vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Grey Knights - Uncommon Purity: In the Space Marines' long history the Grey Knights hold the highest honour of all: no Grey Knight has ever turned to Chaos or betrayed the trust of the Emperor. This is a subject of much speculation and discussion within the Chapter and the Inquisition. Inquisitorial scholars have written numerous treatises on the subject of the Chapter's inexplicable, continuing purity in the face of constant involvement with Chaos and the Warp even when many Inquisitors have fallen to the Archenemy's corruption.One possibility is that the Grey Knights have proven incorruptible due to the unusual nature of their gene-seed: they each are imbued with the absolute purity of the Emperor Himself. However, several primarchs, carriers of the Emperor's genetic code in part, fell to Chaos corruption, even though they were much more meticulously engineered, their genetic creation undertaken by the Imperial Biotechnical Division and supervised by the Emperor before the Great Crusade during the ancient Primarch Project.Another view is that each Grey Knight must constantly reaffirm and retain the purity given to them by the Emperor's gene-seed through right thought and right deeds. There have been thousands of Grey Knights through the millennia, and therefore, countless opportunities for corruption -- yet none has ever fallen.This reality defies statistical probability, yet its cause remains unknown -- and perhaps unknowable. The debate on the incorruptibility of the Chapter continues, as no authoritative conclusion has been reached by the Inquisition. Yet for those with faith in the Emperor, the truth is simple -- the Emperor protects.
Grey Knights - Era Indomitus: The galaxy has always been plagued by Warp storms, empyreal rifts and other tears in the veil of reality where the cold, corrupting energies of the Immaterium  bleed through into the void. Where the boundaries of the material universe wear thin it falls to the Grey Knights to try to contain them and quell the inevitable Daemonic tide that spills through into realspace.However, in the centuries since the Chapter's creation at the end of the Horus Heresy, the veil between reality and the Realm of Chaos has continued to weaken, and like an ancient tapestry its frayed threads have come undone in ever-increasing numbers as the 41st Millennium wore on.At what was believed to be the end of the 41st Millennium, after the Fall of Cadia during the 13th Black Crusade of Abaddon the Despoiler, the Cicatrix Maledictum has torn a great rent across Imperial space, swallowing millions of worlds as it yawns open and leaving as many teetering on the precipice of utter destruction or damnation. From the maw of this Great Rift pour legions of Daemons in numbers never before seen.The scale of the current Daemonic invasion is greater than any faced by the Grey Knights throughout their Chapter's long history, but perhaps it was for this very time that the Emperor created them. Like bolts of silver lightning, in the Era Indomitus Grey Knight strike forces fly to all corners of the galaxy, the Imperium Nihilus and Imperium Sanctus alike, delivering the Emperor's holy wrath to all the denizens of the Warp who seek to pollute the Master of Mankind's realm.
Grey Knights - Chapter Organisation: The Grey Knights is unlike any other Space Marine Chapter, built around the tenets laid down by Malcador the Sigillite and the first Grand Masters of the Chapter, "the Titans."Though officially recorded as a Second Founding Chapter, the Grey Knights do not follow the dictates of the Codex Astartes: the great work of Roboute Guilliman whose edicts underpinned the creation of those other brotherhoods of the Adeptus Astartes. Instead, the secretive Grey Knights follow the tenets of structure they believe were handed down by the Sigillite, tenets born of the unique demands of their war against the Dark Gods.While the Grey Knights are technically Astartes, they do not involve themselves with the ordinary activities of the other Space Marines. They have no primarch to revere, as their gene-seed was crafted from the genome of the Emperor Himself. They are attached to the Ordo Malleus -- serving as its Chamber Militant -- charged with uncovering and expunging the heretical taint of Chaos wherever it is found.The Grey Knights Chapter is organised into large units called "brotherhoods," each one comparable in size to a Space Marine Battle Company. "Brother-captains" lead these formations, under the auspices of the Grand Masters, who in turn are guided by the decisions of the Supreme Grand Master.
