vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Imperator-class Titan - Warmonger-class Titan: The Warmonger-class Emperor Titan is a notable variant of the Imperator Titan, and is very similar to its counterpart in both structure and appearance. It is unknown which variant was designed first as this knowledge has been lost down the long millennia of the Imperium's existence.However, it is well-documented that both the Warmonger and Imperator Emperor Titans were both utilised extensively long before the outbreak of the galaxy-wide conflict of the Horus Heresy.Though they are physically similar, the functions of each class varies significantly. The weapons systems of the Warmonger variant provides it with a longer-ranged and more accurate deep strike/fire-support capability, allowing the Warmonger-class to stand back and pound its foes from even further than its counterpart.In battle, Warmongers will usually be held back to provide long-range fire support, bringing down devastating salvos of missiles and defence laser fire on the enemy, while other units forge ahead and drive into the heart of the foe's lines.This capability makes this particular Emperor Titan a magnet for enemy air support. However, the Warmonger has a healthy array of anti-aircraft systems, not to mention a sufficient number of Void Shields, to keep these threats at bay. This often leaves enemy commanders unsure how best to deal with this deadly foe.
Imperator-class Titan - Standard Warmonger Titan Weapon Configuration (Bakka Pattern): Doomstrike Missile Launcher (8 Doomstrike Missiles)Vengeance Cannon4 Quad AutocannonsFire Control Center
Imperator-class Titan - Sources: Adeptus Titanicus (2nd Edition) (1988), pg. 5Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Rulebook (Specialty Game), pg. 74Codex: Titanicus (1st Edition), pg. 19Codex: Tyranids (5th Edition), pg. 81Citadel Journal 13, "Abominatus, Despoiler of Worlds Chaos Titan", pp. 41-44Deathwatch: The Achilus Assault (RPG), pg. 94Only War: Hammer of the Emperor (RPG), pg. 21Titan Legions (1994), pg. 19The Horus Heresy Book V - Tempest by Alan BlighWarhammer 40,000: Apocalypse (6th Edition) (Digital Edition), pg. 388White Dwarf 194 (US), "Modelling Workshop - Abominatus Chaos Titan," by Adrian Wood, pp. 39-43White Dwarf 190 (US), "Epic: Slaanesh War Machines", pg. 29White Dwarf 181 (US), "Epic Titan Legions - Imperator," by Gavin Thorpe, pp. 23-30White Dwarf 179 (US), "Epic Titan Legions - Inferno," by Andy Chambers & Jervis Johnson, pp. 41-43, 45-46White Dwarf 178 (US), "Epic Titan Legions - Into the Maelstrom," by Andy Chambers & "Epic Titan Legions - The Titan Legions," by Rick Priestley, pp. 7, 10, 12, 45, 49Helsreach (Novel) by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, pg. 64Horus Rising (Novel) by Dan Abnett, pg. 18False Gods (Novel) by Graham McNeillFallen Angels (Novel) by Mike Lee, pg. 370Mechanicum (Novel) by Graham McNeillDeliverance Lost (Novel) by Gav Thorpe, pg. 401Betrayer (Novel) by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, pg. 302Unremebered Empire (Novel) by Dan AbnettVengeful Spirit (Novel) by Graham McNeillThe Ember Wolves (Short Story) by Rob SandersThe Binary Succession (Audio Drama) by David AnnandaleTitandeath (Novel) by Guy HaleyIron Hands (Novel) by Jonathan Green, pg. 307Dark Apostle (Novel) by Anthony Reynolds, pg. 193Apocalypse - Emperor Battle Titan DatasheetThird War for Armageddon Worldwide Campaign - Forces Disposition, Imperial Forces: Legio IgnatumThird War for Armageddon Worldwide Campaign - Forces Disposition, Imperial Forces: Legio VictorumSpecialist Games Fanatic Magazine #52 - Epic "Giants Among Giants" Rules for Imperator Class Titans by Greg BakWarhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Winter Assault (PC Game)
Imperator Somnium - Imperator Somnium: The Imperator Somnium was a flagship utilised by the Emperor of Mankind during the latter years of the Great Crusade in the late 30th Millennium.This immense vessel was a unique, golden Battleship of unknown class, and was described as dwarfing even the largest Imperial Battleships of that era.The fate of this vessel following the events of the Horus Heresy is unknown.
Imperator Somnium - Trivia: The name Imperator Somnium roughly translates from Latin as "Emperor's Dream."
Imperfect (Short Story) - Imperfect (Short Story): Imperfect is a short story published in the Horus Heresy Series. Imperfect was originally published simultaneously as a part of the anthology novella Death and Defiance and as a stand-alone E-Book. It is now also included in the War Without End anthology novel and the The Last Phoenix Omnibus.
Imperfect (Short Story) - Synopsis: A simple game of Regicide between Fulgrim and Ferrus Manus is far more than it seems. Especially since Ferrus Manus is dead...
