vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Gorgon - Sources: Imperial Armour Volume Five - The Siege of Vraks - Part One, pp. 33, 102-108Imperial Armour Apocalypse, pg. 10Imperial Armour Apocalypse (Second Edition), pg. 8Imperial Armour Volume One - Imperial Guard (Second Edition), pp. 8, 133-139, 256, 267
Gorgon Terminator Squad - Gorgon Terminator Squad: A Gorgon Terminator Squad was an elite unit formation comprised of Terminator Armoured-Veteran Legionaries of the Iron Hands Legion during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras. These elite squads wore the experimental Gorgon Pattern Terminator Armour prototype, which required the wearer to undergo a painful bonding process as well as extensive cybernetic enhancement.Despite the inherent risks, there were no shortage of volunteers within the ranks of the Iron Hands Legion for the process. It is not known if the Iron Hands still maintain any of these advanced prototypes in the late 41st Millennium, as the majority of this pattern of Terminator Armour was concentrated in the hands of the doomed Avernii Clan and lost at the Drop Site Massacre of Istvaan V.
Gorgon Terminator Squad - History: One of a number of Tactical Dreadnought Armour sub-classes found exclusively within the ranks of the Iron Hands Legion, Gorgon Pattern Terminator Armour was one of a number of ongoing attempts by the Primarch Ferrus Manus and his cadre of Iron Fathers to refine and augment the various patterns of Terminator Armour employed by the Legiones Astartes forces. It is an interesting case in point that while several thousand suits of Terminator Armour in the most common Tartaros, Cataphractii and Indomitus Patterns were in service with the Legion (many of which were concentrated in the hands of the doomed warriors of the Avernii Clan and lost at Istvaan V), the Primarch himself was known to not be entirely satisfied with the performance of any of these designs and so a full issue to his Legion of these patterns was never approved.One of the most extreme technological examples of the Iron Hands' innovation to improve on the designs in this regard was the hazardous but powerful "Gorgon" prototype, a variant of Indomitus Pattern Terminator Armour. This advanced prototype suit was just going into production at the outset of the Horus Heresy to supplement the Iron Hands Legion's combat-depleted stocks of Terminator Armour.The design replaced the energy field generators imbedded in the armour with experimental systems that converted incoming electromagnetic and kinetic energy into a burst of blinding light, able to incapacitate and maim nearby foes. The heat and electrochemical toxin bleed from the armour's systems limited the armour's agility, and its negative side effects required a high level of cybernetic augmentation for its wearer to endure.However, volunteers for this painful modification were plentiful in the Legion's ranks, many deeming it an honour to serve as part of this great endeavour. These elite Veterans were then placed in special Gorgon Terminator Squads, made up of four to nine Gorgon Terminators and led by one Gorgon Hammerbearer (Squad Leader). Ferrus Manus would not live long enough to refine the Gorgon Pattern to its full potential due to his untimely death at the hands of the treacherous Fulgrim during the Drop Site Massacre on Istvaan V.
Gorgon Terminator Squad - Composition: 4-9 Gorgon Terminators1 Gorgon Hammerbearer (Squad Leader)
Gorgon Terminator Squad - Dedicated Transport: 1 Land Raider Proteus or Land Raider Phobos1 Spartan Assault Tank (Optional)
Gorgon Terminator Squad - Wargear: Gorgon Pattern Terminator ArmourCombi-BolterPower AxeThunder Hammer (Gorgon Hammerbearer)
Gorgon Terminator Squad - Optional Wargear: Power FistLightning Claw (Single or Pair)ChainfistHeavy FlamerReaper AutocannonGraviton Gun
Gorgon Terminator Squad - Optional Wargear (Gorgon Hammerbearer): Grenade HarnessCyber Familiar
Gorgon Terminator Squad - Sources: The Horus Heresy - Book Two: Massacre (Imperial Armour) by Alan Bligh, pg. 232Forge World - Iron hands Legion Gorgon Terminators
Gorgons - Gorgons: The Gorgons is a Loyalist Codex Astartes-compliant Chapter of Space Marines of unknown Founding and origin. Nothing else is currently known about them in Imperial records.
Gorgons - Chapter Colours: The Gorgons primarily wear lime green Power Armour with the exception of the helm which is black. The colour of the Aquila or Imperialis on the chest plate matches the rest of the battle plate's lime green colour, with the exception of the central icon, which is black. The white squad specialty symbol -- Tactical, Assault, Devastator or Veteran -- is located on the right shoulder plate. A black Roman numeral is centred on the squad specialty symbol, indicating squad number. The colour of the shoulder plate trim indicates company number in accordance to the Codex Astartes -- i.e. White (1st Company), Yellow (2nd Company), Red (3rd Company), etc.
Gorgons - Chapter Badge: The Gorgons' Chapter badge is a stylised ebon skull with snakes of the same colour for hair coming out of the top of it, reminiscent of the ancient Greek monster of legend -- the gorgon -- whose hideous appearance was so terrible that those who gazed upon it would turn to stone. The name gorgon derives from the ancient Greek word gorgós, which means "dreadful". This image is centred on a field of lime green.
