vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Phalanx Warder - Phalanx Warder: The Phalanx Warders were a specialised unit utilised by the Imperial Fists Legion during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras of the 30th and 31st Millennia. These warriors were selected from amongst the ranks of the VII Legion's Legion Breacher Siege Squads, and were a reinforced company that was assigned to the defence of the Imperial Fists' flagship, the Phalanx, and other ships in the Imperial Fists crusade fleet. Armed with a variety of deadly close range weaponry and guarded by a formidable, slab-like Legiones Astartes Boarding Shield, the Phalanx Warders presented a wall of Ceramite to any aggressor that defied any assault, and counterattacked with grim determination once the attack was blunted. Phalanx Warders were trained to fight from behind their shield wall to deadly effect; its armoured protection and the immense firepower at their command provided a deadly match for any foes who dared to assail them.
Phalanx Warder - Role: Even among the ranks of the Imperial Fists, the Warders were renowned for the stark regime under which they trained and served, eschewing any duty save their training, the protection of the Phalanx or the prosecution of war on the foes of Mankind. The Warders displayed few battle honours and practised no vainglorious rituals to mark achievement, holding the honour of continuing their service as the only mark of distinction they required. Staunch and immovable, they are the last line of defence when attack threatens and the first into the fray when the Legion boards enemy vessels. Warder detachments were often seconded to other companies of the Imperial Fists, honing their skills and lending their might to that of their brothers on battlefields across the galaxy. Most often they served aboard one of the VII Legion's warships, both as an unbreakable last line of defence against enemy boarders and as the hammer blow of any Imperial boarding assault.Anecdotal evidence suggests that the Primarch Horus often adopted new squad formations having seen their effectiveness in other Legions. Early on, during the early years of the Great Crusade, it is said that the then-Luna Wolves Legion had a low number of shield-equipped Breacher Squads within the XVI Legion. The contribution and success of such units amongst the Imperial Fists' forces did not escape Horus' notice. After the annihilation of the xenos Latrical during the Imperial campaign known as the Latrical Onslaught, the number of such squads in the ranks of the Luna Wolves rose noticeably.
Phalanx Warder - Unit Composition: 9-19 Phalanx Warders1 Veteran Sergeant
Phalanx Warder - Wargear: Power ArmourBolterBolt PistolBoarding ShieldFrag & Krak Grenades
Phalanx Warder - Optional Wargear: Power AxeCombi-WeaponFlamer1 Breaching ChargeMelta GunPlasma GunThunder HammerNuncio-VoxLegion Vexilla
Phalanx Warder - Optional Wargear (Veteran Sergeant Only): Artificer ArmourPower Weapon (Any Type)Power FistPlasma PistolThunder HammerMelta Bombs
Phantine - Phantine: Phantine is an unique Industrial World within the Sabbat Worlds whose population almost entirely resides in its upper atmosphere. Phantine offers immense mineral riches to the Imperium of Man, the exploitation of which increasingly destroyed Phantine's ecosystem until even the lowest reaches of its atmosphere, the troposphere, became unbreathable.To survive, human civilisation on Phantine had to be moved above the skyline of the hive cities, into the world's stratosphere. Having fallen before the press of the Blood Pact, Phantine was one of many former Imperial planets liberated by the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. Since its liberation, Phantine has been continuously providing reinforcements for the Crusade.
Phantine - Society: Phantine society widely conforms to the Imperial culture of other Civilised Worlds that share the same levels of population and technology. In stark contrast to the society on most Hive Worlds, there is no lower caste or under-hive scum, as every member of society is deemed valuable to the continued survival of the world's domed cities.Phantine is not ruled by a single Imperial Governor as is customary, but by an assembly of elected officials who comprise the world's Senate. Its officeholders go by the title of senator and invariably live a life of luxury in large estates on the upper levels of the hab-domes, their great palaces or villas surrounded by well-tended gardens and orchards. These estates often mark the sole traces of greenery in a Phantine city. Other influential personalities, such as high-ranking officers of the Planetary Defence Forces and members of the Imperial clergy, share the same level of accommodation and together form Phantine's ruling elite. Just below this group are the high-ranking Adepts of other Imperial Adepta such as the Adeptus Administratum and the Adeptus Arbites. The Adeptus Mechanicus maintains a discreet presence on Phantine, the few Tech-priests required to maintain Phantine's power plants and refineries almost never leaving the compounds they have been assigned to. Crime, often uncontrollable on more populous Imperial worlds, is notoriously low on Phantine. The layout of its cities and the lack of land-based access routes considerably facilitate the Adeptus Arbites' task of maintaining order, so that Phantine has not had to rely on an auxiliary corps of Enforcers.Amongst the common people, pilots are held in the highest regard, be they "simple" soldiers of the Planetary Defence Forces or a member of the highly respected Phantine Air Corps. Second in regard are the PDF's airborne soldiers who serve aboard the great military aerostats that act as mobile bases. Finally, the steam-mill and power plant workers on which the great cities rely are held as an elite group because without their labour the domed cities would cease to exist. A Phantine citizen's social rank can be determined from the location of his home, as the most humble are forced to live on the exterior rim of the habdomes. Several great Phantine cities such as Ouranberg have several smaller habdomes exclusively dedicated to residences for the steam mill and power plant workers, while to prevent accidents, the city refineries and other chemical plants are often located on separate platforms located outside the protected habdomes.
