vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Mortarion - Mortarion's Heart: In early 901.M41, during the Battle of Kornovin, Mortarion slew Geronitan, the Supreme Grand Master of the Grey Knights Chapter. In his place, the Grey Knights elevated the hero Kaldor Draigo amidst the din of the battlefield and Draigo immediately vowed vengeance against the Daemon Primarch.Alone and unaided, Draigo smashed his way through Mortarion's bodyguard of Plague Marines, struck the ancient Primarch to the ground and carved Geronitan's name on the Daemon Prince's diseased heart. Though Mortarion ultimately escaped, it would be many long Terran years before he could enter the mortal realm once more. Draigo's insult would not soon be forgotten, as the Daemon Primarch vowed his vengeance against the upstart mortal.
Mortarion - Plague Wars: Something terrible came out of the Warp Storms as they roiled through the southern reaches of the Ultima Segmentum. Where the seeds of corruption had been planted by the Plague That Walks, a new and terrible contamination spread.The diseased dead rose to claim the living. Previously, the walking corpses could be destroyed, but now doing so only released hordes of Nurglings that writhed impossibly out of the withered flesh of the fallen. Hive Worlds were toppled, and as the Blackness of the Noctis Aeterna descended, there was no escape. In the horrific ruins, Cults of Corruption slithered out of hiding, summoning forth further aid from the Realm of Chaos itself.So did systems fall, creating the Scourge Stars -- a trio of sickly star systems that had fallen to Nurgle. From that power base, the Death Guard and daemonic Plague Legions issued, systematically reaping planet after planet. The first invaders to issue forth from the Scourge Stars were the Death Guard, led by grim Mortarion, who now brought the fabled Realm of Ultramar, gem of the whole segmentum, under siege.His meticulously planned seven-part campaign would bring untold ruination to all of Ultramar. So began the first part -- the "War of Flies" -- including the assault of the Three Planets, the besieging of the Hive World of Ardium, and the Creeping Doom offensive against Espandor and Drohl. Virus bombardments preceded the Death Guard. Once-gloried hive cities became pits, and Agri-worlds became flyblown wastes.The attacks were slow but relentless, wearing down Ultramar's defending Ultramarines and their vaunted Ultramar Auxilia. With communications severed and relief forces cut off by fresh Warp Storms, the defenders were hard-pressed in a hundred locations across Ultramar.Then, Roboute Guilliman returned from the end of the first phase of his galaxy-spanning Indomitus Crusade. Tactically, Mortarion and his fellow Nurglite commanders now found themselves evenly matched, their offensives blocked at every turn by the Ultramarines and their primarch's precise counterattacks. A new stage of the war began.It was Guilliman's tactical acumen that first stabilised the many war fronts of Ultramar, and his "Spear of Espandor" campaign, a brilliant counterattack, that successfully bought the forces of the Imperium still more time. At the Gates of Parmenio, Guilliman defeated the Greater Daemon Septicus and his Plague Guard.At Iax, once a glorious Garden World now transformed into a "Hospital World" to tend to Ultramar's sick and dying, primarch met primarch as Guilliman confronted Mortarion, the two brothers fighting to a deadlock before the Chaos forces mysteriously withdrew under cover of a virus bomb assault that added to the myriad miseries of Iax.
Mortarion - Wargear: Descending upon the battlefields of the 41st Millennium on wings of tattered leather is Mortarion, the Daemon Primarch of Nurgle. Diseased and corrupted, made monstrous in form by the warping power of Chaos, Mortarion is a twisted angel of death driven by hatred and bitterness. He brings decay and sickness, despair and fear to all those who witness his dark majesty. In battle, his dark panoply is made up of the following wargear and equipment:The Barbaran Plate - Mortarion's war panoply is of his own design, fusing ancient Power Armour technology with his own lore. It is designed not only to protect him in battle but augment his own singular physiology and environmental needs, synthesising trace elements of the poisonous vapours of his lost homeworld of Barbarus to mix with the air he breathes. Mortarion is an imposing figure, his gaunt face and rheumy eyes barely visible beneath his cowl and behind the rebreather mask that he has worn for ten thousand Terran years. A crown pokes through his hood, made of simply iron rather than gold as you would find on other Primarchs, which fits his psyche. The Death Lord was always a utilitarian, practical soul, something that can be seen in the relatively spartan look of his armour -- which, despite his ascension to daemonhood, hasn't changed much across 10,000 standard years of war. Unlike his fellow Death Guard, whose armour is often rusty and dented with decay and corruption, Mortarion's armour appears almost pristine in comparison -- though it appears infected and fleshy -- as if the Daemon Primarch is so infectious and diseased even his armour is festering and rotten.Silence - Silence, to give it the macabre nickname favoured by its wielder, is a massive two-handed battle scythe with a blade span as long as most human warriors are tall. This formidable weapon is accounted as one of the most fearsome blades wielded by any Primarch. Since Mortarion's finding by the Emperor during the Great Crusade, there have been dark whispers that the blade is of xenos-tainted origin, and some familiar with the legend of the Death Guard Primarch's early life believe it to be none other than the weapon of the terrible charnel creature that once named himself Mortarion's "father". Since that long ago era on Barbarus, Silence has mutated over the millennia into a terrifying Daemon Weapon.The Lantern - The Lantern is a drum-barrelled directed energy blaster and the preferred sidearm of Mortarion. The maker of the weapon originially led a cult of dragon-worshipping killers on the Industrialised World of Shenlong. The Emperor destroyed the cult in order to ensure the Imperial Compliance of Shenlong, and the weapon came into the possession of Mortarion.Phosphex Bombs - Mortarion carries a number of compact Phosphex Bombs of his own design which hang from his armour in the shape of ritual censers.
