vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Skitarii - Forge Worlds: The Forge Worlds of the Adeptus Mechanicus are the cornerstones of their technocratic empire. A single Forge World can provide war materiel sufficient to supply an entire sector. Polluted strata of industry belch smoke from every region not lost entirely to biohazard or schism. Indentured serfs go about their labour like worker ants in a planet-sized hive.Archeotech workshops nestle amongst cyclopean guns, macroscaffolds loom over rivers of bullet casings, and fleshy sludge trickles from weapon-testing grounds into yawning food vats. Buried amongst the Forge Worlds' sprawling archives are secrets that could bring the Imperium's salvation or plunge it into damnation. The truth is immaterial, for to navigate the wilderness of data would drive even a Fabricator-General quite mad.It is in the red-hot guts of the Forge Worlds that the Skitarii Legions are born. Cohorts without number march out to protect the sovereign realm of the Omnissiah. Their sole desire is to bring His illumination to the darkness of the void and transmit every iota of information they uncover, even if it means razing everything in their path.
Skitarii - Mars: Mars' Skitarii Legion is the most glorious of all its kind. Its warriors consider it a great privilege to wear the ancient heraldry of the Red Planet, and are fiercely defensive of their Forge World despite its unchallenged position of power. Perhaps because of the acquisitive nature of their masters, the red, silver and black of Mars' War Cohorts is a common sight in each Segmentum of the Imperium. The holy cog-and-skull of Mars graces many Skitarii warriors and vehicles, a reminder that all must play their part in the greater war machine of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Skitarii Vanguard and Skitarii Rangers alike wear combat robes emblazoned with the icon of their Forge World. Skitarii infantry usually have their squad number emblazoned upon the hem of their robes for easy identification. Some specialist units, such as Sicarian Ruststalkers and Infiltrators, may wear a number on their helm or chestplate. The Alphas and Princeps of the Skitarii Legions often bear a skull in place of their Forge World icon. They may also display their maniple sigil, either appended to the squad number on their war robes, or on their chestplate or helm. The armour plates of Skitarii vehicles are the same hue as those worn by the legion's Sicarians.
Skitarii - Agripinaa: Within the ranks of Agripinaa's soldiery, the sacred red and black heraldry of Mars is reversed. There are some amongst the brotherhood of Mars who imply Agripinaa's sense of truth and logic is likewise inverted. Ruststalker Princeps, Sicarian Princeps and Skitarii Alpha alike wear battle robes in the sombre black of their Forge World. Their wargear and armour is trimmed with ancient gold taken from those strata of Agripinaa's surface unscarred by war. Agripinaa's cohorts often fight across the war-blackened hellscapes of the Eye of Terror, where their dark colouration can be the difference between life and death. The warriors of Agripinaa bear the icon of the sacred cog bracketing a hermetic symbol. Some Tech-priests believe it is a representation of the Cadian Gate, the oval trapped within its lines representing the Eye being trammelled by Order itself.
Skitarii - Graia: The Tech-priests of Graia and their Skitarii forces accentuate the deep crimson of Mars with the bright red of spilt blood. Their detractors believe this is because Graian warriors take an unhealthy interest in each spray of gore that jets from their victims. Wearing fully-sealed battle raiments and electromagnetised cybernetics, the Skitarii of Graia have fought space battles across the silvered exterior of their masters' spaceborne metropolises. The warriors of Graia bear the icon of the solar cog. The rising sun at its heart signifies the dawn of a new age, while the cog that surrounds it shows that the Tech-priests of Graia intend to be its masters.
Skitarii - Lucius: The battle plate of Lucius' Skitarii cohorts is dark, almost black in colouration. Like the armour of its vehicles, the plate is made from a rare alloy, scorched black by the artificial sun within the planet in a ritual known as the Solar Blessing. Ever since the Inculcata Schism, Lucius' Skitarii Legion have used the same system of markings as Mars. They even adopted the deep red of the first Forge World, although the cream and dark metal of their planet's original heraldry lie beneath. The Skitarii cohorts bear the icon of Forge World Lucius. The illuminated letter that forms Lucius' icon is burnt into the planet's own surface, each detail a dozen miles from top to bottom.
Skitarii - Metalica: Unusually, the heraldry of Metalica's Skitarii is dictated by their battlefield role. Skitarii Vanguard and Rangers wear metallic armour plates and white robes with red linings. Sicarians usually wear white battle plate, forgoing red altogether. All of Metalica's Skitarii bear gunmetal prostheses and cybernetic enhancements made from the very same substance that covers the planet's surface. Its Alphas and Princeps wear metal mined from the peaks of the planet's titanium mountains. The vehicles of Metalica's War Cohorts are arrayed in the bone white of their Forge World's heraldry, though it is never long before they bear the marks of fire and destruction. Though Metalica's legions are fiercely independent from the cloying touch of Mars, the hammer and fist icon of Metalica is depicted in deep red in honour of their Martian forefathers.
Skitarii - Ryza: Ryza's Skitarii Legion has a proud history and a reputation for unshakeable faith. As with many Forge Worlds, Ryza's Skitarii often bear purity seals of blood-wax and parchment to signify their freedom from harmful scrapcode. The ochre armour plates and robes worn by Ryza's Skitarii are the same hue as the immense rust dunes that bestrew the planet. The interior of these robes are deep red in memory of the blood that has been spilt there over the millennia. The illuminated "R" of Ryza is borne proudly by its warriors. This icon incorporates the skull and cog of Mars, a nod towards Ryza's ancestry.
