atrophied compared to their Craftworld bros. They have to avoid using psychic powers due to [[Slaanesh]]'s "I own your soul" gig, and Dark Eldar using psychic powers are reasonably feared as bait for [[Rip and tear|snusnu-with-a-Daemonette]]. They ''can'' use psychic artifacts, like all those crazy living swords and [[Haemonculi|Haemonculus]] toys; the only psychic power they use is their infamous emotion-vampirism ability that can replenish their bodies and souls. And kamehamehas, for [[Mandrake]]s. They do have extra fun torturing, killing and then weaponizing psykers though.

====Exodite====
We don't have any crunch and not a lot of fluff on these guys, but presumably they're psychically attuned, too, given their ability to maintain a healthy relationship with their world-spirit and beasts of burden.

===Tau Empire===
The [[Tau]] race is incapable of producing psykers, due to having almost no presence in the Warp. The good news for them is that they don't have to worry about [[Chaos|''Bad Things'']], such as any members of their species spontaneously turning inside out from the anus and summoning an army of monsters that will fuck, kill, and eat people, (''not strictly in that order''). The bad news is that they have no way to natively develop psychically based technology, so their FTL travel is glacial, albeit a good deal safer than an actual Warp jump, and their FTL communications options are limited to the Space Pony Express. It should be noted that some of their vassal races have psychic abilities, including their own Navigator analogues. It is known that they actually locate, isolate and study human (and probably other species') psykers, but as the Immaterium is too irrational and far beyond their science they have had little success in analyzing the reason behind Gue'La suddenly going crazy and <s>summoning</s> teleporting armies of homicidal <s>hellspawn</s> aliens out of thin air. Of course, following what happened to the Fourth Sphere Expansion, they now have little reason to stay ignorant of those things that come from nowhere...
*Funnily, the [[Kroot]] have psykers (they have a diverse diet) and understand a great deal about the Immaterium. They even have some crude warp vessels, usually with purchased or stolen xeno tech in it.
*The Nicassar are another auxilia race that just happens to have psykers of their own, though their potency when compared to the big boys of the setting hasn't really been examined. Regardless, they know enough about the Warp and about Tech to help develop the Tau's near-FTL technologies.

===Necrons===
The [[Necron]]s no longer have souls, so they have no presence in the Warp, and therefore can't manipulate it with their minds. And yet, they have managed to conquer the Warp with technology. (Egyptian Skeleton Zombie Robots, Yeah!) They keep fucking up the Warp and psykers with the gloom prisms they mount on their spiders, pylons ([[Cadia|sounds familiar...]]), or even giant city-sized mechanisms that cut entire planets from the Warp. One in the ''Word Bearer'' novels even had...this thing, about the size of a resurrection orb, which blanketed an entire system in a "psychic black hole." Problem, daemons?

Before the 5e fluff changes, they also the had Pariahs, specialized soldiers made from Blanks that acted like [[Culexus]] assassins.

===Orks===
The [[Ork]]s are all passive psykers, or rather emanate their own gestalt "psykik" energy in the power of the WAAAGH!, though they're mostly unaware of this. A large number of Orks in one place will slightly alter reality to suit their wishes, turning jam-prone, dirty blunderbusses into [[Dakka|fully-automatic rifles of rape.]] [[Weirdboy|Weirdboyz]] are the only ones who can tap into it actively to manifest psychic powers, which have an amusing tendency to make Orks heads explode with absolutely no warning. As said above, the Orks draw psychic energy from each other, not from the [[Warp]], which makes them virtually immune to Chaotic influences(but not completely immune), although they do have a pretty serious presence in the Warp in the form of [[Gork]] and [[Mork]] (or maybe the other way round).

===Tyranids===
The [[Tyranid]]s are innate psykers, and their collective power goes into the [[Hive Mind]], which is what the big bugs tap into to manifest psychic powers rather than the Warp, the same way a Weirdboy would tap into the WAAAGH!. Only a few bugs are capable weaponizing the Hive Mind's psychic energy, the [[Zoanthrope]] being one such option for Tyranid psychic support. Few 'Nid species beyond the Zoanthrope are capable of firing [[Awesome|tank piercing mind-lasers]]. Instead the other big bugs use its powers for buffs and a form of control called "synapse", which keeps the Tyranid horde from going feral and killing everyone and everything they see. If the Hive Mind gets driven away from the horde or the synapse bug gets killed, the synapse link collapses and the 'Nids turn feral. Also, before [[Genestealer]]s got retconned into being Tyranids, [[Genestealer Magus|Genestealer Magi]] DID use the power of the Warp to power their abilities and could dedicate themselves to Chaos. There's an image of a Khorne Magus in one of the 2nd edition books, though that is nonsensical in itself given Khorne's view of psykers.

==Psychic Power Hierarchy==
The Imperium of Man uses a 24-point scale (with gradations named for the letters of the Greek alphabet, for some reason; there are 26 points counting the "top" and "bottom", both of which are used to classify entities beyond the scale's ability to measure) called '''The Assignment''' to determine the comparative psychic power of an individual. Unfortunately, this gets very confusing in the [[fluff]], where Alpha-level psykers seem to be a dime-a-dozen and show up all over the place, and established characters that are canonically high on the scale are completely overshadowed by [[Kaldor Draigo|some other character]]. All of this [[Derp|"logically"]] leads [[neckbeards]] to reach the flawed conclusion that [[Katanas are Underpowered in d20|their favourite character on the tabletop MUST be Alpha level or greater.]]

Furthermore, it is canon that a psyker's place on the scale can change over time as his or her powers either increase with practice or decrease due to atrophy from lack of use. So generally, the fluff is quite useless for determining who is greater than whom; without the evidence of a direct psychic battle between any two comparing how they match up, it is pretty pointless to use this method.

Lastly, this is an Imperial system, and likely should be used only to assess humans. While chances are, someone in-universe has looked at a wyrdboy and gone "Theta-ish", you shouldn't since it's comparable to using metric tools on imperial sizes. Which is to say, it's annoying, inappropriate, and probably a crime according to both the Mechanicus and Administratum. So don't do it.