Imperial Architecture - Imperial Architecture: Imperial Architecture refers to the unique style of design and construction of the various cities, manufactoria, refinery complexes, habitations, religious spaces and similar groups of buildings that are commonplace amongst the developed human-settled worlds of the Imperium of Man.For ten thousand standard years the Imperium of Man has stretched across the galaxy, conquering world upon world, settling them in the name of the Emperor. Upon every planet settled by Mankind are built vast sprawling cities, each one a metropolis teeming with Imperial citizens. The typical characteristics of Imperial architecture include pointed arches, ribbed vaults and flying buttresses.This so-called "Imperial Gothic" style represents the underlying design ethic of many of the Ecclesiarchy's great cathedrals, abbeys and churches found across the various worlds of the Imperium and is also the preferred style of many Sanctums Imperialis, palaces, town halls, guild halls, universities and to a less prominent extent even private dwellings, such as dormatories and personal quarters.The Gothic style is also utilised on the great void-faring vessels of the Imperial Navy, Imperial void stations, star forts and the Imperial merchant fleet. It is in the great churches and cathedrals and in a number of the grander civic buildings that the Imperial Gothic style is expressed most powerfully, its characteristics lending themselves to appeal to the emotions and devotion in the God-Emperor, whether springing from faith or from civic pride.
Imperial Architecture - History: Thanks to the Standard Template Construct, buildings of several common types are constructed on most Imperial worlds using locally available materials. Using the designs offered by the Standard Template Construct means that the appearance of a building is determined by its function rather than the materials of which it is constructed.According to the resource base of the planet in question, this can be stone, brick, wood, coral, volcanic ash, compacted inorganic waste or any of a hundred other materials. Thus, buildings of more or less identical appearance may be found throughout the Imperium, regardless of all considerations other than function.Since the time of the Great Crusade, Terran engineers aboard Imperial Expeditionary Fleets were exported to all of the new worlds brought into Imperial Compliance by the Administratum. As many of these newly unified worlds' populations boomed enormously under the shelter of the Imperium, hive cities designed by those Terran engineers (utilising STC patterns) were built on even the most isolated or backwater planets, even Death Worlds such as Caliban and Catachan. Though for the most part the architecture remains relatively unchanged and easily recognisable, each world tends to incorporate their own unique style based on local influences.
Imperial Architecture - Life in an Imperial City: Most cities in the Imperium are dark, brooding places where the countless subjects of the God-Emperor eke out a meagre living. Vast stinking factories filled with grinding machines cause the bones to shudder, while blackened chimneys vomit forth thick, dark clouds of toxic smoke, blocking out the sun itself.Every citizen lives a life of perpetual service, slaving away at back-breaking and mind-numbing tasks for twenty solar hours a day, before dragging their exhausted, labour-wracked bodies beneath their benches to snatch a few solar hours of fitful sleep.The spires of the wealthy reach high above the clouds of filth and are filled with such opulence as can scarcely be comprehended by those far below. In these sanctuaries of the privileged, nothing is wanted for and the elite live in ignorance and indifference to the suffering in the streets and factories beneath them.For every city in the Imperium that might be called typical, there are others that defy the senses and beggar belief. Some of these cities stretch kilometres into the sky, towering buttresses of battered stone and rusting metal, vast hives of human life and inhuman suffering. Others sink hundreds of metres below the world's surface, the populace dwelling in vast caves of rock and ice, while others still float on great lakes of water, acid or lava.There are cities devoted entirely to the worship of the God-Emperor, where the Cult Imperialis reigns supreme and the rooftops echo constantly to the sound of a million voices raised to hymns and prayer. Hosts of pilgrims gather daily, shuffling on blistered feet down dusty streets dedicated to warriors and Imperial Saints long dead, the city illuminated by the light of a billion votive candles, each a vain prayer to an unseen god.There are cities given to the administration of Humanity's innumerable population and infinite resources, every inhabitant enslaved to routine and process, every last round of ammunition and grain of wheat accounted for by stone-faced scribes. There, the true worth of human life is established by workers jaded by the never-ending monotony of their assigned chore. For most, the cities of the Imperium are merciless and cruel places, where all hope is lost and only mindless subservience remains.
