Editing Setting:Halo

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[[File:Astartes vs Spartan.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Hardcorez]]
Halo is a vidya game series exclusively released for the ECKSBAWKS, ECKSBAWKS 360 and to the PC. The series was developed by Bungie, though Microsoft has bought the rights to the game. The halo universe is pretty  massive, with all sorts of media ranging from video games and graphic novels to action figures and a series of short movies released to DVD. It became famous for being the game that saved ECKSBAWKS from doing an Atari Jaguar in the 21st century when the PS2 and Gamecube were neck and neck in console sales, primarily because it was the only reason anyone would even want to play an ECKSBAWKS HUEG console. It's storyline is pretty much a copy of your everyday generic sci-fi storyline you can think of with a multiplayer that isn't too original either. It's also famous for it's FUCKING cliffhangers during the end of the game. 
/Tg/ isn't big on Halo and topics pertaining to Halo will normally be saged, trolled or told to go to /v/ or some combination mentioned in the former. On /v/ however, Halo is.....still widely hated, then again /v/ hates video games in general.

==Setting==
The HALO universe takes place chronologically in the years of 2500s, the 26th Century. Mankind, led by the '''United Nations Space Command''' (UNSC) has developed its own crude version of FTL (the Shaw-Fujiwara Drive) and finally colonized other worlds. At its height, human civilization occupied nearly 800 planets, forming a ring of outer colonies and rings of inner colonies with Earth as its capital.

Sometime in the year 2525, an agricultural world in the outer colonies, creatively named ''Harvest'', is attacked by an unknown force with technology far superior to that of humans. In the succeeding months, all attempts to make contact, or even defend against the alien forces had been met with swift destruction. It is not long before more colonies are wiped out, or in the HALO terminology '''Glassed''' (the alien forces obliterate all life on a planet with such an intense plasma bombardment that it leaves a large quantity of the planetary crust smooth as glass).

The unknown menace finally identifies itself as the '''COVENANT''', a coalition of several alien races bent on destroying humanity (yea, HALO is basically a group of alien races beating up one race). At first, the whole We-Come-to-Destroy-humanity thing is a bit cliche and kinda random, leaving people with a galaxy-wide [[RAGE|WHAT-THE-FUCK, MAN!?]]. Later on, it is discovered that the story is somewhat deeper than your regular wednesday afternoon Sci-fi show, apparently humanity is the genetic descendants of an ancient super-technologically advanced alien race called the '''Forerunners''' (Covenant-recovered Forerunner technology seems to react to humans, some of the sentient technology even call humans ''Reclaimers''). 

This made the COVENANT kinda jealous, 'cause it was they who first discovered the forerunner technology, adapted it to their own science, and finally started worshiping the Forerunners as an intergalactic race of ''Space Jesuses''. Apparently, knowing that your Gods had a favorite (humanity), finding out that it isn't you, and finding out that it's some backward civilization that has barely evolved past primate, induces much Alien Rage. [[Exterminatus| So, back to Glassing]]. It's not long before the UNSC military, and humanity itself, finds out that it is being PWN'd so absolutely that it shits-itself just thinking about it (seriously, the Covenant has technology that basically turns a plasma bolt into a fucking guided-missile... as in '''ball of plasma''' follows you around... and knows where you live).

Nearly 20 years of Human-ball-kicking Ownage later, in steps the '''''SPARTAN II Program''''', humanity's last hope. And the rest, is gaming-history...

==The SPARTAN II Program==

<blockquote>''You have been called upon to serve, you will be trained... and you will become the best we can make of you. You will be the protectors of Earth and all her colonies.'' 
<br>— Dr. Catherine Halsey, founder of the Program, to the young SPARTAN-II recruits</blockquote> 

The Spartan II program was originally a super soldier project intended to fight increasing terrorist and rebel threats throughout UNSC space. It was masterminded by genius geneticist Dr. Catherine Halser <del>who is a fucken HAWT MILF</del> who is the founder and former director of the the project. She and her team practically visited all 800 planets in human space, trying to find children who matched the exact psychological and genetic profile that would accept her newly-developed super soldier treatments. In the end, over 300 children where selected for the program but only 150 were actually abducted due to budget constraints. Those that were abducted were replaced by flash clones so the families would never know they went missing. A necessity that Dr. Halsey felt uber guilty about to the end of her days.

