vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Centurion - Centurion Devastator Squads: While Centurion Assault Squads are equipped for close quarters, Centurion Devastator Squads are long-range fire support specialists who pound enemy positions with salvos of heavy weapons fire. Bloody havoc is wrought upon anything that falls within the Centurions' targeting reticules.The pilots' marksmanship is augmented by the grim Machine Spirits of their warsuits, decimator protocols guiding servo-assisted recoil absorption and oracular auto-targeting to ensure the Centurions maintain a punishing rate of fire.Return fire is a futile gesture, akin to flinging stones at a fortress, for should the enemy launch an assault in an attempt to silence the Devastator Centurions' guns they must contend with the suits' massive strength and the pilots' skill at arms. A Centurion Devastator Squad's only real weakness is its lack of speed, for whilst they can outgun entire squads of enemy infantry, they are easily outpaced by the fast-moving elements of a foe's strike force.Thus, they are primarily employed to besiege defended enemy positions or to defend their own fortifications, or used as mobile firebases to strengthen advancing battle lines. The Codex Astartes thus recommends their deployment in fixed positions with good lines of fire.From such vantage points, the extreme firepower of a Devastator Centurion Squad can annihilate great swathes of advancing foes, or batter down the mightiest fortifications. Should swift relocation then be required, Stormraven gunships swoop down and snatch the Centurions from the jaws of danger, redeploying them to a new vantage point from which to scour the foe from the field.A single well-positioned Centurion Devastator Squad can command the battlefield, forcing the foe to either redirect their attacks and hence lose momentum or concentrate their forces in an effort to neutralize the punishing firepower. Either way, the Space Marines maintain the initiative and can better plan their counterattacks.Centurion Devastator Squads are led by a Centurion Sergeant.
Centurion - Centurion Siegebreaker Cohort: The Ironfang Spire, the Impenetrabulum Obstinus, even the Nightmare Citadel of Morrowmire; all of these infamous fortifications and countless more have fallen to the concentrated fury of the Centurion Siegebreaker Cohort. Formed from Veteran Assault Centurion warsuit pilots and concentrated around the overwhelming brute force of Ironclad Dreadnoughts, there is no subtlety to the Siegebreaker Cohort.This is of little consolation to the foe, of course; even as the massively armoured warriors reach their foes' defences, their omniscopes target critical weak points. Within seconds walls tumble, barricades collapse and even armoured vehicles are torn into flaming ruin by the formation's fists and drills, each demolished with such skill and violence that hardly any survive to crawl from the sundered wreckage.
Centurion - Markings: Centurions share the same heraldry and organizational squad markings that can be seen on many other vehicles within a Chapter's pools. As well as this, they occasionally share similar sigils to the pilots who control their warsuits with respect to honours won in battle or their status within a company.They also boast a Centurion Honour, a large stone sigil of two crossed fists set within a circle -- echoing the position taken by a pilot inside. This is displayed upon the shoulder of the warsuit, in much the same way as a Crux Terminatus.
Centurion - Centurion Assault Squad: 2-5 Assault Centurions1 Assault Centurion Sergeant
Centurion - Centurion Devastator Squad: 2-5 Devastator Centurions1 Devastator Centurion Sergeant
Centurion - Assault Centurion: Centurion WarsuitTwin-linked Flamer (one on each arm)Ironclad Assault Launcher (mounted on chest)2 Siege DrillsHurricane Bolter (optional replacement for Ironclad Assault Launcher)Twin-linked Meltagun (optional replacement for Flamer)Omniscope (can only be taken by a Centurion Sergeant) - The Omniscope is an advanced targeting device that allows a Space Marine Centurion to more accurately target the foe with his weapons.Land Raider - A Centurion Assault Squad can be transported into combat by a Land Raider of any type.
Centurion - Devastator Centurion: Centurion WarsuitTwin-linked Heavy Bolter (one on each arm)Hurricane Bolter (mounted on chest)Missile Launcher (optional replacement for Hurricane Bolter)Twin-linked Lascannon (optional replacement for Heavy Bolter)Grav-cannon with Grav-Amp to increase its power (optional replacement for Heavy Bolter)Omniscope (can only be taken by a Centurion Sergeant) - The Omniscope is an advanced targeting device that allows a Space Marine Centurion to more accurately target the foe with his weapons.Land Raider - A Centurion Devastator Squad can be transported into combat by a Land Raider of any type.
Centurion - Sources: Codex Adeptus Astartes - Space Marines (8th Edition), pp. 73, 79, 167, 172Codex: Space Marines (8th Edition) (Revised Codex), pp. 72, 77, 141, 149Codex: Space Marines (7th Edition), pp, 36, 52, 87-88, 95-96, 133-134, 169, 172, 177, 315-318, 363-365, 404-405Codex: Space Marines (6th Edition), pp. 94, 172, 175Warhammer 40,000: Munitorum -  Centurions (Digital Edition)Warhammer 40,000: Index Astartes - Volume I (Digital Edition)
Centurion (Space Marine Rank) - Centurion (Space Marine Rank): This article concerns the Space Marine Legion rank. For the Space Marine infantry unit, see Centurion.A Centurion, also called a Consul or Legiones Consularis in High Gothic, was the generalised term given to the middle rank held by a senior Astartes line officer of the Space Marine Legions that was in use during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras of the late 30th and early 31st Millennia.A centurion served as a middle-tier battle line officer, as well as taking on more specialised functions which helped give an Astartes Legion its unusual operational depth and strategic flexibility.The actual name of the rank could vary from Legion to Legion, depending on its particular culture, traditions and the operational specialty of the officer in question.
