vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Invocators - Abyssal Crusade: Following the Ecclesiarchal Purges of 321.M37, a dozen star systems were engulfed by Warp Storm Dionys, its echoes rippling along the spiral arms of the galaxy as it raged through the Empyrean. Records of mutation and Chaos Cultist activity quadrupled overnight. Worse yet, it was not only the citizens who were affected by the sudden influx of Chaos.Many of the Space Marine Chapters with homeworlds affected by the Warp Storm found that the secret imperfections in their gene-seed were writ large upon their new recruits, giving rise to a wave of disturbing manifestations both physical and psychological. The Clerics of Steel were one such Loyalist Chapter of Astartes that had been affected by these Warp Storms.When the Ecclesiarchy heard of this sinister tum of events, Saint Basillius the Elder demanded that all those Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes whose homeworlds had been touched by the Warp Storm be rendered unto his judgement. Such was the elder's influence with the High Lords of Terra that within a standard year this had come to pass. After a series of stringent tests and prognostications, hundreds of Chapters were deemed unaffected by the Warp Storm.No less than thirty were found wanting. The Judged, as these fallen Chapters came to be known, volunteered for a redemptive Penitent Crusade. The most militant of their number demanded the right to purify their tainted flesh in the fires of battle, to make a noble end from tragic misfortune. To the surprise of his closest advisors, Saint Basillius agreed to this proposal. He saw it fitting to send the accused into the Eye of Terror, taking the fight for the Imperium's future to the Daemon Worlds inhabited by the Traitor Marines.A representative from each of the doomed Chapters held an emergency Council of Dismay to discuss the proposed Crusade. After scant hours of debate, they acquiesced to Basillius' demands, for they believed that martyrdom was preferable to an existence of suspicion and doubt. The last few days of 321.M37 saw a solemn procession of Strike Cruisers and Battle Barges pass through the Cadian Gate into the Eye of Terror, relay systems dormant and heraldic colours obscured by black mag-plates.One by one, the Chapters of The Judged disappeared into the iridescent dust nebulae that surrounded the Eye. As the massive Space Marine flotilla entered the Eye of Terror, they were set upon by a massive Chaos warfleet. The resultant battle was so fierce that the ships of The Judged were forced to retreat and were scattered to the furthest corners of the Eye.Chapter after Chapter fell to the perils of the Eye, for the Abyssal Crusade had entered a hell from which very few emerge unchanged. The true account of what occurred within the Eye to the Clerics of Steel is unknown, but most of the tales of the Chapters of The Judged ended in tragedy and sorrow. By the time they reemerged from the Eye many standard centuries later, the Clerics of Steel were no more, for they had become the Chaos Space Marine warband known as the Invocators, wholly dedicated to the service of the Ruinous Powers.
Invocators - Warband Colours: The Invocators warband's colours are purple with silver trim.
Invocators - Warband Badge: The Invocators warband's badge is a crimson snake eating its own tail on a field of purple encircling a crimson flame.
Invocatus - Invocatus: Invocatus, also called the "Horseman of the Apocalypse," is a Chaos Lord of the World Eaters Traitor Legion who rides to battle atop a Khornate Juggernaut Daemon.
Invocatus - History: Khornate hordes are more like a natural disaster than a disciplined army, steamrolling entire planets in waves of immense bloodshed and outright slaughter. It takes a warrior of supreme skill and confidence to command them -- a warrior like the Chaos Lord Invocatus of the World Eaters Traitor Legion.From atop his Juggernaut he leads thunderous charges of Bloodcrushers and Berzerkers in frontal attacks that light the sky aflame, and some claim he even rides the flames themselves.At an unknown date in the Era Indomitus, the Deathwatch Watch Fortress of Ebon Vale was assailed by the gore-slicked World Eaters warband of Heretic Astartes commanded by Lord Invocatus. Together with Daemon Engine allies from the Brazen Beasts, Invocatus raided the arsenals of the Deathwatch to claim state-of-the-art Adeptus Astartes wargear and powerful artefacts of battle from Ebon Vale's reliquaries.When the Chaos attack was quarantined and whittled down by the Deathwatch's air cover, the World Eaters made their departure, leaving empty weapons vaults and hundreds of black-armoured corpses in their wake. With the Deathwatch greatly reduced in strength in the region, a Hrud infestation spread throughout the Ebon Vale soon after, reducing several Civilised Worlds to useless mulch.
Invocatus - Wargear: Power Armour (Chaos Space Marine Pattern)Power AxeJuggernaut Mount
Inwit - Inwit: Inwit is an Imperial Ice World and the capital world of the Inwit Cluster of the Segmentum Tempestus. Inwit also serves as a sector fleet base for the Navis Imperialis and the assembly ground for local Astra Militarum regiments.Inwit is best known for being the homeworld of Rogal Dorn, the primarch of the Imperial Fists Legion, who spent a significant portion of his life on Inwit before he was rediscovered by his father the Emperor of Mankind during the Great Crusade in 835.M31. Dorn lived amongst the ice-tribes who called Inwit home and considered one of the chieftains of these tribes to be his adoptive grandfather and chief childhood mentor. The world's population was said to inhabit massive ice-hives and its actual level of technological advancement remains unclear.The people of Inwit were known to have divided themselves into different tribes and clans and to have a caste system in place known as "ice-castes." Dorn claimed to have risen to have become the Emperor and Warlord of Inwit and its entire star system and to have either discovered or constructed the massive starship later used as a mobile fortress-monastery by the Imperial Fists known as the Phalanx.Inwit at present is one of only two known primary recruiting worlds for the Neophytes of the Imperial Fists Chapter of Space Marines, along with the Hive World of Necromunda. Several famed members of the Imperial Fists Legion came from the ice tribes of Inwit, including Captain Alexis Polux. Very little is known about this world in current Imperial records.
