vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Legion of Night - Legion of Night: Legion of NightCodex AstartesSpace MarineChapterFoundingOutrenachtAstartesTactical SquadsThese are deployed to perform surgical strikes or seize strategic points with the aid of fast-moving Razorbacks or Rhinos. Like its fellow Chapters the Angels of Fury and the Raven Guard, the Legion of Night has forged its combat doctrine around such highly mobile insurgent tactics.
Legion of Night - Notable Campaigns: The Destruction of Cavlock (905.M41) - Inquisitor Valeria had discovered the Dimensional Forge in the salt caverns of the world of Cavlock. Before she could recover this wondrous alien artefact, a daemon-infested Space Hulk crashed into the world, causing massive destruction and disgorging a horde of screaming daemons onto the planet's surface. Valeria took command of Cavlock's defence forces, and immediately summoned assistance but, disrupted by the onset of Warp Storm, the Imperial counterattack took time to gather momentum. By the time reinforcements arrived -- a demi-Brotherhood of Grey Knights, two companies of Silver Skulls and twelve regiments of Cadian Shock Troopers -- Valeria's forces had been forced to yield the snow-covered plains in favour of reinforcing the hive cities. The Imperial reinforcements took less than a day to change the fortunes of war. Acting in concert with the Silver Skulls, the Grey Knights slew many of the Greater Daemons at the head of the horde. Nevertheless, the daemons remained too numerous to defeat, and further forces were drawn to Cavlock's defence: Astra Militarum regiments from Mordia and Armageddon, Space Marines of the Legion of Night and Crimson Paladins Chapters, and even a small contingent of Aeldari from the Alaitoc Craftworld, who were doubtlessly pursuing their own goals under cover of the wider war. After weeks of unremitting campaign, the Imperial forces finally began to gain ground against the daemons. By the time Inquisitor Emil Darkhammer arrived on Cavlock, three solar months after the daemonic incursion had begun, the battle was all but won. Nonetheless, Darkhammer, a staunchly Puritan Inquisitor with a vicious distrust of all things alien, issued the Exterminatus order that reduced Cavlock to a burnt cinder. Of the billions of warriors and civilians sill alive on Cavlock at the time of the bombardment, only a few hundred escaped. One was Inquisitor Valeria, who was thrown aboard the last departing shuttle by a faithful Acolyte. Perceiving that the chief motivation behind Darkhammer's precipitate act had been the destruction of the Dimensional Forge, rather than the cessation of the daemonic incursion, she declared Darkhammer to be Excommunicate Traitoris and swore to bring him to account.
Legion of Night - Chapter Colours: The Legion of Night primarily wears black Power Armour. The Imperialis or Aquila on the chest guard is also black. The yellow squad specialty symbol which indicates squad type (Tactical, Devastator, Assault or Veteran) is located on the right shoulder pauldron. A large black Roman numeral, which indicates squad number, is centred on the squad specialty symbol. The colour of the shoulder pauldron trim indicates company number in accordance to the Codex Astartes - i.e. White (1st Company), Yellow (2nd Company), Red (3rd Company), Green (4th Company), etc.
Legion of Night - Chapter Badge: The Legion of Night's Chapter badge is a five-pointed yellow star, centred within a larger outline of a five-pointed star, with four yellow points radiating from behind it.
Legion of the Damned - Defining the Ethereal: There are those in the complex strata of the Imperium that make it their business to study the Legion of the Damned. They hope to learn not only of the mystery that lies behind it, but to capture whatever peculiar abilities it wields and use them for the betterment of the Imperium. On many occasions, the area of a Legion sighting is extensively analysed, but the Auspex returns never yield evidence of a teleport signature, nor the presence of an undesignated vessel that could have transported it to the field.If the rumours are true, the Legion is able to translocate directly via the Warp, not by using a Navigator and the unsteady pulse of the Astronomican -- not even by the dangerous science of teleportation -- but by some kind of innate mastery. One facet of the Legion of the Damned's legend lends weight to this supposition. Vid-thief evidence, from Servo-skull captures to multispectral analysis, places its members in various locations and times that were entirely cut off from the Imperium by Warp Storms, and therefore unreachable by conventional means.The collated reports then show what appear to be the same individuals across the other side of the galaxy shortly afterwards -- or, in the case of the Astigmatan Anomaly, simultaneously. Even blaming the fickle tides of the Empyrean does not adequately explain such occurrences. Some have taken these incidences as proof that the Legion is master of the Warp, much like the embodiments of the Dark Gods. It is a disturbing thought, even for those who have witnessed the Legion fighting hard to save Imperial lives.One of the few facts known about the Legion of the Damned is that its agents appear at a critical time, never too late or too early, and always in the most advantageous place to bring death to the enemy. The idea of negotiating the Empyrean reliably and accurately has long been a dream of the leaders of Mankind, its potential captivating in the extreme. If harnessed properly, it would form a grand prize that could change the fate of Mankind on a galactic level, allowing the armies of the Imperium to multiply their military presence by an unimaginable factor. So it is that no small portion of the Ordo Chronos, the part of the Inquisition that deals with temporal anomalies, is given over to the quest for the Legion's secrets.There are members of that secretive brotherhood who have spent their entire adult lives in pursuit of a first-hand sighting, who would give their lives gladly for a single exchange of information with a Legionary; yet every time the operatives of the Ordo Chronos get close to their quarries, events conspire to keep them apart -- landslides, telekinetic bursts, sudden mass aneurysms, or even vehicular explosions force the curious and the mysterious apart until the Legion has vanished from the time stream once more. It is as if the Legion will not allow itself to be interrogated and has power enough to ensure that such an encounter does not come to pass.