Centurion (Space Marine Rank) - History: The ancient Legiones Astartes were composed of tens of thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands of Space Marines. As such, each Legion required a substantial core of leaders, champions and line officers.Whether one of these specialist officers, generically called "consuls," was actually a captain who commanded a company composed of a thousand or more Legionaries on campaign, or a "shield-lieutenant" given charge of a boarding party in a savage void battle, to have risen through the ranks of their Legion to the middle tiers of its hierarchy meant that they had already demonstrated their worth in the bloody fire of conflict.
Centurion (Space Marine Rank) - Consuls: The term "centurion" was often used to represent one of the specialist officers of the Space Marine Legions, who were collectively referred to as "consuls," or Legiones Consularis in High Gothic, although this covered many different ranks and specialties such as the Chaplains, fleet-captains, blood chieftains, vigilators, legates and even the psykers who became Librarians.
Centurion (Space Marine Rank) - Wargear: Artificer ArmourBolterCombi-weapon (Any type)Volkite ChargerMelta BombsCombat ShieldRefractor FieldBoarding ShieldIron HaloJump PackSpace Marine BikeLegion Jetbike
Centurion (Space Marine Rank) - Optional Wargear (For Centurion Terminators): Cataphractii Pattern Terminator ArmourCombi-bolterPower Weapon (Any type)Volkite ChargerPower FistLightning Claw or Pair of Lightning ClawsChainfistThunder Hammer
Centurion (Space Marine Rank) - Optional Wargear: Volkite SerpentaPlasma PistolHeavy ChainswordCharnabal SabrePower WeaponPower FistSingle Lightning Claw or Pair of Lightning ClawsThunder HammerMelta BombsParagon BladeCombat ShieldRefractor FieldBoarding ShieldJump PackSpace Marine BikeLegion Jetbike
Ceramite - Ceramite: Ceramite is a form of heat and shock-resistant ceramic material that is widely used throughout the Imperium of Man.High-quality ceramite is used in the manufacture of the higher-quality types of Imperial infantry, vehicle and aircraft armour, including Carapace Armour, Power Armour and Terminator Armour. High-quality ceramite is also used to provide additional protection for the vehicles of the Adeptus Astartes.Ceramite is capable of absorbing and dissipating even the most extreme thermal and directed-energy attacks, and conducts many other forms of electromagnetic radiation in such a way as to disperse it across a wide area. This makes ceramite especially effective at providing protection against directed-energy and particle-based weapons.Lower-quality ceramite is also used to mass-produce cheap Flak Armour for the Astra Militarum.An inexpensive and sturdy building material widely used across the Imperium consists of pulp wood formed around a core of low-grade ceramite. This material is used for the construction of the low-cost prefabricated housing blocks prevalent on many Imperial Hive Worlds.
Cerastus Knight-Acheron - Cerastus Knight-Acheron: A Cerastus Knight-Acheron is an Imperial Knight pattern that is utilised exclusively for terror and shock assaults.The devastation wrought by Knights-Acheron is terrifying to behold. Armed with a fearsome Reaper Chainfist, twin-linked Heavy Bolters and an Acheron Pattern Flame Cannon, they are employed as weapons of extermination and to inspire fear in their foes.Nothing will sway their attack until the enemy is utterly crushed, never to rise again from the flame-scoured ruins of their strongholds.
Cerastus Knight-Acheron - History: The Cerastus Knight-Acheron is a fearsome sight on the battlefield, a reaper of lives carefully designed not only to destroy, but also to inspire terror both in appearance and the manner in which it undertakes its grim task.The presence of an Acheron pattern Knight armour in the battlelines of a household warns the foe to expect no mercy, for such weapons are only deployed for missions of extermination, to topple the works of the enemy and scour clean his lands with flame.Scions rarely choose to ride into battle in Acheron armour voluntarily, accepting the task instead as an arduous duty to be undertaken for the good of their house, for the anima of these armours are often awash in the inherited memories of massacres and slaughters uncounted.Those few scions who prefer such grim mounts are either warriors of iron will, capable of suppressing the sinister whispers of the armour's Machine Spirits (artificial intelligence), or tortured souls who relish the armour's malicious impulses and the carnage it wreaks on the field of battle.
Cerastus Knight-Acheron - Unit Composition: 1 Cerastus Knight-Acheron
Cerastus Knight-Acheron - Wargear: Acheron-Pattern Flame CannonReaper Chainfist with in-built twin-linked Heavy BoltersIon ShieldBlessed AutocimulacraThrone MechanicumTitanic Feet - The weight of the Knight alone is enough for to crush enemy units beneath its behemoth tread.
Cerastus Knight-Acheron - Optional Wargear: Occular Augmetics - An upgrade to the Knight's Occular sensors enabling a far greater degree of visual input during low-light conditions, such as night fighting.
