Lizardman Warbeasts

The Lizardmen go to war with a wide range of warbeasts tamed by the Skinks. While on most worlds this would be of little threat on Avernus these warbeasts are often every bit as dangerous as a modern vehicle of similar size, if not more so. They have proven to be surprisingly willing to sell a large portion of their menagerie, including many breeding populations.

## Breeding Populations sold

There is a large variety of Lizardman Warbeasts that the Skinks have been willing to sell you entire breeding populations of, including the expertise to breed and tame them. These warbeasts have the potential to become key parts of your line of battle.

### Small

These warbeasts are significantly smaller then a vehicle are generally able to be fielded in massive numbers.

#### Cold One

Cold Ones are horse sized riding beast. Reasonably fast and agile, tough for its size, even by Avernite standards, and utterly tireless. They are also effective predators that are dangerous combatents in their own right and are used to great effect as cavalry mounts for the Saurus.

* **Implement (Cold Ones): Planning** General Khol has found that Cold Ones are effectively a flat upgrade to your current riding mounts, and should become your Rough Riders standard mount immediately. Their tireless nature and increased speed increases the mobility of Rough Riders while their increased toughness and dangerous melee attacks makes Rough Riders significantly more dangerous in melee.

#### Salamander

Lizards that act as crew served weapons in the Lizardman armies, able to slay foes at range with bursts of corrosive flame that can breach all but the strongest of armours.

* **Implement (Razordons and Salamanders): Planning** General Khol spent four years working out how to best make use of Radadons and Salamanders in battle. She found three ways in which they can be effectively used. The first is as fire support for light infantry regiments, where they can act as mobile, stealthy, heavy weapons that only need food, with a broad definition of food, to keep functioning and can help in melee. This is invaluable for light infantry forces who can have issues carrying heavy weapons and keeping them functional for the type of extended operations that they are often deployed on. Next they can used as fire support for melee based formations, where their ability to defend themselves from attackers allows them to function far closer to the front lines them most heavy weapons. Finally the same traits make them invaluable in siege infantry regiments, who often find themselves in city-fighting which can devolve to melee without notice.
* **Complete Examination (Salamanders)** Archmagos Biologis Maximal’s study of the Salamanders has resulted in a significantly better formula for flamer fuel and little else. He tells you that the corrosive, flammable liquid that the Salamanders use for their primary weapon is significantly better then current flamer fuels, though also significantly harder to produce. Switching over to it would however make flamers a far greater threat to heavily armoured foes, which they currently struggle against.

#### Razordon

Lizards that act as crew served weapons in the Lizardman armies, able to slay foes at range with volleys of venomous, barbed spines that can spell doom for any lightly armored foe.

* **Implement (Razordons and Salamanders): Planning** General Khol spent four years working out how to best make use of Radadons and Salamanders in battle. She found three ways in which they can be effectively used. The first is as fire support for light infantry regiments, where they can act as mobile, stealthy, heavy weapons that only need food, with a broad definition of food, to keep functioning and can help in melee. This is invaluable for light infantry forces who can have issues carrying heavy weapons and keeping them functional for the type of extended operations that they are often deployed on. Next they can used as fire support for melee based formations, where their ability to defend themselves from attackers allows them to function far closer to the front lines them most heavy weapons. Finally the same traits make them invaluable in siege infantry regiments, who often find themselves in city-fighting which can devolve to melee without notice.

### Monstrous

These warbeasts fall into the same size range as most armored vehicles, and can be deployed in similar numbers.

#### Flat back

Bizarre reptilian hexapods. Flat backs posses six long sturdy legs, supporting a long and near perfectly flat body. Ranging in length from 6 to 11 meters depending on breed. They are primarily prized for their speed. Their legs are impressively flexible, seeming to possess far more joins than should be feasible. In terms of psychic power, they are able to create spatial distortions while on the move, bending both matter and energy in bizarre ways. This both enhances their speed and makes them immensely difficult to strike from range. Unfortunately, the effect is partially two way. While riders will not have their attacks twisted to the same extent, accurate fire is still rendered nearly impossible while the creature is on the move. The skinks have bred a number of variations of the breed, with the defining feature usually being a trade-off between carrying capacity and speed. The largest and slowest can bear palanquins covered in warriors on their back without issue, while the smallest and fastest can carry only a handful of skink warriors. Flat backs are surprisingly helpless in melee combat, and are utterly reliant on maintaining distance to survive

* **Implement (Flat Back): Planning** Flat Backs seem to be made to function as ranged hit and run harassment forces, devastating the enemy with their riders weaponry, often including mounted heavy weapons, before darting off when the enemy gets their bearing and starts to close or return fire effectively. Due to their stop and start type of combat flat backs do not work particularly well with other forces in close proximity, though they can be worked into a general harassment force without any issues.

