vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Night Scythe - Armament: Twin-linked Tesla Destructor – A Night Scythe’s primary weapon is its twin-linked Tesla Destructor, which is mainly an anti-personnel weapon though only the most heavily armed tanks can risk its wrath with utter impunity. The Tesla Destructor employs much the same lightning-arc technology as found in the smaller Tesla Cannons and Tesla Carbines. Its energy discharges of crackling lightning can wreak terrible harm on living targets; searing their flesh, melting their armour and boiling their blood. Furthermore, the Tesla bolts fired feed off energy released by the destruction they cause, often meaning that the lightning becomes more ferocious with each arc. So powerful are the blasts from a Tesla Destructor, and such is its shocking rapidity of fire, that the lightning emitted is capable of leaping from target to target before it is finally grounded; leaving a trail of smoldering carnage across a broad swathe of the battlefield behind it.Wormhole Portal – All Night Scythes are fitted with a captive wormhole portal bound into their lower hull. This portal serves as a dimensional passageway through which Necrons can move from their Tomb World to the target destination once the Night Scythe has landed. Because of the transdimensional nature of this transport "compartment," the Necrons "within" do not suffer any ill effects if the Night Scythe is destroyed. This portal is also capable of allowing Necron jump infantry, such as Triarch Praetorians with Gravity Displacement Packs, and Jetbikes, such as Tomb Blades, to pass through, as their bulky nature is not restricted by a small "interior space" that is the norm in the transports of other starfaring races.Necrodermis - The armour of Night Scythes is made up of the same living metal Necrodermis that makes up all Necron bodies and vehicles. Its remarkable regenerative properties allow it to automatically repair damage to itself; whether this is the regeneration of parts of its hull, the reknitting of metal plates, and the reconnection of circuits and other delicate systems to bring its weapon online again.
Night Scythe - Ordo Xenos Departmento Analyticus Technical Specifications: The technical specifications for this Necron unit have not been obtained or released by the Ordo Xenos.
Night Scythe - Sources: Codex: Necrons (5th Edition), pp. 51, 82Codex: Necrons (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), pp. 163-164Warhammer 40,000: Compendium - Death From the Skies, pg. 64Warzone: Damnos, pg. 63
Night Sentinels - Night Sentinels: Night SentinelsSpace MarineChapterFoundingTheir homeworld, Lychnos, located in the Ultima Segmentum close to the Malfactus Warpstorm, is currently under assault.
Night Sentinels - Chapter Colours: The Night Sentinels' Chapter colours are not currently listed in Imperial records.
Night Sentinels - Chapter Badge: The Night Sentinels' Chapter badge is not currently listed in Imperial records.
Night Shroud - Night Shroud: A Night Shroud is a dedicated Necron strategic bomber whose origins date back many millions of Terran years to the lost battles of the War in Heaven.It is a potent relic of that ancient and apocalyptic conflict that the Night Shroud was originally designed and built to carry -- the Death Sphere, a self-enclosed containment vessel carrying an anti-matter warhead capable of wiping from existence anything it encounters.The Night Shroud is larger and more robustly constructed than the far more numerous Night Scythe and Doom Scythe fighter and attack aircraft alongside which it operates.Night Shrouds were used extensively by the nobility of the Necron Maynarkh Dynasty during the Orphean War fought in the Orpheus Sector of the Segmentum Tempestus, flying with their Doom Scythe and Night Scythe escorts whilst they rained destruction down upon the Imperial defenders.A Night Shroud is piloted by a Necron Immortal who is hard-wired into their aircraft. Because of the Immortal's undying, robotic nature, the pilot is uninhibited by mortal frailties and is able to steer the aircraft at higher speeds and perform more extreme manoeuvres than pilots of flesh and blood.Likewise, a Night Shroud is also a small spacecraft that fulfils the attack craft role in Necron fleets, despite the lack of a cockpit to protect the pilot; such niceties as oxygen and pressure are of little consequence for the undying form of the Necrons.A Night Shroud's design is, whilst similar to its smaller brethren, larger overall. This is primarily due to the extended rear and additional engines added to the primary "crescent" shaped hull.The Night Shroud also features thicker armour plating, secondary crescent "wings" attached to the original Doom and Night Scythe design, and an enclosed cockpit with extensive sensor arrays.
Night Shroud - Armament: All Night Shrouds are armed with the following:5 Death Spheres – Unlike the conventional bombing munitions of the younger races of the Milky Way Galaxy, the Death Spheres carried by a Night Shroud and its larger brethren are force field containment vessels that electromagnetically imprison the merest fragment of anti-matter. They are kept out of phase with the rest of the material universe until the sphere detonates, unleashing a wide, annihilating energy blast of pure gamma radiation that is capable of destroying virtually anything within its radius. Anything lucky enough to survive the initial detonation is often left blinded and pinned; easy prey for advancing Necron forces that are soon to follow in the bomber's wake. The true marvel of Necron science is not merely the caging of such destructive forces, however, but their precise control and the safety of their use, for should a Death Sphere be broken by hostile action, its energy harmlessly dissipates out of phase with reality instead of detonating in a likely cataclysmic wave of force upon contacting any form of normal matter.Twin-linked Tesla Destructors – A Night Shroud's secondary weapon is its twin-linked Tesla Destructors which are also mounted upon an underslung ventral turret. A Tesla Destructor is mainly an anti-personnel weapon, though only the most heavily armed tanks can risk its wrath with utter impunity. The Tesla Destructor employs much the same lightning-arc technology as found in the smaller Tesla Cannons and Tesla Carbines. Its energy discharges of crackling lightning can wreak terrible harm on living targets, searing their flesh, melting their armour and boiling their blood. Furthermore, the Tesla bolts fired feed off energy released by the destruction they cause, so that the lightning released becomes more ferocious with each arc. So powerful are the blasts from a Tesla Destructor, and such is its shocking rapidity of fire, that the lightning emitted is capable of leaping from target to target before it is finally grounded, leaving a trail of smoldering carnage across a broad swathe of the battlefield behind it.Necrodermis – The armour of the Night Shroud is made up of the same living metal necrodermis that comprises the bodies of the Necrons themselves, as well as all of their artefacts and vehicles. Its remarkable regenerative properties allow it to automatically repair damage to itself. This means that the Night Shroud can regenerate the parts of its hull, reknit its metal plates, and reconnect any circuits and other delicate systems required to bring its weapons online again.
