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Castellax-class Battle-Automata - Sources: The Horus Heresy - Book Two: Massacre (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 274The Horus Heresy - Book Three: Extermination (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 212-213, 223, 284The Horus Heresy - Book Four: Conquest (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 77, 291The Horus Heresy - Book Five: Tempest (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 136-137The Horus Heresy - Book Six: Retribution (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 75The Horus Heresy - Book Seven: Inferno (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 159, 210, 213Forge World - Mechanicum Castellax Battle-AutomataForge World - Castellax-Achea Battle-Automata Æther-Flame Cannon ManipleForge World - Castellax Battle-Automata with Darkfire CannonForge World - Castellax Battle-Automata with Multi-Melta |
Castigations of Golgotha - Castigations of Golgotha: The Castigations of Golgotha was a long-term campaign carried out by the zealous Fire Hawks Space Marine Chapter that consisted of a series of Imperial Crusades (totaling 13 castigations) between 228.M40 and 902.M41 through the benighted war-torn area known as the Golgothan Wastes. The last Golgothan Crusade ended just prior to the outbreak of the Badab War. |
Castigations of Golgotha - History: Following the loss of their second homeworld when it was rendered uninhabitable, the Fire Hawks found themselves once again relegated to the status of a fleet-based Chapter. The Fire Hawks vowed to undertake repeated "castigations" throughout the Golgotha Wastes sector of space, located on the northwest border of the Maelstrom Zone in the Ultima Segmentum. These missions ranged in scope from the use of the full might of the Chapter fleet such as the war that ended the xenos domination of the Zharth-Omog Trinity in the Third Castigation of Golgotha, to the progress of the single Strike Cruiser Slaughtering Star which hunted the Renegade Space Marines warband known as the Damned Company of Lord Caustos in the Tenth Castigation.The last Castigation until 904.M41 was the Thirteenth, which saw the bulk of the Chapter's fleet spread out into three distinct spearhead formations passing laterally through the southern Golgothan Wastes, attacking and pursuing targets of opportunity as they came across them, notably locating and condemning the lost colony of Jenkin's Run to Exterminatus for the abominable taint that afflicted its once-human inhabitants. It was an out-riding vanguard cruiser, the Red Harbinger, of this last dispersed Castigation fleet that was sent to the Maelstrom Zone's edge at the request of the Karthan Satrap, Tanit Koenig, who wanted the Fire Hawks investigate the disappearance of Karthan shipping in the area.On a number of occasions in the past, the fleet-based Fire Hawks Chapter had used the vast orbital dockyards of the Karthan capital world of Sidon Ultra for resupply. They had also been invited by the Karthans to enact the Emperor's judgement upon wayward planets and minor alien threats within the sector, and it was on this relationship the Karthans relied upon for a favourable hearing. The volatile and bellicose nature of the Fire Hawks Chapter was widely known, and it is likely that this also figured in the Karthan Satrap's request. The subsequent attack and capture of the Red Harbinger when it entered the Endymion Cluster by the forces of the Mantis Warriors sparked the calamity of the Badab War that followed. |
Castigator-class Titan - Castigator-class Titan: The Castigator-class Titan, also known as the "Father of Titans," was a highly-advanced relic of the Dark Age of Technology discovered upon the Forge World of Chaeronia in the 41st Millennium by the Grey Knights. It was a completely autonomous Titan, controlled by an artificial general intelligence, and it claimed to be the very first Titan ever built, from which all the patterns of Imperial Titans built by the Adeptus Mechanicus were derived, albeit far more crudely.The presence of the Castigator's pattern in a Standard Template Construct database also discovered on Chaeronia lent authenticity to this claim. The Castigator was ultimately destroyed by the Grey Knights after they learned the Titan had been corrupted by Chaos during Chaeronia's long sojourn in the Warp and possessed by a Daemon. |
Castigator-class Titan - History: Discovered upon the lost Forge World of Chaeronia, the artificially intelligent Castigator-class Titan was a completely autonomous bipedal weapons platform, the first and only one of its kind ever built. Called the "Father of Titans," the Castigator claimed to be the "original" Titan, as it was first designed during the Dark Age of Technology, and that all subsequent Titan designs were but crude, incomplete copies of it poorly understood and recreated by the ancient Mechanicum of Mars.The Castigator was originally lost on what later became the Adeptus Mechanicus Forge World of Chaeronia during the Age of Technology and remained lost even when the planet was pulled into the Warp thousands of standard years later. During its time in the Warp, the artificially intelligent Titan made a pact with the Black Legion that had established an outpost on Chaeronia: by allowing a Daemon to possess it, it would be empowered by the Warp. The Castigator and Chaeronia remained in the Warp for a Terran millennia and its artificial intelligence forgot much of what happened during that time, including being possessed. The Castigator was discovered by the Imperium when the planet reemerged from the Warp by a force of Grey Knights led by Justicar Alaric and his battle-brothers.The only known Castigator-class Titan was ultimately destroyed by Alaric and his battle-brothers. When Alaric confronted the Castigator, its artificial intelligence did not believe it was possessed by a Daemon until Alaric convinced it of the truth, at which point the Titan's possessing Daemon appeared and it was slain by Alaric. Alaric then destroyed the Castigator while his battle-brothers Dvorn and Haulvarn destroyed the Titan's STC database to prevent either from falling into the hands of nearby Chaos forces. However, fragments of data from the Titan's STC were collected by the Adeptus Mechanicus for archiving and study. |
Castigator-class Titan - Design: The Castigator's design was stored in a Standard Template Construct database also present on Chaeronia. As a result of its ancient provenance, the Castigator made use of highly-advanced, long-lost technologies such as rapid self-repair routines and a synthetic, muscle-like locomotive system.Standing larger than even the Imperator-class Emperor Titans, the head of the Castigator notably did not jut from its chest like on most Imperial Titan patterns but actually was above the shoulders, matched by an elegant yet super heavy and very well-armoured chassis and impossibly-graceful movement. It was indeed far superior to any class of Titan utilised by the Adeptus Mechanicus or any other intelligent starfaring species in the galaxy. It was also the only known Titan controlled autonomously by an artificial general intelligence rather than a Human princeps and other crew and the only known Titan to have been made by an STC.Its weapons included an arm-mounted melee weapon and a super-heavy, multi-barrelled cannon that fired Daemons. The ability to fire Daemons was later found to be due to the pact the Castigator's artificial general intelligence had formed with the Chaos Gods through the Black Legion. |