#### Sluggish Sloth

Weighing up to four tons, the Sluggish Sloth is among the most physically potent options available to the Skinks (at least that isn’t strong enough to threaten a Knight).
Possessing claws capable of carving through heavy armour like a power sword through bread, the sloth’s true physical capacity is in sheer endurance, able to ignore off punishment that would instantly kill a creature of similar dimensions with ease.
However, the most peculiar part of the sloths on first glance is how immobile they are. To most outside observers the Sloths don’t appear to be moving at all.
This is in fact their power in motion, for the sloths are almost constantly under the effect of a field that stores up their potential energy, converting the kinetic energy of their movement into power that they can draw upon when they need it.
To make this work, the sloths must consume vast amounts and have an incredibly advanced digestive system, with biomatic powers similar to a titan scorpions that allow them to draw every fraction of nutrition from their meals, letting them go months sometimes even years without eating, digesting a single meal.
While under the effects of their power they are nearly invulnerable to most conventional forms of attack, but are not especially useful. However, the Skinks have learned how trigger the Sloths into action and direct them towards the enemy.
The result is that the Sloths unleash their stored energy at their foes all at once, turning into unbelievably fast and vicious killing machines.
However, this does come with a down side that this power is burned through at an incredibly fast pace, forcing the sloth into storing up power again.

* **Implement (Sluggish Sloth): Planning** General Khol spent a pair of years working out how to best make use of Sluggish Sloths in battle. She found that it is impossible to maintain control over them after they have engaged the enemy but that they will be able to tell friend from foe, most of the time. Control can be reestablished once combat is over however. With between this and their incredible short term melee capabilities Sluggish Sloths are best used either as line-breakers or to engage elite melee forces.

#### Stegadon

Incredibly tough reptiles the size of a Battle tank, often carries skink light artillery to war. While their brute strength makes them a formidable threat in melee, a Stegadons greatest strength remains its incredible toughness that can be compared to that of a Land Raider, favorably in the case of the older specimens.

* **Implement (Stegadon): Planning** General Khol spent two years working on how to best make use of Stegadons in battle. She found that Stegadons work best as fire support units for melee forces, carrying a howdah containing anything short of an ordinance weapon on their back. Thanks to the combat instincts of the Stegadon they can protect themselves easily in melee, even as their weaponry continues to fire on more distant targets. Currently Stegadons would do well in siege infantry regiments, though forming a new melee focused formation to use them and several other warbeasts is also a possibility.

#### Carnosaur

Smaller version of the Dread Saurian, only the size of a carnifex. These predators are deadly combatants, able to tear though most infantry and ripe apart all but the largest of foes.

* **Implement (Carnasour): Planning** You spent a few years looking into how to best make use of Carnasour’s, one of the most deadly warbeasts that the Lizardmen provided you. You found that as well as making a valuable addition to Wildlife Regiments as melee combatants the Carnasour’s hunting instincts would serve them well in siege and light formations, where their surprising amount of stealth would be highlky valuable

#### Psyrodactyl

The most dangerous flying creature in Avernus is definitely the Psyrodactyl, a flying psychic reptile with a wingspan of fifteen meters. The truly dangerous aspect of a Psyrodactyl is its psychic abilities, which it uses to move faster in total silence and to stun its prey. Psyrodactyls normally hunt Dragonfruit and grox but have proven to be highly efficient at taking down Imperial Navy atmospheric craft, being responsible for almost all of the Lightning and Marauder losses over Avernus.

* **Implement (Psyrodactyl): Planning** General Khol spent a few years working on how to best make use of Psyrodactyls now that the Skinks have provided you with tame examples. Combat wise giving each Psyrodactyl a small harrness containing a pair of riders, some sensory equipment and a twin-linked heavy weapon works best. She found that their lack of speed, by aeronautical standards, prevents them from working well with allied aircraft but that they can still fill several functions. First the powers of their mount and its agility make Psyrodactyl Riders incredibly deadly aerial combatants, though their low speed can make setting up an interception difficult, for most generals anyway. Next their nature as warbeast allows them to bypass many forms of aerial detection allowing them to close with some AA networks undetected, from where their weapons and powers can keep the AA suppressed while conventional aircraft close.

### Gargantuan

#### Bolehs spider

Utterly massive and brightly colored armored arachnids, Bolehs war spiders range in size from a knight titan, to the very largest being nearly as large as warhounds. While lacking any particularly unusual powers, they are extremely formidable physical combatants even for their size. They possess a truly shocking amount of speed and agility. Even more usefully, their large abdomen makes for a surprisingly stable fighting platform due to quirks of their gait. Most breeds possess a potent venom as well as extremely large fangs, making them useful for dealing with some of the larger breeds of wildlife. Bolehs spiders are often deployed in packs of 4 to 8 individuals, often with a single large breed Bolehs in the center of the formation. The sight of an onrushing pack of vast spiders is enough to rattle the resolve of even the most stalwart Avernite, making them effective terror units.

What's more, Bolehs spiders have an extremely useful temperament for a warbeast. Once trained to see their handlers and their kin as infant spiders, they become immensely protective and affectionate towards the imprinted species. Towards other of their own kind they are intensely social, forming natural packs with solid instinctive teamwork. Better still, so long as they are well-fed packs will tolerate each other, allowing multiple groups to be penned together. While not truly *dangerous* they have a strong tendency to wander, and will with some frequency attempt to escape their pen to go for walks. causing distress to the local populace until they are corralled. This tendency can be reduced somewhat by ensuring their handlers “play” with them sufficiently. On the battlefield they perceive the enemy as a threat to the young, and throw themselves at the foe with ferocious abandon, occasionally disobeying their trainers to come to the aid of beleaguered troops.