Skitarii - Stygies VIII: Stygies VIII has been accused of heresy in the past. To show that its faith in the Omnissiah is pure, its heraldry incorporates the colours of Mars, albeit redistributed. The bulk of Stygies VIII's Skitarii wear long black robes, crimson armour plate and burnished steel cybernetics. Should such a warrior shed his robe, he could almost pass for one of Mars' cohorts -- a similarity Stygies has exploited many times. The officers of Stygies VIII fight at the forefront of the war for enlightenment. When their red, silver and black heraldry is sighted near an excavation or quarantine zone, the treasures inside will be seized in Stygies' name, whatever it takes. The stark white icon of Stygies VIII stands out from the dark robes of its warriors. It symbolises not just enlightenment, but the acquisition of knowledge no matter how steep the cost.
Skitarii - Notable Skitarii Variants: Skitarii were generally divided into different types depending upon the role they were expected to play on the battlefield.
Skitarii - Balisteria: The Balisteria were the artillery units of the Skitarii. The artillery used by the Skitarii ranged from Thudd Guns to massive Ordinatus pieces. The term Balisteria included both the vehicle or artillery piece, as well as the Skitarii crews manning them.
Skitarii - Cataphractii: The Cataphractii were the Skitarii's armour units. The Skitarii made use of everything from small armoured personnel carriers like the Chimera and Rhino to heavy combat walkers and super heavy tanks such as a Baneblade.
Skitarii - Classiarii: The Skitarii forces of the Adeptus Mechanicus take a variety of forms. On warships and Explorator vessels operating within the Koronus Expanse and the Calixis Sector, specially-programmed Skitarii are a necessity, for they serve as the members of boarding parties, security personnel and bodyguards where other forms of Skitarii would be impractical. Within the Mechanicus territories of the Calixis Sector, these warriors are known as Classiarii, a term of obscure meaning within the ancient traditions of the Calixian Mechanicus, believed to mean "mariners." Nigh-impervious to vacuum, fitted with thick, implanted armour, and equipped with an array of implanted weaponry designed for void combat and combat in the cramped enclosures of a starship, a Classiarius trooper is literally built for ship-to-ship combat.
Skitarii - Herakli: The Herakli were Skitarii heavy fire support specialists. These massive, vat-grown cybernetic soldiers were as large as Space Marines and were capable of carrying heavy laser weapons and multi-barrelled Autocannons with ease. The Herakli wore heavy red robes and cowls that were covered in Mechanicus sigils and were protected by thick ceramite armour plating that covered their chests and shoulders.
Skitarii - Huscarls: The Huscarls were the personal bodyguards of Skitarii officers and commanders, hand-picked by these individuals and trained by them to perfection. The duty of the Huscarls was to protect their commander in the heat of battle and make sure that no debilitating harm came to him.
Skitarii - Hypaspists: Hypaspist Skitarii were the most basic augmented infantrymen of the Tech-Guard and were armed with cybernetically hard-linked Lasguns similar to those used by the soldiers of the Astra Militarum. Hypaspists were generally more powerful and skilled soldiers than standard Guardsmen as a result of the cybernetic enhancements that made them stronger and more accurate than normal humans and the psychosurgery they had undergone to suppress their emotional reactions and make them immune to panic or fear. However, this enhancement also made Hypaspists less independent and able to think for themselves in combat.
Skitarii - Praetorians: The Praetorians represented the most elite troops to be found amongst the Skitarii. They were super-enhanced humans augmented by a wide array of cybernetics and integrated heavy weapons. However, many old Imperial sources also suggest that Praetorians are instead an elite Skitarii type similar to Imperial Guard Storm Trooper units, but possessed of advanced bionic augmentations, putting them somewhere in combat effectiveness and elite status between Storm Troopers and Space Marines. Some Praetorians are in fact a form of Combat Servitors, rather than living, cybernetic humans. They move on tank treads and are armed with powerful heavy weaponry, such as Plasma Cannons. All of these different variations of the Praetorian Skitarii are completely plausible, and based on the preferences of the Mechanicus Magi who build them.
Skitarii - Sagitarii: The Sagitarii were the Skitarii's heavy weapon specialists. This class of Skitarii only include dedicated heavy weapons squads, as heavy weapons specialists attached to Hypaspist squads are still called Hypaspists.
Skitarii - Tribunes: The Tribunes are the officers of a Skitarii unit. Though all Skitarii ultimately bow to the authority of the Adeptus Mechanicus' Magi and Archmagi, these are all command personnel found at the grand strategic level. The Tribunes handle the day-to-day tactical and strategic command roles for the Skitarii.
Skitarii - Venatorii: The Venatorii were created in the wake of the War of Brass that devastated the Skitarii Legions of the Lathe Worlds, leaving entire Forge Worlds of the Calixis Sector with virtually no troops left. The reigning High Fabricator started a discreet rearmament drive throughout the Calixian Forge Worlds. The more military minded Tech-priests were moved into position to help replenish the fighting ranks of the Mechanicus within the sector. It took many standard years to bring this grand plan together, but once everything was in place, the High Fabricator of the Lathes found himself with a new force consisting of some of the best-trained and best-equipped troops in the Calixis Sector. Dubbed the Venatorii, the new hunters were a force that was to remain separate from the recovering Calixian Skitarii forces and act as the true elite troops of the Lathes. With their unique organisation and frightening red armour, the few outside of the Mechanicus who were aware of their existence soon began to call them the "Crimson Guard."