Mortguard - Mortguard: Mortguard is a watch fortress of the Deathwatch Chapter that is located in the northern Ultima Segmentum in the Imperium Nihilus. Its Watch Companies are commanded by Watch Master Agathon.The Deathwatch forces of Morthguard were major participants in the Chalnath Expanse Campaign that was a four-sided conflict that erupted in the Chalnath Expanse in the Era Indomitus between the forces of the Imperium, the T'au Empire's Fifth Sphere Expansion, various Genestealer Cults and an Ork WAAAGH!.
Mortguard - Notable Personnel: Watch Master Agathon - Agathon was the watch commander of Mortguard. It was he who led a majority of Mortguard's Watch Companies into battle against the T'au and the Hivewyrm Genestealer Cult on the Shrine World of Saint's Halt during the Chalanath Expanse Campaign.Watch Captain Seraphus - Seraphus was the Mortguard watch captain who oversaw the interrogation of a Human pirate who had allowed himself to be bribed by the T'au Empire on the Mountain World of Cestis in the Chalnath Expanse to allow their establishment of a research station hidden there from the Imperial authorities. Seraphus knew from his Ordo Xenos data-inloads that these sites were the T'au's common means of eventual invasion. Either built piecemeal inside such stations by a veritable army of the aliens' robotic drones, or snuck in under a stealth field projected by its domed surface, these structures could amass huge military presences under a charade of "scientific research." Seraphus discovery resulted in the deployment of Deathwatch forces from Mortguard to Cestis, which soon resulted in an ongoing, grinding conflict across the surface of that mountainous world.Watch Lieutenant Alvor - Alvor was a watch lieutenant of one of Mortguard's Watch Companies. During the Chalnath Expanse Campaign, the Deathwatch of Mortguard learned that the entire Arrajian System in the expanse was on a war footing. The trade guilds were pouring funds into raising Astra Militarum defence regiments as well as private paramilitaries, from the glacial algae seas on Arrajian II to the mag-trawlers skimming the atmosphere of the gas giant Arrajian IX. Everything pointed to preparation for a system-wide conflict, a laudable precaution given T'au aggression against other systems of the expanse. With a precise teleport strike, a single Proteus Kill-team led by Watch Lieutenant Alvor of Mortguard manifested in the servo-ducts beneath the guildhouse on Arrajian IV. Their aim was to uncover the true reason for the missing assets reported by the elderly Inquisitor Jazad D'ontor in the system. Within solar minutes of their arrival, the kill-team came under attack from "work gangs" of Genestealer hybrids and degenerate Aberrants. Kill-team Alvor pushed through one duct after another, seeking some source to the infection. For two solar days, the kill-team fought higher into the guildhouse's foundation, losing more and more of their number. All the while their signals back to orbit were blocked by psychosqualls of xenos static. By the third solar day, the kill-team had slain dozens of xenos-corrupted guilders, but only Brother Tyvus survived to pull himself to the surface and activate his teleport homer, taking into orbit a tale of widespread alien infection and twisted experimentation. Within solar months the system had fallen to the Genestealer Cult, but Mortguard now knew the truth and would return.
Mortifactors - Mortifactors: The Mortifactors is a Loyalist, Codex Astartes-compliant Second Founding Successor Chapter of the Ultramarines, making it one of the Ultramarines' Primogenitors.The Mortifactors recruited from the austere Feral World of Posul, where the sun never rises on its frigid plains and its population of nomadic tribes are constantly in conflict with one another and practice cannibalism.The Mortifactors' neophytes are chosen from the most vicious and skilled warriors on the planet -- who subsequently have a very morbid and dark outlook on life.The Mortifactors are a dark and brooding Chapter who venerate their honoured dead to the point of obsession. Their open morbidness and celebration of death often makes their Imperial allies, especially the more superstitious ones, ill at ease.Their grim aspect and the fear that it inspires are weapons of war as much as the guns and blades they wield, and they have been seen to use skeletal war paint, hooded robes and even bone-inlaid Power Scythes in battle.
Mortifactors - Chapter History: A Successor Chapter of the Ultramarines Legion created during the Second Founding, nearly ten thousand Terran years ago, the Mortifactors are descended from the lineage that includes many of the greatest heroes of the Imperium.An Ultramarines Captain named Sasebo Tezuka had been given command of the newly-created Mortifactors Chapter as its first Chapter Master and led it using the Emperor's Tarot for guidance to the dark, frigid world of Posul which had been granted to the Chapter by the Imperium.There Tezuka established the Mortifactors' fortress-monastery in orbit of that dark planet and earned many honours in the name of the Emperor before his death.On the day of the Feast of the Emperor's Ascension in 998.M41, the entire Chapter initiated a mass meditation ritual. When they returned to awareness, they collectively had prophesised in their meditative visions that the Third War for Armageddon against the Beast would be the "Last Battle" and all men who would be Mortifactors from the tribes of Posul were called up and recruited into the Chapter.The Mortifactors entrusted their fortress-monastery to their Chapter serfs and other servants and the entire Chapter (all 10 companies) set off for Armageddon.Upon the return of the Mortifactors from Armageddon, the Chapter set about replacing the losses incurred defending that Ork-infested Hive World.The next campaign undertaken by the Mortifactors was assisting the Ultramarines in defending the world of Tarsis Ultra against a splinter of the Tyranids' Hive Fleet Leviathan and then sending a contingent to aid the resurrected Roboute Guilliman during the Terran Crusade of 999.M41.
