vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Kasballica - Kasballica Mission: Unfettered by the laws of the Imperium, and able to exert its power across the breadth of the void station of Footfall's society, the Kasballica Mission (a term which refers specifically to the Kasballican operation on Footfall), thrived as it had never done before, and soon, Footfall's prince of the Kasballica was as wealthy as his peers within the Calixis Sector.It was not to last; seeing their investment turned against them, the other Kasballican factions pressed their peers in Footfall. The end result was a resurgence in the secret war between the Kasballican factions that continued for well over a standard century, weakening the Kasballica Mission to the point where its rivals in Footfall were able to hinder its efforts.Between the increasing presence of the Amaranthine Syndicate, arms dealers hailing from the city of Gunmetal on distant Scintilla, and agents of the Malfian crime lord Iridan Nox, the Kasballica Mission was struggling to maintain its place on Footfall. The secret war between the Calixian Kasballicans and the Kasballica Mission on Footfall ground to a halt, as both sides realised that neither would profit from being forced out of the Koronus Expanse.The aftermath of the secret war brought a greater degree of stability to its operations, and the Kasballica Mission was rebuilt to consist almost entirely of trusted vassals and retainers from the other factions. With rival criminal organisations from further afield moving in on Footfall, the Kasballica could ill-afford another schism. The new structure of the Kasballica Mission was to ensure that it remained under the control of the Kasballica in the Calixis Sector, which in turn would maintain stability for the organisation. When the Maw closed in 813.M41, this plan paid off.Amidst mass starvation, it was only the Kasballica, whose vaults were well-stocked with supplies, who managed to endure with little loss of power or life, as all those around them begged and scrounged for those same supplies. When the Maw reopened at the end of that year, the Kasballica Mission had not only managed to hold out against the settlement's starvation, but had thrived in spite of it, gaining new ground and extending its influence across Footfall further than it had ever done before.With every standard year, the Kasballica Mission attempts to negotiate better and longer-lasting deals with passing Rogue Traders. Lacking the resources to venture out into the Koronus Expanse by themselves, the syndicate must content themselves with trade deals, dealing illicit goods for a cut of the profits.This has always been sufficient, for there are precious few routes through which one may sell such proscribed items in Imperial space. Because of its long existence, and in part thanks to its recent resurgence, the Kasballica control many of the illicit trade routes into and around the Calixis Sector.However, when speaking of power and wealth, sufficient is never enough, and the Kasballica are not content to sit on their laurels and make do with what they have already accumulated.
Kasballica - Kasballican Agents and the Inquisition: The crime barons of the Drusus Marches have agents across the Calixis Sector and even within the Koronus Expanse. The sheer audacity with which many of these men and women conduct "business" can rocket the unscrupulous to positions of power well above their station.These "low dukes" (as they are mockingly called in Hive Tarsus) are often considered little more than conmen and crooks whose influence allows them to rub elbows with more proper nobles. When this occurs, the Kasballica leadership will often attempt to reign their operatives in, as their actions can disrupt proper business and draw unwanted Imperial attention.The Kasballica will cut formal ties, forcing their agent to operate independently. Rarely, a clever Kasballican "noble" will find ways to protect themselves, maintaining their position and rising to power on their own. More commonly, they are brought up on charges, and only the intervention of a Judge or Inquisitor will save them from a bullet in the brain-pan.This combination of savvy, ambition, and an ability to deal with other cultures without "going native" has drawn the eye of several Calixian Ordo Xenos Inquisitors, most notably Inquisitor Vilane. His missions into the Jericho Reach have brought him in contact with the T'au, and it is this rare blend of resourcefulness and an air of stolen authority that make his pet Kasballican "nobles" so useful.Most often pressed into service by the Inquisition as part of a sentence for crimes (often crimes for which they are innocent), many ex-Kasballica agents dislike the lifestyle of an Acolyte, and strive hard to improve their own comfort while on assignment. This "questionable" loyalty can lead to strife in the Inquisitorial cell, but thus far, the results have been worth it.
Kashann Xeno Riders - Kashann Xeno Riders: Kashann Xeno Riders, also spelled  Kashann Xeno-riders, are Rough Rider regiments of the Astra Militarum raised from the primordial world of Kashann, famed for riding massive xenos reptiles known as hunting lizards into battle.
Kashann Xeno Riders - History: Astra Militarum armies often contain squadrons or even regiments of Rough Riders. The most famous of these are the Attilan Rough Riders, fierce nomads born in the saddle who have served the Imperium since its earliest days. The majesty, speed and ruthlessness of these warriors has led to many other regiments of horsemen being incorporated into Imperial armies.Ultimately though their weakness lies in the vulnerability of their mounts. There is a strong affection amongst Mankind for horses, based on their long association that encourages their weaknesses to be overlooked. In the grim darkness of the 41st Millennium, however, the demands of constant war have led some to consider whether there are xenos species that could do the job better. One of several species that have been experimented with is the hunting lizard of Kashann.Kashann is a young world, mountainous and volcanic with thick, fast-growing jungles and oceans of primordial swamp. The hunting lizards were one of the most successful local predators, functioning in packs they posed a very real threat to the early Human colonists until they were successfully domesticated and bred in captivity. Over time the hunting lizards became a much-valued means of patrolling the wild expanses of Kashann and when the world was populous enough to be tithed it was inevitable that the regiments raised there would be cavalry mounted on hunting lizards.
