vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Belis Corona Sector: The Imperial forces have largely held at Belis Corona, the location of the greatest shipyard of the Imperium, which suffered the worst excesses of a Tyranid splinter Hive Fleet, and the horrific plagues bestowed upon its hive cities by the Death Guard Traitor Legion. At the height of the invasion, something truly unexpected occurred. Defenders in the outlying systems reported contact with Tyranid organisms -- at first individual vanguard-organisms such as Lictors, but soon entire broods of Genestealers and Hormagaunts. A splinter fleet of Hive Fleet Leviathan, a Tyranid fleet known to be attacking up through the galactic plane, was taking advantage of the mass destruction initialed by the Chaotic invasion to gain a foothold in strategically vital Imperial space. Faced with both the pestulant forces of the Death Guard, and the voracious hordes of Tyranids who were, unlike the human defenders, immune to the Plague God's blessings, the forces of the Imperium were hard-pressed to defend the vital worlds of the sector. It was the intervention of the forces of the Eldar of the Ulthwé Craftworld and then the orbital bombardment of Laurentix that allowed the forces of the Imperium to fight back, despite the disastrous ambush of forward elements of Battlefleet Solar at the Bairsten Prime Warp jump point. Subiaco Diablo saw the Convent of the Order of the Ermine Mantle hold out against overwhelming odds, though at terrible cost, before being relieved by a host of Adepta Sororitas units drawn from across the region, thanks to the leadership of the renowned Canoness Astra.
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Agripinaa Sector: The industrial heartland of the Cadian Gate lies in ruin. Though the Imperial Navy controls its space, many worlds of the Agripinaa Sector are lost to anarchy and destruction. By the end of the war, the planets Albitern, Amistel, Lelithar, Malm's Reach, Ulthor and Yavor lay in ruins, and a number of other key star systems hung in the balance. Though Agripinaa itself still stands, without the Agri-Worlds of Yayor, Ulthor and Dentor, its populace may yet starve to death, and without the vital materials provided by the Hive Worlds of Albitern, Amistel and Tabor, its mighty forges may yet fall silent. The so-called "Herald of Nurgle," Typhus of the Death Guard Traitor Legion, has claimed the now blasted world of Ulthor as his own realm, and the nightmare visions of a thousand Astropaths tell of the birth of a new Daemon World within the realm of Mankind. Further, unconfirmed reports state that one of the Blackstone Fortresses was destroyed by Necron raiders off the shoulder of the Lustitia Belt. Senior members of the Ordo Xenos are en route to the area, and Deathwatch Strike Cruisers are already engaged in ensuring no vessels other than their own enter the region.Striding through the blackened ruins of the ravaged worlds of the Imperium, crushing the bones of the slain beneath his Chaos Terminator Armour and spreading the vilest afflictions of Nurgle, Typhus was the embodiment of terror, a cursed thing too terrible to name. His ship, the Terminus Est, and its supporting Plague Fleet were one of the largest Chaos battle groups remaining active throughout the war and allowed Typhus to terrorise warzone after warzone.It was on the world of Ulthor in the Agripinaa Sector, that Typhus unleashed his greatest sorceries, exhibiting the great favour in which he is held by Nurgle. The once verdant Agri-World was utterly twisted and corrupted. The taint of the Herald devolved whatever life it found, rendering it down into a formless sea of putrescence. Seeing his handiwork, Typhus took the nascent Daemon World for his own, a stronghold beyond the Cadian Gate from which he can bring terror to the other worlds of the Imperium at his leisure.
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Sentinel Worlds: The barren Sentinel Worlds in the southwest quadrant of the Eye of Terror have always been thought to be a collection of mostly featureless rocks held together by specific gravitational anomalies. The Adeptus Mechanicus have done much to discourage development in this region due to their facility stationed on Hydra Cordatus, a relatively unremarkable planet holding a potent secret -- it was one of the few locations in the galaxy where the Adeptus Mechanicus stored its tithes of Space Marine gene-seed, in this case genetic material drawn from the Imperial Fists Chapter. The planet consisted of only a spaceport and a single large citadel and manufactorum complex known as the Tor Christo. The Tor Christo was a large star-shaped fortress connected to a smaller half-star fortress built into the side of a nearby mountain. The citadel had a large garrison of Imperial Guard troops and even a small Titan Legion contingent from the Legio Ignatum, to protect its precious contents. Remaining undisturbed for centuries, there were unconfirmed reports of a great Iron Warriors invasion into the system, preceding even the Hive Teriax disaster in the opening phases of the 13th Black Crusade.During the siege of the large Imperial citadel and manufactorum complex on Hydra Cordatus, a faint psychic beacon was transmitted from the surface of the planet. The Iron Warriors warband's flagship Stonebreaker was sent to the star system's Warp translation point in order to intercept any Imperial reinforcements. But this action allowed an Imperial Fists company to slip past the flagship and infiltrate the planet's surface and reinforce the besieged Mechanicus garrison. Inevitably, the Iron Warriors emerged triumphant. They defeated the Imperial forces defending Tor Christo as well as the Imperial Firsts company. Having greatly pleased the Chaos Gods through his monumental victory over the Imperium, the commanding Warsmith of the attack on Hydra Cordatus was ascended to become a Daemon Prince.During the opening stages of the 13th Black Crusade, the Sentinel Worlds had little in the way of full-scale engagements, although a node in the Webway stationed above these worlds saw a lot of conflict between the Eldar and their Chaotic enemies. The most notable development emerged from this unregarded backwater sector just as the war reached its peak, with hordes of silvered Necron warriors emerging from hidden tombs on the four planets surrounding Hydra Cordatus in a rough pyramidal pattern. The Imperial forces stationed nearby feared the worst, but were amazed when the Necrons fell upon the warriors of Chaos, turning the tide in favour of the Imperium. Since that time, increased Necron activity in the sector has prevented any Imperial forces from capitalising upon these victories, and remote orbital pict-captures have even revealed several structures almost identical to the Cadian Pylons sprouting across the landscapes of these four Sentinel Worlds.
