vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Colossus Bomb - Colossus Bomb: The Colossus Bomb is a Melta-based weapon that is used as the primary armament by the Aeronautica Imperialis' Marauder Colossus high-altitude strategic bomber.The Colossus Bomb features a diamantine armour-penetrating tip, a mass reactive fuse, and an internal Melta warhead, all of which is backed up with 10,000 kilograms of high explosives. The bomb features a guidance system that is controlled from the aircraft that guides it to its target accurately, adjusting its tail fins until the moment of contact.The bomb's diamantine armour-penetrating tip allows it to penetrate through thick armour plating, rockcrete, and ferrocrete before its mass-reactive fuse detonates once it's inside of its target.The Colossus Bomb's Melta warhead is capable of destroying heavily armoured targets while the extra 10,000 kilograms of high explosives reduces anything left in an explosion whose yield is equal to that of a small, tactical nuclear blast.The weapon has been used by the Imperial Navy's air division as an effective Titan killer, since a direct hit from the bomb will result in catastrophic damage to any target, including god-machines and super-heavy tanks such as the Baneblade and Shadowsword.The Marauder Colossus' bomb-bay is modified from the standard design so that the bomb is able to fit, which requires the removal of both the bomb-bay doors and the ability to mount a dorsal-turret.
Combat Armour - Combat Armour: Combat Armour is a form of T'au standard-issue infantry armour worn by all Fire Warriors in battle, and is similar in design and construction to Imperial Carapace Armour.Combat Armour is constructed in two layers. The outer face is a hard, ultra-dense nano-crystalline metal veneer bonded to an inner layer of high performance, thermo-set, molecular polyethene.The outer layer material is known as Fio'tak in the T'au Lexicon, and is commonly used as a form of armour across nearly all types of Tau units due to its lightweight nature and impact-resistant structure.The inner layer of Combat Armour acts as an energy-absorbent padding for energy dispersal, and helps prevent blunt trauma effects from high velocity impacts. The highly advanced materials used in Combat Armour's construction are very resilient to penetration and lightweight compared to more conventional Imperial materials such as plasteel.Usually worn underneath the hard carapace armour plates of Combat Armour is a set of one-piece overalls constructed of a composite nanocular thread; a microscopic, super-dense mess of fibres that helps prevent projectile punctures and slashing penetrations, whilst remaining flexible.The material the fatigues are constructed from is also chemically threaded to retard flames and the effects of most irritant gases or chemicals. The fatigues are hard-wearing and suitable for most combat environments, and are issued in a variety of colours.The distinctive domed T'au helmet of a Combat Armour set includes many systems, ranging from communication equipment, night vision sensors, targeting and ranger-finder information, visual relay systems, and access to the main command network.The helmet is configured to allow for simple upgrades to be fitted such as Blacksun Filters and Target Locks, and the vision slots are pre-configured to see Marker Light beams.Standard Fire Warrior Combat Armour usually also features an elongated and thickened left shoulder plate, which acts as an additional protective shield when the Fire Warrior is kneeling to fire a weapon more accurately and exposing his left shoulder to retaliatory fire.
Combat Knife - Combat Knife: A Combat Knife, also called a Combat Blade, is the ubiquitous back-up melee weapon for warriors all across the Imperium of Man, be they lowly hive city scum or the elite soldiers of a planetary governor.During the time of the Great Crusade, combat blades were a catch-all category which described a variety of lethal hand-to-hand weapons favoured by the Space Marine Legions, the exact form varying from Legion to Legion by its culture and tradition.They ranged from heavy razor-edged chain-bayonet, to adamantium Gladius and Thule-alloy battle-axes that would be too heavy for an unaugmented human to wield.In the 41st Millennium some of these blades, such as the Catachan Fighting Knife, are designed for a specific purpose, whilst others, such as the ubiquitous Astartes Combat Knife, are more generic in nature.This latter weapon is still utilised by Space Marines and Chaos Space Marines, though these blades are easily the size of a human sword.
Combat Knife - Notable Chaos Patterns of Combat Knife: Æthéme Blade - A weapon popular among assassins and cult leaders, an æthéme blade holds various types of poisons or other foul liquids within specially designed channels. A simple press of a small button releases enough to coat the edge of the blade, allowing each slash to bring about more pain than a simple knife ever could.Chain Dagger - Small in size, these miniature weapons can easily be brought into play from hidden holsters. Their increased deadliness can literally give an edge in knife fights.Flensing Blade - The refined version of the more common meatworking knife, a Flensing Blade is designed for actual combat where its wide and thin surface can slide to the bone, removing flesh in long strips of raw meat. Most are perhaps a metre long and made of special ceramics that can hold the edge despite their thinness. All are a product of underground cults of carnivores commonly found amongst the crews of vessels that frequent the Screaming Vortex. These sadistic cults take special delight in making their foes part of their ceremonial feasts.
