vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Archangel of Pain - Archangel of Pain: The Archangel of Pain is a Drukhari artefact which takes the form of an ornate cask that holds the essence of a captured Daemon. When released, these entities flee back into the Warp, their soul-rending psychic screams driving those that hear them irredeemably mad.In the days before the Fall of the Aeldari, the prophet Ynshimael sought to save himself by crafting a device to trap daemonic entities.Ynshimael's artifice was clever yet inadequate in the face of Slaanesh's birth, and his soul was devoured in seconds following the awakening of the Chaos God.Since those days, the device has been perverted by Ynshimael's Commorrite successors, becoming the metaphysical prison known as the Archangel of Pain. It is used to trap Daemons, binding them in a pit of barbed nothingness that tears and tortures their empyric substance, so they can be used as a potent weapon against the Drukhari's foes.
Archeotech - Archeotech: Archeotech is the term in Low Gothic used throughout the Imperium of Man to refer to formerly lost advanced Human scientific knowledge and technology from the Dark Age of Technology, the Age of Strife or even the Imperium's own Golden Age during the Great Crusade that can be recovered in the present time.The Adeptus Mechanicus is particularly interested in the recovery of such ancient technology and considers all devices created from recovered Standard Template Construct (STC) databases to be a form of archeotech. However, some archeotech can also be considered forbidden, such as any device that could be considered to possess machine sapience.True artificial general intelligence is strictly forbidden within the Imperium because of an ancient rebellion of machine intelligences known as the Men of Iron at the end of the Age of Technology that nearly destroyed the lost star-spanning Human civilisation of that long-ago era.The holy grail of archeotech would be the discovery of a full STC database containing the schematics of all the advanced technologies that were once considered to be required to found a new human colony at the height of the Age of Technology.Archeotech is often recovered in frontier regions of the galaxy like the Koronus Expanse, regions of space like the Jericho Reach that were once parts of the Imperium but have been cut off for millennia or in the depths of Hive Worlds like Necromunda that Mankind has inhabited since before the Age of the Imperium began.
Archeotech - Archeotech Examples: Viewer - A portable hand-held device which allows the operator to view different locations. The perspective seen on the screen can be moved to view the scene from any point, even if it lies behind closed doors or solid walls.Cutting Beam - A bulky device which focuses a high-powered, directed-energy beam capable of cutting through the densest of building materials. It is effectively useless as a weapon, due to its weight and the concentration required to achieve any results.Lifter - A device which can manipulate gravity in a localised area, allowing the operator to slowly float up to the highest reaches or gently drop down from a great height.Holo Projector - This device projects a startlingly realistic holographic mirror image of the operator a short distance away to draw fire from enemies.Shadowsource Drive - This ancient device has the power to blot out the sun on any world where it is deployed.Icarus Skyrule Engine - An advanced variant of Icarus Pattern Lascannon weaponry often used for anti-aircraft operations.Teleportation Hub - A teleporter with multiple teleportation pads capable of teleporting several individuals at once.Hyper-deceleration Field - This priceless and ancient archeotech marvel slows the velocity of incoming fire to a fraction of its former rate, rendering those within its protective field all but impervious to ranged attacks.
Archeotech Laspistol - Archeotech Laspistol: The Archeotech Laspistol is a laser-based hand weapon that is also known as an Archeotech Pistol, the Gelt Gun, or the Lasrod. This weapon is an ancient design of the standard Imperial Laspistol dating from the Age of Technology which has much greater range and power than the common Laspistol. It can be fired more times as it is more efficient and can produce more shots per charge, making it a powerful sidearm in combat.This weapon also has many different possible uses, as it can be fired and used like a standard Laspistol or any other sidearm, but can also be equipped with a folding stock, a longer barrel or other attachments that can provide greater accuracy and allow for two-handed usage. This can turn the simple, yet powerful Archeotech Laspistol into a devastating laser carbine that can easily cut down a Human or xenos with 1 or 2 shots.However, this weapon is extremely rare within the present boundaries of the Imperium of Man and few aside from Rogue Traders or specialist collectors know that they even exist. In the frontier region of the Koronus Expanse that lies adjacent to the Calixis Sector of the Segmentum Obscurus, the possession of an Archeotech Laspistol is regarded as a statement of rank or high status.
Archon - Wargear: Kabalite ArmourSplinter PistolClose Combat Weapon (Any type of Drukhari melee weapon)Plasma Grenades
Archon - Sources: Codex: Drukhari (8th Edition), pg. 50Codex: Dark Eldar (7th Edition), pp. 15-16, 19, 23, 31, 33, 35, 37, 39, 43-44, 49, 51, 57, 60, 66, 73, 83, 86-87, 90, 92, 98, 106-112, 114-115, 119, 125, 128, 141-145Codex: Dark Eldar (5th Edition), pp. 34-35Rogue Trader: The Soul Reaver (RPG), pp. 11, 119, 122Owlcat Games Twitter Feed - December 22, 2022Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader
Arco-Flagellant - Arco-Flagellant: An Arco-flagellant is a specialised form of Servitor, created from an Imperial citizen who has been condemned to the capital punishment of arco-flagellation.In battle, Arco-flagellants are pumped full of a cocktail of narcotic stimulants that transforms them into frenzied whirlwinds of destruction utterly impervious to wounds.An Arco-flagellant is unleashed on the enemy in a suicidal charge that causes a maximal amount of damage. They are used individually or in packs by Inquisitors of the Ordo Hereticus and the Sisters of Battle as disposable terror shock troops.