Grey Knights - Order of Battle: The following Chapter hierarchy represents the order of battle of the Grey Knights Chapter as it stood in ca. 999.M41 before the birth of the Great Rift:
Grey Knights - Headquarters: Chapter Command 	 	<a href="https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/e/e2/GK_Heraldry4.png/revision/latest?cb=20170427095054" class="image"><img alt="GK Heraldry4" src="https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/e/e2/GK_Heraldry4.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/90?cb=20170427095054" decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="90" height="178" class="thumbimage" data-image-name="GK Heraldry4.png" data-image-key="GK_Heraldry4.png" data-relevant="1" data-src="https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/e/e2/GK_Heraldry4.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/90?cb=20170427095054" /></a> 	 		 		 		 	 Kaldor DraigoSupreme Grand MasterChapter Master of the Grey KnightsKaldor Draigo assumed mastery of the Grey Knights Chapter in the year 901.M41 following the death of Supreme Grand Master Geronitan, and had led the 666th Chapter in ceaseless defence of the Imperium for almost a standard century.Hall of ChampionsChambers of PurityHigh Paladin Govannon Bors98 Paladins12 Venerable DreadnoughtsCastellan Garran Crowe44 Purifiers
Grey Knights - Brotherhoods: Brotherhoods1st Brotherhood  ("The Swordbearers")2nd Brotherhood  ("The Blades of Victory")3rd Brotherhood  ("The Wardmakers")4th Brotherhood  ("The Prescient Brethren")Grand Master Vardan Kai, Steward of the Armoury23 Techmarines75 Tech Servitors20 Land Raiders24 Rhinos21 Stormravens18 Nemesis DreadknightsBrother-Captain Cadrig Pelenas1 Brotherhood Champion5 Terminator Squads5 Interceptor Squads5 Purgation Squads5 Strike Squads1 DreadnoughtGrand Master Vorth Mordrak, Admiral of the Fleet4 Battle Barges (Fire of Dawn, Bright Sword, Emperor's Will, Redeemer of Souls)12 Strike Cruisers8 Rapid Strike Vessels8 ThunderhawksBrother-Captain Arno Trevan1 Brotherhood Champion6 Terminator Squads7 Interceptor Squads6 Purgation Squads7 Strike Squads2 DreadnoughtsGrand Master Aldrik Voldus, Warden of the Librarius1 Chief Librarian3 Epistolaries12 Codiciers9 Lexicaniums12 AcolytumsBrother-Captain Arvann Stern1 Brotherhood Champion6 Terminator Squads3 Interceptor Squads4 Purgation Squads5 Strike Squads3 DreadnoughtsGrand Master Drystann Cromm, Keeper of the Augurium12 Prognosticars50 Mono-task ServitorsBrother-Captain Ionan Grud1 Brotherhood Champion3 Terminator Squads6 Interceptor Squads5 Purgation Squads6 Strike Squads3 Dreadnoughts5th Brotherhood  ("The Preservers")6th Brotherhood  ("The Rapiers")7th Brotherhood  ("The Exactors")8th Brotherhood  ("The Silver Blades")Grand Master Rothwyr Morvans, Protector of the Sanctum Sanctorum20 Sanctum Guardians12 ApothecariesBrother-Captain Tauros Hendron1 Brotherhood Champion4 Terminator Squads4 Interceptor Squads4 Purgation Squads8 Strike Squads5 DreadnoughtsGrand Master Anval Laraon, High Seneschal of the Fortress271 Chapter Equerries500 ServitorsBrother-Captain Caddon Varn1 Brotherhood Champion5 Terminator Squads6 Interceptor Squads3 Purgation Squads6 Strike Squads2 DreadnoughtsGrand Master Covan Leorac, Representative to the Inquisition24 Scribes3 AstropathsBrother-Captain Darig Tegvar1 Brotherhood Champion3 Terminator Squads5 Interceptor Squads3 Purgation Squads3 Strike Squads2 DreadnoughtsGrand Master Aidan Perdron, Knight Commander of the Recruits32 Neophytes1,005 Recruits38 Mono-task ServitorsBrother-Captain Mithrac Tor1 Brotherhood Champion7 Terminator Squads3 Interceptor Squads7 Purgation Squads3 Strike Squads1 Dreadnought
Grey Knights - Chapter Command: The Grey Knights are governed and directed by the Chapter Council, made up of the Chapter Lord, also known as the Supreme Grand Master, and the eight Grand Masters of the brotherhoods who all meet at an oaken table.The structure of this council is one of the Grey Knights' oldest traditions, as laid down at the Chapter's Founding by Malcador the Sigillite and his eight Astartes recruits who had once been his Knights-Errant during the Horus Heresy.The council meet in person rarely, for its members often fight far from Titan. Each member of the council has an equal voice, though the Chapter Lord has the responsibility to pass final judgement when there is no clear consensus among the Grand Masters.Although the Chapter Lord's rule is ultimately absolute, he can only be appointed to his position by the unanimous consent of the Grand Masters, so it is nigh-impossible for a reckless or unsuitable candidate to achieve dominion over the Chapter.Each Grand Master also holds sway over one of the Chapter's constituent bodies, such as its Chapter fleet, Armoury or Librarius. Each institution is nominally held to form part of that Grand Master's brotherhood, though he despatches elements of these organisations to undertake extended duties with others. This authority, only partly ceremonial, is tied to the command of a particular brotherhood, and over time the association has informed that brotherhood's fighting style and tactics.Yet in truth a Grand Master's chief responsibility is on the battlefield. The Grey Knights are spread thin throughout the galaxy, and it is not always possible for a brother-captain of one of the brotherhoods to command every strike force. Thus the Grand Masters take charge of the most crucial campaigns where even an experienced brother-captain is not thought equal to the task. This most commonly happens when one of the Conclave Diabolus -- the one hundred and one Greater Daemons in which the Grey Knights take special interest -- is sighted in the mortal realm.Chaplains lead the Chapter in prayer during gatherings in the Hall of Champions, and it is there also that the wisdom and knowledge of the Chapter's Venerable Dreadnoughts is often sought.
