vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Sol System - Sol System: The Sol System (pronounced SOLE Sis-TEM), also known as the Terran System or the Solar System, is the home star system of Mankind and the principal seat of the Imperium of Man in the galaxy. The system is named after its sun, Sol, and lies at the direct astrocartographic centre of the Segmentum Solar.The Sol System is part of the Sub-sector Solar and Sector Solar, respectively. Its primary planets include Terra and Mars, the twin capital worlds of the Imperium.There are a total of eight major planets and many dwarf planets in the Sol System, some of which are also orbited by heavily-settled moons, such as Luna and Titan.The Sol System is home to the governing bodies of the Imperium of Man, including the High Lords of Terra, the Fabricator-General of Mars, and the Emperor Himself. The Sol System, and the entirety of the Sector Solar, is guarded by Battlefleet Solar, the largest and most potent battlefleet of the Imperial Navy.
Sol System - Notable Celestial Objects: Asteroid Belt - The Asteroid Belt lies between Mars and Jupiter and separates the Inner and Outer Solar System. Ceres is the largest settlement of the Asteroid Belt. During the early 31st Millennium the Asteroid Belt was populated by various mining operations and orbital habitat stations, some of which were controlled by Belter Coalitions.Kuiper Belt - Another asteroid belt, the Kuiper Belt is nearly 20 times wider and 200 times larger than the inner Asteroid Belt. The Kuiper Belt reaches from the orbit of Neptune and out towards the Sol System's Oort Cloud. Several celestial bodies reside within the Kuiper Belt, including Pluto and its moons, and the dwarf planets Haumea and Makemake.Shrine Comet - The Shrine Comet is an artificial construct built by unknown persons during the Dark Age of Technology that orbits the Sol System every thousand Terran years, tracking an irregular elliptical route around the Sun. In millennia past, when its trajectory was stable and more accurately predicted, it possessed a different name, but what it was had been lost in the murky fog of time. During one such appearance, the Unification Wars of Terra were coming to an end and the Emperor decided to intercept the Comet and modify it as a shrine commemorating His victory. Known as the Shrine of Unity, it was a potent symbol of Imperial strength and unified purpose. During that time, the zealous XVII Legion (the Word Bearers) secretly built a shrine deifying the Emperor on the comet. Following their chastisement by the Emperor at Monarchia, the Primarch Lorgar charged Captain Sor Talgron with secretly tearing down the shrine, before anyone found out, so as not to risk further embarrassment. But in reality, this mission was only a cover story to conceal the Word Bearers' true intentions -- to sabotage the Imperial Palace in preparation for an eventual Chaos invasion.Artefact 9-Kappa-Mu - Artefact 9-Kappa-Mu is a mysterious relic of the Sol System that orbits the Sun between Terra and Venus. A geodesic sphere of black metal nearly 30 kilometres in diameter, the artefact is marked by honeycombed passages and catacombs. The artefact's origin is completely unknown, and may even predate the Dark Age of Technology.Centaurs - The Centaurs are small, dwarf planets that usually feature unstable orbits due to previous encounters with larger planetary bodies. Centaurs mostly exist in the outer reaches of the Sol System, although due to their unstable orbits they sometimes cross into the Inner Solar System.Comets - Comets are small, icy bodies that usually have highly eccentric elliptical orbits, entering the Inner Solar System and then leaving for many hundreds or thousands of standard years.Oort Cloud - The Oort Cloud is a massive, spherical cloud of predominantly icy planetesimals that surrounds the entire Sol System.
Solar Atomiser - Solar Atomiser: A Solar Atomiser is a Melta Weapon used by the forces of the Adeptus Mechanicus, and is a personal favorite weapon of Archmagos Dominus Belisarius Cawl himself.The Solar Atomiser is an exotic, highly advanced, melta-tech ranged weapon first master-crafted by Cawl himself.Using a complex focussing array of Cawl's own design, this weapon concentrates thermal energy and melta-waves into a short-ranged but searing hot beam of unstoppable directed energy that can melt through an enemy war engine and the toughest of foes in seconds.
Solar Auxilia - Solar Auxilia: The Solar Auxilia were some of the most elite, disciplined and well-equipped fighting forces of the burgeoning Imperium of Man among the myriad regiments and battalions of the Excertus Imperialis, more commonly referred to as the "Imperial Army," during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy in the late 30th and early 31st Millennia.They were widely considered by many second only to the transhuman Legiones Astartes in their military effectiveness in battle. While some observers may point to singular units and individual regiments of the Imperial Army whose skill, power and reputation may arguably exceed that of the Solar Auxilia, such as the legendary Lucifer Blacks or the gene-wrought Marnean Armsmen, what marks the Solar Auxilia apart was the fact that they were not simply a single regiment raised from a particular culture or displaced from a warlike Compliant world to serve the Imperium. They were a pattern; a culture of warfare and an order of battle which was successfully replicated on hundreds of worlds, very similar to the Cadian Shock Trooper regiments of the 41st Millennium.As a result, the Solar Auxilia cohorts and regiments formed the backbone of the Imperium's military forces after the dawning of the Great Crusade. While the Space Marines of the Legiones Astartes were both the standard-bearers of the Great Crusade, and without doubt its principal and unstoppable strength, the Solar Auxilia were often its indispensable pathfinders and its most reliable foot soldiers. And, as the Imperium expanded to encompass thousands of worlds, the Solar Auxilia were its first line of protection against those who would destroy it from without or disturb its peace from within.
