vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Necron Wargear - Transdimensional Beamer: A Transdimensional Beamer is a weapon originally designed as a convenient method of banishing unwanted debris, machinery and failed experiments from Tomb Worlds and battlefields into a pocket dimension outside of the normal space-time continuum. However, a Transdimensional Beamer can be used just as easily to exile and banish foes to a long and horrifying death from starvation in the same extra-dimensional space.Transdimensional Beamers take on the form of small pistol weapons, and are most commonly used by Canoptek Wraiths to aid them in their maintenance of a Necron Tomb World. The Cryptek Orikan the Diviner makes use of a Transdimensional Beamer as his primary sidearm.
Necron Wargear - Voidblade: A Voidblade is a form of melee weapon whose gleaming black edge flickers in and out of existence, causing molecular bonds to sever in any foe unfortunate enough to be struck and potentially causing a chain reaction of atomic disintegration. A Voidblade is capable of piercing any form of infantry armour when this occurs, and its strike has a similar effect to the entropic bite of a Canoptek Scarab upon infantry and vehicle armour.Voidblades are weapons found almost exclusively as part of the armouries of Necron royals like Necron Overlords, Necron Lords and Necron Destroyer Lords. However, Triarch Praetorians also often pair a Voidblade with a Particle Caster as an alternative armament to their usual two-handed Rod of Covenant, whilst Canoptek Acanthrites have Voidblades as tail-mounted close combat weapons.
Necron Wargear - Voltaic Staff: A Voltaic Staff is a weapon used only by Cryptek Ethermancers, and can be considered their signature weapon and symbol of office. Taking on the appearance of a simple stave with an ornate head, electromagnetic energy continuously crackles along the length of its shaft and arcs between the exposed storage crystals that make up the headpiece.An ideal weapon for the Cryptek who wishes to demonstrate the superiority of Necron technology to the lesser species of the galaxy, the impossibly high voltages emitted by the staff are capable of being fired at extremely rapid rates.The lightning-like energies unleashed by a Voltaic Staff are especially effective against vehicles, as the application of high voltage is enough to disrupt the function of even the most sophisticated forms of technology. Just as an Ethermancer commands a Voltaic Staff, so does the Voltaic Staff command the power of the storm itself.
Necron Wargear - Warscythe: A Warscythe is an energy-bladed battle stave commonly found in the armouries of Necron royals. The Warscythe has served as a traditional weapon of the Necron nobility and their elite bodyguards for many thousands of Terran years. Warscythes are made from the same living metal as that which makes up all Necron bodies and vehicles -- necrodermis. Warscythes are also fitted with a Phase Blade whose edge is out of phase with the normal space-time continuum and thus can slip effortlessly through even the heaviest forms of armour.Because of the partially incorporeal nature of these blades, a Warscythe is capable of passing through defensive energy shields, such as those emitted by an Iron Halo, that would normally deflect almost any other form of attack. The blade's power field also grows in strength and magnitude to match whatever force is brought to bear upon it, making the Warscythe, for all intents and purposes, indestructible.However, a Warscythe is incredibly heavy and cumbersome. In the hands of a lesser creature, it would be of little threat; but when wielded by the tireless mechanical musculature of a Necron, it is a most formidable weapon that greatly augments the strength of the user. When combined with a Necron's prodigious strength, there is very little such a blade cannot penetrate.Warscythes are easily capable of slicing through infantry and heavy vehicle armour alike. It is common for a well-directed Warscythe to be able to cut the barrel from a Leman Russ Tank's Battle Cannon or carve a hole in the side of a bunker.Warscythes are most commonly found wielded by Necron Overlords and Necron Lords, along with their Lychguard protectors. Warscythes are also the favoured armament of Necron Destroyer Lords who relish the feeling of decapitating enemies as they glide by on their anti-gravitic skimmer chassis.
Necron Warrior - Necron Warrior: Necron Warriors are the primary infantry troops of the soulless, undying mechanical monstrosities known as the Necrons. They were created from the majority of the ancient humanoid Necrontyr species who agreed to be bound to the will of their Star Gods, the terrible entities known as the C'tan. The Necrontyr's consciousnesses were transferred into robotic bodies made of the living metal called necrodermis through a process called biotransference.Over a long period of time, their new, unliving bodies dulled the Necrontyr's minds and their abilities to feel emotion or pleasure. Over many Terran millennia, the ultimate outcome of this process of gradual desensitization was that the Necron Warriors became little more than soulless automatons, the warrior-slaves of the still-self-aware Necron royalty and military elite who seek to rebuild their star-spanning empires across the portions of the galaxy now controlled by the "lesser races."Hundreds of thousands of Necron Warriors form the cold heart of a Tomb World's armies. They are implacable, emotionless and terrifying soldiers -- the inexorable emissaries of death itself. Yet on closer inspection of a Necron Warrior, aberrant details become visible that act against the image of the inevitable reaper. Its reactions, though precise, are slow. Its limbs, though strong and sleek, are pitted and corroded, covered with an oily fluid seeping from aged joints. Its movements are jerky, and every so often it struggles as corroded and eons-old engrammic synapses misfire. In truth, the Necron Warrior would almost be pitiable were it not for the merciless gleam flickering in its eyes and the pervasive sense that it is less a sentient creature than it is one of the walking dead.Grim and remorseless machine-creatures, each Necron Warrior carries the dimly echoed remains of a living mind bound into eternal servitude. They are implacable and ruthless killers, largely ignorant of their own nightmarish condition. But despite their shambolic gait, they are all but unstoppable; their bodies able to repair almost any harm done to them and, compelled by the will of their lords, they are tireless as agents of destruction.