Phantine - Fauna and Flora: According to initial reports, Phantine was once a verdant world, harbouring hundreds of thousands of different species, but the toxic vapours of the Scald have either killed or profoundly affected Phantine's biodiversity. The worst affected was Phantine's flora, which proved unable to evolve quickly enough to escape the suffocating and toxic vapours of pollution. Nowadays, the only traces of vegetation on Phantine can be found within the hermetically sealed cities, and more specifically the upper class levels of the primary habitation domes where Phantine's elite lives. On those levels, the wealthiest men and women had preserved some parts of their world's native trees amongst well-kept gardens which were sometimes decorated by artificial lakes.However, outside of the hab-domes, Phantine's wildlife has been profoundly affected by the world's industrial poisoning. At ground-level, nothing survived and only airborne specimens were able to follow Phantine's population into safety. Over the following standard millennia, a rudimentary ecosystem established itself around the great Phantine dome cities.At the lowest level of this ecosystem are located the Thermovores, small, sluglike creatures that colonised the outer walls of Phantine's dome cities, especially around the impressive vents of the thermal power plants. Thermovores feed on the vapour given off by the thermal plants and the small metallic particles dissolved by the world's continuous acidic rainstorms. Thermovores secrete a thick, acid-resistant slime that protects them from the more dangerous features of Phantine's climate.Several smaller predators roam the cities' exteriors, all of which are winged and feed on each other or the humble Thermovores. But the mightiest beast of Phantine's skies lives within the toxic miasma of the Scald: the sky-shark. This almost legendary beast is universally recognised as the alpha-predator on Phantine, but very little information is available on it. Its exact wingspan and shape are unknown and the Phantine avoid it at all cost.
Phantine - Military: Given its low population level, Phantine's tithes for the Imperium focus more on fuel and power-cells than on bodies for the Astra Militarum. However, it still provides the Imperium of Man with fighting men and women, be they as drop-troopers in one of the regiments of the Phantine Skyborne, or as pilots in the Phantine Air Corps.The Phantine Air Corps is a highly unusual formation within the Imperial Guard, as it violates the ancient decree that separated the Imperial Army into the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Navy. By the tenets of this edict, the Guard is not allowed to operate and maintain its own aircraft. Yet, the Phantine Air Corps does so because, as the proverb says, there is only sky on Phantine. When operating in a warzone, the Phantine Air Corps deploys its fighter and bomber-wings at the request of the overall military command and acts under supervision of the Imperial Navy, even if technically the Imperial Navy has no authority over the unit. As much of the Air Corps' organisation, such as the independence and formation of its wings is based on that of the Imperial Navy, both institutions work well together and cases of disagreement are few and mostly resolved through informal diplomacy.Be they pilot or drop-trooper, all Phantine soldiers are ex-Planetary Defence Force personnel. This means that the average Phantine recruit will have amassed a considerable amount of experience, first as part of his initial training, and later during his service in the Planetary Defence Forces. Pilots of the Phantine Air Corps in particular can boast a higher number of flight hours than their Imperial Navy counterparts, although given the pressing demands of the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, the great naval flight school at Hessenville now runs accelerated training-programs that tend to even the odds between Phantine's pilots and those of the navy.
Phantine Air Corps - Phantine Air Corps: The Phantine Air Corps is an unusual regimental-sized force of Imperial fighter-bombers and bombers raised from the Industrial World of Phantine that provides dedicated air support for the ground forces of the Astra Militarum. It is a unique formation within the ranks of the Imperial Guard, perhaps even an aberration, for the Phantine Air Corps fights solely in the air and has no presence on the ground. As its name indicates, the Phantine Air Corps is comprised of dedicated fighter pilots and bomber crews, a branch of the Imperial military traditionally found only in service with the Imperial Navy.Save for the liberation of their own home, the Industrial World of Phantine, the Phantine Air Corps has never fought as a whole unit. Much like their counterparts in the Imperial Navy's Aeronautica Imperialis, the wings of the Phantine Air Corps are deployed individually as the need arises. Though small in numbers, the valiant men and women of the Phantine Air Corps now provide tactical air support to the Imperial troops engaged against the Blood Pact in the ongoing Sabbat Worlds Crusade.
Phantine Air Corps - Regimental Organisation: Given the Phantine Air Corps' unique nature, the order of battle common to most regiments of the Astra Militarum do not apply to the Phantine Air Corps. Instead, the Air Corps closely follows the organisation of the Imperial Navy, the military branch of the Imperium of Man with the most experience in regards to aircraft and their deployment. The Phantine Air Corps is a mixed regiment where female pilots and even officers are commonplace and benefit from the same level of respect as their male colleagues, something which is relatively rare in the conservative and often hide-bound hierarchy of the Imperial Navy.The main tactical unit within the Phantine Air Corps is the "wing," roughly equivalent to the Imperial Navy squadron. Each wing benefits from its own support detachment of ground-crew and technicians, which make the Phantine Air Corps a highly flexible formation, a flexibility it often desperately needs in battle. Depending on its specialisation, (Bombardment, Reconnaissance, or Interception) a wing is comprised of 8 to 12 aircraft in addition to the squadron leader's own craft. Each wing is led by a commissioned officer who usually carries the rank of Wing Commander, often shortened simply to "Commander" as a matter of expediency. It is customary for the Wing Commander to select a second-in-command, known as an Executive Officer within the Phantine Air Corps, from the pilots serving under him or her. Each wing can be further broken down into lesser formations known as "flights" for missions that do not necessitate the full strength of the entire wing, such as routine patrols. When in combat, a Commander's will is law over his wing, while strategic deployment of the entire Air Corps is determined by the officers who comprise the Phantine High Command. The Phantine High Command is autonomous from both the hierarchy of the Imperial Navy, which has no authority over an Imperial Guard unit, and from that of the larger Astra Militaris, which lacks the experience and tactical knowledge to deploy aircraft wisely. This unusual command autonomy has led to considerable tensions within both the Navy and the Guard, and as a result the personnel of the Phantine Air Corps often keep to themselves. On their homeworld, the Phantine High Command will determine each wing's duty posting, be it on one of the great zeppelins like the Nimbus, as a ground-based squadron deployed to one of the sky-cities or offworld in some distant warzone of the galaxy.