Solar Auxilia - Origins: As their name might suggest, the origins of the Solar Auxilia lie in the Sol System and on Terra in the earliest days of the Great Crusade. No doubt from the very beginning, the Emperor realised that while His Legiones Astartes would be His foremost agency of war and conquest, the sheer scope of the undertaking of the Great Crusade -- no less than the liberation of the entire Human-settled galaxy -- would require far more manpower, spread over a wider area, than even hundreds of thousands of Space Marines could hope to achieve. They simply could not be everywhere at once, nor would they be utilised best by undertaking roles ably filled by ordinary Humanity.From this reality the Excertus Imperialis or Imperial Army was born; billions of second-line and support troops, functionaries, labourers, void crew, logisticians, almoners, adepts and staff officers, and the countless quantities of weapons, equipment and war machines, void conveyances and warships they needed; all to make the Great Crusade a reality. Within this vast body of men and women under arms, organised and formulated by the Emperor's own transhuman intelligence, were many highly specialised divisions, each created to serve a singular purpose, each a vital cog in the vast Imperial war machine. The Solar Auxilia was one such purpose-created division.The parameters of this creation were exact; the raising of a large body of frontline soldiers whose principal theatre of war would be the void and hostile environments of all kinds, both to support the Legiones Astartes in battle, and by deployment free them from garrison duty for concentrated frontline operations. Where the Space Marines were to be foremost the hammer of the Great Crusade, the Solar Auxilia were to be its pathfinders and its watchmen.They were to garrison the great warships and frontier outposts; they were to serve alongside the Rogue Traders and in the expeditionary fleets both as aggressors and as explorers, and as such they would need to be disciplined, trained and well-equipped considerably beyond the level of the average militia soldier. Once Imperial Compliance over an area of space had been achieved, and the battlefronts of the Great Crusade had moved on, it was also to be the Solar Auxilia, with their own fleets and assigned warships, that would guard those worlds and star systems that were now part of the growing Imperium from marauders from without and rebellion from within.While a Solar Auxilia taskforce would not, indeed could not, match the power and force of the Legiones Astartes, these compact fleet-based armies of colonial control were more than capable of dealing with most "petty wars" and local conflicts that might occur on their own. Where a threat proved stronger than a Solar Auxilia taskforce could match alone, they were conditioned and equipped to stalwartly hold the line no matter the odds, until aid could be summoned and the Emperor's Angels of Death unleashed on the transgressors.
Solar Auxilia - Liberation and Conquest: As the Great Crusade progressed, the effectiveness of the Solar Auxilia as a distinct military concept and coherent fighting force was proved time and again, and the strategic demands of the ever-expanding expeditionary fleets and the galactic territory they conquered demanded that Solar Auxilia regiments be raised in increasing numbers. The Sol System alone could not meet this growing demand and so the Solar Auxilia Pattern was used as an imprint elsewhere, and soon regiments and larger "cohort" formations were being raised across the growing Imperium.They were often set up around corps of experienced junior officers and non-commissioned ranks from existing Solar Auxilia regiments. These raisings were most common in star systems with an established tradition of void-capable military and privateer forces, and in many cases served to absorb such a culture more readily into the Imperium, particularly if armed struggle had been needed to subdue it into Imperial Compliance.Such Solar Auxilia cohorts were normally then sent far from their origin stars, thus severing ties with their homeworlds and reducing any potential for later rebellion there. This was not, however, a unique practice, and with the introduction of mental and physical aptitude tests to a wider intake of recruits, Solar Auxilia regiments were also raised successfully from Feral Worlds and Feudal Worlds without an overall high technological sophistication or void-operable tradition, often alongside more conventional regimental raisings.The most successful of these cohorts combined the savagery and élan often found on such warlike worlds with the discipline and firepower the Solar Auxilia was rightly famed for, forming a truly deadly combination. Famous incidences of this include both the Cthonian Headhunters regiments which were to accompany the 63rd Expeditionary Fleet of Warmaster Horus, and the Carak'tal Scarborn who entered into legend as the only non-Legiones Astartes force to survive the Khrave onslaught at Perdition's Gate.
