vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Autogun - Sources: Black Crusade: Core Rulebook (RPG), pg. 153Codex: Imperial Guard (5th Edition), pg. 42Codex: Imperial Guard (4th Edition), pg. 34Codex: Imperial Guard (2nd Edition), pg. 28Codex: Orks (4th Edition), pp. 89-90Dark Heresy: Core Rulebook (RPG), pg. 132Dark Heresy: Creatures Anathema (RPG), pg. 102Dark Heresy: The Inquisitor's Handbook (RPG), pp. 114-115Ere We Go: Orks in Warhammer 40,000 (1st Edition), pg. 154Gorkamorka: Da Roolz (Specialty Game), pp. 54-55Imperial Armour Volume Five - The Siege of Vraks, Part One, pp. 42-43Imperial Armour Volume Six - The Siege of Vraks, Part Two, pg. 148Imperial Armour Volume Eight - Raid on Kastorel-Novem, pp. 114-119Necromunda - Battle for Survival in the Nightmare Undercity (Hardback Rulebook), pg. 49Necromunda - The Game of Underhive Battles (3rd Edition), pg. 39Rogue Trader: Core Rulebook (RPG), pg. 120Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader (1st Edition), pg. 71Warhammer 40,000: Rulebook (6th Edition), pp. 56, 203Warhammer 40,000: Rulebook (4th Edition), pg. 34Warhammer 40,000: Wargear (4th Edition), pg. 34Warhammer 40,000: Wargear (2nd Edition), pg. 20The Guns of Tanith (Novel) by Dan Abnett, pg. 247 (French Edition)
Automated Repair System - Automated Repair System: An Automated Repair System is a T'au vehicle support system that consists of numerous dispenser hubs mounted around the vehicle's hull.If the vehicle's engine drives or weapon systems become damaged during the course of a battle, the Automated Repair System will automatically release swarms of tiny Maintenance Drones to quickly perform field-repairs and restore the systems to full function in the midst of battle.
Autopistol - Autopistol: An Autopistol is a hand-held, fully automatic Auto Weapon that fires solid-slug ballistic rounds at the intended target in rapid succession. The origin of Autopistols lay in Mankind's past, in its precursors the ancient machine pistol and submachine gun, that date back to at least the late 2nd Millennium. Autopistols are still utilised in the modern 41st Millennium. Small enough to be held and controlled in a single hand, these weapons are the favored sidearm of many a warrior in the Imperium of Man, despite their lack of range and notoriously poor accuracy. Though poor at penetrating armour, its high rate of fire makes it useful against lightly armoured opponents. Like all pistol weapons, the Autopistol is more commonly employed by those who specialise in close combat, as it leaves their other hand free to wield a close combat weapon. Popular with Imperial servants and renegades alike, Autopistols are prized for their ease of manufacture and versatility, especially on low-tech worlds.
Autopistol - Characteristics: An Autopistol is a rapid-firing, fully automatic ballistic firearm that has a faster rate of fire than most other pistol-grade weapons. In essence, they are the pistol version of the Autogun, and resemble the compact submachine guns of ancient Terra. The weapon works by using a solid hammer to strike and ignite a chemically combustible propellant. The explosion of the propellant expels the solid projectile through the barrel, while the reactive force of the bullet's expulsion pushes the breech back. This mechanical action extracts another round from the magazine and loads it in the breech, re-cocks the mechanism and, providing the trigger is still depressed, fires the just-loaded round. This cycle keeps repeating until either the magazine is empty or the trigger is released.Autopistols are lightweight and easily concealable weapons, but they suffer from a lack accuracy beyond close range due to the relatively low velocity of their projectiles and the shortness of their barrels. They have a high rate of fire, but only use small calibre, caseless rounds. The lightweight Autopistol slugs have very poor armour penetration characteristics, but their high rate of fire allows the user to literally spray a target with bullets, putting it down in a single burst at short range. The weapon is therefore favored as a sidearm, to be used at point-blank range against lightly armoured opponents.There exist innumerable models and variants of the Autopistol, but most models fall within the following rough characteristics:Length: 19-40 centimeteresBarrel: 4-18 centimeteresWeight: 0.5-0.8 kilograms (empty)Feed: 5-30 rounds straight magazineType of fire: Semi-automatic or automaticSights: Fixed front and centre optic sightCyclic rate of fire: approx. 900 rounds per minuteMuzzle velocity: approx. 255 metres/second
Autopistol - Use: Autopistols are used widely throughout the Imperium and can be found even on low-technology Imperial worlds. Like the larger Autogun, the Autopistol is very easy to construct and readily available in large numbers. The Autopistol is a common weapon amongst Renegades, hive gang members, and lowly criminals, due to the aforementioned ease of construction, use and maintenance.  The Autopistol is not generally considered a military issue weapon, but is a favourite amongst many military veterans as a supplement for their standard Lasgun or as a backup weapon, especially for those using bulky heavy weapons and Flamers, or unreliable Melta and Plasma Weapons. The Autopistol is also sought after by vehicle crew members for self-defence, who often lack room inside their vehicle to carry larger weapons, and prefer it to the Laspistol due to the higher rate of fire.Some Imperial Guard regiments, like the Cadian 8th Regiment, equip all their troops with Autopistols as sidearms as part of their standard equipment load-out, improving their combat firepower. Other Imperial commanders do not requisition sidearms for the rank-and-file Imperial Guardsmen, but allow their troops to acquire spoils from the battlefield for their own use, and Autopistols are popular choices for such battlefield trophies. In other quarters, it is felt that only officers should be equipped with pistol weaponry, so such equipment is reserved for soldiers of and above the rank of Lieutenant. Despite these sometimes contradictatory customs, the use of Autopistols has over time become so widespread in theImperial Guard that the Departmento Munitorum included a paragraph about correct Autopistol handling and caring in The Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer, to ensure every Guardsman is able to correctly use and care for the weapon should he be issued with or acquire one.