Grey Knights - Specialists: The Grey Knights maintain many of the same specialist and officer roles as other Space Marines. Librarians exercise greater and more diverse psychic powers than most Grey Knights, and help to hone the psychic powers of their battle-brothers.Techmarines have trained with the Tech-priests of Mars, whose techno-religious strictures the Techmarines balance with the Grey Knights' needs. They maintain the Chapter's vehicles and help craft the psychically-imbued wargear its warriors wield.Apothecaries, meanwhile, oversee the creation of new Grey Knights with arcane genetic implantation, as well as healing the most terrible of Warp-infected injuries and contagions with medicae tools and chirurgical rituals.These warriors are assigned to fight alongside one of the Grey Knights' brotherhoods -- often for their entire lives -- and in certain cases may even be granted command to lead strikes themselves. They are as embedded in their brotherhood's traditional rites and rituals as all its warriors, and lend their considerable skills to its successful prosecution of the Daemon.Though assigned to a particular brotherhood, these specialist officers may have completed their training under the auspices of another Grand Master. The Chapter's Armoury, for example, traditionally falls under the rule of the 1st Brotherhood's Grand Master, and he has ultimate responsibility for assigning the Techmarines' Chapter duties.
Grey Knights - Purifiers and Paladins: In addition to the brotherhoods, the Grey Knights maintain two further fighting bodies. Answerable directly to the Chapter Council, they accompany forces at the request of the Grand Masters.These are the Order of Purifiers and the Paladins.Purifiers are anathema to Warpspawn -- Chaos-tainted creatures wither at their touch. The Order of Purifiers, led by its Castellan Champion and the Knights of the Flame, can be considered a separate and entirely unique brotherhood of the Chapter. There are rarely more than 50 Purifiers at any one time in the Chapter, and on those occasions when their numbers do swell, it inevitably foreshadows some great Daemonic incursion.Just as the Purifiers are exemplars of the Chapter's spiritual heart, the Paladins are its martial champions, a company of some 100 or so of the most skilled warriors, from whose ranks is selected the Grey Knights' most honoured Ancient. Though they act primarily as honour guards for the Grey Knights' Grand Masters, Paladin Squads are commonly assigned to fight alongside the brotherhoods -- their skill and experience can swing the odds of even the most desperate battle.Grey Knights Purifier - The Purifiers are an order apart from other Grey Knights, distanced from their battle-brothers in the eight brotherhoods by their nature and tradition. The Purifiers epitomise the Chapter's sanctity of purpose. Purifiers recruit only from those amongst their battle-brothers whose souls are considered to be utterly incorruptible and resistant to the temptations of the Warp -- even by the exacting standards of the Grey Knights. So careful is the selection that there are seldom more than a few score Purifiers.Grey Knights Paladin - Paladins are Grey Knights who are warriors without peer. If a Grey Knight wishes to prove himself worthy of a place amongst the Paladins, bravery and skill are not enough -- he must complete eight quests to establish his character and cause. Given the perilous nature of these quests, it is little wonder that only the boldest Grey Knights become Paladins. From the moment of his elevation, each Paladin is bound in service not only to his Chapter, but also to one of the Grand Masters for whom he will act as personal bodyguard, champion and advisor. Henceforth, his place upon the battlefield will be wherever the fighting is thickest and the peril greatest.
Grey Knights - Squad Types: Grey Knights Terminator Squad - Grey Knight Terminator Squads are the mainstay of the Chapter. Heavily-armoured warriors armed with Storm Bolters and a variety of Nemesis Force Weapons, these formidable warriors are always at the forefront of any Grey Knights attack. These are also the first weapons a battle-brother must master when he completes his initial training, learning to move in the bulk of Terminator Armour with speed and grace, while wielding his Nemesis Force Weapon like an extension of his arm. That the standard troops of the Grey Knights utilise the finest weapons and armour of the Imperium is a testament to their elite status and the perilous nature of the foes they face. In battle Terminators excel in shock assaults and cracking open enemy defences, their armour proof against most attacks while their complement of heavy weapons proves deadly at close range.Grey Knights Strike Squad - Strike Squads often form the vanguard of a Grey Knights' strike force. Strike Squads are used to capture vital locations and key objectives, deployed via fixed teleporter to ensure a swift seizure of isolated or inaccessible locations. Once in place, a Strike Squad can lay down a punishing stream of Storm Bolter and Psycannon fire in support of the main assault.Grey Knights Interceptor Squad - Interceptor Squads carry personal teleporters -- backpack-sized devices that allow the squad to teleport site-to-site, without the massive arrays of machinery employed by conventional, usually shipboard devices. Grey Knights equipped with personal teleporters can react to battlefield circumstances on the fly and cover huge straight-line distances by "shunting" themselves through Warpspace. Of all the warriors in service to the Imperium, only Grey Knights could hope to utilise such technology without facing the certainty of eventual Chaos corruption.Grey Knights Purgation Squad - Purgation Squads are the Grey Knights' foremost means of delivering punishing firepower. Each squad carries not one, but up to four of the Chapter's heavy weapons. In aspect, a Purgation Squad appears little different to the Devastator Squads and other fire support units employed by more conventional Space Marine Chapters. In doctrine, however, the two are markedly different. The weaponry wielded by a Purgation Squad is twice as deadly, a hundred times rarer and ten thousand times more valuable than the more commonplace armaments carried by Space Marine fire support squads. Devastators will normally advance behind the main assault, seeking out suitable locations from which to unleash covering fire; Purgation Squads are ever required to keep pace with the main attack, all the while picking out suitable targets for their weaponry.