Solar Auxilia - Strategic Disposition of a Solar Auxiliary Cohort: The following illustrates the notional organisation of a late Great Crusade era Exemplar Unit of the Solar Auxilia: in this case, the 278th Cohort "Arkadian" Muster, Solar Pattern:Cohort Strategic Hierarchy - Comprising the overall independent strategic and battlefield command and control functions of the Cohort, as well as its general governance and logistical directorate.Cohort Level Assigned Strategic AssetsWarships of the Line (Light and Heavy Cruiser, Frigate, Bastion and Corvette classes)Warp-capable Troop Transport VesselsBoarding Craft (Shark Pattern - most common)Planetary Landers and Combat Drop Vessels, Orbital Lighters and Shuttle CraftLight Interface Gunships and Strike Fighter WingsVoid InterceptorsSuper-heavy Tank DetachmentsSupport Artillery and Ordnance CorpsMedicae CorpsAssigned Mechanicum Enginseer CovenantsCohort Supreme CommandCohort Marshal/Marshal SolarLegate Marshal/Tribune OrdinateCohort Vexillarius - Core of veterans and retainers entrusted with the relics and standards of the Cohort; Standard Bearers, Signifiers, Subalterns, Bodyguards and Equerries.Cohort Operations Command - Cohort general staff officer and functionary cadre, also attached advisors and representatives of other arms of the Excertus Imperialis/Armada Imperialis, etc.Tribunes (Dictatus, Strategos or Logos)High CommandersLegate CommandersOfficers of the Fleet - Officers and parallel command structure of any vessels of the Armada Imperialis given under the Permanent authority of the Cohort's Marshal. Commonly of no higher independent rank than Captain of the 2nd rating (Captain-Commander) operating at equivalent rank to a Cohort Tribune.Sub-Cohort Tactical CommandSub-Commander (Exp. Auxilia Tank Commander)Lieutenant/StrategosSub-Lieutenant/ProclaimatorEnsign/Declurion/Vexillarii (Sub-Cohort)Tercio Structure of Cohort's Rank and File - The bulk of the cohort is divided up into tercio pattern troop formations as its essential building blocks of tactical use and logistical support.Tercio Class: OptimateVeletaris Squads and other elite formationsVeteran Infantry UnitsDedicated Transportation CrewTercio Class: MilitarisLine Infantry Sections (Lasrifle, I-III)Dedicated Transportation CrewPioneer SectionsTercio Class: AncillarySpecial Weapons SectionsAssigned Light Field Support Weapons (Rapier, Tarantula, ect)Dedicated Transportation CrewOgryn Charonite units and other irregular forces attached to general structureNominal Strength 278th Solar Auxilia CohortLasrifle Sections (70,000)Veletaris Sections (3,000)Specialist Weapons Sections (7,000)Crew, Ancillary, Pioneer, Labour and Support (22,000)Staff and Command Cadre (1,200)Fleet Officer Cadre and Voidsman (10,000)Other (5,000)
Solar Auxilia - Rank Stucture of the Solar Auxiliary Cohorts: The following illustrates the principal command and core hierarchy rank structure of a Solar Auxilia cohort, descending from the highest to lowest. Note that only primary tactical ranks are included -- considerable variation in titles for specialist sub-units (Medicae, Provender, Strategium, etc.) also occurs:
Solar Auxilia - Strategic Command: Lord Marshal (reserved for expeditionary commanders)Cohort MarshalLegate Marshal
Solar Auxilia - Cohort (Staff): TribuneHigh Commander
Solar Auxilia - Sub-Cohort (Commissioned): Sub-Commander (Exp. Auxilia Tank Commander)LieutenantSub-LieutenantEnsign
Solar Auxilia - Tercio (Non-Commissioned): Troop Master/PrimusVoid Sergeant
Solar Auxilia - Tercio (Enlisted): VeletariiAuxiliarySub-Auxiliary
Solar Auxilia - Tactical Doctrine: The tactical doctrine of the Solar Auxilia had grown up organically over the operations during the Great Crusade, and was the direct result both of the unusual environments in which they commonly operated and in part the particular qualities of their arms and equipment. Each member of the Solar Auxilia was expected to reach the height of skill and aptitude required to wear void armour.Co-ordination and discipline was to them of paramount importance; infractions of discipline and rule on a voidship can lead to swift disaster for all, and in void warfare this is doubly true. Those who failed to meet these standards in training were dismissed to serve as naval ratings or in a less selective Auxilia formation, those who failed them on active service were harshly punished, and those who failed them in battle faced summary execution by their officers.The coherence and discipline of the Solar Auxilia was key to their principal tactics; close order formations both in open field warfare and in the confines of a Zone Mortalis, concentration of firepower and stubborn defence. Strategies of "aggressive defence" were common both at the small unit and field level. This can be typified by aggressively seizing superior defensive ground (or manufacturing it with prefabricated defence lines, etc.) and inviting enemy attack on preferred terms, feigned retreat in order to drag opponents into pre-prepared fire zones and slow "rolling" advances under cover of close armoured and air support, protected by mechanised transportation.Also common were asymmetric "lightning" assaults which committed massed forces against a divided portion of an enemy line in order to achieve localised victory while minimising losses. These strategies were enabled by the Solar Auxilia Cohorts' discipline and the sophistication of their armaments, and born primarily from the Solar Auxilia Cohorts' use as long-range pathfinder units for Explorator and expeditionary forces, as well as rapid-response forces.In such roles the Solar Auxilia often expected to fight alone and outnumbered, and faced unknown terrain as well as potentially unknown enemies. The famed discipline and ability to "hold the line" of the Solar Auxilia in such circumstances can be seen not simply as a matter of martial ability, but as a simple survival trait; on an alien world or within the hull of an enemy warship, breaking and fleeing is pointless when there is no safe haven to flee to, and doing so dooms oneself as surely as it does one's comrades.
