vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Death Guard (Barbarus) - Rebellion: When one of the overlords descended from the poisonous fog blanketing the mountainous crags, the villagers not only managed to mount a successful defence, but were led by Mortarion into the poisonous fog where the overlord's army thought it would escape the marauding Humans. Masked with crude filtering hoses and breathing apparatus, the primarch led his retinue to bring death into the realm of death.They killed the overlord and massacred his army. The primarch continued to improve the breathing apparatus of his Death Guard, as his retinue of warriors came to be known, campaigning ever higher into the dark overlord's domain. Encountering ever more virulent pestilence, the constant exposure to the higher doses of toxins toughened the Death Guard. These traits would eventually prove to be transferable to each new iteration of the Death Guard, building up their legendary resilience to the poisonous toxins and studiedly harsher environments that they encountered.The tide of fate on Barbarus had truly turned at last, but for decades the war carried on, the charnel overloards and their issue were first forestalled, then one by one isolated and systematically destroyed. Every few years improvements in the Death Guard's breather masks and just what his feral soldiers could endure meant that the Humans' counter-attack could be pressed ever higher and another domain of nightmare besieged, burned out and toppled.Decades after Mortarion first came down from his adopted father's domain only the great charnel lord Necare, who had once named himself Mortarion's father, remained, inviolate in his black and fetid manse atop the highest peak of Barbarus. Here the poisoned fogs ate through respirator masks and killed in mere moments, and even Mortarion's transhuman primarch physiology could not endure long.
Death Guard (Barbarus) - The Emperor Arrives: One day, Mortarion and his brethren arrived to find his home village alive unlike he had ever known it. On everyone's lips was word of the arrival of a stranger, a great benefactor who brought promise of salvation. The primarch's mood darkened; this day of deliverance was one he had worked for all his life, and he found himself altogether unhappy to see it co-opted by the arrival of some newcomer of uncertain agenda. The primarch entered the hall and saw the stranger, who was opposite in every imaginable way from himself, seated at the banquet table.The stranger was robust with bronzed flesh and possessed an utterly perfect physique, whereas the people of Barbarus were gaunt, unhealthy-looking and pale. Despite the affect wrought upon him by Barbarus' poisons, the connection between the new benefactor and their defender was nevertheless plain to them all. As plain as father and son. However, Mortarion was oblivious to any connection. He greeted the stranger with barely masked hostility, which quickly turned to outright anger at the stranger's utter unflappability. Angry, Mortarion declared that he and his Death Guard needed no help to finish their quest for justice.It is said that the benefactor quietly challenged the stormy young primarch's assertion, pointing out the Death Guard's failure to reach the last high citadel, and then threw down a gauntlet. If Mortarion could defeat the High Overlord Necare alone, He would withdraw and leave Barbarus to its own means. But if Mortarion failed, they would join the stranger's Imperium of Man and Mortarion would swear total fealty and allegiance to Him.Over the protests of his Death Guard, Mortarion spun on his heel and struck out alone for the last manse standing against him, the keep of the High Overlord Necare he had once called father. Mortarion climbed ever higher, driven by the inevitability of the imminent conflict with his former master, driven by his desire to bring final justice for the people of his world. However he was mostly motivated by a compulsion to prove himself to the stranger below.The confrontation, when it finally came, was mercilessly brief. Mortarion, choking in air so toxic that the hoses of his protective breathing gear began to rot away, struggled to the very gates of the overlord's citadel, calling out his defiance. The last thing he saw as he fell to his knees, the world turning grey as he was overcome, was Necare coming for him, to fulfill the promise he had made generations before. Then, suddenly, the mighty stranger stepped between them, defying the death-fog, and felled the overlord with a single blow of his gleaming, flaming power sword.
Death Guard (Barbarus) - XIVth Legion: Mortarion was true to his oath. When he recovered, he bent his knee to the stranger and swore himself and the Death Guard of Barbarus to His service. Only then did the Emperor of Mankind reveal Himself as the young primarch's true father, and the destiny such service would bring: command of the XIVth Legion of the Legiones Astartes, the Imperial Space Marines. The XIVth Legion were already known as the "Dusk Raiders."The Space Marines that had been created from Mortarion's genetic material had already developed their signature strategy; attacking their foes at nightfall, thus earning them this moniker. The Dusk Raiders' power armour was a dull storm-grey in colour whilst their right arm and one or both shoulder plates were painted crimson. This was done with the intent to symbolically show their enemies what they truly were -- the Emperor's red right hand, relentless and unstoppable. Many enemies would throw down their weapons the moment the sun dipped beneath the horizon, rather than dare to fight them.Mortarion changed the name of the XIVth Legion to the Death Guard after the name of the potent military force of mortals he had raised on Barbarus to overthrow the rule of that Feral World's necromantic overlords. He began to enlarge the Legion's ranks with young men taken from the population of Barbarus. Upon first seeing them he told them: "You are my unbroken blades. You are the Death Guard." The XIVth Legion's name was then changed in accordance with this decree.But Mortarion took little pleasure in his new status. The fact that he had failed to slay Necare and had been able to do so only with the aid of the Emperor, rankled deep within him. Throughout his bleak childhood under the care of Necare, the high overlord had constantly belittled and humiliated him, always making him believe he was not quite good enough at anything he did. This insecurity had been magnified and hardened ten-fold by the primarch's inability to carry out his vengeance against Necare without the Emperor's aid. This grievance would slowly poison Mortarion's relationship with his true father, and would in time make him an easy target for the Warmaster Horus' attempt to recruit him to join the Traitors' rebellion against the Imperium.
