vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Biel-Tan - A Gate Unbarred, A Fury Unleashed: On Baran, Mauryon's rage was given a face, a shape and a name. Hordes of wild Orks, naked or clothed only in the skins of animals rampaged about him. Familiar landscapes remained, though the forests ran wild and uncultivated, ragged and imperfect. Rivers ran dirty, littered with ugly black rocks, while choking grasses covered the hills which Mauryon had remembered as lush, green and fair. Mauryon's rage was unleashed and he plunged his Burning Spear into the green savages that swarmed about him. The fire with which the Burning Spear raged was Mauryon's own, the fire of rage immolating the Orks all about him, but he and his Aspect Warriors were few and even in his fury Mauryon realised little good would come of remaining amidst the slaughter. Mauryon departed via the newly opened gate. Upon his shoulders he bore the body of the largest Ork, all the proof he would need that the Aeldari had been done a great injustice. On Biel-Tan, Mauryon cast the Ork's stinking carcass to the floor as the Court of the Young King gathered in a circle about him. Few words were spoken, none were needed. With a single nod of derision at the corpse beneath him, Mauryon declared his Autarchy and thoughts turned to preparation for the coming war. As had happened a thousand times before, the entire craftworld was suddenly alive with a single monotonous chant, "Khaine! Khaine! Khaine!"
Biel-Tan - Upon Dark Wings: Purposeful, if not truly callous, the Raven Guard showed little haste in their response. With their own numbers so few, their own Captain Moradius saw little reward in seeking to defend the cities of Baran. More troubling to Moradius was the sudden onslaught of the Orks, and it was to this which he turned his attention, lest the danger grow and come to pose a threat to the wider Imperium. Intent on discovering the source of this greenskin assault, Moradius and his Raven Guard ventured once more to Baran.
Biel-Tan - The Hordes Gather: Elswhere, the savage displacement of the Orks had created a near uncontrollable migration amongst the Greenskins. While some battled the Baran Siegemasters, others still warred amongst themselves. Ork fell upon Ork as tribes were driven from their homelands and sought to conquer the lands of others, or else were butchered as they fled through the territories of neighbouring tribes. Amidst the carnage, one wily and ambitious Ork saw his destiny awaiting him. Snagga of the Big Teef tribe spread his own horde far and wide, using brutal displays of power to intimidate all the newcomers, all the rampaging, migrating hordes, before offering sanctuary to any who would fight alongside him.Many of the first to cross Snagga's land rebuked his offer, and sought instead to take his realm from him by force, but Snagga was cunning and defeated his rivals with ease. Soon those that came upon his borders recognised his might and Snagga's horde was swelled by the new arrivals. What’s more, word of his burgeoning WAAAGH! spread across Baran, carried far on the tribal drums, Suiggoth calls and Grot tellygraffz of the Orks. Word spread of this emerging Warlord, and dozens more tribes flocked to his banner. Many had felt the wrath of the Aeldari first hand, and joined with others of their kind only too gladly. Now a full-blown WAAAGH! surrounded Snagga-Snagga (his name lengthened in honour of his victories) and the Aeldari and Imperium alike had a unified foe to fear. This unity brought no calm to the Orks, however, it merely galvanised their thirst for war and now an ever more fearsome opponent descended upon the poor, beleaguered Baran Siegemasters.Snagga-snagga unleashed his horde first against the city of Enderra, one of the oldest and largest cities on Baran, occupying one of the original landing sites of the Imperium's conquest of the planet. The Feral Ork Horde descended upon the city and bludgeoned it with a weltering mass of fire, but the walls stood firm. Snagga's horde was vast, and easily surrounded the city, easily overwhelming any who attempted to break out, but he yet lacked the punch to topple the walled fortresses for which the Siegemasters were rightly famed. Frustrated, but not yet thwarted, Snagga-snagga retired to plot his next move.
Biel-Tan - An Enemy Made: The Aeldari's war, however, went on, and with his forces now gathered on the plains of Baran, Mauryon unleashed his largest attack yet upon the Orks. In his rage, however, he had not reckoned upon the sheer number of tribes now under Snagga-snagga's command, and as the Swordwind fell upon the encamped Orks, Mauryon felt his first taste of defeat. Hundreds of thousands of Orks rushed to battle as the Aeldari sprung their surprise assault. Falcons and Wave Serpents scythed down wave after wave of Orks with their opening pop-up attacks, but nothing could halt such a mass of Orks. The Greenskins smashed into the Aeldari army and slaughtered hundreds -- a bitter loss Mauryon could little afford. Realising his trap was too soon sprung, Mauryon reluctantly ordered the retreat. As the Aeldari fled, Snagga-snagga sat and gloated. Things were going very well indeed.
Biel-Tan - Bigga & Bigga: Like all powerful Warlords, Snagga-snagga found himself surrounded by a whole host of would be advisors (or 'Elperz) and sycophants, all vying for his affection. Amongst these were the boilerboyz Wurzbag and Durrboz. Wurzbag was a traditional boilerboy, a proven master of steam technology, while Durrboz was once a pigdok, and so sought fame for his legendary "grot-engine" with which he claimed to have once powered a Gargant by the medium of dozens of unfortunate Grots frantically leggin' it inside great caged wheels whose motion powered the Gargant. Snagga-snagga ordered that a machine be built that would allow him to topple the Siegemaster's fortifications, and set Wurzbag and Durrboz to the task. But the pair were rivalrous, and simply would not work together. Instead the pair conspired to hold a great contest -- each would build a machine, and Snagga-snagga and the tribe would choose which was the greatest and would hence win the honour of leading the assault on Enderra.For days the pair slaved away on their creations until both were unveiled to the startled gasps of the tribes. Alas, however, in typical Ork fashion no one could quite decide which was the winning Gargant -- no one could quite decide which was the biggest (as is the Orkish way of deciding all things). The suggestion was raised that the gargants simply be named Bigga and Bigga, a suggestion loved by Snagga-snagga and loathed by the competitive boilerboyz. Still, two Gargants are better than one, and with his new machines at the head of his army, Snagga-snagga's Horde set off once more for the city of Enderra.
