vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Pilgrims of Hayte - The Doom of the Ardent Seeker: One of the most recent major incidents attributed to the cult occurred in 799.M41 in the Maccabeus System. When the venerable pilgrimage-vessel Ardent Seeker translated from the Warp off-course into the Maccabeus System and failed to answer hails, it was quickly interdicted and boarded by the local picket ships.What the naval armsmen found onboard was an utter horror -- perhaps fully nine-tenths of its seven thousand passengers had died in the most appalling and violent fashion. The tenth that remained had been driven mad and tortured in body and soul beyond endurance. Direct orders from the Arch Hierophant of Maccabeus prevented the naval commander from carrying out a frantic order to simply blast the voidship to atoms. Instead it was held and soon boarded by a strong contingent of the legendary Maccabian Black Priests and their retinues who purged the once great vessel of the damned and the hidden taint of the Warp that infested the decks. Piecing together what little evidence remained, the Black Priests discovered that these unfortunates had been doomed by a single deadly influence.A cancerous demagogue had come aboard and slowly sown first doubt, then insanity and corruption that doomed every living soul aboard the Ardent Seeker -- a False Prophet of the Pilgrims of Hayte. Their investigation revealed that this servant of Chaos had, through his dark arts, infiltrated the first naval boarding party that had stepped foot on the ship and was now loose on the sacred soil of Maccabeus Quintus itself. In an almost unprecedented act, the Hierophant himself went before the planet with the news, and with an impassioned oratory fired the zealous hatred of his people against the hell-spawn in their midst. With a single purpose, the planet rose up and hunted down the infiltrator, along with hundreds of other suspected Heretics (and not a few innocents mistakenly "captured") who were purged in a frenzy of zealotry.Official records state that the False Prophet was destroyed, but persistent rumours within the Holy Ordos say that the Black Priests managed the seemingly impossible and captured the diabolist alive to hand him to a secret Ordo Malleus Conclave. However, the truth of this is likely to never be revealed.
Pilgrims of Hayte - Tenets, Goals and Heretical Beliefs: At the core of the true beliefs of the Pilgrims of Hayte is nihilism of the spirit, utter hopelessness, and despair for humanity's true place in the universe as they perceive it -- that of a squalling, blind creature utterly at the mercy of a deadly cosmos and a hungering Warp. To them, civilisation, reason, faith, love, family, morality, hope, pleasure, and honour are all lies and stillborn dreams, strangled at birth by uncaring and implacable reality. The answer, as far as they are concerned, is total destruction -- the violent self-immolation of mankind's carefully wrought web of lies and deceit. It is to embrace the madness, suffering, and despair that are humanity's only real truth. It is to hate and kill and tear down, until nothing remains.Those brought into the cult are selected chiefly for a seed of bitterness or resentment that they carry within them, some remembered slight or injustice -- incidents only too common in the oppressive crush of Imperial society. The cult works on this flaw to erode the recruit's inhibitions, morality, and conscience to the point where his hatred and sense of outrage and betrayal consumes him. As he progresses through the cult's outer layers of lies and deceit, the initiate is granted hideous revelations and subjected to horrific suffering and daemonic rituals designed to further strip away his sanity and damn him completely, leaving him most likely either dead, murderously deranged, or irrevocably tainted by the corrupting influence of the Warp.Those few cultists that survive long enough, or show particular promise, are taken under the wing of a False Prophet and directly tutored in the arts of the sorcerer and the demagogue. It is then that their masters show them that even the worship of Chaos is a lie -- a tool to be used, as the beings of the Warp would use them. If these aspirants survive such dark wisdom and the dangers of their tutelage, then they may become False Prophets in turn, and carve their own bloody path across the stars.
Pilgrims of Hayte - The False Prophets: Though they may go by as many names, titles, and identities as suits them, "False Prophet" is indeed a most apt name for these arch-liars and bringers of strife. Each is a powerful and charismatic leader, a deceiver steeped in death and with the blood of multitudes on his hands. Each is a powerful Chaos Sorcerer who has at his disposal many dangerous secrets and the forbidden knowledge gleaned both from his own depraved crusades and the bartered utterances of daemons.These faithless killers have no room in their hearts for anything other than bitterness and hatred for the lies that others call the truth, and while they are more than willing to give the daemon its due, they scorn the true worship of any Warp entity, no matter how powerful, as a god. They see the worship of such entities as only more layers of lies, albeit acknowledging that the Ruinous Powers are more generous masters than the "Corpse-Emperor." They instead embrace Chaos as a means to an end -- that end being the power to tear down the edifice of the Imperium. Reckless in the display of their powers, it is their particular wont to use the Warp to further corrupt and enslave their followers, simply for the sadistic pleasure of doing so. Woe betide any Imperial servant that falls into their malign clutches.The False Prophets of the Pilgrims of Hayte are a terrible foe, and they have claimed the lives of several Inquisitors and thousands of Imperial servants in the past. Combating them is the sworn and absolute duty of the whole Ordos Calixis of the Inquisition. Although thankfully very few (the Ordo Malleus is currently tracking around 30, though this number is in dispute), the False Prophets seem to be slowly but steadily growing in number. While each seems to follow his own erratic and destructive path without plan or recourse to others of his kind, some at the highest circles of the Inquisition fear that there may be some single guiding hand behind all of them, some arch-diabolist whose ultimate plan has yet to see fruition.
