vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Terminator Squad - History: The Terminator Squads utilised by the Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes in the 41st Millennium can trace their early origins to the ancient Legion Terminator Squad, 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, usually the venerable Cataphractii Pattern Terminator Armour, and served as their Legion's greatest infantry assets, as each Astartes was essentially transformed into a walking tank.In the 41st Millennium, the elite warriors of the Space Marine Chapter arrayed in their Terminator Armour are near invincible and utterly indomitable. They undertake the missions that that even their power-armoured brethren cannot. Whether it be an unsupported strike into the heart of an enemy fortress, or hunting super-heavy war engines on foot, these heroic 1st Company Veterans are equal to the task.The Terminators' armour provides such potent protection that, aside from horrendous levels of punishment from incoming enemy fire, it can even withstand the extreme pressures of teleportation. Rumours abound of Terminators crushed beneath fallen buildings, or even trodden on by enemy Titans, only to rise once more with guns blazing.Typical Terminator Squads are equipped with an array of ranged weaponry and crackling Power Fists. These armaments allow them to mow down their foes with overwhelming volleys of missiles, bolts, Assault Cannon rounds and roaring flames, before punching to death anything fortunate enough to have survived.
Terminator Squad - Terminator Assault Squads: Terminator Assault Squads are deployed to crush the enemy in merciless hand-to-hand combats. They carve their way into the enemy with Lightning Claws and Thunder Hammers, deflecting enemy fire with their towering Storm Shields.This combination is especially effective in the close confines of boarding actions or tunnel-fighting, where a single Terminator Assault Squad can slaughter many times their number of foes without taking a single casualty. Instead of ranged armaments, these squads are exclusively equipped with devastating melee weaponry such as Lightning Claws and Thunder Hammers -- weapons that are able to rupture even the thickest of personal armour.These fearsome squads are most often employed in the vanguard of starship or void station boarding actions or where the fighting is sure to be close and bloody, such as breaching enemy fortifications or combats through tight, winding urban battle zones.In such cramped environs, where a foe cannot mass his firepower or line up his heaviest weapons, there are few foes that can withstand the brutal onslaught of a unit of Assault Terminators. The combination of nigh-impenetrable armour and powerful weaponry makes for a shock force that can slice through all opposition. Many wars have been won by the sudden arrival of these deadly fighters.
Terminator Squad - Unit Composition: 4-9 Terminators1 Terminator Sergeant
Terminator Squad - Wargear: Terminator Armour (Usually Indomitus Pattern)Storm BolterPower Fist (Terminators Only)Power Sword (Terminator Sergeant Only)2 Lightning Claws (Terminator Assault Squad Only)
Terminator Squad - Optional Wargear: ChainfistHeavy FlamerAssault CannonCyclone Missile LauncherThunder Hammer (Terminator Assault Squad Only)Storm Shield (Terminator Assault Squad Only)
Terminator Squad - Transport: The unit may select a Land Raider, Land Raider Crusader or Land Raider Redeemer as a dedicated transport.
Terminators - Terminator Squad: Because of the rarity of Tactical Dreadnought Armour, only the members of the Veteran 1st Company of a Chapter may wear such a suit as serve as part of a Terminator Squad, though Force Commanders, Chaplains and Librarians may also equip such armour.These Space Marines are the best of the best, each one a hero in his own right. They must be deployed in carefully-planned situations where the armour's inherent toughness and destructive weapons can be unleashed to wreak havoc upon the enemy.Squads of Terminators are most often employed during spacecraft boarding actions, and although the Terminators' armaments can be modified for longer-range combats, it is brutal assault for which Terminator Armour was made.Because of their bulk and slow speed, various methods have been developed to make the greatest use of these warriors. Primary amongst these is to deploy the Terminators straight into the thick of battle via short-range teleportation through the Warp. Although inaccurate and potentially dangerous, it is often the best way to ensure that Terminators get into combat quickly.Nonetheless, teleportation is an ancient, barely understood technology that involves close contact with the Warp, and many Space Marine Chapters rightly distrust it.Chapters can also deploy Terminator Squads via Land Raiders (5 Terminators or one squad), Land Raider Crusaders (8 Terminators), Drop Pods (each carrying 1 Terminator), and Thunderhawk gunships (up to 15 Terminators or 3 squads).Due to their bulk, Terminators are not transported in standard Astartes vehicles such as Rhinos, or Razorbacks. However, Inquisitors wearing Terminator Armour can be transported in Chimera transports, albeit they will take up a lot of space in the vehicle.
Terminators - Terminator Assault Squad: Terminator Assault Squads are deployed to crush the enemy in merciless hand-to-hand combats. Instead of ranged armaments, these squads are exclusively equipped with devastating melee weaponry, such as Lightning Claws and Thunder Hammers paired with a Storm Shield, able to rupture even the thickest of personal armour.These fearsome squads are most often employed in boarding actions or where the fighting is sure to be close and bloody, such as breaching enemy fortifications or combats through urban battle zones.In such cramped environs, where a foe cannot mass his firepower or line up his heaviest weapons, there are few foes that can withstand the brutal onslaught of a unit of Assault Terminators.The combination of nigh-impenetrable armour and powerful melee weaponry makes for a shock force that can slice through all opposition. Many wars have been won by the sudden arrival of these deadly fighters.