Biel-Tan - Forgotten Places: As Mauryon's army fled their defeat at the hands of Snagga-snagga, not all had managed to follow their leader. Smaller bands, cut off and forced to retreat away from the main Aeldari army lest they be surrounded now dashed across Baran, desperately seeking to find a wraithgate by which they might reunite with the main Aeldari army. Mauryon was forced to wait some days as these scattered elements gathered at the Barrows. Last of all came the Striking Scorpions of the Grieving Shrine. Driven far to the south in their humiliating rout, the Scorpions, led by their Exarch Suerymane, had journeyed to an ancient Aspect Shrine, long ago hidden by the savage, cloying vegetation of Baran, but known to the Aeldari by some unbreakable empathy.Here though, disaster was found and their doom nearly met. The temple's wraithgate was barred with a force that the Scorpions simply could not break, and as pursuing Orks descended upon them, hope looked lost. As the Orks attacked, the Striking Scorpions hid themselves about the shrine, lurking deep within its ruins where their stealth might aid them and their lack of numbers not so utterly undo them. Suerymane himself crouched within the deepest and darkest of the shrine's ancient rooms, and here he found a sorry totem indeed. Scattered about the place were the broken forms and scattered spirit stones of his own kind. Still and perfect, they had lain in this lonely place of dying since Baran had first fallen to the Orks centuries ago. Just as Suerymane now intended, this place must once have been the site of his own people's last stand.
Biel-Tan - Dark Portents: In 999.M41, the divinations of the Seer Council of Biel-Tan, precipitated by the Harlequin Masque of the Midnight Sorrow, led the forces of Biel-Tan to the once-beautiful world of Ursulia, an Exodite Maiden World ravaged by Warp Storms and transformed into a Daemon World.There, the daemons of Slaanesh intended to breach an ancient Webway portal called the Obsidian Gate that led to Biel-Tan itself. A temporary alliance between the Masque of Slaanesh and the Greater Daemon of Khorne known as Skarbrand saw the hosts of Slaanesh and Khorne fight the Swordwind of Biel-Tan amongst a raging daemonstorm. At the battle's height, the portal that led to Biel-Tan was smashed open by Skarbrand's axe, allowing the Masque to pass through to reach the world-ship beyond.Descending from the Webway portal at the stern of Biel-Tan to drift down like a pearl diver heading for the sea bed, the Masque made it to the surface of the craftworld. From there she polluted Biel-Tan's Infinity Circuit with Slaaneshi daemons in such number that the innate defences of that wraithbone megastructure were hard-pressed to cope.Slowly, the Biel-Tan Infinity Circuit became corrupted as it was possessed by the very daemonic forces it was devised to help the Asuryani within it escape.
Biel-Tan - Fracture of Biel-Tan: Even as the Biel-Tani fought during what became known as the Battle of Biel-Tan with every ounce of their skill to quarantine and cleanse their home of the daemonic infestation, the Ynnari, the newborn cult of the Aeldari god of the dead Ynnead, passed through the Webway to join forces with them.The Ynnari's high priestess and prophet Yvraine, under attack from a horde of Daemonettes, breathed out a cold grey mist that dissolved them amongst a horrible keening scream. The parlay between Ynnari and the Biel-Tani was strained, for there were those that wore the armour of the hated Drukhari amongst them. The presence of the Phoenix Lord Jain Zar, who spoke out on Yvraine's behalf, bought enough time for the high priestess of Ynnead to perform a ritual of her own.Yvraine plunged her hand into the psychoplastic wraithbone skeleton of the Biel-Tan world-ship as if it offered no more resistance than water. When she drew it back out, she held high the second of the Croneswords that had been buried in the craftworld's spine for many Terran millennia.The Biel-Tani Infinity Circuit, already wracked with pain, began to shatter, and the backlash of deathly psychic energies formed a vortex of terrifying power. From that vortex emerged the Yncarne, Avatar of the Aeldari god of the dead.Its coalescence had a terrible price, however -- though Biel-Tan's Infinity Circuit was cleansed of daemons by Ynnead's power, the craftworld began to physically break apart.Worse still, roiling storms of psychic energy boiled through the void, joining with the empyrric dissonance of several other cataclysmic events such as the destruction of Cadia during the 13th Black Crusade to form a large section of the Great Rift.Biel-Tan was saved though it would need solar decades to recover, but the galaxy itself had paid the price.