Skitarii - Executors Fetial: The Executors Fetial are the diplomats and ambassadors of the Titan Legions, and are noted to have undergone much of the same combat conditioning as the Skitarii, save for the rampant muscle mass increase and inducement of an adrenal battle trance. It is unknown if the Executors are considered to be official members of the Tech-Guard.
Skitarii - Skitarii Weapons and Wargear: The weapons of the Adeptus Mechanicus are some of the most dangerous in the galaxy. As efficient as they are terminally unsafe, and powerful beyond mortal understanding, they have brought death to the galaxy for thousands of Terran years.The weapons of the Skitarii are a strange amalgamation of ancient science, modern technology and baroque craftsmanship. Carved wooden gun stocks, bolt action breaches, whirring dynamos and elegant brass triggers meld seamlessly with heat sinks, radioactive ammunition, lightning projectors and glowing fuel cells. They are the past and the present combined, terrifying in the devastation they cause and beautiful in their antiquated designs.This anachronistic combination is not due to the available materials or a desire for aesthetically pleasing weapons. Nor is it out of practicality; far from it. Trees don't grow on Mars (or any other Forge World, for that matter) and haven't for thousands of standard years. Technological advances have made bolt action rifles obsolete and the dynamos that power many Skitarii weapons have been superseded by more conventional power sources.This practice of using seemingly-outdated weaponry appears a little odd until one remembers the Tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus revere ancient technology. To them, the wargear and weapons designed during the Dark Age of Technology were at the pinnacle of their design and everything since is but a poor substitute. But these ancient weapons aren't just superior: they're vastly superior, inspired by the Machine God Himself and, as such, regarded as holy instruments. At least that is what the Tech-priests believe. To tamper with the design of one, even slightly, would be a terrible heresy. After all, who has the right to challenge the creations of a god?
Skitarii - Arc Weapons: Arc Weapons are powered by bulky permacapacitors shipped from Mars' Great Repositorium. Some of these zinc-plated blocks store energy from the days when the Imperium was young. They discharge with a loud crack, firing bolts of blue-white electricity that can fry a man's brain or overload a war machine's datacortex in a second.Arc RifleArc Maul - The Arc Maul is at first glance a bludgeoning weapon designed to crush and pulp its targets. However, when activated, it becomes a rod of lightning like unto those wielded by the gods of Old Earth. Those struck by an arc maul often convulse themselves to death as the riotous energies playing across them take their toll.Arc Pistol
Skitarii - Radium Weapons: Many weapons wielded by the Skitarii are so deadly to the wielder they're widely condemned by the rest of the Imperium. Their baroque beauty belies a singularly vile function -- not only to strike, but to render the battlefield as deadly as the rad-wastes of Mars. As dangerous as they are to their wielders, Radium Weapons are far more deadly to the enemy. Armour may repel the solid rounds, but only the most heavily-reinforced battle plate can protect the target from the baleful energy given off by the hyper-irradiated bullets. As more and more shots are fired, the area becomes increasingly saturated with radiation until a localised rad-storm occurs, striking down the enemy with radiation sickness and leaving the ground beneath their feet saturated and lifeless. Radium Weapons are so volatile that they eventually kill their wielders. The war plate worn by the Skitarii Vanguard, combined with their rad-leeching robes and augmetic limbs, goes some way to protecting them from the harmful feedback generated by these weapons, though inevitably some still seeps through. The Vanguard welcome this, for they are the Omnissiah's holy warriors and even the lethal touch of radiation is a sign of His blessing. Over time their bodies become so saturated with radiation they become weapons themselves, their mere presence enough to leave an enemy soldier reeling with nausea and a hacking cough laced with bloody phlegm. Death follows soon after.Radium PistolRadium Carbine - The Radium Carbine is the most terrible of these weapons, every bullet it fires bathed in lethal radiation. To equip an Imperial Guardsman with a Radium Carbine would lead to immediate radiation poisoning and a horrible, though blessedly quick, death.Radium Jezzail
Skitarii - Phosphor Weapons: One of the most horrific substances of ancient Mars was Phosphex. Its method of manufacture lost thousands of years ago, this highly-corrosive toxin burned with an intense flame that could not be extinguished, short of placing it in a vacuum. Though the crawling horror of Phosphex Weaponry is all but forgotten in the Imperium, the blinding white fire of Phosphor Weaponry is still utilised by the Skitarii to mark out high priority targets amongst the battlefield murk. The Phosphor Weapons fielded by the Skitarii are all that remain of this lost knowledge, a sanctioned replacement for one of the Machine God's creations. They may no longer be able to reduce a world to ash, but they still cover the enemy in luminous particles, making them easy targets for other Skitarii. If those struck by the burning spheres fired by these weapons are not killed by the initial trauma, they are soon felled by the light-guided volleys that follow.Phosphor Blast PistolPhosphor SerpentaHeavy Phosphor Blaster
Skitarii - Infiltrator Weapons: Infiltrators use rapid-firing pistols to slay their foes, including the Flechette Blaster which fires hundreds of metal darts.Flechette Blaster - The Flechette Blaster is lightweight but lethal, a favoured tool of the Sicarian Infiltrator. It fires hundreds of tiny darts, each of which bears a dormant cerebral cell awakened in the gun's chamber. Where one dart hits home it emits a bioelectric pulse that attracts others, resulting in a series of impacts that burrow through bone.Stubcarbine - The Stubcarbine, though compact, has the stopping power of the Heavy Stubbers mounted on the tanks of the Astra Militarum. When a squad of Sicarians opens fire with these weapons, the air fills with a storm of solid shot that chews their victims to ruin.
