vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Rak'Gol - Ranged Weapons: Most Rak'Gol seem to disdain ranged weapons, exhibiting a clear preference for melee combat. In several instances, survivor reports have indicated that Rak'Gol wielding ranged weapons tend to use them as melee weapons once their ammunition is depleted, rather than reloading. The following are the known patterns of ranged weaponry utilised by the Rak'Gol:Rak'Gol Razor Gun - The most common ranged weapon among these xenos, these weapons use chemical propellants to hurl finely barbed slugs at their targets. These weapons are most effective against lightly armoured targets and often inflict savage wounds upon their victims. The slugs create a distinctive high-pitched whine as they corkscrew through the air at hypersonic speeds. The combination of the sound and the savage howls of the marauders haunt the nightmares of nearly all who have survived encounters with these savages.Howler Rifle - Rak'Gol wielding Howler Rifles are easily identified by the large packs of ammunition that they must wear strapped to their torso to supply these chain-fed weapons. The rounds are made of a dense, ceramic-like material fired by highly volatile propellent. The tri-barrelled weapon spits out thousands of these rounds per minute with great gouts of flame, yielding a characteristic wailing noise as it showers unlucky targets with lead.Rad-beam Cannon - The massive Rad-beam Cannon is only rarely seen among Rak'Gol units. The cannon discharges a blast of high intensity ionising radiation that voraciously breaks down armour and materials and kills living tissue. The radiation is focused through an unstable ionisation field, meaning the wielders often suffer doses of radiation whenever it fires. While an extremely effective weapon, the Rak'Gol wielding it often show little patience for getting it aligned and waiting for it to recharge after each burst. Only the Abominations seem capable of restraining the bearers from throwing themselves into melee combat instead.
Rak'Gol - Melee Weapons: Many Rak'Gol choose to employ only their natural claws and massive teeth as their weapons of choice in close combat. Others use a vicious collection of implanted mono-blades and armoured, razor-edged gauntlets designed to rend and tear flesh with maximum carnage. The following are the known melee weapons employed by the Rak'Gol:Rak'Gol Rad Axe - The massive blade on this pole-arm is characterised by an ionisation field that focuses a massive radioactive discharge.When these weapons are used, the battlefields often suffer from substantial levels of radioactive contamination.Rak'Gol Intimidator - Only a few of these handheld devices have been recovered, but no eyewitness reports indicate their use in combat. Adeptus Mechanicus agents believe that the Intimidators are primarily used as torture devices, but records indicate most Rak'Gol Abominations carry them. This may be an indicator of status or a means to maintain discipline among their crew.
Rak'Gol - Rak'Gol Starship Classes: Marauder - Marauders are the name given to the most common of Rak'Gol ships, sharing the name with the Rak'Gol warrior caste. Given that no two are exactly alike, they are similar enough in size and performance to be grouped together into a broad classification. All Marauders seem to be haphazardly constructed with little regard for layout or comfort of crew. They are all generally brutal voidcraft that are over-gunned and have impressive amounts of speed thanks to their fission-pulse drives. However, though they are quite fast they are slow to manoeuvre, and savvy captains have been known to exploit this weakness in order to win the day.Butcher - Very rarely found alone, the Butcher is used on the rare occasions when the Rak'Gol attack planetary targets. While capable of assisting in combat, these starships are relatively poorly armed and lightly armoured. Their slow speed and lack of manoeuvrability exacerbates the issue. In combat, they prefer to stand off from the main fight and inundate their opposition with swarms of small craft and boarding torpedoes. Once opposition is eliminated, they enter low orbit over a target world and mercilessly pound targets with warhead swarms while launching waves of assault craft.Mauler - Less common than other Rak'Gol Escort craft, the Mauler-class Frigates are still far more commonly seen than any lone explorer or trader would like. These vessels vary -- often dramatically -- in their precise secondary armaments, defences, and appearance. They are, however, distinguished by their primary weapon, clusters of torpedo tubes. These tubes are almost always loaded with boarding torpedoes, offering another method for the vicious Rak'Gol to enter into direct melee with their prey. Like other smaller Rak'Gol warships, Maulers generally travel without the support of other vessels. In these cases, the vessels begin firing salvo after salvo of torpedoes towards their victims the instant that they enter range. Maulers then continue to close to bring their Howler Cannons into play. In the rarer cases where a Mauler is part of a mixed squadron, they generally hang back, firing continuous salvoes of torpedoes, while vessels with shorter ranged weapons close.Mangler - Mangler vessels are full-sized Rak'Gol warships. These (mercifully rare) starships are generally found accompanied by at least one to three Butchers or Maulers. In a few rare instances, Manglers have led larger squadrons. The examples that have been identified share a common core design and armament, but vary significantly in their architecture. This may be due to extensive repairs or may indicate that they were designed by different artisans. Thus far, only Manglers are large enough to mount Rak'Gol Lance weapons. These warships, especially when accompanied by a support squadron, are fully capable of launching a planetary assault against smaller colonies. In addition, the wings of assault craft in concert with their beam weapons can be an absolutely devastating combination against any but the largest of vessels.