Autopistol - Sources: Black Crusade: Core Rulebook (RPG), pg. 155Dark Heresy: Core Rulebook (RPG) pg. 132Dark Heresy: Book of Judgement (RPG), pg. 63Dark Heresy: The Inquisitor's Handbook (RPG), pp. 115, 117-118, 120, 175Deathwatch: Core Rulebook (RPG), pg. 149Imperial Armour Volume Six - The Siege of Vraks, Part Two, pg. 148Necromunda (RPG), pg. 44Only War: Core Rulebook (RPG), pg. 177Only War: Hammer of the Emperor (RPG), pg. 112Rogue Trader: Core Rulebook (RPG) pg. 120Rogue Trader: Faith and Coin (RPG), pp. 80-81Rogue Trader: Into the Storm (RPG), pg. 112Specialist Games Catalogue, pg. 14The Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer (Sourcebook) by Matt Ralphs, pp. 21-22Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader (1st Edition), pg. 75Warhammer 40,000: Rulebook (6th Edition) pg. 57Warhammer 40,000: Wargear (2nd Edition), pg. 14Malleus (Novel) by Dan AbnettHereticus (Novel) by Dan AbnettXenos (Novel) by Dan Abnett
Auxilia Myrmidon - Auxilia Myrmidon: The Auxilia Myrmidon is a sub-organistion of the Adeptus Mechanicus' cybernetic Skitarii Legions composed of elite Tech-priests known commonly as "Siege Engineers" or "War Savants." Within the Calixis Sector, the undisputed centre of the Auxilia Myrmidon's power is the Lathe System and its vast forge city network, and in particular their heavy fortified arsenal and base on the city-sized Panopticon orbital station.From this mustering ground, the few Myrmidons in existence are dispatched in small bands to oversee the defences of the Mechanicus' domains, and seek out and destroy its enemies. The Myrmidons, although largely independent, are closely linked to the archmagi of the Lathes, who is one of the guarantors of their dominance.This Mechanicus sect exists to study the art of destruction with the ardent fervour that their fellows might apply to the creation of machinery or the recovery of lost archeotech. Legend has it they came to the sector during the earliest days of the Angevin Crusade (322-384.M39) for reasons of their own, and have since remained to defend the Cult Mechanicus’ possessions there. Myrmidons are expert killers, weapon masters and destroyers.At the behest of the ruling archmagi of the Lathe Forge Worlds, they are sent to accompany Explorators in investigating finds in the most dangerous sectors of space and to retrieve the most hazardous xenos-specimens, whilst others are tasked to hunt down Mechanicus Renegades accused of the foulest techno-heresies and terminate them with extreme prejudice.Tech-priests who devote themselves to battle are often inducted into one of the Mechanicus' militant sects as their knowledge and prowess increases over time, either through their own application or the will of their distant archmagi masters. A Myrmidon Secutor is the first rank in the Auxilia Myrmidon who serves, presumably, as the standard trooper, and is also the first Adeptus Minoris rank in the Divisio Mandati. The ancient designation of Secutor is believed to date back, like much of the Auxilia's organistation and sects, to the armed forces of the Mechanicum of Mars in the distant pre-Imperial antiquity of the Age of Strife.It is a fact that only adds to their mystery and makes them a subject for some concern to those in the adepta who understand what this implies. Certainly this conclusion is backed-up by the ancient and terrifying weapons drawn from that distant past which they are known to sometimes employ.Other members of the sect operate their vehicles as drivers, and are known simply as Myrmidons, who also serve in the Ordo Reductor. The leader of a platoon of Myrmidon Secutors or Myrmidons is a "centurius." A "tribune" (commonly known as a lieutenant in the stand Imperial armed forces) commands a century; a "magnus" (also known as a captain, and perhaps an "Adept Majoris") commands a cohort, with a "colonel-priest" having control of a battalion and a "magos commander" in charge of an entire legion of the Auxilia Myrmidon.
Auxilia Myrmidon - Myrmidon Secutors: Some Tech-priests of the Auxilia Myrmidon are drawn to the path of the Myrmidon Secutor through a fascination with the unique and intellectual challenges warfare provides, while others feel themselves fascinated by the intricacies and beauties of creation and destruction, or the sacred art of weapon-smithing. Still others simply see this path as a means to an end, either for the protection of the Machine Cult, the furtherance of their own independent researches, or some other, hidden agenda.Regardless of the reason for their vocation, a Tech-priest skilled in such destructive arts as the Myrmidon Secutor is an invaluable ally for an Inquisitor, and makes for a singularly lethal Acolyte. The only downside to such an association is that the Inquisition can never be fully sure where the Myrmidon Secutor's loyalties lie -- even more so than other Tech-priests -- or what ancient and dark secrets they may themselves possess.
Auxiliary Reserve Cadre - Auxiliary Reserve Cadre: An Auxiliary Reserve Cadre is a T'au Empire cadre comprised of T'au Auxiliaries. That means that this battle group is usually made up entirely of alien warriors allied to the T'au like the Kroot, Vespids and Human Gue'vesa.
Avalos - Avalos: Avalos is a Dead World located within the Jericho Reach. Its biosphere was devoured by the Tyranids of Hive Fleet Dagon.