Castigator Bolt Cannon - Castigator Bolt Cannon: The Castigator Pattern Bolt Cannon, or simply the Castigator Bolt Cannon, is a massive Bolter that is used by the combat walkers of the Questor Imperialis, the Imperial Knights, and by the Renegade Knights of the Questor Traitoris. This weapon is found only on the Cerastus Knight-Castigator.The Knight-Castigator pattern is used by those Knight Houses who are often faced by an overwhelming number of the enemy. The Castigator Bolt Cannon features two rapid-firing, rotary Bolt Cannons twin-linked together, and is capable of annihilating infantry formations and light vehicles in a thunderous hailstorm of mass-reactive shells.Castigator Knights are usually piloted by a Knight House's most venerable Scions, those who are skilled and trustworthy enough to conserve the Castigator's limited supply of ammunition, which is stored on the Knight's back in an armoured container, with an armoured feed line supplying it to the cannons. |
Castigator Bolt Cannon - Sources: The Horus Heresy - Book Four: Conquest (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 306The Horus Heresy - Book Five: Tempest (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 130Imperial Armour Index: Forces of the Astra Militarum (8th Edition), pg. 98Imperial Armour Index: Forces of Chaos (8th Edition), pg. 60Forge World Webstore - Ceratus Knight Castigator |
Castigator Gatling Cannon - Castigator Gatling Cannon: The Castigator Gatling Cannon is a powerful, rotary ballistic weapon deployed as a hull-mounted weapon on the Astra Militarum's Rogal Dorn Battle Tank.The Castigator Gatling Cannon is the perfect anti-infantry weapon, capable of scything down whole squads of foot soldiers in a single burst. |
Castilos Nullifact - Castilos Nullifact: Castilos Nullifact, also called Fort Nullifact, is a watch fortress of the Deathwatch Chapter located in the Segmentum Ultima.This watch fortress is located in the northern Segmentum Ultima where its Astartes watch for the rise of the long-slumbering Necron dynasties. Forces from this watch fortress once assaulted a seemingly undefended Jokaero star-frame, only to be met by a fleet's worth of firepower.During the Era Indomitus, far-ranging patrols from Castilos Nullifact found evidence of a mobile Genestealer Cult travelling between fringe worlds aboard a fleet of voidships and posing as Rogue Traders. They set off on the trail of the so-called Bringers of Enraptured Joy, and fought several battles against the monstrously corrupted settlements the xenos-worshippers had seeded in their wake. |
Castobel - Castobel: Castobel is a Hive World within the Achilus Crusade's Orpheus Salient in the Jericho Reach. Regarded as the jewel of the Orpheus Salient, Castobel remained loyal to the Imperium through the Reach's "Age of Shadow" when the Imperium had lost control of the sector, and welcomed the Achilus Crusade with open arms, turning its resources to the support of the re-conquest of the former Jericho Sector.The planet is a bustling, industrious Hive World, with a production capacity that eclipses that of every other world so far conquered by the crusade. The sheer numbers of people within Castobel's hive cities provide an ample supply of recruits for the Astra Militarum and Imperial Navy.Castobel is a fine example of how Lord Militant Tiber Achilus envisioned the progression of his namesake crusade -- conquered worlds contributing to the conquest of others, forging a newly self-sufficient Jericho Sector with each victory.In recent years, Castobel's fortunes have changed. With the arrival of Hive Fleet Dagon, Castobel has come under siege by the Great Devourer and a world once responsible for supplying a small but significant proportion of the crusade's troops and materiel has virtually shut down.The Tyranid blockade and the invasion force on the ground has all but caused Castobel to grind to a halt, and its populace now huddles in fear of the ravenous beasts outside their walls.However, all is not yet lost. Of all the worlds in the Orpheus Salient under assault by the Tyranids, Castobel may yet be freed of their menace. Castobel is barren and lifeless but for the masses in the four remaining hive cities, with little in the way of biomass resources for the Tyranids to consume.Thanks to the decisive action of Lord Castellan Ortarna Lokk, an unsteady stalemate has arisen, with the Tyranids unable to gain ground and enough bio-mass to replenish expended forces quickly, stealing away their greatest advantage: seemingly limitless numbers.With time and bloodshed, the Tyranid threat on Castobel could be ended, leaving a population hardened by war and eager to enact revenge upon the monsters that tried to destroy their home.The planet's military is composed of the Castobel Planetary Defence Force (light infantry, equivalent to 44 regiments) commanded by Lord Castellan Ortarna Lokk, and an Astra Militarum garrison of 11 regiments commanded by Brigadier General Titus Korven.Primary exports and tithed goods are basic munitions such as las weapons, solid projectile weapons, and ammunition, agricultural and mining equipment, and Astra Militarum regiments. The world's primary imports include fuel, food, potable water and raw materials for manufacturing. |
Castobel - History: Castobel is ancient, with some historical evidence to suggest that it predates the Imperium, having been colonised by Humanity at some point during the Dark Age of Technology. In the days of the Great Crusade, Castobel joined the Imperium after a brief and bloody war eliminated its original ruling caste, which was swiftly replaced by a Planetary Governor installed by crusade forces.When the Imperium first claimed Castobel in the 30th Millennium, it was already a prosperous Hive World, with four colossal cities emerging from the lifeless ash wastelands of a world dedicated to industry. Under Imperial rule it grew further, with several of the smaller wasteland settlements developing together into two additional hives by the middle of the 33rd Millennium, and gaining stewardship of Battlefleet Jericho's primary dockyard a few centuries later.When the Jericho Sector collapsed into the anarchy of the "Age of Shadows," Castobel endeavoured to remain aloof from the disarray, remaining staunchly loyal to the God-Emperor in spite of the sector's collapse. Using what remained of the sector's fleets, including loyal remnants of Battlefleet Jericho, Castobel's Imperial Commander worked tirelessly to maintain the