vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Canis Helix - History: The massive scientific effort to create the primarchs during the Unification Wars in the 30th Millennium was known as the Primarch Project. The means by which the Emperor crafted 20 individual superhuman genomes using His own arcane genetic code as the base without resorting to the use of cloning is unknown to present Imperial science.There was a 2-stage process involved: first, the Emperor extracted a subset of His own DNA to act as the foundation for a pure, undifferentiated primarch gene-stock. The pure primarch gene-stock was then further differentiated into the 20 strands that would serve as the individual primarchs' genomes.The data concerning the original engineering of the individual primarch strands was later analysed by a Raven Guard Apothecary and a Magos Genetor of the Mechanicum during the Horus Heresy. They discovered that certain samples had gene sequences deliberately deleted from the base primarch genome, while other samples showed the addition of clearly non-Human DNA.Intriguingly, the genome of the primarch listed as "Subject VI" had added canine-like DNA. Although it is not clear whether the sample numbers corresponded to the actual primarchs of the numbered Space Marine Legions, this could explain the wolf-like affinity of Leman Russ and the unexpected feral mutation of many Space Wolves Astartes into the Wulfen.By their second solar decade of existence, the ancient VI Legion's reputation amongst the wider forces of the Great Crusade was something of a mixed one. They had an unarguable track record of success and had won numerous battle honours, but accusations and stories of unneeded collateral damage and casualties among human civilian populations where they fought were widespread.It was said, long before the influence of Fenris and its culture worked upon the VI Legion, that there was something of the bestial to the Legion's warriors, something readily apparent in the first foreshadowings of a mark of what was to become later known as the Canis Helix upon them, though insufficient time had yet passed for this to become very pronounced.Following their reunification with their primarch on the frozen Death World of Fenris, the stabilising effects of Leman Russ' own gene-helix pattern over the existing VI Legion's gene-seed seemed to have all but reversed the prior difficulties of candidate survival.This, combined with the Fenrisians themselves who proved to be extraordinarily resilient genetic stock -- attributed to long-term Human survival on such an inhospitable world -- ensured the successful transformation from baseline Human male into a transhuman Astartes.
Canis Helix - The Tempering: The Canis Helix is at once the source of the Space Wolves' great strength and their fatal flaw; because the Space Wolves' gene-seed is inherently unstable and can lead to degeneration into a Wulfen, the Space Wolves' first (and possibly last) attempt to create Successor Chapters proved to be a complete disaster.When the Legion was divided during the Second Founding after the Horus Heresy, a new Chapter, the Wolf Brothers, was created. The Wolf Brothers were intended to be the first of many Successor Chapters to use the gene-seed of Leman Russ, but quickly succumbed to the Curse of the Wulfen and scattered. Thereafter, the Space Wolves all but abandoned their hopes of creating new successors until the Ultima Founding of the Primaris Space Marines.In the 32nd Millennium, Thar Ariak Hraldir, the High Wolf Priest of the Space Wolves, was conducting experiments which he named "The Tempering" intended to control the instability of the Canis Helix.  Hraldir believed at the time that he was close to succeeding, and thus eliminating the Curse of the Wulfen from the Space Wolves' genetic line forever.However, his laboratory was destroyed by Magnus the Red during the Battle of the Fang. Magnus, afraid that the Space Wolves might succeed in eventually creating many new Successor Chapters, made a point of destroying the lab and killing Hraldir before moving on to assault the heart of The Fang.The Tempering was a controversial project within the Chapter, and was thus a closely guarded secret. It had the approval of Wolf Lord Vaer Greyloc and the Great Wolf of that time, Harek Ironhelm, but the venerable Bjorn the Fell-Handed, himself a former Great Wolf, learned of the project and was outraged. He called it a betrayal of their primarch, Leman Russ. Had Magnus not succeeded in destroying it, Bjorn claimed he would have done so himself.Even a mortal kaerl of the Space Wolves, a member of Fenris' Planetary Defence Forces, Morek Karekborn, thought the prototype Space Marines he saw in Hraldir's lab looked terribly unnatural and lacking in the feral potency he was used to sensing from the Space Wolves.Hraldir also admitted before his death that he had not yet been able to stabilise his test subjects to the point where they could survive on their own, though he believed he was getting close. It is thus uncertain whether The Tempering would have succeeded even if Hraldir had completed his work.
Canis Rex - Canis Rex: Canis Rex is a unique Knight Preceptor piloted by Sir Hekthur Cerberan, a Freeblade known as "the Chainbreaker," who was once a scion of House Cerberan, which ruled the Knight World of Randoryn Alpha. After his homeworld and house fell to conquest by the Heretic Astartes of the Iron Warriors Traitor Legion, Cerberan prayed to the Emperor for a miracle while the Chaos Space Marines tortured him.His prayers were answered when his Knight Preceptor's Machine Spirit activated his war machine on its own and aided him in his escape. Now Cerberan and Canis Rex travel the galaxy, seeking to free all those in the Imperium who have been oppressed by Chaos and more mundane tyrants alike.