===Positive Psychic Levels===
#'''Alpha-Plus'''
#*Alpha-Plus psykers '''''do not''''' represent the top of the scale, but are completely beyond the scale. In fact, the scale theoretically continues upwards beyond Alpha-Plus into truly god-like tiers of power, although such individuals have never been encountered. Even so, Alpha-Plus individuals operate on a completely different wavelength from normal people and are owners of completely alien mindsets. In terms of power, they are akin to weapons of mass destruction, as in theory there is nothing that a trained Alpha-Plus psyker cannot accomplish through force of will. There is a tacit assumption that this category contains the [[Emperor]] and his "notably-psychic" [[Primarchs]] (especially [[Magnus the Red]] in his daemon Primarch form), but even he admitted there were limits on his power, specifically that one could not be both all-seeing and all-powerful at the same time. No attempt is made to distinguish power levels among members of this grade, because they're all so absurdly strong there's no point in quantifying it. To put it in context, an emergent Alpha Plus psyker - not one in fully control of their abilities - was able to destroy a starship, freeze time, put it back to together and resurrect it's crew from the dead before removing itself permanently from the physical universe in an act of unparalleled self control.
#'''Alpha / Beta'''
#*Exceedingly rare and dangerous. The Imperium believes that human beings have not sufficiently evolved enough to contain Beta and Alpha levels of psionic talent without going completely bat-shit mental, though exceptions do exist). [[Arvann Stern]] is confirmed to be of Beta level, and he's not even the most powerful psyker in his chapter. Most psykers of this power level are considered too dangerous to control and are likely to be sacrificed to power the Astronomican, while ''very'' unlucky Alpha psykers may instead find Imperial service in the Ordo Sinister, meaning they'll get turned into screaming batteries for [[Warlord_Battle_Titan#Warlord-Sinister_Pattern_Battle_Psi-Titan|Psi-Titans]]. The luckiest ones become specialized Astropaths whose predictions of the future are used by the Adeptus Custodes to find threats to Terra.
#'''Gamma / Delta'''
#*Approximately one out of every billion human births will produce a Delta- or Gamma-level psyker, who, for the Imperium, represent the "useful" upper limit of psychic potential without being too dangerous to let live, though it's up to the [[Inquisition]] to be the ultimate judge of that. Most psykers of this power are either slain or possessed if they are not discovered quickly by the Adeptus Astra Telepathica. The Inquisitor [[Gideon Ravenor]] was believed to be a high Delta-level psyker.
#'''Epsilon / Zeta'''
#*Epsilons and Zetas represent relatively powerful psykers, who are strong enough to be considered threats to security by the Imperium.
#'''Eta / Theta / Iota'''
#*Iota represents the first "true" psykers who are able to manifest and control psychic abilities with a modicum of training. Anything below this point is not considered a "true" Psyker.
#'''Kappa / Lambda / Mu / Nu / Xi / Omicron'''
#*People who can manifest psychic talents either unconsciously or so subtly as to be beneath the notice of everyone but the Inquisition, such as performing minor "magic" tricks, divinations, or other weird occurrences generally dismissed as good luck. Most of the time they are quite useless, but still represent a danger since they can be possessed. Although the Inquisition is too busy to sort out everyone at this level, the Imperial public is conditioned well enough to spot and ostracize these witches if the truth about them ever comes to light in their societies. Those that do get picked up by the Black Ships are generally considered not worth the risk of training and almost always receive a one-way trip to the Golden Throne to have some sort of use wrung out of them.
#'''Pi / Rho'''
#*Run-of-the-mill humans, neither psy-active nor psy-inert.

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===Negative Psychic Levels===

#'''Sigma/Tau'''
#*When you start descending below the scale of humans, into the "negative" side of the scale, you start going psy-inert. People at the Sigma/Tau level would be able to perceive and be injured by an incoming fireball but may not be able to discern that it came from an unnatural source.
#'''Upsilon / Phi / Chi / Psi'''
#*These are individuals with varying degrees of immunity to psychic powers, though not to the same extent as a true Blank or Pariah.
#'''Omega'''
#*Usually referred to as Untouchables, Pariahs, or [[Blank]]s. Not only are they immune to psychic powers, but they can also inhibit the powers of psykers around them and/or neutralize psychic effects on an area around them. The Imperium often employs Blanks as an Inqusitor's servants, while the [[Sisters of Silence]] are a trained order of Psyker-huntresses that are all Blanks. The Eldar, believe it or not, also produce the occasional Blank, and these become the infamous [[Solitaire]]s of the [[Harlequin]]s. True Blanks have such a psy-negative effect that even normal people can sense it, and it manifests as an irrational loathing for the Blank, though in some cases it can be offset by either a good personality (Alizebeth Bequin) or an odd, but explainable character trait (Gunner Jurgen). For psykers however, Omega-level persons are physically and mentally painful to be near.
#*The fluff is a bit inconsistent on the ''exact'' limit of a Blank's ability, but that's fine, because in [[Dark Heresy Second Edition|Dark Heresy]], Blanks exhibit a broad range of effects which can be different from person to person, much like high-level psykers can have different powers and disciplines. It can also be trained and manipulated, as in the case of the [[Sisters of Silence]]. Others can train themselves to actually benefit from the psychic power they suck from their surroundings (having psykers or even normal living beings in those surroundings really helps), which they use to empower and invigorate themselves.
#*There have, however, been a few occasions where a Blank's abilities have been overwhelmed or even permanently shutdown. Bequin's blankness was overwhelmed by the warp corrupted psi-sentience of a Chaos Titan and Wystan Frauka's blankness was gradually eroded away over time until he was able to be possessed by a psyker. In Gathering Storm, when Khaine's Gate broke, all the strapped and likely sodomized Blanks that were chained to it and had been screaming for the past few decades either exploded into ludicrous gibs or got outright possessed.
#'''Omega-Minus'''
#*Strictly limited to [[Culexus]] Assassins, who are given specialized equipment to maximize the effectiveness of their Blank abilities.

===Other Factors===
When you get further into the details, not only is sheer psychic potential a factor to consider in determining how powerful a psyker is, there are other things to consider when trying to figure out mechanically how one differs from another.

This is easier to do outside of the tabletop setting, which focusses on a d6 scale, where a minor difference in a single statistic can create one power tier an order of magnitude more effective above another.

====Level of Control====
The [[Rogue Trader (RPG)|Willpower]], discipline and training ''(read: control)'' of a given individual holds almost about as much sway in saying who is more powerful than who. This is most clearly represented in the RPG rules, but often shows up in the fluff particularly in instances where powerful but neophyte psykers are only coming to learn their powers ''(such as Da'Kir of the Salamanders, or [[Zahariel]] of the First Legion)'' A lot of commentators forget this and focus purely on psy-rating when attempting to compare psychic ability. Just because a psyker has a high psy rating, if their ability to control their powers are low then they are less likely to successfully manifest but are more likely to create a powerful effect when they do, this is in fact part of the reason why the Imperium considers them to be so dangerous. Inversely, a low-mid rated psyker with a strong grasp on his abilities is more likely to successfully manifest and is ''also'' more likely to be able to resist/counter incoming psychic effects.

Interestingly enough, even non-psykers with enough discipline and mental fortitude can be trained to resist psychic powers, yet does not mean they are necessarily psychically blunted themselves. Typically this ability comes in the form of intense indoctrination or rote training, or from sheer force of belief and faith to literally "Deny the Witch".

====Sorcery====
The second thing to consider is the whims of the [[Chaos Gods]], (particularly [[Tzeentch]]). '''Sorcery''' is entirely separate from Psy Rating/Assignment and even a non-psyker with the correct rites and incantations can pull off similar ''(if not the same)'' manifestations as a true psyker. Back during the [[Horus Heresy]], [[Erebus]] (and 30k Word Bearers with '''Burning Lore''') is an example of this. Furthermore, although [[Khorne]] himself hates psykers and sorcery, the Daemonancers among his own followers do have access to rituals for summoning daemons, otherwise they would be solely reliant upon tears in the warp for receiving daemonic assistance. These ritualistic functions ''may'' have been carried over to 8th edition where every chaos character now has the ability to summon daemons ''(though this could just as plausibly be the champion calling out to his God and being rewarded with assistance while in a location where the realspace/warp barriers are thin or have already been broken)''

A true psyker with access to sorcery can increase his power levels even higher and can easily outstrip more powerful psykers than himself, though Sorcery comes with its own perils and generally leads to Damnation and Corruption ''(no wonder big Emps put his foot down at the council of Nikaea)''

Furthermore, certain favours gifted from the Gods also increase psychic output. It used to be that in days gone by, the '''Mark of Tzeentch''' used to enhance psychic potential on the tabletop. [[RAGE|Nowadays it doesn't]], but in the RPG it still does. But obviously once you've been marked by a God of Chaos, you're in their pocket forever, and you best do your utmost to keep them happy or you end up becoming [[Chaos Spawn|that-which-shall-not-be-named.]]