Rak'Gol - Rak'Gol Starship Components: The components that go into Rak'Gol vessels tend to be inferior to human vessels, but nonetheless brutally effective. The following is a list of the most common components found on a Rak'Gol starship:Drives - Instead of the fusion plasma drives of humanity, the Rak'Gol rely on something referred to as a "fission-pulse" drive. These drives are far inferior to the plasma drives of Imperial vessels, based around an atomic reactor core and relying on explosive "pulsed" nuclear fission reactions to move their ships through space. In general they can accelerate to a decent speed, but fall far short on manoeuvrability. There are two broad classes of drives used by the Rak'Gol, categorised by xenostechnologists as the "Stutter"-class and the "Burst"-class, with the latter being the larger of the two. Like the smaller "Stutter"-class drives, the "Burst" drives of the Rak'Gol are capable of accelerating to high velocities, but are incapable of nimble manoeuvring. However, Imperial captains tend to underestimate the brutal force behind them, sometimes to their peril.Warp Drives and Protective Devices - The Rak'Gol's Warp-Drives are far more advanced than the xenos race's other technology. Inspections of several hulked Rak'Gol vessels revealed the Warp-Drives seemed to have been added to the Rak'Gol ships independently of the starship's construction. This was further borne out by strange crystalline devices that make up part of the Warp-Drives. To protect against the predations of the Warp, the Rak'Gol seem to rely exclusively on a series of talismans, charms, and symbols built into the hulls of their vessels.Life Sustainer and Crew Quarters - Although the Rak'Gol seem able to breath oxygen, the atmospheres aboard their ships are thick and choked with noxious chemicals, as well as radiation from their unshielded fission piles. This has lead xenostechnologists to derisively dub their sustainer systems "fume sustainers." Likewise, their living quarters are hot, dry, and awash in lethal levels of radiation.
Rak'Gol - Rak'Gol Starship Weaponry: Rak'Gol starship weaponry tends towards macrobatteries firing swarms of warheads, or unwieldly Lance weapons. The following is a list of the most common Rak'Gol weaponry found aboard Rak'Gol war vessels:Howler Cannons - These weapons were nicknamed by the survivors of Rak'Gol attacks, who described the sound of their shells impacting on a voidship's hull as an "unrelenting howl." Howler Cannon batteries fire massive and brutal barrages of ordinance to overwhelm their targets with the sheer volume of fire.Roarer Beam - "The foulest bellow of the vile xenos," these gigantic beam weapon clusters seem to run the entire length of the largest Rak'Gol warships. They fire rad-beams that voraciously eat through the toughest armour.Clanger Torpedo Tubes - These tubes are capable of firing two torpedoes in each salvo. They are always loaded with Boarding Torpedoes, which are functionally identical to those used by Imperial vessels.Raider Landing Bay - During combat, these bays are completely open to the void. Docked assault craft are each attached to an airlock which is used to load the vessels. In non-combat situations, massive doors are closed to seal off the bay compartment so that the area may be used to conduct repairs and maintenance, inasmuch as the Rak'Gol engage in these activities.
Rakszan - Rakszan: Rakszan is a Necron Lord, and is the only surviving member of the Khansu Dynasty that had been destroyed during the War in Heaven. After betraying his people and leading them to biotransference, the dynasty’s subsequent destruction and separation after the great conflict changed Rakszan, and he now has embarked on a personal mission to see every remaining fragment of C'tan caged for all of eternity.
Rakszan - History: When the Necrontyr race began the process of biotransference that would turn them into the soulless Necrons, by no means did all of the Necrontyr people go willingly to the chambers of transformation. However, the nobility of the Khansu Dynasty fought the onset of biotransference more than most, and at every turn. When it became clear that no amount of political manoeuvring or manipulation could prevent what was to come, the Khansu Dynasty fought in armed revolt against the dictates of the Triarch. Yet one Phaeron, no matter how powerful, could not hope to fight the rest of the dynasties and their C'tan masters.Ascendant Prince Rakszan was one of the few Necrontyr nobles amongst the Khansu Dynasty to choose biotransference of his own volition, and he cursed his people for their foolishness in resisting what could be a new age of glory. For his loyalty to the Triarch, Rakszan was granted high military rank and his first campaigns were those that brought his rebellious kinsmen to heel. One by one, Khansu's coreworlds fell, the crownworld of Hamun last of all, and those few rebels that survived were dragged to the chambers of transformation.At first, Rakszan was pleased, for his people would now have the chance to regain the honour lost in revolt against the Triarch. Yet, as the War in Heaven ground on, he witnessed the C'tan and their underlings systematically destroying his dynasty. Indiginity was added to defeat, with the Necrons of the Khansu Dynasty deployed at the forefront of every battle, or else dispatched on campaigns where there was little hope of success and none of survival. Little by little, Rakszan came to realise the terrible depths of his mistake. When the Necron rebellion against the C'tan began, none fought so hard as he to see the Star Gods toppled.By that time however, the Khansu Dynasty was lost forever, its nobles destroyed in the War in Heaven, its Necron Warriors and Immortals seized by other dynasties and reprogrammed to their service. In all the galaxy, only Rakszan remained to speak for his slaughtered kin, and he held himself a traitor to their memory. With no other way remaining to atone for his betrayal, Rakszan swore that he would see every surviving fragment of every C'tan caged, so that they could never again arise. It is a quest that continues to this day...
