vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Knight of Ashes - Breaking the Siege of the Draconspire: With the help of House Pegasson's fleet of heavy landers, both the forces of House Pegasson and the more numerous ranks of House Minotos Knights were swiftly transported over the Adrapotine Mountaines to the plains of the Valatane. With no reliable information as to how House Draconis had fared in its own campaign against the Orks, the Imperial warhost assembled some distance from the Draconspire, far away from the prying eyes of any xenos sentries Gorgrok would have the sensibility to deploy.Deeming himself the most expendable of the army's leaders, the Knight of Ashes insisted upon personally leading a reconnaissance mission at the head of a squad of Colonel Gesmund's Vesserines. Leaving their Imperial Knight behind, Lady Ekhatarina and the Knight of Ashes travelled forwards in a Vesserine Taurox before continuing on foot. Behind the cover of a steep hill, the small party spied upon the foe using Magnoculars. What they saw was disheartening.Several levels of the mighty fortress were burning and its exterior walls had been breached. A sea of Greenskins swarmed across the Draconspire's base, a sure sign that someone was still putting up a fight inside the Draconspire. The Ork Warlord had taken Northrise Battery as his new headquarters, the menacing silhouettes of fat-bellied Stompaz and one Gargant standing close by. All over the plains, Orks and Gretchin were in the process of cannibalizing fallen Imperial Knights, often fighting over the most precious parts.The Vesserine troops quickly established an advanced command post, a mobile antenna and a bulky Vox-caster allowing them to report their findings to Lauret Tan Pegasson and Kurt Tan Minotos who had stayed with the troops. A Vesserine trooper rose and urgently signaled Luk to climb down the ridge. A priority Vox request had been made asking to speak to the commander of the Knight forces currently assembling on the Valatane Plains. Both Lauret and Kurt had agreed the message was for him, as they saw themselves only as military commanders while Luk was their unifying leader. Overcoming his surprise as the other Nobles' deference, the Freeblade seized the headset. "This is the Knight of Ashes, responding to priority Vox hail."A familiar voice asked "Luk?" and relief flooded the Knight of Ashes' heart for it was the voice of Jennika Tan Draconis, one of Luk's best friends. His puzzlement grew when the Vox message also carried with it the override codes of an Imperial Inquisitor. The First Knight of House Draconis filled Luk in on the current situation. They needed immediate access to a Mastervox capable of contacting the Inquisitor's ship hiding somewhere in the Majestis System so they could call off the Exterminatus action on Adrastapol the Inquisitor had already ordered.Luk ordered the Vesserines to mount up and return to camp while simultaneously relaying landing coordinates to the Inquisitor's Aquila Lander. There would not be any well-ordained war council or clever battle plan this time, just a headlong rush to save Adrastapol from annihilation.
Knight of Ashes - To End a War: While the victory at the Draconspire marked a turning point in the Second Ork War, by no means did it mark the end. While Gorgrok Killfist had been slain and the leadership of the WAAAGH! fractured, the Orks' significant numbers still posed a threat to Adrastapol. Should a new Warlord emerge to unite the mobs, he might still win the war. To minimise this risk, one of the High King's first actions was to ride west to aid the Eyrie which was still under siege. With the help of the Inquisitor's mighty Oberon-class Battleship, the Bastion Fleet also broke the Orks' fleet, trapping the Greenskins on the surface.Committed to see the conflict to its end, the Exiles remained on Adrastapol. The Knight of Ashes was given a seat on the newly-created War Council of Adrastapol, a unified body that virtually made him the equal of Lauret Tan Pegasson and Kurt Tan Minotos. Although several great battles and hundreds of smaller skirmishes occurred before Adrastapol was finally rid of the xenos taint, the Orks never rallied and were ultimately destroyed piecemeal.
Knight of Ashes - The Hunt Resumes: Exactly one Terran year after the desperate victory during the siege of the Draconspire, the Knight of Ashes again tread the halls of House Draconis' fortress. Of the Exiles, only Lady Ekhatarina -- now widely regarded as his second-in-command -- accompanied him, which did not mean that they were alone. Herald Markos Dar Draconis was leading the way, followed by several other members of High King Danial's Exalted Court. All save Lady Suset, now High Queen of Adrastapol, were present as well as a tall, cloaked figure followed by a Lexmechanic.The small group travelled to the High King and Queen's personal chambers, summoned there for an event of great importance. Outside the Draconspire, the population celebrated Victor's Day with a festival of light and a chorus of laughter. But within, the mood was far gloomier.In accordance with the laws of hospitality, food and drinks had been prepared in abundance, but the royal couple had dismissed their staff and bodyguards, a testimony to the seriousness of the matters at hand. Having expected to see Jennika Tan Draconis already with the High King, the Knight of Ashes was disappointed to notice that she would not be present, but knew that whatever was keeping her must be important.Discussions began with the High King asking Luk if he had reconsidered his offer - a full pardon and the right to found a new House with whomever would swear allegiance to him. As he had done previously, the Knight of Ashes declined the offer, stating his intent of continuing the hunt for his mother.The hooded figure then drew back his hood, revealing himself as Inquisitor Tane Massata. With the High King's permission, the Inquisitor called the meeting to order around the High King's personal hololithic table."Today, my friends," began Danial Tan Draconis, "we officially toast victory over the Ork menace." All raised their glasses and echoed the High King's words, all save Massata who had refused any drink. "And today", intoned the Inquisitor, "with the full authority granted to me by my office as an Inquisitor of the Imperial Ordos, and speaking with the voice of the Emperor, I formally rescind the judgement placed upon Adrastapol and its Noble Houses. I find this world's people to be faithful, pure and true servants of the Emperor of Mankind."Then the Knight of Ashes took the stage. "It is time, in this small and trusted company, that I reveal the location of Alicia Kar Manticos." Drawing the parchment given him by the Oracle of the Silver Eye, he showed all present that only a single word was inscribed on it. A name. Hastour.Hastour was an Ice World that had once been an Adeptus Mechanicus Explorator outpost, long since lost to the enemy for it lay at the very edge of the Eye of Terror.And thus did the Knight of Ashes' hunt for redemption spark a full-fledged Imperial Crusade.