Canis Rex - History: When the Iron Warriors attacked the Knight World of Randoryn Alpha, the Knights of the ruling House Cerberan marched out in force to deny them. The campaign was gruelling and merciless, the tides of battle flowing back and forth across the planet's rugged equatorial landmass. The Knights broke the Heretic Astartes lines time and again, their magnificent charges shattering the Iron Warriors' strength and destroying their armoured siege trains. Yet one by one, the Knight suits fell or were crippled; one by one the strongholds of House Cerberan were besieged and laid low, and their serf chattel enslaved by the millions.After a final, courageous stand before the gates of the Stygian Keep, House Cerberan was defeated. The last of itsKnight suits were disabled by invasive electrogheists, their pilots hauled out for torturous reconditioning.Sir Hekhtur Cerberan was amongst those taken captive. The house's only surviving precept, the gruff old Noble did his best to inspire and bolster his comrades. Yet the horrors that the Iron Warriors inflicted were beyond imagining, and gradually they wore down the surviving Knights. As each warrior's spirit broke, so their Knight suits too were corrupted and transformed into heretical engines of destruction. Yet still Sir Hekhtur held out, chained within a dark oubliette, praying to the Emperor for deliverance.Some say the Master of Mankind heard Hekhtur's prayers and sent him a miracle to reward his honour and faith. Others claim that Hekhtur's unusually strong bond with his Knight, Canis Rex, was the cause of the strange events that followed. Whatever the reason, all agree that Hekhtur was rescued from captivity by his Knight suit. Unpiloted, acting purely under the direction of its ferocious Machine Spirit (artificial intelligence), Canis Rex tore free of the Iron Warriors' remaking engines and blasted a path to its pilot with its Las-Impulsor. Freed from hischains, and with his captors in disarray, Sir Hekhtur was able to mount his Throne Mechanicum and -- reunited with Canis Rex at last -- make good his escape.After taking the Freeblade oath as the last loyal Noble of his house, Sir Hekhtur led the Randorynian resistance, fighting back against the Heretics wherever he could. He freed many enslaved serfs and managed to ferry them off-world to safety, earning his Freeblade epithet, "Chainbreaker." Yet eventually even the grimly determinedHekhtur was forced to accept that his world was lost to the servants of Chaos.Rather than throw his life away, Hekhtur took Canis Rex and the small complement of loyal Sacristans he hadmanaged to save, stole an Imperial frigate, and set off to find a war that he could win for the Imperium. He and Canis Rex have voyaged the stars ever since, freeing Imperial citizens enslaved by foul oppressors and punishingthe scions of Chaos with vehemence and fury.
Canis Rex - Dreadblade Duel: The Dreadblade Hatred of Krastellan aligned itself with the Renegade Space Marines known as the Company of Misery. Together they waged a harrowing campaign through the Dysephamine System, which culminated in them enslaving the populace of the world of Dyseph IX.The Company of Misery set about slaughtering every psyker on the planet, but not before a distress call was sent off-world. Yet this call for aid was not only anticipated but planned for by the Hatred of Krastellan.The Dreadblade's own message was added to the distress beacon -- a formal challenge to the Freeblade Sir Hekhtur and his Knight Canis Rex. The Hatred of Krastellan then travelled to the sole moon of Dyseph IX, and on the barren surface awaited the coming of the renowned Freeblade.
Canis Rex - Wargear: Archeotech Laspistol (Sir Hekhtur's sidearm)Las-ImpulsorFreedom's Hand (relic Thunderstrike Gauntlet)Multi-LaserIon ShieldTitanic Feet
Canis Wolfborn - Canis Wolfborn: Canis Wolfborn is a Space Marine of the Space Wolves Chapter and a loner, a warrior who is more at home in the company of wolves than men. He prowls the corridors of The Fang, lupine shapes both great and small padding in his wake.There is something undeniably animalistic in his sure-footed gait, in his darting yellow eyes, and in the snarls and growls that pass for his speech.Though he is a member of the Wolf Guard of the Wolf Lord Harald Deathwolf, Canis Wolfborn's story is utterly different from those of his peers, and his prowess in combat is unmatched.
Canis Wolfborn - Wargear: Power ArmourPlasma PistolFrag GrenadesKrak GrenadesPower WeaponWolf ClawsWolftooth NecklaceWolf AmuletFangir - This Thunderwolf, colossal and impressively ferocious even by the standards of Fenrisian Wolves, is Canis Wolfborn's faithful companion and steed. Canis prefers Fangir's company to that of his fellow Astartes, so close is their pack-bond, and their combined aptitude for destructive rampage in close quarters is legendary amongst the Space Wolves.