Arco-Flagellant - History: Arco-flagellants are human beings who have been condemned by Imperial justice to death, but whose crimes are not so severe that they are beyond all hope of redemption.Such criminals will be put to a merciful death after a lengthy and extremely excruciating ritual of torture intended to purify their souls, so that they may still find peace alongside the Emperor of Mankind in the afterlife. The sentence of arco-flagellation is only delivered to criminals on technologically advanced worlds due to the advanced resources it requires.A penitent condemned to arco-flagellation will be handed over to the Adeptus Mechanicus, who will lobotomise him and replace both his arms with cybernetic weapons, most often a pair of heavy industrial shears or a pair of Electroflails. They will then graft a whole battery of chemical injectors directly onto his spine, and install a Pacifier Helmet which contains a crude Mind Impulse Unit, designed to control the cyborg.As long as the Pacifier Helmet is active, the Arco-flagellant remains dormant, with what little remains of his mind filled with the hymns and holy iconography of the Ecclesiarchy. He will only be able to shuffle around if ordered to, but will otherwhise remain immobile in a deadened bliss.Once dragged into battle, the Pacifier Helmet will be deactivated, and the injectors in the Arco-flagellant's spine will start unleashing their cocktail of drugs (often a volatile mix of Barrage, Frenzon, Slaught and Spur) into his body. This cocktail will grant the flagellant enormous strength, speed and stamina, and will plunge him into an uncontrollable killing frenzy fuelled by the drugs and the terrible pain of his crude bionic grafts.The helmet will then only allow him to see any being who has not been tagged by his controller as friendly. The Arco-flagellant will rush toward the nearest living creature it can see and rend it to pieces, utterly uncaring of his own wounds or survival. He will continue to attack in this berserk manner until he has been mortally wounded, or his metabolism finally collapses under the assault of the deadly mix of chemicals constantly injected into it to maintain his frenzy.Arco-flagellants are either detached individually to the service of those Inquisitors who need an unsubtle tool for a vital task like the eradication of a nest of Heretics, or gathered in groups and unleashed upon the enemies of the Emperor in an orgy of slaughter that would put a Khornate Berserker to shame.Although the Sisters of Battle readily use Arco-flagellants, and rejoice in seeing criminals finding their redemption in death, they keep a wary distance from the creatures, and only use them when they are past considerations of collateral damage. To the Arco-flagellants, any living being who has not been specifically tagged by their controller as friendly is an enemy, and they will kill it accordingly, be it a true opponent or simply an innocent bystander.
Arco-Flagellant - Notable Arco-flagellants: Damien 1427 - Damien 1427 is a human male and an Arco-flagellant. His trigger word is "Purgatus" and his true name has been expunged from Imperial records. He was once a citizen of the world of Siluria IV. Later, he became an iconoclast and gathered a heretical mob in the wilderness areas of that planet. After defying the Cardinal of Siluria IV and speaking out against the Planetary Governor, Tyron Rex, he was arrested and sentenced to Arco-Flagellation. His current status is unknown.Simeon 38X - Simeon 38X is an Arco-flagellant. Before his arco-flagellation he was a human male named Erin Octavus, a Grox farmer native to the Agri-world of Standalone. A sufferer of Gathalamor Syndrome, a condition in which subjects become determined to sacrifice themselves in the name of the Emperor, Octavus believed he was tainted by evil. After several attempts to placate and purge the farmer failed, Octavus, spurred on by his hallucinations, attacked Cardinal Simeon, for which he was tried and sentenced to Arco-flagellation. Octavus was renamed Simeon 38X after the Cardinal who had condemned him, yet he still suffered from Gathalamor Syndrome (it was speculated that his Pacifier Helm actually worsened his condition), which resulted in him not always responding to his trigger word, "Exculpate". This resulted in bloody consequences several times, but most notably during his service to Inquisitor Steinbeck. Following the grisly death of several members of the Ecclesiarchy as a result of this quirk, Simeon was almost terminated as too dangerous to be controlled. The Witch Hunter Tyrus intervened, granting him a stay of execution. Simeon was given a re-trial and sentenced to deathmasking. After this, he was held in stasis aboard Tyrus's own vessel, a ready instrument to be unleashed upon the Inquisitor's most hated foes.
Arco-flagellation - Arco-flagellation: Arco-flagellation is a form of capital punishment in which the condemned is transformed into a living cybernetic weapon known as an Arco-Flagellant. The punishment is carried out by the Tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus but usually ordered by the Ecclesiarchy or the Inquisition.Arco-flagellation can be used to punish those who have committed any number of crimes against the Imperium of Man, but most commonly it is used to punish those who have expressed heretical views, and utterances or carried out heretical actions.The condemned are fitted with a variety of cybernetic weapons, including cutting claws, pneu-mattocks and electro-flails (the most popular choice). Further cybernetic enhancement, usually including canisters for the storage and dispensement of combat stimms, serve to enhance the subjects' destructive power. This augmentation is combined with extensive mental reconditioning, ensuring that the subject is reduced to a gibbering berserker with tremendous physical power and no interest in self-preservation.To control them, these subjects are also fitted with a Pacifier Helm, which connects directly to the cerebrum and spinal cord to calm and control the Arco-Flagellant when needed, usually projecting Imperial symbols, litanies, sermons and other elements of the Imperial Cult's theology into the individual's mind and allowing the subject to be only barely conscious of the outside world.Groups of Arco-Flagellants are often used as shock troops by the Ecclesiarchy and the Ordo Hereticus, their pacifier helms being deactivated by a trigger word whenever they are needed to fight.
