Hounds of Cerberus

Three-headed hellhound

The **Hounds of Cerberus** are a notorious Chaos Warband whose real origins are completly unknown. The traditions of the warband are based on an absolute devotion to War, unusual even for Astartes, which led them to follow Khorne as their own God. However, they honour Khorne as the God of War and martial pride, and they believe the cults that venerate him as the Blood God are simple fanatics who misrepresent the true path of War, and that their fate is to became no more than cannon fodder. Unlike many servants of Chaos, the Hounds of Cerberus do not consider themselves aligned with the legions of Chaos. They fight only for their own purposes or, not infrequently, have sold their services to the highest bidder.

Since they want to to avoid falling into the slavery of Chaos, they operate more often outside the Immaterium rather than inside it. The Hounds of Cerberus find themselves in a gray area that is a double-edged sword for them: on the one hand their unorthodox devotion to Chaos means that often the services of their bolters are requested by some unprincipled imperial world, in exchange for technology or war supplies almost impossible to find for whom is not part of the Imperium anymore, but on the other hand, their are seen as unfaithful by the other warbands, and so they remain rejects also between the enemies of the Imperium.

## Warband History

The Imperial records include only a brief mention of only two other Chapters with similarly-named nomenclatures (*See Hounds of Kerberos* & *Sons of Cerberus*) that has adopted the mythological three-headed hound as their Chapter badge. The first official reference to the Hounds of Cerberus' existence comes from an assault on an industrial world during the year 316. M38, some planetary defense survivors referenced, for the first time ever, to a group of traitor Astartes of barbaric appearance, marked with the symbol of the mythical two-headed dog. Although they communicated almost exclusively with each other in an unknown language, during some diplomatic attempts they referred to themselves as Hounds of Cerberus, showing an excellent knowledge of High Gothic in a stark contrast with their savage appearance and nature. Not finding any reference in the Imperium records, the origin of the renegade chapter is shrouded in total mystery.

Hypotheses have been made as to how these Marines could come from some chapter of Astartes declared excommunicate traitoris which traces have been lost and which later returned from the Immaterium under a different name and heraldry.

However, the registers of many excommunicated chapters are often missing or incomplete, and it's therefore hard to trace back what chapter they may came from. Beyond the little information contained in the Imperial registers, the history of the birth of the warband dates back to a few centuries earlier than when the Imperium became aware of their existence.

The information available to the Astartes themselves is more detailed but still unclear, given that the Hounds of Cerberus pass on their culture and history only through oral tradition. Indicatively in the second half of the 37th Millennium, a group of Space Marines on the verge of complete extinction found haven in a solar system, which will be later renamed Cerberus System, located in a remote area of Nostramo Sector, deep between the tendrils of Warp storm called Aether Reefs.

The proximity to this storm thins the veil that separates reality from the Immaterium, making life within the Cerberus system extremely difficult, while providing natural defense against any external incursions. The remenants of the chapter established their base on the third planet of the solar system, a feral world renamed Moriturus, recruiting from the inhabitants to increase the ranks of their chapter. The name Hounds of Cerberus will therefore erase any link with history that the Astartes may had in the Imperium, thus losing all traces of their origins.

The position of the Cerberus System, on the border between realspace and Immaterium, best symbolizes the dualism that governs the life of the warband: on the one hand, the rejection of the Imperium and, on the other, the continuous struggle to resist the total corruption of Chaos.

The refusal of the Warband in turning completely to the cause of Ruinous Powers would not, however, could not last long if the Hounds of Orhturs had not found a way to maintain active equipment and stable supply of their weapons. The incredible longevity of the Astartes from the corruptive embrace of Chaos, is mainly due to a secret pact made millennia ago with a powerful Dark Mechanicum cult that resides just inside the nearby Warp Storm.
This bond is likely the only true stable alliance that the Hounds of Cerberus have ever sealed and carried out over the centuries.

The details of how this agreement has been made, as with other aspects of the warband, are unclear, but it seems that at the basis of the pact was a rare technology, perhaps STCs or even alien technology, that would have been already in the possession of the chapter prior to their appearance in the Cerberus system and that, perhaps, may have been the true cause of their excommunication from the Imperium of Man.