Pilgrims of Hayte - Ordo Malleus Departmento Analyticus Threat Briefing: The location, pursuit, and destruction of the Pilgrims of Hayte's cells are regarded as a priority of the highest order for the Conclave Calixis, and for many Ordo Malleus Inquisitors, the "cult" is the priority target. This focus is in no small part because of the cult's proven ability to create large-scale carnage and the more subtle danger to long-term spiritual and moral health of the masses it infiltrates. The cult is also considered highly dangerous to the stability of the Calixis Sector as it is one of a thankfully few cults and heretical organisations with a proven ability to operate sector-wide and perhaps even beyond. It is even willing to actively seek out and attack Inquisitorial forces.The truth, the full extent of which is hidden from most, is that despite the Holy Ordos' many victories against the cult, the False Prophets that remain at large are growing demonstrably more powerful and diverse as a group. It seems evident that the sheer abandon and disregard that they hold for their own lives and followers create something of a state of rapid "natural selection" with only the strongest prospering, and doing so quickly -- not by painstaking daemonic bargains, slavish secrecy, and tempered arcane lore, but by crashing and blundering at breakneck speed to power or death. For the higher circles of the Inquisition, this reckless abandon raises a very simple question: given their steady increase in power and their desire to destroy above all others, is there anything these maddog cult leaders would not do? Would not dare, if they possessed the power?
Pintle Mount - Pintle Mount: A Pintle Mount is a type of fixed mount that allows an anti-personnel weapon to freely traverse and/or be elevated while keeping the gun in one fixed position.A pintle-mounted weapon is usually used either by the vehicle's commander or by remote control, to engage secondary targets and immediate threats while the gunner focuses the vehicle's main firepower against enemy armor or major objectives.The only drawback is that, unlike a turret-mounted weapon, a pintle-mounted weapon has little-to-no armour protection.Storm Bolters are the most common weapon used with a pintle-mount by the Adeptus Astartes, although Heavy Stubbers are also used by the Astra Militarum. It's also common to mount Autocannons or, occasionally, Flamers. The Forces of Chaos mostly utilise Combi-bolters as their primary pintle-mounted weapon on many of their vehicles.
Pintle Mount - Sources: Codex Adeptus Astartes - Space Marines (7th Edition), pp. 89, 116, 161, 172, 384, 386The Horus Heresy - Book One: Betrayal (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 207, 217, 219-222, 224, 228
Pious Korren - Pious Korren: Pious Korren was an officer in the Armageddon Steel Legion of the Astra Militarum with the rank of Major who became one of the most famous tank aces of the Third War for Armageddon in 998.M41. He is also known as the "Hero of Anthrand."Major Korren and his crew single-handedly destroyed an entire armoured column of Ork vehicles during the Battle of Anthrand Plain. Korren directs his crew from the top hatch of the main turret of the famed Shadowsword super-heavy main battle tank known as the "Iron Saint."
Pious Korren - History: Pious Korren was born into a family which traditionally served in the Imperial Navy. His father was executive officer of the Battleship Sea of Glass, and his grandfather was the Rear Admiral of Battlefleet Justicar. It was a great disappointment to his family that the young Pious showed no aptitude or interest whatsoever in void combat. His family members used all the influence they could bring to bear to ensure the young man received a commission and a prestigious post aboard a frigate operating out of St. Jowen's Dock in the Armageddon System. Alas, it was to no avail, and in very little time the young officer was finding himself before disciplinary hearings following a number of incidents in the officers' mess. The matter came to a head during an inter-fleet officers' soiree, when Pious struck a visiting Commodore in retaliation for a particularly cutting insult. Pious was immediately ejected from the refectory, and the very next morning was given the choice of summary dismissal or a court-martial before the fleet Commissariat.To make matters worse, the infamous Ork Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka launched his second invasion of the Armageddon System, thus beginning the Third War for Armageddon in 998.M41. The young Pious petitioned his officers to allow him back aboard his vessel, but they dared not risk the wrath of the Commissariat. Pious had no alternative but to evacuate St. Jowen's Dock alongside other non-essential personnel, and within a solar week found himself at the besieged Hive Volcanus on the subcontinent of Armageddon Prime.Raging against fate and ashamed of his actions, Pious made straight for the nearest Armageddon Ash Waste militia depot and signed up, eventually becoming an officer in the Armageddon Steel Legion of the Imperial Guard. Despite his failure as an Imperial Navy officer, Pious proved an exemplary officer cadet of the ground forces, and was soon commissioned as a second lieutenant and assigned command of a Leman Russ Tank squadron. Towards the latter stages of the war, Pious was one of the highest-rated tank aces of the entire Armageddon Steel Legion, having scored hundreds of Ork vehicle kills, including three Stompas.