Combat Knife - Sources: Black Crusade: Core Rulebook (RPG) pp. 166-168Black Crusade: The Tome of Excess (RPG), pg. 37Codex: Catachans (3rd Edition), pg. 17Deathwatch: Core Rulebook (RPG), pg. 156Index Astartes I, "Lightning Attack - The White Scars Space Marines Chapter, and "Blood Frenzy - The Flesh Tearers Space Marine Chapter", pp. 41, 49Only War: Core Rulebook (RPG), pg. 187The Horus Heresy - Book One: Betrayal (Imperial Armour), pp. 19, 234Warhammer 40,000: Rulebook (5th Edition), pg. 97Games Workshop Online Catalogue - Space Marine Tactical SquadGames Workshop Online Catalogue - Chaos Space Marines
Combat Shield - Combat Shield: A Combat Shield is defensive wargear utilised mainly by the forces of the Adeptus Astartes. It is a lighter form of the Storm Shield often utilised by Space Marine Terminators during close combat assault actions.
Combat Shield - History: During the Great Crusade, Combat Shields were wrist-mounted shields or bucklers containing a small defensive energy field generator which enabled it to withstand great amounts of damage, while Boarding Shields were larger, bulkier versions of the same.These were favoured by assault units employed by Legion Breacher Siege Squads for the additional protection they offered in the confined close-quarter fighting of starship boarding actions and siege attacks. Although these shields' smaller size and weaker defensive field meant they offered nothing like the protection offered by the prototype Legiones Astartes Storm Shields that were beginning to enter service at the time of the Horus Heresy, they remained a valued part of a Legion's Armoury.
Combat Shield - Function: Combat Shields are usually fabricated from plasteel, and incorporate a form of technology very similar to that of Imperial Power Weapons in the form of a miniaturised power generator which, when activated, emits a field of disruptive energy around the face and circumference of the shield. A Combat Shield is a compromise between flexibility and defence, trading the stronger protective force field and physical protection a Storm Shield's size offers for a free hand.A Combat Shield is small enough to be strapped to the arm, leaving both hands free for another weapon to be wielded. As such, Combat Shields are used by many Space Marines wearing normal patterns of power armour about to enter melee combat or ranged combat where they will face an unusually high intensity of incoming fire. Combat Shields are crafted in many different forms and shapes depending on the culture and requirements of the Chapter that uses it.For example, the Crimson Fists use coffin-shaped Combat Shields, the Blood Angels prefer that theirs be shaped into cruciforms, and the Iron Fists' Combat Shields take on the form of an armoured gauntlet similar to their Chapter icon.
Combat Shield - Notable Combat Shields: Remembrance Shield - Roughly four hundred years ago, the Deathwatch was engaged in operations against the Asuryani of Craftworld Ulthwé. The xenos had been launching sudden raids in the Slinnar Drift Star Cluster, then disappearing before a military force could be mobilised. However, when a Kill-Team secured information about a forthcoming attack, the Chapter was able to lay a trap. The next Asuryani raid was met not by disorganised Guardsmen, but a large force of black-armoured Space Marines. The majority of the raiders were cut down, and the few survivors vanished back into their Webway portals. To commemorate this crushing victory, a Combat Shield was fashioned, incorporating a number of large, deeply coloured jewels (which, unbeknownst to the Astartes, were actually Spirit Stones) taken as trophies from the fallen xenos). The shield must offend the Ulthwé Asuryani greatly, for there have been numerous attacks over the intervening years apparently designed to seize the shield and kill the one who bears it. So far, all have failed.Refuge in Defiance - Refuge in Defiance is a master-crafted Astartes Combat Shield and relic of the Brazen Claws Chapter. There are few implements of war that better meld offensive might with defensive protections than the deft guard of this combat shield. The unique resonance of the protective field steadies the sword-arm or firing grip of the wearer and guides it towards his enemies. The most learned Forge Masters believe that this particular shield's Machine Spirit can sense those who have struck blows against it and it manipulates this deadly link to enhance its user's combat abilities.
Combi-weapons - Combi-weapons: Combi-weapons are a variety of Space Marine, Chaos Space Marine and Ork weaponry derived from the integration of multiple different weapon types into a single weapon.There are two major types of Combi-weapons. The first combines two identical weapons into one larger weapon, giving the resulting weapon system a higher rate of fire and better accuracy by virtue of simply throwing more bolts, melta energy or plasma at the target.The second is an amalgamation of two wholly different weapons into a single casing. Only one component of the combined weapon can be fired at a time, and often the secondary weapon has very limited ammunition, enough for only one shot or a short burst of fire. Such weapons augment the bearer's tactical flexibility, granting them a limited capacity to deal with threats that the main weapon would find hard or impossible to damage.
Combi-weapons - Astartes Combi-weapons: Astartes Combi-weapons are often Master Crafted Weapons and honored relics of their Chapter, venerated for their history and accomplishments and only entrusted to proven Veterans and officers.
Combi-weapons - Combi-bolter (Twin-linked Bolter): Similar to the Storm Bolter, the Twin-linked bolter or Combi-bolter is simply two standard bolters that have been mechanically combined into a single weapon, rather than having been constructed that way in the first place like a Storm Bolter.The Combi-bolter was much more common during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras than at present in the Imperium and Chaos Space Marine Attack Bikes and Chaos Terminators are still often equipped with the older and less efficient Combi-bolter, though the Storm Bolter has replaced it in standard Imperial usage.