Gorgons - Sources: Adeptus Astartes: Successor Chapters (Limited Release Booklet), pg. 47
Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter - Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter: Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter is an Ork Warlord, originally a Warboss of the Evil Sunz klan, who was involved in three major campaigns against the military forces of the Imperium of Man and most of the other major intelligent species of the galaxy during the final century of the 41st Millennium.WAAAGH! Gorgutz eventually included elements from the Ork klanz known as the Head Crushaz, the Foot Stompaz, the Rokkit Rangerz, the Burna Boyz, the Kwikmeks and the Rok Clawz.Gorgutz first came to prominence during the battle for Lorn V, where he temporarily allied with (and then took the head of) Lord Crull, a World Eaters Traitor Legion Champion of Chaos who had contested the Orks and the Imperial Guard for control of a deactivated Imperator-class Emperor Titan that lay partially buried on that world.After being defeated on Lorn V by the victorious Imperial Guard, he fled in an Ork Rok to the world of Kronus and built up his WAAAGH! once more, only to -- once again -- be defeated, this time by the forces of the Blood Ravens Space Marine Chapter.Finding that retreat was the better part of valour once more, Gorgutz and the remains of his WAAAGH! arrived in the Kaurava System, settling his forces on the world of Kaurava II.Gorgutz is the character who has appeared in more of the Dawn of War series of PC games than any other save for Gabriel Angelos, having battled all comers in Winter Assault, Dark Crusade, Soulstorm and Dawn of War III.As his name implies, Gorgutz has a penchant for taking the heads of his enemies, for as he pointed out to one particularly unobservant Ork Nob, it would make no sense to put someone's foot on his "pointy stikk".
Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter - Personality: Like all Ork Warlords, Gorgutz led his WAAAGH!s with an iron fist, and was known to kill his own Boyz without a second thought to prove a point. Like all Orks, Gorgutz acted very arrogantly towards...well...anyone. Ironically, Gorgutz also disliked flattery. Even so, Gorgutz NEVER admits defeat. Gorgutz likes the color red, like most Orks, and even painted his own cybernetic exoskeleton red under the common Ork belief that "Red 'uns go fastah!"Gorgutz' defining trait was his fascination for collecting the heads of his enemies. It was on Lorn V, shortly after he became a full Ork Warlord in charge of his own WAAAGH!, that he started collecting the heads of his foes. When he left Lorn V, he possessed the head of the Chaos Lord Crull. Gorgutz maintained this fascination when he crash-landed on Kronus, starting to collect heads from the other races. Gorgutz was deeply upset when his Boyz proved unable to secure the head of a Tau Commander.However, behind all his outrageous gloating and pompous claims, Gorgutz is actually a bit of a coward. Whenever his enemies -- be it the 1st Kronus Liberators of the Imperial Guard, the Alpha Legion's Chaos Space Marines, or a Tau Strike Force -- close in on him, he chooses to run away instead of fighting to the end. In fact, on Kronus, he had already prepared an escape route in his stronghold should it be overrun. Yet this cowardice has allowed him to escape death many times, only to return at the head of a new WAAAGH! to plague the Imperium yet again.
Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter - Wargear: Gorgutz has several powerful weapons at his disposal. He has a Kustom Power Klaw and horns affixed to his exoskeleton for melee combat, although the horns can damage his own Ork infantry when he grows overexcited. He makes use of a large, kustom Shoota on his left arm, which is able to kill an entire company of Imperial Guardsmen from afar. Gorgutz wears a cybernetic Ork Mega Armour combat exoskeleton which greatly increases his already potent strength and durability. It has been painted red in the common Ork belief that this will allow him to move faster.
Gork and Mork - Gork and Mork: Gork and Mork are the gods of the Orks, the echoes of the Greenskin species in the Empyrean, the fathers of the WAAAGH! and all-round thugz. Gork is brutal but kunnin' and Mork is kunnin' but brutal. What more is there to say? Look at them wrong and they'll kick yer teef in.Whilst Gork smashes you over the head with his huge spiked club, Mork will give you a staggering low blow, demonstrating the kunnin-ness and brutality of the Orkish Gods. Ork Stompas and Gargants are built in honour (and possibly in the likeness of) the two mighty Greenskin Gods. The Mekboyz who build them work from a vision held within their imagination that they believe has been sent to them by Gork and Mork, usually inspired during the onset of a new WAAAGH!.
Gork and Mork - History: The Ork species' collective unconsciousness registers in the Immaterium much as do the collective psyches of the Aeldari and Humanity. In the Orks' case, their relatively simplistic psyches coalesce into two entities they worship as gods called Gork and Mork, who are much like the Chaos Gods, the lost Aeldari Pantheon or the Emperor of Mankind's empowered soul within the Warp.The difference between the twin Greenskin gods is simple: Gork is brutal but cunning, while Mork is cunning but brutal. To make this comprehensible, one has to think like an Ork (a debatable proposition at best); Mork hits you when you aren't looking and Gork hits you even harder when you are. Like their own species, the Greenskins believe that when facing the gods of the other intelligent species of the galaxy their deities can be defeated but never entirely extinguished; like the Orks themselves, they will always come back, spoiling for the next fight.The Orks believe that Gork and Mork are personal gods; i.e. they will offer divine aid to those Orks who ask for it, if they are found deserving, but it does not matter which of the two gods an Ork prays to, since they are essentially interchangeable. However, if a distinction were to be made, it could be said that Gork is the favoured god of the average Greenskin as the manifestation of the physical power that defines the Orks, while Mork is the favoured deity of the Oddboyz, the cunning Orks who do more than just fight to keep the Ork species moving forward to the next battle.The greatest of the Ork warlords, Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka, the Ork who unleashed both the Second War for Armageddon and the even more brutal Third War for Armageddon, is currently considered the Prophet of Gork and Mork. Ghazghkull and his Orks believe that the twin gods provide him with the information to unleash strategies that will finally give the Orks victory over the Imperium and all their enemies -- which basically includes every other thinking being in the Milky Way Galaxy. Rumours abound that Ghazghkull intends to call for the Ragnarork, the Great WAAAGH!, the final apocalyptic battle in which the Orks would prove their worth before the eyes of their violent and primitive gods.
