vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Destroyers - Canon Conflict: The Codex: Space Marines (7th Edition) states that the Destroyers were established during the Second Founding, while the older Codex: Space Marines (3rd Edition) states that the Chapter is a successor of the Mantis Warriors (through the lineage of the White Scars).The issue was resolved with the release of the 8th Edition Codex Adeptus Astartes - Space Marines, which confirmed that the Destroyers are a Second Founding Successor Chapter of the White Scars.
Destroyers - Sources: Adeptus Astartes: Successor Chapters (Limited Release Booklet), pg. 34Codex Adeptus Astartes - Space Marines (8th Edition), pg. 35Codex: Space Marines (9th Edition), pg. 70Codex: Space Marines (8th Edition), pg. 40Codex: Space Marines (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), pg. 137Codex: Space Marines (3rd Edition), pg. 47Codex Supplement: White Scars (8th Edition), pg. 28Imperium Nihilus: Vigilus Defiant (8th Edition), pg. 79Gathering Storm - Part One - Fall of Cadia (7th Edition), pg. 99
Devastation-class Cruiser - Devastation-class Cruiser: The Devastation-class Cruiser is a fleet-support carrier used by the forces of Chaos, a rarity among Chaos warfleets. A Devastation-class vessel possesses large starboard and port launch bays that are capable of launching four squadrons of Chaos attack craft into any battle, bringing vital support to Chaos warfleets that are normally short on the fighters needed to counter the massed torpedo volleys that are part of the standard tactics employed by their Imperial Navy nemeses.Devastation-class cruisers also bring to bear bombers and the Dreadclaw Assault Boats (Drop Pods) that are an incredibly dangerous offensive weapon when they are also filled with Chaos Space Marines for a boarding action. While the Devastation-class' weapons batteries and long-range Lances lack the firepower required to engage in short-range duels, the Devastation-class nonetheless remains an effective long-range threat for the forces of Chaos.Tough and reliable carriers, the Devastation-class Cruiser is a starship highly valued by pirate bands and Renegade warlords. It possesses powerful long-ranged Lance emplacements on either broadside, racks of turbo-laser destructor batteries on its prow, and can launch a considerable array of attack craft from its flight decks. Devastations carry robust repair and re-armament facilities for their bombers and fighters, and below decks, entire cargo holds are given over to crude quarters teeming with hordes of mutants, Chaos Cultists, and madmen who fill the ship's complement of Dreadclaw Assault Boats.Within the Koronus Expanse, the crews of the Swiftdeath fighters and Doomfire bombers exist as tightly knit clans, with sets of pilots and crews competing against each other in savage duels for supremacy.
Devastation-class Cruiser - Dimensions: Hull: CruiserClass: Devastation-class CruiserDimensions: Approximately 5 kilometres long, 0.8 kilometresMass: Approximately 28.5 MegatonnesCrew: Approximately 80,000 crewAcceleration: 2.4 Gravities maximum acceleration
Devastation-class Cruiser - Notable Devastation-class Cruisers: Crimson Reliquary - The Crimson Reliquary was long affiliated with the Khornate warband known as the Slaughterkin. It was the personal flagship of the infamous Mahaur the Harvester, the warband's Chaos Lord. Following the events of the Scourging of Kerrack, the current status and location of the Crimson Reliquary are unknown.Deathbane - The Deathbane fought and earned great renown from its patrons among the Ruinous Powers during the Gothic War. During an ambush on an Imperial battlegroup stationed at the Hive World of Orar, the Imperial Navy vessels were found preparing to put down a rebellion in a neighbouring star system. Fire from the Lunar-class Cruiser Iron Duke smashed the bridge of the Deathbane, but the ship's commander, Malefica Arkham, survived.Excrucian - The fleet of Koronus Expanse pirate warlord Karrad Vall includes many ships, but few as infamous as the Excrucian. This Devastation-class Cruiser is normally part of Vall’s honour guard, providing both offense and defense with its shoals of attack craft. The  crew of the Excrucian crew are exceptionally well-trained, and the ship has survived over a dozen savage battles intact over the last 40 standard years. There are whispers on the world of Footfall that the competition for pilots on the Excrucian is ruthlessly brutal, and the best amongst them are kept in stasis chambers in between missions to preserve their murderous spirit.Unforgivable - The Unforgivable earned its name during the 37th Millennium during an engagement that would become known as the Mordian Incident. Known at the time as the Righteous Fury, the starship was paired with the Oberon-class Battleship Justus Dominus and six Imperial Escorts in guarding 14 Imperial Navy transports carrying 32,000 Imperial Guard troops, 1500 main battle tanks, and over 10,000 additional staff and armoured vehicles to fight the Orks on the besieged planet of Gestenbal. When the convoy was assembled, the Righteous Fury reported enemy contacts on its augurs and launched its bombers, then diverted them towards the Justus Dominus while turning its guns against its own Escorts. The surprise attack crippled the Justus Dominus and destroyed four of the Escorts, forcing the two survivors to retreat. The convoy was then helpless against the assault of the Righteous Fury, and was wiped out over the course of thirteen hours of repeated bomber attacks. Only 3,000 men managed to survive in escape pods and ether rafts, a loss that ultimately led to the fall of Gestenbal to the Ork WAAAGH! rolling over it in a green-skinned tide. The newly-renamed Unforgivable would continue to rampage against the Imperium of Man and all its servants for three millennia until it was destroyed by the Dominator-class Cruiser Hammer of Justice during the Port Maw Blockade of the Gothic War.