Canoness - Canoness: A Canoness is a senior officer of one of the Orders Militant of the Adepta Sororitas, a shining example of purity and dedication of purpose.This senior officer rank is above the grade of palatine and below the rank of prioress, and can command nearly any formation of sisters, from a small Mission all the way up to an entire Order for a senior canoness known as a canoness superior.There exists a hierarchy of sorts amongst these leaders of the Sisters of Battle, though to outsiders it is highly arcane and ritualistic and based on a system of precedence. Orders of the Adepta Sororitas that were established by "Ecclesiarchy Writ" are ranked higher in the order of precedence than those that were formed by a group splitting off from a preexistent order.This is especially true of the six original Orders Militant Majoris, each of which has spawned dozens of far smaller Lesser Orders Militant, the canonesses of which rank lower in the order of precedence than those of their parent Order.A canoness is a veteran warrior of many hundreds of battles who has risen to her position through a combination of strong leadership, shrewd tactical genius, obedience and compliance with the Ecclesiarchy and above all, her sheer overarching faith in the God-Emperor.When the Adeptus Ministorum sounds the call to arms for a War of Faith, it is the canoness who boldly leads her warriors into the fray, refusing to take one step backwards whilst her enemies still draw breath. Under the command of a canoness, the Sisters of Battle have crushed the foes of the God-Emperor across the galaxy.Though a canoness is ostensibly answerable only to the prioress of her Convent, her superior knowledge of warfare inevitably holds sway concerning matters military.The canonesses are aided in their duties by their Order's palatines. Palatines are highly experienced and capable junior officers, from whose ranks the next canoness will be drawn.As a guardian of her battle-sisters' souls, a canoness is also responsible for the spiritual well-being of those under her command. A canoness' non-military duties include leading the Order in its prayer services, performing rites of initiation and overseeing the running of the Order.As a result, a canoness inspires intense devotion in her battle-sisters, leading them from the fore whilst reciting the great hymns of the Adeptus Ministorum.Members of the Adepta Sororitas can and do transfer from one Order to another, depending on their own unique skills and experience. In particular, a sister of an Order Militant may eventually transfer to a non-militant Order in so that she can carry on the Emperor's work should age or injury render her a less effective warrior.Furthermore, it is not unheard of for a senior member of the Sisterhood to transfer to another Imperial organisation entirely; several canonesses are known to have become Inquisitors, one become a cardinal palatine and one even became a Rogue Trader.
Canoness - Notable Canoness Rank Structure Variations: While the Lesser Orders Militant may only have a single canoness to lead the entire Order, the Orders Majoris, which often number in the thousands of battle-sisters, break this rank down further for organisational purposes, and have several different grades of canoness among their ranks.This hierarchy is also applicable to the non-militant Orders Dialogous, Orders Hospitaller, Orders Famulous, etc.These Orders generally operate at the lower levels of Sororitas organisation, mainly the Mission and Commandery, with a Preceptory of these Orders being a largely organisational tier with no real representation in day-to-day activities.For example, a Mission from an Order Famulous may consist of only a handful of sisters engaged in an inter-house trade delegation while a canoness commander from an Order Hospitaller may lead a staff of sisters working in a field hospital or refugee camp.
Canoness - Canoness Superior: A canoness superior is normally the commanding officer who leads an entire Order of the Adepta Sororitas and is the most senior canoness within that Order according to precedence.Each canoness superior is subservient only to the will of the abbess sanctorum herself, who oversees the entirety of the Adepta Sororitas as a whole.
Canoness - Canoness Preceptor: Some Orders, notably the Orders Majoris, maintain subsidiary convents, the largest of which are referred to as Preceptories.The term is also used to define the largest organisational unit an Order is ever likely to field, numbering up to 1,000 battle-sisters, essentially the size of a Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes, cloistered together at one location.The canoness who commands a Preceptory has the title canoness preceptor.
Canoness - Canoness Commander: The term canoness commander is used to describe the Sororitas senior officer who leads a smaller convent known as a Commandery, perhaps little more than a shrine and a garrison of battle-sisters cloistered together to defend it.A Commandery will be junior to a Preceptory, and the term is also used for a company level subdivision of a Preceptory, consisting of up to 200 battle-sisters, similar in size to a Space Marine company.A canoness who leads a Commandery is referred to as a canoness commander.
Canoness - Canoness: A Mission is the smallest organisational unit of the Adepta Sororitas, and normally consists of a number of squads of battle-sisters assembled to achieve a specified objective.A Mission is most often led by an officer called a palatine, but on certain occasions or if the Mission is tasked to achieve very important objectives, it will be commanded by a canoness.
Canoness - Wargear: Sororitas Power Armour (Adapted for normal human female anatomy)Godwyn-De'az Boltgun (Adapted for normal human anatomy)Bolt Pistol  (Adapted for normal human anatomy)Frag GrenadesKrak GrenadesThe Bolter or Bolt Pistol can be replaced with:ChainswordGodwyn-De'az Pattern Storm BolterPower SwordCombi-flamer, Combi-melta, Combi-plasmaCondemnor BolterPlasma PistolInferno PistolEvisceratorSome veteran Canonesses will also carry:RosariusMelta Bombs
Canoptek Acanthrite - Canoptek Acanthrite: A Canoptek Acanthrite is an autonomous Necron war construct which resembles a monstrous, artificial insect enfolded in shadowed wings of tenebrous force that propel it through the skies. Canoptek Acanthrites are often encountered in the vanguard of Necron assault spearheads and extermination campaigns. When deployed, their numbers vary from a mere handful to vast hosts of these abhorrent machine-locusts, capable of stripping a city down to rubble and slaughtering its inhabitants in a merciless tide of destruction.Although the Imperium of Man had received unconfirmed reports of these constructs elsewhere, it was during the Orphean War of the 41st Millennium in the Orpheus Sector of the Segmentum Tempestus that Imperial forces first bore witness to widespread deployment of these highly distinctive and unique war machines. Capable of extended periods of rapid sustained flight through the use of anti-gravitic emitters, the Canoptek Acanthrite operates with its fellows in a manner analogous to predatory insect swarms.These large, buzzing robots' principal armament is a short range and highly powerful thermic Cutting Beam which they use for the destruction of armoured vehicles and troops as well as the systematic and rapid dismemberment of bunkers and fortifications. This armament, in combination with their size and speed, has led to the Acanthrite being classified as a primary threat target by Imperial tacticians. On the battlefield, Canoptek Acanthrites will often be found moving stealthily through the air before launching aerial attacks that slice apart armoured vehicles with their cutting beams. They then descend to the ground to smash and hack apart any survivors with their bladed limbs and energy-wreathed stingers.