Skitarii - Cognis Blaster: Cognis Weapons, though superficially similar to the weapons of the same type that are used by the other military forces of the Imperium, has one vital difference -- Cognis Weapons' Machine Spirit (artificial intelligence) has been permanently awakened by the rites of the Machine God. When the wielder is unable to give their full concentration, the warlike spirit of the gun will take over and self-target for them.Cognis LascannonCognis AutocannonCognis Heavy Stubber
Skitarii - Taser Weapons: The Adeptus Mechanicus make heavy use of Taser Weapons, vicious prods and lances powered by hyperdynamo capacitors that store vast amounts of potential energy. When a solid impact is made with the enemy, the energy is blasted through their body, then re-harnessed by the weapon using the electrothief prongs at the weapon's tip.Taser GoadTaser Lance
Skitarii - Transonic Weapons: Transonic blades emit a low, insistent buzz that makes stomachs turn and eyes vibrate in their sockets. When they strike armour, these weapons will adjust their hostile sonic field to match its resonant frequency, quickly slicing right through it -- and, in the case of the feared Chordclaw, turning muscle, bone and fat to jelly. Normally wielded by Sicarian Ruststalkers, the presence of these constantly-humming weapons is enough to invoke nausea and vibrate a person's eyeballs in their sockets. Constantly cycling through wavelengths, the blades tune in to the resonant frequency of a target, enabling them to slide effortlessly through even the thickest armour. To the Tech-priests, such an efficient weapon is most pleasing.Transonic BladeTransonic RazorChordclaw
Skitarii - Melee Weapons: Cognis Manipulator - Similar in design to servo-arms, the hydraulic pincers jutting from many Skitarii vehicles have been adapted to channel their host's machine spirit in times of adversity. Such appendages can effect field repairs on damaged hulls and weapon systems even in the heat of battle.Power Sword - A power weapon sheathed in the lethal haze of a disruptive energy field that eats through armour, flesh and bone with ease.Prehensile Dataspike - Usually mounted on a tail-like Mechadendrite, the dataspikes favoured by the agents of the Adeptus Mechanicus can stab into the cortex of enemy machines and steal their secrets within a couple of heartbeats.
Skitarii - Special Issue Weapons: Transuranic Arquebus - The precision and inhuman efficiency that typify the Skitarii Legions are epitomised by these long-barrelled heavy weapons. Firing a shell composed of a depleted transuranium element, the arquebus can puncture a tank from one side to the other, the resultant pressure wave also pulping any biological creatures that may be sheltering inside. This weapon's high-calibre rounds leaves a trail of radioactive devastation in their wake. The effect on the enemy is threefold. The initial death-toll is horrific, thinning the enemy's ranks. The radioactive fallout that follows leaves the survivors weak and ill. The terror this spreads among the enemy's ranks is invaluable to the Skitarii and the Tech-priests' Quest for Knowledge.Galvanic Rifle - One of the first weapons used by Martian settlers, the Galvanic Rifle was modelled after the hunting flintlocks of Mars' past. The Mark IV Arkhan Galvanic Rifle is a precision tool in the hands of a Skitarii Ranger. Though these wooden and burnished brass guns appear to be primitive antiques, with its polished wooden stock and curlicues that echo the sandy seas of Mars' desert, the projectiles they fire are not. Each galvanic Servitor-bullet has a minute Servitor built into it so it can subtly manipulate its own trajectory. The bullet also houses a galvanic cell that causes all the potential energy of the target to burn out in a blast of electrical force. These bullets could, theoretically, be fired through a more modern weapon, but that would be against the holy teachings.Plasma Caliver - As volatile as it is deadly, the Plasma Caliver exchanges range for a truly terrifying rate of fire. A squad of Skitarii armed with several Plasma Calivers lights up the night with each volley. To say they risk life and limb in the process is a grave understatement, yet to their Tech-priest masters, such collateral damage matters not at all.Eradication Beamer - The thin yellow beam fired by the Eradication Beamer widens as it projects outward from the weapon's distinctive muzzle. Those in the middle distance will be ravaged on a molecular level by its impossible technologies. Those close by are simply atomised, their physical forms scattered to the hot winds of war without a sound.
Skitarii - Heavy Weapons: Icarus Stormcannon Array - The variant Icarus Stormcannon Arrays used by the Adeptus Mechanicus fill the sky with inescapable death. Comprising a twin Icarus Autocannon with Skyscryer Lenses, a gatling rocket launcher that fires salvoes of flak and an armour-piercing Missile Launcher, its combined firepower can shred an entire squadron of enemy fighters. An Icarus Array consists of a twin Icarus Autocannon with a built-in gatling rocket launcher and a built-in Daedalus Missile Launcher.Neutron Laser - The Neutron Laser is the last word in battlefield anti-tank weaponry. With a stabilised neutronic coil arc reactor as its power source, it is able to fire a beam so devastating it not only punches through the thickest armour but also sends out a blast wave of electromagnetic energy that scrambles circuits and synapses alike.