The child-recruits were brought to a secret, but heavily fortified military world called '''Reach''' (later the homeworld of the Spartans). In the [[canon]], there, they were trained, given numbers instead of names, beaten, retrained, mindfucked, trained some more, and all around turned them into efficient and disciplined killing machines. Finally, the said children, now in their late-teens, were cleared for biological enhancement. Using the latest experimental treatments, the 150 were pumped full of drugs that induced their muscles to grow, enriched their blood, and increase their brain processing. They were surgically modified to give them superior eye sight, hearing, and grafted alloyed-''wolverine''-style skeletons in their bodies (but ceramic rather than adamantium). The procedures were so dangerous that over half of the remaining recruits were lost in the surgeries. Only about 33 of the original 150 survived the experimental augmentation procedure program that would've utterly crippled all those without the proper genetics. The result, however, were The '''Spartan II'''s. They could think faster, had reflexes nearly 5 times quicker than a regular human, able to run over 40 mph, and lift nearly three times their own body weight. 

Later, the super soldiers were finally given their signature green armor. The prototype powered-suit, called '''MJOLNIR'''. The MJOLNIR Mark-IV armor enhanced the Spartan's already considerable speed to blurring velocities, and multiplied their potent strength twice fold. The suit had an in-built motion sensor, magnetic panels for securing weapons, life-support, and [[canon]]ically weighed a metric tonne as it was grafted with overlapping layers of hardened ballistic and heat resistant alloys. Despite that it doesn't make people sink into the ground or fall through every staircase in the universe, thus showing Halo's fluff writers have no fucking clue what they're talking about. 

Over the course of the fluff, the Spartans are sent into several termed 'Suicide' missions that even the UNSC elite forces (the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers or '''ODST''') can't go in. Basically, the Spartans Get Shit Done. By the time the COVENANT starts to attack human worlds, the Spartan IIs have been in service for nearly a decade and they are quickly redeployed with the new MJOLNIR Mark-V armor, each complete with a reverse-engineered personal shield stolen from the covenant. It is at this point that jokes about the high mortality rate of the Spartans start to manifest amongst the gaming community. The sheer difference in technology and numbers of Covenant warriors kill more Spartans than the actual fighting. This has been a great source of ''[[Manly_Marines | Manly Tears]]'', '''[[Lulz]]''', and some '''''WTF, WHY??''''' from folks who follow the fluff, since to spite all their efforts, the Spartans are slowly dying off and there were very few of them to begin with. It is now commonly viewed that this is not so much the Spartan's or Humanity's fault, but Author Eric Nylon's effort to reflect the brutality and desperation that humanity is in, that even super soldiers have trouble stemming the Covenant onslaught.

''Ironically, whenever a Spartan dies, it is recorded in the UNSC Naval registry as MIA (Missing-In-Action); with morale so low due to humanity being on the brink of extinction, UNSC Intelligence thought it best that the people believe that their Superhuman saviors '''Never Die''', they just go missing.''

==UNSC Marines==
<blockquote>"When I die please bury me deep! Place an MA5 down by my feet! Don't cry for me, don't shed a tear! Just pack my box with PT gear! 'Cuz one early morning 'bout zero five! The ground will rumble, there'll be lightning in the sky! Don't you worry, don't come undone! It's just my ghost on a PT run!" 
<br>— UNSC Marching Song</blockquote> 

No, we're not referring to the Jihading Space Nazis, these are your everyday cannon-fodder from the UNSC who meet fates similar of the mobile infantry in the first Starship troopers movie or your typical [[Imperial Guard|Imperial Guardsman]].

