Canes Belli

"I was born on Terra. I bite the alien. I bite the mutant. I bite the heretic."
-Engraving on Skull of a Canes Belli
A proud line of war hounds, hunting dogs from the Age of Strike bred for war, still remains in the service of the Imperium. They are compact creatures, about 30 inches at the withers and weigh about 120 lbs. They have a bite force in excess of 3,700 psi and their teeth are hard as diamonds thanks to genetic manipulation. The best of these canine war machines are often extensively cybernetically augmented before being deployed alongside Imperial Guard units. Well-trained canes belli are sought after guardians for officers in the Imperial Guard.
Owners of these noble creatures scoff at those who compare them to cyber-mastiffs. While some have cybernetic components- it is the genetic components and generations of proper breeding and training that sets these animals apart from their inferior cousins.
These dogs are quite intelligent, though not in the same way humans are. They can understand simple language on a rudimentary level, are capable of independent decisions, but will follow out the commands of their handler to the point where they will walk into enemy gunfire if ordered to do so.
== Canes Belli Hunting Pack ==
Under the command of a single handler, a pack of 2-6 canes belli can be deployed alongside a handler. They are used to augment the unit’s hand-to-hand strength and are commonly auxiliaries to disciplinary and military police forces within the Imperial Guard. They are particularly common in prisons and detainment camps.
== Dogs of War ==
Several advanced units operate with canes belli, collectively referred to as “dogs of war”. These are drop-troopers each assigned with their own dog. Operating behind enemy lines they act as ambush and recon troops. Silent hunters, these Stormtrooper units are rare but highly prized. The Senza Corona collegio of Imperial duelists use canes belli. Their armigers train them and often fight with a small pack of them, serving as the surrogate alpha.
== Canes Belli Primus ==
The term “Primus” is used to describe those exceptional canes belli who are born with great size and a proven aptitude for both training and loyalty. They are extensively modified, both cyberneticly and genetically to become guardians of important figures. Once matured they are about 3 feet tall at the withers and weight close to 300 lbs (a little larger than an old Terran black bear). Their bite can crack ceramite and shred plasteel and they can move at over 50 mph on an open area. Primus are made exclusively as bodyguards for Imperial Guard Officers, Rogue Traders, Inquisitors, and other high ranking Imperial officials. These canines are genetically bonded to their charge, literally addicted to the pheromones of their owner and thralled to their word.
== Sounding Hounds ==
It is a well known fact that dogs can, in fact, detect corrupting within a being. Some Canes Belli have been trained as "Sounding Hounds", special Chaos detecting creatures with an infallible 6th sense about these sorts of things. It is said that they can "smell" the taint on someone and their use as guard dogs is invaluable. Still, they are just dogs and can be misled by duplicity, something chaos is well known for. This limits their use to a much smaller number and they are normally deployed on civilian patrol teams to help detect particularly potent chaos followers before they enter secure locations.
NormalDog.png|A typical Canes Belli
PrimusDog.png|A Canes Belli Primus before cybernetic modification
Category:Imperium of Man
Category:Imperial Guard