Legion of the Damned - The Hour of the Damned: During the events of Abaddon the Despoiler's 13th Black Crusade, the long-standing Fortress World of Cadia was destroyed. With Cadia's fall and the loss of the network of Necron-built Cadian Pylons that had long prevented the Eye of Terror from naturally expanding into the Materium, the Warp rift began to expand exponentially across the width of the known galaxy. This tear in reality, known as the Great Rift, effectively rent the Imperium in half.The beleaguered forces of the Imperium increasingly found themselves overwhelmed as the power of Chaos and the xenos hordes grew unstoppable. Whole sectors of the Imperium lost contact with Terra, while others reported the onslaught of rabid Greenskin hordes, aggressive Tau fleets or undying Necron hosts, seemingly driven to conquest in the face of the expanding Warp Storm fronts. Heretic Chaos Cults and rogue psykers rose up in the billions, and every Imperial world now seemed set to burn in the fires of unending war.Such was the turmoil during the creation of the Great Rift and the period following it that there could be no reliable accounts of what had transpired. As the chain reaction of the Great Rift cracked open the galaxy, tidal waves of unnatural energies spilled outwards in sporadic fashion. Warp Storms swept across everything -- not even the furthest reaches of the galaxy were spared their corrupting touch.With a great surge, over a million planets of the Imperium were cut off from the Light of the Emperor as the Astronomican went out. During that time, the Imperium of Mankind effectively ceased to be -- each planet was isolated, a speck of sanity buffeted by a raging tempest. It was a Warp Storm beyond the ability of any technology in the Imperium to record -- indeed, it was greater in size and power than anything that had ever been recorded, the most powerful of its kind since perhaps the lost era of the Age of Strife.During the "Blackness", as many came to know it, all long-ranged astrocommunications proved impossible. The Warp was in far too much upheaval to permit travel, and those starships in transit at the time were destroyed in horrific fashion or subjected to the worst battering their crews had ever experienced. It is impossible to count all those who lost their lives in the turmoil. Those who survived found themselves carried far off course by the insane tides of unnatural energies.Although all communications were cut, someone still received the distress calls. When travel was impossible, someone still arrived unlooked for. When all hope was lost, they strode forth out of the Blackness, a legion of vengeance, a brotherhood of flame. The Legion of the Damned appeared on Baal, Armageddon, Antagonis and hundreds more planets besides during this period of the early 42nd Millennium. The Legionaries spoke only with Bolter and Chainsword, meting out terrible punishments upon the enemies of the Imperium before themselves vanishing without a trace. Truly the hour of the damned had come...
Legion of the Damned - Chapter Organisation: No coherent Chapter hierarchy or organisation has been observed among the Legion of the Damned.There have been some notable exceptions such as sightings of the mysterious Centurius, a suspected Veteran Sergeant who leads some of his fellow Legionaries into battle.Although nothing is known of the Legion's higher organisation, there have also been eye-witness accounts of a mysterious figure sighted directing the Legion's attacks. It is not known if he is the Master of the Legion or the equivalent of a Space Marine captain.The Legionaries of the Damned still very much prefer the use of rapid assault tactics. Their tactical doctrine still tends to favour the use of shock tactics, close-quarters combat and, above all, the brutal application of focused and overwhelming force to obliterate the enemy.Having a reputation for appearing suddenly and disappearing after a battle just as mysteriously, the Astartes of the Legion of the Damned have been seen to make use of some heavy support elements, such as Rhino armoured personnel carriers or a Venerable Dreadnought.Even the Legion of the Damned's Tactical and Devastator Squads prefer to engage at point-blank range when possible. The Legion of the Damned also makes extensive use of Bike Squads, taking advantage of their superb speed and agility to launch lightning fast raids.The Legion of the Damned also employs ancient technology, especially the early patterns of Plasma Weapons that date back to the Horus Heresy era. Though the plasma technology of that time was notoriously unstable and dangerous, this has not dissuaded the Legionaries from adding it to their formidable arsenal.The devastating power of this plasma weaponry makes it too potent to abandon, and so the Legion of the Damned continues to utilise it, as after all, the worst that could happen is that they might meet an even more premature death in the service of the Emperor.
Legion of the Damned - Chapter Combat Doctrine: The Legion of the Damned maintains no formal Chapter organisation or order of battle -- it fights as a single body of troops. The only tactic possible for such a formation is to steam-roll over the enemy through a steady advance.The Legion is not a part of any Imperial force, and employs an unusual modus operandi. Apart from driving the Legion's members slowly insane, the Warp contagion also heightens the Legionaries' psychic awareness considerably. One result of this effect is the way in which the Legion selects and attacks its targets.These matters are left entirely to the process of psychic divination provided by the mystic Emperor's Tarot. This system of tarot cards is supposedly bound to the psychic will of the Emperor and is used throughout the Imperium as both a pastime and a form of true, precognitive divination.Its effectiveness can be seen in the undeniable fact that the Legion of the Damned's attacks always seem to come in the right place at the right time for the servants of the Imperium.
