vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Necromunda (Planet) - Hive Mortis: Like the great dynastic houses that rule them, Necromunda's hive cities can rise and fall in their fortunes. Hive Mortis is a victim of its own success. Once an industrial lynchpin of the world's equatorial hive city clusters, it enjoyed great favour among the planetary elite. Its high yield of machine goods brought its rulers wealth and an enviable place among the Imperial Tithe standings. Millions of workers once filled its tunnels and domes with the ceaseless sound of their toil, while the Great Houses fought over the fruits of their labour.The first shadows of disaster were subtle in their coming -- a sickness that slowly infected the underclasses and winnowed away their numbers. At first the deaths were lost among the attrition of the work clans, discounted as seasonal spikes in mortality, but soon even the house masters could not deny their meaning. Plague had come to their hive city.When word reached Lord Helmawr, his reaction was swift, and Hive Mortis was sealed by Imperial order. For Terran years the plague ravaged the hive, and soon the dead outnumbered the living. In the chaos, the Great Houses strove for power as they fought bitterly over what was left. As battle raged, whole sections of the hive had to be sealed off, tunnels stacked floor to ceiling with corpses. Eventually the sickness abated, having burned itself out after devouring more than twenty million souls. In his benevolence, Lord Helmawr rescinded his order and allowed the hive city to open its gates once more.Hive Mortis is a changed place that thrives no longer upon the creation of machines, but rather the industry of death. With their massive Human resources gone, the ruling Great Houses turned to the only thing they had in abundance -- the dead. Mortuary cults were created, and manufactoria turned to the harvesting and breaking down of corpses.House Escher has risen to dominance among its Clan House peers in Hive Mortis, extracting and fermenting drugs from bodies -- though their "death-maiden" gangs do not go unchallenged. The houses still fight just as furiously as they did when Hive Mortis was at the height of its power, though the tempo of battle has changed.Small communities shelter in the empty vastness of domes and levels constructed to house millions, their citizens still fearful of travellers and the return of the plague. Gangs rove this wasteland of hollow hab-blocks and abandoned sectors, fighting over vaults packed with corpses or else trying to force their way into sealed chambers to plunder the desiccated wealth within.
Necromunda (Planet) - Gothrul's Needle: Hive Primus holds a monopoly on off-world trade and is Necromunda's gateway to the stars, its keys held tightly in the hands of Lord Gerontius Helmawr. It was not always so. Gothrul's Needle, its spire rivalling the height of Hive Primus, was one of Necromunda's first spaceports, and its upper levels are still festooned with docking platforms and terminus stations for orbital craft. Yet it was not just because of its place as a trade rival to Hive Primus and the ascendancy of the Palatine Cluster that Gothrul's fortunes were seized upon.Gothrul's Needle is ruled by that most dangerous and pernicious of governmental forms: democracy. A council of elected representatives control the interests of the hive city and regulate the activities of the Great Houses, ensuring the fair treatment of its citizens and safety for all. Considered as insidious as any xenos threat or Chaos Cult infestation, the Great Houses of other hives have tried for many Terran years to bring down the rulers of Gothrul. When cutting them off from orbital trade did not diminish their wealth and power, the Great Houses then began a long shadow war. Gangs and gang warfare are prohibited by the Gothrul Council, and the Clan Houses are only tolerated to exist upon the proviso that they keep their populations in check.Even so, criminal elements run rife in the lower levels of the hive, and Gothrul's citizen protection officers -- the hive city's volunteer Enforcer cadres -- are constantly tested. House Delaque is a principle player in the destabilisation of Gothrul's Needle, its subservient gangs routinely committing acts of sabotage and murder. From the sump-choked depths of the hive, Sych Guvros, the most powerful of the Delaque overlords, wages his war of terror. His gangers raid the upper levels, attacking hab parks and exchange plazas, each one a blow against the Gothrul Council.Guvros has become a legend among his house, and scores of Delaque gangs have come from other hives to join his fight. Though the democratic council of Gothrul might be the Great Houses' ultimate enemy, it does not stop them fighting among themselves -- especially if the perceived fall of the hive city government draws near, they all want to be ready to swoop in and claim as much power as they can.Some gangs even fight on the side of Gothrul, hoping to tip the scales back against their rivals, should any of them seem too close to claiming final victory. Thus the shadow war for Gothrul's Needle rages on, never quite finding resolution.
Necromunda (Planet) - Badzones: The bulk of Hive Primus is dominated by "Hive City," the collective term for the thousands of districts, domes and manufactoria; a chaotic press of billions of souls all working ceaselessly for the nobles of the Great Houses above.As hellish as life on the streets of Hive City is, however, transit within it remains relatively safe and easy, the millions of industrial helots going about their daily labours heedless of the horrors that beset those who live below the Wall.Not so in the underhive. Among the ruined foundations of the hive settlements are beacons of light and relative safety among collapsed domes, abandoned industries and rubble-choked wastelands. Beyond their walls, starving predators prowl the shadows and ancient machines rumble like dying gods in the dark. These are the "Badzones."Travellers crossing these regions keep to well-used routes watchful for bandits and monsters, or else take backways and risk sludge rivers, toxic pits and carnivorous fungi. Only Merchant Guilder caravans can cross the Badzones with any degree of certainty, hiring local gangs or itinerant Bounty Hunters to ensure the trade roads are kept open.Settlements rely upon these trade routes and the Merchant Guilders for their survival, each one a gossamer thread across the Ash Wastes and a lifeline to the inhabitants of the underhive.
