vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Castobel - Castobel: Castobel is a Hive World within the Achilus Crusade's Orpheus Salient in the Jericho Reach. Regarded as the jewel of the Orpheus Salient, Castobel remained loyal to the Imperium through the Reach's "Age of Shadow" when the Imperium had lost control of the sector, and welcomed the Achilus Crusade with open arms, turning its resources to the support of the re-conquest of the former Jericho Sector.The planet is a bustling, industrious Hive World, with a production capacity that eclipses that of every other world so far conquered by the crusade. The sheer numbers of people within Castobel's hive cities provide an ample supply of recruits for the Astra Militarum and Imperial Navy.Castobel is a fine example of how Lord Militant Tiber Achilus envisioned the progression of his namesake crusade -- conquered worlds contributing to the conquest of others, forging a newly self-sufficient Jericho Sector with each victory.In recent years, Castobel's fortunes have changed. With the arrival of Hive Fleet Dagon, Castobel has come under siege by the Great Devourer and a world once responsible for supplying a small but significant proportion of the crusade's troops and materiel has virtually shut down.The Tyranid blockade and the invasion force on the ground has all but caused Castobel to grind to a halt, and its populace now huddles in fear of the ravenous beasts outside their walls.However, all is not yet lost. Of all the worlds in the Orpheus Salient under assault by the Tyranids, Castobel may yet be freed of their menace. Castobel is barren and lifeless but for the masses in the four remaining hive cities, with little in the way of biomass resources for the Tyranids to consume.Thanks to the decisive action of Lord Castellan Ortarna Lokk, an unsteady stalemate has arisen, with the Tyranids unable to gain ground and enough bio-mass to replenish expended forces quickly, stealing away their greatest advantage: seemingly limitless numbers.With time and bloodshed, the Tyranid threat on Castobel could be ended, leaving a population hardened by war and eager to enact revenge upon the monsters that tried to destroy their home.The planet's military is composed of the Castobel Planetary Defence Force (light infantry, equivalent to 44 regiments) commanded by Lord Castellan Ortarna Lokk, and an Astra Militarum garrison of 11 regiments commanded by Brigadier General Titus Korven.Primary exports and tithed goods are basic munitions such as las weapons, solid projectile weapons, and ammunition, agricultural and mining equipment, and Astra Militarum regiments. The world's primary imports include fuel, food, potable water and raw materials for manufacturing.
Castobel - The Last Holdout: Unlike countless other worlds, Castobel remained loyal to the Imperium during the Age of Shadow, staying faithful to the Imperial Creed and maintaining the society that the Imperium had required of it when the Jericho Sector still existed.Though more akin to independent city-states than cities on a united world, the hives of Castobel hold to the authority imposed by the Aquilan Pluracy, which rules in the name of the God-Emperor. Consequently, when the Achilus Crusade reached Castobel, it found a world that welcomed it with open arms and was able to provide vast quantities of troops and materiel. The world's survival is remarkable given the high external resource demands of a hive world, yet it had somehow managed to remain strong and loyal for thousands of years of isolation.As the Jericho Sector fell to darkness and sedition, the loyal remnants of Battlefleet Jericho fell back to the orbital docks above Castobel, accompanying whatever Imperial merchant vessels they could gather. As a result, Castobel was, over the following months and years, able to dominate a cluster of mining colonies and Agri-worlds nearby, re-establishing a limited form of Imperial rule and keeping Castobel itself supplied with food and raw materials.In conjunction with advanced and ancient food processing facilities within Castobel's hives -- which, upon the world's reclamation by the Imperium, became a subject of great interest for the Adeptus Mechanicus -- these facilities allowed Castobel to function in spite of its almost total isolation.As the millennia passed, the six hives became increasingly divided from one another, feuding and even warring over the already limited resources, and soon, the number of starships at Castobel's call and the number of worlds supplying it began to dwindle.Still, by the time Lord General Curas' forces reached Castobel, it was more than able to provide billions of tonnes of material and millions of soldiers to the ongoing war effort, and proved to be a turning point within the crusade, as the burden of supplying so vast an endeavour was no longer borne solely by worlds on the other side of the Jericho-Maw Warp Gate.
Castobel - The Castobel Reborn: Upon Castobel's compliance, Departmento Munitorum surveyor companies descended upon the world to determine its capability to aid the Achilus Crusade. After a preliminary survey, lasting six solar months, it was declared that Castobel would be assigned the highest Tithe Grade, reflecting its massive capacity for supplying materiel and warriors alike.A further declaration was issued that the world could produce as many as a hundred regiments of Imperial Guardsmen a year, each numbering as many as ten thousand troops, without unduly impeding its ability to produce munitions and machinery.Having already produced the 1st Castobel Reborn as part of the world's celebration of renewed Imperial rule, Castobel produced its first tithe of a hundred regiments a year later. The first muster saw Lord Militant Solomon Tetrarchus himself in attendance, and he gave the first hundred Castobel regiments the name of "the Reborn" and the right to bear his own insignia on their banners, to honour the first regiments founded within the Jericho Sector for thousands of years.
Castobel - Key Locations: Below are a number of significant locations across Castobel's surface.