Terminators - Terminator Squad: 4-9 Terminators1 Terminator Sergeant
Terminators - Terminator Assault Squad: 4-9 Assault Terminators1 Terminator Sergeant
Terminators - Cataphractii Terminator Squad: 4-9 Cataphractii Terminators1 Cataphractii Sergeant
Terminators - Tartaros Terminator Squad: 4-9 Tartaros Terminators1 Tartaros Sergeant
Terminators - Terminator Squad: Indomitus Pattern Terminator ArmourStorm BolterPower FistPower Sword (Terminator sergeant only)Frag GrenadesKrak GrenadesChainfist (as replacement for Power Fist)Assault Cannon (as replacement for Storm Bolter, only one Terminator in five in a squad may take this heavy weapon)Heavy Flamer (as replacement for Storm Bolter, only one Terminator in five in a squad may take this heavy weapon)Cyclone Missile Launcher (as replacement for Storm Bolter, only one Terminator in five in a squad may take this heavy weapon)Teleport Homer
Terminators - Assault Terminator Squad: Indomitus Pattern Terminator Armour2 Lightning ClawsChoice of Close Combat Weapon (Power Fist, Power Sword, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Lightning Claws or Chainfist) (as replacement for Lightning Claws)Storm Shield (as replacement for Lightning Claws if used with another Close Combat Weapon)Teleport Homer
Terminators - Cataphractii Terminator Squad: Cataphractii Pattern Terminator ArmourCombi-bolterPower FistPower Sword (As replacement for Power Fist, Cataphractii Sergeant only)Grenade Harness (Cataphractii sergeant only)Heavy Flamer (As replacement for Combi-bolter for 1 Cataphractii Terminator for every 5 in squad)Lightning Claw (As replacement for Combi-bolter)Chainfist or Lightning Claw (as replacement for Power Fist)Chainfist or Lightning Claw or Power Fist (As replacement for Power Sword, Cataphractii Sergeant only)
Terminators - Tartaros Terminator Squad: Tartaros Pattern Terminator ArmourCombi-bolterPower FistPower Sword (As replacement for Power Fist, Tartaros Sergeant only)Heavy Flamer or Reaper Autocannon (As replacement for Combi-bolter for 1 Tartaros Terminator for every 5 in squad)Grenade Harness (For 1 Tartaros Terminator for every 5 in squad)2 Lightning Claws (As replacement for Combi-bolter and Power Fist)Chainfist (As replacement for Power Fist)2 Lightning Claws (As replacement for Combi-bolter and Power Sword, Tartaros sergeant only)Chainfist or Power Fist (As replacement for Power Sword, Tartaros sergeant only)Plasma Blaster or Volkite Charger (As replacement for Combi-bolter, Tartaros sergeant only)
Terminators - Alpha Legion Lernaean: A designation utilised by the Alpha Legion, derived from ancient Terran myth, was the "Lernaean". This cognomen appears to have been given to the XXth Legion's most expert shock assault troops, particularly to dedicated Terminator companies and, in some instances, Legion Breacher Siege Squads and Dreadnoughts.Few knew of the Lernaean Terminator Squads, though not because the Alpha Legion sought to obscure their existence, but rather because they rarely left behind any witnesses of their deeds. Clad in Cataphractii Pattern Terminator Armour chased with baroque finery and armed with Volkite Chargers, Lernaean Terminators were fearsome close assault and vanguard spearhead units against which few enemies could stand.In particular, battle recordings of certain Lernaean Terminator units mark them as being equipped with advanced teleportation assault capacity and specialised heavy weaponry, such as compact Conversion Beam weapons and phase-field generator gear.The foremost task of the Lernaean was to swiftly isolate and destroy the most powerful enemy frontline troops and any potent battlefield assets a foe possessed, and to do so in such an emphatic and bloody manner that not only was a potential threat to the Alpha Legion's attack eroded, but the psychological shock of their attack would further damage enemy morale.Such was the calculated cruelty and cold brutality employed by the Lernaean Terminators that their reputation quickly spread beyond the Alpha Legion itself.
Terminators - Death Guard Deathshroud: The Deathshroud were the elite Space Marines of the Death Guard Legion who served as the Primarch Mortarion's mute Honour Guard during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy.Great secrecy surrounded this elite cadre. Their numbers were chosen from amongst the ranks of the Death Guard Legion and each member was singled out and personally selected by their Primarch for the bravery and valour they had displayed in combat.Once chosen, the selected Battle-Brother would foreswear his former life as a common rank-and-file Astartes of the XIVth Legion, and would swear binding oaths of secrecy as a new member of the secretive Deathshroud. Each member of the Deathshroud would be listed as killed in action to allay any suspicions as to their true identity, and they would forever conceal their faces behind heavy enclosed helmets, masks or hoods.Each Deathshroud Astartes' identity was known only to their Primarch himself, even after their deaths. The Deathshroud wore Artificer-crafted Cataphractii Pattern Terminator Armour of the highest quality, which presented a foreboding appearance. Like their Primarch, each member of the Deathshroud wielded a large Power Scythe known as a Manreaper.It was the Deathshroud's sacred duty to never stray more than forty-nine paces from Mortarion. Two Deathshroud guardians customarily escorted the Primarch at any given time, though there may have been more hidden in the shadows.These stoic warriors' presence was quite intimidating as when not in motion they would stand uniformly at attention, still as statues. But in battle they were equally frightening, for whatever the odds, they always moved inexorably towards their target, as unerring as the automated killing machines employed by the Legio Cybernetica.
