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Star Phantoms

2018-08-28T07:39:18Z

2A02:587:3A12:6900:131:7F6A:C6AE:1534:

{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Star Phantoms
|Heraldry = [[File:StarPhantomIcon.jpg]]
|Battle Cry = Unknown
|Founding = 23rd founding
|Successors of = [[Dark Angels]] (suspected)
|Chapter Master = Unknown
|Homeworld = Jahga
|Specialty = First strike assaults, collateral damage
|Strength = Post-[[Badab War]]: Around 400
|Allegiance = [[Imperium of Man]]
|Colours = Ash-white with black trim
}}
{{topquote|Totally unsuitable for tactical close support of other Imperial units.|[[Lord Solar Macharius]]}}

==History==
The Star Phantoms are a Chapter whose many victories remain unsung because of its own penchant for [[Dark Angels|secrecy and isolationism]]. ''Apparently'' part of the '''Sentinel Founding''' early in the 38th millenium, the Chapter was founded to shore up the defenses of the [[Imperium]] in many vulnerable parts of its vast domain.

Their heritage is unknown however; though the [[Adeptus Terra]] supposedly has evidence that they are descendants of the [[Dark Angels]], but that first founding chapter denies all links to the Star Phantoms because <s>of course they do</s> THE DARK ANGELS TELL THE TRUTH ALL THE TIME, while the Star Phantoms themselves take any suggestion of being descended from the Dark Angels as cause for [[Butthurt|grievous offense]], so if there ever was a connection between them, it obviously resulted in some acrimonious split. Further evidence of their origins also comes from the fact that their skull-in-hourglass iconography is the same as the '''[[First Founding|First Legion's]] "Dreadwing"''' before the legions were broken down into [[Codex Astartes|chapters]]. Furthermore, the Star Phantoms fought alongside the [[Flesh Tearers]] WAY back in M31, so either the [[Matt Ward|canon is broken]] or there is [[Dark Angels|secrecy]] and [[A Game of Pretend|misdirection]] afoot, or the warp threw some of them back to before they were founded.
There is some evidence that the Dark Angels didn't start <s>hunting The Fallen</s> FIGHTING THE TRAITOR LEGIONS until after the Second Founding, having met at a grand conclave and agreed to the collective sins of the chapter. If the Star Phantoms got pissy and defensive about their heritage and elected to follow the new Codex out of spite, it was probably then.

Initially based in the Mausoleum world of Haakoneth, the Chapter became fleet-based by necessity upon the destruction of the planet in 120.M40 by a [[Hrud]] invasion, and since that time had been [[grimdark|grimly]] plying the space lanes of Segmentum Obscurus. The Chapter was counted as one of those who participated in the [[Macharian Crusade]], and was also one of the Chapters that brought back order to the worlds conquered in the crusade when the Macharian Heresy erupted after the [[Lord Solar Macharius|Lord Solar]]'s death, coming to blows with the [[Marines Malevolent]], of all people.

They got themselves involved in the [[Badab War]] in M41, having been brought into the war via the [[Inquisition]] and they committed their full Chapter strength to the war effort. Some suspect they got involved due to some grudge held against the Astral Claws which the Inquisition leveraged against them. But when approached about the subject they remained tight lipped on the matter.
By the time they entered the war it was nearly at its close anyway, but the Astral Claws were rooted in their Palace of Thorns and it would be a tough fight to dig them out. The Star Phantoms got stuck right in and [[Get shit done|got shit done]], being the ones to break the orbital defences around the [[Astral Claws]] homeworld and laying siege to [[Lugft Huron]]'s '''Fortress of Thorns''' and defeating him, though costing themselves most of the chapter in the process.

For this the [[High Lords of Terra]] awarded them lordship over the [[Astral Claws]] former domains, so they set their damaged battle barge down on the ice world of '''Jahga''' to serve as their new fortress monastery.

Despite the chapter's losses, they are still dedicated to battling xenos throughout the galaxy. Most recently, they have dispatched several battle companies to Segmentum Tempestus to confront Hive Fleet Leviathan. They have used their knowledge of rapid deployment tactics and breaking up alien conspiracies to shatter the [[lictor]] seeding and assassin broods used by Leviathan and forced the hive fleet to evolve the [[dimachaeron]]. The 5th Company is also out crusading with the [[Black Templars]] and [[Drunk Marines|Libators]] against some orks.

==Organisation==
Though <s>some</s> NO evidence points towards descent from the [[Dark Angels]], the Star Phantoms are NOT counted amongst the '''Unforgiven''' [[A Game of Pretend|''(OR ARE THEY?)'']] and so broadly conform to the standards laid down in the [[Codex Astartes]].

Despite this, they have displayed a marked preference for first strike tactics, exemplified by [[drop pod]] assaults. The Chapter also seemed to prefer long-ranged bombardment using heavy weaponry over the chaos of melee combat, though it is capable of the latter when it is tactically expedient to do so. For the battle-brothers of the Chapter no one mode of combat holds more glory than the other; all that matters is that their enemy is disposed of.

Instead of having two [[Devastator Squad]]s per '''Battle Company''' as per Codex norm, the Star Phantoms have three. These warriors have gained a reputation for being indiscriminate in their use of the firepower at their disposal, inflicting massive collateral damage, but unlike [[Marines Malevolent|certain other]] chapters known for friendly fire, the Star Phantoms are not regarded as particularly [[Angry Marines|aggressive]] or [[Space Wolves|free spirited]]; instead, they are pretty much emo marines (like the '''Mortifactors'''), with an unhealthy obsession with death, where they regard the dead with more respect than they do the living. Because of this, they also have a tendency to throw entire companies, or even their whole chapter, at threats, regardless of projected casualties. This results in the chapter being near-permanently under-strength. This, in turn, fuels the need for more Devastators, the first designation that newly promoted scouts gain upon receiving power armour.

The Chapter's armoury maintains an abundance of [[Plasma]] and [[Melta]]-based weaponry, and indeed it is a mark of honour among the Chapter's leaders to go into battle using a [[Combi-weapon|combi-plasma]] or [[combi-melta]] wrought by the Chapter's [[Techmarines]]. The chapter also maintains a higher-than-average number of drop craft and speeders for rapid insertion. In addition, if the chapter really is made of the fabled Dreadwing, then they could have truly horrifying artifact weapons at their disposal.

==Relationship with the Imperium==
The Star Phantoms adhere to a philosophy that honours the dead and celebrates martyrdom, usually in preference to the living. As a result, they tend to be quiet and taciturn at best, and massive team-killing fucktards at worst, caring little for the lives of their allies in a fight. They cannot rely upon Imperial Guard reinforcements, having been condemned by Lord Commander Solar Macharius himself for going a bit too far. They get along with other marines so poorly that they are seldom asked to give to the Deathwatch. Like the [[Lamenters]], they take their status as pariahs primarily by focusing on protecting quiet areas of the galaxy from hostile aliens. The [[Ordo Xenos]] does make use of them outside of Deathwatch service due to their knowledge of alien doings and all branches of the Inquisition use them from time to time when they need a marine force who is willing to kill anyone, even allies or innocents.

The space marines, in general, are a specialized spearhead in Imperial armies. The marines, after being broken into chapters following the Codex, lack the numbers to hold ground and launch massive campaigns. They need to rely on the Astra Militarium for these services instead. However, the Star Phamtoms have such a poor relationship with the Guard that they cannot rely on Guard aid and, therefore, cannot engage in that form of warfare. They must make small, decisive actions against small xenos targets or participate in massive campaigns such as the Badab conflict. In either event, they have to use the FUKHUEG numbers of marines the chapter is known for in order to make any effect.

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==Notable Characters==
'''Omedon Tiresias:''' the only known chapter master of the Star Phantoms, who was in command during the Death of Haakoneth in 101.M40. Very little has been written about him, save for a brief mention in IA10 which states how he ordered the evacuation of as many of the Chapter Relics as they could manage and flee from the [[Hrud]] Onslaught.

Not everyone in the Chapter actually followed the order and some remained on planet to fight an unwinnable battle ''(Which probably says more about Space Marine stubbornness rather than Tiresias' ability to command)'' Tiresias was left with only a bit more than a third of his entire chapter with which to rebuild, and unfortunately he was struck blind by a Time-Eddy as it passed through his ship.

That's about all we know for sure about him; Blindness isn't a huge drawback in an Imperium which gives out augmetic eyes to Imperial Guardsmen. But the fact is he's more than likely dead, since the death of the Chapter's homeworld happened nearly 1800 years ago, not to mention the well-known accelerated aging effect that Hrud have on their enemies. [[Dante]] is well established as the oldest ''"active"'' Space Marine who's not a Dreadnought, so even if he's somehow still alive, it's likely that the Chapter has just replaced him by the time of the Badab War.

'''Zhrukhal Androcles:''' Captain of the 9th Company, the Devastator Reserve. Also known as the "Siegebreaker". As a lowly sergeant his squad achieved 58 tank kills in a single day's worth of fighting during the Gallitzin Succession. Later, during the Battle for Orsha, he commandeered a renegade [[Leviathan]] and used it to turn the tide of battle.

As a Captain he was given command of one of the Strike Groups assigned to assault the Palace of Thorns during the [[Badab War]]. Androcles came face to face with [[Lugft Huron]] himself during the engagement, having been struck down by Huron who then decided in a typically [[BBEG]] fashion that it would be a good idea to stand over the fallen captain and gloat. As his last, dying action, Androcles managed to fire off a melta blast into Huron's relic Lightning Claw at point blank range, which detonated it and tore a large chunk out of the Tyrant's body, essentially signalling the end of the Badab War.

Also, his name roughly translates to "Dude-Guy" and shares a name with the Greek hero who pulled a thorn from a lion's paw. Get it, because...

==Chapter Tactics==
[[Dakka|"You don't need to be a better shot; you just need to shoot more bullets"]] - [[Administratum|Departmento Munitorum Representative Marcus Kincaid]]

[[Forgeworld]] has free rules for the Star Phantoms available for download which separate them from other [[Codex]] [[Space Marines]].
*First, their chapter tactic allows them to reroll reserve rolls of 1 for [[drop pod|anything]] [[Assault Squad|that]] [[Terminators|deep strikes]], and also they get a [[Ultramarines|one-use ability]] where all weapons in the army become twin-linked for one (game!) turn. So pretty much these guys are the SURPRISE FUCKERS who turn up and blow your shit up in one go.
*Also, to represent the Star Phantoms particular lust for firepower, their one special character allows you to take Devastators as Elites choices as well as Heavy, allowing you a total of SIX devastator squads in a CAD to [[cheese|BLOW THE FUCKERS AWAY]], though this function has little use in an environment with Formations (in particular, the Gladius Strike Force). You also have to pay points for this ability whether you use it or not. Also, as of M41.99, he's dead as dicks.
*As of 8th edition, FW has not given them chapter tactics to keep in line with the new edition's codex. They are probably best served with [[Salamanders]] tactics for their re-rolls at this time.

{{Template:Marines-Official}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]
[[Category:Imperial]]
[[Category:Space Marines]]

Archaon

2018-08-28T02:09:39Z

2A02:587:3A12:6900:131:7F6A:C6AE:1534:

[[Image:Archaon Book.jpg|570px|thumb|right|A wallpaper version of his solo [[Black Library]] novel cover art.]]
<div style="font-size:1.10em;font-weight:bold;font-style: FFF Tusj ;font-family:serif;margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em"><span style='color:
#A57164;font-size:100%'> I AM THE TRUE CHOSEN OF CHAOS ! <br>- Archaon teaching a certain armless failure on how to actually be kick ass'''</span></div>
{{Topquote|Fear me, mortals, for I am the Anointed, the Favored Son of Chaos, the Scourge of the World. The armies of the gods rally behind me, and it is by my will and by my sword that your weakling nations shall fall.|Archaon the Everchosen, Lord of the End Times}}
{{Topquote|My hatred is a thousand times more powerful than all your good intentions.|Jim Goad}}
{{Topquote|Everyone, deep in their hearts, is waiting for the end of the world to come.| Haruki Murakami}}

'''Archaon the <strike>Overchosen</strike> Everchosen''', formerly known as '''Diederick Kastnar''', also known concurrently as '''The Three-Eyed King''', '''Lord of the End-Times''', '''Kingslayer''', and various other titles besides is the supreme Chaos Lord of [[Warhammer Fantasy]] and its successor, [[Total War: WARHAMMER]], as well as in [[Age of Sigmar]]. He is the current direct successor of the Kurgan High Zar Asavar Kul, who previously held the title of Everchosen before getting shived in the back by his subordinates. Archaon, on the other hand, managed to successfully destroy the world during the [[End Times]] and defeated Grimgor in single combat (while the latter was high off becoming the Incarnate of the Wind of Beasts, no less) and, more importantly, managed to beat Sigmar Unberogen himself in a match of pure strength before falling with him into a Chaos Portal to wrestle over the titular Warhammer for which the settings of Fantasy and 40K are named, which he just barely lost.

In other words, he shits all over the [[Abaddon|other guy]] in terms of competency and skill. Supposedly, his name is Tilean, meaning 'Warhammer Rome'. Because GW Latin fetish.

[http://myglobalmind.com/2015/08/25/interview-with-archaon-from-norwegian-death-metal-band-1349/| Also moonlights as a guitarist for Norwegian Death Metal bands].

==The Legend==
[[Grimdark|Archaon was born to a Nordland townswoman after her home was paid a visit to by a raiding party of bloodthirsty Norscan Chaos Marauders where the leader of said party, a Marauder Champion, proceeded to rape her viciously before leaving her for dead amidst the burning husk of his village.]] Of course, the village woman [[Indrick Boreale|did not die, no,]] but was found clinging to life by her husband and children and later gave birth to the raider's bastard son. This child was left to wolves of Laurelorn before being found by a Sigmarite priest, adopted as a page for the local church, and named Diederick.

Hilariously, the fisherwoman was named Viktoria Rothschild. This essentially makes Archaon an evil Jew bent on world domination. No, really, this is covered in the book <i>Archaon - Everchosen</i>.

Diederick grew up to a vigorous and devout lad, strong in the ways of Sigmar, and became a squire for the knight Sieur Kastnar. When the Sieur Kastnar ran afoul of some foes and died, Diederick, being a man of honour, took it upon himself to deliver the knight's ancestral sword to House Kastnar. The lady of the House, having been disregarded and despised by her husband, was touched by the young squire's dedication and integrity, and adopted him to her house, bequeathing the sword of Kastnar to him, along with the dead knight's horse Orberon. With her sponsorship, Kastnar then entered into the prestigious Order of the Twin-Tailed Orb, becoming the greatest warrior of the Order on account of his (unbeknownst) Northern bloodlust and a paragon of the Order's knightly ideals. [[Grimdark|Which essentially means he was a Black Templar level fanatic who didn't think twice of killing children if they were born with the taint of Chaos]].

Later on his career, while questing about and slaying whole tribes of Beastmen single-handed, Diederick came across a group of the Sisters of Sigmar who were transporting a heretical tome. This tome would turn out to be Liber Celestior itself, penned by Necrodormo the Insane under the direction of Be'Lakor himself, and said to hold the prophecy of the Everchosen of Chaos, the final champion who would herald the End Times. The tome was to be transported to the Grand Cathedral of Sigmar in Altdorf, where it would be kept protected from a warband of Chaos Warriors intent on using it to find the Everchosen. This warband being the Swords of Chaos.

