vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Rok - Third War for Armageddon: Roks were used extensively by the forces of the Ork Warboss Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka at the onset of the Third War for Armageddon in 998.M41 when the Orks slammed their Roks into that battered Hive World to begin their next attempt at its conquest. On Armageddon, the Roks made landings in the verdant equatorial jungles and across all of Armageddon's continents, not just upon the populated landmasses of the sub-continents of Armageddon Primus and Secundus.Some Roks were lost to ground fire or smashed apart by their own impact, but many more survived. Not only did they slam into the planet to crush anything below, but the shockwaves of those landings were devastating. Even as the Space Marines began their attack runs to stall the Orks' advance, they found the Rokscrashing amongst them.Each landed Rok became a bastion for the Orks, a rallying point and a ready-made fortress. But there was more: as well as gunz, the Roks contained Tellyporta arrays like those first used by Ghazghkull in his Piscina Campaign. These were swiftly used to bring Ork reinforcements to the planet, countering the Space Marines' attacks. They included special Marine-killa mobs, Stompas, artillery and even Gargants.
Rok - Dimensions: Hull: Varies; up to 4 kilometres in diameterClass: Ork "Rok"Mass: VariesCrew: UnknownAcceleration: 1-2 gravities maximum acceleration
Rok - Sources: Battlefleet Gothic Resources: Xenos Fleets, pg. 63Codex: Armageddon (3rd Edition)Codex: Orks (4th Edition), pg. 18Waaagh! Ghazghkull: A Codex Ork Supplement (7th Edition), pp. 48-53Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine Collectors Edition ArtbookRogue Trader: Battlefleet Koronus (RPG), pg. 82Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2 (PC Game)
Rok Clawz - Rok Clawz: The Rok Clawz are a tribe of Orks led by Warboss Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter. They first appeared in Dawn of War - Soulstorm. They live on Kaurava II and use Rok Claw Mountain as their main fortress city.
Rokkit Launcha - Rokkit Launcha: Crude but easy to manufacture, the Ork Rokkit Launcha is a stout tube with a simple trigger mechanism that allows the Ork at the "safe" end to fire a dodgy-looking Rokkit in the general vicinity of the enemy. The Rokkit Launcha resembles a slapdash "Orky" version of an ancient Jermani (Germany) Panzerfaust; a single shot, hip-fired, rocket-propelled grenade. Rokkits can be loaded one at a time, or loaded automatically from a magazine if the weapon is a bit more complex than the usual slap-dash launcher. Unlike Imperial Missile Launchers, Rokkit Launchas can be used on the move with no noticeable loss of accuracy. Its simplicity makes it very easy to manufacture and it is a fairly common Ork special weapon.Sometimes, Orks equip themselves with Rokkit Launchas to gives their mob the ability to shoot down armoured vehicles. In most cases, this weapon will find its way into the hands of a Tankbusta mob (the Ork equivalent of anti-armour infantry), but other mobs usually have one Ork armed with a Rokkit Launcha for every ten Boyz in the mob, making it one of the more common heavy weapons found amongst Greenskins. This allows mobs of Ork Boyz to have some response to armoured targets at range. Rokkit Launchas can also be found mounted on Ork vehicles like Killa Kans, Deff Dreads, Mega-Dreads, Junkas, Big Trakks, Ork Kill Tanks, Battlewagons, Looted Wagons, and Ork Battle Fortresses, as well as aircraft such as the Bommas, Fighta-Bommers and Warkoptas. Warbuggies and Deffkoptas are notable Ork vehicles that make use of twin-linked Rokkit Launchas for increased accuracy. When a Rokkit Launcha is combined with a Shoota, a potent Ork Kombi-weapon can also be made.
Rokkit Launcha - Sources: Codex: Orks (4th Edition), pp. 42, 89-90Imperial Armour Volume Eight - Raid on Kastorel-Novem, pp. 93, 117Rogue Trader: Into the Storm (RPG), pg. 142Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook (6th Edition), pg. 203
Rokkit Rangerz - Rokkit Rangerz: The Rokkit Rangerz are a small Ork tribe that formed a part of Warlord Gorgutz's WAAAGH!. It is common for Ork tribes to become part of other, larger Ork tribes if their Warboss is killed by another Ork leader. Warlord Gorgutz used this method to quickly build a massive Ork invasion on three separate occasions; first on Lorn V, then Kronus and finally a massive assault was launched by these Greenskins upon the Kaurava System.Most other large scale Ork invasions (like the wars for Armageddon) have been formed in this way. One tribe must simply slay another tribe's leader, and the most likely outcome is that the tribes will merge and eventually begin to form a WAAAGH!.