Devastation Drone - Devastation Drone: Devestation Drones are Servitor drones that are used by the forces of the Adeptus Astartes in boarding actions to venture ahead of assault parties and help them clear a path. These drones, similar to the Cyclops Demolition Vehicle of the Astra Militarum, are a mobile demolition bomb armed with implosion charges designed to inflict maximum damage within a highly confined area, a useful feature during a void boarding action as it reduces the amount of damage to the starship.Devastation Drones are compact, man-sized and sturdily constructed in order to resist enemy fire until they have reached their target zone. Many patterns are often mounted on heavy track units to keep them mobile, although the rarer and higher-quality patterns feature anti-gravitic plates.
Devastation of Baal - Devastation of Baal: The Devastation of Baal, also called the Battle of Baal, was the assault by the single largest concentration of the Tyranid Hive Fleet Leviathan ever encountered by Humanity upon Baal, the homeworld of the Blood Angels Chapter of Space Marines.The battle, fought in ca. 999.M41, was a part of the wider Third Tyrannic War and also marked a key battle of the Indomitus Crusade led by the resurrected Primarch Roboute Guilliman.Due to the temporal distortions unleashed at the time of the eruption of the Great Rift, the exact date of the battle is in question; the combat may have lasted for many standard years from the point of view of Terra but only solar weeks passed for the participants.Despite heavy losses, the Blood Angels and their Successor Chapter allies, known as the Sanguinary Brotherhood, ultimately emerged triumphant, not only because of the timely intervention of the forces of Guilliman's Indomitus Crusade but also because at the moment of the Great Rift's birth the Blood Angels' ancient enemy, the Bloodthirster Ka'Bandha, led a massive legion of Khornate Daemons against the Great Devourer on Baal Prime.While the Blood Angels, their allies and the Primaris Space Marines of the Indomitus Crusade cleansed Baal proper of the Tyranid infestation, the Daemons destroyed the largest concentration of the remaining xenos lifeforms in orbit of Baal. The Daemons left behind only a mountain of Tyranid skulls shaped like the eight-pillared symbol of Khorne that dominated Baal Prime's southern hemisphere.The reasons for this intervention by one of Khorne's greatest servants remains unknown and deeply unsettling to the Blood Angels, though it may be that Ka'bandha has determined that he, and he alone, will ultimately be the architect of the sons of Sanguinius' ruin.In the wake of the Devastation of Baal, Guilliman, in his role as the lord commander of the Imperium and Imperial Regent, named Commander Dante, the Chapter Master of the Blood Angels, as the lord regent of the Imperium Nihilus, the portion of the Imperium in the galactic north cut off from Terra and the light of the Astronomican by the Great Rift.After a period of intensive reconstruction of Baal and recovery for the Chapter, the Blood Angels moved out into the Dark Imperium, determined to bring the Emperor's light back to those similarly oppressed by xenos and the servants of the Dark Gods.
Devastation of Baal - History: In the final days of the 41st Millennium, the largest tendril of Hive Fleet Leviathan ever recorded descended upon Baal, homeworld of the Blood Angels Space Marines, and its twin moons of Baal Prime and Baal Secundus. The battle which followed would be the bloodiest and most costly in the noble history of the sons of Sanguinius.
Devastation of Baal - The Shield of Baal: News reached Baal in 998.M41 that the defences of the "Cryptan Shield," the name given to the fortified worlds of the Cryptus System long intended to hold back the might of Hive Fleet Leviathan and shield the Blood Angels' home star system, had collapsed. Already Commander Dante had put plans in motion to defend the Blood Angels' homeworld, with detached strike forces fighting hit-and-run battles with the Leviathan's smaller splinter fleets throughout the Red Scar.Meanwhile, the defences of Baal and her moons were bolstered like never before; indomitable fortresses rose above the sweltering sands, and the might of the Blood Angels' Successor Chapters, the Sanguinary Brotherhood, gathered from across the galaxy.Yet still it did not seem to be enough, for the Tyranids were seemingly without number, and Hive Fleet Leviathan was learning the weaknesses of its prey at an exponential rate.Knowing that the consumption of the Cryptus System would open the floodgates for an unstoppable Tyranid invasion of Baal, Commander Dante took action. At the head of a mighty strike force later known as the Cryptus Campaign that comprised the 1st and 2nd Companies of the Blood Angels, Brother Corbulo, Captain Karlaen, Chief Librarian Mephiston and the bulk of Gabriel Seth's Flesh Tearers, Dante headed out for the Cryptus System.This mighty force reached the Cryptus System in time to aid the last, hard-pressed Imperial defenders and avert complete catastrophe. Yet the war that followed was unremittingly savage, with both the Imperial and xenos forces suffering rapidly escalating casualties.The Blood Angels were eventually forced to unleash an ancient weapon of Necrontyr provenance called the Magnovitrium to annihilate an entire world of the Cryptus System and use its debris to gut the onrushing splinter fleet. Showing his wisdom, Dante accepted that the Tyranids had been slowed but not stopped. The Blood Angels Commander ordered his forces to return to Baal. His Chapter intended to fight for its survival upon the worlds of its birth.