Avalos - History: Near the end of the 41st Millennium, a Deathwatch Kill-team played a vital role in preventing a Tyranid invasion of Avalos, which had previously been secured by the forces of the Achilus Crusade's Orpheus Salient.Genestealers had deeply infiltrated the planet and initiated a rebellion against the Imperial governor.The Kill-team was sent in to investigate an Inquisitor who had failed to report to his superiors. Unfortunately, the Inquisitor was slain by a Broodlord prior to their arrival.Shortly after that grisly discovery, a Hive Ship with a substantial escort arrived. The timely intervention of a small Imperial fleet, led by the Emperor's Wrath, provided the Kill-team with a means to lead a boarding action against the hive ship.To the honour of the Primarchs and the God-Emperor, the Kill-team carried the day and managed to destroy the vessel's synapse chamber. This desperate act threw the Tyranid invasion into disarray.While the invasion was halted, countless xenos did make landfall. The clean-up may take generations to complete, and still might draw another hive ship to the planet.Further Deathwatch actions will be necessary to assist in the process of eradicating the xenos intrusion.
Avatar - Avatar: An Avatar is the term normally applied to the physical form that the spirit of an Aeldari god has managed to possess and animate in realspace.This term is most often applied to the physical wraithbone body possessed by a fragment of the spirit of the Aeldari god of war and strife Kaela Mensha Khaine, though the term can actually apply to any divine entity of the Warp that has found some way to take on a corporeal form on the mortal plane of existence.By far the most well-known Avatar is that of Khaine, but recently a new Aeldari god, Ynnead, the god of the dead, has begun to awaken. Ynnead also has an Avatar in the material world, known as the Yncarne.
Avatar - Avatar of Khaine: At the heart of every Asuryani craftworld sits the Avatar of Khaine, its own incarnation of the Bloody-Handed God of the Aeldari, Kaela Mensha Khaine. Aroused from his throne of smouldering iron, the Avatar of the god of war and murder leads the warriors of his craftworld to battle. Huge and all-powerful, the Avatar is a god incarnate, the embodiment of the Aeldari racial soul, and a deadly opponent even for the most mighty powers of Chaos.It is said that after the birth of the Chaos God Slaanesh, "She Who Thirsts," during the Fall of the Aeldari in the 30th Millennium, she fought and killed the ancient Aeldari gods one-by-one in the Immaterium, absorbing their essences into her own just as she had the souls of the Aeldari themselves.But the god of war and strife, Khaela Mensha Khaine, was too strong to be destroyed forever. So Khaine's spirit fled the Warp and found refuge dispersed among the Infinity Circuits, the psychically-reactive wraithbone hearts of the remaining Aeldari craftworlds.Wherever his essence landed, a wraithbone artefact in the form of a great statue of the god was created, allowing future Aeldari to be able to summon a fragment of the spirit of Khaine back into the Materium to defend his race when a craftworld faces a particularly dire crisis.These fragments of Khaine's spirit can be summoned into realspace in times of great danger by the Aeldari from the Infinity Circuit where they rest to inhabit a physical body that will fight on their behalf. These are the Avatars, a single fragment of a true Aeldari god.The Aeldari of the craftworld call forth the Avatar in times of dire need by sacrificing an Exarch to Kaela Mensha Khaine on the eve of battle. The Avatar becomes a fiery, animated manifestation of the god of war in the wake of this blood sacrifice and leads the Aeldari armies into battle.
Avatar - Wargear: Wailing Doom - Each Avatar of Khaine carries a mighty weapon in the form of a spear or a greatsword, known in the Aeldari Lexicon as the Suin Daellae, the Wailing Doom. This massive blade is many feet long, and shrieks as it tastes mortal flesh, wailing and crying and hurling murderous bolts of psychic force as the Avatar strides to war and reaps a brutal tally at close quarters. Upon its surface, ancient Aeldari Lexicon runes writhe as they struggle to escape from their bondage as if tortured by the heat of the Avatar's grasp. The Wailing Doom is no mortal weapon, but the manifestation of a dark and sinister god -- a part of the Avatar imbued with his divine power.
Avatar - Imperium of Man: While only the Craftworld Aeldari have actually made use of physical Avatars to date, the Thorian faction of the Inquisition searches for the Avatar of the Emperor of Mankind who they believe will actually be born somewhere in the galaxy at the time of the greatest need for the Human race among the teeming billions of the Imperium.There are numerous factions within the Adeptus Mechanicus, including the Khamrians, who pursue the forbidden science of artificial, or "abominable intelligence."The Omnissiads of the Cult Mechanicus seek to summon the Machine God into an Avatar called the Omnissiah.In the early days of the Great Crusade, the Emperor of Mankind was recognised as the Omnissiah by the leaders of the ancient Mechanicum of Mars, prompting the Treaty of Mars and the alliance of the Cult Mechanicus with the nascent Imperium of Man, but the Omnissiads refuse to recognise the Emperor as this physical extension of the Machine God, and instead seek to create their own.
Avatar - Sources: Codex: Eldar (6th Edition), pp. 7-8, 26Codex: Eldar (4th Edition), pp. 6, 9, 11, 24-25Codex: Eldar (3rd Edition), pg. 8, 17Codex: Eldar (2nd Edition), pp. 4, 7, 15, 22, 33, 56, 72, 85Fulgrim (Novel) by Graham McNeillAurelian (Novella) by Aaron Dembski-BowdenGathering Storm - Part Two - Fracture of Biel-Tan (7th Edition)Dawn of War (PC Game)Forge World - Eldar AvatarForge World - Eldar Avatar with Spear
Avenger-class Grand Cruiser - Avenger-class Grand Cruiser: The Avenger-class Grand Cruiser is in many ways the archetypal grand cruiser. It is a massively potent and brutally simple warship that mounts colossal close-ranged macrobatteries of Macrocannons in broadsides that run for kilometres along its flanks.While regarded as unusually reliable and faithful for Grand Cruisers, the Avengers are now amongst the rarest of their type of warship.The Avenger dates from an earlier period of Imperial Navy fleet tactics, when squadrons of Grand Cruisers were employed as "line-breakers."Traditionally, they were thrown into the midst of massive fleet engagements, soaking up enemy fire while racing into the middle of enemy formations, then crushing their opponents at short range with tetrajoules of energy or projectiles from their oversized broadsides.These unforgiving tactics have taken their toll upon the few surviving Avengers, and they all bear the scars of grim, forgotten battles fought when the Imperium was young.