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Chinchare Sub-sector: Imperial forces largely ignored the mostly uninhabited Chinchare Sub-sector in the early stages of the war, though the forces garrisoned throughout the region were hard-pressed to contain the initial surge of Chaotic invaders. Reports of increased Chaos activity drew more forces there as the war went on and the Eldar forces of Ulthwé fought hard and spilt much blood in order to wrest control of the sub-sector from the Ruinous Powers. Ulthwé Strike Forces struck at key points within the systems surrounding Chinchare to deny the forces of Abaddon any cohesion to their armies. Striking behind the lines of the main Chaos thrust, precious resources were diverted from the Forces of Chaos' frontline to deal with the raiding Eldar in the rear. Those forces dispatched to deal with the Eldar were themselves ambushed and destroyed piecemeal. Such superiority brought with it an arrogant belief that the Eldar strike forces were invulnerable, but such was not to be the case as Ahriman, the Thousand Sons Chaos Sorcerer, wove powerful magicks to disrupt the path of the Webway, twisting it and ripping portions of it asunder.Much was the lamentation of Ulthwé as many of the Craftworld's strike forces were trapped forever in the Webway or lost in the haunted depths of the Warp. While Ulthwé reeled from these terrible losses, the Chaos forces pressed their attack and launched a devastating counter-attack against Imperial forces, particularly those based on Balzac. The Imperial troops were in danger of being overrun completely, before being suddenly and decisively aided by Eldar emerging from shimmering Webway portals. These mysterious benefactors asked nothing in return for their aid and vanished without a word of explanation. As more and more reports were collated, it appeared that these silent Eldar had appeared virtually simultaneously throughout the Sub-sector, effectively stymieing the Chaos attack. As the Chaos forces reeled, the vengeful Eldar, combined with the might of the Imperial forces, were able to rout the followers of the Dark Gods from the Chinchare Sub-sector completely.
13th Black Crusade (Original) - The Relictors: As a result of the actions of the recalcitrant Chapter known as the Relictors and their conflict with the Inquisition over the use of Chaotic artefacts, the Relictors were judged to be Extremis Diabolus, their lives forfeit. The decision was swift and unanimous and the Chapter was ultimately declared Excommunicate Traitoris by the Ordo Hereticus. The Relictors had turned from the Emperor's Light and were to be hunted down and destroyed; their gene-seed wiped from the galaxy and all record of their deeds expunged from Imperial history. The Relictors had lost a great many of their number during the 13th Black Crusade and their mobile fortress-monastery, a Ramilies-class Starfort, had been severely damaged during the recapture of the world of Finreht. It had taken all the skill of the Chapter's Master of the Fleet to secretly move them to anchor in the Taeloth System, where they attempted to recover their strength and make use of the knowledge they had gleaned from the dark treasure they had recovered within the Diamedes Archive. The Chapter was all but destroyed in a cunning ambush by the Ordo Malleus' Chamber Militant, the Grey Knights, under the command of Inquisitor Cyarro, whom the Relictors had left for dead on the Agri-World of Fremas. After assaulting their fortress-monastery, the assembled Inquisitorial fleet hammered the dying remains of the Relictors' Starfort with concentrated fire from their powerful gun batteries. A Ramilies Starfort is a massive edifice and took time to fully destroy, but the Inquisition left only when every trace of the Relictors was reduced to dust. Only a few hundred Relictors Astartes survived this assault, and it is suspected that these renegade Space Marines have fled to the relative safety of the Eye of Terror. It is currently unknown whether these survivors have thrown in their lot with the Forces of Chaos and become full-fledged Chaos Space Marines or whether they continue their struggle of trying to turn the dark powers of the Chaos Gods against them and their servants for the good of humanity, much like another well-known Renegade Space Marine Chapter, the Soul Drinkers.
13th Black Crusade (Original) - The Space Lanes: The Imperial Navy had fought with courage and vigour throughout the war, ruthlessly taking the battle to the Archenemy wherever it encountered them. Admiral Quarren had been hailed as a true hero of the Imperium for his masterful defence of the space lanes was all that stood between survival and utter defeat for the Imperium. Though Cadia was besieged, the Imperial Navy continued to command its space and the space of all the sectors surrounding the Eye of Terror, and was able to offer support to beleaguered forces on the ground. The only question is whether the rapid redeployment of almost the entirety of Battlefleet Gothic, along with a substantial proportion of Battlefleet Solar, will leave the Imperial Navy dangerously overstretched elsewhere and unable to maintain the level of operations required to hold the line at the Cadian Gate.
13th Black Crusade (Original) - The Tau Empire: The Tau made several major expansions to their empire over the course of the 13th Black Crusade. If any one race or faction can said to have gained from the wholesale destruction unleashed by Abaddon the Despoiler's campaign, it was the Tau. With Imperial attention was elsewhere, and the local Tyranid and Ork menace temporarily contained, Tau settlement colonies and pioneer teams reached far and wide into the outlying systems of the Eastern Fringe in the Damocles Gulf, the Perdus Rift and much further afield. Although the encroachment on Imperial space has been relatively minor, the Tau have established no fewer than five Third Sphere Expansion colony systems in a halo around their existing Sept Worlds. These areas of expansion are already being referred to as the Third Sphere Colonies by the diplomats of the Tau Water Caste, and are rumoured to include unprecedented numbers of human auxiliaries. That the Imperium's attention is focused elsewhere is no doubt of comfort to those humans who have pledged their support to the burgeoning Tau Empire. The Third Sphere Expansion was only finally halted in 999.M41 as a result of the Zeist Campaign waged against the Tau by an alliance of Space Marines, as described above.