Kashann Xeno Riders - Notable Actions: Battle of Tavalar (ca. 592-602.M41) - During the Imperial Crusade to cleanse the Faseene System in 592-602.M41 from the Hrud, an entire regiment of Kashann Xeno Riders served with the Astra Militarum's 60th Army. Faseene had three worlds in its biosphere, each of which was urbanised but in a state of ruined decay. One of the worlds, Talavar, was home to an enslaved Human population and was the first targeted. Attempts to clear the ruins with infantry regiments were wholly unsuccessful. The Hrud, emerging from their warrens, conducted highly effective hit-and-run attacks, focused on destroying ammunition and fuel stockpiles. The preternatural speed of the Hrud defeated all attempts at pursuit until the Kashann were deployed. Using feral hunting techniques the bulk of the regiment closely pursued the Hrud while detached squadrons raced forward on the flanks to herd them together and finally encircle them. The raids were swiftly contained allowing the 60th Army's infantry to concentrate on launching set-piece assaults on the Hrud warrens themselves.
Kasper Ansbach Hawser - Kasper Ansbach Hawser: Kasper Ansbach Hawser, also known in Imperial records by the alias he assumed, Ahmad Ibn Rustah, was an Imperial conservator (historian) who lived during the era of the Great Crusade in the late 30th and early 31st Millennia, and was ensnared in a plot by the forces of Chaos intended to lead the Space Wolves and Thousand Sons Space Marine Legions to destroy each other.He was made a skjald, or oral historian, of the Space Wolves Legion, and was witness to some of the most important events in the early history of the Imperium of Man, including the Council of Nikaea and the Fall of Prospero.He was eventually placed into stasis within The Fang on Fenris, there to sleep away the centuries until the Space Wolves had need of his knowledge once again.
Kasper Ansbach Hawser - Origins: Kasper Ansbach Hawser was born on Terra, at the beginning of the Great Crusade in the late 30th Millennium and during the violence that marked the slow end of the Age of Strife. It is believed that he was born in approximately 862.M30. The earliest records pertaining to Hawser, at 3 or 4 standard years old, note that he was discovered by a surveying patrol in the radland flats near the outskirts of the great city of Ur, on Terra. His parents were believed to have been killed in an attack by a group of predators, likely mutated wolves. Hawser was apparently spared the same fate by mere chance.He was brought to Ur's Catheric commune and raised by a rector named Uwe. Hawser was given an education and was noted to have been an exceptionally bright child. Uwe named the boy Kasper Hawser after the folktale of Casper Hauser, noting the similarities of circumstances in which the legendary Hawser was discovered.
Kasper Ansbach Hawser - Secrets and Lies: Hawser's highly inquisitive nature eventually compelled him to become a conservator, as he was determined to unearth much of the information that had been lost in the Age of Strife as a result of Terran warfare and the policies of obfuscation practiced by the newborn Imperial Administratum.After graduating from the Univesitariate of Sardis with honours, Hawser completed his education and earned a doctorate degree. While the actual degree is not listed in Imperial records, it was likely in archaeology or a similar discipline.He is noted to have founded the Conservatory Project and served as its director. He was awarded the Prix Daumarl, for steadfast contributions towards the definition and accomplishment of Terran Unification in 902.M30. He was acclaimed by academicians throughout the Imperium and authored several research papers noted to have inspired new areas of research and development resulting in profound improvements for Imperial society.Hawser particularly wanted to know the cause of the Age of Strife, and why so much of the history of that time was being systematically and intentionally destroyed by the agents of the new Imperium of Man. He quickly found that he was apparently opposed by many forces within the Imperium in his unrelenting search for knowledge and the truth about the past but he did not know why. Hawser could only find tantalising clues as to the reasons. After finding a strange, ancient temple on Terra, he was non-violently but forcibly removed from it by the Astartes of the Thousand Sons Legion; when he returned much later, the temple was gone as if it had never existed.He later discovered that his long-time assistant Navid Murza was part of a secret cult, and had learnt enough from that cult to become a sorcerer. Murza, in a typically unwise venture, had led Hawser and the conservator group he was working with into a trap in the Lutetian slums on Terra.Faced with ransom or even murder by a group of slum-dwellers, the conservator group scattered and ran. When one of the would-be captors pulled a pistol to kill Hawser, Murza killed the man with some kind of projection of Warp energy from his mouth. Hawser did not know it at the time, but it was a form of psychic power, which mortals had once called "sorcery."When pressed by Hawser, Murza admitted that this power was called enuncia. Murza had become enmeshed within a dark cult that specialised in the occult, and who had taught him how to use this power. Murza said that this shadowy group had always wanted to see Hawser and introduce him to its ways, as like Hawser the cult was interested in gathering lore from the past.Against his better judgement, Hawser unwisely allowed himself to be led by Murza to a bibliotech on the outskirts of the city of Lutetia. Inside, Hawser was confronted by strange robed figures and almost compelled to sacrifice Murza with an athame -- a ceremonial knife -- and take Murza's place in the cult. Instead of doing so, Hawser cut Murza's bonds with the knife and they fled.