Avenger-class Grand Cruiser - History: A noteworthy but relatively uncommon type of warship, grand cruisers are "pocket battleships" -- something of a halfway house between a battleship and a cruiser in size and firepower.They are intended principally to be capable of operating on their own rather than as part of a larger fleet, however, like many vessels of this type, they have been further designed for range (which is to say duration of deployment without significant resupply or refit) or to mount a specialised weapon system which requires particular tactics to utilise.Grand cruisers can make for formidable heavy raiders and can use their range and speed to catch targets unawares, as well as being powerful flagships for small Imperial fleets or fleets of cruisers and their escorts.The Imperial Avenger-class Grand Cruiser is a very old class of warship, a gun boat designed as a line-breaker during a time when the tactics of the ancient Armada Imperialis (the precursor to the post-Horus Heresy Imperial Navy that was actually a division of the ancient Imperial Army) were much different from what they are today.This class was used in a fairly simple way: squadrons of Avenger-class Grand Cruisers would deploy behind a screen of escorts or light cruisers while closing with the enemy fleet, then accelerate to maximum speed and race into the heart of the enemy fleet.Once there, it would sit in place and use its massive number of heavy broadside weapons batteries to trade barrages at point-blank range. The Avenger would also take severe damage from its foes in the process, but its big batteries could out-shoot most enemies at close quarters.When using Avengers, an Imperial battlefleet's tactical plan would usually call for two or three squadrons of the vessels to launch these brutal attacks simultaneously, causing so much damage and disruption through this close-quarters slug-match that the enemy formation would be reduced to disarray.The enemy vessels that survived the guns of the Avengers would then prove to be easy prey for the following waves of Imperial warships to mop up. This tactic was often effective, but the rate of attrition amongst Avenger squadrons was equally brutal, and the ship fell out of favour.Unfortunately for the Avenger-class, Imperial naval tactical doctrine changed over the years, making the Avenger redundant in many Imperial Navy battlefleets. For the most part, the Avenger-class has been relegated from front-line duty, with many Avengers having had their massive weapons batteries ripped out for use elsewhere.Those Avenger-class squadrons that remain are mostly mothballed in fleet reserves, patiently awaiting the day when they will once again be called upon to blast their way into the heart of an enemy fleet to defend the Imperium of Man.
Avenger-class Grand Cruiser - Notable Avenger-class Grand Cruisers: Emperor's Vow - The Emperor’s Vow comes from an earlier era of Imperial fleets, where Grand Cruisers straddled the line between Cruisers and Battleships; heavier and slower than a Cruiser but less armed than a true Battleship. No one knows for certain where the Emperor’s Vow first originated, although the reserve fleets of Battlefleet Gothic are a likely possibility. Sebastian Winterscale journeyed through the Maw on its bridge, and it has called the Koronus Expanse its home ever since. Each Winterscale has ruled his interests from aboard it, to the point where Calligos does not bother to maintain a stronghold of operations on a planet or space station. In its many millenia of service, the Emperor’s Vow has undergone a great deal of modifications. The original macro-weapons have been replaced with either longer-range laser batteries or extremely powerful short-ranged macrobatteries, guaranteeing the ability of the Emperor’s Vow to crush its foes at any range. In addition, the aft gundecks have been removed and replaced with Titanforge lance turrets. Those foes foolish enough to fight the Emperor’s Vow find a ship able to wreak havoc at long range, but as they close its fire only intensifies, until they flee or break up under the punishment. The ship is utterly unsubtle, which seems to fit Winterscale’s desires perfectly. Its martial pride and legacy of Imperial service are immediately obvious by the unmasked ranks of gun batteries and baroque ornamentation portraying it as an Imperial vessel. Those who serve aboard her report the vessel seems to contain an aura of complete confidence and utter pride, as if the vessel itself could not conceive of a challenge it could not overcome. This hubris may not be misplaced -- in its centuries of service in the Winterscale’s fleet, the times the Emperor’s Vow has been forced to retreat from battle are few and far between.Guardian of Aquinas - The Guardian of Aquinas is a famous Avenger-class warship of the Martian Reserve Fleet.The Sword Infernus - The Sword Infernus is a renowned Avenger-class warship of Battlefleet Corona.Burden of Vigilance / Burden of Revelation - Once a proud member of the Imperial Navy, the Burden of Vigilance was tasked in 789.M41 to chart a stable Warp route between the Cellebos Warzone and Samech, for a future direct strike against that planet of Hereteks. Though it was guided by the young and talented Navigator Kokabiel Grigoris, after a long, fruitless search, the ship disappeared into the Hadex Anomaly. In 793.M41 the vessel reemerged from the Hadex Anomaly with a new name, the Burden of Revelation, now captained by its former Navigator. Having been turned to the service of Chaos, Kokabiel Grigoris now used the vessel to prey on passing Imperial voidships as the latest Chaos reaver to afflict the Jericho Reach.