Biel-Tan - Structure of a Swordwind: Biel-Tan CommandAutarchAvatar of KhaineWraithgate - Functions as a Webway portal to bring Biel-Tan forces quickly onto a battlefield.Biel-Tan Craftworld HostsAspect Warrior Warhost - Eight Aspect Warriors chosen from the following: Dire Avengers, Striking Scorpions, Howling Banshees, Fire Dragons, Warp Spiders, Dark Reapers, Swooping Hawks, Shining Spears.Aeldari Guardian Warhost - Consists of one Farseer and four to seven Guardians. Up to three Heavy Weapon Platforms may replace up to three Guardians. Sometime this warhost includes up to three Support Weapon Platforms, three Wraithguard units and three Wraithlords. Alternatively, sometimes this formation is mounted in four Wave Serpents.Biel-Tan Craftworld TroupesRanger Troupe - From four to eight Eldar Ragners.War Walker Troupe - Six Eldar War Walkers.Windrinder Troupe - Six Jetbikes.Falcon Troupe - Five Eldar Falcons.Fire Prism Troupe - Three Eldar Fire Prisms.Night Spinner Troupe - Three Eldar Night Spinners.Engines of Vaul Troupe - Up to three Scorpion, Cobra, Storm Serpent or Voidspinners (or any combination of these).Biel-Tan Craftworld Spacecraft, Aircraft & TitansAeldari Spacecraft - One Wraithship or one Dragonship.Warlock Titan - One Warlock Titan.Revenant Titan - One Revenant Titan.Nightwings - Three Nightwing Interceptors.Phoenix Bombers - Three Phoenix Bombers.Vampire Raider - One Vampire Raider.
Biel-Tan - Combat Capabilities: The Asuryani way of war is very much akin to a child's puzzle. Composed of interlocking pieces of the puzzle, like the Aeldari war machine, is of little value if any of the pieces are missing.The Aeldari army functions by dozens of mutually supporting elements combining, creating a dangerous and effective force: each piece plays its own specific part. An army composed of several Warrior Aspects becomes a menace due to its diversity and speed, and it is this variety that makes the Swordwind of Biel-Tan the threat it is.The combat capability of the Biel-Tan is comprehended well, for whilst victories over the other Aeldari are honoured and celebrated, victories against the Biel-Tan Aeldari are disappointingly rare. In the Aeldari tongue the term Bahzhakhain defines their assembled warhost.Translated literally into Low Gothic, the term could be construed to mean "Swordwind," "Tempest of Blades" or even "Frozen Leaves" and "Falling to Cut."Regardless, the term Swordwind is also the name given to the manner in which the Biel-Tan Asuryani wage war -- a single attack that relies on the immense fighting skills and overwhelming firepower of its Aspect Warriors to annihilate the enemy in one swift blow.The Swordwind is most effective against Biel-Tan's favoured target -- fledgling colonies that are ill-prepared for the carefully orchestrated onslaught of the Swordwind. What makes this behaviour unusual is that Biel-Tan is virtually the only craftworld to behave in this way.Ordo Xenos experts believe that Biel-Tan are attempting to take back the Aeldari realm by force of arms, striking out to claim worlds that they believe are their own. The Swordwind utilises the very best weapons and technology available to the Aeldari forces with deadly energy weapons mounted on the transport vehicles and well-armoured and armed warriors within.For all the speed and precision of the Swordwind, there is a fatal flaw in its method. The very nature of this Swordwind tactic involves a rapid strike that is not bogged down in protracted combats, nor caught up in a war of attrition so often used by the Imperial Guard. For whilst the Aspect Warriors are swift and deadly beyond belief, they lack the physical endurance of the Adeptus Astartes and the numberless ranks of the Imperial Guard.
Biel-Tan - Court of the Young King: Biel-Tan places an unusual importance on the role of the warrior within their society. Whereas in many craftworlds the Farseers hold sway over important decision, on Biel-Tan a warrior council, referred to as the "Court of the Young King," appears to be at least the equal of the Farseers.This cadre reveres the idol of the Aeldari war god Khaela Mensha Khaine and taken its name from the ceremony in which they awaken the Avatar of Khaine. A strong and dynamic political faction, it is often the court that makes the decision to go to war or negotiate as they see fit.Every member of the court is an Aspect Warrior trapped in one particular path. Unable to move to another path and gain new experiences, these Exarchs as they are known, are perhaps the most potent political force acting in Biel-Tan as well as its most deadly warriors.The Exarchs are also the ones who designate the "Young King," who is ritually sacrificed on all Asuryani craftworlds to awaken the raging spirit of the Avatar, but on Biel-Tan, a Young King who survives the Terran year in office will join the court rather than return to tend their Aspect Shrine.The Exarchs of the court are deeply hostile to all outsiders, as one might expect, and it is their influence which has produced the unusually aggressive and xenophobic culture of the Biel-Tan craftworld. It is speculated that the court is what drives the craftworld to war over and over again.The position of Autarch is one that arises only when a craftworld is in a protracted or especially desperate state of war. Due to the aggressive nature of Biel-Tan, this is more often than most. An Autarch is an Exarch who has trodden the Path of the Warrior in several Aspects for so long that battle to them is first nature.To most Aeldari the concept of Autarchy, where the individual allows war to rule their life completely, is a horrifying idea as it is anathema to the ideals of the Asuryani Path. The Biel-Tan view it differently.
Biel-Tan - Technology: The technology employed by the Biel-Tan craftworld is as advanced as that of the other craftworlds. It can be argued that Biel-Tan is considered more terrifying, however, because of the diverse weapons and equipment they employ in the differing units of Aspect Warriors.Even the most basic weapon in the Aeldari arsenal is of a technological level incomparable to the solid and dependable weaponry of the Astra Militarum, and arguably the equal of the Bolter wielded by the Adeptus Astartes.Every aspect of Aeldari technology is baffling in the extreme, the shrewdest Tech-priests and Adepts of the Machine Cult have all so far failed to unlock the secrets of their operation.