Knight of Ashes - The Exiles: Lady Ekhatarina Hespar - Former Herald of House Hawkshroud, Lady Ekhatarina Hespar was a member of the Exiles and frequently acted as Luk Kar Chimaeros' second-in-command. In battle, Lady Hespar pilots Duty Unending and has adopted a rich livery of yellow and purple. Outside of her Knight, she has been described as flamboyant, choosing to wear richly appointed and yet low-cut dresses which display many of her tattoos. Although Lady Ekhatarina has never been quite forthcoming about the reason for her exile, she was frank that her open homosexuality was not to blame. On several occasions, Lady Ekhatarina saved Luk's life, a favour that the Knight of Ashes repaid several times over, giving birth to something akin to a game between the two Freeblades. Lady Ekhatarina never failed to remark that the balance of their respective scores heavily favoured her rather than the leader of the Exiles.Lady Maia Kastarada - Lady Kastarada is the designated pilot of the Knight Errant known as Wrath Inescapable. Her Freeblade heraldry is a quartered livery of midnight blue and ice white. In person Lady Maia is a short, delicate and reserved woman who would fail to stand out in a crowd.Sire J'madus Hw'ss - Sire J'madus Hw'ss is the pilot of the strange suit of Knight armour called Crimson Death. Still attached to his former identity, Sire Hw'ss has never tried to hide the fact that he is a scion of House Krast and to this day Crimson Death wears a bastardized livery similar to that of his former House. While Crimson Death’s overall frame looks very much like that of the venerable Cerastus Pattern Knights of the Horus Heresy era, its weaponry differs from the Cerastus Knight-Atrapos it is commonly compared to. Crimson Death is equipped with two long-range weapons, one of them described as a Positron Driver. Unusually, Crimson Death carries an eight-legged Servitor within its frame which is able to conduct emergency repairs while still in battle. Outside of his Knight, Sire J'madus is known to wear large crimson robes like those of the Martian Priesthood. Although Hw'ss bears many augmetic implants, his overall appearance has been carefully designed to remain human.Sire Ranulf Vo-Geiss - Sire Ranulf Vo-Geiss is the pilot of the Imperial Knight simply named Void, a name that is oddly appropriate given his Knight's entirely black color scheme. When he is in battle, Sire Ranulf continuously chants battle-hymns and songs of lament, his sombre chants forming a counterpoint to the wrath of his Knight's Avenger Gatling Cannon. Even in person, Sire Ranulf makes for a most sinister apparition with his skeletal war-paint and the deep cowl he wears. Sire Ranulf was severely wounded in the Second Ork War, nearly losing his life and a leg whilst battling an Ork Stompa. His wounds were so severe that he not only missed out on the rest of the Second Ork War, but he was ultimately forced to replace his leg with a Pegassine bionic.
Knight of Ashes - Freeblade Livery: As with most Freeblade Knights, the livery of the Knight of Ashes has evolved over a long period of time. Whilst the name was claimed in the dark hours of the Donatos War, a complex livery would eventually come to adorn Sword of Heroes’ carapace and honorific banners. However, these designs were not completed until Luk Kar Chimaeros departed from Adrastapol.
Knight of Ashes - Colours of the Knight of Ashes: Having eschewed all connection to his former Knight House, the Renegade House Chimaeros, Sword of Heroes’ Freeblade livery has entirely discarded the use of House Chimaeros' colours, using instead a livery of deep crimson and black.The overall effect of the Freeblade's livery is to emulate the appearance of the Knights of House Draconis, hence deep yellow as a secondary colour on Sword of Heroes’ Reaper Chainsword and the bisected shin guards and shoulder plates. To display his own independence, the Knight of Ashes favours a checkered white and crimson pattern on his Knight's main armour, a pattern rarely used by the other Knight Houses of Adrastapol.
Knight of Ashes - Arms of the Knight of Ashes: The arms of the Knight of Ashes where only chosen at the end of the Donatos War, once the victorious Knight Houses had returned to Adrastapol and the Freeblade had decided to embark on his quest to hunt down his mother, the Traitor Alicia Kar Manticos.In direct reference to his Freeblade name, the Knight of Ashes has chosen a pale grey as his banner field. The banner further fields a chimera, lying on its back and pierced through by a black sword, a declaration of the Knight of Ashes' intentions -- to slay the monster responsible for the corruption of his former House while at the same time proclaiming the death of his former identity.
Knight of Ashes - Wargear: Sword of Heroes is a Questoris Pattern Knight equipped as a Knight Errant. It is armed with the Thermal Cannon and Reaper Chainsword-combination common to this design. Sword of Heroes’ anti-infantry weapon is a Heavy Stubber.On an individual level, the Knight of Ashes is known to carry a multitude of personal weapons which also make him suitable for missions on foot. While having been gifted a master-crafted draconblade by his friend Danial Tan Draconis, the Knight of Ashes usually prefers the far more common Chainsword as his close-combat weapon.Having been caught many times in firefights with those chaotic agents serving his quarry, the Knight of Ashes usually carries a pair of Bolt Pistols, even when piloting his Knight.