Combi-weapons - Combi-flamer: A standard bolter with a flamer attached to the side, useful for close combat in an anti-infantry role.
Combi-weapons - Combi-Grenade Launcher: A standard bolter with an underslung Grenade Launcher that is most useful for assaulting or defending against a large group of foes.
Combi-weapons - Combi-melta: A standard bolter with a Meltagun attached to its side, used as an anti-armour weapon.
Combi-weapons - Combi-plasma: A standard bolter with a Plasma Gun attached that is useful for a variety of tactical necessities.
Combi-weapons - Combi-volkite: A Combi-volkite is a Volkite Charger integrated with a standard Astartes bolter as the secondary weapon. This extremely rare Combi-weapon was only wielded during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras by Space Marine Legion officers of the rank of praetor.
Combi-weapons - Combi-grav: This relatively rare Combi-weapon variant incorporates a single-shot Grav-Gun, allowing the wielder a potent graviton attack when the fighting is fiercest without sacrificing the formidable wrath of the standard Astartes bolter. The Combi-grav incorporates a standard Astartes bolter with a Grav-Gun as the secondary weapon.
Combi-weapons - Combi-Needle Pistol: A Bolter with a Needler integrated within it, intended to be used against creatures like Daemons that are extremely difficult to injure. This Combi-weapon is used only by the Inquisitors and Acolytes of the Ordo Malleus. A variant of this Combi-weapon also serves as the primary weapon of Eversor Assassins.
Combi-weapons - Combi-Stake Crossbow: A standard Bolter that has been integrated with a crossbow that fires wooden stakes. This weapon has been used by the Inquisitors and Acolytes of the Ordo Hereticus against rogue psykers.
Combi-weapons - Condemnor Bolter: A Condemnor Bolter, also called a Condemnor Boltgun, is an Imperial Combi-weapon that couples the iconic might of the Imperial bolter with a secondary launcher in the form of a single-shot crossbow armature that fires blessed silver stakes engraved with sigils of disruption.These are particularly deadly to Chaos-corrupted psykers. A direct hit from the crossbow component of the Condemnor Bolter will therefore not only deal a severe physical wound to an enemy psyker, it will also send his or her power spiralling out of control, consuming the user in a storm of untramelled psychic energy.The Condemnor Bolter is the ultimate man-portable implement of judgement against those who wield the unclean energies of the Warp. It is a weapon favoured almost exclusively by the Witch Hunter Inquisitors of the Ordo Hereticus such as Katarinya Greyfax.
Combi-weapons - Kombi-skorcha: The Kombi-skorcha is a Kombi-weapon that provides the user with close-range firepower from a Skorcha on a secondary, undermounted barrel beneath a shoota's primary barrel. These Kombi-weapons are often used by Meganobz.
Combi-weapons - Kombi-rokkit: The Kombi-rokkit gives the user a single, side-mounted or underslung Rokkit Launcha with a single Rokkit to use against enemy tanks and armoured vehicles. These are often wielded by Meganobz.
Combi-weapons - Kustom Shoota: The Kustom Shoota, also called a Twin-Linked Shoota, is often used by Ork warbosses and Meganobz. Its double shoota barrels provide a greater fire rate than a standard single-barrel shoota.
Combi-weapons - Autoch Pattern Combi-bolter: The Autoch Pattern Combi-bolter is a Combi-weapon used by the military forces of the Leagues of Votann that is simply two standard Autoch Pattern Bolters that have been mechanically combined into a single weapon, rather than having been constructed that way in the first place like a Storm Bolter. It thus is able to unleash double the rate of fire.The Autoch Pattern Combi-bolter is based on the same STC technology relied on to create the Combi-bolters that were used by the Space Marine Legions during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy before the later development of the Storm Bolter which replaced it in standard Imperial usage by the 41st Millennium.A Leagues of Votann Autoch Pattern Combi-bolter can be combined with an exo-armour gauntlet's RAM Shield for use by Einhyr Champions or can be used as a separate weapon in its own right.
Combi-weapons - Sources: Black Crusade: Core Rulebook (RPG), pg. 157Codex: Grey Knights (5th Edition), pg. 55Codex: Leagues of Votann (9th Edition), pp. 100-101Codex: Space Marines (6th Edition), pg. 121Codex: Space Marines (8th Edition) (Revised Codex), pg. 166Codex: Space Marines (9th Edition), pp. 63, 196Dark Heresy: The Radical's Handbook (RPG), pg. 153Deathwatch: Core Rulebook (RPG), pg. 146Deathwatch: Honour the Chapter (RPG), pg. 128Imperial Armour Volume Eleven - The Doom of Mymeara, pg. 118Imperial Armour Volume Twelve - The Fall of Orpheus, pg. 33Specialist Games Catalogue, pg. 107The Horus Heresy Book Two: Massacre (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 53Warhammer 40,000: Wargear (2nd Edition), pg. 70Warhammer 40,000: Wargear (4th Edition), pp. 42-43Warhammer 40,000: Rulebook (6th Edition), pg. 54Sternguard SquadPraetor in Cataphractii Terminator Armour model (Warhammerfest 2016 exclusive miniature)
Comet-class Scout Ship - Comet-class Scout Ship: A Comet-class Scout Ship is a specialised class of Leagues of Votann voidship often utilised by Hernkyn Pioneers and Hearthkyn Salvagers on far-reaching missions of exploration, salvaging and resource acquisition. The Comet-class is equipped with voidship-sized HYLas banks powerful enough to carve entire sections off of a space hulk.