Mortifactors - Chapter Homeworld: The bleak Feral World of Posul is perpetually shrouded in darkness as a result of the distance it lies from its solar system's star and is thus also classified as a Night World. Its surface is craggy, frigid and mountainous.The Mortifactors are feral warriors shaped by the harsh environment of their savage world. The barbaric warrior tribes of Posul who form the primary recruitment stock for the Mortifactors know neither sunlight nor joy. These things do not exist on Posul, whose people endure a brutal life of darkness and constant intertribal bloodshed marked by cannibalistic rituals.Often times a Posulan youth will have taken hundreds of skulls before being chosen to become a Space Marine neophyte and earning the opportunity to slay the enemies of the Emperor, who is worshipped as the great spirit of the universe known as the "Ultimate Warrior" by the Posulan tribes.Posul's surface and biosphere was destroyed during an assault by the Tyranids of Hive Fleet Leviathan in the Third Tyrannic War.
Mortifactors - Chapter Recruitment: The recruitment of neophytes for the Mortifactors is done by the Chapter's Chaplains, many of whom were once the shamans or even chieftains of Posul's cannibalistic tribes.Those who fail the trials are disposed of by the Mortifactors. Each neophyte must kill his first prey and claim its skull for himself in order to earn a name in the Chapter.Those neophytes who have yet to kill their first enemy are called "Faceless."
Mortifactors - Chapter Combat Doctrine: Despite being the inheritors of Roboute Guilliman's gene-legacy, the Mortifactors are unusual for a Successor Chapter of the Ultramarines, because they feel that they have grown beyond the need to adhere rigidly to the dictates of the Codex Astartes, and they forge their own path in life and war using the wisdom of their Chaplains.Despite the fact that it was their primarch that penned the words of this holiest of tomes, the Mortifactors feel that to be bound by words set down an age ago is to risk failure to adapt to changing circumstances that could prove fatal to the Chapter and the broader Imperium.Yet the Mortifactors still venerate their primarch, just as the Ultramarines do. After all, he is their Chapter's gene-father and all the Mortifcators' oaths of allegiance are sworn to him and to the Emperor.Yet, the Mortifactors certainly do not scorn the words of Guilliman. In fact, they look upon the Codex Astartes as the foundation for their way of life, but to follow its teachings literally without consideration for what they have learned and what they observe around them is not in their view wisdom, but blind orthodoxy.The Mortifactors believe that a rigid adherence to any dogma is the sign of a weak mind and it is this very weakness that is causing so much of the stagnation and difficulties apparent in the wider Imperium.
Mortifactors - Chapter Beliefs: Posul is populated by savage, cannibalistic feral Human tribes, who engage in ceaseless wars against one another. Their world is dark, the sun never penetrating its inky atmosphere, and the air choked with the stink of blood and smoke.The wars of Posul have resulted in a population supremely suited to become Space Marines, yet even after the neophytes' induction and indoctrination into the ways of the Adeptus Astartes and traditions of the Ultramarines' primarch, a great amount of the feral tribes' culture remains.While the Mortifactors are as devoted to the Emperor as any other Primogenitor Chapter, these traditions have mingled with those of the natives of Posul, resulting in something quite unique, and at times quite disturbing.The morbid funerary rites in which the Chapter engages are led by its Chaplains, who are recruited from amongst the priest class of Posul, and many of the details of the Chapter's cult are drawn from their culture.Amongst the many rites practised by the Mortifactors is the tradition of seeking, on the eve of battle, a trance-like state akin to death. The Mortifactors believe that in so doing they will commune with the primarch and their ancestors, who will lend them great strength when battle commences.After the battle, the Mortifactors engage in a range of practices, often involving the drinking of the blood and the eating of the flesh of the enemy, and culminating in the severing of their head and the flensing of their skull.To outsiders, the Mortifactors appear to be verging on the heretical, yet they stand proudly alongside their brother Primogenitors and are counted amongst the most stalwart of the Imperium's defenders.The Chapter's Chaplains teach their fellow Astartes that death will unite them with the Emperor of Mankind in the form of a being known as the "Ultimate Warrior" and they regularly enter a state of near-death meditation prior to battles in order to determine what course the Ultimate Warrior desires for the Chapter to take in the coming conflict.When Mortifactors do die, they believe they are taken to the Halls of the Victors and sit at the feast table of the Ultimate Warrior in the afterlife.The existence of indigenous and often unique cult belief systems, martial philosophies and variations on the Imperial Cult within the Adeptus Astartes and on their Chapter homeworlds is not uncommon in the Imperium. However, the Mortifactors' obsessive veneration and fascination with death is of a more extreme variety and has at times brought some unwelcome Inquisitorial scrutiny.Yet the Mortifactors deeply honour those who fall in the Emperor's service and revere the many martyrs of the Imperium and the dead of their Chapter for millennia after their fall, which generally goes far in patching up any suspicions of heresy among the Astartes of the Chapter by the Inquisition and the Ecclesiarchy.
