vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Milky Way galaxy - Birth of the Star Gods: The birth of the entities known as the Star Gods occurred at the same time as the moment of Creation itself, as they formed from the vast, insensate energies first unleashed by that churning mass of cataclysmic force. In that anarchic interweaving of matter and energy, the sea of stars began to swirl into existence and for an eon the universe was nothing more than hot hydrogen gas and light elemental dust ruled over by the gravitic force of billions of newborn suns. Long before the first planets had formed and cooled, the very first truly self-aware beings emerged, their thoughts encased within the lines of force produced by the plasma and electromagnetic flares of the stars themselves.In later times, these entities would become known as the C'tan, but early in their existence they were nothing like the malevolent beings they would eventually become. They were little more than monstrous energy parasites that suckled upon the solar energies of the stars that had brought them into existence, shortening the lives of otherwise main-sequence stars by millions of standard years. In time, these star vampires learned to move on the diaphanous wings of the universe's electromagnetic flux, leaving their birthplaces to drift through the cosmic ether to new stellar feeding grounds and begin their cycle of stellar destruction once more. Beings of pure energy, they paid no mind to the hunks of solid matter they passed in the vacuum of space, the blazing geothermal fires and weak geomagnetic fields of these nascent planets insufficient to be worth feeding even their ravenous hunger.
Milky Way galaxy - The Tide Turns: The Old Ones' psychically-empowered servant races spread across the galaxy, battling the advanced Necron technology with the psychic power of their Warp-spawned sorcery. Facing this new onslaught, the C'tan's empire was shattered, as the psychic forces of the Immaterium were anathema to soulless entities whose existence was wholly contained within purely physical patterns of electromagnetic force. For all the destruction they could unleash, they were unable to stop the Old Ones and the younger races' relentless advance across the stars.The C'tan, unified by this great threat for the first time in millions of years, sought a way to defeat the soul-fuelled energies of the younger species. They initiated a great warding, a plan to forever defeat the psychic sorceries of the Old Ones by sealing off the material universe from the Warp, a plan whose first fruits can still be found on the Imperial Fortress World of Cadia in the form of the great pylons that litter the surface of that world in intricate networks and create the area of space-time stability near the Eye of Terror known as the Cadian Gate. With their god-like powers, it was only a matter of time until the C'tan succeeded and the greatest work of the C'tan was begun. But before it was complete, the seeds of destruction the Old Ones had planted millennia before brought about an unforeseen cataclysm. The growing pains and collective psychic flaws of the younger races threw the untapped psychically reactive energies of the Immaterium into disorder. War, pain and destruction were mirrored in the bottomless depth of the Sea of Souls that was the Warp. The maelstrom of souls unleashed into the Immaterium by the carnage of the War in Heaven coalesced in the previously formless energies of the Warp. Older entities that had existed within the Immaterium transformed into terrifying psychic predators, tearing at the souls of vulnerable psykers as their own environment was torn apart and reforged into the Realm of Chaos.
Milky Way galaxy - Enslaver Plague: The denizens of the Warp clustered voraciously at the cracks between the Immaterium and the material universe, seeking new ways to enter the physical realm. The Old Ones brought forth new genetically-engineered warrior races to defend their last strongholds, including the technology-mimicking Jokaero and the formidable, green-skinned Krork who were the ancestors of the present day Orks, but it was already too late. The Old Ones' intergalactic Webway network was breached from the Immaterium and lost to them, several of their Warp Gates were destroyed by their own hands to prevent the entities of the Warp from spreading to uncorrupted worlds and the Old Ones' greatest works and places of power were overrun by the horrors their own creations had unleashed. The most terrifying of these horrors were the Enslavers, Warp entities whose ability to dominate the minds of the younger races and create their own portals into the material realm using transmuted possessed psykers brought them forth in ever greater numbers. For the Old Ones, this was the final disaster as the Enslavers took control of their servants. The Pandora's Box unleashed by the creation of the younger races finally scattered the last of the Old Ones and broke their power over the galaxy once and for all. Life had stood at the edge of an apocalypse during the War in Heaven between the Old Ones and the C'tan. Now as the Enslavers breached the Immaterium in epidemic proportions, the survivors looked doomed.Ultimately, beset by the implacable onset of the C'tan and the calamitous Warp-spawned perils they had themselves mistakenly unleashed, the Old Ones were defeated, scattered and finally destroyed. Whether the species went extinct or simply fled the galaxy to seek a new haven elsewhere is unknown.
Milky Way galaxy - Silent King's Betrayal: Throughout the final stages of the War in Heaven, Szarekh bided his time, waiting for the moment in which the C'tan would prove vulnerable. Though the entire Necron race was now his to command, he could not hope to oppose the C'tan at the height of their power, and even if he did and met with success, the Necrons would then have to finish the War in Heaven against the Old Ones and their increasingly potent allies alone. No, the Old Ones had to be completely and utterly defeated before the C'tan could be brought to account for the horror they had wrought. And so, when the C'tan finally won their great war, their triumph proved short-lived. With one hated enemy finally defeated, and the other spent from hard-fought victory, the Silent King at last led the Necrons in revolt against their C'tan masters.In their arrogance, the C'tan did not realise their danger until it was too late. The Necrons focussed the unimaginable energies of the living universe into weapons too mighty for even the Star Gods to endure. Alas, the C'tan were immortal star-spawn, part of the fundamental fabric of reality and therefore nigh impossible to destroy. So was each C'tan instead sundered into thousands of smaller and less powerful fragments with a similar energy signature. yet this was sufficient to the Silent King's goals. Indeed, he had known the C'tan's ultimate destruction to be impossible and had drawn his plans accordingly; each C'tan Shard was bound within a multidimensional Tesseract Labyrinth, as tramelled and secured as a Terran djinn trapped in a bottle. Though the cost of victory was high -- millions of Necrons had been destroyed as a consequence of the rebellion, including all of the members of the Triarch save the Silent King himself -- the Necrons were once more in command of their own destiny.