When asked about their behavior in the wild, the skinks said simply that they aggressively cull wild Bolehs packs in their territory and left it at that.

* **Bolehs Spider Packs: Guilds** Thirty-Nine years ago you finished setting up the first Bolehs Spider Packs with the aid of the Guilds. Each pack includes fifty Bolehs Spiders, each of which has an armoured howdah on its back from which two dozen Guildsmen fight, making use of eight mounted heavy weapons. As well as being protected by its incredibly tough carapace Bolehs Spiders are protected by plates of heavy armour over its vital spots, providing lightweight but significant protection. Bolehs Spider Packs are able to cross terrain considered impassible by even Crab Regiments with ease, while flying under the anti-air networks that can slaughter skimmer regiments flying to high. This allows them to come at the enemy from unexpected directions. Otherwise they are a highly effective melee combat unit able to engage and defeat most heavy combat forces, though they suffer against the more elite forces such as Astartes who are often adept at monster hunting.

## Individuals Sold

#### Sotek serpent

One of the most potent warbeasts of the skinks, Sotek are vast serpents. Nearly as long as magma wyrms, but significantly slimer. Unlike Magma Wyrms, they do not rely on brute strength. Sotek serpents are skilled demologest, and posses a number of potent powers. Skilled at both phasing and teleportation they are immensely mobile creatures. While more than strong enough to crush most foes, the serpent's kill mostly with their venom. While they can deliver vast quantities of their lethal payload with a bite, most frequently they deliver it via a type of micro phasing. The poison runs throughout the serpents blood, infusing it utterly with lethality. As the serpent phases though it's unfortunate victims, droplets of its envenomed blood are unphased inside its prey. Death is neigh instant, as its blood is both highly toxic and high acidic. However Sotek serpents are for their size quite fragile, lacking the armor most avernite megafauna poses. As such they rely on speed and their ability to phased to avoid damage. Due to the size of the creature, after unphasing it will not be able to phase again for some time, creating a window of vulnerability. However the serpent is immensely fast, and most war breeds can do at least a short teleport after unphasing, making taking advantage of this vulnerability tricky.

* **Implement (Sotek Serpent): Planning** You spent some time working with the Sotek Serpents that the Lizardmen traded to you in order to determine how to best make use of them. You found that between their speed, poison, ability to phase and short ranged teleportation that make highly effective hit and run combatants and terror weapons. Despite their size and power they do not fare well in open battle, and as such should be assigned to light formations to boost their killing power.

#### Dread Saurian

Warp Resistant Battle Titan sized reptiles with enhancement biomancy allowing them to tear apart even Titans, and shrug off all but the most powerful of attacks

* **Implement (Dread Saurian): Planning** Your investigation of the Dread Saurians that the Lizardmen have provided has led to no real surprises. The Dread Saurians are terrifyingly deadly Titan scale melee combatants that would work best as a group engaging hostile super-heavies. In particular they are one of the few forces able to match the larger Tyranid Bioforms, Ork Gargants and Daemons in melee. Additionally she has found that Dread Saurians are intensely Warp resistant, allowing them to go toe to toe with even powerful Greater Daemons for a time.

#### Magma Wyrm

These massive wyrms are the better part of a kilometer long monsters capable of rapidly burrowing even though thick rock and withstanding Titan grade firepower. They are among the most dangerous creatures on Avernus, with a mere dozen being enough to cripple an Abomination Titan legion, as was shown during the War on Two Fronts.

* **Implement (Magma Wyrm): Planning** You have found two main uses of the Magma Wryms that the Lizardmen provided you with The first is as siege weapons, where they can undermine enemy fortifications and create openings that others can take advantage of. The other is as Titan scale combatants, where between their massive size, strength and powerful melta attack they are a match for even a Emperor Titan if the fight is on their terms.

## Other

### Cybernetics

Archmagos Biologis Maxmial spent three years designing various cybernetic upgrades for some fo your warbeasts. He ended up creating a range of replacement natural weapons for Stegadons and Cold Ones ranging from high-end materials through transonic and all the way to power weapons while Sluggish Sloths benefit best from a sub-dermal layer of armour plating.

### Geomantic Elephants

Geomantic Elephants, as they are known, are exceptionally potent Telepaths, almost like landbound Deep Ones. They are seen largely during incursions, coordinating armies of Avernite wildlife. Their main capability of note however is their connection to the Geomantic Web of Avernus, which both allows them to be used as a powerful focus for Rituals involving it as well as empowering their innate telepathy further.

As they age, Geomantic Elephants grow in wisdom and knowledge, and exceptionally old Geomantic Elephants are entirely capable of invoking powerful spells or echoes of past rituals channeled through them even without a Skink Priest actively casting through them. The skulls of old Geomantic Elephants are exceptionally potent magical artefacts kept by Lizardmen for use, typically in emergencies.