Stormsword - Stormsword: The Stormsword is a super-heavy tank of the Astra Militarum that is the result of an ad hoc field conversion of a wrecked Shadowsword tank. The Shadowsword's original Volcano Cannon and all of its internal components have been replaced with a massive Hellhammer Siege Cannon, called a "Stormsword Siege Cannon" when deployed on this tank, and internal storage for its huge shells.The Stormsword has proven very reliable during urban combat, and is equipped to fight in close-quarters and against garrisoned infantry. The Stormsword fills the role of a close-combat super-heavy tank, whereas the Shadowsword fills the long-range role, the Stormblade fills the medium-range role, and the Baneblade fills the "all-around" role, capable of fighting equally well in close, medium, and long-range battles.Like all of the variants of the Baneblade, the Stormsword came into being as the solution to a specific tactical need, in this case the Imperium's need for a super-heavy tank adapted to urban combat. The first Stormsword was not specifically designed as such by the Tech-priests of Mars. During one long and grinding battle for Coldarkh Hive on a forgotten urbanised world, the Enginseers salvaged a damaged Shadowsword, removed the no longer functional Volcano Cannon, and installed a Hellhammer Siege Cannon in its place. The resulting vehicle was named the "Stormsword" by its crew and both the design and name stuck when the Imperial commanders realised how effective a weapon the Enginseers had cobbled together. Since the resounding success of that battle, Stormswords continue to be crafted and put to use as urban siege engines.Although the more dogmatic Tech-priests frown upon such field conversions, believing them to be an affront to the Machine Spirits and the Omnissiah, the more pragmatic amongst them judge the worth of a design on its results, and have accordingly standardised and started to produce Stormswords from scratch on their Forge Worlds.On the battlefield, the Stormsword will only be fielded in those theatres where visibility and range drops to almost nothing, typically during urban or jungle campaigns. The colossal mass of the Stormsword allows it to plow through most obstacles unscathed, while its massive Hellhammer Siege Cannon can obliterate any fortification with a direct hit, and its secondary armament of twin-linked Heavy Bolters and Heavy Flamers allows it to flush out and gun down any opposing infantry with ease.In the chaos of urban warfare, where range is often measured in metres and progress in the form of single buildings captured or destroyed, neither the relative short range of its armament, nor its poor speed and manoeuvrability hampers the Stormsword when delivering fiery devastation upon the enemies of Mankind. When assaulting a city, the Stormsword will spearhead the attack, blasting any fortified strongpoint to rubble, covering the advancing infantry with its secondary weaponry and motivating them with its very presence. Of all the close support tanks in the Imperium of Man's arsenal, the Stormsword is the most brutally effective.For all its efficiency, the Stormsword does suffer from some drawbacks: its size and mass are as often a curse as a blessing, for there invariably will be instances where the Stormsword will be too large to fit and yet unable to plow through obstacles. As with all the Shadowsword variants, the Stormsword's fixed main gun requires that the tank be bodily aimed at the target, and the Stormsword's crew must be specially trained to identify and avoid pitfalls where their massive tank would bog down or shed a track with potentially catastrophic results.The Hellhammer Siege Cannon has a very poor rate of fire, and is actually slightly too large for the Baneblade chassis, allowing a Stormsword to carry only 20 shots, 21 if the crew risks pre-loading the main gun. The Stormsword also lacks anti-armour armament, for only its main gun can destroy enemy armor, and thus the tank needs support from anti-tank infantry units when advancing. Lastly, the Stormsword is all but useless outside of urban combat, due to the short range and poor rate of fire of its main gun combined with the poor top speed and manoeuvrability of all the Baneblade variants.