Solar Auxilia - Armament: One of the most clearly defining features of the Solar Auxilia was their unique panoply of war, which set them aside from the myriad different forces within the wider Excertus Imperialis and Imperialis Auxilia, and was informed both by their history and their particular role in the Imperium's vast war machine.
Solar Auxilia - Tactical Support: Every Solar Auxilia cohort was intended to operate as a self-contained force, and it was organised and supplied with additional infrastructural support based on its assigned role. For example, if on exploration duty or in open warfare, the cohorts almost always operated as a mechanised force, utilising large numbers of heavy, all-environment armoured transports as mounts and rally points for their troops.Most common of these was the Dracosan Armoured Carrier, which possessed both the transport capacity to carry entire lasrifle sections in a single vehicle and had both considerably more armour and inherent rad/alchemical protection than the ubiquitous Rhino, as well as a life support system of greater endurance.Alongside this primary ground vehicle, a specific armoured and often armed variant of the Arvus Lighter served as the Solar Auxilia's most numerous support transport. This STC pattern aircraft is a robust and reliable orbital interface craft whose trusted design predated the Imperium's founding by unknown Terran centuries, and was used in a variety of roles from troop transport, to reconnaissance craft, to supply conveyor and even as an impromptu gunship.As might be expected given the Solar Auxilia's close relation to void warfare and orbital assault, additional naval support by fighter craft, heavy gunships and orbital landers was also very closely factored into the Solar Auxilia cohorts' sphere of operations, with the Auxilia possessing its own cadres of pilots and void ratings integrated into a given cohort's own chain of command to facilitate its operation.Almost uniquely among the Excertus Imperialis, Solar Auxilia cohorts stationed upon ships of the line also make use of specially modified Shark Pattern Boarding Rams for void assault actions, a deadly form of engagement usually assumed to be the sole province of the mighty Legiones Astartes.
Solar Auxilia - Heavy Armour and Ordnance: The Solar Auxilia cohorts made extensive use of support armour and mobile artillery units in open battle, and unlike the forces of the wider Imperialis Auxilia, these were invariably patterns designed and proofed against void and hostile environment operation, including radiological shielding and internal life support systems.These included the notably advanced Mars-Solar Pattern Leman Russ battle tanks, created specifically to the Auxilia's specifications by the magi of the Red Planet -- both swifter and more sophisticated than their more commonly encountered counterparts -- as well as semi-automata variant Basilisk and Medusa artillery tanks mounted on those same environmentally-sealed Leman Russ chassis.Solar Auxilia cohorts were also renowned for their routine deployment of prefabricated defence works, fortifying any encampment they make or outpost they construct, however temporary; a standard operating procedure born of extensive deployments on unknown worlds far from ready aid.Most Solar Auxilia cohorts also feature at least one fully equipped super-heavy armour sub-cohort within its ranks, whose armoury contains numerous types of general battle units such as the Malcador and the Baneblade super-heavy tanks, as well as vehicles reserved for more specialised roles such as the Shadowsword and Stormhammer.It is notable, however, that more specialised siege formations, such as static artillery batteries, were rarely included within a cohort's regular order of battle, as siege duty and attrition warfare was largely considered a waste of the Solar Auxilia's particular capabilities by strategic command during the Great Crusade, and left to other, more specialised formations of the Excertus Imperialis.
Solar Auxilia - Close Combat Weapons: Battle-Automata Power Blades - Fitted to the primary weapon-limbs of some robotic Battle-automata, these sabre-like bladed weapons use molecular disruption fields supercharged with power from the Battle-automata's core.Charnabal Sabre - With their origins tracing back to the ancient duelling societies, assassin cults and bloody vendettas of the Terran Courts during the Age of Strife, these elegant and deadly weapons rely on speed and dexterity rather than brute force for their lethality. The pure metal of their blades is press-folded and stamped scores of times over before being micro-serrated with a fractal-sharp edge. The master swordsmiths of Terra are each said to have their own rituals of forging, impressing a distinct pattern in each bespoke blade as legible as a signature to those with the wit to read them. As well as the nobles of the Terran Court, certain senior officers of the Solar Auxilia favour the Charnabal Sabre over more "clumsy" Power Weapons as they see them as being more responsive to true martial skill, while others think them effete and decadent weapons.Digital Lasers - Incredibly sophisticated miniaturised weapons of xenos origin, these devices are extremely short-ranged but potent enough to kill despite being small enough to be concealed in a ring, gauntlet, sword hilt or helm. With a skilled user they are particularly effective in close combat, where they can be used to deliver a deadly strike to a foe already occupied in fending off the fighter's blows.Paragon Blade - Weapons forged of consummate artistry or irreplaceable relics of the ancient might of the Dark Age of Technology, Paragon Blades are few in number and may take many forms. The most common Paragon Blades are two-handed Power Weapons of extraordinary balance and durability, although even more rare and unique Chain Weapons wrought from the teeth of terrifying xenos beasts and certain night-black sickle swords found on remote Death Worlds on the edges of the Halo Stars have been known to hold similar phenomenal killing power. Regardless of their form, Paragon Blades are valued beyond price by the Imperium's warriors.Shock Chargers - Used to augment the combat power of Legio Cybernetica Battle-automata, these amplify the force of the Battle-automata's blows with powerful electrostatic discharges which detonate like thunderclaps when striking their target.