Pious Korren - Third War for Armageddon: Pious quickly rose through the ranks of the Steel Legion and soon bore the rank of Major. He now commanded a mighty Shadowsword super-heavy tank known as the Iron Saint. He is extremely proud of the fact that the vehicle has never been "shot out from under him" and regards with disdain those tank aces who take pride in the number of tanks they have lost in action. The Iron Saint bears the grey and green ash waste camouflage of the Armageddon Steel Legion, augmented by his personal heraldry and dozens of distinctive kill markings earned over a long, distinguished career during multiple bloody campaigns.Over the course of the war, the crew of the Iron Saint, was transformed from a band of inexperienced rabble to a highly skilled group of veterans at armoured warfare. Every member of the crew made himself indispensable, and Korren stated on many occasions that none of the numerous medals awarded to him could have been earned without the efforts of every single member of his crew, from the ex-convict "Tricky" Santuk, whose skills as chief driver allowed the Iron Saint to advance in amongst a Stompa mob and disable all three enemy walkers with rear shots, to the chief gunner, "Grox-eye" Makony, who once put a Volcano Cannon shot into the blazing red, left eye of a Gargant from a range of seven kilometres. Other crew members include Crew Chief "Gruff" McGruff, whose strict regime has kept discipline in the face of overwhelming odds, and the cook, Private "Grot" Olkin, who once took over the main gun when "Grox-eye" was wounded in action, and with it destroyed five tanks, three of which even belonged to the enemy.
Pious Korren - Battle of Anthrand Plain: It was on the featureless wastes of Anthrand that Major Pious Korren and his crew truly earned their place in the annals of Armageddon's official histories. The Iron Saint was refueling and reprovisioning at a logistics base south of the Death Mire defence line when the Orks unleashed an armoured thrust from an entirely unanticipated quarter. As an entire mob of Stompas and dozens of Battlewagons struck north towards the Imperium's exposed flank, Korren found himself as the only man who could prevent an unprecedented disaster.Knowing he had no time to await reinforcements, Korren set out on a direct course for the Ork armoured column, spotting the lead Battlewagon as the sun set. Over the next eight solar hours the lone Shadowsword engaged the Ork force one vehicle at a time, firing over infrared sights before moving, locating another target and firing again.Shot after incandescent shot lanced out of the darkness to destroy enemy after enemy. Soon the gunner had no need of his infrared sights, the glow of burning vehicles illuminating the battlefield to such an extent that he could fire over open sights. By the time the sun rose the next morning the Anthrand Plain was scattered with the blackened wrecks of Ork Stompas and Battlewagons littering an area several hundred square miles. Korren was awarded a chest full of medals, and declared the greatest tank ace the Armageddon Steel Legion had ever produced.
Pit Thing - Pit Thing: A Pit Thing is a powerful, quadrupedal xenos predator that is native to Fenksworld in the Calixis Sector and may be originally derived from genetically-altered Human stock. In the depths below the hive cities of Fenksworld, pale things writhe. Varying between two and three metres high at the shoulder, a Pit Thing is a vicious predatory beast fuelled by hate. The strong chemical reek that surrounds these creatures is often the first sign of their presence, and Fenksworld underhivers heed that warning well.Pit Things are bulky, colour-leached humanoid carnivores with four stumpy legs. Pit Things also possess webbed claws and feet, making them agile swimmers, and they seem to be resistant to the typical chemical and toxic hazards of industrial hives. Their four eyes are arranged symmetrically in a vaguely canine skull, while their mouths are circular, lamprey-like maws studded with razor-sharp teeth meant to rend and tear. They are non-sapient and seem singularly unintelligent, perhaps the only reason why the Pit Thing has not claimed the title of apex predator on Fenksworld.The Pit Thing uses its size and strength aggressively in combat, often charging into battle with furious rage. Those unfortunate enough to fight the Pit Thing must be as wary of its acidic drool as its rending claws, as every savage bite inflicts wounds that burn through armour and flesh alike. Sump-skiffs cruise the polluted vaults below Fenksworld's hives, seeking out Pit Things to capture with gaffs, nets, hooks, and electro-poles.A handful of these hunters never make it back from each trip, torn from the skiffs and pulled down into the burning, toxic sludge. Usually, these hunters lace a piece of meat with powerful soporifics to use as bait, a tactic that enhances the odds of each hunt's success. The Adeptus Arbites struggle to suppress these heretical hunts. However, the value of each Pit Thing makes this highly dangerous occupation extremely lucrative. Thus, every time the Arbitrators shut down one beast-hunting group, two more form from the remnants to begin operations.Once a Pit Thing is captured, it is placed into an iron cage and delivered to the Fenksworld arenas to provide bloodsport for the hive city's populace. The Pale Pits of Volg Hive are the most infamous for utilising alien beasts in their gladiatorial matches, but the sheer savagery and unthinking malice of the Pit Things make them unique even in these blood–soaked environs.These terrifying beasts rampage through as many as a dozen men at a time, painting the sand red with blood only to crush the final few beneath its rubbery bulk. There are some indications that link the Pit Things to the Blight of Nova Castilia, a gene-atrocity committed by the Logician cult. Tech-heresy on a planetary scale, the Blight spread like wildfire through that hive city's population. There are whispers that during this event, several families simply went missing, replaced by pallid, raging monstrosities.