Comet-class Scout Ship - Notable Comet-class Scout Ships: Reachfar -  The Reachfar was commanded by Voidmaster Hegêm and served as a base of operations of Theyn Dêki Ânhad and her band of Hearthkyn Salvagers.
Command-Link Drone - Command-Link Drone: A Command-Link Drone (Kor’vesa in the T'au Lexicon) is a type of T'au Drone (small, sleek, disc-shaped, semi-sentient machines) employed exclusively by Commander Shadowsun, and possibly other T'au Commanders deemed worthy of using this experimental drone type.A Command-Link Drone is networked to those T'au officers under Commander Shadowsun's command, and allows her to better direct and coordinate the fire of nearby teams during a battle through the drone's advanced communication systems. This capability allows T'au forces to mow down the enemy all the more effectively with relentless volleys of firepower.Command-Link Drones consist of an advanced processor unit, which individually has only a basic intelligence (approximately equal to that of a small animal such as a pterasquirrel), and moves about by way of a small anti-gravitic generator and a much modified version of a T'au Jetpack.This allows the Command-Link Drone to hover over the ground and skim over most obstacles. As they hover over landscapes, rotating back and forth, their sensor vane constantly transmits vital information about their surroundings.The Command-Link Drone attached to Commander Shadowsun always stays within close proximity to her, and can act as a form of robotic bodyguard if necessary, by getting in the way of incoming enemy fire or close-combat opponents during the course of a battle.It is controlled by a Drone Controller, which is an electronic device that can be used by the T'au to further enhance their connections and control over their robotic companions. A Drone Controller acts as a hub of digital communications between the Drone's operator and any Drones that are nearby the user.It serves as an advanced interface between the operator and the artificial intelligence (AI) combat programs of the drones, and is often used to direct the drones' firepower far more efficiently and with a level of accuracy far greater than would otherwise be possible on the battlefield.The Command-Link Drone attached to Commander Shadowsun has also been upgraded with a stealth field generator, which allows Shadowsun to operate without compromising her own ability to remain undetected.
Command-Link Drone - Ordo Xenos Departmento Analyticus Technical Specifications: The technical specifications for this T'au unit have not been obtained or released by the Ordo Xenos.
Command-Link Drone - Sources: Codex: Tau Empire (4th Edition), pp. 25, 31, 35, 46-47Codex: Tau Empire (6th Edition), pp. 32-33, 55, 59Imperial Armour Volume Three - The Taros Campaign, pg. 282Deathwatch: Mark of the Xenos (RPG), pg. 12
Command (T'au) - Command (T'au): A command, or uash'o in the T'au Lexicon, is the term used for all the forces of a single T'au caste located in a given location, usually on a planet or in a star system. For instance, all the Fire Caste members on the world of Nimbosa were part of Fire Caste Command Nimbosa, while all Air Caste formations were part of the Air Caste Command Nimbosa.
Command and Control Node - Command and Control Node: A Command and Control Node is a sophisticated T'au artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted communications system used by a T'au Commander to communicate more effectively with other Fire Caste warriors around him, and better direct battlefield operations by linking together all nearby T'au targeting computers.Though the sheer amount of information received can seem overwhelming, a T'au Commander who masters the flood of data can better orchestrate the firepower of his forces and drastically improve their accuracy.A Command and Control Node is a signature support system available only to Battlesuit pilots of the rank of Shas'vre or higher.However, the current rarity of this system among deployed Fire Caste units means that its distribution is usually limited to only one per Hunter Cadre.