Gork and Mork - The Twin Gods: Gork - The Ork psyche is so strong and robust that their reflection in the psychic mirror-universe of the Warp is a potent force indeed. There are two mighty, belligerent and boisterous Ork gods that the Greenskins believe in above all others -- Gork, who the Orks say is brutal but kunnin', and Mork, who is kunnin' but brutal. Though both are warrior gods, Gork is the primary deity of clobbering, smashing, breaking, killing and pummelling the rest of the galaxy into submission. This is a notion that resonates strongly with the more single-minded warbosses of the Ork species.Mork - Mork, the most cunning god of the Ork pantheon, is the patron deity of Greenskin thinkers, creators and shamans. Whereas Gork is most likely to clobber an enemy god in the face, Mork will happily wait until his enemy's back is turned before raising his club and belting him around the back of the head. It is Mork who is revered by the stranger and arguably more intelligent strains of Orks -- Kommandoz, Weirdboyz, Mekboyz, and those rare warbosses who like to have a good hard think about their battle plans before beating their enemies into a bloody red paste.
Gork and Mork - Trivia: The Greenskins of the Warhammer fantasy universe and the Orks of the Warhammer 40,000 universe worship the same gods, Gork and Mork.
Gothax - Gothax: Gothax, also called Gothax the Morose, is a Chaos Lord of the Death Guard Traitor Legion and the commander of its Tollguard warband. He is famed within the Legion for going into battle with a retinue of seven Noxious Blightbringers. On the Plague Planet, he also oversees the fortress-factory known as the Peal Yard, which creates the tocsins of misery used by the Death Guard's Blightbringers.
Gothic-class Cruiser - Gothic-class Cruiser: The Gothic-class Cruiser is a powerful starship that is a familiar sight throughout the Imperium of Man, with numerous vessels of this common class operating in each of the Navis Imperialis' segmentum battlefleets.Only the Lunar-class Cruiser is more commonly deployed by the Imperial Navy. This class is also deployed by the Basilikon Astra, the naval fleet of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Gothic-class Cruiser - History: The powerful Gothic-class Cruiser is a familiar sight throughout the Imperium and has a presence in each segmentum battlefleet. The class carries one of the heaviest lance broadsides in the Imperial Navy, making it a threat to vessels of equal or larger size. However, without the saturating fire of macrocannon macrobatteries, Lances are often unable to destroy targets fast enough, meaning the Imperial Navy often pairs Gothics with other cruisers or escort squadrons. These warships act to bring down an opponent's defences, allowing the Gothic to finish them off.A Gothic differs from a Lunar-class Cruiser chiefly in terms of power output. To construct a Gothic, Imperial shipwrights start with the standard Lunar-class hull and equip it with a Jovian Pattern "Warcruiser" Drive and possibly Auxiliary Plasma Banks allowed by this supplement, Titanforge Lance Batteries in all port and starboard weapon capacity slots, torpedo tubes, and an armoured prow component. Note that the fearsome lance arrays of a Gothic are hard to construct, meaning a great deal of effort is put into building the warship by the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Gothic-class Cruiser - Armament: A potent force in its own right, the class carries the heaviest lance array of any Imperial cruiser in the Gothic Sector or likely anywhere else in the galaxy, making it a deadly adversary for enemy vessels of all size classes. The Gothic's six torpedo tubes give it the ability to attack at long range and break up enemy formations, allowing it to get to close range where it can bring its devastating lance armament to bear.However, as powerful as they are, the Gothic's lances could not deal damage fast enough to win a one-on-one duel with an opposing vessel. This deficiency was most ably illustrated in two separate encounters of the Gothic War between the Gothic-class Righteous Fury and the Chaos Repulsive-class Grand Cruiser Bloodied Sword wherein the Righteous Fury barely escaped after suffering severe damage and inflicting few hits of its own.With this weakness exposed, it was apparent that the Gothic-class Cruiser could only be successful when accompanied by other starships, calling for a change in tactics. Such a change was pioneered by Captain Hodge of the Righteous Fury, pairing Gothic-class warships with either a second cruiser or a squadron of escorts.In combat, the Gothic-class warship would engage the enemy broadside while its partner would race around to attack the foe from the bow or stern. The Gothic-class truly came into its own with these new tactics, as they used the Gothic's heavy lances to good effect by knocking down the enemy's void shields and allowing the Gothic warship's consorts to attack while preventing the enemy from escaping the Gothic's partners.This change allowed the Gothic-class to become a valuable Imperial asset in the later stages of the Gothic War, with the most notable such contributions being the destruction of the Chaos cruisers Cackling Hate and Glorious Bloodbath.