====Pushing====
Separate from either issue is the fact that Psykers can theoretically increase their assignment rating for a brief instant, drawing surplus energies from the warp and ''"Pushing"'' their powers even further than should be possible, basically taking a gamble and temporarily adding MOAR power to their manifestation.

In both the rules and the fluff there are common instances of psykers being able to boost themselves and create larger effects or to overcome more powerful opponents. This was partially illustrated with the 7th Edition ruleset and the shared Warp Charge "Pool", where low level psykers could throw all available warp charges into a single power and overcome the abilities of a higher mastery opponent, albeit at considerable risk of Perils of the Warp.

However, not all psykers have the ability to do this to the same degree, and although not adequately shown on the tabletop such rules were presented in the RPG settings, which broadly fit the established fluff:
*'''Bound Psykers''' that is to say, nearly every Imperial psyker who has undergone a Sanctioning process [Including Librarians] or Soul-Binding; can only push themselves so much and they are at greater risk of something bad happening (ie: Perils of the Warp) when they do so.
*'''Unbound Psykers''' ''(Rogue Psykers / Sorcerers)'' on the other hand can push to even higher degrees of power but [[Not as Planned|shit WILL hit the fan]] and can almost guarantee their manifested power will come with some form of [[Chaos Spawn|unintended side effect]] when they do.
*'''Daemonic Psykers''' who attempt to push their powers can go yet higher, but are considerably more likely to cause dangerous psychic phenomena. However since their mere existence on the material plane can be considered a dangerous psychic phenomena they are less likely to be bothered by it unless it is a straight up Perils of the Warp.

==Psychic Disciplines==

''See its [[Psychic Disciplines|page]].''

= Gallery =
<center><gallery>
Image:1228653127630.jpg
Image:psykertraining.jpg
Image:Suffer not the dirty cheat by Mr Culexus.jpg|You should never invite psykers to your poker night.
Image:1204002502106og9.jpg|Culexus assassins are psykers' worst nightmare, though they are very friendly.
File:1263350811847.jpg|Psyker Dredd knows you were gonna say that.
Image:We are not going to get in trouble are we.png|Shh, my heresy sense is tingling...
File:Are_you_a_psychic_final.jpg|The Adeptus Astra Telepathica's easy steps in identifying and capturing potential psykers.
</gallery></center>

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

Land Raider

2018-10-04T22:00:26Z

2A02:587:3A02:F600:A0E3:5D52:4BBD:951A:

{{Topquote|Scorch the earth and all who stand upon it!|[[Dawn of War 2|Land Raider pilots doing what they do best.]]}}

[[File:LandRaider.jpg|500px|right|thumb|A Land Raider assaulting a position. Calling or playing it as a front line tank or a Baneblade knockoff is a [[Rage|sure way of getting your]] [[Anal Circumference|ass shredded]] [[Space Marines|by SM players.]]]]
Sometimes the only solution to a problem is a complete lack of anything resembling subtlety.

A [[Rhino Transport]] grown several orders of magnitude too large, the mighty Land Raider is one of the biggest available tanks that [[Space Marines]] and [[Chaos Space Marines]] can field. Its firepower is incredible, and its armor betrays no weakpoints: it has maximum armor (14) for ''every side'', something that only the [[Monolith#Warhammer_40.2C000|Necron Monolith]], [[Necron Pylon]], and [[Spartan Assault Tank]] share with the Land Raider; not even [[Baneblade|Baneblades]] have this. Its armor is pretty much only beaten by [[Warlord Battle Titan|Warlord Class battle titans]]. It can also transport Terminators. This is the [[METAL BOXES|Metalboxiest]] of all the [[Metal Boxes|METAHL BAWKSES]].

==Overview==
[[File:Land_Raider_Insides.png|500px|right]]
The Land Raider has always been a somewhat insane beast, owing to its large weapon load and the fact that only part of this load can usually fire at a given time, making it so that it's of questionable value - this is because there are almost always better choices to do what the Land Raider can do for cost - Predators generally do better at vehicle busting or infantry killing, and the main use of the Land Raider is as a transport vehicle for Terminators and getting them right into the heart of the battle, which is kind of lopsided with its heavy armament.

Even with this, the Land Raider is still something of a good combat vehicle, if only because of the changes to the 5th edition vehicle weaponry rules. Stationary, the Land Raider can fire off all its weaponry in a salvo, which is especially good for the Chaos version, which can mount a Havoc Launcher to add a little extra infantry-raping punch. The Grey Knight version is also notable (Psycannon Bolts help this thing a lot) since it's pretty much the only heavy tank Daemonhunters get.

Make no mistake: It may be inefficient, large, and points-heavy, but the Land Raider is ''still'' a powerful force and should not be underestimated under any circumstances. Virtually any form of Land Raider is a daunting foe if it sticks around, whether it has troops in it or not. AV14 all around makes it a tough nut to crack without dedicated anti-armor weapons, and the Land Raider still is likely to survive the opening salvo, especially if it has extra armor. However, keep your Land Raider away from dedicated anti-heavy armor (Railguns, melta), or you will very quickly feel the pain of losing all those points.

And before you say it, a Land Raider is not a main battle tank or an armored personnel carrier; it is an infantry fighting vehicle like the Razorback, since it can carry people inside and provide heavy fire support (hence Infantry and Fighting). A Baneblade is a main battle tank (well, it is if you don't accept the term heavy or superheavy battle tank), a Rhino is an an armored personnel carrier, a Land Raider is an Infantry Fighting vehicle (though perhaps you could throw in heavy into that term). Well, that is unless you can actually get the Ares and Terminus Ultra pattern models, who traded their transport capabilities for even more and bigger guns, where they're pretty much <s>MBTs</s> an assault gun and a tank destroyer respectively...Okay, now that that's over, the original Land Raider was designated an MBT by the man who found the STC and whom the vehicle is named after, Arkhan Land. If the theory that the Land Raider Proteus is actually the default/original variant of the Land Raider is correct, then the Land Raider IS an MBT, it's just that the variants that permitted honest troop capacity were utilized more often by the Assault-happy Astartes to the point that Land Raiders are now known by the more common offspring of the original pattern.

In terms of appearance, a Land Raider is basically a cross between giant World War I Mark series tank and a modern armored fighting vehicle. It's shaped more like the latter, but the exposed treads on the entire front of the tank and the sponson-mounted guns resemble the former. Oddly, the placement of sponson mounted guns on the Mark series tank was a feature implemented so the tanks could fire into enemy trenches more easily while also keeping them from becoming too tall and unstable; after the war, that design was scrapped in favor of rotating turrets that gave an entire 360 degree firing arc (cannons on a Mark tank could only be pointed at things in front of them or to the side, they could not aim behind it).. Why GW decided to model something after this is a mystery, but they seem to have a thing for giving the Imperium of Man pre-<s>Cold War</s>World War II vehicle designs. Isn't it obvious? The Mark I was a British invention! And now for the low price of $110 a piece! Holy shit.