Terminators - Emperor's Children Phoenix Guard: The Phoenix Guard was the elite unit of Space Marines from the Emperor's Children Legion who served as the Primarch Fulgrim's Honour Guard during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy. The members of the Phoenix Guard followed their beloved Phoenician wherever he went as part of their duties, even when he was travelling within the relative safety of the starships of the Imperial Army and the vessels of the other Space Marine Legions.During the battle to conquer the xenos world of Laeran, the Phoenix Guard took part in the final extermination of the serpentine Laer species. The entire unit was slain on the world of Tarsus in the Perdus Region of the galaxy after Fulgrim, already under the influence of Chaos through the Laer Daemonsword he had captured on Laeran, took offence at the Aeldari Farseer Eldrad Ulthran's warning about Horus' corruption by Chaos, and proceeded to open fire on the Farseer and his troops from Craftworld Ulthwe.A new Phoenix Guard was then recruited. They accompanied Fulgrim during both his fateful meeting with Horus where he finally embraced Chaos, and in his abortive attempt to recruit Ferrus Manus to the Traitors' cause aboard Ferrus' own flagship, where they successfully slaughtered the Morlocks Terminators who served as Ferrus' own bodyguard unit.While the Phoenix Guard served Fulgrim through the Siege of Terra, it is unknown if the unit still exists and serves as the Daemon Prince's bodyguard on the unknown Daemon World he now calls home.
Terminators - Iron Hands Morlocks: The Morlocks were the Veteran Space Marine Battle-Brothers of the Iron Hands Legion who served as Primarch Ferrus Manus' personal Honour Guard. These elite Veterans of the Iron Hands' 1st Company of the Avernii Clan were so-named for the fearsome visage they presented like the vengeful predators of the same name that howled across the frozen tundras of their Legion homeworld of Medusa.The Morlocks were the deadliest and most experienced warriors of the Xth Legion, and whatever force was arrayed against these black-coloured Terminators could not hope to survive their wrath. The Morlocks were the bloody tip of the spear that drove hard into the vitals of the Xth Legion's foes.During the Dropsite Massacre of Istvaan V, the Morlock Terminators, led by The Gorgon, formed the centre of the Loyalists' assault as the Primarch of the Xth Legion sought out his fallen brother Fulgrim. When the forces of the Emperor's Children and the Morlocks came together in a riot of bloodshed and death, the Morlocks' superior armour and experience gave them an advantage over the rank and file Astartes of the Emperor's Children, but they were greatly outnumbered.While Ferrus Manus and Fulgrim clashed in a final confrontation, the Traitors' revealed their trap as the second wave of the Loyalist assault, composed of the Alpha Legion, Iron Warriors, Night Lords and Word Bearers, revealed their true allegiance to Chaos. Fulgrim's own honour guard, the Phoenix Guard, answered with a terrible war cry and leapt to meet the Morlocks in a searing clash of blades.Surrounded on all sides by Traitors after the second wave had revealed their treachery, in the midst of cries of pain and roaring savage glee, the Morlocks of Ferrus Manus were slain to a man. It is unknown whether the Morlocks were reconstituted by the Iron Hands Chapter after the events of the Horus Heresy.
Terminators - Iron Warriors Tyrant Siege Terminators: Tyrant Siege Terminator squads were an elite formation utilised exclusively by the Iron Warriors Space Marine Legion during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras during the 30th and 31st Millennia. The vanguard of any Iron Warriors siege breakers formation, these warriors were clad in thick Cataphractii Pattern Terminator Armour and armed with deadly carapace-mounted Cyclone Missile Launchers.These implacable warriors were fortress-breakers of unparalleled skill. The bleak spectacle of these warriors wading through storms of lasfire and shell, stoically smashing apart any obstacle before them with Chainfist and krak blast, became synonymous with Primarch Perturabo's wrath unleashed.Recruited from amongst the most battle-hardened Iron Warriors, Tyrant Siege Terminators were expected to brave the most ferocious enemy fire without regard for their own survival -- even more so than others of their grim brotherhood, they understood the mathematics of war and were ever ready to make a sacrifice in blood to secure victory.Most often these veteran warriors were found among the ranks of the Stor-Bezashk, the elite siege masters of the IVth Legion, and deployed to other Grand Battalions as needed to support siege and assault actions. Tyrant Siege Terminators were often at the forefront of the most cataclysmic battles of the Great Crusade.
Terminators - Night Lords Atramentar: The Atramentar were the elite Terminator-armoured unit of Battle-Brothers from the VIIIth Legion's formidable 1st Company led by the infamous First Captain Sevatar. This elite cadre's numbers were chosen from amongst the standard ranks of the Night Lords Legion from Astartes who had been singled out and personally selected by their Primarch Konrad Curze , the Night Haunter, for their ferocity and cruelty.Each member was known by name and reputation within and without the Night Lords Legion. Following the death of Curze at the hands of the Imperial Assassin M'Shen, the Atramentar scattered with the rest of the Legion and, by the time of the late 41st Millennium, often served as bodyguards to the powerful Chaos Lords who commanded the various Night Lords warbands.The 1st Company had largely dissolved mostly because its Astartes felt that no one could live up the dark reputation of their former First Captain, who died during the Siege of Terra. The Atramentar served no other leader after Sevatar died; he had made them into what they were, a brotherhood that could not be broken any other way.In the same way, the members of the VIIIth Legion would serve no single Captain after their Primarch died. It was not their way, just as most of the Traitor Legions fragmented into hundreds of different warbands.Allegiance to Chaos ultimately always bred division and fractious internecine conflict no matter how powerful its worshipers proved to be.