Grey Knights - Chapter Combat Doctrine: Most engagements of the Chapter will involve a single squad of Grey Knights supporting an Ordo Malleus Inquisitor, or a local force of planetary law enforcement, military forces or Astra Militarum.For the most serious daemonic incursions, several squads of Grey Knights numbering usually about 20 Astartes are collected around the presence of a senior captain, or even a Grand Master.In these circumstances, Tactical Squads will attempt to establish a beachhead in the Chaos-tainted area, before the Terminators and senior Astartes teleport down to the surface and engage the primary Daemon, banishing it back to the Immaterium.The very presence of Grey Knights upon the field of battle is painful to Daemons and other Warp entities. The Grey Knights' gestalt psychic purity and powers are combined through a squad's Justicar into the Aegis, a psychic "choir" that is amplified by the presence of additional squads psychically "singing" in tandem.These normally inaudible sonorous chants of detestation act as a weapon that repels the daemonic and makes it hard for these entities to maintain a presence in the physical universe. The presence of Telekines in Grey Knights squads enhances the potency of the Aegis: by raising psychic shields, the Telekines allow their battle-brothers to advance on targets with relative impunity.This means that Grey Knights gain immense advantages against Chaos opposition, but the high expense to the Imperium of creating even a single Grey Knight leads to its own tactical problems -- for all their power, Grey Knights will always be badly outnumbered and must focus upon the fast and lethal application of force.A byproduct of the use of the Aegis is the absence of any warcry for the Chapter. Grey Knights attack in seeming silence, and take care of their objective with remarkable economy of both action and communication.A Grey Knights force also contains a high proportion of troops who can teleport through the Warp into battle, a high-risk maneuver which can turn the tide of combat if deployed well.Teleportation may also require complicated battle-related arrangement and positioning and depending on the mission, can involve large number of squads teleporting in sync.
Grey Knights - Daemonhunters: The Grey Knights are anathema to Daemons, their very presence raw and painful to the creatures of the Warp.No other warriors of the Emperor are so adept at fighting Daemons, and each battle-brother is expertly trained in the many methods of banishing and destroying these deadly yet ephemeral foes.There are many ways to banish a Daemon, almost as many as there are Daemons themselves. So it is that the Grey Knights possess a myriad means for vanquishing the denizens of the Warp, though not every method works on every Daemon, or even twice on the same creature.The Chapter is therefore always adapting to combat the ever-changing face of their foe. It is a constant war of escalation that has been waged since the inception of the Chapter and before, when the Emperor first began unravelling the secrets of the Warp.For every weapon and tactic the Grey Knights develop and employ, the Daemons counter with Warp-sorcery and trickery.
Grey Knights - True Names: Chief amongst the Grey Knights' strategies concerning the vanquishing of a Daemon is obtaining knowledge of the beast's True Name. Knowledge of a Daemon's true name grants great power, which is why many Daemons adopt misleading pseudonyms or titles and seldom use their true names save in their most secretive of dealings.In the hands of a psyker or sorcerer, a true name can be invoked to bind or even banish a Daemon, regardless of its power. Ordinarily, these complex incantations take long solar hours, or even days. Each word must be carefully enunciated and each gesture precise, lest the sorcerer become corrupted by the magicks of the Warp. Invoking a true name is a daemonic pact of sorts -- albeit one in which the Daemon is at a severe disadvantage.For a Grey Knight, however, a true name is a weapon as reliable and immediate as the Storm Bolter borne upon his left gauntlet. Even the lowliest Grey Knight can invoke a true name with practice, disorienting and weakening his foe, and leaving the beast open for a killing strike from a Nemesis Force Blade or a well-placed bolt round.In the hands of an accomplished veteran of the Chapter, a true name becomes even more deadly, able to destroy the Daemon's physical form and cast it back into the Warp, leaving only a lingering sulphurous stench and ectoplasmic residue.To banish a Daemon in this manner is the closest that the Grey Knights can come to a lasting victory -- a Daemon bodily slain will return to the mortal realm far sooner than one banished body and soul.Alas, if true names are a Grey Knight's surest weapon against the Daemon, they are also the hardest of all to acquire. As with all things daemonic, a true name is born of the Warp, and its reflection in the minds and tongues of mortals is as shifting and mutable as the beast to whom it relates.So it is that in the candlelit chambers of the Grey Knights' Augurium, a veritable army of ebon-cowled scribes toil in shadow, endlessly sifting through the visions reported by the Chapter's Prognosticars, searching for clues to the ever-changing true names.It is a long and dangerous process, for no scribe can ever be trusted with more than a fragment of a true name, lest he become corrupted by the raw power it contains and threaten the very Chapter he seeks to serve. Thus, each scintilla of lore is inscribed onto a blessed scroll in sigils of the scribe's own blood -- mere ink cannot cage such knowledge.Each is then presented for collation and interpretation by one of the Chapter's senior Librarians and, in turn, bound into one of the blessed grimoires within the Citadel of Titan's Sanctum Sanctorum.