13th Black Crusade (Original) - The Webway: The Chaos Sorcerer Ahriman himself ripped open the walls of the Webway with information torn from the mind of Inquisitor Bronislaw Czevak. His plan to breach the fastness of the Black Library came dangerously close to success, but the combined forces of the mysterious Harlequins and an Ulthwé Strike Force kept him from its gates. In a daring move, the Harlequins of the Red Masque freed Inquisitor Czevak from his captivity aboard Ahriman's flagship, the Impossible Fortress. Though what they have done with him since, is, at present, unknown: it is believed by Imperial Astropaths that he may be incarcerated by the Eldar within the Webway.The Eldar have re-sealed the Webway against all invaders, expelling the Traitor Space Marines of the Thousand Sons Legion, and rebuffed their own wayward kin, the Dark Eldar, back to their shadow-realm of Commorragh. For now, the hidden places of the Eldar, and the terrible secrets they hide, are safe from the predations of the "lesser races." Those warzones only accessible through the Webway are now held by the Eldar, including the ancient Crone World of Belial IV, a former jewel in the once-mighty galaxy-spanning Eldar empire.
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Belial: Aeons ago, the Crone World of Belial IV was a capital world of the ancient Eldar empire. Deep in the heart of the Eldar homelands, this verdant paradise was all but obliterated when the cataclysmic Fall of the Eldar stripped away thousands of years of culture and beauty and replaced it with madness, desolation and evil. Belial IV became a dust-strewn wreck of daemon-infested ruins and crackling, baleful skies. Maugan Ra, a Phoenix Lord and therefore a veteran of Webway travel, braved the depths of the Eye of Terror on a pilgrimage to the shattered Crone Worlds, intending to find a faction of Eldar he believed trapped within the Eye of Terror since the Fall. Taking with him a few of his favoured disciples, Maugan Ra eventually reached the Hex System of Belial IV. What he found there he would not speak of and he was not seen again until he appeared upon Ulthwé to form the infamous Eldar Strike Forces, filled with renewed energy and determination to defeat the Forces of Chaos.Towards the end of the 13th Black Crusade, many of the Eldar departed from warzones in Imperial space and gathered upon Belial IV under Maugan Ra's command. They took the fight to the indigenous Chaos forces with such unremitting fury that vast areas were reclaimed by the Eldar. The battle also raged around Belial IV in the Labyrinthine Dimension of the Webway, but it seemed that without the guidance of their leaders the Ulthwé Strike Forces suffered heavy losses to both the Dark Eldar and the Thousand Sons. The otherworldly guardians of the Black Library, fearing for their shadowy rCraftworld's safety, revealed hitherto unknown capillaries of the Webway to the Ulthwé Eldar, enabling them not only to escape from the net drawing around them, but to stage a series of ambushes that broke the deadlock and turn the tide of the war in the Webway once and for all.The final, and most decisive, twist to this peculiar theatre of war came when a daemon horde led a counter-attack against the Eldar consolidating their hold on the Crone Worlds, as sudden as it was devastating. To the great shock of the Eldar below, the withered and broken Craftworld of Altansar, thought lost to the Warp for more than 10,000 Terran years, drifted into orbit above the Crone Worlds. Hundreds of pallid, ghost-like Eldar joined their brethren on the field of battle, throwing back the daemon tide with wave after wave of silent, grim warriors. Since that great victory, Belial IV has been reclaimed by the Eldar. What this, and the reappearance of the Lost of Altansar, bodes for the Eldar race remains to be seen.
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Maugan Ra: The immortal Phoenix Lord Maugan Ra took a vital role in deciding the fate of the Eldar over the course of the 13th Black Crusade. Responsible for the creation of the Ulthwé Strike Forces, Maughan Ra and his elite Black Guardians fought across every sector by cunning use of the Webway. He ultimately led the Eldar to victory even in the heart of the Eye of Terror and, after repelling Dark Eldar raids on Xersia, fought alongside Lord Castellan Ursarkar E. Creed against Abaddon's forces at the Basilica Dufaux. It is believed by many Farseers that the reappearance of the shadowy Craftworld of Altansar and its ghost-like inhabitants was purely due to the iron determination of the Phoenix Lord to locate and redeem his once-lost brethren.
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Eidolon: The mysterious world of Eidolon, deep in the heart of the Eye of Terror, is one of the most remote and peculiar of the Daemon Worlds fought upon during the 13th Black Crusade. Divided into several continents where a different Chaos Power reigns over each, the battlezones of Eidolon present a panoply of strange and excruciating ways to die. Its shifting landscapes defy all reason, and, although it was once a beautiful Maiden World of the Eldar, it has changed so irrevocably that no real trace of its former glory exists. Nonetheless, the victories won by the Eldar, notably the Eldar of the Biel-Tan Craftworld, have established several enclaves of sanity in the roiling seas of possibility that characterise Eidolon. The Eldar hope that one day these islands can grow and become stable, and that eventually the secrets of Eidolon can be reclaimed.