Of course, young Diederick had not even seen the prophecy for himself. And indeed, for so many years, had been much too fanatical and thick in the head to realise that he fit the perfect profile of a Norscan warrior, not an Imperial knight. This also did not come fully to him when his own Order of the Twin-Tailed Orb began hunting him, despite him having been the greatest exemplar of their Order's religious and military ideals. Diederick, being a <s>complete badass</s> fucking Mary Sue, made quick work of the knights and also managed to evade the Swords of Chaos, seeking refuge at the Kastnar estate only to find it having been burned to the ground. There, he conferred with the Sister of Sigmar and the priest who had fostered him as to the reasons for which the Empire had declared him a heretic and why the Swords of Chaos wanted to suck his cock. They came to the conclusion that he fit the bill as the Everchosen based on the fact that:

* A). He was obviously of Norscan descent (fucking racists...)
* B). He was a knight of the Empire, like the Everchosen was foretold to be.

That's essentially it, really. It's a pretty fucking vague prophecy. But in Fantasy Worlds, this is often convincing enough, and so Diederick, on the advice of his foster father, journeyed to Altdorf to gain some confirmation of his dark destiny at the Grand Cathedral of Sigmar. Of course, this was after he succeeded in hanging himself because he couldn't live with the truth. Ballsy of him, but the Chaos Gods went 'lolno' and brought him back to life to get on without. They really wanted the End Times to happen, the little shits. So, after dragging his depressed ass to Altdorf and praying before an altar to Sigmar to give him some sign or indication that he was not forsaken by the God-King and not damned to a fate he did not choose and did not want, and reciving stone silence in return (<strike>and remember, this is a setting where magic and the direct presence of gods is not unheard of</strike>, unfortunately Sigmar was quite busy getting stuck in the wind of Azyr, courtesy of Tzeentch) [[Awesome|Archaon went batshit and managed to take down the entire knightly garrison of the Sigmarite Cathedral and even managed to break the Grand Theogonist's limbs and hold him hostage]]. Interrogating the Grand Theogonist by breaking his fingers individually, Diederick demanded to know how exactly the Knights of the Twin-Tailed Orb were so sure that he was the Everchosen; after all, there countless half-Norscans running about in the Empire, and there were countless knights of the Empire who had fallen to Chaos. The Theogonist revealed that they weren't sure at all. They had been hunting people with his profile throughout the Empire. The clincher was that the true Everchosen was prophesied to travel to Altdorf and ask that exact question.

So yes, if Diederick had ''not'' gone to Altdorf, he would not have fulfilled the prophecy. [[Just as Planned]].

Having finally been driven to Joker levels of genocidal insanity by this tidbit of information, Archaon loudly denounced the God-King Sigmar and affirmed his allegiance to the Dark Gods of his father's race, swearing that he would bring the Empire crashing down and tear away the pageantry of Sigmar's religion to reveal the god for the craven liar and charlatan that he was. It was during this shouted oath of death and destruction that the Grand Theogonist gloatingly revealed that the entire Reikland army and pretty much the entirety of the Empire's gunpowder potential was primed on the Cathedral with the order to kill the Everchosen by any means necessary, including by destroying the Cathedral itself. Luckily for Diederick, the Swords of Chaos arrived and rescued him from the clutches of the Empire, fleeing northwards towards Norsca where the Everchosen could begin his journey.

A'ight, bitches, y'all know the story that came after this. Archaon traveled North, crossing into Norsca and the Chaos Wastes and began his centuries-long journey to find the Relics of Chaos - The Burning Mark of Chaos Eternal, which bestowed upon its bearer the ultimate favour all four of the Great Chaos Gods. The Armour of Morkar, the battle-scarred Chaos Plate born by the Norsii warlord and first and greatest of the Everchosen. The Slayer of Kings, the horrifyingly powerful regicidal greatsword forged by Vangel, the Second Everchosen; bound with the soul of U'zhul, the Fist of [[Khorne]]. The Crown of Domination, the ancient battle-helm borne by the first Northern warrior to bargain his soul to Chaos's Dark Lords. The Eye of Sheerian, which bestows upon its user prophetic powers. And Dorghar, Steed of the Apocalypse. (His shield was forged by Bob the arrowsmith, who never made a shield before, but makes some damn fine arrows. It has no special powers, but will presumably become a relic upon Archaon's death.)

Archaon got the first one by traveling to the Altar of Ultimate Darkness in Naggaroth where he single-handedly brought upon the genocide of the race of bloodthirsty, atavistic monster-men who infested the temple and who feasted upon the flesh of stray Dark Elves. In the newer version, he also fought a Dark Elf army led by a dragon-riding Sorceress and was saved by a Valkia cameo after he sacrificed a Dark Elf assassin to the Chaos Gods. He earned the Armour of Morkar by travelling to the Norse King's cairn in the Southern Chaos Wastes and facing off against his vengeful spirit, and was nearly slaughtered by his predecessor then and there but for spitting out a 'yo mama' insult in the dead tongue of the Unberogens which managed to catch Morkar just off-guard due to its WTFness enough for Archaon to sucker-punch him and steal the armour. Actually, it turns out that Archaon said 'brinnan utva lioht', which means 'burn in the light', which if I'm being honest, sounds about as insulting as calling someone a scoundrel. He claimed the Eye of Sheerian from Flamefang, the Claw of Tzeentch, a three-headed Chaos Dragon. Archaon found it sleeping in its lair and woke it up by hitting one of its heads with his axe. There was an intense fight, which ended when Flamefang swallowed Archaon and flew all the way to the Southern Wastes. The armor prevented Archaon from being digested and he cut his way out of the dragon's throat from the inside and plucked the Eye of Sheerian form the belly of its corpse. He claimed Dorghar from the managerie of a Slaaneshi Daemon Prince. He entered the stables by clinging to the underbelly of one of the monsters as it returned to its roost and tracked Dorghar by Dorghar's smell (originally) or using the Eye of Sheerian (post-retcon).
He then jumped on Dorghar's back like a hellish rodeo - one where the mount burst into flame and changed shape along with fighting to dislodge and kill Archaon. Eventually he broke Dorghar's will and killed the daemon prince. He got the Slayer of Kings from a sleeping Krakanrok the Black, father of the Dragon Ogre race and a being the size of a mountain. The superstrong even for a follower of chaos Khornate Beastlord Ograx was ''just'' able to lift one of Krakanrok's fingers high enough for Archaon to grab the sword. It started screaming so loud that the mountain-sized Krakanrok began to stir and Archaon silenced the blade's screaming by impaling the Beastlord through the heart with it, thereby sating its regicidal thirst. And of course, he gained the Crown of Domination by travelling to the First Shrine of Chaos in the Northern World's Edge Mountains after Bea'lakor was made by the Chaos Gods to appear and show him the way (and some directions from Vitlich in the retcon). Archaon entered and overcoming tests set by all 4 of the Chaos Gods, including a maze made by Tzeentch, resisting a personal invitation from Slaanesh himself/herself and Khorne sending Skarbrand to fight him, whom he then strangled to death with his own whip (actually required a fair bit more cunning and planning than the armybook versions of the stories would have you believe).

==The Storm of Chaos fiasco ==
Eventually the Chaos Gods gave the order, and he led the most ferocious and largest army of [[Warriors of Chaos|Chaos Warriors]] ever assembled against the [[Empire]] during the [[Storm of Chaos]] campaign for 6th Edition. Before he reached the location where he was to end the world, he faced [[Valten]] (a reincarnation of Sigmar himself), who had managed to kill Dorghar and smash Archaon's armor before being beaten near death. The [[Orcs & Goblins|Orc]] warlord [[Grimgor Ironhide|Grimgor]] then smashed through his army single-handed, headbutted him in the junk, laughed at his sorry ass then went back to gather another army of greenskins.

The reason this bullshit happened? GW built the narrative around their battle reports, army by army. The problem is that Chaos kept losing. In fact, the good guys were winning so badly the only reason Archaon was pushing them back was due to plot. But GW had already pre-planned the story to become the grimderpofthe41stmilleniumwherethereisonlywar and make "End Times" be in the past tense. In the end, they resorted to having fans call-in the way they wanted the story to end, hoping that Warhammer Fantasy fans would pick the faction with the pointiest stuff on their armor.

They didn't.

They chose a faction that had been beaten in the last match.

Fans chose Orcs over Chaos.

GW had no backup plan.

Grimgor's entire army had been beaten by Crom while Valten and Archaon fought. Grimgor got sick of rallying his forces, went "ZOG DIS, I WANNA PIECE UV DA ACTION!" and charged in to sucker punch Archaon as he was about to deliver the final blow to Sigmar and end the world, shout for the silent and awed assembled armies of the world to hear that "GRIMGOR IZ DA BEST!", then went back home to rally his army. This resulted in the snide nickname of "Light Drizzle of Chaos."

Later on, GW retconned almost the entirety of Storm of Chaos and instead made it an alternate continuity. In the current narrative, <s>he's still amassing his army</s> the world ended.

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== Archaon's Posse ==
In first [[Storm of Chaos]] and now in [[The End Times]], Archaon isn't alone at the top of the hordes of chaos. He has some lieutenants to help him keep everyone organised. Closest of all is his Herald, [[Vardek Crom]], although officially Crom gets killed in a failed invasion.

In [[Storm of Chaos]], Games Workshop decided to go with the [[Your dudes]] approach, creating four lieutenants based on simply fluffing out the new Chaos Champion models for each of the four gods (save Khorne, who got a custom model based on an old Archaon head, Orc arms and an old Bloodletter body). Thusly, in [[White Dwarf]], we were introduced to:
* [[Haargroth]] the Blooded One, Champion of [[Khorne]].
* [[Feytor]] the Tainted, Champion of [[Nurgle]].
* [[Styrkaar]], Champion of [[Slaanesh]].
* [[Melekh]] the Changer and the sorcerous mutant-child Cyspeth, Champions of [[Tzeentch]].

The characters weren't received too well. So, perhaps realising their mistake, GW has revealed they're bringing back some of the big Chaos characters from their first ever Chaos Special Characters list:

* Representing [[Khorne]], it's [[Arbaal]] the Undefeated, giant Flesh Hound-riding army-butchering Chaos Lord.
* Representing [[Slaanesh]], it's [[Dechala]] the Denied One, corrupted High Elf turned six-armed poison-oozing snake-woman.
* Representing [[Nurgle]], it's [[Valnir]] the Reaper, undead soul-harvester.
* Representing [[Tzeentch]], it's [[Egrimm van Horstmann]], former Magister of the Light College turned dragon-riding daemon-commanding arch-warlock.

Unlike the others, these guys were at least respected enough to get cameos in [[The End Times]]. Two of them were even killed off, with Valnir being killed by Wulfrik in a novel and Egrimm being killed in End Times: Archaon after trying to bind the wind of Aqshy to himself. Dechala was mentioned to be in the final battle and it's said that Arbaal was kurmped as wel..

[[The End Times]] made a similar plan as well with champions representing each of the Gods, and again, Crom appears and gets his ass handed to him by Valten. This time, however, the posse is made of actually known characters:
*[[Valkia the Bloody]] representing her hubby Khorne during the invasion of Naggaroth. She eventually gets a mutual kill.
*[[Vilitch the Curseling]] being the top champion of Tzeentch while Aekold Hellbrass is busy sacking Kislev. As of ET: Thanquol, he gets sent to drag in [[Karl Franz]] so Archie may kill him once and for all. In End Times: Archaon, he and Thomin switch places, with Thomin calling the shots and Vitlich being the mindless slave.
*[[Sigvald]] the Magnificent being the only person of note dedicated to Slaanesh. He gets his face rekt by the Wight King Krell and then got killed and pissed on by Throgg the troll king.
*The [[Glottkin]] taking the position of top 3 champions of Nurgle after the guy before them gets a Runefang to the face. They get beaten in the same book they appear in by a superpowered Karl Franz and are currently sitting the rest of The End Times out in Nurgle's Mansion.

==Retcon/The End Times==
[[File:archaon.jpeg|500px|thumb|right|The Everchosen doing a badass pose.]]
GW recently realized that pushing ChaosChaosChaos in Warhammer Fantasy only turns off fans who want THEIR faction to be important (as the setting has a fair number of megalomaniacs that would put comicbook villains to shame), and as a result the End Times are finally being ushered in... by [[Nagash]]. The resident Undead [[BBEG]], who aims to take over the world by rendering everyone into undead slaves then consume the Warp. In its entirety. At that time Archaon was seeking the Glottkin and the Maggoth Riders, and upon finding them gave them three jars of plagues custom-made by Nurgle himself. Archaon planned to use the followers of Nurgle like a magical bioweapon; softening up the Empire before he came in to finish it off. Upon hearing that Naggy's stealing his thunder, Archaon prematurely led his forces to battle.

At the border of the Empire and what was once Kislev, he encountered the Auric Bastion, a gigantic wall of metal, magic and holy energy made by [[Balthasar Gelt]] that he and his troops could not cross. Then they came under attack and his army ended up in a stalemate against the forces of [[Vlad von Carstein]], the head of the Dracula Bloodline brought back from death by big bone daddy himself. Vlad's job was to keep Archaon busy while Nagash invaded Nehekhara. Naggy himself was planning to eliminate the Tomb Kings as they were one of the few forces that can challenge his rule, then subsume them into his armies and go on to kill every living thing in the world and reanimate them.

Gelt fell prey to the separate manipulations of Vlad von Carstein and the Changeling and was outed as an up-and-coming necromancer. After a misunderstanding Gelt is declared a traitor to the Empire and flees. With Gelt's fall from grace, the Auric Bastion loses the support of the Sigmarite priests, who deem the wall tainted due to its inventor's involvement with necromancy. Soon after the Auric Bastion crumbles, giving Chaos the green light to invade the Empire. Eager to make up for lost time, Archaon leads his forces in and bulrushes his way to Middenheim. Archaon planned to defeat the god Sigmar worshiped as a symbol of his superiority. However, Ulric had enough power to resist him and Chaos had a hard fight until [[Teclis|a meddling elf wizard]], unbeknownst to everyone else, stole Ulric's flame, allowing the power of Chaos to ravage Middenheim. Archaon took on Valten, Sigmar's heir, until a Verminlord decided to be a kill-stealing prick and decapitated Valten, enraging Archaon. Eventually Archaon and his forces conquered Middenheim.

After this Archaon claimed Sigmar's hammer from Valten's body as a trophy and set up camp in Middenheim. While there he schemes to have Karl Franz killed, sending Kairos Fateweaver after him. While he waits Archaon discovers a secret weapon under Middenheim. Under even where the Flame of Ulric was is a device left by the Old Ones. If properly tended to it could form a third Warp Rift that would combine with the other two and destroy the world so he seeks to activate it, forgetting that, as far as he knows, it would destroy him too. Due to [[Games Workshop|plot armor]], Kairos fails and Archaon kills the former to summon Ka'Bandha to take out Karl Franz. But he and the other Khornate daemons champed at the bit to start the fight while Archaon camped in Middenheim so he permitted them to hunt Karl Franz and the Incarnates as long as they gave him Karl Franz's flayed skin. During this time he gets several people pledging themselves to his cause who get used as auxiliaries including [[Isabella von Carstein|a possessed vampire]], [[Sigvald|a preening Chaos Lord]], the entire Skaven race and [[Settra the Imperishable|a dethroned undead king]] (though the latter's in it cos "the enemy of my enemy..." and ultimately says "fuck this shit" to Chaos).