Milky Way galaxy - Sources: Dark Imperium (Novel) by Guy Haley, Ch. 1Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader (1st Edition)Warhammer 40,000: Rulebook (8th Edition), pp. 50-53Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook (5th Edition)Codex Adeptus Astartes - Deathwatch (8th Edition), pp. 22-23Codex Adeptus Astartes - Grey Knights (8th Edition), pp. 18-19Codex Adeptus Astartes - Space Marines (8th Edition), pp. 16-17Codex: Adeptus Mechanicus (8th Edition), pp. 12-13Codex: Astra Militarum (8th Edition), pp. 16-17Codex: Chaos Daemons (8th Edition), pp. 6-9, 26-27Codex: Chaos Knights (8th Edition), pp. 28-29Codex: Drukhari (8th Edition), pp. 42-43Codex: Imperial Knights (8th Edition), pp. 12-13Codex: Genestealer Cults (8th Edition), pp. 34-35Codex: Harlequins (8th Edition), pp. 12-13Codex Heretic Astartes - Chaos Space Marines (8th Edition), pp. 20-21Codex Heretic Astartes - Death Guard (8th Edition), pp. 18-19Codex Heretic Astartes - Thousand Sons (8th Edition), pp. 24-25Codex: Leagues of Votann (9th Edition), pg. 22Codex: Necrons (8th Edition), pp. 14-15Codex: Orks (8th Edition), pp. 26-27Codex: Tyranids (8th Edition), pp. 40-41Codex: Necrons (3rd Edition)Horus Rising (Novel) by Dan AbnettDark Heresy Core Rulebook (RPG)Battlefleet Gothic RulebookWhite Dwarf 139, "Interstellar Travel"White Dwarf 140, "Interstellar Travel"Black Crusade: Core Rulebook (RPG), pg. 10Psychic Awakening: Phoenix Rising (8th Edition), pp. 8-9
Mimic Engine - Mimic Engine: A Mimic Engine is a device used on the voidcraft of the Drukhari that employs holographic and other unknown technologies to allow them to assume the apparent dimensions and appearance of enemy voidships. This ability allows Drukhari raiders to sneak up on their prey unseen.Drukhari voidcraft using a Mimic Engine are able to mimic Imperial, Craftworld Aeldari, Ork, Chaos and T'au voidships, but not Tyranid or Necron vessels, so the Mimic Engine has no effect against the vessels of either of those species. A Drukhari voidship equipped with a Mimic Engine can usually approach very close to an enemy before the threat is realised, and usually opens fire or attempts a boarding action before the other vessel realises the true nature of the intruder.Some Rogue Traders in the Imperium of Man have also been known to make use of similar Mimic Engine devices. These Imperial-acquired Mimic Engines replace the vessel's plasma drive with an artefact of deceitful xenos craftsmanship. By modifying its resonant harmonics, the vessel can change the signal output of its engines to resemble those of another Imperial or xenos craft. An unnatural seeming node of bone-like structure is also mounted on the ship's bridge, which connects directly to the Mimic Engine and is part of the overall stealth system.Though such a device is a clear sign of heresy, the deception is of immense value to vessels that must travel through xenos-infested star systems.
Mind-Eaters - Mind-Eaters: The Mind-Eaters was a thrallband of Heretic Astartes of the Thousand Sons Traitor Legion led by the Sorcerer Hasophet. Hasophet, the Magister of the thrallband, believed he had received a vision from Tzeentch, the Chaos God of Change, that promised that he would eventually ascend to daemonhood if he completed nine hundred and ninety-nine special rites that would further the Architect of Fate's plans in the mortal realm.But Tzeentch's schemes are rarely straightforward or completely understood, even by his most devoted servants. After almost 10,000 Terran years of carrying out each of his appointed tasks, Hasophet and his warband suffered a fate very different from the one they had hoped for -- but one still pleasing to their ever-scheming patron.
Mind-Eaters - Warband Colours: The Mind-Eaters' warband colours are not currently listed in Imperial records.
Mind-Eaters - Warband Badge: The Mind-Eaters' warband badge is not currently listed in Imperial records.