Cerastus Knight-Acheron - Sources: The Horus Heresy - Book Four: Conquest, by Alan Bligh, pp. 104, 125, 173, 296, 307The Horus Heresy - Book Five: Tempest by Alan Bligh, pp. 128-129Forge World - Cerastus Knight-Acheron
Cerastus Knight-Atrapos - Cerastus Knight-Atrapos: One of the rarest and most potent Imperial Knight patterns, the Cerastus Knight-Atrapos is a unique variant type of the standard Cerastus Pattern.Bearing particularly rare and potent weaponry of annihilation, the Cerastus Knight-Atrapos was created solely to destroy Heretek engines and xenos war machines whose very nature and existence were considered a blasphemy to the Omnissiah.The Machine Spirits (artificial intelligences) of the Knight-Atrapos are said to carry with them a cold and all-destroying hunger, and for the Scion who bonds with them, madness is a constant risk. But for such storied honour, however dark the outcome, this may be a price worth paying.The Cerastus Knight-Atrapos carries arcane and devastating weapons into battle; the focussed and deadly Atrapos Lascutter, that sees duty as both a ranged and close combat weapon, and the violently destructive, but potentially unstable, Graviton Singularity Cannon.With the speed and shielding of the Cerastus chassis, and the Knight-Atrapos' Macro-extinction Targeting Protocols, the Cerastus Knight-Atrapos is an uncommonly destructive weapon of war.
Cerastus Knight-Atrapos - Unit Composition: 1 Cerastus Knight-Atrapos
Cerastus Knight-Atrapos - Wargear: Graviton Singularity CannonAtrapos Lascutter (Beam Attack or Close Combat)Ionic Flare Shield - An upgraded version of the standard Ion Shields used by most Knight classes. The Ionic Flare Shield is a combination of the Ion Shield and a Flare Shield, providing a greater degree of protection to its user, especially during melee combat.Throne MechanicumBlessed AutocimulacraMacro-extinction Targeting Protocols - An upgrade to the Knight's targeting protocols that allow a far greater degree of accuracy against vehicles, walkers and creatures above a certain size.Titanic Feet - The weight of the Knight alone is enough for to crush enemy units beneath its behemoth tread.
Cerastus Knight-Atrapos - Optional Wargear: Occular Augmetics - An upgrade to the Knight's Occular sensors enabling a far greater degree of visual input during low-light conditions, such as night-fighting.
Cerastus Knight-Atrapos - Sources: Forge World - Mechanicum Cerastus-Knight AtraposHorus Heresy - Experimental Rules: Cerastus-Knight Atrapos
Cerastus Knight-Castigator - Cerastus Knight-Castigator: The Cerastus Knight-Castigator is a pattern of Imperial Knight armoured walker that is armed with the fearsome Castigator-Pattern Bolt Cannon as its primary weapon. The Cerastus Knight-Castigator is favoured by those Knight Households faced with hordes of lesser foes that might otherwise overwhelm even a mighty Knight through sheer numbers.Capable of obliterating infantry formations in a thunderous rain of mass-reactive explosions and whirling Tempest Warblade, or carving apart light vehicles with ease, the Castigator is a formidable opponent.
Cerastus Knight-Castigator - History: The Cerastus Knight-Castigator is a favoured Knight pattern by those households who are often faced by an overwhelming number of the enemy. Armed with the fearsome Castigator-Pattern Bolt Cannon, the Cerastus Knight-Castigator is capable of annihilating infantry formations and light vehicles with it's twin-linked main weapon in a hail of gunfire, or carving apart enemy armour with it's formidable power weapon, the Tempest Warblade.Notably amongst their ilk, the Castigator is also renowned for the stoic nature of their machine spirits within, whose vigour is difficult to rouse, but almost impossible to ignore. Castigator mark armours are often claimed by a Household's more venerable scions, those warriors of proven mettle who can be relied on to hold the line, conserve their limited stock of ammunition and support their more vainglorious kin, often forming the core of any Household's Arbalester order. Some younger scions are also drawn to the Castigator, glorying in the armour's deafening firepower and elegant warblade strikes, though such scions rarely deign to act as mere support units.
Cerastus Knight-Castigator - Unit Composition: 1 Cerastus Knight-Castigator
Cerastus Knight-Castigator - Wargear: Castigator-Pattern Bolt CannonTempest WarbladeIon ShieldBlessed AutocimulacraThrone MechanicumTitanic Feet - The weight of the Knight alone is enough for to crush enemy units beneath its behemoth tread.
Cerastus Knight-Castigator - Optional Wargear: Occular Augmetics - An upgrade to the Knight's Occular sensors enabling a far greater degree of visual input during low-light conditions, such as night fighting.
Cerastus Knight-Castigator - Sources: The Horus Heresy - Book Four: Conquest (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 32, 109, 181, 306The Horus Heresy - Book Five: Tempest (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 130-131Forge World - Cerastus Knight-Castigator
Cerastus Knight-Lancer - Cerastus Knight-Lancer: A Cerastus Knight-Lancer is one of the more uncommon patterns of Imperial Knight-class combat walkers, but also the most highly valued pattern fielded by the Knight houses during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy.The Cerastus Knight-Lancer is a first strike weapon, attuned to rapid, close combat assault tactics and making lethal flanking charges against a foe. It is justly renowned for its speed and its power, as well as for the temperamental and restive nature of the Machine Spirits (artificial intelligence) which dwell as anima within its colossal frame.Because of this reputation, the most impetuous and glory-hungry Scions of the Knight houses are driven to bond with these war machines, their own souls a match for the fury caged within their mounts. The greatest of these pairings will go on to create martial legends among their lineage, while for those whose temper cannot fully master that of their Knight armour or whose own lust for glory might see valour outweigh caution on the battlefield, their triumphs are likely to blaze brightly, if briefly, in the chronicles of their Houses.