Phantine Air Corps - Regimental Colours: In their standard configuration, the aircraft of the Phantine Air Corps are uniformly grey. Upon deployment to a combat zone, each wing will choose a complementary colour featured on the aircraft's fins and tail. For instance, during the Enothian War, the Phantine XIX "Orbis" Squadron chose a deep blue as its secondary colour. However, following Imperial Navy regulations, Phantine wings often abandon their original colour scheme for standard or improvised camouflage. It is common practice for a crew or pilot of a Phantine aircraft to baptise it with an emotionally-resonant name and decorate its nose with emblems, figures or pieces of art, meticulously applied either by the pilots themselves or their fitters and technicians. During combat operations, an aircraft's given name often replaces the standard radio call-sign of the unit, a practice particularly present in bomber wings.Phantine crews and pilots wear the same taupe flightsuits, a colour chosen deliberately to mimic that of the Phantine Skyborne, the regiment of Drop Troopers also raised from Phantine. Pilots and crew also carry thick, fur-trimmed brown leather flight jackets that they heavily personnalise. The last part of their kit, the flight-helmet, is often painted in the secondary colour of their squadron to allow for quick identification.
Phantine Air Corps - Notable Phantine Air Corps Units: Phantine XIX, "Orbis Flight" - The Phantine XIX Wing, designated Orbis Flight within the Phantine Air Corps, was one of the fighter squadrons activated in the wake of the Phantine Liberation campaign. Initially equipped with Lightning fighters, the Wing was issued Thunderbolt heavy fighters before its deployment to Enothis. Originally led by Wing Commander William Hayes, Orbis Flight participated in the Enothian War where it suffered heavy casualties, including the loss of its commanding officer. Orbis Flight's status following the Enothian War remains unclear.Phantine XX, "Umbra Flight" - The Phantine XX or Umbra Flight is one of the most decorated fighter squadrons within the entire Phantine Air Corps. Some would dare to say that they form the Air Corp's elite. Like the Phantine XIX, Umbra Flight abandoned the use of the Lightning fighter when it was called to serve off-world. By the time Umbra Flight was deployed to Enothis, most of its pilots were veterans of the furious air brawls of the Phantine Liberation campaign, and several of them had reached ace status before they left the skies of their homeworld. The Phantine XX gained a fearsome reputation from the start through the identity of its initial leader, Wing Commander Bree Jagdea, whose actions during the Raid on Cirenholm and Operation Larisel created one of the Air Corp's greatest accounts of heroism. The Phantine XX rose to prominence during the Enothian War, first through the promotion of one of its pilots into the ranks of the elite 101st Imperial Navy Pacificus Elite -- more commonly known as "The Apostles" -- and secondly through the elimination of one of the Archenemy's greatest aces, Khrel Kas Obarkon. By the end of the Enothian War, the combined kill-tally of the Phantine XX was one of only three Imperial fighter squadrons to surpass that of the 101st.Phantine XXI, "Halo Flight" - Issued with Marauder bombers at its creation, the Phantine XXI was absorbed entirely by the Phantine Air Corps from the Phantine Planetary Defence Forces. Deployed on the command-zeppelin of Grand Admiral Ornoff himself, the Nimbus, Halo Flight fought through the entire Phantine Liberation campaign before being called upon to fight in the Enothian War. The wing holds an equally prestigious and loathsome reputation in the Air Corps, as its greatest achievements are almost always followed by great calamities. During both the Phantine Liberation and the Enothian War campaigns, Halo Flight suffered severe losses. Its original Wing Commander, Oscar Wiltry, was deemed lost during the Raid on Cirenholm, only to miraculously survive the death of his aircraft, capture by the Blood Pact and the attack on Ouranberg. Halo Flight is also credited with the destruction of one of the Archenemy Landcarriers during the Enothian War.
Phantine Air Corps - Trivia: The general look of the Phantine Air Corps is highly reminiscent of the uniform and habits of World War II pilots within the United States Army Air Force after 1942. The beige flightsuits of the Phantine Air Corps are similar to those worn by fighter and bomber squadron crews in tropical latitudes, such as the 15th Air Force in the North African and Italian theatres and the 5th Air Force in the Southwest Pacific theatre.