Imperial Architecture - Sources: Space Marine (Game) (1st Edition) by Jervis Johnson and Rick Priestly, "Imperial Architecture," pp. 14-15Warhammer 40,000: Cities of Death (5th Edition) by Andy Hoare, pp. 2, 4-7, 20-22, 54-55
Imperial Army - Imperial Army: The Imperial Army, known formally in High Gothic as the Excertus Imperialis and the Imperialis Auxilia, respectively, (the hosts of the Imperial Army and its auxiliaries) was the ancient Imperial military force comprised of normal men and women that served as the direct ancestor of the Astra Militarum of the 41st Millennium.Unlike the Astra Militarum and the Navis Imperialis of the present day, the Imperial Army of the 30th and early 31st Millennia contained ground, air and space assets all within the same table of organisation and there was no differentiation between space-based and ground-based branches of the service.The origins of the Astra Militarum date back to the time of the Great Crusade in the late 30th Millennium when the Emperor of Mankind conquered a large swathe of the galaxy and forged the Imperium of Man.As the Great Crusade progressed and more worlds needed to be liberated, the Imperium's need for more troops increased dramatically. Even the mighty transhuman armies of the Legiones Astartes could not alone complete the task at hand.It was therefore decreed that each of the liberated worlds would supply men-at-arms to bolster the war effort. Although not as powerful as the Space Marine Legions under the various primarchs' command, the Imperial Army regiments were nevertheless useful additions to the Astartes' fighting strength.Unlike in the present-day Imperium, where the Imperial Guard serves as Mankind's front-line armed force in the defence of the Emperor's realm, the Imperial Army was never anything more than a reserve force for the Imperium during the Great Crusade, and its troops were usually tasked with garrison duty or mopping-up operations.Only in the last decades of that great campaign did Imperial Army troops finally fight directly alongside the forces of one of the ancient Space Marine Legions on campaign.In the aftermath of the Horus Heresy in the early 31st Millennium, a great reform of the Imperium's bureaucratic and military structure was undertaken at the behest of the Primarch Roboute Guilliman, who had become the first Lord Commander of the Imperium.To prevent the possibility of a large-scale interstellar rebellion from consuming the Human-settled galaxy again, the titanic armies of the Imperium were divided into three basic parts.These included the Space Marine Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, a ground-based force of mortal soldiers that would replace the fractured Space Marine Legions as the Imperium's front-line troops and a space-based service containing all of the Imperium's naval assets that was responsible for all space-related transport and combat duties.This reform led to the formation of the present-day Astra Militarum and Imperial Navy.
Imperial Army - Wars of Unification: During the turbulent era known as the Age of Strife, the Sol System and the nearby star systems that had been colonised by Humanity during the Age of Technology were effectively cut off from interstellar travel or communication with each other due to the massive Warp Storms that swept the galaxy.Little remained of the once-sophisticated civilisation of Old Earth's glorious past as the centre of a growing Human interstellar society marked by advanced science, high culture and wondrous technologies. Techno-barbarian warlords and their warrior hordes continuously fought over the planet, which had become little more than a massive battleground for their wars of attrition.They made use of chemical, biological and even thermonuclear weapons of mass destruction, and slowly transformed the cradle of Mankind into a battered, post-apocalyptic wasteland across most of its scarred surface.It was against this backdrop of oppression, violence and casual brutality that the Emperor of Mankind first revealed Himself to the people of Terra. In secret, He had been planning for this moment in history for millennia, ever since the Age of Strife had fractured what remained of the ancient Human civilisation which had once stretched across a part of the galaxy.The Emperor moved to create the military organisations He would need to begin the reunification of Mankind, and He used the raw materials at hand after millennia of savage conflict between the techno-barbarian nation-states of Old Earth.Formed during the savage continental wars that had engulfed Terra in the Age of Strife, the genetically-enhanced warriors known as "genos" comprised the first units of the force that would become the Imperial Army and would serve as the prototypes for the later development of the proto-Space Marines called the Thunder Warriors.Among the most well-known of the regiments composed of genos were the so-called Strife Epoch regiments raised by the Emperor to initiate the Unification Wars intended to reunite all the warring peoples of Terra beneath His benevolent rule.The genetically-enhanced Strife Epoch regiments came to form the nucleus of the armed forces that would later support the even more genetically advanced Space Marine Legions during their reconquest of the Human-settled galaxy.The Emperor began His conquest of Terra with the intent to reunite the warring techno-barbarian nations into a unified planetary government and then use Terra as the springboard from which to begin his reconquest of the galaxy under the aegis of an Imperium of Man dedicated to the Imperial Truth of progress and reason.
Imperial Army - The Old Hundred: The genos proved throughout the conflict to reunite Terra that became known as the Unification Wars to be a most effective and adaptable military force. During this time, the Genos practised gene mustering, an essential tool during those caustic years of atomic hurricanes and drifting rad clouds.Through the use of genetic manipulation, the genos were able to develop tough and physically imposing warriors, but they complemented their brute strength and resilience by importing smart, proven field commanders from other forces that kept their genetic pool pure. The genetically-enhanced regiments of this period such as the lauded Geno Five-Two Chiliad would go on to become amongst some of the oldest brigades to serve in the later Imperial Army.Each Geno of the Imperial Army, in addition to referring to the individual genetically-enhanced soldiers also was a term applied to an elite force of the Imperial Army that was composed of one thousand companies, with each maintaining a proud martial tradition.These surviving genos were proud members of the "Old Hundred," the Strife Epoch regiments that the Emperor, in His grace, had maintained in existence after the completion of the Unification, provided that they had pledged their loyalty to Him.Many thousands of other Geno units had been forced to disband after the achievement of Unity, or had been actively purged and chemically neutered, depending on their level of resistance to the new order brought by the unification of Terra under the Emperor's new planetary government.