Iocanthos - Iocanthos: Iocanthos is a lawless Imperial Agri-world in the Calixis Sector's Golgenna Reach sub-sector in the Segmentum Obscurus. Iocanthos is dominated by Human warlords and their huge armies, which clash across its jungles, forests and plains. The planet's importance in the Calixis Sector is defined by the fact that it is one of the few places in the Imperium where the Ghostfire flower can grow. Ghostfire pollen can be refined into the combat drugs used extensively in the Penal Legions of the Astra Militarum.Iocanthos' warlords (usually styling themselves "vai" or tribal prince) battle constantly for control of the Ghostfire harvest. The Ghostfire crop cannot be cultivated normally and so once a patch of it is harvested another one must be found. The warlords' armies are therefore constantly on the move, travelling in enormous hordes across Iocanthos' main continent and clashing violently wherever they meet. Iocanthos' wide plains, dense, dark forests and forbidding mountain passes are studded with old battlefields where burned-out vehicles and age-bleached skeletons abound.Every five standard years, a taskforce of Administratum officials descends onto Iocanthus to gather the planet's Ghostfire tithe. The warlords exchange their harvests of Ghostfire pollen with the Administratum in exchange for weapons, vehicles, fuel, clean water and other essentials. The warlord who hands over the most Ghostfire pollen is considered the planetary governor and claims the lion's share of support from the Imperium and the title vervai (literally "prince of princes" or "king"). The title brings with it immense prestige and confirms the warlord's position as the most dangerous and skilled on Iocanthos.The current vervai is "King" Skull, a terrifying warrior at the head of an enormous and supposedly invincible army of madmen and killers. The warlords of Iocanthus are also required to hand over their psykers as well as the Ghostfire harvest, but these are taken from them not by the Administratum but by nameless grey-uniformed men who herd the psykers onto their sleek Black Ship and take their leave.The Administratum fully accepts the situation on Iocanthos. The Ghostfire pollen is harvested very efficiently because so many warlords' armies battle to find every last blossom. Were the Administratum to take over Iocanthus themselves the planet would first have to be conquered by the Astra Militarum at enormous expense and the Administratum themselves would be hard-pressed to match the vigour with which Iocanthos' warlords hunt down every Ghostfire flower. They therefore leave the warlords to do the hard work, safe in the knowledge that none of them can rebel against Imperial authority lest their supplies of guns and fuel be cut off.
Iocanthos - History: Iocanthos was taken by General (Saint) Drusus' 2nd Army Group during the Angevin Crusade that spread throughout the sector. As the planet lacked any significant technology, Drusus' forces defeated the indigenous people, known as the Ashleen, in a single solar week of bloody fighting. Drusus later remarked in his memoirs that the only memorable aspect of the planet was the vast fields of wild flowers which resembled "Shimmering fields of rippling explosions, caught at that fleeting moment between beauty and destruction." As ever, the general was perceptive as the Ghostfire would become central to the world's future.In times past, Iocanthos served as a penal dumping ground for undesirables that the Scintillan authorities for various reasons didn't wish to execute or expatriate further afield. Such exiles were given minimal supplies and allowed to thrive or falter without further interference. The current population is largely a mixture of their descendants and the native Ashleen.
Iocanthos - Port Suffering: Port Suffering, the largest permanent settlement on Iocanthos, is a sturdy fortified town that serves as the base for Imperial operations on Iocanthos. The town's largest and most important feature is its spaceport, an expanse of rockcrete broken by docking clamps and refuelling ports that can accommodate the landing craft that deliver supplies and pick up Ghostfire shipments. Equally important for the people living in Port Suffering are the huge freshwater tanks beneath the town. Freshwater is very valuable on Iocanthos, and Port Suffering not only has its own supply brought down on Imperial ships, but can trade its surplus water to the warlords (mainly for guarantees that the warlords will not attack the town).Port Suffering's architecture is based around a standard hab-block pattern since most of its buildings, from the chapel to the accommodation blocks, were dropped from voidships directly to the surface when the town was first founded as an Imperial trading post. Its dry, dusty streets and prefabricated rust-red buildings are home to a community mostly geared towards maintaining the spaceport and ensuring that the port remains self-sufficient.The town's population is broadly Emperor-fearing and law-abiding, and they attend the town's chapel and send their children to the seminary school run by Preacher Goudt. The largest building in Port Suffering is the Administratum counting-house where the town's small body of adepts calculates the projected Ghostfire crop and receives envoys from the various warlords. The under-consul in charge of the counting-house, Adept Sabetha Kosloff, serves as the de facto mayor of Port Suffering, sometimes against her will as she is not very good at dealing with townsfolk and would rather stick to ensuring that the Emperor's forms are correctly filed.Other important citizens include the sharp-tongued but compassionate Sister Xanthe, the Sister Hospitaller who runs Port Suffering's hospital along with a small staff of inexperienced laymen. Unkind rumours suggest that Sister Xanthe was given her thankless post as a punishment by her canoness at the Abbey of the Dawn.Port Suffering's walls are always manned by the citizens who serve in the Port Militia. The town's greatest protection, however, is the fact that it is considered neutral by most of Iocanthos' warlords. If Port Suffering was to be attacked, the more powerful warlords would lose their supply of weapons, freshwater and fuel from the Imperium and what little structure that exists on Iocanthos would fall apart.Some lesser warlords eye the support received by the more powerful with jealousy, however, and endlessly plan to launch devastating raids on Port Suffering. Should this ever happen, the stoutness of the town's defences and the dedication of its well-armed but inexperienced militia will be sorely tested.
