vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Orpheus Sector - Notable Celestial Phenomena: Hesod Nebula - The Hesod Nebula encompasses large parts of the Orpheus Sector's northern approaches. It has long served as a safe haven for Dark Eldar corsairs and pirates which Battlefleet Orpheus had thus far failed to eliminate. This would change with the beginning of the Orphean War as the raiders either perished at the hands of the Necrons or were forced out of hiding into the guns of the Imperial Navy and the Minotaurs Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes.Howling Vortex - The Howling Vortex is a small-magnitude but extremely fierce Warp Storm that manifested itself in 689.M41, engulfing the world of Morros and cutting all contact with it since that day. The Howling Vortex effectively reduced the Barren Stars region to just the Hydroghast System.Shattered Deeps - Located at the Southern edge of the Orpheus Sector, the Shattered Deeps form a Warp/realspace interface akin to the famous Maelstrom or the Eye of Terror although of much smaller magnitude. The anomaly itself has drawn a tremendous number of asteroids to it, which have become the refuge of several klans of space-faring Orks.Veiled Region - Located to the galactic Southwest of the sector capital world, the Veiled Region marks the Segmentum Tempestus' outer border, a final obstacle before the immensity of the Outer Darkness. The region carries its name well as dense nebulas, great debris fields and turbulent gravitic forces make navigation utterly impossible and even "veil" the light of the few existing stars left that are only orbited by Dead Worlds. It would seem that at least a portion of the Necron invader came from the Outer Darkness and thus passed through this region of space to reach the Orpheus Sector. How such a feat was possible remains entirely unknown.
Orpheus Sector - Notable Sub-sectors and Regions: The size of the Orpheus Sector is such that to ease its ponderous administration, the sector was divided into three primary Sub-sectors and several independent administrative regions.Capitoline Sub-sector - As its name indicates the Capitoline Sub-sector is the most important division of the entire sector, home to both the sector capital world of Amarah Prime and the populous worlds of the Arcantis Cluster. These heavily industrialised and populated worlds rely heavily on imports from the semi-autonomous domain of the Barren Stars and the Agri-world of Hydroghast that lies therein to survive.Deluvian Sub-sector - The Deluvian Sub-sector lies to the galactic Southeast of the Capitoline Sub-sector and is perhaps the second most important region of the Orpheus Sector. Following the Orphean War, the Deluvian Sub-sector has suffered less than the rest of the region and still defies the invaders.Drucillan Sub-sector - The worlds of the Drucillan Sub-sector were by far the least advanced of the Orpheus Sector, yet suffered perhaps the worst during the eons as the outlying worlds fell one after the other to the baleful presence of xenos species, servants of the Ruinous Powers or others perils. Being located to the galactic South-Southwest of Amarah Prime where the Orpheus Sector touches the lost Leyak Sector, the Drucillan Sub-sector was the first to fall before the Necrons of the Maynarkh Dynasty and is considered utterly lost by the Imperium's tacticians.Barren Stars - Located to the galactic West of the Capitoline Sub-sector to which it is attached, the Barren Stars are -- as their name indicates -- a desolate streak of space, distant enough from the sector's capital world to warrant some form of political autonomy. The Barren Stars is made up of only two worlds of any strategic importance, the Agri-world of Hydroghast, and the Penal World of Morros Lachrymal.Cold Veil - The Cold Veil is an independent administrative region within the Orpheus Sector. It is situated to the galactic Northeast of the Drucillan Sub-sector, to which it is closest, but also maintains close ties to the Capitoline Sub-sector where most of its stable Warp routes lead. The Cold Veil is dominated by the Adeptus Astartes homeworld of Libethra which was established along the route taken by Saint Marduk during the 39th Millennium, the so-called Orphean Pilgrimage.
Orpheus Sector - Notable Exclusion Zones: Subjected to many strange Warp phenomena, the Orpheus Sector counts many worlds upon which the Inquisition has placed a ban and where no citizen of the Imperium should dwell. The true reasons for this ban are often kept secret. Most tellingly, these prohibited worlds are all located on the exterior of the sector, close to the Segmentum's borders with the Outer Darkness. In this there is only one notable exception, the Chemarium Exclusion Zone. The worlds of the Chemarium System had simultaneously entered a state of open revolt against Imperial rule and had been cordoned off while awaiting sufficient reinforcements to pacify those worlds which had fallen to the sway of the Forces of Chaos. Those reinforcements were hastily redeployed at the outset of the Orphean War.Altun (Dead World)Carocol (Dead World)Chemarium (Industrial Worlds) - Located in the Deluvian Sub-sector, Chemarium I - IV were heavily industrialised worlds whose output principally went to Amarah Prime itself, the hive cities of Decapolis and the Forge World of Myre. On Chemarium III, the civilian population had risen against the rule of the Emperor under the leadership of the so-called "Beggar King," warranting a blockade of the entire star system which became known as the Chemarium Exclusion Zone. Although the baleful influence of the Ruinous Powers has been confirmed, it is unknown how the taint spread so long unnoticed.Cutlar (Dead