RAM Shield - RAM Shield: A RAM Shield is a powerful protective shield attached to an exo-armour gauntlet that often contains an additional built-in Autoch Pattern Combi-bolter. It is a primary defensive weapon used by Leagues of Votann Einhyr Champions.
Ramilies-class Starfort - Ramilies-class Starfort: A  Ramilies-class Starfort is a massive semi-mobile space fortress that is capable of Warp travel. These massive edifices have been utilised by the forces of the Imperium of Man since the earliest days of the Great Crusade in the late 30th Millennium.The Imperium's remaining scant supply of gigantic semi-mobile space stations like the Ramilles are vital to the Imperial Navy as forward fleet bases and have formed a vital lynch pin in Imperial strategy for ten standard millennia. Each one is capable of shortening campaigns by decades through its deployment.
Ramilies-class Starfort - History: The Ramilies-class Starfort was supposedly designed by the hitherto unknown Adeptus Mechanicus artisan Magos Lian Ramilies from Standard Template Construct (STC) materials captured in the purgation of the "Stone World," Ulthanx. Bristling with weaponry, the Ramilies itself is heavily armed as befits its role and is fully capable of fighting off a fleet of attackers if need be. The Ramilies cannot be boarded by starships as whole regiments of heavily armed troops would be needed, far more than most voidships can easily carry. The only vessel that could attempt to board a Ramilies is a Space Hulk, as only a Space Hulk would posses the requisite number of troops.On occasion these starforts are commandeered to be placed as permanent orbital bombardment emplacements over embattled worlds, or act as part of the defences of a vital star system, such as Watch Fortress Erioch, the notable Watch Fortress of the xenos-hunting Deathwatch, the Chamber Militant of the Ordo Xenos, which is based within the Jericho Reach of the Segmentum Ultima. Often times a Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes may be granted the unique honour of being placed in charge of one of these mighty edifices, utilising it as their Chapter's mobile fortress-monastery. At any one time the Imperial Forge World of Cypra Mundi, which serves as the primary Imperial naval and military base in the Segmentum Obscurus, will include between six and eight of these gigantic fortresses as part of its orbital defensive ring. Some are used as Adeptus Mechanicus deep space research facilities for projects too secret to be placed near any inhabited world. Others have gone to the Inquisition to be used as hidden fortresses for that clandestine and all-powerful organisation.Over the centuries, blasphemously altered Renegade starforts have been sighted likewise supporting the activities of Chaos warfleets. Such abhorrence is attached to these twisted parodies that they are pursued doggedly by Imperial Navy captains, but the last accredited destruction of one was in the Tauran Annulus in the 39th Millennium. Ork raiders have captured partially crippled Ramilies starforts at least six times, most memorably in the notorious "Skaggerak Incident" during the Segmentum Obscurus fleet review of 975.M41.
Ramilies-class Starfort - Warp Capabilities: The hyper-plasmatic energy conduction system used by the Ramilies is barely understood by the Tech-priests in current times, but thanks to the STC system it is still reproducible and has a guaranteed endurance of over 3,000 standard years. The greatest advantage of the Ramilies by far is that its powerful plasma generators can erect a Warp-bubble over the entire structure, enabling it, with the aid of seventeen Navigators and an attendant fleet of tugs, supply ships, warships and system craft, to enter the Warp and be towed to different star systems.This operation, always perilous, has resulted in the loss of over twelve hundred Ramilies starforts in their ten millennia of service to the Emperor. However, each journey has shortened Imperial campaigns by years at a time by allowing the Imperial fleet to move repair, command and resupply facilities right up to the frontline, saving its voidships' lengthy return trips to temporary supply bases or full repair dock facilities far behind the warzone. That such a rare and precious commodity should have been risked in transport all the way to the distant Jericho Reach and then left essentially unused speaks volumes as to the perceived value of the location -- and of the overpowering reach of those who caused the fortress to be established there.
Ramilies-class Starfort - Quadrants: The Ramilies starfort is so large that its weapons, hits and defences are divided up into four "quadrants" representing the different sides of the space station. Each quadrant has its own Void Shield emitters to protect it from enemy ordnance. Individual quadrants have their own ordnance, its basilica weapons possessing nearly an unlimited supply of torpedoes that never seem to run out.Damage control is also undertaken individually by quadrant. For all intents and purposes, the four quadrants function as individual stations placed "back-to-back." Friendly vessels can fully dock within one of the four inter-quadrant docking piers. These docking points can be used by any vessels up to a Strike Cruiser in size to undergo repair and resupply, even amidst the heat of battle.
Ramilies-class Starfort - Superior Defences: Unlike most defences, the command and control communications of a Ramilies starfort is superior to even that of a warship. Ramilies starforts are also typically manned by experienced Imperial naval personnel. Fleet Commanders are typically placed in command of Ramilies, utilising their superior leadership and tactical acumen to the starfort's advantage.
Rampager Squad - Rampager Squad: Rampager Squads were specialised Legion Assault Squads that operated within the ranks of the World Eaters Legion during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras in the late 30th and early 31st Millennia.They were formed from the most savage and bloodthirsty warriors in the XIIth Legion, all of which had undergone prohibited psycho-surgery and now possessed the forbidden cortical implants known as the Butcher's Nails.