Iocanthos - Levies of King Skull the Magnificient: King Skull, as the current vervai and planetary governor, is the most powerful man on Iocanthos and styles himself on the legendary warrior-kings from the planet's history. In truth, the great ages of martial kingship are long past, with the old traditions bastardised into the modern, ruthless business of controlling the Ghostfire flower commerce.Nevertheless, King Skull's army is many millions strong and dominates huge swathes of Iocanthos' main continent at any one time. Skull himself is a tall, saturnine man clad in elaborate black steel armour, wielding a huge spear with a head cut from the flint of Iocanthos' highest peak. "Skull" is clearly a deliberately assumed name -- the vervai's tribal banner is a bleached Human skull -- though there is little clue as to his real name, as his origins are very obscure and are the subject of considerable speculation. Some say he is a deposed Imperial noble who fled to Iocanthos to avoid some scandal or tragedy, others that he is a dangerous fugitive criminal who found his true calling among the warlords and madmen.Most rumours centre around his supposed capabilities in battle. Skull is undoubtedly a tenacious warrior, but tales whispered in Iocanthos' frontier towns hint at far more, such as allegations that he drinks blood to gain strength from his enemies, or is a powerful witch who can summon mighty storms of black lightning down on his foes. Skull's rule is based on the immense loyalty the core of his army feels towards him. Warriors must first prove themselves in battle before they are ever armed with the weapons and equipment that Skull acquires from the Imperium in return for the Ghostfire harvest. As they demonstrate prowess in battle, they are further armed and drawn towards the core of battle-hardened, well-equipped veterans of the Harrowguard who surround Skull himself. Skull leads these warriors into battle personally, and the sight of his black-armoured form is enough to demoralise those unfortunate enough to meet the Harrowguard in battle.
Iocanthos - Life in the Horde: King Skull's army welcomes all as long as they are willing to fight their first battles armed with little more than sticks and stones. Skull deploys huge numbers of new, expendable troops to swamp the enemy while the elite Harrowguard function as shock troops. Skull's army in battle is a terrible thing to witness, with swarms of madmen hurling themselves upon the enemy while the better-armed sections of the army fire volleys of Lasgun shots into the shocked enemy or charge alongside the vervai himself.Skull's army travels on a number of huge, smoke-belching vehicles. The Throne is Skull's personal transport, which was once a huge-tracked mining vehicle, refitted to function as a mobile throne room and prison for captured enemies. This sootstained monstrosity is festooned with captured banners and other trophies, and Skull himself sits on a throne platform suspended over hundreds of cages where his prisoners languish. Skull sells these prisoners back to their families or comrades in exchange for Ghostfire pollen or offers them a place in the ill-armed hordes of his army. Those who are good for neither Ghostfire nor fighting are left to rot, their sobs and screams accompanying the vervai everywhere he goes.Another mobile landmark is the Sanctum, a tower supported by a raft of lashed-together Chimera vehicles. It is home to Gurgerin, the advisor to the vervai and, it is widely assumed, a sorcerer whose divinations are essential to Skull's plans. The Sanctum is a stone tower pulled from some long-forgotten mountain ruin, said to be full of bewildering and grotesque experiments (or captive aliens, shambling Warp monstrosities or a cabal of the Calixis Sector's rich and powerful, depending on which stories you believe). Gurgerin, a man of extremely advanced age with tiny glinting eyes like specks of flint, can sometimes be seen on the Sanctum's uppermost battlements watching the vast throng of the army marching beneath him.Several other massive vehicles, used either to house the Harrowguard or to transport the precious Ghostfire crop, travel alongside the army, often hung with trophies or the weathered corpses of particularly hated enemies.
Iocanthos - Seth the Voice: One of the largest and newest armies of Iocanthos is that led by Seth the Voice, self-styled Prophet of the Emperor and figurehead of an apocalyptic splinter cult of the Imperial Creed. Vai ("Prince") Seth is almost certainly an ex-adept, probably from Port Suffering's Administratum contingent, who became convinced that the God-Emperor was granting him visions that demanded he immediately take over Iocanthos. Since then, through force of personality and by tapping into Iocanthos' need for religion and redemption, Seth has forged a ragtag but huge army with which he is challenging the most powerful rival warlords, especially that of the great vervai.Vai Seth himself is a slight, balding, bespectacled figure in white robes. He travels in a battered old scout vehicle converted into a mobile pulpit from which he can preach. And preach he does, almost constantly, his voice transmitted by bulky vox-units carried by his devout followers. The passion with which Seth exhorts the people of Iocanthos to claim the planet for their Emperor is genuine and convincing.Everywhere he goes he gathers more souls for his army, be they drifters looking for a purpose or hard-bitten mercenaries searching for a way to redeem themselves of their many sins. Seth is not a soldier, but he has a gift for getting others to fight for him that is so profound that it might as well have been granted by the Emperor Himself.