Mortifactors - Chapter Fleet: The Mortifactors' Chapter fleet consists of several strike cruisers and smaller Gladius-class Frigates and Hunter-class Destroyers for patrols throughout the Mortifactors' domain. The Chapter also possesses more than one battle barge. The fortress-monastery is also the docking station for the Chapter fleet.The fleet is known to possess the following vessels:Mortis Probati (Strike Cruiser)Endless Night (Frigate)
Mortifactors - Chapter Relics: Primarch's Edge - Primarch's Edge is a venerable master-crafted Astartes Combat Knife. This venerable weapon has seen millennia of service, and legend has it that it was first drawn by the Primarch Roboute Guilliman. It is unknown how the Mortifactors first came into the keeping of this relic, but their most cunning armourers have bent all their skill into preserving it unblemished through the long years since they received it. Eventually, the Chapter came into conflict with more traditional Chapters descended from Guilliman over the keeping of their primarch's relic in shrines deviating from the Codex. The Ultramarines eventually interceded to quell the strife among their Successors, and the Lord of Macragge demanded an end to the controversy. To avoid either surrendering the relic or denying their battle-brothers' concerns, the Primarch's Edge was granted to the Deathwatch's Watch Fortress Erioch in the Jericho Reach for safekeeping on behalf of the Chapter.
Mortifactors - Chapter Colours: The Mortifactors' power armour is bone white and black. The upper helm, upper legs (but not the groin), elbow plates, feet and gauntlets are black. The remainder of the armour, including the helm's faceplate and top of the backpack, is bone white.The Aquila or Imperialis on the chest guard, as well as the main body of the backpack, are primarily silver.The bone-coloured squad specialty symbol on the right shoulder guard designates operational specialty -- battleline, close support, fire support, Veteran or command.A black High Gothic numeral is stenciled in its centre, indicating squad number.The colour of the shoulder plate trim 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.
Mortifactors - Chapter Badge: The Mortifactors' Chapter badge is a bone white human skull centred upon a field of black.
Mortifactors - Sources: Codex: Armageddon (3rd Edition), pg. 18Codex: Space Marines (8th Edition) (Revised Codex), pg. 24Codex: Space Marines (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), pg. 116Codex: Space Marines (6th Edition), pg. 33Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition), pg. 49Codex: Tyranids (5th Edition), pg. 28Dataslate: Storm Wing (6th Edition) (Digital Edition), pg. 4Deathwatch: Honour the Chapter (RPG), pg. 130Deathwatch: Rites of Battle (RPG), pp. 57-58Imperial Armour Volume Two - Space Marines and Forces of the Inquisition, pg. 177Imperial Armour Volume Nine - The Badab War - Part One, pg. 106Inquisitor (Specialty Game), pg. 103Warriors of Ultramar (Novel) By Graham McNeillHow to Paint Space Marines (2004), pg. 89Angels of Death: The Third War (Short Story) by Ray HarrisonDeathwatch: Swordwind (Short Story) by Ian St. MartinThird War for Armageddon Worldwide Campaign - Forces Disposition, Imperial Forces: MortifactorsDark Imperium (Novel) by Guy HaleyWarhammer 40,000: Rulebook (8th Edition), pg. 159Armageddon Website (Saved archive page, dated Aug 2006)Watchers of the Throne - The Emperor's Legion (Novel) by Chris Wraight, Ch. 13Taker of Heads (Audio Book) by Ian St. Martin, Track 2, 6, 7, 10-12Imperium Nihilus - Vigilus Defiant (8th Edition), pg. 79
Mortis Dreadnought - Mortis Dreadnought: The Mortis Dreadnought, also known as the Mortis Pattern Dreadnought, is a variant of the standard Castraferrum Pattern Dreadnoughts used by the Adeptus Astartes. The Mortis Pattern, like most Dreadnought variants, only differs from the standard Dreadnought in its armament loadout and the battlefield role it plays.The standard Castraferrum Dreadnought's loadout consists of a single long-range weapon arm, such as an Assault Cannon, and an arm ending in a Dreadnought Close Combat Weapon, yet the Mortis Pattern Dreadnought replaces the close combat weapon arm with a second ranged combat weapon. The Mortis Dreadnought is capable of unleashing a tremendous amount of firepower on a target, and since the Dreadnought's body is such a stable firing platform it can continue moving while firing accurately.
Mortis Dreadnought - History: In the time of the Great Crusade, Dreadnought combat walkers primarily served as heavy assault units and highly mobile weapons support platforms for the Space Marine Legions. They were highly valued for their ability to endure under very heavy enemy fire and to operate in locations and theatres where traditional combat support vehicles would be impractical or downright impossible to use. Most in demand of all the types of Dreadnoughts in the arsenals of the Imperium were the Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought, towering war machines that utilised a combination of machine systems recovered during the Great Crusade, principal amongst them the potent and ill-understood Atomantic Arc-Reactor.When the Legiones Astartes Contemptor Dreadnought Talons went to war they were sometimes accompanied by specialist machines to protect them from air attack. Where possible, the Contemptor-Mortis Dreadnought was fielded, for this anti-air sub-pattern of the standard Contemptor Dreadnought was equipped with an array of powerful weapons specifically designed to bring down enemy flyers, potent targeting Auguries that allowed it to lock onto and track multiple foes, as well as heavy defensive field projectors able to withstand the inevitable storm of return fire its target was sure to unleash.Able to target and destroy the foe at close range the Contemptor-Mortis was outfitted with an advanced Helical Targeting Array that allowed it to provide a Space Marine spearhead force with close anti-air support when needed. During the last years of the Great Crusade, the Contemptor-Mortis and Mortis Dreadnought sub-patterns were widely used by both the Dark Angels and Iron Warriors Legions, although it was used to some extent by all of the Legiones Astartes during this era. Ten millennia later, there remain several Contemptor-Mortis Dreadnoughts that are still operational. They are revered both as potent relics of the Imperium's Golden Age and as powerful weapons by those few Space Marine Chapters lucky enough to still possess them.