Devastation of Baal - Indomitus: Now it was Drop Pods and Stormraven gunships which dotted the skies above Baal, as Guilliman and his warriors crashed down into the midst of the Tyranid swarm. Hive Fleet Leviathan's remaining ground forces still outnumbered the Space Marines, but the death of the Swarmlord and the destruction of the Tyranid fleet left it reeling, as Hormagaunts and Termagants reverted to their frenzied, predatory instincts.With the Primaris Space Marines -- a new breed of transhuman warriors, birthed from the vaults of Mars by Archmagos Dominus Belisarius Cawl -- fighting at Guilliman's side, unleashing devastatingly accurate salvoes from their Mark II Cawl Pattern Bolt Rifles, the mighty host of the Leviathan was cut to pieces.The salvation of Baal did not come quickly, or without cost. Even as Guilliman's forces rained down to relieve the siege of the Arx Angelicum, even as they joined forces with the surviving sons of Sanguinius and fought to purge Baal and its moons of xenos, still more Imperial lives are lost. Yet hopeless defeat has become a glorious victory against the odds. Meanwhile, if certain grim secrets of the Blood Angels' gene-line were finally laid bare to the eyes of the Ultramarines' Primarch, he chose to keep his own counsel and left such things unspoken.Baal and Baal Secundus were cleansed of Tyranids before a solar month was out. The slaughter was spearheaded by Primaris Space Marines clad in the panoply of the Blood Angels and their successors. On Baal Prime no such martial efforts were required. The moon had been utterly scoured of life, both Imperial and Tyranid.Individual clusters of organisms fled into Baal's radioactive wastes. It would take many solar months to hunt down and eliminate them all, but Baal had been saved. Gravely wounded but still alive, Commander Dante bent the knee before Primarch Guilliman, now the ruling Lord Commander of the Imperium.In Dante and the surviving Blood Angels and the Chapters of the Sanguinary Brotherhood, Guilliman recognised a noble spirit, a flickering flame kept alive from the Imperium's glorious past. His gift to them was mighty indeed: formations of Primaris Space Marines with which to bolster their devastated ranks, derived from the bloodline and gene-seed of Sanguinius.Of Hive Fleet Leviathan's hundreds of thousands of bio-ships, there was not a single sign. Upon Baal Prime, nothing remained but desolation. Though Gabriel Seth and his last surviving Flesh Tearers had escaped the unnatural cataclysm unleashed by the opening of the Great Rift, the daemons had vanished back into the Warp, leaving behind an ominous warning; mountains of Tyranid skulls, piled impossibly high across most of the moon's southern hemisphere. These ziggurats formed the reviled, eight-pillared sigil of Ka'Bandha, a grim message to his eternal nemeses.For now the menace of the Leviathan had been defeated, but the trials of the Blood Angels were far from over.
Devastation of Baal - Aftermath: In the wake of the Leviathan's defeat, the Blood Angels begin to rebuild. Their gene-seed stocks were recalled, taking their rightful place beneath the rising arches of the restored Arx Angelicum.The several thousand grizzled aspirants who survived the siege were all inducted into the Chapter, and those that successfully endured the Astartes transformation were funnelled into the outsized Scout Companies authorised by Commander Dante for his Chapter and their successors.The great blasphemous sigil erected by Ka'Bandha from Tyranid skulls was scoured from Baal Prime on the orders of Dante by orbital strikes from the Blood Angels fleet.The ranks of the Blood Angels and their Successor Chapters of the Sanguinary Brotherhood were further bolstered by a huge influx of Primaris Space Marines, unfrozen from hibernation within the vaults of the Ark Mechanicus Zar-Quaesitor and produced upon Baal itself using the newly installed mechanisms brought by Archmagos Dominus Belisarius Cawl.With Commander Dante declared regent of the entire Imperium Nihilus by Roboute Guilliman, the Blood Angels and their successors were soon ready to rejoin the war for the Emperor's realm. It is well that they were, for the fight had become more desperate than ever before.
Devastator Marine - Unit Composition: 1 Space Marine Sergeant or Veteran Sergeant4 Space Marines (heavy weapons support)5 Space Marines
Devastator Marine - Dedicated Transport: May select one of the following for a dedicated transport:Drop PodRhino Armoured Personnel CarrierRazorback
Devastator Marine - Devastator Marine Wargear: Power Armour (Any Firstborn pattern)Bolt Pistol BolterFrag GrenadesKrak GrenadesSignum (Sergeant or Veteran Sergeant only)Armourium Cherub (Cybernetic Familiar used for reload of ammunition)
Devastator Marine - Optional Wargear: 4 Space Marines may take Heavy Weapons (Including: Astartes Grenade Launcher, Auto-Weapon, Cerberus Launcher, Heavy Bolter, Lascannon, Missile Launcher, Multi-Melta, Plasma Cannon, Grav-Cannon, Skyhammer Missile Launcher, Skyspear Missile Launcher, Sniper Rifle and Thunderfire Cannon)1 Armorium Cherub (Cybernetic Familiar used for reload of ammunition)
Devastator Marine - Optional Wargear, Sergeants Only: ChainswordAny Power Weapon (As replacement for Chainsword)Power Fist (As replacement for Chainsword)Combi-Weapon (Flamer- Melta- Plasma- or Grav-)Storm BolterBolt PistolBolter (As replacement for Bolt Pistol)Grav-Pistol (As replacement for Bolt Pistol)Plasma Pistol (As replacement for Bolt Pistol)SignumMelta Bombs