Iocanthos - The Army of the Voice: Vai Seth's army is ill-equipped, undertrained and frequently starving. It is, however, uniquely motivated, for all its members believe that fighting for Seth will grant them a far better afterlife than is awaiting all the galaxy's other sinners. The Army of the Voice, uniquely, has no problem getting new members to replace its frequent losses, as even defeated enemies are sometimes swayed to join by Seth's impassioned preaching. The army travels on many hundreds of vehicles, most of them looted from enemies or donated by recruits, and as a result it is constantly in the throes of a critical fuel shortage. Capturing more fuel is essential to the army's continued existence.The men and women of the Army of the Voice are as varied as the sins they are trying to cleanse, but they all wear white robes, or at least they did when they joined up, for the constant travel and fighting means that most of them are actually dressed in dirty greys. Some are armed with Lasguns and other reliable weapons, but most have the hunting rifles or Stub Pistols they were armed with when recruited. The most experienced fighters, normally ex-mercenaries or recruits from other warlords' armies, are referred to as Seth's "Saints" and are the focal points of the army, instructing the enthusiastic, but often clueless, faithful in the best ways to avoid dying too quickly.In spite of the army's inexperience it is a formidable military force. As well as having the numbers and the determination, the effect of Seth's own presence seems to demoralise enemy troops and even cause them to flee or mutiny. Mercenaries in particular are a superstitious lot, and even an experienced killer can baulk at the idea of killing a man who so convincingly claims to be a holy man ordained by the Emperor's will.
Iocanthos - Abbey of the Dawn: The Abbey of the Dawn is the Adepta Sororitas' main training facility in the Calixis Sector. A spectacular fortress of pale yellow ouslite built into the knife-like slopes of a dark flint mountain, the abbey is the most secure place on Iocanthos. Its location means that, while it is close to the astrocartographic heartland of the Calixis Sector, its immediate surroundings are bleak and rugged, and the abbey's sisters are cut off from the corruptive influences of the outside world.The abbey's purpose is to train initiates into fully-fledged sisters, who then go on to perform devotional works across the Calixis Sector and beyond. The abbey is run by Canoness Goneril, who leads the Lesser Order Famulous of the Opening Eye. The Opening Eye's purpose is to offer counsel to the Calixis Sector's powerful noble families. Most novices at the abbey are trainees of the Opening Eye and are schooled in a variety of subjects from Imperial history to theology and sector economics. Most importantly they are trained in the strength of mind to resist the secular temptations that are a constant threat to the Sisters Famulous.A Sister Famulous must be disciplined and incorruptible as she is sent out to fend mostly for herself, and is surrounded by the sometimes morally questionable nobles to whose house she is attached. Canoness Goneril has her novices undergo a strict regime of fasting, prayer, lectures and theological study. She stops short of outright cruelty, but life is far from easy for a novice of the Opening Eye. Goneril's Mistress of Novices, the formidable Sister Gert, is a physically intimidating reminder of a sister's duty to obey her order at all times.The Abbey of the Dawn is also home to a mission of Sisters of Battle from the Order of the Ebon Chalice, who are led by Palatine Rhiannon. The Ebon Chalice is based on Terra, and the battle-sisters at the abbey, even if they have only glimpsed the spires of the Imperium's holiest world, are regarded with something like religious awe by the novices. Their duties include maintaining the Sororitas honour guard at the Cathedral of Illumination on Scintilla and guarding important Ecclesiarchy adepts who visit the Calixis Sector.Both Canoness Goneril and Palatine Rhiannon are adherents to the long-standing agreement between the Adepta Sororitas and the Ordo Hereticus, and would willingly lend the battle-sisters' martial prowess to an Inquisitorial operation should it be needed. Lord Inquisitor Anton Zerbe of the Calixian Conclave does not take this agreement lightly and will not permit the Sisters of the Ebon Chalice to be sent to battle by an Inquisitor unless it is absolutely necessary. Though they number only around fifty, Rhiannon's Sisters of the Ebon Chalice are the most elite and dedicated mortal troops in the Calixis Sector.
Iocanthos - Badlands: This is the rugged interior of Iocanthos, bounded to the south by dense forests and the sea, and to the north by the jagged flint mountains. The Badlands are an endless sweep of plains, scrub and steppe where most of the Ghostfire crops can be found and where the warlords clash. It is dotted with battlefields, some of them no more than a tangle of recently slain bodies and others titanic fields of bones and burned-out wrecks.A fortunate and hardy individual can make a good living scavenging these battlefields to find valuables and weapons to sell. Iocanthos' folklore is full of the tales of the sticky ends experienced by such scavengers, from dread curses to old-fashioned walking dead, and most normal folk stay away from these battlefields.