Death Guard Lord - Death Guard Lord: A Death Guard Lord is a type of Chaos Lord who exists exclusively within the ranks of the Death Guard Traitor Legion and takes on command positions within its various formations. These Chaos Lords have earned the right to rule through their mighty deeds of destruction, corruption and endurance.In accordance with their Daemon Primarch Mortarion's proscribed Mantles of Corruption, even his most gifted gene-sons who rise to become Chaos Lords are expected to choose the path that best suits their Nurgle-given talents, and assume one of several Mantles that will allow them to receive the blessings of the Plague God, and thus, raise them up higher along their path to ultimate glory in the eyes of the Plague God.These Mantles include the roles of a Lord of Contagion, a Lord of Poxes or the Lord of Virulence. There are several other Mantles of Corruption that are only taken up rarely, though it is rumoured that one Mantle exists which none have ever been worthy of, and that it would transform its bearer into a being of pure, malefic entropy.
Death Guard Lord - Role: Many and varied are the diseased Chaos Champions who lead the Death Guard to war. From single colonies, through vectoriums and sepsis cohorts, right up to the Plague Companies and the warships of the Plague Fleets, it is the Death Guard Lords who hold positions of command throughout the Traitor Legion's ranks.As with all aspects of the Death Guard, Mortarion has retained an iron grip upon the doctrines and dispositions of his champions. He expects even his most gifted gene-sons to choose the path that best suits their talents, and then to cleave to it. In this way Mortarion ensures that even as the Lords of the Death Guard win the favour of Nurgle and progress along the path to glory, they still integrate with the pragmatic, infantry-based tactics of their fellow warriors.
Death Guard Lord - Mantles of Corruption: In accordance with this philosophy, Mortarion created the Mantles of Corruption, which have become redolent with power and menace over the millennia. The strategies and armaments of each are as instantly recognisable as the revolting symptoms of Nurgle's greatest plagues:Lord of Contagion - The most aggressive and belligerent Lords of the Death Guard take up the Mantle of Contagion. Lords of Contagion lumber into battle in filth-smeared Cataphractii Pattern Terminator Armour, wielding either snarl-toothed axes taller than a man or two-handed scythes that sweep aside the foe. They tend towards direct strategies with little in the way of cunning or subtlety, and are pugnacious commanders, supremely confident in their followers' ability to absorb the worst the enemy can throw at them and still prevail. They embody the swift-spreading plague that tears through a crowd, killing indiscriminately and leaving mounds of bodies in its wake.Lord of Poxes - Lords of Poxes favour the spreading of airborne miasmas and the merciless, attritional erosion of the enemy.Lord of Virulence - Lords of Virulence are masters of massed bombardment, hammering their enemies with heavy firepower and decimating their ranks in the manner of a lethal infection laying its victim low.Other Mantles - Some Mantles of Corruption are taken up only rarely, and by the most unusually gifted individuals. The Mantles of Parasitism, Withering and Flux are among such infrequently bestowed rewards.
Death Guard Lord - Death Guard Lord: Corrupted Terminator Armour (Any Pattern)ChainswordBolt PistolBlight GrenadesKrak GrenadesPlasma Pistol (Optional replacement for Bolt Pistol)Combi-weapon (Combi-Flamer, Combi-Melta or Combi-Plasma as optional replacement for Bolt Pistol)Balesword, Chainfist, Lightning Claw, Power Axe, Power Fist, Power Sword or Power Maul (Optional replacement for Bolt Pistol or Chainsword)
Death Guard Lord - Death Guard Lord in Terminator Armour: Corrupted Terminator Armour (Any Pattern)Combi-BolterPower SwordA Death Guard Lord may replace his Combi-Bolter with a different Combi-weapon (Combi-Flamer, Combi-Melta or Combi-Plasma) or utilise a different Terminator melee weapon (Balesword, Chainfist, Lightning Claw, Power Axe, Power Fist, or Power Maul) in lieu of a Power Sword.
Death Guard Lord - Lord of Contagion: Corrupted Cataphractii Pattern Terminator ArmourPlaguereaper - A Power Scythe infected by the corruption of Nurgle, revolting toxins and infectious slime weeps from this weapon in a ceaseless stream. Even shallow cuts or glancing blows will leave the enemy's flesh seething with incurable diseases.Manreaper (Optional Replacement for the Plaguereaper)
Death Guard Lord - Lord of Virulence: Corrupted Cataphractii Pattern Terminator armourTwin Plague SpewerPlague Claw - A Lightning Claw infested with Nurgle's pestilential "gifts."