Mind Cleansing - Mind Cleansing: Mind Cleansing is the process often utilised by the Inquisition in order to remove things too dangerous to know, or memories too dangerous to bear, even for the strongest mind. In most of these cases, the answer as far as the Inquisition is concerned is simple: death, be it a well-deserved execution or the blessing of the Emperor's Peace. But for a small number, a different solution is found -- mental cleansing, a laborious and involved process sometimes known as "mind-scrubbing" or the "death of self." Through a combination of psycho-viral, mimetic and telepathic intervention, the subject's memories are selectively erased and thought patterns altered. The resulting individual is then something of a blank slate to be rewritten, and in extreme cases entire new personalities and skills are imprinted directly into the mind. The mind-cleansed are effectively reborn and remade in the image of the Inquisition's desire, complete with whatever implanted skills or personality traits are required, perhaps along with a reconditioned physique and a new face to go with it. They may also (completely unbeknownst to them) be programmed with implanted memories of events and people that never were, or with deep-rooted mental commands they have no choice but to obey when the time comes.This process, however, is not without cost or risk. Mind-cleansed individuals are often left hollow and isolated figures, distrusted and forever set apart from others. Their patchwork memories and abused minds often leave them lacking empathy, cold-hearted and filled with a sense of loss or unnameable dread. Worse still in rare cases, some fragments of the old personality or original memories reassert themselves over time, causing a psychotic breakdown into madness or warranting further drastic "action" on the part of the afflicted's masters. A mind-cleansed individual has been kept alive for a reason, although they may not know and may never be told just what that reason is. They might have been selected by shear dint of survival, having endured terrible events or knowledge, and the Ordos of the Inquisition might have decided they were too useful to be wasted. Likewise, they might have been a loyal servant in the past or even an innocent victim or bystander of some horror, event or conspiracy that must remain secret. There may be darker motives though; perhaps the Inquisition has some use or hidden purpose for the individual that makes it expedient to keep them alive...for now.
Mind Cleansing - Traits of the Mind Cleansed: Engram Implantation - With portions of the subjects' minds left more or less as blank slates waiting to be filled, their reprogrammers often use egramatic induction to burn a variety of useful skill patterns directly into the Acolyte's cortex using mimetic methods.Failsafe Control - All mind cleansed Inquisitorial agents have a failsafe command trigger implanted in their minds to prevent them from turning on their masters. Only a relevant controller, a Lord Inquisitor for example, would ever have access to this trigger, which usually must be delivered telepathically or by a specific sonic cadence (a simple code phrase is usually judged too risky).Imperial Conditioning - Inquisition mind-scrubs are usually carried out to destroy selective memories but leave useful skills intact. Likewise the mind is often implanted with psychic barriers to prevent tampering, increase mental resilience and ensure loyalty.Through a Mirror Darkly - The mind cleansing process has numerous side effects, including an eroding effect on the subject's sanity and unique dangers of its own for the individual subjected to it.Shards of Memory - Despite the best efforts of their mental conditioning, strange and disturbing flashes of the past may creep through, materialising in frozen dislocated images in dreams, sudden déjà-vu or inexplicable fears and revulsions that pass in a flickering panicked moment.
Mind Impulse Unit - Mind Impulse Unit: A Mind Impulse Unit (MIU) is a technologically complex device sacred to the Tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus which is used to create a neurological interface between a Human mind and a type of machinery and control it with thought alone.Mind Impulse Units are most commonly employed in the colossal Titans of the Collegia Titanica, while a variant is used in the Throne Mechanicums of the Imperial Knights and the Dreadnoughts of the Space Marines, though the latter are much simpler and seem primitive in comparison.An MIU is more rarely used to operate weapons or devices mounted on the shoulders or elsewhere on the Human body, freeing the hands or allowing a warrior to deliver more firepower than what they can carry in their arms. An MIU is also used by certain Tech-priests to aid them in their tasks.The MIU allows the user to instinctively and intuitively control the machine he or she is connected to, as if it were an extension of their own bodies, or to absorb digital information directly into the cerebral cortex.
Mind Impulse Unit - Black Carapace: It should be noted that the Space Marines do not make use of cybernetic Mind Impulse Units when linking with their power armour. Instead, their enhanced physiology equips them with a biological means to interface with it -- the gene-seed organ known as the Black Carapace.The Black Carapace allows the Space Marine to make maximum use of his power armour's capabilities. It is unknown if the Black Carapace allows a Space Marine to establish neural links with other forms of machinery.
Mind Impulse Unit - Nemesis Dreadknights: The Astartes pilots of the Nemesis Dreadknights used by the Grey Knights Chapter make use of synaptic implants for neural interfacing. It is also said that only a few of these Space Marine psykers possess the required strength of mind to use these constructs, and to master them in the heat of battle.These characteristics, and the fact that the operator is simultaneously in full control of his own body, make this interface resemble a moderately advanced Mind Impulse Unit, though the actual technology employed in these machines -- and whether it requires the use of the psychic abilities that the Grey Knights possess -- is unknown.
Mind Impulse Unit - Dreadnought Mind Impulse Units: Internment within the cybernetic shell of a Dreadnought is a great honour for a Space Marine, and only very few of a Chapter's fallen will be chosen to receive it. A Dreadnought pilot is placed into an amniotic tank and implanted into the armoured sarcophagus.He is then wired to mind-impulse leads for sensory input and motive functions, allowing him to see and hear as if he was still his old self, to move the limbs of the shell that houses him and to utilise the weapons he is fitted with. It is unknown if these links utilise the interred Astartes' Black Carapace implant in any way.The pilot within the amniotic tank is attached to life support systems which keep his ruined body alive during the periods of his wakefulness. When the Dreadnought's aid is not required by his Chapter, it will spend its time in slumber, its shell deactivated and the pilot within placed in stasis to secure him from the ravages of time.
Mind Impulse Unit - T'au Use: The T'au make use of neural interface technology very similar to the Imperial Mind Impulse Unit which allows the pilots of their battlesuits to directly receive information from sensors and provide advanced targetting mechanisms. This allows the Fire Warrior pilot to have greater control over the battlesuit, and also allows for the pilot to use larger battlesuits such as the XV8 Crisis Battlesuit and variants without actually moving inside them. Other systems are hard-wired into the T'au pilots themselves to provide advanced targeting mechanisms and improved sensors.