Whatever the nature of the agreement, the Hereteks formed an alliance with the renegade Astartes, supplying them with the necessary tools to continue their war activities, as well as other services no less important such as the repair of damaged vessels or, even, help in the maintenance of the capitol gene-seed. In exchange for these services, the Hounds of Cerberus provide the dark mechanicum any kind of technology, be it imperial, xenos or heretical, that may end up in their hands during their crusades.

If this guarantees the Space Marines to be able to continue their war activities thanks to the maintenance of their armament, the Dark Mechanicum leaders can, in exchange, always access new technology obtained by the Hounds of Cerberus in their battles in realspace.

Not only that, by having the support of some hundreds of Astartes, they can easily call upon the support of the Hounds against Warp threats, be they Warbands looking for worlds to plunder or other cults of Hereteks wanting to subvert their dominion.

Currently, the warband act as a fleet-based warband, returning to the Cerberus System periodically to recruit new young men to begin their transformation into Space Marines and replenish the fleet with materials mined from mining stations scattered throughout the star system.

## Warband Beliefs

### Cult of War

Unlike many warbands dedicated to the Blood God, the Hounds of Cerberus worship and follow Khorne as the God of War and Martial Honor.
One of their ancient saying, in fact, claims that War creates few kings and many slaves, and that to be the former you must dominate it, while to be the latter you must be dominated by it.

For the Hounds of Cerberus, therefore, following a continuous and uncontrolled thirst for blood leads to no other result than becoming cannon fodder, while a true Warrior dominates and uses his fury as the hand uses the sword.

This kind of devotion, certainly unorthodox compared to many other followers of Chaos, is the result of the fusion of the two cultures: the first, more savage and bloody, is the one coming from the population of Moriturus, which for centuries has provided the warband with young Astartes, while the second is the one from the mysterious Loyalist chapter from which the Hounds of Cerberus come from.

Although the origin of the chapter is a mystery, the military culture of the latter is still extremely present in these Space Marines, and is based on strict respect for hierarchy and traditions and the pursuit of War as a true discipline of study.

As a consequence, the Hounds of Cerberus believe that the value of a warrior is reflected in the value of the enemies he has slain, and not in their number.

For this reason, these Khornates do not seek easy massacres at any cost, but rather grea foes against whom they can test their skills.
In the same way, for the Hounds of Cerberus the battle must always be carried out in the most honorable way possible: treachery, double-crosses, assassins in the shadows or backstabbing are, for them, inconceivable concepts, punishable by death should any of their brothers commit them.
For this reason, the Hounds of Cerberus are renowned as among the best mercenaries available: once hired, they will carry out their task without ever wavering in the temptation to sell themselves to a higher bidder.

The obsession with militarism is also found in organizational roles: Hounds of Cerberus, in fact, divide their organization into classes: the Astartes, as members of the warrior class of Bellatoris, cover only active military roles, while all support roles are performed by personnel outside the warrior class, called Adiutoris.

For this reason, the warband must continually rely on allies of the Dark Mechanicum for their bellic supplies, or on paid services of renegade Apotechary for their recruitments, as they reject the idea of warriors who can serve as blacksmiths or doctors.

The fleet of the warband, moreover, is managed almost entirely by human followers, recruited from among the survivors of defeated enemy armies: disdaining the easy slaughter of inferior enemies, it is far from rare that the Hounds of Cerberus examine defeated and captured enemies to make them part of their army of mortals.

### Traditions and Rituals

**Ode to the Battle Slain** : At the end of each battle, the brotherhood of Astartes gathers for a ritual song palyed with ancient drums to honor the brothers fallen on the battlefield. The ritual is usually exclusive to the Astartes brothers, but since the Hounds of Cerberus place, above all else, the value of the Warrior rather than his origin, is therefore not unusual for non-Astartes allies or even enemies who have proven themselves worthy and valiant to be honored during the ritual. It is the belief of the Hounds of Cerberus that warriors who have fallen with valor on the battlefiled have worthily concluded is path and have finally arrived at a plane of existence to which only the greatest of warriors can aspire.
To die as a coward, a traitor, or outside of battle, however, is considered a great disgrace and the warrior is forever excluded from this realm.