World)Nightshard (Prohibited World)- Located at the very edge of the Veiled Region, the world of Nightshard is a scientific enigma and has therefor been declared Prohibita by the sector's Conclave of Ordos. Nightshard's celestial mass is highly anomalous for a planet this size.Tlaloc (Agri-world) - Tlaloc is an ill-fated Agri-world established on the southern borders of the Orpheus Sector, where it touches the now-lost Leyak Sector. When the first Imperial colonisation fleet bound for Tlaloc mysteriously vanished, nobody truly suspected the horrible fate that would be visited on this world in the last decades of the 800s of M38. Referred to as "the Death of Tlaloc" in several open records, the world's population was decimated, and not a single intact corpse was found amongst the ruins of the planet. Official investigations led by Inquisitor Kussan of the Ordo Xenos put the blame on Eldar Corsairs, but in the wake of the Orphean War it would seem that far older, darker forces were at work on Tlaloc. Nevertheless, since 889.M38 and these mysterious events, Tlaloc has remained in permanent quarantine.Uxmal (Death World)
Ortan Cassius - Ortan Cassius: Ortan Cassius, also known as "The True Believer," is the senior Chaplain and Master of Sanctity of the Ultramarines Chapter of Space Marines. He is also the currently oldest active member of the Ultramarines Chapter not contained within the armoured chassis of a Dreadnought.What little of his skin can be seen amid his life-sustaining bionics is gnarled and battle-scarred, and his one good biological eye burns with unfulfilled vengeance. Though Cassius is many Terran centuries old, his arm remains strong and his aim true.His impassioned words have carried the Ultramarines into battle on thousands of worlds, firing his Battle-Brothers with his own deeply-held passion and belief. Though Cassius is close to 400 standard years old, his sturdy presence on the Ultramarines' line of battle still fills the hearts of his younger brethren with pride and valour.Ortan Cassius is a warrior of impressive presence, even for a scion of Ultramar. His gaze is as cold as the void -- it is said he could stare down a pack of Donorian Clawed Fiends with the intensity of his contempt – though in battle the fires of his fury are hot enough to inspire all who hear his stentorian tones.Cassius was put forward as an exemplar of Imperial values by the Lord Macragge himself, and rightly so. Since his induction into the Deathwatch, his inspirational hatred of the xenos has galvanised every operative he has spoken to. In Mankind’s eternal crusade, such indomitable conviction is the greatest weapon of all.A survivor of the First Tyrannic War, Chaplain Cassius fought alongside the Ultramarines Chapter Master Marneus Calgar against the monstrous Tyranids of Hive Fleet Behemoth. He barely survived the failed rescue attempt of the doomed 1st Company at the polar fortress of Macragge during that great conflict.Cassius was laid low by a rampaging Carnifex, and managed to sustain himself only through the application of his formidable will until such time that the Chapter's Apothecaries could tend his ruined body.With the opening of the Great Rift and the raging fury of the Plague Wars, much of the Ultramarines' strength has been devoted to battling the Heretic Astartes. Yet Cassius' war remains focused on the Tyranid menace; with new Hive Fleets appearing all the time, his vendetta may prove more critical to the Imperium’s survival than ever before.
Ortan Cassius - Tyrannic War Veterans: In the aftermath of the Battle of Macragge, the Ultramarines were faced with the herculean task of rebuilding their most experienced body of Veteran warriors -- the elite 1st Company. Responsibility for this undertaking fell to Chaplain Cassius, whose hatred for the Tyranids and all they had done to the worlds of Mankind knew no bounds.Cassius petitioned Marneus Calgar for the authorisation to raise a new body of Ultramarines drawn from the ranks of those Astartes who had survived the First Tyrannic War. Only those Space Marines who had been tested like he had, could truly understand the threat posed by the Tyranids.Calgar eventually acceded to the grizzled Chaplain's request. With the Chapter Master's sanction given, the Chaplain gathered his corps of Tyrannic War Veterans. Under Cassius' leadership, those Battle-Brothers who had fought the hardest against the Tyranid swarms that had assaulted Macragge were elevated and afforded additional duties, until each was eventually judged worthy of joining the ranks of the slowly reconstituted 1st Company.Initially few in number, each new clash by the Ultramarines with the Tyranid Hive Fleets provides new Astartes for the cause. Cassius' followers have become an ever more influential faction within the ranks of the Ultramarines Chapter. Though a minor deviation from the Codex Astartes, Marneus Calgar, the Lord Macragge, tolerates his mentor's divergence from its sacred tenets, sensing that someday there shall be another reckoning between the Ultramarines and the Tyranids, and that Cassius' Tyrannic War Veterans may be the key to final victory.Cassius has had other run-ins with the Tyranids and their allied creatures in recent years. At some time in the late 41st Millennium, Cassius lead his fellow Battle-Brothers in a series of desperate battles to purge the Genestealer Cult from the world of Torhaven.Later, Cassius fought with other elements of the Ultramarines Chapter on the planet of Kolovan against the Tyranids of Hive Fleet Kraken. There he killed the Swarmlord that was later reincarnated on the Tyranid Hive Ship, made even more deadly by the memories of its experience fighting Cassius that were restored by the Hive Mind.