Command and Control Node - Sources: Codex: Tau Empire (4th Edition), pg. 26Codex: Tau Empire (6th Edition), pg. 73Rogue Trader: Tau Character Guide (RPG), pg. 35
Command Squad - Command Squad: A Command Squad is a modern elite Space Marine formation that hails back to the Legion Command Squads from the bygone era of the Legiones Astartes of the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy eras.Command Squads are made up of highly disciplined and worthy Veteran Space Marines who often accompany Chapter Masters, Space Marine Captains and other important specialists, serving both as bodyguards and Standard Bearers.The Codex Astartes states that the Chapter Master of a Space Marine Chapter should make proper provision for the protection of important heroes on the battlefield, recognising as it does the importance of the Chapter's Officers, Standard Bearers, Apothecaries, Librarians and other specialists. Most Codex-compliant Chapters therefore organise Command Squads to act in the role of bodyguard to these important warriors.Command Squads accompany high-ranking Space Marine officers on the field of battle. The exact nature and title of a Command Squad's members can vary, depending on a Chapter's organisation and the personality of a company's Captain. The most common specialists are the Company Champion, Apothecary and Company Standard Bearer, and these can be found in almost all Command Squads. Even so, some Chapters maintain other titles and positions in accordance with their traditions, such as the Foeseekers of the Omega Marines, the Prognosticars of the Silver Skulls, the Terrorblades of the Death Spectres and the Pyre Wardens of the Fire Lords.Service in a Command Squad undoubtedly speeds promotion within the Chapter -- most Captains fill their retinues with Veterans in whom the bloody skills of combat are matched by tactical and strategic brilliance. This being the case, Space Marine Captains and their Command Squads can invariably be found in the thickest fighting, battling in the midst of the most gruelling of wars against the most terrible of foes.
Command Squad - History: The modern era Space Marine Command Squad is the predecessor of the Legion Command Squad, a tactical formation of the ancient Space Marine Legions used during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras in the late 30th and early 31st Millennia.In the ancient Legiones Astartes it was a common sight to see senior Astartes commanders and champions accompanied in battle by a squad of elite warriors that served both as a bodyguard for their commander and were entrusted to carry one of the Legion's great standards. On the battlefield this made them a rallying point for the Legion's troops. These chosen Space Marines had access to the finest wargear available to the Legion's rank and file and embodied the Legion's honour in war.In the 41st Millennium, Command Squads are a common formation of elite specialists who accompany high-ranking Space Marine officers on the field of battle. The exact nature and title of a Command Squad's members can vary, depending on a Chapter's organisation and the personality of a company's Captain. The most common Command Squads are usually composed of a company Champion, an Apothecary, and a Company Standard Bearer, all positions which can be found in almost all Command Squads.The Codex Astartes states that the Chapter Master of a Space Marine Chapter should make proper provision for the protection of important heroes on the battlefield, recognising as it does the importance of the Chapter's officers, Standard Bearers, Apothecaries, Librarians and other specialists. Most Codex-compliant Chapters therefore organise Command Squads to act in the role of bodyguard to these important warriors.The Command Squads are not a codified part of the company organisation of the Chapter; rather they are Codex Astartes-approved, yet still ad hoc units. As such they can vary in size and composition but they rarely comprise more than ten Space Marines and normally consist of between 5 and 10 Astartes. In the Battle and Reserve Companies of a Chapter these Astartes are always Veterans drawn from the ranks of the Company's Tactical, Assault and Devastator Marine Squads who have not yet been promoted to the elite 1st Company. The number of Astartes in a Command Squad will vary according to the availability of such Veterans and to the tactical situations the Chapter encounters.The Command Squad is more flexible than most of the other squad types of the Space Marines because up to two of the Astartes may be designated as Special Weapons Troopers or as Heavy Weapon Troopers. This is in part due to the availability of specifically-trained Astartes and in part due to differing tactical needs. The mix of supreme individual warriors and highly experienced Veteran Space Marine Battle-Brothers makes Command Squads a particularly powerful fighting force and many a battle has been won by their timely intervention or clever deployment by a Space Marine Force Commander.The Sergeant of a Command Company may display his back banner. The banner displays the Chapter Badge, the Sergeant's red skull rank badge and is trimmed in the company colour.
Command Squad - Company Standard Bearer: A Company Standard Bearer, or "Ancient," is a hand-picked Veteran Space Marine with many years of combat experience. In the midst of battle he is often the focal point the Command Squad will rally around in the heat of battle. A Standard Bearer is often chosen by the company's Captain for this honourable duty because of his bravery and steadfastness in battle. He is a very capable warrior who cannot be discounted when assessing the fighting strength of the company and carries the battle-flag of the company in which he serves. Each standard is an ancient relic, steeped in history and heavy with the glories of the Chapter, and every Space Marine, from the most inexperienced recruit to the hoariest Veteran, fights all the harder in its august presence.. A Standard Bearer has his own shoulder plate markings as befits his officer status within the Chapter. The Standard Bearer's rank badge is the Imperial Laurel honour, usually combined with a skull. The Standard Bearer is trusted never to let his banner out of his grip while he still draws breath -– to do otherwise is to invite the most terrible and shameful dishonour.
Command Squad - Apothecary: The Apothecary is well-versed in the arts of battlefield aid as well as advanced surgery, cybernetics and bio-engineering. He must also be a warrior of untold might and unquenchable bravery, for his place is in the bloody heart of battle. If a comrade falls, the Apothecary can use his Narthecium to tend the wounds, allowing his brother to return to battle even after suffering the most appalling of injuries. However, not all the wounded can be saved. Some weapons are terrible enough to mortally wound a Space Marine outright. The Apothecary can then only calm the spirits of the dying and prepare them for death. Once dead, a Space Marine can live on through his gene-seed, the Apothecary using his reductor to remove the Progenoid Glands from the body. From the genetic imprint held within these precious organs, future generations of Space Marines are created, and the continuation of the Chapter is assured.