Iocanthos - Departmento Cartographicae Planetary Data: Galactic Position: 103/22/CS/SE.Planetary Governor: Vervai ("King") Skull.Government Type: None/Tribal.Adept Presence: Very low. Adepta Sororitas (Commandery at the Abbey of the Dawn), Administratum (Port Suffering).Climatic Phenomena: Frequent dust storms.Geography: Four main continents and extensive island chains. Only the largest continent is populated (mountainous/rocky, dense southern forests. Largely arid climate with frequent dust storms). Very few sources of fresh water.Economy: Local currency known as "soules". On Iocanthus many believe their money is forever stained by the blood of mercenaries, giving rise to the idea of trading in the soules of fallen warriors.Water Supply: Very few sources of fresh water.Principle Exports: Iocanthos' only meaningful export is Ghostfire pollen. The Ghostfire harvest is essential to the existence of Astra Militarum Penal Legions in the Segmentum Obscurus. The blunderbusses made on Iocanthos are worthy of note for the sheer size of the barrel and its seemingly indestructible ability to fire anything placed into the barrel. It is unsurprising to know that they are also called "scrapper cannons" locally. The Iocanthus blunderbuss has a notoriously short range but a very wide arc. Anything unlucky enough to be standing two metres in front of a fully loaded "scrapper cannon" will most likely be turned to mush.Principle Imports: Fresh water is a vital import.Conflicts: Iocanthos' warlords (usually styling themselves vai or tribal prince) battle constantly for control of the Ghostfire harvest. The Ghostfire crop cannot be cultivated normally and so once a patch of it is harvested another one must be found. The warlords' armies are therefore constantly on the move, travelling in enormous hordes across Iocanthos' main continent and clashing violently wherever they meet. The planet's wide plains, dense, dark forests and forbidding mountain passes are studded with old battlefields where burned-out vehicles and age-bleached skeletons abound.Military: Massive armies in service of warlords. Large mercenary presence.Contact with Other Worlds: A great many stable Warp routes can be accessed from Iocanthus, leading to worlds such as Dreah, Scintilla, Luggnam, Sephiris Secundus, 41 Pry, Zillman's Domain and Heed.Tithe Grade: Exactus Median.
Ion Accelerator - Ion Accelerator: An Ion Accelerator is an experimental T'au Ion Weapon developed during the T'au Empire's Third Sphere Expansion. An Ion Accelerator is a huge weapon, and is capable of engaging enemies at extremely long ranges with high energy ion streams; vaporising flesh and metal with equal ease. These high-energy particles are accelerated by an electromagnetic field and react explosively with the target as a result of direct transfer of energy at an atomic level.The Ion Accelerator is based on Ion Weapon technology acquired as part of a fruitful alliance between the Syrr'Tok Brotherhood of the Demiurg and the Water Caste of the Dal'yth Sept, and is a prototype weapon designed for use as a primary weapons system for the experimental XV104 Riptide Battlesuit.For their size, Ion Accelerators have a relatively high rate of fire; and their strength allows them to engage both heavy infantry and vehicles effectively. Indeed, Riptide Battlesuits have used their Ion Accelerators to devastating effect on even Leman Russ Battle Tanks and reinforced Imperial bunkers.As with all T'au Ion Weapons, an Ion Accelerator's design allows for the weapon to be overcharged by exposing the reactive Mor'tonium power source to the environment, though this also exposes the user to the dangerous ionising radiation emitted by the Mor'tonium, and to the risks of overloading the primary power cells to hazardous energy levels. Overcharging an Ion Accelerator allows it to generate a wide explosive blast with increased damage compared to its normal fire mode. An Ion Accelerator can also be nova-charged by the Riptide's Dark Matter Nova Reactor to produce an even more devastatingly potent and far-reaching blast that can destroy virtually anything but the most heavily armoured of vehicles and bunkers.
Ion Beamer - Ion Beamer: An Ion Beamer is a large and powerful, long-range, vehicle-mounted directed energy Ion Weapon used by the military forces of the Leagues of Votann. Ion Weapons typically are capable of engaging enemies at long range with high-energy streams of ionised subatomic particles, vaporising flesh and metal with equal ease. These high-energy ions containing an electric charge are accelerated by an electromagnetic field and react explosively with the target as a result of the direct transfer of energy at an atomic level.The Ion Beamer has a medium range compared to the other Ion Weapons utilised by the Leagues of Votann and often serves as a rear-mounted weapon on the Magna-Coil Grav Bikes of the Hernkyn Pioneers. Unlike other Leagues of Votann Ion Weapons, the Ion Beamer, as its name implies, fires long beams of energy rather than short ion bursts.However, Kin weapons like the Ion Beamer are superior in almost every respect to those patterns of Ion Weapons wielded by the agents and military of the T'au Empire, since the Kin employ superlative materials and methods in their construction. As a result, Leagues of Votann Ion Weapons often have longer ranges and more stopping power than any of their T'au equivalents. This is largely because the T'au originally received Ion Weapons technology through a fruitful commercial alliance between the SrrykTok Brotherhood of the Demiurg Prospect of the Leagues of Votann and the Water Caste of the Dal'yth Sept.
Ion Blaster - Ion Blaster: An Ion Blaster is a man-portable, long-range, directed energy Ion Weapon used by the military forces of the Leagues of Votann. Ion Weapons typically are capable of engaging enemies at long range with high-energy streams of ionised subatomic particles, vaporising flesh and metal with equal ease. These high-energy ions containing an electric charge are accelerated by an electromagnetic field and react explosively with the target as a result of the direct transfer of energy at an atomic level.The Ion Blaster has a medium range compared to the other Ion Weapons utilised by the Leagues of Votann and is sometimes used as an alternative standard weapon by Hearthkyn Warriors infantry.However, Kin weapons like the Ion Blaster are superior in almost every respect to those patterns of Ion Weapons wielded by the agents and military of the T'au Empire, since the Kin employ superlative materials and methods in their construction. As a result, Leagues of Votann Ion Weapons often have longer ranges and more stopping power than any of their T'au equivalents. This is largely because the T'au originally received Ion Weapons technology through a fruitful commercial alliance between the SrrykTok Brotherhood of the Demiurg Prospect of the Leagues of Votann and the Water Caste of the Dal'yth Sept.