Necromunda (Planet) - Sludge Seas: The vast effluvia of the hive cities has been dumped into the surrounding territories, sometimes creating vast seas of sludge and stinking sewage now known as the "sludge seas."This effluent has ensured a relatively fertile farming environment and fairly bountiful fungus harvests.Many underhive outcasts leave the hives to take up residence on the sludge seas, becoming fungi farmers who trade their products to passing ash waste nomads and back to the inhabitants of the underhives.
Necromunda (Planet) - The Shanties: Clustered at the outer edge of the shells of the spires are vast sprawls of ramshackle shanty towns. They are inhabited by all kinds of Human scum unsuited to life within the hives.The spires, at least, offer a limited protection against the poisoned rains and corrosive ash of the world -- the best shelter a shanty dweller can hope for is one or two layers of packing material or an abandoned vehicle. To make matters worse, much of the manufactoria's toxic effluent pours directly down onto the shanties.If a shanty remains in existence for any length of time and somehow escapes being swept away by a storm or incinerated by hive authorities, the inhabitants will excavate caves and cellars into the solidified sludge and compacted dust.These dwellings can be reinforced by sludge baked by the sun into crude bricks. By retreating into these refuges, some shanty dwellers survive the ash storms that sweep away the more flimsy parts of their homes.When the storm abates, they force their way through the wind-blown dust to the surface and attempt to rebuild the shanty out of the wreckage of the old one.Conditions in the shanties are worse than anything in the hive cities, yet for most shanty dwellers even their crude home is preferable to wandering the ash wastes, where they would fall victim to the creatures and nomads -- if the heat, corrosive dust and freak storms did not get them first!Aside from periodic population control clearances, no one from the hives bothers shanty dwellers very much -- they have little worth taking. Furthermore, the sprawling settlements are a temporary home to vicious gangs of shanty-dweller scavies and ash waste nomad bands who come periodically to the shanty to trade.
Necromunda (Planet) - Great Web of Necromunda: Necromunda is a world forever balanced on the edge of anarchy. Only the strength of the Imperial House and the holy writ of the Imperium it wields holds the hive cities and their warring factions together.In the shadow of Lord Gerontius Helmawr's rule, the Great Houses prosper even as they vie for position among themselves, often fighting proxy wars through the Clan Houses, who in turn are in constant competition for the attentions of their betters.Such a state of conflict without regulation could (and has, at various points across the millennia) tear the peace of Necromunda apart, leading to a complete collapse of the system, the death of hive cities, and, worst of all, a failure to meet the Imperial Tithe.To understand how order on Necromunda is maintained, one must first understand the nature of the relationships between the houses, or as it is oftenknown -- the "Great Web." If it can be imagined, all of Necromunda is a spider's web, connecting every hive, house and powerful lord, with the ruling Imperial House sitting at its centre.Like a great spider, Lord Helmawr dwells at the heart of the web, connected to the world by a thousand, thousand strands, each one a noose wrapped around the throats of his people. It is a position he and his long line of ancestors have commanded for almost seven standard millennia, and one that theHouse of Helmawr shows no signs of relinquishing.Surrounding the centre of the web are the strands that make up the Great Houses. The Great Houses are the hereditary rulers of Necromunda and owners of its industries and people. At the close of the 41st Millennium seven noble houses stand within this elite circle, notably House Helmawr, House Ran Lo, House Ko'iron, House Ulanti, House Catallus, House Greim and House Ty.Of course, over the centuries, noble houses have come and gone, and this number has grown or diminished as the fortunes of the hive cities have waxed and waned, though few can believe that there was ever a time when Helmawr did not hold the title of Imperial House.Just as the Great Houses cluster close to the heart of the web, perhaps dreaming of the day when one of them will claim the title of Imperial House, the Clan Houses are its outer strands, forever reaching, fighting and expanding.The Clan Houses are the feudal vassals to the noble houses, paying a tithe for the right to mine regions, use hive manufactorums or travel the ash roads owned by one of the Great Houses.All of Necromunda's production comes from their toil, with each of the six major Clan Houses: House Escher, House Goliath, House Van Saar, House Delaque, House Cawdor and House Orlock -- working the countless manufactoria and mines of the world to meet Lord Helmawr's punishing quotas.Because the clans are constantly at war, fighting for new territories and industries, they rarely deal directly with each other, unless it is over the barrel of a gun.And then there is the Merchants Guild.