Skitarii - Special Issue Wargear: Conversion Field - These fields convert the energy of hostile attacks into flashes of light. The more powerful the attack, the brighter the light emitted by the Conversion Field -- an effect which has resulted in more than one assailant being robbed of his sight.Digital Weapons - The Imperium's Digital Weapons, though ostensibly supplied by the Adeptus Mechanicus, owe their provenance to nimble xenos technosavants. Though short ranged, they can be triggered to discharge potent laser blasts or jets of flame just as the enemy believes the wearer to be at his most vulnerable.Enhanced Data-Tether - Seen as the mouthpieces of the Tech-priests, who in turn are the prophets of the Machine God Himself, those honoured with bearing enhanced data-tethers are obeyed without hesitation by their reverent Skitarii comrades.Infoslave Skull - The dextrous skull-and-digit adjutants that accompany senior Skitarii record hard data at a prolific rate. To know their findings are recorded and reported back is a great boon to the Skitarii, who draw courage and strength from the fact their sacrifices will not be in vain.Mindscrambler Grenades - Sicarian Ruststalkers are equipped with Mindscrambler Grenades harbouring the egg-sac of a Cthellan electrogenesis squid. When detonated, the resultant surge of bio-electricity causes heavy neural trauma in living creatures and artificial sentiences alike.Omnispex - The Omnispex carries a Raptor-class Machine Spirit (artificial intelligence) that can read heat emissions, data signatures, and biological waveforms even at extreme range. Should it be kept focussed for an extended period of time, it will determine the weak points of those it scrutinises and pass them on to its master.Refractor Field - A common sight in the ranks of the Skitarii Legions, the Refractor Field distorts the image of the wearer with a shimmering cloak of gravitic force. Incoming attacks that strike the field will be refracted into multi-spectrum bursts that dissipate into harmlessness.
Skitarii - Armour: Skitarii War Plate - Skitarii warriors are protected by armoured plates designed to be worn for several years at a time. Secreted under a superdermal layer of ceramite alloy are recombinant cells that harness moisture from the wearer and recycle it. This liquid is transmuted into a gelatinous unguent that coats the inside of the suit, preventing the slow abrasion of the wearer's body whilst affording a measure of protection from the harmful emanations of their weaponry.Sicarian Battle Armour - Agility is of paramount importance to the long-limbed killers of the Sicarian brotherhood. To this end they go to war clad in multi-layered alloy that, though thin and flexible, provides admirable physical protection. This alloy, informally known as Aegium, acts as a capacitor that harnesses the energy of incoming attacks and disperses it harmlessly across the wearer's bionic frame.
Skitarii - Skitarii Vehicle Equipment: Broad Spectrum Data-Tether - A vehicle-mounted version of that carried by veteran Skitarii, the broad spectrum data-tether projects a Tech-priest's binharic blurts with such clarity it seems he is amongst the ranks of the Skitarii himself. Imperatives delivered via such information relays are more potent and reliable than any other.Emanatus Force Field - The overlapping force fields generated by Dunecrawlers are marvels of military science. Much like the Refractor Fields common to the lesser orders of the Martian Priesthood, they disperse hostile energies into the atmosphere, each incoming bullet transformed into little more than a flash of actinic blue light and a sudden tang of ozone.Mindscanner Probe - The Goliath-grade circuitry in this wondrous machine means it can only be borne by robustly built vehicles. When activated, it can detect any significant spikes of cerebral activity from nearby enemies. This triggers a series of bells, giving Skitarii a valuable second of notice before an enemy attack hits home.Searchlight - Searchlights are often fitted to vehicles so that the foe cannot use darkness as an ally.Smoke Launcher - Some vehicles have small launchers mounted onto them that carry smoke canisters. These are used to temporarily obscure the vehicle behind billowing clouds of smoke, allowing it to cross open areas in greater safety -- although it does so at the cost of being able to fire its own weapons.
Skitarii - Dark Mechanicum Skitarii: Ever since the first betrayal on Mars during the Horus Heresy, the Dark Mechanicum and their Traitor Titan Legions have utilised the Skitarii under their command to battle the forces of the False Emperor.They perform essentially the same functions for the Hereteks as their Loyalist counterparts, protecting the demesnes of their masters and going to war at their bidding, with additional duties such as overseeing the slave workforces labouring on their Hell-Forges.The Dark Mechanicum Skitarii themselves have become changed and mutated by the power of the Warp as much as by their dark masters' twisted modifications and use of heretekal Warp-based technology.