Arcus Launcher - Arcus Launcher: The Arcus Launcher is a rotary missile launching system that was once use by the Space Marine Legions on their Sicaran Arcus Strike Tanks during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy in the late 30th and early 31st Millennia. The Sicaran Battle Tank was an Imperial main battle tank and one of the most advanced armoured vehicles ever used by the Imperium, and the Arcus variant was no different. The Arcus Strike Tank was originally part of a program once initiated by the Primarch of the Ultramarines Legion, Roboute Guilliman, seeking to grant a Legion strike force access to highly specialised weapon systems without the need to employ numerous vehicles for each role. The Sicaran hull was chosen to mount the newly developed Arcus Launcher, which was capable of deploying with a wide range of warheads, each crafted to fulfil a distinct tactical niche during combat. The Arcus was intended to become the cornerstone of a new tactical doctrine the Master of Ultramar had begun to formulate, allowing small Legiones Astartes forces to operate without extensive support and in smaller numbers than during the Great Crusade.Despite production of the Arcus being limited to a few prototype vehicles at the onset of the Horus Heresy, and the doctrinal issues that kept it out of production on most major Forge Worlds, a number of Legion homeworlds produced small numbers of this variant. Of particular note is the inclusion of the Neutron-flux Warheads, a Terran development dating back to the years prior to the Emperor's alliance with Mars. This weapon saturated the silica stratum of the Cybernetica Cortex employed by Mechanicum Automata with xenon, causing terminal cascade failures in those systems. The continued production of these weapons is believed to be the cause of the Mechanicum's refusal to sanction the Sicaran Arcus Pattern, and its inevitable downfall.
Arcus Launcher - Warhead Types: The Arcus Launcher was capable of being outfitted with a variety of warheads for its missiles, each crafted to fulfil a distinct tactical niche during combat. The following are all known warhead types usable by the Arcus Launcher.
Arcus Launcher - Arcus Warhead: The standard warhead type for the Arcus Launcher, Arcus Warheads were a cluster munition that upon detonation would send many smaller explosive devices over a large area. These warheads were particularly effective against enemy infantry and light vehicles.
Arcus Launcher - Skyspear Warhead: The Skyspear Warhead is an anti-air warhead that includes sophisticated tracking instruments that allow the warhead to steer the missile towards its target, effectively turning the Arcus into a surface-to-air platform. These warheads are effective against enemy aircraft.
Arcus Launcher - Pyrax Warhead: Pyrax Warheads are heavy explosive-type munitions that are used in the removal of cover and heavy terrain. These warheads are effective at eliminating cover used by the enemy, along with the destruction of fortifications and terrain obstacles.
Arcus Launcher - Neutron-flux Warhead: A Terran-made warhead dating back to the years prior to the Emperor's alliance with Mars, the Neutron-flux Warhead saturates the silica stratum of the Cybernetica Cortex employed by Mechanicum Automata with xenon, causing terminal cascade failures in these systems. The continued production of these weapons is believed to be the cause of the Mechanicum's refusal to sanction the Sicaran Arcus pattern vehicle for general use by the Imperium, and the switch to the use of the Rotary Missile Launcher on Relic Sicaran Arcus tanks still held in Space Marine armouries in the 41st Millennium.
Arcus Launcher - Sources: Forge World Webstore - Legion Sicaran Arcus Strike Tank Forge World Webstore - Relic Sicaran Arcus Experimental Rules (PDF) Forge World Webstore - Legion Sicaran Arcus Experimental Rules (PDF)
Ardaric Vaanes - Ardaric Vaanes: Ardaric Vaanes was a former Shadow Captain of the Raven Guard Chapter's 4th Company who turned Traitor and went on to serve with both the Red Corsairs Chaos Space Marine warband and the Iron Warriors Traitor Legion in his quest to battle the Imperium.Vaanes would later prove instrumental in aiding the Ultramarines Chapter in defeating the invasion of the Realm of Ultramar launched by the Warsmith Honsou and the Daemon Prince M'kar the Reborn during the 13th Black Crusade in ca. 999.M41.
Ardaric Vaanes - Legacy: After their reinstatement to the Ultramarines, Uriel Ventris and Pasanius Lysane were questioned closely by Chief Librarian Varro Tigurius, who asked them if they understood the path that had led to their Death Oath and exile from the Chapter. As Uriel reflected, Vaanes stood out in his mind as a painful example of an Astartes who was not evil, yet could stray from the Emperor's service, become a Renegade and associate with the Imperium's vilest enemies, all for reasons which seemed good at the time.When Uriel confronted Vaanes after his capture, the Ultramarine saw that Vaanes had all the makings of a great man, yet remained flawed in some way that had turned him to evil. When Uriel asked "What happened to you?", Vaanes simply replied, "I'll never tell you."Shortly before the Iron Warriors' Invasion of Ultramar, The Newborn had encountered a psyker on New Badab who predicted that his fate was "Woven into the tapestry of a great hero's death, the fall of a star and the rise of an evil long thought dead." As the Ultramarines completed their victory over Honsou's forces, Uriel remembered these words and had no doubt that the great hero referred to was none other than Ardaric Vaanes.