**Kuhn'daa** : is a tribal fight originated on Moriturus, often used as a challenge to determine the value of two Warriors or to end diatribes.
The Kuhn'daa was performed by two opponents whose left hands were tied together by a rope about one foot long, and whose right hand was wrapped in many turns of rope, until it became a sort of club. The fight is practically without rules, in the case of non-fatal challenges the first competitor to fall completely to the mat is considered defeated, while in other challenges the contention goes on until the death of one of the two challengers.
On rare occasions, two Kuhn'daa champions from opposing tribes could challenge each other, in this case to the death, to resolve minor issues without moving War against each other. The fight is still present in the Hounds of Ceberus warband but, given the strength of the Space Marines, the rope is replaced by a chain. Non-fatal challenges are quite common as training between brethren or as a method of resolving minor internal feuds.

**Fatalis** : The name Fatalis refers to any Kuhn'daa contest in which the outcome is decided only by the death of either opponent.
The Fatalis is one of the main steps in the selection of new Astartes aspirants, while in the ranks of the Hounds of Cerberus it is used to determine the new War Father.

**The *scaevola*** : An ancient ritual that find its origin in the early day of old Terra. It takes its name from a great historical figure who, according to the legend, burned his right hand on a pyre as penance for his failure. In a similar way, the Astartes brothers guilty of a great failure can spontaneously invoke the scaevola, and sacrifice their right hand, making it consumed by the flames. The alternative to scaevola is usually capital punishment. Many Hounds of Cerberus, however, prefer death rather than carrying the sign of their failure with them for life. The hand burned during this ritual cannot be replaced by a bionic hand, and in its place is usually inserted a chain blade implanted directly on the wrist.

**Tash'xun** : A word from the original language of Moriturus that simply means "decapitation," this is the capital punishment ritual of the Hounds of Cerberus. The reason for this punishment is usually a major failure or violation of the warband's codes and traditions. In performing the tash'xun, the guilty brother is led into the presence of the commander of his *militia* and of his battle brothers, here he is made to kneel before the commander who, after grasping the head of the condemned with his left hand, proceeds to decapitate him with a single slash of the relic dagger *Vitae Messor*.
The head of the deceased should be held by his executioner, while the body falls to the ground lifeless, otherwise the ritual is considered a bad omen for the executor. In the case where a commander is to be executed, the War Father himself performs the ritual, before the assembled *Consilio Octavium*.

### Salutes

For the Hounds of Cerberus the salute plays a very important role in order to keep the internal hierarchies separate: the relationship between different hierarchies requires a different salute. The way of salute seems to derive only from the ancient loyalist tradition of the chapter, as none of these greetings is found in the tribes of Moriturus, while, instead, has many similarities with some ancient terrestrial salutes:

**Right arm raised**: corresponding to the ancient salute of Imperial Rome, it symbolizes the drawn sword put on the service to those in front.
It is performed by a subordinate towards his superior, often preceded by the closed fist on the chest, in very formal situations, for example as a salute to the War Father. A superior may respond to a raised-arm salute with an identical salute (by bringing, or not, the hand to the chest before doing so), to keep a situation at a more rigid level, or by responding only with the clenched fist to the chest in case he wants to make it less formal.

**Clenched fist on the chest** : one of the most common salute, is addressed as a martial greeting not too formal toward another brother of the same rank, or even toward a superior in the case of situations where the warriors cannot pay too much attention on formalities, such as the battlefield.

**Handshake above the wrist**: the right hand of both goes to shake above the wrist, is an extremely brotherly greeting, performed only between peers with a strong bond, as it has no martial value. It can be granted by a superior to a member of lower rank fi the first wants to start a discussion eliminating any kind of distinction between the ranks. For a member of lower rank, to attempt this salute with a superior, even in case of a good relations, is considered a subversive gesture and is usually punished.

**Arms crossed over the chest**: sometimes performed with a bow, if the situation requires a particular admission of submission.
The crossed arms take up the symbol of two swords, or weapons, crossed, as they were placed at the feet of a conqueror by the conquered.
This greeting is addressed by the non-warrior classes toward the *Bellatoris*, the Warrior class to which almost exclusively Astartes and a few mortal officers of the highest rank belong. In rare cases, such as in the case of a Hound of Cerberus who has covered himself with infamy or who has failed an important task, the salute may be performed when the Astartes brother report his guilt to his superior.