Avenger-class Grand Cruiser - Dimensions: Hull: 7.5 kilometres long, approximately 1.8 kilometres abeam at fins.Class: Avenger-class Grand Cruiser.Mass: 40 megatonnes, approximate.Crew: 141,000 crewmen, approximate.Acceleration: 2.2 gravities maximum acceleration.
Avenger - Avenger: The Avenger is a strike aircraft of the Imperial Navy's Aeronautica Imperialis that is dedicated to ground attack missions on behalf of the regiments of the Astra Militarum.The Avenger is a dedicated strike fighter, intended to conduct high-speed, low-level attacks on ground targets, with armoured vehicle formations and high-value strategic assets such as munitions dumps forming its principal prey.The Avenger Strike Fighter boasts firepower that exceeds most other Imperial aircraft of its size, and its particular reputation as a tank-killer is due to the potent Avenger Bolt Cannon it carries. A rapid-firing Gatling Bolter weapon, the Avenger Bolt Cannon is known to be a highly effective tank-killer.Its effectiveness is such that it is now a staple of any Imperial Navy air support mission. The Avenger's use is often specifically requested by the Adepta Sororitas should they require close support during their purgations and the aircraft is also used by the armed forces of the Adeptus Mechanicus, who made use of the aircraft in its own conflicts before the Imperium was even founded.
Avenger - History: The Avenger is an ancient pattern of aircraft that predates the Imperium of Man, and was designed on Mars by the ancient Mechanicum during the Age of Strife. The Avenger was produced by the Mechanicum for use by the Imperial Army during the Great Crusade, and was also used by the armed forces of the Mechanicum.Imperial records show that the Avenger either fell out of use by the Imperium after the Horus Heresy and Great Scouring or its Standard Template Construct (STC) designs were lost until its reemergence in the 36th Millennium.The Avenger was adopted by forces loyal to the Imperial Saint and reforming Ecclesiarch Sebastian Thor during the bloody wars of faith and schism of the 36th Millennium now called the Age of Apostasy by Imperial savants.In the 41st Millennium the Avenger is widely used by the Aeronautica Imperialis to support Astra Militarum units on the ground.
Avenger - Armament: The Avenger Strike Fighter is heavily armed, and is most commonly used to destroy enemy armoured vehicles and fortified structures. The basic loadout of the Avenger is a hull-mounted Avenger Bolt Cannon, a set of twin-linked wing-mounted Lascannons, one on each wing, and a rear-facing Heavy Stubber for defensive actions in case enemy aircraft are on its tail.The aircraft can be further outfitted with additional weapons on its wings which can include either 6 tactical bombs or 2 Hellstrike Missiles or 2 Hellfury Missiles or 2 Missile Launchers, a set of twin-linked Autocannons or a set of twin-linked Multi-Lasers.The Avenger can also be outfitted with the following enhancements: a chaff launcher, an armoured cockpit, infra-red targeting equipment, and illumination flares.During the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras in the late 30th and early 31st Millennia, the Avenger was capable of having its entire Human crew replaced with hard-wired servitor control and dedicated cogitator arrays designed to identify and target weak spots on enemy vehicles.This automated control transformed the Avenger into an extremely deadly tank hunter. It is unknown if this capability is still possible in the Avengers deployed by the Imperial Navy in the 41st Millennium.
Avenger - Adeptus Mechanicus Technical Specifications: The technical specifications of the Avenger have not yet been made publicly available by the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Avenger - Sources: Imperial Armour Aeronautica, pg. 20Imperial Armour - The Horus Heresy - Book One: Betrayal, pg. 272Imperial Armour Volume One - Imperial Guard (Second Edition), pg. 266Imperial Armour Volume Twelve - The Fall of Orpheus, pp. 19, 206-207
Avenger Bolt Cannon - Avenger Bolt Cannon: The Avenger Bolt Cannon is one of the primary weapons of both the Avenger strike fighter and the Fire Raptor gunship. It is a rapid-firing, rotary bolt weapon that is particularly effective in providing anti-armour fire support for forces on the ground.
Avenger Bolt Cannon - Trivia: The Avenger Bolt Cannnon is similar in form, function and name to the United States Air Force's GAU-8 Avenger Gatling Gun, used on A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft, which are also potent tank-killers.
Avenger Gatling Cannon - Avenger Gatling Cannon: The Avenger Gatling Cannon is a large, multi-barrelled, rotary ballistic cannon used by the combat walkers of the Questor Imperialis, the Imperial Knights, and by the  Renegade Knights of the Questor Traitoris. The Avenger Gatling Cannon is similar to an oversized Assault Cannon and features multiple cyclic barrels that fire high velocity mass-reactive shells capable of tearing enemy infantry to ribbons and ripping through lightly-armoured vehicles. Well-placed shots from the weapon are even capable of penetrating thicker armour plate, blasting apart heavily armoured infantry and causing severe damage to battle tanks.When the Avenger Gatling Cannon fires at its maximum rate its spinning barrels move faster than the eyes can see. The weapon is used to stitch deadly patterns of death across the enemy's lines, turning entire groups of infantry into clouds of bloody mist, causing charges to falter and destroying entire attack columns of light vehicles. The Avenger Gatling Cannon is found most prominently on the Knight Crusader and Knight Warden classes of Knight armour. The Avenger is usually carried along with a melee weapon or another ranged weapon, and in some cases even another Avenger Gatling Cannon. The weapon is equipped with an under-slung Heavy Flamer that is used to engage enemy infantry that get too close, flush enemy infantry from cover, or destroy targets that would be a waste of the Avenger's ammunition.