Kasper Ansbach Hawser - Council of Nikaea: Hawser was brought to the world of Nikaea in the wake of the successful Ullanor Crusade, and to his astonishment was confronted by the mighty Space Wolves Primarch Leman Russ. In the presence of Russ' protectors, the psychic Blanks known as the Sisters of Silence, Hawser found that he could no longer speak the languages of Fenris.Russ told Hawser that it was his brother, the Primarch Magnus the Red, who had invaded Hawser's mind, sent him to Fenris, and was using him as a spy against the Space Wolves.Russ took Hawser before a group of extremely distinguished men that included no less than the Chief Custodian and Captain-General of the Legio Custodes Constantin Valdor; Raldoron, a notable Chapter Master of the Blood Angels Legion; Calas Typhon, the first captain of the Death Guard Legion; and the Primarch Fulgrim of the Emperor's Children.To Hawser's enormous surprise they already knew who he was, and that he was well-respected as a scholar at the highest levels of the Imperium. They offered to find out why Magnus was using Hawser as a psychic pawn, but warned that it would mean great danger for him.One of the Custodes took him to witness the Council of Nikaea, where he saw the Emperor of Mankind and Malcador the Sigillite speak to the gathered great and good of the Imperium.While watching this assembly from afar and in awe, Hawser was confronted by a powerful Thousand Sons psyker who easily paralysed his Custodes guardian with sorcery. He introduced himself as Amon, the equerry to Magnus the Red. Hawser, angering Amon by questioning his use of sorcery since he believed that its practice had been the real cause of the Age of Strife, was only just saved from being slain by the Thousand Sons sorcerer in anger by the intervention of the Space Wolf named Bear.Unlike the Custodes, Bear seemed proof against the True Name-based sorcery that had been used by Amon, but an injured Amon managed to escape through methods unknown.After this apparent crime by the Thousand Sons and perhaps in small part due to it, the Emperor outlawed the use of psychic powers across the Imperium in the decrees he made at the Council of Nikaea.
Kasper Ansbach Hawser - Hawser's Fate: Amidst the ruins of Prospero, Hawser was left to reflect upon the partial victory of Chaos. As Magnus had refused to resist but had at first accepted what he believed was his just punishment from the Imperium for his sins against his father the Emperor, the Thousand Sons and Space Wolves had not annihilated each other as the Ruinous Powers had intended during the Battle of Prospero.However, Magnus and the Thousand Sons had used the terrible forbidden knowledge of sorcery to preserve themselves, and had finally been pushed over the line into damnation to become true Traitors to the Imperium and the willing pawns of Tzeentch, the Lord of Change.As he had also been tainted by the long-term touch of the Warp, Hawser knew that he could not return to his duties. Yet the Space Wolves, for all their savagery in battle, were too sentimental about his place in their Legion to simply kill him.Kasper Hawser was placed in stasis deep below The Fang where the Legion's Dreadnoughts slept away the solar decades, to be woken some time in the far, far future when he was needed to once again recount the things he had seen as the skjald of the Vlka Fenryka.In one last dream he saw himself back where Longfang had left him in Asaheim, this time standing with Leman Russ. He was no longer afraid of wolves.
Kasper Ansbach Hawser - Canon Conflict: In the novel Prospero Burns there is an account where Kasper severs Bjorn the Fell-Handed's lower arm during the Battle of Prospero to prevent the spread of Chaos maleficarum as recounted above.This, however, differs from another tale told in The Horus Heresy: Collected Visions stating that his hand was corrupted by psychic feedback from a sorcerer of the Thousand Sons he had just slain. As the corruption crept up along his arm, Chief Custodian Constantin Valdor cut it off, saving Bjorn.
Kasr - Kasr: A kasr (pronounced "KAH-sr") was one of the mighty fortress-cities of the lost Imperial Fortress World of Cadia.
Kasr - History: Cadia's earliest kasrs were built in the High Terra style, with the wide streets laid out on a grid system. In the early 32nd Millennium, a Chaos invasion made wretchedly short work of three of them. The broad, ordered avenues proved impossible to defend or hold.Since then, the kasrs were planned in elaborate geometric patterns, the streets jinking back and forth like the teeth of a key. From the air, they looked like intricate, angular puzzles. Given the Cadians' mettle and their skills at urban warfare, a kasr could be held, street by street, metre by metre, for solar months if not Terran years.Each kasr is also protected by rings of massive earthworks studded with gun emplacements and weapons batteries and separated by an inner moat. Passage over the moat is controlled by hydraulic bascule bridges, each one guarded by a heavily armed barbican, and defended by the many armoured fortifications overlooking it.At the centre of every kasr was a garrison, a great fortress in its own right. Here, squads of dedicated Kasrkin were stationed, ready to defend their city from any and all threats.For the most part, kasrs resembled military camps more than cosmopolitan cities. Even the civilian fashion was for camouflaged clothing. It was thus easy to pick out the locals from visitors.Each kasr had its own form of camouflage for its citizens. For example, the jag-white and grey of tundra dress or the panelled green and beige of moor fatigues marked out newcomers and off-duty soldiery within Kasr Dreth, while the native population wore grey and brown checkered urban camouflage.
Kasr - Notable Kasrs: Kasr Myrak - Besieged during the 13th Black Crusade.Kasr Soliq - Besieged during the 13th Black Crusade.Kasr Rantik - Besieged during the 13th Black Crusade.Kasr Vasan - Besieged during the 13th Black Crusade.Kasr Trunch - Besieged during the 13th Black Crusade.Kasr Tyrok - Site of the Battle of Tyrok Fields.Kasr GehrKasr GeshKasr GremKasr Derth - The largest kasr on Cadia as of 241.M41.Kasr Vallock - Traditionally seconds its Kasrkin to the 88th Mechanised Infantry Regiment of the Cadian Shock Troops.Kasr ViklasKasr FerosKasr Kraf - The final kasr to hold out from the invasion of the forces of Chaos during the 13th Black Crusade.
