vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Burna Boy - Role: Burna Boyz are those pyromaniacal Greenskins whose desire to burn and destroy grows to consume them entirely. Often they join forces with Mekboyz who they depend on to keep them supplied with Promethium fuel and the heavy blow torch/flamethrowers known as Burnas that give them their name. These dedicated arsonists take great delight in setting fire to the enemy (and anybody and anything else they can lay their hands on if no enemy is available) and it takes a strong Warboss or the blackmailing powers of the Meks to keep them in line. However, the benefits of these lunatics in any Ork warband just about outweigh the risks of getting anywhere near them. The Burna Boyz can be a powerful asset on the battlefield, whether in small team or large mobs; their mass incendiary firepower can prove devastating, particularly against enemy infantry, flushing out foes from defended positions and bringing down bestial creatures. Also, with their weapons turned to the searing hot point of a blowtorch flame, they can wield them to hack and slice up enemy armour and vehicles. They serve a vital secondary role in this regard, cutting up battlefield salvage for later use.
Burna Boy - Wargear: Burna - A Burna Boy's main armament, the Burna, is a heavy duty combination of cutting torch and flamethrower, alternating between the two functions with a simple twist of the spigot and altering the Promethium fuel pressure. Burnas themselves, like most examples of Orkish engineering, are designed to sustain the worst sort of battering and are very robust. They have to be, as more than one Burna Boy has been reduced to using it as a bludgeon after getting over-enthusiastic with his fuel supply.Blast Mask and Harness - Almost as important to a Burna Boy as his weapon and fuel is the heavy hide war-harness and webbing used to support it and the drop down mask that prevents the Ork blinding himself or burning his own face off in the flame backwash. This harness takes some of the weapon's weight, making it easier for the Ork to wield in a fight and most Burna Boyz also use them as a convenient place to hang a few armour plates and glyphs. The glyphs invariably brag about their various kills or former campaigns the Burna Boyz has fought in.Stikkbombz - Stikkbomz are an anti-infantry fragmentation grenade commonly utilised by Ork forces. Ork grenades are much bigger and heftier than those used by other races, which makes good sense to an Ork because the bigger something is, the more dangerous it will be. Stikkbombz are made up of a can filled with crude explosives which is screwed onto a stick so that it can be used as an equally crude mace if necessary.Slugga - Most Burna Boyz are sensible enough to carry a back-up sidearm such as a Slugga, a high-calibre, semi-automatic, ballistic firearm. Suitably loud enough to be an Ork's weapon, and often crude in design, Sluggas have very limited accuracy but high damage thanks to the massive shot they fire and the dangerously large gunpowder charges that propel them. Misfires are common.Toolz - When Burna Boyz are a part of a Mek Warboss' warband the presence of such tools as a decent-sized spanner are carried on their person. It is not uncommon for Burna Boyz to be led in combat by fully-fledged Meks and Burna Boyz also form a core contingent of "Dread Mobs" and scavenger crews, slicing up armour and wrecks for the commanding Mek Boss.
Burna Boy - Sources: Codex: Orks (7th Edition), pp. 23, 141-142Codex: Orks (4th Edition), pg. 45Codex: Orks (3rd Edition), pg. 12Imperial Armour Volume Eight - The Raid on Kastorel-Novem, pp. 32-33Orks Collectors' Guide, pg. 23Rogue Trader: Into the Storm (RPG), pg. 60Rogue Trader: Edge of the Abyss (RPG), pg. 68WAAAGH! Ghazghkull: A Codex Orks Supplement (7th Edition)Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War (PC Game)
Burning Blood - Burning Blood: Burning BloodSpace MarineChapterBlood AngelsFoundingDevastation of BaalCreated as they were from the Blood Angels' gene-seed, its Battle-Brothers carried the genetic Flaw inherited from Sanguinius, which made them susceptible to the afflictions known as the Black Rage and the Red Thirst.When a Battle-Brother fell to the throes of the Black Rage he was placed within the ranks of the Death Company.
Burning Blood - Notable Campaigns: Devastation of Baal (ca. 999.M41) - During the Devastation of Baal, the Burning Blood was among the Successor Chapters that answered Dante's call for aid in the face of Hive Fleet Leviathan's assault on Baal. The entire Chapter answered the call of its progenitors, and was destroyed to the last Astartes during the fighting.
Burning Blood - Chapter Colours: The Burning Blood's Chapter colours are not listed in current Imperial records.
Burning Blood - Chapter Badge: The Burning Blood's Chapter badge is not listed in current Imperial records.
Burning Chariot of Tzeentch - Burning Chariot of Tzeentch: The Burning Chariot of Tzeentch is a daemonic construct in the service of the Lord of Change, the Chaos God Tzeentch.Consisting of ornate Discs of Tzeentch, pulled by Screamers, a Burning Chariot blazes through the heavens of the mortal world and is often mistaken for a comet by mortal observers, a sight that is interpreted as in ancient times as an omen of terrible days to come.Burning Chariots are most commonly manned by an Exalted Flamer accompanied by a pack of Blue Horrors, but a particularly clever and tricky Herald of Tzeentch will sometimes claim a Burning Chariot as his own.