Rosarius - Rosarius: A Rosarius is a sacred symbol of office for the clerical members of the Adeptus Ministorum and is also a symbol of office for the Chaplains of the Space Marines alongside the Crozius. It is worn around the neck or waist on a sash, a cord, or a string of prayer beads.A Rosarius normally takes the form of a gorget, amulet, or signet ring of adamantium usually shaped into the form of the Imperial Aquila or a Gothic Cross with a jewel in the centre.It houses a powerful protective Conversion Field emitter, protecting the Ministorum Priest or the Space Marine Chaplain from attacks both physical and psychic that might otherwise break through the protection of even the mighty Space Marine power armour or the indomitable strength of his own will.The field's effect is to convert the kinetic energy of an impact into harmless photons of the visible light spectrum. When the field stops a shot, a blinding flash of light is produced as the energetic conversion occurs. The field is capable of rendering even Plasma Gun shots harmless.A Rosarius does not give off the same glow as a Refraction Field. However, they do convert some of the energy they observe into visible light, causing them to flash and spark when they are hit. Space Marine Chaplains are always granted a Rosarius upon attaining that rank within their Chapter.The most noted bearers of Rosarii are Space Marine Chaplains who receive them from the Ecclesiarchy as a symbol of the link they share in devotion to the Emperor of Mankind. Ecclesiarchy Confessors and Missionaries also wear a Rosarius.Inquisitors sometimes carry Rosarius as well, although this is probably out of practical concerns to show their faith in the Emperor and to other Imperial Cult believers rather than as a show of allegiance to the Ecclesiarchy.Also, a large number of the Sisters of Battle carry a Rosarius due to the strong affiliation between the Adepta Sororitas' Orders Militant and the Adeptus Ministorum.The Wolf Priests of the Space Wolves Chapter, who combine the roles of Chaplain and Apothecary in that non-standard Chapter's organisation, are equipped with Wolf Amulets, which confer many of the same benefits as the Rosarius.The Rosarius is often referred to in the Ecclesiarchy's sacred texts as the "Soul's Armour." Many of the Ecclesiarchy's Missionaries and the Space Marines' Chaplains have been saved from death or corruption by the Rosarius' Conversion Field.
Rosarius - Notable Rosarius Variants: Maccabien Rosarius - More than simply a field projector, a Rosarius is an icon of the Imperial Creed, and is often only entrusted to the highest officials in the Ecclesiarchy. A Rosarius appears to be a square, stylised cross of adamantium or some other dense and durable metal, with a jewel or Ecclesiarchy symbol in the centre. It is worn around the neck or waist on prayer beads or a sash. However, within each is a powerful field mechanism. A Maccabien Rosarius is named because each includes a small chip of stone cut from the bedrock of the sacred world of Maccabeus Quintus. A Rosarius does not give off the same glow as a Refractor Field. However, they do convert some of the energy they observe into visible light, causing them to flash and spark when they are hit. They are also a holy icon, meaning they do not suffer the touch of the foul Warp-born enemies of Mankind.
Rosarius - Sources: Codex: Space Marines (6th Edition), pp. 123, 125Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition), pg. 58Codex: Space Marines (4th Edition), pg. 24Codex: Space Marines (3rd Edition), pg. 35Codex: Space Wolves (5th Edition), pg. 35Dark Heresy: Ascension (RPG), pg. 145Dark Heresy: Blood of Martyrs (RPG), pp. 11, 14Deathwatch: Core Rulebook (RPG), pg. 75Deathwatch: First Founding (RPG), pg. 64Deathwatch: Rites of Battle (RPG), pg. 143Index Astartes II, "For the Emperor - Space Marine Chaplains"Warhammer 40,000: Compendium (2nd Edition), "Chaplains & Commissars," pg. 22
Rose of Isha - Rose of Isha: A Rose of Isha is a relic of the Aeldari goddess of nature and fertility Isha. It was said in Aeldari mythology that wherever Isha walks, rose-like flowers would bloom in her wake, and such flowers offered protection to any mortals who could acquire them from the corruptive energies of Chaos.
Rose of Isha - History: No one had seen a Rose of Isha since the War in Heaven until in ca. 999.M41 Mortarion, the primarch of the Death Guard, used the Chaos relic known as the Hand of Darkness to unleash a variety of plagues on the Realm of Ultramar when he heard that his brother primarch Roboute Guilliman had been resurrected. Guilliman and Varro Tigurius, the Chief Librarian of the Ultramarines, told the Asuryani Farseer Eldrad Ulthran of Mortarion's use of the Hand of Darkness, prompting the Farseer to send Yvraine, the prophetess of Ynnead, the god of the dead and her Ynnari, Guilliman's allies, to retrieve it from the Whispering Tower on the Death Guard's Plague Planet in the Eye of Terror.To reach the Plague Planet without suffering through the potential exposure of Chaos corruption in the Eye of Terror, Yvraine and her accompanying Ynnari passed through trials of temptation by Slaanesh on the secret craftworld of the Black Library in the Webway. After successfully navigating the trials, Yvraine recovered a Rose of Isha, said to grow only where the goddess of nature walked, which allowed Yvraine to enter the Garden of Nurgle in the Realm of Chaos. Passing through the Garden, Yvraine was able to secretly reenter the material plane at the Whispering Tower on the Plague Planet and steal the Hand of Darkness so Mortarion could no longer use it to afflict the people of Ultramar.
Rot Cannon - Rot Cannon: The Rot Cannon is a large ballistic weapon carried into battle by the Plague Hulk Daemon Engines used by the Forces of Chaos. The Plague Hulk is a Daemon Engine of Nurgle, the Chaos God of pestilence and disease. The Rot Cannon belches out shells that are so impregnated with dark ichor and infection that a mere scratch from the shell's bone fragments will immediately and agonisingly fester into a crippling injury.The Rot Cannon is similar in size to the Battle Cannon used by Imperial main battle tanks. The weapon is an arcane device of unknown, possibly daemonic origin and is fused to the end of the creature's right arm.