Kasrkin - Kasrkin: The Kasrkin  (pronounced "KAH-sir-kin") are elite troops of the Astra Militarum and were dedicated to the security of the Fortress World of Cadia from which they once hailed.Because they are elite special forces troops drawn from the same world as the existing Cadian Shock Troops regiments of the Imperial Guard, the Kasrkin are officially classified by the Departmento Munitorum as the type of Tempestus Scions known as "Grenadiers" because of their heavy weapons and elite tactical training.Their name comes from the title of the fortress cities of Cadia, which are called "kasrs" in the native Cadian dialect of Low Gothic.The Kasrkin were the elite of the already skilled Cadian planetary military forces and were chosen to serve in the Astra Militarum when they were still serving as Whiteshields (new recruits) in the Cadian Planetary Defence Forces.Their training is even more gruelling than that of the elite Imperial Storm Troopers (Kasrkin are the Cadian equivalent of the Storm Troopers) and they were utterly dedicated to the preservation of Cadia, whereas Imperial Storm Troopers are indoctrinated to provide for the defence of the entire Imperium of Man.Kasrkin soldiers were well-known amongst the Storm Trooper regiments assigned to Cadia, and are renowned for their ability to remain cool under fire in combat situations where even many other veteran Cadian Guardsmen would break.In the wake of the destruction of Cadia during the 13th Black Crusade, many Kasrkin units are still employed and seek to pass on their training and standards to a new generation of Cadian survivors and their descendants who will face the Archenemy in a never-ending quest for vengeance for their lost world.
Kasrkin - Veteran Kasrkin: Even amongst the elite ranks of the Kasrkin, there are those who have fought in more battles than any other. These "Veteran Kasrkin" are often sought after by Generals and other high-ranking leaders of the Astra Militarum.Cadia's High Command will only approve such requests if an officer's cause is deemed worthy. If so, they will be able to field squads of Veteran Kasrkin as their personal commandos and honour guards.
Kasrkin - Notable Kasrkin: Master Sergeant Ban Jevrian - Commander of the Cadian 88th Mechanised Regiment's elite Strike Team Cruor that fought in the Reclamation of Kathur.Captain Echbar - Echbar was the commander of the Kasrkin squad that aided Inquisitor Eisenhorn in destroying a Chaos Cult and its Daemonhost master.
Kasrkin - Sources: Codex: Imperial Guard (5th Edition)Codex: Imperial Guard (4th Edition)Only War: Hammer of the Emperor (RPG), pp. 20-21The Thirteenth Black Crusade (Background Book) by Andy HoareGunheads (Novel) by Steven ParkerDawn of War - Winter Assault (PC Game)White Dwarf 285, pg. 6Dawn of War - Soulstorm  (PC Game)White Dwarf UK 283, pg. 61Malleus (Novel) by Dan Abnett, Ch. 14Cadian Blood (Novel) by Aaraon-Dembski-Bowden
Kass'l (Orca)-class Gunship - Kass'l (Orca)-class Gunship: For the dropship used by the T'au to carry out orbit-to-surface operations please see Orca.The Kass'l (Orca)-class Gunship is an Escort starship used by the T'au Empire's Kor'vattra, the T'au Navy. The Kass'l is a much more nimble vessel compared to the Kor'vattra 's other primary Escort class warship, the Kir'qath.Unable to build an Ether Drive compact enough to fit within the smaller spaceframe of an Escort at the time of the Kass'l-class' construction, the Earth Caste designed an ingenious system of mounting Gravitic Hooks on capital ships, such as the Gal'leath (Explorer)-class starship, so that the Kass'l design could be transported within the much larger capital ship's gravitic sheath.Once unleashed in battle, the Kass'l proved a powerful gunship able to contend with any Imperial or Ork vessel of similar class.
Kass'l (Orca)-class Gunship - Armament: Every Kass'l-class Gunship is armed, as standard, with a prow Railgun battery, a prow Ion Cannon battery, a single defensive turret on its hull, and standard T'au starship gravitic shielding.
Kastelan Robot - Kastelan Robot: A Kastelan Robot, also known as a Kastelan-class Robot, is an ancient and commonly used Imperial Robot utilised exclusively by the Adeptus Mechanicus' Legio Cybernetica.The Kastelan Robot combines tremendous physical might with a rugged stamina that has seen it fight the Imperium of Man's foes for ten thousand standard years.Indeed, some of the relic robots of this class have existed much longer still. As robotic technology stems from an age prior to the foundation of the Imperium, many Forge Worlds believe a number of their Battle-Automata survive from those dark times.As damaged robot parts are cannibalised to make repairs upon machines that still function, such claims are doubtless at least partially correct.