Night Shroud - Ordo Xenos Departmento Analyticus Technical Specifications: The analysts of the Inquisition's Ordo Xenos have not yet determined the technical specifications of the recently encountered Night Shroud bomber.
Night Shroud - Sources: Imperial Armour Volume Twelve – The Fall of Orpheus, pg. 124
Night Spinner - Night Spinner: The Night Spinner is an Eldar anti-gravity combat vehicle. It is based on the Eldar Falcon grav tank chassis and is designed to provide indirect mobile fire support to fast-moving Eldar offensives. Unique amongst artillery vehicles, it does not fire crude explosive shells like the guns of lesser races, but instead utilises a far more subtle and elegant means of delivering death from afar. The Night Spinner grav-tank mounts a Doomweaver atop its sleek chassis, a weapon that spins threads of monofilament wire into a lethal web that is launched high into the air. This monofilament mesh is made from an organic polymer compound. The compound is kept in a liquid state within a magnetic reservoir, and when released through the thousands of microscopic firing ducts, it is woven into a web-like cloud by spinning gravity clamps. This substance is incredibly thin, and yet so strong that nothing can stop its inexorable descent towards its victims. Indeed, the threads are known amongst the Eldar as the "Chain of Vaul," named after the unbreakable bonds of legend. Anyone or anything unfortunate enough to lie under a Night Spinner's ghostly web will be shredded by the simple actions of gravity drawing the cords downwards. The strands can even cut through steel, so vehicles caught by the web are likely to be snared and damaged, if not destroyed. It is not uncommon for the monofilament threads to shear clean through turrets and weapon barrels. After awhile, a Night Spinner's web will settle down into a solid blanket that can be safely traversed but, until it does so, it acts as a deadly barrier that can dissect anyone attempting to move through it. Night Spinners are also armed with twin-linked Shuriken Catapults and/or a Shuriken Cannon. A Night Spinner may also be outfitted with Vectored Engines, Star Engines, Holo-Fields and Eldar Spirit Stones.
Night Spinner - Deployment: Deathweaver Squadrons are used to destroy entire infantry formations. They primarily consist of a battery of Night Spinners which combine their fire to spin a single, ghostly blanket of death -- one far larger and denser than any could weave individually. However, these formations rely upon the skills of Rangers to be most effective. Rangers act as the Night Spinner's eyes, scouting the battlefield in search of prey. Upon sighting the foe, the Rangers will track their target and relay its coordinates, taking great pains to remain hidden until their target is in perfect position. The Night Spinners lie in wait, hidden out of harm's way, awaiting the Ranger's signal to attack.Deathweaver Squadrons were deployed to lethal effect when the Eldar of Saim-Hann fought the Imperial Guard in the equatorial jungles of Dellerax. When a suitable target was sighted, the Rangers sniped at the approaching troops, trusting their foes' instincts would be to dive for cover. The Guardsmen, so focused on the threat of a sniper's bullet, utterly failed to notice the wraithlike webs descending upon them, fired from Night Spinners moments before. The Rangers kept their suppressive fire up until the silvery strands were a few inches above their quarry. Knowing that the Guardsmen would be unable to evade the Night Spinner's attack, the Rangers suddenly ceased their fire and melted back into the undergrowth, leaving their bewildered foes to their doom. As the confused Imperial Guardsmen raised their heads to see why the attack mysteriously stopped they met the descending wire-strands -- flesh parted without a sound and the hopelessly ensnared soldiers were slaughtered without ever truly realising the danger they were in.
Night Spinner - Formation: 3 Night Spinners1 or more unit of Rangers
Night Spinner - Ordo Xenos Departmento Analyticus Record: Technical InformationLength11.25mHeight5.62mWingspan7.31mEstimated Weight11.5 tonnesBarrel Length5.3mArmour10-15mm material unknownCombat Speed80 kphEstimated Max Speed290 kphCrew1 driver, 1 gunnerArmamentTwo Night Spinners, Twin-linked Shuriken CatapultsMain AmmunitionEstimated 200 rounds. Unconfirmed.