Emperor's law on several nearby worlds.Still, the isolation took its toll on Castobel and its colonies, and the world could not remain as it once was. After centuries separated from the Imperium, the hive cities on Castobel had become virtually independent city-states, unified only by their common faith in the Emperor.That faith was fought for more fiercely than almost any other facet of life on Castobel. Separated from the higher authorities of the Adeptus Ministorum, the ruling families of the six cities found common ground in the need to maintain the religious structure that had for so long defined Castobellan life.The result was an organisation known as the "Aquilan Pluracy," which took the place of the old Castobel Diocese as the highest religious authority on the planet, maintaining the temples and ensuring the populace remained appropriately reverent towards the Emperor.This state of affairs remained largely unchanged for several Terran millennia in spite of raids by aliens, Renegades and Heretics, until 789.M41, when Battlegroup Santos arrived at the edge of the system to be greeted by vessels that had once belonged to Battlefleet Jericho. Upon discovery of their kinship, a message was sent to Lord General Mikal Curas immediately, informing him that Castobel was loyal to the Imperium and wished to return to the fold.A hundred days of celebration followed, and at the end of that time, the Astra Militarum regiment called the 1st Castobel Reborn was raised and sent forth to serve the Imperium, while Lord Commander Ortana Lokk of Hive Tyralos was selected to rule as Imperial Commander and Lord Castellan of Castobel.By the end of that year, a further hundred regiments had been raised, with more on the way in every passing year. In the years since, over two thousand regiments of Castobel Reborn have been mustered and distributed across the Jericho Reach, alongside vast quantities of materiel.That all changed, as so much in the Orpheus Salient did, when the Shadow in the Warp descended upon the Jericho Reach. Castobel came under assault in the early months of 817.M41, after more than four standard years of mounting interference within the Warp.Once again isolated from the wider Imperium, Castobel's forces -- its planetary defence force and the three hundred Astra Militarum regiments mustered since 812.M41 but left stranded by increasingly difficult Warp travel -- immediately set about bolstering their homeworld's defences and preparing for the arrival of a monstrous aggressor.The Tyranid onslaught was swift and terrible, and they managed to overrun Hive Trimalov within six solar weeks of the first bioforms making planetfall. Billions died, torn apart and devoured by mindless, slavering beasts and towering, malevolent monsters.As the Tyranids destroyed Hive Trimalov and began to spread outwards to the other hives, Lord Castellan Lokk withdrew with his advisors to contemplate how best to defend against this enemy. When he returned after three solar days, he was grim and humourless, but stated that he knew what must be done.While this occurred, the Tyranids had begun to move on Hive Tyralos, the second-most densely populated of Castobel's hive cities. Hundreds of thousands of troops -- both soldiers and civilians bearing simple weapons as ragtag militias -- stood in defence of Hive Tyralos as the evacuation began, selling their lives dearly to allow as many people to flee as possible.Then the order came through: withdraw into the city, lure the Tyranids in. An hour later, the skies burned with crimson light as Hive Tyralos died in atomic fire, the incandescent fury of its ancient reactors and generators unleashed to obliterate the swarm.Both sides now exist in an unsteady stalemate. Castobel's defensive forces are depleted, weary and demoralised, and epidemics of Tyranid-spawned maladies rage through the populace.The Tyranids are similarly depleted in number and having been denied the biomass of Hive Tyralos -- both their own and that of its populace -- they cannot swiftly replenish their numbers nor easily muster the power for another assault. The war has settled into a routine of probing raids and attempted infiltrations of the remaining cities, with the defenders fearful of the skulking, hissing monsters that lurk outside their walls.Yet hope, of a sort, remains. With the Tyranids starved of biomass and the reinforcements it would provide, the swarm is at its most vulnerable. If Castobel's defenders can deny the Tyranids long enough, the Tyranids might be crushed utterly, leaving the bio-ships in orbit starving. This hope is a distant one, but one that many are clinging to. |
Castobel - The Last Holdout: Unlike countless other worlds, Castobel remained loyal to the Imperium during the Age of Shadow, staying faithful to the Imperial Creed and maintaining the society that the Imperium had required of it when the Jericho Sector still existed.Though more akin to independent city-states than cities on a united world, the hives of Castobel hold to the authority imposed by the Aquilan Pluracy, which rules in the name of the God-Emperor. Consequently, when the Achilus Crusade reached Castobel, it found a world that welcomed it with open arms and was able to provide vast quantities of troops and materiel. The world's survival is remarkable given the high external resource demands of a hive world, yet it had somehow managed to remain strong and loyal for thousands of years of isolation.As the Jericho Sector fell to darkness and sedition, the loyal remnants of Battlefleet Jericho fell back to the orbital docks above Castobel, accompanying whatever Imperial merchant vessels they could gather. As a result, Castobel was, over the following months and years, able to dominate a cluster of mining colonies and Agri-worlds nearby, re-establishing a limited form of Imperial rule and keeping Castobel itself supplied with food and raw materials.In conjunction with advanced and ancient food processing facilities within Castobel's hives -- which, upon the world's reclamation by the Imperium, became a subject of great interest for the Adeptus Mechanicus -- these facilities allowed Castobel to function in spite of its almost total isolation.As the millennia passed, the six hives became increasingly divided from one another, feuding and even warring over the already limited resources, and soon, the number of starships at Castobel's call and the number of worlds supplying it began to dwindle.Still, by the time Lord General Curas' forces reached Castobel, it was more than able to provide billions of tonnes of material and millions of soldiers to the ongoing war effort, and proved to be a turning point within the crusade, as the burden of supplying so vast an endeavour was no longer borne solely by worlds on the other side of the Jericho-Maw Warp Gate. |