Ortan Cassius - Wargear: Chaplain Cassius is arrayed in the standard panoply of a Space Marine Chaplain, which includes:Artificer ArmourSkull Helm - One of the most iconic elements of a Chaplain's wargear is his macabre Skull Helm, a stern visage that depicts the face of the Emperor mordant, evoking the Emperor's wrath. These helmets may take many different forms and have been crafted by numerous Space Marine Artificers across the galaxy. Universally, however, they are all fearsome in aspect.Crozius Arcanum - Shaped in the form of either a staff or a mace topped by the double-headed Aquila of the Imperium or a winged skull that represents the Emperor's sacrifice, the Crozius Arcanum serves as both a melee weapon and the primary badge of office of Space Marine Chaplains.Rosarius - Another symbol of a Chaplain's office, the Rosarius takes the form of a gorget, amulet, or signet ring of adamantium usually shaped into the form of the Imperial Aquila or a Gothic Cross with a jewel in the centre, and houses a powerful protective Conversion Field emitter, protecting the Space Marine Chaplain from attacks both physical and psychic that might otherwise break through the protection of even the mighty Space Marine Power Armour or the indomitable psychic strength of a Chaplain's own will.Infernus - Infernus is a master-crafted Combi-flamer crafted and sanctified by Cassius himself. Infernus' Bolter is loaded with specialised Hellfire bolts whose warheads are filled with a powerful mutagenic acid. Since the First Tyrannic War, every one of these rounds has been painstakingly inscribed by Cassius with the name of an Ultramarines Battle-Brother slain by the Tyranids.Terminator Honours (Crux Terminatus) - This is one of the most famous of all Space Marine icons. Only the honoured 1st Company Veterans of a Space Marine Chapter fight in suits of Terminator Armour and wear this badge. The symbol has various forms and designs but all versions are carved from great chunks of stone with a large skull in the center of it, to signify the rank and authority of the Veterans who have earned the right to wear it.Crusader Seals - Crusader Seals are waxen or metallic tokens with vows of piety and Chapter blessings inscribed on hanging strips of parchment that are bestowed upon Space Marines of proven zeal and courage.Frag GrenadesKrak Grenades
Ortan Cassius - Sources: Cassius (Novel) by Ben Counter, Chs. 1,4,9Codex Adeptus Astartes - Space Marines (8th Edition), pp. 97, 133Codex Adeptus Astartes - Deathwatch (8th Edition), pg. 32Codex: Genestealer Cults (8th Edition), pp. 20-21Codex Supplement: Deathwatch (9th Edition), pp. 20, 57Codex Supplement: Ultramarines (8th Edition), pg. 43Codex: Space Marines (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), "The Chronicle of Heroes - The Torhaven Incident"Codex: Space Marines (6th Edition), pg. 108Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition), pg. 87Codex: Ultramarines (2nd Edition), pg. 73Deathwatch: First Founding (RPG), pp. 69-70White Dwarf 305 (UK), "Purge the Alien - Ultramarines Tyrannic War Veterans" by Graham McNeill, pp. 84-89White Dwarf 266 (UK), "Index Astartes: For the Emperor (Space Marine Chaplains)," by Anthony ReynoldsWhite Dwarf Weekly 109 (27 Feb 2016), "Ortan Cassius," pg. 30Catechism of Hate (Novella) by Gav Thorpe
Ortarna Lokk - Ortarna Lokk: Ortarna Lokk is the presiding Lord Castellan of the Hive World of Castobel, as well as a native Highborn of Hive City Trimalov.To operate under his command is to be part of his dark and reckless plans against Hive Fleet Dagon, cunning strategies and brilliant tactics, tinged with the taint of the Lord Castellan's growing madness.
Osirian Psybrids - Osirian Psybrids: The Osirian Psybrids was the name given by the Imperium to a species of powerful xenos psykers that the Space Marine Legions faced during the campaigns of the Great Crusade in the late 30th Millennium.Clad in baroque armour containing ghastly, barely-corporeal forms of mist, the Psybrids psychically travelled across the galaxy in hourglass-shaped voidships and used their immense psychic strength to mentally enslave other intelligent species to their will, such as Humans and Orks.Psybrids were first encountered by the Ultramarines Legion before their reunification with their primarch Roboute Guilliman during a campaign to suppress a revolt against Imperial rule known as the Osiris Cluster Rebellion, which sought to reclaim the Osiris Cluster of eleven formerly Compliant worlds. That campaign led to the death of Lord Commander Gren Vosotho, the first Legion Master of the XIII Legion, and resulted in a defeat that nearly crippled the XIII Legion's morale going forward.After the Ultramarines were taken over by Guilliman, he recognised the wound this terrible defeat had left in the minds of his Space Marines and he deliberately sought out the xenos for a second confrontation. When this came, at the Battle of the Eurydice Terminal, this time the Ultramarines, guided by the wise hand of their primarch, destroyed the Psybrids utterly, putting an end to their scourge upon the galaxy and eliminating the only true stain to his gene-sons' honour as a Legion.
Osiron Pattern Contemptor Dreadnought - Osiron Pattern Contemptor Dreadnought: The Osiron Pattern Contemptor Dreadnought, or simply the Osiron Dreadnought, was a variant of the ancient Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought used by the Thousand Sons Legion during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy that allowed an Astartes psyker to continue to use his powers after being transformed into a cybernetic behemoth.Like the current Dreadnoughts now in service, this pattern served as a cybernetic sarcophagus for an Astartes who had been so badly wounded in battle that his only chance for continued service to the Emperor lay in being interred within.