Castobel - Hive Tyralos: One of Castobel's oldest and most populous hive cities, Tyralos predated the Imperium by several millennia, and contained a wealth of ancient technology dating back to the era of its original construction.When the Jericho Sector still stood, Tyralos was home to a major Adeptus Mechanicus presence, containing a coven of archaeotechnologists eager to uncover the secrets of the technology hidden within the depths of the hive.As the largest congregation of Tech-priests on Castobel, Tyralos' coven became the highest Adeptus Mechanicus authority on Castobel when the Age of Shadow descended upon the sector, granting the hive considerable power and leverage over the other cities.The Cult of the Machine prospered within Hive Tyralos during its isolation, growing to challenge the Aquilan Pluracy within the city's depths.When Castobel was reunited with the Imperium, so too were the coven's members reunited with their brother Tech-priests, and efforts to unlock the secrets of Castobel's ancient technology were renewed by the newly arrived Explorators.Many secrets were passed back beyond the Well of Night to Forge Worlds far from the Jericho Reach, for detailed investigation by the Mechanicus. With the Tyranid invasion and the fall of Hive Trimalov, Hive Tyralos became the next most obvious target for the Tyranids.At the height of the Tyranid attempt to overrun the hive, the Lord Castellan gave the order to sacrifice Tyralos to deny it to the enemy, an order met with much hostility from the Adeptus Mechanicus, who regarded the hive's contents as sacred.After fierce debate that raged for solar days, the Tech-priests relented, under the condition that they would have a solar week to salvage what they could from the hive's depths and perform the correct rites to overload the hive's generatoria.Hive Tyralos today is an irradiated ruin, barely resembling the towering city-complex it once was. As a testament to the fury of the city's destruction, the land a hundred kilometres in every direction around the city's ruins is irradiated and vitrified ash, utterly inhospitable to even the massively adaptable Tyranids.
Castobel - Hive Trimalov: Once the largest and most powerful of Castobel's hives, Trimalov is now utterly devoid of Human life for the first time in thousands of Terran years. Possessed of a populace of more than twenty billion souls and home to Castobel's grandest cathedral, Trimalov was, for millennia, the world's capital, ruling in the Emperor's name over the other five cities.Trimalov was, as well as the political heart of Castobel, the centre of the world's religious life. The Castobellan Diocese was based within Trimalov's cathedral, an immense edifice of gleaming marble and stark obsidian capable of containing over a million worshipful servants of the Emperor and dominating the hive's central spire.This cathedral grew in magnificence and opulence with every passing century, the tithes of the devout furnishing generations of Cardinals with the finest of goods. The cathedral's glory did not diminish during the Age of Shadow, thanks to the Aquilan Pluracy, which sprang from the long alliances between the state church and Castobel's ruling families. The Aquilan Pluracy saw the temples maintained and the people kept faithful through the long ages of isolation, ensuring that the world remained true to the Emperor's rule.When the Imperium returned to Castobel, it was Trimalov's Lord Commander Ascendant who was made Imperial Commander and Lord Castellan of the entire world, elevating Trimalov once more to dominance over Castobel. However, the return of the Imperium was not as simple as some had believed it would be.The Imperium had changed since the Jericho Reach fell, most notably in the form of the Ecclesiarchy. Castobel's priests found themselves proponents of a heretic religion, adhering to a creed cast out after a brutal War of Faith millennia after the Age of Shadow began.The priests of the Adeptus Ministorum descended upon Castobel to find the Temple of the Saviour Emperor still holding sway over the people, and set about replacing it with a more modern creed based on the reforms of Sebastian Thor following the Reign of Blood, to the dismay of the Aquilan Pluracy.Yet Trimalov is no more. It was torn open and infested by the Tyranid menace, its people butchered and devoured to feed their eternal hunger. The structure remains, a hollow shell standing in mockery of the long isolation Castobel endured.Its form is corrupted by spore chimneys and spawning pits, and vile xenoflora writhes with a mindless malice for kilometres in every direction, bursting from the ash and entangling steel, basking in the atomic heat of the city's ancient generatoria.
Castobel - Hive Kevor: One of the four remaining hive cities, Kevor was constructed after the Horus Heresy within the spine of a mountain range, burrowing deep into the crust and extending for almost two hundred kilometres across the peaks. Possibly the most securely located and heavily defended of the hive cities, Kevor's highest spire now serves to house the Lord Castellan and his command staff.Hive Kevor grew out from a string of mining settlements running along the length of the Kevor Mountains, the hive taking the mountains' name as the settlements expanded into one another and spread further and further out from their humble origins. By the time the mines within the mountains had run dry, nearly twelve billion souls inhabited Kevor and the city had become an established part of the landscape.While the mountains no longer contain the resources they once did, the self-sufficient and stoic attitude of Kevor's populace remained strong, and the city's primary trade soon turned from mining to warfare, with much of the population joining Kevor's militia or leaving the city to serve on Castobel's few remaining warships.When the Imperium returned to Castobel, Hive Kevor provided over a third of the troops recruited into the Astra Militarum, eclipsing all but the colossal Hive Trimalov in the number of soldiers mustered.At present, Kevor remains defiant of the Tyranids skulking through the ash-choked mountain passes and swarming through the skies above the city. Its populace accepted the realities of war more swiftly than any others on Castobel, and their fortified mountain-hive promises to be difficult for any foe to overcome, even the Tyranids.