Arden - Arden: Arden is an enlisted Trooper of the fearsome Catachan Jungle Fighters of the Astra Militarum, famed throughout the warzones of the Spinward Front for his brutal heroics.
Arden - History: One of the most famous close-quarters fighters to have served in the bloodied warzones of the Spinward Front was Trooper Arden of the Catachan CCCI (301st) Regiment. As a son of the most lethal Death World in the known galaxy, Arden was already a formidable fighter before most men had even learned to spell (a skill that, according to his fellow Catachans, Arden never actually acquired).It is reported that Arden once intercepted one of Catachan's lethal Flying Swamp Mambas and wrestled it to the ground before tearing its wings clean off, and that he once engaged a giant Blackback Viper, surviving a bite from this most poisonous of Death World predators and breaking its spine over his knee before collapsing from the effects of its (normally lethal) bite. These rumours are widespread but, like every story told of Arden before being recruited into the forces of the Astra Militarum, almost impossible to confirm. Records officially begin as soon as Arden was tithed into the Imperial Guard, and a whole new world of potential violence opened up before him.Reports logged by the Commissars attached to the newly raised CCCI Regiment suggest that Trooper Arden resented the training he received in use of the standard-issue Lasgun, preferring to wield his "Devil’s Claw", a metre-long blade favoured by the people of Catachan. Despite his misgivings, Arden's Sergeant insisted he at least attempt to train in the use of basic ranged weaponry, as a vulgar report on Trooper Arden later confirmed. For reasons unknown, however, a second report was filed only a solar week later, simply reading "never mind." Trooper Arden's first taste of battle (at least as an Imperial Guardsman) was on the planet of Ashen Regis, when his regiment was tasked with blocking an Ork advance across that world's primary continent.It was because of the bloody example set by Trooper Arden that the freshly formed Catachan CCCI exceeded all expectations, not only successfully blocking the advance of an entire arm of the Ork horde but pushing it back as well. Trooper Arden was to be found at the forefront of the advance, where reports credit him with slaying up to twenty-three brutal Ork warriors in hand-to-hand combat.Trooper Arden is confirmed to have served in at least eight other major battles with the CCCI Regiment before vanishing during an assault on an Ork Warboss' camp. However, persistent rumours have since placed him in no fewer than thirteen other major campaigns after his supposed disappearance. Whether these are the tall tales of Imperial Guardsmen or an intervention by the will of the God-Emperor Himself, remain unverified.
Ardium - Ardium: Ardium is the sole Imperial Hive World of the Macragge System, the heartland of the Realm of Ultramar, the famed Sector Imperialis governed by the Ultramarines Chapter. Once deemed inviolable, Ardium and its three subterranean Hive Cities have recently become part of the battlefields upon which both the Ultramar Campaign and the Plague Wars have been fought.
Ardium - History: For much of its history, Ardium has stood in the shadow of its far more influential neighbor, Macragge, the ancestral homeworld of the Ultramarines. At the beginning of the 42nd Millennium, the Hive World came to the attention of the Forces of Chaos, which launched two separate invasions in the wake of the opening of the Great Rift. Ardium is still recovering from both these events.
Ardium - The Ultramar Campaign: In the wake of the destruction of Cadia during the 13th Black Crusade, the Warmaster of Chaos, Abaddon the Despoiler, launched a sizeable portion of his fleet in pursuit of those Imperial troops and their allies that had escaped destruction by entering the Aeldari Webway. With Macragge itself recently assaulted by the troops of the Daemon Prince M'kar the Reborn during the Invasion of Ultramar, the other worlds of the Macragge System were mostly left to fend for themselves.Ardium was invaded by the Bitter Sons, a splinter-faction of the Iron Warriors Traitor Legion that had sworn allegiance to the Despoiler. Despite heavy resistance, these Chaos Space Marines conquered one of Ardium's three principal hive cities, Magmaria, and immediately began fortifying its winding, subterranean tunnel networks for the expected counterattack. Awakened from his state of near-death on Macragge by the artifices of the Archmagos Dominus Belisarius Cawl and the power of the Aeldari god of the dead Ynnead, the Primarch Roboute Guilliman led the counter-invasion of Ardium after having repelled the won the Ultramar Campaign.Desperately outnumbered by the 4th and 6th Companies of the Ultramarines, the Bitter Sons stubbornly fought on and although they died to the last man, they inflicted significant damage to both their opponents and Magmaria's infrastructure.