==The Covenant==
The Covenant are a coalition of quasi-religious alien civilizations that are far more technologically advanced that humans. They venerate and worship the Forerunners and are known to utilize some forerunner technology for their own means, giving them a colossal fleet of ships that outmatches the UNSC Navy. They are composed of the following:

*Grunts: 3-ft tall Cannon fodder/comic relief. They die like bitches.

*Jackals: Cannon fodder with energy shields. The literal roundshield type. A little tougher, and armed with Plasma pistols that can sear even through MJOLNIR armor. But they still Die like bitches.

*Elites: Lizardmen IIIIIINNNN SPAAAAAACE! But without tails (they dropped them during development, because they had a... bad idea about where to keep those tails when Elites drove tanks). Forms the slightly more intelligent branch of the Covenant. As their name states, they are the Covenant's elite soldiery, armored with ancient ritual energy swords and armor able to cloak. Like the Jackals, the Elites are also equipped with Energy Shields, but these cover their whole body, just like those on ''your'' armour.

*Hunters: Some odd combination of worm/alien/giant thingy. They stand nearly 10 feet tall, but are actually a hive collection of worm-like aliens fusing together to form 1 giant thing. A single hunter is armored from head to toe in overlapping tank-class plate armor, and carries fuckheug shields. Making them notoriously hard to kill, and are only vulnerable when you get up close to them and shoot in between their armor plating. They are armed with powerful fuel-rod guns that can take out anything up to light armored vehicles. Known for raping anything, short of Master Chief or a starship.

*Brutes: Slightly intelligent Yeti/Cave Troll/Gorilla-like creatures......IIIIIINNN SPAAAAACE! Reputedly, they are the only race in the Covenant that had developed super advanced technology through constant warfare - namely, nukes - then became a space-faring race, then nuked their own civilization back to the stone age, only to claw their way back up to space-faring again...AND LEARNED NOTHING FROM THE EXPERIENCE (that is canon, verbatim). They later replace the Elites as the standing go-to force of the Covenant, and bodyguards of the Prophets, forcing the Elites into exile. ''WTF?''

*The Prophets: They form the leadership cadre of the Covenant, claiming that they alone know the truth purpose the Forerunners had for them, leading the Covenant in a spiritual-militaristic philosophy called 'The Great Journey'. It was the Prophets whom discovered that Humanity was the genetic descendants of the Forerunners, and declared humans as a threat to The Great Journey.

Also, our only edge is that [[Adeptus Mechanicus|the Covenant actually think that tinkering with the advanced technology they dug up from the olden days is]] [[Heresy|HERESY]]... ensuring that we can improve on it. It is often noted amongst mutual fans of Warhammer 40k and HALO that the Covenant closely resemble the [[Tau]] from Warhammer 40k as their philosophies are somewhat similar except that the Tau are Commies and predominantly Asians, while the Covenant are religious nuts with a little African and Brazilian thrown into the Asian mix. Also, Warhammer Fantasy fans might notice strong parallels to the Lizardmen, who are lead by the Prophet-like Slann and rule over three different races- the Grunt-like Skinks, the Elite-like Sauruses, and the Brute-like Kroxigors.

Battles with the Covenant by the Humans have often resulted in catastrophic losses on the Human side. On the ground, UNSC Marines, Armored divisions, and Spartans can hold their own against their technologically superior foe, but it is a different story in space. Naval engagements almost always results in the obliteration of all human ships. The energy weapons of the Covenant ships are able to melt right through the meter-thick (or, in case with supercarriers, whole 10 meters) but '''unshielded''' Titanium-50 battle-plating of human warships. While human thousands-strong missile barrages detonate harmlessly off Covenant shields. The only chance the Navy has are Nuclear ordinances and massive slow-firing Coilguns called '''MAC'''s (Magnetic Accelerator Cannons) that fling 600-ton Ferric-Tungsten rounds, able to break Covenant ships in half. Sadly we do not have enough of them, since each ship is only equipped with (scratch that, it's built around) one or two of these.