Now in 8th edition, the Land Raider is a much more fearsome beast, being able to fire all of its weapons at different targets, and benefiting greatly from the new twin-linked rules. It's also T8 with 16 wounds and one of the very few 2+ armour saves on vehicles. It basically went from schizophrenic IFV to being a very effective IFV.

=={{anchor|Variants}} Variants and Such==
The Land Raider has a ton of variants. Some of the more noteworthy ones are listed below.

==={{anchor|Phobos}} Phobos Pattern===
[[File:StandardRaider.jpg|280px|thumb|right|A [[Ultramarines|Smurf]] Land Raider. AKA the Godhammer Pattern.]]
The basic one has two [[Twin-Linked]] Lascannons in sponsons (called "Godhammer" pattern, [[Sigmar|for some odd reason]]) and a twin-linked [[Heavy Bolter]], making it some kind of heavy infantry fighting vehicle derpfish. It's very flexible, but ultimately rather inefficient. The Predator Annihilator is better at tankbusting, as it can unleash 3 lascannon beams, one of which is twin-linked, plus a Hunter-killer missile if you've taken one, whereas the Land Raider only has 2 twin-linked Lascannon (though the Land Raider can take a pintle-mounted Multi-Melta, which can one-shot almost any tank). The Predator Destructor is better at killing infantry; 2 shots from an Autocannon and 6 more from Heavy Bolters shred all kinds of medium/light infantry, plus two more shots if you choose to add a Storm Bolter, whereas the Land Raider only has the single twin-linked Heavy Bolter to fight infantry (plus an optional Storm Bolter). The Rhino is generally a better transport for its price, only falling short in its inability to carry Terminators. The Land Raider stands apart from the Predator and Rhino because it can fill multiple duties at once (it's recommended that you add a Storm Bolter/Multi-Melta, extra-armor, and Hunter-Killer missile to help in this task), and is the only vehicle in many armies that allow a unit to disembark and assault in the same turn. It may be schizophrenic, but it is ''effective'', especially if you use it right. Now in 7e, put 3 in the Land Raider Spearhead Formation for 750 points stock and you got a lethal counter to those super-heavies, gargantuan creatures, and buildings with Mighty Bulwark thanks to the re-roll failed to wound/armor penetration.

As of 8th, it's far more potent, benefiting not only from the generally-increased durability of vehicles in 8th and the elimination of firing arcs, it now has greater firepower than either predator variant (in fact, it's close to being tied with both of them put together), and the change to rhino prices means that while the Land Raider is still expensive, it's not as point-inefficient as it was.

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===Venerable Land Raider===
[[File:99120101061 CustodianLandraider01.jpg|280px|thumb|right|The 'Venerable' sub-variant of the Godhammer Pattern. Deadly not because of its weapons, [[Custodian Guard|but the cargo it is holding.]]]]
The [[Adeptus Custodes]] also have their own sub-variant of the Phobos/Godhammer Pattern Land Raider called the aptly named '''Venerable Land Raider''' which is a Land Raider bristling in gold to blind the enemies of men with the superiority of the BLING. Venerable Land Raiders ignore shaken and stunned results and also comes with some pretty cool upgrades as well now like a 5+ invulnerable save from the aegis ability all for 275 points. Other than that there is very little difference armament wise other then being a 'cheap' (For Custodes standards anyway) replacement to the vastly superior [[Coronus Grav Carrier]]. Still don't try to underestimate this sub-variant as the cargo it's holding just so happens to be [[Custodian Guard|dudes who can]] [[Rape|tear your Riptide a new asshole.]]

In terms of fluff, Venerable Land Raiders have a enhanced <s>AI</s> Machine Spirit, more so than conventional Land Raiders. Many Venerable Land Raiders can trace their history back to the earliest years of the Imperium and fought in the [[Great Crusade]] and [[Horus Heresy]]. As you can imagine, such engines of war was considered as a secondhand watered down version of the [[Coronus Grav Carrier|type]] [[Pallas Grav-Attack|of]] [[Gyrfalcon Pattern Jetbike|shit]] [[Caladius Grav-Tank|the]] [[Adeptus Custodes|Custodes]] [[Telemon Heavy Dreadnought|used]] [[Contemptor-Galatus Dreadnought|to]] [[Orion Gunship |have,]] or rather still have but have been mothballed for...[[Derp|reasons.]]

Still, these dauntless war engines have now served for ten thousand years and each has built a legend every bit as magnificent as those possessed by the greatest Imperial champions. They have also developed Magos-class machine spirits and these noble and aggressive entities can independently aim and fire the vehicle's guns and coordinate its auto-repair rituals when circumstances require it. In extreme circumstances these amazing war engines have even been teleported directly onto the battlefield, through the use of ancient [[Just As Planned|Godstrike-pattern teleportariums.]] [[Rape|Deepstriking teleporting Land Raiders?]] [[Cheese|Oh...all of the yes.]]

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==={{anchor|Chaos}} Chaos Land Raider===
[[File:99120102052 CSMLandRaiderRepack01.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Chaos Land Raiders are now at a reasonable price of a 100,000 Chaos Credits! Call your local [[Dark Mechanicum]] today!]]
Functionally identical to the Phobos Pattern Land Raider, the Chaos version has a number of small changes that actually make it quite a bit better than its standard counterpart. It has Assault Vehicle like the loyalist, meaning that troops exiting it can assault the same turn, and it can be further specialized as an assault transport with Daemonic Possession, Extra Armor, and Dirge Caster. It can also be turned into a better combat vehicle due to its ability to pack on a Havoc Launcher; this gives it the ability to fire a few clusters of blast templates downrange for those using it as a heavy offensive vehicle. You can alternately pack on a Combi-Bolter and Combi-Flamer/Melta, and they're even comparable with [[Havoc Launcher]] in current codex.

It's usually a bit more valuable to Chaos than it is to the Loyalists as a result. However, unfortunately for Chaos; this is the only kind of Land Raider they get, and compared to some of the other things on this list, it's out-specialized by other Land Raiders - the Crusader does Assault Transport (arguably; Daemonic Possession does a LOT to make this thing more dangerous, or DID before the rules change made Daemonic Possession cause the Chaos Raider to randomly eat passengers) better, and the Ares, Redeemer, and Achilles handle massed infantry better, whilst the Terminus Ultra is basically a tank destroyer. Add to this that the Chaos Land Raider doesn't have Power of the Machine Spirit rule that loyalist Land Raiders have, and the Chaos Land Raider is more limited in the ways it can shoot.

However, like the Godhammer, the Chaos Land Raider can handle [[Indrick Boreale|multiple simultaneous]] roles as needed, which, paired with the Chaos Land Raider's generally-better utility makes it something of a decent deal. Worth using if you have the points to spend, or if you have some big nasty close-combat squad that absolutely MUST get into close-combat.