Mindphase Gauntlet - Mindphase Gauntlet: The Mindphase Gauntlet is an advanced Drukhari neural controller in the shape of a gauntlet that saps both the target's mental strength and will. It can stop a rampaging foe in his tracks with a single touch.Even monstrous Tyranid Carnifexes can be stopped by the psychic power contained within these gauntlets, though against the most powerful alien and daemonic foes they are not as reliable as when used against humanoid minds more similar to those of the Drukhari.
Mindscrambler Grenade - Mindscrambler Grenade: A Mindscrambler Grenade is a type of specialised grenade utilised exclusively by Sicarian Ruststalkers in the employ of the Adeptus Mechanicus' Skitarii Legions. These grenades harbour the egg-sac of a Cthellan electrogenesis squid. When detonated, the resultant surge of bio-electricity from the grenade usually results in heavy neural trauma for any living creatures and artificial sentience caught in the blast.
Mindstrike Missile - Mindstrike Missile: A Mindstrike Missile is an anti-psyker weapon often utilised by the forces of the Grey Knights and the Inquisition.A Mindstrike Missile contains clusters of psi-reactive munitions. They are effective against hordes of light troops, and particularly deadly against psykers.
Minervan Tank Legions - Minervan Tank Legions: The Minervan Tank Legions are the elite armoured regiments of the Imperial Guard that hail from the Imperial Civilised World of Minerva. Supposedly, they originally hailed from the Hive World of Armageddon, and are descended from settlers derived from the 1st Armageddon Steel Legion. The Minervan Tank Legions are highly regarded in the realm of armoured warfare and serve as a model for other armoured regiments within the Imperial Guard.
Minervan Tank Legions - History: The history of the original Minervan Tank Legion has long since passed into legend, but the stories are still told amongst the Minervan Guardsmen of the Armageddon Steel Legion and their very first Colonel, Jeremiah Mantubb. There is some evidence to suggest that the 1st Armageddon Steel Legion, under the command of Colonel Mantubb, departed their homeworld of Armageddon to drive back the Chaos Renegades of the Sorcerer Lord Torvel the Deluded from the newly colonised world of Minerva in the 37th Millennium. The massed armoured ranks of the Steel Legion were able to completely overwhelm the Renegades in a matter of months and the war culminated with Commissar Orthos striking down the Sorcerer Lord in the midst of a pitched battle that was to set Minerva free from the domination of Chaos.The 1st Steel Legion was granted Right of Conquest and settled on the world, under the benign leadership of Colonel Mantubb who became the world's Imperial Governor. Under his rule, Minerva was made into a strong world with a potent industrial base that soon turned its growing economy to the production of arms and vehicles for the regiments of neighbouring worlds. When the time came for the first Imperial Guard regiment to be founded upon Minerva itself, the roots of the new army were clearly based within Mantubb's old force, and the 1st Minervan Tank Legion rolled out of the gigantic Minervan weapons factories to greet the cheering populace outside. This is the story that many Imperial scholars use to explain the striking similarity between the Armageddon and Minervan Legions, though it may never be verified.
Minervan Tank Legions - Minerva: The Civilised World of Minerva has changed dramatically since the days of liberation by the 1st Armageddon Steel Legion. Its industrial base has increased exponentially as greater and greater demands have been placed on its manufactoria. Minerva has now reached the point where a full Tank Legion can be raised every four years whilst still fulfilling the obligations placed upon it by other worlds of its sub-sector. The vehicles and wargear of Minerva are renowned for both their innovation in the application of existing designs, as well as for quality, which is seen as second only to the finest machine shops on Armageddon itself.Seven multi-layered cities now sprawl over the surface of Minerva, whilst the choking fumes of the manufactoria in between the civilised centres slowly reduce the wilderness to ash. This has prompted many Imperial scribes to speculate that, given a few short millennia, Minerva could well become a productive new Hive World. The more contentious of them have predicted that within this time frame, Minerva could well surpass Armageddon in strategic importance to the Imperium within the Segmentum Solar.
Minervan Tank Legions - Minervan Tank Legions: Utilising both the men and women of Minerva in roughly equal proportions, the Minervan Tank Legions are often regarded as a model for the armoured formations of other Imperial Guard regiments. There is a high proportion of officers to the enlisted ranks, with the majority of the armoured vehicles being commanded by officers with the rank of Lieutenant, whilst the enlisted Guardsmen fill out crew and logistical positions.The basic organisation of any Minervan Tank Legion usually follows a similar pattern to that of many infantry regiments, with each tank being considered the equivalent of a unit of infantry; up to five tanks form a squadron, up to five squadrons form a standard company and so on. Added to this are the many specialist artillery, mine sweeping and other support vehicles that are attached to formations on an ad hoc basis.The machine shops of Minerva have gained a solid reputation for adapting existing vehicle designs, allowing the Tank Legions to engage in many forms of warfare, be it night fighting or desert assault. Fully one third of all Tank Legion vehicles have the conversion mechanisms necessary to make them completely amphibious within an hour, adding yet another tactical option for Minervan commanding officers.