Burning Chariot of Tzeentch - History: Burning Chariots of Tzeentch hurtle across the Realm of Chaos like incandescent meteors, bringing the Great Sorcerer's chosen emissaries to every corner of existence. As they blaze through the heavens, the Chariots of Tzeentch (usually mistaken for comets) are oft times interpreted as omens of great and terrible wars upon the superstitious worlds of the Imperium of Man.The Exalted Flamers who ride atop these Burning Chariots are able to channel magical flame to a far greater extent than their lesser brethren. They can conjure up great billowing sheets of Warp energy, or hurl bolts of sorcerous change that make the very air sizzle with their passing.The Discs and Screamers that make up the bizarre chariot are drawn to raw magic like moths to a flame, and therefore also to the Exalted Flamers, who exude tasty sorcery from every pore and wrinkle of their coruscating flesh.Sometimes, a Burning Chariot will even be accompanied by a handful of surly Blue Horrors, always ready to associate themselves with anyone other than the irritatingly cheerful Pink Horrors.The Burning Chariot acts as an excellent vehicle from which to sow their own particular brand of sullen mischief, whether in the form of crude insults, or simply throttling anyone who comes near.More unusual amongst the ranks of these outlandish flying chariots are those bound in service to Heralds of Tzeentch.These are normally acquired by trickery -- most Heralds have little patience for the training of Screamers and Discs, and consider "borrowing" a chariot from an Exalted Flamer to be an act in keeping with their high status amongst the daemonic pantheon. However, such a feat requires great cunning if the Herald in question wishes to escape the deprived Flamer's wrath.Indeed, many Heralds bear the eternal scars of past contests, and the most cunning among them will craft complex magical wards to forewarn them of the eventual, inevitable moment when their chariot's true owner will come to reclaim his property.Nonetheless, all these tribulations seem as naught once the Herald is free to swoop and dive across the battlefield on his new possession, cackling madly as he unleashes fearsome sorceries from his lofty perch.
Burst Cannon - Burst Cannon: A Burst Cannon is a form of multi-barrelled T'au Pulse Weapon, and utilises the same plasma induction technologies found in a Pulse Rifle to fire micro-pulses of plasma accelerated to near-light speeds.With four rotating barrels to mitigate thermal stress, Burst Cannons are able to sustain ferocious rates of fire, albeit at the expense of the long ranges that many other Pulse Weapons possess.However, this drawback is usually offset by the Burst Cannon's portability, and the manoeuvrability of units commonly armed with them.The most common Burst Cannon design leaves the weapon's four barrels exposed to the environment, though certain Tau units make use of Burst Cannons that are fully enclosed with an armoured sheathing.The Burst Cannon finds use all across the T'au military, although it is primarily mounted on vehicles, T'au Battlesuits, and aircraft.With heavy mountings and large plasma coils powering the weapon, Burst Cannons are a degree more deadly than smaller Pulse Weapons, and are primarily deployed as anti-infantry weapons that can scythe through massed formations, and for heavy suppressive fire; their shots are able to punch straight through most infantry armour as if it was not there.Burst Cannons are also well-suited to combating lightly armoured vehicles, which cannot defend against their powerful hails of high-speed plasma. Combat walkers, armoured transports and recon vehicles that stray within range of a Burst Cannon risk having their thin armour plating torn from them bit by bit.Even many main battle tanks are not immune to the firepower of a Burst Cannon, as a sustained burst directed at the weaker side or rear armour of a vehicle is capable of rupturing an engine or setting off ammunition stores.Often slaved to drone controls, a Burst Cannon makes for an ideal point-defence weapon, keeping infantry and light vehicles away from a tank hunter like a Hammerhead, or giving a squad of Fire Warriors cover as they deploy from their Devilfish transport.This is where the Burst Cannon trades the range and accuracy of weapons like the Pulse Rifle for the ability to saturate an area with plasma fire.For this reason, Burst Cannons are used extensively as part of established defences. When guided by T'au Drones, they make effective sentry guns, silently tracking back and forth and scanning for threats.Enemies of the T'au Empire have developed a healthy respect for Burst Cannons. The weapon makes a distinctive sound when fired, the induction chamber crackling with energy as a stream of charged particles hisses across the battlefield.Imperial Guardsmen that come under fire from Burst Cannons often speak of the sound, each shot cleaving the air with a distinctive whiz-hum, not unlike the sound of solid bullets buzzing past their ear, but multiplied hundredfold as dozens of bursts are fired each second.Unlike the Heavy Bolters and Stubbers of the Imperium with their rhythmic thumping fire, a Burst Cannon makes a continuous tearing wail, with individual shots nearly indistinguishable from each other.
Burst Cannon - Long-Barrelled Burst Cannon: A Long-Barrelled Burst Cannon is a variant of the standard Burst Cannon, and features extended barrels which give it greatly extended range.It is only ever mounted on certain T'au aircraft and vehicles.It is of note that the Hammerhead gunship’s Long-Barrelled Burst Cannon also fires with more power and armour penetration per shot when compared to the standard Burst Cannon.