Command Squad - Company Champion: Company Champions are charged with defending the honour of their company, their Chapter and the Emperor Himself. They engage the warlords and champions of the foe in single combat, leaving the Captain of their company free to conduct the wider battle, rather than engage in a series of personal combats. Company Champions have key roles in the rituals and ceremonies of their Chapter, representing their Battle-Brothers in rites and mysteries just as they do in war.
Command Squad - Wargear: A Command Squad can accompany a company Captain and various designated Librarians and Chaplains in Space Marine forces. The Astartes of such Command Squads are usually armed as follows:Power ArmourBolt PistolChainswordBolter (as replacement for Chainsword and/or Bolt Pistol)Frag GrenadesKrak GrenadesCompany Standard (carried by Company Standard Bearer)Standard of the Emperor Ascendant (relic standard available to one Chapter at a time)Power Weapon (any type; optional for Company Champion)Combat Shield (optional for Company Champion)Narthecium (for Apothecary)Melta BombsStorm ShieldAssault Bikes (as transport for the entire squad)Drop Pod, Rhino or Razorback (as dedicated transport for entire squad)
Command Squad - Notable Command Squads: "Lions of Macragge" - Captain Cato Sicarius; Ultramarines 2nd Company"The Swords of Calth" - Captain Uriel Ventris; Ultramarines 4th Company
Command Squad - Notable Command Squad Variants: The exact nature and title of a Command Squad's members can vary, depending on a Chapter's organisation and the personality of a company's Captain. The following is a list of notable Command Squad variants found in other Space Marine Chapters:ChapterCommand Squad VariantDeath SpectresTerrorbladesFire LordsPyre WardensOmega MarinesFoeseekersSilver SkullsPrognosticatorsSpace WolvesWolf Guard
Commander Brightsword - Commander Brightsword: Shas'o Tash'var Ol'nan B'kak, often referred to as O'var, which translated from the Tau Lexicon into Low Gothic means Commander Brightsword, was a T'au military officer and a student of Commander Farsight and the commander of the T'au outpost world of Es'tau.Later, the title would be passed down to six other T'au warriors, who all served Commander Farsight and his renegade Farsight Enclaves in one capacity or another over the centuries.
Commander Brightsword - History: Brightsword first served alongside Commander Farsight in the Arkunasha War against the Ork WAAAGH! Dok led by Warboss Toofjaw.During the Second Sphere Expansion of the T'au Empire, Brightsword led the T'au forces against the Imperial troops defending the Civilised World of Nimbosa. During the initial assault, he annihilated the IX Vostroyan Firstborn Regiment at the battle for the factory city of Polia. When the Imperium counterattacked, Brightsword wiped out the attackers at a battle remembered amongst Imperials as the Koloth Gorge Massacre. There Brightsword ordered his troops to take no prisoners and the human forces were wiped out to the last trooper.As a result of these unusually brutal tactics in contravention of the Greater Good, he was recalled back to the T'au homeworld of T'au and the world of Nimbosa was eventually reconquered by the Imperium during the Nimbosa Crusade.Brightsword was assassinated by the 13th Penal Legion with the help of some members of the T'au Water Caste who feared his aggression would spark an unnecessary full-scale war with the Imperium of Man.Following O'var's death, many T'au Commanders subsequently took up the name and identity of Brightsword, seven in total so far. All served under the command of Farsight from the time of the Damocles Crusade and the defence of the Sept world of Dal'yth, through the subsequent Farsight Expedition and even for many centuries after the founding of the renegade T'au Farsight Enclaves.The latest warrior of the Fire Caste to bear the name of Commander Brightsword is part of Farsight's elite Battlesuit strike team and war council known as "The Eight." Though half a dozen T'au generations separate him from the original warrior to bear his name, this Brightsword has inherited all of that lineage's legendary ferocity and tactical accumen, and like the Brightswords before him, he has pledged his life to the service of Commander Farsight and the Enclaves.The dark truth behind the lineage of the Brightswords is that each bearer of the title is not actually a separate T'au warrior who volunteers to give up his own identity for that of the Brightsword, but a clone of the original O'var created by O'Vesa, a member of The Eight who was not a warrior but a scientist of the Earth Caste who served Commander Farsight.
Commander Darkstar - Commander Darkstar: Commander Darkstar is a T'au Commander serving with the T'au Empire's Fifth Sphere Expansion. He is currently commanding the T'au Fire Caste forces operating in the Riatov System in the Chalnath Expanse as part of the Chalnath Expanse Campaign.