Minervan Tank Legions - Notable Campaigns: Third War for Armageddon (998.M41) - The vast majority of the three Minervan Tank Legions that were engaged in the land war phase of the Third War for Armageddon could be found on the Plains of Anthrand. Fighting alongside the Ocanon Phalanx Troops, both regiments complemented each other well in forming the South Primus Front to hold back the Greenskin forces of the Great Despot of Dregruk, Gazgrim. The trackless ash wastes of the Plains of Anthrand played well into the hands of the Minervan officers, allowing them to exercise their precise grasp of armour tactics as they manoeuvred their vehicles into combat with the Ork hordes. In conjunction with the Phalanx Troops, the Tank Legions were able to defeat the first attacks by Gazgrim's numerically superior force, granting the Imperium a welcome victory in this grinding war. The Plains of Anthrand soon became the scene of many running battles as the Imperial tanks drove the Orks into the equatorial jungles separating the Armageddon Prime and Secundus continents. The amphibious 217th Tank Legion was then detached from the main army to defeat an attempted Ork beachhead launched from the Tempest Ocean. Using the variable buoyancy of their armoured vehicles, the crews were able to partially submerge their tanks so only the turrets were visible, jutting from the surface of the water to form a cordon of defensive, but mobile, pill boxes. The armoured companies of the Minervan Tank Legions formed a formidable part of the Imperial defence of the hive cities located on the continent of Armageddon Prime. They headed on a course to intercept Gazgrim's War Horde as it moved into position on the Plains of Anthrand. Comprised in almost equal measure of men and women, the taciturn soldiers of Minerva were noted for their victories against superior numbers and their sound tactical manoeuvres.
Minervan Tank Legions - Notable Minervan Tank Legion Regiments: 10th Minervan Tank Legion - The 10th Minervan Tank Legion was one of three regiments sent to defend Armageddon from WAAAGH! Thraka during the Third Armageddon War. The 10th Minervan held part of the flank of the Imperial defences surrounding the Hive City of Death Mire. Taken by surprise and surrounded by Orks, their commander, General Belov, ordered a break-out to rejoin other Imperial forces defending the hive city. After five days of intense fighting the 10th finally broke out, but at a cost of over half their men and over three-quarters of their Leman Russ Battle Tanks.217th Minervan Tank Legion - The 217th Minervan Tank Legion is an amphibious regiment which was also dispatched to protect Armageddon from the Greenskin menace. They fought with the other Minervan Tank Legions as well as the Ocanon Phalanx Troops on the Plains of Anthrand. They were instrumental in winning several stunning victories against the Ork horde of the Great Despot of Dregruk, Gazgrim, before being reassigned to the coast of the Tempest Ocean. A full third of the Minervan Legions, including the 217th, took up positions on those shores in the effort to contain the Orks attempting to form a beachhead on the Southern Coast. The 217th partially submerged its tanks to form a cordon of mobile pill boxes that successfully drove off the Ork assault.
Mining Laser - Mining Laser: A Mining Laser was developed by the Imperium to aid its miners in opening up new tunnels. However, it was a powerful enough form of laser technology that it could also be adapted into a powerful weapon. When their range limiters are short-circuited, the Mining Lasers of Imperial mining guilds can make powerful weapons.Due to their common origins on many of the Imperium's mining and industrial planets, Mining Lasers have become a common ranged weapon among the military forces of the Genestealer Cults.The Dvarlock Pattern Mining Laser is a prime example of the weapon, which was discovered and identified being used among the Genestealer Cults by Tempestor Gulack of one of the Tempestus Scions' Kappic Eagles regiments.The Dvarlock Pattern had been modified by the cultists so that it was powerful enough to blast a hole through a metres-thick voidship bulkhead with a single pull of the trigger. It also possessed three-handgrips, instead of the usual two, indicating it also had been designed to be used with the assistance of a Tertia Pattern Servo-Arm.
Mining Laser - Heavy Mining Laser: The Heavy Mining Laser is a larger variant of the standard Mining Laser that fires over a longer range and has been adapted for use as an anti-personnel weapon on a Goliath Rockgrinder.
Mining World - Mining World: A Mining World is an Imperial planet rich in one or more of the raw strategic materials required by the Imperium's manufactoria and Forge Worlds.The people of Mining Worlds are likely to be slaves or penal workers of the Adeptus Arbites who live out their lives mining and transporting massive quantities of metallic ore, rock, minerals, frozen gases or some other useful, strategic or precious substance.Mining Worlds tend to be rather inhospitable places, and many do not even possess a breathable atmosphere, though a few may support a greater variety of life, developed cities and even hive cities. On these Mining Worlds the population is more likely to be free citizens of the Imperium, though they work no less hard in the mines for the good of their rulers and the Emperor than penal laborers.