Imperial Army - Numberless Ranks of the Excertus Imperialis: The Excertus Imperialis of the Great Crusade era was a vast organisation whose numbers in a literal sense are uncounted; no accurate measure of it was ever possible, so numerous was it, widespread across the stars and in flux as units were disbanded or suffered attrition, and fresh units, recruits and indentures were added to its ranks.As a structure, it is almost unfathomably complex. It formed the incomprehensibly vast support structure of the Great Crusade, including in its sweep the expeditionary fleets' front line auxiliary and second line reserve forces (known collectively under the sub-title of the Imperialis Auxilia -- or Imperial Army informally) and the billions of planetary militia-raised provincial defence.It also included the myriad support organisations, colossal labour hosts, penitentiary legions, the warships and crew of the Imperialis Armada, the vast Æxactory, Notary and Tithe corps, and nominally the Remembrancers, the Iterators and the enforcers of the Imperial Truth -- all were bound by its writ.Although notionally it was to the Officio Militaris on Terra and via them the Imperial Court to whom the numberless ranks of the Excertus Imperialis answered, it was always in truth subordinate to the principal agents and independent powers of the Great Crusade who commanded it on a daily basis: the Legiones Astartes and their primarchs, the Mechanicum and their Titan Legions, the Knight Houses, the Rogue Traders Militant, the Imperial Commanders who governed the Imperium's worlds, the Navis Nobilite and the Collegia Psykana, all had better and more immediate call on the Excertus Imperialis to obey.So it was when the Imperium was riven by the Horus Heresy, so also was the Excertus Imperialis; turning traitor or remaining loyal with long accustomed masters to lead them, while even its more independent arms were forced abruptly to choose sides in a war not of their making. As the Great Crusade died, so did the organisation that served it, supplied it and fed its growth come to an end, split by division and torn in blood.
Imperial Army - Horus Heresy: During the Great Crusade, it was common practice to subordinate Imperial Army regiments to the Imperial expeditionary fleets controlled by the Space Marine Legions. But after the corruption by the Chaos Gods of the Emperor's most favoured son and Imperial Warmaster, the Primarch Horus and the onset of the Horus Heresy in the early 31st Millennium, it soon became apparent what a monumental mistake it had been to place Imperial Army units under the control of the Space Marine Legions.During that time of civil war, the Imperium was split asunder and Humanity turned in upon itself in a bloody war which almost saw its complete destruction. The Warmaster led fully half of the legendary Space Marine Legions in open revolt against the Imperium which had created them and the master which they were sworn to protect.Alongside these legions of genetically engineered warriors marched millions of Imperial soldiers, men and women drawn from across the colonies of Mankind and gathered under the banner of the Emperor. When Horus turned against his father, he took countless soldiers and ships of the Imperial Army with him.Those men which had once fought for Humanity during the Emperor's Great Crusade to reunite the Human-settled galaxy under the Imperial banner were instead pitted against each other in a bloody struggle as the Heresy unfolded and civil war spanned the galaxy.Amongst the Traitor Legions, almost all of their attached Imperial Army formations uniformly followed their masters into rebellion, out of fear or blind faith. Even amongst the Loyalists, Imperial Army units with an officer cadre of genetically-enhanced Geno warriors performed poorly, usually driven to destruction by the inability of the unaugmented Human soldiers to keep up with the demands of their transhuman Space Marine leaders.Over the course of the Heresy, entire armies of mortals were raised and squandered both by the Traitors and the desperate Loyalist commanders. Across the breadth and width of the galaxy, the Imperial Army tore itself apart in monumental battles, on a scale unseen in Human history.Combined forces of fleet and army elements moved from world to world at the command of Generals and Lord Commanders whose loyalties were unknown to both sides. Thousands of pocket empires were carved out by ambitious commanders with no true loyalty to either side.Over the course of the following centuries, and at a cost of billions of lives, the Imperium was slowly reforged, forever tainted by the blood spilt in the massive civil war which had almost destroyed it.
Imperial Army - Imperial Expeditionary Fleet: The expeditionary fleet was the basic military unit of the Great Crusade.According to the Imperium's ancient War Council logs, at its peak in the early 31st Millennium, some 203 standard years after it began in ca. 800.M30, there were 4,287 primary expedition fleets engaged upon the business of enforcing Imperial Compliance and extending the Imperial aegis across the galaxy as well as 60,000+ secondary deployment groups involved in Compliance or occupation endeavours.A further 372 primary expeditions were in the midst of regroup and refitting actions, or resupplying as they awaited new tasking orders.
Imperial Army - Imperial Expeditionary Fleet Rank Structure: Lord Commander - A Lord Commander was a senior position within the Imperial Army hierarchy, charged with commanding an entire expeditionary fleet, unless a primarch was attached to it, who would take overall command of any expedition where he was present. Under these circumstances, a primarch took precedence as commander of the expeditionary fleet while the Lord Commander was relegated to being temporarily placed in charge of the only the elements of the Imperial Army assigned to the fleet.Master of the Fleet - Subordinate to the Lord Commander or the senior Astartes officer in the expeditionary fleet, the next highest rank was the Master of the Fleet.Captain - A Captain was the commanding officer of a given warship, regardless of class or tonnage, within an Imperial expeditionary fleet.Executive Officer - The executive officer was the second-in-charge of an Imperial warship, and subordinate commander in the absence of a vessel's captain.Shipmaster - The shipmaster was generally the senior-most Warrant Officer and most experienced voidsman onboard a given starship. Often the shipmaster was tasked with critical responsibilities, such as stellar navigation and the keeping of the starship's log. In addition, he or she might oversee the keeping of the ship's attitude jets, hangar decks, and stores and supplies.First Master - Ship's officer.Master - Ship's officer.