Night Spinner - Sources: Imperial Armour - Apocalypse (2008), pg. 59Imperial Armour II - Ork, Eldar & Dark Eldar Vehicles for Warhammer 40,000, pg. 12Imperil Armour Volume Eleven - The Doom of Mymear, pg. 176White Dwarf Magazine 366 (UK), "Eldar New Releases," "Night Spinner," * "Deathweaver Squadron," pp.7, 25-26, 60
Night Stalkers - Night Stalkers: The Night Stalkers are a warband of Chaos Space Marines of unknown origin and allegiance.These shadowy warriors hail from the lightless, Daemon-infested night world of Cthonis Ultra.  They are masters of ambush, often seeming to appear from nowhere when confronting their foes.
Night Stalkers - Warband Colours: The Night Stalkers wear grey power armour with a purplish tint and gold trim.Unusually, the Night Stalkers appear to have the same colour scheme as another Heretic Astartes warband, the Damned Company of Lord Caustos.  Whether or not they have a connection to this other warband is unknown.
Night Stalkers - Warband Badge: The Night Stalkers do not have their own warband iconography, instead opting to wear the usual heretical Chaos markings and blasphemous iconography to denote their allegiance to the Dark Gods.
Night Swords - Night Swords: The Night Swords is a Codex Astartes-compliant Loyalist Space Marine Chapter of unknown Founding created in the 32nd Millennium from the stoic lineage of the Imperial Fists. Almost nothing is known about this reclusive Chapter in current Imperial records save that it hails from the barren world of Lavantia located in the Segmentum Tempestus. Lavantia is a world whose population lives in teeming hive cities, surrounded by vast deserts. The Night Swords maintain a fortress-monastery far out in the arid desert wastes, away from the civilian population. Perhaps the most notable event for this Chapter in recent centuries has been its recovery of the remains of multiple ancient Land Raiders Proteus, which were used to construct the first of these ancient vehicles since the time of the Great Crusade.
Night Swords - Chapter History: The Night Swords Chapter was formed from the venerable and heroic Imperial Fists on orders from the High Lords of Terra in the 32nd Millennium to take part in an Imperial Crusade against the remnants of the Traitor Legions that had fled to the hellish realms of the Eye of Terror and had once more begun to assault the Imperium in great numbers. During this Crusade, the Night Swords' first Chapter Master earned great renown for the battles he fought in against the Forces of Chaos. Since that time, that legendary warrior has continued to be venerated and is the most celebrated figure of legend within the Chapter's history. Currently, in the late 41st Millennium, the Night Swords are understrength, but continue to rebuild their Chapter's numbers.
Night Swords - Chapter Culture: The Night Swords excel in lightning assaults and rapid strikes -- traits which permeate every facet of this Chapter's character. They are as quick to anger as they are to jest. The Battle-Brothers of this Chapter are also known to be impatient and headstrong, yet display great personal initiative. While they are not rash and foolhardy, as befits Scions of Rogal Dorn, the Night Swords believe in the value of immediate action over protracted planning, often chomping at the bit in order to come to grips with their foes.
Night Swords - Chapter Beliefs: The Night Swords maintain the spiritual beliefs of their homeworld of Lavantia, believing that their fallen heroes reside in its deepest deserts as elemental spirits. The Chapter's Chaplains are known to make regular pilgrimages into the dune seas of Lavantia, often residing in simple caves for many solar days and nights until thirst and exposure cause them to undergo overpowering visions in which they receive the wisdom of their predecessors. These practices have put the Night Swords at odds with the Ecclesiarchy, who consider such esoteric beliefs a rejection of the Imperial Creed.
Night Swords - Chapter Recruitment: The Night Swords often recruit from amongst the most vicious of their world's underhive gangs. Only those gangers who manage to survive the thousand-kilometre-trek from the hive city, through the arid wastes and raging dust storms to reach the Chapter's fortress-monastery, are given the chance to become a Night Swords Aspirant. This exposure trial is extremely arduous for a people who are used to living in the confined darkness of an underhive.
Night Swords - Chapter Gene-Seed: Like their progenitors, the Night Swords also suffer the loss of both the Betcher's Gland and Sus-an Membrane gene-seed organs. In addition, the Chapter suffers from a further genetic defect which has resulted in Night Swords Battle-Brothers only being able to speak with a ghostly whisper, reminiscent of their homeworld's desert zephyrs. Many outside the Chapter find their hushed voices deeply disturbing.Currently, the Night Swords are severely understrength. The Chapter is undergoing a period of rebuilding in which every Battle-Brother is an invaluable resource whose life must not be thrown away fighting impossible odds. Those few Battle-Brothers selected to serve a vigil with the xenos-hunting Deathwatch are especially keen to ensure that should they fall in combat, their Watch Station's Apothecaries will at all costs recover their gene-seed and return it to the Chapter to aid the rebuilding effort.
Night Swords - Notable Night Swords: Master of the Forge Isak Siavash - Isak Siavash is the Master of the Forge of the Night Swords Chapter who was involved in the construction of the first new Land Raider Proteus since the time of the Great Crusade. While many Land Raiders Proteus still in use by the Adeptus Astartes in the late 41st Millennium hark back to the Great Crusade, a small number have been returned to service after having been lost for countless Terran centuries. The Land Raider Proteus known as the Simurgh Rex is another type of machine still, and has only recently entered the service of the Night Swords Chapter. The vehicle is the result of the combined efforts of many generations of Night Swords Techmarines, who between them recovered the remains of over a dozen wrecked Land Raiders Proteus from as many battlefields over the length and breadth of the Imperium. Though each vehicle was so badly damaged and decayed as to be entirely beyond repair, each contributed components to the construction of the Simurgh Rex, a Land Raider Proteus completed in 330.M41 by Isak Siavash. The very last component to be interred within the war machine was the Augury Web, five of which had been previously located over the millennia, all proving damaged beyond the ability of the Chapter's forge to repair. The work of his predecessors complete, Siavash now seeks a still greater technical challenge upon the battlefields of the Imperium and beyond, one so grand it too is not likely to be completed for many thousands of standard years.