Cerastus Knight-Lancer - History: The Lancer is the most widely known variant of the ancient Cerastus Pattern Knight armour, a highly sophisticated chassis whose speed and agility far exceed the clumsier Questoris-class Errant and Paladin types. The Cerastus-class Knights appear to have been designed solely for war; not as protectors or guardians like traditional Knights, but as bloody-handed conquerors and tools of destruction that would leave a legacy of violence that marked the beginning of the Age of Strife.The Cerastus Knight-Lancer is held in high esteem by the more impetuous of a house's Scions, its potent Ion Gauntlet Shield and Cerastus Shock Lance perfectly suited to battling the foe face-to-face, where only a perfectly-timed thrust of the lance stands between a Noble and death. In particular, those Scions who follow the Uhlan traditions favour the speed and ferocity of the Lancer, and when rival Knight houses meet in combat, these warriors race ahead of their household's forces to clash in single combat with the enemy's champions.
Cerastus Knight-Lancer - Unit Composition: 1 Cerastus Knight-Lancer
Cerastus Knight-Lancer - Wargear: Cerastus Shock Lance (Ranged Attack or Close Combat)Ion Gauntlet ShieldBlessed AutocimulacraThrone MechanicumTitanic Feet - The weight of the Knight alone is enough for it to crush enemy units beneath its behemoth tread.
Cerastus Knight-Lancer - Optional Wargear: Occular Augmetics - An upgrade to the Knight's Occular sensors enabling a far greater degree of visual input during low-light conditions, such as night fighting.
Cerastus Knight-Lancer - Canon Conflict: The history of the Cerastus Knight-Lancer as presented above is canon culled from Codex: Imperial Knights for the 7th Edition of the game. The original incarnation of the Knight Lancer was provided in the supplement found in White Dwarf 126 (UK).This account of the Knight Lancer's history differed greatly from that given above and has largely been superseded by the newer canon, however, it has been included in the article and is also presented below. Please note that the below contains information that is no longer considered canon according to the current iteration of the Warhammer 40,000 universe:
Cerastus Knight-Lancer - Knight Lancer: The Knight Lancer is a variant of the standard Knight suit that has been designed for speed and agility. The Knight Lancer is most usually used to perform scouting actions, outflank enemy forces and distract them while heavier units can position themselves to attack. The Knight Lancer is equipped with a Battle Cannon to give it long range fighting capability, but its true armament is the Power Lance.The Power Lance is a relatively simple upgrade to the standard Shock Lance that is mounted on other Knight patterns. It operates by intensifying the bolt of energy normally expelled from Shock Lances, changing it into a searing arc of lightning capable of rending all but the strongest of armour plating and causing havoc in enemy ranks. The Power Lance has a very short range, but its nature makes it the perfect weapon for hit-and-run attacks.
Cerastus Knight-Lancer - Sources: Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Shadow & Iron (Specialty Game), pp. 51, 61Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Doom of Molech (Specialty Game), pp. 43, 47, 57Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Titandeath (Specialty Game), pp. 91-92Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Defence of Ryza (Specialty Game), pg. 59Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Loyalist Legios (Specialty Game), pp. 26, 67, 117Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Traitor Legios (Specialty Game), pp. 26, 66, 76, 127The Horus Heresy - Book Three: Extermination (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 231The Horus Heresy - Book Four: Conquest (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 26, 41, 60-62, 75, 99, 112-113, 116-117, 120-121, 128-129, 132-133, 136-137, 194, 213, 295, 305White Dwarf 126 (UK), "Space Marine - Knights," by Andy Chambers, pp. 31, 38, 42-43, 45Forge World - Cerastus Knight-LancerWarhammer Community - Doom of Molech: What's in the Book (Knight Image)
Cerastus Pattern Knights - Cerastus Pattern Knights: Cerastus Pattern Knights are an ancient pattern of Imperial Knight combat walkers employed during the time of the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy in the late 30th and early 31st Millennia.Several classes of Cerastus Knight were produced during that era, though it is unknown if any of these are still in regular operation by any of the Knight houses of the late 41st Millennium.
Cerastus Pattern Knights - Types of Cerastus Knights: Cerastus Knight-AcheronCerastus Knight-CastigatorCerastus Knight-LancerCerastus Knight-Atrapos
Cerastus Shock Lance - Cerastus Shock Lance: The Cerastus Shock Lance is a massive Power Weapon used by the combat walkers of the Questor Imperialis, the Imperial Knights, and by the Renegade Knights of the Questor Traitoris. This weapon is used only by the Cerastus Knight-Lancer. The Shock Lance is mounted on the Knight's weapon arm, and functions similarly to a Power Spear, although one of prodigious size.The weapon uses a magneto-hydraulic powered rail system to move the Lance backwards and thrust it forwards to attack. The Cerastus Shock Lance is used in conjunction with the Lancer's Ion Gauntlet Shield, which protects the Knight from attacks as it closes in with the enemy to deliver a killing blow with its lance. The weapon's disruption field is capable of being projected as a powerful electromagnetic plasma blast over a short distance, allowing the Knight to attack an opponent that may be too dangerous to assault in melee.
Cerastus Shock Lance - Trivia: The Cerastus Knight-Lancer is an incarnation of the original 1st Edition "Rogue Trader"-era Knight pattern known as the Knight Lancer. The Knight Lancer used a weapon known as a Power Lance, which worked similarly to the Cerastus Shock Lance.
Cerastus Shock Lance - Sources: The Horus Heresy - Book Four: Conquest (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 305The Horus Heresy - Book Seven: Inferno (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 106Imperial Armour Index: Forces of the Astra Militarum (8th Edition), pg. 99Imperial Armour Index: Forces of Chaos (8th Edition), pg. 59Forge World Webstore - Cerastus Knight Lancer
Cerberax Wars - Cerberax Wars: The Cerberax Wars is a series of conflicts that erupted between the Daemons of Khorne and the Necrons of the Sautekh Dynasty in the wake of the birth of the Great Rift during the 13th Black Crusade in 999.M41.The conflict has since spilled over into Imperial space, and several Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes have been despatched to deal with the incursion.