Gothic-class Cruiser - Dimensions: Hull: CruiserClass: Gothic-class CruiserDimensions Approximately 5 kilometres long, 0.8 kilometres abeam at finsMass: Approximately 28 MegatonnesCrew: Approximately 95,000 crewAcceleration: 2.5 gravities max sustainable acceleration
Gothic Sector - Gothic Sector: The Gothic Sector of the Milky Way Galaxy is a sector of the Imperium of Man in the Segmentum Obscurus to the galactic north of Terra that is located on the border with the vast Ultima Segmentum.The Gothic Sector lies adjacent to the great Warp rift known as the Eye of Terror and was the location where Abaddon the Despoiler's 12th Black Crusade, colloquially remembered as the Gothic War, was fought from 139.M41 until 160.M41.The forces of Chaos were defeated by the Imperium during that conflict, but Abaddon managed to seize several of the Blackstone Fortresses which he would use to eke out a more successful conclusion over 800 standard years later when he launched the 13th Black Crusade in 999.M41.The Gothic Sector and the Gothic War was also the setting for Games Workshop's tabletop game of starship combat, Battlefleet Gothic and the Battlefleet Gothic Armada PC game.
Gothic Sector - Gothic War: The Gothic Sector's most important attribute was that it was the location of the six known Blackstone Fortresses, the powerful xenos artefacts originally created by the Old Ones to serve as weapons against the C'tan during the War in Heaven over 65 million standard years ago. When Mankind re-discovered the worlds of the Gothic Sector during the Great Crusade, the Imperium found the Blackstone Fortresses and eventually transformed them into Imperial naval bases.During the Gothic War, the capture of these fortresses would become Abaddon's prime objective and he would manage to wrest control over three of the six known to exist. He used their powerful xenos technology to strip one planet of its atmosphere and transform another star into a supernova that destroyed its surrounding planetary system. Unknown to the Imperium, Abaddon managed to escape into the Warp with two of the three Blackstone Fortresses the Forces of Chaos had captured and they would eventually play a pivotal role in the 13th Black Crusade he launched against the Imperium 800 years later.The 12th Black Crusade, better known as the Gothic War, had been preceded by the unleashing of a catastrophic Warp Storm on the Gothic Sector in 142.M41 that soon cut it off from both outside communications and Imperial reinforcements, leaving the defence of the sector to those Imperial ground and naval forces already present.Battlefleet Gothic, the primary Imperial Navy force in the sector, was forced to fight over the following two decades against a series of Chaos warfleets numbering from eight to twenty led by varying Chaos Warmasters including Abaddon the Despoiler of the Black Legion. The Imperial forces also had to defend against Aeldari, Ork and human pirates who sought to take advantage of the situation to benefit themselves. The death toll ran into the billions as scores of worlds were ravaged by the onslaught of the Forces of Chaos as Abaddon sought to seize the Blackstone Fortresses.In 151.M41 the Warp Storms blanketing the sector finally began to abate as the grip of the Ruinous Powers was weakened following several Imperial victories. Imperial reinforcements, including detachments from several Space Marine Chapters, were rushed into the Gothic Sector by Segmentum Command.Following an alliance against the forces of Chaos by the Imperium and elements of the Craftworld Aeldari who feared Chaos' acquisition of several of the Talismans of Vaul (Blackstone Fortresses), Abaddon's own warfleet was pursued into the Schindelgeist System where the final great battle of the war ended in a famous victory for the Imperial Navy. By 160.M41 the situation had stabilised and the Gothic Sector was cleansed of the remaining Chaos, Ork and pirate forces.
Gothic Sector - Bhein Morr Sub-sector: Krool - Agri-worldOechalia - Civilised WorldFularis - Civilised World - Location of Blackstone Fortress I before the start of the Gothic War. The world of Fularis II was used as a demonstration of the power the Blackstone Fortresses possessed when Abaddon used two of the captured fortresses to strip that planet of its atmosphere and biosphere and reduce it to a barren world of stripped rock.Balaam - Agri-worldKharlos - Mining WorldBhein Morr - Civilised WorldElysium - Civilised WorldMastado - Mining WorldLuxor - Mining WorldStranivar - Hive WorldDuran - Uninhabited System
Gothic Sector - Cyclops Cluster Sub-sector: CCX-104 - Uninhabited SystemDenerair - Agri-worldHalemnet - Hive WorldLithore - Mining WorldMezoa - Forge WorldMisere - Mining WorldMoab - Civilised WorldN'man - Uninhabited SystemNumitor - Agri-worldPlatea - Mining WorldRebo V - Civilised World - Rebo V was the location of Blackstone Fortress IV before the start of the Gothic War.Slade - Penal WorldThanet - Mining WorldVerstap - Agri-world
Gothic Sector - Gethsemane Sub-sector: Toya-Tama - Mining WorldLashattau - Mining WorldGath - Agri-worldGethsamaine - Hive WorldFier - Mining World - Fier was the location of Blackstone Fortress III before the start of the Gothic War.Cherys - Hive WorldZpandex - Forge WorldErebus - Agri-worldAFR-74 - Uninhabited SystemDrakulu - Agri-worldYama Enda - Agri-world
Gothic Sector - Port Maw Sub-sector: The headquarters of the Imperial Navy's Battlefleet Gothic was located at Port Maw, a massive space station in orbit of the Hive World of the same name and the largest Imperial naval base in the Gothic Sector.TR/052/GS/PW-L - Uninhabited SystemAcre - Agri-worldBretz - Civilised WorldElectris - Agri-worldKueghan - Agri-worldPort Maw - Hive World - Location of the Imperial Navy's Battlefleet Gothic naval baseMarinas - Mining WorldLethe - Civilised WorldAeolus - Mining WorldOrtho - Mining WorldKiliman IV - Uninhabited SystemWalpurgis - Penal World
Gothic Sector - Quinrox Sound Sub-sector: Phroti - Uninhabited SystemNaxos - Mining WorldMelos - Mining WorldThera - Mining WorldDelos - Mining WorldCorilia - Hive WorldEziam - Agri-worldBrigia - Civilised World. Brigia was the location of Blackstone Fortress VI before the start of the Gothic War.Savaven - Cardinal World of the Ecclesiarchy - In the opening of the Gothic War, Savaven was the first planet destroyed by the Chaos Planet Killer starship.Loac - Mining World