Castobel - Hive Hessax: A short, broad hive city spread across a vast expanse of ash desert, Hessax is the youngest and smallest of Castobel's hives, though still several thousand Terran years old and home to more than ten billion loyal servants of the Imperium.Hessax's location, as distant from the other hives as possible, is tied inexplicably to its purpose. Intended to manufacture components with which to maintain the vessels of Battlefleet Jericho, Hessax's isolation was a deliberate security measure to limit access to starship parts of such rare quality.With the coming of the Age of Shadow, Hessax's role became increasingly crucial, its forges serving to maintain the limited flotilla that supplied and protected Castobel and its colonies from outside aggression.Production increased dramatically, for the hive city was the only place capable of providing the needed components to Castobel's makeshift fleet.Since the return of the Imperium, Hessax has been no less busy. With only limited repair and resupply stations within the Jericho Reach, Lord Admiral Anastasia Arkelius proposed to take advantage of any supply routes that could be found.In short order, Hessax's forges were turned to serving the Achilus Crusade's battlegroups. However, with the arrival of the Tyranids, fewer and fewer ships have been able to reach Castobel's orbit to resupply, and thus Hive Hessax stands dormant, its comparatively small size and isolation proving to be their best protection from the swarms of Hive Fleet Dagon.
Castobel - Hive Orolan and Hive Ibellus: The two remaining hive cities on Castobel have long been regarded as a pair, rather than singly. Had the world continued to grow as it had done when the Jericho Sector still stood, they would likely have expanded into one another, becoming a single, massive hive rather than two distinct cities.Situated less than fifty kilometres apart, the "twin hives" of Orolan and Ibellus are similar in many ways, their histories and populace intertwined by industry and tradition. Orolan has traditionally been dedicated to the refinement and processing of raw materials, while Ibellus contained many of Castobel's most prolific manufactories, turning those refined materials into machinery and munitions.Largely untouched by the politics that defined life in Tyralos and Trimalov, few but the nobility in the twin hives saw much change when the Age of Shadow fell, save for variation in work schedules and shipment deadlines. Similarly, the return of the Imperium saw increased activity within Orolan and Ibellus, but little else of note until recently.The situation changed in late 816.M41, mere solar months before the Tyranids arrived; slightly more than two companies of Blood Drinkers Space Marines arrived in Castobel orbit aboard the Battle Barge Crimson Sacrament, damaged in conflict with some monstrous enemy.Several squads immediately made for Hive Hessax, seeking repairs and resupply from the forges there, while two full companies arrived in Hive Ibellus. Within weeks, the forces in Hessax had returned to orbit, but the 3rd and 4th Battle Companies that had come to Ibellus had spent the time fortifying the hive's tallest spire against an impending attack.Whether the Crimson Sacrament departed Castobel entirely or if it fights against the Tyranid fleet is unknown, but no sign of the vessel has been seen since it left orbit.The arrival of the Tyranids saw Orolan and Ibellus subject to brutal orbital bombardment from the orbiting bio-ships, followed by wave after wave of monstrous aggressors. While Ibellus stood firm thanks to the prowess and tenacity of the Blood Drinkers, Orolan suffered greatly.Though it did not fall, thousands of warriors and millions of civilians were slain before the Tyranids could be driven back. The Blood Drinkers have remained within Ibellus, and much of the population of Orolan has retreated to the safety of their sister city and the Astartes who stand guard over it.
Castor - Castor: Lord General Castor was a general officer of the Astra Militarum who served the Inquisitor Adrastia during the Third Aurelian Crusade.He hailed from the Fortress World of Cadia and led several Cadian Shock Trooper regiments, including the famous "Castellan's Own" -- the Cadian 8th Regiment -- to restore order in Sub-sector Aurelia.
Castor - History: The Greater Daemon Ulkair and the Black Legion were defeated by the Blood Ravens Chapter on the Chaos-controlled world that had once been the sub-sector capital planet of Aurelia during the Second Aurelian Crusade.The Black Legion did not retreat after their defeat but instead allied with either the Renegade Blood Ravens Chapter Master Azariah Kyras or the Chaos Lord Eliphas the Inheritor to bring destruction to several planets in Sub-sector Aurelia.Due to the Chaos incursion, the conflict between Blood Ravens still loyal to the Imperium and those who fell to the Chaos influence of Azariah Kyras, continued Aeldari raids and the remnants of the Tyranid splinter fleet that had once ravaged Typhon Primaris, the sub-sector fell into ruin, disorder and turmoil.Asa result, the Imperium tasked the lord general and several Cadian regiments with restoring order in the sub-sector. Even with the aid of the Cadian regiments, the local Imperial Guard garrison regiments and the Loyalist Blood Raven Space Marines, the conflict consuming the sub-sector raged on.To make matters worse for the Loyalists, several regiments betrayed the Emperor and swelled the ranks of the forces of Chaos due to its continued influence upon them.After 10 Terran years of constant conflict, the sub-sector was placed under a decree of Exterminatus after the Imperial high command determined that the sub-sector was likely lost to the Archenemy.Before the Exterminatus fleet arrived in the sub-sector to carry out its mission, an Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus named Adrastia was requested by Gabriel Angelos of the Blood Ravens Chapter to investigate their Chapter Master for heresy.If Azariah Kyras could be removed, and with him the stain of Chaos plaguing the region, the people of the Aurelian Sub-sector could be spared their looming execution.During Adrastia's investigation, she requested help from Lord General Castor. Castor agreed, with Sergeant Major Merrick, Commissar Lord Bern, and a force of guardsmen and Storm Troopers accompanying him on the Inquisitor's investigation and helping save the sub-sector from destruction in what became known as the Third Aurelian Crusade.