Rot Cannon - Sources: Imperial Armour Apocalypse II, pg. 72Imperial Armour Modelling Masterclass II, pp. 78-79Plague Hulk - Forge World
Rot Fly - Rot Fly: A Rot Fly is a Daemonic Beast used as a Daemonic Steed by the other Daemonic servants of the Plague God Nurgle.Rot Flies were once Beasts of Nurgle that have since been transformed by the will of the Lord of Decay into hideous Daemonic insect steeds similar in appearance to giant corpse flies whose appearance is so repugnant it scars the mind.Rot Flies are often used as mounts by the high-ranking Lesser Daemons of Nurgle known as Plaguebearers who form squadrons of aerial cavalry with their Rot Fly steeds called Plague Drones.
Rot Fly - History: Rot Flies are colossal Daemons in the form of hideous insects whose appearance is so repugnant it scars the mind. These vile creatures are the most loathsome of Nurgle's creations. Only the forbidden tomes of the Aeldari Black Library speak of the forbidden process by which these creatures are birthed, for they hatch in the sticky depths of Nurgle's gardens in the Realm of Chaos, where the visionary and the loon wander in their dreams.Some Beasts of Nurgle, disappointed by the rag-doll inactivity of their mortal playthings, develop a kernel of bitterness in their ebullient souls. Crestfallen puzzlement leads to frustration and ultimately an aching resentment. Over the millennia, a thin seed of malice grows in such a Beast's heart, feeding upon the energies of its depression and angst until it throbs like a canker.The final straw comes when the Beast is betrayed unto death by those it wishes to call its friends. Seeking reconciliation, the Beast will put aside its doubts and bound optimistically towards the ranks of those mortals it has cornered.Should one of these ingrate warriors slay the Beast with a lucky sword thrust or well-aimed plasma blast, the creature will vanish howling into the Warp.Called back to the Immaterium, the Beast lollops and huffs, splashing down into the mire of Nurgle's garden with an aggrieved sigh. The knowledge that it cannot return to the delights of the mortal realm festers within it as it wallows in the sheer unfairness of the universe.Over the centuries the Beast pupates, protected from harsh reality by a crawling shroud of Nurgle's fattest flies. A daemonic metamorphosis takes place as the chitinous nub of hate that lurks within the Beast grows strong on the sallow bulk of its former incarnation.Eventually, the creature within bursts out of its cocoon as a full-grown Rot Fly, a creature of pitiless malice hell-bent on wreaking its revenge upon an uncaring universe. Plague Bearers prize such steeds highly, for in their haste to punish the mortals that once spurned them, Rot Flies speed into battle at a great pace.
Rot Fly - Role: As the Rot Flies fall upon their prey, leathery wings buzz in a flapping purr of motion and clouds of deathbottle flies fill the air above, choking airborne warriors and clogging engine intakes.Prehensile probosces and posterior mouth-parts latch onto the faces of their victims, and the Rot Flies let out titters of mean-spirited laughter as they pluck heads from necks and swallow them down.When facing the common soldiery of Realspace, a Rot Fly will slowly digest all meat from a skull before extruding a plague-infested death's head that its Plague Bearer rider can hurl at the foe.Given the chance, though, Rot Flies will hunt down the heroic warriors that slew their previous incarnations. A special fate is reserved for such individuals -- opening their maws wider than physical law should allow, the Rot Flies swallow their prey whole, keeping them trapped in their mucous-filled abdomens for eternity.
Rotary Missile Launcher - Rotary Missile Launcher: The Rotary Missile Launcher is a rotary missile launching system that is used by the Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes on their Relic Sicaran Arcus Strike Tanks to replace the no longer manufactured Arcus Launcher originally used by the Sicaran Arcus during the Great Crusade era.The Sicaran Battle Tank was an Imperial main battle tank and one of the most advanced armoured vehicles ever used by the Imperium, and the Arcus variant was no different. The Arcus Strike Tank was originally part of a program once initiated by the Primarch of the Ultramarines Legion, Roboute Guilliman, seeking to grant a Legion strike force access to highly specialised weapon systems without the need to employ numerous vehicles for each role. The Sicaran hull was chosen to mount the newly developed Arcus Launcher, which was capable of deploying with a wide range of warheads, each crafted to fulfil a distinct tactical niche during combat. The Arcus was intended to become the cornerstone of a new tactical doctrine the Master of Ultramar had begun to formulate, allowing small Legiones Astartes forces to operate without extensive support and in smaller numbers than during the Great Crusade.Despite production of the Arcus being limited to a few prototype vehicles at the onset of the Horus Heresy, and the doctrinal issues that kept it out of production on most major Forge Worlds, a number of Legion homeworlds produced small numbers of this variant. Of particular note is the inclusion of the Neutron-flux Warheads, a Terran development dating back to the years prior to the Emperor's alliance with Mars. This weapon saturated the silica stratum of the Cybernetica Cortex employed by Mechanicum Automata with xenon, causing terminal cascade failures in those systems. The continued production of these weapons is believed to be the cause of the Mechanicum's refusal to sanction the Sicaran Arcus Pattern, and its inevitable downfall.The Rotary Missile Launchers used by the Relic Sicaran Arcus Strike Tanks of the 41st Millennium lack the ability to exchange their standard High-Explosive warheads for alternate types, thus limiting the Arcus' combat abilities -- and preventing the use of munitions still considered heretical by the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Rotary Missile Launcher - Sources: Forge World Webstore - Legion Sicaran Arcus Strike Tank Forge World Webstore - Relic Sicaran Arcus Experimental Rules (PDF)
Rotgut Booze - Rotgut Booze: Rotgut Booze is a catchall term (especially among interstellar travellers) for the fermented liquid and more basic, cheaper brews of alcohol compared to the relatively more expensive Amasec.Indeed, alcohol comes in many shapes and sizes throughout the Imperium, and most human cultures are noted for producing at least one kind of barely digestible rotgut.