Skitarii - Sources: Citadel Journal 21, "Adeptus Mechanicus Detachments: Skitarii Tech-Guard of the Forge Worlds"Codex: Adeptus Mechanicus (8th Edition), pp. 48-53, 75-76, 79, 81Codex: Adeptus Mechanicus - Skitarii (7th Edition), pp. 4-39, 72-78Codex Titanicus, pg. 30Dark Heresy: The Lathe Worlds (RPG), pp. 39-40Wrath & Glory: Rulebook (RPG) (Cubicle 7 Revised Edition 2020), pg. 101Horus Heresy: Collected Visions, pp. 41-42, 130, 159, 304Imperial Armour Volume One - Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy, pg. 77Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook (6th Edition)Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook (5th Edition)Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook (4th Edition), pg. 120-121Titan Legions (2nd Edition), pg. 31Mechanicum (Novel) by Graham McNeillDeliverance Lost (Novel) by Gav Thorpe, pp. 420-421Helsreach (Novel) by Aaron Dembski-BowdenPlanetkill (Anthology)Titanicus (Novel) by Dan Abnett
Skitarii Ranger - Skitarii Ranger: A Skitarii Ranger of the Adeptus Mechanicus is a hunter of sentient creatures in the same way that tech-priests are hunters of knowledge -- the enemies of the Omnissiah in particular. Skitarii Rangers are the unstoppable cyborgs of the Skitarii Legions that do not rest until the bloody deed is done, for they are driven ever onward by the imperative to locate their foes and ensure their destruction.They do this not by Drop Pod strikes launched from above, nor by sudden teleportation into the midst of the enemy, but by stalking their quarry over the course of solar weeks or even months until it can run no more. Once the designated target is in their crosshairs, the air fills with the thump and crackle of Galvanic Weaponry, even as the Skitarii continue their restless advance. The stink of electrocuted corpses is never far behind.As with so much of the Cult Mechanicus' business, the truths of the Skitarii's creation are kept a close secret. Some are vat-grown or cloned, whilst others are repurposed from mind-wiped convicts or warriors handed over as punishment for failure or desertion. Regardless of origin, all find a fanatical faith in the Omnissiah soon after their inception. It is then that their true transformation begins.Without exception the Skitarii have pallid bodies of puckered flesh and sutured cybernetics. Ceramic valves and adamantium sockets stud hard knots of translucent muscle. In imitation of the ancestor cohorts that first ground their limbs to stumps upon the dunes of Mars, the Skitarii cut off their lower legs and replace them with prostheses of inviolate alloy. Even the brains of these warriors are grotesque hybrids of grey matter and twisting neurocircuitry.One who looked for consistency in Skitarii augmentations would be sorely disappointed. A soldier of the Mechanicus may have a punchcard skullslot and leather bellows for lungs, whilst at the same time housing quantum bioware in his brain.It is often said that were one of these enhanced warriors to be rendered down, traces of nearly every element known to Humanity could be found somewhere in the remains. The tech-priests know this to be no exaggeration, for dissection is but one of the dark fates a Skitarius might undergo in order to satisfy his masters' predatory curiosity.The most blessed of Skitarii pass a point called the "Crux Mechanicus," their body more machine than flesh. Those that reach this stage of mechamorphosis are known as "Skitarii Alphas."Some go on to attain the rank of "Alpha Primus" -- overseers who can operate independently for standard years if necessary, as solid and reliable as the titanium, steel and iron that replaces their flesh.
Skitarii Ranger - Role: To fight the foot soldiers of the Cult Mechanicus is to kill or be killed, for the Skitarii Rangers never give up when hunting down their foes and their stamina is legendary.In the lean and hungry days of Mankind's hominid ancestry, a hunter would kill far larger prey by tracking it to the point of exhaustion. It is by this principle that Skitarii Rangers hunt the reaches of the galaxy -- once the Rangers have been despatched, they will home in on their quarry at a slow but relentless pace.At first their victims, ranging from pirate warbands to xenos warhosts, can slip the net of Skitarii gunfire easily enough. If they flee far enough, solar months will pass, even standard years -- long enough that the terror of the initial engagement is all but forgotten.All the while Skitarii Rangers march in silent, unstoppable lockstep through trenches and ruins, their noose closing a little tighter with every passing night. Just when their quarry assumes itself safe, a constellation of blue will-o-the-wisps will appear on the horizon.Almost imperceptibly, it grows closer and closer -- and then the darkness lights up with the blazing of gunfire. The Skitarii, for whom the original engagement never ended, close in again and again until the deed is done. Whatever perils they face, the Skitarii march falters not.
Skitarii Ranger - Unit Composition: ​4-19 Skitarii Rangers1 Skitarii Ranger Alpha
Skitarii Ranger - Sources: Codex Adeptus Mechanicus - Skitarii (7th Edition), pp. 9, 26, 32, 34-39, 58Codex: Adeptus Mechanicus (8th Edition), pp. 48-49, 75Codex: Adeptus Mechanicus (9th Edition), pp. 92
Skitarii Vanguard - Skitarii Vanguard: The Skitarii Vanguard, informally known as "Rad Troopers," serve as the vanguards of the Skitarii cohorts of the Adeptus Mechanicus Forge Worlds.They are feared throughout the Imperium, for they use the baleful radioactive energies of the Forge Worlds as their weapon and are capable of operating in the galaxy's most hostile warzones.