Solar Auxilia - Additional Wargear: Automated Artillery - Unlike standard artillery, automated artillery does not require crew in order to function. It is not removed from combat due to a lack of crew and each gun must be destroyed normally before it is removed. Automated Artillery cannot move and cannot charge.Battlesmith - Those versed in the secret arts and teachings of the Mechanicum, whether Techmarine, Forge Lord or Magos, have the skill and ability to reconstruct and effect field repairs to war machinery in the very heat of battle.Explorator Adaption - Many of the combat vehicles of the Solar Auxilia are modified during construction to operate freely in the most dangerous alien environments, providing fully-sealed life support systems and are fabricated with materials and component systems far superior in the quality of their materials than those commonly possessed by the Excertus Imperialis.Cybernetic Cortex - Comprising a synthetic "brain" of sorts of the most advanced robotic Battle-automata, a Cybernetic Cortex consists of an armoured casing containing a complex bio-plastic mass which extrudes nerve-like grey tendrils into the body of the robotic frame into which it is housed, invigorating it with strange false-life. Far beyond a simple cogitator in capacity, it is neither truly alive nor sapient like the dread and inhuman "Silica Animus" feared of old. Instead, it is akin to a primal web of bellicose instinct, guided not by self-awareness and reason, but by a pre-programmed framework of encoded behaviour, comprising simple and exacting instructions and commands. The result is a superior, self-guided weapon; a machine-predator that will actively and instinctively pursue its foes as well as act with a degree of tactical sense and self-preservation beyond anything a servitor is capable of, but without the dangers of revolt and the development of blasphemous machine general intelligence -- or so the Legio Cybernetica claim.
Solar Auxilia - Solar Auxilia Colours: Each Solar Auxilia Cohort commonly bears the colours of their particular cohort's livery. The colours are those by which the cohort is known and may be drawn from the culture of the world from which it was raised, or earned throughout its years of service to the Imperium. They appear on banners and uniforms, and the warriors of the cohort derive enormous pride from bearing them into battle.
Solar Auxilia - Solar Auxilia Heraldry: The Cohorts of the Solar Auxilia are known by a combination of heraldry and a numeral that, in theory at least, is in use by only a small family of Cohorts at a time -- names such as the "Lord Marshal's Own", the "Ash Scorpions" or the "Gate Keepers". Where a Cohort has strong associations with a particular world -- either that from which it was raised or one it is tasked with guarding -- it may also carry the name and other icons of that world.
Solar Auxilia - Legiones Auxilia: Within the ranks of the Solar Auxilia stood a class of formation bestowed with a singular honour -- to serve directly alongside the Legiones Astartes, integrated into their order of battle. These so-called "Legiones Auxilia" were even afforded the right -- through pedigree or deed -- to bear livery derived in part from their associated Space Marine Legion. Some such cohorts were raised from the Legion's own home systems or subsidiary domains, such as the Cthonian Headhunters or the Barbaran Ambaxtoi, while others earned their position through historical association and achievement, such as the Arkadian Janissaries, who fought alongside the IIIrd Legion, the Emperor's Children.Later in the galactic civil war of the Horus Heresy, it would become common for the Space Marine Legions to assume direct control over one or more allied Solar Auxila units, subordinating them wholesale into Legion chains of command. By default, the Legiones Auxilia follow the same patterns as other, less favoured cohorts of the Imperial Army. However, while the Legiones Auxilia are not sufficiently elevated to bear the full panoply and devices of the Legiones Astartes, they are nonetheless granted the right to wear certain elements of a Legion's colours, proudly marking their shared heritage.This phenomenon is referred to as "honour livery" and indicates that the bearer has been inducted into the outer circles of a Space Marine Legion's extended ranks. It was not unusual in such formations for veteran or especially honoured units to adopt even more distinctive uniforms, with colours more closely linked to the Legion they served alongside.The honour livery borne by Legiones Auxilia infantry and vehicles is related in the scheme -- often, though not exclusively, vehicles bore the same colour that featured in the infantry's sealed environmental undersuit. This was complemented by distinctive and varied bars of a secondary colour, often derived from the colours of the associated Space Marine Legion.