Biel-Tan - Threat Index: Classifying Biel-Tan on the Imperial Threat Index is a near-impossible task. It has been proven time and again that Biel-Tan has attacked settler fleets, Explorator teams and Imperial outposts without provocation or warning. On most of these occasions the results has been the total destruction of the Imperial elements involved, followed by a swift withdrawal.Such damning evidence would cause the Ordo Xenos to classify Biel-Tan as a serious menace, except for every such account there are others where the armies of Biel-Tan have struck against Orkish infestations, Chaos-held planets and even the menace of the Necrons with the same results.In particular Biel-Tan has struck against the Orks time and again, harrying their space hulks and attack ships to prevent them infesting more worlds, and exterminating them on a planet's surface if they are too late.Swordwind hosts have even been known to come to the assistance of the beleaguered Imperial forces facing the green tide, crushing the greenskins with no show of mercy, although all too often, they turn their attention and their weapons on the armies of the Emperor once the Ork threat is removed.The problem therefore is how can the Imperium classify a threat that is such a thorn in the side of its enemies? Attempts to negotiate with Biel-Tan have been abortive at best and there are many within and without the ordos of the Inquisition who perceive the very act of negotiating as heresy.Current policy amongst Imperial commanders towards the Biel-Tan craftworld is unclear. Despite repeated petitions to hunt down and destroy Biel-Tan, there is neither the military might nor the political will to do this. For their part, Biel-Tan appears to be attempting to counteract any expansion into areas that they perceive as their own, rather than prosecuting a campaign of annihilation.Apparently the worlds that Biel-Tan is willing to fight over are of some deep cultural significance to their craftworld, so much so that they are willing to expend significant resources purging them. It is considered unwise to attempt Imperial conquest of those worlds without overwhelming military support.
Biel-Tan - Notable Locations: Ixia Wayport - A transit and transportation hub for the craftworld.The Deathly Wail Shrine - A Howling Banshees Aspect Shrine.
Biel-Tan - Notable Biel-Tan Aeldari: Anath'lan - Anath'lan was once one of Biel-Tan's most skilled Farseers. Alas, pride caused him to misread the runes, dooming a Maiden World to a bitter demise. Unable to forgive himself, Anath'lan died of grief. His Spirit Stone refused to bond with the Infinity Circuit, and guides other Aeldari away from error to this day.Avele Swifteye - Known as the Duke of Asteri Reach, Avele Swifteye leads a Corsair fleet out of Biel-Tan craftworld, and has continued Biel-Tan's pledge to protect the Maiden Worlds from settlement by lesser races. Swifteye has been known to display the greatest compassion to his defeated enemies if it pleases him to do so. On the world of Yrthal, Avele destroyed half a dozen Human settlements before the fledgling Imperial colony surrendered. He took the surviving forty thousand colonists to a nearby habitable moon, keeping them in stasis aboard his ships while they shuttled back and forth in short warp jumps, and promised that no further hostilities would be taken against them if they did not stray back to Yrthal.Macha - Macha is a powerful Aeldari Farseer psyker who had originally sealed a Greater Daemon in the Chaos artefact called the Maledictum on the world of Tartarus. She later sought to prevent its unwitting release by the agents of Mankind. Later events indicate that her destiny had become intertwined with that of Captain Gabriel Angelos of the Blood Ravens Space Marines Chapter.Mauryon - Mauryon is a militant Autarch who leads campaigns to purge non-Aeldari presences off Exodite Worlds and Maiden Worlds. A former warrior of the Fire Dragons Aspect Shrine, Mauryon is filled with a burning rage and hatred of the "lesser species" that now inhabit these worlds. He has led many a ruthless campaign to purge these "infestations" of both Orks and Humans. One of his greatest challenges came in the early 41st Millennium during the Baran War, where the Autarch managed to defeat both a detachment of Raven Guard Space Marines and an Ork horde under Warboss Snagga-snagga.Tyladrhas - Farseer Tyladrhas is known for leading a Biel-Tan warband against an Ultramarines Space Marine force.
Biel-Tan - Remnants of Glory: The Spirit Stone of Anath'lan - Anath'lan was once one of Biel-Tan craftworld's most skilled Farseers. Alas, pride caused him to misread the runes, dooming a maiden world to a bitter demise. Unable to forgive himself, Anath'lan died of grief. His spirit stone refused to bond with the infinity circuit, and guides other Aeldari away from error to this day.
Biel-Tan - Trivia: The name of the Biel-Tan craftworld is a variation of the ancient Celtic holiday of Beltane (also known as Bealtaine or in modern times, May Day). Much Aeldari lore has been drawn from Celtic mythology.