Plague Drone - Plague Drone: A Plague Drone is the title of a high-ranking Plaguebearer of Nurgle who is known amongst the Plague God's Daemonic Plague Legions, an appellation that conveys commendable humility. These overseers of Nurgle's realm in the Immaterium ride into realspace to carry out the wishes of their divine lord as aerial cavalry mounted upon Rot Flies and Battle Flies -- colossal Daemons in the form of hideous insects whose appearance is so repugnant it scars the mind.In a collection of stomach-churning creations, it takes something especially hideous such as the Plague Drones of Nurgle to catch the eye. For each Plague Drone, a Plaguebearer sits atop an enormous Rot Fly, which features two pairs of large, ragged wings, as well as lumps and boils across its body. There are also exposed innards here and there, and in one of the creature's bulbous abdomen are the horrific, contorted faces of some poor, partially digested foe.Each Rot Fly is unique, varying in features such as possessing a Plague Proboscis which can spread the various pathogens and toxins of the Lord of Decay to the flesh of any victim the Rot Fly sinks it deep into, mandibles and stinger.The Plaguebearers also feature an array of disturbing gifts of Nurgle, from their boils and open sores to their exposed entrails.
Plague Drone - Role: A terrible thrum of insectile wings fills the air as the Plague Drones descend. High-ranking Plaguebearers riding atop monstrous Rot Flies, these daemonic airborne cavalry hit the enemy lines like hard-swung wrecking balls, bowling warriors over with their sheer stinking bulk.Hairy limbs scrabble, ripping through flesh and cracking bone. Needle proboscis punch through armour joints and eye lenses to inject diseased acids into their victims.Revolting mouthparts gape and suck as they envelop the heads of screaming warriors, slurping them down like sweetmeats. Meanwhile, the daemonic riders hack at their victims with Plagueswords, and hurl infernal death's heads into the foe's ranks to engulf them in billowing clouds of plague spores and sickness.Such an onslaught is enough to break the spirit of even the most well dug-in opponents, and has been known to turn the flank or break the centre of entire enemy battle-lines.These foul beings can fly at prodigious speeds, absorb ferocious amounts of firepower, and dole out hurt in great measure. They are greatly valued by the Death Guard, who offer up rich sacrifice in the hopes of conjuring these monsters to their side.Speed and manoeuvrability are one of the few weaknesses the Death Guard suffer, and their ruling champions can find many strategic roles for a pack or two of Plague Drones.Intercepting and destroying enemy flanking forces or scouts, launching swift strikes against vulnerable foes, intercepting airborne threats or rushing to reinforce weaknesses in the Death Guard lines, Plague Drones make for versatile and powerful allies.Their riders are haughty, however, for they are highly placed amongst Nurgle's daemonic legions, while their steeds hate all mortals no matter their origins. As such, the Death Guard can only hope that the Plague Drones they have summoned will act according to their plans, rather than following their own whimsy wherever they please.
Plague Drone - Origin: Though few know the truth of this, Rot Flies are, in fact, metamorphosed forms of Beasts of Nurgle who have given in to spite and despair.Over thousands of Terran years, even the simple joy of Beasts of Nurgle can be soured by their playmates' unwillingness. A seed of discontentment takes hold within some, a canker of bitterness and disillusionment that grows with every fresh rejection.Should such a doubting Beast be slain and banished back to Nurgle's Garden in the Realm of Chaos, it will slump into the muck and filth with a resigned sigh and give in to its misery.A thick cloud of Nurgle's fattest flies descends upon the desolate beast, cocooning it against the unfairness of the galaxy, and within this thick pupa a strange transformation takes hold.A bloated Rot Fly rips its way free, fully formed and driven by all the hate and cruelty that soured the Beast of Nurgle's simple heart. Plaguebearers prize such steeds highly, for in their haste to punish the mortals that once spurned them, Rot Flies speed into battle at a great pace.
Plague Drone - Unit Composition: 2-8 Plague Drones1 Plaguebringer
Plague Drone - Wargear: Death's Heads (Used by Plaguebearer)Plaguesword (Used by Plaguebearer)Prehensile Proboscis (Used by Rot Fly)
Plague Hulk - Plague Hulk: The Plague Hulk is a Daemon Engine dedicated to the service of the Chaos God of pestilence and disease, Nurgle.A Daemon Engine is a nightmarish artificial construct used by the forces of Chaos that is a fusion of a realspace vehicle or combat walker with a possessing Daemonic spirit of the Warp.The Plague Hulk is a multi-limbed combat walker that resembles the hybrid fusion of a Defiler or Soul Grinder Daemon Engine with a corpulent Daemon of Nurgle. The Plague Hulk is ungainly and sickening to look upon; staggering into battle on corroded metal limbs, its engine belching great shrouds of reeking vapour and pestilent fog that poisons the very earth itself.