Due to the machinations of Nurgle and the Skaven, Nagash is reduced from contender for the main villain and a burgeoning god of undeath to that "lesser villain that needs to team up with the good guys to fight the true villain" guy. The Bone Daddy approaches the Incarnates and offers an alliance which they, ''very'' grudgingly, accept. Eventually the Incarnates come to Middenheim and a gigantic clusterfuck of a battle occurs. The Orcs led by Grimgor throw in their lot with the Incarnates after some skillful manipulation from Malekith and even Sigmar himself makes a comeback. Despite everything arrayed against them, it eventually ends up being ChaosChaosChaos anyways when they fail to stop Archaon's ace-in-the-hole; his custom-made, Old-Ones-inspired WMD... Largely because Mannfred decided to betray Nagash (along with the rest of the good guys) at the last moment. While everyone else either dies or gets warped into some chaos bullshit, Archaon and Sigmar fall into the Warp Rift while wrestling for the hammer.

Whatever anyone says, if there was to be an ending to Warhammer Fantasy Battle, this is it: The Big Good and Big Bad of the setting falling into oblivion wrestling over The Warhammer. Fucking sweet

==Age of Sigmar==
So by now I imagine you're thinking "well bugger me, how can this guy get any more badass and/or mary sueish?" Well let me answer that for you, with a new model. Move over, [[Nagash]], there's a new giant model in town and he's coming for you.

After completing a brand new series of challenges set by the Chaos Gods, smashing them all with ease and without a shred of loyalty for the Unholy Quintet, and rejecting the newly ascended [[Great Horned Rat]]'s offer of a blessing by spitting in his verminous face, Archaon has been made the Grand High Marshall of Chaos. Which basically means that the can do whatever he fuck he wants without the Chaos Gods doing anything to stop him. He could go around and murder the shit out of each of the gods' best followers and get away with it, because fuck you, he's Archaon. That said, however, not everyone unanimously accepts his claim, and there were those like the Gaunt Summoners of Tzeentch (A bunch of possibly-daemonic sorcerers with eyes all over their helmets) that put up a resistance against the Marshall, and end up getting a serious ass-whooping for their troubles. Once that was dealt with he went on a rampage through the realms. One of his harder battles was in the realm of Shyish. Archaon took on Nagash as he was the only one strong enough to defeat him. Archaon did at one point and bound him into a cage of bone; bad idea as one necromancy spell later and Nagash was free before laying a vengeful beatdown on Archaon's army. The two duelled again but Archaon called on the Bloodthirsters for backup, forcing Nagash to retreat. Archaon's only defeat came at the hands of Malerion in the realm of Ulgu, and he is now fascinated by Ulgu.

On top of his legions, he also controls his own order of knights, called the Varanguard. These guys replace Archie's old warband and serve as his presence in every campaign, and in those he does deign worthy of his direct intervention, they serve as his mightiest warriors. These guys are called from every walk of Chaos, and each of them find some omen compelling them to serve the Everchosen to which they follow so devotedly that they abandon their god's calling to serve him under pain of death. Those that pass the trials laid before them on their route to the Varanspire (his new castle in the Realm of Chaos) are then chosen to join one of his eight circles and gain a giant mutant thing that possibly used to be a horse. Also joined by Slaanesh's daemons' faction who now worships him as their god.

And that's not even mentioning the new changes to his look.

For a start, Archaon is now rocking some badass new black armour that makes him look much more sinister, powerful, and imposing, though at the cost of the Northern Warlord look he used to have. Slayer of Kings is also different, now a gigantic on-fire sword with a much more ornate design than before, very cool. But the real change isn't even Archaon himself, but the horse Dhorgar. Well, ex-horse, because Dhorgar is now a gigantic chimera monster with three heads to represent Nurgle, Khorne, and Tzeentch (Slaanesh has vanished without a trace) and two tails as a homage to the Great Horned Rat. Our man's now gathering all the forces of Chaos together to launch a massive campaign against Sigmar and finish what he started in the Old World, and stands as the greatest threat that Order may ever have to face. Just like old times, huh?

== On the tabletop ==
In an interesting irony, though probably not intentional, Archaon is also in a lot ways the opposite of Abaddon, not in a bad way. Where as Abaddon tends to get changed fairly heavily each edition, Archaon stays the same with each book, with the only changes to him being armor save's not including bonus for him being mounted or whether or not you can field him on foot. Also, where as Abaddon is characterized by his hitting power while being respectably tough to kill, Archaon hits hard (base attack ignores armor and can double attacks for the rest of the game, though if does any 1s on to hit rolls have to be directed at him or his unit) although his most impressive trait is how freaking hard he is to kill. While his statline is only slightly better than a normal Chaos Lord, he has a 1+ armor save, a 3+ ward save, all to hit rolls against him have a -1 and he can't be wounded on better than 3+. Sadly, while an indestructible death machine, his cost keeps him from getting much use. Afterall, [[Dwarfs|cannons]] are the solution to all problems in Warhammer Fantasy.

Age of Sigmar continues this trend of indestructibility in style. Now rocking a 3+ Save that he can easily buff to a 2+, a 5+ Save against Mortal Wounds, and now ''20 FUCKING WOUNDS! HOLY SHIT, THIS IS MEANT TO BE THE GAME WHERE 1 WOUND IS THE AVERAGE, RIGHT?'' Yeah, new monster-riding Archaon is even more of a tank than he used to be, and that's saying a lot. And in addition to this, his new three-headed Dorghar can use one of thee special abilities every turn he kills somebody in melee. This can range from vomiting up the remains of his victims all over the unit he's fighting, Nurgle style, to ''eating their skulls and heal D3 wounds!'' Fucking hell, and I thought he was a tank before he could regenerate. In addition to his insane defensive ability, he can also bring the pain too. He has access to Arcane Bolt (as well as the ability to gain the spells of any other wizard if he feeds the unfortunate wizard to the Tzeentch head), though Mystic Shield is always a better choice to up his defense, Dorghar can hit like a truck like any monster, and the Slayer of Kings returns as potentially one of the strongest weapons in the game with an easy To Hit and To Wound, and very heavy Rend and Damage. In addition, if you roll two 6's To Wound on the same Hero or Monster with the Slayer of Kings, then it instantly kills them with no saves of any kind allowed. Though with only four attacks, this won't happen too often. Still, with those stats he's easily going to live long enough to pull it off sooner or later.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Original Archaon.jpg|Archaon, back in the early days of Warhammer Fantasy. He had a horsie.
Image:Archaon Old.jpg|Archaon's limited edition model, on-foot.
Image:Archaon New.jpg|Archaon's new model. He gets a daemon horsie now.
Image:ArchaonAOS.jpg| Archaon's newER model, now with a gigantic daemon chimera instead of a daemon horsie.
Image:Godbeasts.jpg|An evil, powerful warrior travelling from world to world, seeking further power from a godlike serpentine dragon... [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4vjJrGeh1c that sounds familiar].
Image:The three eyed king.jpg
Image:Archaon end times.png
Image:Lord of the End Times.jpg
Image:Archaon 3.png|Archaon in [[Total War: WARHAMMER]]
</gallery>

==Memes==
Of course what would a Warhammer character be without the memes?

Archaon is notable for a fair few, given the tendency of writers to keep at least his foot in the spotlight.
* ANIME: Thanks to his art and general JRPG villain actions in Age of Sigmar, Archaon has become the embodiement of ANIME (always caps).
* Horns: Archaon's helmet horns have grown in each incarnation, leading to humor a la Abby's armlessness about horn growth, and the increasing difficulty lifting or turning his head.
* Penguins: Archaon has described the Beastmen inhabiting the south pole as "true Beastmen", free from human taint. Since there is no combination of Daemon, man, mutant, or beast not present in the Old World some have come to the conclusion that Archaon is scared of penguins.
* Archaos: The creator of the Archaon character identified his original intended name as the even more ludicrous "Archaos", destined to fall on his sword in the final battle after realizing what he had done to the laughter of the Chaos Gods. Since then Archaos the teenage suicide victim bullied by the Four has become a preferred way to mock the character.
* [[Slambo]]: A generic miniature from Oldhammer that some see as the REAL Everchosen.
* In the multiplayer portion of Total War WARHAMMER, he is often called the "Neverchosen" due to being overpriced when compared to other lords like [[Sigvald]] and [[Dragon Ogres|Kholek Suneater]]. Still, Archaon has been getting update buffs like extra physical resistance and frenzy, meaning he might be a much more viable choice by the time game 3 comes out.

{{Chaos-Champions}}
{{Template:ChaosGods}}

[[Category:Age of Sigmar]]

Ahzek Ahriman

2018-08-28T01:18:36Z

2A02:587:3A12:6900:131:7F6A:C6AE:1534:

[[File:Dooooom Bolts!.jpg|340px|right|thumb|Remember kids, spend enough time in the library and you too can shoot bolts of insanity lightning from your hand!]]
{{topquote|Zarathusa....had taught his people to regard life as a continuous struggle between '''Ahriman''' and Ormuzd, the Gods of '''Evil''' and Good.|Hendrik van Loon, ''A Story of Mankind''}}

{{topquote|All is not yet dust.| Ahzek Ahriman}}

{{topquote|Man errs till he ceases to strive.|The Lord; Faust, Part 1}}

'''Ahzek Ahriman''' (a.k.a. '''The Sorcerer of the Red Cyclops''') is a powerful [[Chaos Space Marine]] of the [[Thousand Sons]]. He is one of the mightiest [[psyker]]s in the whole galaxy. He is also noted for pissing off [[Magnus the Red]] to the point where Magnus kicked his ass out of the Thousand Sons after Ahriman simultaneously saved/damned his legion with the 'Rubric of Ahriman'. On the tabletop, he is known for two things: costing as much as a [[Land Raider]] (the only special character in the CSM codex that costs more than him is [[Abaddon]]) and dropping a [[Touhou]]-esque level of [[Psyker|mind-bullet]] [[dakka]] each round he's on the table. Although being a Thousand Son should make him a space Persian, his major quote in the fluff, "the only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance", makes him Socrates in space, since Socrates said that in real life. The man was quite a bro before the [[Horus Heresy]]; he noticed all the flaws of the [[Imperium]] even during the [[Great Crusade]]. This was evidenced during the fall of [[Prospero]], when he fought for the future of mankind rather than the [[God-Emperor of Mankind|Emperor]], which, ironically, puts him in the same league as [[Roboute Guilliman]].

== Early Life ==
Ahriman was born among the wealthy tribes of the Achaemenid Empire, whose kings had allied with the Emperor during the [[Unification Wars]]. His name and birth region indicate that he is Iranian. He was then inducted to join the [[Adeptus Astartes]] along with his twin brother, Ohrmuzd (who later died of severe mutations, making this a clear reference to Ahriman and Ormuzd, the two Zoroastrian deities of light and dark—guess which one Ahriman is). His brother's death traumatized him and motivated him to seek a cure against the flesh-change for himself and the Legion. He quickly rose through the ranks and became both Captain of the First Company and Chief Librarian of the Corvidae (the most powerful cult of the Thousand Sons).

== During the Heresy ==
Like all Astartes, Ahriman assisted his [[Primarch]] during the [[Great Crusade]]. Unlike most Astartes, he served as [[Magnus the Red]]'s second-in-command and advisor. Perhaps he was not as close to Magnus as the Primarch's foster father Amon, but he nevertheless was entrusted with guardianship of the Book of Magnus. Considering said book was a compilation of the most important secrets and powerful spells Magnus [[Blood Ravens|acquired]] from all over the galaxy, it gives an idea of the esteem he held Ahriman in that he would let him both watch over and read from said book. (And how [[rage|unhappy]] he must have been when Ahriman misused it to cast his Rubric, more on that below.) Ahriman was present during the time when [[Horus]] became Warmaster. He was also present during Magnus' trial on Nikaea - but blacked out due to Magnus' overwhelming aura when it came time for [[Mortarion]] to speak against psykers. (Magnus got ''mightily pissed off'', and forgot to tone it down for people who aren't him).

When the [[Space Wolves]] attacked Prospero (under orders from Horus), Ahriman led the Thousand Sons Cults to battle, defying Magnus' orders to accept their fates under the belief that their only redemption would be in death. Despite this, the Sons were already near total annihilation until Magnus finally decided that enough was enough. Magnus battled [[Leman Russ]], but Russ got super raggy with a blind shot into Magnus' eye of epicness and was about to slay him. Magnus then swore allegiance to [[Tzeentch]] in a desperate move to save his legion, and so Tzeentch teleported Magnus, Ahriman, and the Sons to the Planet of the Sorcerers.

== Rubric of Ahriman ==
Seeing as to how the Thousand Sons were quickly succumbing to the flesh-change, since Tzeentch is the God of Change and all, Ahriman attempted to permanently cure them of their mutations. (Yes, he actually tried to use the energy of change to stop change. Tzeentch is still chortling ten millennia later.) Without Magnus' consent, he, along with a cabal of other sorcerers, cast the spell known as the Rubric of Ahriman. On the upside, all the psychics in the legion stopped mutating and became more powerful than they had been before. On the downside, everyone else in the legion who wasn't a psyker was cursed to be turned into dust and sealed in their armor for all eternity, turning them into [[Rubric Marines|soulless automatons]] who are unable to think for themselves. At first, Ahriman was [[Just as planned|satisfied]] with the results of his spell since it did prevent [[Tzeentch|a certain troll]] to have some chaotic and messy fun with his fellow Thousand Sons. However, once he realized all the implications of [[not as planned|what he'd done]], Ahriman went [[derp]].

After Magnus learned of this, he really wasn't happy and confronted Ahriman. Believing he'd succeeded in saving his fellow Thousand Sons, Ahriman flipped him off, with the result of Magnus flying into a nerd [[rage]] so great that even an [[Angry Marine]] would take pause to admire it. Magnus was about to kill Ahriman, but Tzeentch himself ([[troll|who had been rolling on every non-euclidean geometrical floor at the same time with laughter from the beginning]]) intervened, told Magnus that everything was [[just as planned]], and so the Cyclops kicked Ahriman's ass off of the Planet of Sorcerers instead.

Ahriman was initially remorseful and went incognito for a few centuries until <s>his emo phase had ended</s> his former brothers tried to capture him so he could undo the Rubric. With the help of some renegade Marines, Ahriman came out on top, got rid of his rivals, donned the bitchingly horned helmet he wears to this day, and began his "War Against Fate". Since that day, he made a second Rubric spell, which failed in trying to restore the Rubricae to flesh (with the exception of one named Helio Isidorus) but managed to heal Magnus from the soul-splitting effect he suffered from teleporting everyone to Prospero (despite Magnus kicking him off his lawn earlier; shows how much of a bro' he is) and he also managed to turn one of his Rubric Marines back to normal. It is revealed during these events that Ahriman believed he had to sacrifice his own life to make the Rubric work as he intended, and he went on perfecting it anyway. I repeat, here is a Chaos Space Marine who is still willing to die for his brothers, also, there was a part of him who still wanted to serve the Imperium despite all what had happened, although in the book Ahriman: Unchanged this fragment of his mind is supposedly destroyed by another part of his mind [[grimdark|this speaks volumes of what a bro he was in his earlier centuries and how far he has fallen by the 41st millennium]] *sniff*.