Death Guard Sorcerer - Death Guard Sorcerer: A Death Guard Sorcerer, known also as a Plague Sorcerer, is a Heretic Astartes and Chaos Sorcerer of the Death Guard Traitor Legion who is a practitioner of the dark arts of psychic sorcery. He is able to call down the virulent blessings of his patron god Nurgle upon allies and enemies alike.Despite his powerful and horrific abilities, Death Guard Sorcerers are still looked down upon within their Legion by both their Daemon Primarch Mortarion and their fellow Death Guard Chaos Space Marines, an attitude long prevalent in the XIV Legion that is the result of the Death Lord's great hatred of psykers from his time battling the sorcerer Overlords of his homeworld of Barbarus. Mortarion's dislike of psykers and the use of sorcery remains strong even after his own transformation into a being of the Immaterium.
Death Guard Sorcerer - Role: Harnessing the energies of the Warp, the sorcerers of the Death Guard call down the repugnant blessings of Nurgle upon ally and enemy alike. Withering plagues weaken their foes, causing bones to rot and splinter, and muscle to waste away to red-brown sludge. Vile conjurations conceal the Death Guard from their enemies amidst storms of hairy black flies, or else swell their bloated bodies with unnatural might and fecund resilience.Daemonic blights are summoned forth that burn through the enemy ranks like wildfire, while the battlefield itself turns to rot and ruin, fortifications crumbling as Empyric parasites burrow through their foundations. Many Death Guard Sorcerers can even channel the disgusting power of Nurgle directly through their own tainted bodies, their jaws gaping wide to spew ectoplasmic vomit and filth in such abundance that a stream of corruption drowns the enemy.Such abilities are as horrific as they are powerful, yet still they are viewed with distaste by Mortarion and many of his greatest champions. The Death Lord's hatred for psykers survived even his transformation into a being of immaterial energies. Though he would never refuse the gifts that Nurgle bestows upon his gene-sons, Mortarion is under no obligation to like them.The sorcerers of the Death Guard do not seem to resent the contempt that their fellows hold them in. Indeed, they thrive amongst the ranks of the Death Guard like disease in an unwilling host. Some delight in lording over their less gifted brothers, while others form shamanic sub-sects and foster Chaos Cults of mortal followers to do their bidding. Over the centuries, the sorcerers of the Death Guard have concocted many outlandish names for these sects, based around the powers they exhibit. Thus were born the "Malignant Plaguecasters," the "Slopmaw Maggotmancers," the "Cadaverous Faminebringers" and many others.The lords of the Death Guard recognise their sorcerers' utility as living weapons upon the field of battle. Some Death Guard Lords even permit their sorcerers a degree of command when they must, sifting out the valuable insights hidden in their half-sane ramblings. Rarely are the sorcerers themselves respected or valued, however. Largely, they remain pariahs amongst their brothers.Only within the vectoriums of the 4th Plague Company does this differ, for there the Eater of Lives holds sway. This ancient entity values psykers highly for their ability to wield the power of the Warp and summon waves of Daemons to the battlefield, and so insists that they lead in place of Death Guard Lords.
Death Guard Sorcerer - Malignant Plaguecasters: Malignant Plaguecasters are Death Guard Sorcerers who fill the air with billowing filth. With every gurgling inhalation they draw lungfuls of noxious vapours from the Garden of Nurgle -- the Plague God's noxious realm within the Realm of Chaos -- before blowing them out in phlegm-thick clouds that can rot a man to the bone in seconds. Potent Death Guard Sorcerers, these vile psykers are Warp-rotted from their pallid, flyblown skin to their ever-churning innards. They have bargained away what remained of their souls in exchange for Nurgle's blessings, and been gifted with the ability to channel the malaise of the Plague God's realm.The bloated bodies of Malignant Plaguecasters have become living conduits for the Garden of Nurgle's toxic miasmas. Flesh-eating spore clouds, droning plague flies, vomitous mists and plague-laden corpse gas roil within the Plaguecasters' guts, at times straining their skin to bursting point. With retching exhalations, the Plaguecasters blow these lethal clouds across the battlefield. The effects of such noxious clouds upon mortal victims are immediate and hideous. Warriors collapse, choking upon their own rotting lungs even as their flesh blackens and liquefies. Armour corrodes and weapons spark and sputter as they are eaten away. Even sealed fortifications offer no protection, the Plaguecaster's fumes devouring metal and stone as easily as they do flesh.
Death Guard Sorcerer - Wargear: Corrupted Power Armour (Any Firstborn pattern)Force Weapon (including Force Sword, Force Axe or Force Stave)Bolt Pistol or Plasma PistolBlight GrenadesKrak Grenades
Death Guard Sorcerer - Optional Wargear: Corrupted Terminator Armour (Any pattern)Combi-weapons (including Combi-bolter, Combi-melta or Combi-plasma)Force Stave or other Force Weapon (Force Axe or Force Sword)Terminator Melee Weapon (including Balesword, Chainfist, Lightning Claw, Power Axe, Power Fist, Power Maul or Power Sword)
Death Hawks - Death Hawks: The Death Hawks is a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter of unknown Founding and origin. A detachment from this Chapter participated with the Space Wolves in the failed defence of the world of Parenxes from the Red Corsairs.
Death Hawks - Notable Campaigns: The Tyrant and the Wolf (995.999.M41) - The Chaos Lord Huron Blackheart staged a counterassault upon Parenxes, a world defended by detachments of the Death Hawks and the Space Wolves Space Marine Chapters. During the engagement, a series of Red Corsairs strike forces managed to board, disable and capture the Space Wolf Strike Cruiser, Wolf of Fenris after slaying Wolf Lord Gnyrll Bluetooth. The combined Loyalist Astartes strike force was ultimately destroyed by the piratical Heretic Astartes.