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==={{anchor|Crusader}} Crusader Pattern===
[[File:LandRaiderCrusader.gif|280px|thumb|right|PURGING WITH MY KIIIIIIIIIN!]]
Once upon a time, during a Crusade to bring the Emperor's Light to some foul heretics, the Black Templars' Techmarines considered that Twin-linked Lascannons weren't particularly useful when rushing forward to disgorge Sword Brethren [[rape|right where it hurts the most]], so they decided to [[heresy|tinker a bit]] with one of their Land Raiders and swap out its Mars-sanctioned weapon loadout... and thus the Crusader Pattern Land Raider was born. It forgoes long-range firepower in favor of a dedicated role as an assault transport/infantry fighting vehicle, generally making it a bit more effective at getting into the enemy's face and spewing out a truly immense amount of dakka just before its passengers double up on the beating in melee. Armed with a pair of Hurricane Bolter sponsons, an optional Multi-Melta (just in case a vehicle/fortification would think of getting in the way) and twin-linked Assault Cannons, the Crusader Pattern basically delivers a truly beautiful amount of dakka at (twelve Bolters, and two assault cannons=some 272+ rounds per second) close range (with the Multi-Melta being there to deal with the errant vehicle threat) before disgorging its troops into the heart of enemy forces. Making it even better, the Crusader holds more men and has Frag Assault Launchers, ensuring that the disembarking troops gain the benefits of Frag Grenades (which Terminators normally lack). This vehicle was so effective that it spread, to some of the other Marine chapters, including the [[Grey Knights]], who were given a few for helping the Templars out once, and eventually even got official recognition from Mars.

If you play Dark Angels, you owe it to yourself to play at least one game where this beast is boosted by a Banner of Devastation and some power fields, for an utterly hilarious TWENTY FOUR twin linked Bolter shots all protected by an AV 14 4 HP 4++ monster of a vehicle. All of this, however, comes at the price of the baseline Land Raider's raw offensive punch (unless you're fighting guard/cultist/Ork/Tyranid blobs, then you will eat people) - fight accordingly.

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==={{anchor|Redeemer}} Redeemer Pattern===
[[File:LandRaiderRedeemer.jpg|280px|thumb|right|I like my [[Tyranid|Tyranids]] nicely minced and cooked well-done.]]
The Redeemer is designed to maximize close-range punch. Whilst it's not the balls-out dedicated infantry-fighting vehicle/assault transport that the Crusader is, the Redeemer packs on considerably heavier '''fire'''power. It maintains the Assault Cannons, Frag Assault Launcher, and optional Multi-Melta, but replaces the sponson-mounted Hurricane Bolters with a pair of Flamestorm Cannons - functionally improved Flamers with S6, AP3, the only drawback to them being that since they're sponson mounted they can't hit targets that are too close to the front or back of the Redeemer.

Cheaper than the other Land Raiders, this is one of the more popular Land Raiders due to its slightly lower points-cost. Tends to annihilate infantry by the dozens once in-close and makes tyranblob crap itself in sheer terror, but seriously needs Extra Armor. Using these when facing Tyranids or bikes-heavy lists (Ravenwing) is highly recommended since they don't have any vehicles or anything with more than toughness 6. Flamers ignore any armour but 2+ saves and ALL cover saves, meaning you'll be BBQing nids and bikers negating their Venomthrope/bullshit rerollable jink save.

Interestingly the Redeemer was invented by the Fire Lords Space marine chapter, and they wanted to name the pattern "Prometheus" after the titan who gave fire to man, but the name was already taken by the actual Land raider Prometheus designed by the Salamanders, so instead it was named the Redeemer.

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==={{anchor|Vortimer Redeemer}} Vortimer Redeemer Pattern===
[[File:99590107034_GREYKNIGHTSLANDRAIDERREDEEMER1.jpg|280px|thumb|right|The proverbial daemon steamroller.]]
A [[Grey Knights]] exclusive variant of the Land Raider Redeemer that replaces the assault cannons with psycannons and frag assault launchers with psyk-out assault launchers. These Land Raiders are a bane to [[Daemon]] players everywhere due to its armaments and the fact that it safely carries a detachment of [[Grey Knight Paladin|prolific Daemon rapists]] [[Purifier|and molesters.]] Because it is a more specialized version of the regular Redeemer Patter and the rarity of the weapons it carries, the Vortimer is both a rare and expensive vehicle to produce, not to mention an utterly secret weapon from the general public.

Because of its psycannons, the Vortimer could mulch Warp creatures into dog food, that includes and up to even greater daemons if the dice gods are in your favor. Hell, because it carries not one, but two psycannons, it could just as easily chew up light to medium vehicles as well. The Vortimer not doing enough in clearing out those pesky ethereal creatures from the Warp? No problem, you can just mount [[Rape|two heavy incinerator sponsons]] [[Cheese|for quadruple the fun.]] [[Troll|Watch and see]] [[Butthurt|Chaos players weep bitter tears]] as this machine proceeds to unload its cargo of holy retribution and cleanse their heretical armies into smoking cinders.

This vehicle was best seen during the Dawn of War 2 Elite Mod as the ultimate unit for the Grey Knights. Just as expected from the fluff, this thing was an [[Powergamer|overpowered train wreck,]] able to lay down massive suppressive fire whilst protecting its precious cargo of [[Mary Sue|Mary Sues]] to the frontlines. It would have been broken if it wasn't so damned expensive in an already expensive army.

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==={{anchor|Ares}} Ares Pattern (Chapter Approved)===
[[File:LandRaiderAres000.png|280px|thumb|right|The Ares is like the discount [[Typhon Heavy Siege Tank|Typhon.]]]]
Decides to say ''"Fuck that shit"'' regarding transporting and seeks to become the most destructive linebreaker around, trying to eclipse even the dreaded [[Leman Russ Battle Tank|Leman Russ Demolisher]] and [[Vindicator]]. No transport capability, and costs about 50 points more than the standard Land Raider, but you get what you pay for; Twin-Linked Heavy Flamer Sponsons, Twin-Linked Assault Cannons and a fucking ''Demolisher Cannon'' make this thing filthy rape to anything with the misfortune of getting anywhere near it. This tank lacks tactical flexibility, as none of its weapons has a range of more than 24"(although due to power of the machine spirit its demolisher cannon actually has a threat range of 36"), but what it lacks in versatility it more than makes up for in close-range balls-out power, it concentrates on applying overwhelming fire-power to a single point in the enemy battle line. If your opponents weren't shitting bricks trying to kill/escape your Vindicators, they most assuredly will at the sight of this fucking thing. Tyranid players tend to weep tears of blood, piss themselves, and crap their pants all at the same time when these show up. Now if only Chaos had them so we could toss on a Havoc Launcher and make it possessed. Now that would be the ''ultimate'' blob destroyer.

With the release of the Typhon you could spend fifty more points to get two more hull points and upgrade your gun to 7" blast Ignores Cover, but with the Ares people might actually play you.

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=== {{anchor|Terminus Ultra}} Terminus Ultra Pattern ===
[[File:Terminus.jpg|280px|thumb||right|Shouting "420 BLAZE IT!" or "IMMA' FIRIN MA LASER!" will be met with disciplinary action.]]
Now available as a free upgrade for a Land Raider formation in Apocalypse, but only as the exclusive ride of [[Antaro Chronus]]. The Yang to the Ares's Yin, and the second of the ''"[[Commissar Fuklaw|fuck transporting]]!"'' Land Raiders, which lack transport capability and anything resembling subtlety, the Terminus Ultra is designed as a dedicated vehicle-killer, armed with a hilariously over-the-top three twin-linked Lascannons and two single lascannons, the Terminus Ultra can overheat and explode if it fires the bulk of its Lascannon payload ''(you should know however, that the chances of this happening are tiny, you need to roll FOUR 1's when rolling to hit, or 1 in 1296)''.