Avenger Gatling Cannon - Variants: Due to the sheer diversity of Knight Worlds and Forge Worlds in the Imperium, there exist a multitude of minor variants of the Avenger Gatling Cannon, each different from the last in a number of distinct ways. All known variants of the Avenger Gatling Cannon include:Six-barrelled Avenger Gatling Cannon - The most common variant of the Avenger Gatling Cannon features six cyclic barrels in a cylindrical pattern. This type usually features an under-slung Heavy Flamer.Tri-barrelled Avenger Gatling Cannon - An uncommon variant of the Avenger Gatling Cannon, this variant features only three barrels in a triangular pattern. This variant has a lower rate of fire than the more common six-barrelled Avenger Gatling Cannon. This variant sometimes lacks the under-slung Heavy Flamer.Quad-barrelled Avenger Gatling Cannon - This uncommon variant features only four barrels in a square pattern. This variant has a lower rate of fire than the more common six-barrelled type. The quad-barrelled Avenger Cannon sometimes lacks the under-slung Heavy Flamer.Eight-barrelled Avenger Gatling Cannon - This rare variant features eight total barrels in a cylindrical pattern. This variant possesses a higher rate of fire than the more common six-barrelled Avenger Gatling Cannon, and features reinforced plating around the ends of the barrels. The eight-barrelled Avenger Cannon sometimes lacks the under-slung Heavy Flamer.
Avenger Gatling Cannon - Sources: Codex: Imperial Knights (7th Edition), pp. 16, 21, 24, 29-30, 115Warhammer 40,000: Index - Chaos (8th Edition), pg. 109White Dwarf Weekly 66 (02 May 2015), "Imperial Knight Warden," "Imperial Knight Crusader," & "Paladins & Errants," pp. 4-5, 10-12, 18, 64-65Warhammer 40,000: Freeblade (Video Game)Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III (Video Game)
Avenger Mega Bolter - Avenger Mega Bolter: An Avenger Mega Bolter is a deadly and formidable rapid-firing weapon utilised exclusively by the Dark Angels Space Marine Chapter elite 2nd Company, known as the Ravenwing,  and by the Dark Angels' Unforgiven Successor Chapters. The Avenger Mega Bolter is a smaller version of the Vulcan Mega Bolter. Nose-mounted on the Dark Angels' deadly air corps of Nephilim Jetfighters, they have proven ideal for engaging opposition flyers in deadly dogfights, and can carve through both enemy infantry and vehicle squadrons on ground attack strafing runs.
Avengers - Avengers: The Avengers is a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter of unknown genetic origin and Founding. Nothing else is known about them in Imperial records, except that they were created some time after the Second Founding.
Avengers - Chapter Colours: The Avengers Chapter primarily wears bone white power armour. The Aquila or Imperialis on the chest, the power pack and shoulder plates are red. The trim of the shoulder plates is bone white.The white squad tactical specialty symbol -- battleline, close support, fire support, Veteran or command -- is indicated on the right shoulder plate.A black High Gothic numeral centred on the squad specialty symbol indicates squad number. The identical iconography (mirror images), on both knee guards, indicates company number in accordance with the Codex Astartes.
Avengers - Chapter Badge: The Avengers' Chapter badge is a white maltese cross, with a roundel in the centre. A large white skull sits in the centre of the roundel on a field of red.
Avenging Sons - Avenging Sons: The Avenging Sons is a Codex Astartes-compliant Loyalist Space Marines Chapter originally created during the 19th Founding from the gene-seed of the Ultramarines.The Avenging Sons hail from the world of Traekonnis Major.
Avenging Sons - Chapter History: The Avenging Sons were raised during the 19th Founding in the mid-36th Millennium.They are a Successor Chapter of the Ultramarines and proudly maintain that Chapter's vaunted martial traditions and their stoic faith in the tenets of the Codex Astartes written by their Primarch, Roboute Guilliman.
Avenging Sons - Non-Astartes Personnel: Kholich Beyene - Chief Chapter serf who served aboard Captain Gessart's strike cruiser Vengeful.
Avenging Sons - Chapter Fleet: The Avenging Sons have an average-sized Chapter Fleet, of which the only known vessels are:Proxima Justus (Strike Cruiser) - The Proxima Justus delivered the Avenging Sons' 2nd Company to the desert Mining World of Taros during the First Taros Intervention in the unsuccessful attempt to assassinate the Planetary Governor Uphir Aulis that set off the Imperial Taros Campaign against the Tau in 998.M41.Vengeful (Strike Cruiser) - The Vengeful belonged to the former commander of the 3rd Company, Captain Gessart. When the commander fled the doomed planet of Helmabad in the face of an impending daemonic incursion and Warp Storm, Gessart ordered the vessel to make course for the Eye of Terror, as they were now true Renegades and would never be able to reconcile with their Chapter.
Avenging Sons - Chapter Colours: The Avenging Sons wear azure power armour. The Aquila or Imperialis on the chest guard is gold.The white tactical squad specialty symbol on the right shoulder pauldron designates squad tactical specialty -- battleline, close support, fire support, Veteran or command.A black High Gothic numeral is stenciled on the centre of the squad specialty symbol which indicates squad number.The colour of the shoulder pauldron trim indicates company number in accordance with the dictates of the Codex Astartes, i.e. White (1st Company), Yellow (2nd Company), Red (3rd Company), Green (4th Company), etc.
Avenging Sons - Chapter Badge: The Avenging Sons' Chapter badge is a white crosslet, centred on a field of azure.
Avenging Sons - Canon Conflict: In the novel Dark Imperium by Guy Haley, a Chapter of Primaris Space Marines is raised at the Pit of Raukos as the last action of the Ultima Founding, and it is called the Avenging Sons. Roboute Guilliman based this new Chapter at the world of Callimachus within the growing Realm of Ultramar.It is not known whether the name of this Primaris Marine Chapter is a mistake or if it has some connection to the original Avenging Sons.