## Warband Gene-Seed

The origin of the gene-seed of the chapter is unknown and, despite some similarities with other loyalist gene-seed, it's impossible to determine whether specific alterations in the gene-seed are a proof of some genetic legacy or if they are simply mutations that occurred due to the influence of the Immaterium.

The gene-seed shows clear alterations regarding melanochrome: in the two / three years after the organ is implanted, the natural pigments that the human have had deteriorate completly leading to a total albinism. Then, within another year, the pigmentation is replaced with the future and definitive pigment which remains the most evident trait of the genetic seed of the chapter.

Hounds of Cerberus thus develop pigments tending to gray in their skin, hair, and eyes. The younger brothers of the chapter have skin that ranges from waxy white to ash gray, with hair ranging from platinum to anthracite, while the eyes have gray tones with rare touches of blue. As they age, the hair whitens until becoming totally depigmentated, the skin becomes dark gray while the eyes undergo an anomalous transformation, becoming completely white, as if covered by a cataract.

This latest change appears to be purely aesthetic, having no impact on the visual functions.

The neuroglottis and Lyman's ear are hypertrophic and, as a result, the Astartes born from the genetic seed of the Hounds of Cerberus possess a superior sense of smell, taste and hearing even for a Space Marine. On the other hand, both the Betcher's gland and the sus-a-membrane are missing or, however, not functional. This similarity unites them to the genetic seed of Imperial Fists, although there are no other clues about this possible relationship.

## Recruitment Process

Hounds of Cerberus recruits new brothers mainly from planet Moriturus, in the Cerberus system, but they also use to recruit from the young men found during their war campaigns.

**Recruitment on Moriturus:** The recruitment of new young people is extremely hard and leads to the death of about 99% of aspirants, this because the genetic seed of the chapter is very rare, given the number of the brothers, and only the strongest individuals are selected, decreasing the risk of death once progenoid gland is implanted.

Conversely, the population of Moriturus itself is meager, and continually raiding the tribes could lead to a slow disappearance of the youth needed to replenish the Astartes ranks. For this reason, the Hounds of Orthturs descend upon the world only between a wr campaign and another, giving the population years to re-grow. Once descended on Moriturus, the Astartes choose new initiates from one or more of the most deserving tribes.
The chosen tribes are, usually, the most numerous as the size of the tribe often reflects the organizational capacity of the Warrior class that commands it.

Once the chosen clans are reached, the Space Marines proceed to clear the area of all monstrous creatures that infest it, doing the community a huge favor.

This kind of involvement in the life of Moriturus serves to fortify the vision of the Hounds of Cerberus as semi-divine and benevolent creatures, and to keep high the desire of the population to see their sons elevated to the rank of super humans, thus fortifying also the tradition that wants the Warrior as the highest role in the social scale and the War as the main aspiration in the life of a person.

The recruitment operations are not only aimed at selecting young males for the transformation into Space Marines, even women or older men are subjected to evaluation and, eventually, taken to cover military roles within the fleet, becoming among the few mortals of the warband to be part of the caste of Bellatoris, or selected for war support roles as Adiutoris.

The mortal population recruited by Moriturus usually holds the highest ranks allowed to mortals within the Hounds of Cerberus organization chart, as they know from birth the culture behind the warband organization.

Unlike any mortal recruited from the ranks of defeated enemies or conquered cities, a native of Moriturus will always know how to behave appropriately, respecting the ranks and never violating the secular traditions of the warband.

However, since the population of Moriturus is very small, the Astartes tend to select only the most exceptional and deserving individuals, instead of enlisting on a large scale, so as not to reduce the native population too much (infantry recruitment, for example, is never conducted on the planet's population).

While to decide on eventual recruitment for the mortal ranks, relatively simple evaluations and tests are conducted, the recruitment of young people for transformation into Space Marines occurs instead according to a precise ritual divided into phases to which an increasingly smaller number of aspirants are able to access.

Within the selection process, appears several times the number 8, propitiatory number for Khorne:

In the first phase, called **Census**, all male boys of suitable age are subjected to endurance tests not unlike those to which would-be recruits for a modern day army might be subjected, this includes tests of strength, endurance, speed etc....