Biel-Tan - Sources: Codex: Craftworld Eldar (3rd Edition), pp. 3, 9, 14, 20-21Codex: Eldar (6th Edition), pp. 14, 75, 82-86Codex: Eldar (4th Edition), pp. 12, 15-16, 53Codex: Eldar (3rd Edition), pp. 18, 20, 24, 28Codex: Eldar (2nd Edition), pp. 21, 34The Gathering Storm - Part Two - Fracture of Biel-Tan (7th Edition), pp. 4-101Dataslate - Eldar Ghost Warriors (Digital Edition), pg. 13Dawn of War - Ascension (Novel) by C.S. GotoDawn of War - Trials of Isador (Short Story) by C.S.GotoPsychic Awakening: Phoenix Rising (8th Edition), pp. 12-13Warhammer 40,000: Planetstrike (5th Edition), pg. 56Warhammer 40,000: Rulebook (3rd Edition), pg. 21White Dwarf 302 (UK), "Index Xenos: The Swordwind - The Eldar of the Galactic South," by Adam Troke, "Tactica: Swordwind - Aspects of War," by Alessio Cavatore, pp. 62-73White Dwarf 237 (US), "Codex: Eldar - Path of the Warrior," by Gav Thorpe, pp. 16-20Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War (PC Game)Swordwind Part One: Eldar Forces (PDF)Swordwind Part Three: The Baran War (PDF)Swordwind Part Four: Biel-Tan Craftworld Army List (PDF)Swordwind Reference Sheets (PDF)
Bike Squad (Space Marine) - Bike Squad (Space Marine): A Space Marine Bike Squad is a close support tactical formation utilised by the Adeptus Astartes to serve a wide variety of strategic uses.Some Chapters employ them to perform reconnaissance manoeuvres, or as hit-and-run raiders behind enemy lines.Others field their bikes as outriders for armoured columns, scouting ahead for potential ambush sites and guarding the tanks' flanks and rear from assault.Some Chapters have even been known to use their Bikers to spearhead line-breaking assaults, a role in which the White Scars, Iron Hands and Howling Griffons Bike Squads excel.When expecting heavy resistance, Bike Squads incorporate Attack Bikes into their ranks. Fitted with an armoured sidecar and pintle-mounted heavy weapon, these vehicles strike down enemy war engines or massed infantry with ease.So effective is this combination of firepower and speed that many Chapters field whole squadrons of Attack Bikes, using them as highly mobile fire support.
Bike Squad (Space Marine) - History: Legion Outrider Squads were specialised units of the ancient Space Marine Legions that was employed during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras in the late 30th and early 31st Millennia. These squads were formed from experienced Space Marines expert in operating independently and often deep behind enemy lines.These specialised troops were the eyes and ears of their Legion in the field. They took to the field mounted upon ruggedly constructed, all-terrain armoured ground bikes and scramblers. These squads were utilised for scouting missions and hit-and-run attacks deep behind enemy lines, the chief advantage of the Outriders being their speed.Their Assault Bikes enabled them to cover ground far quicker than infantry and go where heavier vehicles could not. It would be from these formations that the later Adeptus Astartes Bike Squads were created after the Second Founding in the early 31st Millennium.
Bike Squad (Space Marine) - Role: A Space Marine Bike Squad carries out fast-moving assault missions using 8 one-man Assault Bikes and sometimes with the addition of a single two-man Attack Bike, often operating on intelligence gathered by infiltrating Scout Squads or Land Speeder reconnaissance flights.A Bike Squad at full strength, for a total of eight Assault Bikes and one Attack Bike, can split into two combat squads. If this is done, one combat squad consists of five Assault Bikes and the other of three Assault Bikes and an Attack Bike.Bike Squads attack at incredible speeds, using surprise and unstoppable momentum to punch holes in the enemy formation, accelerating away as the enemy recovers his wits only to circle back and attack once again from an unexpected direction. For a Space Marine biker to operate at full potency, the superhuman rider and his mechanical steed must function flawlessly as one.To this end, the Codex Astartes dictates that all of a Chapter's Assault Marines, Scout Marines and the entire 6th Company should master the art of mounted warfare as part of their training regimen. A few Chapters take this further, with every Space Marine required to maintain his mounted training, even though he may have long passed into the elite 1st Company, or perhaps even into the exalted ranks of the Chapter Council.Few Chapters exemplify this better than the White Scars, who proudly employ Bike Squads as the main body of any strike force. Other Chapters are less enamoured of a Bike Squad's tactical value, preferring to send assault forces into battle in Rhinos or Razorbacks.The Space Marine Assault Bike itself is a robust construction. It needs to be, for it must be powerful enough to propel a fully armoured Space Marine at dizzying speeds, and yet responsive enough to perform a full range of death-defying combat manoeuvres.Even at low speeds the combined impact mass of bike and rider is no small thing to encounter. Indeed, many experienced Space Marine bikers can boast of riding through rockcrete walls at full speed, suffering neither harm nor impediment.For the heaviest assault missions it is common for a Bike Squad's Assault Bike firepower to be further augmented through the attachment of an Attack Bike. Each Attack Bike is a highly formidable mobile firebase, with the twin Bolters of the bike itself augmented by a Multi-melta or Heavy Bolter mounted on a sturdy sidecar.So potent is the striking power of the Attack Bike that many Chapters field them in entire squads, employing them as fast-moving fire-support units to complement Scouts, Assault Marines or other Bike Squads. On those rare occasions when Attack Bikes are deployed en masse, as they were by the fabled White Scars Chapter during the Third War for Armageddon, they prove to be a nigh-unstoppable foe.
Bike Squad (Space Marine) - Scout Bike Squadron: During the final stages of a Scout Marine's training, he is attached to a Scout Bike Squadron. Scout Bikers are employed as fast-moving reconnaissance and disruption units. They operate on a far longer leash than other Scouts, often operating as a separate and distinct adjunct to the main Space Marine strike force, answerable to none save the commanding Sergeants of their Squadron.While Scout Bikers continue to perform the hit-and-run tactics they perfected in their earlier years of service, their repertoire of combat skills is broadened by hard-won experience and further augmented by supplies of special issue equipment.While the enemy concentrates on the main Space Marine attack, the Scout Bikers ride rampant behind his lines, calling down orbital bombardments and reserve deployments with pinpoint accuracy.
