The Four

The Four
Great Crusade Command	Proteges of the Freeblade Knight Zael, later renegade.
Role	Already renegade, joins traitor cause.
Fate	All destroyed at the Siege of Terra, rise to fight again.

This page details people, events, and organisations from the /tg/ Heresy, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. See the /tg/ Heresy Timeline and Galaxy pages for more information on the Alternate Universe.

The Four

These four legendary knights are said to be the first heretics among the Knight Houses, supposedly turning from the Imperium before even Hektor. Why these knights turned from the Imperium, no one knows, though some scholars have speculated a connection between their betrayal and the sudden disappearance of their teacher, the famed Freeblade Knight Zael. Speculation is largely pointless now, as elements within the traitor and loyalist factions have gone out of their way to erase records of their pre-heresy service and action. During the Heresy the Four were seen fighting on thousands of worlds, alone or as a group, occasionally fighting battles in different Segmentums on the same day. The last time the Four took to the field together was at the Siege of Terra, where all four of them were confirmed to have been destroyed multiple times. The true terror of the Four is not their mighty weapons, or the insane furor they inspire in the followers of the dark gods. No, the true terror is that no matter how mighty the hand that smites them, no matter how many times they are struck down, the Four always rise again. Not always that day, not always on that battlefield or even that world, but they always rise again.

Long ago The Four were mortals, but in the modern millennia they are The Watcher, The Reaper, The Champion, and The Exemplar, their original names lost to legend and hearsay. Loyalists to the Emperor will tell of four heretical monstrosities, any one of whose arrival heralds the inevitable death of a world. The faithful of the dark gods speak of noble champions, exemplars of their god's ideals, Knights whose conduct often seems strange to them, but whose favor in the eyes of their god is never in question. Their nature is much debated: unlike the other knights who fell to chaos, they didn't seem go mad from being fused with their machines or become possessed by daemons. On the contrary, they all seem quite sane, if appropriately zealous and driven. Yet, how could mortals live eternally as the Four do? What mortal could survive the dozens of deaths the Four have suffered? Some speculate that the souls of the Four possessed their armor after their first deaths on Terra. Others say they are daemon princes whose form mimics the armor they once fielded. Still others say that the original owners died long ago, and the Command Thrones of their armor continue to fight on, overruling the daemons that would normally possess such a machine. Ultimately, it doesn't matter. To see one of the Four is to see death.

Vizier Selim Cihangir

Eternal Vizier Selim Cihangir ibn Ahmed is something of an oddity among The Four in that he takes an active roll in The Long War. Where his siblings appear seemingly randomly, or lead their own warbands, Selim is a mastermind and a wanderer. He moves from warzone to warzone, often appearing in a blaze of subtle flame to take command of the faithful when their defeat seems inevitable, to stand as a pillar of hope when all seems lost. He also often moves from army to army, helping to communicate with and coordinate the many fractured warbands of chaos's faithful, orchestrating rebellions to ease their invasions, and supporting their eventual assaults with his considerable psychic powers. Also uniquely among the Four, he's quite willing to speak of his origins, though considering his patron, the truth of his words is highly suspect.

Born a slave on some long dead Knight World, Selim won his way to the position of Grand Vizier, the first adviser to the King, through intellect, cunning, and carefully tempered ambition. It also didn't hurt that Selim was a psyker, with modest ability but great discipline, allowing him to look into the future or the minds of his rivals. Though he wasn't a noble and thusly could never rule or pilot a Knight, Selim used his position of Vizier to improve the lives of all people in his country, increasing access to education for the lower classes and shifting the slave economy of his nation to a system of serfdom, and pushing for increasingly pluralist policies as time went on, though he always made sure to keep power firmly in the hands of the king, and thus his own hands. Through clever deals, bribes, threats, and careful manipulation, Selim managed to keep the uppity nobles who opposed his changes from ever rebelling, and perhaps most significantly, managed to keep himself out of their sights entirely. Throughout the years few had ever recognized that their king's policies and laws were not his own, but rather those of his adviser. Though as was always the case in those days, the world changed when the sky split apart and great craft of steel and stone fell from the heavens. The 93rd expeditionary fleet had come, and with it the legendary Freeblade Knight, Zael.

That's where Selim's telling of the story always ends. Further questioning is ignored. He won't speak of his service to the Imperium, or his master, or why he and his siblings fell from the Emperor's grace. Outside of the four, there are only three who know. One is dead, one has been dying for millennia, and the last certainly won't be telling.