Known for making Vehicle units shit bricks, and for destroying [[Titan]]s on its own. Beam spam and Shoop Da whoop indeed. There aren't many other vehicles that are better at the role of tank destroyer than this. Plop these in a nice easily defended spot where your enemy will have to bring his vehicles, super-heavy vehicles, high value HQ units, monstrous creatures, and gargantuan through and turn their most valuable units into swiss cheese. Make a note, however, that it's generally inefficient for the role, is a huge target and becomes 100% useless if facing blob armies of any sort - fight accordingly.

It made it's way into the offical codex as of 8th, though still exclusively for the Ultramarines and as Lord of War for no clearly defined reason. It's chance of blowing itself up has increased now that's firing 8 lascannons a turn, but it's far less likely to kill itself when doing so, and keeping a captain or rhino primaris nearby can mitigate that risk. While inferior to other LoWs in regards to raw firepower (the fellblade can match it's number of shots and packs more firepower on top of that, with no risk of blowing itself up), the Terminus stands out with it's lower cost and ability to fire at 5 separate targets every round. As of Chapter Approved, the Terminus Ultra is now available to chapters other than Ultramarines as well - but only in open play!

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==={{anchor|Achilles}} Achilles Pattern (Forge World)===
[[File:Achilles_Pattern.jpg|280px|right|thumb|It's like [[Rogal Dorn]] thinking to himself, "Hmmmm...fortifying a Land Raider? Challenge accepted."]]
The Achilles Pattern is the most heavily armored Land Raider, and was originally-created by the Imperial Fists. The Achilles Pattern is a giant derpy hunk of metal, bristling with guns and designed to get in close, firing off heavy firepower before discharging its payload of troops right into enemy formations. Its armor is impervious to the Lance and Melta special rules and most other weapons suffer a -1 on armor penetration rolls (essentially its armor is the same as a Necron Monolith's prior to the 5th Edition codex, it's just that the rules are given different names). The only things killing it are heavy-bore anti-vehicle weapons like the Leman Russ Vanquisher outside of lucky shots with high-strength armor-piercing weapons, like a Baneblade or Terminus Ultra firing all of its weapons (thus using the law of averages to help in its attempt to pierce the armor), or anti-vehicle Titan guns (like those used by a Shadowsword or like the epic beamspam that can be unleashed by a Reaver or Warhound dual wielding Turbo-laser Destructors), or some weird shit like haywire, gauss, entropic touch and so on (because xenos are dirty cheaters). It mounts a devastating [[Thunderfire Cannon]] (which is a massive quad-barreled mortar that can cause several flavors of infantry death) and twin-linked Multi-Melta sponsons, but it carries only 6 people (that means only three termies), have no assault ramp and costs more than Ares and Terminus Ultra - generally those 6 places are for techmarine and his servitor retinue, or for command squad loaded with Plasmaguns. The earlier Achilles Alpha prototype swapped the Thunderfire Cannon for a Quad Mortar and was equipped with twin-linked Volkite Culverins as sponson weapons.

Chaos Space Marines recently got access to this version of Land Raider as well through [[Imperial Armour]] volume 13. Along with access to all the typical upgrades for Chaos Space Marine vehicles, the Chaos Achilles swaps out the Thunderfire Cannon for a Quad Mortar, which is weaker and less capable of penetrating armor but compensates with the Pinning rule- and as a bonus, its pinning tests are made with a -1 penalty. On top of that, the Quad Mortar's Strength, AP, and Pinning test penalty all increase as the Chaos Achilles loses hull points, making it more and more deadly as it takes damage. This is of course assuming it isn't killed in one turn like most vehicles do in the current meta when they draw the ire of the nearest D-strength weapon. God fucking damn it.

As of 8th, it's gotten far nastier, with a pair of heavy 2 multimeltas and the quad launcher now has access to shatter shells, a set of short range shots with [[Rape|performance similar to battle cannon shells]]. It's armor has received the same buff, as it's previous collection of special rules have been removed and replaced with a blanket [[Awesome|4+ invul save]].

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==={{anchor|Helios}} Helios Pattern (Forge World)===
[[File:Helios4dwje6q4no3.jpg|280px|right|thumb|The [[Whirlwind|Whirlwind's]] bigger and badder brother.]]
The Helios Pattern Land Raider is designed for fire support, replacing the usual [[Heavy Bolter]]s with a pair of twin-linked [[Lascannon]]s and sacrificing ten transport spaces for a missile battery from a [[Whirlwind]]. This allows it to provide heavy fire support at long ranges and with minimal opportunities for retaliation, though it's quite points-intensive for what it does, whilst the Achilles does it better. If you do use one, be sure to employ it with a [[shooty]] force that can actually use the damned thing, like a Devastator Squad.

It was originally designed by the [[Red Scorpions]], who didn't trust the Imperial Guard to provide them with artillery support. Of course, this means that you're probably going to use it as an artillery tank, meaning you still have transport space. And a lot of armor. That will probably go to waste because you didn't just get a Whirlwind instead. It also has the option of taking an anti-air [[Whirlwind#Hyperios|Hyperios]] launcher, just in case you just want to equally pepper the skies in flak and falling plane bits hitting the ground at full speed. Although in terms of pound-per-points cost, it is still more efficient to just get a couple of Hyperios Missile Launchers themselves to fit the bill rather than wasting the points to put on a fucking Land Raider.

It lost the Hyperios launcher in 8th, but it's missiles were reworked to be a decent combination of the whirlwind's two missile types and the buff to twin linked weapons upped it's firepower considerably. It's now effectively a combination of the predator annihilator and the whirlwind, but with 2+ armor, T8, and transport capability, all for only a small increase in the point cost over a predator and whirlwind. If you want a fun toy for your command squad, or have the points for more heavy support units and not the slots, the Helios is a worthwhile choice.

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==={{anchor|Prometheus}} Prometheus Pattern (Forge World)===
[[File:RaiderPrometheus.jpg|280px|thumb|right|A [[Ultramarines|Smurf]] Land Raider Prometheus. It's like staring at an open cesspool.]]
20 points more than a standard Land Raider, this variant loses a few transport spaces (it has 10, so no IC with your terminators) for two quad Heavy Bolters (because FUCK hordes) and some interesting abilities: you get to subtract one from your enemy's cover save (because fuck hordes, again) and you also get to choose whether or not to add 1 to your reserve rolls. Essentially, you get to choose whether or not something comes in if you roll a 2. Not bad, does it's job fairly well. It's the only Land Raider that can't penetrate the armour of another Land Raider, so keep it away from tanks.