Mining World - Notable Mining Worlds: Planet NameSegmentumSectorSub-SectorSystemPopulationBetalis IIISegmentum SolarTalis Munus SectorCaerulus-Primaris Sub-SectorBetalis System62,000,000CocijoSegmentum UltimaJericho ReachUnknownUnknownUnknownCressidSegmentum UltimaJericho ReachUnknownUnknownUnknownCthoniaSegmentum SolarSector SolarUnknownCthonic System2,000,000,000DeliveranceSegmentum TempestusForsarr SectorUnknownUnknownUnknownFreyaSegmentum UltimaJericho ReachOrpheus SalientFreya System0GuryanSegmentum PacificusUnknownUnknownUnknownUnknownInnanaSegmentum UltimaJericho ReachUnknownUnknownUnknownKhymaraUltima SegmentumMaelstromUnknownUnknownUnknownKlahaSegmentum UltimaJericho ReachUnknownKlaha SystemUnknownLemnosSegmentum ObscurusGothic SectorOrar Sub-SectorUnknownUnknownMakenna VIISegmentum ObscurusMakenna SectorUnknownUnknownUnknownPiscina IVUnknownUnknownUnknownUnknownUnknownRhandaSegmentum SolarUnknownUnknownUnknownUnknownRheelasSegmentum UltimaJericho ReachArkalas ClusterUnknownUnknownSepheris SecundusSegmentum ObscurusCalixis SectorGolgenna ReachUnknown12,000,000,000SisciaSegmentum ObscurusCeledin SectorOphidian Sub-SectorUnknownUnknownSludUnknownUnknownUnknownUnknownUnknownTaros/T'rosSegmentum UltimaUnknownUnknownTaros SystemUnknownVernalisSegmentum ObscurusUnknownUnknownUnknownUnknown
Minotaur - Minotaur: The Minotaur is a rare self-propelled artillery piece used by the armed forces of the Imperium of Man that can trace its origins back to the Great Crusade and maybe ever earlier. The Minotaur uses the same chassis and engine as the Malcador heavy tank, but is based on what appears to be an earlier variant, or the original chassis design. The Minotaur was designed as a forward deployment fire support vehicle, and this is proven by the Minotaur's outfitting with an unusual amount of heavy armour and the vehicle's extreme durability.
Minotaur - History: The Minotaur is rarely deployed by Imperial armed forces in the 41st Millennium, and is only fielded by specialised siege companies of the Imperial Guard. The origins of the Minotaur are clouded in mystery, as many Tech-adepts say that the mobile artillery piece served the Emperor during the Great Crusade, while others believe it may be even older, and that the Malcador heavy tank and the Minotaur share a common Standard Template Construct (STC) ancestor. There are frescoes adorning the walls of the Templis Nemesii on Terra that depict a war machine that resembles the Minotaur fighting during the Great Crusade, but the vehicle's age and complexity may be evidence that it is even older. During the 41st Millennium the Minotaur is a rare relic of war that very few will ever see, with the number of Forge Worlds capable of producing them having dropped steadily over the last millenia. With the steady replacement of this vehicle by the Basilisk, the Minotaur may soon become just another causality of war. Although it is rumoured that the Minotaur is stockpiled by the thousands inside of Departmento Munitorum storehouses, only specialised siege companies of the Imperial Guard will ever get to deploy their awesome firepower. During the Siege of Vraks, the Minotaur, along with another ancient design, the Valdor Tank Hunter, were uncovered by the Vraksian Traitor Militia in the deep storage facilities on the Armoury World of Vraks Prime. They were deployed late in the conflict known as the Siege of Vraks. The Departmento Munitorum believed that there were at least 100 Minotaurs stored on Vraks Prime and after the war was over following the Imperial victory, the remaining Minotaurs were turned over to the Adeptus Mechanicus to be re-consecrated back into the service of the Emperor.
Minotaur - Appearance: The Minotaur is built on a variant of the same chassis used by the Malcador heavy tank, but unlike most other vehicles of the Imperium the Minotaur's weapons are mounted backwards, facing away from the crew compartment. The vehicle's backwards design allows it to be easily driven into dugouts or emplacements, even using destroyed buildings or piles of rubble as cover. When it needs to move again, it simply drives out forwards through the path it had already made for itself. The Minotaur's deck layout is also unusual, as everything from the engine and drive systems to the weapon and ammunition storage is spaced out evenly over the entire superstructure. The primary weapon system, a massive Twin-linked Earthshaker Cannon, is housed in a wide, centralised axis point, and features a complex hydraulic recoil suppression system. The centralised positioning of the weapon system allows the artillery piece to remain stable while firing its weapons even when positioned on difficult terrain.
Minotaur - Armament: The Minotaur is armed with a rear-facing Twin-linked Earthshaker Cannon mounted on a central axis point with a complex stabiliser system. The weapon's location allows ample room for the storage of a large number of shells, which are kept to the sides of the weapon in armoured storage lockers to protect them from enemy fire. The weapon is capable of laying down heavy barrages and accurate, though indirect, fire even when under heavy enemy assault. The Minotaur is not armed with any other weapons but can be upgraded with a Pintle-mounted Heavy Stubber or a Storm Bolter. The vehicle can also accept the following upgrades, including an enclosed crew compartment, Extra Armour Plating, a Hunter-Killer Missile Launcher, a Dozer Blade, a Searchlight, and Smoke Launchers.
Minotaur - Known Users of the Minotaur: The Imperial Army - The Minotaur was possibly used during the Great Crusade by the Imperial Army.Imperial Guard Siege Companies - At present, specialised siege companies of the Imperial Guard have access to the Minotaur if they need additional firepower.The Death Korps of Krieg - The Death Korps of Krieg acquired, captured or salvaged Minotaurs during the Siege of Vraks.Vraksian Traitor Militia - The Vraksian Traitor Militia used Minotaurs during the Siege of Vraks.