Necromunda (Planet) - Merchants Guild: The Merchants Guild makes up the thin strands that hold the Great and Clan Houses of Necromunda together. Within the Great Web, they are the connections along which all trade flows, and all oaths of coin are made.Unlike the clans and noble houses, the Merchants Guild did not seize their power through hereditary right or force of arms -- in fact they did not seize power at all.Over the centuries, they have laid claim to the spaces left between the Great Houses and their vassals among the Clan Houses, brokering deals between clans who will not speak with each other, or ensuring trade flows smoothly even when open gang war is tearing a hive city apart.In time, as the power of the Merchants Guild grew, Lord Gerontius Helmawr recognised their importance to Necromunda and ratified their claims to power, granting charters to certain families.This authority to handle the vital resources of the hive city does not extend to ownership of land, and Merchants Guild families rarely have permanent territories, instead constantly travelling between settlements as nomadic traders.Though the inhabitants of Necromunda might occasionally refer to the Merchants Guild as a single entity, it is in fact made up of dozens of sub-factions, many of which are powerful bodies in their own right. To the citizens of Hive Primus they are the Water Guild, the Corpse Farmers or any of the many other names that the individual arms of the Merchants Guild go by.Often these factions are simply referred to as "Guilders," a term synonymous with trade. Officially, each aspect of the Merchants Guild is known as a"Mercator," the High Gothic word for a mercantile conclave. This is combined with the High Gothic term for their area of dominion and operations.For instance, the Corpse Guild, which oversees the processing of Necromunda's dead and the creation of corpse-starch, is known officially as the "Mercator Pallidus."The power of the individual guilds varies from hive to hive, often depending on local resources. In the shadow of the spoil, the Iron Guild regulates miners and prospectors. On the Sulphurous Sea it is the Guild of Salts, while in the suffocating depths of Big Hole, Air Guild Zephermen ply their trade.In Hive Primus, there are thousands of Guilder families and dozens of guilds, though only eight hold the greatest measure of the Merchants Guild's power. These are the Promethium Guild, the Water Guild, the Corpse Guild, the Slave Guild, the Guild of Coin, the Electro Guild, the Iron Guild and the Air Guild.Collectively, they are known in the Palantine Cluster as the "Great Guilds" and little business is done within the walls of Hive Primus without their knowledge.
Necromunda (Planet) - Promethium Guild (Mercator Pyros): The Promethium Guild, sometimes known as the "Torch Bearers," the "Pyre Makers" or the "Guild of Flame," controls the light and power of Hive Primus.They deal primarily in promethium, a catch-all term in the Imperium for a liquid fuel often made of hydrocarbons or various isotopes of hydrogen, and the principal fuel for a hive city and the settlements of the underhive.The guild lays claim to all burnable liquids and fuels. This they measure out to the Clan Houses and hive settlements, their pipes and caravans a lifeline for hivers against the prospect of eternal darkness.Promethium is extracted from pockets of industrial effluvium refined over the millennia beneath the Ash Wastes, and it is a potent source of power and oneof the elements of life for those who hope to survive in the cold darkness of the deep hive.In some hives, the agents of the Promethium Guild are almost a religious order, worshipping the eternal flame as an aspect of the Emperor.This flame is kept alight, sometimes by the same family for generations, and carried with them on their nomadic journey. When such a flame is brought into a settlement, it is a great occasion for the inhabitants, it being a great honour to light furnaces or engines from its perpetual fire.The major rivals of the Promethium Guild are the Electro Guilds, who control electricity, geo-thermal heat and even sunlight. Within each hive city one or the other of these guilds will usually be in ascendancy, determining whether the inhabitants use electricity or liquid fuel to keep their domes alight.Within Hive Primus, the Promethium Guild long ago ousted the other power guilds by restricting the use of other kinds of energy to the Great Houses and specific manufactoria sectors.This, combined with the abundance of promethium within the Palantine Cluster, has ensured their dominance for solar decades.
Necromunda (Planet) - Water Guild (Mercator Nautica): Water is an incredibly valuable commodity on Necromunda, from the imported quantum-spun ice water sipped by the nobles to the vast quantities of sluice run-off that are essential to many of the bulk industrial processes. In between this is the recycled water that most of the populace survive on, and no one wants to think too long on where that comes from.The Water Guild, known colloquially as the "Guild of Thirst" or "Nauticans," controls every drop of drinkable liquid to drip down the hive beneath the spire. It also falls to the guild to maintain the great cisterns of Hive Primus.These vast tanks are filled with billions of litres of water to slake the thirst of the hive city, and meet the cooling and cleaning needs of the manufactoria.Maintaining and defending these cisterns falls to the Water Guild. Guilders encased in heavy dive suits enter these flooded chambers to test the invariablymixed quality of the water, repair leaks (which, if left unattended, could drown entire domes) and clear out the inevitable infestations of creatures.Water Guild agents and caravans are festooned in bottles and canisters, their precious cargo sloshing about as they traverse the hive. In the underhive,where locals must often survive on the meagre output of their water stills, the Water Guild is a lifeline.Some settlements, especially those surviving out in the Badzones, rely completely on the Guild for their survival, and the delay of a water caravan by even a few solar days can spell disaster.Pipes and cisterns are of special concern to the Water Guild, many bearing their symbol, warning away water thieves on pain of surgical dehydration.Woe to the settlement that crosses the Water Guild, lest they find their dome cut off to die in a desert of rust and ash.