Death Hawks - Chapter Colours: The Death Hawks' Chapter colours are not listed in current Imperial records.
Death Hawks - Chapter Badge: The Death Hawks' Chapter badge is not listed in current Imperial records.
Death Hawks - Canon Conflict: In the 4th Edition Codex: Chaos Space Marines the Chapter was instead known as the Flame Hawks.
Death Hunters - Death Hunters: Death HuntersSpace MarineChapterFounding
Death Hunters - Notable Campaigns: Prosperan Rift War (Unknown Date.M42) - The Prosperan Rift War started in the Era Indomitus after the Daemon Primarch Magnus the Red began to claim the worlds of the Prosperan Rift in order to build an empire within Imperial space where psykers of all kinds could find welcome. Now the Imperium struggles to defend the rift from both the Thousand Sons as well as Chaos forces loyal to Magnus and Tzeentch who seek to aid the Daemon Primarch in his quest.Relief of Harlecrypt Tertius (Unknown Date.M42) - During the Prosperan Rift War, the Death Hunters deployed 4 companies to take part in the relief of the Chaos assault upon Harlecrypt Tertius.
Death Hunters - Chapter Colours: The Death Hunters' Chapter colours are not listed in current Imperial records.
Death Hunters - Chapter Badge: The Death Hunters' Chapter badge is not listed in current Imperial records.
Death Jester - Death Jester: A Death Jester, also known as a margorach ("death-head" in the Aeldari Lexicon), is a heavy weapons specialist of the Aeldari Harlequins. Death Jesters make use of a wide-array of heavy weaponry; from the humble Shuriken Cannon of the Craftworld Aeldari, to the specialised Firepike, or the morbid Shrieker Cannon. The Shrieker Cannon is the trademark weapon of the Death Jesters, as only they can create and maintain them. Greatcoat billowing, bells jingling with obscene cheer, the Death Jester lets fly, the hissing report of his weapon counterpointed by the screams of his dying foes.Each round is impregnated with virulent biotoxins that cause the victim's metabolism to detonate spectacularly. The slightest wound promises a swift and horrific death, transforming the victim into a living bomb of jagged bone and boiling gore. Through it all the Death Jester looks on with avid amusement, keenly watching for any way in which to make his victims' deaths more darkly comedic. It is a credit to his twisted ingenuity that he will normally succeed.
Death Jester - History: The arrival of a Death Jester upon the battlefield is announced by a hissing storm of shrieker cannon fire. Enemy infantry are torn apart in sprays of blood and scalded flesh as they combust horrifically from within. Such an entrance is apt indeed, for the sinister Death Jesters play the role of Death in the Harlequins' performances. Without exception, Death Jesters possess a grisly sense of humour that leads them to seek new and inventive ways to terrorise, torment and eventually kill their victims.They can sometimes be heard chuckling or humming softly in the midst of battle, and will occasionally pause to sketch a deep bow or offer mocking applause to foes whose horrible fates have especially entertained them. Killing the foe is not enough for a Death Jester. To make war worthwhile, they must intersperse death with ironic humour. Slaying an officer at the crescendo of a rallying speech, panicking enemy sappers so they flee into their own minefield, or wounding a heavy weapon trooper so that their shot flies wide and destroys the very objective they were defending; these are the kinds of cruel deed in which Death Jesters find their amusement. Indeed, there are few in the galaxy as talented or imaginative when it comes to writing the tragic comedy of war.These sinister warriors stand apart from their fellow Harlequins, for they play Death in the masque and thus must walk aloof from their brethren. They often perform daring stunts of escapology and risk -- "dicing with Death," as they are fond of saying. Their costumes feature skulls and death's head masks, decorated with the bones of their predecessors. Their morbid sense of humour is appreciated throughout the Dark City, for they are as every bit as inventively cruel as the most black-hearted Commorrite. To a Death Jester, the madness of the battlefield presents infinite inspiration and boundless opportunities for lethal practical jokes. A Death Jester may wait until an enemy squad believes themselves safe within a bunker, before placing a single shot through the closing door with his shrieker cannon.The explosive effects of the weapon turn the haven into a tightly packed death trap, eliciting screams that are music to the Death Jester's ears. In the name of sating their desire for morbid amusement, these strange sadists have been known to dress up unconscious foes in the charred skin and bone of their fallen comrades. They have arranged the bodies of the fallen in bleakly amusing positions, and perpetrated any number of other awful acts of inexplicable humour. Amid the masques, Death Jesters move as they will, garbed in armour said to incorporate the bones of their predecessors. They are regarded with wary amusement by their fellows, for they are as morbid and unpredictable as they are gifted. Yet their dedication to the Laughing God is beyond question, and in the heat of battle the covering fire of the Death Jesters saves the lives of their comrades time and time again.