Rampager Squad - History: Following the reunification with their lost Primarch Angron upon the world of Nuceria, the bloody-handed primarch enacted many changes within the structure of the XIIth Legion.Knowing how successful his own cortical implants were at boosting a warrior's prowess in battle, Angron ordered his Apothecarion to insert the Butcher's Nails implants within every Astartes of the World Eaters Legion to enhance their aggression and pain tolerance far beyond that which even the gene-engineered flesh of a member of the Space Marine Legions was capable.Initially, this posed difficulties, as Angron's implants were relics of a long-lost technology, little understood even by their makers, while removing them from Angron for close study would have proven fatal to the primarch. The Legion's Techmarines and Apothecaries attempted to duplicate the process using the primarch's own implants as templates to reverse-engineer the devices.Early attempts to duplicate these implants were far from successful, and resulted in high rates of mortality and irrecoverable homicidal frenzy on test recruits. However, as time progressed, a viable form of the cortical implant technology was replicated and steadily improved, although it was never fully stable or its effects constant between subjects, and entire newly-formed companies of World Eaters neophytes were implanted, as well as large numbers of existing World Eaters Astartes who volunteered for the dangerous operation.The majority of these Astartes were absorbed back into the XIIth Legion's line units, while those deemed perhaps too unstable for such tasks joined a growing number of near-berserker assault units known as Rampager Squads. The pain engine implanted in the skulls of these World Eaters forced them to enjoy killing above everything else. Even the comfort of brotherhood paled -- one of life's few remaining pleasures for the World Eaters outside of battle.Other World Eaters focused their desire for berserk slaughter into martial discipline, mastering a variety of macabre and savage weapons patterned from those used by Angron's fellow arena gladiators and found on the Feral Worlds from which the XIIth Legion primarily drew its recruits during the Great Crusade.Even within these units, those too far gone to be anything but restrained as savages between battles became known as the Caedere or the "Butchers," a frightening portent of what was soon to come for the entirety of the XIIth Legion.
Rampager Squad - Unit Composition: 4-9 Rampagers1 Rampager Champion
Rampager Squad - Wargear: Power ArmourBolt PistolChainaxeFrag GrenadesKrak Grenades
Rampager Squad - Optional Wargear: Heavy ChainswordJump PackCaedere Weapons - Based upon the ritual weapons of the cyber-augmetic gladiators of the savage world of Nuceria upon which their bloody-handed primarch was once cast, it was Angron himself who revived the use of the Caedere among his Legion's ranks. Brutal and difficult to master, the weapons of the Caedere remain largely the preserve of the Rampagers, the World Eaters who have responded the best to the addition of the cranial berserker implants which are a hallmark of the Legion, and its champions. The Caedere Weapons include the following:Meteor HammerExcoriator ChainaxeTwin Falx BladesBarb-hook Lash
Rampager Squad - Optional Wargear (Rampager Champion Only): Artificer ArmourPlasma PistolPower Weapon (Any type)Lightning ClawPower Fist
Rampager Squad - Dedicated Transport: A Rampager Squad consisting of ten Legionaries or fewer and not equipped with Jump Packs often used a Land Raider Phobos as a dedicated transport.
Rampager Squad - Sources: The Horus Heresy - Book One: Betrayal (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 89, 253Butcher's Nails (Audio Book) by Aaron Dembski-BowdenBetrayer (Novel) by Aaron Dembski-BowdenForge World Webstore - World Eaters Legion Rampager Squad
Rampagers - Rampagers: RampagersSpace MarineChapterSecond FoundingWhite ScarsLike their progenitors, the Rampagers make use of ritual facial scarring to denote both the rank and achievements of the Astartes in the Chapter.These scars are applied during a long, sacred Chapter ceremony called "the Blooding." The blood drawn from the faces of the Space Marines to be elevated during this ritual is then mixed with the drinks served during the feast that always follows the completion of the ceremony.The Rampagers are in the habit of claiming Feral Worlds as fresh recruiting grounds in the wake of conquest, providing the planet's populace test negative for any forms of spiritual or physical corruption.
Rampagers - Notable Campaigns: Battle of Corusil V (084.M31) - The Rampagers accompanied the White Scars force led by their Primarch Jaghatai Khan to the world of Corusil V to take vengeance against the Drukhari who had ravaged the White Scars homeworld of Chogoris and the wider Yasan Sector in the wake of the Horus Heresy. The White Scars and their successors defeated the Drukhari, but not before their Archon fled into the Webway through a nearby portal. Jaghatai Khan and much of the White Scars' 1st Brotherhood followed. The portal closed permanently behind them. The fate of the Great Khan remains unknown.Dabenlar III Campaign (490.M34) - The 6th Company of the Rampagers Chapter advanced 3,000 kilometres in a bold, armour-borne operation, crossing the Burning Plains of Dabenlar III's equatorial deserts and toppling the outflanked and ill-prepared rebel theocracy in a single night of retribution and bloodshed. The Rampagers instigated a brutal purge of the population, after which the people of Dabenlar III were declared free of heresy. Before taking their leave of the war zone, the Chapter asserted recruitment rights over the population, from which it draws Aspirants to this day.7th Black Crusade (Ghost War) (811.M37) - The 7th Black Crusade was a Black Crusade launched against the forces of the Imperium of Man, led by the infamous Chaos Champion Abaddon the Despoiler and his Black Legion, launched out of the Eye of Terror in 811.M37. At this time, the forces of Chaos spewed forth from the great Warp rift past Cadia and then disappeared. This event is what earned this conflict its informal name of the Ghost War. The following years saw a game of hide-and-seek played between the Forces of Chaos and the Imperium of Man which spread confusion, paranoia, disinformation and deceit across the galaxy. Raids became commonplace in far-flung areas but eventually the servants of the Dark Gods returned to the Eye of Terror, having caused great difficulty for the Emperor's Loyalists but having proven unable to significantly degrade Imperial defensive capabilities at that time.Slaughter at Mackan (811.M37) - After their rescue at Midian, the full might of the Blood Angels Chapter fell upon a vast Black Legion warband on the world of Mackan. The Blood Angels bore the brunt of the onslaught, suffering horrendous losses upon the cursed ground of Mackan despite the efforts of the Rampagers' 7th Company to reinforce their brother Adeptus Astartes.