Knight of the Flame - Knight of the Flame: A Knight of the Flame is the title given to the elite warrior of the Grey Knights who leads a squad of Grey Knights Purifiers into combat.
Knight of the Flame - Wargear: Aegis ArmourWrist-mounted Storm BolterNemesis Force SwordFrag GrenadesKrak GrenadesPsyk-Out GrenadesLiber Daemonica - The Liber Daemonica is an enduring symbol of a Grey Knight's devotion to his mission, and contains the cardinal tenets of lore culled from the dark knowledge caged within the Sanctum Sanctorum's walls. Every Grey Knight carries a copy of the Liber Daemonica in a ceramite case on his breastplate. These gnarled tomes contain the Chapter's rites of battle and detail the traditional duties of every Grey Knights rank. The books themselves are also potent psychic talismans in their own right, with pages illuminated in silver and bound to a spine carved from the thigh bone of a martyred saint.
Knight Paladin - History: Knight-class walkers are true relics of a human history lost now to allegory and myth. These unique machines and the mind-impulse systems that control them produce the arts and arcana of the ancient Mechanicum by a considerable measure, and to the priests of the Omnissiah they are things of sacred mystery and beauty. Questoris-class Knights are true wonders of the Dark Age of Technology, and they are beyond the realms of all but the most learned Magos to fully understand, but due to the presence of priceless STC manufacturing units devoted to their construction on the ancient colony worlds of the Knight Houses, these phenomenally powerful machines may still be replicated and maintained.The Knight Paladin and the Knight Errant were the most common patterns of Knights utilised during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras, sharing the same basic design save for the armament load-out. Towering war engines, they are burnished and caparisoned in heraldic livery, and only a Titan could hope to overmatch one in single combat. These armours are little different from the ancient war machines carried to the stars by the first Long March colonists. Only the hand-forged and intricately embossed armour plating separates them from those early exo-armours, and many of these machines have fought in the defence of Mankind for long centuries, bearing honour markings from wars long since forgotten on their plating.
Knight Paladin - Armament: On the battlefields of the 41st Millennium, a Knight Paladin is a truly fearsome opponent. Striding swiftly across the battlefield, the Paladin's weapons lay down a withering hail of fire, after which it can deliver a devastating charge. Once amongst the foe, the Paladin strikes left and right with its Reaper Chainsword and crushes the enemy underfoot. Few opponents survive such a deadly series of attacks.Whether duelling across empty ash wastes or fighting amongst the narrow confines of a rubble-filled hive city, a Knight Paladin is an equally lethal foe. That is because the Knight Paladin suit is a perfectly balanced combination of speed, firepower and armour -- a supreme example of combat design. Those Nobles who pilot Knights Paladin pride themselves on being able to perform any battlefield assignment with aplomb.The Rapid-Fire Battle Cannon grants the Knight Paladin the capacity to provide long-ranged fire support when needed, delivering volley after volley of massive shells onto the foe. However, while a Paladin excels in an artillery or anti-armour role, it is equally suited to close assault. The Paladin's bipedal design, agility and speed allow it to engage the foe quickly, often by moving through or over terrain that would slow down more conventional vehicles.Its Reaper Chainsword can hack through even the iron hull plates of an Ork Gorkanaut with ease, while a single thrust from the powerful servo-motors can embed the blade deep into a ferrocrete bunker, ripping apart the defensive structure as well as any occupants. A pair of Heavy Stubbers -- one projecting from a ball-turret and the other mounted alongside the mighty Rapid-Fire Battle Cannon -- give the Knight Paladin extra firepower, allowing the adamantium-armoured giant to mow down enemy infantry that manage to avoid its crushing feet.
Knight Paladin - Unit Composition: 1 Knight Paladin
Knight Paladin - Wargear: 2 Heavy StubbersQuestoris Battle Cannon (31st Millennium Only)Rapid-Fire Battle CannonReaper ChainswordIon ShieldThrone MechanicumTitanic Feet - The weight of the Knight alone is enough for it to crush enemy units beneath its behemoth tread.
Knight Paladin - Optional Wargear: Thunderstrike Gauntlet (As replacement for Reaper Chainsword)Meltagun (As replacement for one Heavy Stubber)Ironstorm Missile PodTwin-linked Icarus AutocannonStormspear Rocket PodBio-corrosive Rounds for Heavy Stubber (31st Millennium Only) - Replaces the Knight's Heavy Stubber's standard ammunition for Bio-corrosive tipped rounds. These rounds are capable of eating through both flesh and armour.Occular Augmetics (31st Millennium Only) - An upgrade to the Knight's Occular sensors enabling a far greater degree of visual input during low-light conditions, such as night-fighting.