Rotigus - Rotigus: Rotigus, also called "Rotigus Rainmaker", "Rainfather" and the "Generous One," is a powerful Great Unclean One, a Greater Daemon of Nurgle. Rotigus is the epitome of Nurgle's generosity and fecundity. None, save for the Lord of Decay himself, is more attuned to the woes of the world.In their despair, the most defiant of mortals vow to endeavour onwards, despite the utter hopelessness of their situation. Thus do the barren pray for fertility, the growers of crops plead for rain, the starving beg for sustenance.Rotigus listens to each supplication, and to those desperate enough to pledge anything in exchange for life, he promises salvation. And the Rainfather always delivers.
Rotigus - History: Humming merrily -- for he enjoys his work -- Rotigus lavishes his attentions upon those that beseech him. With their beasts gone sterile, the Agri-world of Ullden stood upon the brink of ruin.When the animals began to breed once more, the citizens believed their prayers to an ancient fertility god had been answered. Only when the wretched beasts kept giving birth, covering the ground in mewling, mutated newborns that shrieked to the skies did they realise their doom.When their hydro-tech broke, the T'au Earth Caste farmers of Dh'artan were so desperate for rain that they ignored protocol and gave in to the superstitions of the primitive tribes from whom they had usurped the planet. When the downpour first came it was welcome, but soon enough the entire planet became a foetid swamp rife with plague.Since his participation in the Skull Lands War when Rotigus' quick thinking and ability to unleash the greatest deluge he had ever manifested prevented a massive blaze accidentally started around Khorne's Brass Citadel from reaching back into the heart of Nurgle's Garden, Rotigus has been in ascension in his master's eyes.He has claimed thousands of new worlds for the Fly Lord since the birth of the Great Rift. The other Great Unclean Ones look upon the Rainfather's works with a sibling jealousy, knowing it will not be long before he achieves Exalted status.As the Death Guard's siege of the Imperial Hive World of Nebbus reached its seventh Terran year in the time after the opening of the Great Rift, the Primarch Mortarion's Sorcerers summoned the Rainfather to aid them. Rotigus joined the fight, bringing with him his appalling aura of infernal fecundity.Protein vats in the hive cities overflowed as the flesh-broth within them grew at an unstoppable pace, burying entire levels under flabby drifts of bloated meat. Vermin of every sort entered frenzied cycles of birth and death, the Imperial defenders finding themselves overwhelmed by tides of sump-rats, infestations of grizzleworms and million-strong swarms of ravenous ripper jacks.Worst of all was Nurgle's Deluge, an endless storm of putrid filth-water that seethed with infectious, bacterial life. Soon enough, Nebbus' arid plains became quagmires, then stinking oceans that rose higher and higher. The corpse-choked hive cities flooded from the roots upward, their last garrisons fleeing ever higher in search of a salvation that does not exist.Blessed beyond endurance by the plentiful generosity of Rotigus and his daemons, methodically cut to pieces by the thundering guns of the Death Guard, it was almost a mercy when the last of Nebbus' defenders met their grisly deaths and the world was claimed for the Plague God.
Rotigus - Role: Rotigus manifests Nurgle's Deluge -- a diseased storm that eternally hovers over him, drenching the Great Unclean One to his innermost folds as they wobble with thunderous laughter. Those foes that do not drown in the presence of Rotigus' generosity find themselves crushed by his massive bulk. As befits his giving personality, Rotigus has also been blessed with a fountain of plenty -- the ability to vomit an endless stream of filth.A foul soup of brackish plague water, half-digested rotten flesh and the most acidic biles of the galaxy, this liquid can melt ceramite armour and cause ferrocrete to rot and crumble.Alarmingly, the projectile vomit issues not only from his gaping mouth, but also from his belly maw. Random toothed orifices open up all over Rotigus' voluminous body, snapping and retching septic fluids that seethe with contagion.With such defences, Rotigus feels no need to carry weapons. Instead he bears a Gnarlrod, a branch from the hornbeam tree. Of all the strange and unusual plants within his master's garden, the hornbeam is Nurgle's favourite. In a constant cycle, the tree begins as a seed, sprouts, grows to maturity, sickens with disease, declines and dies in rapid fashion.Every time, its withered corpse sloughs away to reveal a seed from which the cycle begins again. With every rebirth comes a different disease that causes the hornbeam to die in some new and horrific way. The curled branch of Nurgle's beloved tree is a powerful symbol of favour, and the ensorcelled wood is rich in regenerative magic.
Rotigus - Wargear: Streams of brackish filthFanged MawGnarlrod
Rotor Cannon - Rotor Cannon: A Rotor Cannon is multiple-barreled, ballistic rotary mini-gun first used by the Imperial Army and Space Marine Legions during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras. These weapons were essentially multi-barreled Heavy Stubbers that used an electric motor to maintain an extremely high rate of fire from their spinning barrels.A Rotor Cannon's medium calibre cartridges lack the explosive power of bolts, but nonetheless the sheer volume of fire achievable proved effective against unarmored hordes of foes and fleshy xenos. Eventually, the more well-known Space Marine Assault Cannon was developed from the Rotor Cannon.In the 41st Millennium, the Rotor Cannon is a favorite heavy armament of the Navis Imperialis' Voidsmen-at-Arms. It is common practice for one member of a voidsmen squad to carry a heavier armament. The standard choice is the Rotor Cannon.With its multiple barrels and high rate of fire, the weapon has earned a number of monikers -- the "whirgun," "deck-clearer," and the "Emperor's chainsaw," to name just a few.