Imperial Army - Imperial Army Regiments: The indentured troops of the Imperial Army were assimilated into the command structure of the Space Marine Legions, and fell under the direct authority of the primarchs of each Imperial expeditionary fleet and his subordinate Space Marine officers.Space Marine transports would arrive at each world and carry the regiments of the Imperial Army raised there as part of the Imperial tithe away to fight on distant battlefields throughout the galaxy.During this bygone era, the Imperial Army and its subset formation, known as the Imperial Fleet or Armada Imperialis, functioned as a single entity, with army commanders exercising overall command of both elements.The regimental formation and overall structure of the ground-based units of the Imperial Army was very similar to that of the present-day Astra Militarum.Many sources from the Great Crusade era concur that the size and organisation of an Imperial Army regiment was dictated by what would fit into the interstellar ships available at the time. This meant that most Imperial Army regiments numbered approximately 3,000 troops who would be carried to their destinations by a single dedicated troop transport vessel or one of the many available classes of Imperial Cruiser.This approach ensured that an individual regiment was deployed with each warship in an expeditionary fleet. It was doubtless a brutal but necessary equation; the losses of ships in the Warp or through enemy action did not result in remnants of a given regiment being left scattered among other vessels, and no longer being combat capable.Each regiment maintained its own infantry, armour and support troops, making it capable of both assaulting and defending varied terrain against most types of opposition. Imperial Army regimental commanders were free to train and equip their regiments as they wished, only being limited by the resources readily available.Keeping warriors from individual worlds together to form the natural bond of brothers-in-arms was also an important element in creating cohesive fighting formations. In many cases, troops from different worlds could barely understand each other's languages, let alone the nuances of different social mores, customs, tactics or planetary-specific special equipment.Such difficulties in cross-cultural communication could all degrade a formation's efficiency in combat, so it became the rule in the Imperial Army that each regiment was composed of troops raised from the same world, and they all travelled together on the same transport or warship of the Imperial Fleet.All of these realities would eventually lay the groundwork for the tradition of the Imperial Guard that a regiment is always recruited from a single world and fights together as a whole unit whenever possible.
Imperial Army - Combined Regiments: However, over the course of numerous campaigns, regiments were invariably whittled down by casualties, necessitating the re-combination of shattered formations into ad hoc groupings. References exist in the Codicium Arkathalor (a fragmentary record of the campaigns of the Pandora Sector in the late 30th Millennium) to "split" regimental formations.The codex makes it clear these were mixed formations made up of heavily mauled Imperial Army regiments re-combined to restore their status as effective fighting formations. Likewise, some specialised troops, such as xeno-cavalry or Ogryns, were apparently always split between larger formations to bolster their efforts.Their specialised capabilities made them unwieldly to operate at the regimental scale, except in certain rare and often excessively emphasised campaigns.The ancient traditions of splitting specialised regiments and recombining remnants are the subject of heated debate between Imperial commanders to this day. Many commanders declare that the reduced efficiency of combined regiments make them barely worth their rations; infighting and mistrust made the diverse elements function as less than the sum of their parts and mutinies in such mixed formations were commonplace.Others were interested only in the number of men-at-arms that could be fielded -- their successful integration as effective combat units was of less interest than their overall physical size.The Tactica Imperium presents both viewpoints as equally valid, indicating that no final resolution on the matter was reached, and that some commanders found both strategies useful depending on changing circumstances.
Imperial Army - Battalions: The regiments of the Imperial Army were further broken down into battalions. A standard regiment consisted of three or more battalions plus a number of specialised units which were kept in reserve at the regimental level.These regimental support detachments could be attached to battalions as and when they were needed. The battalion was the smallest formation of the Imperial Army that could act as a combined force, and as such they sometimes operated independently from their regiment.Battalions were made up of two or more companies, plus a variable number of more specialised battalion support detachments.