Necron Warrior - History: The rank-and-file of the Necron armies are the Necron Warriors. Silent as the grave, Necron Warriors move with slow, erratic, yet exacting movements. Despite this sluggishness, Necron Warriors are capable of great accuracy at range and devastating blows up close. Like all Necrons, a Necron Warrior's living metal necrodermis body is incredibly durable, capable of absorbing truly horrendous amounts of fire with hardly a scratch to show for it. When enough punishment is heaped on a Warrior to actually damage it, advanced self-repair protocols undo all but the most severe damage in moments.These seemingly indestructible machines carry weapons the Adeptus Mechanicus has dubbed "Gauss Flayers". To date, no reliable sightings have been made of a Necron Warrior equipped with any other weapon. While an Astra Militarum commander may expect such uniformity and lack of specialised weaponry to be a weakness, this is far from the case for the Necrons. Gauss Flayers utilise theoretically impossible science to strip their target apart on a molecular level. These potent directed energy weapons can strip the adamantium from a battle tank's hull as surely as they strip the flesh from a man. Even power armour and the enhanced constitution of a Space Marine provide limited defence.While the Necron nobility retained their personalities and intellects intact, Necron Warriors did not come through the process of biotransference so fortunate. Necron Warriors possess but a dim spark of life, relying in battle on instinctual reactions and programmed engrammatic attack patterns rather than any self-direction or true intellect. In fact, Necron Warriors deprived of leadership will simply continue carrying out the last order received, or even cease all activity other than firing on any enemies who happen too close.Likewise, Necron Warriors display not an inkling of personality. The billions of Necrontyr citizens who were transformed into Necron Warriors, at one time each an individual with hopes, fears, and ideas, now form ranks of faceless, emotionless automatons. If any shred of their former selves remains, it is trapped behind walls of encoded subservience.It is possible that the Necron Warriors' lack of intelligence and self-identity are merely side-effects of the biotransference process that transformed the Necrontyr into the Necrons. In the Necrontyr's Time of Flesh they were not soldiers, but artisans, merchants, farmers, scribes -- indeed any occupation but creatures of battle and death. As Necrontyr citizens of lesser status it was inevitable that their conversion would be neither so careful nor so precise as that of the Necrontyr soldiery or royalty.Even more disturbing is the idea that the Necron Warriors' dull-wittedness might well have been a deliberate part of the design; that those Necrontyr nobles who oversaw biotransference deliberately stripped their vassals of personality, character and self-awareness to ensure that they would have loyal and unswerving foot soldiers in the endless conflicts to come.
Necron Warrior - Role: Unlike other forces at a Nemesor's command, Necron Warriors are in no way autonomous. They are bound entirely to their commander's unyielding will. Outside of simple instructions, a Necron Warrior's tactical awareness is almost nonexistent. Without more specific orders, a phalanx of Necron Warriors automatically settles into a guard routine, repelling enemy attacks with rippling volleys of precision Gauss Weapon fire.All this they do in utter silence, for Necron Warriors never speak -- vocalisation was a luxury deliberately denied them by design. However, if heavily damaged, a Necron Warrior emits a modulated electronic scream, a tooth-rattling shriek that is an eerie parody of a living creature's cry of pain. It is impossible to say whether this death wail is intended as a warning to other Necrons, or is simply a half-remembered reflex reaction to the onset of oblivious eternity.What Necron Warriors lack in intuition they more than make up for in determination and durability. Once orders have been received, they are completely single-minded and will follow commands through to conclusion without question. Furthermore, individual warriors can suffer truly grievous damage before they cease fighting. Even dismemberment or decapitation cannot be counted upon to stay a Necron Warrior's advance, for its sophisticated self-repair systems can return it to the fray within only solar minutes.Despite its tenuous sensory connection to reality, a Necron Warrior is not entirely fearless. Though most of its animalistic instincts have long since been expunged or degraded into nothingness by the long eons of stasis on the Tomb Worlds during the Great Sleep, a need for self-preservation still has some purchase on its limited mind. That said, such a reaction requires it to have registered the danger at hand, something which is by no means always certain. Should this survival instinct go untriggered, the Necron Warrior will carry its fight to almost unbelievable degrees, marching heedlessly through minefields, bombardments or other battlefield hazards that will surely see it destroyed.In battle, their massive numbers and superior firepower overwhelm their enemies before they retreat back to their tomb complexes, awaiting the next call to battle from their Necron Lord. The skeletal forms of Necron Warriors are a spine-chilling sight to behold; kinetic projectiles and lasblasts bounce harmlessly from their metallic limbs. The Gauss Flayer which they wield is no less terrifying, as it strips its targets to atoms, dissolving skin and muscle in a heartbeat and then disintegrating bone until nothing remains.Necron Warriors can be deployed onto a battlefield by Night Scythe transports, providing their support where it is needed most.