Castor - Sources: Dawn of War II - Retribution (PC Game)
Castus Iacton - Castus Iacton: Lord General Castus Iacton of the Astra Militarum has the heavy responsibility of command over the Fortress World of Karlack in the Jericho Reach.He is the most senior military officer on the planet, and bears responsibility for keeping it safe from both outside attack and any internal failing of faith, security, or logistics.This duty does not encompass just the ravaged planet, but extends to the farthest hollowed-out asteroid and smallest monitor buoy in the Karlack System.He is a stern man tasked with more responsibilities than one person could ever hope to handle. The ceaseless demands of his duties have left him short on patience -- even for Inquisitors and Space Marines.
Castus Izdubar - Castus Izdubar: Castus Izdubar was an Inquisitor Lord of the Imperial Inquisition in the late 32nd and early 33rd Millennia. He was Convenor of the Ephisian Conclave and Watcher of the Cadian Marches, directly responsible for the incursions of Chaos into the Cadian Sector.He was also a member of the Ordo Cyclopes, a secret minor ordo of the Inquisition dedicated to preserving and protecting the Athenaeum of Kallimakus, a great library of forgotten knowledge buried beneath the world of Appollonia, maintained by a cult of savants that worshiped the memory and works of Mahavastu Kallimakus, the Remembrancer who served as the personal scribe of Magnus the Red, Primarch of the Thousand Sons Legion, during the Great Crusade.He became aware of Inquisitor Selandra Iobel's attempts to discover information about the Thousand Sons following a psychic cult insurgency on the world of Carsona, and attracted her to AV-213 in the Halo Margins. There he introduced her to the existence of the Thousand Sons and the Ordo Cyclopes.Ultimately, Iobel was sent on a mission into the Eye of Terror to find out what the sons of Prospero were doing, during which her ship was assaulted by three Renegade Space Marines -- including Ahriman and Astraeos.After her return, a gathering of the ordos occurred in which a captured Sorcerer-Astartes, Astraeos, was revealed. Ahriman used the gathering -- indeed had orchestrated it -- to kidnap Iobel. He succeeded, and a chase began to reach the Athaenaeum at its bastion on Apollonia.There a battle occurred between Izdabur's forces, Ahriman's fleet and a rogue fleet of Space Wolves vessels who had chased Ahriman out of the Eye. All were members of the surviving Thirteenth Great Company.After losing the Athenaeum, Izdabur identified Astraeos as a member of a still-loyal Chapter of Space Marines, and had the Grey Knights purge them -- setting in motion Astraeos' flight into the Eye, his travels into the future to encounter and free Ahriman, the encounter with Iobel and so on -- creating a temporal loop in which he was doomed to release the Athenaeum again and again.
Catachan - Catachan: Catachan (pronounced Cat-a-CHAN) is the most infamous and deadly Imperial Death World in the galaxy. It is located in the Ultima Segmentum and is covered in dense jungle.The planet's entire ecosystem seems consciously hostile to all foreign life. Each and every element of the native flora and fauna of the planet represents a real danger to any Human.Catachan's only valuable resource is its people, who by virtue of being born on the harshest world in the Imperium are invariably tough and cunning. It is home to the renowned Catachan Jungle Fighters regiments of the Astra Militarum.The people of Catachan exhibit a fearless and gung-ho attitude to danger as a result of growing up in such a horrific place. Thanks to the brutal environment in which they are raised, they are physically and mentally resilient on a level that much of unaugmented Humanity simply cannot match. Cunning, resourceful and uncompromising, Catachans must be born survivors simply to reach adulthood on their homeworld.The natives of Catachan are renowned for being both taller and more powerful than normal, baseline Humans. Due to their heavily developed physiques, Catachans are sometimes referred to as "Baby Ogryns" by other guardsmen, although saying this within earshot often results in serious injury.