Legion of the Damned - Chapter Relics: The Animus Malorum - Accounts vary as to the exact description of the sinister relic known as the Animus Malorum -- some claim it to be a baleful skull borne into battle, holding true to the legend of Attica Centurius; others insist that it formed part of a ghostly warrior's spectral armour, as if the Animus Malorum and the damned Legionary were somehow one. Despite their divergent theories as to its exact nature, these reports are unanimous in describing the horrific effects of the Animus Malorum -- the skull's victim visibly withers beneath its sightless stare as unwholesome energies draw forth the target's soul. Each time this macabre event takes place, the phantasmal haze that surrounds the warriors in the skull's presence condenses, rendering them all but immune to physical harm. Within this aetheric miasma, rent armour reforms, intangible flesh knits together, and fallen Legionaries rise to do battle once more.
Legion of the Damned - Notable Legionaries: Sergeant Attica Centurius - From scattered eyewitness accounts it appears that the Legion of the Damned has abolished all ranks and no longer organises itself into companies. Most of the Chapter's officers were already dead after their Chapter fleet was lost in the Warp and the remaining warriors were too few to make up a fully functioning Chapter hierarchy. There is, however, one notable exception -- the mysterious Attica Centurius who seems to wield some type of leadership role over the other Astartes of the Legion. Centurius' armour does not display any rank or insignia save the usual symbols of death employed by Legionaries, however it is believed that he is a former Veteran Sergeant of the Fire Hawks. He is marked out from the other Legionaries by the archaic skull that he carries aloft into battle known as the Animus Malorum ("Soul of the Damned"). This ancient Imperial relic takes the form of a skull whose eyes blaze with light when its power is unleashed. There is some speculation as to the identity of the skull, as it bears three Astartes long-service studs bolted into its forehead. This indicates the skull belonged to an Astartes of senior rank, and it may be all that remains of Sergeant Centurius' former company captain. This powerful artefact has the ability to literally suck the soul from its target and then resurrect a fellow Legion of the Damned member who has fallen in battle to continue to serve the Emperor beyond the point of death -- another gift of the Warp curse that has befallen the Legion.
Legion of the Damned - Chapter Fleet: The Legion of the Damned's Chapter fleet may consist of only one known vessel:Raptorus Rex (Mobile Star Fortress) - This vast, mobile pre-Imperial Star Fortress of the Fire Hawks Space Marine Chapter served as their primary base of operations and fortress-monastery. During the Badab War this vessel was the largest warship operating within the Badab Sector and is indeed one of the largest warships ever used in the Imperium of Man's service. The formidable firepower of this colossus of war was capable of scouring the surface of a world within mere moments of its emergence from the Warp or challenge an entire squadron of cruisers alone. The Raptorus Rex and the entire Fire Hawks Chapter Fleet was officially declared "Lost in the Warp" by the Imperium following an attempted Warp jump from the Piraeus System to the Crow's Word Sub-sector in 963.M41. However, a vessel fitting its exact description was said to have been used as a base of operations for the Legion of the Damned during their intervention in the Cholercaust Blood Crusade in the late 41st Millennium.
Legion of the Damned - Chapter Colours: The Legion of the Damned paints its power armour a flat black colour that seems to swallow all light.The Legionaries adorn their armour with the symbols of death -- images of skulls, ribcages, phalanges, and sundry other human bones.They also have a tendency to add flames to their shoulder plates or greaves to show their damned status. The Aquila, if present, is usually bone white.
Legion of the Damned - Chapter Badge: The Legion of the Damned's Chapter badge is a large white skull on a field of black.
Legion of the Damned - Canon Conflict: In the Horus Heresy novel Battle for the Abyss by Ben Counter, there is a Word Bearers vessel known as the Raptorous Rex, a vessel formerly devoted to the Emperor, who had plucked their Primarch Lorgar from Colchis during the Great Crusade and placed the Word Bearers at his command.It later became a profane temple to the Ruinous Powers, following the Word Bearers "illumination" during the primarch's pilgrimage into the Eye of Terror, known as the Pilgrimage of Lorgar.Their faith subverted to the worship of the Dark Gods, the traitorous Word Bearers henceforth had any images or iconography related to the False Emperor of Mankind stricken from its corridors.This may have simply been an oversight as the author may have been recycling a name used in other Warhammer 40,000 fiction, or it may be the start of an unusual new backstory for this ancient vessel.