Necron Warrior - Notable Formations: Infinite Phalanx - No intelligent species of the galaxy can match the Necrons for the sheer relentlessness of their armies' advance. When the Necrons go to war, hundreds upon hundreds of Necron Warriors will march in complete unison, every step echoed a thousandfold, the screech of misaligned metal or decayed servomotors reaching banshee pitch. Such a density of Necrons allows their reanimation nanoscarabs to overlap their functions, abandoning unsalvageable forms in order to tip the balance elsewhere. The nature of this effect means that a Necron Warrior's natural regeneration is amplified greatly as the numbers of fellows around him grows, and can increase to such a point as to make it nigh indestructible. Thus the Warriors of an Infinite Phalanx can withstand an assault beyond reason, yet still return to the ranks within moments of their apparent destruction.
Necron Warrior - Wargear: Gauss Flayer - Gauss Weapons are the most common of all weaponry carried by the Necron soldiery and vary in appearance. Unlike more conventional directed energy weapons, a Gauss projector does not deliver a cutting beam of coherent subatomic particles or bolt of electromagnetic force. Instead it emits a molecular disassembling beam, capable of reducing flesh, armour and bone to their constituent atoms. Necron Warriors make use of the ubiquitous Gauss Flayer, the most common variant of a Gauss Weapon in the Necron armoury.
Necron Warrior - Sources: Apocalypse (6th Edition), pg. 171Codex: Necrons (3rd Edition), pg. 18Codex: Necrons (5th Edition), pg. 33Codex: Necrons (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), pp. 38, 150Deathwatch: The Outer Reach (RPG), pg. 128Imperial Armour - Volume Twelve - The Fall of Orpheus, pp. 62, 96-97, 113
Necrons - Birth of the Star Gods: The birth of the entities called the C'tan and later known as the "Star Gods" occurred at the same time as the moment of Creation itself, as they formed from the vast, insensate energies first unleashed by that churning mass of cataclysmic force. In that anarchic interweaving of matter and energy, the sea of stars began to swirl into existence and for an eon the universe was nothing more than hot hydrogen gas and light elemental dust ruled over by the gravitic force of billions of newborn suns.Long before the first planets had formed and cooled, the very first truly self-aware beings emerged into the universe, their thoughts encased within the lines of force produced by the plasma and electromagnetic flares of the stars themselves. In later times, these entities would become known as the C'tan by the Necrons, but early in their existence they were nothing like the malevolent beings they would eventually become. They were little more than monstrous energy parasites that suckled upon the solar energies of the stars that had brought them into existence, shortening the lives of otherwise main-sequence stars by millions of standard years.In time, these star vampires learned to move along the lines of the universe's electromagnetic flux, leaving their birthplaces to drift through the cosmic ether to new stellar feeding grounds and begin their cycle of stellar destruction once more. Beings of pure energy, they paid no mind to the hunks of solid matter they passed in the vacuum of space, the blazing geothermal fires and weak geomagnetic fields of these nascent planets insufficient to be worth feeding even their ravenous hunger.
Necrons - Old Ones: Just as the stars gave birth to their children so the planets of the newborn Milky Way Galaxy eventually gave birth to lifeforms composed of matter which began the long evolutionary climb to self-awareness. The first intelligent beings of the galaxy known to have developed a civilisation technologically advanced enough to cross the stars was a reptilian species of beings later called the "Old Ones" by the Aeldari, who knew them best of all their creations.The Old Ones possessed a slow, cold-blooded, but still deep wisdom, having long studied the stars and raised astronomy and physics to such a level that their science and technology appear now to Humanity like an arcane art. Their understanding of the workings of the universe were such that they could manipulate alternate dimensions and undertake great works of psychic engineering.The Old Ones were potent psykers who routinely used the powers of the Warp for a wide variety of technological applications. This included the construction of a system of instantaneous faster-than-light portals through Warpspace. These portals connected all of the Old Ones' colony worlds, allowing them to cross the vast gulfs of space with only a single step through the myriad Warp Gates they built to connect the worlds of the galaxy. This was a vast interdimensional network much like the Webway of today which is its direct descendant, though on a much larger and more advanced scale.Through this network the Old Ones spread their spawn to many places in the galaxy, but they also knew that all life was precious. Where they passed, they seeded new intelligent species and reshaped thousands of worlds to make them their own according to their predetermined environmental and geographic criteria. It is believed by some in the Adeptus Mechanicus that even Terra felt the Old Ones' touch long before Humanity's rise to self-awareness, though this notion is considered heretical at best by the Ecclesiarchy, as the Imperial Creed teaches that Mankind was made in the image of the God-Emperor before His spirit was incarnated in physical flesh millennia ago.The Old Ones' civilisation reached its height in excess of 60 million standard years ago. The Old Ones were responsible for the creation or genetic advancement of most of the currently active intelligent species of the galaxy, including the Aeldari, the Krork (the Orks' precursors), the Slann and the Jokaero, though it is unknown if they played any direct role in the evolution of Humanity.