Solar Auxilia - Solar Auxilia War Machine Appearance: The Greater Orders of Battle of the Solar Auxilia made provisions for a wide range of force types, most describing a cohort built around a core of infantry supplemented to varying degrees by armoured units, from self-propelled artillery to super-heavy tanks. These documents are nothing if not extensive in their addressing of every possible contingency the Solar Auxilia might face in war, and even go so far as to stipulate the livery they should bear.The armoured vehicles of the Solar Auxilia were mainly liveried in a utilitarian white-grey, the same surface coating applied to the armoured flanks of the mighty warships of the Armada Imperialis Ultima. Unlike the mass-produced war machines of the majority of the Imperial Army, however, those of the Solar Auxilia were not only constructed from superior quality materials usually reserved for Space Marine Legion war machines; they were also lavished with fittings and details of semi-precious metals, such as brass, bronze or copper which, even when the bulk of the vehicle accumulated dirt and wear, were kept shining as a matter of pride.Solar Auxilia tank crews were known for their attention to detail in this regard, and it was common for them to spend long solar hours in between other duties fastidiously maintaining their war machines; a practice that also revealed any micro-fractures or hidden damage that might compromise the vehicle in hostile environments.This tradition is derived from the pre-and post-battle protocols of the Saturnyne Ordo, where warriors would be detailed to perform such repetitive tasks in order to focus minds, dissipate tension and maintain discipline.In addition to their basic panoply, Solar Auxilia armoured vehicles commonly also bore the colours of their particular cohort's livery, applied in bands of varying configurations across the sides, prow or turret.
Solar Auxilia - Solar Auxiliary Vehicle Iconography: An axe icon indicates that a vehicle belongs to a dedicated armoured unit (rather than being individually assigned to support another formation, and the wreath and cruciform veterancy symbol marks it as a command vehicle bearing a senior Solar Auxilia tank commander of the cohort. An icon of a lion with a spear, mounted on a shield, indicates that a vehicle is permanently attached as armoured support to an elite Veletaris formation.
Solar Auxilia - Sources: Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Titandeath (Specialty Game), pg. 72The Horus Heresy Book Four: Conquest (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 19, 29, 38, 42, 47-51, 54, 57, 60, 69, 72, 74-75, 79-95, 146-147, 196, 200, 239-291The Horus Heresy Book Five: Tempest (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 18, 22-23, 30-31, 39, 41, 46-47, 50, 55, 61, 65, 71, 124, 140, 152The Horus Heresy: Liber Imperium (Specialty Game), pg. 159Warhammer Community - Solar Auxilia: Heraldry of Honour, Part 1 (19 March 2024)Warhammer Community - Solar Auxilia: Heraldry of Honour, Part 2 (13 Jun 24)Warhammer Community - Solar Auxilia: Heraldry of Honour, Part 3 (30 Jul 24)Warhammer Community - Solar Auxilia: Heraldry of Honour, Part 4 (17 Oct 24)Forge World - Solar Auxilia Tactical CommandForge World - Solar Auxilia Veletaris Storm SectionForge World - Solar Auxilia Lasrifle SectionForge World - Solar Auxilia Flamer SectionForge World - Solar Auxilia Infantry TercioForge World - Solar Auxilia Tank CrewForge World - Solar Auxilia Ogryn Charonite SquadForge World - Solar Auxilia Rapier Squad Multi-LaserForge World - Solar Auxilia Rapier Quad MortarForge World - Solar Auxilia StormhammerForge World - Leman Russ IncineratorForge World - Solar Auxilia Basilisk/MedusaForge World - Solar Auxilia Basilisk/Medusa BatteryForge World - Solar Auxilia Dracosan Armoured TransportForge World - Solar Auxilia Mechanised Storm Section
Solar Hawks - Solar Hawks: Solar HawksLoyalistSpace MarineChapterWhite ScarsFoundingSharing their forefather's battle lust and aggressive style of lightning warfare, the Solar Hawks are notable for being aggressive and noble.The Astartes of this Chapter embody all that is best in the sons of Jaghatai Khan and honour their progenitor by either painting a shoulder guard or gauntlet white, the chosen colour of their ancestral Chapter.As their name suggests, they field an especially large number of airborne assets, regularly deploying whole wings of Stormtalons, Stormravens and other gunships into battle.
Solar Hawks - Notable Campaigns: Blackfist Scalping (882.M41) - In 882.M41, the White Scars joined forces with two of their Successor Chapters -- the Solar Hawks and the Storm Lords -- to combat the Ork WAAAGH! Blackfist on the Agri-World of Lycelle. Competition between the three Chapters was fierce, with each trying to outdo the battlefield deeds of the others in the name of their Primarch Jaghatai Khan.Tetrahric Upriising (Unknown Date.M41) - The Tetrahric Uprising began when a dozen once-loyal worlds turned from the light of the Emperor and rebelled against the Imperium. In response, the Solar Hawks Chapter invaded the rebellious worlds and waged a campaign that saw hundreds of vicious tank-on-tank engagements that successfully ended the rebellion. The Battle of Brokentread Plain fought on Haus K5 remains the most well-known battle of the campaign. At Brokentread Plain a single Solar Hawks strike force, consisting of a hundred vehicles, faced thousands of Renegade Leman Russ Tanks. For solar days, the two sides duelled through the dust kicked up from grinding treads and booming cannons until at last only a graveyard of shattered rebel armour remained.War of Beasts (Unknown Date.M42) - In the Era Indomitus three demi-companies of the Solar Hawks were sent alongside a White Scars strike force to the world of Vigilus to defend that crucial strategic link between the Imperium Sanctus and the Imperium Nihilus from xenos and the forces of Chaos during the War of Beasts.
Solar Hawks - Deathwatch Service: Deathwatch Librarians are often selected from members of three Space Marine Chapters -- the Blood Angels, the Blood Ravens and the Solar Hawks, due to the large numbers of psychically-gifted battle-brothers found among these Chapters.