Mortis Dreadnought - Armament: The Mortis Dreadnought is always equipped with two long-range weapon arms, and these weapons are always of the same type. The Hellfire Dreadnought, which is a common Dreadnought variant used by most Astartes Chapters, is the only other Dreadnought variant that is equipped with two long-range weapons, and one of those is always a Missile Launcher. The Mortis Pattern Dreadnought is capable of being armed with two twin-linked Heavy Bolters, two twin-linked Lascannons, two twin-linked Autocannons, two Missile Launchers, two Heavy Plasma Cannons or two Assault Cannons. These options are capable of turning this pattern of Dreadnought into a highly effective anti-infantry or anti-armour weapon, and unlike other Dreadnought variants, such as the Furioso Dreadnought, the Mortis Dreadnought can remain safely at a distance from his target. The Mortis Dreadnought, like all Dreadnought variants, can also be outfitted with Extra Armour Plating, Smoke Launchers and a Searchlight. During the 31st Millennium, Mortis Dreadnoughts, like their Contemptor-Mortis Dreadnought cousins, were equipped with the advanced Helical Targeting Array. However, by the late 41st Millennium most Astartes Chapters seem to have lost the means to produce or otherwise acquire that technology.
Mortis Dreadnought - Unit Composition: 1 Mortis Dreadnought (41st Millennium Only)1 Legion Mortis Dreadnought (31st Millennium Only)
Mortis Dreadnought - Wargear: A standard Mortis Dreadnought is armed and equipped with:Two sets of twin-linked Heavy BoltersSmoke LaunchersA Mortis Dreadnought may replace both their twin-linked Heavy Bolters with any of these options:Two Multi-MeltasTwo Assault CannonsTwo Heavy Plasma CannonsTwo twin-linked AutocannonsTwo twin-linked LascannonsA Mortis Dreadnought armed with Missile Launchers may be equipped with the following munitions:Frag MissilesKrak MissilesMortis Dreadnoughts may also have a variety of vehicle equipment such as:Extra Armour PlatingSearchlight
Mortis Dreadnought - Horus Heresy Era Wargear: During the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras the Mortis Dreadnoughts of the Legiones Astartes featured many more weapon loadout options than those of the 41st Millennium.A standard Legion Mortis Dreadnought is armed and equipped with:Two twin-linked Heavy BoltersSearchlightSmoke LaunchersHelical Targeting ArrayAny Legion Mortis Dreadnought may replace both their twin-linked Heavy Bolters with any of these options:Two Multi-MeltasTwo twin-linked AutocannonsTwo twin-linked Lascannonstwin-linked Missile LaunchersA Legion Mortis Dreadnought armed with Missile Launchers may be equipped with the following munitions:Frag MissilesKrak MissilesLegiones Astartes ' Mortis Dreadnoughts may also have a variety of vehicle equipment such as:Extra Armour PlatingArmoured Ceramite PlatingUp to two Hunter-Killer Missile LaunchersHavoc Missile Launcher (carapace mounted)
Mortis Dreadnought - Known Users of the Mortis Dreadnought: The following is a list of known users of the Mortis Dreadnought, or users of Dreadnoughts that are configured identical to the Mortis Pattern:Dark Angels and the Unforgiven - The Mortis Dreadnought is often deployed by the Dark Angels and their Unforgiven Successor Chapters.Red Scorpions - The Red Scorpions Chapter has made use of Dreadnoughts configured identically to the Mortis Pattern.Other Chapters - Dreadnoughts armed with twin, long-ranged weapons have been used in small numbers and during certain circumstances by many other Astartes Chapters of the Imperium.
Mortis Dreadnought - Notable Mortis Dreadnoughts: Brother Malach - Brother Malach is a Mortis Dreadnought of the Angels of Absolution Chapter's 6th Company.Brother Amiel - Brother Amiel is a Mortis Dreadnought of the Angels of Absolution Chapter. Brother Amiel fought against the Forces of Chaos during the Siege of Vraks.Brother Kargat - Brother Kargat is a Mortis Pattern Dreadnought of the Red Scorpions Chapter who was destroyed while taking part in the Bale Raid during the Badab War.