Ardium - The Plague Wars: With Ardium and the whole Macragge System still reeling from the blow struck against it, the Daemon Primarch Mortarion of the Death Guard Traitor Legion launched his own attack against the Realm of Ultramar, an invasion later named the Plague Wars. Once again, Ardium was invaded by the followers of Chaos; this time, it was the disciples of the Plague Lord, Nurgle, that threatened its security.While the Ultramarines aided in the planet's defence, they were powerless to prevent the Death Guard's Plague Marines from gaining a foothold upon Ardium. Guilliman firmly believed that the invasion of Ardium hid a terrible ploy, one that could threaten the outcome of the entire conflict. He sent Captain Felix and the newly founded 11th Company of the Ultramarines Chapter to liberate Ardium and foil whatever vile scheme Mortarion had concocted. Both Captain Felix and his warriors were Primaris Space Marines recently arrived in Ultramar who would soon prove their merit on the field of battle.Captain Felix discovered an unholy device on Ardium that was a mix of  xenos technology and Chaos sorcery created using the knowledge of the ancient alien artefact known as the Hand of Darkness by Mortarion himself. This technology slowly transformed Ardium's unaugmented human population into hideous creatures of Nurgle. Launching a daring mission that ended in the device's destruction, the 11th Company later gained the upper hand against their their foes and broke the Death Guard's hold on the planet.
Area Denial Node - Area Denial Node: An Area Denial Node is a form of static heavy-weapon placement which is employed by the T'au to defend vital strategic installations. Area Denial Nodes are able to provide massive screens of anti-armour and anti-personnel fire which only the most determined of enemies will survive. All of these nodes are controlled by advanced Drone intelligences which are able to utilise the weapon’s sophisticated targeting systems to their maximum potential.The use of Drone intelligences to coordinate the node’s weapon systems also means that the skill of Fire Warriors need not be wasted in simple garrison roles far behind the frontlines. The use of these automated weapons systems also prevents a higher cost in T'au lives, as it is far better to lose Drone-controlled weapons than risk the lives of valuable T'au warriors.
Area Denial Node - Tactical Role: T'au strategic doctrine favours a fluid form of manoeuvre warfare over stationary defence, meaning that it is only in the most critical situations that a position will be defended to the last. The use of Area Denial Nodes allows mainline Fire Caste units to pull back safely in the face of overwhelming enemy attack, whilst still opposing the enemy's assault and punishing him for any gains he makes though the incredible firepower the nodes possess. Each node often forms part of a network of such emplacements, where the Drone intelligences can coordinate and combine the fire of solid-shot rounds from their Railguns with their neighbours.In this way, Area Denial Nodes are capable of providing fearsome and devastating point attacks that are capable of penetrating all forms of vehicle and infantry armour. In at least a dozen reported instances during their use on the various battlegrounds of the T'au Empire, Area Denial Nodes have disabled and destroyed enemy super-heavy vehicles. It is even reported that a battery of seven nodes engaged and destroyed an Imperial Warhound Scout Titan at the Battle of Dal'yth.
Area Denial Node - Armament: All Area Denial Nodes are armed with turret-mounted, twin-linked Railguns like those mounted on other mobile heavy weapon platforms deployed by the T'au Empire. However, the Railguns mounted on these nodes are a non-standard variant that can fire solid-shot rounds with more than double the range of the Railguns mounted on other platforms, such as the XV88 Broadside Battlesuit. This allows the Area Denial Nodes to compensate for their static nature with an extreme potential threat range.The Railguns mounted on Area Denial Nodes can also fire explosive submunition rounds, like the Hammerhead Railgun. These rounds provide area saturation fire which is extremely effective against groups of infantry. However, the dispersed nature of their ballistic pattern means that the submunition rounds' range is diminished in comparison to that of the standard, solid-shot Railgun rounds. Nevertheless, the submunition rounds still maintain the effective long-range fire of the standard Railgun.Area Denial Nodes are also protected by a thick layer of nano-crystalline alloy armour comprised of a substance currently unknown to the Adeptus Mechanicus (equivalent to 40 millimetre composite/120 millimetre homogenous) named Fio'tak in the Tau Lexicon.
Area Denial Node - Ordo Xenos Departmento Analyticus Technical Specifications: The technical specifications for this T'au unit have not been obtained or released by the Ordo Xenos.
Arenos Karlaen - Arenos Karlaen: Arenos Karlaen, known as the "Shield of Baal," is the current First Captain of the "Archangels," the Blood Angels Space Marine Chapter's 1st Company, and many consider him the greatest battle leader among the angelic host save for Lord Commander Dante. Karlaen is a wily Blood Angels Veteran with over four centuries of service to the Chapter. In his long service Karlaen has accrued victories over almost every enemy of mankind and, as Hive Fleet Leviathan looms large in the Cryptus System, Dante has turned to his strong right hand again. Karlaen has fought the Tyranid menace many times before and owns several of the Blood Angels' greatest victories against the Great Devourer. Whether wielding his relic Thunder Hammer, the Hammer of Baal, face-to-face against the foe aboard a Space Hulk, a beleaguered world or directing the wrath of the fleet in a decisive battle, Karlaen's tactical skill and controlled rage have proven a match for the Hive Mind over and over again.