Grey Knights - Words of Banishment: Daemons are beings of the Immaterium, and are made up of the very raw energy of Chaos. This makes them creatures of nightmare, rage and fear, crafted from the base emotions and thoughts of Mankind.When fighting such a foe, strength of will and faith are as deadly as blades and bolt rounds, flesh tearing and ichor spillings with but a word of power.A Grey Knight will learn these words by heart and use them in battle to weaken or destroy daemonic foes, chanting them as he fires hammering shots from his Storm Bolter or cleaves apart his enemies with his Nemesis Force Halberd.The words are key to the most complex rituals of the Grey Knights, woven into their prayers and their rites of exorcism to increase their potency. There are 666 known words of banishment, each one a closely guarded secret by the Chapter and learned at great cost.Most mortals that look upon a word of banishment will lose their minds, its eye-searing symmetry and terrible definition breaking all but the strongest of wills.Even a Grey Knight battle-brother must temper his spirit before he learns even the most basic of these words. To date, only a single Grey Knight, the first Supreme Grand Master Janus, has ever learnt all 666 words of banishment, the weight of this knowledge almost too much for even the most accomplished battle-brothers to bear.Just like the Warp, the words of banishment are always in flux, each one changing and mutating. The Grey Knights Librarians and Prognosticars must be ever vigilant for subtle variations within the words of banishment while they search for the true names of Daemons.The creatures of the Warp and even the Dark Gods themselves are constantly altering, as is the nature of the Immaterium, so that a word that once held power inevitably changes or loses its meaning entirely.An invocation against daemonic enemies that could once enslave or bind is therefore robbed of its power. However, such is the fickle nature of Chaos that for every Daemon that unravels a word of banishment, another is creating more for its own amusement; and so the endless war continues.
Grey Knights - Tesseract Labyrinths: Not all weapons the Grey Knights use to defeat Daemons are Human in origin. Over millennia of war and strife, the Chapter has scoured the galaxy for secrets to use against the Dark Gods, some of them deriving from alien technology and ancient xenos empires.Humanity is not the only species to have suffered at the hands of Daemonkind; countless races and worlds were wiped from history by daemonic incursions long before Mankind even stepped out into the void.In the dead remains of alien cities or the dust-swept plains of remote planets, the Ordo Malleus has recovered many artefacts that now rest in the vaults on Titan.Equally, elements of the Inquisition have even made deals with living xenos races, trading technology and aid in return for their knowledge of the Warp and its inhabitants.One such temporary alliance with the Necrons has yielded the Tesseract Labyrinths: strange objects crafted with heretical science by cunning alien hands. Each one is a cube, roughly the size of a Space Marine's fist, covered in a precise geometric web of circuitry.The Tesseract Labyrinths possess the ability not only to trap Warp creatures but also to contain them within the esoteric energy field of its zero-point reactor. The power of the Daemon is then contained by its own essence; the more it fights against the Tesseract, the stronger the bonds of its prison become.However, luring a Daemon into a Tesseract Labyrinth is no easy task, as most Warp creatures will choose to abandon their mortal forms and return to the Immaterium before they can be bound to the alien devices.To date only a handful of "inhabited" Tesseracts are held in the vaults of Titan, each one the culmination of a great battle or epic campaign in which the Grey Knights were triumphant.
Grey Knights - Chapter Homeworld: For almost one hundred standard centuries Titan has been the secret fortress of the Grey Knights.Glittering in the darkness of Saturn's shadow, the ice moon bristles with orbital defence platforms and fleets of sleek grey vessels.Beneath its frozen surface generations of Grey Knights are created and laid to rest, in an endless cycle of birth and death.
Grey Knights - Citadel of Titan: At the base of Mount Anarch, tallest of Titan's peaks, rise the black basalt spires of the Citadel of Titan, the Grey Knights' fortress-monastery. Built by the Emperor over ten thousand standard years ago, the Citadel of Titan has endured through countless ages of war and strife.Covered with dust and shadow, the dark edifice is festooned with Macrocannons and massive Lance turrets, their heavy barrels aimed out into the night. It is a forbidding sight that welcomes no visitors and brooks no trespass.In fact, even the existence of the citadel is a closely guarded secret, and in the populous space lanes of the Sol System vessels give this satellite of Saturn a wide berth, their captains well aware that it does not pay to stray too close to the ominous moon.Within the frigid halls of the citadel, servitors and Chapter serfs shuffle along empty corridors and tend to the millions of menial tasks required to keep the fortress running. Occasionally, a towering Grey Knight will stride past, always with purpose and always cloaked in the menacing air of barely contained power. The citadel is the heart of the Chapter, a place for Battle-Brothers to rest, meditate and train between their endless battles.The mighty citadel is also home to the Librarium Daemonica, the Imperium's foremost repository of information relating to Daemons, daemonology, sorcery and the Ruinous Powers of Chaos.This mighty structure, designed to accommodate over a thousand Space Marines and all their weapons of war, stands largely silent and empty as squads of Grey Knights are scattered throughout the galaxy, in order to best respond to the threat of the forces of Chaos, wherever they may strike.