Cerberax Wars - History: The conflict began soon after the birth of the Great Rift unleashed the Warp storm designated "Cerberax" by the Imperium on the Ultima Segmentum. The massive Warp Storm immediately consumed three star systems and continued to grow in size until it neared the ancient Necron construct known as the Ymga Monolith in the Attila System.The monolith began to glow as the Cerberax Warp Storm closed on its location. The monolith created a perfect sphere of Order around itself that remained immune to the effects of the Warp Storm as it progressed across the galaxy.The tech-priests of Mars' Holy Requisitioners thus discovered that like the Cadian Pylons, the Ymga Monolith was a Necron phase node of immense power intended to close off realspace from the Immaterium.Thousands of Necron warships of the Sautekh Dynasty soon arrived to defend the monolith from a Warp incursion led by Daemons of Khorne who emerged from the Cerberax Warp Storm. The vessels formed a defensive shield around the monolith, as it was an important asset for the Sautekh Necrons.Visions of the Imperium's Corinthe Mind-Scryers revealed that the monolith possessed the ability to physically duplicate any Necron warship that made contact with it, massively reinforcing the Necron forces in their battle with Chaos.Solar months after it began, the Cerberax Wars spilled over into Imperial space and every world within fourteen hundred Terra-Sols of the Ymga Monolith had become a battlefield between the Necrons and their daemonic foes.The Imperium despatched strike forces drawn from the Ultramarines and Mortifactors Chapters of the Space Marines to defend the affected Human worlds.However, the sheer number of Daemons unleashed from the Warp by the Cerberax storm means that the Astartes may have no other choice but to enact Exterminatus actions on all of the Chaos-corrupted worlds.
Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer - Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer: The Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer is a super-heavy tank destroyer that was used in limited numbers by the Space Marine Legions during the Great Crusade and later during the Horus Heresy of the late 30th and early 31st Millennia. The Cerberus was a rare and experimental variant of the super-heavy Spartan Assault Tank also used by the Space Marine Legions, both of which made use of the same hull, armour, and chassis design.While the Spartan Assault Tank was developed by the Mechanicum in response to the Space Marine Legions demanding a vehicle as powerful and versatile as the Land Raider Proteus yet also having the ability to carry Terminators into combat, the Cerberus was designed near the end of the Great Crusade by the Mechanicum of Mars as a way to field test archeotech weaponry that was recovered during the Great Crusade known as the Neutron Laser Projector.The Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer is an example of one of the many classes of war machines that rose to prominence and was used by several of the Space Marine Legions during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy, only to fall from common use amongst the Adeptus Astartes as the Age of the Imperium ground on.One of the reasons for this fall was the drastic change in the way Space Marines were utilised after the Legions were broken down into Chapters during the Second Founding. Only a small number of the newly-formed Space Marine units retained several of these vehicles in their armouries.There were other contributing factors as well, not least amongst these is that the Imperium simply could not maintain the arcane systems many of these potent engines of destruction utilised. Countless Tech-priests have made it their life's work to recover even a fraction of these long-lost treasures, such as the legendary and ill-understood Flare Shields once utilised by certain classes of armoured vehicles.Others hold that such technologies are the echoes of earlier, darker times and fear that to resurrect them is to call forth the horrors of the distant past and to invite the return of forces that should be left well alone. It is unknown if the Adeptus Mechanicus is able to build new Cerberus tanks in the late 41st Millennium or if the technology has been lost like so much else from the Great Crusade era.
Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer - History: The Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer was used by the Space Marine Legions near the end of the Great Crusade in the late 30th Millennium as a testbed for the experimental Neutron Laser Projector weapon. The Neutron Laser Projector itself was retro-engineered by the Mechanicum after being rediscovered within Dark Age of Technology battlefield wreckage recovered at great cost from the Forbidden World of Deep Hyades VI by Mechanicum Explorators from the Forge World of Galatea.The Mechanicum placed the retro-engineered prototype weapon into the modified chassis of the Spartan Assault Tank, using that vehicle's large interior space to mount the sizable Atomantic-Arc Reactors and radiation shielding needed for its operation.The result of the Mechanicum's labours was a relatively small and mobile weapons system that was capable of rivaling the firepower of the much larger Turbo-Laser weapons commonly found on Titans and other super-heavy vehicles. The Neutron Laser Projector was both more compact and capable of higher amounts of collateral damage than other similar weapons.The new weapon system was not welcomed into the Imperial arsenal without some controversy, however, as it was unstable and presented safety concerns for many within the Mechanicum. Despite its instability, the Mechanicum delivered preliminary detachments of the Cerberus into the service of several Space Marine Legions for comprehensive battlefield testing and trials, although it was not long after this that the vehicles were pressed by the Traitor Legions to turn their destructive power against the Imperium itself rather than the war-machines of xenos.During the Horus Heresy of the early 31st Millennium, the Mechanicum did not stop their study of Neutron Laser technology, and eventually developed a variant of the Neutron Laser Projector that was smaller yet just nearly as powerful known as the Neutron Laser Cannon.This weapon was mounted upon the Sabre Tank Hunters of the Space Marine Legions and the Valdor Tank Hunters of the Imperial Army, although it is unknown which of these two vehicles were developed first and which side of the conflict made the most use of them.
Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer - Armament: The Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer is armed with a hull-mounted, forward-firing Neutron Laser Projector, an experimental weapon retro-engineered from the battlefield remains of Dark Age of Technology wreckage.The Neutron Laser Projector was an extremely misunderstood weapon whose secrets were known only by the highest circles of the ancient Mechanicum of Mars that is more powerful than any weapon system of its size, comparable only to Titan-sized weaponry. The weapon fires a powerful directed energy beam capable of crippling or outright destroying most armoured vehicles, up to and including Battle Titans.Unfortunately, the weapon is highly unstable and if the weapon's energy beam fails to penetrate its target, it is prone to dangerous feedback that can cause serious harm to its operators and the vehicle's crew. The weapon itself and the Atomantic-Arc Reactors required to power it are capable of erupting in an apocalyptic explosion if damaged or destroyed.This explosion is capable of seriously damaging or destroying nearby vehicles and buildings, along with disintegrating any remaining trace of the Cerberus itself.The Cerberus can also be outfitted with sponson-mounted Heavy Bolters or Lascannons and a Pintle-mounted twin-linked Bolter (Combi-Bolter) or other Combi-Weapon, a Heavy Flamer, a Heavy Bolter, a Multi-Melta, or a Havoc Missile Launcher for added firepower and defence.The vehicle can also be equipped with a Hunter-Killer Missile Launcher, armoured ceramite plating, Smoke Launchers, or a Searchlight.Due the instability of the vehicle's main weapon and power source, the vehicle is always equipped with a Flare Shield for extra protection from enemy fire.
Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer - Unit Composition: 1 Relic Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer (41st Millennium Only)1 Legion Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer (31st Millennium Only)
Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer - Wargear: A Relic Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer is armed and equipped with:Neutron Laser Projector (Heavy Neutron Laser Array)Smoke LaunchersMachine Spirit (artificial intelligence)Crushing Tracks - The Cerberus can crush smaller vehicles under its behemoth weight.A Relic Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer may take the following sponson-mounted weapons:2 Heavy Bolters2 LascannonsA Relic Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer may take one of the following pintle-mounted weapons:Storm BolterHeavy BolterHeavy FlamerMulti-Melta
Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer - Horus Heresy Wargear: During the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy the Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyers of the Legiones Astartes featured different weapon loadout options than those still found during the 41st Millennium.A standard Legion Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer is armed and equipped with:Neutron Laser ProjectorSearchlightSmoke LaunchersFlare ShieldMachine Spirit (artificial intelligence)Crushing Tracks - The Spartan can crush smaller vehicles under its behemoth weight.A Legion Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer may take the following sponson-mounted weapons:2 Heavy Bolters2 LascannonsA Legion Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer may take one of the following pintle-mounted weapons:Twin-linked Bolters (Combi-Bolter)Combi-WeaponHeavy BolterHeavy FlamerMulti-MeltaHavoc Missile LauncherLegion Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyers may also have a variety of vehicle equipment such as:Hunter-Killer Missile LauncherArmoured Ceramite Plating
Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer - Known Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer: Choronzan - This vehicle belongs to the Exorcists Space Marine Chapter, and is believed to have remained in stasis for over a millennium before being awakened, accompanied by way of dark ritual to take part in the Aschen War against the Daemon Prince known as the Horned God. Though it survived that fell campaign, the vehicle was immediately re-interred and has not been deployed since, for reasons that remain undisclosed.Hell's Judgement - This most potent of the World Eaters Legion's war machines was held back from the initial stage of the defence of the Urgall Depression during the Drop Site Massacre on Istvaan V, and only committed once the Iron Warriors, Night Lords, Word Bearers and Alpha Legion had turned upon the Salamanders, Raven Guard and Iron Hands Legions. When the World Eaters super-heavy tank destroyers, the Hell's Judgement at their head, was unleashed against them, the effect of their near-suicidal assault upon the Loyalists Legions was catastrophic, shattering any chance of organised resistance.Intemperata - The Intemperata was one war machine of the Iron Hands Legion in an armoured wing of a dozen deployed to the surface of Istvaan V during the Drop Site Massacre. The engine took part in supporting the Iron Hands' assault and, in doing, screened an entire Terminator Century of its parent Avernii Clan from the heavy guns of the Death Guard. The Intemperata's unit came under punishing and sustained fire from massed batteries of laser destroyers and Graviton Cannons when the Iron Warriors revealed their true allegiance, all but the Intemperata itself reduced to flaming wreckage within minutes. The war engine was last seen engaging the Traitor God-Engine known as the Dies Irae in order to draw its fire from the Iron Hands infantry squads, a noble sacrifice for which the Intemperata will always be honoured.
Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer - Adeptus Mechanicus Technical Specifications: Cerberus Heavy Tank DestroyerVehicle Name:Cerberus Heavy Tank DestroyerMain Armament:Hull-mounted Neutron Laser ProjectorForge World of Origin:Mars/Anvilus IXSecondary Armament:2 Sponson-mounted Heavy Bolters or LascannonsKnown Patterns:I-IVTraverse:10 DegreesCrew:Commander, Driver & GunnerElevation:-5/+20 DegreesPowerplant:Reactor system unknownMain Ammunition:Estimated 20 five second blastsWeight:174 tonnesSecondary Ammunition:2,600 roundsLength:10 metresArmour:Width:6.1 metres with sponsonsHeight:5 metresSuperstructure:95 mmGround Clearance:0.5 metresHull:95 mmMax Speed On-Road:35 kphGun Mantlet:N/AMax Speed Off-Road:30 kphVehicle Designation:UndesignatedTransport Capacity:N/AFiring Ports:UnknownAccess Points:2 Side Doors, 1 Top Hatch (Both Crew Only)Turret:N/AAddendum:Recommended containment/stasis protocols disseminated 367.M38
Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer - Sources: Imperial Armour Index: Forces of the Adeptus Astartes (8th Edition), pg. 19Imperial Armour Volume Two, Second Edition - War Machines of the Adeptus Astartes, pp. 112-114The Horus Heresy - Book One: Betrayal (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 228The Horus Heresy - Book Two: Massacre (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 62-63, 80-81, 144The Horus Heresy - Book Five: Tempest (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 65, 144The Horus Heresy: Legiones Astartes - Age of Darkness, pg. 82Forge World - Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer
Cerberus Insurrection - Cerberus Insurrection: The Cerberus Insurrection was a conflict fought during the early Great Crusade between the War Hounds Legion (later renamed the World Eaters) of the newborn Imperium of Man and the Renegade prisoners of the Cerberus asteroid penal colony who were bolstered by the presence of former Thunder Warriors.The Cerberus Insurrection of the late 30th Millennium remains noteworthy to Imperial savants as one of the few instances where Space Marines and Thunder Warriors faced each other in actual combat.The Thunder Warriors proved generally superior in one-on-one combat with the Astartes, often killing three or four Space Marines for every Thunder Warrior's death.
Cerberus Insurrection - History: The primary first-hand account of the Cerberus Insurrection comes from Bashar-Colonel Alves Scorn of the Terran XXIInd Dracos Regiment of the Imperial Army, whose forces fought alongside those of the Space Marines of the XIIth Legion, the War Hounds, to suppress the rebellion.The insurrection forces had slaughtered the ruling castes of the hollowed-out asteroid prison colony, and in the wake of the uprising the 3,000,000 or so indentured inhabitants of Cerberus had risen up in anarchic revolt in a state of near continuous-rioting and mob violence, and initial attempts to impose order by Terran troops of the XXIInd Dracos Regiment had been thrown back in disarray as it became apparent that among the insurrectionists was a Renegade cadre of outlawed Thunder Warriors -- long believed dead -- calling themselves the "Dait'Tar."With many of the Space Marine Legions already assigned to the first expedition fleets and en route to the stars as part of the Great Crusade, the Emperor Himself dispatched His War Hounds to Cerberus (and it appears the irony was not lost on Him in doing so) with explicit instructions to reclaim Cerberuscolony and carry the Emperor's wrath to those that had defied Him.At 0300 Hours Terran Sidereal Time the War Hounds of the XIIth Legion attacked multiple access points on the asteroid's surface, and at 0808 Hours a signal was received from Praetor-Commander Calyb Hax of the XIIth Legion that Cerberus-Primary had been returned to Imperial Compliance. When asked by the leader of the waiting second wave how many prisoners to expect to transfer into custody, Hax replied that he had not been ordered to take any...Alves Scorn, whose command had been part of the second wave, led his regiment in the bleak task of clean-up operations in the wake of the War Hounds' assault, hunting down any survivors hiding in the warren of tunnels and passageways, of which there proved to be precious few.Afterwards he wrote of his experiences in his journals, and records more than once coming across the hulking carcass of an armoured Thunder Warrior, often with three or four of his number in Legiones Astartes dead around him.He wrote of choke-points and defence posts turned into blood-soaked charnel houses and of scores upon scores of insurgents cut down from behind while fleeing in blind panic, their weapons abandoned.The bashar-colonel summed up his experiences with the following, sadly prophetic, commentary:"I do not doubt my Emperor's wisdom in creating a necessary evil such as these fearful warriors, nor do I doubt their effectiveness in battle. It remains my fervent hope however, that though I spend my life making war for the liberation of Mankind that I never again see such inhuman butchery as I have witnessed in the halls of Cerberus."
Cerberus Launcher - Cerberus Launcher: The Cerberus Launcher is a short-ranged, tri-barrelled weapon located beneath the front ventral surface of the Adeptus Astartes' anti-gravitic Land Speeder Storm capable of unleashing barrages of anti-personnel warheads that cover wide areas, interspersed with sanctified anti-sensory munitions that can blind and disorient foes.
Cerix Magnus - Cerix Magnus: Cerix Magnus is the greatest of the many Forge Worlds of the Adeptus Mechanicus hosted by the Askellon Sector. It exists ias part of the Mechanicus' own empire-within-an-empire that coexists with Imperial authority in the sector. Despite this, Cerix Magnus, and to a lesser extent its two sister Askellian Forge Worlds Selvanus Binary and Core Theta, are as reliant on the sector as it is on them, for without raw materials from elsewhere, their forges would sputter and grow cold.
Cerix Magnus - Manufactoria Capabilities: Cerix Magnus produces a massive range of weapons and other advanced materiel, but over the millennia has established itself in a number of specialised areas. It is perhaps best known for superior technologies that rely on exotic energy field effects. These range from plasma containment systems to personal force field projectors, but at the more rarefied extremes include teleportation devices and Gellar Field systems based on venerated, ancient STC templates.In addition to its primary function as a centre of advanced manufacturing, Cerix Magnus sometimes serves as a layover point for Adeptus Mechanicus Explorator fleets that roam the sector and beyond in search of archeotech and other treasures of the Quest for Knowledge.