Necrons - The Tide Turns: The Old Ones' psychically-empowered servant species spread across the galaxy, battling the advanced Necron technology with the psychic power of their Warp-spawned "magic." Facing this new onslaught, the C'tan's empire was shattered, as the psychic forces of the Immaterium were anathema to soulless entities whose existence was wholly contained within purely physical patterns of electromagnetic force. For all the destruction they could unleash, they were unable to stop the Old Ones and the younger races' relentless advance across the stars.The remaining C'tan, unified by this great threat for the first time in millions of Terran years, sought a way to defeat the soul-fuelled energies of the younger species. They initiated a great warding, a plan to forever defeat the psychic sorceries of the Old Ones by sealing off the material universe from the Warp, a plan whose first fruits could once be found on the Imperial Fortress World of Cadia in the form of the great pylons that littered the surface of that world in intricate networks and create the area of space-time stability near the Eye of Terror known as the Cadian Gate.With their god-like powers, it was only a matter of time until the C'tan succeeded. But before their great work was complete, the seeds of destruction the Old Ones had planted millennia before brought about an unforeseen cataclysm. The growing pains and collective psychic flaws of the younger species threw the untapped, psychically-reactive energies of the Immaterium into disorder.War, pain and destruction were mirrored in the bottomless depth of the Sea of Souls that was the Warp. The maelstrom of souls unleashed into the Immaterium by the carnage of the War in Heaven coalesced in the previously formless energies of the Warp. Older entities that had existed within the Immaterium transformed into terrifying psychic predators, tearing at the souls of vulnerable psykers as their own environment was torn apart and reforged into the Realm of Chaos.
Necrons - Enslaver Plague: The denizens of the Warp, stirred into a frenzy by the conflict in the Materium, clustered voraciously at the cracks between the Immaterium and the material universe, seeking new ways to enter the physical realm. The Old Ones brought forth new genetically-engineered warrior species to defend their last strongholds, including the technology-mimicking Jokaero and the formidable, green-skinned Krork who were the ancestors of the present day Orks, but it was already too late. The Old Ones' intergalactic Webway network was breached from the Immaterium and lost to them, several of their Warp Gates were destroyed by their own hands to prevent the entities of the Warp from spreading to uncorrupted worlds and the Old Ones' greatest works and places of power were overrun by the horrors their own creations had unleashed.The most terrifying of these horrors were the Enslavers, Warp entities whose ability to dominate the minds of the younger species and create their own portals into the material realm using mutated, possessed psykers brought them forth in ever greater numbers. For the Old Ones, this was the final disaster as the Enslavers took control of their servants. The Pandora's Box unleashed by the creation of the younger species finally scattered the last of the Old Ones and broke their power over the galaxy once and for all. Life had stood at the edge of an apocalypse during the War in Heaven between the Old Ones and the C'tan. Now as the Enslavers breached the Immaterium in epidemic proportions, the survivors looked doomed.Ultimately, beset by the implacable onset of the C'tan and the calamitous Warp-spawned perils they had themselves mistakenly unleashed, the Old Ones were defeated, scattered and finally destroyed. Whether the species went extinct or simply fled the galaxy to seek a new haven elsewhere is unknown.
Necrons - Silent King's Betrayal: Throughout the final stages of the War in Heaven, Szarekh bided his time, waiting for the moment in which the C'tan would prove most vulnerable.Though the entire Necron species was now his to command, the Silent King could not hope to oppose the C'tan at the height of their power, and even if he did and met with success, the Necrons would then have to finish the War in Heaven against the Old Ones and their increasingly potent allied species alone. No, the Old Ones had to be completely and utterly defeated before the C'tan could be brought to account for the horror they had wrought among the Necrontyr.And so, when the C'tan finally won their great war, their triumph was short-lived. With one hated enemy finally defeated, and the other spent from hard-fought victory, the Silent King at last led the Necrons in revolt. In their arrogance, the C'tan did not realise their danger until it was too late.The Necrons focused the unimaginable energies of the living universe into weapons, god-killing hypercannons devised by the finest Crypteks in the galaxy, too mighty for even the Star Gods to endure. Not even the great overlords of the Necron crownworlds well remember the battles against the Star Gods, for causality itself was damaged by the forces unleashed to dismember the C'tan, and the Silent King was wont to remove the knowledge of the dreadful weapons employed from his warriors after the fact in fear of what might later be done with them.Alas, the C'tan were immortal star-spawn, part of the fundamental fabric of reality and therefore nigh-impossible to destroy. So was each C'tan instead sundered into thousands of smaller and less powerful energetic fragments each with the personality of the whole entity, yet this outcome was sufficient to the Silent King's goals.Indeed, he had known the C'tan's ultimate destruction to be impossible and had drawn his plans accordingly; each newborn "C'tan Shard" was bound within a multidimensional Tesseract Labyrinth, as tramelled and secured as a legendary Terran djinn trapped in a bottle. Though the cost of victory was high -- millions of Necrons had been destroyed as a consequence of their rebellion, including all of the members of the Triarch save the Silent King himself -- the Necrons were once more in command of their own destiny.