Canoptek Acanthrite - Armament: Cutting Beam – The Cutting Beam mounted within an Acanthrite’s thorax is capable of firing a short range, highly-concentrated shaft of thermic energy that can slice apart the toughest of materials. It can dissect steel, stone and flesh with equal ease and with the precision of a surgeon’s scalpel blade. These lances of burning heat are similar to the blasts of an Imperial Meltagun, except far more focused and prolonged.Voidblade – A Canoptek Acanthrite carries a tail-mounted Voidblade, which phases in and out of existence. This allows it to easily slice through molecular bonds and disintegrate foes where they stand.
Canoptek Acanthrite - Ordo Xenos Departmento Analyticus Technical Specifications: The analysts of the Inquisition's Ordo Xenos have not yet determined the technical specifications of the recently encountered Canoptek Acanthrite.
Canoptek Acanthrite - Trivia: The term "canoptek" is a play on the word "canopic", an adjective used to refer to an ancient Egyptian vase, urn, or jar, often known as a canopic jar, that is used to hold the viscera of an embalmed body. The Necrons' flavour was heavily reworked from the 5th Edition onwards to be even more evocative of ancient Egyptian cultural references.
Canoptek Acanthrite - Sources: Imperial Armour Twelve – The Fall of Orpheus, pp. 46-47, 88, 119
Canoptek Cloak - Canoptek Cloak: A Canoptek Cloak is an advanced technology that allows a Necron Cryptek Technomancer to move swiftly across the battlefield to reinforce Canoptek constructs wherever needed.
Canoptek Control Node - Canoptek Control Node: A Canoptek Control Node is an advanced Necron device that allows a Cryptek Technomancer to control, repair or augment the abilities of Necron Canoptek constructs on the battlefield from afar. It works through the use of beams of microscopic Nanoscarabs that are sent to carry out the requested operations on the designated constructs.
Canoptek Leech - Canoptek Leech: A Canoptek Leech is a Necron robotic construct that is primarily dedicated to repairing the living metal, Necrodermis, that comprises all Necron android bodies, artifacts and vehicles. However, Canoptek Leeches are also integral to the function of the arcane prisons and war engines known as Tesseract Vaults, which contain and harness the form of a Transcendent C'tan. They are tasked with continuously repairing the walls of the vault which are routinely destroyed by the energies released by the captive C'tan Shard.Transcendent C'tan are nothing less than the amalgamation of dozens or even hundreds of lesser C'tan Shards, and are of such size and indomitable will that they are too powerful to be contained within the extradimensional intricacies of a Tesseract Labyrinth. As such, a Tesseract Vault serves as both a prison and a conduit for their power instead. Bound within the vault's heart, the star vampire will fight against its bonds; and such is the elemental might of the C'tan that the walls of the Tesseract Vault are perpetually being destroyed by the insane energies the Star God releases.It is only the unceasing ministrations of the ever-vigilant Canoptek Leech guardian constructs arrayed and docked around the exterior hull of the Tesseract Vault that keep the C'tan in check; these, and the robotic construct known as a Canoptek Sentinel that encloses the C'tan itself in a force shield generated using a portion of the C'tan's own power that is held together by its eight writhing, mechanical tentacles. However, there are only so many Canoptek Scarabs and Canoptek Leeches holding the Tesseract Vault together, and as the Transcendent C'tan bends reality and tears metal off the vault in its bids for freedom, the Canoptek automatons rebuild its prison using the debris in a cyclical process of destruction and reconstruction.
Canoptek Scarab - Canoptek Scarab: A Canoptek Scarab is a small, silver, beetle-like Necron construct. These robotic scarabs are the most numerous and diverse of the Necrons' Canoptek machine servants. They are designed to break down organic and non-organic matter into raw energy, which can then be woven into fresh construct forms at the direction of the scarabs' controller.Essentially mindless feeding and replication machines of various sizes and functions, their swift, darting movements and their high-pitched chittering mimic in form and behaviour organic invertebrates of a similar role but, directed by the will of a Cryptek or slaved to the more complex artificial intelligence of a Canoptek Spyder, they are capable of staggering feats of construction and destruction.It is for this latter function they are used by the Necron Lords as weapons of war -- an all-devouring tide of skittering metal launched ahead of a Necron phalanx that can break down tanks and fortifications and force an enemy to expend its firepower in frantic efforts to halt the onslaughts.However, Canoptek Scarabs lack a true hive mind. A swarm of scarabs has no more true intelligence than one scarab alone -- which is to say none at all. All they are driven by are simple instructions and even simpler instincts.Nevertheless, their highly sophisticated auto-routines and construct-patterns allow them to build Necron weapons and vehicles of immense power in a surprisingly brief time. Canoptek Scarabs are fearsome enemies in swarms due to their horrifying nature as mindless feeding machines.