Terminators - Raven Guard Deliverers & Shadow Wardens: Despite the favour shown to the Tactical Dreadnought Armour project by Horus himself, who acted as patron to the XIXth Legion in the absence of their Primarch, many of the warriors of the then-unnamed Raven Guard Legion were ill-disposed towards the slow and bulky Cataphractii Pattern Terminator Armour.Some did adopt its use, mainly those Chapters of the XIXth Legion who had long served in the shadow of the Luna Wolves siege and heavy assault companies, becoming adept at close range and shock assaults from both mutual support and teleport deployment.The Legionaries of the XIXth Legion came to refer to these detachments as "Deliverers." In the wake of Corvus Corax's return, the Deliverers were rarely called upon by the Primarch.Most were assigned to distant Great Crusade fleets and those who remained at Corax's side became the avatars of his carefully controlled anger, loosed only when an enemy proved itself worthy of utter destruction.When he was their leader during the slave uprisings on Lycaeus, Corax's peers insisted he be watched over by a bodyguard lest the slave overlords or some other rogue element attempt to assassinate him. While he resented this, Corax allowed it, as much for his followers' peace of mind as for his own safety.Having joined his Legion, the bodyguard followed, being formed into an Honour Guard of Terminator elite, known informally as the "Shadow Wardens." It was said that they were ever present, though often unseen when their Primarch went to war, and that none could avoid their gaze.Indeed, only one individual was ever able to do so, and that was Corax himself, giving credence to the stories that Corax was able to slip his own shadow should he choose to do so.
Terminators - Sons of Horus Justaerin: The Justaerin were one of two distinct sub-formations within the elite 1st Company of the Luna Wolves and later the Sons of Horus Legion. Led by the Legion's First Captain Ezekyle Abaddon, the Justaerin were the pride of the XVIth Legion, sporting their signature black armour, which denoted their specialisation in harrowing actions, shock assaults and strategic decapitation strikes.Tasked with forming the "point of the spear" for the XVIth Legion, they went where the fighting was thickest, their attack directed usually at destroying the heart of an opposing target or conducting a decapitation strike on an enemy force.Early proponents of the use of Tactical Dreadnought Armour, many Justaerin entered combat as Terminators, relying on the resilience this gave them to smash aside any resistance and close in for the kill.
Terminators - Ultramarines Fulmentarus: Fulmentarus Terminator Strike Squads were an elite heavy support formation of Terminators that was utilised exclusively by the Ultramarines Legion during the late 30th and early 31st Millennium. The Fulmentarus Terminator Strike Squads could be seen as one of the many examples of the genius of the XIIIth Legion's Primarch Roboute Guilliman.Having observed his brother Primarch Perturabo, the master of the Iron Warriors Legion, field his Tyrant Siege Terminator squads in battle, Guilliman judged the tactic worthy of refinement. He immediately ordered the creation of a number of similar units in his own Legion so that he might study and improve upon Perturabo's innovation, proving himself once again the master of all of the myriad disciplines of war.The warriors of the Fulmentarus are equipped with Cataphractii Pattern Terminator Armour, enhanced to carry an array of targeting systems that made it possible for each to combine their fire in a highly coordinated fashion.When combined with a heavy weapons system such as a Reaper Autocannon, or the Cyclone Missile Launcher first uitilised by the Tyrant Siege Terminators, these sensors made the Fulmentarus a fearsome heavy assault unit and one that, were it not for the outbreak of the Horus Heresy, might one day have entered service across the Legiones Astartes.
Terminators - Thousand Sons Sekhmet: The specialist unit known as the Scarab Occult were also sometimes called the Sekhmet or "Magnus' Veterans." They were made up of the best and brightest of the Thousand Sons Legion and equipped with crimson-coloured Tactical Dreadnought Armour. The Sekhmet were active throughout the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy.The Scarab Occult were all members of the elite 1st Fellowship, under the command of 1st Fellowship Captain Ahzek Ahriman. These proud and extremely devoted warriors were both combat veterans and highly-ranked members of the psychic mastery cult system of the Thousand Sons. None of the Sekhmet were below the Cult grade of Philosophus, the final Cult rank a warrior could hold before facing the Dominus Liminus.Each warrior was able to mentally transcend their physical and emotional weaknesses; achieving a form of emotional purity that resulted in warriors who were both fearless and willing to follow orders immediately and unquestioningly. This extraordinary level of discipline was commented on by some of the other Primarchs who witnessed the Sekhmet in action during the Great Crusade.The Great Khan of the White Scars Legion, Jaghatai Khan, commented that they were no better than automata, whilst, in a similar vein, Ferrus Manus of the Iron Hands Legion likened them to robots, though some within the Thousand Sons suspected that knowing the Iron Hands' affinity for technology, this comment may have been meant as a form of compliment.Leman Russ, the Great Wolf of the Space Wolves Legion, showed disdain for what he perceived as the Sekhmet's perceived "lack" of fighting spirit and espirit d'corps due to their taciturn natures.The Sekhmet's status following the Thousand Sons Legion's transformation into a Chaotic Traitor Legion devoted to Tzeentch and the enactment of the Rubric of Ahriman is unknown.