Castobel - The Castobel Reborn: Upon Castobel's compliance, Departmento Munitorum surveyor companies descended upon the world to determine its capability to aid the Achilus Crusade. After a preliminary survey, lasting six solar months, it was declared that Castobel would be assigned the highest Tithe Grade, reflecting its massive capacity for supplying materiel and warriors alike.A further declaration was issued that the world could produce as many as a hundred regiments of Imperial Guardsmen a year, each numbering as many as ten thousand troops, without unduly impeding its ability to produce munitions and machinery.Having already produced the 1st Castobel Reborn as part of the world's celebration of renewed Imperial rule, Castobel produced its first tithe of a hundred regiments a year later. The first muster saw Lord Militant Solomon Tetrarchus himself in attendance, and he gave the first hundred Castobel regiments the name of "the Reborn" and the right to bear his own insignia on their banners, to honour the first regiments founded within the Jericho Sector for thousands of years. |
Castobel - Key Locations: Below are a number of significant locations across Castobel's surface. |
Castobel - Hive Tyralos: One of Castobel's oldest and most populous hive cities, Tyralos predated the Imperium by several millennia, and contained a wealth of ancient technology dating back to the era of its original construction.When the Jericho Sector still stood, Tyralos was home to a major Adeptus Mechanicus presence, containing a coven of archaeotechnologists eager to uncover the secrets of the technology hidden within the depths of the hive.As the largest congregation of Tech-priests on Castobel, Tyralos' coven became the highest Adeptus Mechanicus authority on Castobel when the Age of Shadow descended upon the sector, granting the hive considerable power and leverage over the other cities.The Cult of the Machine prospered within Hive Tyralos during its isolation, growing to challenge the Aquilan Pluracy within the city's depths.When Castobel was reunited with the Imperium, so too were the coven's members reunited with their brother Tech-priests, and efforts to unlock the secrets of Castobel's ancient technology were renewed by the newly arrived Explorators.Many secrets were passed back beyond the Well of Night to Forge Worlds far from the Jericho Reach, for detailed investigation by the Mechanicus. With the Tyranid invasion and the fall of Hive Trimalov, Hive Tyralos became the next most obvious target for the Tyranids.At the height of the Tyranid attempt to overrun the hive, the Lord Castellan gave the order to sacrifice Tyralos to deny it to the enemy, an order met with much hostility from the Adeptus Mechanicus, who regarded the hive's contents as sacred.After fierce debate that raged for solar days, the Tech-priests relented, under the condition that they would have a solar week to salvage what they could from the hive's depths and perform the correct rites to overload the hive's generatoria.Hive Tyralos today is an irradiated ruin, barely resembling the towering city-complex it once was. As a testament to the fury of the city's destruction, the land a hundred kilometres in every direction around the city's ruins is irradiated and vitrified ash, utterly inhospitable to even the massively adaptable Tyranids. |
Castobel - Hive Trimalov: Once the largest and most powerful of Castobel's hives, Trimalov is now utterly devoid of Human life for the first time in thousands of Terran years. Possessed of a populace of more than twenty billion souls and home to Castobel's grandest cathedral, Trimalov was, for millennia, the world's capital, ruling in the Emperor's name over the other five cities.Trimalov was, as well as the political heart of Castobel, the centre of the world's religious life. The Castobellan Diocese was based within Trimalov's cathedral, an immense edifice of gleaming marble and stark obsidian capable of containing over a million worshipful servants of the Emperor and dominating the hive's central spire.This cathedral grew in magnificence and opulence with every passing century, the tithes of the devout furnishing generations of Cardinals with the finest of goods. The cathedral's glory did not diminish during the Age of Shadow, thanks to the Aquilan Pluracy, which sprang from the long alliances between the state church and Castobel's ruling families. The Aquilan Pluracy saw the temples maintained and the people kept faithful through the long ages of isolation, ensuring that the world remained true to the Emperor's rule.When the Imperium returned to Castobel, it was Trimalov's Lord Commander Ascendant who was made Imperial Commander and Lord Castellan of the entire world, elevating Trimalov once more to dominance over Castobel. However, the return of the Imperium was not as simple as some had believed it would be.The Imperium had changed since the Jericho Reach fell, most notably in the form of the Ecclesiarchy. Castobel's priests found themselves proponents of a heretic religion, adhering to a creed cast out after a brutal War of Faith millennia after the Age of Shadow began.The priests of the Adeptus Ministorum descended upon Castobel to find the Temple of the Saviour Emperor still holding sway over the people, and set about replacing it with a more modern creed based on the reforms of Sebastian Thor following the Reign of Blood, to the dismay of the Aquilan Pluracy.Yet Trimalov is no more. It was torn open and infested by the Tyranid menace, its people butchered and devoured to feed their eternal hunger. The structure remains, a hollow shell standing in mockery of the long isolation Castobel endured.Its form is corrupted by spore chimneys and spawning pits, and vile xenoflora writhes with a mindless malice for kilometres in every direction, bursting from the ash and entangling steel, basking in the atomic heat of the city's ancient generatoria. |
Castobel - Hive Kevor: One of the four remaining hive cities, Kevor was constructed after the Horus Heresy within the spine of a mountain range, burrowing deep into the crust and extending for almost two hundred kilometres across the peaks. Possibly the most securely located and heavily defended of the hive cities, Kevor's highest spire now serves to house the Lord Castellan and his command staff.Hive Kevor grew out from a string of mining settlements running along the length of the Kevor Mountains, the hive taking the mountains' name as the settlements expanded into one another and spread further and further out from their humble origins. By the time the mines within the mountains had run dry, nearly twelve billion souls inhabited Kevor and the city had become an established part of the landscape.While the mountains no longer contain the resources they once did, the self-sufficient and stoic attitude of Kevor's populace remained strong, and the city's primary trade soon turned from mining to warfare, with much of the population joining Kevor's militia or leaving the city to serve on Castobel's few remaining warships.When the Imperium returned to Castobel, Hive Kevor provided over a third of the troops recruited into the Astra Militarum, eclipsing all but the colossal Hive Trimalov in the number of soldiers mustered.At present, Kevor remains defiant of the Tyranids skulking through the ash-choked mountain passes and swarming through the skies above the city. Its populace accepted the realities of war more swiftly than any others on Castobel, and their fortified mountain-hive promises to be difficult for any foe to overcome, even the Tyranids. |