Each test will have a minimum requirement to be met, such as a time to beat or a minimum number of targets knocked down.

The first phase is relatively simple and basically risk-free: all those who do not pass the minimum requirement are excluded and go back to their life within the tribe, while those who meet them move on to the next selection.

The boys who pass the Census phase are divided into 8 groups.

The second phase is called **Ordalium**. Each group is, in turn, made to enter a huge circle whose perimeter is formed by a ditch two meters deep and wide, filled with combustible material which is set on fire once the Ordalium begins.

The beginning of the Ordalium is marked by the lighting of the circle of fire, from that moment begins a all against all fight, no holds barred.
The fight ends only when only 8 boys remain standing, to fall into the circle of fire is certain death, while in the rare case of some participant who manages to pass it, the boy's fate is to be thrown into the flaming ditch by the same people of the tribe that attends the Ordalium.

This phase is perhaps the bloodiest in the selection and also serves to evaluate factors such as discipline in moments of extreme tension and the propensity to command: in fact, it is not uncommon that teams of 8 participants are created to try to survive the ordeal by healping each other against the whole group.

Once only 8 participants are still standing, the contest is blocked by the command of the Astartes in charge of the selection process.

Once the Ordalium is over, to each of 8 winners from each group is given a day to rest. Once the rest day is over, the winners of each group are selected two by two, each couple will face off directly the opponent in a fight to death contest, this phase is called **Fatalis**.

During this phase, an indigenous Moriturus fight, called **kuhn'daa**, is re-enacted.

In the kuhn'daa the two opponents are tied to each other to a rope about a foot long, which encircles their left wrist. The right hand is free but wrapped in many layers of rope that make the wrist and hand a single club used to strike the opponent. As the name suggests, the ultimate goal is to kill the rival.

Winners of the Fatalis will pass to the fourth and last phase, called the **Incubo Exsupero**. Each winner is given a rest period of one Laran moon cycle, approximately 12 Earth days, in which they can also prepare for the challenge ahead. At the end of the rest, each young man is taken to a different area of the planet, chosen to be among the most extreme possible, where he will have to survive for 8 days and succeed in killing one of the Moriturus Black Nightmares.

During these 8 days, not only will they have to demonstrate extreme endurance and survival skills by finding available food and water as well as shelter from the extreme weather conditions but, above all, they will have to prove that they can successfully face the deformed anthropomorphic monsters that populate Moriturus, bringing back one head as a trophy. The few who manage to pass this last test, are taken to the Warband fleet, where will begin the ritual for the transition in Astartes

**Clantes**: Despite the continue recruitment among the population of Moriturus, the Hounds of Ceberus often need to thicken their ranks externally, especially during war campaigns that can span many decades and thus prevent them from returning to their domain to replace their losses.
During their travels, therefore, the Hounds of Cerberus often select young men from conquered populations or from the crew of enemy ships under assault in order to join the Astartes ranks.

Away from their recruiting planet, selection loses the ritualistic aspect present on Moriturus to gain in speed and practicality: selection is done through trials based on the situation the Astartes find themselves in.
A feral planet might provide savage beasts against which to test youth, while youth from a feudal world might rival each other according to local custom.

The youth who survived during a boarding, on the other hand, might simply be left to wander the vast engine rooms of the ship's underbelly, seeing who survives for the longest time.

Another difference lies in the genetic seed that is implanted: being very attached to the continuation of their genetic line and lore, the gene-seed of the Hounds of Cerberus is reserved only for the sons of Moriturus, while the boys taken during the crusades are grafted with the progenoid glands removed from slain Astartes enemies and preserved by the warband.

These glands usually come from Chaos Warbands, with whom the Hounds of Cerberus often clash, but it's not that uncommon for them to count some Loyalist gene-seed as well.

The Astartes who are born from this recruitment process are called clantes (adopted son) and are baptized with new names from the chapter's very ancient roots, while the children of Moriturus retain their mortal name by which they were called on their home planet.
Although they may seem discriminated, clantes are held in the same esteem as other brethren.

Notable clantes of the Hounds of Cerberus include Aker Tulumnes, Nero Lucer and Larth Luvces.