Plague Hulk - History: Historator-savants in the service of the Ordo Malleus are unclear as to when and where Plague Hulks were first encountered, for the Inquisition's archives contain numerous accounts of Daemonic engine-things that broadly match their description.The earliest likely sighting of a Plague Hulk was during the 4th Anancus Gamma Counter-Strike, when a demi-company of the Red Hunters Chapter, under the mandate of Inquisitor Lord Skane, was assailed by a wave of Daemonic servants of Nurgle, including a number of Daemon Engines that Skane later reported as being hybrids of machine and Daemon carrying weapons capable of unleashing torrents of Warp-spawned filth and decay.The Inquisitor made it a lifetime's work to ascertain the truth of these horrors, seeking them out with increasingly maniacal fervour wherever the Warp encroached upon the material realm. Skane and an indentured Red Hunters task force vanished into the Caradryad Warp Fault in late 693.M39 whilst pursuing such a mission, and it is assumed the Inquisitor Lord was slain in the course of this Emperor-given duty.Following the disappearance of Inquisitor Skane, several allied peers and Throne Agents have continued this work, and it is from their studies and reports that most of what is known of the Plague Hulks is derived. It has been determined that Plague Hulks are summoned forth from the depths of the Warp rather than being constructed, and as such they may represent some incarnation or variant of the Soul Grinder specific to Daemons aligned to the Ruinous Power known as Nurgle.This is largely conjecture however, for few witnesses have survived a full-scale manifestation, and even the Plague Hulks that have been destroyed have not left behind any wreckage that could be recovered or studied.It is believed that Plague Hulks are summoned or called upon by a specific ritual incantation known only to the most blessed of Nurgle's sorcerers, and which is instant death to any who have not mastered the inner mysteries of the lore of decay.In the Era Indomitus, however, Plague Hulks are being encountered in ever-greater numbers. From the cratered wastes of Vraks to the planet-spanning defence lines of lost Cadia in its final days, wherever the decayed hosts of Nurgle take to the field of battle, there too are to be found the lumbering Plague Hulks, the ground itself putrefying as they unleash the foul gifts of their master upon the material realm.
Plague Hulk - Armament: The mechanical chassis of the Plague Hulk supports a seething, maggot-ridden mass of putrescent Daemon-flesh, at the centre of which sits a massive gaping maw capable of vomiting a tide of unspeakable foulness that can rot flesh and corrode metal.This weaponised ability is classified by the Ordo Malleus as a Mawcannon, and is a weapon common to larger Daemon Engines. The Plague Hulk armament also includes an arm-fused cannon of arcane origin known as a Rot Cannon.The Rot Cannon belches out shells that are so impregnated with dark ichor and infection that a mere scratch from one of the weapon's bone fragments will immediately and agonisingly fester into a crippling injury.The Plague Hulk, much like the Defiler and Soul Grinder Daemon Engines that it so closely resembles, is also armed with two massive mechanical Dreadnought Close Combat Weapons known as Iron Claws, which are also sometimes called Servo Claws. These weapons usually take the form of large, piston-driven claws featuring three bladed talons and are fully capable of tearing main battle tanks into pieces and wiping out entire squads of infantry in a single sweep.The Daemon-machine also carries a weapon in its single, massively powerful limb. This weapon usually takes the form of a gigantic cleaver or huge rusted flail, and when coupled with the creature's amazing strength are more than capable of cutting or smashing through even the toughest of armour plate.
Plague Hulk - Ordo Malleus Departmento Analyticus Technical Specifications: The technical specifications of the Plague Hulk have not yet been determined by the ordos of the Inquisition.
Plague Hulk - Sources: Imperial Armour Apocalypse II, pg. 72Imperial Armour Modelling Masterclass II, pp. 78-79Imperial Armour Volume Thirteen - War Machines of the Lost & The Damned by Andy Hoare with Alan Bligh & Neil Wylie, pp. 134-135Forge World Webstore: Plague Hulk
Plague Knife - Plague Knife: A Plague Knife is a long-bladed, dagger-like weapon wielded by Plague Marines and other devotees of the Chaos God Nurgle.It possesses the capability of "blessing" anyone it touches with the daemonic infection known as Nurgle's Rot. These long, pitted knives are encrusted and dripping with the most virulent of toxins, viruses and other pathogens.Their wielders believe that they have been directly blessed by the Plague God himself, for the rot the weapons carry and spread is so powerful that it can lay low even the most monstrous or powerful of enemies in only Terran seconds.
Plague Marines - Plague Marines: Plague Marines are those Chaos Space Marines who have wholly dedicated their lives and souls to the service of the Chaos God Nurgle.Within their corpulent and disgusting power armour their bodies are bloated with disease, swollen with corruption and rank with decay even as they no longer are capable of feeling pain, the greatest mutational "gift" given to them by the Plague Lord.The first Plague Marines were warriors of the Death Guard Legion, trapped in the Warp upon their starships when the virulent Destroyer Plague struck their fleet.Mortarion and his Legion offered themselves up to the service of the Lord of Decay in return for their lives and the end of the constant suffering caused by the unnatural disease.Their bodies became bloated and swollen with the corruption festering within them, but they no longer felt the agony of the Warp-pox and did not die from its horrific symptoms.Since then, many Heretic Astartes have dedicated themselves to Nurgle, though few achieve the vaunted ranks of the Death Guard. Those who truly wish to join this most foetid of cadres must first swear loyalty to the Primarch Mortarion -- only then will Nurgle bestow upon them the corrupting ague that created the Plague Marines.Outside of the Death Guard, a favoured few sorcerers of Nurgle know the secrets of the Plague Marines, and Abaddon of the Black Legion has won many of these spellcasters to his cause. In return for fealty and long service, these "blight mages" will bestow their pestilential gifts upon willing Chaos Space Marines in the Warmaster of Chaos' name.Regardless of allegiance, all Plague Marines have disgusting, rotted bodies that stink of decay. The putrescent slime that oozes from their many weeping sores corrodes their armour and burns their skin, but despite their horrific disfigurements, the Plague Marines are fearsome warriors indeed.Their rotting brains are inured to the agony of bodily corruption, making them all but immune to the pain or debilitation caused by the weapons of the enemy. Not for nothing are these repugnant footsoldiers considered the most resilient of all the Chaos Space Marines.As well as fighting at the behest of the Lords of Chaos, the Plague Marines dedicate their lives to spreading corruption and decay across the galaxy.The Plague Fleets of Nurgle that periodically spew forth from the Eye of Terror are captained by the Plague Marines, spreading Grandfather Nurgle's Warp-spawned contagions and pestilences across the myriad star systems of the galaxy, forever spreading the death and decay that are the hallmarks of Nurgle's kingdom.