Night Swords - Chapter Colours: The Night Swords' Chapter primarily wears white Power Armour. The exact squad specialty markings and company designations used by this Chapter are not listed in current Imperial records.
Night Swords - Chapter Badge: The Night Swords' Chapter badge is a winged, curved sword centred upon a field of white.
Night Watch - Night Watch: The Night Watch is one of the Loyalist Space Marine Chapters founded as part of the Astartes Praeses, the 20 Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes created to defend the regions surrounding the Eye of Terror in the Segmentum Obscurus.The Night Watch is a Chapter of unknown Founding and genetic origin. The Night Watch's homeworld is the planet Silence which lies to the direct galactic north of the Eye of Terror.The Night Watch is unlikely to be a firm adherent to the Codex Astartes since it fielded 11 companies during the 13th Black Crusade. Most Chapters have only a maximum of 10. The current Chapter strength is thus greater than 1,000 Space Marines.
Night Watch - Notable Campaigns: 13th Black Crusade (999.M41) - The Night Watch helped defend the Imperium from the Forces of Chaos led by Abaddon the Despoiler in the 13th Black Crusade. The Chapter fielded 11 companies against the forces of Chaos in this campaign.Zeist Campaign (999.M41) - The Night Watch participated in the Zeist Campaign, heeding the call of the Lord Macragge, Marneus Calgar, the Chapter Master of the Ultramarines, who tasked Captain Cato Sicarius of the 2nd Company to lead the Imperial forces in containing the T'au expansion in the Eastern Fringes of the galaxy. The Night Watch contributed several Tactical Squads that were instrumental in the successful assault and liberation of the world of Augura, which had served as a primary forward base of operations for the T'au Empire's forces during its Third Sphere Expansion.
Night Watch - Chapter Colours: The Night Watch primarily wears black power armour, with the helm and shoulder guards cobalt blue. The trim of the shoulder guards is black. The Aquila or Imperialis on the chest is silver.The white squad specialty symbol -- battleline, close support, fire support, Veteran or command -- is indicated on the right shoulder guard.A black High Gothic numeral centred in the middle of the squad specialty symbol indicates squad number.The symbol on the left knee guard indicates company number in accordance with Codex Astartes-approved heraldry.
Night Watch - Chapter Badge: The Night Watch's Chapter badge is a white, stylised lit candle with a large red skull sitting in the centre of it.
Nightbringer - Nightbringer: The Nightbringer, known by the ancient Necron name of  Aza'gorod, also called Aza'gorod the Nightbringer, and "Kaelis Ra" by the Aeldari, is one of the C'tan, and was once the mighty Star God of death, darkness, and destruction. Legends tell of the Nightbringer as the first and most powerful of the C'tan, and in ancient Necrontyr hiero-scripts it is depicted as an ever-hungering god of death, feasting upon the pain and anguish of entire species. Star systems, planets and civilisations have all fallen before its dark scythe, and even the Necrons fear it.The Nightbringer is one of the C'tan who was defeated by the Necrons during their great rebellion against the C'tan masters who had forced the biotransference of their minds into their undying mechanical forms. The Nightbringer's essence was divided into dozens if not hundreds of C'tan Shards, each held captive within a device known as a Tesseract Labyrinth.Each C'tan Shard is only released by the Necrons when the contingencies of the battlefield have so turned against them that no other weapon will prove able to carry the day. In such circumstances, the Necrons will release a C'tan Shard, whose constituent energy has been sealed within a mechanical body composed of the same living metal Necrodermis as the Necrons themselves.The Nightbringer's C'tan Shard is armed with a powerful C'tan Phase Scythe, and it usually manifests as a dark, towering cloaked reaper that shines with dark light, with gray and black colours similar to the traditional human mythological image of death known as the "Grim Reaper." It is an image that resonates deeply in the primal subconscious of many "lesser races," and all who look upon the shard feel the cold fingers of death upon their throats, for in its terrible and majestic form is the inevitability of their destruction.This stems from the Nightbringer's great slaughter of younger intelligent races during the War in Heaven, which reached a point where servants of the Old Ones learned their fear of death from him and his image entered the collective unconsciousness of many intelligent species as the personification of Death. The Nightbringer had planted its name as the embodiment of Death in the minds of many races, and is known to the Aeldari as Kaelis Ra, the Destroyer of Light, while humanity simply referred to it as the Grim Reaper or Death. Only the Orks, the descendants of the Old Ones' warrior race known as the Krork, are rumoured to have been spared his attentions, and that is potentially why the Orks do not fear death.Millions of Terran years after the "demise" of the C'tan, shards of the Nightbringer still remain the most dangerous and difficult to control for the Necrons. Somewhere deep within these fragments linger the memories of the Nightbringer as it was, and its unending hatred of the race that betrayed it.