Mortis Dreadnought - Adeptus Mechanicus Technical Specifications: Mortis Pattern Dreadnought Mark VVehicle Name:Mortis Dreadnought Mk VMain Armament:2 Arm-mounted Long-Range Combat Weapons (varies)Forge World of Origin:UnknownSecondary Armament:N/AKnown Patterns:UnknownTraverse:360 degreesCrew:1 PilotElevation:-90 to 90 degreesPowerplant:Thermic ReactorMain Ammunition:Unknown (varies)Weight:14 Tonnes (approx)Secondary Ammunition:N/ALength:2.2 metresArmour:Width:3.4 metresHeight:3.7 metresSuperstructure:75 millimetresGround Clearance:N/AHull:75 millimetresMax Speed On-Road:10 kilometres per hour (approx)Gun Mantlet:N/AMax Speed Off-Road:5 kilometres per hour (approx)Vehicle Designation:UnknownTransport Capacity:N/AFiring Ports:N/AAccess Points:N/ATurret:N/AMortis Pattern Dreadnought Mark IVVehicle Name:Mortis Dreadnought Mk IVMain Armament:2 Arm-mounted Long-Range Combat Weapons (varies)Forge World of Origin:UnknownSecondary Armament:N/AKnown Patterns:I - VTraverse:360 degreesCrew:1 PilotElevation:-90 to 90 degreesPowerplant:Thermic ReactorMain Ammunition:Unknown (varies)Weight:13 Tonnes (approx)Secondary Ammunition:N/ALength:2.2 metresArmour:Width:3.4 metresHeight:3.7 metresSuperstructure:75 millimetresGround Clearance:N/AHull:75 millimetresMax Speed On-Road:8 kilometres per hour (approx)Gun Mantlet:N/AMax Speed Off-Road:5 kilometres per hour (approx)Vehicle Designation:UnknownTransport Capacity:N/AFiring Ports:N/AAccess Points:N/ATurret:N/A
Mortis Dreadnought - Sources: Codex: Dark Angels (6th Edition), pg. 99Imperial Armour Volume Two - Space Marines and Forces of the Inquisition, pp. 135, 137, 142Imperial Armour Volume Two, Second Edition - War Machines of the Adeptus Astartes, pp. 168, 171-172Imperial Armour Volume Seven - The Siege of Vraks - Part Three, pg. 94Imperial Armour Volume Nine - The Badab War - Part One, pg. 87Imperial Armour Volume Twelve - The Fall of Orpheus, pg. 158Imperial Armour Volume Thirteen - War Machines of the Lost & The Damned, pg. 108Imperial Armour Index: Forces of the Adeptus Astartes (8th Edition), pg. 24The Horus Heresy - Book One: Betrayal by Alan Bligh, pp. 99, 174, 177The Horus Heresy - Book Two: Massacre by Alan Bligh, pp. 78, 195The Horus Heresy: Legiones Astartes - Age of Darkness Army List pg. 36Forge World - MKV Mortis Dreadnought, AutocannonForge World - MKV Mortis Dreadnought, LascannonForge World - MKV Mortis Dreadnought, Missile Launcher
Mortis Thule - Mortis Thule: The Mortis Thule is an infamous space hulk located within the Jericho Reach that is known even to the people of primitive worlds that have never travelled beyond their own system.In a region of space known for the numerous derelicts floating between the stars, it is the dark form that blots out local suns, causing civilisations to fall into barbarism or new religions to sprout like weeds.Under hundreds of names it is the blight on the void, the bane of Warp-travel, and the ruination of innumerable ships from its catastrophically sudden appearances. In their secret language, Navigators call it "The Doom that Awaits." Deathwatch Librarians officially record it as "Warp Artefact Aleph-Omicron-002."For most in the Jericho Reach, and particularly in the Achilus Crusade's Orpheus Salient, it is known as the Mortis Thule -- Death From Beyond the Horizon -- the largest space hulk known to exist in the region, and very possibly the most dangerous.Space hulks are not an uncommon occurrence in areas of space with advanced interstellar travel. These massive conglomerations of discarded voidship hulls and space debris are legendary across the galaxy, famous both for the lurking dangers they host as well as the possible treasures hidden inside.Though each is unique, the Mortis Thule stands out not only for its enormous size but also for its long history in the Reach, dating back to before the arrival of the Imperial expeditionary fleets of the Great Crusade. Most hulks either fall apart given time (or sufficient massed firepower), or disappear back into the Warp never to be seen again.The Mortis Thule seems older than many such space hulks encountered before, however; its curious longevity and increasing mass are possibly tied to that other mysterious artefact of the Reach, the Jericho-Maw Warp Gate.
Mortis Thule - Occupants: Like most space hulks, there are numerous creatures infesting the dark hulls buried in the rock. Some ships still retain furtive power, flickering and undependable as it may be. The Mortis Thule hosts a multitude of species striving to survive in the artificial carcass.Each new hull added to the Mortis Thule often also brings new occupants, some advanced enough to maintain some semblance of their culture but most descending into barbarism or worse as each Warp immersion leads them forever into deeper darkness.
Mortis Thule - Genestealers: The most common denizens of the Mortis Thule are that most widespread of Tyranid species, the Genestealer, a presence even greater now that Hive Fleet Dagon has spread its tendrils across the Orpheus Salient. Genestealers are perhaps perfectly suited to existing on space hulks.They are extraordinarily tough, with reinforced circulatory systems and leathery protective skin; even their weakest surface membranes are able to withstand complete vacuum exposure for extended durations. Their flesh and their genetic material itself is resistant to most mutating or debilitating radiation, and they seem to have no fear of unprotected Warp travel.They are very long-lived and able to shut down their metabolism for long periods of time when there is no prey to be had. Their agility and multiple clawed limbs allow them to easily manoeuvre in the hazardous ruins of wrecked gangways, collapsed decks, and areas with failed grav-plating.Their eyes can penetrate total blackness or obscuring smoke, and their senses can detect the smallest twitch or droplet of blood. Unlike most other Tyranid organisms, they are able to operate effectively when unconnected to the Hive Mind that their related Tyranid species need in order to do more than act according to instinctual behaviour.Add to this their preternatural strength, ferocity in combat, and talons that can rip through even Terminator Armour, and the Genestealer would already be one of the most dominant threats of any space hulk. It is their means of reproduction that changes them from dangerous predator to an extreme threat to the Imperium itself.Genestealers reproduce through implanting their viral genetic material into a host organism, often when the unwilling host is unconscious or subdued through a psychically-induced hypnotic state. This material corrupts the parent DNA, causing any offspring to be born as an unnatural mixture of the parent and Genestealer species.The host is mentally and genetically conditioned to care for these twisted progeny, each of which is also able to quickly mature and infect others through the same genetic implantation. Future generations lead to new Genestealers of a nearly pure strain, unrecognizable from the original species but now carrying partial physiological reminders of the host morphology.In this way the creature extends its influence across populations and has become the bane of the Ordo Xenos; entire planets have been put to the torch to conclusively prevent their spread. In the Mortis Thule, there are numerous Genestealer-controlled hulls and even more overrun by their hideous offspring.Any Imperial vessels that depart the space hulk and are not willing to submit to extensive examinations of both ship and personnel, have been utterly destroyed by their colleagues lest they possibly spread the infection to others. With the Genestealer there can be no half-measures; even one creature can lead to the downfall of an entire world.