Minotaur - Adeptus Mechanicus Technical Specifications: Minotaur Super-Heavy ArtilleryVehicle Name:MinotaurMain Armament:Twin-linked Earthshaker CannonForge World of Origin:UnknownSecondary Armament:N/AKnown Patterns:I - IITraverse:0 degreesCrew:1 Commander, 1 Driver, 2 LoadersElevation:0 to 58 degreesPowerplant:HL330 v12 Multi-FuelMain Ammunition:40 ShotsWeight:98 TonnesSecondary Ammunition:N/ALength:10.7 metresArmour:Width:4.95 metresHeight:4.7 metresSuperstructure:180 millimetresGround Clearance:0.65 metresHull:160 millimetresMax Speed On-Road:25 kilometres per hourGun Mantlet:N/AMax Speed Off-Road:18 kilometres per hourVehicle Designation:8677-032-8391-ML038Transport Capacity:N/AFiring Ports:N/AAccess Points:N/ATurret:N/A
Minotaur - Sources: Imperial Armour: Apocalypse II, pg. 8Imperial Armour: Apocalypse III, pg. 31Imperial Armour Volume One - Imperial Guard (Second Edition), pp. 8, 152-156, 267Imperial Armour Volume Seven - The Siege of Vraks - Part Three, pp. 115-118Imperial Armour Volume Twelve - The Fall of Orpheus, pg. 227
Minotaur - Also See: Imperial Guard Vehicles
Minotaurs - Era Indomitus: Soon after the birth of the Great Rift, the Minotaurs' mobile fortress-monastery came under assault by the 7th Plague Company of the Death Guard Traitor Legion.While the Minotaurs were able to push the servants of the Plague God back, their celebration soon turned to desperation when they discovered that their gene-seed stock had been tainted by Nurgle's corruption.In the wake of the turmoil affecting the galaxy, the Chapter was forced to begin an Imperial Crusade across the stars to reach Terra and access the Adeptus Mechanicus' purified gene-seed reserves before the Chapter wastes away.
Minotaurs - Hecaton Contemptor Dreadnoughts: The Minotaurs Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes has a reputation, alongside that which it maintains for ruthlessness and destructiveness, for the quality and capacity of its armouries. This factor is most evident in the large number and diversity of Dreadnought frames the Minotaurs maintain in active service.As well as the more common types and patterns found in the Space Marine Chapters of the late 41st Millennium, the Minotaurs maintain numerous examples commonly existing only as extreme rarities in many other Chapter armouries.A case in point is the Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought. Once a commonplace pattern in the ancient days of the Great Crusade in the late 30th Millennium, the Contemptor and its sub-patterns were arguably the apotheosis of Space Marine Dreadnought design.They featured many systems and technologies in common with the feared Battle-Automata of the now lost Legio Cybernetica, including a compact atomantic reactor and energy shield systems, whose arts of construction is widely believed to have long since passed beyond use.For the Minotaurs Chapter to be able to field at least ten such war machines in observed conflict during the Orphean War against the Necrons is, to say the least, remarkable for a Space Marine organisation of the current era.All of the Contemtor Pattern Dreadnoghts are addressed by their brethren as "Hecaton," a word of Terran origin thought to mean "giant", "legion", or "a monster enslaved."While Space Marines are typically reverent towards Dreadnoughts, the Hecaton are treated with cold indifference by their battle-brothers.
Minotaurs - Deathwatch Service: While the Minotaurs appear to adhere closely to the organisational dictates of the Codex Astartes, they almost exclusively operate as a complete Chapter. While most Chapters spread their forces across multiple war zones, the Minotaurs rarely detach smaller task forces away for side operations.This makes the Chapter a somewhat blunt instrument, but one capable of smashing any foe that dares stand against it. This means that the Chapter is inevitably encountered en masse.Because of this operation doctrine, how many Minotaurs have the opportunity or the temperament to stand a Vigil of the Long Watch is unknown and the Chapter has not been well-represented at the Deathwatch's Watch Fortress Erioch in the Jericho Reach.
Minotaurs - Chapter Combat Doctrine: The ancient repute of the Minotaurs of the 21st Founding suggests that on the battlefield their Astartes often times eschewed any form of combat that did not allow them to rapidly get to grips with their enemies as fast as possible.This highly autonomous, almost berserk force was often announced in a war zone without preamble or even much by the way of reconnaissance. They would hurl themselves at the enemy without heed of loss or cost. Their fury spent, the Minotaurs would then withdraw as suddenly as they had arrived.This pattern made the Minotaurs too unpredictable and unreliable a force to be counted on by their fellow Imperial allies.However, the Minotaurs that reemerged into Imperial history in the early years of the 41st Millennium were quite different in regards to how they prosecuted a campaign.The Chapter now preferred to deploy a vanguard to pin its enemies in combat, then use fast units to encircle them to ensure there could be no escape before bringing in the full weight of the Chapter's firepower and heavy armour to crush the foe without mercy.Still highly autonomous, the Minotaurs go where they are willed by the needs of the Imperium but now seem far more content to operate within the structure and command of the Imperial war machine than the Chapter's distant history suggests.
Minotaurs - Chapter Beliefs: The Minotaurs seem to bear little respect for anyone or anything, save the Emperor of Mankind and the High Lords of Terra, for whom they have displayed fanatic and unquestioning loyalty.This was noted by their participation in the Hexarchy Rebellion on Terra during the Era Indomitus on behalf of a small cabal of reactionary current and deposed High Lords who sought to roll back the reforms of the resurrected Roboute Guilliman.They tend to show no love for civility or deference when dealing with individual Imperial commanders and other Space Marine Chapters, but they have been known to show pleasure in testing their skills against worthy foes.Some speculate that perhaps the Minotaurs consider their fellow Astartes as particularly worthy. In one well-recorded incident, the Chapter nearly came to blows with the Genesis Chapter after deliberately insulting the name of Marneus Calgar. Bloody conflict between them was only averted by the arrival of a fresh wave of Orks from the Octarian Empire.Given this predilection for testing themselves against their fellow Space Marines, it is unsurprising that the Minotaurs would appear during the Badab War. The Astral Claws and other Secessionist Chapters would have certainly proved to be worthy foes.Some Imperial commanders who have served with the Minotaurs since their reemergence have gone on record, hinting that this Chapter is at the edge of madness or heresy -- describing the defences and security precautions taken by it even when dealing with supposed allies as obsessive bordering on the paranoid. Given the number of enemies both within and without the Imperium this is perhaps unsurprising.