Plague Marines - Role: The Plague Marines prefer short-ranged firefights, where they can truly appreciate the festering carnage they inflict upon their enemies even as they laugh off the bolts and las-blasts directed back at them.Their decaying brains are inured to the agony of the bodily corruption that runs rampant in their diseased carcasses, making them all but immune to the pain or discomfort caused by battle wounds.The blessed reek of corruption, the sight of freshly suppurating flesh and the blossoming gore of an infected wound -- these are things to be grateful for.Those who do not appreciate Grandfather Nurgle's bounty are soon laid low. Should the enemy close to within arm's reach, the Plague Marines will attack with plague-riddled knives, and even hurl toxic Blight Grenades -- vile inventions containing virulent toxins that eat away at armour and fill the air with thick clouds of blinding, pathogenic spores.The most ostentatious Blight Grenades are "death's heads" made from the severed remains of fallen enemies, each cranium filled to the brim with a cocktail of disease before being sealed with ancient wax.The Plague Fleets of Nurgle are often led by the Plague Marines of the Lord of Decay, spreading their filth the width and breadth of the galaxy. These Plague Fleets carry Nurgle's followers to inhabited worlds where the Plague Marines' destructive raids are inevitably followed by massive outbreaks of no less destructive contagions.Once these plague ships are abandoned or their crews finally destroyed, their hulks float back into the Warp and eventually find their way back to the Plague Planet where they may be re-crewed for new incursions into the material universe.During a plague ship's journey through the Warp, the interior of the voidcraft erupts with large, furry black flies that fill its holds with their decaying carcasses. When the plague ship reaches a world, the Plague Marines disembark to make planetfall.As soon as their transports' hatches open, a thick cloud of insects is released, ready to spread its foulness over a virgin planet.The fly is sacred to Nurgle, for it feasts upon the rotten and the foul. Even one such beast can carry upon its little limbs a cornucopia of infections and viruses, spreading the gifts of contagion to everything blessed by its visitations.When they come on in a great swarm, these diminutive creatures can spread a plague with incredible speed, infecting, infesting, hatching and multiplying in celebration of Nurgle's bounteous cycle with each new day.The symbol of the fly is therefore common amongst the Plague Marines, with elements of its form echoed on the mutant bodies of the Death Guard, Nurgle's chosen sons.
Plague Marines - Organisation: Plague Marine bodies are bloated and swollen with the foul corruption of Nurgle festering within them. They no longer feel the agony of the blighted Warp-pox of the Plague Lord and cannot die from its horrific symptoms.Though their armour may appear corroded and rusted, and their bodies continuously ooze slime and the stink of decay, the Plague Marines are still fearsome, skilled warriors.Since the days of the Horus Heresy, many other Space Marines have dedicated themselves to the Lord of Decay, but few have managed to join the ranks of the Plague Marines.Those who truly wish to enter this most elite of foetid cadres must swear loyalty to the Death Guard Traitor Legion and their Primarch Mortarion, though they need not join the Death Guard itself. Only then will Nurgle bestow upon them the corrupting "gift" of Nurgle's Rot that created the original Plague Marines.The weaponry and wargear of the Plague Marines may be pitted with erosion and corroding away, but they are still terrifying opponents.Plague Marines have an inhuman tolerance for pain, enduring injuries that would cripple even other Space Marines, their nerves dulled by disease or even mostly rotted away, which is the Plague Lord's greatest enhancement of those who embrace its power.Plague Marines are normally armed with some manner of bolter with which they unleash a steady rain of firepower, but they may also carry other weapons. They sometimes arm themselves with a close-combat Power Sword that can communicate Nurgle's Rot to the victim.The ability to spread Nurgle's Rot is a special psychic power granted to a Plague Marine through his direct connection to the Plague Lord that allows him to summon the horrific, supernatural plagues of Nurgle from the Warp and unleash them upon the enemy. Those not tightly armoured against biological infection are instantly affected and quickly killed by the infection.Plague Marines make up the majority of the Death Guard Traitor Legion of Chaos Space Marines, but not all Plague Marines are members of the Death Guard; any Chaos Space Marine or Renegade Space Marine who dedicates himself to the Plague Lord Nurgle may become a Plague Marine.