Osiron Pattern Contemptor Dreadnought - History: For many solar decades the arts by which the power of an Astartes psyker could be maintained medically within the armoured sarcophagus of a Dreadnought eluded the Thousand Sons and any other Space Marine Legion that tried, with the occupant experiencing a lingering death, madness or malign psychic phenomena.The Osiron Pattern Dreadnought came about as the result of Magnus the Red himself applying his brilliant mind to solve the problem, resulting in the creation of a device known as the "Osiron."This device takes the form of a crown of psychometric barrier lattice encasing the occupant's living brain. The Osiron device was difficult to construct and was barely understood by even the most learned psi-arcanists, though this did not stop the Thousand Sons from outfitting it to their Contemptor Pattern Dreadnoughts, with startlingly powerful results.Imperial records indicate that Magnus the Red, before the Council of Nikaea, gave the schematics of the Osiron device to all of the other Space Marine Legions, though it is likely that most spurned this gift entirely. It is unknown if the Osiron Pattern Dreadnought is still used by the Thousand Sons, or if any other Astartes Legions or their descendants made use of the Osiron.Although the Blood Angels Chapter makes use of Librarian Dreadnoughts, it is unknown if those walkers make use of the Osiron device or some another means by which a Librarian may be entombed within a Dreadnought sarcophagus without going insane.
Osiron Pattern Contemptor Dreadnought - Armament: The Osiron Dreadnought mirrored the standard Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought's armament with a twin-linked Heavy Bolter attached to one arm and a massive Dreadnought Close Combat Weapon on the other with a built-in twin-linked Bolter.The difference between the Osiron and a standard Contemptor was that the Osiron's Dreadnought Close Combat Weapon was always a Dreadnought Force Blade, and its twin-linked Bolter was loaded with Asphyx Shells.Smoke Launchers and a Searchlight completed the standard weapons load-out. The Osiron's standard weapons complement could be replaced with a number of different weapons to suit different tactical needs, including a Multi-melta, a set of twin-linked Autocannons, a Heavy Plasma Cannon, a Kheres Pattern Assault Cannon, a twin-linked Lascannon, a power-leeching Heavy Conversion Beamer, or the ability to equip another Dreadnought Close Combat Weapon with a built-in twin-linked Bolter.An Osiron can replace its second built-in twin-linked Bolter with a Heavy Flamer, a Plasma Blaster or a Graviton Gun, if equipped with a second Dreadnought Close Combat Weapon.It can be outfitted with Extra Armour Plating and a carapace-mounted Havoc Missile Launcher.All Contemptor Dreadnoughts are protected by advanced Atomantic Shielding which generates a protective gravitic shield around the walker using an advanced Atomantic Power Generator that provides greater protection from both ranged and melee attacks for the walker.However, when damaged, the Atomantic Power Generator can overload and result in a devastating miniature atomic explosion which will badly damage nearby allied units. The Osiron Dreadnought is also capable of using whatever psychic powers its occupant once wielded as a mortal warrior.
Osiron Pattern Contemptor Dreadnought - Unit Composition: 1 Osiron Pattern Contemptor Dreadnought (Thousand Sons Legion, 31st Millennium Only)
Osiron Pattern Contemptor Dreadnought - Wargear: An Osiron Pattern Dreadnought is armed and equipped with:Twin-linked Heavy BoltersDreadnought Close Combat Weapon (Dreadnought Force Blade) with built-in twin-linked Bolter armed with Asphyx ShellsSmoke LaunchersSearchlightAtomantic ShieldingOsiron (allows use of occupant's psychic abilities)Osiron Pattern Dreadnoughts may replace their twin-linked Heavy Bolters with any of these options:Dreadnought Close Combat Weapon (Dreadnought Powerfist) with built-in twin-linked BolterDreadnought Close Combat Weapon (Dreadnought Chainfist) with built-in twin-linked BolterMulti-MeltaHeavy Plasma CannonHeavy Conversion BeamerKheres Pattern Assault CannonTwin-linked AutocannonsTwin-linked LascannonsTwin-linked Volkite CulverinsOsiron Pattern Dreadnought may replace their built-in twin-linked Bolters from their second Dreadnought Close Combat Weapon (if present) with any of these options:Heavy FlamerPlasma BlasterGraviton GunMeltagunOsiron Pattern Dreadnoughts may also have a variety of vehicle equipment such as:Extra Armour PlatingHavoc Missile Launcher
Osiron Pattern Contemptor Dreadnought - Adeptus Mechanicus Technical Specifications: The ancient specifications of this class of Dreadnought are currently unknown to the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Osiron Pattern Contemptor Dreadnought - Sources: The Horus Heresy - Book Seven: Inferno (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 148, 211Forge World Webstore - Osiron Pattern Contemptor DreadnoughtForge World Webstore - Osiron Pattern Contemptor Dreadnought with Autocannon
Ossefactor - Ossefactor: An Ossefactor is a Drukhari biomedical technology used by the Haemonculi to accelerate and alter their fleshcrafting clients' bone growth. The devices have also been pressed into military service and are wielded by Haemonculi and their Wracks with deadly results.The Ossefactor employs weaponised osteocytic impulsion-waves, normally used by the Haemonculi to craft bone structures and fashion spinal sumps. It projects a focussed overdose of this energy at its victim, triggering uncontrolled osteocytic multiplication.Bones twist and lengthen violently, shooting out dozens of spurs like the branches of some hideous tree. The luckless victim is rent apart by their own warped skeleton, even as their horrified squad mates find themselves impaled on the calcific spears that burst from their body.