Death Jester - Wargear: Holo-Suit - In place of the thick armour plates used by less advanced races, all Aeldari warriors use psychically activated bodysuits. In battle, the trademark Holo-Suits (or dathedi -- meaning "between colours") transform the Harlequins into dazzling blurs, their outlines exploding into blizzards of light that leave the foe's aim confounded and their thoughts bewildered. The device incorporates a programmable holo-field that breaks down the wearer’s profile into a fractal lightstorm as they move; the faster they travel, the more pronounced the effect. So it is that a charging Harlequin appears as nothing more than an indistinct, prismatic storm that is nigh-on impossible to hit, allowing them to simply avoid blows that would otherwise lay them low.Shrieker Cannon - Infinitely more cruel than a typical Shuriken Cannon, the Shrieker Cannons of the Death Jesters fire projectiles impregnated with virulent genetic toxins, which turn the luckless victim into a walking bomb. Their blood boils, organs rupture and flesh sears from within, before they explode with sickening violence.Flip Belt - The Flip-Belt is a wonder of Aeldari technology, a portable anti-grav generator keyed to trigger upon the mental command of its wearer. So incredibly lightweight are Flip-Belts that they do nothing to hamper their wearer's natural agility. Instead, they heighten it to the point that Harlequins can leap clean over all but the most towering obstacles, springing and bounding through rubble and wreckage with supernatural ease.
Death Jester - Sources: Black Crusade: The Tome of Excess (RPG), pg. 114Codex: Dark Eldar (5th Edition), pg. 42Codex: Dark Eldar (7th Edition), pg. 87Codex: Eldar (4th Edition), pg. 49Codex: Eldar (6th Edition), pp. 47, 63, 65-66Codex: Harlequins (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), pp. 12, 35, 52-53, 101-103, 146, 154, 157, 174-176Harlequins Painting Guide - Warriors of the Laughing God, pp. 11-14, 24-25, 28-30, 36, 38, 43, 45, 47, 50, 57-59, 88-91, 116-118, 142-146, 164Warhammer 40,000 Compendium (2nd Edition), pp. 184-191Games Workshop Online Store - Death JesterGames Workshop Online Store - Classic Harlequin Death Jester
Death Knights - Death Knights: The Death Knights is a Codex Astartes-compliant Space Marine Chapter of unknown origin and Founding. Nothing else is recorded about this Chapter in Imperial records.
Death Knights - Chapter Colours: The Death Knights primarily wear emerald green Power Armour. The Aquila or Imperialis on the chest plate is silver. The white squad specialty symbol -- Tactical, Assault, Devastator or Veteran -- is indicated on the right shoulder plate. A black Gothic numeral centred on the squad specialty symbol indicates squad number. The shoulder plate trim colour indicates company number in accordance with the Codex -- i.e. White (1st Company), Yellow (2nd Company), Red (3rd Company), Green (4th Company), etc.
Death Knights - Chapter Badge: The Death Knights' Chapter badge is a large, white skull with a black Maltese Cross centred on its forehead, on a field of emerald green.
Death Knights - Sources: Adeptus Astartes: Successor Chapters (Limited Release Booklet), pg. 33Insignium Astartes, pg. 56
Death Korps Commissar - Death Korps Commissar: A Death Korps Commissar is a commissar assigned to the Astra Militarum by the Officio Prefectus who serves as a political officer in the regiments of the Death Korps of Krieg that hail from the devastated, post-apocalytic Death World of Krieg in the Segmentum Tempestus. Like all Imperial Commissars, they are tasked with the maintenance of the morale of the Death Korps' troops during military campaigns, often in the face of staggering casualties. The Death Korps Commissar is empowered to use any means necessary to ensure the loyalty and moral purity of his or her charges, and is regarded with a mixture of fear and admiration by regular Guardsmen. Commissars are present in Death Korps regiments as mandated by Departmento Munitorum regulations, being the only non-Krieg natives to serve in the Death Korps. Due to the relatively low rates of infraction and morale problems among Death Korps regiments, these Commissars more often find themselves employed in reining in the Death Korps' often excessive zeal, and act as tactical advisors rather than enforcers of discipline.Commissars assigned to a Death Korps regiment are often well placed to become a voice of restraint for Death Korps officers, reinforcing the wider strategic goals of the campaign over the exigencies of short-term victories by preventing the expenditure of men and materiel that might be needed later. In theatres of war where Death Korps regiments must fight alongside other Imperial formations, Commissars attached to Death Korps regiments' command staff also find it prudent to act as a liaison between regimental commands where needed, as well as keeping a sharp eye on any acrimony between the Death Korps and other Imperial Guardsmen deployed to the same areas so that it does not become a problem. In order to prevent potential difficulties from arising, the individual Commissars assigned by the Commissariat to Death Korps regiments have a tendency to be more politically-minded or diplomatic than most, and often go on to serve with other troublesome regiments such as those composed of Feral Worlders or forces raised on Adeptus Ministorum worlds where religious fanaticism runs high. As Krieg guardsmen and officers never remove their rebreather units, Death Korps Commissars -- as non-Krieg natives -- often have a calming effect on allies, being literally the only friendly face amongst their regiments.Commissars serving within a Krieg regiment are charged with protecting the regimental banner, the regiment's most precious artefact. These banners serve as a symbol of a regiment's long service to the Emperor, bearing a history of the regiment's many campaigns. Whilst few men in a Krieg siege regiment have a long life expectancy, the banner will see service in every campaign.