Burst Cannon - Sources: Codex: Tau (3rd Edition), pp. 17, 25Codex: Tau Empire (4th Edition), pp. 26, 35-36, 38, 41Codex: Tau Empire (6th Edition), pp. 65, 67, 102Deathwatch: Core Rulebook (RPG), pg. 366Deathwatch: Ark of Lost Souls (RPG), pg. 123Imperial Armour Apocalypse 2 pg. 58Imperial Armour Volume Three – The Taros Campaign, pp. 159, 162-163, 166, 170, 174, 181,183-18-7, 189-190, 194, 201, 202, 207-208, 211Rogue Trader: Tau Character Guide (RPG), pg. 37Warhammer 40,000: Munitorum - Burst Cannons (Digital Edition)Forge World - KX139 Ta'unar Supremacy Armour Experimental Datasheet
Butcher's Nails - Butcher's Nails: The Butcher's Nails, referred to in profane texts in the Hexarchion Vaults as the Cruciamen, were cybernetic cortical implants, a form of archeotech that dated to the Dark Age of Technology and were used extensively by the Space Marines of the World Eaters Legion, precipitating their fall to Chaos.The "butcher's nails" was also an expression used among the gladiators of the world of Nuceria for when, armed with no weapon except their bare hands, they would attack by stabbing their fingers at a victim's vulnerable points, such as the eyes or the meat of the throat.The implant technology originated on Nuceria where they were used by the ruling aristocracy on gladiatorial slaves to enhance their fighting abilities, turning their already formidable fighting stock into ravaging killers, barely controlled between each gladiatorial bout.These cortical implants were also used on the Primarch Angron when he was enslaved by the ruling Nucerian elite of the city-state of Desh'ea, turning him into a killer the likes of which they had never before seen. He became Angron Thal'kyr, Lord of the Red Sands, the greatest gladiator that world had ever known.This would prove to be the Nucerians' undoing, as Angron gathered his fellow slaves and instigated a violent insurrection, reaping a bloody swathe across the settlements and city-states of Nuceria.Ultimately, their slave revolt failed, for Angron was teleported away by the Emperor of Mankind on the eve of battle and Angron's brother and sister gladiators were slain to the last warrior. Knowing the effectiveness of these cybernetic implants in enhancing combat effectiveness, Angron eventually had his XIIth Legion's Techmarines and Apothecaries reverse-engineer the Butcher's Nails, using his own implants as a template.The resulting implantation of the Nails within the Legionaries of the World Eaters turned them into a Legion of savage killers and would lead to their eventual downfall and damnation as they reveled in the bloody worship of the Blood God Khorne.
Butcher's Nails - Lord of the Red Sands: The archeotech devices known as the Butcher's Nails originated on the world of Nuceria, located on the outskirts of the Segmentum Ultima. A technologically advanced world, Nuceria was ruled over by a wealthy elite who lived in decadent opulence while the populace of their city-states dwelled in abject poverty in the slums that surrounded their walled palaces and villas.To distract the populace from their poverty, the oligarchic rulers of Nuceria held regular gladiatorial deathmatches in massive arenas, using cybernetically-enhanced gladiators who battled to the death to satisfy the endless bloodlust of the oppressed people.It was on this world that the Primarch Angron, later known as Angron Thal'kyr to the Nucerians, was eventually discovered, though little else about the circumstances of how he came to be there remains known.It was a matter of course that the slave masters used biochemical and cyber-surgical enhancements as well as relentless and brutal training to "improve" their fighting stock. Angron was no exception, although his transhuman primarch physiology resisted much of what the slavemasters attempted.But in one thing they were successful, for they were able to replace much of his brainstem with psycho-surgical augmetic devices intended to augment his aggression to inhuman levels and turn him into a superhuman beast, a killer the likes of which had never existed before.The young primarch was bound by the slavers and gladiatorial masters, first as a novelty expected to die, but soon as a favoured champion who rose swiftly to become the greatest gladiator the world of Nuceria had ever known.
Butcher's Nails - War of the Gladiator-King: Little did his so-called "masters" know, or perhaps they did not care, secure as they were in their unmatched power and opulent palaces, of the bitter hatred and resentment that burned within Angron's heart for his captors. His only comradeship was with the gladiatorial warriors with whom he fought.Long had he plotted rebellion and vengeance, and soon he shattered his bonds and led a bloody revolt, staged amid the largest Death Games the arena of his home city of Desh'ea had seen in generations. With his gladiator kin rallying to him, they reaped a bloody swathe across the planet as city after city fell before their wrath.This gladiator army soon came to be known as the "Eaters of Cities," but despite snatching victory time and again against fearful odds and the superior ranged weaponry of the planet's elite, Angron knew his revolt was ultimately doomed to failure.Worn down by attrition and hunger, Angron and his brothers and sisters were determined to stand and die in honourable battle rather than being taken alive and re-enslaved. Far above in orbit, the Emperor of Mankind had watched with pride how Angron had led his outmatched revolt, but now chose to intervene, unwilling to accept His lost son's death in battle no matter how resolved and honourable the cause.Upon confronting Angron and making an offer of a place by His side, to His surprise He was refused and rejected. The Emperor would not accept this and on the eve before the final onslaught forcibly teleported the enraged primarch away from the slaughter that followed at the Battle of Deshe'lika Ridge, as the rebellious slaves were butchered to the last man and woman.Angron would never forgive the Emperor for this most dishonourable of deeds, which he believed forever after stained his honour. It was a stain of guilt and shame that would continue to fester into a deep soul-wound that would later be used to the Warmaster Horus' advantage, when he sought to turn his brother against the Emperor during the Horus Heresy.
Butcher's Nails - Function: The cortical implants known as the Butcher's Nails greatly boosted a warrior's adrenaline, resulting in greater strength and aggression in battle. Under the perverse influence of the implants, killing proved exhilarating in a way nothing else could be, and the Nails played a neurochemical game to make it so.When the Nails activated, they stunted the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the Human brain to encourage instinctive aggression, just as they deadened all other forms of emotional response and neuroelectrical activity to all parts of the brain save for that which regulated the flow of adrenaline.In essence, any person implanted with the Butcher's Nails could only feel pleasure when engaged in acts of violence and murder.Any attempt to remove the implants would prove fatal, as the brain became entirely dependent upon this regulation of its neurotransmitters in only a short time and the implants replaced much of the central nervous system in a way that could not be replaced without killing the bearer.Amongst the archeotechnological whims of the Butcher's Nails, these were the effects the XIIth Legion had detailed most extensively in their long-abandoned studies. Of course, that cold and considered knowledge meant little to those afflicted with the implants.The pain engine implanted in the skulls of the World Eaters forced them to enjoy killing above everything else. Even the comfort of brotherhood paled -- one of life's few remaining pleasures for the World Eaters outside of battle.