Canoptek Scarab - Notable Formations: Canoptek Swarm – Canoptek Scarabs can burrow through the bedrock of a world with a speed that far outstrips the most efficient Imperial drilling machines, creating passageways broad enough to allow the admission of Canoptek Spyders to oversee their work. Thus can the walls of impressive defensive bulwarks and fortresses be undermined, and their perimeters be outflanked. The only warning of an incoming Canoptek swarm is a deep thrum of muffled chittering, easily lost in the roar of battle. When the swarm deems the time right, walls shatter and buildings collapse as the ground beneath them gives way. As the buzzing rises to an ear-splitting crescendo, great boreholes open up, spewing dense clouds of scarabs and hulking Canoptek Spyders into the enemy's midst. A Canoptek swarm formation typically consists of three to six separate Canoptek Scarab swarms, accompanied by one to three Canoptek Spyders.
Canoptek Scarab - Trivia: The term "canoptek" is a play on the word "canopic", an adjective used to refer to an ancient Egyptian vase, urn, or jar, often known as a canopic jar, that is used to hold the viscera of an embalmed body.The Necrons' flavour has been heavily reworked in the 5th Edition to be even more evocative of ancient Egyptian cultural references.
Canoptek Scarab - Sources: Apocalypse: War Zone Damnos, pg. 55Black Crusade: The Tome of Fate (RPG), pg. 119Codex: Necrons (3rd Edition), pp. 15, 19Codex: Necrons (5th Edition), pp. 29, 45-46, 55, 81-82, 89-90, 92Codex: Necrons (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), pp. 57-58, 168, 208Codex: Necrons (9th Edition), pp. 32Deathwatch: The Outer Reach (RPG), pg. 121, 134Imperial Armour Volume Twelve – The Fall of Orpheus, pp. 105, 116, 120-121Forge World Website - Necron Scarab SwarmsWarhammer 40,000: Conquest Collectible Card Game (Picture)
Canoptek Sentinel - Canoptek Sentinel: A Canoptek Sentinel is a Necron robotic construct tasked with containing the raw elemental energies of a Transcendent C'tan that is held captive within a Tesseract Vault. The Canoptek Sentinel draws on the potent C'tan Shard's own energies to erect a force shield around the Star God that keeps it contained within its arcane prison when its Necron masters unleash a Tesseract Vault upon the battlefield.These Transcendent C'tan, nothing less than the amalgamation of dozens or even hundreds of lesser C'tan Shards, are of such size and indomitable will that they are too powerful to be contained within the extradimensional intricacies of a Tesseract Labyrinth, and a Tesseract Vault serves as both a prison and a conduit for their power instead. Bound within the vault's heart, the star vampire will fight against its bonds; and such is the elemental might of the C'tan that the walls of the Tesseract Vault are perpetually being destroyed by the insane energies the Star God generates.It is only the unceasing ministrations of the ever-vigilant Canoptek Leech guardian constructs arrayed and docked around the exterior hull of the Tesseract Vault that keep the C'tan in check; these, and the robotic construct known as a Canoptek Sentinel that encloses the C'tan itself in a force shield held together by eight writhing, mechanical tentacles and generated using a portion of the C'tan's own power. However, there are only so many Scarabs and Canoptek Leeches holding the Tesseract Vault together, and as the Transcendent C'tan bends reality and tears metal off the vault in its bids for freedom, the Canoptek automatons rebuild its prison using the debris in a cyclical process of destruction and reconstruction.
Canoptek Spyder - Canoptek Spyder: Canoptek Spyders are massive robotic Necron constructs, their immense weight effortlessly propelled by sophisticated anti-gravitic engines. Their bodies are large and rounded in the shape of a hooded carapace, in order to accommodate the internal systems that construct Canoptek Scarabs as needed.This is combined with their multiple limbs and many compound visual sensors which stare out from a featureless, metallic block to give an arachnoid aspect that enhances the fearful appearance of these monstrous robots.All Canoptek Spyders have a Fabricator Claw Array that allows them to effect repairs on a Necron tomb's systems, and these also make for frighteningly destructive weapons. Canoptek Spyders also sometimes sport additional weaponry to better repel crypt intruders.When the Necrons rise from their crypts, Canoptek Spyders often follow them in battle, both for their combat abilities and their capability for repairing damage that is beyond even the abilities of their Necron masters' advanced regenerative systems.
Canoptek Spyder - Notable Formations: Canoptek Swarm – Canoptek Scarabs can burrow through the bedrock of a world with a speed that far outstrips the most efficient Imperial drilling machines, creating passageways broad enough to allow the admission of Canoptek Spyders to oversee their work. Thus can the walls of impressive defensive bulwarks and fortresses be undermined, and their perimeters be outflanked. The only warning of an incoming Canoptek Swarm is a deep thrum of muffled chittering, easily lost in the roar of battle. When the swarm deems the time right, walls shatter and buildings collapse as the ground beneath them gives way. As the buzzing rises to an ear-splitting crescendo, great boreholes open up, spewing dense clouds of Scarabs and hulking Canoptek Spyders into the enemy's midst. A Canoptek Swarm formation typically consists of three to six separate Canoptek Scarab swarms, accompanied by one to three Canoptek Spyders
Canoptek Spyder - Wargear: A Canoptek Spyder can be found equipped with any of the following:Fabricator Claw Array - A Fabricator Claw Array is primarily used by Canoptek Spyders to effect repairs upon nearby Necron vehicles by repairing engine drives and weapons that have been disabled during battle, although they can perform greater tasks if given sufficient time. However, they also make powerful close combat weapons.Gloom Prism – A Gloom Prism can generate energy fields which create zones that are shrouded and shielded from Warp-spawned powers, such as that of psykers.Twin-linked Particle Beamer – Canoptek Spyders focused on sentinel duties are often armed with twin-linked Particle Beamers upon their backs. Particle Beamers emit streams of miniscule anti-matter particles that detonate on contact with matter. They are incredibly reliable, needing only enough energy to maintain the containment field that prevents their anti-matter from detonating within the weapon’s mechanisms. Particle Beamers are capable of causing highly dangerous blasts amongst their target, and are capable of wounding all but the hardiest of infantry.