Knight Tancerod le Galavo

Ever the mystery, even The Reaper's name is unknown to most; the fearful masses of the Imperium and the faithful hosts of chaos know him as The Reaper. Unlike most of his patron's followers, Tancerod isn't the talkative type. He does not laugh, he does not count the diseases that bless his god's faithful, or join their joyful hymns praising His glory. He does not even speak, he just appears on the battlefield in a cloud of black mist. With silent implacability The Reaper creeps forward with the cold inevitability of death itself. If he reaches you, that is the end. The touch of his scythe spells the End for man, alien, and machine alike, even beings so mighty as titans or greater daemons. Most famously, he slew the Imperator class titan Faith's Reward at the Battle of Terra, breaking the morale of those few defenders still upon the walls in the final days of the siege. Tancerod embodies an aspect of his Lord rarely seen among the followers of his god: inevitable death. To face him is to face the emptiness that waits at the end of every universe, when entropy and light and life have raged away their billions of years, and the dark returns. To stand against him is to stand against innevitability; an innevitability that few men can bring themselves to face.

Lord Rikard Gerant

The favored Knight of his lord, Rikard Gerant embodies the ideal soldier: loyal, ferocious, yet disciplined. Unlike most champions of his god, Rikard has retained much of the wit and sanity he held before swearing himself to Khorne, tempering his bloodlust with tactics, occasionally even forming plans more complex than "Run at them and hit them with my axe till they die." Very occasionally. On the battlefield he acts as his lord's champion, seeking out the mightiest foes and fighting them in glorious melee, balancing his untamed ferocity with careful consideration of his defense.

Uniquely among his siblings, Rikard has formed a warband of his own. Rather than appearing amongst the forces of his god or traveling from warband to warband, Rikard leads his Crimson Host in one bloody crusade after another. Many times they've been defeated, but each time Rikard reforms in the Eye of Terror alonside the souls of his greatest servants, who reincarnate in demonic form to fight eternally for conquest, destruction, and the glory of their god. At the beginning of every battle, Rikard rouses his followers with promises of eternal life in blood and glory, and his promises are kept. The slaughter of innocents means nothing; what is the skull of a child worth to Khorne? What glory does one earn striking down an unarmed man? What strength does it prove to slay a cripple? But to those who die without fear, having slain and been slain by the mighty, for those glorious few eternity awaits. Thus the Crimson Host grows, more brave souls joining its bloody crusade with every battle.

Lady Anna Morgana

Appearing to the supplicants of her prince in a glorious riot of song and light, the being once known as Lady Anna Morgana stands as the perfect warrior, a being whose perfection at arms is rivaled only by the greatest immortals. At first glance your average imperial citizen might think that the Exemplar Knight was still loyal to the Imperium: it shows none of the usual signs of chaotic warping, and its form, royal purple trimmed with silver and gold, seems pristine to a layman. The illusion is broken with motion. On the battlefield the Exemplar's jump jets give it mobility rivaled only by the lithe titans of the Eldar. With unparalleled speed The Exemplar dominates the battlefield, slaying the enemy with whip and lance, sliding effortlessly by in a cloud of song and light, punctuating every titan kill with an ecstatic shriek and a graceful pirouette.

On the Tabletop

The Watcher

	Pts	WS	BS	S	FA	SA	RA	I	A	HP
The Watcher:	620	5	5	10	13	12	12	4	4	6

Unit type: Superheavy Walker, Unique.

Wargear: Beak of the Falcon, Hand of Light, Questoris Relictor

Special Rules: Adamantium Will, First of the Four, Hope's Light, Ideals Never Die, Psychic Pilot, Zael's Heir.

Beak of the Falcon: The great lance Selim had forged upon ascending to Knightdom. Uses the following profile: S9, AP1, Lance, Instant Death, Psychic Artillery (Requires the expenditure of a warp charge to fire).

Hand of Light: A custom Thunderstrike Gauntlet, designed with special pathways that allow Selim to channel his psychic might into the weapon. S:D, AP1, Hurl, Psychic Shield (counts as a psychic hood and shuts down any malediction on a 4+, rolled separately from Deny the Witch).

Questoris Relictor: Selim uses a heavily warped suit of Questoris Knight armor.

First of the Four: Each of the Four is a legendary figure whose presence all but guarantees that the Gods watch this battle, inspiring true believers to great feats of zealotry and devotion. Units within 6" that have Mark of Tzeench or Daemon of Tzeench gain the following USRs: Adamantium Will, Fearless, and Stealth. Additionally, The Watcher gains preferred enemy and hatred against Knights of House Accolon, and units with Legiones Astartes: Justicars.