Gothic Sector - Lysades Sub-sector: Skagerrak - Mining WorldSicyon - Mining WorldTarantis - Mining World - The entire Tarantis System was destroyed during the Gothic War when Abaddon combined the power of three Blackstone Fortresses to convert the system's star into a supernova whose shockwave destroyed all the worlds in the system.Saviour - Civilised WorldSchindelgeist - Civilised world. Schindelgeist was the location of Blackstone Fortress V before the start of the Gothic War and was also the location of the deciding battle of the conflict which saw the defeat of Abaddon's warfleet.Boetia - Agri-worldVindalex - Forge WorldCorlina - Agri-worldBladen - Hive worldArimaspia - Civilised worldCoimbra - Agri-world
Gothic Sector - Orar Sub-sector: Skargul - Mining WorldHelwurld - Penal WorldBligh - Agri-world201/23/GS/N.35/4 - Uninhabited SystemOrar - Hive WorldAG106/GS/N - Agri-worldCorain - Mining WorldGile's World - Agri-worldAnvil 206 - Hive World - Anvil 206 was the location of Blackstone Fortress II before the start of the Gothic War.D'Gruppa - Mining WorldLemnos - Mining WorldPicus - Agri-world
Gothic Sector - Other Locations: Graildark Nebula - The hiding place of Aeldari pirates during in the Gothic War and still a place with many worlds that needed liberating from the pirates and the Forces of Chaos following the official end of the conflict.Lukitar System - During the Gothic War, the Lukitar System was home to an Adeptus Mechanicus facility on a moon orbiting a gas giant where experimental upgrades were made to Imperial warships. Commodore Vandez, commanding the Imperial Navy's 202 Red Squadron of 4 Sword-class Frigates, discovered that a Chaos warfleet and Blackstone Fortress IV was approaching the system. The Imperial squadron valiantly attempted to defend the facility, concentrating their assaults on Blackstone IV, but the Warp Cannon of the Blackstone Fortress destroyed the moon and the Mechanicus station.Hammerhead Deeps - One home of Chaos raiders following the Gothic War.
Gothic War - Gothic War: The Gothic War, also called the 12th Black Crusade, was a vast military campaign against the Imperium of Man launched by the Warmaster of Chaos Undivided Abaddon the Despoiler and his Black Legion in 139.M41 which lasted until 160.M41. Abaddon managed the rare feat of uniting the disparate forces of the Ruinous Powers under the banner of Chaos Undivided and led his Chaos Space Marines and the rest of the forces of Chaos from the Eye of Terror into realspace where they engulfed the strategically important Gothic Sector of the Imperium in war.The conflict consisted of hundreds of planetary invasions and naval battles and only ended when Abaddon was forced to retreat to the Immaterium with the arrival of Imperial reinforcements. It saw the destruction of several planets and four of the six known xenos constructs called the Blackstone Fortresses, as well as the deaths of billions of Imperial citizens.The Gothic War is the most common name for the wider conflict stimulated by Warmaster Abaddon's 12th Black Crusade against the Imperium. The conflict was fought almost entirely around the Gothic Sector of the Segmentum Obscurus of Imperial space, which was cut off by Warp storms generated by the Ruinous Powers from all contact or communication with the rest of the Imperium for almost a solar decade.The 21-standard-year-long war resulted in billions of casualties, at least one Imperial world was completely obliterated, many starships were destroyed and some very important Imperial personages were killed or incapacitated. Most significantly, the events of the Gothic War revealed the true nature and purpose of the ancient spaceborne alien artefacts known to the Imperium as the Blackstone Fortresses.The Gothic War was the primary setting for the specialist tabletop wargame Battlefleet Gothic and the PC game Battlefleet Gothic Armada.
Gothic War - Battle of Blackstone IV: The initial Chaos attacks struck at important Imperial installations such as Adeptus Mechanicus Forge Worlds and orbital naval bases used by Battlefleet Gothic. Of the 17 such bases in the Gothic Sector, six of them were founded upon the Blackstone Fortresses. The Blackstone Fortresses were immense defensive bases constructed millions of standard years before by an unknown alien hand that had remained dormant since their discovery by the Imperium in the 32nd Millennium. Even with most of their poorly-understood systems inactive, the Blackstone Fortresses had been transformed into incomparable Navis Imperialis bases. After extensive refitting by the Adeptus Mechanicus, with Imperial defence turrets and primary weapons systems added, the Blackstone Fortresses' defensive capabilities rivalled those of the Naval Command stations at Port Maw itself. It was the pride of Battlefleet Gothic that no Blackstone Fortress had ever been taken by an enemy.This was to change at the Rebo System, where the Imperial naval base Blackstone IV orbited that system's fifth world. A Chaotic warfleet, probably led by Abaddon the Despoiler himself, struck at Rebo V. The Imperial starships on station put up a ferocious defence, but were ultimately overwhelmed by the size of the fleet facing them. Twenty capital ships, including two Despoiler-class Battleships and a score of Escorts, swept through Rebo's outer system defences and attacked Blackstone IV.The battle was short and bloody -- just as the Chaos fleet approached within range of the fortress, Blackstone IV's power systems shut down completely. With its energy grid down, the fortress' guns were unable to fire, the armoured gates to the fighter bays could not be opened and the personnel on board were defenceless. Soon after this turn of events was transmitted in a final message by the station's Chief Astropath, Blackstone IV fell to the invaders. There was no more word out from the Rebo System and it was assumed as a matter of course that the Chaos forces had left no Imperial survivors. The Battle of Blackstone IV was to be the first of a number of critical blows unleashed by Chaos that imperiled Imperial forces right from the start of the conflict.