Avenging Sons - Sources: Adeptus Astartes: Successor Chapters (Limited Release Booklet), pg. 15Imperial Armour Volume Two - Second Edition: War Machines of the Adeptus Astartes, pp. 8-9Imperial Armour Volume Three - Taros Campaign, pp. 19, 22-35Imperial Armour Volume Thirteen - War Machines of the Lost & The Damned, pg. 33Insignium Astartes, pg. 60Dark Imperium (Anthology) (2001), "Apothecary's Honour" by Simon JowettHeroes of the Space Marines (Anthology) edited by Nick Kyme and Lindsey Priestley, "Renegades" by Gav Thorpe, pg. 79Dark Imperium (Novel) by Guy Haley, Ch. 20The Rewards of Tolerance (Short Story) by Gav ThorpeBelisarius Cawl: The Great Work (Novel) by Guy Haley, Ch. 5
Avitus - Avitus: Avitus is a Devastator Marine and a Sergeant of the Blood Ravens Space Marine Chapter who has served in both the 3rd and 4th Companies. He fought in the Kronus Campaign, the First Aurelian Crusade and the Second Aurelian Crusade under Captain Davian Thule and the Force Commander Aramus.Avitus grew up in a small settlement on the Jungle World of Typhon Primaris. Among the Astartes of the Blood Ravens' 4th Company he was known as a hard man who despised weakness and Traitors. He was also known to have an extreme dislike for the Imperial Guard due to his experiences with them as a child and his hostile relationship with several of their regiments during prior campaigns.
Avitus - Early History: During his childhood, before becoming a Space Marine, Avitus' primitive settlement on Typhon Primaris was subjected to the cruelty of a corrupt Imperial Guard regiment. The settlement was extorted to near-starvation by unofficial taxes and penalties. This is believed to be one of the first causes of his well-known hate for the Imperial Guard.
Avitus - The Kronus Campaign: During the Kronus Campaign, Avitus fought against the 1st Kronus Liberators at Victory Bay. During the fierce fighting, he lost two squad mates to those he believed were Traitors to the Emperor. This bloody fighting ingrained in him the attitude that all Guardsmen are Traitors and weaklings.
Avitus - The Aurelian Crusades: Sergeant Avitus fought in both the First and Second Aurelian Crusades, leading the 9th Devastator Squad. During the First Aurelian Crusade he once again served under Captain Davian Thule, and later, Force Commander Aramus, and helped them defend the Sub-sector Aurelia from an encroaching Tyranid splinter Hive Fleet. During the Second Aurelian Crusade, while still serving under Aramus, Avitus helped defend the sub-sector from an incursion by a large warband of Black Legion Chaos Space Marines.
Avitus - Canon and Possible Betrayal: In Dawn of War II - Chaos Rising, Avitus is a possible traitor, along with Martellus and all the other members of the Blood Ravens squad under the command of Force Commander Aramus. If he is revealed as the traitor, he is slain by Sergeant Tarkus. Dawn of War II - Retribution also hints that he was the canonical traitor, as Sergeant Tarkus takes a vow of silence and explains he took the vow primarily because he had killed a friend from Kronus during the Second Aurelian Crusade. Tarkus reveals this when he breaks his oath aboard the Space Hulk Judgement of Carrion. Since only Davian Thule and Avitus fought along with Tarkus on Kronus, and Davian Thule can not be corrupted, it is likely that Avitus was the canon traitor among the Blood Ravens.
Avitus - Personality: Avitus was a dour and cruel warrior who held no mercy or compassion for the unaugmented masses of the Imperium following the campaign for Kronus and the deadly battle the Blood Ravens fought against the stubborn Imperial Guard there.
Avitus - Wargear: Power ArmourMark IVc Heavy BolterFrag GrenadesKrak Grenades
Avitus - Optional Wargear: Plasma CannonMissile LauncherLascannon
Axe-Rake - Axe-Rake: An Axe-Rake is a heavily reinforced chainaxe with a grappling barb.
Axe-Rake - Ashen Circle: Well-known users of this weapon include a specialist unit within the Word Bearers Legion, known as the Ashen Circle.This vicious blade was used to drag down victims, and topple graven idols and false icons for the Word Bearers' pyres during the Emperor's Great Crusade.On the battlefield, the Ashen Circle's task was deemed no less important than other combat duties by their Legion; for they sought out those things which gave the foe the heart and courage to fight: false idols, profane totems, charismatic leaders, priests, battle flags and champions.These they singled out, dragged down with the hook-blades of their Axe-Rakes and destroyed with brutal fervour, often making plunging attacks far in advance of their own lines in order to do so, with no thought as to their own survival.
Axe-Rake - Vervunhive: Axe-Rakes were also used in the 41st Millennium  by the workers of Vervunhive on the world of Verghast during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade.The workers of Vervunhive wielded Axe-Rakes as weapons against the invaders of their hive city from the neighbouring, Chaos-corrupted hive of Ferrozoica.
Axe-Rake - Sources: The Horus Heresy Book Two - Massacre (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 257Necropolis (Novel) by Dan Abnett
Axe of Dismemberment - Axe of Dismemberment: An Axe of Dismemberment is a powerful, 8-foot-long battleaxe forged with the power of the Warp. It is a potent melee weapon used by the Heretic Astartes and is particularly favoured by the Chaos Space Marines dedicated to the service of Khorne known as the Masters of Executions.