Phantine Skyborne - Phantine Skyborne: The Phantine Skyborne are regiments of the Astra Militarum that act as drop troops. As their name indicates, the Skyborne are recruited on the world of Phantine in the Segmentum Pacificus.Given their homeworld's peculiar topography and low population, the Phantine Skyborne count amongst the rarest regiments within the Imperial Guard and are outshone in glory and deeds by more famous regiments such as the Elysian Drop Troops and the Harakoni Warhawks.
Phantine Skyborne - Regimental History: The Phantine Skyborne's military history is a recent one and one easily overlooked, as even on Phantine itself, the greater honour goes to the Phantine Air Corps and not the men and women of the Skyborne.Both formations have only come to the attention of the wider Imperium through their involvement in the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, and the hard-fought victories Warmaster Macaroth was able to wrestle from the Khorne-venerating Blood Pact and its likes.As such, the Skyborne's first military campaign recorded with any semblance of detail is the defence and subsequent purge of their own homeworld of Phantine in 771.M41.According to a local proverb, Phantine is a world made of sky, but that has not always been the case. Through millennia of pollution, Phantine's troposphere was rendered uninhabitable for Humans as the toxic gases and corrosive fogs of the lower atmosphere formed a life-eating sea called "the Scald".In order to escape certain death, Phantine's population was forced to seek refuge in height. On the tallest mountain-peaks and highest spires of their hive cities, above the world's cloudline, the Phantine erected their new homes: vast sky-cities under sheltered domes, heated and powered through the chemical wealth of Phantine's soil.This relocation of the population led to profound changes in Phantine society, including its conscripted Planetary Defence Forces. By necessity, with no ground to move on, these PDF regiments became airborne units of drop troopers.When necessity demands Phantine provide fighting men and women to the Imperium, elements of these PDF regiments are "activated" or "promoted" to the Astra Militarum and take the title of the Phantine Skyborne. This was particularly the case in the latter part of the Sabbat Worlds Crusade and has continued ever since.
Phantine Skyborne - Notable Campaigns: The Phantine Liberation (771.M41) - Left vulnerable by the great push in the Cabal System, the Imperial Sabbat Worlds Crusade was flanked by the Chaos-tainted armies of the Blood Pact. A second frontline opened, and war raged on a score of worlds, including Phantine. Lacking air superiority, the Blood Pact was unable to wholly conquer Phantine before the Imperium could send in reinforcements and begin its liberation. As a matter of honour, the Phantine Skyborne requested to fight on the frontline to liberate their own world, but in truth they lacked the manpower to do so effectively and the burden of the combat would have to be carried by other, off-world regiments. Under the command of Major Fazalur, the Phantine Skyborne participated in all the great battles of this conflict, but were always tasked with taking secondary objectives. While the Phantine's courage could not be doubted, the Phantine Skyborne could simply not muster very large numbers, which repeatedly led the Skyborne to only engage "softer" targets, such as Hab-dome Gamma during the attack on the sky-city of Cirenholm, where the Blood Pact taken Cirenholm's population hostage.Operation Larisel (771.M41) - In the wake of the liberation of Cirenholm, the Imperial commander of the war on Phantine, Lord General Barthol Van Voytz, hoped to capitalise on the stealth capabilities of the famed Imperial Guard regiment called the Tanith First and Only. Van Voytz hoped to strike directly at the enemy commander: a Chaos Space Marine known as Sagittar Slaith who acted as Urlock Gaur's eyes and ears in the sky-city of Ouranberg. An extensive cooperation between the 81st Phantine Skyborne and the Tanith First and Only was required to mount "Operation Larisel". Both regiments selected their most capable elements to reach their common goal. In only six solar days the specialists of the Phantine Skyborne trained the Tanith in the use of a drop trooper's most vital piece of equipment, the Grav-Chute, before the four five-man teams were covertly dropped over Ouranberg. These teams consisted of a Skyborne specialist, a Tanith squad-leader, a Tanith Sniper, one Tanith Infiltrator and one average Tanith soldier equipped with the heavy U90 Pattern Autogun to deal with the terrifying Loxatl-mercenaries Slaith employed. Although one team was lost during insertion and one partially captured, the survivors of the two other teams were able to neutralise Slaith in preparation for the main Imperial assault, thus severely disrupting the Blood Pact's command structure.
Phantine Skyborne - Notable Phantine Skyborne: Major Fazalur - Commander of the 81st Phantine Skyborne during the Phantine Liberation, Major Fazalur personally led the drop of his batallion during the Reconquest of the sky-city of Cirenholm. A wise leader, Fazalur was the son of Phantine's most decorated military commander Sky Marshal Fazalur, Phantine former commander-in-chief, who was captured and executed by the Blood Pact when they took control of Cirenholm, where the Sky Marshal had chosen to retire.Lieutenant Goseph Kesherin - A decorated veteran of the 81st Phantine Skyborne, Kesherin was chosen to train those members of the Tanith First and Only in the use of Grav-Chutes. During the famed Operation Larisel, Kesherin was part of Larisel 2.Corporal Innis Unterrio - Phantine specialist detached from the 81st Phantine Skyborne for Operation Larisel. Unterrio's team, Larissel 1 successfully infiltrated Ouranberg, but was later discovered by Loxatl. While Unterrio died, the rest of his team was captured and brought as prisoners before Sagittar Slaith.First Class Arye Babbist - An able instructor, Fist Class Arye Babbist was selected to be part of the high-risk operation dubbed "Operation Larisel". Babbist and all members of Larisel 4 - with the notable exception of Sergeant McKoll - were all killed when their transport, a modified Maraudeur was shot down over Ouranberg.First Class Lex Cardinale - Lex Cardinale was a member of Larisel 3, one of four infiltration units tasked with infiltrating Ouranberg and assassinate the head of the Blood Pact, Sagittar Slaith. Larisel 3 was discovered as it tried to enter the principal hab-dome, but where other members of his team were killed, Cardinale was captured by the enemy. Interrogated by Slaith himself, Cardinale, though wounded and brutalized, never revealed what he knew. Captured alongside some members of Larisel 1, Cardinale was bound to serve as sacrifice in a dark ceremony to the Blood Pact's patron deity, the Chaos God Khorne, when the surviving Larisel-teams sprung into action, their precision shot forcing Slaith and the Blood Pact to scatter, thus saving his life.