Rampagers - Chapter Colours: The Rampagers primarily wear red power armour. The Aquila or Imperialis on the chest guard is black.The black squad specialty symbol on the outer right greave designates operational specialty -- battleline, close support, fire support, Veteran or command.A black High Gothic numeral is stenciled on the right shoulder guard, indicating squad number.The colour of the left knee plate indicates company number in accordance with the dictates of the Codex Astartes -- i.e. White (1st Company), Yellow (2nd Company), Red (3rd Company), Green (4th Company), etc.
Rampagers - Chapter Badge: The Rampagers' Chapter badge is a white hand grasping a yellow lightning bolt, ready to strike with it, on a field of red. This symbol is derived from the icon of the Chapter's genetic forebears, the White Scars.
Rampagers - Sources: Adeptus Astartes: Successor Chapters (Limited Release Booklet)Codex: Space Marines (9th Edition), pg. 70Codex: Space Marines (8th Edition) (Revised Codex), pg. 40Codex: Space Marines (6th Edition), pp. 8, 143Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition), pg. 81Codex Supplement: White Scars (8th Edition), pg. 28How to Paint Space Marines, pg. 81Imperial Armour Volume Two - Space Marines and Forces of the Inquisition, pg. 75Imperial Armour Volume Two, Second Edition - War Machines of the Adeptus Astartes, pp. 17-18Insignium Astartes, pg. 57
Rampart Crest - Rampart Crest: A Rampart Crest is a type of personal defensive force field generator in the form of a decorative void armour or exo-armour crest, that is used by the most senior military personnel of the Leagues of Votann. They are capable of being overcharged in order to project strengthened energy fields that will attenuate all incoming kinetic and directed energy attacks for short periods of time. Additionally, if the wearer of the Rampart Crest so chooses, they can extend the range of protection of the crest's projected force field to protect nearby friendly units. Rampart Crests are most commonly employed by league kâhls.The Kin make a specialty of force field technologies. The crowning glory and most ubiquitous example of Brôkhyr force field technology is the Weavefield Projector. Variants of Weavefield Projector have been developed for everything from personal protection for void miners and soldiers of the line, to massive examples that are used to protect Kin voidships.The system employs an energy-weaving technique called "weavewërke" which interlaces energy frequencies common to both refractor and conversion field technology employed by the Imperium, interlinked with more exotic energies -- such as magnetic repulsion fields. The resultant multispectral energy shield is maintained either in a personal energy cowl, or else projected outwards to form a protective dome, the better to shelter entire squads of Kin warriors or bands of Cthonian miners.Amongst the Kinhosts, Weavefield Projectors are commonly worked into armoured crests worn on personal armour or mounted on war engines. From here, their shimmering, amber energies flow outward into translucent energy domes, capable of intercepting even esoteric or apocalyptic-scale munitions depending on the scale and capacity of their power generators.
Ranek Icewalker - Ranek Icewalker: Ranek Icewalker is a Wolf Priest of the Space Wolves who served in Wolf Lord Berek Thunderfist's Great Company. Ranek was the Wolf Priest who chose Ragnar Blackmane to become a Neophyte of the Chapter and first saw greatness in him.Ranek was Blackmane's friend and mentor and was one of the few Space Wolves to praise Blackmane for losing the Spear of Russ to prevent the emergence of the Thousand Sons Daemon Primarch, Magnus the Red, from the Warp on the world of Garm. He has remained the young Wolf Lord's close mentor and confidante.
Rangda - Rangda: The Rangda,  also called Rangdans, the Rangdan Cerabvores or the Rangdan Osseivores, were a hostile alien species first encountered by the Imperium of Man during the Great Crusade in the galactic north and east.After the Imperial expeditionary fleets first breached the Eastern Fringe of the galaxy, they inadvertently came to the attention of the Rangda, who launched an assault against Imperial space from the galactic north and east, unleashing the terrible military campaigns remembered only as the "Rangdan Xenocides."