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Fate of Eldrad Ulthran: For the Farseer Eldrad Ulthran, the most gifted and powerful of all the Eldar Seers, the onset of the 13th Black Crusade meant that the twisting forests of possibilities through which he normally walked at will were denied to him, blinding his exceptional scrying abilities. His one certainty was that darkness stood ready to engulf him and possibly even his home Craftworld of Ulthwé. After the formation of the Ulthwé Strike Forces, Eldrad divided many parts of his consciousness into shimmering Waystones. As for Eldrad Ulthran's fate, this bravest and most noble leader of the Eldar since before the birth of Slaanesh has perished. In a last-ditch effort to stop the Blackstone Fortress ("Talisman of Vaul") controlled by Abaddon from crushing the Imperial defenders of Cadia, he and a select few Warlocks teleported aboard. Within minutes, all the Warlocks were drained of life by the Fortress' bottomless thirst, and when Eldrad reached out to try to touch the Eldar spirit that he believed comprised the core of the Fortress' sentience, he found only an extension of the hideous mind of Slaanesh -- "She Who Thirsts," the Great Enemy of the Eldar. As Eldrad realised his folly, his soul was devoured by the Chaos God inhabiting the Blackstone Fortress, and the greatest Farseer of the Eldar was lost. However, a handful of Waystones that Eldrad had created still remained active, causing the Eldar to believe that Eldrad is still alive but trapped somewhere in the Warp, perhaps at the mercy of Slaanesh.
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Canon Conflict: The 13th Black Crusade was the background to the original 2003 worldwide Eye of Terror Campaign whose result was basically a stalemate between the Imperium and the Forces of Chaos after Abaddon managed to gain a foothold on Cadia itself while failing to maintain space superiority in the Cadian System. For fourteen years, Games Workshop chose not to advance the timeline of the Warhammer 40,000 universe beyond this point in the fictional timeline. In January 2017, Games Workshop released the first in a new series of supplements designed to once more advance the Warhammer 40,000 timeline -- Gathering Storm - Part One - Fall of Cadia -- which retconned a great deal of the lore of the 13th Black Crusade and dramatically changed the outcome of Abaddon's assault on Cadia. In this timeline, Abaddon destroyed the world of Cadia, seized complete control of the Cadian Gate, and began the Forces of Chaos' long-awaited second drive on Terra. For more on this version of the campaign, please see 13th Black Crusade.
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Senior Command: Ursarkar E. Creed - Lord Castellan of Cadia and overall Imperial Commander of the defence of Cadia.Logan Grimnar - Great Wolf (Chapter Master) of the Space Wolves Chapter and overall commander of the Adeptus Astartes forces in the Cadian System. A council of representatives from those Chapters of the Space Marines opposing Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade elected the irascible Great Wolf as their nominal head.Admiral Quarren - Commander of Battlefleet Cadia and overall commander of Imperial Navy forces, Admiral Quarren has been hailed a true hero of the Imperium, for his masterful defence of the space lanes was all that stood between survival, and utter defeat for the Imperium. Though Cadia is besieged, the Imperial Navy commands space, and is able to offer support to beleaguered forces on the ground. The only question is whether the rapid redeployment of almost the entirety of Battlefleet Gothic, along with a substantial proportion of Battlefleet Solar will leave the Navy dangerously overstretched elsewhere and unable to maintain the level of operations required to hold the line at the Cadian Gate.
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes: Angels of Absolution - 10 CompaniesAngels of Vigilance - 5 CompaniesAngels Sanguine - 7 CompaniesBlood Angels - 4 CompaniesBrazen Claws - 10 CompaniesDark Angels - 10 CompaniesDeath Spectres - 6 CompaniesDoom Eagles - 5 CompaniesExcoriators - 8 CompaniesExorcists - 10 CompaniesHarbingers - 8 CompaniesHowling Griffons - 8 CompaniesImperial Fists - 5 CompaniesIron Hands - 10 ClansIron Knights - 1 CompanyIron Snakes - 5 CompaniesMarines Exemplar - 9 CompaniesNight Watch - 11 CompaniesNovamarines - 6 CompaniesRelictors - Declared Excommunicate Traitoris by the Inquisition during the 13th Black CrusadeRevilersSpace Wolves - 12 Great CompaniesStorm Warriors - 10 CompaniesSubjugators - 3 CompaniesUltramarines - 1 Honour CompanyWhite Consuls - 10 CompaniesWhite Scars - 10 Companies
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Companies: Space Wolves 13th Company
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Orders Majoris: Order of the Bloody Rose - 6 PreceptoriesOrder of the Ebon Chalice - 4 PreceptoriesOrder of Our Martyred Lady - 5 Preceptories
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Orders Minoris: Order of the Divine LamentationOrder of the Ermine Mantle - 3 MissionsOrder of the Maurdlin Countenance Order of the Silver LilyOrder of the Sublime AdorationOrder of the Wounded Heart - 1 Commandery
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Notable Regiments: Agripinaa Home GuardAvellorn Field RegimentsAvellornian Gunners - 32 SquadronsBar-El Penal Legions - 4 LegionsBlitzen Heavy ArmouredCadian Shock Troops - 612 RegimentsCadian Youth Army - 36 Regional CommandsCadian Kasrkin - 486 CompaniesCatachan Jungle FightersCthonian Armoured CavalryDeath Korps of KriegDrookian Fenguard -16 CompaniesFinreht Highlanders - 3 RegimentsGudrunite Rifles - 47 RegimentsJouran Dragoons - 7 RegimentsKellersburg Irregulars - 3 RegimentsKnovian Gharkas - 14 RegimentsMordian Iron GuardNecromundan 8th, "The Spiders" - 1 RegimentNarmenian Tank BrigadesNarsine Yeomanry - 32 Battle GroupsPraetorian GuardThracian Guard - 35 RegimentsValhallan Ice WarriorsVan De'Man's World, "Redbacks" - 5 RegimentsZenonian Free Companies - 9 Companies
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Ordo Malleus: Inquisitorial Task Forces - CLASSIFIEDGrey Knights - CLASSIFIEDInquisitorial Storm TroopersNemesis Tesera - estimated 38 CompaniesOcularis Terribus War Zone - CLASSIFIED
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Departmento Munitorum: Engineer Corps - 18Siege Auxilia Corps - 28 Counter-siege batteries