Grey Knights - Chapter Wargear: As the Grey Knights are an elite Space Marine Chapter engaged in fighting Daemonic infestation, they have access to specialised equipment not available to other Chapters.Ancient pacts with the Adeptus Mechanicus guarantee the most technologically advanced weaponry in the Imperium will be available to the Chapter. Highly unorthodox pacts with xenos species also dedicated to defeating Chaos have resulted in the availability and use of alien technology by the Chapter's warriors.Among these powerful and arcane items is the Psycannon, a powerful heavy weapon, armed with ritually inscribed silver and blessed "bolts" which are capable of damaging Daemons far more than the standard bolter. Another heavy weapon used by this Chapter is a sanctified Incinerator which utilises promethium which is mixed with sacred oils and then ritually blessed to give it an even greater effect on the Daemons that it is used upon.Grey Knights may also utilise standard Space Marine weapons or equipment, although this is much rarer. In addition, Ordo Malleus Inquisitors and Grey Knight hero units obtain powerful wargear designed to weaken the resolve and skill of Warp-spawned foes. This equipment can range from simple Storm Bolters to the powerful Psycannon or relics such as the Grimoire of True Names, and even a legendary Daemonhammer.Finally, all Grey Knights use Trecenti code, an encrypted language known only to themselves, which is often applied in battle cant.
Grey Knights - Ranged Weapons: Like other Space Marine Chapters, the Grey Knights favour bolter weapons. Their brutal damage and potent armour penetration make them ideal assault weapons -- not to mention the demoralising effect on the enemy that seeing a comrade torn apart by a .75 calibre bolt may have.Grey Knights also employ a number of special ranged weapons such as Incinerators and Psycannons, all of which are designed for maximum effectiveness against Daemons, Warp-entities and psykers:Astartes Storm Bolters - Grey Knight bolter weapons function in much the same way as standard Adeptus Astartes bolter weapons, albeit they are of a larger design and more robust manufacture. The advantages they gain from their size and superior ammunition quality is included in their profile. These weapons are common to the Grey Knights and always mounted on the wrist so that each Astartes might have a free hand to wield their Nemesis Force Weapon two-handed. Essentially incorporating two standard bolters side-by-side, these weapons are often issued with Psybolt ammunition.Astartes Incinerator - Incinerators are actually Heavy Flamers that use a psychically impregnated form of Promethium that burns hotter and more fiercely and is particularly damaging to Daemons.Astartes Psilencer - The Psilencer does not fire traditional ammunition. Rather, it focuses and amplifies the psychic might of its wielder into an amplified energy pulse that is released as a beam of unstoppable force. These arcane weapons harness the psychic potential of the user, who must unleash a bolt of psychic force into the containment core of the device. This burst of energy is then amplified and directed by the crystals in the weapon. It is unknown how the Psilencer came to become part of the Grey Knights' arsenal. The technology is surely of xenos origin, for it is unlike almost anything else that can be found in the armouries of the Imperium. It is not known whether the Psilencer was constructed from stolen alien technology or technology given freely. The Grey Knights remain silent on this matter.Astartes Psycannon - An ancient weapon whose manufacturing process has long been lost to the Imperium, the Psycannon was specially designed for the Grey Knights. Psycannons always use Psybolt ammunition and incorporate special anti-gravitic suspensors which reduce their weight and make them easier to fire on the move.
Grey Knights - Aegis Armour: The iconic symbol of the Space Marine across the galaxy, power armour is among the finest protections a warrior of the Imperium can ever hope to wear. The unique suits of Aegis Armour and Aegis Terminator Armour worn by the Grey Knights are incredibly well-crafted; anointed and inscribed with prayers and wards, ritually consecrated and psychically-charged.Working in tandem with the Grey Knights' formidable psychic powers, the Aegis warding within the armour protects the wearer from psychic attack unleashed by the effects of the Immaterium and the Daemons it spawns, using the wearer's own psychic power to energise itself. The armour's ritual blessings and psychic resonance also serve to confound the psychic perception of any enemy, resulting in an effect called "the Shrouding."As well as its psychic properties, the armour itself incorporates a Storm Bolter weapon that is similar in function in much the same way as a standard Astartes Storm Bolter, albeit with a larger design and more robust manufacture. These weapons are common to the Grey Knights and often mounted on the wrist so that they might have a free hand to wield their Nemesis Force Weapons two-handed.Essentially incorporating two standard bolters side-by-side, these weapons are often issued with psychic force-touched ammunition known as Psybolt Ammunition. When combined with the skill of the Grey Knights' themselves, this lethal weapon can be used with equal effectiveness in both ranged and melee combat.
Grey Knights - Common Wargear: The following is a list of the panoply of wargear commonly worn by members of the Grey Knights:Crusader Helm - Grey Knights use older patterns of helms -- known as Crusader Helms -- for both their Aegis Power and Terminator Armour, giving their squads a distinctive appearance when placed alongside other Adeptus Astartes who use the standard pattern helms.Nemesis Force Weapons - Every Grey Knights Terminator carries a Nemesis Force blade attuned to his psychic will. The ritual to dedicate these weapons is long and arduous and so it falls to the battle-brother to preserve and honour his weapon in combat. After many standard years of battle a Grey Knight's Nemesis Force Weapon will retain a piece of his psyche imprinted upon its blade that will live on long after its wielder has fallen.Armour Etchings - A Grey Knight's Aegis Armour or Terminator Armour is often an ancient relic drawn from the Chapter's armouries and has been worn by many warriors before him. Sometimes their names or deeds will be etched upon the plates and edges of the armour, a preserved memory of their lost glory.Purity Seals - When a Grey Knights battle-brother dons his armour its seals are blessed in complex and ancient rituals to preserve their integrity and keep the warrior safe from attacks both mundane and mystical. When a battle-brother returns to Titan it is a measure of his skill in battle and strength of will should these seals remain unbroken.Oath Shield - Battle-brothers display their personal heraldry upon the oath shields of their armour, the simple designs displaying their deeds and glories. As a Grey Knight advances in rank he might add to the heraldry of his shield to reflect his elevated standing within the Chapter.Storm Bolter - Grey Knight Terminator Armour incorporates a wrist-mounted Storm Bolter, an ancient pattern of that weapon that allows them to wield their Nemesis Force Weapon halberd unimpeded.