Knight Paladin - Sources: Codex: Adeptus Mechanicus (8th Edition), pp. 56, 85Codex: Imperial Knights (8th Edition), pp. 61, 92Codex: Imperial Knights (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), pp. 5, 9, 11, 22, 27, 32, 34, 36, 40, 42, 44, 48, 54, 58, 63-64, 66, 72-73, 82, 85, 87, 90-92, 94, 103Codex: Imperial Knights (6th Edition) (Digital Edition), pp. 4-5, 10-11, 48, 56-57, 62-63, 67, 69, 73, 75, 77, 81, 87, 93, 95, 99, 108, 110-111, 114-115, 119, 122-123, 133-134The Horus Heresy - Book Three: Extermination (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 230The Horus Heresy - Book Four: Conquest (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 301White Dwarf Weekly 5 (March 01, 2014) (UK), "Codex: Imperial Knights", pp. 9-11, 34, 40, 44, 47, 49, 62White Dwarf Weekly 4 (February 22, 2014) (UK), "Imperial Knight" by Jervis Johnson, pp. 5, 7-8, 10, 13, 28, 30, 32-34, 52-53White Dwarf 182 (UK), " 'Eavy Metal: Forces of the Imperium," & "Titan Legions: Knight Households," pp. 38-40White Dwarf 180 (UK), " 'Eavy Metal: Imperial Knights", pg. 26White Dwarf 178 (UK), "The Titan Legions," by Rick Priestly, pp. 43-50White Dwarf 126 (UK), "Knights: Eldar & Human War Machines" by Andy Chambers, pp. 28-45
Knight Preceptor - Knight Preceptor: The Knight Preceptor is a close-ranged powerhouse of a Questoris Pattern Imperial Knight. Its design is intended to exemplify the core tenets of the Knights' Code Chivalric in battle: close with the enemy to an honourable range, engage them with sufficient force to show respect for their fortitude, and kill them quickly and cleanly in the Emperor's name.Traditionally, it was also the role of the Nobles who piloted a Knight Preceptor to recruit and train those lower-ranked Nobles and former peasants who are raised above their station to pilot the Knights Armiger, the Armiger Warglaive and the Armiger Helverin.
Knight Preceptor - Role: As an exemplar of knightly combat doctrines, the Preceptor is most often piloted by the arms-masters or precepts of the Noble Houses. Grizzled veterans who have lived through solar decades of warfare, it is the job of these Nobles to set an example to their fellows, and to train their lessers in the arts of war. When not in battle it is their duty to train young squires in the skills they will require to pilot a Knight, and to instil the mental fortitude theirwards will need to endure the Ritual of Becoming. The pilots of Knights Preceptor are therefore figures viewed with equal amounts of fear and respect by those of their House, with even Barons of the Exalted Court speaking respectfully to the steely-eyed war dogs who taught them to fight.It also falls to the arms-masters to recruit, train and mentally prepare the Bondsmen who pilot Armigers, the better to ensure that stable neural links are maintained and no act of dishonourable defiance occurs. As part of these duties, Knights Preceptor often take to the battlefield with one or more pairs of Helverins or Warglaives loping at their side. Some precepts form such strong neural choirs with their Bondsmen that they become permanent fighting units, acting as one with near-perfect synchronicity.Yet even those Armiger pilots who only serve for a short while under a precept are inevitably inspired by their feats of heroism, finding it easier to see the honour in their duty and submit willingly to the neural imperatives of their betters.Most Knight Preceptor pilots seek to set an example upon the field of battle by hunting down and besting the largest and most fearsome enemies. This is a role well suited to the close-ranged lethality of their steeds, and one that the Machine Spirits (artificial intelligences) of the Knight suits themselves relish. Countless battles have been turned in the Imperium's favour by the actions of a Knight Preceptor, marching fearlessly through hails of enemy fire before unleashing the screaming fury of its Las-Impulsor even as its flanking Armigers add their own firepower to the punishing salvo. Such an attack is more than all but the most resilient of enemies can survive, and even they last only long enough for the Preceptor to draw back its melee armament and finish the fight with a single thunderous blow.
Knight Preceptor - Armament: As a close-combat specialised Knight, the Knight Preceptor is armed with a roaring Reaper Chainsword or crackling Thunderstrike Gauntlet, and the rare and terrifying Knight-grade Lascannon known as the Las-Impulsor.These weapons are best wielded at such close quarters that a Noble can look their enemy in the eye even as they slay them.The Las-Impulsor is a ferociously powerful directed-energy weapon that, while comparatively short-ranged for such sizeable ordnance, is more than capable of bringing a Heretic fortress down in ruins or scything the leg from under an enemy Titan with a single concentrated salvo. The weapon works by building up an enormous charge of energy within capacitor shrines before cascading it down poly-sanctified conduits in escalating pulses.The result is a lightning-fast and devastating volley of laser blasts that can strip force shields from enemy war engines one at a time, and hammer their way through even the thickest armour or chitin to annihilate the vital systems beneath.
Knight Preceptor - Notable Knights Preceptor: Canis Rex - When the Iron Warriors attacked the Knight World of Randoryn Alpha, the ruling House Cerberan marched out in force to deny them. But after a final, courageous stand before the gates of the Stygian Keep, House Cerberan was defeated. The last of its Knight suits were disabled by invasive electro-gheists, their pilots hauled out for torturous reconditioning and their serf chattel enslaved by the millions. Sir Hekhtur Cerberan was amongst those taken captive, but refused to give in to the horrors inflicted by the Iron Warriors. Praying to the Emperor for a miracle, his mount Canis Rex, acting purely under the direction of its ferocious Machine Spirit (artificial intelligence), tore free of the Iron Warriors' remaking engines and blasted a path to its pilot and made good their escape. After undertaking the Freeblade oath as the last loyal Noble of his House, Sir Hekhtur led a resistance, but eventually came to the conclusion that his world was lost to the forces of the Archenemy. Taking his Knight and a small complement of Loyalist Sacristans he had managed to save, he stole an Imperial frigate, and set off to find a war that he could win for the Imperium. He has voyaged the stars ever since, freeing Imperial citizens enslaved by foul oppressors and punishing the scions of Chaos with vehemence and fury.