Catachan - History: Catachan was colonised by Humans millennia ago during the Dark Age of Technology, long before the Imperium of Man was established.When the first exploratory probes arrived in its star system, the planet was a deceptive, calm green orb when scrutinized from orbit, but when the first colony ships were forced by an unexpected emergency to crash-land on the jungle planet and the colonists had no way to escape, they discovered themselves to have arrived on one of the harshest and most dangerous planetary ecosystems in the galaxy.The colonists only barely survived, holed up in their spacecraft against a living, besieging jungle, a battle for survival in which undoubtedly many of them died before they finally managed to learn enough about their new homeworld to survive, if not thrive, beneath its jungle canopies.In time, their skill at surviving on Catachan came to the notice of the Departmento Munitorum, which realised that the Catachans would make excellent Astra Militarum troops dedicated to service in some of the galaxy's most hostile planetary environments, and the first regiments of the Catachan Jungle Fighters were raised.During the 13th Black Crusade of Abaddon the Despoiler in ca. 999.M41, Catachan found itself in the path of both a wounded Void Whale and an Ork WAAAGH! led by the Freebooter Kaptain Badrukk. However due to astropathic interference caused by the Warp Storm Bas Infernia, the Imperium was unable to warn the Catachans of the threats approaching their homeworld.After the formation of the Great Rift following the Fall of Cadia at the dawn of the Era Indomitus, Catachan was caught within the malignant Warp rift and exposed to a massive Daemonic invasion. However when Roboute Guilliman's Indomitus Crusade arrived at Catachan, its Astartes found that the local Catachan regiments had already dealt with the threat entirely on their own.
Catachan - Current Conditions: Currently, the few Human settlements on Catachan which can defend against the jungle and its predators are giant fortresses surrounded by vast plains which have been laboriously cleared to provide improved lines-of-fire. Building on Catachan is difficult at best as vines and lichen take hold anywhere and acidic floral poisons melt the mortar and vines can crush bunkers and tanks.Buildings must constantly be rebuilt, for it seems that wherever the people of Catachan build structures, the jungle redoubles its efforts to destroy them.As well as the jungle's flora, the native wildlife gather to repel the Human invaders and eventually their numbers grow large enough to push the Humans out of one fortress so they must found a new settlement elsewhere where the process will inevitably repeat itself, meaning that no Human settlement on Catachan is ever truly permanent.Fifty percent of the planet's Human population does not survive infancy, and fifty percent of those survivors does not live past the age of ten solar years.Every solar day for a Catachan is spent fighting for survival on what is the deadliest planet in the galaxy. In such dangerous surroundings, children are quick to learn survival tactics and only those who are tough, fast and have good aim can even hope to survive into adulthood. The children of Catachan often learn to shoot before they walk, much like Cadian children once did.
Catachan - Flora and Fauna of Catachan: All of the animals and plants of Catachan are deadly predators who have evolved potent biological attack and defence mechanisms against other lifeforms, particularly Humans. Every known Catachan plant species is toxic to Terran forms of life, making foraging for native food impossible.Some Catachan plants secrete pollen into the air which is poisonous and destroys air-filters. Others secrete sticky liquid to capture passing animals and slowly dissolve them, much like giant Venus Fly-Traps. Some plants poison the ground and turn the immediate area around them into boggy wasteland to trap invaders.The native animals are as deadly to Humanity as the plant life. For instance, the massive insectoid predator called the Catachan Devil possesses jaws as big as a tank and is a major threat to Human population centres on the world. The Shambling Mamorphs of the volcanic regions are also a great danger to Human settlement.
Catachan - Incidence of Disease: The threat of disease is also a constant hazard on Catachan, as there are many varieties of poxes and fevers that can kill a Human within a few solar hours due to the world's fecund microbiosphere. Many of the planet's native insects also carry virulent diseases on top of being highly poisonous, meaning that a single bite can be lethal in more ways than one.The world does not just breed diseases in its fauna. Most of the more virulent microbes cannot be seen at all, floating through the air until they find a host and enter their bloodstream. There are lethal swamps where a single breath of the fog will burn an intruder's lungs out, causing a long and agonising death.Even the water on Catachan can prove fatal to drink as diseases and biotoxins flow through it. Foot rot can occur after just a few solar weeks within the jungle, where the fungal-infected, rotten feet will eventually decay to the point that they detach from the host's legs, producing a vomit-inducing stench. As such, many Catachans consider disease to be a greater enemy than any beast or man-eating plant.
Catachan Devil - Catachan Devil: The Catachan Devil is an insectoid creature native to the Imperial Death World of Catachan, but the organism has been introduced onto several other worlds across the galaxy. Catachan Devils are scorpion-like in appearance with a series of segmented body sections and pairs of legs terminating in a long tail with a poisonous barb, which curves forward over the creature's back.As Catachan Devils grow, they develop more and more mid-sections and pairs of legs. A fully grown adult can have up to thirty sets of legs, reaching up to thirty metres in length, reaching the size of a small Land Train.The front legs of older male Devils become grossly enlarged, resembling scorpion claws. These mighty beasts are often dubbed "Fiddlers" in Catachan slang, and are quite rightly feared for their ferocity and raw power.Catachan Devils are able to move with surprising speed for something of such large size, and are superbly adapted to move across a large variety of terrain. Once a Catachan Devil has captured its unfortunate victim, it will either shred it with its razor-sharp claws or sting it into insensibility with its barbed tail, before finally consuming it.Catachan Devils are territorial, yet quite sociable creatures, tending to form nesting groups with others of their kind. These groups often contain several large male Devils, as well as a few dozen juvenile "Devilspawn." The entire nest will come together to defend their territory from any intruders, be it rival Devils, human colonists, or other predators, and have even been known to attack Imperial Guard tank companies.It has also been speculated by several Magos Biologis of the Adeptus Mechanicus since the Imperium's first contact with the Tyranids in the 41st Millennium that the Catachan Devils are the descendants of a long-lost Tyranid vanguard organism that has effectively become feral after being cut off from the Tyranid Hive Mind.For many years Catachan has been prized by the Imperium for the excellent training that its denizens provide to the units of the Astra Militarum, the Catachan Jungle Fighters,  raised there and has often sought to further utilise the sheer killing power of the Catachan Devils. Though the Imperium has been unsuccessful in training or taming them, Catachan Devils have sometimes been intentionally introduced to other Imperial worlds in order to dissuade invaders.This proliferation of the species has inevitably led to escapes, and there have been rumoured sightings of Catachan Devil nests on some Hive Worlds and other Human colonies all over the Imperium.Such is the infamous lethality of this creature that the Catachans have named both their most fearsome knives and deadliest, most elite soldiers after it.