Necromunda (Planet) - Corpse Guild (Mercator Pallidus): The Corpse Guild regulates the trade and production of corpse-starch. This is one of the most important roles of all the Great Guilds, as millions of people are born and die each day on Necromunda.Without the orderly disposal of corpses, plague and disease would run rampant. Without the food source that these corpses provide when rendered down in the great corpse grinder plants that dominate entire sectors in every hive city, the populace would starve.The Corpse Guild gathers up thousands of dead each cycle, filling their mortuary caravans with piled bodies, or rendering them down in mobile grinding automata.Few other guilds have ever challenged the power of the Corpse Guild, for the power of death hangs heavy upon them and Humans, even on a world such as Necromunda, cling to its ancient superstitions.Some believe it is bad luck to even look upon the face of a Corpse Guilder, and when word reaches a settlement of their approach, the guild often arrives to find every door and window shut tight with only bodies laid out neatly on the streets to greet them.
Necromunda (Planet) - Slave Guild (Mercator Sanguis): Within the brutal hierarchy of Hive Primus there are those who are not fortunate enough to be born into servitude to one of the Clan Houses. These people are little more than serfs, resources with no more rights than a servitor. They are bought and sold by the million, claimed as the spoils of war,ownership of them sometimes changing without them even realizing.The Slave Guild oversees all such transactions, from the selling of individual chained-gangs, enslaved gangers who do only their master's bidding, to trading ownership of entire manufactorums -- which come with their workers included!The rattle of chains and cages heralds the arrival of the Slave Guild, its agents always carrying hefty lengths of chain or complex shackle webs with which to transport their goods.When a ganger is sold to the Guilders it is to the Slavers they go, the guild specialising in finding the right buyer for such merchandise -- whether it is working the forge, fighting in the pits or sold to an uphiver as a curiosity.The Slave Guild also holds dominion over much of Hive Primus' gambling and gladiatorial combat. Some Clan Houses, most notably House Goliath, have heavy stakes in such enterprises, but even they must deal with the Slavers if they want to see their champions reach the arena.Pit slaves are a highly valuable commodity in most hives, each one augmented with cyber-weaponry, psycho-conditioning andextensive combat training.Most hive settlements have an arena or fighting pit, ranging from the gleaming gladatoriums of the upper hive to actual pits lined with rusting spikesin the depths of the underhive.These locations make for the focal points of a community, people gathering to watch executions and bloody pit fights. And the Guild is always there to take their cut.
Necromunda (Planet) - Guild of Coin (Mercator Gelt): Few individuals may travel a hive city freely, as most citizens are destined to spend their lives bound to the levels in which they were born. One of the ancient rights given to the Merchants Guild is the freedom to traverse Necromunda in the execution of their business, and extract coin from other travellers.The Guild of Coin are the gatekeepers of the hive cities of Necromunda and the roads between them, overseeing the transportation of all terrestrial cargo and even a portion of the goods sent out through the Eye of Selene to the greater Necromundan solar cluster.Masters of Coin forge keys for the Clan House convoys, each token a powerful seal allowing passage past the many waystations, ash gates and hive fortresses through which a convoy must pass.The key is a potent symbol of the Guild of Coin, and each Master of Coin carries with them staves, rings and shackles hung with keys of all shapes and sizes; each one cast from the steel of a different hive or stone of a different road, and granting rites of passage for the Guilder who bears it.
Necromunda (Planet) - Electro Guild (Mercator Lux): The Electro Guild, often simply referred to as "the Grid," regulates and brokers electrical power on Necromunda in all its forms, from geo-thermal heat to sunlight. These Guilders measure out kilojoules and lumens, ensuring the efficient transmission of power and light from source to destination.Every sparking joule of power must be accounted for so that the appropriate fees can be exacted for all who draw power from the hive city's thermal core. Agents clad in luminous garb and carrying flickering electro-lanterns are the heralds of the Grid, their entourages lighting up the underhive like stars traversing the night sky.If a settlement, manufactorum or hab block wants to keep the lights on and their people warm, then it is to the Electro Guild they must go.The main rival of the Electro Guild is the Promethium Guild, the two often waging bitter trade wars, with different gangs and factions backing each one in different parts of Hive Primus or different regions of Necromunda.The ruling Imperial House of Helmawr does not officially back either guild, but benefits greatly from their endless conflicts and continued struggle over Necromunda's limited energy resources.