Pharos - Pharos: The Pharos was a pre-Imperial biotechnological device created by an unknown xenos civilisation later identified as the Necrons that harnessed the psychic energy of empathy to aid navigation through the Warp, much like the later Astronomican, though on a far smaller scale.The Pharos was far less powerful of a psychic beacon than the former device, and if the Astronomican could be likened to a lighthouse in the Warp guiding the Navigators of voidships to their destination, the Pharos was more like a lantern.However, the Pharos allowed its user to find a path through the Warp, or in some instances, even teleport through the Warp across many light years of space to a location that he or she consciously or unconsciously desired.
Pharos - Origin: The Pharos was one of many such artefacts scattered across the galaxy. It was built of blackstone, and the array of Pharos devices was originally intended by the Necrons to provide a way for them to achieve rapid interstellar communications and FTL travel.Like most other Necron technology based on blackstone, the Pharos was able to negate the effects and presence of the Warp, or to enhance it.The Pharos array was composed of eight nodes located across the galaxy, each of which was powered by one of eight C'tan Shards. The Pharos located on Sotha was powered by a shard of the C'tan known as Zarhulash the Potentate.When the Necrons entered their hibernation millions of Terran years ago, the Pharos array went off-line. By the time the Age of the Imperium dawned with the start of the Great Crusade, the only known surviving Pharos was located on the world of Sotha in the Ultima Segmentum.Belisarius Cawl later stated that he had discovered another Pharos elsewhere, but it had been destroyed long before.
Pharos - Horus Heresy: A Pharos device was first encountered by Humanity when the Loyalist Iron Warriors Warsmith Barabas Dantioch arrived on the world of Sotha during the Horus Heresy and found it had been constructed within the geographical landmark of Mount Pharos, which gave the device its name.It was used by Primarch Roboute Guilliman of the Ultramarines Legion as a psychic beacon to attract Loyalist forces of the region that had been scattered by the Ruinstorm to the Ultramarines' homeworld of Macragge.Cut off from all travel to or communication with the Throneworld of Terra by the great Warp Storm called the Ruinstorm that had been conjured by the Word Bearers Traitor Legion during the Battle of Calth, Guilliman had created his own rump interstellar empire, the Imperium Secundus, to rally the Loyalist forces against the Traitors and maintain the ideals of the Emperor of Mankind.The Pharos allowed Guilliman to gather all of the Loyalist forces to support his new Imperium, including the Dark Angels and Blood Angels Legions.The Pharos became a source of contention between the Loyalists and Traitors when members of a Night Lords Traitor Legion splinter fleet under the command of Captain Krukesh the Pale sought to claim it from the forces of the Imperium Secundus at the Battle of Sotha.The Night Lords Legion had been scattered since the outcome of the Thramas Crusade and its Primarch Konrad Curze's defeat by the Dark Angels. After learning of the existence of the device, Krukesh hoped to seize it and use its abilities to discover the location of the Nightfall, the Gloriana-class Battleship that served as Konrad Curze's flagship, and reunite the Night Lords Legion so they could join up with Horus' forces for the coming assault on Terra.During the Battle of Sotha, Barabas Dantioch sacrificed his own life to overload the Pharos, disabling the Night Lords fleet above Sotha using its energies and allowing the Loyalist forces to prevail.After the end of the Horus Heresy, Roboute Guilliman ordered the Pharos destroyed. Thousands of tonnes of xenos machinery were removed from the mountain and its tunnels were filled with millions of tonnes of ferrocrete.The Primarch appointed an Ultramarine officer named Oberdeii as the Warden of the Pharos and Captain of the Ultramarines' 119th "Aegida" Company, who were sworn to protect Sotha from whatever secrets had been buried in the Pharos.This duty passed to the Scythes of the Emperor Chapter after the 3rd Founding in 001.M32, when the Scythes were established from the Aegida Company.
Pharos - Beacon for the Hive Fleets: Unknown to all involved, the sudden burst of psychic power from the device during its overload at the Battle of Sotha reverberated across space-time into the vast intergalactic wilderness, where it was detected by the advance scouts of the Tyranid Hive Fleets.Made aware of the existence of sentient life in the nearby Milky Way Galaxy, the Tyranid Hive Mind set the Great Devourer's course towards this vast new source of biomatter.It would take nearly ten thousand standard years for the Hive Fleets to arrive in the late 41st Millennium, but these events of the Horus Heresy had unwittingly set into motion the greatest alien threat Mankind would ever know.