Butcher's Nails (Audio Drama) - Butcher's Nails (Audio Drama): Butcher's Nails is the fifth audio drama for the Horus Heresy Series that was not originally released as part of an anthology or other release. Butcher's Nails was released in both compact disc and MP3 formats and was written by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, narrated by Sean Barrett, and performed by Rupert Degas, Charlotte Page, Chris Fairbank and David Timson. It was later re-released in an enhanced audio edition, but can still be bought as a stand-alone audio drama. This story was first re-published in prose format as part of the Angron anthology collection. The story was also published as part of the Legacies of Betrayal main series anthology novel.
Butcher's Nails (Audio Drama) - Official Synopsis: The Primarch Angron: gladiator-king and Horus' lunatic attack dog. Never having hidden his resentment for his brothers, he now carves a bloody swathe through the galaxy in the Warmaster's name, with the Heresy providing a convenient excuse to indulge his love of brutal warfare. When they are tasked with a secretive mission alongside the Word Bearers Legion, the World Eaters' violent tendencies soon attract the attention of xenos raiders, troubled by the portents surrounding the Primarch's berserk fury and his ultimate destiny as the "Blood God's son"...
Butcher Cannon - Butcher Cannon: A Butcher Cannon is a heavy calibre, rapid-firing rotary gun used by the Forces of Chaos. The Butcher Cannon is commonly found on Chaos combat walkers such as the Decimator Daemon Engine and Chaos Contemptor Pattern Dreadnoughts. The shells fired by the Butcher Cannon are bound with sorcerous Chaos runes of anathema and bloodletting. When used by Chaos walkers, the Butcher Cannon usually features a large blade that is attached beneath the weapon's twin barrels; this allows the walker to engage enemy forces in close combat if they get too close for it to effectively use the weapon at range.It is not recorded in Imperial records if any other Chaos walkers such as Chaos Dreadnoughts or Helbrutes, Daemon Engines such as Defilers or Soul Grinders, or Chaos Space Marine tanks such as the Predator or Land Raider are able to be armed with a Butcher Cannon, although it is presumed to be possible.
Butcher Cannon - Sources: Decimator Butcher Cannon - Forge WorldDecimator Daemon Engine - Forge WorldDecimator Experimental Rules V.1 Chaos Decimator Experimental Rules V.1Decimator Experimental Rules V.2 Chaos Decimator Experimental Rules V.2Imperial Armour Apocalypse (Second Edition), pp. 106-107
Butcherhorde - Butcherhorde: The Butcherhorde is a large warband of Chaos Space Marines comprised of a coalition of multiple World Eaters Traitor Legion warbands. Led by the infamous Khârn the Betrayer, the Butcherhorde was formed originally from the frenzied Khornate Berserkers who followed The Betrayer. Over time, as Khârn has slaughtered his way across the galaxy, the warband has grown to encompass all manner of Khornate devotees. These include ordinary Chaos Space Marines, Chaos Cultists, Daemon Princes, and Daemon Engines.
Butcherhorde - Notable Campaigns: Bloodtorrent War (Unknown Date) - The Bloodtorrent War was a campaign fought by Khârn and his Butcherhorde amongst the factorums of the Imperial world of Ulsa. During the conflict, his mighty Chainaxe Gorechild became jammed in the hull of an Adeptus Mechanicus war machine and his Plasma Pistol fractured from overuse. The Betrayer turned the sharp edges and hard surfaces of the factorum to his own violent ends, impaling screaming Imperial Guardsmen on grinding gears or flaying the skin from their faces by pressing them on howling conveyers. Such was the carnage that the vast manufactorum ground to a halt, its workings clogged with the mangled remains of over a thousand pulverised corpses.Diamor Campaign (999.M41) - The Diamor Campaign took place during Abaddon the Despoiler's 13th Black Crusade within the Diamor System. Initially led by the Chaos Lord Kranon the Relentless, his Renegade Chapter, known as the Crimson Slaughter, spearheaded the attack on the Imperial world of Amethal, on behalf of Abaddon in order to obtain something the Despoiler desired. Due to the madness and unpredictability of Kranon, the execution of the invasion instead fell upon the Black Legion's Chaos Lord Xorphas. Leading his monstrous Butcherhorde, Khârn the Betrayer descended upon Amethal with but a single goal -- to take the heads of the most worthy and mightiest of the heroes of the defending Blood Angels. The resultant slaughter weakened the barrier between the Immaterium and the material realm to such an extent that the Blood Angels were forced to call for aid from the daemon-hunting Grey Knights Chapter.
Butcherhorde - Notable Members of the Butcherhorde: Khârn the Betrayer - Khârn the Betrayer is a member of the World Eaters Traitor Legion of Chaos Space Marines, and the greatest mortal Champion of Khorne.Korbadash - A Berserker Lord of the Butcherhorde.Vrakha - A Berserker Lord of the Butcherhorde.