Legion of the Damned - Sources: Codex: Adeptus Astartes - Space Marines (8th Edition), "A Glorious History - Fate of the Phalanx," pg. 38Codex: Legion of the Damned (6th Edition) (Digital Edition), "The Hunt for the Truth," "A Legion Lost," "Martyrs Beyond Death"Codex: Imperial Agents (7th Edition), pp. 18-19Codex: Space Marines (7th Edition), pp. 119-120, 331-333Codex: Space Marines (6th Edition), pp. 32-42, 104Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition), pg. 95Codex: Ultramarines (2nd Edition), pp. 74-75Index Astartes II, "The Cursed Founding" by Graham McNeill, pp. 60-64Gathering Storm - Part Three - Rise of the Primarchs (7th Edition), "Daemonwar," pp. 69-70, 110Gathering Storm - Part One - Fall of Cadia (7th Edition), "The Fate of Phalanx," "The Emperor's Light," "The Clarion of Truth," "The Despoiler's Wrath," pp. 24, 50, 59, 69, 73Planetstrike (5th Edition), pg. 57To Cleanse The Stars by Andy Chambers and Matt Keefe (accessed 2007.02.19)Warhammer 40,000: Rulebook (8th Edition), "Dark Imperium - The Hour of the Damned," pp. 50-51White Dwarf 305 (UK), "Crux Terminatus - Legion of the Damned models", by Dominic Murray, pg. 82White Dwarf 224 (UK), "Legion of the Damned", by Jervis Johnson, pp. 18-25White Dwarf 195 (UK), "Legion of the Damned: Veteran Sergeant Centurius" by Ian Pickstock, pp. 11-13White Dwarf 99 (UK), "Index Astartes: Legion of the Damned" by Rick Priestley, pp. 39-42The Legion of the Damned (Novel) by Rob SandersFlame and Damnation (Anthology) Various AuthorsVotum Infernus (Short Story) by Nick KymeRemorseless (Short Story) by Josh ReynoldsAnimus Malorum (Short Story) by CZ DunnShip of the Damned (Short Story) by LJ GouldingFrom the Flames (Short Story) by David AnnandaleThe Dark Hallows of Memory (Short Story) by Graeme LyonFounding 21 - The Cursed Founding Chapters
Legion Outrider Squad - Legion Outrider Squad: A Legion Outrider Squad was a specialised unit of the ancient Space Marine Legions that was employed during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras in the late 30th and early 31st Millennia.These mechanised Space Marine reconnaissance squads took to the field mounted on all-terrain Assault Bikes and were responsible for performing scouting missions and conducting guerrilla attacks behind enemy lines.It was from these formations that the later Adeptus Astartes Bike Squads were created after the Second Founding in the early 31st Millennium.
Legion Outrider Squad - History: Legion Outrider Squads were formed from experienced Space Marines expert in operating independently and often deep behind enemy lines.These specialised troops were the eyes and ears of their Legion in the field. They took to the field mounted upon ruggedly constructed, all-terrain armoured ground bikes and scramblers.These squads were utilised for scouting missions and hit-and-run attacks deep behind enemy lines, the chief advantage of the Outriders being their speed. Their Assault Bikes enabled them to cover ground far quicker than infantry and go where heavier vehicles could not.
Legion Outrider Squad - Unit Composition: 3-9 Legion Space Marine Outriders1 Legion Outrider Sergeant
Legion Outrider Squad - Wargear: Power ArmourBolt PistolChainsword or Combat BladeFrag GrenadesKrak GrenadesAssault Bike with twin-linked Bolters
Legion Outrider Squad - Optional Wargear: Melta BombsPower Weapon (Any type)Hand FlamerPlasma Pistol
Legion Outrider Squad - Outrider Vehicle Optional Wargear: Twin-linked FlamerTwin-linked Melta GunTwin-linked Plasma Gun
Legion Outrider Squad - Optional Wargear (Sergeant Only): Hand FlamerPlasma PistolPower Weapon (Any type)Power FistSingle Lightning ClawCombi-WeaponPlasma Pistol
Legion Outrider Squad - Sources: Horus Heresy: Collected Visions (Art Book), pg. 155The Horus Heresy - Book One: Betrayal by Alan Bligh, pg. 211The Horus Heresy: Legiones Astartes - Age of Darkness Army List, pg. 49Forgeworld - Legion MK IV Outrider Squad
Legion Pathfinder - Legion Pathfinder: Legion Pathfinder was an officer rank of the Space Marine Legions used during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy who were tasked with skirmish and reconnaissance-in-force duties. Legion Pathfinder was one of several specialty ranks that fell under the generalised banner of the mid-tier Legion officer rank of consul, formally known as a Legiones Consularis in High Gothic, which was awarded to an individual Astartes who was recognised for their unique talents and hard-won skills.Legion Pathfinders were the bleak wind that ran ahead of the Imperium's serried armies, culling the weak and harrying the strong that they might fall more easily to those who followed. There were many victories claimed by the Great Crusade that would not have been possible without the depredations caused by these warriors in the early stages of any conflict.Within the ranks of the Legions at the time of the outbreak of the Horus Heresy there were few remaining Scout Marine cohorts, with most companies equipped with the lighter Scout Armour long since reassigned to Recon detachments comprised of fully-initiated Astartes. Those few that remained were often veterans of over a standard century of war in the most hostile terrain known to Humanity, and the last Pathfinders were the unchallenged experts on combat within such dangerous ground.
Legion Pathfinder - Unit Composition: 1 Legion Pathfinder
Legion Pathfinder - Wargear: Scout ArmourMaster Crafted ShotgunFrag GrenadesKrak GrenadesCombat KnifeA Legion Pathfinder may select one of the following as dedicated transport:Spatha Combat BikeScimitar JetbikeWarhawk Pattern Jump Pack
Legion Pathfinder - Notable Units: Pioneer Companies - In its earliest incarnation, the Vth Legion was not the singular body that many of the other proto-Legions formed. It was a Space Marine Legion in name only. Instead, it was organised into autonomous companies, each of which had few links to any of their brethren and operated entirely independently. The pathfinders of these "Pioneer Companies" of the early Vth Legion were recognised early on during the outset of the Great Crusade as the preeminent masters of this realm of warfare for the Imperial expeditionary fleets. The Pioneer Companies were pathfinders in both a tactical and strategic sense, amongst the keenest and most proficient breed of the Legiones Astartes created for this role by the Emperor.