Ossmodula - Ossmodula: The Ossmodula, also called the Ironheart, is the second of the 19 gene-seed organs implanted into a Space Marine Neophyte during the induction process to create a new Astartes. This implant, surgically placed alongside the Neophyte's pituitary gland at the base of the brain, thus becoming a part of the Space Marine's endocrine system, secretes a specially engineered form of human growth hormone. When the effects of this hormone are combined with a diet laced with microscopic ceramic-based minerals, they act to catalyse the rapid growth of an Astartes' skeletomuscular system which results in an Astartes' superhuman strength and massive size compared to a baseline human male.Two standard years after the surgery to implant the Ossmodula is completed, the Neophyte Space Marine's skeleton will be larger and exponentially stronger than a normal man's with growth having topped out at around 7-7.5 Terran feet in height with an equivalent amount of skeleto-muscular mass. During this time the rib cage will fuse into a solid mass of bullet-proof, interlaced bone plates.The resulting structure protects the Space Marine's organs from damage in a way the normal human skeleton never could, though at the price of producing greater difficulties for the Chapter's Apothecaries when they must perform surgeries on a Space Marine's body cavity.
Outcast Dead - Outcast Dead: The Outcast Dead were a small group of Renegade Space Marines who belonged to the Traitor Legions and had been part of an Astartes honour guard known as the Crusader Host based on Terra in the days just before the start of the Horus Heresy in the early 31st Millennium. The Crusader Host was comprised of members drawn from all 18 of the Space Marine Legions.When news of the Warmaster Horus' betrayal of the Emperor of Mankind reached Terra on the frigate Eisenstein, the loyalty of all members of those Legions that had sided with Horus was considered suspect by the warriors of the Legio Custodes. The Custodes imprisoned these Astartes within Khangba Marwu, a vast, underground Imperial prison complex deep beneath the Himalayan Mountains also known as "The Vault."After breaking free and rescuing the Astropath Kai Zulane from The Vault and escaping from the prison complex, the Outcast Dead proceeded to fight their way across Terra in an attempt to escape back to their respective Legions. In so doing, they ultimately unleashed the secret within Zulane's mind for which he had been imprisoned and which held the key to the future survival of the Imperium of Man in the wake of the Horus Heresy.
Outcast Dead - Great Crusade: The members of the Outcast Dead were once part of an elite Astartes Honour Guard called the Crusader Host stationed on Terra. This unit was composed of representatives from all 18 Legiones Astartes and normally numbered at least 30 members. Although service in the Crusader Host was required on a rotational basis that all of the Legions were required to adhere to, the Host was not required to have a member from each of the Space Marine Legions in its complement. The Crusader Host's main assignment was to act as an honour guard that patrolled the boundaries of the Imperial Palace while acting as representatives at the heart of the Imperial court for their respective Legions. The rotation of Astartes did not happen regularly, as some members of the Crusader Host had been away from their Legions for over 100 standard Terran years.
Outcast Dead - Horus Heresy: During the early 31st Millennium, the Emperor's favoured son, the Warmaster Horus, fell to the seductive whispers of Chaos and instigated a galaxy-spanning civil war against the Imperium. Horus pitted Primarch against Primarch and Legion against Legion. When the horrific news of Horus' betrayal reached Terra and the Emperor, the Crusader Host naturally came under suspicion of heresy and treachery. Under the orders of High Custodian Constantin Valdor, the Captain-General of the Legio Custodes, a "hunt team" of Custodes warriors was assembled to bring all the members of the Crusader Host to justice, by force if necessary.
Outcast Dead - Imprisonment: The hunt team sent to arrest the Crusader Host at their barracks, known as the Preceptory, was led by a Seer Hunter named Yasu Nagasena who worked for the Sisters of Silence in seeking out psykers for their Black Ships. Nagasena and his bondsman, Ulis Kartono, a bearer of the anti-psychic Pariah Gene, gathered a force of around 3,000 Imperial Army soldiers under the command of Major Maxim Golovko. The force consisted of Golovko's own Black Sentinels regiment, a regiment of the Attaman Janissaries, Lancers and a squad of Custodians that Golovko thought would be overly sufficient to bring 30 Space Marines to justice. Yet Nagasena remained unsure whether this force would prove to be enough.Not wishing for any bloodshed, Nagasena and Kartono organised a meeting with Adept Exemptus Atharva of the Thousand Sons Legion, one of the leading Astartes of the Crusader Host. Meeting at the doors of the Preceptory, Atharva made it clear that he and many others of the Crusader Host found it insulting that Nagasena had brought such a small force to apprehend them. Nagasena attempted to reason with Atharva and try to convince him and the Crusader Host that a battle was not necessary, to which Atharva agreed. While stating that he himself would not participate in any of the fighting, Atharva pointed out that the other Space Marines, especially those of the World Eaters Legion, would not go down without a fight. A battle ensued shortly thereafter, claiming the lives of 18 Astartes and hundreds of Imperial Army troops. The remaining 12 Astartes of the Crusader Host's suspect Legions were subdued, arrested and taken away to be imprisoned inside the most feared Imperial prison on all of Terra, which had been created to hold the worst war criminals of the Unification Wars.The Crusader Host was taken to the underground, maximum-security prison complex buried deep beneath the Himalayan Mountains that was officially named Khangba Marwu, but was better known as "The Vault." The Vault had been created to hold Mankind's worst criminals. The Emperor had even designed some of its cells himself to hold his worst enemies, including a newly created cell intended ultimately to hold Horus himself. The surviving members of the Crusader Host were placed in cells in Primus Block Alpha-One-Zero where they were the only inmates. Their gaolers consisted of Custodians and elite Imperial Army drop-troops commanded by the Custodian Uttam Udar, who acted as the head gaoler for the entire facility.During the many months that the Crusader Host were imprisoned inside The Vault, Atharva continued to behave respectfully to his gaolers and did not insult or threaten his guards in any way. Despite his seemingly serene behaviour, Atharva used his psychic abilities to scan and probe his surroundings and the minds of his gaolers. Despite the psy-dampeners built into his cell, Atharva was easily able to reach into the minds of the normal humans that acted as his gaolers though he could not scan the minds of the far more powerful Custodian without detection.