Nightbringer - History: Aza'gorod the Nightbringer was one of the omnipotent beings known as the C'tan, who delighted in inflicting pain and suffering not only to feed on the life energies of mortals, but simply because it could. The Nightbringer has destroyed entire star systems on a whim and gorged itself on the death agonies of countless billions of lives.The very star under which the original Necrontyr race that became the Necrons lived their brief, morbid lives gave birth to the vast, sun-spanning entity of pure energy that was the Nightbringer, the first of the C'tan to be contacted by the Necrontyr.For much of its existence, Aza'gorod had fed only on a steady diet of bland but nourishing solar energy from the Necrontyr's star. As such, the Nightbringer was also the first of the C'tan to enter a Necrodermis body prepared for him by the Necrontyr so that he could interact and feed upon the matter of the physical universe. The Nightbringer, like the other C'tan, found the energies of living, intelligent beings much more "tasty" than the raw energy of the stars he had been feeding off of for millions of Terran years.It slaughtered those who dared address it directly, feeding on the essence of their terror and suffering. The Nightbringer massacred the Necrontyr after being transferred into his new body to feed upon their life energies and was only stopped from feeding upon that species to its extinction by a heavy dose of persuasion and pledges of eternal servitude.
Nightbringer - Awakening of the Nightbringer: The Nightbringer was ultimately buried ten kilometres under the planet of Pavonis' surface, entombed there when its flagship the Bringer of Darkness, a Cairn-class Necron Tombship, was badly damaged by an unknown alien fleet and crashed on the surface of that world 60 million standard years before the present.The 4th Company of the Ultramarines Space Marine Chapter, led by Captain Uriel Ventris, was sent to Pavonis to guard Ario Barzano, an Imperial Adept, who was later revealed to be an Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos, who intended to dethrone the Planetary Governor of Pavonis for failure to pay the world's Imperial Tithe.Tensions on Pavonis were running high and eventually a civil war broke out. The trade cartel that initiated this war was also digging into the recently discovered location of the Necron tomb of the Nightbringer at the behest of their leader Kasimir de Valtos (who believed the Nightbringer would grant him immortality as a reward for freeing it) while a Drukhari Kabal allied with de Valtos collected the keys that would unlock the Nightbringer's sarcophagus and unleash its horror upon the Imperium. The Dark Eldar intended to reap millions of human souls to serve as their slaves in the chaos that would ensue.When the Ultramarines and the Inquisitor heard of the civil war that had broken out on Pavonis, they made best speed for the planet as they had already been investigating a Dark Eldar raid on another planet in the same star system. They rescued the Planetary Governor and investigated the cause of the civil war, discovering the cartel's true plan.The Inquisitor was ready to initiate an Exterminatus order upon Pavonis to prevent the opening of the Necron stasis tomb, but Captain Ventris urged an attack on the mine in which the digging took place before resorting to such drastic measures. Unfortunately, the Nightbringer awoke once the Space Marines entered the tomb and they tried to combat it; many of de Valtos' guards went mad or committed suicide as the C'tan's presence filled their minds with visions of death and horror, and de Valtos died at the hands of the creature after realising he was too insignificant for the Nightbringer to even deign to notice, much less reward.Ventris soon realised that his Astartes could not defeat the Nightbringer, even in its weakened condition, but remembered that the tomb was filled with explosive fumes. Ventris brandished a Melta Bomb and informed the Nightbringer that he did not believe that even it could survive another million years of imprisonment beneath the planet's crust if he detonated it. The Nightbringer stopped its assault following the threat and Ventris and his surviving Astartes retreated from the tomb.The Ultramarines launched an orbital strike on the mine, but, unfortunately, the Nightbringer had already escaped from the planet. After being forced back into the void of space by Ventris, the Nightbringer fled to a distant part of the galaxy where it began to harvest power from nearby stars, slowly rebuilding its strength for the slaughter to come.
Nightfall - Nightfall: The Nightfall was an ancient Imperial Gloriana-class Battleship that served as the flagship of Konrad Curze, better known as Night Haunter, the Primarch of the Night Lords Legion, during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras of the late 30th and early 31st Millennia.This flagship led a large flotilla of Night Lords warships which comprised the VIII Legion's Expeditionary Fleet. During the opening days of the Horus Heresy, the Warmaster Horus sent the Night Haunter and his VIII Legion on a campaign of genocide, later known in Imperial records as the Thramas Crusade, against the Imperial strongholds of Heroldar and Thramas in the Aegis Sub-sector of the Eastern Fringes.This campaign was intended to protect Horus' flank as the Traitor Legions advanced on Terra and delay the Dark Angels Legion from reinforcing the Loyalists. This bitterly contested campaign dragged on for nearly three standard years.During the climatic conclusion of the campaign, the Nightfall and fifty vessels of the VIII Legion confronted the entirety of the Dark Angels' Expeditionary Fleet in a desperate action to allow the surviving Night Lords vessels to scatter and escape into the void. Still severely damaged from its previous encounter with the Dark Angels, the Nightfall suffered catastrophic damage during this final confrontation.