Rangda - History: The Rangda were an incredibly vicious and technologically advanced species that assaulted the Imperial forces during three campaigns remembered as the Rangdan Xenocides, starting in the decade of the 860s.M30 and ending in the early tenth century of the 30th Millennium. It was the bloodiest conflict the Imperium would fight in its earliest days before the start of the Horus Heresy.While the Rangda were ultimately defeated, it required the direct intervention of the Emperor Himself and at least three Space Marine Legions, over a dozen Legio Titanicus Titan Legions, several Imperial Knight houses, the military forces of the ancient Mechanicum and hundreds of thousands of troops of the Imperialis Auxilia.The conflict would do lasting damage to several of the Space Marine Legions. The Dark Angels took the brunt of the casualties and the war against the Rangda would be the reason that the numbers of the Ist Legion dwindled to the point that the Ultramarines would eventually overtake them as the largest of the Legiones Astartes.The Imperium of Man later claimed that it had purged the entire species and their home star system in the Third Rangdan Xenocide, but the accounts of these events were muddled and often contradictory. It also seems likely that the Imperial records deliberately or accidentally mislabelled the world of Advex-Mors as "Rangda," the species' capital world.
Rangda - Technology: Very little about this species is known, since the records surrounding the conflict were sealed long ago.Reports say that the Rangda attacked with two forms of warriors, "Rangdan Cerabvores" and "Rangdan Osseivores." Their elite warriors were said to be a rare match for a Space Marine in combat, wielding weaponry perhaps even more advanced than and superior to that possessed by the Imperium and protected by personal, defensive energy shields.The Rangda preferred to have others fight their battles, unleashing vast legions of slave armies drawn from multiple intelligent species and sending them against the foe, seeking to exhaust their enemies until the exact right moment and place to strike presented themselves. Their campaigns were conducted by officers known as "warmasters" while the elite Rangda who commanded their slaves were known as "overlords." The Rangda were capable of creating vast artificial war-moons manned by millions of slaves who were controlled via neural collars that caused intense pain if the slave sought to remove it or disobey their Rangda masters.Rangda warships fired radioactive, electromagnetic blasts known as "Shadow Blasters" for the ominous shadow they left behind of their victims' remains. Rangda starships were characterised by a somewhat organic appearance, possessing spines and flails which dragged behind the voidcraft like metallic tentacles, giving them the appearance of Terran jellyfish.The Rangda were also said to possess Slaugth "murder-minds," suggesting that they may have been a slave or servant species of those even more vile xenos. The Slaugth were observed following in the the wake of the Rangda by Imperial forces, harvesting the bodies of the dead and any survivors they came across to feed their unnatural hunger.The Rangda were also feared by the military forces of the Imperium for their skills at mimicry.
Rangdan Xenocides - Rangdan Xenocides: The Rangdan Xenocides were a series of three xenocidal campaigns of the Great Crusade carried out against the xenos threat known as the Rangda starting in ca. 839.M30 and ending in ca. 890.M30.These wars were the most terrible of any fought by the expeditionary fleets of the burgeoning Imperium of Man before the Horus Heresy. The alien threat was only stymied after the intervention of the Emperor Himself and at least nine Space Marine Legions, over a dozen Legio Titanicus Titan Legions, several Imperial Knight houses, the military forces of the ancient Mechanicum and hundreds of thousands of troops of the Imperialis Auxilia.Much about these campaigns remains little understood in Imperial records, largely because the Dark Angels Legion, which bore the brunt of much of the fighting, ordered that such records be sealed away or destroyed for the good of the Imperium. What little can be determined from often conflicting sources is presented below.
Rangdan Xenocides - First Rangdan Xenocide: The wars fought against the Rangda by the Imperium during the Great Crusade number three in total. The first of these campaigns, the assault and destruction of Advex-mors in 839.M31, is most probably the first encounter between the forces of the Emperor and the Rangda, in which the Ist Legion lost some 5,000 battle-brothers in only 4 solar months of combat. Advex-mors would later be discovered to be little more than a small outpost of the Rangdan empire, a minor station at the edge of their extensive interstellar domains.In the aftermath of the Imperium's assault, the Rangda paused in their conquests elsewhere to turn their eye back upon Advex-mors and the surrounding star systems, now swarming with the Imperium's colonies and fleets. The victory at Advex-mors, despite the steep price paid to secure it, would prove to be little more than the prelude to the true alien assault.
Rangdan Xenocides - Notable Events: Battle of Advex-mors - This campaign fought on the world of Advex-mors by the Ist Legion in 839.M30 marked the start of the First Rangdan Xenocide.Majind Torc Transgression (881.M30) - During the devastation of the Second Rangdan Xenocide, a Basemekanic Barq broke the cordon of the galactic northeast to make impact at Majind. The Death Guard Legion in pursuit were decimated as the Macrobeest within was activated by unknown means. Only the quick thinking and intervention of the VIth Legion prevented disaster.