Arenos Karlaen - Wargear: Relic Terminator Armour - Tactical Dreadnought Armour is among the finest personal protection available to the warriors of the Adeptus Astartes and it has saved Karlaen's life many times over. This suit of ancient Terminator Armour is a mark of rank within the Archangels and a reward for his unyielding loyalty to the Chapter.Aureate Halo - Karlaen's Iron Halo is a relic of the Archangel Company's armouries and is known as the Aureate Halo. The halo is reputed to have been crafted during the Second Founding of the Space Marine Chapters.Hammer of Baal - Karlaen's Thunder Hammer is an ancient relic of the Blood Angels Chapter, given to him by Dante as a mark of his honoured place as Captain of the Archangels.Storm Bolter - The Storm Bolter is a functional and brutal weapon that Karlaen often uses to punishing effect in the close confines of a Space Hulk or the maelstrom of an open battlefield.Bionic Eye - Karlaen's bionic eye is a rare and potent piece of archeotech. A blessed relic of the Chapter, the mechanical eye can see in multiple spectrums and has been slaved to the optical-augurs of his Storm Bolter. As such, this archeo-bionic lens grants exceptional accuracy even against distant targets, allowing him to deliver accurate bursts of fire at long range almost without aiming.Frag GrenadesKrak Grenades
Arenos Karlaen - Sources: Black Crusade: Angel's Blade (Campaign Supplement) (7th Edition)Blood Angels Painting Guide - Sons of Sanguinius (Supplement), pp. 6, 8-9, 11-15Codex: Blood Angels (7th Edition), pp. 20, 67, 81Dataslate: Captain KarlaenWhite Dwarf Weekly 45 (6 Dec 2014), "Brothers In Blood," pp. 43-50
Ares Gunship - Ares Gunship: The Ares Gunship, also called simply the Ares, was a type of anti-gravitic Imperial aircraft used by the Legio Custodes during the Unification Wars, the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. It developed a fearsome reputation at that time as a potent fire support weapon for Custodian infantry forces known to strike terror in those who faced it.It is unknown if the Orion is still in use by the Adeptus Custodes of the 41st Millennium.
Ares Gunship - Role: During the Unification Wars, the Legio Custodes would amass in their fledgling battle ranks to fight by the Emperor's side, and though they were few, they were equipped with the finest weaponry and vehicles available to the fledgling Imperium. One such vehicle was the Ares Gunship, and it earned a fearsome reputation vanquishing the Emperor's enemies on Old Earth and hundreds of other worlds across the galaxy since.The Ares was frequently used as a terror weapon, bypassing enemy armies as it blazed over their lines concealed in the shadow produced by its photon-absorbing Eclipse Shields. Primarily, it was used to strike a decisive blow with its immensely destructive Arachnus Magna-Blaze Cannon against the monuments and edifices which an enemy culture held most dear to their hearts.Such was the infamy it earned in the Unification Wars that when the forces of Unification were embroiled in a solar-month-long standstill on the Antipodean Peninsula on Terra, the mere sight of a single Ares Gunship hovering above the domicile of that regime's chancellor led to the enemy's unconditional surrender to the Emperor.
Ares Gunship - Unit Composition: 1 Ares Gunship
Ares Gunship - Wargear: 2 Arachnus Blaze Cannons (Centreline mounts)Arachnus Magna-Blaze Cannon (Centreline mount)2 Infernus Firebomb Clusters (Ventral hull mount)Eclipse ShieldArae-Shrike
Argel Tal - Argel Tal: Argel Tal was a captain of the Word Bearers Legion who served in the 7th Assault Company of the Serrated Sun Chapter. After the Word Bearers' chastisement by the Emperor on the world of Khur, and the subsequent "pilgrimage" undertaken by the Word Bearers' primarch Lorgar Aurelian into the Eye of Terror, the Serrated Sun Chapter was reduced to only three active companies in number after their sojourn into the Eye.Those members that returned from their journey returned changed. The direct favour of Lorgar was bestowed upon the survivors, who would later become known as the Gal Vorbak (Colchisian for "Blessed Sons"), and resulted in the elevation of their leader, Argel Tal, to the post of Chapter Master of the Serrated Sun.These "Dark Brethren" became the first of the Daemonhosts later known as the Possessed amongst the forces of Chaos. Argel Tal would be known as the "Crimson Lord" of the elite Gal Vorbak and of a similar elite unit of Possessed Chaos Space Marines called the Vakrah Jal. He would go on to take part in many major campaigns of the Horus Heresy, including the Drop Site Massacre on Isstvan V, the Shadow Crusade in the Realm of Ultramar, and the massacre on the World Eaters' primarch Angron's homeworld of Nuceria, where Argel Tal met his own dark fate.
Argent Crusader - Argent Crusader: The Argent Crusader is a heavily modified Gladius-class Frigate that has served the Deathwatch since it first became active in the Jericho Reach.
Argent Crusader - History: The Argent Crusader is an unconventional vessel, in that it conforms largely to the pattern of the  Gladius-class frigate, a common enough escort in the fleets of Space Marine Chapters the length and breadth of the Imperium. Yet, the Argent Crusader differs in numerous details from the standard template for a Gladius.It is not known if these differences are the result of modifications and rebuilds carried out by the Deathwatch, or if the vessel represents a distinct and otherwise unknown sub-type of the standard Gladius.Almost all of the differences relate to internal systems, which are exponentially more efficient and effective than the standard systems the class employs. Power distribution is at least twelve percent more efficient and features numerous fail-safe redundancy systems.Fire control is fiendishly accurate and rates of fire far greater than would be expected. Many of the Argent Crusader's lance batteries are able to operate at higher outputs over longer periods of time than those of the standard Gladius.The ship's plasma reactor is rated as producing a yield of eight to ten percent over that of the standard pattern, and its cogitation core is, as far as is known, of an entirely unique type.Lastly, the Argent Crusader differs from other vessels of its class in that the nigh-preternatural efficiency of its machine systems means it needs far fewer crew than other ships of its size.Imperial Navy doctrine states that automated systems are too fallible in battle to be relied on, where crewmen can be called upon to perform any duty they are trained for.The crew of Space Marine vessels are generally more technically adept and the machine systems more resilient, resulting in fewer crew being needed. The Argent Crusader displays a finely honed balance between crew and machine systems that has yet to be upset even under the most severe circumstances.