Necrons - Necrons in the 41st Millennium: The Necrons are still a shadowy presence rather than a full-fledged force in the galaxy of the present time. They strike out of nowhere without warning, wreak havoc and leave before any major reinforcements can arrive.The origins of these various attacks and their motives are unknown, though it is known that the current Necron forces in the galaxy are only soul harvesters, not the full-fledged fighting machines of the C'tan.They seem to attack from nowhere often simply appearing at nearly any location in the galaxy, no matter how well-defended. Once in the recent past they touched down on Mars, simply passing by the Imperial Navy fleets protecting the Sol System unnoticed, and ultimately casting doubt on the impregnable status of Terra itself.The Necrons reached the Red Planet's surface and explored its subterranean Noctis Labyrinthus, perhaps in search of one of their C'tan masters, believed to be the entity known in the legends of the Adeptus Mechanicus as the Dragon of Mars, before being destroyed by the agents of the Imperium.This incident, however, is a heavily guarded secret within the Imperium of Man, which greatly fears that the Necrons may awaken the entity which may be the C'tan called the Void Dragon which inhabits a stasis tomb beneath the sands of Mars.At the same time, the Imperium has been unable to capture a Necron in an attempt to learn their secrets; entire Necron forces simply vanish into thin air using their phase technology -- and they always take their "dead" with them.The Necron forces come from Tomb Worlds as yet uncharted by the Imperium. Their phase technology allows them to deploy anywhere in the galaxy, almost instantaneously through unknown means. In defeat, they "phase-out" and return to their associated Tomb World for repairs.Any Necrons that have fallen in battle can be repaired there and re-animated, so their losses thus far have been minimal. Should a Necron be totally annihilated in battle, then they are truly beyond phase-out or repair, but again, often so little survives that the scientists of living races have nothing to study.The Necrons may have infiltrated the Imperium to an extent. Their elite anti-psyker troops, the Pariahs, are an unholy cross of Human mutant and Necron technology. It is believed by some Adeptus Mechanicus savants that the Necrons had the Pariah Gene engineered into what became the Human gene pool over 60 million Terran years ago.This gene has since manifested itself in the agents of the Culexus Temple, the specialised anti-psyker assassins of the Officio Assassinorum.Recently, however, there has been a dramatic decrease in the use of Necron Pariahs in Necron armies, and the Ordo Xenos believes that these troops may not have proven as effective as Necron commanders had once hoped and are being phased out of the Necron dynasties' order of battle.
Necrons - Ancient Enemies: Of all the galaxy's great powers, only the Craftworld Aeldari see the Necrons for the threat they truly are to all of the other sentient species -- and even they cannot be sure how many Tomb Worlds slumber in the darkness.After the War in Heaven, the Aeldari took up a silent watch for any sign of Necron reemergence, and set watch on worlds they suspected of nurturing hidden stasis tombs.Many such worlds were seeded with life and adopted as homes by Asuryani Outcasts and Exodites, whose descendants would maintain the vigil. Where this was not possible, suspected Tomb Worlds were marked on a great crystal map so that their locations would not be lost as the millennia passed.Yet, as the ages of the galaxy passed, the Aeldari became distracted by their own plights and thus forgot the duty they had sworn to uphold for their lost patrons, the Old Ones.By the time of the Fall of the Aeldari in the 30th Millennium -- the terrible birth of the Chaos God Slaanesh -- the slumbering Necrons had been all but forgotten. Only in the Black Library and amongst a few outspoken segments of Aeldari society did the vigil continue.For the Aeldari, the Necrons are a nightmare come to life. The children of Isha hold soullessness to be the very worst of all fates, and the Necrons therefore provoke an abiding terror that the Aeldari can never truly suppress.For the Seer Council of the Alaitoc craftworld, however, a time of terrible vindication is at hand. The  Asuryani of Alaitoc remembered their ancient duty whilst their peers forgot.They recovered the fragments of the great map from one of the Crone Worlds of the Eye of Terror, spread their networks of Outcasts and Exodites ever wider and waited for the ancient enemy to return.So it is that whilst most Asuryani craftworlds are re-honing half-remembered strategies from the War in Heaven, Alaitoc is reaching its hand, assailing the Necrons on their own territory, sabotaging their Tomb Worlds and bringing the fight to their legions of undying warriors whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Necrons - Notable Necron Dynasties: Even in life, the Necrontyr civilisation was one of strict protocol and process, governed by nobles whose rule was absolute.This rigid hierarchy became more entrenched during the transition from flesh to machine, and the awakening Necron civilisation is far more complex and stratified than the one that once ruled the galaxy.Every Necron belongs to a royal dynasty, one of the great houses of the ancient Necrontyr Empire. Allegiance to a dynasty was once purely a matter of family and tradition, but it is now entrenched through conquest and programming.Every Necron noble is truly individualistic and, whilst they might share a common set of customs and loyalties, they rarely have a unity of purpose beyond that imposed by their superiors.Accordingly, whilst several neighbouring worlds might owe allegiance to the same royal dynasty, the agendas they pursue depends entirely on the whims and goals of each Necron Overlord or Lord, rather than the broader traditions of the dynasty.Before the coming of the C'tan, there were many hundreds of Necrontyr dynasties. Some wielded vast political and military power while others were vestigial and broken, mere echoes of once-great noble houses.Through the Wars of Secession, the rebellion against biotransference and the C'tan, the War in Heaven and the Great Sleep, many thousands of royal dynasties were destroyed. It is impossible to say how many survived, save that they number in the hundreds, or possibly thousands.Those dynasties listed below can be considered the most powerful of those that remain and are currently known to the Imperium of Man.