Pharos - Era Indomitus: Over ten thousand Terran years later, the birth of the Great Rift that bisected the galaxy at the start of the Era Indomitus reactivated the Pharos. This was discovered by the Scythes of the Emperor, who still guarded the world after its destruction by a Genestealer Cult infestation and Hive Fleet Kraken during the Second Tyrannic War.Archmagos Dominus Belisarius Cawl led an expedition to Sotha with the aid of the Ultramarines and the remaining Firstborn Space Marines of the Scythes of the Emperor to study and perhaps use the Pharos' technology to close the Great Rift and defeat Chaos.The expedition came under assault by Genestealer Cultists who had infiltrated the Chapter Serfs of the Scythes of the Emperor. Ultimately all of that Chapter's remaining Firstborn Marines were slain alongside their Chapter Master Thracius in combat with the Genestealer Patriarch whose cult had first called Hive Fleet Kraken to destroy Sotha.After reaching the Pharos, Cawl discovered that a shard of the C'tan Zarhulash the Potentate had provided the power source for the ancient Pharos. He forged a deal with the alien star god, in which Zarhulash agreed to destroy the device by removing its heart, creating a miniature singularity.In exchange, Cawl agreed to remove the shackles of necrodermis that kept the C'tan Shard captive and create a portal with the Pharos to allow him to finally escape from Sotha.Cawl seemingly agreed, but this was only a ruse as he actually teleported Zarhulash to a far-off region of the galaxy where the C'tan Shard was surrounded by hostile Necron Tomb Worlds. Zarhulash swore revenge on Cawl for this betrayal.Cawl was able to escape from Sotha as the Pharos collapsed and gathered much data from an examination of the Pharos' heart, including the location of other Pharos devices and large deposits of the strategic material known as blackstone across the galaxy.Cawl hoped to use this information to eventually find a way to build a technological solution that would seal the Great Rift once and for all.
Pharos - Trivia: The Pharos was the name given to the Great Lighthouse of Alexandria, Egypt. It was built by the Ptolemaic Egyptian Kingdom between 280 and 247 BC and was between 120 and 137 metres (394 and 449 feet) tall.One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it was one of the tallest man-made structures on Earth for many centuries. Badly damaged by three earthquakes between AD 956 and 1323, it then became an abandoned ruin.It was the third longest surviving ancient wonder (after the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the extant Great Pyramid of Giza) until 1480, when the last of its remnant stones were used to build the Citadel of Qaitbay on the same site.In 1994, French archaeologists discovered some remains of the lighthouse on the floor of Alexandria's Eastern Harbour.
Pharos (Novel) - Pharos (Novel): Pharos is the thirty-forth volume in the Horus Heresy series of novels.
Pharos (Novel) - Synopsis: Pharos is part of the Imperium Secundus story arc, and is the direct sequel to Vulkan Lives (Book 26), Unremembered Empire (Book 27), The Heart of Pharos (Audio Drama), and A Safe and Sheltered Place (Short Story). With the noble Emperor Sanguinius ruling from Macragge, Imperium Secundus stands as a lone beacon of hope even as the Warmaster’s forces continue to ravage the rest of the galaxy. Roboute Guilliman, still Master of Ultramar, has convinced his brother that Terra has fallen and that the mysterious Mount Pharos on Sotha now holds the key to mankind’s future. But the Night Lords, those cruel and pitiless sons of Konrad Curze, have been watching from the shadows, and make ready to launch their long-planned attack on the Pharos itself…
Phase Shifter - Phase Shifter: A Phase Shifter is a form of Necron phase technology that truly demonstrates that species' technological superiority over all others in the galaxy. Using a form of unknown inter-dimensional science, a Phase Shifter renders its bearer's form hazy and indistinct, as though he was not completely corporeal. Shots and blows can then pass through the user's mechanical necrodermis body, meaning that even the most powerful weapons cannot harm him.This is because a Phase Shifter flickers the very fabric of its bearer into and out of a phased state as they move between dimensions. If improperly timed, even the most powerful blows and shots aimed at the bearer of a Phase Shifter instead pass through empty air. Phase Shifters are most commonly found in the possession of Necron Overlords and Necron Lords, who use the technology to make themselves essentially incorporeal.However, Tomb Stalkers are also equipped with built-in Phase Shifter technology. This allows them to pass easily through inert matter, bore their way through rock and stone, and effortlessly pass through battlefield debris and terrain, as they move to launch an ambush upon unsuspecting enemies.Necron Gauss Pylons carry up-scaled Phase Shift Generators, which are able to project a phase field in a wide radius around the Pylon, rendering nearby Necrons half-corporal, and thus far harder to strike due to their lack of a true physical form. Doomsday Monoliths possess a similar form of Phase Shift Generator, though this variant's area of affect only makes the Doomsday Monolith incorporeal and does not affect any other Necron units adjacent to it.Nevertheless, all Necrons are fitted with an unidentified form of interdimensional phasing device which is probably a related technology, which will automatically teleport them, or their remains, back to a Tomb World if necessary. Because of this, the enemies of the Necrons, such as the forces of the Imperium of Man, have found it extremely difficult to recover any Necron remains for study; only those pieces too severely damaged to repair or analyse are left behind.This phenomenon is known as "Phase Out," and many a Necron force fighting a losing battle has disappeared altogether, merely fading into the wind as they prepare themselves to strike back at a later time of their choosing.