Castobel - Hive Hessax: A short, broad hive city spread across a vast expanse of ash desert, Hessax is the youngest and smallest of Castobel's hives, though still several thousand Terran years old and home to more than ten billion loyal servants of the Imperium.Hessax's location, as distant from the other hives as possible, is tied inexplicably to its purpose. Intended to manufacture components with which to maintain the vessels of Battlefleet Jericho, Hessax's isolation was a deliberate security measure to limit access to starship parts of such rare quality.With the coming of the Age of Shadow, Hessax's role became increasingly crucial, its forges serving to maintain the limited flotilla that supplied and protected Castobel and its colonies from outside aggression.Production increased dramatically, for the hive city was the only place capable of providing the needed components to Castobel's makeshift fleet.Since the return of the Imperium, Hessax has been no less busy. With only limited repair and resupply stations within the Jericho Reach, Lord Admiral Anastasia Arkelius proposed to take advantage of any supply routes that could be found.In short order, Hessax's forges were turned to serving the Achilus Crusade's battlegroups. However, with the arrival of the Tyranids, fewer and fewer ships have been able to reach Castobel's orbit to resupply, and thus Hive Hessax stands dormant, its comparatively small size and isolation proving to be their best protection from the swarms of Hive Fleet Dagon. |
Castobel - Hive Orolan and Hive Ibellus: The two remaining hive cities on Castobel have long been regarded as a pair, rather than singly. Had the world continued to grow as it had done when the Jericho Sector still stood, they would likely have expanded into one another, becoming a single, massive hive rather than two distinct cities.Situated less than fifty kilometres apart, the "twin hives" of Orolan and Ibellus are similar in many ways, their histories and populace intertwined by industry and tradition. Orolan has traditionally been dedicated to the refinement and processing of raw materials, while Ibellus contained many of Castobel's most prolific manufactories, turning those refined materials into machinery and munitions.Largely untouched by the politics that defined life in Tyralos and Trimalov, few but the nobility in the twin hives saw much change when the Age of Shadow fell, save for variation in work schedules and shipment deadlines. Similarly, the return of the Imperium saw increased activity within Orolan and Ibellus, but little else of note until recently.The situation changed in late 816.M41, mere solar months before the Tyranids arrived; slightly more than two companies of Blood Drinkers Space Marines arrived in Castobel orbit aboard the Battle Barge Crimson Sacrament, damaged in conflict with some monstrous enemy.Several squads immediately made for Hive Hessax, seeking repairs and resupply from the forges there, while two full companies arrived in Hive Ibellus. Within weeks, the forces in Hessax had returned to orbit, but the 3rd and 4th Battle Companies that had come to Ibellus had spent the time fortifying the hive's tallest spire against an impending attack.Whether the Crimson Sacrament departed Castobel entirely or if it fights against the Tyranid fleet is unknown, but no sign of the vessel has been seen since it left orbit.The arrival of the Tyranids saw Orolan and Ibellus subject to brutal orbital bombardment from the orbiting bio-ships, followed by wave after wave of monstrous aggressors. While Ibellus stood firm thanks to the prowess and tenacity of the Blood Drinkers, Orolan suffered greatly.Though it did not fall, thousands of warriors and millions of civilians were slain before the Tyranids could be driven back. The Blood Drinkers have remained within Ibellus, and much of the population of Orolan has retreated to the safety of their sister city and the Astartes who stand guard over it. |
Castor - Castor: Lord General Castor was a general officer of the Astra Militarum who served the Inquisitor Adrastia during the Third Aurelian Crusade.He hailed from the Fortress World of Cadia and led several Cadian Shock Trooper regiments, including the famous "Castellan's Own" -- the Cadian 8th Regiment -- to restore order in Sub-sector Aurelia. |
Castor - History: The Greater Daemon Ulkair and the Black Legion were defeated by the Blood Ravens Chapter on the Chaos-controlled world that had once been the sub-sector capital planet of Aurelia during the Second Aurelian Crusade.The Black Legion did not retreat after their defeat but instead allied with either the Renegade Blood Ravens Chapter Master Azariah Kyras or the Chaos Lord Eliphas the Inheritor to bring destruction to several planets in Sub-sector Aurelia.Due to the Chaos incursion, the conflict between Blood Ravens still loyal to the Imperium and those who fell to the Chaos influence of Azariah Kyras, continued Aeldari raids and the remnants of the Tyranid splinter fleet that had once ravaged Typhon Primaris, the sub-sector fell into ruin, disorder and turmoil.Asa result, the Imperium tasked the lord general and several Cadian regiments with restoring order in the sub-sector. Even with the aid of the Cadian regiments, the local Imperial Guard garrison regiments and the Loyalist Blood Raven Space Marines, the conflict consuming the sub-sector raged on.To make matters worse for the Loyalists, several regiments betrayed the Emperor and swelled the ranks of the forces of Chaos due to its continued influence upon them.After 10 Terran years of constant conflict, the sub-sector was placed under a decree of Exterminatus after the Imperial high command determined that the sub-sector was likely lost to the Archenemy.Before the Exterminatus fleet arrived in the sub-sector to carry out its mission, an Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus named Adrastia was requested by Gabriel Angelos of the Blood Ravens Chapter to investigate their Chapter Master for heresy.If Azariah Kyras could be removed, and with him the stain of Chaos plaguing the region, the people of the Aurelian Sub-sector could be spared their looming execution.During Adrastia's investigation, she requested help from Lord General Castor. Castor agreed, with Sergeant Major Merrick, Commissar Lord Bern, and a force of guardsmen and Storm Troopers accompanying him on the Inquisitor's investigation and helping save the sub-sector from destruction in what became known as the Third Aurelian Crusade. |
Castor - Sources: Dawn of War II - Retribution (PC Game) |