Terminators - White Scars Keshig: The Keshig were the personal Honour Guard of Primarch Jaghatai Khan and his subordinate commanders of the White Scars Legion during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras.The Keshig were an elite cadre of warriors made up of the most veteran and skilled Legionaries to be found in the Vth Legion who all served as the Legion's elite Terminators.The Keshig was once described as "a whole phalanx of giants in bone-white Terminator plate."
Terminators - World Eaters Devourers & Red Butchers: The Devourers were the premier cadre within the World Eaters Legion that served as a dedicated bodyguard unit for their Primarch Angron during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy eras of the late 30th and early 31st Millenniums. In battle the Devourers fought encased in Terminator Armour and carried the most savage weapons the XIIth Legion possessed.This warrior band had only twelve members, and access to its ranks was only attained by defeating another Devourer in single combat to the death or, should one of its number fall in battle against an enemy, a successor was selected by a contest open to all of the Astartes in the World Eaters Legion, only one of whom would survive.Once considered a great honour, over time a position within this cadre was barely acknowledged by the Primarch, as the neural implants known as the Butcher's Nails slowly ravaged Angron's mind, eroded his mental stability and slowly damaged his capacity to reason.Over a standard century after Angron's return to his Legion, by the time of the Horus Heresy, the Devourers constantly lurked behind their lord, their Primarch hardly sparing them a glance. To be one of Angron’s bodyguards was no longer considered an honour within the XIIth Legion, despite how fiercely the World Eaters' champions had fought for it in those first, optimistic years.Angron ignored them no matter where they went, never once fighting alongside them in battle. Armoured in their bulky Terminator battle-plate, they never managed to keep up with their liege lord, and they were as prone to losing control to their own Butcher's Nails cortical implants as any other World Eater, meaning any hope of them fighting as an organised unit was a forlorn hope at best.These warriors, who had spent an entire Terran century learning to swallow their pride, pretended that they were not actually ignored by the Primarch they were supposed to protect.The Red Butchers were a specialised shock-assault unit of the World Eaters during the Horus Heresy. These ferocious warriors were the precursor of the Khornate Berserkers of the later Age of the Imperium. The psycho-sugery inflicted upon the Red Butchers by the so-called Butcher's Nails cybernetic implants hammered into their skulls and the awakening Chaos taint within the World Eaters Legion combined to create a superhuman killing machine without reason or restraint.The Red Butchers were controlled only through the use of brutal shock implants and the prison of their specially constructed Terminator Armour into which they had been fused by the XIIth Legion's Techmarines.In between battles the Red Butchers were hung in chains in the holds of the World Eaters' warships, foaming and screaming in impotent rage, until such time that they were released once again against the Loyalist forces of the Imperium or upon the innocent.
Terminators - Dark Angels Deathwing: The Deathwing is the elite 1st Company of the Dark Angels Space Marine Chapter. While most other Chapters allow their 1st Company squads to take to the field in a variety of configurations as befits the tactical situation, the entire 1st Company of the Dark Angels Chapter consists of dedicated squads of Terminator Armour-clad Veterans.This specialty formation is also found amongst those Space Marine Chapters who are Successors of the original Ist Legion, which are collectively known as the Unforgiven. The Deathwing's mission takes precedence over all others, even though they may be called upon to fight a wide range of foes.Members of the Deathwing are indoctrinated into the outermost tiers of the Unforgiven's Inner Circle, and party to the some of the terrible secrets surrounding the existence and nature of the Fallen.Some members of the Deathwing may know the identity of those they fight, while others are unaware they were once loyal Dark Angels, but all members of the Dark Angels 1st Company, and indeed the 1st Company of every Unforgiven Chapter, know that the Fallen are the vilest of Heretics and must be persecuted above all others.
Terminators - Salamanders Firedrakes: The Firedrakes are those elite Astartes of the Salamanders Chapter's 1st Company, chosen not simply for their martial skill, but also because of their mental resilience, discipline and self-sacrifice. Created during the Great Crusade by their Primarch Vulkan, the Firedrakes were so-named for the greatest of the salamander saurids said to originate beneath the stones of Mount Deathfire.They were the finest and most experienced warriors of the XVIIIth Legion. To be afforded this exalted status, mere skill-at-arms was not enough alone, and the warrior would have to have been proven of faultless bravery and just as importantly, faultless self-control.Amongst these, the greatest formed the Pyre Guard; the Primarch's own loyal retainers. The Firedrakes were present during the tragic Drop Site Massacre on Istvaan V, where the Salamanders Legion, alongside the Raven Guard and the Iron Hands, were all but annihilated.Through their tenacity, sheer determination and extraordinary valour, some of these elite warriors managed to survive the slaughter committed against them by the Traitor Legions.These surviving Firedrake Legionaries would live to fight on for the remainder of the Horus Heresy, and help to hunt down the remnants of the Traitor Legions following their defeat after the Siege of Terra during the subsequent Great Scouring.Following the sundering of the Space Marine Legions into smaller autonomous units known as Chapters, and the subsequent Second Founding, the Firedrakes also managed to survive, for Vulkan made certain that their legacy was maintained.