Nightfall - History: The Nightfall was a Gloriana-class Battleship constructed from a Standard Template Construct (STC) pattern recovered during the progress of the Great Crusade. The massive warship was painted in the VIII Legion's colours, with bolts of lightning streaking across her night blue hull. A Gloriana Battleship was the size of a densely compacted city, and accordingly populated not only by officers and expert crew, but by a slave-caste numbering in the tens of thousands of souls.Most were consigned to live in the warship's lightless bowels, breathing poorly-ventilated air and plasma furnace fumes, but many still saw service on the upper decks. Nine full companies of Night Lords Legionaries, including the Atramentar Terminators of the VIII Legion's elite 1st Company, were stationed aboard the mighty vessel. The Dark Angels' flagship Invincible Reason was a warship of the same ancient class.The Nightfall was present during many notorious events that occurred during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy, including: the Pacification of the Cheraut System, the Destruction of Nostramo, the Drop Site Massacre at Istvaan V and the Thramas Crusade which saw the Nightfall suffer catastrophic damage and likely resulted in her destruction.
Nightfall - Bridge: The bridge of the Nightfall, like the rest of the vessel, was immersed in the perpetual darkness that was so common to the VIII Legion's warships. This intentional blackness was utterly natural to the Night Lords, each one of whom had been born of the same sunless world of Nostramo.Servitors trundled about their simple duties while the mortal crewmen performed the myriad functions that were necessary for the ship’s continued function. Crew members wore lamp packs and photo-visors to penetrate the gloom. At the centre of the bridge, upon a raised dais, was an ivory command throne where the Night Lords' Primarch, Night Haunter, directed the vessels of his fleet.
Nightfall - Night Haunter's Sanctum: The inner sanctum of the VIII Legion's Primarch was a veritable charnel house; scourged naked bodies hung on vicious flesh-hooks connected to dense chains affixed to the chamber's ceiling. In his sanctum the madness that clawed eternally at Night Haunter's mind pushed out to infect the surrounding world. The room was the embodiment of Konrad Cruze's twisted psyche, a tale written in skinned bodies and desecrated remains. Plagued by excruciatingly dark visions, Curze talked to the corpses, divining future events from their desecrated remains.A single immense round table served as the centre piece of the Night Haunter's chambers. It was at that table that the Primarch's elderly and devoted archivist, Ekra Trez, the "Sin-Eater," wrote down his master's visions on parchments and later archived them in stacks of Data-Slates. Often the circular slab played home to a mouldering cadaver that looked as if it had been pulled apart by a surgeon using no tools, which ultimately was true, for the morbid work had been done by Curze's bare hands as the visions of the future plagued his mind.Gobbets of blackening meat would be strewn across the table's surface, cemented there by dried blood and bodily fluids. The Primarch spoke to these desecrated bodies as they were, ravaged and brutalised, and would know if someone had moved them, an action which never failed to enrage him.It was within his sanctum that the Night Haunter confessed his deepest and darkest visions to the ancient archivist. He told the Sin-Eater everything, including when and how he would die, for he had always known the truth of his own end. The knowledge pained him more than anyone could ever understand. The pressure of it, the inevitability, was a constant tide of madness pressing against his consciousness.
Nightfall - Notable Personnel: Fleet Admiral Torun Keshr - Fleet Admiral Keshr served as the Shipmaster of the Nightfall and was the senior-most naval commander within the Night Lords' Legion fleet. Towards the end of the Thramas Crusade, Keshr was mortally wounded during the Dark Angels Legion's initial ambush of the Night Lords Expeditionary Fleet. This salty commander had a reputation for remaining stoic when facing insurmountable odds and even remained unfazed when he lay dying under wreckage as the Nightfall's bridge burned around him.Wing Commander Taye Karena - Wing Commander of the "Veiled One," an elite squadron composed of Wrath-class starfighters stationed aboard the Nightfall.
Nightfire Wars - Nightfire Wars: The Nightfire Wars were a conflict fought in the late 41st Millennium between the Imperium of Man and the T'au Farsight Enclaves. The Iron Knights and Hammers of Dorn Space Marine Chapters saw bitter combat in the campaign.Little else concerning these conflicts is currently recorded in Imperial records.
Nightkillers - Nightkillers: The Nightkillers are a warband of Chaos Space Marines of unknown origin. Their allegiances are to Chaos Undivided. The current disposition and composition of this warband is unknown to Imperial records.
Nightkillers - Warband Colours: The Nightkillers wear dark blue-coloured Power Armour with some bronze colouring on the helm, lower arms and legs. The trim and backpack are gold.
Nightkillers - Warband Badge: The Nightkillers' warband badge is a stylized white skull on a dark blue background, with blue flames coming out of its eyes.
Nightmare Shroud - Nightmare Shroud: A Nightmare Shroud is an offensive Necron technology which appears as a small, black cask often found carried by Cryptek Psychomancers. When opened, the worst terrors of a thousand aeons are unleashed on the bearer’s foes. These terrors assail nearby enemies with phantasms of dread as potent as any mortal danger.However, a Necron Lord equipped with a Nightmare Shroud becomes the embodiment of terror; with the worst fears summoned from the pits of nightmare thrust into the minds of all those near him.Palpable waves of horror are emitted from his metal-skinned monstrosity, and all who look upon him will find their courage tested to their very limits.A unique variant of the Nightmare Shroud was forged by Ut-Hekneth the Unsleeping during his million year madness. This Nightmare Shroud takes the form of a virtually indestructible cloak, each scale formed from quantum-folded layers of void-hardened adamantium bonded with a hyper-flexible energy weave.This is a by-product of its primary design however, which is to project the worst excess of Ut-Hekneth's madness upon his enemies, assailing them with phantasms of dread as potent as any mortal danger.