Argent Crusader - Battle Honours: The Argent Crusader has served the Deathwatch for at least as long as the Chapter has been operating the Jericho Reach, and it may have been constructed before the Apocryphon Conclave of Orphite IV brought about its founding.The vessel's cogitation core is known to contain numerous sub-archives deliberately sealed off to access, although several of these have, on occasion, unsealed themselves in a similar manner to the Omega Vault in the heart of Watch Fortress Erioch.
Argent Crusader - Ship Layout: Even with its unconventional machine systems and reduced reliance on flesh and blood crew, the Argent Crusader's complement still numbers in the thousands. The mortal crew treats the Space Marines with the utmost respect, such that it is comparatively rare for a brother to encounter the ratings in the ordinary running of the vessel.A given Kill-team has regular contact with the conversii, but comes across the lower-ranked crew only when the ship is on defence watch or action stations.Most of the time, the interior of the Argent Crusader is serene, the crew keeping a respectful distance from the battle-brothers. The life-sustainer systems cycle sacred incense throughout and the bulkheads of the ship's companionways are etched with kilometre after kilometre of script listing the names and deeds of the Deathwatch of the Jericho Reach and beyond.Purity Seals and votive streamers are affixed to prominent machine systems and blessed regularly by the ship's Adeptus Mechanicus attendees so that they may never fail. The locations the battle-brothers are most likely to utilise in the hours before the Argent Crusader plunges into the Warp and during the subsequent emergency are covered below.
Argent Crusader - Bridge: In form and structure, the Argent Crusader's bridge is solid and functional, reflecting the utilitarian nature of the Adeptus Astartes it serves. Yet, just like some individual Chapters adorn their standard pattern power armour with idiosyncratic decoration, so the bridge is unmistakably that of a Deathwatch vessel.As with much of the ship, the bulkheads are engraved with the names and deeds of countless generations of previous crew, and a riot of purity seals edge the most important of command terminals. The bridge is a large space, though not so ostentatiously massive as those of many equivalent-sized ships of the Imperial Navy.The space is dominated by a command throne atop a five metre tall plinth, above which is hung the bulbous and distended skull of an unidentified xenos creature.The throne is wrought to accommodate the physique of a Space Marine, and is only ever occupied by the most senior Deathwatch officer present, who by dint of his rank outranks the ship's captain, the mortal Jerok DeSaul. The captain's command terminal is immediately fore of and below the throne, a place from which he can easily converse with whichever of his Adeptus Astartes masters is currently in overall command of the vessel.
Argent Crusader - Chapel Sanctus: Even the smallest Imperial warship is host to scores of chapels, from the bulkhead-mounted reliquaries to cathedralsized sacred spaces, and the Argent Crusader is no different.One particular chapel, however -- the Chapel Sanctus -- is the exclusive preserve of any Deathwatch battle-brothers travelling on the vessel and, save for the Chapter serfs tasked with caring for the chapel's relics, no lesser mortal may set foot within upon pain of death.This relatively small, stone-lined space is protected by the most potent of wards and provides the Adeptus Astartes with a secluded inner sanctum in which they might perform the Chapter's sacred rites of battle and annunciate the Warrior's Catechism of Worship before  combat, bless their wargear and honour that of the dead, and stand the long vigil upon the eave of battle.The Chapel Sanctus is often employed as a reliquary when the vessel's passengers are bearing items of great significance, as is the case with the Maul of the Gatekeeper.
Argent Crusader - Sleeping Cells: The Argent Crusader provides sleeping quarters for a handful of Space Marines, each of which is an unadorned, plain-walled cell equipped only with the barest necessities a battle-brother needs to maintain his wargear, commune with the war-spirits of his armour, and recharge its power core. The ship's crew live in equally austere quarters.
Argent Crusader - Training Chambers: The Argent Crusader is host to around a dozen chambers set aside for the exclusive use of the Adeptus Astartes. These large spaces can be configured in a number of different ways and are lined with heavy armour so they can be used as firing ranges.The training chambers can be isolated from the rest of the ship and, because they are all located adjacent to its hull, they can be purged if needed. The walls of Chamber 8 still bear the scars from the time a xenos War-Wyrd of the Hambro Cuth was transported, having been captured by the Deathwatch attempting to infiltrate the Iron Collar.The awesomely powerful xenos psyker proved so destructive that the Kill-team was forced to purge the chamber and consign the Cuthian to a cold, airless grave lest the dread energies he had unleashed consume the entire ship.
Argent Crusader - Deathwatch Armoury: In addition to the numerous batteries and arms caches intended for the use of the crew, the Argent Crusader is host to a sealed, heavily armoured chamber in which the weapons of the Deathwatch are stored.The armoury contains far more weapons and ammunition than any Kill-team could ever require for a single mission, extending the reach and multiplying the force the Deathwatch is able to bring to bear. The armour contains numerous different types and patterns of weapon, some of which may represent the only known example of their mark or design.While the vast majority of the wargear stored in the armoury are standard (as far as the Adeptus Astartes are concerned), it also contains a small number of exotic weapons, such as Graviton Guns and Conversion Beam Projectors.