==The Flood==
The other antagonists are "The Flood". A race of parasitic organisms that exist only to infest other lifeforms and OMNOMNOMNOM them. They're sorta like a combination of a zombie virus from your generic zombie horror flic and the Xenomorphs from the Aliens movie franchise where they look like something that [[Nurgle]] would have probably made with a little Tyranid on the side. They were the ancient enemy of the Forerunners and why the Forerunners built the HALO devices. Battles with the Flood destroyed Forerunner civilization, as the flood could infest their own people and technology to use against them. 

Finally, with all their massive fleets defeated, and all their soldiers massacred, the Forerunners committed mass suicide on a galactic scale to prevent more of their people and other fledgling civilizations from falling prey to the Flood, depriving the Flood of its essential hosts and food sources. The flood was finally died off due to starvation and were defeated...sorta. Small pockets of them hid themselves in the HALO devises waiting the day the new civilizations would rise so that they might feed again. Naturally, all the Covenants exploring of Forerunner technology, they accidentally reawakened the Flood. 
''And humanity breathed a sigh of relief to note that finally, awakening an ancient galactic enemy from hibernation was so totally NOT their fault this time.''

==Notable Quotes from Sergeant Major Johnson==
<blockquote>"''Men, here's where we show those split-chin, squid-head sons-of-bitches, that they could not have picked a worse enemy than the Human race! We are going to blow the hell out of those dumb bugs until we don't have anything left to shoot them with! AND THEN, WE ARE GOING TO STRANGLE THEM WITH THEIR OWN LIVING GUTS!''"</blockquote>
<center>-*-*-*-</center>
<blockquote>Cortana: "The message just repeats...'Regret', 'Regret', 'Regret'."<br>Capt. Miranda Keyes: "Any idea what it means?"<br>Sgt. Johnson: "''Dear humanity, We regret bein' alien bastards! We regret comin' to Earth! And we most definitely regret that the Corps just blew up our raggedy-ass fleet!!''"<br>Marines with Johnson: "Hurrah!"</blockquote>
<center>-*-*-*-</center>
<blockquote>"''Then listen up! When I joined the Corps, we didn't have any fancy shmancy Tanks. We had sticks! Two sticks and a rock for a whole platoon! And we had to share the rock... Buck up, boy! You are one very lucky marine.''"</blockquote>
<center>-*-*-*-</center>
<blockquote>"''We lead those dumb bugs out to the middle of nowhere to keep them from getting their filthy claws on Earth. But, we stumbled onto something they're so hot for that they are scramblin' over each other to get it! Well, I don't care if it's God's own Anti-Son-of-a-Bitch machine, or a giant hula-hoop, we're not going to let them have it! What we will let them have is a belly full of lead and a pool of their own blood to drown in! Am I right, Marines!?''"</blockquote>
<center>-*-*-*-</center>
<blockquote>Arbiter: "We must go, the Brutes have our scent."<br>Sgt. Johnson: "''Then they must love the smell of Testosterone.''"</blockquote>

==Warhammer 40k and HALO comparison==

[[Image:40kHalo.jpg|thumb|none|500px|It's rather like that.]]

==Spartan vs Space Marine in close combat debate==

Seeing this kind of argument in a thread anywhere is sure to invoke [[RAGE]] of the umpteenth degree, guaranteed.  The majority of arguments in favor of the SPARTANS neglect to let the opposition use an Independent Character; they consistently use [[Mary Sue|Master Chief]] as the base of comparison to your average Space Marine.  Which is at least a 125-150pt character against a 16pt Marine. Not a very fair assessment at all indeed.