Ion Cannon - Ion Cannon: An Ion Cannon is an T'au Ion Weapon that is capable of engaging enemies at extremely long ranges with high energy ion streams; vaporising flesh and metal with equal ease. These high-energy particles are accelerated by an electromagnetic field and react explosively with the target as a result of direct transfer of energy at an atomic level.The Ion Cannon was developed during the T'au Empire's early expansions into space, and it is a large weapon most commonly found as a primary turret weapon on Hammerhead gunships, though numerous other T'au aircraft and voidships also make use of Ion Cannons.The Ion Cannon was developed using the Ion Weapon technology acquired as part of a fruitful alliance between the Syrr'Tok Brotherhood of the Demiurg and the Water Caste of the Dal'yth Sept.An Ion Cannon is most commonly deployed as a primary turret weapon for a Hammerhead gunship in place of a Railgun. Whilst an Ion Cannon lacks the raw power of the latter armament, it makes up for it with its higher rate of fire.Extremely effective against foes such as power-armoured Space Marines and light vehicles, an Ion Cannon is more than capable of vaporising all but the most heavily armoured of infantry and vehicles.T'au aircraft also commonly make use of Ion Cannons as primary armaments, with Barracuda air superiority fighters deploying a nose-mounted and pilot-aimed Ion Cannon as their primary dogfighting and ground attack weapon.Tiger Sharks are primarily armed with twin-linked Ion Cannons for use in a ground-strafing role, and both Morays and Mantas make use of batteries of networked Ion Cannons as part of their standard armaments.During the T'au Empire's Third Sphere Expansion, the discovery of a Mor'tonium power source allowed for further development on the Ion Cannon design.Now, as with all T'au Ion Weapons, an Ion Cannon's design allows for the weapon to be overcharged by exposing the reactive Mor'tonium power source to the environment, though this also exposes the vehicle to the dangerous ionising radiation emitted by the Mor'tonium, and risks overloading the primary power cells.Overcharging an Ion Cannon allows it to generate a wide, explosive blast with increased damage compared to its normal fire mode, allowing it to vaporise entire squads in a single salvo.Many T'au voidships are armed with larger versions of the Ion Cannon, and utilise them in a role similar to that of the Imperial Lance. As a voidship weapon, an Ion Cannon's beam vaporises the object struck, magnifying the overall energy discharge.
Ion Cannon - Long-Barrelled Ion Cannon: A Long-Barrelled Ion Cannon is a variant of a Ion Cannon that, as the name implies, features an extended barrel length, providing the weapon system with greatly enhanced range.A T'au Manta mounts three twin-linked Long-Barrelled Ion Cannons in its wings, and uses them to unleash devastating saturation barrages upon enemy forces.
Ion Cannon - Tri-axis Ion Cannon: A rapid-firing, multi-chambered variant of the standard Ion Cannon whose firepower is unmatched for its size in the T'au arsenal, a Tri-axis Ion Cannon is designed to reap through enemy formations.It can adjust its power levels and rate of fire to deal with light vehicles or heavy armour with precisely controlled lethality. Currently, this weapon is only found deployed on KX139 Ta'unar Supremacy Armour as its arm weapons.
Ion Gauntlet Shield - Ion Gauntlet Shield: The Ion Gauntlet Shield is a type of Ion Shield used by the combat walkers of the Questor Imperialis, the Imperial Knights, and by the Renegade Knights of the Questor Traitoris. The Ion Shield Gauntlet is found only on the Cerastus Knight-Lancer. The Gauntlet Shield works similarly to the more common Ion Shields found on other Knight armours, but instead of being projected from the Knight's torso in the direction of enemy fire, the Ion Gauntlet Shield is generated inside of a massive shield-shaped projector equipped to the Knight-Lancer's gauntlet assembly.This defensive energy shield is many times more concentrated than a standard Ion Shield, though it lacks the latter's tactical flexibility. The Ion Gauntlet Shield is used in conjunction with the Lancer's Cerastus Shock Lance, and protects the Knight-Lancer from attacks as it closes with the enemy to deliver a killing blow with its powered lance.
Ion Gauntlet Shield - Sources: The Horus Heresy - Book Four: Conquest (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 305The Horus Heresy - Book Seven: Inferno (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 106Imperial Armour Index: Forces of the Astra Militarum (8th Edition), pg. 99Imperial Armour Index: Forces of Chaos (8th Edition), pg. 59Forge World Webstore - Cerastus Knight Lancer
Ion Pistol - Ion Pistol: An Ion Pistol is a man-portable, directed energy Ion Weapon used by the military forces of the Leagues of Votann. Ion Weapons typically are capable of engaging enemies at long range with high-energy streams of ionised subatomic particles, vaporising flesh and metal with equal ease. These high-energy ions containing an electric charge are accelerated by an electromagnetic field and react explosively with the target as a result of the direct transfer of energy at an atomic level.The Ion Pistol has the shortest range of all the Ion Weapons utilised by the Leagues of Votann. It is sometimes used as an alternative sidearm by the theyns who command squads of Hearthkyn Warriors infantry.However, Kin weapons like the Ion Pistol are superior in almost every respect to those patterns of Ion Weapons wielded by the agents and military of the T'au Empire, since the Kin employ superlative materials and methods in their construction. As a result, Leagues of Votann Ion Weapons often have longer ranges and more stopping power than any of their T'au equivalents. This is largely because the T'au originally received Ion Weapons technology through a fruitful commercial alliance between the SrrykTok Brotherhood of the Demiurg Prospect of the Leagues of Votann and the Water Caste of the Dal'yth Sept.