Hope's Light: Selim has ever been a symbol of hope to the faithful of chaos, a being whose appearance heralds salvation to those who thought defeat was inevitable. If Selim is your warlord, all units faithful to chaos on the board gain stubborn as long as Selim still stands, and auto-rally upon his resurrection if he dies. (who is faithful to chaos? Use your imagination.)

"Ideals Never Die": This model can never Explode upon death. When it dies or is otherwise removed from play, it's resurrected with 2 hull points on the controlling player's turn on a D6 roll of 4+, subtracting 1 for each time this model has resurrected in this game.

Psychic Pilot: Selim is a massively powerful psyker, and archeotech integrated into his armor allows him to cast from the command throne. Selim counts as a ML3 psyker who can manifest any psychic discipline from the core rulebook, plus the Tzeench discipline.

Zael's Heir: Selim was set to inherit his master's greatest artifact upon his death, but by some unknown series of events, he never recieved it. Zael bequeathed no material gift to his first student; instead he bequeathed his razor wit and lightning intellect. If Selim is your warlord, he may roll for an additional warlord trait as if he had not rolled for the first one, and may gain the benefits of both. Additionally, units deepstriking within 12" of Selim do not scatter.

The Reaper

	Pts	WS	BS	S	FA	SA	RA	I	A	HP
The Reaper:	600	5	4	10	14	13	12	3	4	8

Unit type: Superheavy Walker, Unique.

Wargear: Cerastus Requias, Entropy's End, Ion Shield, Shroud Cannon.

Special Rules: Adamantium Will, Ideals Never Die, Mortal Terror, Quiet Death, Second of the Four, Slow and Purposeful, Zael's Shroud.

Cerastus Requias: Tancerod used a heavily warped suit of Cerastus Knight Armor.

Entropy's End: A greatscythe given by Nurgle to his reaper. It uses the following profile: S:-, AP1, Anathame (Automatically does D6+1 wounds or hull points per hit).

Ion Shield: Has a 5+ invulnerable save on a facing of his choosing.

Shroud Cannon: From a mechanical standpoint this weapon is little more than an pneumatic canon that blasts the Knight's reactor fumes out in an enourmous wave. S1 AP- Toxic (haywire, hellstorm, ALWAYS wounds on a 2+).

"Ideals Never Die": This model can never Explode upon death. When it dies or is otherwise removed from play, it is resurrected with 4 hull points on the controlling player's turn on a D6 roll of 4+.

Mortal Terror: Has fear. All fear tests against Tancerod are made with a -2LD modifier. Additionally, all enemy units within 12" of Tancerod must take a leadership test at the beginning of the movement phase. If they fail, they may not move until the next movement phase. Flying units who fail this test react as if they had failed a grounding test.

Quiet Death: Tancerod is as implacable and constant as death itself. He gains the Slow and Purposeful and Move Through Cover special rules, and may reroll failed It Will Not Die rolls. Additionally, ignores Crew Shaken, Crew Stunned, and any affect that would slow his movement speed on a 2+. Additionally, he does not subtract the usual modifier from his Ideals Never Die roll.

Second of the Four: Each of the Four is a legendary figure whose presence all but guarantees that the Gods watch this battle, inspiring true believers to great feats of zealotry and devotion. Units within 6" that have Mark of Nurgle or Daemon of Nurgle gain the following USRs: Counterattack, Fearless, and FNP 6+. Additionally, The Reaper gains preferred enemy and hatred against Knights of House Accolon, and units with Legiones Astartes: Justicars.

Zael's Shroud: Zael's gift to his second student. This strange mixture of oils and reagents is mixed with the reactor heart of Tancerod's knight upon activation, spewing out a noxious poison. Tancerod gains the Shrouded special rule. Additionally, all models in base contact with him take a S1, AP-, Toxic (haywire, ALWAYS wounds on a roll of 2+), at initiative step 1.

The Champion

	Pts	WS	BS	S	FA	SA	RA	I	A	HP
The Champion:	580	6	3	10	13	12	12	5	6	7

Unit type: Superheavy Walker, Unique.

Wargear: Dragor Axe, Burning Talon, Multimelta, Questoris Reaver, Zael's Shield

Special Rules: Adamantium Will, Fleet, Focused Rage, Ideals Never Die, Paragon of Honour, Third of the Four.

The Dragor Axe: An axe once held by a favored bloodthirster of Khorne, taken as a trophy by a young Rikard when he was a nameless Knight Questoris. Uses the following profile S:D, AP1.