Terminators - Space Wolves Wolf Guard: The Wolf Guard are the most elite Veterans of the Space Wolves Chapter, comparable in rank to a Codex Astartes-compliant Chapter's Sternguard Veterans. They are the bravest warriors of each of the Chapter's Great Companies, hand-selected by their Great Company's Wolf Lord to serve as his chosen protectors and the vanguard of his forces.Within the Space Wolves Chapter, battlefield promotion is extremely common, for Wolf Lords are men of conviction and instinct. There is no specific criteria for elevation to the ranks of the Wolf Guard. The surest way is to save the life of a Wolf Lord in the heat of battle.Each Battle-Brother that serves in this elite unit has earned their place by some exceptional feat of arms that marked them out amongst their brethren, for a Wolf Guard is chosen based on his heroic deeds, rather than his age or time served with the Chapter. Therefore, the Wolf Guard maintains a mix of hot-blooded young warriors and stalwart veterans amongst its ranks.It is the sacred duty of the Wolf Guard to be the sword and shield of their lord. These chosen brethren are favoured by their Wolf Lord with the best weapons he has at his disposal -- antique weapons of immense potency and ornate artefacts of ancient origin. Few can stand before these heroic warriors, equipped as they are with the best wargear in the company's Armoury, making them virtually unstoppable in close combat.Each Wolf Guard is expected to fight in the style at which he excels, for their lord cares little for their former roles in their former packs.Few can turn down the lure and raw power afforded by a rare and powerful suit of Tactical Dreadnought Armour, and so a Wolf Lord is often accompanied into battle by a brotherhood of hulking, nigh-indestructible champions, each ready to dispense his own particular brand of death and, if necessary, give their life for their lord.
Terminators - Deathwatch Terminators: A Deathwatch 1st Company Veteran is one of the most heroic, brave and trusted Battle-Brothers in the entirety of the Deathwatch, having proved his mettle in hundreds of conflicts from squad-level raids to full-blown Imperial Crusades.Entrusted with many precious mysteries hidden from other Battle-Brothers, and holy artefacts of incomparable value, these Veteran warriors bear the honour of the Deathwatch before all others, guiding their junior Battle-Brothers in times of doubt and confusion.1st Company Veterans found in the ranks of the Deathwatch are expert warriors who have come to perform their Vigil and have brought their considerable prowess to the service of the Long Watch.More rarely, a Space Marine wins such renown within the Deathwatch that he is accorded the rank and privileges of a 1st Company Veteran in recognition of his zeal and purity during his Vigil. When the Battle-Brother returns to his Chapter, it is rare for his Chapter Master not to acknowledge this honour, inducting him into the 1st Company, or that Chapter's equivalent, at the first opportunity.Chapter legends are littered with examples of a handful of 1st Company Veterans expunging a stain on the Chapter's honour despite the risks, or selflessly sacrificing themselves in the cause of victory. Most importantly, only 1st Company Veterans can take on the role of serving as Terminators.
Terminators - Grey Knights Terminators: Grey Knights Terminators are superlative warrior whose status as an elite amongst the elite forms the heart of the Grey Knights Space Marine Chapter's forces.A Grey Knights Terminator's primary armament is a Nemesis Force Weapon of some kind, selected from the Chapter's Armoury according to the skills and preferences of its wielder and they wear Aegis Pattern Terminator Armour which has been specially enscribed with various psychic protective wards to guard against the assaults of entities native to the Warp.As there is no doctrinal restriction on the types and numbers of weapons carried, it is rare for two Grey Knights Terminator Squads to bear exactly the same weapons combination -- the Grey Knights have always favoured brutal efficiency over organisational mandate. Some prefer the crushing force of a Nemesis Daemon Hammer, others the flurry of attacks granted by a matched pair of Nemesis Falchions.Complementing this fearsome close quarter armament, each Terminator will also carry a Storm Bolter, typically mounted upon his left vambrace, thus leaving his left hand free for a double-handed grip on his Force Weapon, or to access the supply of grenades belted at his waist.Grey Knights Terminator Squads rarely operate a standard line of battle, for it seems that the Grey Knights are always outnumbered by their daemonic foes. Thus, they must concentrate their attacks, picking their targets individually for full effect.As a result, Grey Knights Terminators often choose to teleport straight into the heart of battle, the better to catch the foe unaware in a storm of firepower and vengeful blades. Indeed, sometimes the only warning that an enemy will receive is the momentary flash of light and stink of ozone that precedes a teleport beam -- by which time it is far, far too late.