In fluffy terms, [[Skub|there has been some debates on the true exact origins of this particular Land Raider.]] The exact origins of the 'Prometheus' pattern Land Raider remains a mystery. Some Tech-adepts believe it to be a variant of the 'Tartarus' pattern Land Raider, due to the striking similarities between the two. Although no clear evidence has been found to support this claim there is at least one archival report that depicts the vehicle, or else one that closely resembles it, that fought on the side of the Loyalists during the early period of the [[Horus Heresy]]. Others believe that it was the Salamanders which first produced it as they retain more Prometheus models, than any other Chapter and because they are often the go-too guys for 'super ornate shit with vague origins' (strangely however, the Salamanders deny this claim which is completely out of character...[[Alpha Legion|unless]]...). In any case, the number of Chapters which do have a Prometheus within their Armories is unknown. For example, the White Scars only have four of these Land Raiders. There is even another version that the origins of 'Prometheus' where in fact founded by the Landites - followers of the famous Arkhan Land.

In 8th, it remains largely similar to it's 7th edition version. It's guns now [[Awesome|ignore cover entirely]], and the buff to reserve rolls has been changed to make one stratagem you use cost one fewer command point (to a minimum of one), so long as your warlord is embarked inside. This tanks offers a lot of tactical choices now, such as the choice between using your warlord as the beatstick he most likely is, and keeping him inside the tank to buff the army.

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==={{anchor|Proteus}} Proteus Pattern (Forge World)===
[[File:LandRaiderProteus.png|280px|right|thumb|The Proteus which is a Land Raider equivalent of [[Old Man Henderson]].]]
The Proteus pattern is the latest in the long line-up of Forge World turning its sucky job of covering for GW's old models and fluff into a glorious winblob of [[Awesome]]. This is the old, goofy-looking [[Rogue Trader]] Raider, all grown up. Barely even considered a Land Raider, it doesn't even use the same Phobos-pattern chassis as all of the other Land Raiders do. This thing is so old that [[Eldar]] consider it old. This thing is so old it was a mysterious, time-shrouded relic when the [[Horus Heresy]] took place; i.e. the time from whence on all things made before that moment were mysterious, time-shrouded relics. This self-contained vehicle was supposedly used as a universal Main Battle Tank during humanity's first expansion, similar to the Leman Russ or Predator today; which just goes to show you how awesome things were back during the Dark Age of Technology. It was designed to combat all kinds of new and evolving enemies, as well as do exploratory recon work on unexplored worlds.

So, on the wargame side of things, this thing is the metal-est box on the battlefield. It works like a normal Raider, with the option to switch out the Lascannons for Heavy Bolters or Heavy Flamers. But now, it gets the Scout rule, it can screw with enemy reserves rolling or buff your own rolls, it can get the Achilles' anti-melta armor (but not the anti-Lance), and no Infiltrators can get within 24" of it. You can get a pintle-mounted Multi-Melta, Heavy Bolter, or Storm Bolter. But that isn't the best part. The best part is that Chaos gets it too. Finally, the [[Chaos Space Marines]] get to [[meme|FIRE THEIR LAZORZ]] at multiple targets! And, Chaos gets to put on a pintle-mounted Havoc Launcher on top (so do loyal space marines as well if used in Horus Heresy and time span after that). And that thing is right next to the twin-linked Bolter, Heavy Bolter, or Multimelta we can put it too! The only downside to the Proteus is that it only has an 8 model transport capacity (assuming you take the Explorator Augury Web or the Ark of Unnameable Horror described below) due to its role as a universal tank, not a dedicated infantry ferry/weaponspam platform. It also lacks the frontal assault ramp and the Assault Vehicle rule, so don't even think about using this to drop termies. Loyalists should use it like a spearhead linebreaker, systematically killing tanks while screwing with reserves, and to safely transport some plasma gunners to rapid fire range.

The Chaos version doesn't get to use the Explorator Augury Web; instead, it gets Fear and a nasty toy called the Ark of Unnameable Horror. Whatever is in it is so horrible that anyone shooting at it has to take a pinning test before they attack- failing the test means the shooter must forfeit their attack and go to ground immediately. Although artillery, Fearless units, and units with no Ld score are exempt from this effect, it gives the Chaos Proteus an extra degree of protection against shooty foes, encouraging them to be used in a far more aggressive manner than their Loyalist counterparts. Of course, using it to ferry a few Havocs or Chosen to where they need to be is a good idea as well.

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===Excelsior Pattern (Warhammer World exclusive)===
[[File:Space-Marine-Land-Raider-Exelsior-Command-Tank.jpg|280px|thumb|right|The Land Raider Exelsior. For when you both need to lead and destroy.]]
The Excelsior is a command vehicle, equipped with augur and communications arrays to effectively deliver orders on the battlefield. Due to the equipment and weapons it carries, it is quite the rare piece of tech to field.

A newly announced variant of Land Raider described as a command tank, the ridiculously named Excelsior, (which means "high" so, highest landraider) has the Phobos' Lascannon sponsons but replaces the hull Heavy Bolters with a [[Grav-Weaponry|Grav-Cannon and Grav-Amp]], and it can take a Combi-Plasma as a pintle-mounted weapon instead of the standard Storm Bolter. Basically a Rhino Primaris on too much hormonal growth, if anything it pairs quite well with the Rhino.

It comes with a 6++ invulnerable save and built-in immunity to Crew Shaken and Crew Stunned, but that's not its main draw. That would be its Tactical Authority rule- at the start of each shooting phase, any model of the same faction as the Excelsior within 12" (18" with the right upgrade) gets their choice of Counter-Attack, Fearless, Hit and Run, Interceptor, Skyfire, Preferred Enemy, and Tank Hunters. Finally, it gains an extra +1 BS as long as it's within 24" of a [[Rhino|Rhino Primaris]].

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===Wrath of Mjalnar Pattern (Chapter Approved, only for Open Play)===
[[File:LRMjalnar.jpg|280px|thumb|right|The Wrath of Mjalnar. A more practical way to mount a freeze-ray in contrast to the [[Stormfang|flying cargo container.]]]]
Because of course the [[Space Wolves|Furries]] need another special vehicle to suit their [[Mary Sue|special snowflake needs.]]

The Land Raider Wrath of Mjalnar is a variant of the Land Raider, that was created by the Space Wolves Chapter. What makes it unique among normal Land Raider is its main armaments, which are twin [[Helfrost Weaponry|Helfrost Cannons]] and two twin Lascannons. Whilst the Lascannons are pretty standards, the introduction of not one but two Helfrost Cannons makes it a pretty special looking Land Raider. How the Yiffers manage to do such unsanctioned modification without starting a war with the Mechanicus for [[Heresy|obvious reasons]] is unknown. Although it could be explain via the aftermath of the First War for Armageddon and the Cold War between the Wolves and the Inquisition.

Anyways, because of its Helfrost weapons, the Wrath of Mjalnar is a dedicated anti-tank vehicle as the Helfrost Cannons instantly turn the strongest of armor into brittle and immobile targets for the ensuing Lascannon fire. These makes the likes of Superheavies and even light skimmers vulnerable to these payloads.

Unfortunately, the introduction of these weapons makes this specific Land Raider to lose its transportation capability. Being able to only have a transport capacity of 5.

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===Solemnus Aggressor Pattern (Chapter Approved, only for Open Play)===
[[File:LRAggressor.jpg|280px|right|thumb|The Solemnus Aggressor, making the Land Raider Prometheus feel useless for 1,000 years and counting.]]
Think Land Raider Crusader on steroids.