Imperial Army - Discipline Masters: The Imperial Army was used almost exclusively for garrison and pacification roles on both their home and foreign worlds throughout the early stages of the Great Crusade, but by the latter half they were fighting offensive battles and supplementing the Space Marine Legions as they began to be stretched more sparsely across the growing Imperium.The Imperial Army at this time was organised with no particular standardisation, and regimental makeups ranged from barbarians wielding Power Axes to advanced mechanised infantry armed with energy weapons whose designs have now been lost.During this time, the regiments were left almost exclusively to their own recognisance as long as they served faithfully, and conformed to the few restrictions placed on them.Due to the sheer variety of worlds and subsequent Imperial Army regiments, a measure of standardisation was deemed necessary to allow the army to function as a whole, although the sheer size of the expanding Imperium by this time prevented any true standardisation. The treatise that came to be known as the Tactica Imperium was penned and distributed, and a cadre of political officers were created to ensure proper and effective integration and co-operation between regiments.To instill discipline and loyalty in the regiments of the Imperial Army, regiments utilised these newly developed specialists known as Discipline Masters. These stern task masters were primarily responsible for maintaining discipline within the regiment to which they were assigned. They were also responsible for tracking down Imperial Army deserters that repudiated their oaths to the Emperor and shirked their soldierly responsibilities.Discipline Masters were known to use hunting eagles to help them track their prey. Their fanatical dedication to the service of the Emperor overrode any feelings of compassion, mercy or Humanity when carrying out the summary executions of those found wanting, for which they employed a ceremonial Electro-scythe.The Discipline Masters served as the ancestors and model for the later Officio Prefectus and its merciless political officers known as Commissars. During this era, it was also common practise for Space Marine primarchs to appoint certain Imperial Army officers to this special office.These veteran warriors ensured that the Imperial Army was unwavering in its duties to its Space Marine overlords. This would later prove disastrous, as those Imperial Army units subordinated to the command of the Space Marine Legions that turned Traitor uniformly followed their transhuman masters into rebellion, either out of blind fear or unfettered devotion.At the outset of the Horus Heresy, the first rebellious act of Traitor Imperial Army units was to kill their Discipline Masters, while in Loyalist regiments the Discipline Masters were forced to take extreme measures to maintain order, earning them their fell reputation for steadfastness and calculated brutality later passed on to their Commissar descendants.
Imperial Army - Wargear: The sheer size of the Imperium, the unpredictable nature of Warp travel and the vast numbers of liberated worlds defeated any attempt to standardise the Imperial Army, and there was wide disparity in the wargear, drill and discipline of the various regiments.Each of the tithed worlds supplied troops to the Imperial Army as best they could. Those from developed Industrial Worlds were kitted out with sturdy Flak Armour and newly-minted, standard-issue Autoguns and Lasguns (the Autogun was the standard weapon for the Astra Militarum until the opening of the 32nd Millennium).Soldiers from primitive worlds were fortunate if they had a pair of boots and a gun. Some worlds supplied troops that were well-drilled and organised into squads, companies and regiments. Others supplied what amounted to little more than loosely ordered mobs or warbands. Despite this, the soldiers of the Imperial Army proved their value in hundreds of campaigns and across thousands of battlefields.In the earliest days of the Great Crusade in the late 30th Millennium, the Imperial expeditionary fleets that set out from Terra only carried with them the means to fulfill a portion of their supply needs, and simply took what they needed from the worlds they conquered in their travels.Upon the completion of a successful Imperial Compliance action on a world, the expeditionary fleet would move on, leaving the assimilation of the planet into the Imperial fold to fleets of pioneers and Terran colonists. Each world, in time, would become fully capable of supporting itself and contributing to the needs of the growing number of Imperial expeditionary fleets.Such a state of affairs could not continue, for eventually each fleet would exhaust its supplies and be too far from a Compliant world capable of resupply. In these times, the resources necessary to fight a campaign were organised by the Lord Commander of each individual expeditionary fleet, a necessity of the times, but one that was wholly unsuited to the growing size and complexity of the Imperium.Oft times a Lord Commander fulfilled multiple roles; war leader, diplomat, exactor, mediator and logistician. Leaders who could fulfill all of these roles adequately and still have time for the strategic demands of a long campaign were few and far between and, as such, the newly formed Council of Terra recruited those whose minds could function in such a manner, empowering these administrators with the duty of maintaining the Emperor's armies in perpetuity as part of the Corps Logisticae. This was the earliest incarnation of the Departmento Munitorum.
Imperial Army - Traitor Regiments: RegimentCommanderUniformStatusNotable ActionsArchite PalatinesLord Commander Thaddeus FayleRed tunic and silver breastplate.TraitorServed with the 28th Expeditionary Fleet of the Emperor's Children Space Marine Legion, commanded by Primarch Fulgrim. Took part in both the campaign against the xenos Laer, as well as the Drop Site Massacre of Istvaan V.Byzant JanizarsLord Commander Hector Varvarus (Assassinated on Aureus)Chrome helmets with scarlet; cream greatcoats with gold frogging.TraitorThe Janizars have a long and illustrious history stretching back to the Age of Strife. They served with the 63rd Expeditionary Fleet of the Luna Wolves Space Marine Legion, commanded by the Warmaster Horus. The Janizars took part in multiple Imperial campaigns including: Davin, Sixty-Three Nineteen (63-19), Urisarach ("Murder"), Xenobia and Aureus.15th Hesperan LancersUnknownUnknownTraitorAssigned to the 63rd Expeditionary Fleet under the command of the Warmaster Horus. Representatives of this regiment were present on Diamat following the events of the Istvaan III Atrocity to help negotiate the transfer of Centurio Ordinatus siege weapons to Horus' forces.Ouranti DraksMajor General Hestor NavarreScale cloaks and reptilian helmets; drawn from the dessicated jungle regions of Sud Merica on Terra, the Draks are described physically as being "swarthy-skinned."TraitorAttached to the 47th Expeditionary Fleet under the Word Bearers Legion commanded by Primarch Lorgar Aurelian. Took part in the Pacification of the Ark Reach Cluster, specifically the campaign on the world of Ark Reach Secundus (Named Heliosa by its inhabitants, nicknamed "Shrike" by Imperial forces) against the advanced Human Avenians. Fought alongside the Lacunan Lifewatch and Prospero Spireguard Imperial Army regiments.Prospero SpireguardUnknownCrimson greatcoats, heavy boots and silver shakoes (a tall usually cylindrical military headdress, having a plume and often a peak).Loyalist/TraitorThe majority of the Prospero Spireguard were attached to the 28th Expeditionary Fleet (1st Iteration) under the Thousand Sons Space Marine Legion commanded by Primarch Magnus the Red. Took part in the Pacification of the Ark Reach Cluster as well as the defence of their homeworld of Prospero from the attacking Space Wolves Legion during the Burning of Prospero, where the vast majority of the Spireguard were wiped out. The Spireguard would be reconstituted centuries later by the now-traitorous Thousands Sons Legion.Selucid ThorakiteUnknownThese grim-faced men and women wore faded khaki fatigues, Flak Armour breastplates, and helms fashioned in the image of Astartes Mark IV Maximus Pattern helms. Their weapons' firing mechanisms were often protected in cloth wrappings and the focus rings in scratch-resistant foil.TraitorThese natural-born Olympian soldiers gladly joined the Iron Warriors Legion in the genocide of their homeworld at the outset of the Horus Heresy.