Rotworm Brotherhood - Rotworm Brotherhood: The Rotworm Brotherhood is a splinter warband or vectorium of Plague Marines that has become independent of the Death Guard Traitor Legion's central command. This warband is led by a conclave of Death Guard Sorcerers who rebelled against the authority of Mortarion.The Rotworm Brotherhood work to raise Chaos Cults of mortal worshippers of the Plague God across the Imperium, their task to multiply like bacilli and spread the worship of Nurgle, undermining civilisation before the Rotworm Brotherhood descends to despoil all.
Rotworm Brotherhood - Warband Colours: The Rotworm Brotherhood's power armour is the same as that of the Death Guard, composed of decayed and cracked plates of ceramite in light grey with dark green trim. The Rotworm Brotherhood's Chaos Space Marines, like those of the Death Guard, often wear grotesquely warped suits of antique Mark III Iron Power Armour.
Rotworm Brotherhood - Warband Badge: The Rotworm Brotherhood's warband badge is usually a modified version of the standard Mark of Nurgle, similar to that used by the Heretic Astartes of the Death Guard.
Rough Rider - Rough Rider: Rough Riders are specialised mounted cavalry units found among numerous Astra Militarum regiments from Feral, Feudal and Frontier Worlds where riding animal mounts remains a commonplace military skill. Many primitive cultures from such worlds retain the use of such mounted units in warfare.The Imperial Guard often employs these mounted cavalry units on the field of battle, where they are especially suitable for uneven terrain that is unsuitable for tracked vehicles. They also act as scouts, patrols, and fast response troops, able to operate on their own for extended periods of time deep behind enemy lines.
Rough Rider - Role: Since the days of ancient Terra, the cavalry charge has been one of the most impressive displays of battlefield power available to Humankind. Be they oddly armed mercenaries on barely trained horses, or ranks of gleaming knights atop sturdy thoroughbreds, the ancient warriors of old could smash through infantry like a Melta charge through hull plating, and the sheer psychological effect of such a charge could end battles as quickly as the damage it inflicted. In the endless wars of the 41st Millennium, where tanks and god-machines stride the battlefield and voidships with thousands of crew hang in orbit unleashing megatons of explosive death, the cavalryman and his trusted steed still have a vital role to play.The Astra Militarum often makes use of specialised cavalry units known as Rough Riders. Even with its legions of machinery and armoured fighting vehicles, the Imperial Guard has a place for these mounted warriors. The majority of Rough Riders units are raised from worlds where it is still common for warriors to fight from horseback. On these planets, fierce nomadic clans and warrior horse-lodges have perfected the art of mounted cavalry techniques through years of bloodshed.Rough Riders retain many ferocious customs of their technologically primitive homeworlds, such as ritual scarring and tribal tattoos. Their steeds are bred for toughness and agressivity, and are often just as dangerous and ill-tempered as the warriors who ride them. In addition to selective breeding in environments often very different from that of ancient Terra and the use of genetic engineering, many mounts used by Rough Riders units are given bio-chemical treatments to enhance their combat potential, such as the Krieg Mounts utilised by the Death Riders of the Death Korps of Krieg regiments.While the majority of Rough Riders are raised from feral, underdeveloped worlds, this is not exclusively the case. On some more advanced planets the honour of riding a living steed to war is reserved for the elite classes, formalised horse-warrior aristocracies that have accumulated generations of cavalry experience.A Rough Riders squad of skilled mounted cavalry can be an effective assault and skirmishing force, able to move rapidly over the broken ground, climb steep slopes and gallop along narrow ravines. However, it is more common to separate out mounted regiments from their counterparts and allocate Rough Rider squads to fight alongside conventional infantry regiments where they serve in a variety of roles.Rough Riders are used to operating out on their own beyond the normal lines of communication, often deep inside enemy territory. They are able to forage and subsist off the land, and can function for extended durations with only the minimum of basic supplies. They possess a tactical advantage by employing living mounts rather than vehicles, which require neither fuel nor maintenance, and unlike their mechanical counterparts, cannot be as easily traced with auspex or electronic scanner. As such, Rough Riders are often utilised to harass enemy troop movements by means of hit-and-run tactics.
Rough Rider - Wargear: Rough Riders are a potent force on the battlefield, utilising mobility and speed to spearhead an attack as easily as carrying out a flanking manoeuvre. Rough Riders carry a variety of weapons, but the most deadly are the explosive-tipped Hunting Lances derived from the lethal spear heads used by the cavalry on their homeworlds to hunt down large carnivorous animals.This weapon is constructed of a hollow, lightweight metal shaft tipped with a spear point, which is also connected to the impact fuse of the weapon's shaped charge. This small explosive charge is constructed to direct the blast and fragmentation towards the target and away from the user. Once detonated the user is left with only the shaft, which is then discarded. In close quarters combat against densely packed enemy, or in close confines, the lance is very unwieldy and all Rough Riders carry at least one back-up weapon. After the initial "shock" impact of the charge has been expended, a rider will reach for a lasgun or auto-pistol.The thundering momentum of a cavalry charge as it crashes into the ranks of the enemy leaves only death and carnage in its wake. Those foes not impaled are trampled to death beneath the heavy hooves of the Rough Riders' powerful steeds.Another weapon often utilised by some Rough Rider regiments is the cavalry spear, a heavy weapon designed for use as part of a mounted charge. These weapons are utilised by certain Rough Rider regiments that eschew the use of the traditional hunting lances, preferring something they can use multiple times over the course of an extended encounter.