Necrons - Necron Legions: The size of a dynasty's Royal Court is not only important in terms of political status and prestige; it also determines a Necron noble's military status. The larger the Royal Court, the greater their seniority and the more troops under their command.Even a noble who lacks for a Royal Court commands a legion of Necron Warriors, a few phalanxes of Immortals and Deathmarks, as well as a phalanx of Lychguard.Added to this are forces not aligned to any particular dynasty. Triarch Praetorians, the surviving agents of the vanished Triarch ruling council, fight alongside any nemesor whom they judge to have the best interests of the dynasties at heart.Nihilistic Necron Destroyers can be lured to a battle with promises of carnage and slaughter, whilst Crypteks can be retained through acts of patronage.Few Necron nobles, no matter how desperate their plight, deliberately seek out the aid of the devolved Flayed Ones, although as these charnel creatures inevitably turn up to Necron battles of their own accord, this reluctance is of little account.The more senior a noble's poistion in a dynasty's hierarchy, the greater the number and quality of the troops they have authority over.Furthermore, a ranking noble also has indirect command over all the forces controlled by the members of their Royal Court, who, in turn, have authority over the forces controlled by their subordinates, and so on.As even the smallest of Tomb Worlds has at least two-score nobles of lesser rank, an Overlord can commonly draw upon at least a hundred legions of Necron Warriors, should they have need.
Necrons - Dynastic Glyphs: All Necrons, noble and common-born alike, are bound together by the symbol of the ancient Necrontyr Empire, the Ankh of the Triarch, as depicted above. Each of the royal dynasties also has its own glyph, the designs of which have remained unchanged over the aeons.Necron nobles bear the dynasty's mark, normally upon a death mask, cloak or sometimes as a stylised detail on personal weaponry or tokens of office. The most arrogant of nobles bear a glyph upon their breastplate in place of the Ankh of the Triarch, though to do so is to defy tradition and protocol.Only nobles of the highest rank are permitted to bear their dynasty's glyph in its fullest form. Those of lesser rank bear only elements of the glyph, symbolising their position relative to a royal dynasty's heart of power.A handful of nobles do not bear a glyph at all -- some hail from royal dynasties destroyed during the War in Heaven, while others were stripped of rank and status for some long ago transgression. In either event, such a noble is considered untrustworthy at best, with treachery either in their past or in their future.Dynastic glyphs are unique to Necron nobles. The common soldiery, such as Necron Warriors and Immortals, are largely considered to be interchangeable chattel by their noble masters.As such, they are thought unworthy of direct association with the proud lineage of a particular dynasty -- although the colours of their necrodermis death masks and armour sometimes echo ancient Necrontyr heraldry and thus indirectly reflect their allegiance.In contrast, Necron war engines, such as Monoliths and Doomsday Arks, are often marked with dynastic glyphs -- they are considered to be the personal weaponry of a particular noble and therefore warrant a higher status than even the Necron Warriors that crew them.
Necrons - B: Dynasty NameNotesDynastic GlyphBone Kingdom of DrazakLocated in the northeast of the galaxy within the Ghoul Stars lies the Necron Dynasty upon the Tomb World of Drazak known as the Bone Kingdom of Drazak. This benighted world is a haunt of Flayed Ones, those cursed Necrons blighted by a hunger for flesh. Only one amongst Drazak's entire population is proof from its pervading madness -- Overlord Valgûl -- who rules over this charnel kingdom. Ever few solar months, when no more meat remains, Valgûl announces a new Time of Bounty, and despatches the fleets of Drazak to raid nearby worlds. These reavers of Drazak seek not riches nor conventional plunder -- only tithes of gore and cooling blood.No pict-file found.
Necrons - C: Dynasty NameNotesDynastic GlyphCharnovokh DynastyMuch of the territory once ruled by the Charnovokh Dynasty lies far to the galactic southeast. Many of its dormant Tomb Worlds were devoured by the Tyranids'Hive Fleet Behemoth, and countless others have been ravaged during the Imperium of Man's counterattacks against the Great Devourer. As a result, the remaining star systems of the Charnovokh Dynasty are many, but small and scattered. 	 	<a href="https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/a/a2/Charnovokh.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130530183537" class="image"><img alt="Charnovokh" src="https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/a/a2/Charnovokh.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/110?cb=20130530183537" decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="110" height="167" class="thumbimage" data-image-name="Charnovokh.jpg" data-image-key="Charnovokh.jpg" data-relevant="0" data-src="https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/a/a2/Charnovokh.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/110?cb=20130530183537"></a> 	 		 			 		 		 		 			Glyph of the Charnovokh Dynasty
Necrons - D: Dynasty NameNotesDynastic GlyphDyvanakh DynastyThe Dyvanakh Dynasty rules many Tomb Worlds to the galactic south-east in the Ultima Segmentum, adjacent to the Sekemtar Dynasty, a Client Dynasty of the powerful Sautek Dynasty. Awakening from their stasis sleep on the Crown World of Trakonn in early M41, the Dyvanakh were unable to shake off their hibernation-induced orientation for nearly five centuries, making them vulnerable to attack by a nearby Imperial Forge World. During their time in stasis, many of their Tomb Worlds were engulfed and destroyed by a Warp Storm thousands of years before Trakonn emerged from slumber. Ignorant of this fact, the nobles of Trakonn continue their hopeless search to this day.No pict-file found.