Commander Farsight - Student of the Master: Shoh was transported to Daly'th Prime, where he made his way to the peak of Mount Kanji, seat of Puretide's tutelage. With only his wits and tenacity to call upon, the journey up the sheer mountainside was a gruelling test by itself. Yet by using a system of improvised pulleys, and the dead weight of a Kanjian snow lynx he had killed with a makeshift slingshot, Shoh made the journey up the perilous face of the mountain, kilometre by painstaking kilometre.Soon after he reached the topmost peak, Shoh found Commander Puretide deep in meditation. Seated in focused meditation in front of Puretide were two young T'au warriors -- one who later introduced herself as Shaserra, a fellow aspirant to the command ranks of the Fire Caste, and the other a taciturn but gifted young warrior known as Kais. Through the hardships that were to follow, the three aspirants became as close as Ta'lissera bondmates -- albeit ones engaged in a bitter rivalry for the approval of their elderly master. Each of Puretide's students had a different style of war and a separate philosophy to go with it.Shoh's simmering passion and desire to plunge into the fires of battle saw him gravitate towards the Mont'ka, or "killing blow," strategies, whilst Shaserra was a careful and meticulous practitioner of the "patient hunter", Kauyon. Kais, a withdrawn and strange individual, was unusual in that he sought mastery of the Monat's way of war. His goal was to become the perfect lone warrior, an army of one that could triumph in any situation with only the materials to hand. Though Shoh regularly scored the highest in the training simulations, his peers were not far behind. The competition between them saw each strive for success just as hard as in any true war zone, and in the process, earn the respect of their fellow students.Commander Puretide had long ago mastered every one of the T'au's martial disciplines, and more besides. Over the years he honed his students' abilities to near superhuman levels, all the while striving to make them appreciate the alternative strategies available to the wise. When each was asked to fight in the manner of one of their peers, they did well enough, but in truth, they were only going through the motions, purely to ensure their master's approval. Each student had followed his or her own path, and was loath to stray far from it.One by one, the T'au warriors left Puretide's side, their studies as complete as time would afford. They took their new names and titles from the peak of Mount Kanji -- Shas'O Shoh, Shas'O Shaserra, and Monat Shas'O Kais. Though they would go on to fight in different war zones across the T'au Empire, the three disciples of Puretide were all to make their mark on history.
Commander Farsight - World of Rust: The planet of Arkunasha was settled during the Second Sphere Expansion. Despite the aridity of the oxide deserts that made up the world's surface, the T'au had settled the red planet with a sizeable population. This they had achieved through the tireless work of the Earth Caste's scientists and engineers.By their efforts, the T'au Empire had girded the planet with two necklace-like strings of bio-domes that ran around the most temperate latitudes, each a mirror distance from the equator. From orbit, the world appeared as a blood red globe adrift in the ocean of space, banded with two rows of bioluminescent lights that pulsed bluish white like the flanks of some deep-sea organism.In their preliminary investigations, during the earliest expeditions to Arkunasha's surface, the Earth Caste had made a disturbing discovery. Whilst determining the source of the oxide deserts that covered the world, they found a great variance in the metallic composition and even origin of the various particulates.It was as if the world had been entirely covered in metal structures at some time in the distant past, which had long since been utterly ground to dust. Given the depth of the oxide residue, that ancient civilization must have included several artificial cities the size of mountain ranges.Theories abounded throughout the Earth Caste about the planet-wide catastrophe that had torn everything upon the planet's surface apart. Though the T'au had no idea what might have caused Arkunasha's spectacular death, or who the inhabitants might have been, they had taken their first glimpse of the world-destroying power of the Imperium of Mankind.
Commander Farsight - Massacre at Ghoul's Gorge: During this unprecedented period of success for the T'au upon Arkunasha, the people of the bio-domes were extracted and moved to the natural fortresses of the highlands, away from comforts of home but safe enough to survive whilst the war raged below. The Hunter Cadres continued to thin out and then eradicate the Ork armies milling across the dunes in a series of Mont'ka strikes that were pitilessly efficient. Then came an innovation from the Ork ranks that changed the face of the war once again. Though the Waaagh! had by now been reduced to less than a quarter of its former size, the deserts were still infested. Dune Orks pushed their way out of the red sands with every dawn, and the Doks at the head of the Waaagh! had an almost necromantic talent for stitching fallen warriors back together. The tenacity of the Ork army was incredible. Yet it was the Orks' Earth caste equivalent, the individuals known as Meks, that robbed the T'au of their greatest strength.Ghoul's Gorge, named for the cannibalistic atrocity that had taken place there between two rival Kroot kindreds, was a vast open canyon that howled with fierce desert winds. Battle erupted when a vast horde of Orks sought to push through the gorge and fall upon the bio-domes beyond. In their midst was a giant drill-armed walker designed to breach the transplastic shells of the domes, as much a pagan idol as a weapon of war. Farsight had no inclination to see if it would work. He drove his teams in close, harrying the Ork column from above whilst they were still bottle-necked in the gorge. As plasma fire rained down, shimmering domes flickered into existence above each mob, lit by the energies cascading across their bubble-like surfaces. Even the drill-titan Stompa was protected by a force dome, the Heavy Rail Rifle rounds of Farsight's Broadside teams simply disintegrated on impact. The ensuing battle was tortuous for Farsight's T'au. They could not abandon their charges in the bio-domes, and yet their firepower was all but useless against the flashing bubble fields of the Orks. The impetuous young Commander Brightsword mounted a close-range Battlesuit attack on the rearmost Ork mob; he and his team quickly established that the only way to circumvent the bubble fields was to get inside them -- placing the T'au just where the Orks wanted them to be.So began the Massacre at Ghoul's Gorge, the most disastrous battle yet to have taken place during the entire Arkunasha war. Every time the T'au penetrated a bubble field in order to strike at the greenskins within, the Orks would charge headlong into their foes, guns blazing. Close combats erupted along the length of the gorge as the cramped conditions the T'au had engineered for the battle prevented them from using hit-and-run tactics. Though Farsight himself used a daring vertical strike to immobilise the clanking, fat-bellied driller at the heart of the Ork horde, he was forced to order his Cadres to withdraw before their losses became untenable. The commander reluctantly retreated to his mobile headquarters to reconsider his strategy.