''This is a very sensitive topic and the authors of this page go into it with much hesitation. Nonetheless the subject has been brought up and must be address with as close to fair-play as possible. Basically this is your average Spartan ported into 40k:
''
 
'''WS''' 3 / '''BS''' 5 / '''S''' 4 / '''T''' 4 / '''W''' 1 / '''I''' 4 / '''A''' 1 / '''Ld''' 8 / '''Sv''' 4+/5++ 

'''Composition'''

3 Spartan-IIs
<br>1 Spartan-II Squad Leader

'''Unit Type'''

Infanty

'''Wargear'''

* MJOLNIR Armor
* MA5C Assault Rifle
* Combat Knife
* Frag Grenades (Offensive)

'''Special Rules''' 
* '''''At All Costs''''' - As per their tactical doctrines, Spartans are combat veterans of independent action and deep infiltration missions. They may spend weeks, if not months behind enemy lines while disrupting enemy movements even against insurmountable odds. They are psychologically conditioned to deal with such odds to achieve victory. Spartans gain the ''Stubborn'' rule from the Warhammer 40k Core Rulebook. 
* '''''Shoot First, Ask Later''''' - Though trained in hand-to-hand, compared to other races who train constantly in it Spartans are rather poor at CQ combat. Spartans specialize in range tactics, as the majority of UNSC weapons are range-based and incorporated into their training. They prefer not to engage powerful enemies head-on. Even in points of being trapped into melee, Spartans will more often than not, disengage from it to use their range weapons. Spartans gain the ''Hit & Run'' rule from the Warhammer 40k Core Rulebook.
* '''''Interface Targeting''''' - MJOLNIR is not simply a suit of advanced armor, it is a battlefield processor with a sophisticated Neural interface, which can even be used to interface with AIs. In Warhammer 40k terms, such tech is at the very start of the Dark Age of technology. MJOLNIR's default up-link systems are so effective that if a weapon possesses electronic targeting, the suit's systems allows the wielder to interface directly with the targeting reticule of the weapon. Spartan wireless interface program their targeting systems so as to merge flawlessly with UNSC weapons, giving way to a precision of firing and accuracy that is as superhuman as the rest of the Spartan himself. The Spartan gain ''+1 to his Ballistics Skill (BS) when wielding weapons from the Spartan Armory'' already incorporated above in their stat line.

'''Options:'''
* May Include up to 4 additional Spartan-IIs for ''18 points per Model''
* Any model in the squad may take an Onboard AI for ''3 points per Model''
* For every 4 models in a squad, one model may replace their MA5C Rifle with one of the following:
** M90 CAWS (Shotgun)...............................''6 points per Model''
** SRS99D-S2 AM (Sniper Rifle)..................''10 points per Model'' 
** M41 SSR MAV/AW (Missile Launcher)........''15 points per Model''  


'''SPARTAN ARMORY'''
----

* '''MJOLNIR Armor''' - Created parallel to the SPARTAN-II Program, the MJOLNIR Armor is a sealed system, capable of extravehicular activity or operations in toxic atmosphere. Weighing over half a metric ton, the armor's shell is constructed in overlapping layers of Titanium-A plating and highly durable ballistic alloys of remarkable strength. It has even been augmented with a refractive coating capable of dispersing a limited amount of energy weapon strikes. The suit contains a gel-filled layer underneath a thick black armored bodysuit, which is then covered over-all by a thicker alloyed shell. The gel layer regulates temperature and can reactively change its density, allowing for unparalleled impact abortion. The inner skinsuit is made of a moisture-absorbing synthetic material linked to an environment control computer and the occupant's neural interface. Unique to the first Spartan IIs, their suits sports no heraldry or identifying marks, but rather bland militant colors, nor even wrappings and scriptures of religion, symbolizing that the Spartan IIs are not fanatics or zealots fighting for a cause, they are simply soldiers, machines of war. The Spartan gains ''4+ Armor Save''.
** MJOLNIR armor is equipped with a full-body, recharging, energy shield that was reverse-engineered from captured alien technology. The finest human scientists worked for almost two decades before they finally succeeded in cracking the technology used to create resilient energy fields that could stop solid and energy strikes dead. The shield itself is utterly transparent and does not hinder sight in any way but briefly flashes a greenish-gold color when hit. The Spartan II gains a ''5+ Invulnerability Save''.