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Officio Assassinorum: Agents - CLASSIFIED
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Templars Psykologis: Disruption Squads - 37Augur Teams - 6
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Battlefleets: Battlefleet Cadia - 12 Battleships, 12 Cruiser Squadrons, 21 Escort SquadronsBattlefleet Corona - 7 Battleships, 13 Cruiser Squadrons, 17 Escort SquadronsBattlefleet GothicBattlefleet Scarus - 5 Battleships, 9 Cruiser Squadrons, 13 Escort SquadronsBattlefleet SolarBattlegroup NemesisBattle Group ImperatisBakka Sector Task Force
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Vessels of Note: Galathamor (Emperor-class Battleship) - Admiral Quarren's flagship.Honour & Duty (Emperor-class Battleship)Duke Lurstophan (Dauntless-class Light Cruiser)Abridal's Glory (Gothic-class Cruiser)
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Estimated Fleet Assets: Front Line Battle Groups - 21Rear Echelon Battle Groups - 36Independent Strike Groups - 4Space Marine Battle-Barges - estimated 21+Space Marine Strike Cruisers - estimated 150+Space Marine Escort Squadrons - estimated 200+
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Collegia Titanica: Legio Astorum - Entire LegionLegio Gryphonicus - Entire LegionLegio Ignatum - Entire LegionLegio Metalica - Demi-LegionOrdo Reductor - Demi-LegionDivisio Telepathica Psi-Titans - CLASSIFIED
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Knights: House Arokon - 4 Households of KnightsHouse Krast - 2 Households of KnightsHouse Lakar
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Other Mechanicus Assets: Centurio Ordinatus - 4 OrdinatusSkitarii - 87 Regiments
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Senior Command: Abaddon the Despoiler - Warmaster of Chaos and overall commander of the Forces of ChaosTyphus - Herald of Nurgle, and Plague Fleet commander.Kossolax the Foresworn - Chaos Lord of the Foresworn Renegade Chaos Space Marines warband and fleet commander.
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Chaos Space Marine Legions: Alpha Legion - 20+ unconfirmed sightings in all sectorsBlack Legion - Major presence in all sectorsDeath Guard - Major presence in Subiaco DiabloEmperor's Children - Unconfirmed actions against Eldar reportedIron Warriors - Suspected presence in the Cadian SystemNight Lords - Unconfirmed reports of presence in all sectorsThousand Sons - Active in the Caliban and Prospero SectorsWord Bearers - Active in rear echelon sectorsWorld Eaters - Significant involvement in all sectors
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Renegade Chaos Space Marine Warbands: Crimson SlaughterExtinction AngelsThe PyreSons of MaliceViolators - 3 confirmed actions in Cadia SectorWarp Ghosts - Unconfirmed sighting in Agripnaa System
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Major Traitor Guard Units: 5th Columnus Regiment - Presence confirmed - Belis Corona666th Regiment of Foot - Confirmed presence - CadiaDiscilan Apostates - UnconfirmedHaradni 13thJenen Ironclads - Major presence - Kromat SystemSentrek FreemenThe Traitor 4th - Significant presence - Kantrael SystemUbridius Light Infantry - Major presence - Cadian SectorVolscani Cataphracts - Active - Cadia
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Estimated Mutant Hordes: The Anointed of Aq'si - 6 attacks confirmed - Belisar SystemThe Shyis'slaa - Linked to cult uprisings - Albitern SystemThe Stigmatus Convenant - Significant presence - Mackan SystemThe Unsanctified - Unconfirmed involvement - Bar-el System
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Traitor Titan Legions: Death Stalkers - Unconfirmed involvement on CadiaFire Masters - Limited presence in Cadian SectorIron Skulls - Major force sighted on Vorga TorqLegio Mortis - Major presence confirmed on CadiaLegio Vulcanum I - 4 unconfirmed assaults on Belisar and KromatLegio Vulcanum II - Suspected presence on Subiaco Diablo
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Battlefleets: The Grand Fleet of Abaddon the Despoiler - 7 Battleships, 13 Heavy Cruisers, est. 23 Cruiser Squadrons, est. 30 Escort SquadronsThe Grand Fleet of Kossolax the Foresworn - 1 Battleship, 3 Cruiser Squadrons, 8 Escort SquadronsThe Plague Fleet of Typhus - Terminus Est, 2 Battleships, 3 Heavy Cruisers, 5 Cruiser Squadrons, est. 12 Escort Squadrons
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Notable Vessels: Plagueclaw (Unknown Class Capital Vessel)Darkblood (Styx-class Heavy Cruiser)Planet Killer (Undesignated Class Capital Vessel)Merciless Death (Despoiler-class Battleship)Fortress of Agony (Despoiler-class Battleship)
13th Black Crusade (Original) - Fleet Assets: Imperial Battlefleets - est. 38Blackstone Fortresses - 2"Wolf Pack" Squadrons - est. 19
13th Founding - Select Chapters of the 13th Founding: Exorcists -  The Exorcists, whose homeworld is the planet Banish, were founded as part of a highly-classified Imperial experiment to create Space Marines who were unusually resistant to daemonic possession and Chaos corruption. As part of their initiation into the Chapter each Exorcists Astartes had actually been forced to serve as a Daemonhost for a short time before having the foul creature expelled back to the Warp by the intervention of an Inquisitor.Death Spectres - A Successor Chapter of the Raven Guard located on the world of Occludus, the Death Spectres share many of the same mutations as found in that Chapter's gene-seed. Stationed beyond the frontiers of the Imperium, the Death Spectres maintain a constant vigil to ensure that the supernatural inhabitants of the Ghoul Stars never again threaten the galaxy.Crimson Sabres (Excommunicate Traitoris) - The reputation of the Crimson Sabres of the world of Rhoghon was built on ruthless efficiency and fastidious adherence to the Codex Astartes. Soon enough, signs that things were awry appeared in their Chapter history. These problems culminated with the genocidal war on Umidia. This world proved to be the fulcrum of change for the Crimson Sabres. The fighting there proved so intense that it changed the Chapter, as they found themselves cursed by the Chaos God Khorne, forever haunted by the fell voices of the slain even after the combat had ended. Fleeing into the Eye of Terror, they were eventually corrupted into full-fledged Chaos Space Marines. Renamed the Crimson Slaughter, the voices which plague them can no longer be silenced except by the most obscene levels of carnage.