Butcherhorde - Warband Colours: The Butcherhorde's colours are typically blood red with gold or brass trim. Those warriors who worship Khorne are anarchic individuals, their armies little more than ragged coalitions of rival warbands ready to turn upon one another at the slightest provocation. Only the leadership of a truly mighty individual can hold such a force together for long. So it was with the Butcherhorde, whose numbers included many former World Eaters fighting alongside dozens of minor cults and reavers.
Butcherhorde - Warband Badge: The Butcherhorde's badge is the distinctive symbol of the former World Eaters Legion which depicts a planet being devoured by a monstrous maw.
Butcherhorde - Sources: Black Crusade: Traitor's Hate (7th Edition), pp. 56-63
By the Lion's Command (Short Story) - By the Lion's Command (Short Story): By the Lion's Command is a short story published in the The Horus Heresy  series. By the Lion's Command was originally published as part of the limited-release anthology novel The Imperial Truth, and it was later released as a stand-alone e-book. It is now also included in the War Without End anthology novel.
By the Lion's Command (Short Story) - Synopsis: Following the splitting of the Dark Angels fleet in the aftermath of Perditus, Seneschal Corswain continues to hunt down the Death Guard forces under the command of the infamous Typhon. Now, a tense standoff erupts in the heavens over the supposedly independent world of Terra Nullius, and Corswain must either bend the local population to his own cause or make an example of them to other worlds that might secede from the Imperium. In this war, there can be no innocent bystanders.
C'tan - Star Gods: The birth of the entities known as the Star Gods occurred at the same time as the moment of Creation itself, as they formed from the vast, insensate energies first unleashed by that churning mass of cataclysmic force. In that anarchic interweaving of matter and energy, the sea of stars began to swirl into existence and for an eon the universe was nothing more than hot hydrogen gas and light elemental dust ruled over by the gravitic force of billions of newborn suns.Long before the first planets had formed and cooled, the very first truly self-aware beings emerged, their thoughts encased within the lines of force produced by the plasma and electromagnetic flares of the stars themselves. In later times, these entities would become known as the C'tan, but early in their existence they were nothing like the malevolent beings they would eventually become.They were little more than monstrous energy parasites that suckled upon the solar energies of the stars that had brought them into existence, shortening the lives of otherwise main-sequence stars by millions of standard years. In time, these star vampires learned to move on the diaphanous wings of the universe's electromagnetic flux, leaving their birthplaces to drift through the cosmic ether to new stellar feeding grounds and begin their cycle of stellar destruction once more.Beings of pure energy, they paid no mind to the hunks of solid matter they passed in the vacuum of space, the blazing geothermal fires and weak geomagnetic fields of these nascent planets insufficient to be worth feeding even their ravenous hunger.
C'tan - The Tide Turns: The Old Ones' psychically-empowered servant races spread across the galaxy, battling the advanced Necron technology with the psychic power of their Warp-spawned sorcery. Facing this new onslaught, the C'tan's empire was shattered, as the psychic forces of the Immaterium were anathema to soulless entities whose existence was wholly contained within purely physical patterns of electromagnetic force. For all the destruction they could unleash, they were unable to stop the Old Ones and the younger races' relentless advance across the stars.The C'tan, unified by this great threat for the first time in millions of Terran years, sought a way to defeat the soul-fuelled energies of the younger species. They initiated a great warding, a plan to forever defeat the psychic sorceries of the Old Ones by sealing off the local region of the material universe from the Warp, a plan whose first fruits could once be found on the Imperial Fortress World of Cadia in the form of the great blackstone pylons that littered the surface of that world in intricate networks and created the area of space-time stability near the Eye of Terror known as the Cadian Gate.With their god-like powers, it was only a matter of time until the C'tan succeeded and the greatest work of the C'tan was begun. But before it was complete, the seeds of destruction the Old Ones had planted millennia before brought about an unforeseen cataclysm. The growing pains and collective psychic flaws of the younger races threw the untapped, psychically-reactive energies of the Immaterium into disorder. War, pain and destruction were mirrored in the bottomless depth of the Sea of Souls that was the Warp.The maelstrom of souls unleashed into the Immaterium by the carnage of the War in Heaven coalesced in the previously formless psychic energies of the Warp. Older entities that had existed within the Immaterium transformed into terrifying psychic predators, tearing at the souls of vulnerable psykers as their own environment was torn apart and reforged into the hellish dimension later called the Realm of Chaos.
C'tan - Enslaver Plague: The denizens of the Warp clustered voraciously at the cracks between the Immaterium and the material universe, seeking new ways to enter the physical realm. The Old Ones brought forth more new genetically-engineered warrior races to defend their last strongholds, including the technology-mimicking Jokaero and the formidable, green-skinned Krork who were the ancestors of the present day Orks, but it was already too late.The Old Ones' interstellar Webway network was breached from the Immaterium and lost to them. Several of their Warp Gates were destroyed by their own hands to prevent the entities of the Warp from spreading to uncorrupted worlds. The Old Ones' greatest works and places of power were soon overrun by the horrors their own creations had unleashed.The most terrifying of these horrors were the Enslavers, Warp-dwelling entities whose ability to dominate the minds of the younger races and create their own portals into the material realm using transmuted, possessed psykers brought them forth in ever-greater numbers.For the Old Ones, this was the final disaster as the Enslavers took control of their servants. The Pandora's Box unleashed by the creation of the younger races finally scattered the last of the Old Ones and broke their power over the galaxy once and for all. Life had stood at the edge of an apocalypse during the War in Heaven between the Old Ones and the C'tan. Now as the Enslavers breached the Immaterium in epidemic proportions, the survivors looked doomed.Ultimately, beset by the implacable onset of the C'tan and the calamitous Warp-spawned perils they had themselves unleashed, the Old Ones were defeated, scattered and finally destroyed. Whether the species went extinct or simply fled the galaxy to seek a new haven elsewhere is unknown.