Grey Knights - Codicium Aeternum: This dread tome contains the Grey Knights and Ordo Malleus' knowledge on many of the Daemons the organisations have faced and defeated in the long millennia of their existence.In the tome's madness-stained pages reside knowledge and calculations on where and when various Daemons will manifest again in realspace and the means by which they can be defeated.
Grey Knights - Liber Daemonica: A copy of this arcane book, the Liber Daemonica, its contents drawn from material taken from the Librarium Daemonica on Titan along with the ancient battle rites of the Grey Knights Chapter, is carried into battle by every single Grey Knight, in a compartment in his armour's chest plate.The Liber Daemonica is an enduring symbol of a Grey Knight's devotion to his mission, and contains the cardinal tenets of anti-Daemonic lore culled from the dark knowledge caged within the Sanctum Sanctorum's walls. 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 of the Imperial Cult.The book is also represented in the Grey Knights' iconography, on the chest plate and pauldron of both their powe armour and Tactical Dreadnought Armour. It is a symbol of the greatest weapon of Mankind against the forces of Chaos -- an unshakable faith in the Emperor of Mankind.
Grey Knights - Aegis Dreadnoughts: Like their fellow Space Marine Chapters, when a battle-brother of the Grey Knights sustains such grievous wounds that he is beyond even the skilled talents of their Chapter's Apothecaries to save, he may be interred within a cybernetic sarcophagus and placed within the formidable armoured shell of a mighty Dreadnought if he is found worthy of continuing to serve the Emperor.Unlike other Chapters, however, Grey Knights do not look upon this extension of their life as an honour -- for it is the fervent wish of every Grey Knight that upon his death he be carried back to Titan to be interred in the consecrated crypts of the Dead Fields -- resting for eternity alongside the greatest of the Chapter's heroes. They would rather find peace in eternal rest than continue their lives inside a machine. As such, Grey Knight Dreadnoughts are extremely rare.Yet it is not the Dreadnought's armour, nor its Aegis reinforcement, nor even its armament, that make it such a deadly foe. That honour goes to the warrior that guides the goliath. Only the mightiest of the fallen are interred within a Dreadnought. This great warrior has long set aside all mortal frailties for a mechanical form that is as untiring and unyielding as his own will. Such is a Dreadnought's wealth of combat experience that, once fully awakened, it can adopt any role required.Indeed, amongst the Grey Knights, it is far from unusual for a Dreadnought to serve as a secondary commander, holding authority over the main strike force, thus allowing the brother-captain to direct efforts elsewhere.This should come as no surprise, for many Dreadnought pilots attained the rank of brother-captain, or even Grand Master, before their internment, and relish the opportunity to apply their strategic acumen to fresh campaigns. To take to battle alongside such a warrior is to walk in the shadow of a living legend and, in such company, a battle-brother will not be found wanting.Due to their access to the Imperium's most advanced technology, the Grey Knights often field the extremely rare Mark VI Mars Pattern or Aegis Dreadnoughts that only this elite Chapter is known to possess.
Grey Knights - Dreadknights: Nemesis Dreadknights are a more powerful and advanced version of the standard Dreadnought. However, Dreadknights are not cybernetic combat walkers but advanced exoskeletons intended to be used by any Astartes trained in their use to enhance his physical strength and firepower beyond even the superhuman norm of the Space Marines.These warmachines are currently exclusive to the Grey Knights. Dreadknight exoskeletons were designed and built for the purpose of allowing a single Grey Knights Astartes to combat powerful Greater Daemons and Daemon Princes who are physically far stronger than even the oldest and most experienced Space Marine.In appearance, Dreadknights are drastically different from standard Dreadnoughts. They are taller, bulkier and appear as a humanoid-shaped exoskeleton. Unlike Dreadnoughts which sometimes replace one of their manipulators for a weapon, a Dreadknight has two large Power Fist-like appendages that then can hold additional weapons (such as Heavy Bolters) that are mounted on the exoskeleton's wrists. This unique addition allows the Dreadknight to be armed with massive Nemesis Warhammers or power swords so that it can engage in melee combat with all of the fluidity and agility of a Human being.The pilot's head is almost completely exposed in the top of the exoskeleton's pilot compartment, but can freely enter and leave the warmachine, unlike true Dreadnoughts, whose Astartes occupants have been hard-wired into the Dreadnought's cybernetic shell for all eternity.Despite this disadvantage, it is possible that the Dreadknight has greater flexibility, strength and agility in combat than a Dreadnought, making it more dangerous and effective in melee combat against the truly potent foes it must face.