Knight Preceptor - Wargear: Reaper ChainswordThunderstrike Gauntlet (As replacement for Reaper Chainsword)Las-ImpulsorHeavy StubberMeltagun (As replacement for Heavy Stubber)Multi-Laser (As replacement for Heavy Stubber)Ion ShieldA choice of Ironstorm Missile Pod, Stormspear Rocket Pod or Twin-linked Icarus Autocannon Titanic Feet
Knight Preceptor - Adeptus Mechanicus Technical Specifications: The technical specifications of the Knight Preceptor have not yet been made publicly available by the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Knight Rampager - Knight Rampager: A Knight Rampager is a type of Questoris Pattern Chaos Knight that excels at melee combat. Knights Rampager are the Knight equivalent of uncontrolled berserkers, launching themselves into close combat with the foe without care or concern for their own survival or the tactics of their allies.Knights Rampager are known to storm into battle with frenzied, metallic howls. They charge full-tilt towards the foe with no thought for their own defence, servos straining, Plasma Reactor dials running red and attitudinal alarms wailing as the war engines threaten to topple themselves in their desperation to reach the foe. For the Fallen Nobles who pilot these lunatic war engines, it is like having their minds and souls tethered to a blazing meteor.They can do little but fight to direct the bloodthirst of their Knight suits as best they can, and many are rapidlyworn down by the experience until their sanity snaps and they are left as little more than slavering beasts themselves.So ferocious are Knights Rampager, so utterly bereft of discipline or restraint, that they are often dropped from a low-flying macro-hauler directly into the thickest fighting of a war zone. Other times they are teleported from within adamantium hexcages aboard orbiting war ships, or even transported to the front lines chained intosuper-heavy transport frames that bind them like armoured straight jackets until it is time for their fury to be unleashed.More than one such raving war engine has broken free of its restraints en route to the front, and wrought mayhem amongst its erstwhile allies in its mindless need to sate its battle-lust.
Knight Rampager - Role: For all the risks inherent in their deployment, once the Knights Rampager hit the enemy lines it is not hard to see why the Fallen Noble houses employ them in battle. These towering war engines fight less like machines and more like frenzied daemons.Their carapace warps and twists, weapon limbs over-articulating in ways that should be rationally impossible for their limited mechanical frames. Adamantine sinews and hyper-stressed servos scream as the Knights Rampager stab and bludgeon with their Reaper Chainswords and Thunderstrike Gauntlets, attacking with terrifying speed and ferocity.They rain down punishing blows that sunder the guard of even the most skilled war engine pilot, staving in the helms and chests of Loyalist Knights or tearing the heads from elegant Asuryani Wraithknights. The Knights Rampager stab and hack with their screaming chainswords, lopping limbs off Tyranid bio-horrors before eviscerating them in gory sprays.Knights Rampager have been seen to hoist war engines aloft in the grip of their Thunderstrike Gauntlets before sawing them in two with their whirring blades, scoop up infantry and hurl them screaming through the air to splatter bloodily against the flanks of their own bastions, or pummel victims into the ground before tearing chunks from them and bloodily devouring them with the gnashing maws of their mutated face-plates.Throughout their berserk onslaught, the Knights Rampager ignore incoming fire altogether. Their Ion Shields swivel and tilt, but this is likely merely the Fallen Nobles within attempting some modicum of self-preservation while they let their steeds maraud at will.Charging at the forefront of every assault, fighting with inexhaustible ferocity until they are too damaged to takeanother stride, Knights Rampager take catastrophic casualties.It is rare for a single such war engine to leave a war zone under its own power. Of course, many Fallen houses count on this fact; it is far easier to haul wrecked Knights Rampager from the battlefield and effect repairs than to entrap them again by force...
Knight Rampager - Unit Composition: 1 Knight Rampager
Knight Rampager - Wargear: Heavy StubberReaper ChainswordThunderstrike GauntletIon ShieldTitanic feet
Knight Rampager - Ordo Malleus Departmento Analyticus Technical Specifications: The technical specifications of the Knight Rampager have not yet been obtained by the Holy Ordos of the Inquisition.
Knight Styrix - Knight Styrix: The Knight Styrix, originally called the Questoris Knight Styrix, is amongst the rarest patterns of Imperial Knight armours ever produced. Housing Machine Spirits which some say became too accustomed to wholesale slaughter during the Age of Strife and the Great Crusade that followed it, many of the more conservative Knight houses consider the Styrix to be a dark and malevolent pattern of armour, the wanton slaughter it unleashes being beneath the dignity of a true Knight. Other households hold no such reservations, loosing entire formations of Styrix Pattern Knights to mercilessly annihilate their foes.Armed with a devastating Volkite Chieorovile and backed up with a Graviton Crusher and twin-linked Rad Cleanser, the Questoris Knight Styrix is easily able to eliminate large numbers of infantry at range. Whilst in close combat, its immensely powerful Hekaton Siege Claw can smash vehicles and tear buildings asunder, making it a powerful addition to any army.
Knight Styrix - History: The Styrix Pattern Knight armour is the equal of the Magaera in technological sophistication, and has been meticulously designed to facilitate the efficient eradication of infantry formations and supporting vehicles. Blasts from the Styrix's integral Graviton Gun can pin hapless targets in place while scything volkite beams and flesh-boiling rad-cleanser discharges reap a heavy toll of lives.The anima of these armours' Thrones Mechanicum, steeped in slaughter and death in its most visceral sense, often develop distinctly malevolent Machine Spirits (artificial intelligences), and have garnered something of a dark reputation in many of the more conservative households, who view the wanton slaughter of impotent infantry as beneath the honour of a true Knight.Among Mechanicus-oathed houeholds, the Styrix is held in higher esteem, especially among those Scions who have undergone extensive cybernetic augmentation in honour of their enigmatic patrons and share their antipathy for the weakness of flesh. The pitiless thrall-Knights of House Col'Khak are renowned for fielding entire formations of these war machines in support of the Legio Atarus ("Firebrands"), sweeping clear enemy infantry from the Titans' feet in a furious blast of energy beams and cleansing radiation.