Just to show that it takes A LOT more than a simple Rubric to change Tzeentch's plans, Khayon had this to say about Ahriman's Rubric in the latest novel about his vacation with the [[Inquisitors]] and his tales about his time in the [[Black Legion]]:

"Ahriman's Rubric banished mutation from the Thousand Sons, yes, but only amongst them who had little in the form of psychic talent and only by destroying their physical forms. The rest of us are as prone to the whims of the Warp and our own sins, just as any other being dwelling inside the Eye. If you believe my former brother Ahzek is entirely unchanged beneath his Eye-touched armour, you are as dangerously naive as he was when he unmade our Legion. Ahriman believe he is perfectly unaltered, hmm, did you know that? Yet I have seen the void that screams where his face used to be."

Seems like Tzeentch just [[troll|LOVES to mess with poor little Ahriman]] as much as GW likes to change their fluff.

== Current Status ==
[[File:Ahriman-tumblr.jpg|250px|left|thumb|The man himself!]]
Unlike most other Sorcerer Lords of the Thousand Sons, Ahriman's war band, the [[Prodigal Sons]] (GW hope you notice the <s>(potential)</s> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUuyyVaCOzw completely canon foreshadowing of that name]), have no ties left with the Planet of Sorcerers and its resources (not to mention Magnus's ability to resurrect fallen sorcerers), but they make up for it by mixing in non-Thousand Son Marines and mortals, as well as using their own stashes of magical artifacts (which they have a lot of). Pretty much like the Thousand Sons legion as a whole, Ahriman's band is split into tiny covens most of the time, only gathering together for particularly important battles.

Unlike [[Kharn]], [[Lucius]] and [[Typhus]], Ahriman is NOT a devoted servant of his Chaos god, and in fact does not even consider himself Tzeenchian, instead pursuing his own goal of becoming a god himself (He aspires to become a God of sorcery, ambition, and fate!... Creative?). The Architect of Fate, however, still thinks of Ahriman as his greatest champion, as he does not concern himself with the faith of his servants, but with their actions and hopes. In a way, Ahriman's rebellion against his patron god and his quest to overthrow him makes him even more Tzeenchian.

In order to further his divine aspirations, Ahriman is constantly trying to gain entrance into a particular [[Eldar]] library. And not just any library, where he can nerd out like most other geeks, but the mystical [[Black Library]] where he can nerd out mystically and become a new major chaos god (Which would tear reality yet another great big asshole like the [[Eye of Terror]], though this is probably just one of Tzeentch's plans to be personally summoned into the material world. Let's be honest about it, convincing a follower to go on an epic quest to attain 'the power of a god' for 9999 years only to be a worthy sacrifice is basically what Tzeentch is all about.). And he is constantly failing at that task because [[Advancing the Storyline|villains can't win]]. To be fair though, the Library is hidden in the ass end of the [[Webway]]. It's also protected by the [[Harlequins]], who are really good at getting their shit done, and the [[Cegorach|Eldar Laughing God]], who still has the full measure of his god-like power and is a master of [[just as planned]] (to the point that he can play this dreadfully complicated game on a fairly equal level with [[C'Tan#Mephet'ran, The Deceiver|The Deceiver]], Tzeentch, and the Emperor), and is capable of challenging [[Slaanesh]] for the souls for the Harlequin Solitaires—and winning.

In addition to this, he has the shards of a consecrated silver bolt shell constantly moving towards his hearts, only being repulsed by his powers reinforcing the flesh around it(So, Iron-Man), adding more motivation for him to find the black library and ascend to godhood. However, during the casting of the Second Rubric, Ahriman allowed these shards to finally reach his heart and kill him under the assumption his sacrifice would restore the Rubricae to flesh and blood. A [[Magnus|myriad]] of [[Tzeentch|assholes]] intervened and Ahriman ended up with [[Not as Planned|<i>his</i> body restored instead.]]

In spite of this, he is one of the most awesomely powerful psykers in the galaxy. His miniature can psychic power spam like no one else can, as he is able to throw seven powers per turn, three of which are the same witchfire, which means that he can kill pretty much anything dead with just a mean look. Nerd [[rage]] abounds as to whether the [[Zoanthrope|Doom of Malan'tai]], [[Mary Sue|Varro Tigurius]], [[Eldrad|Eldrad Ulthran]], Ahriman, or [[Mephiston]] is the most powerful psyker alive who is not balls to the wall insane or a daemon.

(Pretty much answered: at least in terms of [[crunch]]y psychic power, Eldrad's got powerful anti-psyker and Perils of the Warp-bypassing stuff that Ahriman doesn't, though Ahriman can manifest more psychic powers per turn with enough allied sorcerers around to rob them of their charges. They are now both boosted to Mastery Level 4 in the 6th edition codices, so a psychic duel between them can go either way. Other mortal contenders though are not even near the god-like power level of these two.)

And he may well still be a loyalist. Or at least, he may still think he is a loyalist… wait a second…

Let us clarify this point: the main reason Ahriman wants to enter the Black Library is his hope that this will allow him to achieve enough power to reverse the state of the Rubric Marines and rebuild Prospero (among other things), which was supposed to be the first city populated solely by psionically attuned humans, without having to go through all the [[grimdark]] soul-binding processes which are common in the Imperium at present. Want to know how cool Prospero was? Medics of Prospero could cure cancer with their mind powers, and that was an average procedure. In [[Horus Heresy]], a Thousand Sons Sorcerer claimed that he could undo the damage done by Butcher's Nails on MOTHERFUCKING [[Kharn|KHARN]] OF ALL PEOPLE. (Kharn beat the sorcerer to death moments later.) So yeah, no need for Emprah-miracles. Too bad Ahriman is currently not above using torture, genocide and daemonology to get the work done (then again, it isn't like the [[Inquisition|Imperium doesn't do the same thing here and there]]).

Basically, he's merciless Persian Wizard Space Marine reeking of [[JUST AS PLANNED]] and good intentions (well at least his end-game is good, his methods... not so much). His origin also puts him in a rough tie for oldest human (excluding the [[Emprah]]) with a certain [[Kharn|pretty fun guy to be around]].

By the way, Ahriman has his own series of novels and stories and is also one of the main characters of the ''A Thousand Sons'' novel, and is the main antagonist in ''Atlas Infernal''. You can compare how crazy he has gone by reading the [[Horus Heresy]] book first, his increasing moral slide in ''Exile'' and ''Sorcerer'', his justification for his actions in ''Unchanged'', and the unmitigated villain in ''Atlas Infernal''. Grimdark indeed.

Just before the Siege on the Fenris System, he managed to break into the Black Library and steal an undetermined amount of lore. That lore includes The Tome Labyrinthus, which is a map that includes a large number of secrets doors, passages and gates to the Webway. He more or less handed a lot of the Webway secrets to the rest of his legion, so they could attack from it.

In Gathering Storm, he got into a fight with the Ynnari in the Webway and caused a lot of damage, but ultimately lost the war. Began with Ahriman ambushing the then ragtag army of outcasts within the Webway which included Harlequins, Craftworlders, Drukhari, a Wraithknight and a number of Phoenix Lords (some of which were Asurmen and Mugen-Ra), against Ahriman's horde of Rubrics, Sorcerers, Daemons and a couple of Lords of Change. [[Yvraine]] showed Ahriman that she could reverse the rubric by demonstrating her ability on three Rubricae, restoring them, in order to get away. Ahriman, overcome with emotion, agreed to let Yvraine and her pals go as part of the deal. In typical Eldar fashion however [[troll|Yvraine screws him over and kills the restored Thousand Sons]], something that even fucking ''[[Eldrad]]'' would have called a dick move, and it's earned Yvraine and her cronies the [[Angry Marine|everlasting, planet-destroying hatred]] of a [[rage|ripshit pissed]] Ahriman. Whether this is going to bite her on her elfy behind is unsure, but considering she just screwed with one of the most powerful sorcerers in the universe on a whole new level; you can bet Ahriman's going to find a way to get even (and he should probably consult with [[Honsou]] for ideas. ''That'' man knows how to send a [[Exterminatus|"don't fuck with me"]] message). Besides, Yvraine knows how to reliably reverse the Rubric. Squeezing that secret out of her would be a huge leap for Ahriman's ambitions.

After the blunder in the Webway, Ahriman decided to head to Commorragh, having seen Yvraine's ability to reverse the Rubric.

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==On the Tabletop==
[[File:AhzekAhriman2016.png|thumb|right|300px|His new model. Looks badass.]]
{| class=wikitable
! || Pts || WS || BS || S || T || W || I || A || Ld || Sv
|-
| '''Ahriman:''' || 230 || 5 || 5 || 4 || 4 || 3 || 5 || 3 || 10 || 3+/4++
|}
Ignore the fact that Ahriman's stat line is no better than that of an average Space Marine Commander; it's not what you're paying for with 230 points. What you're paying for is the following: Mastery Level ''4'', a trait he shares only with the likes of [[Eldrad|Eldrad Ulthran]] and [[Kairos Fateweaver]]; the Black Staff of Ahriman, a S+2, AP4 Force weapon that allows him to [[dakka|cast the same witchfire power up to THREE TIMES in a single turn]]; and psychic powers generated from Telepathy, Telekinesis, Daemonology (Malefic), Divination, Biomancy, Pyromancy, Ectomancy, Geomortis, Heretech, Sinistrum, Tzeentch, and the kitchen sink. No other psyker in the game besides Magnus himself has Ahriman's potential for sheer volume and variety of psychic damage output.

He also has Fearless, Mark of Tzeentch, Aura of Dark Glory, Champion of Chaos, and Veterans of the Long War. The combination of Mark of Tzeentch and Aura of Dark Glory give him a 4++ invulnerable save, which is always nice. However, Mark of Tzeentch can be problematic as it also forces him to generate at least one power from the Tzeentch discipline, and a couple of the powers from that table, including the Primaris, are lame sauce (keep in mind he still has three more power slots, though). But even Tzeentch's Firestorm, if you're forced to settle for it, can attain to a semblance of utility with Ahriman's ability to cast it three times in one turn. And if you get Doombolt or Baleful Devolution, put your troll face on. Ahriman's biggest problem, though, is he doesn't have Eternal Warrior anymore and can be instakilled; rest assured your opponent will try immediately to do that, and those 230 points will have gone down the toilet.

You can have him ride around on a Disc of Tzeentch to up his Toughness to 5 and increase his mobility, which is highly recommended. When on Disc he can also do the "Gunship Sorcerer" trick where he runs alone, fires his witchfires on the guys you want to royally fuck up and then turbo-boosts 24" away, preferably behind a solid LoS in the shooting phase like a Jet-packing Tau Battlesuit on steroids. Be aware that it only works if the enemy have no super-fast units, deepstrikes or barrage weapons, but then nothing stops you from hiding him in a nice tough unit until all reserves are out and flyers are down, your hiding place is not observed by artillery spotters and it's safe to enter gunship mode. If you roll on Biomancy for Iron Arm/Warp Speed the Disc would also allow Ahriman to reach melee faster and be bolter-proof and generally a bitch to kill (T8) while doing so and also kill shit faster when he's in melee due to +1A that would really matter when your attacks hit like a lascannon.

====8th Edition====
3 powers and 3 denies with +1 to both rolls. Average in combat (he has still forgotten a power weapon equivalent) and his disc no longer provides him with extra toughness and, funnily, instead gives him an extra weakness and benefit by handing Ahriman the 'Daemon' key word (thus making him a tasty pastry to GK's and possibly Nurgle daemons but also able to be affected by the auras and spells of daemons of tzeentch). Also, the Black Staff now apparently adds nothing to his psychic potential. All in all, he's not what he was (and is far more a support psyker than an attack character, contrary to his entire history of having rules) but he also lost 100+pts from his cost to make up for it. Relative to his peers, GW's approach has not left him weaker but relative to other units in the game and the current bastardisation of psykers, Ahriman is a much weaker unit as a whole. He has a bubble effect, lending to the idea that a better tactic for Ahriman now may be to stick him just behind the advancing gun line in order to ward off anything too nasty with his ability to throw out some mortal wounds and to use warp time for effective counter attacks.

==Gallery==
<Gallery>
File:Ahriman The Exile2.jpg|Mess with him and you'll be shitting lightning bolts. As cool as that sounds, you won't like it.
File:Horus-Heresy-Ahriman.jpeg|During the Horus Heresy.
File:Cartoonish.jpeg|Disco Ahriman.
</Gallery>

{{Chaos-Marines}}

Imperial Navy

2018-08-27T21:38:17Z

2A02:587:3A12:6900:131:7F6A:C6AE:1534:

[[File:imperialnavy1.jpg|400px|thumb||Cathedrals IN SPEHSS!]]

The '''Imperial Navy''' is one of the main branches of the [[Imperium of Man|Imperial]] military in [[Warhammer 40,000]] (although very little of the Navy actually appears in the tabletop game). They are also one of the main factions in the beloved spin-off game [[Battlefleet Gothic]].

Unlike the [[Imperial Guard]], who get killed in the <s>thousands</s> <s>millions</s> billions every day, the Imperial Navy rarely suffers that many casualties. This is because, unlike the [[lasgun|flashlight]] used by Guardsmen, the main weapon of the Navy is a giant, heavily-armed, heavily-armored battleship that puts other races' spaceships to shame (well, except [[Necrons]]). These ships are also [[Awesome|massive, flying, Gothic cathedrals]].

Depending on how you look at it (and who you're looking at), the officers of the Navy are either wealthy cowards or badass gentlemen. In either case, their ships have crews numbering the hundreds of thousands or even millions (we're not kidding when we say that each ship has its own language(s) and culture(s)), since the Imperial Navy doesn't understand how auto-loaders work, so loading a gun requires thousands of slaves running on treadmills. Of course, this might be the fault of [[Adeptus Mechanicus|a certain other branch of the Imperium, who, coincidentally, ''do'' have working auto-loaders on their ships]]. In any case, [[Grimdark|the Imperium has found it cheaper and ''more effective'' to use manpower because they have ''that many people'' to throw at even the tiniest of problems.]] Of course, for a major officer, most days simply require him to press a button and blow something up, then go back to drinking his tea. Oh, and ''maybe'' scramble the ground-support flyers, if he's feeling charitable that day.

Note that, back in the [[Great Crusade]], the Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy were one and the same, operating under the far-less-badass name of "Imperial Army." However, thanks to the [[Horus Heresy]], the two got split up, so that a single military commander couldn't control too many forces; a Guard commander isn't able to get off any given planet without the Navy, and the Navy isn't able to conduct wars (and, you know, occupy territory) without the Guard. ([[troll|And neither can do their job without the Adeptus Munitorum giving them fuel and ammo.]] Thanks, [[Roboute Guilliman|Bobby!]]) You'd think that this enforced mutual co-dependence would make them collaborate, but [[grimdark|of course]], despite how much they need each other, the two bicker constantly, which, in fact, may be the reason for all the [[fail|stupidity]] the 40k universe is saddled with.