Necrons - E: Dynasty NameNotesDynastic GlyphEmpire of the SeveredThe Empire of the Severed is a unique and unknown Necron Dynasty that is based upon the Tomb World of Sarkon, located in the north-eastern border of the Segmentum Obscurus. During the Great Sleep, radiation storms ravaged the Tomb World and destroyed forever the memory engrams of every Necron interred within. The complex's master program took charge of their bodies, though without realising that its own systems had also been damaged. Identifying itself as the Sarkoni Emperor, the mindless legions of Sarkon invaded the nearby slumbering Tomb World of Takarak and swiftly overwhelmed its defences. As of 967.M41, another three Tomb Worlds have been overcome in this manner, and the Sarkoni Emperor has begun to extend its will across other, non-Necron worlds, using mindshackle scarabs to bring any unruly living creatures under its control.No pict-file found.
Necrons - F: No known Necron Dynasties begin with the letter "F."
Necrons - G: No known Necron Dynasties begin with the letter "G."
Necrons - H: Dynasty NameNotesDynastic GlyphHyrekh DynastyThe Hyrekh Dynasty was a Necron Dynasty located in the Ultima Segmentum upon the Tomb World of Orrak, who's day of return was accurately predicted by the Farseers of Craftworld Alaitoc. In 847.M41, as soon as the vast stasis-locks protecting the deep Hyrekh war-crypts disengaged, and the first Necrons crawled out of the tomb, the Asuryani were waiting for them. This day was marked by Alaitoc as the "Scouring of the Seers." The Necron soldiery of the Hyrekh were known to wear the crystal of their system's asteroids upon their necrodermis.No pict-file found.
Necrons - I: No known Necron Dynasties begin with the letter "I."
Necrons - J: No known Necron Dynasties begin with the letter "J."
Necrons - K: Dynasty NameNotesDynastic GlyphKayra DynastyThe Kayra Dynasty is a Necron Dynasty that is locked in a perpetual feud with the rival Rytak Dynasty. In 873.M41, both feuding Dynasties each despatch Deathmarks to eradicate the other's court. Such is their success, both worlds are left leaderless.No pict-file found.Khansu DynastyBy no means did all of the Necrontyr people go willingly to the chambers of transformation, but the nobility of the Khansu Dynasty fought the onset of biotransference more than most, and at every turn. When it became clear that no amount of political manoeuvring or manipulation could prevent what was to come, the Khansu Dynasty fought in armed revolt against the Triarch. Yet one Phaeron, no matter how powerful, could not hope to fight the rest of the dynasties and their C'tan masters. Ascendant Prince Rakszan was one of the few nobles amongst the Khansu Dynasty to choose biotransference of his own volition, and he cursed his people for their foolishness in resisting what could be a new age of glory. For his loyalty to the Triarch, Rakszan was granted high military rank and his first campaigns were those that brought his rebellious kinsmen to heel. One by one, Khansu's coreworlds fell, the crownworld of Hamun last of all, and those few rebels that survived were dragged to the chambers of transformation. At first, Rakszan was pleased, for his people would now have the chance to regain the honour lost in revolt against the Triarch. Yet, as the War in Heaven ground on, he witnessed the C'tan and their underlings systematically destroying his dynasty. Indiginity was added to defeat, with the Necrons of the Khansu Dynasty deployed at the forefront of every battle, or else despatched on campaigns where there was little hope of success and none of survival. Little by little, Rakszan came to realise the terrible depths of his mistake. When the Necron rebellion against the C'tan began, none fought so hard as he to see the Star Gods toppled. By this time, the Khansu Dynasty was lost forever, its nobles destroyed in the War in Heaven, its Warriors and Immortals seized by other dynasties and reprogrammed to their service. In all the galaxy, only Rakszan remained to speak for his slaughtered kin, and he held himself a traitor to their memory. With no other way remaining to atone for his betrayal, Rakszan swore that he would see every surviving fragment of every C'tan caged, so that they could never again arise. It is a quest that continues to this day.No pict-file found.Kardenath DynastyThe Kardenath Dynasty is a Necron Dynasty located beyond the easternmost border of the Ultima Segmentum within the northern reaches of the Eastern Fringe. They are ruled by Overlord Akanabekh, Phaeron of the Kardenath Dynasty. The Tomb World of Nagathar is known to be a part of the Kardenath's domain.No pict-file found.
Necrons - L: No known Necron Dynasties begin with the letter "L."
Necrons - P: No known Necron Dynasties begin with the letter "P."
Necrons - Q: No known Necron Dynasties begin with the letter "Q."
Necrons - R: Dynasty NameNotesDynastic GlyphRytak DynastyThe Rytak Dynasty is a Necron Dynasty that is locked in a perpetual feud with the rival Kayra Dynasty. In 873.M41, both feuding Dynasties each despatch Deathmarks to eradicate the other's court. Such is their success, both worlds are left leaderless.No pict-file found.