Terminators - Game History: Terminators were first introduced to the Warhammer 40,000 universe during the late 1980's, via the miniature boardgame Space Hulk. The Terminators were pitted against Genestealers aboard a Space Hulk.The cover art for the 1st and 2nd editions of the game displayed Blood Angels Terminators; a Dark Angels Deathwing Terminator was shown in the expansion pack.Deathwing Terminators also featured in the cover art for the earlier game Tyranid Attack, where they were shown battling Tyranid Warriors and Termagants, but the game miniatures themselves were Space Marine Scouts.Popular demand eventually caused Games Workshop to provide Terminators for the main Warhammer 40,000 tabletop war game, and a set of rules was published in White Dwarf 109.Although the potency of a Terminator Squad has been toned down since then, they are still considered a formidable part of any Space Marine army. At the time, the shoulder armour of the Terminators was bulkier and there were checkerboard patterns on their Storm Bolters and Assault Cannons.The Terminator model was revamped during the mid-1990's and again in 2004, but the current design is still very similar to the previous one. Releases during the 2nd Edition of Warhammer 40,000 included a generic (Ultramarines or Blood Angels) plastic box set of a 5-man Terminator Squad, consisting of three Terminators with the regular Storm Bolter and Powerfists, one with a Heavy Flamer and a Powerfist, and the Sergeant with Storm Bolter and Power Sword.There was also the Dark Angels Deathwing metal box set (replaced one Power Fist with a Chainfist, and also had Deathwing ornaments), and the Space Wolves Wolf Guard metal box set (replaced two Power Fists with Chainfists, replaced one Storm Bolter with an Assault Cannon, and also had Wolf Guard ornaments).There were also metal blister packs for individual Terminators as well, not only for specialised weapons (Lightning Claw, Thunder Hammer, Cyclone Missile Launcher, Chainfist, Assault Cannon) or Chapter-themed weapons (Deathwing, Wolf Guard), but also for generic Terminators (duplicating the plastic models).In the 3rd through 5th Editions of Warhammer 40,000, Terminators were released as five-man plastic boxed sets which were not specific to any Chapter, with some minor changes from the previous version. There was either the standard squad (containing extra parts for the Assault Cannon, Cyclone Missile Launcher, Heavy Flamer, and Chainfist) or assault squad (contains enough parts to equip Terminators with either all claws or all hammer/shield).Deathwing and Wolf Guard Terminators were no longer sold in most stores though they were still available from the online store. However, the Dark Angels Veterans box set and the Black Templars Upgrade pack both contained plastic replacement parts for Terminators to make them Chapter-specific.Forge World also sold a line of Conversion Sets (usually just a set of resin shoulder plates, but sometimes entire torsos) for several different Chapters.
Terminus Decree - Terminus Decree: The Terminus Decree is a set of ancient instructions written upon millennia-old parchment and sealed within a mysterious artefact of the Grey Knights Space Marine Chapter.This artefact goes unrecorded in all the libraries of the Imperium, for it has been kept secret from all but the supreme grand masters of that Chapter.It is said that the Terminus Decree contains the final secret of the Chapter, a secret so great that it could destroy the foundations of the Imperium -- or provide salvation in its darkest hour.
Terminus Decree - History: Deep within the Chambers of Purity, within the Grey Knights fortress-monastery on Titan, locked away in the chamber said to hold the tomb of Malcador the Sigillite himself, rests a simple wooden box, embellished with a golden seal. Within this box is the ancient parchment that contains the instructions known only as the Terminus Decree.Only a supreme grand master of the Grey Knights knows how to open the box, and he will do so only when all hope for the future of Humanity seems lost. The Terminus Decree is the ultimate sanction of the Grey Knights, a secret so vast it could bring the Imperium to its knees, or save it in its darkest hour.The exact nature of the document is unknown, and the only clue to its contents lies in the box's golden seal. It is whispered that it is the exact match of another seal, found only in one place in all the Imperium of Man's many scattered worlds: within the Imperial Palace, upon the Emperor's Golden Throne.
Terminus Est - Terminus Est: The Terminus Est is a Daemonship that was one of the first capital ships assigned to the Death Guard Legion of Space Marines by the Emperor of Mankind. It is of a unique design that pre-dates the Great Crusade and which was later copied in the 36th Millennium as part of the Gareox Prerogative to create the Despoiler-class Battleship.As might be expected, this ancient vessel was considerably more powerful than its inferior successor. Few vessels conjure such dread in their foes as does the Terminus Est. Its very name is a curse upon the lips of Imperial ship captains and commanders across the Imperium. It has been present at some of the greatest betrayals and bloodiest days in Imperial history.The Chaos Lord Typhus sits upon its command throne, overseeing its filth-encrusted cannon and infected crew. The Terminus Est has become a harbinger of the Plague God, its appearance above a planet heralding disease and ruin for the citizens below.From its bloated launch bays and pustule-studded holds, rusting dropships are vomited down in putrid brown waves. Inside, Death Guard Plague Marines hunch over corroded blades and pitted bolt guns, waiting for their chance to carry out the will of Nurgle.More than merely a vessel, the Terminus Est is a vile legend and symbol of fear for the people of Imperium. Even a whisper of the ship's presence in a sector can send planetary governors and system lords screaming to the Astra Militarum and Imperial Navy for protection.However, when the Terminus Est darkens the skies of a world, there is little that can save its people -- their fate sealed as the terrible attentions of the Plague God fall upon them.
Terminus Est - Abilities: Miasma of Pestilence - The Terminus Est is surrounded by vast swarming clouds of the same Warp-spawned flies which buzz and howl through its interior, and which first transformed Typhus into the Host of the Destroyer Hive. This miasma permeates outwards from the ship, through blisters, boils and fractures in its surface or through corroded, useless discharge tubes and weapon barrels. The miasma replaces the ship’s turrets, and works in exactly the same way as turrets against Attack Craft, but has no effect against torpedoes. The miasma is so thick that it obscures and distorts the shape of the Terminus Est, meaning that vessels within close proximity find that their Augurs and other sensorium cannot lock on the ship when firing at the Terminus Est.Hives of Nurgle - Along either side of the Terminus Est, row upon row of festering pustules, hives, boils and sores erupt outwards from the ship’s cankered skin. These growths cover the rusted remains of what was presumably once the ship’s main broadside batteries, growing in a diseased parody of these weapons like coral over rock. They seep and bloat, periodically erupting violently and hurling a mixture of corroded debris, ammunition and filth out into space. The Hives of Nurgle function in exactly the same way as standard weapons batteries.