Rough Rider - Rough Rider Regiments: There are a number of different Imperial Guard forces that employ Rough Rider cavalry within their units, including, but not limited to, the following:Attilan Rough RidersDeath Riders of KriegEzelti LancersGantor RidersKanak Skull TakersKashann Xeno RidersKharak 21st Heavy LancersKrum XVI IronsidesMartreb 99th "Ragers"Paladius FreelancersPreatorian Guard HussarsPyran DragoonsRemus CrushersRinon 3rd Rough RidersSavlar Chem-RidersTallarn Desert RaidersVostroyan Hussars
Rough Rider - Sources: Codex: Catachans (3rd Edition), pg. 16Codex: Imperial Guard (2nd Edition), pp. 17, 39-40, 73, 77, 90Imperial Armour Volume Three - The Taros CampaignImperial Guard (5th Edition), pg. 44Imperial Guard (3rd Edition, 2nd Codex), pp. 46, 58, 60-61Imperial Guard (3rd Edition, 1st Codex), pp. 19, 29Only War: Hammer of the Emperor (RPG), pp. 119-120, 132, 138-142White Dwarf 181 (UK), "Rough Riders of Attila: Imperial Guard," pp. 7-9White Dwarf 111 (UK), "Rough Riders and Whiteshields," pp. 12-18Games Workshop: Creature Features Rule Set (Archived)Games Workshop - Creature Feature: Rules for Using Creatures in the 41st Millennium - Xenos Mounts by Pete Haines (Archived)
Rubric Marines - The Great Betrayal: The threat to the Imperium resolved by the Emperor's council and the Edicts of Nikaea served to mask other, darker deeds already in motion. On the world known as Davin, events were reaching their tragic climax as Horus Lupercal, first amongst the primarchs, Warmaster and right arm of the Emperor, fell under the manipulative sway of Chaos. This impending doom would not be resolved by any debate or decree.Staring into the depths of the Warp from his sanctum upon Prospero, Magnus beheld a vision of Horus' pledge of fealty to the Dark Gods. Every detail was laid bare -- for Magnus saw the foibles of his brother primarchs, seeing all too clearly how Horus would play upon them, turning them to his unjust cause. He saw the trap being laid upon Isstvan V, and the decoy that lured away the Ultramarines and Dark Angels. Alone in the entire galaxy, Magnus saw more clearly than any what tragedy was about to unfold. He understood each consequence and every role, save for his own.In this precognitive vision, Magnus thought he had found certain proof of the value of his magical studies. He would need yet more sorcery in order to warn the Emperor in time. With the combined power of his fellow sorcerers, the primarch set about casting a spell across time and space. Breaching all protective psychic wards on the Imperial Palace of Terra, Magnus projected his warning of impending revolution into the presence of the Emperor, naming the Warmaster as traitor.If Magnus hoped that this would be his moment of triumph, it did not turn out so. The Emperor, His own works ruined by the breach caused by the primarch, judged Magnus' blatant use of arcane powers the worst sort of oath-breaking. Magnus' continual pursuit of forbidden knowledge was deemed tragic proof that he had fallen under the sway of the very powers the Emperor had warned him about.It was said that the Emperor broke contact with Magnus' projected visions with such force that psychic wards through the palace arced with lightning and shattered. Magnus' warning was delivered but unheeded, and the Emperor directed Primarch Leman Russ to lead his Space Wolves Legion to attack Magnus upon Prospero and return him to Terra in chains to face his gnene-father's judgment.
Rubric Marines - The Fall of Prospero: There are many accounts of the Space Wolves' assault upon Prospero -- some of which contradict each other. What is beyond dispute, however, was the massive destruction they, accompanied by elements of the Custodian Guard and the Sisters of Silence, brought down upon Magnus' homeworld. The City of Light was ravaged, many of its libraries already burning, half of its silver towers toppled. It was the ultimate horror for the scholarly Thousand Sons, as Russ and his Space Wolves rampaged through their city of learning.Pyres of books, parchments and ancient scrolls lit the night. Everything that mattered to Magnus was burning to the ground -- but he knew he could still save his Legion, still save what was left of his accumulated knowledge. By turning fully to the powers in the Warp, Magnus knew he could salvage much, but the primarch at last realised that the true power of magic was not something he could master -- but rather one that he must submit to. Magnus hesitated, but even as he debated within his superior mind, his city, works, and Legion were being reduced by the howling brutality unleashed by the Emperor.In the end, Magnus felt he had no choice at all. With that, the primarch of the Thousand Sons changed his allegiance. In that instant, to the amazement of Leman Russ and his Space Wolves, their foes disappeared. In a flash of blinding furor, the City of Light -- all its remaining towers and libraries, along with the Thousand Sons and their cyclopean leader, vanished forever from the face of Prospero.