Phase Shifter - Known Variants: Dimensional Destabilisation Matrix - Canoptek Wraiths carry a Dimensional Destabilisation Matrix that produces the same effect as a Phase Shifter in that it allows the Necron construct to step in and out of phase with the normal space-time continuum. A Canoptek Wraith can, however, adjust the modulation of the matrix in order to keep sections of its form in different phase states. Whilst a completely phased-out existence can be sustained almost indefinitely, a half-phased state takes a great deal of energy to maintain. As a result, a Canoptek Wraith can exist in a dual phase state for only limited periods of time. The Dimensional Destabilisation Matrix was originally conceived to allow the Canoptek Wraith to reach into and repair solid machinery without all the trouble of removing outer components or armoured casings. It is, however, no less valuable when dealing with intruders -- if the timing is correct, a Canoptek Wraith can phase its claws and tendrils inside an opponent, swiftly resolidifying them to sever arteries, nerve clusters and other vital pathways without leaving an external mark to show for it. Furthermore, the foe must time his return blows with great care, lest his weapons pass through the Canoptek Wraith’s phased form.
Phased Ion Gun - Phased Ion Gun: A Phased Ion Gun is a T'au Ion Weapon developed as a primary weapon system for the XV9 Hazard Battlesuit that is capable of engaging enemies at range 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 the direct transfer of energy at an atomic level.The Phased Ion Gun was developed during the T'au Empire's Third Sphere Expansion and based on the Ion Weapons 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.A Phased Ion Gun is a prototype weapon system designed specifically for use by XV9 Hazard Battlesuits, as their advanced power cores allow them to most effectively use these weapons. The Phased Ion Gun melds the rapid-firing technology of the Cyclic Ion Blaster with the power of the vehicle-mounted Ion Cannon into a stable Battlesuit weapon system.The lengthy particle accelerators that comprise the Phased Ion Gun's mechanism allow the Battlesuit pilot to engage the enemy at range with a storm of projectiles that react explosively at an atomic level, decimating heavily armoured infantry and vehicles.While the rate of fire is stable and very high, the ionisation effect remains unpredictable and varies due to the developing nature of this still-experimental technology.At its peak, a Phased Ion Gun's energy streams are able to bypass virtually all forms of armour. Whilst a Phased Ion Gun is similar in its tactical role to a Cyclic Ion Blaster, it sacrifices some of the latter’s rate of fire for extra damage per shot.
Phased Plasma-Flamer - Phased Plasma-Flamer: The Phased Plasma-Flamer is a large T'au triple-barrelled rotary Flamer Weapon capable of generating temperatures so hot that the emitted flames are in a plasma-like state that can vaporise even ceramite. As such, the weapon is deadly to even the most heavily armoured infantry.The Phased Plasma-Flamer can be fired in two modes: single canister which only uses a single barrel, and full rotation which uses all three barrels to generate an extended flame burst with the drawback of a small potential for danger and damage to the Battlesuit making use of it. All XV109 Y'vahra Battlesuits wield a Phased-Plasma Flamer as part of their standard armament.
Phased Plasma-fusil - Phased Plasma-fusil: The Phased Plasma-fusil is a type of Plasma Weapon that was once a common sight in the armouries of the Imperium of Man during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras, but are now all but unknown on the battlefields of the 41st Millennium.The Phased Plasma-fusil was more reliable, although still somewhat unstable and hazardous to its wielder, than the current era's Plasma Guns, as humanity had a far better understanding of plasma technology at the dawn of the Imperium.Plasma Weapons make use of hydrogen fuel suspended in a liquid state in either fuel flasks or backpack containers. As the fuel is fed into the miniature fusion core inside the weapon, the hydrogen energises into the plasma state of matter which is held in the core by powerful magnetic containment fields.When fired, the fields dilate open and the plasma is ejected via a linear magnetic accelerator as a bolt of super-heated matter akin to a solar flare in appearance and temperature.The Phased Plasma-fusil was carried into combat by the Thallaxii, heavily augmented cyborg shock-troops utilised by the Mechanicum's Ordo Reductor, and by their Questoris Knight Magaeras and Minotaur artillery tanks. A magos, such as a Magos Prime, Magos Dominus or Magos Reductor could also choose to carry one into combat.These weapons could also be found in the hands of the Servo-automata that accompanied the Enginseer Auxillia into combat or in use by the feared Myrmidon Secutors.When compared to the current Plasma Guns such as those carried by the Adeptus Astartes, the Phased Plasma-fusil featured a longer range and was less likely to overheat and cause injury to its user, albeit at the cost of a slightly reduced overall damage output.Those Phased Plasma-fusil weapon that remain in service to the Dark Mechanicum of the 41st Millennium are now known as "Ectoplasma-fusil Weapons."
Phased Plasma-fusil - Sources: The Horus Heresy - Book One: Betrayal (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 232, 270The Horus Heresy - Book Two: Massacre (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 273The Horus Heresy - Book Three: Extermination (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 222The Horus Heresy - Book Four: Conquest (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 246, 290The Horus Heresy: Mechanicum - Taghmata Army List (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 26, 28, 36, 39, 67, 82, 85The Horus Heresy: Crusade Imperialis - Army Lists (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 14, 31, 58, 65, 107Imperial Armour Index: Forces of the Astra Militarum (8th Edition), pg. 100Imperial Armour Index: Forces of Chaos (8th Edition), pg. 62Forge World Webstore - Mechanicum Thallax Cohort with Phased Plasma-fusil
Phil Kelly - Phil Kelly: Phil Kelly is an author for Games Workshop's Black Library imprint.