Castus Iacton - Castus Iacton: Lord General Castus Iacton of the Astra Militarum has the heavy responsibility of command over the Fortress World of Karlack in the Jericho Reach.He is the most senior military officer on the planet, and bears responsibility for keeping it safe from both outside attack and any internal failing of faith, security, or logistics.This duty does not encompass just the ravaged planet, but extends to the farthest hollowed-out asteroid and smallest monitor buoy in the Karlack System.He is a stern man tasked with more responsibilities than one person could ever hope to handle. The ceaseless demands of his duties have left him short on patience -- even for Inquisitors and Space Marines. |
Castus Izdubar - Castus Izdubar: Castus Izdubar was an Inquisitor Lord of the Imperial Inquisition in the late 32nd and early 33rd Millennia. He was Convenor of the Ephisian Conclave and Watcher of the Cadian Marches, directly responsible for the incursions of Chaos into the Cadian Sector.He was also a member of the Ordo Cyclopes, a secret minor ordo of the Inquisition dedicated to preserving and protecting the Athenaeum of Kallimakus, a great library of forgotten knowledge buried beneath the world of Appollonia, maintained by a cult of savants that worshiped the memory and works of Mahavastu Kallimakus, the Remembrancer who served as the personal scribe of Magnus the Red, Primarch of the Thousand Sons Legion, during the Great Crusade.He became aware of Inquisitor Selandra Iobel's attempts to discover information about the Thousand Sons following a psychic cult insurgency on the world of Carsona, and attracted her to AV-213 in the Halo Margins. There he introduced her to the existence of the Thousand Sons and the Ordo Cyclopes.Ultimately, Iobel was sent on a mission into the Eye of Terror to find out what the sons of Prospero were doing, during which her ship was assaulted by three Renegade Space Marines -- including Ahriman and Astraeos.After her return, a gathering of the ordos occurred in which a captured Sorcerer-Astartes, Astraeos, was revealed. Ahriman used the gathering -- indeed had orchestrated it -- to kidnap Iobel. He succeeded, and a chase began to reach the Athaenaeum at its bastion on Apollonia.There a battle occurred between Izdabur's forces, Ahriman's fleet and a rogue fleet of Space Wolves vessels who had chased Ahriman out of the Eye. All were members of the surviving Thirteenth Great Company.After losing the Athenaeum, Izdabur identified Astraeos as a member of a still-loyal Chapter of Space Marines, and had the Grey Knights purge them -- setting in motion Astraeos' flight into the Eye, his travels into the future to encounter and free Ahriman, the encounter with Iobel and so on -- creating a temporal loop in which he was doomed to release the Athenaeum again and again. |
Catachan - Catachan: Catachan (pronounced Cat-a-CHAN) is the most infamous and deadly Imperial Death World in the galaxy. It is located in the Ultima Segmentum and is covered in dense jungle.The planet's entire ecosystem seems consciously hostile to all foreign life. Each and every element of the native flora and fauna of the planet represents a real danger to any Human.Catachan's only valuable resource is its people, who by virtue of being born on the harshest world in the Imperium are invariably tough and cunning. It is home to the renowned Catachan Jungle Fighters regiments of the Astra Militarum.The people of Catachan exhibit a fearless and gung-ho attitude to danger as a result of growing up in such a horrific place. Thanks to the brutal environment in which they are raised, they are physically and mentally resilient on a level that much of unaugmented Humanity simply cannot match. Cunning, resourceful and uncompromising, Catachans must be born survivors simply to reach adulthood on their homeworld.The natives of Catachan are renowned for being both taller and more powerful than normal, baseline Humans. Due to their heavily developed physiques, Catachans are sometimes referred to as "Baby Ogryns" by other guardsmen, although saying this within earshot often results in serious injury. |
Catachan - History: Catachan was colonised by Humans millennia ago during the Dark Age of Technology, long before the Imperium of Man was established.When the first exploratory probes arrived in its star system, the planet was a deceptive, calm green orb when scrutinized from orbit, but when the first colony ships were forced by an unexpected emergency to crash-land on the jungle planet and the colonists had no way to escape, they discovered themselves to have arrived on one of the harshest and most dangerous planetary ecosystems in the galaxy.The colonists only barely survived, holed up in their spacecraft against a living, besieging jungle, a battle for survival in which undoubtedly many of them died before they finally managed to learn enough about their new homeworld to survive, if not thrive, beneath its jungle canopies.In time, their skill at surviving on Catachan came to the notice of the Departmento Munitorum, which realised that the Catachans would make excellent Astra Militarum troops dedicated to service in some of the galaxy's most hostile planetary environments, and the first regiments of the Catachan Jungle Fighters were raised.During the 13th Black Crusade of Abaddon the Despoiler in ca. 999.M41, Catachan found itself in the path of both a wounded Void Whale and an Ork WAAAGH! led by the Freebooter Kaptain Badrukk. However due to astropathic interference caused by the Warp Storm Bas Infernia, the Imperium was unable to warn the Catachans of the threats approaching their homeworld.After the formation of the Great Rift following the Fall of Cadia at the dawn of the Era Indomitus, Catachan was caught within the malignant Warp rift and exposed to a massive Daemonic invasion. However when Roboute Guilliman's Indomitus Crusade arrived at Catachan, its Astartes found that the local Catachan regiments had already dealt with the threat entirely on their own. |
Catachan - Current Conditions: Currently, the few Human settlements on Catachan which can defend against the jungle and its predators are giant fortresses surrounded by vast plains which have been laboriously cleared to provide improved lines-of-fire. Building on Catachan is difficult at best as vines and lichen take hold anywhere and acidic floral poisons melt the mortar and vines can crush bunkers and tanks.Buildings must constantly be rebuilt, for it seems that wherever the people of Catachan build structures, the jungle redoubles its efforts to destroy them.As well as the jungle's flora, the native wildlife gather to repel the Human invaders and eventually their numbers grow large enough to push the Humans out of one fortress so they must found a new settlement elsewhere where the process will inevitably repeat itself, meaning that no Human settlement on Catachan is ever truly permanent.Fifty percent of the planet's Human population does not survive infancy, and fifty percent of those survivors does not live past the age of ten solar years.Every solar day for a Catachan is spent fighting for survival on what is the deadliest planet in the galaxy. In such dangerous surroundings, children are quick to learn survival tactics and only those who are tough, fast and have good aim can even hope to survive into adulthood. The children of Catachan often learn to shoot before they walk, much like Cadian children once did. |