Nightwing - Nightwing: The Nightwing is a warband comprised of Chaos Space Marines of the Night Lords Traitor Legion. Led by their Chaos Lord Hemek, this powerful warlord expressed a strong desire to join with Abaddon the Despoiler and his Forces of Chaos during the 13th Black Crusade. There is little other information on this obscure warband in current Imperial records.
Nightwing - Notable Nightwing: Hemek - Hemek is a high-ranking and powerful Night Lords Chaos Lord, leading his own warband known as the Nightwing. During a rare meeting of all the lords of the disparate Night Lords' warbands since their end as a cohesive Space Marine Legion with the death of their Primarch Konrad Curze during the Horus Heresy, Hemek expressed a strong desire to join with Abaddon the Despoiler and his 13th Black Crusade in 999.M41.
Nightwing - Warband Colours: The Nightwing's colours are the same as their parent Legion, the Night Lords. Their armour is night blue with a mysterious network of lightning bolts that constantly play across their armour when in combat. This is framed with brass.
Nightwing - Warband Badge: The Nightwing's badge is the same as their parent legion, the Night Lords, a bleached skull with red coloured Chiropteran wings superimposed over a black Star of Chaos.
Nihilan - Nihilan: Nihilan was a former Librarian of the Salamanders Space Marine Chapter who turned Renegade and joined the Chaos Space Marine warband known as the Dragon Warriors led by the visionary former Chaplain of the Black Dragons, Vai'tan Ushorak.Eventually, Nihilan was corrupted by the malign influence of the Ruinous Powers and became a Chaos Sorcerer hell-bent on the destruction of his former Chapter.
Nihilan - Appearance: Nihilan wore power armour the colour of spilt crimson blood with long curving horns that arched from each shoulder plate. The armour appeared as if adorned with dragon scales and possessed unholy talismans and the fell sigils of Chaos with dangling chains blackened from fire. His gauntlets ended in wicked talons. Nihilan's armour appeared heavily damaged from the various campaigns he had fought in.Nihilan also possessed large amounts of scarring on his onyx-coloured skin from the incident on Moribar where he had been horribly burned.In battle Nihilan wielded a blasphemous, Chaos-tainted Force Staff with deadly accuracy that enhanced his already prodigious psychic abilities.
Nihilan - Wargear: Nihilan leads a large Chaos warband composed of mercenaries, Renegade Space Marines and various xenos. He possesses a Chaos cruiser called the Hell-Stalker that serves as his mobile base of operations and the flagship for his motley fleet.The Hell-Stalker possesses an enormous Seismic Cannon that was acquired with the help of the Iron Warriors. Nihilan also possesses an ancient Stormbird dropship that he uses to descend to the surface of a planet.
Nihilan - The Glaive: The Glaive is the name of Nihilan's personal cadre of Chaos Space Marines, made up of his most trusted warriors who act as his bodyguards and personal advisors.The Glaive consisted of the Renegade Astartes named Ekrine, Nor'hak, Ramlek and Thark'n. Thark'n replaced his predecessor Ghor'gan after he was slain on the world of Scoria by Hazon Dak'ir, a Veteran sergeant of the Salamanders' 3rd Company.
Nihl Zee - Nihl Zee: Nihl Zee is the name of a Vindicare Temple Assassin who serves as the protector of the Inquisitor Adrielle Quist of the Ordo Xenos.Before joining Quist, Nihl left Hive Malfi for the training temples on Terra at so young an age that he remembers nothing else.He is a lithe, quiet man who speaks to everyone -- serf, Space Marine, and Inquisitor -- with eloquent but brief honesty. He does not seem particularly pleased to have been tithed to the Ordo Xenos, but speaks no ill of the Inquisitor or her cadre.
Nikaea - Nikaea: Nikaea is a Frontier World widely known in Imperial history as the site of the Council of Nikaea in 001.M31 where the Emperor of Mankind and His primarchs met during the Great Crusade to decide the fate of Human psykers and the use of particularly potent psychic powers or "sorcery" within the Imperium of Man.Ultimately the existence of certain psykers in the Imperium like Navigators and astropaths was allowed but tightly restricted under centralised Imperial control, while combat psykers and the unrestricted use of psychic abilities to bargain with the entities within the Warp that was defined as sorcery were officially banned.The world had been newly discovered by the Imperium at the time the Council of Nikaea was convened and the Emperor had ordered the Mechanicum to terraform the geologically young planet and make it habitable for Humanity so that it could host the great Imperial conclave and then be settled afterwards.The psychically powerful Primarch Magnus the Red and his Space Marine Legion the Thousand Sons would continue to study such powers in secret on their homeworld of Prospero after the Edicts of Nikaea, ultimately leading to their damnation by Chaos during the early days of the Horus Heresy.
Nikaea - Council of Nikaea: The Council of Nikaea was a great Imperial conclave called by the Emperor in 001.M31 on the world of Nikaea in the midst of the Great Crusade that was intended to determine whether or not the use of psychic abilities represented a boon or a grave danger to Mankind and the newborn Imperium of Man.This concern had emerged as the Imperial expeditionary fleets discovered that many of the worlds settled by Humans they encountered during the campaigns of the Great Crusade were under the control of people who were capable of unleashing the potent psychic powers provided by dealing with the entities of the Warp that they called "sorcery."