Death Korps Commissar - Ensign: An Ensign is a junior Krieg officer who has been chosen to carry the regimental or company banner. It is considered a great honour to be chosen and marks the officer as one with the potential to rise to the highest ranks within the regiment. The rank of ensign carriers a short term of service, so an officer will not be expected to act as the banner bearer for long before being moved on to a combat command with a frontline platoon or a Death Rider squadron. An Ensign often accompanies his regiment's Commissar wherever he goes on the battlefield, so that the regimental banner can serve as a rallying point and act as an inspiration to the men and women of the regiment.
Death Korps Commissar - Uniform: Regardless of which regiment of the Imperial Guard a Commissar serves with, his or her uniform remains the same. Whilst some degree of personalisation is acceptable, all Imperial Commissars wear the distinctive black dress uniform, black overcoat and tall, high-peaked cap. Additionally, all Commissars' uniforms must be black. This distinctive uniform marks them out on the battlefield as a figure of authority and inspiration. A senior Commissar, such as a Commissar-General, will have a heavily decorated and braided uniform, as befits their elite rank. Many Commissars frown upon such ostentation and prefer a more puritanical, unadorned appearance. A Commissar's uniform will often bear decorations from previous campaigns and postings, as well as honours awarded for their own acts of personal bravery. A silver gorget is a mark of long service.
Death Korps Commissar - Weapons: Commissars are allowed a wide degree of choice when it comes to the personal weapons they carry into battle. Many expect to lead from the front and carry Power Weapons, Power Fists or Plasma Pistols. When assigned to a regimental headquarters, a Commissar is not expected to lead men in combat, so they usually keep their personal weaponry very basic, including a Chainsword or Power Sword and a Laspistol. The Laspistol is used by the Commissar to carry out any instances of summary execution for derelictions of duty by the troops under his command. Amongst the fanatical Guardsmen of the Death Korps regiments, such actions are rare indeed. Should a Commissar-General feel that it is absolutely necessary, he possesses the authority required to remove his regiment's commanding officer from his post and take over command of the entire regiment himself.
Death Korps Engineer - Death Korps Engineer: A Death Korps Engineer is a specialist in siege warfare techniques who serves in the Imperial Guard regiments of the Death Korps of Krieg that hail from the devastated, post-apocalyptic Death World of Krieg. Death Korps Engineers are infantrymen who specialise in the techniques required to wage subterranean warfare, including digging shafts, tunnels and extensive trenchworks intended to undermine a heavily fortified enemy's strong points and to allow Krieg regiments to launch surprise raids behind enemy lines.Squads of Krieg Engineers often carry a lot of highly technical equipment into battle, such as geo-thermic Auspexes, surveyors, Breaching Torpedoes and Melta-charges, as well as equipment that can be used by hand to dig or extend subterranean fortifications. They also have access to heavier cutting equipment for boring deep tunnels and mines and even a Mole Launcher which is a special type of Missile Launcher that fires burrowing torpedoes that are capable of digging through enemy obstacles and detonating on the other side.Krieg Engineers are first and foremost soldiers, but they are also skilled miners and sappers, capable of digging forward from the frontlines with deep shafts to bypass enemy defences, setting large explosive mines below enemy positions or digging sap trenches. Saps are shallow tunnels which are dug to just below the surface, allowing a squad to blow an entrance to the surface and quickly assault an enemy position without crossing the deadly no-man's land between the Imperial and enemy lines. Engineers are also trained and authorised to use chemical weaponry. If required, they carry small gas canister grenades, which are used during assaults to shroud the enemy in highly corrosive and toxic gas. These are weapons of last resort, but have helped to give Krieg regiments their ruthless reputation.The realm of underground warfare is brutal and merciless, with each Engineer facing the possibility of a slow lingering death trapped underground by an enemy counter-mine or a furious and bloody close assault when tunnels collide. Casualties are always very high in the confined conditions of tunnels. Engineers use a specialised Missile Launcher that fires a form of explosive charge known as a Breaching Torpedo that is known to the common Krieg soldier as a "Mole Launcher." The torpedo itself is an advanced weapon that carries a powerful drill in its nose that enables it to burrow through rock and earth. A Breaching Torpedo is also outfitted with a small Power Field emitter which lets the torpedo slice through rock very quickly, and a guidance system, linked to the Engineer squad's control panel, which is used to manually guide the torpedo to its target. Once the target is located, the torpedo burrows up to the surface and explodes, allowing the Death Korps to unleash surprise attacks from beneath a vulnerable enemy-held bunker or building. The Mole Launcher can also be used to blast an opening into an enemy tunnel or trenchwork and cause a sudden, catastrophic collapse.
Death Korps Engineer - Uniform: Krieg Engineer uniforms are a modified version of the standard infantry uniform utilised by the Guardsmen of the Death Korps. The long overcoat is discarded in favour of a short tunic jacket to reduce encumbrance and aid mobility when operating in the very confined space of tunnels. The trousers, leg bindings and boots remain standard issue. The uniform is designed to protect its wearer against both chemical and biological attacks. Like Death Korps Grenadiers, Death Korps Engineers wear distinctive heavy Carapace Armour to improve survivability when in close combat with the enemy. The armour makes use of the standard issue Mark IX helmet, rebreather mask, shoulder guards, breastplate and additional abdomen plates. The standard Krieg uniform shin guards are not used, and are replaced by kneepads, as most engineering work must be done crouching or kneeling within the tunnels of a Krieg trenchwork. Each breastplate mounts a powerful flashlight for use whilst working in the darkness.