Devastator Marine - Sources: Codex Adeptus Astartes - Space Marines (8th Edition), pp. 76, 78, 172Codex: Blood Angels (5th Edition), pp. 26, 95Codex: Dark Angels (4th Edition), pp. 25, 86Codex: Space Marines (8th Edition) (Revised Codex), pp. 76, 148Codex: Space Marines (7th Edition), pp. 361-362Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition), pp. 61, 142Codex: Space Marines (4th Edition), pg. 38Codex: Space Wolves (5th Edition), pp. 28, 92Deathwatch: Core Rulebook (RPG), pp. 76-78Insignium Astartes, pp. 22-23Warhammer 40,000: Rulebook (6th Edition), pg. 394
Devil Dog - Devil Dog: The Devil Dog is a variant of the Hellhound flame-thrower tank that is used by the Astra Militarum. Both vehicles are based upon the Imperial Chimera armoured transport chassis. The Devil Dog variant replaces the Hellhound's Inferno Cannon with a snub-nosed Melta Cannon and is used by the Imperial Guard for anti-armour combat, and for engaging enemy heavy infantry such as those wearing Power Armour. As the Devil Dog is a variant of the Hellhound, its troop compartment has been replaced with an armoured storage area for a pyrum-petrol fuel mix.Acquiring its name from the high-pitched howl its Melta Cannon makes upon firing, the Devil Dog is capable of punching far above its weight in armoured combat. Indeed, many Devil Dog crews style themselves as big game hunters or monster slayers, excelling in the eradication of enemy armour and exceptionally heavy infantry assets. A foe forced to fight protracted campaigns in dense terrain against the Astra Militarum soon learns to dread the hunched silhouette of the Devil Dog -- those who don't find their vehicles reduced to molten slag by this aggressive and fast moving tank hunter.The pairing of Devil Dogs with Hellhounds on the battlefield is commonplace among the battle groups of the Imperial Guard -- so much so that an entire page of the Tactica Imperium is dedicated to the deadly synergy achieved by fielding them in mixed "Desolation Squadrons." The Hellhound, being vulnerable to heavily armoured enemy tanks, is protected by the liquefying melta blasts of the Devil Dog -- conversely, the rivers of flame that pour from the Hellhound's Inferno Cannon immolate any massed infantry trying to swarm the Devil Dog. Working in concert, these two tanks make short work of the foe.There are several different patterns of the Hellhound and its variants in use by the Imperium, such as the Artemia Pattern which replaces the vehicle's turret with one that is remotely controlled from inside the tank by the vehicle's commander that allows the tank to make do with a crew of only two, and the Mars Pattern which replaces the standard pattern's single large fuel tank with several smaller fuel tanks that can be hidden inside the remnants of the Chimera chassis' troop compartment. The use of the smaller fuel tanks is preferred as they make the Hellhound and its variants more difficult to identify when compared to standard Chimera transports.
Devil Dog - Armament: The Devil Dog replaces the standard hull-mounted Inferno Cannon found on the Hellhound with a Melta Cannon. A Melta Cannon is an Imperial Melta Weapon that makes use of a miniature fusion reaction to produce a concentrated beam of intense, searing heat. This weapon system is commonly mounted on Reaver-class and Warlord-class Titans, yet the Devil Dog uses a scaled-down version of the same technology. The Melta Cannon used by the Devil Dog, while not nearly as powerful as the full size Titan version, is still one of the most powerful Melta Weapons used by Imperial ground forces and is very capable of destroying enemy heavy infantry and armour in short order. When the weapon is fired, it makes a high-pitched howl as the moisture in the air vaporises, becoming a roaring blast as the target detonates. The vehicle is also armed with a hull-mounted Heavy Bolter, which can be replaced with either a Heavy Flamer, or a Multi-Melta. The tank can also be outfitted with the following enhancements: camouflage netting, extra armour plating, a Hunter-Killer Missile Launcher, improved communications equipment, a mine sweeper, rough terrain modifications, a Pintle-mounted Heavy Stubber or Storm Bolter, track guards, a searchlight, a dozer blade or mine plough, and smoke launchers.
Devil Dog - Unit Composition: 1-3 Hellhounds, Devil Dogs and/or Bane Wolves in any combination.
Devil Dog - Adeptus Mechanicus Technical Specifications: Devil DogVehicle Name:Devil DogMain Armament:Turret-mounted Melta CannonForge World of Origin:Graia, Mars, ArtemiaSecondary Armament:Hull-mounted Heavy BolterKnown Patterns:UnknownTraverse:360 degreesCrew:1 Commander, 1 Driver, 1 GunnerElevation:-8 to 25 degreesPowerplant:Vulcanor 16 Twin-Coupled Multi-BurnMain Ammunition:UnlimitedWeight:35 Tonnes (approx)Secondary Ammunition:400 RoundsLength:6.90 metresArmour:Width:5.70 metresHeight:4.10 metresSuperstructure:150 millimetresGround Clearance:0.45 metresHull:120 millimetresMax Speed On-Road:70 kilometres per hour (approx)Gun Mantlet:N/AMax Speed Off-Road:55 kilometres per hour (approx)Vehicle Designation:UnknownTransport Capacity:N/AFiring Ports:N/AAccess Points:N/ATurret:150 millimetres
Devilfish - Devilfish: A Devilfish, formally the TY7 Devilfish armoured troop carrier, is the primary anti-gravitic skimmer transport utilised by T'au ground forces and can carry twelve Fire Warriors or Pathfinders into combat in relative safety, and then provide mobile fire support once they disembark.A resilient and versatile transport, it is the TY7 Devilfish that allows Fire Caste ground forces to successfully execute many of their strategies, whether by rapidly relocating Fire Warriors to new coordinates as part of grand strategic manoeuvers, or punching through enemy lines, guns blazing, to extract Pathfinder teams before they can be overwhelmed. These ubiquitous transports are exceptionally popular with the Fire Caste, and their courageous pilots are offered great respect.