Rubric Marines - Unit Composition: 1 Aspiring Sorcerer4-19 Rubric Marines1 Chaos Rhino Armoured Personnel Carrier
Rubric Marines - Wargear: Like their marks of relic power armour, the weapons borne by the Thousand Sons' Rubric Marines are twisted mockeries of Imperial wargear. Their gun stocks are bedecked with ornate runes that writhe and mutate with shifting currents of empyric energy, and muzzles gape open and snap shut like the maws of unnatural creatures.The most common armament of the Rubric Marines is the Inferno Boltgun. The mass-reactive bolts they fire are charged with baleful sorcerous energies that are released upon impact, shredding the armour, flesh and soul of those they strike.The Soulreaper Cannon is a heavier and even more devastating weapon, and despite its great bulk a Rubric Marine can pour out a constant stream of fire without breaking their rhythmic stride.Some Rubric Marines march to battle armed with Warpflamers. Though similar in appearance to the Flamers used by other Chaos Space Marines, the Warpflamer's gouts of fire burn through reality itself. Instead of simply incinerating that which they touch, the iridescent flames have a mutagenic effect. Matter engulfed by these flames is melted by searing heat before being fused back together in hideous configurations.
Rubric Marines - Rubricae: Inferno Bolter - The weapons of the Thousand Sons are shaped by the craft of artificers and sorcerers alike. When their guns roar, they fire not only explosive bolts that tear flesh, but uncanny empyrean energies that can melt even ceramite.Aura of Dark GloryWarpflamer (Replacement for Inferno Bolter)Soulreaper Cannon (For every 10 Rubicae, 1 may replace their Inferno Bolter with this weapon.)
Rubric Marines - Aspiring Sorcerer: Inferno Bolt PistolForce StaveForce Axe (Optional replacement for Force Stave)Force Sword (Optional replacement for Force Stave)Aura of Dark GloryWarpflame Pistol (Optional replacement for Inferno Bolt Pistol)Plasma Pistol (Optional replacement for Inferno Bolt Pistol)May take a gift of mutation1 Icon of Flame - Coruscating Warp energies surround the icon, swathing the weapons of the devout in mutagenic flames.
Rubric of Ahriman - Rubric of Ahriman: The Rubric of Ahriman was the name given to an immensely powerful ritual spell cast by a cabal of Chaos Sorcerers from amongst the Thousand Sons Traitor Legion, who were led by the XVth Legion's former Chief Librarian Ahzek Ahriman, not long after the Legion had fled from their homeworld of Prospero to the Planet of the Sorcerers during the Horus Heresy.When mutation started to run rampant once again through the ranks of the Thousand Sons due to their exposure to the Warp energies of the Eye of Terror, Ahriman delved deep into the pages of the Book of Magnus, a massive tome compiled by the Legion's Primarch Magnus the Red, that was filled with forbidden lore and sorcerous knowledge from ancient, forgotten days.Ahriman believed the Book of Magnus held the key to his Legion's salvation. In the labyrinthine collections of formulae, incantations, and rites, Ahriman devised what he believed would be the beginnings of a mighty arcane spell to undo all that had befallen his Battle-Brothers.Unfortunately, Ahriman miscalculated, for while the spell did stop the rampant mutation, it did so by transforming the Chaos Space Marines of the Legion who lacked psychic abilities into mindless, undead spectres known as Rubric Marines, whose souls are trapped forever within their ancient suits of power armour.
Rubric of Ahriman - Second Rubric: Following the disastrous outcome of the Rubric, during his exile from the Planet of the Sorcerers Ahriman searched the galaxy for any means to reverse the changes he had wrought to the majority of the Thousand Sons.Finally the sorcerer acquired enough knowledge in his travels to enact the so-called "Second Rubric," in which he intended to sacrifice his own life to restore all of his lost Rubricae battle-brothers to full self-awareness.However, the ritual was derailed by the interference of the Renegade Space Marine Librarian Astraeos and several of the Shards of Magnus, portions of the primarch's psychic essence which had been divorced from his psyche during the Horus Heresy era, which were as usual scheming at cross purposes to one another.In the confusion, the sorcerer Knekku proceeded to seize the potent psychic energies Ahriman had unleashed and used them to restore the long-shattered mind of Magnus the Red.Though the Second Rubric also appeared at first to be a failure because of this series of events, as the Rubricae remained unchanged, it was afterwards discovered that one of the Rubric Marines, Helio Isidorus, had been restored to full life.Yet Isidorus, who had been one of Ahriman's primary research subjects as he investigated the effects of his first Rubric and prepared the second, did not come through the process of resurrection entirely unscathed. He suffered from extensive amnesia and remembered nothing of his past life save for his own name.Ahriman was forced to continue his search for a cure, eventually becoming obsessed during the Era Indomitus with the capabilities of the Ynnari and the power of the Aeldari god of the dead Ynnead with resurrecting the dead.
Ruby Crescents - Ruby Crescents: The Ruby Crescents are a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter of an unknown Founding and of the Blood Angels' genetic lineage. A detachment of the Ruby Crescents garrisoning the fortress of Redmoon Keep on the Jungle World of Camarth in the Imperium Nihilus were captured by the Heretic Astartes of the Ten Thousand Eyes warhost and used as part of the corrupt experiments of the Fallen Angel Sorcerer Lord Seraphax. Seraphax sought to find a way to use the Blood Angels' genetic Flaw to turn them to the service of Chaos.The Ruby Crescents of Camarth, fallen into the grip of the Red Thirst due to the experiments done to them by Seraphax, were ultimately granted the Emperor's Peace by the awakened Dark Angels Primarch Lion El'Jonson when they mindlessly attacked him as he sought to free them after the Lion came to that world during one of his journeys through the Immaterium's realm of Mirror-Caliban.