[[/tg/]] has a <strike> [[Extra_Heresy|hard-on for female Admirals, but come on, wouldn't you?]] </strike>
{{BLAM|*BLAM*}} {{BLAM|EXTRA HERESY!!!}} {{BLAM|*BLAM*}} {{BLAM|*BLAM*}} {{BLAM|*BLAM*}}

==Types of Ships==
The Imperial Navy has four types of ships they hide their cowardly asses in. The main ships are battleships, cruisers, escorts, and fighters

===Battleship===
Supposedly rare, but every Grand Marshal and High Admiral has one to hide in. Bonus points if that coward is also Chaos. The biggest heaviest hitters available, these things are like actual medieval cathedrals in that the grandchildren of the workers who start building them get to live to see their completion. Fuckheug, lots (and lots, and lots) of guns and most can deploy fighters and bombers.
*'''Ordnance-boats:'''
**'''Retribution:''' Packing all gun batteries, the ship can devastate an entire continent in one broadside, but for some reason cannot destroy a hive city or fort with [[void shields]] - [[What|or in some cases, ones without any shields at all]]; either that or GW was just pulling another [[Derp|Michael Bay]] out of their asses again since, they have no idea how [[Herp|consistency works, let alone basic physics.]] Of course, considering the Dark Angels fortress-monastery and the huge chunk of land surrounding it survived the bombardment which turned Caliban into a bunch of space dust, it is perfectly reasonable that something that merely glasses half a continent would not destroy a void shielded city or other major fortification. If anything, this provides a degree of insight into why land battles in 40k are so massive in the first place. Because orbital artillery doesn't have many targets of opportunity it is actually capable of exploiting.
**'''Invincible:''' An interesting class, dubbed a 'fast battleship', these were designed to chase down xenos and chaos raiders, and then use them to make the vast, empty tracts of space more interesting by filling it with their enemies' debris fields. This type of battleship combines the firepower of a ''Retribution'' with the speed of a ''Dauntless''. The problem with this is the general incompetence of Imperial tacticians. It looks exactly like a ''Retribution'' and has the guns to match, so it must be one, right? NO. They excelled at the role they were designed for, but throw them into gunfights against dedicated battleships, and these things tended to come apart easier than wet cardboard, earning them the nickname 'Kisher's Kombustibles' and the scorn of many admirals. Admirals who ignored the fact that the reports detailing the introduction of the ship and how to best use it (it's tactics also included in the Tactica Imperialis) explicitly state not to use it on a gun-line and that it is for fast-ship interdiction. The ship's Commissars must be particularly incompetent to let this slide as in the Guard the generals would be executed quickly for such incompetence. Of course, these are also the Commissars who do nothing when troop transports' escorts frequently run off to fight while the transports lose a significant percentage of their ships. Perhaps if they would actually enforce their orders to stay with the transports, the Imperium would have won most of the campaigns it has lost. Given that they still often win even with a fraction of their beginning ground forces actually managing to make landfall. [[Grimdark|Because they have THAT many men to throw at the enemy.]]
***Much like the Chalice-class of Battlecruisers, the Invincibles are a big reference to the real life Battlecruisers of World War 1, especially with the term "Kisher's Kombustibles" (real life Battlecruisers were referred to as "Fisher's Combustibles") and the fact that three blew up in a single battle (referencing Jutland).
*'''Lance-boat:'''
**'''Apocalypse:''' One of the oldest ship designs (predating the ''Retribution'', which is also one of the oldest ship designs), this ship packs a lot of [[lances]] and a [[Nova Cannon]]. Good for taking out lots of smaller sized ships with massed lance fire. It's also described in fluff as being able to cripple anything up to a cruiser with a single, concentrated broadside. They're fairly rare, since the Imperium doesn't know how to build them anymore, and the ones still operating are so old, their weapons systems have degraded permanently, forcing them to fire their lances at only a fraction of their full power. Shares all the disadvantages of a ''Gothic''-class cruiser.
***Despite the fluff stating that the Apocalypse and Oberon classes are unique in that they lack figure-heads, the artwork and [[Crunch|models]] [[Derp|give them one anyway.]]
**'''Victory:''' Possibly an attempt to recreate the ''Apocalypse'' class, the ''Victory'' is basically a ''Retribution'' with a bunch of lances replacing its broadside cannons, and a Nova Cannon instead of torpedoes. Has the range that fluff states the ''Apocalypses'' once had, but lacks the same level of firepower. Effective at sniping, and hilarious when used against escort heavy fleets.
**'''Desolator:''' A ridiculously old design. Designed to emphasize range and carries Torpedos, Broadside Lances and Dorsal Macrobatteries. Like most keel-built ships, the Desolators ended up mothballed or went traitor.
*'''Carrier:'''
**'''Emperor:''' The "standard" battleship of the 40k 'verse, the ship has multiple fighter decks and weapons batteries. Unfortunately, most commanders like to use this ship as a hideout, causing the lack of sufficient air support in the ground wars. Tabletop-wise, its status as the official battleship of Battlefleet Gothic doesn't stop it from losing carrier duels against the Chaos equivalent.
***Ironically, the idea of the Emperor being the standard battleship conflicts with the fluff about the Navy hating Carriers. Go figure.
**'''Nemesis:''' The super-carrier of the Imperial Navy. It has SIX flight decks (the size of towns or small cities, each), more than any other ship in the galaxy. But because of Rule of Cool, it is incredibly rare since the Navy captains prefer to get up close broadside their enemies, or actually rather because all of the ships in this class were just ships modified from Emperor class ships in one particular war, because they were damaged or otherwise. Naturally, the Navy never considers making them based on the Invincible instead (the Invincible was mass-produced).
**'''Desecrator:''' The carrier variant of the Despoiler. Replaces half the Broadside Lances with Landing Bays. Shared the same fate as its sister class and is now only seen in Chaos fleets.
**'''Despoiler:''' Oh boy, where do we start? The Despoiler-class came about after the cogboys discovered plans for a carrier on Barbarus. The catch? Well, Barbarus is the former homeworld of the [[Death Guard]], and the plans were for the same class of ship that the [[Terminus Est]] is a part of. Showing a complete lack of common sense, the Imperial Navy decided to build ships of this class, only for them all to go traitor due to the class's inherent [[Gellar Field]] flaws. [[Fail|Oops]]. The Despoilers at first don't appear to be that unique, as they have Dorsal Lances and Broadside Landing Bays and Weapons Batteries. Their difference is that, like the Terminus Est, they managed to have a Prow Landing Bay as well.
***Despite being a new class, GW fucked up their fluff and had [[Rogal Dorn]] disappear aboard a Despoiler, [[What|5000 years before the class was created]].
*'''Other:'''
**'''Gloriana:''' Massive, terrifying and capable of decimating entire fleets on their own, these were the personal flagships of the Primarchs during the Great Crusade. Very few, if any, are still around in the Imperium in M41, though a few such as Horus's flagship ''Vengeful Spirit'' are still tooling around inside the Eye of Terror. Because they were dickheads, the [[Alpha Legion]] had two, creatively named the ''Alpha'' and the ''Beta''. Interestingly, the Ultramarines have one, the ''Macragge's Honour'', but didn't [[derp|fucking]] use it, the whole fucking time until [[Roboute Guilliman]] returned. It shows up again in ''Dark Imperium,'' with the Smurfs having stolen it back from the Red Corsairs, which at least is fucking funny even if it makes no sense. The Imperial Fist had the ''Eternal Crusader'', but it was never their flagship since the [[Phalanx]] is so much better, so [[Rogal Dorn]] gave it to the [[Black Templars]] in the [[Second Founding]]. The Emperor is known to have had at least one, called the ''Bucephalus'', which he ditched after upgrading to an enormous golden space palace called ''Imperator Somnium''. Wait, did Emps just see the Phalanx and decide to build his own bigger better version?! [[Eldrad|DICK]]
**'''Oberon:''' The mixed-breed bastard of the Imperial Navy. It has [[lances]], fighter bays, and weapon batteries. Its a powerful ship... <s>when fighting foes half its size</s> "Newer" fluff says the Oberon is rare, but a complete success in making a ship capable of killing anything it comes across, alone. Unfortunately, fluff also says a ridiculously low number of these (apparently) powerful ships were made (like, 3 or so). Then again: only four Iowa class battleships ships were built (technically 6, but 2 were scrapped before completion), and we know HOW to build them. It makes sense in a way. Attack craft can cripple an enemy's main weapons and engines and likely ultimately damage the power transfer from generators to void shields. Combined with macro-batteries hammering away and the enemy's weakened ability to maintain its shields would cause them to drop much quicker than usual. Then the city-sized lance-batteries rip the enemy in half. If used against enemy escorts to support attacks on large enemy ships like battleships and grandcruisers, this would work extremely well to the point an Oberon would likely become a priority target for enemy ships.

===Grand Cruiser===
Only slightly weaker and less powerful than Battleships, Grand Cruisers were the Battlecruisers of the ancient Imperium (modern Battlecruisers are simply outclassed by these venerable vessels). Nowadays most of them run on archeotech that is barely understood and hard to repair with current Imperial knowledge. These grand ships are often used as flagships in lieu of extremely rare Battleships. Basically, they are the quintessential Battlecruisers; tougher and deadlier than Cruisers and yet more mobile than Battleships.
*'''Basic'''
**'''Vengeance/Furious:''' The granddaddy of "modern" Imperial warships. The ''Vengeance'' was the winner of a GW-sponsored ship design contest, and was originally known as the ''Furious''. Highlights include heavy shielding and armour (though lacking the prow armour of later designs), as well as both lances and long range weapons batteries, making this the sniper of the Imperium's Grand Cruisers.
**'''Repulsive:''' Whilst the Repulsive Grand Cruisers are exceedingly maneuverable heavy warships (and therefore exceedingly useful because they can fill a hole in the Imperial tactical lineup), they are considered a cursed class due to the majority of them falling to chaos, [[Fail|which unfortunately was the result of experimental warp drives which occasionally interfered with the Gellar Field (OMGWTFBBQTIME)]]. Only the Emperor knows what kind kf complete moron would deploy ships equipped with that. Or name it the “Repulsive-class” yet be surprised when it turns to Chaos. The ones that remain in Imperial control are kept mothballed in reserve fleets and segmentum fortresses (imagine giant glass boxes with 'In Case of Emergency, Break Glass' signs).
*'''Ordnance-boat:'''
**'''Avenger:''' The short range brawler of the Imperium's Grand Cruisers, it's a ''Vengeance'' with only macrobatteries (kilometres of Macrobattery broadsides). Intended to break the line of battle like Nelson's ships at Trafalgar, while suffering from the lack of an armored prow. Unfortunately line-breaking is quite a dangerous role for any ship, even a Grand Cruiser that excels at doing it, and so not many exist in the 41st Millennium. Those that have survived are known for being exceedingly reliable and faithful; it takes a lot of damage or mistreatment to cause these noble vessels to give trouble. If you spoke with members of the Imperium (both members of the public and the navy), this is the vessel they would think of if you asked them about Grand Cruisers. Now, if only the Imperium realized a slower but more heavily armored and shielded ship would fare better in its role.
*'''Lance-boat:'''
**'''Executor:''' The sniper of the Vengeances, the Executor replaces its Broadside Macrobatteries with even more Lances. Unfortunately, the last remaining Imperial Executors decided to act retarded and chase a fleet into the Eye of Terror, meaning that all of the ships are chaos aligned now.
*'''Carrier:'''
**'''Exorcist:''' A ''Vengeance'' that has carrier bays in place of lances. Useful in providing carrier support to any Imperial fleet. As a bonus, being Grand Cuisers mean they can outrun anything except battleships to save their vulnerable carrier self while their attack craft are away. Originally designed for extended operations alone on the Frontiers of Imperial Space, either on Patrol or by exploring into the unknown, the Exorcist developed quite a reputation for 'boldly going where no man has gone before'. Whilst not many remain in Imperial Service due to maintenance difficulties, they still find use in the hands of Rogue Traders who need vessels capable of long cruises and of defending themselves against anything they might encounter. So much for maintenance difficulties.
**'''Retaliator:''' A mix of a Repulsive and a Vengeance, but as a Carrier. Has Lances, Launch Bays and Macrobatteries on its Broadsides. Unfortunately, it has the Repulsive's tendency to go traitor.

===Battlecruiser===
What do you do when you forget how to maintain an entire category of heavy warships? You build a new bunch of heavy warships, with simpler technology.