Kastelan Robot - Role: Twice the height of a Space Marine at about 4.2 metres, the Kastelan is a nigh unstoppable force, for it is built of solid metal with a ceramite hide that allows it to stride through hails of fire without pause.Kastelan Robots fight in "maniples" -- self-contained units that are sub-divisions of the Legion -- composed of between two and six Battle-Automata. The robots have a number of battle protocols that they follow, and every Kastelan must be carefully programmed for each new task, lest it simply continue ad infinitum with its existing orders.It is not unknown for a maniple of Kastelans to stride purposefully into a lake of lava, or slaughter its way through a city even after destroying the techno-insurrectionists it was sent to eliminate.Specialist Tech-priests, such as Cybernetica Datasmiths, can adjust the Kastelan's programs during the course of a battle, allowing the unthinking automata to respond to changing circumstances.Should a maniple's ballistic subroutines be triggered, pinpoint volleys of phosphor stream into the enemy ranks, forcing those who somehow survive the storm to seek shelter as their persecutors lumber ever closer.As the maniple approaches, the Datasmith will set the imperatives driving his robotic charges to Conqueror protocols. A moment of readjustment and the Kastelans quicken their pace, their incendine combustors burning the foe from cover as their stomping stride turns into a loping run that shivers the tortured earth.When a maniple of Kastelans hits the enemy line it does so with the force of a battle tank squadron, each robot's barrel-sized Power Fists slamming the foe into broken ruin as they stamp their victims to bloody paste underfoot.In addition to thick armour, Kastelan Robots are protected by a wonder from a bygone age -- the Repulsor Grid. The invisible energy shield emanates outward from each robot with a deep thrumming sound, its force capable of stopping all but the most powerful of shots.Most incoming fire simply fizzles out against the unseen barrier, but should the deflection angle be just correct, the Repulsor Grid will send enemy shells or focused energy beams ricocheting back at the foe.The cohorts of the Legio Cybernetica have marched to war in the colours of their Forge Worlds for ten thousand standard years, but the Kastelan Robots themselves are older than the Imperium and some call no single Forge World home.Bands of these itinerant war machines may appear in the Battle Congregations of the Cult Mechanicus, their arrival unheralded and taken as a sign of the Machine God's favour. They will allow themselves to be directed by local Tech-priests until the battle is won, after which they disappear once more, perhaps for centuries at a time.Since the aftermath of the Warmaster Horus' rebellion ten millennia ago, Legio Cybernetica robots have been controlled completely by their masters -- not by the bio-plastic cerebra and nerve-like tendril webs of the ancient Mechanicum's constructs -- but by sanctified doctrina wafers -- fusions of bio-matter and electronics often in even shorter supply than the robots themselves.
Kastelan Robot - Unit Composition: 1 Cybernetica DatasmithManiple of 2-6 Kastelan Robots
Kastelan Robot - Wargear: Kastelan Robots are armed with multiple potential weapon load-outs which makes them even more versatile. Those Tech-priests with a penchant for ranged firepower will often replace Power Fists with twin-linked Phosphor Blasters, ensuring that when a maniple's ballistic subroutines trigger, the enemy is riddled with incandescent, glowing shot.Repulsor GridIncendine Combustor - The Incendine Combustor is a type of Flamer used by Kastelan Robots. The Incendine Combustor hurls out great gouts of burning, thrice-blessed promethium. Laced with Magos-blessed unguents and ignited by a flame lit from the Perpetual Forge, each holy fire-thrower can turn a Heretek into foul tallow in a matter of solar seconds.Kastelan Fists - Each Kastelan uses its pair of barrel-sized Power Fists like wrecking balls to maul the enemy, the blows striking with force enough to crumple the thickest armour or tear holes in ferrocrete.Heavy Phosphor Blaster (Any Kastelan may replace its Incendine Combustor with a Heavy Phosphor Blaster or its Kastelan Fists with 2 Heavy Phosphor Blasters.)
Kastelan Robot - Trivia: The Kastelan Robot is based off the older Castellan-class Robot which first appeared in Warhammer 40,000 Compendium (1st Edition), "Imperial Robots".According to the description, the Castellan-class Robot was designed for general-purpose combat and assault actions and is also ideally suited for a wide-range of battlefield situations.It is armed with a Power Glove on each arm as well as a Heavy Bolter mounted above its chassis for additional protection and ranged firepower.This standard configuration makes it particularly effective in siege and anti-vehicle roles, and provides an effective complement to other heavy weapon armament.
Kastelan Robot - Sources: Codex: Adeptus Mechanicus (8th Edition), pp. 19-20, 21, 24-25, 42, 64-65, 82Codex Adeptus Mechanicus - Cult Mechanicus (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), "Kastelan Robots," "Mars," "Lucius," "Agripinaa," "Stygies VIII," "Graia," "Metalica," "Ryza," "Weapons of Enlightenment - Incendine Combustor," pp. 80-82, 88, 97, 99, 105, 110, 112, 117, 119, 125, 131, 136, 138, 141-157, 208-210White Dwarf Weekly 67 (9 May 2015)White Dwarf Weekly 85 (12 Sept 2015), "Regiments of Renown"Adeptus Mechanicus: The Enigma of Flesh (Short Story) by C.L. Werner
Kataphron Battle Servitor - Kataphron Battle Servitor: A Kataphron Battle Servitor is a type of heavy Battle Servitor used by the Battle Congregation military forces of the Adeptus Mechanicus.Though they possess a once-Human brain like all servitors, the Kataphron Battle Servitor has been severed from all emotion and independent thought, and serves as little more than a living weapon controlled by the orders of the Mechanicus' Tech-priests. They are much larger and more powerful than the standard servitors employed for multiple tasks across the Imperium of Man.There are two variants of the Kataphron Battle Servitor normally employed depending on the tactical objective of the controlling Tech-adepts -- the Kataphron Breacher and the Kataphron Destroyer.