Outcast Dead - Rescuing Kai Zulane: In another part of The Vault, the Astropath Kai Zulane was constantly subjected to physical and psychic torture at the hands of Adepts Hiriko and Scharff. The torture was starting to take its toll, slowly and painfully withering the astropath's mind and soul. During the final bout of torture, Atharva reached into the mind of Adept Scharff and used all of his power to influence him into letting Zulane go free. This unfortunately was not as easy as influencing the Stormlords as Scharff was a relatively powerful psyker and had been trained in resisting psychic intrusions. Despite Scharff's resistance, Atharva was able to get him to release Zulane and attempt to throttle Hiriko. Hiriko managed to get hold of a hypodermic needle and stab her fellow interrogator in the eye, killing him, but was unable to stop Zulane from escaping as the Space Marines turned up before she could take any other action. It was at this point that the Astartes of the Crusader Host realised that they were outcast now from the Imperium they had once served, and Atharva aptly named them the "Outcast Dead."
Outcast Dead - Flight Across Terra: The joy of finally escaping from The Vault was soon replaced with the need to evade a large and growing force of Imperial Army troops moving to lock down the prison before the escapees could get very far. Atharva quickly analysed the situation and made clear that the Outcast Dead's only chance of escape was to use a Cargo-9 air-cutter and fly across Terra. Upon boarding the air-cutter, Asubha boldly stated that he could "fly it in his sleep" and true to his word, got the aircraft into the sky just as the first squads of Imperial troops reached the landing area and began to fire.Once in the air, three Firelance-class Fighters were scrambled to track the air-cutter and shoot it down. Flight Leader Ptelos Requer flew the lead fighter and commanded the sortie aboard the Eastern Light, with his fellow pilots Tobias Moshar and Osirin Falk flying the Promethean Ark and the Twilight's Fade, respectively. The fighters easily caught up with the relatively slow air-cutter, and were soon within missile range. Requer acquired his target first, and just as he prepared to shoot down the unarmed air-cutter, Atharva reached into his mind and psychically directed him to acquire a missile lock on his fellow pilots instead. Although Requer shot down his wingmen, he managed to resist Atharva's psychic control enough to also launch a missile at the air-cutter. Shortly before the missile struck its target, Atharva mentally forced Requer to flying his fighter into the side of a mountain. With one of the air-cutter's wings and its aft section badly damaged by the missile strike, Asubha has no choice but to attempt a crash-landing on the nearest flat piece of land.With the need to recapture the Outcast Dead and prevent the information in Kai Zulane's mind from falling into the hands of Horus and the Traitor Legions who might use it to ensure their own victory over the Emperor, Yagu Nagasena formed another Hunt Team, composed of Ulis Kartono the Assassin, Imperial Army Major General Maxim Golovko, Adept Hiriko, Custodian Saturnalia and Astropath Athena Diyos, reinforced once more by Golovko's Black Sentinels.
Outcast Dead - Temple of Woe: The Temple of Woe, like the rest of the Petitioner's City, was built from many different materials and was an amalgamation of different styles of architecture from a wide range of eras and cultures. The Temple of Woe was adorned and surrounded by statues, most of them representing death in some way. The Temple was run and maintained by a man named Pallidas Novandio who acted as the priest of the church with the charitable assistance of the Navigator Roxanne Castana of House Castana, a powerful noble family of the Navis Nobilite.As the Outcast Dead entered the Temple of Woe, Yasu Nagasena and his Hunt Team arrived at Chirurgeon Antioch's house to find over 30 dead Thunder Warriors. Not wanting any more trouble, Antioch informed Nagasena of the Outcast Dead's location and plans. Despite this help, Major General Golovko executed Antioch for aiding the Traitors.Upon entering the Temple of Woe, the Outcast Dead were greeted in the same way they were at Antoch's, with hatred and insults due to their resemblance to the warriors of Clan Dhakal. After convincing Novandio and his people that they were not there to harm them, the surviving members of the Outcast Dead took the bodies of Gythua and Kiron to the cremation furnace, declining help and leaving Zulane behind, stating that this was a private matter for Astartes only. As the Space Marines walked away, Kai Zulane was reunited with Roxanne Castana, the only other survivor of a horrific Warp accident aboard the Ultramarines vessel Argo. It was this incident that had left Zulane inactive as an Astropath.After burning their deceased, the Outcast Dead returned to the main section of the temple. Atharva noticed that Zulane was staring at a particular statue. The statue was an unfinished one with no face that Novandio had named the "Faceless Angel." Due to their psychic abilities, both Zulane and Atharva can see a slight haze surrounding the faceless head of the statue. Atharva comments that it is most likely a trapped Warp creature, but most likely a rather weak one that cannot escape without help.Outside the Temple of Woe, Nagasena's Hunt Team and the Black Sentinels surrounded the temple and blocked all exits save for the main entrance. Just as Nagasena was about to order the attack, he was informed that two more figures were approaching the temple. Custodian Saturnalia informed Nagasena that he has received orders from the 'highest possible authority' that all within the Temple of Woe are to be killed due to their involvement with the Outcast Dead and for their devotion to the illegal Lectitio Divinitatus cult. Nagasena's Hunt Team had become a "Kill-team."