Gothic War - The Death of Savaven: Even as the Warmaster Abaddon pushed home Chaos' attack at Rebo, more disaster befell the Loyalist defenders of the Gothic Sector. At the world of Savaven, a Cardinal World of the Ecclesiarchy, the few system defence ships could do little to protect the planet against a new and unprecedentedly powerful Chaos starship. Simply called the Planet Killer, this monolithic starship bristled with gun decks, Lance batteries and torpedo launch systems. As the Defence Monitors withdrew from its implacable advance, the Planet Killer made orbit over Savaven. Drawing upon unimaginable resources of power, the massive vessel unleashed an energy beam from a number of ports on its surface that lasted for almost thirty minutes and cracked the very crust of the planet. The bolt bored its way through miles of the planet's crust and seared through the molten mantle beneath. As the attack finished, the magma surged forth through the continent-sized wound the blast had made in the planet's crust, breaking Savaven apart from within. The oceans boiled, the ice caps melted and whole continents sunk beneath the blazing tidal wave of molten rock vomited forth. Savaven was blown out of its natural orbit by this titanic release of geothermal energy and eventually simply imploded into millions of rocky fragments. Only an incredibly dense asteroid field now lies in orbit of the star where Savaven once circled. There were 14 billion people living on Savaven, all of whom died in less than a solar hour.The effect on Imperial morale of this new weapon unleashed by Chaos was predictably devastating. All had heard of an order of Exterminatus being carried out upon a world by the Inquisition or the Space Marines using cyclonic fusion torpedoes, virus-bombs or mass drivers, but to know the enemy had the ability to destroy an entire planet from the inside out, not just all life upon its surface, was the most chilling thought that any Imperial crewman or soldier had ever faced. As the Navis Imperialis reeled at this news, Inquisitor Horst was left wondering if this was the power that had been gained from the forces of Chaos' possession of the Hand of Darkness and the Eye of Night.
Gothic War - The Eldar Problem: A constant irritant for Lord Admiral Cornelius von Ravensburg, the overall commander of Battlefleet Gothic, was the presence of a large number of Eldar in the Gothic Sector, making swift forays as raiders from their hiding places within the Graildark Nebula. It is believed by the Inquisition that an Eldar Craftworld was in the sector during the war, though there were no confirmed sightings and its location was never successfully determined. Of the pirate forces plaguing the Imperium, the Eldar force called the Executioners became highly active as the Gothic War progressed, until the number of their raids and attacks had increased from only three in 143.M41 to dozens by 147.M41. Unable to track the advanced Eldar starships back to their base and strongly suspecting that they were connected in some way to the elusive Craftworld located in the sector, Ravensburg could do little to defend against the xenos and it was up to individual Imperial battlegroup commanders to decide how best to stand against such slippery foes.Not only the Eldar preyed upon the transports and merchantmen of the Imperium. Bands of human pirates, Chaos Renegades from the Eye of Terror and even the vessels of other alien species all increased their activity as the anarchy caused by the Chaotic invasion spread across the sector. Called Wolf Packs by the Imperial naval officers who chased them, these roving bands of small vessels hunted the starships and convoys of anybody and everybody in the sector. The Navis Imperialis was fighting two enemies: the Chaos warfleets and the Ork, human and Eldar pirates that had always been a threat to Imperial shipping even before the Gothic War began. Everywhere, the Imperial forces were on the defensive, driven from planet after planet and system after system. Losses were high and Imperial shipyards and orbital space stations fought a battle with one another over the restricted supply of materiel and manpower. Darkness seemed to be falling with increasing swiftness over the Gothic Sector.