Canoptek Spyder - Trivia: The term "canoptek" is a play on the word "canoptic", an adjective used to refer to an ancient Egyptian vase, urn, or jar, often known as a canoptic jar, that is used to hold the viscera of an embalmed body.The Necrons' flavour was heavily reworked in the 5th Edition to be even more evocative of ancient Egyptian cultural references.
Canoptek Spyder - Sources: Apocalypse: War Zone Damnos, pg. 55Black Crusade: The Tome of Fate (RPG), pg. 111Codex: Necrons (3rd Edition), pp. 20, 23Codex: Necrons (5th Edition), pp. 46, 81, 95Codex: Necrons (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), pp. 57-59, 172-173Deathwatch: The Outer Reach (RPG), pp. 132-133
Canoptek Tomb Sentinel - Armament: All Tomb Sentinels are armed as follows:Exile Cannon - An Exile Cannon is a powerful and arcane Necron weapon that uses similar technologies to those employed by the smaller Transdimensional Beamer. An Exile Cannon can be used as a convenient method of banishing large amounts of unwanted debris, machinery and failed experiments from Tomb Worlds and battlefields into a pocket dimension outside of the normal space-time continuum. However, these arcane ray projectors can also just as easily unleash their energy beams to blast and banish foes, armoured vehicles, and alien creatures to a long and horrifying death from starvation by casting them into other dimensional realms beyond the material universe.Blades and Claws - A Tomb Sentinel can attack its foes with its myriad of blades, limbs and claws, using its brute strength and fast movement to erupt ghost-like from solid earth before smashing into the enemy lines, ripping to shreds anything that dares to flee in a storm of bladed limbs.Some Tomb Sentinels may be upgraded with the following arms:Sepulchral Scarabs - Sepulchral Scarabs are a specialised variant of Canoptek Scarabs that some Canoptek Tomb Sentinels carry into battle. If the Tomb Sentinel is damaged, Sepulchral Scarabs will emerge from their hiding places on the Tomb Sentinel's carapace to quickly repair the construct, granting the Tomb Sentinel immense regenerative properties.Gloom Prism – A Gloom Prism can generate cloaking fields of an unknown energy type that shield the Tomb Sentinel from the effects of Warp-spawned powers, such as those wielded by psykers.
Canoptek Tomb Sentinel - Ordo Xenos Departmento Analyticus Technical Specifications: The analysts of the Inquisition's Ordo Xenos have not yet determined the technical specifications of the recently encountered Canoptek Tomb Sentinel.
Canoptek Tomb Sentinel - Trivia: The term "canoptek" is a play on the word "canoptic", an adjective used to refer to an ancient Egyptian vase, urn, or jar, often known as a canoptic jar, that is used to hold the viscera of an embalmed body. The Necrons' flavour has been heavily reworked in the 5th Edition to be even more evocative of ancient Egyptian cultural references.
Canoptek Tomb Stalker - Armament: All Tomb Stalkers are armed as follows:Blades and Claws - A Tomb Stalker primarily attacks foes with its myriad of blades, limbs and claws, using its brute strength and fast movement to erupt ghost-like from solid earth before smashing into the enemy's lines, ripping to shreds anything that dares to flee in a storm of bladed limbs.2 Gauss Flayers - All Canoptek Stalkers have two Gauss Flayers mounted on their forelimbs, which allows them to slay the foe at range and strip a target down to nothing molecule by molecule, reducing it to its constituent atoms in a matter of seconds.Some Tomb Stalkers may be upgraded with the following:Sepulchral Scarabs - Sepulchral Scarabs are a specialised variant of Canoptek Scarabs that some Canoptek Tomb Stalkers carry into battle. If the Tomb Stalker is damaged, Sepulchral Scarabs will emerge from their hiding places on the Tomb Stalker's carapace to quickly repair the construct, granting the Tomb Stalker immense regenerative properties.Gloom Prism – A Gloom Prism can generate cloaking fields of an unknown energy type that shield the Tomb Stalker from the effects of Warp-spawned powers, such as those wielded by psykers.
Canoptek Tomb Stalker - Ordo Xenos Departmento Analyticus Technical Specifications: The analysts of the Inquisition's Ordo Xenos have not yet determined the technical specifications of the recently encountered Canoptek Tomb Stalker.
Canoptek Tomb Stalker - Trivia: The term "canoptek" is a play on the word "canoptic", an adjective used to refer to an ancient Egyptian vase, urn, or jar, often known as a canoptic jar, that is used to hold the viscera of an embalmed body.The Necrons' flavour has been heavily reworked in the 5th Edition to be even more evocative of ancient Egyptian cultural references.