Skitarii Vanguard - Role: Equipped with pack generators that bleed potent radioactive by-products, these Omnissian martyrs are so saturated with radiation that even to approach them is to succumb to their peculiar curse. Their baroque carbines fill the air around their foe with harmful emanations, corrupting the atmosphere itself even as they punch hyper-irradiated shot into the flesh of their victims.Should their foes survive the worst of the shooting, critical levels of rad-poisoning may still be achieved by the very proximity of the Skitarii Vanguard, who will look on in silent interest as an enemy that thought the worst was over stumbles, chokes, and dies of radiation poisoning.Over the many civil wars waged by the Cult Mechanicus, the Vanguard have learned to endure and weaponise their lethal radioactive emissions. So much radiation bleeds out from a Skitarii Vanguard's wargear that foes in close proximity become weakened and fatigued; for non-Skitarii to be stationed in the same barracks is a death sentence.The Vanguard themselves are theoretically safe inside their war plate, but on the rare occasions these warriors unscrew their helmets, the sight of their missing teeth and hairless, sore-pocked skin tells the awful truth. It is a price they willingly pay, for their devotion to the Machine God is absolute.The Vanguard troopers' signature Radium Carbines unleash volleys of hyper-irradiated shot that can fell any target. Even if foes survive the glowing cavalcade, the rad-poisoning of the shells contaminates the air and ground.The most blessed of Skitarii pass a point called the "Crux Mechanicus," their body more machine than flesh. Those that reach this stage of mechamorphosis are known as "Skitarii Alphas." Some go on to attain the rank of "Alpha Primus" -- overseers who can operate independently for standard years if necessary, as solid and reliable as the titanium, steel and iron that replaces their flesh.Though the Vanguard troopers' signature Radium Carbines slowly kill their wielders, their effect upon those struck by their bullets is a hundred times worse. Should enough hyper-irradiated shot penetrate its target, the secondary effects of the rad-volley become amplified to the point where not even a Tyranid could possibly survive.Because of this, Skitarii Vanguard are assigned to the most hazardous warzones the galaxy can offer. They bear this duty stoically and in solemn silence, fighting to the last in the name of their inhuman god.
Skitarii Vanguard - Unit Composition: ​4-9 Skitarii Vanguard1 Skitarii Vanguard Alpha
Skitarii Vanguard - Sources: Codex: Adeptus Mechanicus (8th Edition), pp. 49, 76Codex Adeptus Mechanicus - Skitarii (7th Edition), pp. 24-25, 32, 34-39, 57
Skold Greypelt - Skold Greypelt: Skold Greypelt was a Space Wolves Astartes who was involved in that Chapter's action on the Ice World of Shadrac, and subsequent escape from that planet.During the engagements against the Tyranids on that world, Greypelt rescued and eventually befriended Sergeant Poul Marlin of the 10th Slavok Regiment of the Imperial Guard.
Skold Greypelt - Showdown on Shadrac: After introducing themselves, the Space Wolves took the surviving Guardsmen to their camp, where they first erected a cairn for the mortally wounded third Space Wolf biker, and then built a large fire and held a feast in the traditional Fenrisian way, with a lot of singing, boasting and downing of tankards of Fenrisian Ale in honour of their dying brother.The bewildered Guardsmen were asked to participate, and when a hesitant Sergeant Marlin dared asking if the Space Wolves weren't afraid of attracting the Tyranids, he was answered with roars of laughter, oaths that Space Wolves were not afraid of anything and the assurance of Skold Greypelt that attracting the Tyranids in their largest possible numbers was precisely what the Space Wolves' plan had been all along.Greypelt explained that the Astartes wanted to make the Tyranids pay the heaviest possible price for Shadrac, and that with their defiance and destruction of so many lesser swarms, the Tyranids had finally started converging in earnest on the annoyance, and would be there in a matter of hours.After the feast, the Space Wolves and the Imperial Guardsmen took up defensive positions to hold back the Tyranids for as long as they could. Battle was soon joined, and wave after wave of lesser Tyranid bioforms threw themselves at the stubborn defenders, who slaughtered them in droves with volleys from their Lasguns and Bolters, before cutting those few that managed to reach them to pieces.Yet the valiant defenders eventually ran out of ammunition, and Greypelt called in his Thunderhawk, upon which the surviving Astartes and Guardsmen hurriedly embarked. As his brethren departed, the critically wounded Space Wolf lay down on his funeral cairn, and with a last shout of defiance, detonated the nuclear weapon that had been buried within it.A cataclysmic explosion that was seen by the survivors from orbit ravaged the surrounding swarms, incinerating thousands of Tyranids and denying their bio-matter to the Hive Mind forever. Shadrac had fallen, but the Hive Mind had paid a hefty prize for it.
Skold Greypelt - Personality: Skold Greypelt is a typical Space Wolf Astartes, fearless and tenacious in battle, boisterous and easy-going when feasting and fiercely protective of his Battle-Brothers and friends.Like most of the Space Wolves and unlike some Astartes of other Chapters, he has neither problems nor qualms interacting with normal humans, and readily befriends them and shows them whatever respect they have earned.The Great Company he belongs to and his exact rank are unknown, but judging from the fact that he is in command of a large pack, and that even an Iron Priest defers to his authority, it is most probable that he is a member of his Great Company's Wolf Guards.
Skorcha - Skorcha: A Skorcha is a larger variation of the Burna and the Ork equivalent of an Imperial Heavy Flamer, an incendiary weapon that sprays burning Promethium at its target. These weapons are commonly found mounted on Ork Wartrakks, Deff Dreads and other Greenskin vehicles. Orks sometimes have a mini-Skorcha built into some of their Kombi-weapons. These weapons have just enough fuel for one incendiary burn. Skorchas are dangerous, unreliable and spectacular weapons, making them very popular amongst Orks.