Bike Squad (Space Marine) - Variant Bike Squad Organisation: Some Chapters do not abide by the Codex Astartes and operate their Bike Squads in a different manner. The Dark Angels' 2nd Company, the Ravenwing, is completely mounted on Assault Bikes, Attack Bikes and Land Speeders.The Salamanders are organised into less than the standard 10 companies but put more Astartes in each and so they only make use of bikes in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Companies.While the Space Wolves do make use of Bike Squads, the only members of the Chapter known to ride bikes are the Blood Claws. Even then only a few Blood Claws make use of this option, as the Space Wolves consider the use of bikes to be an overly headstrong approach to warfare.At the opposite end of the spectrum, the White Scars make extensive use of bikes in every company due to the open plains on which they train on Chogoris and their historical and cultural connection to the nomadic warriors of that world.
Bike Squad (Space Marine) - Unit Composition (Bike Squad): 2-5 Space Marine Bikers1 Biker Sergeant1 Attack Bike (As replacement for 1 Assault Bike)
Bike Squad (Space Marine) - Wargear (Bike Squad): Power ArmourBolt PistolTwin-linked Bolters (on Bike)Heavy Bolter (Attack Bike Only; in sidecar)Frag GrenadesKrak GrenadesAssault Bike
Bike Squad (Space Marine) - Optional Wargear (Bike Squad): ChainswordFlamer, Grav-Gun, Meltagun, or Plasma Gun (Any 2 bikers can have 1 in place of Bolt Pistol)Bolt Pistol, Bolter, Chainsword, Combi-weapons, Grav-pistol, Lightning Claw, Plasma Pistol, Power Axe, Power Fist, Power Maul, Power Sword, Storm Bolter, or Thunder Hammer (Bike Sergeant Only)Melta Bombs (Bike Sergeant Only)Attack Bike w/Multi-Melta
Bike Squad (Space Marine) - Unit Composition (Scout Bike Squadron): 2-7 Scout Bikers1 Scout Biker Sergeant
Bike Squad (Space Marine) - Wargear (Scout Bike Squadron): Scout ArmourBolt PistolTwin-linked Bolters (on Bike)Astartes Grenade Launcher (As replacement for Twin-linked Bolters on Bike)Space Marine ShotgunFrag Grenades Krak GrenadesAssault Bike
Bike Squad (Space Marine) - Optional Wargear (Scout Bike Squadron): Bolt Pistol, Bolter, Chainsword, Combi-weapons, Grav-pistol, Lightning Claw, Plasma Pistol, Power Axe, Power Fist, Power Maul, Power Sword, Storm Bolter, or Thunder Hammer (Bike Sergeant Only) (Scout Biker Sergeant Only)Melta Bombs (Scout Biker Sergeant Only)Locator Beacon (Scout Biker Sergeant Only)
Bike Squad (Space Marine) - Unit Composition (Attack Bike Squad): 1-4 Space Marine Attack Bikes
Bike Squad (Space Marine) - Wargear (Attack Bike Squad): Power ArmourBolt PistolFrag GrenadesKrak GrenadesAttack BikeTwin-linked Bolters (on Bike)1 Heavy Bolter (on Attack Bike sidecar)1 Multi-Melta (replacement for Heavy Bolter on Attack Bike sidecar)
Bike Squad (Space Marine) - Sources: Codex: Blood Angels (7th Edition), pp. 155-156Codex: Dark Angels (7th Edition), pp. 97-98, 276-279, 314-315Codex: Dark Angels (6th Edition), pp. 46-47, 82-83Codex: Dark Angels (4th Edition), pp. 26-27Codex: Space Marines (8th Edition) (Revised Codex), pp. 72-73, 142, 146-147Codex: Space Marines (7th Edition), 52, 89-90, 341-346Codex: Space Marines (6th Edition), pg. 84Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition), pg. 68Codex: Space Wolves (7th Edition), pp. 163-165Codex: Space Wolves (5th Edition), pg. 33Codex: Space Wolves (2nd Edition), pg. 61Index Astartes, "Lightning Attack - The White Scars Space Marines Chapter," pp. 40-47Index Astartes IV, "Salamanders"
Bilious Ones - Bilious Ones: The Bilious Ones are a warband or vectorium of Heretic Astartes of the Death Guard Traitor Legion's 4th Plague Company. They are commanded by a Death Guard Sorcerer and are one of the few Death Guard warbands which likes to enter battle amidst living carpets of Nurglings, the Lesser Daemons of the Plague God Nurgle. Little else is known about the Bilious Ones in current Imperial records.
Bilious Ones - Warband Colours: The Bilious Ones' power armour is the same as that of the Death Guard, composed of decayed and cracked plates of ceramite discoloured in sickly greens and browns. Bilious Ones Chaos Space Marines, like those of the Death Guard, often wear grotesquely warped suits of the antique Mark III Iron Power Armour.
Bilious Ones - Warband Badge: The Bilious Ones' warband badge is usually a modified version of the standard Mark of Nurgle, similar to that used by the rest of the Death Guard.
Bio-plasma - Bio-plasma: Bio-plasma is a potent close-ranged Tyranid Biomorph -- often engineered by the Hive Mind into Tyranid Carnifexes -- that is capable of unleashing a potent short-ranged attack upon their foes. With this Biomorph, a Tyranid organism gains the ability to internally energise a form of organically-created plasma that can be vomited forth as a burning and blinding ball of incandescent green energy. Each ball of plasma has the equivalent force to a blast from an Imperial Plasma Cannon, but can only be hurled a short distance. Bio-plasma is formed from a highly corrosive exothermic chemical that releases massive amounts of heat once it is released from the Bio-plasma organ within the Tyranid bioform. Shortly before the plasma is launched, the bioform will usually let out loud screams as the projectile makes its way from its belly through the creature and out its gaping maw. This high-pitched scream is often the last thing the Carnifex's prey ever hears.The most common Screamer-Killer strain of the Carnifex bioform is notable for its enhanced evolution of the Bio-plasma Biomorph. The Screamer-Killer's characteristic high-pitched screaming is caused by rasping plates in their oesophagus, which are used to energize Bio-plasma in their gut. However, instead of launching this plasma as a ball, the "vomit" acts as a deadly short range Flamer-like weapon. Screamer-Killers are also capable of using an electrical field around their claws to build up an incandescent Bio-plasma ball before launching it at a target over longer ranges.Massive Bio-plasma-emitting spines can also be found on Tyranid bio-ships. These spines emit gargantuan balls of Bio-plasma that can devastate enemy voidcraft. Bio-plasma spines serve as effective short-range weapons batteries in void combat for Tyranid bio-ships.