Azariah Kyras - Azariah Kyras: Azariah Kyras was the former Chapter Master and Chief Librarian of the Blood Ravens Chapter of Space Marines. Kyras was tragically corrupted by Chaos following his confrontation with the Greater Daemon of Nurgle, known as Ulkair.Five hundred standard years after his disappearance, he inexplicably returned to his Chapter and seized command of the 5th Company. His experiences within the Warp tragically corrupted the Space Marines, such that upon his return he became intently focused on spreading that corruption to his battle-brothers.Over the centuries that followed Azariah Kyras hid his corruption while spreading his taint through the Chapter.Kyras eventually openly declared his loyalty as a servant to the Ruinous Powers and was granted ascension as a Daemon Prince.Kyras was slain and replaced by a strike team of Loyalist Blood Ravens led by the noble Gabriel Angelos, commander of the Blood Ravens' 3rd Company, after the Blood Ravens successfully cleansed the Aurelian Sub-sector of the Korianis Sector of the taint of Chaos with the aid of the Inquisition and the forces of the Astra Militarum during the Second Aurelian Crusade.
Azariah Kyras - Second Aurelian Crusade: It was the invasion of the Aurelian Sub-sector by a warband of the Black Legion that finally revealed Azariah Kyras' true allegiance to Chaos. Blood Ravens of the 4th Company tracked down and boarded the Judgment of Carrion to learn the truth of Kyras' and the 5th Company's escape from the space hulk.The Blood Ravens gained evidence of the pact made by Kyras and Galan with the Greater Daemon Ulkair. Kyras himself was not present in the Aurelian Sub-sector during the Chapter's crusade against the elements of the Black Legion.Instead, he sent Apollo Diomedes, the captain of the Blood Ravens' Honour Guard, to order the Blood Raven forces in the sub-sector to withdraw from all contact with the Chaos Space Marines.Yet, the Blood Ravens officer who served as the Chapter's Force Commander in the Aurelian Crusade turned against Apothecary Galan, who confessed to his own corruption by Chaos as well as Kyras' true allegiance.But Galan explained that Captain Diomedes was untainted, though much of the Honour Guard did serve the Ruinous Powers and Ulkair in particular. The Force Commander and Captain Angelos disobeyed their corrupted Chapter Master's orders and remained in Aurelia to defeat the Black Legion and end the threat of Ulkair.
Azariah Kyras - Defeat: With the defeat of the Great Unclean One on Aurelia, the Force Commander and Captain Gabriel Angelos went renegade, determined to bring down Azariah Kyras and the other Chaos-corrupted Blood Ravens, no matter the cost.Openly declaring his loyalty to Chaos, Kyras ascended to Daemon Princedom of Khorne by offering all the souls in the Sub-sector Aurelia via the Exterminatus.However, Kyras' ascension was far from complete, allowing a strike team of Blood Ravens, led by Gabriel Angelos and including Apollo Diomedes, Cyrus, Tarkus, and Martellus, to destroy the towers of offering and, thus, weaken Kyras enough to harm him. After a long and difficult battle, Kyras was stunned long enough for an orbital bombardment to occur.The Daemon was slain and its plan was thwarted, but at a great cost to the Blood Ravens. Most of Angelos' forces were slain during the battle and Angelos himself was viciously struck down by Kyras.His broken body was repaired with extensive bionic augmentations and he ascended to become the Blood Ravens' Chapter Master after a bloody purge. Following the purge, many of the Chapter's unusual practices would continue to be re-examined.The Chapter now must exhibit great care as they recruit new members to replace those who betrayed the Imperium, lest other factions push for their dissolution at this time of weakness.
Azrael - Azrael: Azrael is the current, and some would say the greatest, supreme grand master of the Dark Angels Space Marine Chapter in the 41st Millennium. In this role, he is not only their military commander but the protector of their honour and the shield of their souls. Azrael also carries the honorific Chapter title of "Keeper of the Truth."Azrael recently made the decision to cross the Rubicon Primaris and undergo the painful transformation to become a Primaris Space Marine.Following in the mighty footsteps of the gene-father of the Dark Angels, the Primarch Lion El'Jonson, Azrael understands full well the tremendous heritage and duty of his station as the commander of what remains of the Emperor's Ist Legion.He alone is privy to the darkest secrets of the Chapter, and it is his honour to lead the quest for the Dark Angels' redemption.Grim of demeanour, possessed of deep conviction and unwavering purpose, Azrael is the epitome to which the Dark Angels aspire.Yet never does Azrael lose sight of the Dark Angels' secret agenda -- even in the midst of a life-or-death battle, the Chapter's hunt for the Fallen Angels always continues. This hidden agenda is always at the forefront of Azrael's keen mind, even as he plans the next battle or reviews the next sector to be brought under surveillance.In this, he guides not only his Chapter, but all the Unforgiven. That all the Dark Angels Successor Chapters follow Azrael's directives on many matters is more than mere deference towards a founding Chapter, and implies a unity of purpose that frequently crosses the line of one of the most important tenets of the Codex Astartes -- that there be no reformation of the ancient Space Marine Legions.Although stern, reclusive and troubled are words that have defined the leaders of the Dark Angels since the days of the Horus Heresy, the weight of the Chapter's secrets has only grown heavier with time, and the burden borne by the current supreme grand master in particular is unlike that carried by any of his predecessors.Azrael must contend with a galaxy deeply changed by the events surrounding the birth of the Cicatrix Maledictum, and only he knows that it is one that the Arch-traitor Luther not just survived to see, but now gravely threatens with his recent escape from his former prison deep within The Rock.It is to the recapture of Luther -- and all the Fallen -- that Azrael now extends the full scope of his powers.Yet even Azrael is ignorant of his Chapter's final secret. Deep within The Rock, in a chamber known only to the Emperor Himself, the Lion is fully healed and ready to awaken when the Imperium needs him most...