Ion Rifle - Ion Rifle: An Ion Rifle is an experimental T'au Ion Weapon designed for infantry use developed during the T'au Empire's Third Sphere Expansion. An Ion Rifle is similar in size to a T'au Rail Rifle, and it is a powerful weapon capable of engaging enemies at long ranges with high energy ion streams, vaporising flesh and metal with equal ease.These high-energy particles are accelerated by an electromagnetic field and react explosively with the target as a result of direct transfer of energy at an atomic level.The Ion Rifle was developed using Ion Weapon technology acquired as part of a fruitful alliance between the Syrr'Tok Brotherhood of the Demiurg and the Water Caste of the Dal'yth Sept.However, despite the eventual widespread dissemination of Ion Weapons during the T'au Empire's Second Sphere Expansion, man-portable Ion Weapons remained an impossibility due to the bulkiness of their power sources. It was only the discovery of a Mor'tonium power source during the Third Sphere Expansion which made efficient powering of smaller-scale T'au Ion Weapons possible.T'au Ion Weapon designs also allow for the weapons to be overcharged by exposing the reactive Mor'tonium power source to the environment, though this also exposes the user to the dangerous ionising radiation emitted by the Mor'tonium, and to the risks of overloading the primary power cells to hazardous energy levels.Overcharging an Ion Rifle allows it to generate an explosive blast with increased power compared to its normal fire mode.Ion Rifles are currently only issued to Pathfinders as special weapons, where their firepower boosts the team's combat capabilities by allowing them to vaporise heavy infantry and light vehicles alike. T'au Interceptor Drones are also armed with a set of twin-linked Ion Rifles as standard weapons, which they use in conjunction with their advanced targeting systems to blow incoming aircraft out of the sky.
Ion Shield - Ion Shield: An Ion Shield is a potent defensive energy field generator carried by the combat walkers of the Questor Imperialis, the Imperial Knights, and by the Renegade Knights of the Questor Traitoris. These devices use ancient technology to project an energy field across a narrow arc, and by moving the position of the shield so that it intercepts enemy attacks a Knight is able to survive even the heaviest of fire while still being able to return fire from its own weapons.The settings and positioning of the Ion Shield is essential, as the shield is only designed to deflect and slow shots rather than absorb them in the manner of the more powerful Void Shields used by Titans and Imperial starships. There exist rarer patterns of the standard Ion Shield that provide a greater area of protection, at the expense of efficiency and greater cost in power.
Ion Weapons - Ion Weapons: Ion Weapons are advanced, directed energy weapons utilised by the Fire Caste of the T'au Empire and by the military forces of the Leagues of Votann. Ion Weapons typically are capable of engaging enemies at long range with high-energy streams of ionised subatomic particles, vaporising flesh and metal with equal ease. These high-energy ions containing an electric charge are accelerated by an electromagnetic field and react explosively with the target as a result of the direct transfer of energy at an atomic level.Ion Weapon technology was originally acquired by the the T'au as part of a fruitful alliance between the  SrrykTok Brotherhood of the Demiurg Prospect of the Leagues of Votann and the Water Caste of the Dal'yth Sept. However, despite the eventual widespread dissemination of Ion Weapons during the T'au Empire's Second Sphere Expansion, man-portable Ion Weapons remained an impossibility due to the bulkiness of their power sources. It was only the discovery of a Mor'tonium power source during the Third Sphere Expansion that made the efficient powering of small-scale T'au Ion Weapons possible.A Mor'tonium power source revolutionised the technological possibilities for Ion Weapons, allowing smaller weapons to be built and the adding of an additional feature to existing Ion Weapons. Now, all Ion Weapon designs allow for the weapon to be overcharged by exposing the highly-reactive Mor'tonium power core to the environment.This exposes the wielder of the weapon or those inside the vehicle to the dangerous ionising radiation emitted by the Mor'tonium and risks overloading the weapon's primary power cells. However, overcharging an Ion Weapon allows it to generate a wide, explosive blast with increased damage compared to its normal fire mode, allowing it to vaporise entire squads of enemy infantry in a single salvo.