Bio-Titan - Bio-Titan: A Bio-Titan is a monstrously large, Titan-grade Tyranid bioform intended to counter the greatest war engines deployed by the other intelligent species of the Milky Way Galaxy. Towering above the battlefields, leading the swarms of lesser Tyranid creatures, stand the vast forms of the Bio-Titans. These massive biomechanical war-machines stalk the warzones of the Imperium spitting death and destruction, cutting down their foes with potent bio-weapons.Their approach is a terrifying sight to behold as they rip apart buildings, tear to pieces infantry and tank formations and even destroy Imperial Titans, Aeldari Wraithlords or Ork Gargants with their armoured claws and ripper tentacles. Propelled relentlessly forward on their powerful legs, these horrifying creatures smash enemy defences into rubble with their deadly arsenal of bio-weapons.In return their enemies can do little; even under the heaviest fire, Bio-Titans are notoriously hard to kill as their huge bodies are protected by ridged plates of chitinous armour, and even when a lucky shot does penetrate their armoured sides a Bio-Titan is capable of rapid tissue regeneration.
Bio-Titan - Hierophant: The Hierophant Bio-Titan is an immense, hideous creature, towering over the battlefield and bristling with spines, tendrils and symbiote weapons. They are amongst the largest bioforms yet encountered by the forces of the Imperium amongst the swarms of the hive fleets, comparable in size and power to an Imperial Titan. A brood of Hierophants are likely to be at the forefront of a major Tyranid attack -- striding forwards, drawing enemy heavy weapons fire away from the lesser creatures of the swarm, absorbing huge amounts of damage before smashing into the enemy line with devastating force.The Hierophant is the Tyranids' largest shock trooper, armed with monstrous Bio-cannons, multiple claws and razor-sharp blades, armoured with a thick chitinous hide that exudes poisonous spores from rends in its plates. Like all Tyranid bioforms, the Bio-Titan seems to be able to mutate its genome rapidly, evolving new organic weapons and defences.Other variants of the Hierophant Bio-Titan, such as the less well-known Viciator, have been identified with huge crushing claws or long scythe-like blades, cluster spines and other bio-weapons. How the Tyranids have developed such large biological constructs remains a mystery to the Imperium's Xenos Biologis. Whilst it seems a Hive Tyrant or Carnifex could easily be the result of a further genetic manipulation of the basic Tyranid Warrior genotype, there is no known genetic antecedent among the existing Tyranid bioforms for the Hierophant.It is speculated by the Magi Biologis of the Adeptus Mechanicus that the Hierophant was derived from the combined genetic strains of the Tyranid Carnifex and the Dominatrix. The forces of the Imperium have learned that combating Hierophants is simply a matter of applying the heaviest firepower available; large ordnance weapons and heavy artillery have so far proved the only effective weapons in destroying Bio-Titans.
Bio-Titan - Harridan: It is believed that the Harridan Bio-Titan may be derived from a combined strain of the Gargoyle and the Winged Warrior subgroup of the Tyranid Warrior genus. The Harridan is the largest flying Tyranid bioform the Imperium has yet encountered in its bitter war against that inter-galactic alien menace. Harridans are truly massive creatures, likened to the flying drakes and wyverns of ancient Terran legend. They are the largest Tyranid bioform capable of atmospheric flight, soaring through a prey world's skies on vast, leathery wings.Though they lack the sheer speed of an attack aircraft, it is a brave fool indeed who thinks them an easy target. They are the Gargoyles' "brood-mothers" and carry their "young" into battle. Circling high above, the Harridan waits patiently before diving down over the battlefield, strafing its foes with Bio-Cannons or swooping low to rake a tank with its two massive claws, or snapping its great fanged jaws around an infantryman.This creature's fearsome armament makes the Harridan capable of attacking just about any target on the field of battle. The Magos Biologis of the Adeptus Mechanicus have noted that Harridans have been encountered in a variety of sizes. Some are huge, upwards of 30 metres in length with a sizable wingspan of 40 metres, while other, far smaller Harridans have also been encountered that were well below the size of what would be considered a Bio-Titan. Instead, these Harridan variants are more like larger and somewhat tougher Gargoyles.
Bio-Titan - Dactylis: The Dactylis Bio-Titan is speculated to be a larger genetic derivative of the Tyranid Biovore. The Dactylis hurls large Spore Mines at very long ranges. Their forelimbs are long and covered in tightly-corded tendon and muscle that makes a distinctive cracking sound when used to hurl its deadly payload. When initially encountered by the forces of the Imperium, the Dactylis was noted for using the bio-weapon known as a Bile Pod.This living ammunition is a parasitic creature which feeds off the toxins emitted by the poisonous glands of the Dactylis' cranium. In recent encounters, the Dactylis has shown the Tyranids' innate ability to adapt to any combat situation or tactical need -- its cranial glands have grown a variety of spore-generating colonies that can be used to produce a number of different types of deadly ammunition chosen for their particular utility against specific classes of foe.