Catachan Devil Squads - Catachan Devil Squads: Catachan Devil Squads are made up of the deadliest and most experienced troopers within the Astra Militarum's Catachan Jungle Fighters regiments. Any Catachan Jungle Fighter is simply a superior warrior in a way baseline Humans cannot match, making the reputation of the Catachan Devil Squads' troops that much more impressive.
Catachan Devil Squads - Role: The fearsome Catachan Jungle Fighter regiments of the Astra Militarum include squads of warriors exceptional even by the exacting standards of their birth world of Catachan. They are seasoned Jungle Fighters who are lethal in close combat, also making use of a versatile array of ranged weapons for every occasion.In Catachan regiments, these elite soldiers are called "Catachan Devils," in reference to their famous Catachan Knives and the voracious predators of their homeworld whose fierceness they emulate in combat.The Catachan Devils' senses are honed to a razor's edge, allowing them to recognise hidden threats in their midst, even enemies who are under cloaking devices. Their particular mission is usually to conduct long-range, deep penetration raids behind enemy lines, responsible for bearing the brunt of the enemy's response when battle is finally joined.In other instances, Catachan Devils are used as expert scouts and reconnaissance specialists. When deployed in this manner they range ahead of the Catachan Jungle Fighters' main force, engaging enemy ambushers, launching surprise attacks, setting traps and herding enemy forces into the most dangerous terrain.Catachan Devil Squads typically consist of one grizzled sergeant (always known as a "Sarge") and between four and nine "Catachan Devil" guardsmen, though some squads may include a veteran officer. Occasionally, a demolitions expert, or "Demo Man," will also accompany the team.
Catachan Devil Squads - Notable Catachan Devils: Sly Marbo - The greatest of the fearsome Catachan Devils is the famed "One Man Army" himself.Stonetooth Harker - Harker is a hulking Catachan Devil sergeant renowned for his feats of strength and resilience who commanded Harker's Hellraisers, a squad of Catahcan Devils like himself.
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Spinward Front: There are comparatively few Catachan regiments within the Calixis Sector's Spinward Front. However, for reasons that remain entangled within the bureaucracy of the Departmento Munitorum, a small number of regiments from Catachan found their way into the region, likely due to a planned deployment that never came to fruition, perhaps because the campaign had already concluded by the time the Catachans had arrived.Whatever the reason, a number of these legendary Death Worlders found themselves redeployed to serve on the Spinward Front. For the most part, these regiments serve in a variety of roles on a variety of worlds; there are few planets in the Periphery Sub-sector requiring the particular talents of Death World veterans, but their skills are nonetheless valuable, particularly as scouts and assault troops.The daring and gung-ho attitudes of the Catachans have put them at odds with elements of the Spinward Front’s command, and out of tacit mutual consent, Catachan regiments tend to be placed in isolated battlegroups deployed to brutal warzones, where their distrust of authority figures and their tendency towards independence are less of a hindrance.
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Regimental Combat Doctrine: These tough, resourceful and uncompromising warriors excel at fast-moving, close-quarter firefights, infiltration and sniping. As born survivors, these courageous people have endured growing up on one of the most dangerous and perilous Death Worlds in the galaxy.In battle, Catachans have a reputation for reckless bravery that borders on the insane, willingly throwing themselves into danger. Their preferred choice of weaponry are Flamers and demolition charges, armaments that can be as deadly to the user as the enemy.The Catachan regiments also boast some of the best snipers in the Imperial Guard. Catachan marksmen will take up position solar hours, or even days, before a battle in order to get the best vantage point.
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Booby Traps: Catachans are experts at utilising booby traps, for in the jungle, even the slightest scratch can prove to be fatal as necrotic bacteria swarm into any open wound and gangrene quickly sets in. Growing up in the harsh environment of a Death World, Catachans take advantage of these harsh conditions by rigging traps from natural materials on the battlefield such as vines and tree branches.They also use a variety of specially-built devices to create "Devil's Gardens" -- areas where the most innocuous looking mound of leaves or tree root can conceal a Shredder Mine or Plasma Charge. These traps can also take the form of dead falls, spiked pits, snares, Spring Mines and "Toe Poppers" (buried shells set to explode when someone step upon them).Many new recruits mistakenly believe that the object of mines and traps is to kill or maim the enemy. This, of course, is only their secondary function, as their primary value is in disrupting and slowing an enemy's advance into certain areas. After several encounters with booby traps, most enemies are liable to become demoralised, overly cautious and spread out, leaving them vulnerable to a well-placed ambush.