13th Penal Legion (Last Chancers) - 13th Penal Legion (Last Chancers): The 13th Penal Legion of the Astra Militarum, also known as the "Last Chancers," is a special regiment composed of Imperial criminals and convicts. All the men and women of the Last Chancers are hand-picked by the fiercely uncompromising Colonel Schaeffer for the performance of suicide missions on behalf of the Imperium of Man throughout the galaxy.The convicts are given a "last chance" by Schaeffer to be forgiven of their crimes in the eyes of the Emperor of Mankind and this is achieved by receiving an Imperial pardon from the colonel. These pardons are awarded only to those members of the regiment who survive a number of military operations determined by Schaeffer. Colonel Schaeffer personally pardons all those who die during an operation posthumously.The 13th Penal Legion, unusual among the many Penal Legions that serve in the Astra Militarum, was in fact a testing ground. Schaeffer would hand-pick his regiment's troops from Imperial prisons' worst convicts because of some natural talent they displayed or because they possessed an uncanny instinct for survival so that they could serve as part of an elite ad hoc military team intended to achieve some difficult, usually borderline insane military objective of the Imperium.These dregs comprise the most vicious, ill-disciplined and unstable group of psychopaths, conspirators, thieves and traitors in the Astra Militarum who would otherwise be destined for the firing squad or the business end of a commissar's Bolt Pistol.Many of those offered the chance to fight with the "Last Chancers" choose death rather than follow Colonel Schaeffer, for such is the colonel's reputation for undertaking suicide missions throughout the Imperium.The 13th Penal Legion is particularly notable for achieving the destruction of the rebellious Genestealer-infested fortress city of Coritanorum on the world of Typhos Prime, the assassination of T'au Commander Brightsword and the assassination of the traitorous former planetary governor of Armageddon, the Overlord Herman von Strab.
13th Penal Legion (Last Chancers) - Regimental Organisation: An oddity among the numerous Penal Legions serving the Imperial Guard, the 13th Penal Legion, under the command of the iconoclastic Colonel Schaeffer, is as much an experiment in military science as it is a military regiment. The 13th Penal Legion is composed of a motley assortment of criminals, recidivists, malcontents, madmen, and assorted detritus from the most hardened military prisons kept by the Imperial Guard.Every one is hand–picked by Colonel Schaeffer himself and each has some outstanding skill or natural ability that sets them apart from their comrades. Following some internal plan of his own, Schaeffer picks these recruits seemingly at random and offers them a "last chance" to atone for their crimes and put their God–Emperor given talents to good use. What he offers is a full Imperial pardon and freedom from prison, what he asks is nothing short of their lives, something that most gladly give.Upon accepting Schaeffer's offer, each new recruit is whisked off to a private, secret penal colony administered by Schaeffer for the sole purpose of raising his 13th Penal Legion. Once there, the recruits spend solar months training for every kind of mission in every kind of environment imaginable. If the recruit survives with body and wits intact, he is assigned to one of the many small clandestine units organised under the 13th Penal Legion's aegis.These small units are deployed across the galaxy to fight a shadowy war rarely seen by the average Imperial Guardsman. Colonel Schaeffer has worked hard to hone the surviving Last Chancers into a deadly spear with which he can stab at the hearts of the enemies of Humanity unopposed, when and where they least expect it.Another thing that sets the "Last Chancers" and other, similar units apart from their common Penal Legion counterparts is the special training regimen they are put through to fulfil their clandestine missions. Some of these groups are subjected to a gruelling, months-long training regimens to enhance the natural skills and talents for which they were chosen.If their missions call for it, these recruits might also receive training in close combat techniques, sabotage, infiltration, different insertion and extraction methods such as Grav-Chutes and underwater infiltration, and survival in all manner of hostile environments.Those who survive the training (and safety is hardly a priority, given the condemned status of these dishonoured soldiers) gain the skills needed to be some of the most vicious and lethal warriors in the Astra Militarum.
13th Penal Legion (Last Chancers) - Regimental Operations: The missions that such condemned soldiers take part in are nothing less than sheer suicidal madness. They are tasked with missions so clandestine, so dangerous, and so cold-blooded that they would give any commander pause.Assassinations, mass killings, gathering intelligence, infiltration of heavily guarded and fortified enemy facilities, and the sabotage, theft, and destruction of untold thrones' worth of property and war materiel are all in a day's work for the 13th Penal Legion and other regiments of their uncouth ilk.