## Warband Organisation

### Command Ranks

* **War Father**: The War Father is the leader of the Hounds of Cerberus. A new War Father is appointed at the death of the previous one, bringing back to life the tradition of the Fatalis. The tradition replicates one of the steps in the selection process for the young human aspiring to be Astartes of the warband, during which a fight to the death is organized in the tribal martial art known as Kuhn'daa. Within a single day, the 8 commanders who are part of the Octavium Council compete in a tournament that pits them 1 against 1 in a deadly fight. The death of the War Father is therefore a traumatic event, as the election of a new leader of the warband requires the sacrifice of 7 of the best Astartes brethren. The fatalis can be invoked even when the War Father is still alive, by a brother who wants to challenge him and take his place, but it is considered a gesture of extreme contempt towards the War Father himself and is said to have been invoked only once since the warband has memory.

* ***Consilio Octavium***: After the War Father, the *Consilio Octavium* represents the highest command body of the Hounds of Cerberus.

Formed by the eight commanders of the eight *militiae* of the warband, the council of eight is usually overseen by the War Father, who uses it as a tool to weigh the most important military decisions. The role of the council, however, is also to guide the Hounds of Ceberus if the War Father is unable to do so and in the period following his death. The *Consilio Octavium* also encompasses the 8 Astartes who will challenge each other in mortal duels precisely to determine who will be the new leader of the Hounds of Cerberus, however, in the event of War Father's death during an ongoing war, this practice is postponed until the conflict is over. During this time, the *Consilio Octavium* takes full powers over the Hounds of Cerberus.

* **Terminator militia Commander**: Commander of the First *militia*

* **Assault Elite militia Commander**: Commander of the Second *militia*

* **Assault militia Commander**: Commander of the Shird *militia*

* **Heavy militia Commander**: Commander of the Fourth *militia*

* **Siege militia Commander**: Commander of the Fifth *militia*

* **War Riders militia** : Commander of the Sixth *militia*

* **Armoured militia** commander: Commander of Seventh *militia*

* **Defense militia** commander: Commander of Eighth *militia*

* ***Pater Bellum Evocatus*** : *Pater Bellum Evocatus* isn't technically a command role of the warband. The title was granted to War Father Tar'x Velthur once he was sealed in the sarcophagus of the Leviathan Relic Dreadnought known as Walking Doom as the highest honor. Once sealed within the metal sarcophagus, the Astartes of the Hounds of Cerberus are considered as reborn as living War Machines. Their name is forgotten and replaced by a new one, their personal history rewritten from the beginning. The exception, in the case of War Father Tar'x Velthur, was made because of his extreme importance to warband history. Tar'x Velthur, now known as the Walking Doom, was therefore named War Father Emeritus, a mostly symbolic role that does not entitle him to a true leadership position, but still constitutes one of the most important war advisors to the War Father.

### Specialist Units

* ***Zathlathes***: A group of elite veterans whose name literally means "axe bearers". Equipped with chain axes and plasma pistols, they are the highest elite of the Hounds of Cerberus and form a single squad of eight Astartes, part of the elite assault militia. The use of the *Zathlates* can vary depending on the situation: from personal guards of the commander of their militia to a tool used to perform missions that require the deployment of a few elements of high experience. The *Zathlathes* wear a long tuft of red hair above the helmet.

* **Scorchers**: The Scorchers are an assault unit specialized in the use of flamers and melta guns, part of the elite assault militia. The squads are composed of eight marines, six equipped with flamers, two with metla guns, all of them carring a chain-kinfe as close combat side weapon. They are deployed, mainly, in confined environments: they are therefore widely used in case of assault on underground fortifications, space hulks or during the boarding of enemy ships. Like many flamethrowers used by the Hounds of Cerberus, those of the schorchers use low-quality promethium mixed with chemicals that release toxic fumes during combustion, while lowering the temperature of the flame released. This is especially useful in enclosed locations, as schorchers quickly make the surrounding air toxic to any enemy not equipped with proper filtering breathing equipment. Schorchers, unlike many Hounds of Cerberus troops, for obvious reasons do not wear any tuft on their helmet. Their appearance, however, is distinguished by drapes of chainmail weared over the power armour.