C'tan - Silent King's Betrayal: Throughout the final stages of the War in Heaven, the Silent King Szarekh bided his time, waiting for the moment in which the C'tan would prove vulnerable. Though the entire Necron race was now his to command, he could not hope to oppose the C'tan at the height of their power, and even if he did and met with success, the Necrons would then have to finish the War in Heaven against the Old Ones and their increasingly potent allies alone.No, the Old Ones had to be completely and utterly defeated before the C'tan could be brought to account for the horror they had wrought. And so, when the C'tan finally won their great war, their triumph proved short-lived. With one hated enemy finally defeated, and the other spent from hard-fought victory, the Silent King at last led the Necrons in revolt against their C'tan masters.In their arrogance, the C'tan did not realise their danger until it was too late. The Necrons focused the unimaginable energies of the living universe into weapons, god-killing hypercannons devised by the finest Crypteks in the galaxy, too mighty for even the Star Gods to endure. Not even the great overlords of the Necron crownworlds well remember the battles against the Star Gods, for causality itself was damaged by the forces unleashed to dismember the C'tan, and the Silent King removed the knowledge of the dreadful weapons that had been employed from his warriors' minds after the fact in fear of what might later be done with them.Alas, the C'tan were immortal star-spawn, part of the fundamental fabric of reality and therefore nigh-impossible to destroy. So was each C'tan instead sundered into thousands of smaller and less-powerful fragments with a similar energy signature. Yet this was sufficient to the Silent King's goals. Indeed, he had known the C'tan's ultimate destruction to be impossible and had drawn his plans accordingly; each of these "C'tan Shards" was bound within a multidimensional Tesseract Labyrinth, as trammelled and secured as a Terran djinn trapped in a bottle.Though the cost of victory was high -- millions of Necrons had been destroyed as a consequence of the rebellion, including all of the members of the Triarch save the Silent King himself -- the Necrons were once more in command of their own destiny.
C'tan - Transcendent C'tan: Transcendent C'tan are the most dangerous of their kind amongst the C'tan Shards. Each is an aggregation of anywhere between a dozen and a hundred lesser C'tan Shards, and its power far surpasses the sum of its parts.Those few that are chained to Necron service are not contained by Tesseract Labyrinths, but by energy shackles designed aeons ago by the legendary Necron artificer Svarokh.Such devices are unstable, making the deployment of a Transcendent C'tan without the device known as a Tesseract Vault to contain it something of a risk, only undertaken in times of direst need. For this reason, when contained within a Tesseract Vault, a Transcendent C'tan is also kept within a special energy shield generated by a robotic Necron construct known as a Canoptek Sentinel.Canoptek Sentinels are used to control the raw elemental energies of a Transcendent C'tan. The Sentinel draws from the Transcendent C'tan's own power to generate a force shield strong enough to keep the C'tan shackled to the mechanisms of the Tesseract Vault.At the same time, constructs known as Canoptek Leeches arrayed and docked around the circumference of the vault and an army of Canoptek Scarabs move to constantly repair the damage done to the arcane prison.However, there are only so many Scarabs and Canoptek Leeches holding the Tesseract Vault together, and as the Transcendent C'tan bends reality and tears metal off the vault in its bids for freedom, the Canoptek automatons rebuild its prison using the debris in a cyclical process of destruction and reconstruction.
C'tan - Powers of the C'tan: To the shards of the C'tan, reality is merely another weapon to be turned against their foes. It is within the prodigious powers of the god-fragments to summon forth storms of annihilating negative matter, shatter the foundation of a planet, or cast their enemies out of existence with but a thought.The abilities of C'tan Shards are many and varied, often harking back to those their far more powerful parent-entities enjoyed.A C'tan Shard is always capable of unleashing two of the following abilities, whose use has been previously recorded by Aeldari scholars. It is likely that this represents only a fraction of the reality-warping abilities available to a C'tan Shard.Antimatter Meteor - The C'tan Shard gathers an orb of roiling antimatter, before hurling the crackling projectile into the midst of the foe.Cosmic Fire - At the C'tan Shard's gestured command, a pillar of black fire streaks down from the heavens to consume the foe.Entropic Touch - Metal decays on contact with the C'tan Shard's rotten grasp.Gaze of Death - Eyes blazing with dark energy, the C'tan Shard drains the life from all in the vicinity.Grand Illusion - The C'tan Shard weaves a glamour of deception, preventing the foe from seeing the true disposition of the Necron forces.Lord of Fire - The C'tan Shard that wields this ability can become a creature of living flame, able to command the fires wielded by the enemy. This makes all Flamer weapons (as well as heat rays, Burnas, Skorchas, Inferno Cannons and any other weapon that uses flame or fire), as well as all Melta Weapons fired near the C'tan Shard explode at the C'tan's whim.Moulder of Worlds - Tortured rock buckles and heaves, showering the C'tan Shard's foes with boulders.Pyreshards - The C'tan Shard conjures specks of blazing black matter and directs them against its foes.Seismic Assault - Stone fractures and ores melt as the C'tan Shard drags up tides of magma from deep below a world's crust.Sky of Fallen Stars - Savagely beautiful orbs of coruscating light plummet from the cold depths of space, growing to roaring bale-stars as they approach.Sentient Singularity - The C'tan Shard's presence destabilizes all local gravitational forces, disrupting engines, teleport beams and Warp jumps.Swarm of Spirit Dust - A cloud of swirling darkness conceals the C'tan Shard from the gaze of its foes.Time's Arrow - Mutating the flow of causation and remoulding the temporal stream of the space-time continuum, the C'tan Shard casts its foe back into the darkness from before time was time, erasing them from existence as if they had never been.Transdimensional Thunderbolt - The C'tan Shard projects a bolt of crackling transdimensional energy from its outstretched palm, blasting its foe into oblivion.Writhing Worldscape - The natural world revolts at the C'tan Shard's presence, the very ground writhing and shaking as the physical laws of reality are undone.