Skra'kalichaust - Skra'kalichaust: Skra'kalichaust the Schemer is a mischievous Lord of Change, a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch who seems to take delight in the ongoing struggles for glory amongst the warbands of the Screaming Vortex. This daemon is one of the enigmatic Lords of Change who serve Tzeentch, a matchless Sorcerer who appears to be using warbands in the Screaming Vortex as pieces in some greater game. Skra'kalichaust has made bargains with a number of warbands within the Vortex, granting them power or passage from one world to another in return for seemingly innocuous services or favours.However, these pacts should not be made lightly, a fact that is made clear in the tale of Skartos Blackskull. Skartos and his warband were once on the ascendant, and many predicted that he would soon gain the daemon princedom that he sought so passionately. However, Skartos made a badly-worded agreement with the Schemer in order to launch an ambush against a rival warband. At the end of the battle, the Lord of Change demanded his due...and promptly razed Skartos and his entire warband into oblivion.
Skraal - Skraal: Skraal was a Loyalist captain of the World Eaters Legion during the Great Crusade and the opening stages of the Horus Heresy.He is noted for his participation in the hunt for and subsequent destruction of the Word Bearers Traitor Legion's Abyss-class Battleship, the Furious Abyss.Ultimately, he sacrificed himself in order for the mission to be successful.
Skraal - History: When the Ultramarines vessel Fist of Macragge was destroyed under mysterious circumstances, the Ultramarines Fleet Commander Lysimachus Cestus assembled an ad hoc strike force to investigate the warship's destruction. Skraal and his World Eaters worked alongside battle-brothers from the Space Wolves, Thousand Sons and the Ultramarines.Skraal led his World Eaters in a bold raid on the starport of Bakka Triumveron in an attempt to board the Word Bearers' vessel the Wrathful. Aboard that starship the World Eaters valiantly fought against Daemonic boarders.Those few World Eaters that survived were led by Captain Skraal and an Ultramarines officer named Antiges during a daring sabotage mission aboard the Furious Abyss. Once on-board, the mission nearly ended in disaster when the Loyalist strike force was all but annihilated with the exception of Skraal.The World Eaters captain managed to successfully avoid capture or being killed for several solar weeks, until he was finally able to link up with another Loyalist strike force under the command of Captain Cestus. Skraal willingly sacrificed himself to buy both Cestus and the Wolf Lord Brynngar Sturmdreng time to sabotage and destroy the Furious Abyss.The volatile World Eater savagely cleaved his way through the bodyguard of the Dark Apostle Zadkiel, suffering a score of mortal wounds until he was finally halted by a point-blank Bolt Pistol shot.Before collapsing from his wounds, Skraal managed one final swing, cleaving Zadkiel's Bolt Pistol and hand. Enraged, the Dark Apostle impaled the World Eater captain through the head with his Dark Crozius, killing him.
Skraal - Appearance & Personality: Skraal's head was covered in heavy scar tissue with pronounced veins and a recurring twitch that made his right eye spasm. This combination of physical traits made him have an unhinged appearance. The World Eaters captain's voice was described as having an iron quality to it.Like most World Eaters officers, Skraal was a formidable warrior who struggled with his berserker lusts. Unlike many of his battle-brothers, he came to recognise the need to meet the enemy in close combat was not always tactically astute.Nevertheless, he also recognised the need for both he and his warriors to spill blood, which was of paramount importance. Thus, at times he allowed and even encouraged the slaughter of non-combatants such as the work-crews his warriors massacred at the Bakka Triumveron dockyards.Skraal often appeared on edge and was intensely passionate in some regards. He channeled his emotional responses into a pool of rage that he could use to fuel himself in combat, enabling him to become a superlative close-combat warrior of extraordinary abilities.However, this aspect of his nature was challenged when he witnessed the profane treatment of the corpse of the Ultramarines officer, Antiges, by the Word Bearers, which immediately cooled Skraal's rage and shocked the captain into a state of numbness.
Skraal - Wargear: Mark V Heresy Power Armour - Skraal wore a suit of Mark V pattern power armour that appeared as worn, chipped and battered as his face. His faceplate appeared skull-like. His armour was still in his Legion's pre-heresy white and blue colours.ChainaxeBolt PistolStorm ShieldFrag GrenadesKrak Grenades
Skull Altar - Skull Altar: A Skull Altar is a great monument sacred to the Blood God Khorne that is raised by that Chaos God's worshippers. It is erected to venerate the Lord of Murder and is constructed from the piles of bloody tributes heaped as offerings for Khorne's Skull Throne in the Realm of Chaos.A Skull Altar is a nexus of the Blood God's devotion. Those who fight in its shadow are driven to great acts of bloodshed.From atop this grisly pedestal a mortal priest of Khorne or other servant of the god roars out invectives, invoking the judgements of the Blood God to smite down all signs of weakness or worse, sorcery.As much a platform for violent oratory as bloody sacrifice, the exhortations of Khorne's priests echo from this brass-clad edifice like the tolling of infernal bells. The power of this altar can greatly weaken the power of sorcerers or other psykers.
Skull Bearers - Skull Bearers: The Skull Bearers is a Loyalist Codex Astartes-compliant Space Marines Chapter of unknown Founding which believes itself to be a Successor Chapter of the Executioners. The validity of this belief is unknown.This Chapter hails from the world of Keletros.