Devilfish - Construction: The ubiquitous Devilfish chassis consists of a sleek and light design powered by complex dual anti-gravitic and jet-propulsion motive systems so that a Devilfish almost glides over a planet's surface. The anti-gravitic engines generate "cushions" of air upon which the Devilfish floats, and its armoured bulk is then driven forwards by its two powerful multi-directional thruster jet engines mounted on the rear sides of the hull.By pivoting the propulsion units downwards, a Devilfish pilot can gain extra lift to clear the many obstacles and terrain that often litters a battlefield; obstacles that more mundane tracked vehicles can never hope to traverse. There are also two lift fins mounted on the front, each with a recess to house a weapon system or a Gun Drone.Since the Devilfish was designed with troop transport in mind, the pressurised interior has the space to fit 12 Fire Warriors along with all of their equipment and weapons. The vehicle also features a hatch on each side along with a door in the rear to allow troops inside to disembark and set up into a firing position quickly.The armour of the vehicle is made from a dense nano-crystalline metal, named Fio'tak in the T'au Lexicon, that is light, malleable, strong and corrosive resistant; reducing the weight of the vehicle whilst also providing excellent protection. There is only one crew member that pilots the Devilfish, operates the nose-mounted Burst Cannon, and manages the communication and tracking systems. All other systems are drone-controlled.
Devilfish - Tactical Role: The TY7 Devilfish is primarily an armoured personnel carrier and is often considered the workhorse of T'au ground forces, with the capacity to carry a fully armed and equipped Fire Warrior squad rapidly to the frontlines in relative safety. Once the Fire Warriors have been dropped off, the Devilfish continues to act as their mobile fire support, providing anti-infantry firepower where it is most needed.Mobility is essential for any T'au Commander, and Devilfish allow their infantry to keep pace with a Hunter Cadre's armoured gunships. Whether manoeuvring troops to deliver the killer offensive of a Mont'ka, or rushing them into ideal firing positions to ensure a Kauyon ambush is perfectly set, Devilfish are often key to T'au victories.However, Devilfish are not only used to merely ferry troops to the frontlines. In addition to the fearsome firepower provided by its Burst Cannon, a Devilfish is often on hand to extract T'au troops should enemy formations be in a position to overwhelm the T'au gunline, or if the T'au Commander decides that a tactical withdrawal is necessary.Given the T'au's loathing of close combat, a common tactic is to redeploy their gun lines when enemy units approach; whisking troops out of harm's way to setup new firing perimeters elsewhere on the battlefield. This re-embarking and relocation tactic allows Pathfinders to escape encirclement and helps Fire Warriors keep their foes at arm's length, better enabling them to whittle down the enemy with repeated volleys of Pulse Rifle fire.In this way, they enable a T'au force's hit-and-run tactics, and are the bane of many an Imperial commander. Devilfish are usually transported inside a Manta, which can carry four fully-loaded Devilfish from orbit to the ground, and then once more to the battlefront; allowing Devilfish to be deployed exactly where and when they and their troops are needed.
Devilfish - Notable Formations: Counterstrike Cadre - When fighting at the cadre or battle level, it is standard Fire Caste doctrine to maintain a fast-moving reserve. These groups commonly hold back from the front line while the bulk of the fighting is taking place, only being committed when their deployment will tip the balance of the battle in the favour of the T'au or respond to enemy ploys. At that moment, the reserve force will make its move, closing in and securing objectives the enemy thought safe. The formation of these "counterstrike" cadres was first proposed by the Fire Caste's pre-eminent warrior-scholar, Commander Puretide, during the Imperium's attack on the city of Gel'bryn on the Dal'yth Sept World during the Damocles Gulf Crusade. As the Imperium broke out of its landing zones, Puretide identified a need to secure key positions fast, in order slow down the Imperial forces' rapid advance. Puretide found that where he could take key positions in front of the Imperium's route of march, he could divert his enemies' efforts and gain the strategic upper hand. And so counterstrike cadres came into being and have been utilised ever since, wherever the Fire Caste needs to take control of a critical objective before enemy troops reach it. A counterstrike cadre typically consists of a number of Fire Warrior strike and/or breacher teams, and a single Pathfinder team, all mounted in TY7 Devilfish transports.Rapid Redeployment Force - A Rapid Redeployment Force, or to give its full T'au military title, the "Objective Oriented Rapid Redeployment Detachment," was first used by the T'au during the Dal'yth counterattack. Under pressure from the ground forces of the Imperium's Damocles Gulf Crusade, the T'au were forced to pull back a large number of ground troops. As the Fire Warriors at the frontline lacked their own transports, the T'au Commanders ordered a number of Hunter Cadres to send in their Devilfish. These swept in on the stranded Fire Warriors' positions and picked them up, before conducting a wide sweep of the battlefield that brought them within a hundred metres of the Imperial army's frontline command centre. Disembarking, the Fire Warriors laid down a withering hail of Pulse Rifle fire, forcing the Astra Militarum staff officers manning the post to fall back in disarray. Not only were the beleaguered Fire Warriors rescued, but their timely redeployment turned the tide in their sector of the battlefield. After the Damocles Gulf Crusade's withdrawal from T'au space, the Fire Caste High Command instigated a number of changes to the T'au military, each the result of costly lessons learned during the conflict. Not the least among them was the formalisation of the Rapid Redeployment Force, a formation that can, as at the Dal'yth counterattack, snatch victory from the jaws of defeat if committed at the correct moment by a wise commander. A Rapid Redeployment Force will usually consist of three or more Devilfish, with one vehicle being designated the command tank.