Termite - Termite: The Termite, also called the Termite Assault Drill, and the Terrax Pattern Termite Assault Drill, is an Imperial Subterranean Vehicle utilised by the Adeptus Mechanicus as an underground transport. These vehicles are better known colloquially as "tunnellers" or "miners."The Termite is the smallest of the tunnellers. The Termite, as well as its counterparts the Mole and the Hellbore, use a phase-field generator as well as a ring of Melta Cutters and a huge, heavy-bore drill to burrow through the ground, whereas the Hades Breaching Drill uses a more "brute-force" approach that applies only physical drills.In the 41st Millennium the Termite Assault Drill carries two squads of Astra Militarum troops and the various Termites are organised into squadrons for tactical purposes. Termite squadrons all use the same tunnel, each following behind the other and branching to the surface only at the last moment.
Termite - History: The first patterns of the Termite Assault Drill was created sometime in the 30th Millennium during the Unification Wars. It was first utilised by the Legiones Astartes of the XVIII Legion in the Assault of the Tempest Galleries, during the overthrow of the Ethnarch of the Caucasus Wastes, a despotic techno-barbarian state located in the Caucasus Peninsula of the ancient European continent of Old Earth. The XVIII Legion utilised scores of freshly created gigantic Termite subterranean boring machines fitted with recently acquired technology from Mars. Once they were ready, the XVIII Legion saluted their Emperor and calmly mounted the untested Martian war engines of the Mechanicum. They pierced the dark earth and rock at the edge of the Caucasus Wastes, disappearing into a deadly and unknown world to assault the subterranean Tempest Galleries of the Caucasus Wastes.Originally designed on Terra for the task of rooting out burrowing xenos species during the Great Crusade, canny commanders quickly found use for the Terrax Pattern Termite Assault Drill in tearing through the foundations of enemy bastions or emerging behind barricades or trench lines to lay waste to their defenders. A specialised infantry transport vehicle, the Termite is capable of bringing a full squad of warriors to the battlefield whilst bypassing enemy auspex and atmospheric scanners.These vehicles were also used by the Silent Sisterhood for direct assaults on Renegade strongholds too heavily fortified for the limited ranks of the Silent Sisterhood to take by storm. When the time comes for these Termites to be sent into battle, they are issued to those warriors best suited to press home the attack. Regardless of whether it be by two-handed Execution Blade or flaming torrent of promethium gel, there are few foes that can withstand the onslaught of the Null Maidens of the Sisters of Silence once their fortifications are breached.In another notable campaign of the Horus Heresy, the Termite played a decisive role in the capture of the world of Abfall B, when the whole of the elite First Company Templar Brethren of the Imperial Fists Legion were transported underground into the heart of the Traitor stronghold by more than fifty Termites, appearing behind the enemy's lines and to cause maximum disruption.Since that bygone era, Imperial military forces have continued to utilise Termite transport vehicles. Rather than taking their troops across the ground, or through the air, the Termite burrows deep beneath the earth, launched from a surface transport far behind enemy lines. It uses a combination of Melta Cutters, phase-shield generators and huge heavy-bore drills to chew through the ground beneath the foe to emerge behind the lines or in the heart of enemy fortifications. The Termite is armed with deadly weapons -- with a choice of bolters, Volkite Chargers or Heavy Flamers -- that punish any nearby foes before it disgorges its deadly cargo to bring death and ruin.
Termite - Unit Composition: 1 Terrax Pattern Termite Assault Drill
Termite - Wargear: 2 pintle-mounted twin-linked BoltersMelta Cutter2 pintle-mounted twin-linked Volkite Chargers (As replacements for bolters)2 pintle-mounted Heavy Flamers (As replacements for bolters)
Termite - Notable Termite Variants: Terrax Pattern Termite Assault Drill - The Terrax Pattern Termite Assault Drill is an ancient pattern of subterranean transport utilised by the Legiones Astartes and the Sisters of Silence during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy of the 30th and 31st Millennia. It is not known if this ancient pattern of Termite is still utilised by the present Imperial military forces of the 41st Millennium.
Termite - Sources: Armies of the Imperium, pp. 32, 59-62Ork and Squat Warlords (Warhammer 40,000 Epic Supplement), pg. 62The Horus Heresy - Book Two: Massacre (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, "Salamanders Legion - Exemplar Battles: The Assault on the Tempest Galleries," pp. 132-133, 135White Dwarf 116 (UK), "Imperial Vehicles," by Graeme Davis & Jervis Johnson, pp. 10-11, 15White Dwarf 123 (UK), "Epic Battles - Space Marine War Machines," by Karl Tebbutt and Roger Gerrish, pp. 24-25White Dwarf 136 (UK), "Games Workshop Catalog: Imperial Tanks & War Machines," pg. 75Warhammer: The Horus Heresy Second Edition - Liber Imperium (Specialty Game), pg. 62Warhammer Community - Forge World Preview: Termite Assault Drill