Legion Reconnaissance Squad - Legion Reconnaissance Squad: A Legion Reconnaissance Squad was a specialised unit of the ancient Space Marine Legions used during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras in the late 30th and early 31st Millennia.These squads specialised in reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering and were consummate masters of stealth, infiltration and sabotage deep behind enemy lines. It was from these formations that the later Adeptus Astartes Scout Marines were created after the Second Founding in the early 31st Millennium.
Legion Reconnaissance Squad - History: Legion Reconnaissance Squads were formed from experienced Space Marines expert in operating independently and often deep behind enemy lines.These specialised troops were the eyes and ears of their Legion in the field. For this task, they were armed and equipped with a variety of specialised wargear including long-range weaponry, sensory Auspex and stealth gear.They served as scouts and intelligence gatherers, identifying targets and gathering information on enemy movements and strengths. They also served their Legion as pickets, saboteurs, raiders and snipers where needed, and in open battle were experts in sudden flanking manoeuvres and infiltration attacks in support of their main force.
Legion Reconnaissance Squad - Wargear: Power ArmourBolterBolt PistolFrag GrenadesKrak GrenadesShroud Bombs
Legion Reconnaissance Squad - Optional Wargear: Recon ArmourSniper RifleSpace Marine ShotgunChainsword or Combat BladeNuncio VoxCameleolineMelta Bombs
Legion Reconnaissance Squad - Optional Wargear (Sergeant Only): Artificer Power ArmourChainsword or Combat BladePower WeaponPower FistCombi-WeaponPlasma Pistol
Legion Reconnaissance Squad - Sources: Horus Heresy: Collected Visions (Art Book), pg. 67Imperial Armour - The Horus Heresy: Betrayal - Book One, pg. 207Forge World - Legion MK IV Recon Squad
Legion Seeker Squad - Legion Seeker Squad: A Legion Seeker Squad, made up of Space Marines called Seekers, was a specialised unit of the ancient Legiones Astartes in use during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy in the late 30th and early 31st Millennia.These squads specialised in infiltration behind enemy lines and identifying an enemy's command structure and taking it out in order to cause anarchy within the enemy's ranks.
Legion Seeker Squad - History: Legion Seeker Squads were formed from those Legionaries who were chosen on pure merit as the best marksmen in their Legion.Comprised of a specialised force of Space Marines, it was the job of a Seeker Squad strike force to identify and take out an enemy's command structure, its warlords, officers, priests, demagogues, whatever form their commanders took, and slay them with a well-placed bolt round while the chaos of battle raged around them.The Alpha Legion are said to have first crystalised this tactic and squad configuration, with the Emperor's approval, which soon spread to the other Legions, although its use sat poorly within the combat doctrine and cultures of some.The Seeker Squads employed by the many Space Marine Legions were common. These tactics were taken a stage further by the Alpha Legion in the creation of an elite unit geared specifically to rapidly inflicting targeted casualties behind enemy lines, known variously as the Headhunters or "Effrit" -- although this latter term may also have referred to the act of assassination, and the sowing of destruction and chaos behind the lines mid-battle, as well as a particular unit type.Often, a Seeker strike force would be forced to rely on the briefest window of opportunity to take down their targets at close range, rather than have the luxury of distance and able sighting as a sniper in a Legion Reconnaissance Squad might have.To aid them in the kill, Seeker Squads were usually equipped with special issue ammunition (Kraken, Scorpius and Tempest bolt shells) and Combi-weapons where applicable, to better deal with their chosen victims.
Legion Seeker Squad - Unit Composition: 1 Seeker Strike Leader (Sergeant)4-9 Seeker Space Marines
Legion Seeker Squad - Wargear: Power Armour (Any Firstborn pattern)BolterBolt PistolFrag GrenadesKrak Grenades
Legion Seeker Squad - Optional Wargear: Combi-weapon1 Seeker may take a Nuncio Vox
Legion Seeker Squad - Optional Wargear (Seeker Squad Strike Leader Only): Artificer ArmourPlasma PistolPower WeaponPower FistMelta Bombs
Legion Tactical Squad - Legion Tactical Squad: A Legion Tactical Squad was a tactical formation of the ancient Space Marine Legions used during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras in the late 30th and early 31st Millennia.These squads were the mainstay of the Legiones Astartes and the force by which the Great Crusade reconquered much of the galaxy for the Imperium of Man and its Emperor.
Legion Tactical Squad - History: The Legion Tactical Squad was the precursor of the present Adeptus Astartes Firstborn Tactical Squads still utilised in the 41st Millennium.The Warmaster Horus remarked on several occasions that there were few challenges of war that could not be met by, or did not require, the use of such units. One of these squads was typically composed of 10 Legionaries total, consisting of 9 Legionaries and 1 Legion tactical sergeant. But some of these squads could contain as many as 20 Legionaries.It was by the fighting power of thousands of transhuman warriors such as these, armed and armoured for battle in the harshest of environments and the deadliest war zones, that the enemies of Mankind were crushed time and again.One of the Space Marine Legion's greatest assets in open battle was the massed, coordinated hail of bolter fire its Legion Tactical Squads could unleash. Such was the firepower of this storm of explosive shells that enemy infantry formations and even squadrons of light vehicles would be blasted to the four winds in a single thunderous volley of bolts.The Legion Tactical Squad was a highly flexible infantry unit, able to attack or defend at will, assault heavily fortified positions and take and hold strategic objectives or simply slaughter an enemy comprehensively in almost any terrain or situation.