Outcast Dead - The Faceless Angel: The Warp creature emerged from its prison and descended upon the survivors of the battle. The Faceless Angel appeared as a floating spectre wearing a black, hooded cloak that cleared away the smoke with its explosive entrance into realspace. The Faceless Angel descended upon the nearest Black Sentinels, killing them with a touch by literally ending their life processes. The Faceless Angel proceeded to glide around the temple killing all it touched, including Pallidus Novandio, who walked willingly into its grasp proclaiming it his saviour in an act of delusion. As the Faceless Angel bore down on Kai Zulane and Roxanne Castana, it screeched and convulsed from an unseen barrage of pain. The Warp creature was cast back into its prison within the Warp as a new group entered the Temple of Woe. Surrounded by a squad of bodyguards drawn from the Sisters of Silence, the Primarch Rogal Dorn had come.Possessed of the same Pariah Gene as Kartono, the psychic void that surrounded the Sisters of Silence had enveloped the Faceless Angel and cast it back into the Warp. As the Primarch entered the temple, all fighting ended and the surviving Black Sentinels backed off their targets. With his immense master-crafted Bolt Pistol aimed at Atharva, the remaining member of the Outcast Dead, Dorn demanded that the Thousand Son step aside and allow Kai Zulane to be taken prisoner once again. Atharva defiantly refused, only to be shot in the head by Dorn. With the last of the Outcast Dead slain, Dorn ordered the remnants of the Kill-team to fall back and leave Zulane to him. As Nagasena turned to take his leave, he noticed that Roxanne Castana stood by Zulane and was slowly unravelling the bandana that covered her Navigators' third eye. With a cry of warning, Nagasena moved towards Zulane, but arrived too late. Kai Zulane looked into his friend's third eye and into the Warp itself, an act which killed him instantly. With Kai Zulane dead and his secret apparently lost to the Imperium forever, Rogal Dorn turned to Seer Hunter Yasu Nagasena and stated that his hunt was not over, for the Luna Wolf Severian was not amongst the dead and had to be found and slain at all costs.Across the Petitioner's City, Babu Dhakal and Ghota stood within Dhakal's laboratory, as Dhakal triumphantly revealed that he had discovered the genetic secret that would extend the lives of all the remaining Thunder Warriors for centuries.
Outcast Dead - Known Outcast Dead: Adept Exemptus Atharva (Thousand Sons) - Killed by Primarch Rogal Dorn.Sergeant Tagore (World Eaters) - Killed by Imperial Army Major General Maxim Golovko.Battle-Brother Subha (World Eaters) - Killed by Custodian Saturnalia of the Legio Custodes.Battle-Brother Asubha (World Eaters) - Killed by Custodian Saturnalia of the Legio Custodes.Battle-Brother Severian (Luna Wolves) - Alive and suspected to have gone into hiding on Terra. He would be eventually captured by Nagasena, a expert hunter, and be recruited by Malcador the Sigillite for the newly formed Knights-Errant.Battle-Brother Argentus Kiron (Emperor's Children) - Killed by Ghota, a Thunder Warrior.Battle-Brother Orhu Gythua (Death Guard) - Died as a result of multiple injuries suffered in the course of the Outcast Dead's escape.
Outcast Dead - Sources: Outcast Dead (Novel) by Graham McNeillWolf Hunt (Audio Book) by Graham McNeill
Outer Reach - Outer Reach: The Outer Reach is the term for a vast crescent of largely unexplored space in the Jericho Reach lying beyond the borders of the old Jericho Sector.The Outer Reach stretches from the worlds beyond the tip of the Achilus Crusade's Orpheus Salient all the way down to the Black Reef.The Outer Reach is largely the territory of the Necron Suhbekhar Dynasty, whose Tomb Worlds in the region have just begun to awaken from the Great Sleep.The Suhbekhar represent a potent new threat to the Imperial, T'au, Tyranid, Chaos and other forces already contesting control of the Jericho Reach.
Outrider - Outrider: An Outrider, who is usually part of a close support Outrider Squad, is a Primaris Space Marine who rides to battle on a Raider Pattern Combat Bike.Outrider Squads advance ahead of the main Space Marine lines, guard the flanks of larger formations and hunt down enemy infiltrators to the Adeptus Astartes' battlelines.When battle is joined, they conduct lightning fast hit-and-run attacks on defended positions and run down those who would try to escape the vengeance of the Chapter.The Raider Combat Bike, designed like most of the vehicles and wargear used by the Primaris Marines by Archmagos Dominus Belisarius Cawl, shares a lot of similarities with the standard Space Marine Assault Bike, including a twin-linked bolter weapon load-out and double exhausts. However, the engine block is even more heavily armoured, and the front suspension has undergone quite an evolution.While speed, weapons and armour are certainly important for a combat bike, they are nothing when compared with performance. The Raider Pattern Combat Bike is also excellent on the battlefield as long as its rider can dominate its bellicose Machine Spirit. With battle-brother and bike in harmony, victory is all but assured.