Necromunda (Planet) - Air Guild (Mercator Temperium): The Air Guild controls the flow of breathable air through the hive cities of Necromunda. Within the iron mountains of the hives, where air pools and stagnates in domes, passages and caverns, and the air beyond the skin of the hive is threaded with toxins and pollutants, this guild holds the threads of life itself.Every turbine and ventilation shaft, air refiner and smoke vent is controlled by the guild, either directly, or by the cut they take from those that run them. By their command entire sectors of the hives can choke, freeze, or die slowly from breathing tainted air.Agents of the Air Guild often carry small, many-mouthed beasts known as Zephs with them. These vicious little creatures are drawn to fresh air, squeaking and growling when they find a pure vein of oxygen.When a Zeph finds a good source of air it grows in size, the air sacs in its muscles swelling until it becomes a floating monstrosity. The Air Guildenjoys the irony of having air thieves torn apart by packs of Zephs, the creatures growing massive on stolen oxygen.
Necromunda (Planet) - Iron Guild (Mercator Munda): The natural resources that established Necromunda as one of the most productive worlds in the Imperium are long played out, and so the planet's industries are fed by the recycling of the encrusted wastes of countless previous generations.It is the Iron Guild that brokers deals between the mines and the forge, ensuring that a constant supply of reclaimed ores and extracted minerals reach the hive cities. They are the middlemen between the great mining settlements of House Orlock and the mega-forges of House Goliath among others, so the Clan Houses might never have to deal directly with each other, but may still profit from their labours and meet their quotas.Much of the resources overseen by the Iron Guild come from ruined hive cities and the continent-spanning mountain range known as the Spoil. Clad in hazardsuits, these Guilders lead groups of prospectors and accompany Clan House expeditions into perilous regions.If it is hauled out from the Ash Wastes or dredged up from the underhive and sold on the iron markets, the Iron Guild gets a cut, though they preferto get there first and make the claim themselves.Writs are then sold for the right to work a ruin or a region, and all finds are molecular-branded, so that not a single lump of ferrite finds its way to the hives without the guild's knowledge.
Necromunda (Planet) - Clan Houses of Necromunda: Much of the lower hive of the vast arcology of Hive Primus, the Palatine, is controlled by the Clan Houses, also called "Ganger Houses," listed below.The Clan Houses are the vassals of the noble Great Houses who own most of Necromunda's wealth and people, doing the actual work that feeds the nobles' coffers and allows the common people of the Hive World to survive.The Clan Houses pay large tithes to their feudal overlords among the Great Houses for the rights to use the nobles' lands and resources to do their work and make their profits.
Necromunda (Planet) - House Cawdor: House Cawdor is the stronghold of the Cult of Redemption, a group of fanatical believers in the Imperial Creed of the God-Emperor.For this reason all of the gangers allied with House Cawdor wear masks in public to hide their faces from the "infidels" of the other Clan Houses.They are known to hunt mutants and Heretics to the point of fanaticism (part of the Redemptionist influence) which bring them into conflict with gangs who would utilize such forces.
Necromunda (Planet) - House Delaque: Other hivers are justifiably suspicious of House Delaque, who specialise in spying and assassination.Their gangers often wear large trench coats, with large internal pockets for concealing weapons and other large items.Most are bald and extremely pale. Many wear visors, goggles or have cybernetic light filters implanted into their eyes, a sensitivity to light being a common Delaque weakness.Delaque territory is even more dimly lit than the rest of Hive Primus, fitting for a people who are shrouded in mystery.
Necromunda (Planet) - House Escher: Strikingly different from the other Clan Houses, the House Escher population is almost entirely made up of women.The few men that are there are shrivelled and imbecilic and play no part in the normal affairs of the Escher.Men are held in contempt and pitied by the Escher, especially those of House Goliath who are seen as simple, brutish and unsophisticated.
Necromunda (Planet) - House Goliath: Size and physical strength are everything in House Goliath.Their territory is situated in some of the harshest areas of Hive Primus. Their gangers favour mohawks, piercings, thick chains and spiked metal bracers.
Necromunda (Planet) - House Orlock: Also known as the House Iron, these hivers mine ferrous slag pits deep in the hive city's bowels. House Orlock gangers often wear sleeveless jackets and headbands.Recent events have brought them into direct opposition with the Delaques, involving the sabotage of Delaque facilities and an assassination of Lord Hagan Orlock.
Necromunda (Planet) - House Van Saar: House Van Saar is known for the extremely high quality of their Clan House's technical produce. Nobles in the Spire will pay handsomely for Van Saar goods, making them the wealthiest of the noble houses of Hive Primus.The Van Saar are marked out by their tight fitting body-gloves which help to sustain the wearer in the harsh hive environment. Older gangers who serve House Van Saar are often seen sporting a neatly trimmed beard.The Astra Militarum often recruit regiments from the gangers who serve the Van Saar and present their Imperial tithe demands for new Guardsmen to be raised from Necromunda to the head of this Clan House.
Necromunda (Planet) - Imperial Fists: The Imperial Fists Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes retains a presence and a Chapter Keep on Necromunda and uses it as one of its recruiting worlds, alongside Inwit.The male gangers of Necromunda's underhives are considered especially good raw material to become neophytes of the Chapter, if they are recruited early enough in their adolescence to survive the transformation into an Astartes.