Devilfish - Primary Weapons: A TY7 Devilfish is primarily armed with a nose-mounted Burst Cannon and a hull-mounted secondary weapon system. The nose-mounted Burst Cannon provides rapid-firing suppressive anti-infantry fire, acting as a self-defence weapon that can also be used to complement the fire of a disembarked Fire Warrior squad. Devilfish are equipped with landing gear as standard, in the case of failure of the thruster engines, or for when the vehicle is simply at rest and deactivated.
Devilfish - Secondary Weapons: Secondary weapons are mounted in the front recesses of the transport and are primarily deployed to provide anti-infantry fire support. The vehicle's secondary weapons can include either of the following:Gun Drones - Most Devilfish are armed with two Gun Drones which ride with the vehicle in specially designed recesses. These Gun Drones are able to lend to their Devilfish an additional weight of fire, or can detach themselves and move off independently to perform fire missions of their own.Twin-linked Smart Missile System - A Smart Missile System fires swarms of self-guided missiles, each with a built-in Drone intelligence so they can hunt down targets that could not normally be seen or targeted.
Devilfish - Upgrades: Devilfish transports can also be equipped with any of the following Tau vehicle upgrade systems:Automated Repair System - Automated Repair Systems consist of dispensers which release tiny maintenance drones which swarm over damaged weapon and drive systems, repairing them in the midst of battle.Advanced Targeting System - An Advanced Targeting System assists the vehicle's gunner by identifying targets of particular value or danger, and plotting fire plans to counter them.Blacksun Filter - Blacksun Filters allow the vehicle's gunners to accurately see and target enemies in low-light conditions.Decoy Launchers - Decoy Launchers are a form of defensive measure that is mounted near the transport's engines. They are capable of firing clouds of reflective strips and sophisticated electronic decoys, which are combined with flare and chaff launchers to protect the transport's thruster arrays from enemy missiles.Disruption Pod - Disruption Pods display distorting holographic images in the visual and electromagnetic spectra to make the vehicle harder to target.Flechette Discharger - Flechette Dischargers line the hull of the Devilfish and fire high-velocity flechettes at infantry which try to assault the vehicle.Multi-Tracker - A Multi-Tracker consists of advanced stabilisers that allow the vehicle to fire accurately even whilst moving at speed.Point Defence Targeting Relay - Designed to provide superior covering fire for nearby Fire Caste units, a Point Defence Targeting Relay automatically targets and engages enemies that try to assault the vehicle or nearby friendly units.Sensor Spines - Sensor Spines feed data to an advanced ground-following flight control system. This allows the vehicle to avoid hazardous terrain that could otherwise damage the vehicle's drive systems.Target Lock - A Target Lock computer automatically identifies potential targets and plots fire plans accordingly. This grants the gunners more choice and accuracy in engaging various targets.Targeting Array - Computer-aided Targeting Arrays are sophisticated targeting systems that aid the gunners' aim in firing upon enemy targets.
Devilfish - Optional Weapons: Seeker Missiles - Devilfish Troop Carriers can also optionally have up to two Seeker Missiles in addition to their primary and secondary armaments. Each Seeker Missile is most effective when fired and guided by Marker Lights.
Devilfish - Ordo Xenos Departmento Analyticus Technical Specifications: Serial Number85673-908325Main ArmamentBurst Cannon in Chin TurretDesignationTroop CarrierVehicle CodenameDevilfishSecondary ArmamentDrone-Controlled 4x Pulse CarbinesVehicle TypeGrav-TankCrew1 PilotTraverse160°Weight14 tonnesElevation+30° to -15°Length8.25 metresAmmunition2000 roundsWidth6.8 metresArmour TypeNano-Crystalline Alloy; Composition Unknown to Adeptus MechanicusHeight3.2 metresMax Recorded Speed75 kilometres per hourSummary:Armoured Troop Transport; holds twelve; Also can mount Seeker Missile Rack
Devilfish - Sources: Codex: Tau (3rd Edition), pg. 26Codex: Tau Empire (4th Edition), pg. 36Codex: Tau Empire (6th Edition), pp. 39, 66, 72Codex: Tau Empire (7th Edition), pp. 23, 44, 94Deathwatch: Rites of Battle (RPG), pg. 193Imperial Armour Volume Three - The Taros Campaign, pp. 163-168, 284Imperial Armour Volume Three - The Taros Campaign (Second Edition), pp. 140-142War Zone Damocles: Kauyon, pg. 106War Zone Damocles: Mont'ka, pp. 102, 117, 184Courage and Honour (Novel) by Graham McNeillGames Workshop Website - Rapid Redeployment Force Datasheet (Defunct page)
Devourer Cruiser - Devourer Cruiser: A Devourer Cruiser is a battlecruiser or heavy cruiser-analogue bio-ship with several different variants found in Tyranid Hive Fleets.
Devourer Cruiser - Sources: Battlefleet Gothic Armada 2 (PC Game)
Devourer Dropship - Devourer Dropship: The Devourer Dropship is an orbit-to-surface dropship of the Navis Imperialis used to get Imperial military personnel, usually members of the Astra Militarum, and their associated wargear and vehicles from an orbiting carrier voidship to a planetary surface, often under enemy fire during a planetary assault operation.The vessel is uniquely designed so that during its landing it can literally punch through enemy fortified emplacements with its heavily-armoured nosecone and deliver its cargo of troops and vehicles directly into an enemy strongpoint if needed.