Kataphron Battle Servitor - Servitor Conversion: The servitor complement of even a single Forge World will typically number in the tens of millions. Many were once wanted criminals -- hard and intimidating individuals from all walks of Imperial life, from hive city gangers stitched with vat-grown slabs of muscle to Inquisitorial enforcers that committed bloody murder after learning too much.Smuggled into the shipments of raw materials traded between planets of the Imperium and the Forge Worlds, payloads of Human cargo are not uncommon, providing another source of flesh that can be used to good effect by the Tech-priests.When the Adeptus Arbites find and condemn a transgressor of surpassing physical size, that individual will be beaten senseless with Power Mauls and sent battered and bloody to the nearest Forge World. There they are  given a second chance to serve Mankind as one of its most faithful servants.First the specimen is mind-wiped, chemically lobotomised so that their personality and memories are a blank slate -- in theory at least, for there have been numerous cases where some residual traces remained. Next their arms are cut away, usually replaced with weapons or tools suited to the new role their masters have chosen for them.In the case of Battle Servitors like the Kataphron, the specimen will be halved at the abdomen and permanently sutured and neural-cauterised into a tracked motive unit. Their mind will be hardwired with targeting cogitators, and their voice box surgically modified to better sing binharic praise to the Machine God. The process is of course painful in the extreme, but then no atonement is ever truly complete without sacrifice. And no sacrifice is too great for the Omnissiah.
Kataphron Battle Servitor - Kataphron Breacher: A Tech-priest Dominus can call upon a body of Battle Servitors to protect them in battle. Among the largest and most potent of these living artillery pieces are the Kataphron Breachers. Kataphron Breachers are Battle Servitors many times the size and power of those used by the rest of the Imperium.Utterly deadly at close quarters, they are not born so much as constructed, their every enhancement geared for maximum lethality. They are easily recognised by their growling motive units, vicious hydraulic pincers and deadly shoulder-mounted cannons.Yet the most vital component of all is within -- the soul of a violent individual. Many of the fleshy components of servitors are vat-grown, but it was soon discovered that these artificial organics were unable to bond properly with the hulking machinery of the Kataphron Breacher. After some experimentation, it was found that the cybernetic constructs only worked properly when centred around the soul of what was not just a living Human, but a particularly violent one.The part of the Kataphron Breacher that was once Human shows no emotion, but will respond by rote to the binharic imperatives of the Tech-priests. The process of being turned into a Battle Servitor preserves something of the pugnacious spirit, however, and the promise of slaughter seems to accelerate the bulky man-machines.In battle Kataphron Breachers rumble forward at the command of their Tech-priest masters, fulfilling the role of living shield and battering ram alike. Originally devised to break apart enemy battle lines and fortifications, they are of great use to those adepts who wish to seize a valuable artefact from the clutches of would-be usurpers. As they near the front line the volleys levelled by the foe thunder around the Kataphron Breachers to little effect; the thick overlapping plates that cover the flesh-parts of the Battle Servitors make them all but invulnerable to small arms fire.Once their proximity bells chime, Breachers return fire with helical blasts of energy from Heavy Arc Rifles or the twisting, ripping fields of Torsion Cannons. Whilst the foe scatters in disarray the Breachers accelerate, crashing into enemy lines to crush and kill with piston-driven talons and coruscating Arc Claws. At the whims of Tech-priests, cities and even entire worlds have been ground to dust beneath the remorseless tracks of these half-creatures.Though Kataphron Breachers are potent, they are easily replaced and can be mustered in the thousands if necessary. All Forge Worlds create these half-machine war constructs on a daily basis, their biohangars stacked with rank upon rank of dormant Kataphron Servitors awaiting the binharic command to awaken.In battle they are used callously, and unlike the relic robots of the Legio Cybernetica, the mangled remains of destroyed Kataphron Breachers are regarded as nothing more than scrap metal. Their survival is of little import, and a Tech-priest will expend them with no more thought than a Space Marine would expend a clip of bolter shells.