Phil Kelly - Farsight: Crisis of Faith (2017, ISBN 1-78496-624-X)Empire of Lies (2020, ISBN 1-78999-185-4)Redemption On Dal'yth (Short Story) (2020, collected in Nexus & Other Stories (Anthology))
Phil Kelly - Legends of the Dark Millennium: Farsight (2015, ISBN 978-1-78496-026-1)
Phil Kelly - Space Marine Battles: Blood Oath (Novella) (2014, collected in Damocles (Anthology))Blades of Damocles (2016, ISBN 1-78496-506-5)
Phil Kelly - Space Marine Conquests: War of Secrets (2018, ISBN 1-78496-709-2)
Phil Kelly - Space Marine Heroes: Death Knell (2018, ISBN 978-1-78496-901-1)
Phil Kelly - Warhammer Horror: The Woman in the Walls (Short Story) (2019, collected in The Wicked and the Damned (Anthology))
Phoenix Armour - Phoenix Armour: Phoenix Armour is one of the suits of ancient, invaluable relic Aspect Armour worn by the Phoenix Lords, the founders of the Asuryani Aspect Shrines.Phoenix Armour is so finely wrought it is proof against almost any weapon. The helmet of this suit contains the Spirit Stones of the Phoenix Lord which hold the souls of every Exarch to become the Phoenix Lord of their Warrior Aspect. These souls date back to  the first of their number, the Asurya, who left the tutelage of the first Phoenix Lord, Asurmen of the Dire Avengers, at the First Shrine on the barren moon of Asur in the Webway millennia ago.When a Phoenix Lord is slain, an Exarch of their Aspect Shrine can recover their armour. Once they place the helm upon their heads, if they are acceptable to the souls within the helm's Spirit Stones, their soul joins with the gestalt psyche of every prior Exarch to have taken on the role of their Phoenix Lord, merging all of their memories and experiences to resurrect the Phoenix Lord once more. So long as the Phoenix Lord's armour can be recovered, they can never truly be slain.
Phoenix Guard - Phoenix Guard: The Phoenix Guard was the elite unit of Astartes of the Emperor's Children Legion who were responsible for performing various formal and ceremonial roles and also served as the Primarch Fulgrim's Honour Guard during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy in the late 30th and early 31st Millennia.The number of Phoenix Guard always stood at 200 warriors to commemorate the first days of the IIIrd Legion's rebirth after Fulgrim was reunited with his gene-sons when the Emperor's Children had numbered only 200 remaining Astartes.The members of the Phoenix Guard followed their beloved Phoenician wherever he went as part of their duties, even when he was travelling within the relative safety of the starships of the Imperial Army and the vessels of the other Space Marine Legions.
Phoenix Guard - History: The bird of ancient Terran myth known as the phoenix was a potent symbol amongst the Emperor's Children Legion before its corruption, an exemplar of the Legion's all-consuming and transformative quest for perfection. Taking inspiration and title from the legendary bird, the Phoenix Guard formed an elite cadre within the Emperor's Children Legion, serving primarily as the Primarch Fulgrim's personal retinue.When the Legion was about its day-to-day duties, they served as ceremonial honour guards and sacred aquilifers, replete in polished, tyrian-chased armour adorned with fluttering oath papers and bearing gold-chased arms of intricate manufacture. On the field of battle, the Phoenix Guard were no less impressive and were storied as providing an impenetrable ring of courage and steel, barring the approach of any enemy who dared challenge their Primarch.They fought many spheres of battle, from lightning swift assault forces to veteran tactical units, but it was their Terminators who were most feared, their martial skill all but unmatched across the Legions.During the IIIrd Legion's battle to conquer the xenos world of Laeran, the Phoenix Guard took part in the final extermination of the serpentine Laer species.The entire unit was slain on the world of Tarsus in the Perdus Region of the galaxy after Fulgrim, already under the influence of Chaos through the Laer Daemonsword he had captured on Laeran, took offence at the Aeldari Farseer Eldrad Ulthran's warning about Horus' corruption by Chaos, and proceeded to open fire on the Farseer and his troops from Craftworld Ulthwe.A new Phoenix Guard was then recruited and accompanied Fulgrim during both his fateful meeting with Horus where he finally embraced Chaos and in his abortive attempt to recruit Ferrus Manus to the Traitors' cause aboard Ferrus' own flagship where they successfully slaughtered the Morlocks Terminators who served as Ferrus' own bodyguard unit. While the Phoenix Guard served Fulgrim through the Battle of Terra, it is unknown if the unit still exists and serves as the Daemon Prince's bodyguard on the unknown Daemon World he now calls home.
Phoenix Guard - Unit Composition: 1 Phoenix Captain (Squad Leader)4-9 Phoenix Terminators
Phoenix Guard - Wargear: Tartaros Pattern Terminator ArmourPhoenix Power Spear - Patterned in imitation of the deadly and arcane power halberds wielded by the Legio Custodes, these elegant blades, while merely pale imitations of those legendary polearms, are still hugely lethal weapons in their own right.