Rangdan Xenocides - Alpha Legion Participation: Official accounts found in both the arcanlooms of the Logistica Corpus and the more prosaic works of the Remembrancers place the Alpha Legion's appearance as an active Space Marine Legion in its own right to either the solar decade immediately preceding the commencement of the Farinatus Extermination in 972.M30 or as appearing as an unexpected reinforcing power during the darkest days of the Third Rangdan Xenocide. This represents a discrepancy of many solar decades.What is known is that a self-proclaimed "Alpharius," the commander of XXth Legion forces before the official rediscovery of their primarch, arrived in the proscribed Rangdan extermination zone and offered help to the Dark Angels Primarch Lion El'Jonson, whose Legion was badly depleted by the war. This "Alpharius" offered aid to the primarch against the Rangda in hopes that the Dark Angels would maintain their prominence and thus one day the Lion would be made the Imperial Warmaster.El'Jonson at this time did not even know what the title of "warmaster" portended, but still secretly believed that such a title, if it meant being raised as the first among equals among the primarchs, might one day be bestowed upon him by the Emperor. "Alpharius" stated that the XXth Legion would prefer that the Lion serve as the future Warmaster over another primarch like Roboute Guilliman, as he was not so different from the Alpha Legion in his use of secrecy as a potent tool of war. El'Johnson ultimately rejected this offer, explaining that, "the offers change. The answer never does," in reference to those who sought to turn him from his path as the hunter of beasts.According to a typically unsubstantiated tale later recounted by Alpharius himself, he was in fact the "Alpharius" that was present at this meeting with Lion El'Jonson. The Alpha Legion primarch offered his aid to the Dark Angels as he had an interest in moving into the Rangdan warzone to follow rumors of his long-lost twin brother, Omegon, who he believed was on the world of Bar'Savor. Once he arrived at Bar'Savor, Alpharius and Omegon were reunited and an Alpha Legion fleet including its flagship Beta purged the planet of the Slaugth xenos that had followed in the wake of the Rangda during the wars.It is not known whether these events took place during the Second or Third Rangdan Xenocides.
Rangdan Xenocides - Participation of the II and XI Legions: A rare record accidentally placed into copies of the Astra Militarum's Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer in the 41st Millennium recently revealed that the long-lost II and XI Legions of the ancient Space Marines participated in the campaigns of the Rangdan Xenocides, though the scope and nature of their involvement remains unrecorded.
Rangdan Xenocides - Notable Participants: Captain Arnaid - Arnaid was captain of the 45th Company of the 8th Order of the Dark Angels Legion and commander of the warship Nightsward during the Third Rangdan Xenocide. He was the first Astartes to ever make contact with the previously unseen Alpha Legion forces.Juljak Nul, "The Storm Walker" - Nul had the dual distinctions of being the first Master of Ordnance of the XII Legion, later known as the War Hounds, and serving as one of the first of that Legion's officers interned within a Dreadnought frame after being horrifically mutilated by Slaugth murder-minds at Rangda. The fact that Nul was horrifically wounded by the Slaugth is perhaps a clue to the true nature of the mysterious "Rangdan Cerabvores" faced by the Imperium's military forces.Crysos Morturg - Crysos Morturg was an Astartes of the Death Guard Legion, who was neither of Terra nor Barbarus by birth, but instead taken in with an emergency influx of recruits from the induction pool of the 18th Expeditionary Fleet after the Death Guard suffered near-catastrophic losses in the Rangdan Xenocide campaign. Years after his induction, he would manifest latent psychic abilities and was banished to the Legion Destroyer Corps, whose units were tasked to the brunt of the worst fighting the Death Guard endured. He was marked for death on Isstvan III, but would not die, and went on to become one of the most deadly commanders of the Loyalist resistance. Morturg miraculously survived the slaughter of the Istvaan III Atrocity and later became a Blackshield in a quest for revenge upon his former brothers.The Nemean Reaver - This unknown Blackshield Reaver Lord fought throughout the middle years of the Horus Heresy, leading the Blackshield band known as the Dark Brotherhood against numerous foes as he sought to carve out a haven within the Eridayn Cataract. He garnered a reputation throughout the Pale Stars and was often referred to simply as the Nemean. It is generally believed that he was once an officer of the I Legion -- the Dark Angels -- though even this was far from certain. Unconfirmed rumours circulated that he was a survivor of the Rangdan Xenocides, the apocalyptic conflict that saw the nascent Imperium threatened with destruction, and he had already entered into the legends of the Legiones Astartes long before the Horus Heresy. At the Conclave of Optera, he renounced his position and departed with Nathaniel Garro, Knight-Errant of Malcador the Sigillite, for Terra, leaving his lieutenants to take command of the Dark Brotherhood and lead it as they saw fit. It is believed his duty to the Sigillite culminated at the Siege of Terra upon the walls of the Imperial Palace during the very climax of the Horus Heresy.
Ranger Armour - Ranger Armour: Ranger Armour is the light personal protection worn by Craftworld Aeldari Rangers on the Path of the Outcast. The armour worn by Rangers is a special mesh suit with wraithbone carapace plates attached to it to provide enhanced protection, while still maximising ease of movement and the ability to move quietly and undetected. As a result, Ranger Armour is very flexible, which allows Rangers to move more freely. However, this flexibility comes at the expense of increased protection, as this armour is useless against bolter fire or powerful directed energy weapons.