Outrider - Unit Composition: 2 Outriders1 Outrider Sergeant
Outrider - Wargear: Raider Pattern Combat BikeTwin-linked Bolt Rifles (mounted on Raider Combat Bike)Mark X Tacticus Power ArmourHeavy Bolt PistolChainswordFrag GrenadesKrak Grenades
Outsider - Outsider: The Outsider, whose true name is Tsara'noga, is one of the four remaining C'tan, the Star Gods of the Necrons. The Outsider is probably the most mysterious of the four and very little is known about it.The Outsider, like the other remaining C'tan, was tricked by Cegorach, the Aeldari Harlequin's Laughing God, into feasting upon its fellow C'tan. However, for reasons that can only be speculated at, a fragment of each consumed deity's consciousness remained and plagued the mind of the Outsider, driving it insane.In its insanity it left the populated area of space and now wanders out in the void, where it fights its inner demons and feeds once more upon the stars that gave birth to it. It also had a hellish presence, and it caused madness in all who came close and many killed themselves rather than having to face the Outsider.While the Outsider cannot match the Nightbringer for pure force, the Void Dragon for technological intellect, or the Deceiver for guile and cunning, it is rumoured to be the most deadly and dangerous of the four remaining C'tan.Should the Outsider return from its self-imposed exile, the galaxy shall bear witness to a culling not seen since the last Necron harvest, which almost wiped out all life in the galaxy and brought about the downfall of the Old Ones.The Outsider shares some similarities with the Nightbringer, in that it is said that to look upon it would cause terror, much like the Nightbringer's infusion of terror in the young species produced by the Old Ones.Also, another source gives a dance by the Harlequins of this precise moment when the Laughing God tricked the C'tan into consuming each other, except the C'tan in the story of the dance who was tricked is most definitely the Nightbringer.These similarities are not backed up specifically by any background information and it is therefore unlikely that they are one and the same as there are sources that show many differences between the two entities.Since the recent invasion of the galaxy by the hive fleets of the Tyranids, it has been speculated by some in the Inquisition that the Outsider is behind the Tyranids' arrival in the Milky Way. He may be the driving force behind the unified Tyranid Hive Mind, as he seeks to destroy the galaxy's defenders with the living weapon that is the Tyranid species.If he is indeed the Tyranids' ultimate master, then there may be no stopping the Tyranids from consuming the Imperium of Man and all who would oppose the C'tan. The Necrons will fully awaken and shall once more dominate a galaxy devoid of all other intelligent life.It had long been thought that the Outsider had been shattered into C'tan Shards along with its fellow C'tan but recent rumours have circulated that this malevolent entity is the last remaining fully intact C'tan.Unlike its fellow Star Gods, the Outsider is rumored to have in fact gone into self-imposed exile some time ago and is currently taking up residence within a planetoid outside the southern edge of the galaxy.
Overlord-class Battlecruiser - Overlord-class Battlecruiser: The Overlord-class Battlecruiser of the Imperial Navy was based by the Adeptus Mechanicus on the design of the Acheron-class Heavy Cruiser in an effort to create a cruiser-sized warship with the long-range punch and potent firepower of a true battleship.The Overlord-class Battlecruiser is a popular hull with both Imperial Navy captains and admirals. Captains favour the class' long-range weaponry, good armour, and reasonable speed, whilst admirals like the fact it can unleash heavy punishment at the range of a battleship, whilst being able to manoeuvre like a cruiser.Many see the Overlord as a poor man's Retribution-class Battleship, though in truth it is a formidable capital ship in its own right, capable of taking on almost any comparable warship for its tonnage and emerge victorious as a result of its longer range and thick armour plating.The Overlord battlecruiser also incorporates extensive void shield and turret cover, which allow it to better weather both incoming fire and assaults by enemy attack craft.
Overlord-class Battlecruiser - History: The design of the Overlord-class Battlecruiser is generally considered a success in regards to it being a battlecruiser possessing the long-range capabilities and firepower of a battleship, despite many problems with its design. Difficulties in replicating the Acheron-class Heavy Cruiser's power transmission systems led to the Overlord-class possessing only an armoured prow and standard cruiser torpedo tubes in place of the Acheron's more powerful forward weapons batteries.Fortunately, this modification also freed up enough power to allow the installation of an upgraded dorsal Lance turret and row-upon-row of broadside weapons batteries, providing a range comparable to the vessel's other long-range laser batteries. These changes resulted in the long-ranged firepower that the Overlord's designers had hoped for when they had outlined the tactical requirements for the new battlecruiser.Further difficulties in actually building the Overlord-class, however, meant that each one had to be painstakingly constructed at the Cypra Mundi orbital shipyards that serve as the headquarters of the Imperial Navy in the Segmentum Obscurus, and as such very few entered service with the Battlefleet Obscurus, with only three seeing action during the Gothic War.A successful early illustration of how workable the battlecruiser concept can be, the Overlord is as fine an example of a pure warship as can be found. Most Rogue Traders find the ship is poorly suited to anything other than combat, as its enormous weapons systems place a colossal strain upon the plasma reactor. Some Rogue Traders strip out the extensive macrobatteries, freeing up space for other components, but others regard this as a foolish and blinkered waste of some of the most elegantly designed and lethally effective weapons systems in the galaxy.Manufactured in the vast orbital shipyards of Cypra Mundi (as well as at other shipyards in lesser numbers), the Overlord is a difficult vessel to construct, but faithful and fierce in its service to Mankind. It does not waste space on massive attack craft hangars or the temperamental Nova Cannon.Instead, most designs use powerful long-range Macrocannon batteries and Lance turrets, backed by prow torpedo tubes. This simple, proven, and effective weaponry plays to the strengths of Imperial Navy tactics and Imperial technology. The design is an ancient but successful one, and new examples of the class are still commissioned every decade or so.