Necromunda (Planet) - Cult of the Second Son: The spire-like edifice of Necromunda's Hive Secundus was known for being rich in spirit and enlightenment as well as material wealth, more so even than its peer structure, Hive Primus.Scholars sought to learn the mysteries of the Imperium from its extensive archives, and were so entranced by what they found they never left. But its outward appearance was a sham, for Hive Secundus was under the sway of a vast and frighteningly influential gene-sect of the insidious Genestealer Cults.When this fact finally came to light, the Lord General of Hive Primus ordered the bombing of the rival metropolis with high-yield rad munitions -- so thorough was this bombardment that the entire hive city, built far taller and thinner than its counterparts, toppled onto its side with an immense crash that caused seismic disruptions for hundreds of kilometres around.The entire area was declared quarantine extremis, and the denizens of Necromunda forbidden from even talking about it.Unfortunately for the hive lords, the bombing of the spire and its subsequent toppling did not prove enough to eradicate the cult that lurked at its heart.So hardy and determined were the cultists that hundreds of thousands of them survived, and ventured out once more through the extensive tunnel networks that tendrilled from their old haunts.The underhive gangs of Hive Primus, their interest piqued by the very forbiddal of raids upon the fallen arcology, entered those same tunnels.The troglodytic creatures they found in there were mutated beyond all reason by the baleful emanations of the rad bombs -- and every bit as lethal as the Purestrain Genestealer from which they had been born.
Necron Destroyer - Necron Destroyer: A Necron Destroyer is a deranged agent of annihilation whose sole reason for existence is centred around an unshakeable yearning to quench the flames of life. A Destroyer cares not for borders or dynasty allegiance, nor does he make any distinction between the innocent and the damned -- all life is his enemy, and all living creatures are his prey.To this end, Destroyers regularly engage in modifications to their bodies that other Necrons would consider self-mutilation. This most commonly takes the form of replacing arms with weapons, legs with grav-platforms, and modifying heads and neural circuitry with advanced targeting systems.The result is a single-minded killing machine able to track its quarry across any terrain and under any conditions, that quarry being any biological creature unfortunate enough to draw the Destroyer's attention.The insane Destroyers are shunned and feared even by their fellow Necrons. These outcasts gather on the fringes of Tomb Worlds to form Destroyer Cults of the Red Harvest, said to be led by Necron Lords afflicted with the same madness.These so-called "Destroyer Lords" combine the intellect, cunning, and nigh-invulnerability of a Necron noble with the deadly purpose and enhanced systems of a Destroyer.In essence, a Destroyer is a heavily altered variant of the Necron Immortal. Their torso is fused to a skimming anti-gravity flyer that enables them to attack faster and further than the standard Immortals. Destroyers are equally broad with a more pronounced spine from which their terrible weapons draw their power.Ferociously quick, the most common use for Destroyers is as mobile fire support platforms. Remaining at the forefront of the Necron force's bloody harvest, they reap a heavy toll on the enemy, the speed and ferocity of their attacks undiminished by their antiquity.Destroyers are equipped with a Gauss Cannon that is capable of extensive devastation and is especially effective against light infantry forces. Destroyers are even capable of reliably damaging light armoured vehicles. With their superior anti-gravity technology their mobility equals that of an Eldar Jetbike.
Necron Destroyer - History: Not all Necrons awaken from the Great Sleep as was intended. Some suffer physical damage in the intervening millennia; usually faulty stasis-crypts bring on a slow decay that rots the mechanical Necrodermis body and erodes engrammic pathways and synapses. Others become infected by the Flayer virus and devolve into creatures whose reason is subsumed by an unnatural taste for flesh.Yet there are also those Necrons who awaken from their long slumber with their physical form intact but their psyche torn beyond recovery. Angered and despairing of their soulless existence, these Necrons turn to nihilism.They no longer seek redemption or repatriation with the flesh that was so long lost to them. They wish only to drive all other living things into death's welcoming embrace. These, then, are the Destroyers, the self-appointed heralds of oblivion.What makes the Necron Destroyer so different from other denizens of a Tomb World is not his violent madness alone. Insanity infects many a slumbering Necron, though it rarely takes a dramatic form, but instead merely exacerbates the victim's innate eccentricities.Yet even the lowliest Necron Warrior longs for a return to the Necrontyr's Time of Flesh, and because its physical form is now all that remains to echo the living, breathing, soulful creature it once was, it will under no circumstances tolerate further dilution or corruption of that physical form. Instead, for a Destroyer, everything is subsumed into the all-important goal of annihilation.They ruthlessly adapt, augment or expunge any facet of their physical form if it will improve their mission of slaughter. Legs are removed in favour of anti-gravitic repulsor platforms, arms are fused to the workings of Gauss Cannons. Even the Destroyer's senses are reconfigured to better serve target lock and prediction capability, its neural circuitry repathed to improve response times at the cost of any remaining vestigal Necrontyr emotions.None of this is to say that Destroyers do not feel fear. Though they might explain a retreat away as conserving resources, it is a retreat nonetheless, spurred on by a spark of self-preservation that will never quite be extinguished.What makes the rise of the Destroyers truly disturbing is that they can be found on almost every Tomb World, from the poorest fringeworld to the noblest of Necron dynasty crownworlds. This suggests that the descent into this particular form of madness is driven by a subconscious imperative -- possibly one implanted by the C'tan during the biotransference process millions of Terran years ago.This does not mean Destroyers hail from every level of Necron society. It takes a certain freedom of personality to embrace nihilism with such cold-blooded determination, a level of individuality denied to low-ranking Necrons.Destroyers, therefore, almost without exception, emerge from the ranks of Immortals, the Lychguard and, occasionally, Deathmarks. Most are banished to the outskirts of their Tomb World, dwelling in isolated fortresses ruled over by courts of Destroyer Lords.