Certus Minor - Certus Minor: Certus-MinorAdeptus MinistorumCemetery WorldSegmentum ObscurusEcclesiarchHigh Lord of TerraUmberto IICertus-Minor's administrative capital, Obsequa City, was staffed only by the Ecclesiarchy priests, serfs, indentured servants and other personnel needed to maintain the funerary monuments and bury the newly-arrived dead within the vast necroplex which extended across the planet.This world of the dead was the site of a great battle between the 5th Company of the Excoriators Chapter of Space Marines and the Cholercaust Blood Crusade, a vast legion of Traitors, Heretics and daemons dedicated to the Blood God Khorne which emerged from the Eye of Terror following the path of the crimson Keeler Comet every 10,000 Terran years. The Cholercaust was on a direct route for the sacred soil of Terra until it was stopped by the Excoriators with the unexpected and nearly miraculous aid of the revenant Astartes of the Legion of the Damned.
Certus Minor - Geography: Certus-Minor's surface was a vision of towers, steeples and spires. Stained-glass and rockrete, dark with age, thrusted forth towards the heavens with reverent majesty. With nearly every square metre of dirt on Certus-Minor devoted to the dead, even the capital city was considered an extravagance. Like a tiny, ecclesiastical hive city, Obsequa City comprised basilicas and cathedrals that were built tall and tight.The narrow alleys and passages were steep and cobbled, leading up to the crowning monument -- the heart of the city in both a physical and spiritual sense -- the Umberto II Memorial Mausoleum. Nestled at the heart of the devotional architecture and adorning the metropolis like a crown was the enormous roof-dome of the sacred vault that dominated the city skyline -- the largest and tallest building in Obsequa City. A colossal archway-barbican decorated the entrance to the memorial mausoleum. The pillars of the stately sepulchre were thick and tall, and the darkness of the threshold beckoned Imperial pilgrim and cleric alike.The funereal beauty of the Mausoleum was astounding: the intricate scrolling on the wall internments; the silver lettering adorning the floor slabs, recording the names of past pontiffs and cardinals of the Ecclesiarchy; loggia supports and fat sculpted pillars reaching up to the exquisite detail of the Mausoleum’s domed ceiling – each hand-painted illustration a depiction of Umberto II’s long and spiritually-productive life. Candles and incense burned from a thousand suspended sconces, and stern statues of Ecclesiarchs already elevated to sainthood by the Imperial Cult adorned the sepulchre space in a ring around a simple block-crypt of obsidian brick.A silver-plated elevator was used to transport clerics and Adepta Sororitas guardians deep below the sepulchre to a small complex of condition-controlled crypt chambers residing behind a thick vault door. Within, laid out for private pilgrimage and display, were the surviving remains of Umberto II, the ruling Ecclesiarch of the Adeptus Ministorum and High Lord of Terra. A circular gallery spiralled about the sepulchre’s exterior, made up of marble steps and landings, providing access to the wall-combs, vaultia and the upper stories of the Mausoleum.Imperial mortuary lighters brought an unending supply of the Imperium's noble dead from necrofreighters down to the Certusian surface. The prestige of spending just a century in the same precious earth as Umberto II drew cadavers from light years around. Senior officers of the Imperial Guard, the Imperial Navy, members of of Hive World noble houses, powerful merchant lords, Navigators, other planetary nobility and devoted members of the Ecclesiarchy itself were all buried in Certus-Minor’s sacred topsoil. Coffins and sarcophagi were dug up for shipment back to the families following the expiration of their leases in an unending cycle of inhumation and exhumation on a planetary scale.
Certus Minor - History: Umberto II was the Ecclesiarch of the Adeptus Ministorum and a High Lord of Terra during his lifetime. Under Umberto's leadership, the common faithful of the Imperium of Man rose up and took the fight back to the corrupt followers of the Ruinous Powers, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with their brothers and sisters in the Imperial Guard and the Space Marines. Ancient Terran scholars ascribed the near two thousand standard years of uneasy peace between the 11th Black Crusade in 301.M39, and the Gothic War in 139.M41, largely to the legacy of Umberto’s efforts and Wars of Faith in the Segmentum Obscurus.When Umberto II died, his body was interred on the planet of his birth, the Ecclesiarchy's Cemetery World of Certus-Minor located in the Praga Sub-sector. Grave markers, tombstones and statues of every crafted tradition, built almost one on top of the other, crowded the landscape with barely a scrap of precious earth between them. Vaults, mausolea and private crypts sprouted from the sepulchrescape, dwarfed only by the ancestral tombs and necropoli of power Imperial noble families. It was the Ecclesiarch’s dying wish that his body be returned there upon his death. Such a prestigious burial ground was secured at a premium by the great and good of the Imperium. Umberto II was buried with full Imperial honours and ceremony in the beautiful, baroque metropolis of the dead known as Obsequa City within his own mausoleum.
Cerulean Guard - Cerulean Guard: The Cerulean Guard is a Loyalist Chapter of Space Marines of unknown Founding and origin who fought to defend the Fortress World of Cadia during the climax of the 13th Black Crusade in 999.M41.
Cerulean Guard - Notable Campaigns: 13th Black Crusade (999.M41) - The Cerulean Guard deployed a full three companies of the Chapter to aid the high-orbit offensive led by many Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes against the forces of Chaos during the final battle of Abaddon the Despoiler's 13th Black Crusade just before the fall of Cadia.
Cerulean Guard - Chapter Colours: The Cerulean Guard's Chapter colours are currently unrecorded in Imperial records.
Cerulean Guard - Chapter Badge: The Cerulean Guard's Chapter badge is currently unrecorded in Imperial records.