Grey Knights - Psychic Abilities of the Grey Knights: The Grey Knights have many abilities that standard Space Marines lack. These powers are psychic in nature and work on a gestalt principle much like that of the Orks in which the more Grey Knights that are present in one location, the more powerful their psychic abilities manifest.Beside these powers, the Grey Knights are highly-skilled close combat fighters. Most Grey Knights who are masters of melee combat are able to win against even the most seemingly impossible of odds. Unlike Space Marine Librarians or other psykers, their power is deemed free of the taint of the Warp and they are the only psykers allowed, for instance, in a Black Templars Chapter Crusade army.All Grey Knights possess a degree of psychic ability and are highly-accomplished psykers, their abilities further developed and enhanced by their standard years of training on Titan. While only a handful of Grey Knights battle-brothers ever achieve the levels of power commanded by the Chapter's Librarians, they are all capable of manifesting certain powers and abilities, especially in the company of other Grey Knights where they can combine their gifts to create great effects and more devastating psychic attacks. However, those who prove to have a strength of mind far greater than that of their fellows will go on to join the ranks of the Chapter's Librarians.Each Grey Knight is trained to channel his mental energies into protective wards and an array of battle-spells. The mightiest Grey Knights of all can banish Daemons with but a touch, conjure psychic defences to protect their allies and unleash the destructive power of the Warp itself upon their foes.The Grey Knights' selection of psychic powers has been formed over millennia of combat against the worst monsters the galaxy has to offer. While these powers are most commonly used by Grey Knights Librarians, it is not unheard of for an Ordo Malleus Inquisitor to learn these abilities or an Astra Militarum Primaris Psyker to train in one of these rare Disciplines. The psychic powers of the Daemonhunter are not subtle -- they are weapons of war against the most terrible foes of the Emperor of Mankind.
Grey Knights - Daemonology (Sanctic) Discipline: Banishment (Primaris Power) - The psyker bends his will to dissolving the bonds that tether the Daemonic to the mortal plane, casting them back into the Warp.Gate of Infinity - The psyker punches a corridor through the roiling Immaterium, allowing him to cross great distances in the blink of an eye.Hammerhand - Focusing the raging power of their minds, Grey Knights and other psykers trained in this power can augment the already prodigious physical strength of themselves and their battle-brothers. Even unarmed, such warriors can crush flesh and bone -- given blade or warhammer there is little limit to what they can slay.Sanctuary - Chanting words of warding, the psyker creates a zone of light and psychic turbulence around him that can both protect him from physical harm as well as repel Daemonic creatures and other threats of the Warp. This barrier extends out around the Grey Knight Librarian or other psyker in a 10-metre-radius and impedes all those who attempt to cross. The barrier does not impede a Grey Knight's movement in any way.Purge Soul - The psyker draws upon every ounce of willpower he possesses to purge the evil of his mortal foes' souls, scouring every trace of Chaos corruption within them even if it destroys them in the process.Cleansing Flame - The psyker harnesses the very fire in his soul, creating a wall of white-hot psychic flame that blasts forth and purges his foes from the battlefield.Vortex of Doom - The psyker rends the material realm asunder, tearing a rift between realspace and the howling madness of the Warp, condemning his foes to total oblivion within a vortex he causes to erupt between dimensions.
Grey Knights - Chapter Fleet: Like other Space Marine Chapters, the Grey Knights' primary mode of transportation is the strike cruiser class of Imperial warship that is exclusive to the Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes. However, the Grey Knights' starships are specially modified in several ways. One is the hexagrammic and anti-Daemonic wards that are built into the entire voidship from bridge to landing struts and every bulkhead in between, similar to those that are placed under the skin of the Grey Knights themselves. These wards lend the vessels added protection from the forces of Chaos.Also, the Grey Knights' strike cruisers are equipped with significantly more advanced armour than the starships of other Chapters. This is to allow them to close with more powerful foes and reach their destination safely, since the Grey Knights must fight more powerful enemies than the standard Adeptus Astartes Chapters.All Grey Knights ships also contain teleportation chambers, and have specially modified Warp-Drives that allow them to reach their destinations much faster than conventional Imperial warships. The landing and Drop Pod bays of Grey Knights vessels are enlarged to be able to deploy larger numbers of Space Marines faster.The mortal crew members of Grey Knights strike cruisers are all strictly mind-wiped to prevent the possible taint of Chaos corruption, and are psychically-implanted with a key word which will kill them automatically by shutting down their autonomic nervous systems should their vessel fall into the hands of the forces of Chaos.Grey Knight starships do not broadcast any known transponder codes, and the vessels do not exist in any registry of the Imperial Fleet. According to the Inquisition's policy of secrecy, any unauthorised contact, however fleeting, with a Grey Knights vessel will subject the contactees to the appropriate countermeasures, including mind-wipe or liquidation.The advanced nature of the Grey Knights' starships is made possible by two factors. The first is their fortress-monastery's close proximity to Mars, the greatest Forge World in the Imperium of Man, which allows the Chapter access to technology that was lost or is impossible to replicate anywhere else in the Imperium.The vast resources that the Ordo Malleus makes available to the Grey Knights due to their position as the ordo's Chamber Militant also allows the Grey Knights to obtain nearly any piece of equipment or technology available from other Imperial adepta.