Ranger Long Rifle - Ranger Long Rifle: The Ranger Long Rifle is the favoured weapon of Aeldari Rangers and Pathfinders. It is a long-barrelled rifle, superficially similar to the Imperial Sniper Rifle and Imperial Long-Las Rifle, that fires energy bolts capable of piercing most armour when aimed correctly. Unlike the mass-produced weapons of the Imperium, these potent Aeldari weapons are hand-grown by Bonesingers with specific attention paid to the eyesight and grip, creating a weapon perfectly adapted to its user.The Ranger Long Rifle uses a Gyrostatic Arm to keep the weapon stable, dispensing with the clumsy bipods that must be used by the lesser races with their Sniper Rifles. The Gyrostatic Arm also all but eliminates recoil. Whereas the artificial crystals used by Imperial laser–technology struggle to maintain a focused beam over long distances, the psychically-grown crystals used by Aeldari laser weapons are able to focus a tight beam of coherent light over a much greater distance, allowing a skilled user to punch through weak points in armour at great distances.
Ranger Long Rifle - The Weapon of Wanderers: The long rifle is the primary firearm used by the Rangers, outcasts who wander the galaxy experiencing all the sensation that is denied to them at home. It is similar in function to the sniper rifles used by the Imperium's armed forces, but superior in design and efficiency. Each long rifle is crafted by Bonesingers, moulded from psychoactive Wraithbone to enhance the already preternatural senses of its wielder. A long rifle is, as the name implies, a long and elegant weapon, as much a piece of art as a tool for killing. It works by projecting a minuscule needle from the barrel, suspended in a laser beam. The psychically-grown crystals that project this energy bolt, deadly in its own right, are capable of far greater accuracy than Imperial laser weapons, with a tighter beam that suffers less from diffusion over long ranges.Many an enemy commander has fallen to a pinpoint shot through an eye or a weak point in armour, leaving their bodyguards unable to locate the source or, often, even the entry wound, the Ranger who took the shot often sitting a mile away or more. The pan-spectral sights used in conjunction with long rifles are equally remarkable. More than just a rangefinder, they allow the firer to view their surroundings and target in multiple spectra, both physical and psychic. This means that it is rare that a Ranger with a long rifle can be ambushed by enemy stealth troops or surprised by an unexpected force shield or psionic barrier, allowing them to plan and execute shots that would be quite impossible for the snipers of other intelligent species.Unlike many Aeldari weapons that are psychically linked with a single user, the long rifle is usable by anyone with the skill and patience to wield it. This is essential for Rangers, as few who forsake their craftworld and walk the Path of the Outcast do so permanently, and even fewer are able to commission their own rifle to take into exile with them. Most long rifles are therefore revered artefacts, passed down across the millennia from Ranger to Ranger. Most are named, and their history and notable kills are learned by their wielders, who desire little more than to add another piece to that roll of historic honour.
Ranger Long Rifle - Notable Long Rifles: The Doom of Sorbak - This is the name of one long rifle that has served outcasts from Iyanden since time immemorial. It was crafted mere decades after the Fall, when life aboard the Craftworld first started to chafe for some of its inhabitants. The first warrior to carry it is remembered as Eladen Longstrider, whose deeds were many and storied. It is whispered that when the human Imperium burned with the flames of civil war, Eladen stood alongside the followers of the mon-keigh corpse god on the world of Lakaph, though they knew it not. As the forces of the Word Bearers surged across the world, converting the human population to the worship of the Ruinous Powers, Eladen and his Ranger band hunted the leader of the enemy, a Dark Apostle known as Sor Bakphal. They finally caught the tainted demagogue as he preached to an audience of captive Imperial soldiers. With mere seconds to line up a shot before he would be caught by the Dark Apostle's guards, Eladen took aim and fired, a laser-guided needle passing through the twisted Space Marine's neck seals and killing him instantly with a dose of a poison known as knightsbane that even his genhanced metabolism could not resist. The confusion this caused amongst the Word Bearers' ranks allowed the Imperial forces to win the day and take back the world from the traitors. When Eladen eventually passed from the galaxy, his rifle was given to another, and so on down the centuries. During the Kharsk Cleansing, it ended the life of each of the lieutenants of Archon Kabyryk, leaving him open to the judgement of Ulthwé's seer council. When the hordes of Grak Bigtoof swarmed across the Mendak Sector and nearly swallowed Craftworld Ilmaren, it was the Doom of Sorbak and its wielder who ended the life of Grak's pet psyker by firing a psychically charged needle that overloaded the creature with power, causing an implosion that closed the Warp rift threatening to tear the Craftworld asunder. Numberless are the wars that this rifle, and the thousands like it, have been instrumental in winning, and numberless are the lives they have saved.Uldanorethi Long Rifle - Uldanoreth was an outcast whose wanderlust drove him to tread the stars. He braved the dangers of a thousand worlds, surviving only through his wits. For his most promising students, Uldanoreth fashioned exquisite long rifles like unto his own, and a handful of these rifles have survived where his students did not.Voidbringer - Illic Nightspear's ancient Longrifle is said to contain the essence of the ancient warrior-smith Uldanoreth. The psychic capability granted by his presence enables Voidbringer to tear warp-holes within the foe, or even transport them completely into the void.
Ranger Long Rifle - Sources: Codex: Eldar (3rd Edition), pg. 35Codex: Eldar (4th Edition), pg. 38Codex: Eldar (6th Edition), pp. 48, 63Dark Heresy: Creatures Anathema (RPG), pg. 85Warhammer 40,000: Munitorum - Ranger Long Rifles (Digital Edition)