Legion Tactical Squad - Unit Composition: 9 Tactical Marines1 Tactical Sergeant
Legion Tactical Squad - Wargear: Power ArmourBolterBolt PistolFrag GrenadesKrak Grenades
Legion Tactical Squad - Optional Wargear: Chainsword or Combat BladeNuncio VoxLegion Vexilla (Legion Standard)
Legion Tactical Squad - Optional Wargear (Sergeant Only): Artificer ArmourCombi-weaponPlasma PistolHeavy ChainswordPower WeaponPower Fist1 Lightning ClawMelta Bombs
Legion Tactical Support Squad - Legion Tactical Support Squad: A Legion Tactical Support Squad was a tactical formation of the ancient Space Marine Legions used during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras in the late 30th and early 31st Millennia.These squads were mobile fire support units that utilised specialised wargear, weapons and tactics to support an assault by the Legion's main strength.
Legion Tactical Support Squad - History: Legion Tactical Support Squads were mobile fire-support units that replaced the utilitarian bolter of their comrades with more specialised weapons, enabling them to cope with particular battlefield threats or enemies.Operating in close order with the Legion's other troops, the Tactical Support Squad's firepower enabled a battlefield strike force of Space Marines to act with even more versatility and engage a wider range of targets on its own terms.The most common armaments used by Tactical Support Squads included Flamers which were ideal for urban warfare, bunker and trench clearance, as well as eradicating xenos life forms from an area.Rapid-firing Rotor Cannons were used against large numbers of lightly armed foes, thermic energy Meltas for tank-busting, and where available, Plasma and Volkite Weapons against the most heavily armoured and monstrous enemies.
Legion Tactical Support Squad - Wargear: Power ArmourFlamerBolt PistolFrag GrenadesKrak Grenades
Legion Tactical Support Squad - Optional Wargear: Rotor CannonVolkite CaliverPlasma GunMelta Gun
Legion Tactical Support Squad - Optional Wargear (Sergeant Only): Artificer ArmourBolterCombi-WeaponPlasma PistolPower WeaponPower FistSingle Lightning ClawChainsword or Combat BladeMelta BombsAugury Scanner
Legion Techmarine Covenant - Legion Techmarine Covenant: A Legion Techmarine Covenant was a specialised technical support unit of the ancient Space Marine Legions used during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras in the late 30th and early 31st Millennia.This small cohort was made up of 1 to 3 Techmarines that provided technical support on the battlefield and were primarily responsible for the upkeep, maintenance and repair of Astartes wargear, equipment and vehicles.
Legion Techmarine Covenant - History: During the formation of the Imperium, ancient pacts were sworn between the Mechanicum and the burgeoning Legiones Astartes to allow the Space Marines to send those warriors with an affinity for technology to Mars to train and begin the long, arduous journey of becoming priests of the Machine God. Without the passing on of such ancient technological lore, the Space Marine Legions would have been unable to make war.These specialists of the Legion possessed intelligence and aptitude for the technological that marked them out at an early stage for induction into the rites and secrets of the ancient Mechanicum. Aspiring Techmarines trained for 30 Terran years on Mars, steeping themselves in the rites of activation and hymnals of maintenance.When they completed their training and returned to their Legions, they were forevermore marked from the rest of their Battle-Brothers, men of dual loyalties, pledged by blood to their Legion, but bound in mind and spirit to the mysteries of the Cult Mechanicus' Omnissiah.The role of the Techmarine Covenants was to maintain and oversee the manufacture and supply of wargear and vehicles for their Legion, as well as operate and repair the most specialised and complex weaponry on the battlefield. In this a Legion's Armorum and its Techmarine Master were vital to its ability to wage war.
Legion Techmarine Covenant - Unit Composition: 1-3 Legion Techmarines
Legion Techmarine Covenant - Wargear: Artificer ArmourBolt PistolFrag GrenadesKrak GrenadesPower AxeServo-Arm
Legion Techmarine Covenant - Optional Wargear: Nuncio VoxAugury ScannerMaster-crafted BolterCombi-WeaponVolkite ChargerPlasma PistolGraviton GunMelta BombsConversion BeamerRad GrenadesThunder HammerCyber-Familiar
Legion Techmarine Covenant - Servitor-Automata: Additionally, a Techmarine may be accompanied by 4 Servitor-automata forming a unit with them and armed with a Chainsword and Bolter. Any Servitor-automata may exchange its Bolter with the following:LascutterPower FistFlamerRotor Cannon
Legion Terminator Squad - Legion Terminator Squad: A Legion Terminator Squad was an elite formation of the ancient Space Marine Legions that saw action during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras in the late 30th and early 31st Millennia.These elite cadres were formed from proven Space Marine Veterans who had earned the right to wear Tactical Dreadnought Armour, better known as Terminator Armour, and serve as their Legion's greatest infantry assets, each Astartes transformed into essentially a walking tank.Tactical Dreadnought Armor combines the technological developments of Power Armour with the sealed environmental suits designed for starship crews that work in highly unstable or corrosive environments such as inside the high pressure casings of plasma reactor shields.These formidable suits of powered armour could even withstand the colossal impact of high speed orbital micro debris.