Commander Farsight - Damocles Gulf Crusade: The T'au's first encounters with the Imperium were based on subtle infiltration, though when the masters of Humanity learned of their subversion, a storm of violence followed. The resultant war crossed the Damocles Gulf and broke upon the heartlands of the T'au Empire. Without the actions of Commander Farsight, the Sept worlds might well have been wiped out.
Commander Farsight - March on Gel'bryn: As all-out war unfolded in the skies above, the monstrous tracked transports of the Imperial Guard and the giant walkers that stomped in their vanguard simply ignored the best efforts of the Air Caste. Their crackling shields and thick hides were all but impenetrable to anything short of Railgun fire, and they knew it. The vast metal transports settled in great wallowing clouds of steam before unfurling their ramps like broad, flat tongues, disgorging regiment after regiment of soldiers from their gullets. Strike forces of T'au moved to intercept, but wherever they hove into view, the immense Imperial Titans that flanked each deployment ramp would unleash firepower so intense that the Hunter Cadres were forced to take evasive action of their own. The massive machines were demigods of battle; each was an avatar of destruction given form on a scale undreamt of, even by the most ambitious of the Earth caste's Battlesuit designers. Here was Mankind's warlike deity made manifest, just as the effigy-walkers of the primitive Orks represented their own belligerent gods. Under the protection of these god-machines, endless ranks of Imperial soldiery marched. Elsewhere, thousands of ponderous Imperial tanks churned the planet's indigo grass into thick mud as they rumbled into attack formations. Farsight's Hunter Cadres were ready to engage, but even the most veteran Fireblade was forced to admit that the sheer scale of the task was bewildering. In the space of a single day, the Imperium had bulldozed a series of beachheads onto Dal'yth with little more than faith and brute force. Despite sustaining heavy losses to long-range suppression fire, they were slowly converging on the capital hexodomes central to the planet's eastern hab-states.As night began to fall on the first day of the invasion, Commander Farsight called an emergency conclave of those commanders not yet involved in the battle. The Space Marines that had dared to assault the city of Gel'bryn directly had been neutralised, but the vast bulk of the Imperial armies were yet to engage. Their advance had been stalled by staggered missile strikes from the hills around Gel'bryn, and their outriders had been slain by optimised Stealth Teams, but the solid core remained. The battle for Dal'yth had only just begun.
Commander Farsight - Mercy of the Ethereals: Farsight and his acolytes were already preparing to encircle and destroy the retreating Imperial armies when a contingent of Water Caste diplomats made an official visit. A trio of Ethereals delivered the message that the Imperial troops were to be allowed to flee unhindered. A communiqué had been received from one Captain Sevalliac of the Hammers of Dorn, accepting the truce the Water caste had offered on the T'au Empire's behalf. Though the T'au's confidence in their own supremacy had been severely shaken, they had triumphed in the final reckoning and learned much about the Imperium. Not only did the Imperium withdraw its forces from Dal'yth Sept, but from T'au space altogether, retreating across the Damocles Gulf in as strange a manner as they had come. They left behind a swathe of broken and abandoned technology, every last piece of which was recovered by the Earth Caste and studied in painstaking detail. The vast majority of the Imperial war-tech was declared inferior and of no use to the Greater Good, though O'Vesa made some astonishing discoveries in the depths of his labs about the esoteric technologies used by the humans' fleets.As for the commanders dubbed the Swords of Puretide, all of the engrams that had been surgically inserted in Dal'yth's warrior leaders were forcibly removed. These invasive procedures left those who had been operated upon as drooling and pliant simpletons, a sad loss to the Empire. Yet, as the Water Caste patiently explained, such was the sometimes painful cost of victory. When Aun'Va and his honour guard came to collect Farsight's old team-mate, Commander Sha'vastos, for his scheduled engram removal, the veteran warrior was absent from his quarters. When questioned about his disappearance, O'Shovah mournfully informed them that Sha'vastos had in fact fallen in the last engagement of the war, and his body had been burnt to an unrecognizable crisp. Such was the cost of victory, explained O'Shovah, dipping his head in sorrow. Aun'Va met Farsight's gaze for a long time before turning on his heel and heading back the way he came, his ceremonial escort trailing in his wake.