Canoptek Wraith - Canoptek Wraith: A Canoptek Wraith is an automated robotic Necron construct that serves as the eyes and ears of the central operating system of any Tomb World, patrolling for intruders and inspecting the Necron sanctuary's ancient systems for signs of damage and decay. Its primary tool is its Phase Shifter, a Dimensional Destabilisation Matrix that allows a Wraith to phase in and out of sync with the normal space-time continuum.Though the primary purpose of this device is to allow a Canoptek Wraith to reach into and repair solid machinery, it is equally effective when used to deal with intruders who have breached the protections of a subterranean Necron stasis facility. In such a case, a Canoptek Wraith can phase its claws and tendrils inside an opponent, and resolidify them to sever arteries, nerve clusters and other vital pathways without leaving an external mark of what caused the victim's death.
Canoptek Wraith - History: While a Necron Tomb World slumbers fitfully in eternal stasis, the Necron constructs known as Canoptek Wraiths serve as its eyes and ears. They flit silently through the dusty halls of the Necron installation, patrolling for intruders and inspecting the ancient systems for damage and decay. Canoptek Wraiths are primarily probe mechanoids, programmed to report back to their Canoptek Spyder controllers via an interstitial interface rather than act under their own direction. When orders are received, a Canoptek Wraith carries them out with the unfaltering resolve of the machine. Whether it is commanded to strike against an intruder, or conduct repairs in the heart of an eons-old collapsing tomb, the Wraith will follow its instructions until its task is completed or it is destroyed.
Canoptek Wraith - Role: A Canoptek Wraith's most notable feature is its Phase Shifter -- a Dimensional Destabilisation Matrix that allows it to skip in and out of phase with the normal space-time continuum. By adjusting the modulation of a Phase Shifter's matrix, a Canoptek Wraith can even keep portions of its physical form in different phase states simultaneously. Whilst a completely phased-out existence can be sustained by the construct almost indefinitely, a half-phased state requires an enormous amount of energy to sustain. In fact, a Canoptek Wraith's body is little more than a series of interlocking power generators and etherium lode conduits, and yet even with so much potential power available to it, the construct can exist in a dual phase state for only limited periods of time.The Phase Shifter was originally created to allow the Wraiths to reach into and repair solid machinery without having to go to all the trouble of removing its outer casing and other superfluous components. However, a Wraith's abilities are no less valuable when dealing with intruders. If it times its attack correctly, a Canoptek Wraith can phase its claws and tendrils inside an opponent, swiftly resolidifying them to sever arteries, nerve clusters and other vital pathways without leaving an external mark of what killed the victim. In addition, the enemy must time his own return blows with perfect precision, lest his own weapons pass through the Wraith's phased-out form. Phase Shifters also allow Wraiths to move effortlessly at speed through terrain that normal scouts would find difficult or dangerous to navigate, thus ensuring that no obstacle can stop a Wraith from moving into position before a battle.Though their primary function is to watch over their sleeping masters, Wraiths are often drafted into Necron armies to serve as advance scouts. Their Phase Shifter allows a Wraith to traverse all manner of terrain without pause, and can also keep the construct hidden from enemy eyes and sensors when it is fully phased out of synchronisation with the space-time continuum. Many an enemy force has advanced across the surface of a seemingly barren Tomb World, completely unaware that its every move is being watched, recorded and reported by a Canoptek Wraith. Only the most observant of foes can hope to catch a glimpse of the lurking Wraith's spectral form or detect the unsettling electronic chatter that accompanies its precise Vox transmissions. Even then, such sightings are commonly dismissed as simply flights of fancy or imagination incurred by the unsettling nature of a Tomb World.Once the inevitable battle begins, Canoptek Wraith are most commonly tasked with sowing terror and disorder throughout the foe's ranks by striking at commanders, support troops and supply lines -- any target that a more conventional strike force would struggle to reach. Many an enemy commander fighting against the Necrons never even makes it to the battle, having been slain the night before in his bed by the cold claws of a Canoptek Wraith, for whom doors, guards and force fields are no barrier.
Canoptek Wraith - Known Formations: Stormcaller War Cell – A Necron assault is often heralded by unnatural and violent storms that cast an impenetrable pall of darkness and disrupt radio communications for many leagues. At the heart of each tempest is a Harbinger of the Storm, a Necron Lord whose ancient malice is the howling winds and eldritch lightning. Where the Harbinger of the Storm walks, comm-nets fall, Locator Beacons fall silent and Teleport Homers cease to function. Discord and panic spread throughout the enemy army as orders fail to arrive and reinforcements are delayed. At the slightest gesture from the Harbinger of the Storm leading the formation, lightning arcs across the sky, shattering war engines and slaughtering infantry with malign precision. Only by destroying the Harbinger can the forces at his command be stilled, but to do so is no simple feat. Dozens of phase-shifting Canoptek Wraiths prowl the billowing storm, drinking in its energy and waiting for foolhardy mortal creatures to stray close.