Death Korps Engineer - Weapons: All engineers carry the Lucius Pattern Mark 22c semi-automatic Shotgun as their standard weapon. This weapon has an eight round revolving magazine, uses a gas-operated self-loading action to fire and can be loaded with a variety of ammunition, including solid slugs, pellet loaded canisters and low velocity flares. The revolver action is prone to mechanical failure, but the weapon's high gauge and the heavy cartridge fired make it a deadly weapon at close quarters, although it is infamous for its ferocious recoil. In the dark, confined space of trenchwork tunnels this weapon's short range and inherent inaccuracy is not a major drawback, and its hitting power at a very short range makes it useful for Engineers, whose fire fights are typically short and lethal. The shotgun's wide area of effect means it can be used to sweep a tunnel clear and potentially hit multiple opponents in a single blast.Although shotguns do not have a bayonet lug, most engineers still carry a sword bayonet. This long knife makes a fine close combat weapon as it is almost the length of a short sword and can prove very useful in the tight space of a tunnel. All Engineers also carry Frag and Krak Grenades as part of their standard kit and are trained in the use of other special weapons such as Melta-bombs, demolition charges and chemical warfare agents.
Death Korps Engineer - Additional Equipment: In order to fulfill their specialist role, Krieg Engineers have access to many pieces of specialised equipment for working underground. As well as carrying hand-held digging equipment, they also have access to larger machines for heavy cutting and boring. One such machine is the fearsome Hades Breaching Drill. The Hades Drill is equipped with a forward-firing Melta-Cutter that can turn rock and metal into molten slag in seconds. Its massive drilling blades are tipped with Diamantine and can easily cut through most materials, be it rock, metal, or even flesh. While the Hades is normally used for mining operations on Imperial Mining Worlds, when it is deployed as a siege weapon it can not only be used as a breaching drill but also to attack the enemy from underground. During a prolonged siege, Krieg Engineers may spend weeks or even months digging tunnels and saps towards and around the enemy lines. The Hades will then be used to quickly breach the last few yards until it hits the surface, where Engineers and other specialised Krieg units, such as the Death Korps Grenadiers, will come through the breach and assault the enemy. While the Hades Drill is on the surface it is not completely useless in combat, as its Melta-Cutter and drill blades are capable of ripping apart enemy structures and even tanks. The Hades can even be turned on enemy infantry and used as a makeshift tank in dire circumstances.
Death Korps Engineer - Sources: Imperial Armour Volume Six - The Siege of Vraks - Part Two, pp. 64-65, 94-98, 109
Death Korps Grenadier - Death Korps Grenadier: A Death Korps Grenadier is an elite soldier of the Death Korps of Krieg Imperial Guard regiments that hail from the post-apocalyptic Death World of Krieg in the Segmentum Tempestus. Grenadiers are chosen from the ranks of standard Death Korps infantry squads, usually by their Watchmaster or a Commissar and recommended for appointment as a Grenadier. They are also drawn from veterans and survivors of decimated Death Korps squads and platoons. This is not a promotion, as Grenadiers still carry the same rank they held before their appointment, but they are regarded as having seniority over rank and file Guardsmen by dint of their experience and veteran status. After serving with a Grenadier squad for a time, Krieg Guardsmen can then be returned to service with the standard infantry as a Watchmaster. Casualty rates amongst Grenadiers are very high, and although service in the heavy infantry is regarded as a privilege, it is also seen as a duty. A Krieg soldier appointed to a Grenadier squad cannot refuse the honour, and adopts the skull facemask as a symbol of acceptance of his fate. Statistically, eight out of ten Grenadiers are killed in action. The men behind the skull masks have accepted that they are essentially already dead. To the men of the Death Korps of Krieg, Grenadiers are those soldiers who have "lived too long", and who must now either prove exceptional enough to warrant promotion to a command role, or finally find atonement for their people's sins against the Emperor in death.Grenadiers are principally used by the Death Korps regiments in a heavy infantry role as the leading edge of assault waves that are intended to smash key enemy defence points during a wider infantry attack. Many Grenadiers consider themselves already martyred in the Emperor's service and will not falter in their duty, regardless of the odds against them. Breaking with conventional Storm Trooper training, Grenadiers are never deployed by grav-chute, and instead often carry the brunt of an initial advance on foot, or as small tactical units in rapid moving Centaur armoured personnel carriers. Grenadiers carry a high percentage of special arms (such as Flamers and Meltaguns, etc.) and will also employ relatively unorthodox weapons such as Heavy Flamers in two-man teams. A Grenadier squad may also carry an additional Heavy Stubber to increase their firepower. Fatality rates amongst the Death Korps Grenadiers are very high, but it is considered an honour to be chosen to join their ranks.