Kataphron Battle Servitor - Kataphron Destroyer: The cyborg horrors known as Kataphron Destroyers exist only to kill. There is perhaps no purer calling in all the galaxy than that of the living weapon, especially one unsullied by the responsibility of morality, or even thought. All servitors are ultimately only tools wielded by the hand of another, and the Kataphrons are no exception. When such a Battle Servitor is controlled by an adept of the Machine God, they become destruction incarnate.Where the standard Kataphron Breacher has at least one clawlike arm, the Destroyer has both its upper limbs replaced by high-yield weaponry. On one side it mounts a cannon of advanced design, ranging from the Heavy Phosphor Blaster -- a weapon that fires white-hot spheres that cling, burning, to the target -- to the Plasma Culverin, a cannon so volatile the servitor's own flesh crisps and burns even as his targets are reduced to molten sludge.Perhaps most feared of all the Destroyer's tools is the Heavy Graviton Cannon, a weapon that can flatten even the wraithbone ghost constructs of the Asuryani in a single crushing solar second. Their potential for dealing death does not end there, for on the other side of their torso Destroyers bear secondary weapon systems that can hurl nearby enemies back with roaring gouts of flame and streams of phosphor shot. Those that somehow survive this blistering array of firepower would do well to flee quickly, lest they be ground into the dirt under the Destroyer's heavy tracks.All Imperial servitors carry identification numbers, and Battle Servitors are no different. These numbers and the clade or unit to which they belong become their entire identity, their every action driven by their limited programming, for only malfunctioning servitors develop any sense of self-awareness. A servitor's functions are rudimentary at best, regardless of its type -- be it a Construction Servitor, Maintenance Servitor, Battle Servitor, or any other configuration.The augmetic optics of a Kataphron Destroyer are designed to focus on enemies, allowing the constructs to pinpoint and eliminate viable targets, but due to the limits of their programming, numerous friendly fire accidents have occurred.During the Third War for Armageddon an enemy-verification error allowed the amassed Kataphron Destroyer clades to turn upon their own allies, mercilessly blasting apart two Astra Militarum divisions and an entire squadron of Leman Russ battle tanks. While most such incidents truly are accidents, some Tech-priests -- the boldest and least scrupulous of their acquisitive kind -- have been known to use the cover of such programming "malfunctions" to achieve their own ends.For instance, Tech-priest Dominus Omingo Sahr was determined that his Requisition Crusade would acquire samples of all the technology it discovered. After his Kataphron Destroyer clade opened fire upon the Adeptus Astartes of the Dark Angels, he was at last able to secure several relic weapons that the Space Marines had foolishly kept from him, even denying that they had such devices in their possession.
Kataphron Battle Servitor - Unit Composition: 3-12 Kataphron Breachers or Kataphron Destroyers
Kataphron Battle Servitor - Kataphron Breacher: Kataphron Breacherplate - Though the torso and head of the Kataphron Battle Servitor hints at its fleshy past, the rest of its frame is a titanium-laced fortress of metal and plasteel that turns aside bullet and blade alike. Cybernetically reinforced to fit their role as close assault operatives, each Breacher is capable of driving right into the firepower of an entire squad and still emerging intact.Heavy Arc Rifle - Devised to slay the daemon machines of the Dark Mechanicum, the Heavy Arc Rifle is powered by ancient Martian electrotech. It sends out shallow parabolas of crackling electromagnetic energy that revolve around each other, forming triple helixes as they blast forth. Should these ground upon a metallic target they will swiftly overload its circuits and banish its animating spirit to the ether.Torsion Cannon (Upgrade) - The tri-sectional barrel of the Torsion Cannon is amongst the holiest of Mars' weapon technologies. When energised, it sends out three synchronous graviton gaol-fields that hold sections of the target in place. As the sections of the cannon's barrel turn counter to one another, the matter grasped in the gravitic fields is mercilessly twisted, subjected to an impossible torque that rips, buckles and ruins alien monstrosities and enemy war engines alike.Arc Claw - During the Cyberghoul Wars, the burrowing daemon machines of Warpsmith Votogr Bolga were met talon to talon by the Forge World Metalica's Battle Servitor defenders. It was the invention of the Arc Claw that turned the tide -- a potent delivery system for the most sophisticated scrambler technology the Adeptus Mechanicus could devise.Hydraulic Claw (Upgrade) - The Hydraulic Claws of Kataphron Breachers are driven not only by powerful pistons, but also sanctified oils that are collected, drip by drip, from Titan god-Machines at rest. The Tech-priests' belief is that in maintaining this process, they confer some of the Titan's strength to their Servitors. One who has witnessed the ruin wrought by a Hydraulic Claw will be hard-pressed to refute it.
Kataphron Battle Servitor - Kataphron Destroyer: Kataphron Demiplate - The weapon systems of the Kataphron Destroyer generate so much heat that their cabling is necessarily exposed -- to armour their wielder in heavy Breacherplate would doom it to swift burnout. Nonetheless, its cyborg anatomy and heavy steel treads provide a great deal of protection against small arms fire.Plasma Culverin - Plasma Culverins sacrifice the range of their cannon pattern equivalents in exchange for a higher rate of fire. Only the Adeptus Mechanicus dare coax such rampant destruction from their Plasma Weapons, yet to the Adepts of Ryza in particular, the scars they leave on wielder and war zone alike are considered quite normal.Heavy Graviton Cannon (Upgrade) - The graviton technologies used by the Adeptus Mechanicus are fearsome indeed. A target hit by the Heavy Grav-cannon's invisible field will be stunned and likely crippled, or even crushed under their own exponentially increased mass until all that is left is an oozing disc of biometallic waste.Heavy Phosphor Blaster (Upgrade) - Phosphor Weapons range from the hand-held Phosphor Serpenta favoured by many Tech-priests to the Heavy Phosphor Blaster mounted upon Kataphron Battle Servitors. The burning white spheres that shoot out from Phosphor Weapons cling tenaciously to their targets, sizzling wildly as they melt into flesh or burrow through armour and exoskeleton alike. More often than not, it is these luminagenic orbs that deal the death blow. Even if a target proves tough enough to survive the burning pain, the phosphorescent glow these spheres exude can guide an ally's volley to strike the same target.Cognis Flamer (Upgrade) - The spark-like anger of the Cognis Flamer's artificially intelligent Machine Spirit has been fanned to a roaring blaze. When under duress it will fight with incendiary wrath, even should its wielder be distracted.