## Warband Combat Doctrine

On the battlefield, Hounds of Cerberus strike their enemy with inhuman violence, trying to achieve a rapid annihilation in few, devastating, attacks. Nevertheless, the discipline is always maintained, the war strategy well studied and followed, in this way the fury that is given free rein on the battlefield becomes a tool to ensure a quick and crushing victory. For this reason, heavy vehicle support is quite rare, but there is a lot of support for fast and agile vehicles, mainly war bikes and assault squads equipped with jump packs. Dreadnoughts are deployed with utmost caution, due the rarity of this type of war machine. They are usually equipped with long range weapons, instead of melee weapons, so that they can supply an entire mobile heavy battery.

Hounds of Cerberus are also aware of the importance of the morale of the enemy, and so they tend to use terror tactics designed to break enemy mind before facing it. They prefer weapons with a strong visual impact, in melee they prefer tearing the flesh of their foes, leaving mangled corpses behind, so they deploy chain swords and chain axes, or maces and hammers, instead of the more elegant power blades. In short range, they love to use heat, melta, plasma, and flame thrower weapons for their spectacular, though horrifying, effects. The heavy support, on the other hand, prefers autocannon, heavy bolters and missile launchers, deafening weapons that, even before hand-to-hand contact, announce their fate to the enemy with a cacophony of death. More savage practices are employed to instill fear in the heart of the enemy: wounded enemies are impaled or crucified alive in front of city walls, severed heads are thrown into enemy trenches, and corpses of enemies are nailed to the vehicles.

An integral part of this strategy of terror is the very appearance of the Hounds of Cerberus: the armor, although kept perfectly functional, is not treated or polished, ending up showing encrustations of rust and accumulations of mud mixed with enemy blood. Not only this create the image of ancient warriors cames out from nightmares, but is also a way to honor the equipment itself, in order to always show the memory of the battles it had go through. The armor is then covered with chains and spikes on which not only the skulls of the enemies but also the bones of the arms, legs, spines and entire chest cages are fixed and hung. Despite being sworn to Khorne, Hounds of Cerberus have always navigated carefully in the waters of Chaos, avoiding as much as possible any kind of corruption and demonic alliance, knowing that path can lead to an eternity of slavery. They do not refuse the use of Warp to their advantage, but this mainly takes the form of combining the forces of the Immaterium with their own weapons or using the warp itself to navigate the cosmos, while avoiding evocations or any demonic alliances.

## Notable Members

* **War Father Nyghatum-Xaum** - Chaos Lord of the Hounds of Cerberus.
* ***Pater Bellum Evocatus* Tar'x Velthur** - Currently seal witin the sarcophagus of the relic Chaos Contemptor Dreadnought known as *Walking Doom*.

## Warband Relics

* ***Bringer of Despair***: The *Bringer of Despair* is a massive two-handed master-crafted chainsword wielded by the War Father. Its origins are unknown, but it appears to be so old that it dates back to the Loyalist period of the capther, so old that even the Hounds of Cerberus themlselves possesses no clue regarding its origin. The Bringer of Despair mounts two set of teeth that rotate in opposite direction, so as to create a pincer effect that makes it impossible for the target to escape the bite of the blade once its hit. In addition, as with the Eviscerators, it incorporates an energy field generator typical of power weapons, encapsulated within a iron skull above the handle. The size of the weapon and the generator is such that the energy field produced is higher than that of a medium energy weapon, which makes the Bringer of Despair capable of inflicting major damages even against heavily armored targets.

* ***Bloodaxe***: A demonic weapon that contain the soul of a lesser demon of Khorne. The axe seems assembled from the jaws bones of a enormous beast and takes its name from the fact that, in battle, exudes cotinuosly a blood-red ichor that corrodes anything it touches. It is said that the axe oozes its own demonic blood but, in return, always desires new mortal blood. Whoever wields it must fight and kill relentlessly, or the thirst of the Bloodaxe will drive him to madness, forcing him to attack his own allies. The weapon is currently in the hands of **Nero Lucer**, captain of the *Zathlathes*.

* ***Skullcrusher***: A huge, daemonic hammer that contains the violent spirit of a mighty Bloodthirster. The Skullcrusher takes the form of a big mallet whose heated head emits infernal flames originated by the fury of the demon trapped in it. The weapon is so heavy that it can be wielded only by an Astartes in terminator armor and is therefore entrusted to the commander of the first *militia*, **Darxash-Koth**.