Minotaurs - Chapter Relics: Black Spear - A deadly relic-weapon of unknown provenance, the Black Spear is similar in some regards to the sacred arms of the Adeptus Custodes. The spear is a power weapon of remarkable potency, able to pierce even Terminator battle plate. It also incorporates a single-shot laser weapon sufficiently potent to be used as an anti-tank weapon if needed. The Black Spear is currently wielded by Chapter Master Asterion Moloc and is the ceremonial badge of office of every master of the Minotaurs.Unmaker's Touch - In many Chapters, the mighty chainfist is a weapon that sees use only in the direst of conflicts, as the armour of most battle-brothers is insufficient to bear the weight and supply the power of such a weapon. The Minotaurs' great stock of Terminator Armour means that they are able to bring forth such weapons more easily than most. Of the terrible weapons so mounted, few are more feared than the relic chainfist called Unmaker's Touch. Its potent power field makes a mockery of armour and vehicles, and has also served admirably against the creations of Hereteks and other unliving foes.Crozius Arkanos - The Crozius Arkanos is a weapon similar to a Crozius Arcanum with a built-in assault launcher wielded by Reclusiarch Ivanus Enkomi of the Minotaurs Chapter. It was forged by the artificers of the Minotaurs following the Battle of Gathetris against the Renegade Night Reapers Chapter, variously recorded as having been built from Enkomi's own shattered Crozius or the remains of a relic of the Night Reapers.Assassin Bolts - Hypersonic bolts used by Heavy Bolters deployed by the Minotaurs that replace the standard bolt propellant with short-burn magna-fusion charges and the mass-reactive warhead (which would not endure the fusion discharge) with solid slugs. Due to their extreme speed and density, they are both highly destructive and extremely accurate.
Minotaurs - Chapter Fleet: The Minotaurs possess a mighty Chapter fleet composed of no less than 12 strike cruisers and at least one battle barge at the time of the Badab War.At the start of the Orphean War in 991.M41, the Minotaurs' Chapter fleet had expanded to consist of 3 battle barges, of which two were destroyed during that conflict, and 8 strike cruisers.Daedelos Krata (Heavy Assault Carrier) - The Daedlos Krata served as the flagship of the Minotaurs' large and powerful Chapter Fleet as well as its mobile fortress-monastery.Daughter of Tempests (Battle Barge) - The Daughter of Tempests was taken as a spoil of war from the Lamenters Chapter during the Badab War. This warship was shot asunder by a crossfire of Scythe-class Harvest Ships during the Orphean War.Fedelitas Lambda (Battle Barge) - The Minotaurs' battle barge Fedelitas Lambda sacrificed itself by ramming the Necron flagship, a Cairn-class Tomb Ship called the Dead Hand, during the climax of the Orphean War, causing substantial damage to the flagship and driving it away. The flight of the damaged Necron flagship led to the rout of the Maynarkh Dynasty's fleet, marking the end of the battle for Amarah Prime.Stymphalos (Strike Cruiser) - The Stymphalos was one of the warships of the Minotaurs' Chapter fleet that took part in the orbital phase of the Battle of Amarah Prime during the Orphean War and emerged with a surprisingly small amount of damage from that massive void battle.Bronze Catechist (Strike Cruiser) - The Bronze Catechist was a part of the Minotaurs force that deployed to defeat the Secessionists during the Badab War.
Minotaurs - Chapter Appearance: Since their reemergence, some Imperial commanders have gone on record as finding the Space Marines of the Minotaurs Chapter to be brooding and malign warriors, far from the epitome of honour and righteousness.The Chapter's individuals hold about them an aura of barely restrained spite and malice that breeds fear and apprehension in all but the strongest hearts.The Power Armour worn by the battle-brothers of this Chapter typically bears syncretic iconography, denoting rank and battlefield record.Many of these symbols have meanings hidden from outsiders to the Chapter, though it is believed that the numeration and colouration of the "lambda" Helikan-glyph markings common to Minotaur heraldry refer to attested "kills" against worthy opponents in single combat, likely in increasing order of magnitude.
Minotaurs - Chapter Colours: The Minotaurs Chapter's original colour scheme was yellow, with red decorations (usually warning markings).The Minotaurs contemporary colour scheme is that of bronze power armour. The right pauldron bears the Chapter's icon. The left pauldron displays the squad tactical specialty emblem -- battleline, close support, fire support, Veteran or command.The Minotaurs do not generally display squad number or company indicators on their battle-plate.Members of the elite Veteran 1st Company wear a variant of the Chapter badge; a bronze bull's head on a dark red background.
Minotaurs - Chapter Badge: The Minotaurs' original Chapter badge was a blue bull's head on a yellow background.The contemporary Chapter badge is a red bull's head with black horns on a bronze background.