Necrons - T: Dynasty NameNotesDynastic GlyphThokt DynastyThe Thokt Dynasty is a Necron Dynasty located in the Segmentum Pacificus. The shifting void of the Hyrakii Deeps hid the coreworlds of the Thokt Dynasty and their legions. The Thokt Crypteks have fashioned rad-receptors into the weaponry of their soldiers, harnessed from the potent radiation of the sparkling blue energy that permeates the rifts in the sky overhead, above the crystalline continent-tombs of the Thokt. A symptom is this barely contained energy causes a shimmering azure light to emanate from their Warriors' eyes, Gauss Flayers and even the cracks in their mechanical forms. When the Thokt gather for war, the barely contained power of the Hyrakii void rifts is ready to be unleashed upon their foes. 	 	<a href="https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/6/6d/Thokt_Icon.png/revision/latest?cb=20160811013255" class="image"><img alt="Thokt Icon" src="https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/6/6d/Thokt_Icon.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/110?cb=20160811013255" decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="110" height="163" class="thumbimage" data-image-name="Thokt Icon.png" data-image-key="Thokt_Icon.png" data-relevant="1" data-src="https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/6/6d/Thokt_Icon.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/110?cb=20160811013255"></a> 	 		 			 		 		 		 			Glyph of the Thokh Dynasty
Necrons - U: No known Necron Dynasties begin with the letter "U."
Necrons - V: Dynasty NameNotesDynastic GlyphVralekth DynastyThe Imperium encountered the Vralekth Dynasty during the Orphean War on the former Agri-World of Hydroghast, from which they are supposed to originate from. As Hydroghast is an Ocean World, the Vralekth stasis-tombs had slumbered for millennia in the deepest abysses of Hydroghast's oceans, the great depth sheltering them from prying eyes. As a side-effect of this aquatic terrain, the warriors of the Vralekth distinguish themselves by a high degree of corrosion on their Necrodermis, although this seemingly did not impact on their combat effectiveness. It remains however unclear if the Vralekth are truly a Client Dynasty or a possible scion or offshoot of the more powerful Maynarkh Dynasty. 	 	<a href="https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/f/f5/Vralekth_Dynasty_Icon.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160811013320" class="image"><img alt="Vralekth Dynasty Icon" src="https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/f/f5/Vralekth_Dynasty_Icon.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/110?cb=20160811013320" decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="110" height="159" class="thumbimage" data-image-name="Vralekth Dynasty Icon.jpg" data-image-key="Vralekth_Dynasty_Icon.jpg" data-relevant="1" data-src="https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/f/f5/Vralekth_Dynasty_Icon.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/110?cb=20160811013320"></a> 	 		 			 		 		 		 			Glyph of the Vralekth Dynasty
Necrons - W: No known Necron Dynasties begin with the letter "W."
Necrons - X: Dynasty NameNotesDynastic GlyphXonthar DynastyThe Xonthar Dynasty is a Necron Dynasty that is newly-awoken from their aeons-long slumber, and have spent much of their time since the Great Sleep battling the Asuryani of Craftworld Ulthwé. Early battles saw them annihilated by the black-clad Asuryani; however, complex reanimation protocols and self-repair rituals keep their forces strong, even in defeat. Ruled by its Phaeron, Nemesor Varagon Drakvir, Xonthar has been aggressive in striving to reclaim that which was lost and many worlds have felt their wrath. In battle Drakvir is accompanied by his Royal Court, foremost amongst whom is Overlord R'zhan R'drah, Regent of Oblivios, a necessary, but untrustworthy, second in command, who musters the Xonthar Decurions when Drakvir is otherwise engaged. Of late, Xonthar has found itself facing a new foe, the towering Imperial Knights of House Terryn. Their haughty attitude has ired the egomaniacal Drakvir, who now readies his dynasty for total war.No pict-file found.
Necrons - Y: No known Necron Dynasties begin with the letter "Y."
Necrons - Z: Dynasty NameNotesDynastic GlyphZantragora DynastyThe nobles of the Zantragora Dynasty have but one overriding goal - to achieve apotheosis, and undo biotransference's curse by transferring their consciousness into the bodies of other sentient creatures. Their belief is rooted both in the final command of the Silent King, and in prophecies made at the time of the Great Sleep. To this end, the legions and fleets of Zantragora scour the galaxy for fresh subjects, following strict search patterns lest they somehow miss a world whose inhabitants hold the key. Progress is excruciatingly slow, and every step is marked in the blood of lesser species.No pict-file found.
Necrons - Mandragora the Golden, Crownworld of the Sautekh Dynasty: Mandragora was always an important world, a hub for the Necron armies that did battle on the eastern rim of the galaxy.When the War in Heaven ended, Mandragora's stasis-crypts were filled to capacity with some of the finest warriors that the Necron dynasties could command.Mandragora's defences were second to none, as befitted a world of its status, and it survived the Great Sleep intact and safe from the attentions of plunderers.So did Mandragora emerge from hibernation not only hale and whole, but with vast Necron legions at its command -- a situation its new phaeron, Imotekh the Stormlord, was quick to exploit.Ordering Mandragora's Dolmen Gates reactivated, he sent forces to seize the many coreworlds from the Ork hordes of Warboss Snagratoof.With the Orks driven off or destroyed, the reclaimed Tomb Worlds were then awoken, swelling Imotekh's forces further. Since then, the armies of Mandragora have proved an ever-present threat on the Imperium's eastern borders, and one that continues to grow.