Necron Destroyer - Role: A Destroyer's chilling dedication to destruction is a valuable addition to any Necron dynasty's army. On most campaigns, their brutal efficiency more than compensates for the almost habitual insubordination with which they treat other Necrons of all ranks.The canniest and most thorough nemesors make a direct point of building campaigns around the actions of Destroyers, rather than making doomed attempts to enforce their own battle plan on these twisted warriors.So long as a Destroyer knows that there are other forms of life in their vicinity, it will direct its baleful attention upon their destruction, and has no intellect or focus to spare for such irrelevancies as orders and strategy.Once the enemy is in sight, Destroyers pay little or no heed to their allies, but instead settle into optimised and self-sufficient extermination patterns: shattering enemy formations with long range salvoes of Gauss Weapon fire before moving into point-blank range to methodically scour the blackened craters for survivors.
Necron Destroyer - Notable Formations: Host of the Red Harvest – Whilst Destroyers are insane by any acceptable definition, their nihilistic madness does not compromise their prosecution of battle. Every burst of gauss fire is coordinated with the next Destroyer in line, each salvo merging into a torrent of energy pulses that sweeps over every ruin and rock, shredding any creatures pathetic enough to take cover in the shadows. Should circumstances dictate, the Destroyers can switch over to other prearranged fire patterns, creating lethal kill-boxes of gauss energy in a vast gauss torrent. If a group of Heavy Destroyers were to do the same, their reinforced beams will form a Gauss Obliterator shot that can punch clear through a Baneblade. Thus does the battle proceed until either the Destroyers are overwhelmed, or the foe has been slaughtered. The Destroyers give no thought to retreat – nothing can stay their steady advance save for oblivion itself. A Host of the Red Harvest formation typically consists of three or more squads of three Destroyers or Heavy Destroyers each, led by a single Destroyer Lord.
Necron Destroyer - Destroyer Lord: Even the Necron nobility are not safe from the nihilistic madness that consumes the Destroyers. When a Necron Lord or Overlord succumbs, a great threat to all life is born. Ironically, the only reason the Imperium is not aware of the extent of this threat is precisely because these Destroyer Lords are so aptly named.No one has borne witness to the atrocities committed by these steel harbingers of apocalypse and lived, and so one can only guess at the danger posed by the threat stirring on barren worlds scattered across the galaxy. While many Necron Lords and Overlords are afflicted by "eccentricities," the insanity that consumes the mind of a Destroyer Lord is something else entirely.Like other Destroyers, Destroyer Lords modify their bodies and minds, so that they might be better suited to their overarching purpose, to cleanse the stars of all life. While this most often includes the attachment of an anti-gravitic suspensor platform in place of legs, Destroyer Lords tend to forgo the ranged weaponry commonly employed by other Destroyers in favour of melee weapons.The Warscythe is a particular favourite, as a Destroyer Lord hovering above the heads of his enemies can take full advantage of the reach afforded by these massive melee weapons. Curiously, Destroyer Lords forgo the decorative finery commonly worn by Necron royalty. Whether this is representative of their single-minded obsession, an intentional statement, or a simple matter of practicality, none can say, for the Destroyer Lords are avoided by their former peers as much as the other Destroyers, and are not keen to engage in conversation (except to learn the location of potential targets).
Necron Destroyer - Necron Heavy Destroyer: The Heavy Destroyer is a heavier fire support variant of the standard Necron Destroyer. Heavy Necron Destroyers mount the lethal Heavy Gauss Cannon, an even more devastating version of that powerful weapon.The power-generating spine of the Heavy Destroyer is much more pronounced and generates more energy than its lighter counterpart, providing their Heavy Gauus Cannon with enormous power.Heavy Destroyers are also equipped with a specialised targeting array that enables them to home in on enemy armoured vehicles, fixing them with their baleful multi-lensed optical sensors before raking them with devastating Heavy Gauss Cannon fire that can destroy almost all opposition.
Necron Destroyer - Wargear: Gauss Cannon - Gauss Weapons are the most common of all weaponry carried by the Necron soldiery and vary in appearance. Unlike more conventional directed energy weapons, a Gauss projector does not deliver a cutting beam of coherent subatomic particles or bolt of electromagnetic force. Instead it emits a molecular disassembling beam, capable of reducing flesh, armour and bone to their constituent atoms. Destroyers make use of the destructive force of the deadly Gauss Cannon.