* '''Onboard AI''' - All MJOLNIR Mk V models or better feature a complex crystalline matrix within their neural interface, which Cortana likened in structure to the computer systems of the ''Pillar of Autumn'', a souped-up variant of the 1100 meter ''Halcyon''-class almost-cruiser, and which has far more processing power and vast extra capabilities available only to a truly sentient machine.  An AI construct increases tactical awareness, provides an indespensable guide, serving almost as a co-pilot and navigator, and multiplies the Spartan's already phenomal reflexes five-fold.  A Spartan equipped with an Onboard AI increases their Initiative value by 1.

* '''MA5C Assault Rifle''' - The MA5C has an attached electronics suite that provides information on rounds remaining in the magazine, compass heading, and capable of wireless up-link with MJOLNIR systems for incredibly improved accuracy. Made of Titanium Alloy and Polymers, the rifle performs well in a variety of environments. Having a rate of fire of 650 rounds a minute, and chambering the old-school M118 7.62x51mm NATO Armor Piercing, Full Metal Jacket Rounds, the MA5C is fully capable of a withering barrage whilst even in motion or on a charge. Though lacking strength and stopping power, these rounds are designed to pierce most conventional ballistic body armor.
** It has have following stats: '''Range''' 24" / '''Strength''' 3 / '''AP''' - / '''Type''' Rapid Fire

* '''M90 Shotgun''' - is a pump-action, magazine-fed, dual tubular non-detachable type weapon. It uses the Soellkraft 8-Gauge Magnum Shotgun Shell, an incredibly large round capable of phenomenal stopping power.
** It has have following stats: '''Range''' 12" / '''Strength''' 4 / '''AP''' - / '''Type''' Assault 2

* '''Sniper Rifle S99D-S2 AM''' - A.K.A. the "SR System 99D-S2 Anti-Matériel", it is a semi-automatic UNSC sniper rifle that fires 14.5 x 114mm APFSDS (Armor-Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot, with a tungsten or depleted uranium core) from a 4-round magazine. As a sniper rifle, it is fitted with a 5x and 10x optic that shows real time images in infrared vision when not looking through it. When looking through it, the scope shows a target's distance and elevation. The rifle is so powerful it even can be used effectively to fire at light armored vehicles.
** It has have following stats: '''Range''' 36" / '''Strength''' 5 / '''AP''' 3 (''When firing at vehicles, the rifle adds D3 to its Armor penetration value'') / '''Type''' Heavy 1, Sniper

* '''M41 Rocket Launcher''' - A.K.A. The "M41 SSR" fires 102mm HEAP (High Explosive Armor Piercing) shaped charge rockets. The launcher sports a 2x scope and can fire rockets over long distances with devastating accuracy, and its two launch tubes allow the wielder to fire two rockets before needing to reload. The rocket launcher spreads a huge amount of damage over a large area. It is capable of taking out entire groups of infantry at any range and can kill both the passengers and crew of nearly any vehicle.
** It has have following stats: '''Range''' 42" / '''Strength''' 8 / '''AP''' 3 / '''Type''' Heavy 2

As the technology gap between Warhammer 40k and HALO become more apparent, it is becomes increasingly obvious that it is not the Spartans themselves who are deficient but the technology at their disposal. Were they to be given Boltguns and Aquila Power Armor, the results would be beyond discussion. Because they'd still get it in the arse. Even without armour and weapons, a space marine could still dismember a Spartan in combat, then proceed to dedicate it's entrails to the Emperor.

== See Also ==

* [[1R0QU012]]
**[http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/377773.page The CC Debate], in which rage ensues

* [http://www.facebook.com/note.php?saved&&note_id=10150166713246006 This guy] (who actually tried to make a reasonable Spartan II 40k approximation, with accompanying plausible fluff. Beware '''tl;dr''' is present). From which the Spartan Armory (listed above) was derived.