Nikaea - Trivia: The term "Council of Nikaea" is an historical reference to the Christian Church's Council of Nicaea, which occurred in the year 325 AD in the Roman Empire's province of Asia (Asia Minor) and was hosted by the Emperor Constantine the Great.This Council of Nicaea determined the content of orthodox Christian belief as laid out in the Nicene Creed of the Roman Catholic, Protestant and Eastern Orthodox Churches.
Nimbosa - Nimbosa: Nimbosa was a large Imperial Civilised World roughly the size of the Sol System's gas giant of Saturn in the Ultima Segmentum of the galaxy that was overrun by the T'au in the late 41st Millennium. It was retaken by the Imperium during the successful Nimbosa Crusade that was led by elements from several Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, including the Black Templars, Imperial Fists  and the Ultramarines.
Nimbosa - History: There is little information in regards to the early history of Nimbosa, other than that it was a vitally important Civilised World located in the Ultima Segmentum near the borders of the T'au Empire. When Hive Fleet Kraken began to threaten worlds on the Eastern Fringe of the Imperium of Man in 992.M41, the High Lords of Terra responded by stripping the worlds on the border with the Tau Empire of Imperial forces to respond to this xenos threat.The T'au Empire was quick to recognise this redeployment and soon moved to take advantage, beginning the period of T'au history known as the Third Sphere Expansion. The T'au had soon annexed a whole swathe of Imperial worlds along the border. With the majority of Astra Militarum and Imperial Navy units redeployed to fight the Tyranid threat, the T'au landed a vast invasion force on Nimbosa, Commander Brightsword, the leader of the T'au, set about the systematic extermination of the populace.The only Imperial Guard force able to resist them was the Vostroyan Firstborn's IXth Regiment, who made their first stand in the factory city of Polia. Serving under General Graf Toschenko, the Firstborn knew that against such an overwhelmingly large invasion force their only hope was to hold out against the T'au long enough for reinforcements to arrive: something that could take solar weeks if not months to happen.The fighting culminated with the infamous Koloth Gorge Massacre, where the forces of the Imperial Guard were so brutally slaughtered that Brightsword was censured, summoned back to T'au due to the remorselessness of his acts. The Imperium launched the Nimbosa Crusade in retaliation, an Imperial Crusade undertaken in 993.M41 by the Black Templars, Imperial Fists, Raven Guard, and Ultramarines Space Marine Chapters against the T'au Empire following the T'au conquest of Nimbosa. All of these Chapters have reputedly fought the T'au on the heavily contested planet at one time or another and the world has changed hands many times and still remains a war zone.
Nimbosa Crusade - Nimbosa Crusade: Nimbosa CrusadeImperial CrusadeBlack TemplarsImperial FistsRaven GuardUltramarinesSpace MarineChaptersT'au EmpireCivilised WorldNimbosaWhen Hive Fleet Kraken began to threaten worlds on the Eastern Fringe of the Imperium of Man in 992.M41, the High Lords of Terra responded by stripping the worlds on the border with the T'au Empire of Imperial forces. The T'au Empire was quick to recognise this redeployment and soon moved to take advantage, beginning the period of T'au history known as the Third Sphere Expansion. The T'au had soon annexed a whole swathe of Imperial worlds along the border. Nimbosa was one of the most important of these worlds, and the Black Templars would be instrumental in retaking it for Mankind.
Nimbosa Crusade - History: The T'au forces under the command of O'var (Commander Brightsword), began the invasion of Nimbosa with a landing by T'au Fire Warriors in overwhelming numbers. The T'au had soon established control over most of the world.
Nimbosa Crusade - First Phase: The Defence: The only Imperial force left able to resist after the first phase of the Third Sphere Expansion was the 9th Vostroyan Firstborn Regiment of the Astra Militarum under the command of Graf Toschenko. Toschenko moved quickly to fortify the Nimbosan factory city of Polia. Brightsword's first thrust used Kroot warriors to identify Imperial Guard strongpoints to be bombarded by T'au armour. The T'au's Kroot auxiliaries suffered heavily in the initial push but the strategy was successful and the T'au eventually gained a foothold in the city and with relentless attacks the T'au foothold began to grow. Graf Toschenko authorised a desperate counter-attack to maintain the Imperial lines; he had come to realise that the T'au policy of isolating and reducing each Imperial stronghold would soon break his hold on the city. The main counter-assault fell in and around the central Cathedral.At first the Imperial counterattack proved to be a complete success. Kroot auxiliaries were caught by surprise and fled from the attack, falling back towards the T'au's armoured units. Graf Toschenko committed his last reserve of men and his few remaining tanks to exploit the gap made around the Imperial Cathedral of Polia, however, the discipline of the isolated T'au forces held, and the Imperial salient turned into a trap. The Imperial vanguard and reserve were decimated by ambush and bombardment directed by T'au Stealth Suit teams spotting for artillery and guided munitions fired from the T'au rear areas.At the vanguard of the advance, Graf Toschenko's command squad was caught out in the open and destroyed by hidden T'au Fire Warriors. The Graf personally took up the regimental standard and desperately called to his men to rally. Imperial resistance hardened around the Graf and the fight degenerated into bloody close street fighting. But by now Imperial resistance was all but broken and with the death of the Graf combat finally ceased and Nimbosa was firmly in the hands of the T'au Empire. But their grip would not last long, for the Imperium called for a Crusade to free Nimbosa and the other Imperial worlds that had been lost to the upstart T'au.