Knight Styrix - Unit Composition: 1 Questoris Knight Styrix
Knight Styrix - Wargear: Volkite ChieorovileGraviton CrusherReaper ChainswordBlessed AutocimulacraThrone MechanicumEmpyreal Preysight - An upgrade to the Knight's Occular sensors enabling a far greater degree of visual acuity, including the ability to 'see' enemy infantry through cover.Ionic Flare Shield - An upgraded version of the standard Ion Shields used by most Knight classes. The Ionic Flare Shield is a combination of the standard Ion Shield and a Flare Shield, providing a greater degree of protection to its user, especially during melee combat.Titanic Feet - The weight of the Knight alone is enough for to crush enemy units beneath its behemoth tread.
Knight Styrix - Optional Wargear: Hekaton Siege Claw with built-in twin-linked Rad CleansersOccular Augmetics (31st Millennium Only) - An upgrade to the Knight's Occular sensors enabling a far greater degree of visual input during low-light conditions, such as night-fighting.
Knight Styrix - Sources: The Horus Heresy - Book Four: Conquest (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 102-103The Horus Heresy - Book Six: Retribution (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 78-79White Dwarf Weekly 48 (27 Dec. 2014), "Questoris Knight Styrix", pg. 7Forge World - Quetoris Knight Styrix
Knight Tyrant - Knight Tyrant: A Knight Tyrant is the designation given by the Imperium of Man to any Chaos Knight that was originally a Dominus Pattern Knight of any class.So massive are the Knights Tyrant that they loom over even the other Chaos Knights that fight at their sides. Walking bastions of corruption, these massive suits carry the heaviest weapon systems available to the Fallen houses.Their pilots delight in unleashing these armaments to their full devastating potential as they stride into battle. They often place themselves deliberately in harm's way, shrugging off the enemy's most deadly weaponry with insultingease in order to gain the perfect firing point.These Fallen Nobles tend towards towering arrogance and delusions of invincibility, a result of the Warp-driven spiritual bleed between themselves and the tainted Machine Spirits of the Knight suits they pilot.Pilots of Knights Tyrant almost always become fused with their steeds, either due to an obsessive desire to become the biggest and most destructive warrior upon the battlefield, or else because they have simply been overmastered and subsumed by the beast within the war machine which they ride to war.These mutated Nobles become the fleshy brains at the core of each mutated war engine, just as the Knights' pulsating dual plasma cores become their thundering hearts.
Knight Tyrant - Role: In terms of ranged weaponry, Knights Tyrant possess a wealth of potential armaments: Volcano Lances and Plasma Decimators make short work of even the largest and most distant armoured targets, while their daemonically-infused Shieldbreaker Missiles skip through the Warp itself to strike straight at the centre of any target.Conflagration Cannons belch lurid Warpflame or spumes of plague-ridden atomised acids that annihilate the enemy at close range. Siegebreaker Cannons thump out steady bombardments to harass and wear down the foe.Meanwhile, those Knights Tyrant armed with Thundercoil Harpoons are able to lay low even the largest war engines, monsters or fortifications -- the combination of a devastating initial impaling thrust, followed by macro-volt blastsof motive force before ripping chunks from the luckless victims as the harpoon is reeled back is as messy as it is effective.Whether standing immovable in defence or marching unstoppable on the advance, the Knights Tyrant are the true heavyweights of the Fallen Knight houses.
Knight Tyrant - Wargear: Plasma Decimator and Volcano LanceConflagration Cannon and Thundercoil Harpoon (As replacements for Plasma Decimator and Volcano Lance)2 Daemonically-infused Shieldbreaker Missiles2 Twin-linked Meltaguns2 Twin-linked Siegebreaker Cannons2 Shieldbreaker Missiles (As replacement for one Twin-linked Siegebreaker Cannon)Ion ShieldTitanic Feet
Knight Valiant - Knight Valiant: The Knight Valiant is a super-heavy Imperial Knight that makes use of the Dominus-class chassis and possesses a dual plasma core to empower its myriad weapon systems. It is used primarily as a close-combat assault walker. Although slower than other Knights, this pattern benefits from substantially increased firepower and much thicker armour than its smaller counterparts.
Knight Valiant - Role: The Knight Valiant defeats its enemies through the simple principle of applying overwhelming firepower at close proximity. Marching relentlessly into the fight, gunfire scattering uselessly from its Ion Shield, the Valiant unleashes such devastating punishment against its targets in so short a space of time that they can neither fight back nor endure.Even a single Knight Valiant can break the back of an onrushing enemy horde, or shatter the centre of the foe's battle line like a battering ram smashing through a castle gate. When an entire lance of these fearsome war engines strides into battle, they can snap apart an enemy army like matchwood.