Gothic War - Abaddon and the Blackstone Fortresses (144.M41): The Imperium was beset by many Chaos warfleets led by individual Warmasters (estimates at the time ranged from 8 enemy warfleets to 20 or more). Each was a rival to any battlegroup Lord Admiral Ravensburg could muster. One in particular, led by Abaddon the Despoiler himself, posed the greatest threat of all. With the threat of the Despoiler's Planet Killer looming over them, many Imperial worlds chose to surrender without a fight. Multiple Sub-sectors fell out of Imperial control and with them a number of void shipyards and orbital docks. As the Imperium faced increasing difficulties in repairing its own vessels, building new ones became ever more unlikely. With their critical early strikes, the Forces of Chaos might well have won the war before it had even started.There remained some hope for the Navis Imperialis in the form of an Adeptus Mechanicus facility located on a desolate moon orbiting the gas giant in the Lukitar System. The Tech-priests there had already been researching the wisdom of their predecessors in order to uncover knowledge that would help them develop more powerful weapon systems, more efficient starship drives and better Void Shield generators. A few Imperial vessels were outfitted with these improved systems, but the results were never entirely satisfactory. Before these issues could be resolved, Abaddon's armada arrived. Commodore Vandez, commanding the 202 Red Squadron which consisted of four Sword-class Frigates, was among the first Imperial vessels to sight the Despoiler since his attack on Blackstone IV.The Commodore could not believe the size of the Chaos armada. Several Renegade capital ships headed in-system with a dozen Escorts, and with them was a Blackstone Fortress. Outmatched, Vandez was forced to make a fighting withdrawal in the face of such overwhelming firepower, leaving behind what remained of Lukitar Station. The captured Blackstone Fortress proved impregnable to the weapons of those few Imperial vessels who managed to fight through to attack it. The captured Blackstone Fortress pummelled Lukitar Station to rubble, taking only a few minutes to destroy it with all its armaments brought to bear. Commodore Vandez's squadron proceeded to Brinaga where Blackstone VI was stationed, as he believed the Renegades would attempt to capture another of the Blackstones. But even with Vandez's warning, there were few available warships left to defend Blackstone VI. As with the capture of the first Fortress, the Chaotic forces possessed some means of controlling the Blackstone Fortresses from afar, and proved able to shut down its power systems and turn it into a death trap for the tens of thousands of Imperial personnel aboard. The Brinaga System fell to Abaddon four months after the attack on Lukitar.
Gothic War - Immeasurable Power: While Lord Admiral Ravensburg pondered the many military and logistical problems facing his isolated sector, he was visited by Inquisitor Horst. What passed between them was never recorded, though it is widely believed that the revered Inquisitor told Ravensburg of the Hand of Darkness and the Eye of Night. A plan was formulated to try to recapture the Blackstone Fortresses by covert means rather than open attack. However, before this plan achieved any visible results, news came through of another assault by Abaddon's fleet, this time at Blackstone I in the Fularis System. The personal log of First Lieutenant Elijah Borgia of the Vindictive was recovered from the hulk of that warship, found floating towards the Fularis star. Within its pages the young lieutenant recounted the horrors he had witnessed first-hand when they faced the Despoiler's fleet.At first the Imperials were optimistic as Abaddon's fleet had attacked from the other side of Fularis II, which meant that they would have to dare the orbital and planetary defence systems of that world to reach Blackstone I. The Imperial forces had recently upgraded their weapons at Fularis II for just such an occurrence and they doubted that even with two Blackstone Fortresses in his possession the Despoiler would survive their assault. But Borgia's early optimism was to be cruelly shattered as once again, Abaddon rendered the Imperial Navy's defences woefully ineffective. The two Blackstones took up station some seventy-five thousand leagues from Fularis II and just out of range of the world's weapons platforms, except for the torpedo launchers. An energy surge was soon picked up between the two Fortresses. Other recovered evidence pointed towards an energy beam being unleashed towards Fularis II. The Vindictive was caught full-on, her shields overloaded instantly and her outer hull vaporised as the energy wave passed over the ship. Fularis II was later found with its atmosphere stripped off and the surface scoured to a rocky plain. Of Blackstone I, there was no sign.
Gothic War - The War Continues (144-149.M41): Across the entire Gothic Sector the Chaos and Imperial fleets clashed. For five standard years the battles continued, with the death toll on both sides rising into the millions. Planets were invaded and recaptured, fleets ambushed, bases attacked and all the while the sector was isolated from any outside help. The Navis Imperialis fought desperately to hold back the growing tide of Chaotic warships that spilled into the Gothic Sector. In some areas, the Emperor's forces were hurled back by the ferocity of their foes, while other regions, protected by more skilled or experienced battlegroup commanders, held out against the initial impetus of the Chaotic attack. It is impossible to chart exactly the ebb and flow of the battle and the many worlds that changed hands multiple times during the period of fiercest fighting. By 147.M41, the Lysades Sub-sector was almost entirely overrun and Chaotic starships held sway in over a dozen star systems surrounding Port Maw. However, in the Cyclops Cluster the Orks gave the Chaos vessels stiff resistance and from staging points in the Quinrox Sound, the Imperial fleet launched many counter-attacks, pushing back the spread of Chaos for months before being forced to turn their attention to incursions elsewhere.Attacks from the Orks, Eldar and Human pirates in the Gothic Sector occurred with greater frequency as the Imperial Navy and the Renegades duelled across the stars. With the watchful eye of the Imperial Navy elsewhere, these pirates had almost free reign, capturing convoys and launching raiding parties that sacked cities on a dozen worlds, which resulted in tens of millions dying from disease and starvation. Those Imperial convoys that somehow managed to get through safely inevitably found themselves facing enemy warships prowling through their destination systems, blockading all craft entering and establishing a stranglehold on the worlds they besieged. On the Hive World of Stranivar three hive cities, with inhabitants running into a hundred billion souls, were overcome with rioting due to the shortages of drinkable water. With no incoming supplies, the world's own recycling centres were unable to cope and nearly ninety percent of the population died from dehydration before the next convoy managed to break through the Chaotic blockade. The orbital docks and shipyards were frequently starved of supplies and warships which put in for repairs and re-arming were often sent into battle with only makeshift refits and half-empty magazines.