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Mines: There are three types of mine commonly employed by the Catachan regiments: Shredders, Spring and Plasma Mines:Shredder Mines - Explosive fragmentation charges mounted on an upright plate hurls the blast in a specific direction, creating an expanding cone of destruction filled with white-hot fragments of metal. Shredder Mines are Ideal for covering trails, streams and paths. Common mines of the Shredder type include: Triplex Phall Type XII "Repudiator" auto-mine, Armageddon "Hammerhead" area denial weapon, and the Necromunda Pattern "Widowmaker" anti-personal savager.Spring Mines - Spring Mines received this moniker because these devices spring into the air before detonating. Spring Mines are particularly effective against dispersed targets. However, a wary squad leader will advance with a trooper moving ahead on "point" to try to reduce the effectiveness of Spring Mines. Common mines of the Spring type include: Necromunda Pattern "Jumping-snap" anti-personnel leaper, the Gearian Type XIV vertical blast device, and the Martian Type CXI Fragmentation Mine.Plasma Charges - Most anti-personnel mines employ blast waves and shrapnel to injure or kill their victims, but a Plasma Charge renders them relatively ineffective against enemies wearing thick personal armour such as power armour. Larger Tyranid creatures and armoured walkers are also likely to survive even a close proximity detonation from a Spring or Shredder Mine. Where such opponents are expected, Plasma Charges are most useful. This "fires" a blast of super-heated plasma at whatever triggers it, inflicting hideous and invariably fatal injuries. The greatest drawback to Plasma Charges is their small detonation pattern compared to more conventional munitions. Common types of Plasma Charges include: all standard plasma weapon photonic-hydrogen fuel flasks, the Necromundan "Cyclops" anti-armour blast sphere, and the Golgotha Pattern Mark 90KW Energy Mine.
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Other Traps: Circumstances may sometimes preclude the employment of purpose-built munitions for booby traps. However, it is relatively simple to improvise a variety of basic traps from natural materials and commonly available ammunition. Some common examples include:Lashing Branch - Locating a springy branch at head, waist or knee height, the twigs along the branch are sharpened to a fine point. The branch is then carefully bent back and a line is used to secure it (the thinner the better), tied off with a slip-knot so that the branch is under tension. The line is then strung as a tripwire below where the branch was originally positioned. When an enemy trips the line, the branch is arranged so that it will lash forward and impale the unfortunate victim.Spike Pit (or "Devil's Maw") - A small pit is dug to about knee-deep. The base of it is then lined with sharpened spikes and then further spikes are placed around the edges so they point downwards towards the base of the pit. The pit is then camouflaged using leaves, grasses and whatever else is available. When an enemy steps into the pit, their foot will be impaled by the spikes at the bottom. As they attempt to pull their foot free, the downwards pointing spikes will inflict further injury. A common variant of this is to place dangerous local lifeforms into the bottom of the pit, as this encourages an even faster extrication of the limb and increased chance of injury (aside from whatever bites, stings, etc., the lifeforms can inflict).Buried Bullets ("Toe-Poppers") - These consist of a basic Autogun shell, Bolt Round or Shotgun shell buried so that its base is resting on a nail, rock or sharpened spike and the tip of the shell is just below the surface of soft ground. When an enemy steps on the tip of the round, their weight pushes it back onto the striker, triggering the round directly under their foot, causing moderate to severe injuries.
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Catachan Officers: The regimental Colonels and company Captains of the Catachan regiments are usually elected by the rank-and-file. These commanders are often renowned hunters or warriors, the headman of the settlement from which the regiment or company was recruited or perhaps the patriarch of an extended family which has sent many of its men-folk (and sometimes women-folk) to join the ranks.Discipline is maintained through trust and respect rather than by respect for rank. Catachan warriors have a strong sense of pride in the fact that their officers share with them every danger and hardship.Colonel - The commanding officer of an entire Catachan Jungle Fighters regiment.Captain - Officers of the Catachan Jungle Fighters who are subordinate to the regiment's commanding colonel and are the commanding officers of an entire company.Lieutenant - Lieutenants are the junior officers of the Catachan Jungle Fighters regiments who are given command over each company's platoons and who report to their company's captain.Commissars - The inhabitants of Death Worlds like Catachan are usually fiercely independent souls. Outsiders have difficulty earning their respect, particularly commissars who tend to "come on all high an' mighty." These Death World warriors are also very unsubtle in demonstrating disapproval and for this reason such regiments suffer a much higher attritional rate amongst their commissars than those from other, more civilised worlds.