Knight Valiant - Armament: The Knight Valiant's primary armaments are its Conflagration Cannon and Thundercoil Harpoon. The former is a magnificently unsubtle weapon, comprising three enormous, Knight-grade Flamers linked together and fed from armoured promethium reservoirs. When triggered, the Conflagration Cannon spews forth an inescapable firestorm that washes over everything in range and reduces all to blackened ash. So does the Knight Valiant burn the Emperor's enemies as the worthless Heretics they are.The Thundercoil Harpoon is a rather more unusual weapon: a huge spear of adamantium fitted with pneumatic grapnels and attached by thick chains to an electrothaumic generator, allowing it to be fired then reeled back in time and again. Not only does its impaling mass gouge massive wounds in larger targets while crushing smaller victims outright, but once the harpoon has hit home, the Noble pilot can trigger their generator and send a massive electrical charge through the chain. Arcing electrogheists leap from the harpoon, cooking monstrous beasts from the inside out and overloading the circuitry and power supplies of enemy war engines.Combined with the pummelling fire of its twin-linked Siegebreaker Cannons and the inescapable detonations of its Shieldbreaker Missiles, it is not hard to see how many enemy forces soon disintegrate when the Valiant turns its wrath upon them. Those few who hold their ground often earn a salute of respect from the Knight Valiant's pilot before its next bombardment annihilates them utterly.
Knight Valiant - Wargear: Conflagration CannonThundercoil HarpoonTwin-linked Siegebreaker Cannons2 Twin-linked Meltaguns4 Shieldbreaker Missiles or 2 Shieldbreaker Missiles and 1 additional pair of Twin-linked Siegebreaker Cannons Ion ShieldTitanic Feet
Knight Valiant - Notable Knights Valiant: Adamant Wrath (House Terryn) - The Knight Valiant Adamant Wrath is piloted by Sir Mercatane of House Terryn. The stern Sir Mercutane is as unyielding as the gates of an armoured fortress. He is fortified in mind, body and soul by his unshakeable faith in the Emperor, and would gladly give his life in defence of the Imperium. Of course, Mercutane's enemies would not find that life easy to take, especially while he sits within the indomitable Knight Valiant known as Adamant Wrath. This Dominus-class war engine is infamously stubborn, its machine spirit refusing to yield no matter how much damage it suffers. At Gallows Ridge, Adamant Wrath absorbed the fire of an entire renegade artillery company, weathering their punishing salvoes long enough to annihilate them with its own fearsome array of close-range armaments. Such a pairing of resolute Noble and stalwart Knight has only served to magnify the strengths of both, and Adamant Wrath is currently known as House Terryn’s most unshakeable defender.Bane of Iron (House Griffith) - Lady Natanya pilots the immense Knight Valiant known as Bane of Iron, whose Machine Spirit is amongst the most aggressive of all House Griffith's hunting steeds. Natanya herself is strong-willed and courageous, the only Noble ever to fully break the unruly Bane of Iron to their command. Natanya has harnessed her war engine's natural ferocity and destructive power, and now specialises in providing devastating close-range fire support to her comrades in the field. Griffith's fine tradition of monster hunting has found a worthy proponent in Lady Natanya, who excels in obliterating the Daemon Engines of the Heretic Astartes. She was amongst the Knights seconded to Roboute Guilliman's Indomitus Crusade, and soon proved her valour by protecting her Ultramarines allies with her Knight's crackling Ion Shield while annihilating heretical war machines one after another with pinpoint fire. Natanya has shared an honour-bond with the sons of Ultramar ever since.Blade of Gaia (House Canorem) - Piloted by Lord Horrik Canorem, the Blade of Gaia was a Knight Valiant dispatched to the Hive World of Luteus Alpha to help defeat the forces of WAAAGH! Gutrekka. The Blade of Gaia was destroyed by the Orks during the fighting. With the Orks having slaughtered all those in their path, including a detachment of White Scars, no definitive information exists on the nature of the Knight Valiant's destruction, with conflicting sources stating that a group of Orks or even the Flash Git Gargaz Teefgrabba on his own were responsible for destroying the Knight Valiant.Divine Retribution (House Raven) - The Knight Valiant Divine Retribution is piloted by Sir Galen, a Noble of House Raven, which serves the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Knight Valiant - Adeptus Mechanicus Technical Specifications: The technical specifications of the Knight Valiant have not been publicly released by the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Knight Valiant - Sources: Codex: Imperial Knights (8th Edition), pp. 21, 29, 69, 78, 100Shootas, Blood & Teef (PC Game)
Knight Vestal - Knight Vestal: A Knight Vestal is a senior member of the Sisters of Silence who serves within the order's Chamber of Vigilance, though they could be tasked to serve in the cadres of any of the order's other sub-divisions. These warriors act as the combat medics of the Silent Sisterhood whenever their cadres operate in war zones.In this role they are not only equipped to fight alongside their fellow sisters, but also expected to assess and treat those wounded on the battlefield. However, should a sister prove too wounded either physically or spiritually, they will not hesitate to grant them the Emperor's Mercy.Just like Space Marine Apothecaries, Knight Vestals are equipped with a narthecium to dispense combat drugs and aid in the diagnosis of wounds. However, just like their Adeptus Astartes counterparts, a Knight Vestal's narthecium contains a reductor that can be used to end a fellow sister's suffering quickly and painlessly.
Knight Vestal - Role: A division of the Chamber of Vigilance, those of the Knight Vestal Covenants are warriors first and foremost but also bear the responsibility of the health and well-being of the wider cohort whilst abroad in the vastness of the Imperial domain. In this medicae role they are not only equipped to fight alongside the Silent Sisters they were deployed with but are also expected to assess and treat those wounded on the field of battle. Where care can be given it is done so deftly, maintaining the Silent Sisterhood's fighting capabilities.But should the wounds, either physical or psychological, suffered by those under their charge prove to be too grievous, they will not hesitate to dispense the grace of a swift and honourable death themselves.