Devourer Dropship - Role: The Devourer Dropship is used to transport Astra Militarum forces from orbiting transport ships to planetary surfaces. Carried in larger FTL Imperial Transports such as the massive Cetaceus-class Transport, Devourer Dropships are considerably larger than Adeptus Astartes Thunderhawks, which serve a similar role.Each Devourer possesses two decks, with the upper deck housing the infantry units and the lower deck storing the heavier wargear and vehicles such as tanks and artillery. The Devourer is designed for planetary landings and assault deployments, with the heavily-armoured nose cone of the vessel opening up into four sections like a four-jawed beast, then deploying a telescopic catwalk so that the onboard armoured vehicles and infantry can rapidly depart.The Devourer itself is not designed to participate in combat and is intended primarily for an orbit-to-surface transport role, but is equipped with two Heavy Lascannon turrets and Missile Launchers that fire Ram Missiles so that they can devastate armoured emplacements in support of their carried ground units.
Devourers - Devourers: The Devourers were the premier cadre within the World Eaters Legion that served as a dedicated bodyguard unit for their Primarch Angron during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy eras of the late 30th and early 31st Millennia.In battle, the Devourers fought encased in Terminator Armour and carried the most savage weapons the XIIth Legion possessed.This warrior band had only twelve members, and access to its ranks was only attained by defeating another Devourer in single combat to the death or, should one of its number fall in battle against an enemy, a successor was selected by a contest open to all of the Astartes in the World Eaters Legion, only one of whom would survive.
Devourers - Notable Devourers: Batto - Batto was the captain of the Devourers at the time of the Ghenna Scouring, he was armed with the chainglaive. When Batto tried to placate enraged Angron, the Primarch killed him.Tarugar - Tarugar was chief among the the Devourers, a lackey of Goghur who served as the Captain of the 11th Company of the World Eaters after the Siege of Terra, when the original company complement had been killed to a man. Later, as a Chaos Lord, he gathered a great Chaos Space Marine warband, named the "Devourers," after the original World Eaters unit, but he was slain by Khârn.Goghur - Goghur was the self-appointed commander of the World Eaters Legion during the Great Scouring, before Khârn returned and took over leadership of the XII Legion again.Borok - Borok, a member of the Devourers, was slain by Khârn in the World Eaters' fighting pits during the Shadow Crusade.Ekelot - Ekelot, a member of the Devourers, was slain by Jenetia Krole at the curtain gate of Eternity Wall Port during the Siege of Terra.Jurok - Jurok, a member of the Devourers, was slain by Jenetia Krole in Western Freight of Eternity Wall Port during the Siege of Terra.
Devram Korda - Devram Korda: Devram Korda, also known as "The Tyrant of Sarora", is a servant of the Chaos God Slaanesh, the Prince of Pleasure and the current Lord Purgator among the Chosen of Abaddon of the Black Legion as well as one of the commanders of the Children of Torment warband.A former Veteran sergeant of the Sons of Horus Legion, after the events of the Horus Heresy, he rose to prominence and became a Chaos Lord. He became infamous for his blasphemous actions on the doomed world of Sarora, where he distilled the life essence of the citizens of the planet's largest hive city for a single vial of a sorcerous elixir which made him virtually invincible.He eventually became the current Lord Purgator, the individual among the Chosen of Abaddon who leads the invasion fleets of the Black Crusade in the name of Abaddon the Despoiler. It is Korda who first makes landfall on the surface of a world about to be assaulted by the forces of Chaos.Korda also leads the personal retinue of the Despoiler, known as the "Chosen of Abaddon."In the closing days of the 13th Black Crusade in 999.M41, Devram Korda returned to his master's side, bringing with him two individuals (later identified as his fellow Chosen Skyrak Slaughterborn and Urkrathos) who had journeyed to the centre of the Eye of Terror.Together with the Chaos Sorcerer Ygethmor the Deceiver, they presented Abaddon with the Heart of Chaos, a powerful artefact that Zaraphiston, a Tzeentchian sorcerer and rival Chaos Lord of the Despoiler, had long claimed could not exist.
Devram Korda - Horus Heresy: Devram Korda served within the vaunted Sons of Horus Legion under the command of the Warmaster Horus, the greatest primarch and most beloved son of the Emperor of Mankind. When the Warmaster fell to the corrupting influence of the Chaos Gods and began the terrible galactic civil war known as the Horus Heresy, Devram Korda willingly followed his primarch into damnation.By the opening days of the conflict, Korda served as a Veteran sergeant of the 13th Company of the XVIth Legion and as one of the seconds of Captain Luc Sedirae.Korda was present on the Legion's flagship Vengeful Spirit when Captain Sedirae and First Chaplain Erebus of the Word Bearers Legion were able to unmask the Clade Venenum Assassin known as Tobeld. Korda slew the assassin himself. Out of a total of eight different Assassins from all six prime clades of what would become the Officio Assassinorum, Tobeld had managed to get the closest to his target before failing in his mission.As the Horus Heresy progressed and word filtered throughout the galaxy of Horus' galactic uprising, numerous Imperial worlds began to erupt into anarchy as the populations split over whether they should remain loyal to the Emperor or join the cause of the Warmaster.Dagonet was one such world, where Horus Lupercal was second only to the Emperor in being celebrated by the people of the planet; statues in Horus' honour were raised everywhere, and the Dagoneti spoke of him as "the Liberator."When the Sons of Horus teleported onto the planet's surface, an Execution Force composed of Imperial Assassins from every clade were waiting for them, and attempted to assassinate the Traitor primarch. When the Vindicare Assassin successfully shot Horus with his Exitus Rifle, he thought he had killed the Warmaster. Instead, the Vindicare had instead killed Luc Sedirae, the captain of the Sons of Horus' 13th Company.Though the target that had been shot wore the mantle of the Warmaster, the unique robe belonging to the primarch himself, it had all been a ruse. In their anger, Devram Korda and the rest of the Sons of Horus turned upon the populace of Dagonet and began to slaughter them in earnest.