13th Penal Legion (Last Chancers) - Inspiration: The Last Chancers 13th Penal Legion is based upon the World War II-era film The Dirty Dozen as well as the use of penal legions by both the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany during that conflict.
13th Penal Legion (Last Chancers) - Sources: 13th Legion (Novel) by Gav Thorpe, Chs. 1, 6, 7, EpilogueKill Team (Novel) by Gav ThorpeAnnihilation Squad (Novel) by Gav ThorpeChapter Approved, The Second Book of the Astronomican, "Unlucky For Some" by Jervis Johnson, pp. 112-116Imperial Guard (3rd Edition, 2nd Codex), pg. 54Imperial Guard (3rd Edition, 1st Codex), pp. 26-27Imperial Guard (2nd Edition), pp. 88-89Only War: Hammer of the Emperor (RPG), pp. 22-23Words of Blood (Anthology), "Liberty" by Gav Thorpe
14th Alphic Dragons - 14th Alphic Dragons: The 14th Alphic Dragons are an elite Tempestus Scions regiment of the Militarum Tempestus. Little else is known about them in Imperial records.
14th Alphic Dragons - Regimental History: The Metallophagic Plague (981.M41) - Myosan, a vital Agri-world at the heart of the Diosis System, is saved from a planet-wide Necron incursion by the swift action of the Tempestus Scions of the 14th Alphic Dragons.
14th Alphic Dragons - Regimental Colours: The regimental colours of the 14th Alphic Dragons are not listed in current Imperial records.
14th Alphic Dragons - Regimental Badge: The regimental symbol of the 14th Alphic Dragons is not listed in current Imperial records.
196th Iotan Gryphonnes - 196th Iotan Gryphonnes: 196th Iotan GryphonnesTempestus ScionsOrdo TempestusT'auEarth CasteSept WorldBork'an
196th Iotan Gryphonnes - Regimental History: In 939.M41, the 196th Iotan Gryphonnes were deployed in their entirety by Lord Commissar Tilenus to the T'au Sept World of Bork'an to target the planet's academic facilities and wipe out every scientist, researcher and student. This would greatly affect the T'au Empire's ability to mass-produce prototype weapons and deadly Battlesuits. In the first few hours of the war, the Gryphonnes' Valkyrie-borne attacks were met with great success. However, the Tau's vicious counterattack, spearheaded by experimental Battlesuits and prototype weaponry, quickly overwhelmed the attacking Scions and virtually annihilated the 196th Iotan Gryphonnes. The Earth Caste scientist made good their escape during the battle, putting them out of reach of their would-be assassins. The few surviving Scions requested to be extracted; however, their repeated requests were denied, and soon they were systematically hunted down Bork'an's' vengeful Fire Warriors.
196th Iotan Gryphonnes - Regimental Colours: The regimental colours of the 196th Iotan Gryphonnes are not listed in current Imperial records.
196th Iotan Gryphonnes - Regimental Badge: The regimental symbol of the 196th Iotan Gryphonnes is not listed in current Imperial records.
196th Omicroid Hydras - 196th Omicroid Hydras: The 196th Omicroid Hydras are an elite Tempestus Scions regiment of the Militarum Tempestus. Little else is known about them in Imperial records. The 835th was responsible for the destruction of the Ork superkrooza Brawla.
196th Omicroid Hydras - Regimental History: Death on the Brawla (955.M41) - The Tempestus Scions of the 196th Omicroid Hydras are sent to intercept the titanic Ork superkrooza Brawla. Augur reports had shown that the giant scrap-craft was heading straight for the world of Macharia. If it continued on its projected course, it would not be able to slow down before breaching atmosphere, crashing into the sacred world's surface and causing an extinction-level cataclysm in the process. The sleek drop-craft Mercurian drifts the last few thousand miles in order to evade detection before locking down in the shadow of the Ork craft's towering finials. The Hydras drive out, their Taurox Primes forming up and gunning towards the stern of the enormous vessel. As the Brawla's engines come into view, the Scions disembark in tight formation, their mag-boots clamping to the underside of the spacefaring metal hulk with each exaggerated step. The troopers are less than a hundred Terran feet from the engine arrays when several blinding flashes of blue-green light illuminate the entire strike force. The Scions drop into battle stances and raise their Hot-shot Lasguns as thirty heavily-armoured Orks appear from nowhere and clomp forward, Exo-armour hissing steam. The Tempestor's plasma teams open fire, but to a man their weapons detonate in their hands, their ragged torsos bleeding spheres of blood into the void. Guttural Orkish laughter rumbles across the comms-net as the Tempestus Scions realise their boots are locked down tight -- according to their Slate Monitrons, the entire section of the Ork warship is now crackling with a crude electromagnetic field. The ensuing firefight is terrible in its intensity. The Ork's crude weaponry takes a horrible toll on the crouching Tempestus Scions, even with the Taurox Primes' supporting fire hammering into the Greenskins' midst. Only a desperate Vox signal from the regiment's Tempestor Prime saves them from total destruction, The drop-craft Mercurian stabs a series of pulsing, flickering lasers into the toroid copper structures on Brawla's midsection, and a moment later the electromagnetic field rippling across the hull fizzes, spurts and shorts out. As if lifted by invisible hands, the Orks drift off the hull into space, roaring their denial and hammering the last of their ammunition into the Scions as they go. Several hit their mark, the Carapace Armor-clad bodies of Tempestus Scions spinning off after those of their foes. Despite this last desperate attack, there remain enough Scions to set several strings of melta charges across Brawla's fuel silos. That night the people of Macharia witness a series of vast explosions as the Ork ship detonates.