Catachan - Flora and Fauna of Catachan: All of the animals and plants of Catachan are deadly predators who have evolved potent biological attack and defence mechanisms against other lifeforms, particularly Humans. Every known Catachan plant species is toxic to Terran forms of life, making foraging for native food impossible.Some Catachan plants secrete pollen into the air which is poisonous and destroys air-filters. Others secrete sticky liquid to capture passing animals and slowly dissolve them, much like giant Venus Fly-Traps. Some plants poison the ground and turn the immediate area around them into boggy wasteland to trap invaders.The native animals are as deadly to Humanity as the plant life. For instance, the massive insectoid predator called the Catachan Devil possesses jaws as big as a tank and is a major threat to Human population centres on the world. The Shambling Mamorphs of the volcanic regions are also a great danger to Human settlement. |
Catachan - Notable Catachan Flora: Brain Leaf - The brain leaf, a carnivorous plant, is actually a small tree, not particularly conspicuous on Catachan, but one that is able to attach its tendrils to the spine and brain of any animal, taking control over their body. This creature may actually be a genetic offshoot of the Tyranid Cortex Leech, a creature with similar abilities, that was cut off from the Hive Mind and went feral.Spiker - The spiker, another deadly plant, fires its eponymous spikes into its victims' bodies, which contain a virus that seeks to replicate the spiker's own DNA in the new host and unleash a series of mutative biochemical reactions which literally transforms the person into another spiker over time.Venus mantrap - The Venus mantrap is a carnivorous plant whose analogous species are common to many jungle Death Worlds across the galaxy. It resembles the much-smaller Terran Venus flytrap for which it is named, but is far larger, and unlike the flytrap, it is not stationary but is able to move its leaves to attack and consume its prey. The mantrap consists of a number of mobile leaves attached to a single immobile stem.Spore Tree - The branches of the spore tree hold dangling flowers which launch a cloud of spores when they detect something moving close by, to carry their seeds to other fertile areas. The spore cloud is so dense that the creature which disturbed the tree often chokes and dies, its respiratory system entirely clogged by the spores. This is also useful for the spore tree as its victim's decaying body will enrich the ground around its roots.Strangleplant - The strangleplant prefers shady spots to grow in, where its distinctive tube-like trunk is hidden from view. When it detects the air disturbance caused by a passing animal, its long, highly adhesive stamen uncoils, wrapping itself around the prey and dragging them back to die of dehydration.Canak Floater - The Canak floater is a bizarre and deadly plant filled with lighter-than-air gases, and it drifts across the planet with the vagaries of the wind. It has sensitive feeler tentacles which detect warmth and moisture above the normal local levels. This is usually used by the plant to uncover streams, hot springs and other sources of water, but unfortunately is also sensitive enough to detect the temperature of and moisture changes caused by Humans. When it finds such a place, the floater explodes, scattering its seed pods over a wide area. These seed pods have a diamond-hard outer casing outfitted with razor sharp edges, and will scythe through anything within range.Miral Catcher - The Miral catcher is a ground-hugging carnivorous vegetation which has roots that are extremely sensitive to vibrations in the ground, such as might be caused by an animal wandering past. It looks innocuous enough when dormant, but when it attacks, huge tentacles whip from its many frilled maws and lash out. They carry a paralysing toxin, which acts almost instantaneously upon the prey.Sucker Tree - The sucker tree is a carnivorous plant that is fairly innocuous looking to the untrained eye; it is simply a fungal-like growth on top of a seemingly normal tree trunk. However, the trunk can twist and turn when it detects prey, bending over to drop its suckers on top of the heads of its victims. It quickly drains them of their life fluids and then flings the corpse away to ensure that future victims are not made suspicious by a pile of bodies.Spitting Cactus - The spitting cactus is a deadly form of jungle cacti that is able to fire toxin-coated spines directly at nearby prey.Catachan Mantrap - The Catachan mantrap is a carnivorous plant which, while having a similar name to the Venus mantrap, uses a much more aggressive hunting technique. It can move its leaves around, actively searching out prey and clamping its jaw-like leaves around its victims.Stranglevine - The stranglevine is a carnivorous plant that prefers shady spots to grow in, where its distinctive, tube-like trunk is hidden from view. When the stranglevine detects the disturbance caused by a passing animal, its long, highly adhesive stamen uncoil, wrapping themselves around their prey and dragging them back into the plant's body to eventually die of dehydration and be consumed by the plant.Shardwrack Spines - Shardwrack spines, also known as "devil's-teeth," are jagged formations of fossilised organic matter left behind by an unknown species of plant that has hardened over thousands of standard years, forming razor-sharp walls of crystalline growth bursting from the ground. A usual sight on any Death World, they present menacing, bizarre battle zones that only the strongest or the most foolhardy would dare fight within. Shardwrack spines form impenetrable barriers that hamper movement, able to mortally wound anything that might come near -- their strange shapes and sharp spines can pierce most forms of personal armour as if it simply was not there.Barbed Vemongorse - Covered in alien flora bright and beguiling, Death Worlds are strange and sinister places few visit and fewer leave intact. Much of the pain, suffering and death can be attributed to the growth of barbed venomgorse. Possessed of a primal, cunning sapience, this carnivorous plant is highly adaptable, which snakes toward anything that lives, able to generate new weapon-growths and toxins throughout its life cycle while injecting debilitating neurotoxins into its victims with invariably fatal results. It is commonly found with a collection of dead animal bones, xenos skeletons, and the odd unfortunate desiccated Human corpse entangled in its sapient roots and boughs. The venom from a single one of these xenos-weeds is enough to kill most of the population of a hive city. The barbed venomgorse is defined by its mesh-like leaves, buds, and barbed flowers, and the body of the plant is a thick tangle of thorned creeper vines. It can also grow in deadly variants known as grappleweed.Grappleweed - Grappleweed represents the most common and deadly variant of barbed vemongorse. Grappleweed is a hideous xenos plant that possesses stumpy bushes with trumpet-like flowers. It is a mobile carnivorous plant, able to shuffle across the landscapes of the galaxy's various Death Worlds in search of fresh morsels of prey. The plant's writhing, barbed tentacles are a deadly menace which will drag any prey that comes too close with its grapple-barbed tongue into the fleshy trumpet of the plant's main body for eventual digestion. It is a ravenous carnivorous plant that tumbles towards its prey with astonishing swiftness before dousing it in highly corrosive biochemicals and consuming the slurried remains. |