Battlecruisers are basically upgunned cruisers, with more weapons (usually adding dorsal weapons and some armor), and are intended to fill the gap between true battleships, which are rare, and normal cruisers, which tend to die really easily to the ancient Chaos cruisers and grand cruisers. Battle cruisers were tried in real life as some way to combine battleship firepower or armor and cruiser speed. They did not always work, and much like reality these things have their share of problems. Chaos operates their own versions known as Heavy Cruisers.
*'''Basic:'''
**'''Armageddon Battlecruiser:''' An upgraded variant of the Lunar Class Cruiser (YAY! ANOTHER ONE!). A rather new innovation, the Armageddon class is basically made up from recovered Lunar Class Hulks that have been extensively repaired and then retrofitted with more armour and more weapons. The base hull was never designed to cope with all this extra equipment (and the extra crew to man said equipment) and so it has problems operating independently for long periods of time. This isn’t really a problem, though, since they wouldn’t be operating away from a fleet anyway. Though reinforcing its frame to handle the added mass would be a smart thing to do to save immensely in future maintenace costs over the centuries. Battlefleets won't say no to them because more guns = better!
**'''Hellfire Heavy Cruiser:''' An upgunned Murder-class. Has the same issues as the Armageddon, slow as fuck and has power and supply issues. [[What|Also, lacks Void Shields]]. Most mutinied and joined Chaos, which decided to use them for some reason.
*'''Ordnance-boat:'''
**'''Overlord Battlecruiser:''' The Classic Imperial Battlecruiser. Using the standard Imperial doctrine of - Macrobatteries, Lances and Torpedoes, the Overlord has become the most effective Battlecruiser simply because it really complements standard Imperial Navy Tactics. As an added bonus, its simplicity of design makes it easier to produce and one can be built within a decade. The only negative (if you can call it a negative), is that it's not really useful for anything except war.
**'''Chalice Battlecruiser:''' A fast heavy cruiser. Unique to the Calixis sector and an exceedingly new design, the Chalice was conceived as a Battlecruiser that could either out-run or out-manoeuvre anything it can't kill. Which means it was conceived to be a plain ‘ol normal battlecruiser. Whilst good in theory, unfortunately, speed came at the cost of armour and durability and so whilst these vessels punch hard, they can't take as many hits as other cruisers. In addition, it carries an experimental plasma drive layout, which while boosting power efficiency, also makes it rather vulnerable to lighting up like a roman candle. Imperial Propaganda is currently trying to cover up their failings and is lauding them as the Poster-ships of the Calixis Sector and therefore a lot of people think they're the 'Best Battlecruisers Eva!'. If they would just use a normal plasma drive and make the whole ship bigger, it would be fast enough, armored enough, and even better armed. Unfortunately, not being stupid is heresy in Calixis.
***The idea of a ship that can "either out-run or out-manoeuvre anything it can't kill" that turns out to be really poor at taking hits was the original design of real life Battlecruisers, which although being up-gunned Cruisers (which are the equivalent of Frigates IRL, not Ships of the Line), were used as discount Battleships at Jutland were they turned out to lack the armour required for a proper fight. Thus, if the Imperials were smart, they would be using the Chalice as a commerce raider, not a ship of the line.
**'''Long Serpent Battlecruiser:''' A true success story, this is what the ''Chalice'' wishes it was. Taking a battlecruiser's armour and firepower, and giving it the engine suite of a battleship, this thing can kick the shit out of anything short of a grand cruiser or battleship, while being able to keep up with raiders. It's only real flaw is that when one is taken out, it has a better than average chance of rupturing its warp drive. As a result, the names of ''Long Serpents'' that have been destroyed are usually accompanied by those of allied ships that were too close. Which is somewhat odd since the reasoning is that the Long Serpent also has a battleship's warp core (who knows why, it isn't big enough to need it). Given the small difference in size between this ship and other "normal" cruisers which are the mainstays of the fleet, the Imperium could just choose to use a smaller warp core suitable for this ship's size and focus on mass-producing the Long Serpent to replace basically every other class of ship except battleships , Cobras, and carriers. Fewer would be made but, unlike video games, swarming a capital ship with escorts does not work at all. The escorts are slaughtered and the capital ship like this one is left unharmed. But doing this would require common sense, which is [[Heresy]]. Like properly using the Invincible-class must be.
**'''Mercury Battlecruiser:''' Another fast Battlecruiser. It's a cruiser with a Battleships's engines. Nothing more.
**'''Hades Heavy Cruiser:''' A long-ranged brawler. Carries Broadside Macrobatteries and Dorsal and Prow Lances. Got phased out like most keel-built designs, but Chaos still uses them.
*'''Lance-boats:'''
**'''Acheron Heavy Cruiser:''' Designed to test new Lances and Macrobatteries. The Imperials only built one, which went traitor. Carries Broadside and Dorsal Lances with Prow Macrobatteries.
*'''Carriers:'''
**'''Mars Battlecruiser:''' In a word - Mediocre. Some Imperials say it's versatile due to its diverse weapons loadout but in reality it makes it an awkward duckling to use. The Nova Cannon and Launch bays would be good on a ship holding back and harassing enemies at range and yet it has Macrobatteries and Lances which are great for brawling. So if you sit back and harass or go in and brawl, you're wasting half your ship. The Imperial Navy never really got on with it either and so it has gone out of production on most Forge-Worlds. Which is a shame because if they would replace the macrobatteries and lances with larger, long-range lances, and a great number of small, short range weapons batteries for fighter support and self-defense respectively, this would be a great ship in any fleet. It's nova cannon clears a hole in the enemy escort screen, the attack craft rush through to wreck the weapons and engines of light capital ships while long-range lances assist other Imperial ships in slaughtering targets of opportunity. The destroyed enemy light capital ships leaves all the other big ships vulnerable to mass, concentrated torpedo attack from friendly ships. Attack craft return to the fight to tear up the no-doubt seriously damaged enemy big ships and lances win the day. Then just send in friendly light capital ships with attack craft support to finish off the surviving escorts. That would almost make this ship into a sort of miniature "I Win" button. Almost. Especially in a squadron of two, as they could assist each other against any opponents that slip through to them with their combined, close-range firepower, lances, and whatever attack craft they kept back for defense ripping the enemy weapons and engines apart to let the close-range macrobatteries have fun.
**'''Dominion Battlecruiser:''' Basically a fixed Mars, some tech priest got it in their head that, maybe, it'd make more sense to replace the Macrobatteries with Lance Batteries instead, making it a dedicated support ship, harrassing enemy ships at range whilst the big guns go out and fight. Apparently not that successful, a number were used at the Battle for Maccrage (Of course the fucking Smurfs get them) against the tyranids, though apparently they all got fucked up and have been in drydock since, which is why up until now no-one's seen them.
**'''Styx Heavy Cruiser:''' A pure carrier. Has Broadside Launch Bays, Dorsal Lances and and Prow Macrobatteries. For some reason the Imperial phased it out for the Mars, so only Chaos uses them now.
**'''Hecate Heavy Cruiser:''' An attempt to replace the Styx. Swaps out some of the Launch Bays for Macrobatteries. Believed to have an inherent design flaw that made them go traitor, so they were decommissioned.

===Cruiser===
Cruisers are the bread and butter of the Imperial Navy. Much larger than escorts and light cruisers, but less rare than battleships, cruisers are what the Imperial Navy (and Chaos and Xenos) use to fight their campaigns across the stars. Thus far, all Imperial Cruisers have been shown to utilize the same hull-type: a squat armored prow in front, capable of mounting a prow-mounted weapon system, and a big bunch of engines in the back, with baroque and Gothic architecture in-between. Most cruisers can effectively be placed in four categories:
*'''Basic:''' The Jack of All Trades cruiser. Carries both Broadside Lances and Macrobatteries.
**'''Lunar:''' The Lunar. You've heard so much about it and now you want to know what it makes it the standard Imperial Cruiser. First of all, it's one of the oldest designs still in use by the Imperium and is so easy to build that even less advanced worlds can produce them. They're quite versatile due to their weapons loadout (a balanced build of Macrobatteries, Lances and Torpedoes) and make up the backbone of Battlefleets throughout the entire Imperium. This is the cruiser against which all other cruisers are measured.
**'''Emasculator:''' Considered a failure by the Imperium at large, Emasculators have the same basic load-out as the Lunar, but are keel-built, lacking the armored prow and replacing the torpedo tubes with more weapons batteries. This means they require different tactics to a Lunar, using their speed and longer ranged weapons to pound ships from a distance. As this fits with Chaos tactics more than Imperials. most of them ended up as traitors. [[/d/|The name Emasculator is due to them being seen mostly as Slaaneshi ships, their original name is unknown.]]
**'''Slaughter:''' A special type of Cruiser, the Slaughter-class has a more powerful drive called the Scartix Engine Coil, but lacks prow weapons. Armed with short ranged, but powerful lances and macrobatteries, the Slaughter is designed to get in close, blast away and retreat. Unfortunately, the Imperium can't build them anymore because one went traitor and destroyed the plans for the Scartix Coil. It is unknown if they were always called the Slaughter-class or were renamed when most went traitor.
**'''Inferno:''' A earlier counterpart to the Carnage-class, carrying more lances in exchange for some Macrobatteries. Had the same difficulties as the Carnage and was mothballed, though a few went renegade beforehand.
*'''Lance-boat:''' Replaces Macrobatteries with more Lances. Rarer as they have a weakness to Void Shields and require better drives due to the power requirements of the lances.
**'''Gothic:''' Another variant of the Lunar Class, the Gothic is designed as a heavy Lance gunship. Due to the amount of Lance Weaponry it carries, it can easily deal with ships of its own size or larger but often does require an escort or a partner to strip enemy void shields first in order to use its own weaponry to the maximum effect. When supported and used correctly, Gothic Cruisers are the most efficient way to deal with enemy capital ships.
*'''Ordnance-boat:''' Opposite of the Lance-boat, replaces Lances with more Macrobatteries. Usually this is because they need extra power due to mounting a Nova Cannon or having power-hungry macrobatteries such as Plasma Cannons.
**'''Dominator:''' A variant of the Lunar Class, the Dominator is designed primarily for planetary bombardment and assault. Not generally used in fleet actions even though it can provide support with its Nova Cannon when necessary. After one Dominator fucked over a Chaos Cruiser with said Nova Cannon during the Gothic War, the Navy took note and started making more Dominators. [[Awesome|Additionally, another Dominator came close to destroying the Terminus Est (''aka the toughest Battleship in the galaxy''), before being destroyed.]]
**'''Tyrant:''' The Tyrant was originally intended as a stand-off vessel; it would stay at long range and bombard enemies from afar with superfired plasma weaponry. Unfortunately, due to design compromises where it mixed both short range and long range weaponry to save on power, it wasn't really deadly enough at long range to do its job. Therefore the Imperial Navy is trying to replace the short range weapons with ancient Long-range weaponry (that doesn't use a lot of power) recovered from Space Hulks or Renegade Ships. The Hull itself is a rather effective design and so the Tyrant has become very popular with Rogue Traders who generally replace all of the Plasma Weaponry in order to have more power available compared with other cruisers.
**'''Relentless/Carnage:''' Another attempt at a fleet support ship with Plasma weapons, the Relentless ended up with technical difficulties and, when these were overcome, [[Heresy|most ships ended up turning traitor]] [[Fail|(including the lead ship of the class)]]. [[Tzeentch|This is theorised to be due to something wrong with the geometry of the ship's design]], as the Relentless-class is keel built, like most older ships (This also means the Relentless lacks an armored prow and torpedo tubes, carrying more plasma batteries instead). The tendency of these ships to turn to Chaos, along with changing tactics, led to the class being renamed the Carnage-class and mothballed in favor of the Tyrant-class, though their speed means they suit Chaos tactics famously.
*'''Carrier:''' The red-haired stepchild of the Navy. Replaces the Lances with Launch Bays and is disliked by most Admirals due to the stigma against Attack Craft. Chaos likes them more because they can fill the bays with Assault Boats. Some Carriers are also made from wrecked cruisers of other types, in which case damaged broadside weapons are ripped out and replaced by launch bays.
**'''Dictator:''' A Carrier retrofit of extremely damaged Lunar Class Cruisers. If a Lunar class has its lance weaponry destroyed, it's quicker, easier and cheaper to replace those with heavy launch bays for strike craft. This makes it quite versatile and able to deal with virtually all situations and interestingly enough, makes it more effective than the original Lunar Class at everything except fighting as a ship of the line. Unfortunately, the Lunar Class is designed for fighting as a ship of the line, so Admirals dislike Dictators.
**'''Jupiter:''' A kitbashed design, converted from other classes of cruiser that have been heavily damaged in battle. By stripping out all the damaged components and replacing them with launch bays, you get a pretty sturdy carrier. Just don't let the enemy get anywhere near it. Apparently the Imperium doesn't build these normally at all, likely because they are absolutely shit at defending themselves from other Cruisers.
**'''Devastation:''' Deviating from the standard Carrier design, the Devastation-class carries Lances instead of Macrobatteries. Mostly turned traitor or mothballed, as they lack armored prows and torpedos; and are keel-built. Chaos likes them, as they can pack them with mutants and sit back to spam assault boats and lances at anything that looks at them funny.
*'''Other:''' Various other cruiser types exist, but are rarer.
**'''Ambition:''' Custom-made Cruisers for the exceedingly affluent - it's the Rolls Royce of the Cruiser World. Most Rogue Trader ships are second-hand, battle-scarred, tired and worn ex-navy vessels but the Ambition is not. It's the only cruiser class that can be bought brand spanking new by Private parties in the Imperium and each one is unique and built to the customer's specifications. These exclusive ships, whilst still cruisers and deadly in their own right, are stately homes and status symbols. Some durability sacrifices have been made in order to make them the most opulent and luxurious ships on the market but for eccentric people like Rogue Traders, it's generally worth it.
**'''Conquest-Class Star Galleon:''' Built for the very first Rogue Traders on the orders of the Emperor himself, the Star Galleon is an ancient and noble design. Whilst not considered heavily armed by modern standards, they're still formidable opponents and yet as specialist exploration vessels they are able to operate independently for many years and can transport greater quantities than other Cruisers. In effect, it's a cruiser fused with a transport and looks fucking amazing.
**'''Murder:''' The predecessor to the Lunar. Differs by being keel-built, exchanging their torpedos for Lances and having more powerful macrobatteries. The majority that appear in modern 40k are Chaos-aligned, as the Imperials mothballed theirs in favor of the Lunar. A few carried lances as well as Macrobatteries, meaning they don't fit into any category. As with the Slaughter, it is unknown if Murder-class is their original name or they were renamed.

===Light Cruiser===
Smaller than true cruisers, light cruisers are used in two ways. Either you use a fast, maneuverable light cruiser like the Dauntless to add some extra firepower to a scouting squadron or long-range patrol, or you use a pocket cruiser like the Voss light cruisers to add some heavy firepower and armor to a convoy, fleet, or base. The advantage of the light cruisers are that they're cheaper to build and operate than real cruisers. Like the Cruiser, they fit into a few base categories.
*'''Basic:''' Same as its larger sibling, a Jack of All Trades.
**'''Dauntless;''' The standard Light Cruiser of the Imperium; it's a Jack-of-all-Trades. You can't go wrong with the Dauntless even though other Light Cruisers may be better for certain tasks. Considered 'scouting' cruisers, these make up the bulk of Imperial Patrol Squadron leaders.
**'''Defender:''' A convoy escort variant of the Dauntless, with added dorsal weaponry.
**'''Endeavour;''' A 'heavy', Light Cruiser, designed as a stop-gap between the 'lighter' light cruisers and true cruisers. Whilst they can slug it out in a fleet fight, they can easily be overwhelmed because they simply aren't cruisers and don't have the equivalent fire-power or hull integrity. As an added titbit, most of Battlefleet Koronus' patrols consist of an Endeavour and a pair of frigates.
**'''Lathe-class Monitor-Cruiser;''' An Adeptus Mechanicus Light Cruiser designed around deep space exploration and extreme self-reliance. These ships, when properly outfitted, can operate for decades without returning to imperial space for resupply. These would make up the bulk of Explorator fleets.
**'''Secutor-class Monitor-Cruiser;''' An Adeptus Mechanicus Light Cruiser designed to excel at the art of war. Tougher than all of the other Light Cruisers and yet still more mobile than true Cruisers. Due to being designed from the ground up to be a Warship, this Light Cruiser is fitted with Cruiser sized Void Shield Generators.
**'''Siluria;''' Three-quarters the cost of the Endeavor, and about three-quarters the ship. Standard weapon batteries only, no fancy frills to speak of. Cheap and effective, at short range, to catch enemy torpedoes.
*'''Lance-boat:''' Also the same as the Cruiser version, though some have weak weapons batteries for better defence.
**'''Endurance;''' Light Cruiser with just enough guns to claim it has them, lance batteries and a couple of torpedoes. It's the lance half of a Lunar, nothing more.
*'''Carrier:''' More useful as a Light Cruiser, as it can act as backup for patrols.
**'''Enforcer:''' A carrier variant of the Dauntless. Designed to maintain control of rebellious planets via intimidation [[Grimdark|(and possible orbital bombardment)]]. Given one managed to stop the rebellion of an ''entire sub-sector'', its a shame the Imperium doesn't build more of them.
**'''Defiant;''' A carrier variant of the Endeavour. It's quite versatile (by virtue of being a carrier) and so has found a home in many Rogue Trader houses but unfortunately the Imperial Navy doesn't consider it as useful because they can't stand by themselves and require an escort. Due to being based off of the Endeavour, it's relatively well armoured for a Light Cruiser and that does help with its survivability.