C'tan - Ascendant Powers: A Transcendent C'tan is a far more powerful entity than a standard C'tan Shard. As such, Transcendent C'tan are able to unleash these abilities when the Necrons deign to release them upon the battlefield. Every Transcendent C'tan must possess one of the following powers, though they cannot be unleashed when the C'tan is fully shackled within the confines of the Tesseract Vault:Storm of Heavenly Fire - The Transcendent C'tan unleashes a rain of fire from the heavens which explodes with a cataclysmic blast upon the battlefield. This power is extremely effective at destroying enemy tanks and armoured vehicles.Transliminal Stride - The Transcendent C'tan can move across the battlefield to a predetermined point, simply phasing through all obstacles or opponents in its path, weakening them as its passes through.Seismic Shockwave - When the Transcendent C'tan slams its necrodermis-clad foot down, it unleashes a seismic shockwave that causes the very ground to shake, blasting armoured vehicles and infantry alike into the air like unfortunate toys.A Transcendent C'tan is able to manifest two of the following Ascendant Powers, and can utilise them to devastating effect on the battlefield:Antimatter Meteor - The Transcendent C'tan is able to unleash a huge meteor composed of antimatter upon the battlefield, a furious assault from the sky that will annihilate all normal matter within range.Cosmic Fire - The Transcendent C'tan unleashes a wave of fire hotter than the interior of some suns upon the battlefield, incinerating everything in its path.Seismic Assault - The Transcendent C'tan causes rumbling earthquakes with a flick of its hand, crushing enemy units to pulp.Sky of Falling Stars - A rain of blazing meteorites falls from the sky to impact the foe at the whim of the Transcendent C'tan.Transdimensional Maelstrom - The Transcendent C'tan uses its command of transdimensional energies to unleash a swirling extradimensional vortex upon the battlefield that can banish all it touches to an alternate reality.Wave of Withering - The Transcendent C'tan can cause metal and flesh alike to wither at its command.
C'tan - Other C'tan Influences: The Imperial Inquisition employs elite Officio Assassinorum assassins, among whom the members of the Callidus Temple use a weapon called a C'tan Phase Sword. It is unknown what specific relation the weapon has with the C'tan themselves. The most likely explanation would be that the C'tan Phase Sword is made out of necrodermis, such as in one instance where a Callidus Assassin attacked an Imperial planetary governor, only to have her C'tan phase weapon absorbed into the "governor" and become a part of his body. This governor was most likely the C'tan called the Deceiver in another of its myriad disguises.The primary weakness of the C'tan is their inability to comprehend the Warp. It is speculated that they find it impossible to survive in it and are particularly susceptible as a result to Warp-spawned psychic powers and the psykers who wield them.It is also speculated that they worked with the Necrons to construct the networks of blackstone pylons on Cadia and elsewhere across the galaxy, with the likely intention of sealing off the local area of realspace (i.e. the galaxy) from the Immaterium. Whether these pylons have anything to do with the existence of the nearby Eye of Terror is unknown, but it is unlikely, as the Eye was not opened until long after the Necrons were already in their stasis tombs.There is also a Necron object of unknown purpose on the Hive World of Armageddon in the Equatorial Jungle regions of the planet.
C'tan - Sources: Apocalypse (6th Edition), pg. 174Apocalypse: War Zone Damnos (6th Edition), pp. 20-21, 24, 35Belisarius Cawl: The Great Work (Novel) by Guy Haley, Chs. 8, 9, 23, 26Black Crusade: Hand of Corruption (RPG), pg. 136Codex: Eldar (2nd Edition), pg. 83Codex Imperialis (2nd Edition), pg. 90Codex: Necrons (3rd Edition), pp. 24-31Codex: Necrons (5th Edition), pp. 5-8, 40-41Codex: Necrons (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), pp. 8-9, 159-162, 178-179Codex: Necrons (8th Edition), pp. 69, 100, 113Imperial Armour Volume Twelve - The Fall of Orpheus, pg. 90The Lords of Borsis (Short Story) by L.J. GouldingThe World Engine (Novel) by Ben Counter, Chs. 3, 6, 9, 15White Dwarf 191 (UK), "The Necrons," pp. 49-53Mechanicum (Novel) by Graham McNeillThe Ultramarines Omnibus (Novel) by Graham McNeillWhite Dwarf 385 (UK), "Crafting Your C'tan," pg. 62White Dwarf 40 (December 2019), "Worlds of Warhammer" by Phil Kelly, pg. 11C'tan Shard of The Deceiver on Games Workshop WebsiteC'tan Shard of The Nightbringer on Games Workshop Website
C'tan Phase Weapon - C'tan Phase Weapon: A C'tan Phase Weapon (also known as a Fractal Edged Weapon), is a sword-like melee weapon based around a metal blade of unknown composition that, through the use of highly advanced Necron physics, is capable of phasing through any object irrespective of its physical properties.Energy shields, armour and even daemonic bodies are of no defence against a Phase Weapon. However, as a C'tan's raw substance is made of the same necrodermis alloy and has the same properties, attacking a C'tan with a C'tan Phase Weapon disarms the attacker, as the metal becomes a part of the C'tan's body.In one instance, a Callidus Assassin attacked an Imperial planetary governor, only to have her C'tan Phase Weapon absorbed into the "governor" and become a part of his body. This planetary governor was most likely the C'tan Shard called the Deceiver in another of its myriad disguises.The most notable users of C'tan Phase Weapons are the elite Officio Assassinorum Assassins of the Callidus Temple in the employ of the Imperial Inquisition.The Deathwatch utilise a similar weapon, known as a Xenophase Blade, an ancient and barely understood artefact weapon who some believe has its origins amongst long-defeated xenos dynasties, though speaking of its history has long been forbidden on pain of excruciation. Whether this type of weapon is one and the same, is not currently known.