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Elite Units: Catachan Devil Squads - The fearsome Catachan Jungle Fighter regiments include squads of warriors exceptional even by the exacting standards of their birth world. They are seasoned Jungle Fighters who are deadly in close combat, and make use of a versatile array of ranged weaponry for every occasion. In Catachan regiments these elite soldiers are called "Catachan Devils," in reference to their famous kill-knives and the voracious macro-predators of their world whose fierceness they emulate in combat. The Devils' senses are honed to a razor's edge, allowing them to recognise hidden threats in their midst, even enemies who are concealed under cloaking devices. Their particular mission is usually to conduct long-range penetration raids deep behind enemy lines, responsible for bearing the brunt of the enemy's response when battle is finally joined. In other instances Devils are used as expert scouts and specialists, but when deployed in this manner they range ahead of the main Catachan force, engaging would-be ambushers, launching surprise attacks, setting traps and herding enemy forces into the most dangerous of terrain. These elite squads consist of one Veteran sergeant and between four and nine "Catachan Devil" guardsmen, and some squads may include a Veteran officer.Veteran Assault Teams - Second only to the Catachan Devil Squads themselves, these groups are formed from the bravest and most "Gung Ho" of the regiment's warriors. Assault Teams take the fight directly to the enemy, they bear the brunt of the bloody combat that often occurs in jungle fighting and so are heavily armed with Frag Grenades, Demolition Charges, Flamers, Meltas and Plasma Guns. These fearsome teams consist of a Veteran Sergeant and three to six Catachan Veteran Guardsmen.Veteran Snipers - The Catachans recruit their own snipers from amongst their finest marksmen. These snipers will take up a position for hours, even days before a battle just to find the perfect spot in the trees or amongst the roots and will conceal themselves fully before the enemy draws near. Concentrated sniper fire can throw enemy units into complete confusion, as the snipers are almost impossible to spot in the dense jungle canopy of the environments where the Catachans usually serve. Most companies have up to three Veteran Snipers that act autonomously.
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Troops: Veteran Infantry Squads - These squads make up the bulk of jungle fighting forces. They are lightly equipped and armoured so that they can move quickly through thick vegetation but still make use of heavy weapons when the situation demands. These squads are composed of one veteran Sergeant or a standard Sergeant and between five and nine Veteran Guardsmen.Fire Support Heavy Weapons Squads - Compared to a standard Imperial Guard force, Catachan Heavy Weapons Squads are rare. The weapons' bulk and the weight of their ammunition makes them difficult to transport across a wilderness as unforgiving as the jungle environments where the Catachan Regiments see most of their combat. Nonetheless, the firepower of Heavy Bolters and Autocannons can be decisive in close battles. These squads are composed of one and three Heavy Weapons Teams, each consisting of two Catachan Veteran Guardsmen.Ogryn Squads - Some Ogryns are native to Death Worlds, but where they are not, certain Death World regiments will "acquire" squads of them, often without informing their previous commanders. Catachan Veterans find Ogryns have the same values of personal loyalty, physical toughness and determination as they themselves, so Catachans and Ogryns get on famously well.
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Fast Attack: Sentinel Squads - Due to the impassable terrain they fight in, Catachan Jungle Fighters use no vehicles other than the hardy Sentinel scout walker. Sentinels are used as roving hunter-killer units, utilising Heavy Flamers and chainsaws to obliterate knots of resistance. These Death World Sentinels are heavily modified, boasting extra armour, camouflage and other innovations. A Catachan Sentinel Squadron consists of between one and three Sentinel walkers.Veteran Patrols -Veteran Patrols are formed to make long range penetration raids behind enemy lines. They scout out the terrain and locate the precise positions of the enemy. Before the main forces engage in battle, patrols will set up ambushes and lay booby traps where they can do the most harm. These squads consists of one Veteran sergeant or standard sergeant and three to five Catachan Veteran Guardsmen.Rough Riders - Catachans have been known to field unique Rough Rider units. These Jungle Fighters ride into war mounted atop one of the mighty giant reptiles native to the Catachan jungle.
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Heavy Support: Mortar Heavy Weapons Squads - Mortars are greatly favoured for use in jungle fighting. They have the ability to rain fire down upon the foe while the Mortar crews stay far back among the enshrouding trees. This makes them an invaluable weapon because, unlike Heavy Bolters and Autocannons, Mortars can support the widely spread Catachan Veteran Squads despite the close terrain. Barrages of Mortar fire are also useful for pinning down enemy units and enabling Catachan squads to then outmanoeuvre them. A Mortar Heavy Weapons Squad consists of between one and three Weapons Teams, each made up of two Catachan Veteran Guardsmen.
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Catachan Beliefs: The Catachans do not think highly of medals and other military decorations and see them as little more than pretty baubles. They prefer to mark out true achievements by tattoos. Skull motifs are common amongst Catachan veterans who have served -- and survived -- for more than 5 standard years. Dagger symbols are used by those lucky enough to have survived for ten standard years in the Emperor's service.A highly practical people, Catachans often dull their regimental badges with soot and dirt so as not to reflect light and give away their positions to the enemy, a practice which has often infuriated Imperial Guard officers native to worlds with a more materialistic culture.Catachan tank crews often adorn their vehicles with non-standard stylised decals, kill-markings and unofficial nicknames in addition to the standard Imperial Guard honours and badges. Catachan Sentinel pilots in particular are known to personalise and modify their walkers to better suit an individual's particular combat style.
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Trivia: The Catachan Jungle Fighters are loosely based upon the real-world United States military during the Vietnam War (1964-1973), particularly the United States Army Special Forces, known colloquially as the "Green Berets."