Legion Terminator Squad - History: Space Marine Power Armour has a long and glorious history, its origins dating back to the long-forgotten Dark Age of Technology before the Emperor of Mankind's Unification of Terra.Nothing is now known of this time, but it is speculated that suits of powered armour were worn by the techno-barbarians that fought alongside the Emperor as He battled to bring Terra under his rule in the 30th Millennium.Over time, these suits were refined and improved, becoming the earliest incarnations of fully enclosed Power Armour. Alongside the development of a far more sophisticated suit of battle-plate, the Emperor initiated a program to develop a new suit of Power Armour that would provide even greater protection than that offered by the standard marks of Power Armour already employed by the Space Marines.Anecdotal evidence of the adaptability and willingness to embrace this new weapon of warfare can be found in the Primarch Horus' vocal backing of the Tactical Dreadnought Armour project that was undertaken by the Mechanicum of Mars, with the result that his XVIth Legion, the Luna Wolves, was one of the first and most widely equipped with the early prototypes of Cataphractii Pattern Terminator Armour. The Luna Wolves stood at the forefront of the development of tactics for its use in starship and planetary assaults.The fruits of the Tactical Deadnought Armour project, Terminator suits became the ultimate advance in personal armour technology the Imperium had developed.Terminator squads were soon matched with these formidable developments with the finest Veteran forces of the Legions forming devastating frontline assault units, able to withstand the heaviest enemy fire and deliver a hammer blow to crush the foe with ruthless power.Terminator Armour-equipped units were particularly valuable in heavy close-quarter fighting such as battles fought in the deep confines of hive cities or in starship boarding actions.
Legion Terminator Squad - Wargear: Indomitus Pattern Terminator Armour or Cataphractii Pattern Terminator Armour or Tartaros Pattern Terminator ArmourCombi-bolterPower Weapon
Legion Terminator Squad - Optional Wargear: Heavy FlamerReaper AutocannonPlasma BlasterCombi-WeaponVolkite ChargerPower Fist1 or 2 Lightning ClawsChainfistThunder Hammer
Legion Terminator Squad - Optional Wargear (Sergeant Only): Grenade Harness
Legion Terminator Squad - Dedicated Transport: A Legion Terminator Squad numbering at least five Legionaries often took a Land Raider Phobos as a dedicated transport or a Spartan Assault Tank if there were ten Legionaries or less.
Legion Terminator Squad - Sources: The Horus Heresy - Book One: Betrayal (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 196
Legion Veteran Tactical Squad - Legion Veteran Tactical Squad: A Legion Veteran Tactical Squad was a tactical formation of the ancient Space Marine Legions used during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras in the late 30th and early 31st Millennia.These squads were composed of the most experienced warriors within a Legion and were singled out for their acumen and honoured with additional training in all aspects of warfare.The Astartes of these squads received the highest quality and most advanced weaponry available to their Legion.
Legion Veteran Tactical Squad - History: In the ancient Legiones Astartes a common tactical formation was the Veteran Tactical Squad. These Legionary Veterans were amongst a Space Marine Legion's most experienced warriors. They were consummate fighters who had ground the armies of scores of worlds under their armoured boots.These exceptional and experienced Astartes within the ranks of the Space Marine Legions were quickly singled out by their officers, equipped with the finest wargear and trained in all aspects of combat to further enhance their battlefield power. Certain Legions would further separate their Veterans from the rank-and-file of the battlelines and raise them above the common ranks of Astartes by inducting them into warrior brotherhoods, martial cults or specified Veteran companies.This served to create an elite body within the Legion to which other warriors could aspire to ascend, and from which new officers were ultimately drawn.
Legion Veteran Tactical Squad - Notable Veteran Formations: Legion NumberLegion NameVeteran Formation NameIIIEmperor's ChildrenPalatine BladesIVIron WarriorsStor-BezashkVWhite ScarsBrotherhood of the StormVISpace WolvesGrey HuntersVIIINight LordsAtramentarVIIINight LordsNight RaptorsXIIWorld EatersCaedereXVThousand SonsSekhmetXVISons of HorusCatulan ReaversXVISons of HorusJustaerinXVIIWord BearersGal VorbakXVIIWord BearersVakrah JalXXAlpha LegionEffrit Stealth Squad
Legion Veteran Tactical Squad - Unit Composition: 4-9 Legion Veteran Space Marines1 Legion Veteran Sergeant
Legion Veteran Tactical Squad - Wargear: Power Armour (Any Firstborn pattern)BolterBolt PistolChainsword or Combat KnifeFrag GrenadesKrak Grenades
Legion Veteran Tactical Squad - Optional Wargear: Nuncio-voxLegion Vexilla (Legion Standard)Melta BombsVolkite Serpenta or Volkite ChargerPower WeaponMelta GunPlasma GunHeavy FlamerHeavy Bolter and Suspensor WebMissile Launcher (with Frag and Krak Missiles)
Legion Veteran Tactical Squad - Optional Wargear (Veteran Sergeant Only): Artificer ArmourPower FistLightning Claw (Single)Thunder HammerCombi-weapon (Any type)Plasma Pistol
Legion Wars - Legion Wars: The Legion Wars, known also as the Legion War, the Slave Wars, or sometimes referred to as the Eye of Terror Slave Wars, were waged shortly after the end of the Horus Heresy in the Eye of Terror between the various Traitor Legions of Heretic Astartes in the early 31st Millennium.This conflict marked the final collapse of unity between the Chaos-corrupted Space Marine Legions that had fought unified under the banner of Horus Lupercal during the Horus Heresy.It also marked the transformation of the Sons of Horus into the Black Legion led by Horus' ultimate successor as the Warmaster of Chaos, Abaddon the Despoiler, the former first captain of the Sons of Horus.Many of the events of this conflict remain unclear or distorted to Imperial chroniclers due to the difficulty of gaining information about the actions of the Traitor Legions within a Warp rift like the Eye of Terror.