Necron Destroyer - Sources: Apocalypse: War Zone Damnos, pg. 60Black Crusade: The Tome of Fate (RPG), pg. 114Codex: Necrons (3rd Edition), pg. 19Codex: Necrons (5th Edition), pp. 43, 94Codex: Necrons (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), pp. 54, 170-171Deathwatch: The Outer Reach (RPG), pp. 135-136
Necron Destroyer Lord - Necron Destroyer Lord: A Necron Destroyer Lord is a sentient member of the Necron elite, a former Necron Lord or Overlord, who has fallen prey to the madness of the Necron Destroyers. Even the Necron nobility are not safe from the madness that consumes the Destroyers.When a Necron Lord or Overlord succumbs, a great threat to all life is born. Ironically, the only reason the Imperium is not aware of the extent of this threat is precisely because these Destroyer Lords are so aptly named. No one has borne witness to the atrocities committed by these steel harbingers of apocalypse and lived, and so it can only be guessed at the threat stirring on barren worlds scattered across the galaxy.While many Necron Lords and Overlords are afflicted by "eccentricities," the insanity that consumes the mind of a Destroyer Lord is something else entirely. Like other Destroyers, Destroyer Lords modify their bodies and minds, so that they might be better suited to their overarching purpose, to cleanse the stars of all organic life.While this most often includes the attachment of an anti-gravitic suspensor platform in place of legs, Destroyer Lords tend to forgo the ranged weaponry favoured by other Destroyers in favour of melee weapons. The Warscythe is a particular favourite, as a Destroyer Lord hovering above the heads of his enemies can take full advantage of the reach afforded by these massive melee weapons.Curiously, Destroyer Lords forgo the decorative finery commonly worn by Necron royalty. Whether this is representative of their single-minded obsession, an intentional statement, or a simple matter of practicality, none can say, for the Destroyer Lords are avoided by their former peers as much as the other Destroyers, and are not keen to engage in conversation (except to learn the location of potential targets).
Necron Destroyer Lord - History: Not all Necrons awaken from the Great Sleep as hale as was intended. Some suffer physical damage in the intervening millennia; usually faulty stasis-crypts bring on a slow decay that rots the mechanical necrodermis body and erodes engrammic pathways and synapses.Others become infected by the Flayer virus and devolve into creatures whose reason is subsumed by an unnatural taste for flesh. Yet there are also those Necrons who awaken from their long slumber with their physical form intact but their psyche torn beyond recovery.Angered and despairing of their soulless existence, these Necrons turn to nihilism. They no longer seek redemption or repatriation with the flesh that was so long lost to them. They wish only to drive all other living things into death's welcoming embrace. These then, are the Destroyers, the self-appointed heralds of oblivion.Destroyer Lords are the most maniacal of their warped kind. This is chiefly because they retain far more intellect than baseline Destroyers, and can bring all of this fearsome intelligence to bear in their pursuit of galactic conquests. This efficiency is all the more murderous for the Destroyer Lord's complete lack of empathy.Whilst few Necrons retain any instinctive comprehension of pity and mercy, the cleverest amongst them can at least still grasp such concepts intellectually, if they remain incapable of feeling them emotionally. Not so the Destroyer Lords -- they have long ago discarded any ability to empathise with other living creatures.If a Destroyer Lord takes prisoners, it is not out of honour or pity, but simple efficiency. There are a thousand ways in which captives can be used as lures for other fleshlings, and Destroyer Lords are conversant with every last one.Indeed, in a galaxy full to overspilling with genocidal tyrants, Destroyer Lords remain worthy of mention as something truly horrific. Where others kill for pleasure, or in service to some malignant god, Destroyer Lords pursue their bloody crusade simply because it is their chosen destiny.By their calculation, joy is just one more pointless organic emotion, and the favour of gods is naught but a crutch to support the endless frailties of the flesh.In truth, even Necron Overlords find the Destroyer Lords somewhat disconcerting, believing them to have too willingly embraced the machine. Most also hold the lingering suspicion that when all organic life in the galaxy has been eliminated, their nihilistic brethren will then turn on their own kind.As a result, many Destroyer Lords are outcasts and pariahs amongst the Necron dynasties. Stripped of title and rank, they are forced to dwell on the periphery of Necron civilisation, lest their madness prove infectious.
Necron Destroyer Lord - Role: Destroyer Lords are formidable combatants, for their physical might equals that of the mightiest Overlords. Most favour Warscythes or Voidblades over ranged tools of war. In his horrific way, a Destroyer Lords is a craftsman, and the fruits of his bloody labours are far more easily tallied in the thick of the fighting.There is no artistry or grace to a Destroyer Lord's blows -- each swing of his blade is driven only by the desire for optimum efficiency. Oddly, this often means a Destroyer Lord's attacks are unintentionally spectacular. If he calculates that three enemies can be slain swifter with one blow than three individual strikes, then a single blow is all that will be made.A lesser creature would perhaps balk at the risk this entails, but for a Destroyer Lord, who has calculated success down to a degree impossible for an organic mind, there is no risk remaining -- only a certainty as pure as death itself.