Gothic War - The Pirate's Haven: While Lord Ravensburg's forces struggled with the warfleets of the Chaotic Warmasters, the Imperial fleet made significant progress against another deadly foe. A rough confederacy of nearly two dozen pirate bands had gathered in the Quinrox Sound. This sizable pirate armada had become a serious threat to the security of shipping in the Sub-sector. Lord Admiral Ravensburg, unable to turn his attention from stemming the Chaos incursion, ordered Fleet-Admiral Mourndark to deal with the pirates in any way he saw fit. Mourndark drew warships from battlegroups across the sector, including five capital ships: the Sword of Orion, Havock, Uziel, Fortitude and the fearsome Cypra Probatii. The Fleet-Admiral also took command of the 24th Destroyer Squadron ("Widowmakers"), the 1st Frigate Echelon ("Eagle Claws") and a Sword-class Frigate of the Anvil 206 Patrol Flotilla.With a large convoy of empty transports, Mourndark lured the pirates into attacking. When the Imperial warships counter-attacked, Mourndark ordered that at least one of the Renegades be allowed to escape. With the aid of the Master Navigator Absalom Draal, Mourndark and his fleet were able to follow the surviving pirates back to their lair in the Barbarus Costa System. Confident in the knowledge that they were safe in their den, the pirates had given little thought to defences. The Imperial attack came as a total surprise, as Mourndark annihilated the pirates to a man. With a large proportion of the pirates dealt with in one blow, Ravensburg was able to concentrate his forces on fighting back against the Chaos warfleets once again.
Gothic War - The Destruction of Tarantis: Abaddon, like his rival Ravensburg, was loath to contemplate defeat or to give up what he had won. With 2, possibly 3, Blackstone Fortresses under his command, it was the Despoiler who still presented the greatest threat to the Gothic Sector. Just how much of a threat was not realised until the attack on the Tarantis System. Located on the edge of the Gothic Sector, it was a common gathering ground for starships entering or leaving the region from the Tamahl Sector, and so it was there that the Despoiler determined that he would stem the flow of Imperial reinforcements from entering the sector. Abaddon's main fleet, accompanied by all 3 of the missing Blackstone Fortresses, swept aside the few Imperial warships close to where it broke from the Warp. Closing rapidly into the system, the Cruisers and Battleships of the Chaotic armada punched a hole through the defenders to allow the Blackstone Fortresses to break through. Countless millions of Navis Imperialis personnel and Astra Militarum died, planets were destroyed and an uncountable number of innocents perished as the two mighty fleets clashed, but what happened next was to totally eclipse all the horrific events of the war thus far.Once again, the Blackstones combined their power together in the same fashion as they had done at Fularis, unleashing a massive energy wave into the Tarantis Star. With their objective complete, the Chaos warships conducted a fighting withdrawal and then jumped into Warpspace once more. As the Tarantis Star raged and boiled for over a month, its corona expanded to engulf the two nearest worlds. Any that could leave fled the system, but to evacuate the populations of three worlds was an impossible task. Four weeks after Abaddon's attack, Tarantis' star went nova, wiping out everything for many thousands of billions of miles in every direction in a storm of gas and superheated plasma. The entire star system was no more and the Despoiler now possessed the power to unleash this destruction wherever he wished.
Gothic War - The Trap Is Sprung: As the war continued, Lord Ravensburg firmly believed that Abaddon would attempt to capture the remaining three Blackstone Fortresses, but he had no idea against which one the Despoiler would strike next. Imperial and Eldar starships hunted for the elusive Chaos fleet for six months through long-forgotten star systems in a desperate bid to find Abaddon and his horrific weapons. Then the forces opposing Abaddon received a major breakthrough when the Eldar located Abaddon's fleet in the Lower Lysades and were able to use their sophisticated starships to trail him through the Warp. From his course it was clear that Abaddon was preparing to launch an attack on Schindelgheist, where Blackstone V floated in the depths of space. Leaving only a few vessels to deal with the other Chaos fleets, Ravensburg and the Eldar raced to reach Schindelgheist before Abaddon. Utilising ancient Warp Gates shown to them by the Eldar, the Imperial Admirals sped across the sector and arrived five days before the Despoiler was due to arrive in the area. The Imperial ships and Eldar lay in wait, awaiting the arrival of the Chaos fleet.When the traitorous ships finally arrived, they were outnumbered and caught by surprise, leaving them little choice but to die fighting. For three days the two mighty fleets battled, inflicting horrendous casualties on both sides. But for all their ferocity, the Chaos ships simply could not match the forces arrayed against them. As the third day of the fighting drew to its bloody conclusion, Abaddon once more broke the Blackstone Fortresses through the Imperial defence and headed towards the system's primary star. Ravensburg ordered all available ships to intercept them, though he knew there was little he could do to stop the behemoths. Only the Flame of Purity was close enough to attack, but the Battlecruiser's weapons were woefully ineffective against the huge stations. Linked again by powerful energy beams, the Fortresses built up the required power for another cataclysmic attack. Seeing no other options, in a supreme act of valour and ultimate sacrifice, Captain Abridal ordered all power to the shields and drove the Flame of Purity into the middle of the converging energy waves. The ship was destroyed almost instantly, scattered into its constituent molecules. However, the detonation had expended the Fortresses' power and, as Abridal had hoped, the Blackstone Fortresses would take some time to accumulate the energy required for another attack. Luckily, time was something that Abaddon had finally run out of.