Imperial Castellans - Imperial Castellans: The Imperial Castellans is a Codex Astartes-compliant Loyalist Space Marine Chapter of unknown Founding and origin. Almost nothing is currently known about this Chapter in Imperial records.
Imperial Castellans - Chapter Colours: The Imperial Castellans primarily wear cerulean blue Power Armour, which includes the power pack, helm, shoulder plates, torso and groin. The shoulder plate trim, arms and legs are bone. The black squad specialty symbol -- Tactical, Assault, Devastator or Veteran -- is displayed on the right shoulder plate. A white Gothic numeral centred on the squad specialty symbol indicates squad number. The colour of the Aquila or Imperialis on the chest plate indicates company designation in accordance with the Codex Astartes -- i.e. White (1st Company), Yellow (2nd Company), Red (3rd Company), etc.
Imperial Castellans - Chapter Badge: The Imperial Castellans' Chapter badge is an ebon silhouette of an arm wearing ancient plate armour holding a sword aloft, on a field of cerulean blue.
Imperial Compliance - Imperial Compliance: In the late 30th Millennium, when a world was liberated -- or subjugated -- by the military forces of the Great Crusade, or willingly joined the ever-expanding domains of the Imperium of Man, it was said to have achieved "Imperial Compliance" or simply "Compliance."
Imperial Crusade - Imperial Crusade: An Imperial Crusade is the term used by the Imperium of Man for a large-scale military campaign organised in order to conquer or retake multiple worlds or an entire sector or sectors of the galaxy.Crusades are usually very large-scale offensives that require a major mobilisation of Imperial military resources across multiple planets and often are fought as a series of smaller campaigns or salients across the chosen theatre of operations.The very first Imperial Crusade, from which the term is drawn, was the Great Crusade led by the Emperor of Mankind Himself from Terra beginning in ca. 798.M30 that lasted for over two hundred standard years and forged the Imperium.Because of the sheer size and ambition of most crusades, they often require the deployment of forces from more than one branch of the Imperial military, and so are usually led by an Imperial general officer granted the special rank of Warmaster or one with a rank equivalent to that of a Lord General Militant in the Astra Militarum.An Imperial Crusade can only be declared by a decree of the High Lords of Terra or the Lord Commander of the Imperium and can include any Imperial campaign that is considered either of great strategic importance to the continued health of the Emperor's realm or an offensive unusually broad in scope that will include multiple worlds and last for several Terran years.However, the High Lords have also declared relatively short-lived offensives to be crusades that were resolved with only a single battle involving small numbers of troops when the objectives were considered to be of particular strategic or political importance.The declaration of a crusade is one of the means utilised by the post-Horus Heresy Imperium to unleash an offensive involving multiple different Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes and binding them into a single force similar to the Space Marine Legions of old.In this way, the resources of an entire Chapter do not have to be committed to a single campaign nor do the ponderous gears of the Astra Militarum have to be set into motion, which could greatly delay the Imperial military response when time is of the essence.Imperial Crusades can also be declared against High Lords considered heretical or even Planetary Governors who have rebelled against the authority of the Emperor. Crusades have also been launched against xenos worlds or Human-settled planets that have been newly discovered to lie beyond the Emperor's light.
Imperial Crusade - Imperial Crusades and the Adeptus Astartes: For the Adeptus Astartes, the contribution of Space Marine forces to an Imperial Crusade is often a matter of honour for which they might deploy a squad or two of Astartes when they are called on to lend aid.If the crusade proves victorious, the Chapter will add that crusade's battle honour to their Chapter and company standards as a mark of their achievement and loyalty to the Emperor.