Plague Marines - Unit Composition: 4-19 Plague Marines1 Plague Champion
Plague Mortar - Plague Mortar: The Plague Mortar is a large Mortar cannon that is used by the Plague Tower Daemon Engine. The Plague Tower is a large Daemon Engine of Chaos that is completely dedicated to the service of Nurgle, the Chaos God of pestilence and decay.The Plague Mortar is mounted at the very top of the tower, giving it a 360 degree view of the battlefield. The weapon is capable of firing upon foes located behind cover and within trenches and fortifications, and each shell fired by the weapon is corrupted and diseased; causing any who survive the attack to often die from incurable and ravaging sickness later.The Plague Mortar is the Plague Tower's longest ranged weapon, and as such it is able to begin the bombardment of enemy fortifications and fortresses at a distance.Once the fortifications have been softened from the Plague Mortar's bombardment, the vehicle can finish off any survivors with its other weapons before unloading its cargo of Nurgle followers and Daemons directly into the enemy's defences.
Plague of Unbelief - Plague of Unbelief: This page deals with the Imperial civil war that marked the second major period of the Age of Apostasy. For the arcane disease known as the "Curse of Unbelief," see Zombie Plague.The Plague of Unbelief is the term given to a great rebellion against Imperial rule that is considered by historitors to be part of the Age of Apostasy of the 36th Millennium, although it occurred several solar decades after High Lord Goge Vandire's death and the reformer Sebastian Thor's ascension to the position of Ecclesiarch. Many false prophets appeared throughout the anarchic Age of Apostasy, some little more than madmen leading rebel armies, others spiritual demagogues who commanded entire worlds and armies.The most powerful of these was the Apostate Cardinal of Gathalamor, Bucharis, whose heresies reached such proportions they became known as the "Plague of Unbelief" (not to be confused with the Curse of Unbelief, a potent arcane disease spread by servants of the Chaos God Nurgle in the 41st Millennium and better known as the "Zombie Plague").
Plague of Unbelief - Confessor Dolan: Bucharis knew Dolan would be coming to Gathalamor soon and the Apostate Cardinal wanted his slaves' first glimpse of their supposed saviour to be one of a man bound in chains and whipped through the streets. Soon enough, Dolan's shuttle was boarded as it neared the world and the Confessor was taken into custody, charged with various acts of heresy and treason against the Emperor by Bucharis.As Bucharis had intended, Dolan was chained and driven through the streets. Soldiers from his army whipped the Confessor with flails and hurled stones at him. They stuck hooks into his flesh and hung them with weights, driving him onwards with kicks and punches. The crowds, however, were not so impressed. There were no cheers of approval, but there were no cries of condemnation either. Dolan was dragged across the entire continent in this manner for over six months. All the while, however, his fiery stare would not diminish and he never bowed to Bucharis.Bucharis then ordered a public trial, but it was a complete sham and would only find Dolan guilty. After five months, the prosecution had finished and a thousand worlds waited for the results. Dolan represented himself and freely admitted to stirring up the people of all of the rebellious worlds to fight against Bucharis' rule. He used the time to appeal to the masses, although Bucharis didn't see this. It was Dolan's appeals to the masses that Bucharis allowed during the show trial that eventually led to his downfall.Bucharis had Dolan tortured for eight months. When at last the Confessor died, his maimed body was flung from the walls of the Cardinal Palace of Gathalamor for the scavenging dogs and birds to feast upon. Despite the horrendous torments inflicted upon his body, Dolan's face exuded a calm serenity and peace lay like an aura across his corpse. Those who saw it wept openly, even though any who exhibited such grief were themselves accused of heresy and put to death. The scavengers never had their meal: Dolan's body disappeared shortly after and was never found.
Plague of Unbelief - The End of an Empire: Cardinal Bucharis' plan to shame the Confessor backfired horribly. By allowing Dolan to speak he had given him the ability to rally the masses on all of the worlds ruled by Bucharis. When Dolan's death was announced, the entire Apostate empire erupted in rebellion. The populations of a thousand worlds overthrew their cruel overseers, almost at the same time. The men, women and children were inspired by the will of the Confessor and faced their enemies' guns with bare hands.Bucharis' Cardinal Palace was stormed as traitors from within his own ranks opened the gates. Bucharis fled the palace as a small handful of loyal warriors held back the tide of doom coming his way. He used tunnels to escape the palace and ran to the spaceport, giving up all he had worked for to save his own life. Just as he was boarding a shuttle, the inhabitants overran the electric fences by piling on them to make them short-circuit. He was captured in a wave of screaming mobsters and his body was torn to pieces.The remains of his body were never recovered, but when the mass of citizens moved away, the scattered ashes of a fire was all that was left to mark the place of his death. With the Apostate Cardinal's death, the Inquisition moved swiftly to conduct a massive purge of Bucharis' empire, sending tens of thousands of those who had served Bucharis to the Emperor's justice.The High Lords of Terra soon reestablished full control over the regions of the galaxy that Bucharis had controlled while the Ecclesiarchy established thousands of Missions on the worlds of Bucharis' empire to restore the true teachings of the Imperial Cult. The Plague of Unbelief, the final symptom of the Age of Apostasy, came to an end.