Knight Vestal - Unit Composition: 1-3 Knights Vestal
Knight Vestal - Wargear: Vratine Armour2 Bolt Pistols (Human-sized)Frag GrenadesKrak GrenadesPsyk-out GrenadesNarthecium (Normalised for baseline Human physiology)Power Weapon (Any type)Charnabal SabreNeedle Pistol (As replacement for one or both Bolt Pistols)Archaeotech Pistol(As replacement for one or both Bolt Pistols)
Knight Warden - Knight Warden: The Knight Warden is a pattern of Questoris-class Imperial Knight that excels at storming strongholds and battles in claustrophobic confines like urban areas. Undaunted in the face of enemy fire, they often mastermind attacks on enemy barricades and bunkers. With its Ion Shield to the fore, the Knight Warden can close upon a foe quickly, its immense strides simply bypassing tank barricades and easily manoeuvering through narrow hive city streets, a manufactorum or amidst the twisted boughs of alien forests.On one arm they carry an Avenger Gatling Cannon; on the other a Reaper Chainsword or Thunderstrike Gauntlet, both more than capable of ripping a tank, monstrous alien creature or armoured fortification to pieces. The Knight Warden can be further equipped with a shoulder-mounted Meltagun and carapace-mounted support weapon. Should the Warden expect to encounter enemy tanks, the Stormspear Rocket Pod is the ideal solution, while the twin Icarus Autocannons are perfect for dealing with aircraft.This combination of weapons renders them especially ferocious when engaging the enemy's war engines and monstrous beasts; with every swing, the Reaper Chainsword is more than capable of scything the head from a Tyranid bio-horror or running through the heaviest T'au Empire Battlesuit. Meanwhile, a single good punch is all the Thunderstrike Gauntlet needs to kill almost anything smaller than a Titan, annihilating it in a searing flare and resonant boom.In battle, the Avenger Gatling Cannon hisses as it whirs, spitting out a wall of shots -- a high volume of large calibre shells that can tear apart armour and mow down squads of infantry. A Heavy Stubber adds to the firepower while a Heavy Flamer built into the main gun's shield ensures that even foes in cover cannot escape the Knight Warden's wrath. When the Knight reaches its destination, the mighty close combat weapon on its other arm can rip apart or crush any enemy foolish enough to have stood before its oncoming doom.
Knight Warden - Role: For forces of the Imperium pinned down by enemy infantry, there is only one sound more reassuring than the heavy thudding footfall of an oncoming Imperial Knight. The whirring drone of the high velocity Avenger Gatling Cannon sounds a distinctive message, as do the telltale cracking explosions of its rapidly fired shots. Such noises let friend and foe alike know a Knight Warden has arrived. The highly feared Avenger Gatling Cannon is like an oversized Assault Cannon, though its larger calibre shells are more destructive and its rate of fire is even more prodigious. A single blazing volley from this rotary weapon can stitch a pattern of death across the foe's battle lines, causing charges to falter and fail or destroying entire attack columns of light vehicles. In support of this already lethal weapon, the Avenger Gatling Cannon has a built-in Heavy Flamer to flush foes out of cover.Any enemies that get through the curtain of deadly fire laid down by a Knight Warden must then seek to avoid the wide-sweeping blows of its signature close combat weapon, the Reaper Chainsword. This massive chain-toothed blade is typically used to destroy the largest of targets, slicing apart battle tanks or delivering the killing blow to Titan-class foes. It is this combination of mid-ranged firepower and close assault capability that makes the Knight Warden such a formidable adversary and so popular amongst its allies.It is not uncommon for some Knights Warden to bear a Thunderstrike Gauntlet in lieu of the murderous Reaper Chainsword, using the energy-crackling power of its prodigious blows to hammer apart even the mightiest of foes. The "Avenger Lance" formation made famous by House Terryn has been known to feature a trio of Knights Warden armed in such fashion, and House Vulker employs several similar lances for bunker-busting besiegements.Upon realising that they cannot match the might of an Imperial Knight, many of Mankind's enemies will attempt to overrun the war engine with weight of numbers, or probe around their more vulnerable flanks. It is against tactics such as these that the Warden truly comes into its own, thanks to the volume of firepower it carries.Should fast foes such as T'au Piranhas or Ork buggies streak around a Knight formation's flanks, seeking to compromise the walkers' Ion Shields, they will find a Knight Warden a formidable obstacle. Tracking the oncoming foe, the Knight Warden will fire short bursts from its Avenger, quickly and efficiently turning such light armoured vehicles into burning wreckage.
Knight Warden - Unit Composition: 1 Knight Warden
Knight Warden - Wargear: Avenger Gatling Cannon with built-in Heavy FlamerHeavy StubberReaper ChainswordIon ShieldThrone MechanicumTitanic Feet - The weight of the Knight alone is enough for to crush enemy units beneath its behemoth tread.
Knight Warden - Optional Wargear: Thunderstrike Gauntlet (As replacement for Reaper Chainsword)Meltagun (As replacement for Heavy Stubber)Ironstorm Missile PodTwin-linked Icarus AutocannonsStormspear Rocket PodBio-corrosive Rounds for Heavy Stubber (31st Millennium Only) - Replaces the Knight's Heavy Stubber's standard ammunition for Bio-corrosive tipped rounds. These rounds are capable of eating through both flesh and armour.Occular Augmetics (31st Millennium Only) - An upgrade to the Knight's Occular sensors enabling a far greater degree of visual input during low-light conditions, such as night fighting.