Imperial Crusade - Penitent Crusades: Entire Chapters have been known to begin so-called "penitent" crusades on their own which can last for a full Terran century during which time they are denied the right to take new recruits to replace their losses and their Chapter homeworld is often removed from their administration.Such crusades are undertaken, as the name suggests, as an act of penance for a perceived failure on their part or as the result of an action the Chapter took that was seen as displeasing to the Emperor. For instance, after the Badab War, both the Lamenters and Executioners Chapters were ordered to undertake penitential crusades as a punishment for their service to the Secessionists' cause during that conflict.Such a punishment is levelled only for acts considered violations of the Emperor's trust but not so malignant as to earn the designation of Excommunicate Traitoris -- a true Traitor to His will.Penitent Crusades are willingly undertaken by Astartes Chapters deemed to have dishonoured themselves as their completion earns both the forgiveness of the Emperor and the restoration of the Chapter's former privileges, their homeworld, and the right to recruit aspirants.
Imperial Crusade - Black Templars: Among the Adeptus Astartes, the Black Templars are known to have embarked upon a single, eternal Imperial Crusade since their Founding. The Chapter is fleet-based and its forces are scattered across the galaxy fighting in myriad different conflicts, each of which is a separate crusade that is considered to be just one part of their broader mission to crusade against the Emperor's enemies.A "crusade" is also the term used by the Black Templars to designate the primary organisational unit of their forces, with each crusade essentially serving the role of a traditional Astartes company as outlined in the Codex Astartes for standard Chapters.
Imperial Crusade - Black Crusades: In mockery of the Imperium and the Great Crusade which created it, the servants of Chaos call their major incursions into realspace "Black Crusades."The thirteen Black Crusades led by Abaddon the Despoiler, the "Warmaster of Chaos," have proven to be some of the most dangerous and potent military threats the Imperium has ever faced.
Imperial Crusade - Notable Imperial Crusades: 519th CrusadeAbyssal CrusadeAchilus CrusadeAegisine CrusadeSecond Aegisine CrusadeAjaxian CrusadeAltid CrusadeAngevin CrusadeArkron CrusadeBellrath CrusadeBlackfang CrusadeBloodswarm CrusadeChildren's Crusade (the Lost Crusade)Corinthian CrusadeCrusade of FireDesmaxian CrusadeDark Marches CrusadeDamocles CrusadeDeclates CrusadeGeonide CrusadeGhoul Stars CrusadeGreat CrusadeHelican CrusadeHelsreach CrusadeHive Thetus CrusadeIndomitus CrusadeJerulas CrusadeMacharian CrusadeMargin CrusadeMephistari CrusadeNightfire CrusadeNimbosa CrusadeOmniel CrusadeCrusade of the Ophidium GulfPalatine CrusadeProletarian CrusadeSabbat Worlds CrusadeSaint-Saen CrusadeSecond Abonian GenocideSkarath CrusadeTerran Crusade (M41)Terran Crusade (M36 - Wars of Apostasy)Thangdron CrusadeThorados CrusadeUllanor CrusadeVinculus Crusade
Imperial Cult - Imperial Cult: The Imperial Cult, also called the Cult Imperialis in High Gothic, is the official and only state religion of the Imperium of Man. It is devoted to the worship of the Emperor of Mankind as the ascended divinity and saviour of Humanity.Those who believe in the cult's teachings hold that the Emperor is an embodied divine entity and the only true god of Mankind. The Imperial Cult is led by the state church known as the Adeptus Ministorum, also called the "Ecclesiarchy," whose priests devote their lives to spreading the Word of the Emperor and doing His will.Almost all variants on the Imperial Cult are tolerated by the Ecclesiarchy's priests, but all worship of the God-Emperor must comply with certain Imperial values including, but not limited to: unquestioning political loyalty to the High Lords of Terra and the various agencies of the Adeptus Terra, diligence in carrying out the Emperor's will, belief in the Emperor's ultimate divinity, and conscious contributions to the Imperium's overall well-being, even if this means nothing more than helping to improve one's own homeworld or even just home city or town.In the 41st Millennium the Imperial Cult has almost unrivaled political power and influence within the Imperium. Heresy against it is punished severely. The religion is formally administered by the clerics of the Ecclesiarchy.The Imperial Cult is the Imperium's state religion, and in many ways the faith is the state itself since it is the glue that binds Humanity together in the service of the Emperor and the Imperium.The precepts of the Imperial Cult, called the Imperial Creed, include the belief that all of Humanity must be brought into the Imperium wherever in the galaxy Humans still live outside its bounds, the absolute abhorrence of sentient aliens as dangers to Humanity's rightful domination of the Milky Way Galaxy, and the realisation that the existence of unsanctioned psychic powers and Human mutation is a dire threat to the Human species which must be controlled or eradicated.All of these precepts have their origins in what the Emperor Himself preached during the Great Crusade of the late 30th Millennium, though they ignore the Emperor's most fundamental teaching of the Imperial Truth that He was not divine and that Human beings should give up superstition and the trappings of organised religion in favour of scientific and atheistic rationalism.Yet, because of the existence of Chaos and the true, psychic nature of the Immaterium, the Imperial Cult has ironically proven to be a powerful source of protection for Humanity from the dangers presented by the Ruinous Powers.