* ***Orthrus' Maws***: An ancient couple of pistols hand-forged centuries ago by one of the last senior techmarines in the chapter, they take the shape of two mastiff heads and represent the two heads of the mythological dog Orthrus, brother of Cerberus. The two are twin plasma guns of incredible workmanship. What makes them so unique, however, is an power curved blade of about 40 cm that extends from the end of the handle. The two pistols thus offer the wielder the ability to quickly engage in hand-to-hand combat with two powerknives without having to change weapons, being able to switch from ranged fire to close combat in no time. The weapons are not historically given to a specific rank in the warband, but are instead given as a prize to a particularly valiant veteran chosen by the War Father.

* ***The Hellhound***: One of the very few exceptions regarding the use of daemonic engines within the warband. It is not, in fact, a simple weapon infused with the powers of the Immaterium, but a real daemonic machine, forged by the Dark Mechanicum to seal the alliance with the Hounds of Cerberus, centuries ago. The Hellhound takes the form of a mighty, but incredibly fast, war-bike of bestial form, inside of which the essences of three Juggernauts of Khorne have been trapped. The front has the features of the demonic dog Cerberus with gaping maws, each capable of emitting flames that burn everything in front of them. It is guided only by the most experienced and fearless Astartes of the warband, who manage to subdue and guide the daemons that possess it without being overwhelmed by their fury. Therefore, dominating the beast has a value not only on the battlefield, but also in the life of the Astartes who manage to subdue it, as a demonstration of their will power. The Hellhound is usually ridden by the commander of the warband's war bike detachment.

* ***Vitae Messor***: A true relic whose find its use outsie the battlefield. The "life reaper" is a huge curved knife, dating back to the early days of Morituris after the coming of the renegade chapter to the star system. At the time, this knife was used in the most powerful and largest tribe on the continent for the executions of prisoners and criminals. The executioner in charge of the execution would make the prisoner kneel down in front of him, place his left hand on the head of the condemned man and with his right hand would vibrate a single slash with which he would cut the head from the body. While the body fell to the ground, the head remained firmly in the executioner's hand, as a symbol of the life that had been reaped and now belonged to the executor. Designed to be used by a mortal, the blade appears less imposing in the hands of an Astartes but still remains extremely lethal. The rite of decapitation is now rarely officiated and is reserved only for those whose execution must be an example, namely those who are tained by the greatest faults: treason, desertion and failure.

* ***Walking Doom***: An ancient Contemptor Dreadnought in which lives, sealed, the current *Pater Bellum Evocatus* Tar'x Velthur. The origins of this war machine are unknown. Some rumors claim it dates, as with other Hounds of Cerberus relics, to their first period in the Warp, and that it was one of their first and most valuable war trophies won in a battle against another chapter of Renegades. The Walking Doom is designed to have maximum long-range mobile support and therefore does not mount melee weapons, preferring an arsenal consisting of a plasma cannon and a twin-linked autocannon as its main weapons. The armor of the Leviathan Dreadnought is adorned with meters and meters of chains and huge steel spikes, to which are affixed dozens of skulls and bones

## Warband Appearance

The power armor of the Hounds of Cerberus is predominantly charcoal gray (anthracite grey), with dark red shoulder pads and arms. Unlike many of Khorne's followers, they do not wear brass finishes, preferring iron instead. The armors, although kept in perfect working order, are not treated nor polished, ending up showing rust encrustations and accumulations of mud mixed with dried enemy blood. In addition to creating the image of ancient warriors out of nightmares, for the Hounds of Cerberus this is a way to honor the equipment itself, so as to always show on it the memory of the battles experienced. The armor is then covered with chains and spikes on which are stuck and hung not only the skulls of enemies but also bones of arms legs, spines and entire chests.

Small chains to which long bones, teeth or jaws are tied decorate the chest or waist of the power armour, creating macabre festoons inspired by Moriturus' tribal traditions. The planet's custom of letting warriors hair grow long and then painting it bright colors, as a hallmark of the warrior class, is kept alive by the Astartes, and replicated even on armor that shows brightly colored tails, crests and braids.

### Warband Badge

The warband badge is a three-headed infernal hound, each head howling and barring its teeth.