Plague Ogryn - Plague Ogryn: A Plague Ogryn is an Ogryn that has been heavily mutated by the power of the Chaos God Nurgle to become bloated and putrid harbingers of disease. Similar to Plague Marines, they are often utilised by Chaos Space Marine warbands and Chaos Cults who serve the Plague God.Plague Ogryns are hideously distorted creatures; hulking masses  of bloated, diseased flesh and twisted mutations. The effects of  Nurgle's "gifts" on the already massively strong and hardy Ogryn frame are particularly foul and they prove ideal breeding grounds for nightmarish plagues of all kinds.In battle these creatures can prove almost impossible to kill and their merest touch brings a horrific death.
Plague Ogryn - History: The first Plague Ogryns are believed to have been created by the mysterious Heretic Astartes warband known as The Tainted during the Siege of Vraks.A faction devoted to Nurgle in his aspect as a mortifier of flesh, they are said to have worked the darkest of their sorcerous arts on the already distorted and chem-augmented Ogryn slave stock being used by the rebel forces on Vraks Prime.Since that war Ordo Malleus savants believe the secrets of creating Plague Ogryns have been refined further by The Tainted, deep within the Eye of Terror, and they now trade these vile beasts among the servants of the Lord of Decay in return for fresh subjects on which to practice their twisted fleshcraft.
Plague Planet - Plague Planet: Plague PlanetDaemon WorldDaemon PrinceMortarionDeath GuardTraitor LegionEye of TerrorworldNurgle
Plague Planet - The Books of Woe: Within the mouldering libraries of the Black Manse, Mortarion hoards endless treatises and forbidden tomes of numerology, cryptoscience, abhorrent scripture and arcane conjuring. The foulest of these are the seven Books of Woe, aberrations whose covers drip with filth and whose pages moan like a bloated corpse when turned. On occasion, Mortarion bestows one of these abhorrent tomes upon a favoured champion so that they may call upon the incantations within.By reading from a Book of Woe, a worthy champion may tear aside the veil of reality and summon the Plague God's daemon legions into reality. They can draw the Garden of Nurgle itself into realspace, and -- during cursed stellar conjunctions -- even transform planets into befouled hellscapes, worlds of Nurgle manifesting in reality like sores upon a sick man's body.
Plague Planet - The Peal Yard: Deep within the baleswamps of the Plague Planet lies the Peal Yard. This fortress-factory rings with a constant cacophony, for it is here that the bells known as the tocsins of misery used by the Death Guard's Noxious Blightbringers are forged.The Peal Yard is an interstice, existing upon the very cusp of the Warp. Within, droning daemon smiths cast the cursed bells from the screams of dying psykers, beating runes of madness and misery into them under the watchful eyes of Lord Gothax's Tollguard.
Plague Planet - Disease Factories: The disease factories of the Plague Planet are as bloated and corrupted as the beings that wander their halls.They are sprawling abominations of gurgling pipes, bubbling vats, belching smokestacks and rusted cages crammed with test subjects and living ingredients. So vast are they that their masters, the Foul Blightspawn and Biologus Putrifiers, have divided them up into virtual nations, each ruled by the Blightspawn elders that fester at their hearts.Millions-strong mortal Chaos Cults reside in these factories, scurrying to do the bidding of their foul masters and worshipping the Plague Marines as demigods of Nurgle, even as they slowly sicken and die. Devoted to brewing the plagues favoured by their ruling elders, these rag-clad lunatics regularly engage in sectarian warfare through the smog-wreathed passages and brewing chambers, much to the amusement of their Death Guard masters.
Plague Spewer - Plague Spewer: A Plague Spewer is a type of plague weapon favoured by the servants of the Plague God Nurgle, particularly the Blightlord Terminators of the Death Guard Traitor Legion. The Plague Spewer can unleash a noxious brew of Nurgle-crafted daemonic pathogens and toxins upon any foes who come within range.
Plague Sprayer - Plague Sprayer: A Plague Sprayer is the primary weapon of the abominable Plague Marines of the Death Guard Traitor Legion known as Foul Blightspawn. These cruel and malignant warriors take sick pleasure in watching their victims suffer in the grip of Nurgle's plagues.On the field of battle, these foul servants of the Plague God spread putrescence and disease with their Plague Sprayers, which unleash a stream of stinking, infectious slime that is so potent that it can melt armour and flesh alike, rotting the souls of their unfortunate victims from within.The Plague Sprayer is attached to a contraption called the malignant churn, which the Blightspawn uses to mix and prepare his foul brew, stored in an "incubatum" worn on his back.
Plague Surgeon - Plague Surgeon: A Plague Surgeon is a Chaos Space Marine specialist found exclusively within the ranks of the Death Guard Traitor Legion.These sinister figures were once the Apothecaries of the XIV Legion, but since their damnation and transformation into followers of the Plague God Nurgle, they have become the exact opposite of all that they once held dear.Instead of bringing healing, they bring only Empyric disease and death. With their tainted narthecium and plague-ridden surgical instruments, they spread the various plagues of Nurgle to friend and foe alike.