===Ironclad===
8 kilometer long battering rams. No, really. Tyranids and Orks are busy taking notes.

===Frigates===
Ranging from about 1.4-2km long. They are used for all sorts of duties from convoy escorts to attack or patrol squadrons. Ironically named, as in real life Frigates were the same as Cruisers (which were not Ships of the Line).
*'''Basic:''' Laser batteries only, maybe some Torpedoes if you're lucky. Named after types of swords.
**'''Sword Frigate:''' The most common warship in the Imperial Navy, and one of the simplest. No torpedoes or lances to distract you here; a Sword puts two massive laser batteries behind a pointed armored prow and cuts into enemy formations like a multi-laser through canon.
**'''Falchion Frigate:''' A new (245 years old) class of escort ship built by [[Forgeworld|Voss Prime]]. Slow as balls but still capable of firing torpedoes. While Cobras are used offensively in fleet actions, Falchion's are designed to be convoy escorts and stick close to larger warships to defend them from enemy escorts. Effectively a Voss-pattern Sword with torpedo tubes and one laser battery.
**'''Claymore Corvette:''' Designed entirely around escorting vulnerable transports and protecting them against light raiders in order to allow true Frigates to accompany more valuable ships such as Battleships, Battlecruisers and Cruisers. The Claymore Corvettes are easy to mass produce and maintain and are exceedingly common in the private sector, as they are simply a discount Sword.
**'''Gladius Rapid Strike Frigate:''' A modified version of the Sword-class, used by the [[Space Marines]] as an escort for their strike cruisers. Has 20% more powerful engines than a Sword, making it more mobile, which suits the Marines strategy perfectly. [[Matt_Ward|No prizes for guessing]] [[Ultramarines|why it's called the Gladius.]]
**'''Turbulent Heavy Frigate:''' Heavy Naval Escorts; these things have comparable armour to cruisers. They're built to sally forth ahead of the main fleet and win skirmishes against enemy scouting forces and vanguard elements. They've garnered a reputation for being lucky; they've contributed to many glorious victories and survived catastrophes that other ship classes have not. Their only downside is that they have rather antiquated communication equipment, probably equipped for durability, not ease of use.
*'''Lance-boat:''' Rarer for Frigates, as they need a Prow slot to mount a Lance.
**'''Firestorm Frigate:''' A Sword-class frigate with a prow-mounted Lance replacing one laser battery. Gives the Sword some extra anti-ship punch that it dearly needs. For some reason it's two hundred metres longer than the sword and yet it's apparently only a refit, though the gun sticking out of the front likely is to blame for the extra length.
**'''Thunderbolt Heavy Frigate:''' Not much information on this one, but implied to be a Lance version of the Turbulent, like how the Firestorm is the Lance version of the Sword.
**[[Derp|Given the general naming scheme for Frigate classes is naming them after weapons (Claymore, Sword, Falchion, Gladius etc), the Firestorm would make more sense being called the ''Lance''-class due to its role.]]
*'''Nova Rapid Strike Frigate:''' A super-special version of the Firestorm for the Marines. As Lance armed ships are optimised for fighting other ships instead of attacking planets, the Navy considers the Nova to infringe on its turf and gets uppity when a Chapter has too many, thus they are uncommon.
*'''Brawler:''' Mostly upgunned Frigates. Can carry a mix of macrobatteries and small lances.
**'''Tempest Strike Frigate:''' Specialized Brawling frigate designed for devastating enemies at close range. Basically a Sword with a triple armoured prow and heavy short-range broadside batteries. They're often equipped with Assault Boats and Barracks for boarding actions.

===Destroyers/Raiders===
The most common warship class. Their tasks range from scouting to shuttling VIPs or fighting in fleet engagements in large squadrons. Most pirates use these speedy, nimble vessels to prey upon transport ships.
*'''Basic:''' Usually mounts Prow Torpedos and a Macrobattery.
**'''Cobra Destroyer:''' The PT-Boats of the Imperial Navy. Small, fast, and lightly armed, their one purpose in life is to fire shoals of torpedoes from 3-8 ship squadrons. A great part of the Imperium's military advantage (in fluff and [[Battlefleet Gothic|on the tabletop]]) comes from all the torpedoes they can fire at the enemy, and the Cobras are a big part of that.
**'''Hunter Destroyer:''' A Space Marine [[Original character, do not steal|knockoff]] of the Cobra. Mostly used by the [[Dark Angels]] as <s>their mistrust of other factions means they can't acquire actual Cobras or [[Fallen Angels|ask the Navy for help.]]</s> {{Blam|+++the Dark Angels simply do not want to bother the Navy with their hunt for traitors with no connection to the First Legion}}
**'''Havoc Destroyer:''' Small, yet fast raider sized vessels almost rivaling frigates in firepower. In large squadrons these can easily overwhelm larger vessels by weight of fire.
**'''Infidel Raider:''' Was meant to replace the Cobra, but the plans [[Blood Ravens|were stolen]] by Chaos. Armed with Prow Torpedos and a Macrobattery like its predecessor, though some Chaos fleets upgrade them to Heavy Raiders by adding another Macrobattery.
**'''Iconoclast Destroyer:''' If there ever was an Guardsman of starships, the Iconoclast is it. A destroyer so shitty the Navy doesn't want it, the Iconoclast mounts 1-2 macrobatteries and is used by Rogue Traders, Chaos and Pirates. Notable for being one of the few ships to have a forward placed bridge, likely due to the smoke-stack like pylons along its spine.
*'''Lance-boat:''' Rather rare among Raiders, as most use their Prow slots for Torpedos.
**'''Apostate Heavy Raider:''' A variant of the Infidel. Somehow those heretics managed to shove a full sized Lance into a Dorsal slot, which only Light Cruiser and bigger can normally manage.
**'''Idolator Raider:''' Also known as the "WTF is this" ship, the Idolator is the lovechild of a Infidel, a Firestorm and Xenotech. Has a prow lance and a macrobattery.
*'''Other:''' Mostly weak scouts.
**'''Viper Scout Sloop:''' Smallest warp-capable ship in mass production. It is an exceedingly fast scout ship with ridiculously powerful realspace engines and high-tech auspex scanners. In support of Naval Operations these vessels would burn into enemy territory at high speed, collect as much information as possible and then warp back to friendly territory. Unfortunately they are so specialized that they can't do much else apart from that.

===Fighter===
The fighter's main role is to stop enemy torpedoes and bombers before they can [[anal circumference|rip your flying cathedral multiple new assholes]]. Comes in different models like the [[Fury Interceptor]] or the Thunderbolt Fighter. The main difference is that some can enter a planet's atmosphere to dogfight and/or strafe ground targets where others are limited to space combat.

===Bomber===
Basically reusable torpedoes. Come in different models like the [[Marauder Bomber]] and the [[Starhawk Bomber]], but again the main difference is that some can dip in a planet's atmosphere and drop bombs on ground-pounders where others are space-combat only.

===Armed Freighter (in the Battlefleet)===
Ships bought, borrowed or stolen and then armed in the misguided attempt to boost the strength of a fleet in desperate need of ships (instead of simply using the legio cybernetica to make robots to do the monotonous manual labor so 90% of the hundred thousand crew members can be spread out amongst a hundred more warships)

===Fire Ship===
A fancy name for a fuckheug bomb. A old, damaged or for whatever reason no longer usable ship is packed to the brim with explosives and flown straight into the heart of the enemy formation. Again, Orks are busy taking notes for their Roks.

===Logistic Vessels===
Ships used for the transportation of cargo or individuals. The majority of Imperial ships would fall into this category.

*'''Carrack-Class Transport Ship;''' A newer version of the Conquest Star Galleon. It's a hardy vessel that can defend itself quite well against raiders. The profile even looks like a Military Vessel so opponents who can't distinguish between Imperial Ships could be scared off.

*'''Goliath-Class Factory Ship;''' An Adeptus Mechanicus vessel designed to harvest plasma from Stars. These ships supply the fuel for the entirety of the Imperium. Other ships can be fitted with Plasma Scoops to top up their own tanks but this is the true fuel-harvesting-workhorse of the Imperium.

*'''Jericho-Class Pilgrim Vessel:''' Refinery ships that have been converted into personnel carriers, the majority of which will be transporting poor-er passengers. Can't really defend itself but usually not even worth the bother for pirates.

*'''Loki-Class Q Ship;''' Converted Cargo ships designed to sacrifice some space for added weaponry. They can serve as Convoy defence in a pinch and can surprise the odd pirate who may underestimate them.

*'''Orion-Class Star Clipper;''' Blockade runners through and through. They're designed to transport low-volume but high-quality goods, even through hostile space. Speed is the name of their game. Hell, these things can put some Eldar ships to shame.

*'''Universe-Class Mass Conveyor;''' Think Super-Tanker in space. It's the largest standardized Cargo hauler in the Imperium and is 12km long. It looks freaking awesome too.

*'''Vagabond-Class Merchant Trader;''' Rather small cargo vessel but extremely common. As if to assist with its 'commoner' theme, it makes you yawn just looking at it.

==Important Details==

===Crews===
''Navy crews are made up of officers, techpriests, slave drivers, and slaves.''

A bit of an over-simplification, but broadly true. Due to the Imperium's aversion to AI and Automation each ship needs at least thousands of people to man it. Whenever the crew count gets low, the Imperial Navy sets up fake strip clubs on a planet claiming "Free Hookers" to lure in unsuspecting men (and the occasional woman). Once a future crewman steps in, he's knocked out, bound, gagged, and taken to the ship, [[grimdark|where they'll slave away the rest of their soon-to-be-short existence]] doing everything needed to make flying through space and fighting in the void possible.

This includes dragging shells the size of houses into cannons while being whipped. Still, at least for the crew sex is allowed, in fact encouraged, if for no other reason than maintaining the crew complement. Seriously, whole fucking cities and civilizations arise from the more massive ships, every bit as intricate as a long lived Hive City. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax7wcShvrus Here is an idea of how it works, right up to the Roman armor, whips and beatings.] Oh and apparently besides whole civilizations, there are whole civilizations of mutants around too. They can more or less settle new worlds for da [[Emprah]] by simply disgorging their excess population, which the crew is probably all too happy to do.

One area where fluff [[Black Library|hasn't been consistent]] is in the uniform worn by Imperial Navy crewmen. Some sources suggest that uniforms are divided by segmentum of the Imperium, while others suggest that it is a sector-by-sector fashion choice. Given the scale the of the Imperium and the fact that Navy fleets are already identified by hull color, it's probably on a segmentum basis, but [[Games Workshop]] doesn't care enough to make a decision about it. For the ranks of the aforementioned shell draggers at the bottom of the naval hierarchy they'd wear a motley collection of their old civilian clothes and whatever they could scrounge up and sew together.

===Travel===
The ships of the [[Imperium]] travel through the [[Warp]] using what's called a warp drive to get to where they're going. However, this isn't your happy, fancy tunnel-of-light like in Star Wars, or everything-moves-fast Star Trek, it is an alternate dimension full of [[Chaos]]. In order to avoid being turned inside-out (think Event Horizon) and getting hentai-raped by every daemon in the warp, the ships rely on what is called the [[Gellar Field]] to keep the [[furries]], undesirables, and various other evil beings out of their ship when traveling through. The Baroque decorations are also implied in helping to ward off said daemons. They rely on a [[Navigator]] that uses the [[Empra]] as a beacon to safely navigate the Warp, hence the title "Navigator".

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==Ranks in the Navy==
While the Imperial Navy uses a lot of the ranks in similar fashion to modern militaries, they invariably hold to a more archaic form and are not equivalent to modern day ranking systems. Particularly since it's quite clear that commissions in 40k can often be purchased rather than earned, and that a "Warrant" would most likely hold to the original term and be an "officer by appointment" rather than an enlisted grade. Though considering the immense variety of units within the Imperium, this may not necessarily be the case galaxy-wide, so all options are equally valid.

===Officer Ranks===
*'''Lord-High Admiral of the Imperial Navy''' - This guy is a [[High Lords of Terra|High Lord]] and is the single dude responsible for the '''ENTIRE''' Imperial Navy, though likely he doesn't do much other than delegate to his subordinates and attend tedious High Lord meetings.
*'''Lord-High Admiral''' - There are five of these guys, one for each Segmentum. While they're probably never anywhere near the front lines they probably have more to do, since its their job to oversee the deployment of fleets and materials from sector to sector.
*'''Lord Admiral''' - The guy in charge of a sector fleet who gets direct command of vessels and formations. You see these guys in the fluff quite regularly when "key" worlds ''(like Armageddon)'' need defended or attacked.
*'''Solar Admiral''' - Often a ''terminal'' rank... no really. Occasionally regular Admirals who do good jobs can put themselves forward for promotion to this position, which needs to be approved by the Lord-High Admiral, then the officer needs to travel to Terra be reviewed by the Lord-High Admiral of the Imperial Navy. Obviously this can take a very, ''VERY'' long time to approve. So they might often be [[Grimdark|dead before the promotion gets approved]]. If they get approved they are likely to get promoted straight up to sector commander (see Lord Admiral) as a position will have probably opened up while he was waiting. More rarely, Solar Admirals can get sent on "detached duties" which is basically a license to do as they please with their independent fleets.
*'''High Admiral''' - Commands several group of naval fleets (e.g. Battlegroups), often the most senior Navy officer in a Crusade but the things these fucks usually do is just having snacks with their Imperial Guard counterparts and leaving the combat duties to their subordinate Admirals
*'''Admiral''' - Gets put in charge of a fleet and told to oversee some subsectors. He's usually the highest of the "front line" ranks and much of his time will be on active duty patrolling his assigned region.
*'''Vice Admiral''' - Fleets traditionally get split into three parts, with the highest Admiral taking up the portion containing the larger ships, while the "Vice" Admiral takes the "Vanguard" portion of faster moving ships.
*'''Rear Admiral''' - the third portion of a fleet would be the "Rearguard" and usually gets assigned to the youngest/least experienced Admiral in the fleet. His job is usually the quietest one as he gets the mop-up and repair duties.
*'''Commodore''' - an experienced Captain in command of a squadron of capital ships. It's traditionally only a temporary rank, as capital ships don't always get assigned to each other the same way that escorts do. But the realities of war often mean that ships stay together for extended periods, often well beyond the lifespans of generations of captains.
*'''Lord Captain''' - not actually a rank, but an honourific applied to Captains of detached vessels operating independently. The '''"Lord-"''' part implies that they operate with the full authority of the the Imperial Navy when they act so they can deal with outside organisations (like planetary governors, Space Marines or Imperial Guard) on relatively even footing. Sometimes also known by the more archaic term of "Flag-Captain", since as the commander of a detached vessel they figuratively carry their own flag.
*'''Captain''' The commander of a single capital ship or the lead starship in an escort squadron.
*'''Commander''' - Usually the commander of an escort vessel. Is also the ranking officer on board orbital space stations. It also gets used as the terminal rank amongst Pilots, since small attack craft all fall under the remit of the Navy; so a '''Wing Commander''' would get command over all pilots based on a single carrier.
*'''Lord Lieutenant''' - The second-in-command to captains of capital ships, bizarrely Commanders don't hold that role and hold their own positions. Thankfully because a chain of command exists in any military, despite a Wing Commander holding higher "actual" rank over a Lieutenant on a carrier vessel he would not hold any higher authority on that ship than his duties allow for.
*'''Lieutenant''' - a "working" rank. Either holds command over small system vessels or acts as second in command to Commanders of escorts, or as department heads on Capital ships. They are also Squadron leaders amongst pilots.
*'''Sub-Lieutenant / Ensign''' - Team leaders or attack craft pilots
*'''Midshipman''' - Apprentice officers who haven't passed any exams or earned any responsibility, they would exist below the Warrant Officers in terms of authority, despite holding a commission. Midshipmen are commissioned from Imperial Nobility as part of the [[Administratum|Imperial Tithe]] ''(which can mean virtually anyone gets the job if they send their useless heirs just to keep the best ones at home)'' but they are also assigned from the [[Schola Progenium]]. In addition, Midshipmen also may be taken on as a personal favour from the Captain of a vessel if he knows the family. This echoes the ancient real-world practice of young noblemen showing up while the vessel was in dock with a letter from their family and being granted a commission on the Captain's say-so.