Lelith Hesperax - Wargear: Wychsuit - A flexible bodyglove utilised by the members of a Wych Cult, a Wychsuit is designed primarily to provide additional protection to one side of the wearer's body that is exposed more often to an opponent in battle, while the other side has sections cut away, revealing bare flesh, which allows the wearer additional freedom of movement.Wicked Blades - Wych Cults utilise a variety of wicked blades which often includes an individually made, elegant dagger. These knives are kept sheathed until they are needed, so that its in-built sharpening field will ensure it stays eternally keen and lethal.Barbed Hair - Lelith possesses a spectacular mane of hair, as long as she is tall. Woven into her hair are numerous small blades and hooks, and her athletic control of her own body is so total that the silken caress of her seemingly free-flowing mane can incapacitate an opponent in the same way a net used by a lesser Wych would.Sharpened Finger Talons - Lelith's skill is so high that she needs no other weapon than the short edge of her sharpened nails to dispatch even the most formidably armored opponents, striking lightning-fast at vulnerable points with the tip of her fingers.Foot Spurs - Another weapon demonstrating Lelith exceptional skill, she uses these small, spur-like blades against opponents who would otherwise have the advantage of reach against her.Shardnet - A commonly used melee weapon of the Wych Cults, Shardnets are electrified nets that when entrapping its victim renders them unable to strike back. These nets can cut through flesh, muscle and bone.Impaler - Used primarily by both the Dark Eldar Kabals and the Wych Cults, Impalers are large, wicked monomolecular melee weapons resembling a Punisher (a similarly large bladed weapon). This weapon is often utilised in conjunction with a Shardnet.Plasma Grenades - These grenades explode into a ball of super-heated plasma, negating the effect of cover in close combat.
Leman Russ - History: The Space Wolves are one of the greatest of the Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, their name and honours known throughout the galaxy. As one of the original twenty Space Marine Legions, the Space Wolves were founded by the Emperor Himself over ten thousand years ago. The Legions were created to take part in the Great Crusade, the Emperor's reconquest of the Human-settled galaxy that established the Imperium as it is today.Before the Great Crusade, Terra had endured thousands of standard years of isolation whilst impenetrable Warp storms seethed and howled throughout the western part of the galaxy. This dark period of history was known as the Age of Strife. Even the Emperor was trapped upon Terra by the Warp's tumult, and could do little other than secure Humanity's birth planet and prepare his armies for the reconquest to come.Without the Emperor to guide them through this terrible age, the rest of the Human worlds throughout the galaxy were left helpless against the predations of aliens and the dread Daemonic entities of the Warp. One by one, they fell into anarchy and despair. Humanity, it seemed, was doomed.
Leman Russ - Primarch Project: During Terra's isolation from the rest of the galaxy during the Age of Strife at the dawn of the 30th Millennium, the Emperor had striven to create twenty superhuman beings to serve as His generals, proconsuls and administrators in the great wars to reunite the Human-settled galaxy that were to come. These "primarchs," as He called them, were genetically engineered creatures, artificial humanoids with astounding abilities born of a fusion of advanced genetic science and the arcane power of the Immaterium. Each was created differently and with his own unique skills, powers, and in some cases, incredible psychic potential. The primarchs were made to resemble Humankind, but many were mighty in appearance and far larger and stronger than any mortal man.Yet the Primarch Project never reached its conclusion. In a disastrous incident, the nascent superbeings were swept up by the terrible forces that dwelt within the Warp while still in their gestation capsules in the Emperor's secret laboratories and scattered across the stars through the Warp. Rather than trying to duplicate the long and arduous work through which He had created the primarchs, the Emperor instead used the raw genetic material of each primarch developed during the Primarch Project to create the Space Marine Legions.After much toil, the Emperor and His scientists among the newborn Imperium's Biotechnical Division created a number of artificially cultured organs, each re-engineered from the genomes of the primarchs. These organs were designed so that they could be implanted into the body of an ordinary adolescent Human. Once implanted, the organs would take root and develop alongside and within the host's Human tissues, becoming an integrated part of his body.Many of these organs were designed to interact with natural body tissues as they developed, enhancing muscle growth, stimulating mental processes, and transforming the recipient into a transhuman warrior. Compared to the primarchs whose incredible power they had inherited, the Space Marines were but pale shadows, but they still became the mightiest of men and the greatest of the Emperor's genetically-engineered warriors.
Leman Russ - The Legiones Astartes: The Emperor created twenty Space Marine Legions, each utilising residual genetic material derived from one of the Primarchs. Most of the implants were common in type and function to all twenty Legions, but there were also subtle variances in the genetic structure that developed as a result of their different gene-fathers. Thus the warriors of the twenty Space Marine Legions echoed to some degree the particular strengths of the Primarch whose genes were used to develop their own implants. The implants of the Space Wolves were developed from the genetic helix -– later to be known as the Canis Helix –- of Leman Russ. At this time, the Emperor had no idea where the Primarchs were or if they had even survived their ordeal. Only later, during the Great Crusade itself, was the Emperor able to recover the Primarchs, one by one. By then they had grown to adulthood amongst whatever civilisations existed on the worlds on which their incubation pods had landed. Many Primarchs crashed upon uncivilised worlds or grew up amongst deadly and inhospitable environments.