Bio-Titan - Dominatrix: The Dominatrix is a specialised Bio-Titan, psychically commanding the Tyranid forces on the battlefield and providing the highest level of psychic control as an exceptionally powerful -- and valuable -- Tyranid synapse creature. It is a fearsome opponent, for its sheer mass and panoply of bio-weaponry dwarf that of an Imperial super-heavy tank.The Dominatrix is no unthinking beast –- its level of intelligence is akin to that of the Hive Tyrant, and the strength of its telepathic link to the Hive Mind surpasses even those mighty creatures. Whilst within range of the Dominatrix's psychic aura, lesser Tyranid creatures become little more than an extension of the Dominatrix's will. As a result, a swarm under the Dominatrix's direct supervision functions with uncanny efficiency and a tactical genius that is beyond compare.Fortunately for the galaxy, such beasts are extremely rare in all but the most advanced Tyranid swarm, for where the Dominatrix treads, doom surely follows.They are armed with an immensely potent Warp blast weapon, Bio-plasma emitters, and their massive chitinous claws. They also serve as synapse creatures, the Hive Mind's primary battlefield coordinators for the Tyranid swarms. Because of this role, the destruction of a Dominatrix can severely incapacitate a Tyranid swarm that it is responsible for directing, though the firepower required to bring down a Dominatrix is immense.
Bio-Titan - Close Combat: Rending Claws - These are massive versions of rending claws that are only used by gargantuan Tyranid bio-forms like Bio-Titans.Razor Claw - Razor Claws are deadly hand-to-hand combat weapons carried by Tyranid Bio-Titans to enhance their already formidable fighting power. Razor Claws resemble gigantic crab claws, but this basic evolutionary design has been made more lethal by bonding a mono-molecular edge to them so that they can slice through armourplas and ceramite. Razor Claws are also implanted with frag spines like those mounted on Haruspex and Malefactors, and these increase the Bio-Titan's short-range firepower against infantry and light vehicles.Scything Talons - These are massive versions of the chitin scything talons found on smaller Tyranid bio-forms.Stinger Salvo - Stinger Salvos are used against infantry and lightly armoured vehicles at close range. The Stingers themselves are fans of long, needle-like protuberances which contain a vein of lethal corrosive venom. The stings are segmented and when the Bio-Titan directs a pulse of venom into them the tips are launched with tremendous velocity. This reveals the sharp tip of the next segment of the needle and makes it ready for firing. Salvos of the high velocity Stingers are short-ranged but devastating, riddling targets with slivers of bone and corrosive poisons.
Bio-Titan - Ranged: Bile Launcher - Bile Launchers work by belching a jellied lump of cankerous slime which is corrosive enough to burn through flesh and bone in seconds. Armoured targets may last a little longer than others but even they will collapse into piles of pitted and rusted metal within a few Terran minutes. Worse still, the Bile Launcher can have a considerable splatter radius if it strikes its target. These smaller droplets of acidic slime are unlikely to damage battle tanks but they can still kill foot soldiers who fail to take cover.Bio-Cannon - Bio-Titans commonly carry large, triple-orificed symbiote weapons which appear to function in a similar manner to the Bio-Cannon mounted on an Exocrine. The heavy cords of muscle that ridge the barrels of the cannon accelerate its ammunition of chitin shells to a speed at which they punch through armour as if it were cardboard. A hardened penetrator core at the centre of the shell penetrates the target in a small explosion of shrapnel and carries the spores of a pernicious slime fungus into it. Large targets that sustain a hit from a Bio-Titan's Bio-Cannon are often rotted from the inside out within minutes of impact.Cluster Spines - Cluster Spines are similar to the Frag Spine implanted onto Haruspex and Malefactors for close range, anti-personnel work. They are fired by a muscular contraction and use explosive cellular expansion to detonate on impact and spray razor-sharp chitin plates over the target area. The cluster spines implanted onto Bio-Titans are larger, more densely packed and fire in groups to achieve maximum saturation of the target.Pyro-Acid Spray - Pyro-Acid Spray is undoubtedly one of the most fearsome weapons in the Bio-Titan's arsenal. The spray fires a triple jet of highly corrosive acids which melt through plascrete and steel like wax. The interaction of the acids also produces a great release of heat, such that the jets ignite as they leave the nozzles of the spray and the target area is quickly covered in licking flames and explosions where the burning acid has swept over it.Spore Pods - Many Bio-Titans carry swollen pods of virulent spores implanted into their chitinous limbs. When they explode, the air around the Bio-Titan is filled with deadly spores which will pierce the surface of anything warm they touch and send burning, threadlike growths shooting into it. Bio-Titans use nerve impulses to detonate the pods, either as an intense cloud in a small area or as a broad bank of spores to sweep a larger area. Though each Spore Pod is emptied when it is used, a single Bio-Titan carries enough Spore Pods to last for an entire battle.
Biologus Putrifier - Biologus Putrifier: A Biologus Putrifier is a Chaos Space Marine specialist found exclusively within the ranks of the Death Guard Traitor Legion. These individuals are driven by an obsessive desire to test their concocted plague-batches to perfection, for it is the Death Guard's desire to spread Grandfather Nurgle's putrescent gifts to every corner of the galaxy.Biologus Putrifiers take a very active role in spreading disease upon the field of battle, lobbing Blight Grenades or using their cursed Injector Pistols to spread their epidemics far and wide amongst the ranks of their foes as they receive the Plague God's virulent blessings.