Devram Korda - Post-Heresy: Following the events of the Horus Heresy, Korda continued his meteoric rise through the ranks of the newly renamed Black Legion. He became primarily known for the atrocity he committed upon the world of Sarora, where it is said he distilled the bodily essences of the planet's largest hive city for a single vial of elixir.The properties of this elixir was unknown, but for a period after its ingestion, Korda became, to all intents and purposes, invulnerable.He went on to conquer the entire star system and ruled it with an iron fist, distilling yet more elixirs from the bodies of each planet's population until finally he was stopped by warriors believed to have been rival Chaos Space Marines drawn from a warband of the Emperor's Children.With the rise of Horus' former First Captain Ezekyle Abaddon as his self-proclaimed heir and the new Warmaster of Chaos, the forces of Chaos began launching Black Crusades from the forsaken depths of the Eye of Terror. When these Black Crusades spill from the Warp, the worlds of the Imperium quake in fear.More so than any other servant of Chaos, Abaddon has brought death and destruction to Mankind time and time again; thirteen times in ten thousand standard years, marching to war at the head of a crusade tens of thousands strong.At his side are his chief lieutenants, the so-called "Chosen of Abaddon," and nowhere in the galaxy can a more feared and merciless collection of tyrants be found, ever eager to put entire worlds to the sword in the name of Chaos. They bear an assortment of titles, reflecting their role in the Black Crusade or honouring particular acts of cruelty for which they are infamous.Their numbers are ever-changing, for Abaddon has little tolerance for failure amongst those who serve him. Devram Korda rose to one of these esteemed positions and became the current Lord Purgator, who leads the invasion fleets of the Black Crusades.It falls to the Lord Purgator to ensure that every man, woman and child left alive on a world conquered by the Black Legion is dragged in chains into the hold of the Legion's starships, and that no edifice remains undedicated to the Dark Gods.
Dhonovar Heavy Armour - Dhonovar Heavy Armour: The Dhonovar Heavy Armour are regiments of the Astra Militarum raised from the world of Dhonovar who utilise mostly heavy battle tanks in combat. Five companies of Dhonovar Heavy Armour were deployed in the defence of Cadia and its surrounding star systems in the Cadian Gate from the Forces of Chaos under the command of Abaddon the Despoiler and his 13th Black Crusade in 999.M41.They were instrumental in aiding Lord Castellan Ursarkar E. Creed's Long Retreat, which allowed the Imperial defenders to make their final stand against an offensive led by Abaddon himself before the fall of Cadia. Little else is known about them in current Imperial records.
Dhow - Dhow: A Dhow is the sublight starship of the xenos Nicassar species, one of the member races of the T'au Empire. Dhow are relatively small star-faring yachts, propelled primarily by their Nicassar captain's potent telekinetic powers, abilities which often determine who rises to positions of leadership in Nicassar society.Nicassar starships are primarily sleeper ships, in which the majority of the crew enter a state of hibernation that the Nicassar's alien physiology makes possible as the flotilla, consisting of multiple Dhows docked together, drifts between the stars, directed by the efforts of a few non-hibernating Nicassar crewmen.Although poorly armed when they first encountered the T'au, the original weapons employed by Nicassar Dhows have been upgraded with T'au Railgun batteries. The T'au Empire uses Nicassar Dhows as Escort vessels for the T'au Navy, towing them across interstellar distances using the limited "Warp Dives" employed by T'au starships to travel across the galaxy.The Nicassar's extended families are semi-nomadic and are driven by a truly insatiable curiosity. This led to the original exploration of their home star system, as they are only truly content when travelling. Because they can survive for long periods in virtual hibernation as a result of their alien physiologies, they have travelled far from their homeworld, albeit slowly.First contact between the Nicassar and the T'au Empire came when a T'au Gal'leath-class explorer vessel was setting up a waystation in interstellar space and sighted a Nicassar flotilla that had been in space for centuries.As members of the T'au Empire the Nicassar must serve the Greater Good and do so by providing fleets of Dhows to scout and explore star systems on the fringes of the T'au Empire. They are transported to their station by T'au vessels using gravitic hooks that are capable of interstellar travel through the Warp and commence a leisurely circuit reporting anything they find.When a Nicassar family travels, numerous Dhows travel docked together forming a larger community in which some members will be hibernating whilst others remain on watch.
Diablodon - Diablodon: A Diablodon is a powerful saurian predator found on the worlds of the Jericho Reach. Native to the world of Aurum within the Reach, the Diablodon has managed to find its way across the larger portion of this area of space and beyond. Known within the legends and lore of the various tribes and peoples of Aurum, the Diablodon is a consummate hunter and frightening predator beast. It figures prominently in the natives' culture and the best hunters are those who have managed to best one of these terrifying lizards.