Solar Hawks - Chapter Colours: The Solar Hawks wear sunburst yellow power armour with a golden Aquila or Imperialis on the breastplate. The backpack is silver. The entire left arm is often painted white, in honour of their parent Chapter's original colours.The squad tactical specialty symbol -- battleline, close support, fire support, Veteran or command -- is indicated on the right shoulder guard whilst the Chapter iconography is painted on the left shoulder guard.Squad designation is indicated by a black High Gothic numeral stenciled in the centre of the squad specialty symbol, and the colour of the squad markings indicates the Astartes' company.
Solar Hawks - Chapter Badge: The Solar Hawks' Chapter badge is a red hawk's head wearing a black hood, centred on a field of white.
Solar Hawks - Sources: Codex Adeptus Astartes - Deathwatch (8th Edition), pg. 31Codex Adeptus Astartes - Space Marines (8th Edition), pg. 35Codex: Space Marines (9th Edition), pg. 70Codex: Space Marines (8th Edition) (Revised Codex), pg. 41Codex: Space Marines (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), pg. 137Codex: Space Marines (6th Edition), pg. 38Codex Supplement: Angels of Death (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), "Steel Onslaught"Imperium Nihilus: Vigilus Defiant (8th Edition), pg. 79
Solar Pulse - Solar Pulse: A Solar Pulse is a Necron device often incorporated into a Cryptek Plasmancer’s Eldritch Lance. When activated, it unleashes a significant portion of the Eldritch Lance’s energy. This energy emission is not a coherent beam as usual, but a blinding flash of light, as bright as a solar flare, that blinds the Cryptek’s enemies and illuminates the battlefield to temporarily dispel the darkness of the night.Necron Lords have also rarely been known to have had a Solar Pulse device built into their own preferred staff weapon. The Solar Staff is once such notable device.
Solar Watch - Solar Watch: The Solar Watch, known also as the "Castellans of the Blessed Worlds," is a Shield Host of the Adeptus Custodes, the stalwart guardians of the Emperor of Mankind. The Sol System is amongst the most heavily fortified of Humanity's stellar holdings.The Adeptus Custodes considers its worlds, star forts and space lanes to be extensions of the Emperor's palace, and ensure they are guarded accordingly. Therefore, it has fallen to the Custodians of the Solar Watch to act as castellans -- standing eternal vigil for threats against the Throneworld and the worlds of the Segmentum Solar.
Solar Watch - Role: From the vast orbital fortresses of Luna to the cloud-keeps of Jupiter and the deep-space star forts of the Halo Belt, Humanity maintains hundreds of strongholds throughout the Sol System. Billions of weapons point menacingly into the dark gulfs of space, ready to unleash spectacular devastation upon any foolish enough to threaten Mankind's seat of power.Armoured towers and gargoyle-festooned bastions loom over every approach, sanctified against the foul machinations of the Emperor's many foes. Entire fleets of Imperial Navy ships prowl the space lanes, vigilant for the slightest threat. Yet perhaps the most formidable of all Terra's outer defensive measures are the Custodians of the Solar Watch.Consisting of several Shield Companies of varying strength, the Solar Watch swear binding oaths to keep guard over the outer bastions of the Throneworld. They see themselves as the first true line of defence for the Imperial Palace, and believe that it is their duty to ensure that no external threat ever makes it as far as Terra. To this end, they constantly patrol routes between the worlds and void structures of the Sol System, ever vigilant for danger.Though they typically travel via naval craft and intrastellar trade ships, the Solar Watch maintain a formidable concentration of Venerable Land Raiders, and are typically able to deploy forces that are predominately, if not entirely, mechanised. This allows them to respond swiftly, and with overwhelming force, to any potentially threatening situation that may develop.While such dangers are not common within the Sol System, they are certainly not unheard of; the Solar Watch have been instrumental in bringing an end to Daemon-worshipping Chaos Cults, Inquisitorial coups and subtle xenos incursions on every world bar Mars. While their authority technically extends to the Red Planet, the Adeptus Custodes are wise enough to maintain cordial relations with the servants of the Omnissiah, and so travel to that world only occasionally, trusting the Cult Mechanicus to police its own deviants.
Solar Watch - Talon Sorties: The more aggressive of the Captain-Generals of the Adeptus Custodes have traditionally charged the Solar Watch with performing sporadic Talon Sorties. These involve the Solar Watch gathering Shield Company-strength forces and launching strikes against prevailing threats in the star systems closest to Terra.The Solar Watch do not waste their resources in war zones already heavily invested in by Imperial forces. Rather, they sally out to destroy developing threats or eliminate enemies that have broken existing Imperial lines. Deploying aboard their Venerable Land Raiders, they slam into their enemies in fast-moving armoured spearheads. Prioritising the slaughter of command elements and heavy combat assets, the Solar Watch cripple their enemies' capacity to function as an army of conquest before abruptly withdrawing, leaving lesser Imperial forces to mop up what remains.After all, the duty of guarding the Sol System is a vital one, and the Solar Watch cannot leave their posts for long.