Argent Crusader - Launch Decks: As a rapid strike vessel, one of the Argent Crusader's primary function is to carry a complement of Space Marines to its destination and to deliver its members directly into combat. The vessel is equipped with a primary launch deck in its armoured prow, and two secondary decks amidships -- one port and one starboard.The primary deck is equipped with a Thunderhawk gunship which its crew keeps in a high state of alert. The secondary launch decks are generally used for non-combat or combat support operations, such as ferrying materiel to and from a landing zone, loading the ship's ammunition stores, and receiving and delivering visitors.The secondary decks are sometimes used to launch smaller vessels such as the Stormtalon gunship, two of which are available should the Deathwatch decide to utilise them. In addition to the conventional launch decks, the Argent Crusader is host to a Drop Pod assault cradle, in which two Adeptus Astartes Drop Pods currently await use.
Argent Crusader - Observation Blister: The Observation Blister sits atop one of the numerous armoured spires mounted towards the Argent Crusader's aft section. Most are host to a staggering variety of different types of sensors, some of which are highly exotic, possibly of xenos or pre-Imperial origin, and used exclusively by the Deathwatch.The blister is a dome of armoured glass able to accommodate a squad of Space Marines, affording a spectacular view of the vessel and of surrounding space. It is in this spartan chamber that Watch-Captain Esteban de Dominova delivers his mission briefing.
Argent Crusader - Conversii: The Deathwatch in the Jericho Reach is slightly different from conventional Space Marine Chapters, in that it does not utilise failed Aspirants as Chapter serfs, because it does not select and train its own brethren.Even a failed Aspirant is likely to be a superior specimen of Humanity, what Adeptus Astartes implants they have received granting them abilities and attributes normal men do not possess.Denied this channel of recruitment, the Deathwatch of the Jericho Reach relies instead on the practise of employing generation after generation of the same families to staff its vessels and holdings.Often, the exact same position has been filled by countless generations of the same line, the long-mastered secrets of one single duty passed down from father to son.This process results in a staff of mortals literally bred to serve, and utterly loyal to its Deathwatch masters. Most of the Deathwatch's Chapter serfs go about their duties all but invisible to the godlike warriors they serve, yet a few rise to positions of great honour and in so doing earn the right to address a member of the Adeptus Astartes without invitation.These honoured servants are known by the High Gothic honorific "conversii," indicating they have earned the much vaunted right to speak before being spoken to in the presence of a Space Marine.
Argent Crusader - Notable Personnel: Esteban de Dominova, Deathwatch Watch CaptainGarran Skiniker, Master of OrdnanceJerok DeSaul, CaptainKavant Ire, Master HelmsmanKhilankha, AstropathLukan Stark, NavigatorUsium Mellano, Enginseer Prime Adept
Argenta - Argenta: Argenta is a battle-sister currently of the Orders Pronatus and a former sister of the Order of Our Martyred Lady of the Adepta Sororitas currently serving in the retinue of the House von Valancius Rogue Trader dynasty in the Koronus Expanse of the Segmentum Obscurus.The terrible tread of gigantic Titans, the scream of Drop Pods entering the atmosphere -- these are the sounds that make the hearts of Heretics tremble. So too does prayer -- the holy battle prayer of the Orders Militant of the Adepta Sororitas. Also known as the Sisters of Battle, these fierce and devoted women make up the militant arm of the Ecclesiarchy, the state church of the Imperium of Man.The orphaned daughter of Astra Militarum officers, the child who would become Sister Argenta received harsh training in the Schola Progenium -- the crucible of the Imperial military elite. Only one memory survived from before the ordeal of training -- or was it merely a dream? In this vision, the girl saw grey ship hulls and dirty military camps, dank trenches, faceless people in Astra Militarum uniforms, the roar of a counterattack, the crescendo of her mother's heart-rending cry, broken by an ominous silence...and the golden Aquila lying among the ashes, so immaculate, so alien in this gloomy and bleak environment. The symbol of the God-Emperor of Mankind.Somewhere in the malicious oceans of the Warp, the Emperor was fighting the Ruinous Powers of Chaos. For the young orphan, He became a semantic constant, an object of worship, an impeccable role model, the reason she had survived hell. Guided by this shining symbol, sure that she had been chosen for some great, as yet unknown, purpose, the girl proved herself time and time again in the Schola and ascended to the ranks of the Adepta Sororitas. Her birth name was forgotten, replaced by a new one -- Argenta, the name of a local saint worshipped in the Calixis Sector and the Koronus Expanse. A long and crooked path then led her to Footfall, where she was to join a small mission of her order to guard a holy reliquary.It seems that Argenta lives and breathes for one purpose -- to achieve perfection worthy of the Emperor's most faithful warriors. She is unstoppable, audacious -- sometimes too audacious. The battlefield is her temple, and bolter rounds are the words of her fervent prayer. When she rushes into battle, the ship's bulkheads reverberate with the passion of her prayers, and her allies feel the surge of power.But what led the young sister away from her duties as a guardian of the reliquary? Was it a holy epiphany or a fall from grace? This remains a tightly held secret...