Death Korps Grenadier - Uniform: The Death Korps Grenadier's uniform is the same standard issue as that given to all Krieg infantry. The greatcoat, trousers and boots are all exactly the same as those issued to other Krieg infantry. Under their armour, Grenadiers retain their normal uniform, and so wear the same colours as the rest of their regiment. Intended for deployment where the fighting is fiercest, Death Korps Grenadiers are equipped with heavy Carapace Armour that has been integrated into the standard Krieg kit. This comprises the Mark IX helmet, a rebreather facemask, three-piece shoulder guards, a chest plate with additional abdomen plates and shin and knee guards. All are made of Plasteel and reinforced with a layer of Ceramite for additional strength, heat resistance and weight reduction. This armour is very cumbersome, and whilst the extra protection it provides is welcomed by the Grenadiers, many often find it necessary to discard some parts of the armour during lengthy operations. Grenadiers will usually stencil their identification number on their chest plates and will add their squad numbers to their right shoulder plate. The standard Mark IX helmet will have a front plate attached with the Imperial Aquila embossed upon it to display the Grenadier's devotion and loyalty to the Imperium. As part of the Grenadier's initiation into his squad, he renews his oath of allegiance to the Emperor, and this plate acts as a reminder of his eternal duty.
Death Korps Grenadier - Weapons: The standard armament of the Death Korps Grenadier is the Type XIV Lasgun (heavy), referred to by troops as the turbo-discharge "Hellgun" or, more rarely, the "Hotshot" Lasgun. In effect, this weapon is an overpowered Lasgun that fires in the 28 megathule range and is linked to a high capacity power cell worn on the back. The heavy powerpack supplies enough power to keep the weapon firing up to 200 shots, depending upon the power setting and the weapon's condition. Hellguns require a lot of maintenance, and have a reputation as being unreliable in the field. Without proper maintenance, the weapon's rate of fire will start to drop off. Hellguns are not well liked by Grenadiers, as most prefer the standard and far more reliable Type XIV Lasgun, but regulations require Grenadiers to carry them, and the weapon's additional impact and damage is seen as compensation for all of its faults. Although the Hellgun does not have a bayonet lug, the Grenadier still carries a bayonet for use as a dagger in hand-to-hand combat.
Death Korps Grenadier - Additional Equipment: As well as their primary armament, a Death Korps Grenadier also carries numerous anti-personnel and anti-tank grenades, which are vital when they become involved in close assaults against fortified enemy positions. The Grenadier's belt pouches contain spare respirator filters, ration packs and the Hellgun's maintenance kit. Because of their extra armour, Grenadiers cannot wear the standard regulator unit. Instead they wear the over-pressured Type V Respirator, where the regulator unit is inside a canister that is worn on the back. This unit serves exactly the same purpose as the standard rebreather, and contains the same filters and antidotes to environmental toxins.
Death Korps Guardsman - Death Korps Guardsman: A Death Korps Guardsman is one of the standard enlisted infantrymen who comprise the Death Korps of Krieg Imperial Guard regiments. Each Death Korps soldier is fully trained to the standards expected for combat-readiness set down by the Imperium's Departmento Munitorum, with particular emphasis placed on hazardous-environment survival, endurance, and physical and mental resilience. Proficient in the use of all basic Imperial Guard weaponry types as well as grenades and explosives, a Death Korps soldier is also an expert at the rapid construction of effective trench works and static defences.They are also exemplary hand-to-hand combatants, with bayonet-drill being practiced from childhood. Accuracy is secondary in Death Korps weapons training to fire discipline, with the ability to maintain continuous fire en masse as part of an infantry formation considered to be of paramount importance. Death Korps Guardsmen have a tendency to be highly insular, unemotional and often taciturn to the point of silence outside of their duties.They also display a high degree of fatalism and an unusual morbidity of habit, such as carrying relics, ossuaries of bone or other memento-mori about their persons as a form of religious observance to honour those who have fallen in the service of the God-Emperor.
Death Korps Guardsman - Recruit Selection and Training: Recruitment for the regiments of the Death Korps of Krieg is similar to that found on many other Imperial worlds throughout the galaxy that have become primary sources of new regiments for the Guard. Though their harsh training methods, combat doctrines and regimental organisation are not in themselves unique amongst the units of the Imperial Guard, the Death Korps regiments are both unorthodox and extreme in their application. Tested, selected and relentlessly trained almost from birth for their appointed role as Imperial Guardsmen, the rates of fatality and injury during training are high amongst Death Korps recruits.To ensure that only the toughest and best make it into a new Death Korps regiment, training is brutal and quickly weeds out the weak and unworthy, for fear and weakness are not tolerated. The minds and characters of the young prospective Guardsmen are purposefully broken and refashioned to be stronger, just as their bodies are trained to withstand hardship and endure suffering that would kill other men -- a task already begun by the mere fact of living a life on the blighted post-apocalyptic Death World of Krieg.Amongst the ruins of the radiation-blasted battlefields of Krieg, the training regiments march, dig trenches, clear minefields and fight mock battles against other cadets. Only those that endure are judged fit enough to take their honoured place as members of the Death Korps. As a result, Death Korps regiments maintain a standard of discipline and selflessness in combat that is unmatched by Imperial Guard units raised on other worlds.Gas masks are conventionally viewed as a second skin for the warriors of Krieg, as Death Korps soldiers are trained to permanently operate with them if required. Fear of failing the Imperium and one's comrades, and a ceaseless devotion to duty, honour and the God-Emperor are instilled in new recruits to make certain that they will stand their ground in combat under any situation. Mental conditioning is a key part of the training of new Death Korps troops so that they will be prepared for the myriad horrors to be found on the battlefields of the Milky Way.