The Burning Talon: The fiery talon Rikard replaced his thermal cannon with after swearing his allegiance to Khorne. Each claw has dozens of daemons bound within, who heat the adamantium white-hot and lash out at anyone unfortunate enough to touch the blades. Uses the following profile S:10 AP2, Bound Rage, Severing Cut, Shred (Bound Rage: For every successful hit in melee, make another 2 S5 AP5 attacks, these attacks do not generate more attacks).

Zael's Shield: Zael's gift to Rikard: an advanced ion shield that once guarded Zael when he fought alongside the Emperor. Confers a 3++ invulnerable save on one facing of his choice, and a 5++ on all other facings.

Focused Rage: Rikard embraced the rage of his Lord, but he knew that it must be controlled. At the beginning of each player turn, Rikard may gain Rage and Rampage for the remainder of the player turn if he so chooses, but he looses 1WS during that time if he does so.

"Ideals Never Die": This model can never Explode upon death. When it dies or is otherwise removed from play, it's resurrected with 2 hull points on the controlling player's turn on a D6 roll of 4+, subtracting 1 for each time this model has resurrected in this game.

Paragon of Honour: Rikard stood as Khorne's Champion in many a battle, hunting down and slaying the champions of his enemies. Rikard gains +2 WS amd Attacks in a challenge, and he must always give out and accept challenges for HQ's and LoWs.

Third of the Four: Each of the Four is a legendary figure whose presence all but guarantees that the Gods watch this battle, inspiring true believers to great feats of zealotry and devotion. Units within 6" that have Mark of Khorne or Daemon of Khorne gain the following USRs: Fleet, Fearless, and Furious Charge. Additionally, The Champion gains preferred enemy and hatred against Knights of House Accolon, and units with Legiones Astartes: Justicars.

The Exemplar

	Pts	WS	BS	S	FA	SA	RA	I	A	HP
The Exemplar:	560	8	6	10	12	12	12	8	4	6

Unit type: Superheavy Walker, Unique.

Wargear: Cerastus Seraphima, Prism Blade, Zael's Lance.

Special Rules: Adamantium Will, Crusader, Fleet, Hit and Run, Ideals Never Die, Last of the Four, Paragon of Skill, The Swiftest Daughter.

Cerastus Seraphima: Anna uses a heavily modified suit of Cerastus Knight armor, with heretek and alien technology used to improve the Knight's Mobility, making it as swift as any alien warsuit. The Exemplar's jump jets may be used in the movement or assault phases. If used in the Movement phase the Exemplar may move up to 24" ignoring difficult terrain but it must end its move outside of Impassable terrain and at least 1" away from any enemy models. If used during the Assault phase then the Exemplar may roll an additional movement dice to run, and inflicts an extra D3 HoW attacks.

Prism Blades: A long whip of bladed links that shines with ecstatic color when swung, dazzling anyone nearby. Uses the following profile: S:7 AP3, Blind, Entangling (Any foe struck by this weapon in the assault phase looses D3 attacks until the beginning of the next assault phase), Rending, Shred, Specialist Weapon. Can also be fired at 12" an assault 1 attack.

Zael's Lance: The great lance given to her by her master, it incorporates alien archeotech taken from some forgotten battlefield. Uses the following profiles, one for melee, one on the charge, one at range.

	S	AP	Range
Melee	10	2	-	Specialist Weapon, Sunder
Charge	D	1	-	Specialist Weapon, Reroll 1's on the D table.
Sonic Pulse	S5	AP1	-	Armorbane, Template, Torrent, Shred

"Ideals Never Die": This model can never Explode upon death. When it dies or is otherwise removed from play, it's resurrected with 2 hull points on the controlling player's turn on a D6 roll of 4+, subtracting 1 for each time this model has resurrected in this game.

Last of the Four: Each of the Four is a legendary figure whose presence all but guarantees that the Gods watch this battle, inspiring true believers to great feats of zealotry and devotion. Units within 6" with Mark of Slaanesh or Daemon of Slaanesh gain the following USR's: Crusader, Fearless, Preferred Enemy. Additionally, The Exemplar gains preferred enemy and hatred against Knights of House Accolon, and units with Legiones Astartes: Justicars.

Paragon of Skill: Anna may allocate her attacks to whichever weapon she so chooses in combat, and may choose how to allocate each attack after the previous attack has been resolved.

Swiftest Daughter: When he first saw her training, Zael insisted that Anna must be the swiftest daughter of humanity in all the galaxy. Anna gains the following rules: Crusader, Fleet, Hit and Run.

Knights of the /tg/ Heresy
Imperial Knights
Households	House Accolon - Order of Bahri - House Goda - House Walkur
Characters	Arturia Eld - Lord of Bones
Chaos Knights
Households	House Castus
Characters	The Four