Kataphron Battle Servitor - Sources: Codex: Adeptus Mechanicus (8th Edition), pp. 46-47, 76-77Codex Adeptus Mechanicus - Cult Mechanicus (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), pp. 64-70, 196-197, 199-200
Kataphron Breacherplate - Kataphron Breacherplate: Kataphron Breacherplate is the type of armour normally used by the Adeptus Mechanicus Battle Servitors called Kataphron Breachers. Though the torso and head of the Kataphron Battle Servitor hints at its fleshy past, the rest of its frame is a titanium-laced fortress of metal and plasteel that turns aside bullet and blade alike.Cybernetically reinforced to fit their role as close assault operatives, each Breacher is capable of driving right into the firepower of an entire squad and still emerging intact.
Kataphron Demiplate - Kataphron Demiplate: Kataphron Demiplate is the form of armour normally deployed on the Adeptus Mechanicus' Kataphron Destroyer Battle Servitors. The weapon systems of the Kataphron Destroyer generate so much heat that their cabling is necessarily exposed -- to armour their wielder in heavier Breacherplate would doom it to swift burnout. Nonetheless, its cyborg anatomy and heavy steel treads provide a great deal of protection against small arms fire.
Katarinya Greyfax - Katarinya Greyfax: Katarinya Greyfax (pronounced Cat-a-REEN-A Gray-Fakhs) was a Puritan Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus who played a crucial role in the last days of the 13th Black Crusade before the fall of Cadia and in the resurrection of the Primarch Roboute Guilliman during the Terran Crusade.Later, in the Era Indomitus, she was tasked by Guilliman, now the Lord Commander of the Imperium, with hunting down the artefact known as the Eye of Night which the primarch believed could be used to help seal the Great Rift that had cut the Imperium of Man in two after Abaddon the Despoiler's triumph at Cadia.Since her escape from the clutches of the Necron Overlord Trazyn the Infinite on Cadia, Inquisitor Katarinya Greyfax has become a figure wreathed in shadow and fear. Even those amongst her own Ordo Hereticus rarely speak her name above a whisper, and with good cause. Utterly uncompromising, devoid of mercy or remorse, Inquisitor Greyfax acts as the self-appointed executioner of any she names Heretic.She is a psyker of some power -- a fact that has led more than one of her peers to ironically brand her as a dangerous Radical -- and her telepathic abilities allow her to detect any lie. Such a talent is an incredible boon to Greyfax's investigations, and allows her to hunt with impunity, knowing that those she condemns have already damned themselves with their own tainted thoughts.Furthermore, Inquisitor Greyfax is able to weaponise her hatred of Chaos, projecting it as a crippling pall of fear and weakness that forces her victims to their knees. Armed with the ancient power sword Tyrantslayer and her masterwork Condemnor Bolter, Greyfax is a terrifying and iron-willed warrior in the Emperor's service.
Katarinya Greyfax - Wargear: Master Crafted Condemnor Bolter - A Condemnor Bolter is a Combi-weapon that couples the iconic might of the Imperial Bolter with a secondary launcher that fires blessed silver stakes, particularly deadly to Chaos-corrupted psykers. The Condemnor Bolter is the ultimate man-portable implement of judgement against those who wield the unclean energies of the Warp.Master Crafted Power Sword Tyrantslayer - A Power Sword is a Power Weapon that has been shaped into a sword of varying lengths and designs crafted from one of any number of different materials, though usually Adamantium. When its power cell is activated, often by touching a control located on the hilt, the blade is sheathed in a lethal corona of disruptive energy. This energy field allows the blade to carve through flesh, bone and most forms of armour plate alike, making a Power Sword a highly effective Imperial close combat weapon.Psyk-Out Grenade - A Psyk-Out Grenade is a very rare type of grenade used by Grey Knights Astartes, high-ranking Inquisitors and Assassins of the Culexus Temple as a potent anti-psyker weapon. Outwardly, a Psyk-Out Grenade looks much like one of the Frag Grenades in use by the many military forces of the Imperium. Its rarity and potency stems from the special additive that is laced within its explosive charge. The Adeptus Custodes reverently gather the dust that forms from the body of the Emperor of Mankind where He is entombed in the Golden Throne. This byproduct of the Golden Throne's arcane workings possesses a strong anti-psychic charge and can produce an effect in psykers and Warp entities similar to those produced by a psychic Blank, a being afflicted with the Pariah Gene. When a Psyk-Out grenade detonates, the sacred dust is spread over the whole of the blast radius. Any psyker caught within it will find his or her link to the Warp violently severed, and any psychic power active in the radius will be terminated due to its sudden loss of Warp power. This traumatic experience will prevent psykers from using any of their powers for a certain time, depending on the psyker's strength, and interrupt the action of any psychic power with potentially fatal consequences for the user. The severing of the connection to the Warp is also a potent tool to be used in the fight against Daemons: Lesser Daemons will be banished from realspace outright, unable to maintain their physical form, and even mighty Greater Daemons will find themselves severely weakened and liable to easy banishment.Psyocculum - This strange device allows the user to see psychic emanations, lighting up witches with a halo of unclean energies in even the darkest or most occluding conditions.Frag GrenadesKrak GrenadesAura of Oppression - Katarinya Greyfax is a powerful psyker. Among her abilities is the Aura of Oppression with which she can crush her foes minds with the unyielding force of her own will, leaving them paralyzed and unable to act.
Kaurava I - Kaurava I: Kaurava I is the Civilised World that serves as the capital of the Kaurava System.It is the most heavily populated world in the system.