Mortis Thule - Enslavers: While the presence of such Tyranid creatures in the Mortis Thule is somewhat to be expected, it is the existence of Enslavers on the space hulk that makes it even more hazardous. Most explorers do not encounter them, or at least never return having done so.Early Deathwatch squads only reported remains of the grotesque organic flesh-arches that serve as their gateways into reality, but fresh ones have been sighted more recently. Each of these portals was once a psyker, but their unguarded minds have allowed these threats to menace not only the Imperium but every living being in the galaxy, as they once did untold millennia ago.Even the merest threat of an Enslaver outbreak has brought numerous Deathwatch teams to a planet, ready to obliterate their danger. Entire hive cities have been razed rather than leave any possible Warp portals remaining, and forces sent to the Mortis Thule are on a constant vigil to destroy them on sight, no matter what their original mission might entail.The Mortis Thule contains many nascent psykers though, almost none with the necessary defences to ward off the dominating alien mentalities. It is the presence of the Genestealers which paradoxically provides such a rich feeding ground for this menace from times before Humanity descended from trees.All Genestealers share a psychic connection known as the Broodmind that allows them to function as an independent brood. This extends to their offspring; indeed Genestealers will actively seek out psykers as hosts to strengthen this link and their own Tyranid psychic powers.However, these psychically-attuned offspring shine in the Warp as a near-irresistible beacon to the Enslavers who follow the vessel as it dances between the Empyrean and realspace. The Genestealer broods have become themselves prey, as subjugated brethren have turned on their alien parents at the command of their new masters.Some Genestealers have sought the sanctuary of stasis tubes within heavily reinforced cargo vaults, their still-loyal children sealing the vault from the inside and committing suicide as a desperate measure against Enslaver-dominated forces.Ferocious battles between the horrific Tyranid predators and the ghastly Enslavers are nightmare tales of legend. The rending claws of the Genestealers rip through hordes of bound puppet-races to reach their enemies' floating bulbous bodies. Tendrils writhe beneath Enslavers over the blood-soaked decks as they command their slaves to die for their protection.
Mortis Thule - Orks: These are not the only xenos engaged in combat through the Mortis Thule, as the Orks aboard live for little else. The sight of the Mortis Thule drives Mekboys by the thousands to prepare ramshackle force-bubbled rokkits; these ferry mobs into the void and to the space hulk where they use the random travel it provides to bring them to new systems for raiding and conquest.Once the space hulk reappears they launch themselves at whatever they can find, continuing their WAAAGH! into areas unready for such devastation.There are few Ork worlds in the Jericho Reach, due perhaps to successful eradication policies carried out during the Great Crusade, and Imperial scholars believe many of the Orks aboard the Mortis Thule originated from other sectors. This possibly means the space hulk travels even further than suspected, and may bring even greater horrors in future visitations.
Mortis Thule - Hullghasts: While the Orks live for combat, for many of the Humans stranded inside the Mortis Thule there is only the endless struggle to survive. Most have become little better than animals, devolving after exposure to radiation and Warp-induced mutagens into bestial Hullghasts.They roam from hull to hull, migrating as decks lose air or water seeps away into the rock-loam binding ships together. Each is a perversion of the Human form; bleached scabrous skin with eruptions of horn and bone, long fingers of talon-like nails, oversized mouths filled with rotting but needle-sharp teeth. Any they find in their way becomes new food, as do the weaker of the tribes should their hunger grow too powerful.
Mortis Thule - Humans: Deep within the Mortis Thule there are others also fighting to survive but still retaining a semblance of their Humanity.The courier Emperor's Gaze was trapped many Terran years ago near the end of the Achilus Crusade's initial successes when their Navigator failed to detect the space hulk drifting near them in the Warp. Surely the God-Emperor's gaze was indeed upon them, for they managed to stay alive in the years since in that forced union.Carefully rationing their remaining power to keep their now-priceless Gellar Field intact when the Mortis Thule returns to the bosom of the Warp, and sustaining themselves on meagre supplies and fungal growths, they must also fight off raiders eager to steal their functioning systems.Their prayers are perhaps their greatest defence; the reverberating devotional hymns rise above the foul chatter of the tainted xenos such that some explorers have found themselves unknowingly joining in the song. One day they may indeed be rescued but until that day comes, they know their Emperor surely watches over them.
Mortis Thule - Others: These are but a few of the dangers and denizens to be encountered on Mortis Thule. Accounts tell of many others, such as the rapacious Voar xenos-infection, feral Kroot-beasts and their carnivorous handlers, piratical Aeldari in gleaming barbed armour and dripping blades, and far more that dwell in the depths of the Mortis Thule.Each boarding reveals new occupants, eager to welcome those who dare visit their tomb of rock and metal.