Ruby Crescents - Chapter History: The Ruby Crescents maintained a fortified outpost known as Redmoon Keep on the Jungle World of Camarth during the Era Indomitus. The garrison of the keep was left there to watch over the people of that world, who greatly respected and honoured the Adeptus Astartes who walked among them. But when the Great Rift was born, the Ruby Crescents of Carmath found themselves cut off from the rest of their Chapter as Carmath was located in the Imperium Nihilus. During the Era Indomitus, Camarth was assaulted by the Ten Thousand Eyes, a warhost of Heretic Astartes commanded by the Fallen Angel and Sorcerer Lord Seraphax. The Chaos forces overwhelmed the now-isolated garrison at Redmoon Keep and claimed the world for their own.In truth, Seraphax had deliberately targetted the Ruby Crescents because they were so isolated and easily overcome. Seraphax wished to use Space Marines of the Blood Angels' genetic lineage as fodder for a research endeavour he termed the "Bloodrage Project." This was an attempt to turn the Flaw in the gene-seed of all the sons of Sanguinius against them so that the mindless ferocity of the Black Rage and the Red Thirst would become all-consuming, transforming all the Astartes of the Sanguinary Brotherhood into weapons to be used against the Imperium.The Ten Thousand Eyes took control of Redmoon Keep and imprisoned nine of the surviving Ruby Crescents who had been captured at high cost to the warband in one of the fortress' cells. The Captives' blood was drained from them into a giant vat placed before them, where it was transformed by Seraphax's Chaos sorcery into a glowing liquid that he hoped could be used to initiate the Flaw in any of Sanguinius' scions.The imprisoned Ruby Crescents were later discovered by the Dark Angels Primarch Lion El'Jonson, who had found his way to Camarth through the Immaterium's sub-realm of Mirror-Caliban after his awakening beneath The Rock, and the redeemed Fallen Zabriel, now one of The Risen who had been forgiven by their primarch after being encountered on Camarth. The two sought to redeem Camarth for the Imperium, and had sought to expel the Ten Thousand Eyes from Redmoon Keep when they discovered the secret research being conducted in its dungeons.The Lion and Zabriel tried to free the Ruby Crescents, but each of the Space Marines had fallen to the Red Thirst and tried to attack their rescuers. Unaware of the nature of the Red Thirst which afflicted his brother Sanguinius' gene-sons, the Lion simply assumed they had already been corrupted by Chaos and granted them the Emperor's Peace.Then the Lion and Zabriel sabotaged the generatorium of Redmoon Keep and destroyed it in a great explosion, which brought to an end the Bloodrage Project.
Ruby Crescents - Chapter Colours: The Ruby Crescents' colour scheme is not listed in current Imperial records.
Ruby Crescents - Chapter Badge: The Ruby Crescents' Chapter badge is not listed in current Imperial records.
Rubycon II System - Rubycon II System: The Rubycon II System is the star system that is home to the Imperial Navy void station known as Port Wander in the Drusus Marches Sub-sector of the Calixis Sector. It is centred on a a bloated red star that is nearly a thousand times larger than Blessed Sol and burns a deep crimson.It is a dead system of two large gas giants whose pale surfaces flow with great typhoons that spread and die like bruises on flesh.These two planets are named the Ruby Brothers, and between the two worlds lies a wide and dense field of asteroids that may be the remains of a lesser sibling planet whose death occurred long ago.
Rubycon II System - Terra In Excelsis: Approximately every 17 standard years, Big Brother and Little Brother approach conjunction, forming a line from Rubycon II along both planets and Port Wander itself. During this time, the Rubycon II asteroid belt is relatively quiescent, the competing gravity wells forming a temporary Lagrange point of stability.When this happens, salvagers, adventurers, pirates, and madmen scramble to make the most of the window of opportunity, flying into the field in search of wealth and glory. The prize they seek is the wreck of the Terra In Excelsis, a Hazeroth-class starship lost solar decades before for reasons unknown.After her arrival in the Rubycon II System, inbound to Port Wander, she simply went dead, responding to neither vox nor astropathic communication, then drifted inexorably into the asteroid belt.Asteroid miners and other brave souls occasionally report seeing the shattered hulk of the ship, holed by asteroid strikes, appearing and disappearing again into the ever-moving chaos of the belt. Some claim that she seems to be mocking them, rising from above the plane of the ecliptic for just a moment, then sinking again out of sight.Her last verified port of call was the Sunerisle colony, discovered in 743.M41, and from which her captain, Omar ben Judahra, was said to have recovered a relic with worth beyond reckoning. Here, sadly, the tale becomes confused and accounts differ.One version holds that Sunerisle was the last resting place of a lost primarch, and that the Terra In Excelsis holds his corpse within its cavernous halls. Others tell of a xenos relic of unbelievable power. Still more believe that a map pinpointing the location of a complete Standard Template Construct database has been stored in the ship's archive.In any case, every Rubycon Conjunction, swarms of small vessels ply the belt in search of the missing ship. While drunken voidfarers are prone to tall tales of the "ghost ship of Rubycon," none claim to have docked with the vessel and survived. The sole exception, to those in the know, are the traders and Renegades of the Beast House.Each Conjunction they dispatch a small vessel to the belt, carrying a squad of hardened killers, the best-trained and best-equipped mercenaries money can buy. Each Conjunction, this vessel returns, most of the mercenaries on board dead, but its hold filled with a cargo so dangerous and so valuable Inquisitors have been murdered to keep it safe.In truth, the drifting hulk of the Terra In Excelsis is aswarm with Genestealers, xenos abominations so virulent and deadly that a single specimen, left unchecked, can topple an Imperial world. Any Rogue Trader who would brave the asteroid belt during Conjunction in search of the treasure of the Terra in Excelsis risks more than their life and their ship...they risk their very soul.