Solar Watch - Notable Campaigns: Zagstomp's Doom (ca. Unknown Date.M42) - The Orks of WAAAGH! Zagstomp overrun the Iron Warriors Citadel of Miseries after a gruelling three-year siege. Grown massive and powerful on a diet of constant warfare, and equipped with the looted tanks and war engines of the butchered Iron Warriors, Zagstomp's hordes board their ramshackle voidships. Before they can attempt to punch their way into the Warp, Custodians of the Solar Watch materialise within the engine decks and mek bays of the Greenskins' capital ships. Guns blazing, the Custodians hold off the Orks long enough to plant vortex implosion detonators on every ship. The survivors then teleport back to their own ships and jump away into the Warp. In attempting to give chase, the Orks trigger the Vortex bombs, and their vast fleet -- which Imperial doomscryers warned would appear on the fringes of the Sol System if left unchecked -- is consumed by the ferocious energy storm that follows.
Solemnus Crusade - Solemnus Crusade: MarshalBlack TemplarsSpace MarineChapterSolemnus CrusadeSolemnusOrkWarlordMorkrull GrimskarHive WorldArmageddonHowever, despite an apparent early success, the Crusade met with disaster when Emperor's Champion Ansgar was captured by the severely injured but not-yet dead Warlord. The near-dead Warlord was transformed into a Cybork, and adding insult to injury many of the cybernetic components were salvaged from stolen Black Templars' wargear.After this setback, no Black Templar of the Crusade would recieve the ecstatic vision of the Emperor signifying he'd been chosen to be the Emperor's Champion, clearly announcing that brother Ansgar was somehow still alive. Black Templars Dreadnought Jarold formed a strikeforce under the designation "Ansgar's Avengers" specifically tasked with locating the captured Emperor's Champion and recovering the revered relics of the Black Sword and Armor of Faith belonging to him. While the strikeforce did not recover Ansgar on its first attempt, Jarold's forces did uncover the Crimson Fists Venerable Dreadnought Rhodomanus, who had been lost and laid dormant for 50 Terran years in the Dead Lands ice glaciers during the Second War for Armageddon.After being awakened from his icy tomb, Rhodomanus pledged his support to the Black Templars, and joined them in an assault on the presumed position of the Warboss Grimskar, but alas for them, the cunning and elusive Warlord had already departed the targeted site. What they did find however was a large Tellyporta array and an almost-finished Stompa, freshly recovered from the ice that had been originally constructed during this earlier campaign and prevented it from joining the Ork war effort elsewhere, and which the Orks now planned to finally teleport straight into the nearest human battleforce.The Black Templars immediately rushed forward and managed to seize the Tellyporta, which the Black Templar Techmarine managed to subdue in order to teleport his brothers to safety on their Strike Cruiser, teleporting down one of their voidship's Plasma Torpedoes in their stead. The resulting explosion destroyed both the Stompa and the Tellyporta array, with the bonus of incinerating a good part of Warboss Grimskar's cadre of Mekboyz. Not yet finished in their task, strikeforce "Ansgar's Avengers" and the Solemnus Crusade continued their campaign on the surface of Armageddon, but not before contacting their Crimson Fists brethren, and arranging for Brother Rhodomanus to finally be reunited with his Chapter.
Solerite Power Gauntlet - Solerite Power Gauntlet: A Solerite Power Gauntlet is a unique Power Weapon that takes the form of a massive master-crafted Power Fist utilised exclusively by the Legio Custodes, the elite bodyguard of the Emperor of Mankind. First fashioned in the pattern of ancient relics to arm the elite of the Thunder Warriors, the Solerite Power Gauntlets and their raptor-taloned variants are potent weapons.They differ from the standard Power Fists and claws utilised by the Adeptus Astartes in both the near-irreplaceable artefact power coils which energise their disruption field generators and the nigh-indestructible materials their casings and blades are fashioned from, forged as they are in furnaces recovered from the ancient Tempest Galleries near Terra's molten core by the nascent XVIII Legion (the then-unnamed Salamanders Legion).
Solitaire - Solitaire: A Solitaire is the strangest and most dangerous of all the Aeldari Harlequins. Called Arebennian in the Aeldari Lexicon, they are doom incarnate, for they play the part of "She Who Thirsts" in the great performance that is the Dance Without End, and once their path is chosen no one can stay their hand.The Solitaires, as their name implies, are solitary individuals who roam the Webway, only joining a Harlequin masque for a battle or performance when the fancy takes them.Just speaking to a Solitaire outside the Dance Without End is tantamount to death, for he treads the Path of Damnation, his soul forfeit to the Chaos God Slaanesh. Indeed, a Solitaire's role is afforded the utmost fear and respect by other Aeldari of any kindred, for only the bravest, strongest and most incorruptible of their race could play the part of their greatest nemesis and remain sane.Like all Harlequins the Solitaire wears a Holo-Suit during performances and in battle. Where other Harlequins are garbed in vibrant, bewildering Domino Suits, the Solitaire wears an austere hooded coat to disguise his appearance, revealing his Daemon-faced mask only moments before he strikes down his foe.