C'tan Phase Weapon - C'tan Phase Sword: It is believed that the first Phase Sword was found on one of the long Dead Worlds of the C'tan. Excavations by the Adeptus Mechanicus uncovered numerous artefacts of extremely advanced technology, but of their makers, there was no evidence.Each individual phase sword utilised by a Callidus Assassin is optimised to reflect its user's favoured combat stance and personal strengths, but they all take the form of an elongated punch-dagger. These deadly blades are thought to utilise the lost xenos technology of the C'tan, though the Callidus Temple keeps their true nature a close secret.The blade of the Phase Sword is unusual in its ability to phase in and out of realspace by molecular realignment, allowing it to plunge clean through armour, flesh and bone as though they were not there at all.
C'tan Phase Weapon - Cypher's Phase Knife: The elusive Fallen Angel known as Cypher is also known to have once carried a C'tan Phase Knife which was lost in battle with the C'tan Shard named the Deceiver during the 13th Black Crusade. Due to the fact that it was lost within the Warp, this seems to have caused a mysterious temporal loop which causes the knife to reappear at random times on Cypher's person.
C.L. Werner - C.L. Werner: C.L. Werner is an author for Games Workshop's Black Library imprint.
C.L. Werner - Genestealer Cults: Cult of the Warmason (2017, ISBN 1-78496-614-2)
C.L. Werner - Space Marine Battles: The Siege of Castellax (2012, ISBN 1-84970-259-4)
C.L. Werner - Others: Iron Inferno (Short Story) (Collected in Fear the Alien (Anthology))Black Dawn (Short Story) (Collected in Victories of the Space Marines (Anthology) and There is Only War (Anthology))Adeptus Mechanicus: The Enigma of Flesh (Short Story) (Collected in Servants of the Machine-God (Anthology))
C.S. Goto - C.S. Goto: C.S. Goto (Cassern Sebastian Goto) is an author for Games Workshop's Black Library imprint.
C.S. Goto - Blood Angels: The Blood of Angels (Short Story) (Collected in The Book of Blood (Anthology))
C.S. Goto - Dawn of War: Blood Ravens: The Dawn of War Omnibus (2008, ISBN 1-84416-535-3) collects the following:Dawn of War (2004, ISBN 1-84416-152-8)Ascension (2005, ISBN 1-84416-285-0)Tempest (2006, ISBN 1-84416-399-7)The Trials of Isador (Short Story)
C.S. Goto - Deathwatch: Warrior Brood (2005, ISBN 1-84416-234-6)Warrior Coven (2006, ISBN 1-84416-365-2)
C.S. Goto - Eldar: Eldar Prophecy (2007, ISBN 1-84416-451-9)
C.S. Goto - Necromunda: Salvation (2005, ISBN 1-84416-189-7)
C.S. Goto - Others: Tears of Blood (Short Story) (Collected in Tales From the Dark Millennium (Anthology))Vindicare (Short Story) (Collected in Tales From the Dark Millennium (Anthology))Menshad Korum (Short Story) (Collected in Bringers of Death (Anthology))The Trial of the Mantis Warriors (Short Story) (Collected in Legends of the Space Marines (Anthology))The Tower (Short Story) (2006, collected in Let the Galaxy Burn (Anthology))
Cabal - Cabal: The Cabal was a secret organisation dedicated to the eradication of Chaos whose operatives were drawn from more than a thousand different intelligent xenos races, including the Aeldari and humanity. The Cabal claimed to have battled the forces of the "Primordial Annihilator" (Chaos) for a time longer than the existence of Mankind as a thinking species.The Cabal was a hidden organisation, covertly predicting the future and steering the intelligent races of the galaxy towards their ultimate goal of wiping Chaos from existence within the Empyrean. They are chiefly known for involving themselves in the Horus Heresy by using their foreknowledge of the Warmaster Horus' actions to seemingly suborn the Primarch Alpharius Omegon and his XX Legion of Space Marines, the Alpha Legion, to their cause before the Great Betrayal took place in the early 31st Millennium.The Cabal itself eventually came to be seen as a threat to the Aeldari species' ability to defeat Chaos as foreseen by its greatest Farseer, Eldrad Ulthran of Craftworld Ulthwe. To prevent the Cabal from carrying out its plans during the Heresy to see the Imperium of Man lose the war to Chaos, the Farseer and his agents arranged to eliminate much of the Cabal's leadership and its most important agents.By the middle of the 32nd Millennium AD, Ulthran would report that the Cabal had been destroyed.