Ion Weapons - Notable Leagues of Votann Ion Weapons: The Leagues of Votann's Ion Weapons are superior in almost every respect to those patterns of Ion Weapons wielded by the agents and military of the T'au Empire, since the Kin employ superlative materials and methods in their construction. As a result, Leagues of Votann Ion Weapons often have longer ranges and more stopping power than any of their T'au equivalents. This is largely because the T'au originally received Ion Weapons technology through a fruitful commercial alliance between the SrrykTok Brotherhood of the Demiurg Prospect of the Leagues of Votann and the Water Caste of the Dal'yth Sept.However the Kin were careful to maintain their own superiority in the technology by holding back from their trade partners some aspects of their knowledge of Ion Weapons. As a result, the Leagues have always kept the finest and most advanced of these weapons for themselves.Cyclic Ion Cannon - A Cyclic Ion Cannon is a large and powerful, long-range, vehicle-mounted directed energy Ion Weapon used by the military forces of the Leagues of Votann. The Cyclic Ion Cannon has the longest range of any of the Ion Weapons utilised by the Leagues of Votann and often serves as a main turret weapon on the Hekaton Land Fortress.Ion Beamer - An Ion Beamer is a long-range, vehicle-mounted directed energy Ion Weapon used by the military forces of the Leagues of Votann. The Ion Beamer has a medium range compared to the other Ion Weapons utilised by the Leagues of Votann and often serves as a rear-mounted weapon on the Magna-Coil Grav Bikes of the Hernkyn Pioneers. Unlike other Leagues of Votann Ion Weapons, the Ion Beamer, as its name implies, fires long beams of energy rather than short ion bursts.Ion Blaster - An Ion Blaster is a man-portable, long-range, directed energy Ion Weapon used by the military forces of the Leagues of Votann. The Ion Blaster has a medium range compared to the other Ion Weapons utilised by the Leagues of Votann and is sometimes used as an alternative standard weapon by Hearthkyn Warriors infantry.Ion Pistol - An Ion Pistol is a man-portable, directed energy Ion Weapon used by the military forces of the Leagues of Votann. The Ion Pistol has the shortest range of all the Ion Weapons utilised by the Leagues of Votann. It is sometimes used as an alternative sidearm by the theyns who command squads of Hearthkyn Warriors infantry.
Ion Weapons - Sources: Battlefleet Gothic: Armada, pg. 159Battlefleet Gothic Magazine 19, pg. 9Codex: Leagues of Votann (9th Edition), pp. 16, 19, 32-33, 93, 96, 99, 101Codex: Tau Empire (3rd Edition), pg. 19Codex: Tau Empire (4th Edition), pp. 26, 30Codex: Tau Empire (6th Edition), pp. 38, 44-45, 48-49, 50, 66-67, 72Imperial Armour Aeronautica, pp. 58-59, 62Imperial Armour Apocalypse II, pg. 58Imperial Armour Volume Three – The Taros Campaign, pp. 194, 201, 208White Dwarf Weekly 89 (October 10, 2015), " XV95 Ghostkeel Battlesuit", pp. 8-9Dawn of War - Soulstorm (PC Game)Forge World – XV109 Y'vahra Battlesuit Experimental Rules DatasheetForge World - Tri-axis Ion Cannon
Ionic Discharge Cannon - Ionic Discharge Cannon: The Ionic Discharge Cannon is a very short-ranged, rapid-firing form of heavy Ion Weapon that is most likely a derivative of the Ion Accelerator. Ionic Discharge Cannons fire high energy ion streams that vaporise flesh and metal with equal ease. These high-energy particles are accelerated by an electromagnetic field and react explosively with the target as a result of the direct transfer of energy at the atomic level. Unlike most Ion Weapons, the Ionic Discharge Cannon cannot overcharge its shots; instead they emit an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) upon detonation, which can overload electronic circuitry, causing anything from minor malfunctions in electronic systems to fires. The effects of this can also blind enemy infantry and sensors that are hit.The Ion Accelerator is based on Ion Weapon technology acquired as part of a fruitful alliance between the Syrr'Tok Brotherhood of the Demiurg and the Water Caste of the Dal'yth Sept, and is a prototype weapon designed for use as a primary weapons system for the experimental XV109 Y'vahra Battlesuit. An Ionic Discharge Cannon can be nova-charged by the Y'vahra's Dark Matter Nova Reactor to dramatically increase its rate of fire.
Ionic Flare Field - Ionic Flare Field: An Ionic Flare Field is a less power-hungry variant of the directional Ion Shield used by larger Mechanicum-indentured Imperial Knight variants that can be deployed on the lighter Armiger Pattern Knights. The Ionic Flare Field projects a wider effect, ensconcing the entire war machine within lesser, but still formidable, protection from oncoming projectiles.
Iphigenia - Iphigenia: The Feral World of Iphigenia in the Jericho Reach is, in many ways, typical of the T'au Empire's Velk'Han Sept. It is a Human world with a population of around seven billion, living mostly in the polar cities spared the fierce heat of the planet's nearby red sun.Its people are all born into one of several dozen tribes, each tribe having its own king in turn united under the "high king." All laws are decided according to the tribe; transgressions in one tribe are often accepted in another, even though the populations of the various tribes live side by side in every city.Since Iphigenia was absorbed into the sept, however, another power structure has come to exist alongside the tribal kings: the "Grey Kings," the name given to the T'au emissaries who have entered into an agreement with the high king.In return for allowing the Human tribes to rule themselves, the Grey Kings require Iphigenia's armed forces to fight for the T'au as Gue'vesa. In addition, the tribal kings are to hand over the most technically skilled of their people to the orbital stations on which the Grey Kings live.Each station is a huge re-education facility. Many of the Gue'la sent here are trained in T'au technology and sent to work elsewhere in the sept under Earth Caste work teams or Air Caste starship crews.Others are sent back down to Iphigenia, radiant with their new purpose and eager to spread their understanding of the Greater Good among their tribemates.Iphigenia's people are far from universally convinced about the Greater Good. The "enlightened ones" who return from orbit, however, are quick to address such concerns with anyone who wishes to accompany them to the strange structures the Grey Kings are building in the southern wastes.