The [[Dark Angels|brooding, secretive organization]] saw the [[Heresy|heretical]] things the Space Wolves were doing with their Land Raiders and decided their 'friendly' rivalry will not be concluded in the Furries' favor. Not to be outdone, the Dark Angels released their own version of the Land Raider to one-up them in a show of [[Lulz|absolute hilarity.]] The Solemnus Aggressor is born.

It is not known whether this thing was a relic discovered and kept by the Dark Angels or a piece of tech-heresy that will rile up even the most tightly screwed pants of a Mechanicum Magos. What is known is that this thing is every blob and tarpit armies worst nightmare (The Blood Angel's Angel Infernus is [[Skub|arguably/maybe better]]). Why is it so rapetastic? Well, because this monster packs quite the punch. Its main armaments are twin Assault Cannons, two Heavy bolters and two Hurricane bolters, which gives the Solemnus Aggressor the firepower to shatter an infantry advance in a single volley.

Seriously, [[Dakka|16 guns on almost all sides.]] I don't care how many [[Termagaunt|Termagaunts]] you have, they're all gonna turn into mince meat on the first turn.

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===Angel Infernus Pattern (Chapter Approved, only for Open Play)===
[[File:LRInfernus.jpg|280px|right|thumb|If you are not wearing fully enclosed ceramite armor that is at minimum, 15 centimeters thick. Consider yourself quite boned.]]
The close range assault dakka to the Solemnus Aggressor's long range assault dakka. It's every [[Sisters of Battle|Sister's]] wet dream (not personally involving [[Sanguinius]] that is) come true and a vehicle that would be more appropriate with the [[Salamanders]] than the [[Blood Angels]].

Like the Solemnus Aggressor, it is not known whether this thing was a relic discovered and kept by the Blood Angels on Baal's somewhat heretical underground tech caves. But what is ''definitely'' known is that this Land Raider focuses mainly on flamers. Kind of a reverse Wrath of Mjalnar if you count the twin-linked Helfrost cannon as a reverse flamer. Its armament is the perfect ingredient in cooking blob armies to medium rare.

Its main armaments are twin Assault Cannons, two Heavy Flamers and two Flamestorm Cannons as well as a pintle-mounted Multi-Melta just to be sure. Essentially, 8 barrels of '''Hell'''. These weapons allow the Angel Infernus to unleash firestorms so intense, that even the most dug-in defenders are reduced to ashes in a heartbeat, Tarpitters would melt ''literally''. It is gobsmacking that the Blood Angels did not use more of these during the Devastation of Baal fiasco.

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===Hades Diabolus Pattern (Chapter Approved, only for Open Play)===
A Chaos only Land Raider variant, equipped with a hull mounted Reaper Autocannon, Sponson Twin Lascannons and Sponson Heavy Bolters. Created and used by the [[Black Legion]] during the Fall of Cadia to turn Cadians Infantry and Tanks into chunks, and it started gaining popularity within the Chaos Marines forces ever since.

Just as some of the loyalist Space Marine Chapters have adapted their Land Raiders to suit their particular styles of warfare, so some especially well-resourced or innovative Heretic Astartes factions have done the same. Perhaps the most enduring traitor Land Raider variant so far recorded is the Hades Diabolus, which was developed by the [[Black Legion]].

===Anvilarum Pattern===
An obscure pattern of Land Raider only mentioned offhand in one of the Black Library novels. Its weapon loadout is unknown, but it is said to have been open-topped, uplink-modified, and capable of carrying [[Dreadnought]]s into battle. It is said they were made in rememberance of ancient Terra's chariots.

==={{anchor|Variants}} [[Looted]] Land Raider===
[[File:Looted_Land_Raider_Battlewagon.jpg|280px|thumb|right|OI! WE'Z GOT DA MOST DAKKA TANK FROM DA UMIES BOSS!]]
Every once in a while, an [[Ork]] [[Looted|gets it into his head]] to [[Blood Ravens|capture, rather than blow up, a Land Raider]], or [[Adeptus Mechanicus|salvage one from a bombed-out husk]]. Once the thing's been made suitably [[Ork]]y, it makes for a great Battlewagon, and though most Orks extensively modify the design until little of the vehicle's original shape remains, a few enterprising Orks like the boxy design of the Land Raider, and modify their vehicle accordingly. [[Counts As|Though it can no longer be considered a true Land Raider]] due to the various modifications the Orks have made to it, it's still killy and flash.

Certain ambitious/filthy rich Orks can also turn the Land Raider into a supped up [[Battlefortress]]. They just replaced the main cargo transport capacity and use that empty space to mount a [[Dakka|giant fucking gun on the top.]] It is also noted that such Land Raiders are converted into the Rokkitspitta variant of the Battlefortress or the anti-air Flakk Battlefortress. The amount of things you can mount on a empty troop compartment bay is endless

Just don't expect its [[Machine Spirit]] [[Rage|to go too swimmingly well with its new makeover.]] Chances of malfunctioning and exploding: Too damned high for the cost.

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===Grav-Raider===
While it's never gotten a model, the existence of a Land Raider even larger than a Spartan Assault Tank fitted with anti-gravitic plates that allowed it to function as a skimmer has been mentioned in the Horus Heresy novels. Quite notably, Arkham Land used one as his personal transport (the appropriately named ''Land's Raider''), which was equipped with a turret-mounted [[Volkite Weaponry|quad- Volkite Caliver]] array. Incidentally, this also makes it the only known model of Land Raider with a turret-mounted weapon.

[[Image:KRATOS.jpg|320px]]
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==External Links==
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvdD50nSISs Forge World talks about the history of the vehicle]
* [http://www.chamber42.com/files/datasheets/Ares/Archive/Ares_Final_4th_ED.pdf Original 4th Edition Land Raider Ares Datasheet from the original creator]
* [http://chamber42.com/blog/archives/251 Updated 8th Edition Land Raider Ares Datasheet from the original creator]

==Gallery==
<gallery>
image:99590101236 ArmouredProteusLandRaider02.jpg|<center>Armoured Proteus Variant</center>
Image:ChaosRaider.jpg|A [[Chaos]] Land Raider, impressively modded.
File:Party Raider.jpg|Another modded out Chaos Land Raider, belonging to the [[Emperor's Children]]. It functions as an assault transport and mobile crack party.
Image:RaiderCrusader.jpg|A [[Ultramarines|Smurf]] Land Raider Crusader. This design originated with the [[Black Templars]].
Image:RaiderRedeemer.jpg|A Land Raider Redeemer, widely known for being one of the only things that can scare Tyranids.
Image:RaiderAres.png|A [[Dark Angels]] Land Raider Ares
Image:TerminusUltra.jpg|A [[Salamanders]] Terminus Ultra, in all of its Las-cannony glory. (IMMA FIRIN' MAH LAZORS!!!!!)
Image:RaiderAchilles.jpg|A [[Minotaurs]] Land Raider Achilles. Fielding one may inspire [[Rage|fury]].
Image:RaiderHelios.jpg|A [[Space Wolves]] Land Raider Helios. Aim away from eyes and face.
Image:Looted_Land_Raider.jpg|WE'Z GOT DA BEST [[METAL BOXES|BOX]] ON DA FIELD!
</gallery>

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