===NCO Ranks===
*'''Ship Master''' - the most senior Warrant officer on board a starship, also quite possibly the busiest man on the starship. It's his job to maintain the logs, update stellar navigation charts, oversee ships stores and order supplies, and command a hangar deck if there is one. Basically he's the guy who knows the ship better than anyone. In real-world historical usage, this guy would have an authority equivalent to a Lieutenant on board a starship, and would "mess" ''(ie: occupy the same space)'' as the other officers do.
*'''Bosun''' - ''(Shorthand for Boatswain)'' The NCO directly responsible for all of the common crew members, including [[Commissar|maintaining discipline]]. Despite his position, his actual rank may vary depending upon the size of vessel or operational requirements, in practice it never really matters since he's unlikely to ever meet another Boatswain. ''(real-world Boatswains could be proper Warrant Officers or not and held responsibility over all areas of the ship other than Engineering, which was left to the Chief Engineer, as if they disciplined/executed/imprisoned an skilled crewman from that department the ship could be crippled)''.
**Note that most Capital Ships, but not all Escort ships, may have an actual Naval [[Commissar]] on board in this role, tasked with maintaining discipline up to and [[Blam|including]] the Officer compliment.
*'''Chief Warrant Officer''' - Also called "Chief Petty Officer" on some vessels. Will often be given command of important ship sections ''(like Chief Engineers, helmsmen, or auspex control, as these are are critical to ongoing operation of a starship)''
*'''Warrant Officer''' - You'll find lots of guys of equivalent rank on a ship, in command of various operational sections keeping the ship running at all times:
**Masters of Ordnance - make certain that Torpedoes and Attack craft (if any) are fueled and maintained.
**Master Gunner - have responsibility over all of the weapons batteries and make ensure they are loaded and fired when required.
**Master-at-Arms - responsible for all "small" arms on board a starship, overseeing all Sergeants-at-Arms, as well as maintaining order over any barracked Guard regiments currently in transit.
**Master of the Vox - making sense out of the bazillions of messages that run through the bridge at any given moment both internally and externally ''(crews can get pretty massive, and a lot of traffic can come through at once)''.
**Steward - the guy who keeps everyone else well fed.
*'''Gun Captain''' - Funnily enough, the man in charge of a single gun crew. Makes sure that the weapon is taken care of, is reloaded quickly enough, and is accurate when asked to fire. All of that comes back to this guy.
*'''Sergeant-at-Arms''' - Man in charge of the weapons lockers and leader of boarding parties, as well as maintaining ship-board security. Usually they are transferred from [[Imperial Guard]] regiments so that they don't have any prior association with the crew.
*'''Armsmen''' - Crewmen trusted to carry weapons. They are not true soldiers as offensive boarding actions tend to be rare. So these guys still have their own regular responsibilities on board ship. Since they are trusted more, they have slightly more freedom to move around the vessel as well, though most Imperial employees really don't want the job, since it means they get scrutinised more, or they could end up beating up their buddies.
*'''Voidsmen''' - the lowest rank of crewman on board a Naval Starship above the [[Servitor]]s unless the Captain is cool with slavery. If they have a skill or a trade they may be referred to as '''Able Voidsmen''' which is an official rank that might require examinations. Additionally, if they show leadership qualities they might be promoted to '''Leading Voidsman''' and put in charge of work gangs and be considered for promotion to Warrant Officer if a position opens up.

==Notable Problems==
These are problems some have with the Imperial Navy and their fluff....

===General Logistical Problems===
The big problem that the Imperial Navy has is that it's the only organised navy in the galaxy that's trying to defend its massive amounts of space. To do this takes vast numbers of ships but rather thinly spread out. Given the problems of warp travel it's also extremely hard to reinforce friendly fleets under attack. The foes of the navy come essentially in two flavours; raiders who might just manage to scrape together a few converted transports (building even escort-sized ships is a huge undertaking, akin to building damn near the entire American Navy combined from iron ore and making it fly) which take an escort squadron to murder, and huge organized invasion fleets that take a whole fleet to fight. These combine together to mean that outside of fleet bases and important strategic worlds there is nowhere in the Imperium that is actually well-defended. At best a fleet has to be formed and sent out and they could arrive months later. Travel takes a lot of time, and out in the void it can be extremely hard to know what you are actually fighting against, especially since the enemy tend to kill anyone who tries to look at them. So when there's a large enemy force that you absolutely must fight (not fighting is much preferable) you don't just band together whoever was within shouting distance of the flagship and go murdering, you pull together every single vessel in the sector and hope to the Emperor it's enough to do the job.

Warships genuinely are vast things and obscenely expensive and risking them at all in major actions is not something anyone does lightly. Each cruiser is larger and more complex than a fully-kitted titan legion. These things are MASSIVE. In the BFG book there's a fluff story of a cruiser being built at a shipyard that orbits a primitive world. The entire population of the planet were given over to mining the resources needed to build one single cruiser. It took them eleven years to mine the ore. Sure, that's a primitive world, but if you think about it that makes carving out the rocks for it the largest single project ever engaged upon without mechanization. If you add together all seven wonders of the world you aren't even close to the pile of rock we're talking about. So these things are a big fucking investment and the high lords really don't like risking them without a really good reason (makes you questioning why they wouldn't build 20 smaller ships instead).

So if you ever wondered why the Navy doesn't get more action, now you know. By the time the big, awesome ships get on the scene the invasion already probably finished and the bad guys moved on. Then you nuke the shit out of them from orbit or drop millions of poor bastards into the meat grinder. Far better idea all round. It's the reason that the enemy, even nutters like Chaos, don't fight in the void without reason. On the ground it's just a scrap, and maybe you win or maybe you don't. If you lose in the void then your campaign on the surface is dead. No reinforcements, no support and a massive constant orbital bombardment to kill everyone left (which sometimes doesn't happen, because, you know, plot armour). That tends to mean fleets hover around and not fighting, one ensuring the other can't directly interfere with the surface war.

Thus the rumor that the Navy has no balls. But who needs balls when you have a nova cannon sized dick and eighteen dice worth of fire power.

===Ship Size===
No one is quite sure how big the ships really are. One story claims the Retribution-Class is a mere 3 kilometers long, while another says it is 9 kilometers and up to 20 kilometers.

Your best bet is Rogue Trader, although going by those figures, anything bigger than a cruiser has an average density around that of hydrogen... From a helpful poster on [http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showthread.php?t=63267&page=2 Heresy-Online] we have this:

For the most accurate scale, look towards the Battlefleet Koronus Expansion, as it is more a stat/rule book than a story. That and previous consensi, as well as cross referencing with the Horus Heresy rulebooks by Forge World (which places Battleships at 8-12km) place Cruisers just above 5 kms, and Battleships in the mid 8s. Please note that most ships above the size of 8ish kilometers are either a unique modified/purpose built flagship or a ship of a small class that is not in widespread calculations. For a sense of scale the largest warship in the world is currently the US Navy's Ford Class Aircraft Carrier measuring in at 337 meters long or 0.337km making the USS Ford the size of a cannon. They have guns literally the length of an Aircraft carrier!

*Transports and other Attack Craft, typically rated for atmospheric operation; also includes ships designed to be boarding torpedoes.
**<1 kilometer. That's the small ones, there are super transports in 40k as well. (A [[thunderhawk]] would go here).
*Escorts are "small" ships, like the Cobra, designed to flank foes and operate in squads.
**1-2 kilometers.
**Heavy Frigates
**Frigates
**Corvettes
**Destroyers
**Freighters
*Light Cruiser, a smaller Cruiser.
**3-5 kilometers.
*Cruiser, the standard fighting vessel; every Imperial fleet has them.
**5-6 Kilometers.
*Battle Cruiser, a beefed up Cruiser; generally more 'modern' than a Grand Cruiser.
**6-7 kilometers.
*Grand Cruiser; pocket-sized Battleship, very old.
**7-8 kilometers.
*Battleship; the biggest of the lot, simply put.
**8-12 kilometers.
**Battleships
**Fleet Carriers

The Horus Heresy novel "Know No Fear" had this to say about ship sizes, taken from [http://archive.foolz.us/tg/thread/22848349/ /tg/] who quoted it from the book and written here is just the lengths and names of the ships, for simplicity and space:

*Macragge’s Honour. Twenty-six kilometers - Flagship
*Spirit of Konor. Seventeen kilometers - Battleship
*Antrodamicus. Twelve kilometers - Grand Cruiser
*Antipathy. Nine kilometers - Cruiser (note that the book said it had "six thousand lives" on board, which would be an absurdly small crew for its size by 40k or even 21st century standards - Cruisers normally have 85-95 thousand crew in 40k, and that's for normal sized ones, not double length ones like this one. But this is a Horus Heresy ship, so perhaps it's automation was much better then a later 40k ship)
*Aegis of Occluda. Seven kilometers - Class unknown
*Gladius. Four kilometers - Escort
*Then there is the Abyss-class created by Lorgar that is said to match the Phalanx in size. He made three of them.

===Weapon Effects===
If the weapons can annihilate a continent, why can't it destroy a mere hive? Because different writers don't talk to each other that's why. Also shields maybe.

Alternate take: Sure these weapons can destroy continents, but generally speaking why would the Imperial Navy want to bombard a probably Imperial Hive? Another thing to consider is that while Imperial warships are capable of *BLAM*-ing a planet, it requires a lot of ships firing either specialized planet-killing ordnance or just bombarding round the clock. One virus bomb/Cyclonic torpedo/lance shot would do comparatively little damage. But it does make you think about how powerful those void shields must be.

Another take: Something to keep in mind is the different size of ships and thus cannon barrels. A Retribution-class battleship is a lot bigger than a Mars-class battlecruiser is a lot bigger than a Turbulent-class heavy frigate, just to name a few. Different ships have different weapons.

===Lack of Balls===
It is well-known that most Imperial Navy Officers don't have em.

An Imperial Navy fleet is most effective when Inquisitors take it over. [[Exterminatus|See Here]].

==Music of the Imperial Navy==
Not to be outdone by the Imperial Guard (as well as to compensate for their aforementioned lack of balls), the Imperial Navy has begun collecting music to either be blared on loudspeakers when not in active use, or in the case of battleship command decks, played live by orchestra. the first four are taken from [[Battlefleet Gothic Armada|Battlefleet Gothic Armada.]]

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DhAAGZVAVo
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80QrqY_FgQ8
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is0I7M0W_Ig
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFREOz5CvDs
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AlLNITLk8A - A piece dating back to the Armada Imperialis' of the Great Crusade, but is still played regularly.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5STVoaxz8-Y - This instrumental is rumored to date back to some epic naval battle during the later dark age of technology.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJEgAFR9vDc - While not quite fitting for battleships and grand cruisers, this piece dates back to when humanity was just beginning to march upon the stars, and as such, is heard regularly in ships captained by sentimental officers.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUrSQNSN6_c - This fitting instrumental is often played in bastion fleets whenever they are mustered to put down [[Black Crusade|yet another temper tantrum.]]
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAw1KlZ8C-A - Battlefleet Gothic Imperial port theme.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlcUwUwjLrs - This ancient piece, a popular mobilization theme for the Imperial Navy, was apparently created during a time in which humanity was at war with a xeno species known as "Cylons". [[Humanity Fuck Yeah|No other records of this species can be found.]]
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so10dKbhorI - Another piece from the same era that the Cylons existed, it was created to commemorate a successful assault on a planet known as New Caprica, what is now an imperial hive world.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFEHCuSnun0 - This was commissioned by a very srs bzns admiral.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gii4e-h3DBc - This was commissioned by a very srs bzns admiral from Praetoria.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7qOJrT_lUg - One of the pieces Lord High Admiral Langsung ordered to be played during the Battle for Port Sanctus.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu_Lp51wyao - This dated back to the glory days of human stellar exploration, when the universe was less grimdark, but is still a favorite for exploratory fleets, or for trying to distract yourself from the fact that you're just one [[Gellar Field|energy field]] away from a level 99 rapefest.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPLXNmKvLBQ - One of many favorites of those captaining Ironclads.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TXlJ5DMq5o - A favorite of Vostroyan admirals.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elK5iReyAMI - Played during ceremonial ship or fleet launches since the great crusade.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR5N0-DqZoU - One of many pieces played when the fleets return victorious.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm3q6dCeP7M - An orchestral litany created to aid in battles against chaos ships.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvriqdS3vsc - A common theme of blockade runners, more nimble imperial vessels, and rogue traders plundering xeno planets in the name of the God Emperor.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbh6HT7lLx8 - Popular among fleets in Segmentum Pacificus.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NDn6WtZBJY - Popular among fleets in Segmentum Pacificus led by admirals from oriental cultures.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KylMqxLzNGo - Music played whenever the Navy has to perform exterminatus.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZcj56XXrPM - A personal favorite of an admiral from Armageddon.

==External Links==
* [http://www.darkreign.org/sites/default/files/BFG%20FAQ%202010_0.pdf/ A Comprehensive List of Ships]
* [http://yenlowang.free.fr/warhammer-forum/BFG/BFG_-_Additional_Ships_Compendium_1.4.pdf Battlefleet Gothic Additional Ships Compendium]
* [https://i.imgur.com/2q7J2Xv.jpg A big poster of fictional navies], with 40k in the center left

==Gallery==
<gallery>
image: EMP-Class.jpg|The Lord Admiral's Love Shack
image: Avenger.jpg| The Grand Marshal's Summer Palace of PWNAGE
image: Lunar-Class.jpg|<s>Imagine how quick land battles would be if these things actually helped</s> They do help, but they can't do it too much or they risk fucking up the planet they came to save, also you try aiming a lance cannon at a spot a meter wide from orbit without hitting your mates on the ground
image: RapidStrikeVessels.JPG|The Bullet-Catchers of the Navy
image: Imperial Fleet Size Sca.jpg|Another demonstration of too much spare time
image: Flagship-mk2.JPG|One of the revered ships of Battlefleet [[/tg/]]: [[Flankitus]]
File:Warhammer Imperial Cruisers by mik.jpg|
File:M1130006 Gothic Art Cover.jpg|
</gallery>

{{Template:Imperium}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Imperial]]