Canoptek Wraith - Wargear: Phase Shifter - A Phase Shifter is a Dimensional Destabilisation Matrix that allows a Canoptek Wraith to phase in and out of synchronisation with the normal space-time continuum. Originally designed to allow a Canoptek Wraith to reach into and repair solid machinery, it is equally effective when used to deal with intruders who have breached the protections of a subterranean Necron stasis facility, or with foes on the battlefield when a Wraith is used as an advance scout or assassin. With a Phase Shifter, a Canoptek Wraith can phase its claws and tendrils inside an opponent, and resolidify them to sever arteries, nerve clusters and other vital pathways without leaving an external mark of what caused the victim's death.A Canoptek Wraith can also be upgraded to carry one of the following pieces of Necron Wargear:Particle Caster - A Particle Caster is a short-ranged pistol-sized Particle Weapon. These weapons emit a stream of miniscule anti-matter particles that detonate on contact with normal matter. They are incredibly reliable, and need only enough energy to maintain a electromagnetic containment field that prevents anti-matter from detonating within the weapon's own mechanism.Whip Coils - Some Canoptek Wraiths are equipped with writhing mechanical tendrils that constrict around the foe, pinning them in place whilst other weapons do their devastating work.Transdimensional Beamer - A Transdimensional Beamer can be used as a convenient method of banishing unwanted debris, machinery and failed experiments from Tomb Worlds and battlefields into a pocket dimension outside of the normal space-time continuum. However, a Transdimensional Beamer can be used just as easily to banish foes to a long and horrifying death from starvation in the same extradimensional space.
Canoptek Wraith - Trivia: The term "canoptek" is a play on the word "canoptic", an adjective used to refer to an ancient Egyptian vase, urn, or jar, often known as a canoptic jar, that is used to hold the viscera of an embalmed body. The Necrons' flavour has been heavily reworked in the 5th Edition to be even more evocative of ancient Egyptian cultural references.
Canoptek Wraith - Sources: Apocalypse Reload, pg. 51Black Crusade: The Tome of Fate (RPG), pg. 112Codex: Necrons (5th Edition), pp. 44, 82, 94Codex: Necrons (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), pp. 57-58, 167Imperial Armour - Volume Twelve - The Fall of Orpheus, pg. 68Shield of Baal: Exterminatus (Campaign Supplement) (Digital Edition), pg. 185
Cant Mechanicus - Cant Mechanicus: The Cant Mechanicus refers to the number of strange dialects spoken by the Tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus that blend the machine tongue with those of the wider Human race.These include binharic cant, Lingua-technis, hexamathic code, noospheric bleed and Novabyte, amongst many others. Few outside the Adeptus Mechanicus can comprehend these tongues, let alone reproduce them.Many Tech-priests have their jaws and throats altered, the better to speak languages that were designed only for cogitators to use.Furthermore, each language is replete with internal self-references and allusions to knowledge that remains unknown to those outside the order. Their use is forbidden by any not of the Cult Mechanicus.A lot of these languages have words and even entire grammatical structures missing, eroded by the entropy of millennia or corrupted by viral scrapcode. They are sourced and re-imagined from alphabets, lexicons and tongues throughout Human history into an omnibet that only the Tech-priests truly understand.This meta-language is the root of the sigils and icons that adorn the warriors and war machines of the Adeptus Mechanicus. More than that, it is the foundation of the battle cant they chant to empower their minions in times of war.
Cantican Colonial - Cantican Colonial: The Cantican Colonial, also known as the CantiCol, are regiments of the Astra Militarum raised from the Imperial world of Cantica, which is located in the Medina Corridor, in the Medina Sub-sector.
Cantican Colonial - History: There are three core worlds of the Medina Sub-sector; Cantica, Khopesh and Aridun, along with their various satellite planets. When men first colonised the Medina Worlds long ago during the Dark Age of Technology, Cantica raised the beginnings of the first city-states from the arid plains, with Buraghand being the largest and greatest. This central city-state of Cantica was located along the coastal ridge of the Cantican Gulf, rising into the horizon like a thousand-tiered pyramid. The buildings that made up the vast metropolises of this world were ancient structures of clay, mortared with the crushed sea shells of long-extinct ocean-dwellers. Over the centuries, these cities were eroded by the seething dust storms and relentless suns until new cities were raised over the skeletons of the old. This natural cycle of construction continued over the course of millennia, strata upon strata of ossified structures, growing vertically as it did laterally, forming a mantle of architectural under-ruins, a labyrinth of archaeology that went five kilometres deep.Cantica was the defensive buttress of the Medina Corridor. Within the sub-sector, Cantica was strategically insignificant, yet  the planet served as a lone sentry for the region. Although a little-known Imperial Guard regiment, the Cantican Colonials served as the Medina Corridor's primary troop formation. But like the planets they defended, their heritage was swathed in antiquity. The CantiCol regiments had been raised in the 35th Millennium from the Cantican Loyalists of the Reclamation Wars. They had been one of the few warring dust tribes to aid the Imperium during the Reclamation of Cantica and were thus the only regiment granted the right to defend the entire region. Unified after the Imperial conquest and colonisation of their world, these soldiers had only seen intermittent actions against frontier raiders and minor xenos incursion on the Eastern Fringes of the galaxy after being brought into the Imperial Guard. Nothing in their long and lengthy history had prepared them for an absolute war against the millions-strong legions of Chaos during the Bastion Wars. At the outbreak of hostilities, it was estimated that the regiments of the Cantican Colonial numbered no more than 900,000, including auxiliary support units and non-combat corps. According to an Imperial census, 400,000 Guardsmen were garrisoned thinly across the Medina System alongside indigenous Planetary Defence Force elements.
Cantican Colonial - Regiment Organisation: Cantican regiments operate under the standard and recognisable Imperial Guard command structure laid down by the Departmento Munitorum with some minor local variation in insignia and designation, such as the existence of the unit known as the Cantican Lancers.