196th Omicroid Hydras - Regimental Colours: The regimental colours of the 196th Omicroid Hydras are not listed in current Imperial records.
196th Omicroid Hydras - Regimental Badge: The regimental symbol of the 196th Omicroid Hydras is not listed in current Imperial records.
19th Founding - 19th Founding: The 19th Founding of Space Marine Chapters occurred during the mid-36th Millennium.During this Founding the Avenging Sons were created from the gene-seed of the Ultramarines.
1st Black Crusade - 1st Black Crusade: The 1st Black Crusade was the first of the great assaults led by Ezekyle Abaddon, soon to be known as "Abaddon the Despoiler," out of the Eye of Terror into Imperial space. It was the first major incursion by the forces of Chaos into Imperial space since the defeat of the Traitor Legions at the Siege of Terra almost eight standard centuries before and the campaigns of the Great Scouring that drove them into the Eye of Terror.Its purpose was to show both the Imperium of Man and the Chaos Gods themselves that Abaddon was the rightful and worthy successor to Horus. By his actions Abaddon earned the favour of the Ruinous Powers and a potent new Daemon Weapon that cemented his standing as the new mortal champion of Chaos Undivided.In 781.M31, Abaddon the Despoiler, Chaos Lord of the Black Legion and the chosen Warmaster of Chaos, made his first attempt to launch a new offensive against the Imperium of Man following the Horus Heresy. He initiated the campaign known as the 1st Black Crusade, which opened with the conflict remembered as the First Battle of Cadia.The 1st Black Crusade also marked the start of the Chaos Space Marines' ten-thousand-year-long attempt to throw down the Imperium that they named the "Long War."Abaddon had made many blood pacts with the Dark Gods in the wake of Horus' defeat during the Horus Heresy. Following this deadly incursion, the Ruinous Powers granted Abaddon the means to further increase his already formidable power.After the First Battle of Cadia was won, the forces of Chaos under Abaddon's command plunged the worlds of the Segmentum Obscurus into a terrible conflict that ravaged hundreds of worlds for several solar decades.At the end of that time, on the world of Uralan in the Eye of Terror, Abaddon recovered the Daemonsword Drach'nyen after battling his way through a haunted labyrinth to the great inner chamber where the blade had languished in stasis for millennia.The howling sword contained the bound essence of an ancient and dangerous Warp entity who had once been defeated by the Emperor Himself during the Horus Heresy and had the power to rend reality apart wherever the weapon struck.After the recovery of the malefic sword, Abaddon's power swelled to inhuman proportions much like his predecessor Horus, and he was recognised by the Chaos Gods as Horus Lupercal's true successor amongst the Traitor Legions, the new Warmaster of Chaos Undivided.
1st Black Crusade - History: Following the dire events of the Horus Heresy during the climactic Siege of Terra and the death of the Warmaster Horus aboard his flagship, the Vengeful Spirit, First Captain Ezekyle Abaddon and the surviving Sons of Horus broke orbit and fought their way free of the orbital battle and escaped into the void.A time of Imperial reprisal and retribution known as the Great Scouring followed for many solar decades, and countless worlds were put to death by the Loyalists for siding with Horus, their corpses left as a warning to others. Those Traitor Legions that remained in the Imperium were hunted mercilessly and hounded across the stars by pitiless Loyalists.Abaddon and the remaining Sons of Horus took refuge in the Eye of Terror, choosing to plunge into that maelstrom of madness rather than face extinction at the hands of the Emperor's vengeful warriors.The Sons of Horus managed to reach the Eye of Terror with the bloodied survivors of the Scouring, but the once-mighty XVIth Legion was reduced to a fraction of its former size. Led by only a few remaining captains, the Legion struggled with its loyalty to their fallen primarch and the cold reality of their defeat at the hands of the Emperor and His lackeys.Bereft of their glorious primarch, the XVIth Legion floundered, and in desperation sought the aid of each of the Chaos Gods in turn in their search for renewed power, inviting daemonic possession and the ever more costly blessings of the Warp.All the while, the Legion suffered the jealous attacks of their former allies. As the Traitor Legions turned upon one another, the Dark Gods subverted and manipulated their new playthings, reshaping the Traitor Legions for their own ends and the never-ending war between the gods in the Great Game.Abaddon abandoned the Legion; broken by the death of Horus and sick of war, he wandered alone into the Eye of Terror. Meanwhile the Sons of Horus carried the body of their primarch, preserved in stasis, further into the Eye, ignoring the wars that raged around them.On the Daemon World of Maeleum, a graveyard world of steel and rust, the Sons of Horus raised a fortress, fashioning a mighty citadel from the wrecks of decaying vessels lost to the Warp.The XVIth Legion interred Horus' body within a great tomb, where many fell into worship of their fallen demigod. With their primarch dead and their Legion on the verge of extinction, the Sons of Horus stagnated.Some captains suspected that it would be but a matter of time before they and their battle-brothers were drawn into the wars between the Traitor Legions, and so they pushed for the Sons of Horus to replace its losses by increasing the Legion's gene-seed stocks.These same captains knew that any fortress, no matter how grand, could not hope to hold back a determined Space Marine assault, and called for more warriors to be found.Unfortunately, the majority of surviving captains were convinced that the Warp would provide all the power they needed, if only they could master the methods of merging Daemon and Space Marine into the Possessed.