Iron Crucifiers

A Heretic Astartes warrior of the Iron Crucifiers.

### **Numbers**

1,750 Heretic Astartes, access to additional forces from Dark Mechanicus "allies".

## Pre-Heresy

### **Colours**

Gunmetal

The **Iron Crucifiers** is a Chaos Warband descended from the lineage of the Iron Warriors. They serve as the private warband of Hell-Forge Fornax, fighting their battles and in return benefitting from Fornax’s abundance of production capacity. Due to their long-standing relationship with the Hellforge, and their debt to the Chaos Gods, they are less averse to the touch of the True Omnissiah.

## History

### Origins

The Iron Crucifiers can trace their origins back to the Horus Heresy. They were originally the IV Legion's 32nd Great Company, fighting alongside their Primarch from Istvaan V to the Siege of Terra. In the aftermath of the Heresy, they helped stem the Loyalist tide by fighting a rearguard action. The 32nd were among those Astartes sent to garrison the Eternal Fortress that came to be known as the Iron Cage after the Imperial Fists assaulted it to put an end to the treacherous Primarch.

Despite killing many of their attackers, the Iron Warriors, the 32nd Great Company included, suffered dearly. By the time they withdrew when the Ultramarines arrived, they had lost a not insignificant portion of their remaining number. This left them somewhat embittered towards their Primarch, and when he ascended to Daemonhood during their retreat, the 32nd went their own way.

Before long, they came upon a massive Space Hulk drifting through the void. Believing that the gods had lead them to the Space Hulk, they descended upon it, aiming to take it as a new homeworld and base of operations. However, as they closed, they began taking heavy fire from weapons mounted on the Space Hulk. Undeterred, Warsmith Kazdaran Ahrugax lead a boarding action. Blowing their way into the hull, they were surprised to find themselves fighting through wave after wave of corrupted Skitarii. They butchered their way through the corridors, cutting droves down but being whittled down themselves. Eventually, they were split up, and Ahrugax’s group intercepted by Fabricator General Ignatius Leerax. The Heretic Astartes attacked the Heretek lord, but the Fabricator General’s Thallax Guard stopped them handily. It is said that Ahrugax was laid low by the Fabricator General himself, though such claims are to be taken with a grain of salt. Whatever the truth, Ahrugax was taken into captivity and upon hearing this, his Second in Command Cramachus Thistus proclaimed himself Warsmith and managed to negotiate a ceasefire with Fornax. It is said that this was when the remainder of the Iron Crucifiers had their great enlightenment, embracing the True Omnissiah and binding themselves to Fornax.

### Servants of the True Omnissiah

At first, there was some strife in the Warband about their new position, with some not wanting to be subserviant to the Hellforge. They said this until the first shipments of extremely well made equipment came in. Realizing just how much the Warband could benefit from having such close ties to such a valuable source of supply, they have since served as loyal servants of Hellforge Fornax, waging war across the Eye of Terror and into Realspace at the will of the True Omnissiah. The Iron Crucifiers are an extremely valuable asset to the Forge World, serving as some of the finest shock troops and siege infantry within Fornax’s arsenal. They delve into long-abandoned ruins to recover ancient technology and lay low the bastions of the Imperium in the name of the Dark Gods.

## Warband Culture

The Iron Crucifiers worship Chaos Undivided in the form of the True Omnissiah. This leads to them especially hating all that hold the God Emperor of Mankind as holy, because they view him more so than most followers of the Ruinous Powers as true Anathema, a direct threat to their Machine God. This makes Shrine and Cardinal worlds favored targets for their assaults. They also hate followers of the Cult Mechanicum, viewing it as a direct heresy to their own faith. Being Iron Warriors, the traits of their legion also still run in them. They despise weakness, and insist that no fortress is untakable. Despite being a good bit more zealous than the average Iron Warriors, they do still hold their former lord in high regard, honoring Perturabo for his ability to see through the lies of the False God.

## Organization

The Iron Crucifiers are organized into 3 Great Companies of 500 Marines. Each of these Great Companies is further divided into 2 Companies of 250. Each Great Company is under a Commander, and each Company a Captain. They are all under the Warsmith, who maintains a personal Company of Terminators.The Warsmith also has command of 3 Domitar Ferrum Battle Automata, maintained vigorously by the Hereteks of Fornax.

Being followers of the Ruinous Powers, the Iron Crucifiers are inherently a bit unorganized. However, being Iron Warriors, and Iron Warriors attached to a Hellforge at that, they possess a roughly standard system. An Iron Crucifiers company consists, on average, of 15 baseline squads of Astartes, 7 Iron Havoc squads, 2 Destroyer squads, and one Breacher squad, with between two and five of the basic squads being Veterans. Each Great Company has 10 marines that act as Siege Breakers. They fill the role of Techmarines as well as their traditional role, harkening back to the Horus Heresy.

## Combat Doctrine

The Iron Crucifiers’ overall combat doctrine is similar in many ways to that of its progenitor. They rely on siege warfare and the use of superior firepower, to reduce an enemy to ash, or break their morale, before the Astartes storm into the breach and destroy them. They are also well versed in boarding actions, having trained for centuries to defend the Hellforge itself from potential invaders.

## Warband Equipment

Being direct vassals of a major Hellforge, the Iron Crucifiers find themselves far better equipped than the average Traitor, or indeed, Loyalist, Space Marine force. They have access to a large variety of equipment, from small arms to heavy materiel. Their Veterans, Iron Havocs, and even some battleline units have access to unique Bolt rounds like Shrapnel bolts, Banestrike rounds, and Inferno bolts. They also possess enough Terminator suits to equip a full Company. This Company is held separately from the rest of the command structure. 100 of these men are equipped as Tyrant Siege Terminators, and the remaining 150 are equipped with various other loadouts. They also possess a large stock of armored vehicles, enough so that, despite their large size, they have enough armored fighting vehicles to contain their entire Warband as a mechanized fighting force. Some Imperial sources estimates that they may possess as many as 60 Land Raider size vehicles of various armament and configuration, and their arsenals contain many more, smaller vehicles. They possess dozens of Rapier Quad Mortars, as well as other artillery vehicles. Predators make up the bulk of their armored combat force.

## Notable Personnel

### Warsmith Cramachus Thistus

Known mostly as Cramachus the Immortal, Cramachus has lead the Iron Crucifiers ever since they aligned themselves to Hellforge Fornax. He distinguished himself within the Great Company during the Heresy and afterwards, leading large portions of the Company to safety during the evacuation of the Iron Cage. In time, Cramachus proved himself as worthy of command, becoming a trusted advisor to Fornax's highest level of command. This gives him a deal of sway over the governance of the Forge World, especially in regards to their foreign policy. In battle, he applies the tactics of the Legion with furious rigor and ruthless efficiency, leading from the front in almost every assault he has direct command over.

### Kazdaran Ahrugax

Kazdaran Ahrugax was the first Warsmith of the Iron Crucifiers. He lead the Warband through the Iron Cage, then during their split from the Iron Warriors. During the assault on Fornax, which he lead from the front, he was captured by the corrupted Thallax of the Hellforge. This directly lead to the Iron Crucifiers’ defeat and absorption, but the Warsmith was not killed immediately. Rather he was kept alive for some time, and upon his death he underwent Holy Apotheosis, becoming one with a Domitar Ferrum class Battle Automata.

 Tzeentch Warbands
 Nurgle Warbands
 Slaanesh Warbands
 Chaos Undivided Warbands
 Malice Warbands
 Minor Chaos God-Aligned Warbands

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