Mortressan Highlanders - Mortressan Highlanders: The Mortressan Highlanders are a militarum regimento of the Astra Militarum. Recruited from the Calixian Death World of Mortressa, the Mortressan Highlanders believe that life is meaningless and that only the manner of a man's death matters.They have no compunction or guilt about what they do, a psychological foible that endears them in the eyes of Sebiascor Ebongrave, Lord Commander of the Canis Salient of the Achilus Crusade. Indeed, when Ebongrave needs people he can trust to execute their fellow Imperial citizens or soldiers, he calls upon the 14th Mortressan Highlanders.The Mortressans serve in the Field Purgation platoons who root out ideological failings among the Imperial Guard regiments on the salient, and in the execution details operating in the Black Zone. The guardsman standing watch over an interrogation cell in Sepulchre Sigma is likely to hail from Mortressa.
Morwen VI - Morwen VI: Morwen VI is an almost airless Dead World that has aroused interest in members of the Adeptus Mechanicus throughout the Calixis Sector of the Segmentum Obscurus due to the numerous oddities that can be found there. Structures found on the planet's surface are also thought to be the remains of settlements, though whichever civilisation lived on the planet was wiped out, or abandoned the world, some several Terran millennia prior to its discovery by the Imperium in 675.M41.That the planet was once home to organic life is beyond reasonable dispute, as significant deposits of oil and natural gas have been found on the world. Such resources are important to the Imperium, and as a result a regiment of the Astra Militarum is stationed on Morwen VI whilst the equipment needed to extract the fossil fuel is organised and transported to the world.
Morwen VI - Departmento Cartographicae Planetary Database : Equatorial Circumference: 11,500 Terran milesRevolutionary and Rotational Periods: Morwen VI takes 382 Terran standard days to orbit its star and spins on its axis every 25.5 Terran standard hours.Satellites: There are no natural moons, but there is the Hippocrasian Agglomeration, a space station in orbit manned by Adeptus Mechanicus and Imperial Guard personnel from the regiments of the Brontian Longknives. A series of defensive weapons platforms is currently planned for construction.Noted Oddities in Tropospheric Composition: Morwen VI has an unusually thin and shallow atmosphere for a planet of its size. Also worthy of note is the fact that this atmosphere is almost exclusively composed of nitrogen. Oxygen, oxides and water vapour are conspicuous by their total absence, which is considered odd given the discovery of geological features that could only have been created by the action of waves, rivers or rain.Planetary Governor: The Administratum has yet to assign a Planetary Governor to the world. For the time being the planet is technically under the jurisdiction of the Astra Militarum (Brontian Longknives) and their senior officer performs some of the duties of a governor.Geographical Features of Note: Regularly dotted over the surface of Morwen VI are a number of unusual monolithic structures of an unknown design. These resemble large, two-tiered ziggurats and are constructed of thick plates of metal. Preliminary expeditions by Adeptus Mechanicus Explorator teams noted that the structures were hollow, that the alloy used to construct them was not known to the Imperium, and that an infrequent -- yet regular and very powerful -- electronic pulse was being generated from within each structure. Whilst the alloy used to construct the structures is unknown, its properties are clearly impressive. Servitor teams armed with las-cutters were unable to breach the walls of the structures. Adeptus Mechanicus Enginseers claimed they would need to requisition even more powerful and precise cutting tools before making any further attempts to enter the structures.
Morwen VI - Current Status: The Adeptus Mechanicus have withdrawn from the world, promising to return when they can muster the resources necessary to make a proper investigation of the planet and the unusual structures found there. Long-term plans for the world vary, but senior members of the Administratum feel it would make a valuable Mining World, as there are deposits of useful minerals, metallic ores and fossil fuels on the world.In the meantime, the world is being guarded by companies from the Brontian Longknives regiments of the Imperial Guard, who use the airless, but otherwise placid world as the perfect place to train troops in an oxygen-free environment.
Mouldering Claw - Mouldering Claw: The Mouldering Claw is a warband or vectorium of Heretic Astartes of the Death Guard Traitor Legion's 1st Plague Company. The Mouldering Claw delight in brutality. They like to advance upon the enemy line as quickly as possible before hacking and bludgeoning them with plague-ridden blades, flails and axes. Even a single cut from one of their toxin-laced blades is certain to cause an agonising death.These are warriors of the 1st Plague Company, fanatically devoted to Typhus' cause, and the diseases they spread bring fresh waves of hideous Plague Zombies staggering into the grim light of battle, pinning the foe amidst groaning masses of undead flesh before the Mouldering Claw close in to finish the job.
Mouldering Claw - Notable Campaigns: Plague and Shadow (Unknown Date.M41) - A plague of flies erupts within the war-torn Sec Maegra district of Commorragh. From amidst the fly clouds stride Plague Marines of the Mouldering Claw, who meet the Drukhari in savage battle before vanishing as mysteriously as they arrived. Several metaphysical plagues emerge in the Dark City in their wake.
Mouldering Claw - Warband Colours: The Mouldering Claw's power armour is the same as that of the Death Guard, composed of decayed and cracked plates of ceramite in dark green with sickly green trim. The Mouldering Claw's Chaos Space Marines, like those of the Death Guard, often wear grotesquely warped suits of antique Mark III Iron Power Armour.
Mouldering Claw - Warband Badge: The Mouldering Claw's warband badge is usually a modified version of the standard Mark of Nurgle, similar to that used by the rest of the Death Guard.
Mouldering Claw - Sources: Codex Heretic Astartes - Death Guard (8th Edition), pp. 16, 21Dark Imperium (Game), Death Guard Booklet, "Death Guard Vectoriums," pg. 13