Catachan - Notable Catachan Fauna: Catachan Devil - One of the most famous deadly animals of Catachan is the Catachan Devil, a voracious insectoid predator, looking somewhat like a many-limbed Terran scorpion or centipede. They can be as long as a land train but are very bulky and slow-moving, which means that escape is possible for the unlucky Humans who confront one.Grox - The great quadrupeds called grox, although originally native to the Soloman System, are also found on Catachan, perhaps brought by the early Human colonists. The animals are prized for their highly nutritious and tasty meat, and have been introduced to many worlds throughout the galaxy, so that the Grox is now the most ubiquitous livestock animal in the Imperium. The grox, however, are extremely ornery and virtually impossible to keep under control without some form of brain-implants or lobotomy -- on Catachan they have become wild, and are deadly predators. Grox are used by a galaxy-spanning food consortium to produce the famous "Grox Burgers."Shambling Morphs - The Shambling Mamorphs of the world's volcanic lands are tough fighters and put up a good fight even against the Catachan Devil.Snake Analogues - There are many types of reptiloid serpent analogues on Catachan, including the Flying Swamp Mamba, the Coiling Death Cobra and the Catachan Black Viper, and all are deadly to most living beings. Some possess toxins so powerful that they can kill in under 30 heartbeats.Great Barking Toads - Great Barking Toads, although appearing benign and harmless, are literally volatile creatures: this amphibioid is easily startled, and anything it finds threatening is liable to cause it to neurologically explode in a cloud of virulent toxins which kills anything within a very wide (up to 1 kilometre) area, including the Barking Toad itself. The Barking Toad toxin is virulent enough that even respirators and sealed suits such as power armour offer no protection, and no other known substance can serve as an antidote to the searing, acidic death it brings. The Barking Toads of Catachan are known as the most toxic and dangerous creatures known to Humanity in the galaxy.Blood Wasps - Blood wasps are swarms of small, deadly insectoids that are known to eat their prey alive, capable of stripping them to the bone in under a solar hour.Heretic-ants - Heretic-ants are named on the account that they always attack their prey's feet (or "soles") first. One bite from these Catachan insectoids will put a Human adult in the infirmary for a solar month, two bites will give them around a solar day to find treatment before dying, and three will simply kill them outright.Vein Worms - Vein worms secrete an ooze that numbs their prey when they bite, so that they cannot feel a thing. These parasitic annelids then dig their way under their prey's skin and into the bloodstream to lay their eggs. The eggs will spread all around the host's body, and when the larvae hatch they will eat their way through the host's brain, heart and bones. There is no known cure for vein worm infestation once one has entered the victim's bloodstream.Drakebats - Drakebats are Ogryn-sized, winged, pseudo-reptiles that lurk amongst the upper canopy of the equatorial jungles of Catachan, descending from the treetops to ambush and devour unsuspecting prey.Death FliesCatachan Water-drakesCatachan BloodfliesCatachan PuswormsSpinebore Leeches |
Catachan - Incidence of Disease: The threat of disease is also a constant hazard on Catachan, as there are many varieties of poxes and fevers that can kill a Human within a few solar hours due to the world's fecund microbiosphere. Many of the planet's native insects also carry virulent diseases on top of being highly poisonous, meaning that a single bite can be lethal in more ways than one.The world does not just breed diseases in its fauna. Most of the more virulent microbes cannot be seen at all, floating through the air until they find a host and enter their bloodstream. There are lethal swamps where a single breath of the fog will burn an intruder's lungs out, causing a long and agonising death.Even the water on Catachan can prove fatal to drink as diseases and biotoxins flow through it. Foot rot can occur after just a few solar weeks within the jungle, where the fungal-infected, rotten feet will eventually decay to the point that they detach from the host's legs, producing a vomit-inducing stench. As such, many Catachans consider disease to be a greater enemy than any beast or man-eating plant. |
Catachan Devil - Catachan Devil: The Catachan Devil is an insectoid creature native to the Imperial Death World of Catachan, but the organism has been introduced onto several other worlds across the galaxy. Catachan Devils are scorpion-like in appearance with a series of segmented body sections and pairs of legs terminating in a long tail with a poisonous barb, which curves forward over the creature's back.As Catachan Devils grow, they develop more and more mid-sections and pairs of legs. A fully grown adult can have up to thirty sets of legs, reaching up to thirty metres in length, reaching the size of a small Land Train.The front legs of older male Devils become grossly enlarged, resembling scorpion claws. These mighty beasts are often dubbed "Fiddlers" in Catachan slang, and are quite rightly feared for their ferocity and raw power.Catachan Devils are able to move with surprising speed for something of such large size, and are superbly adapted to move across a large variety of terrain. Once a Catachan Devil has captured its unfortunate victim, it will either shred it with its razor-sharp claws or sting it into insensibility with its barbed tail, before finally consuming it.Catachan Devils are territorial, yet quite sociable creatures, tending to form nesting groups with others of their kind. These groups often contain several large male Devils, as well as a few dozen juvenile "Devilspawn." The entire nest will come together to defend their territory from any intruders, be it rival Devils, human colonists, or other predators, and have even been known to attack Imperial Guard tank companies.It has also been speculated by several Magos Biologis of the Adeptus Mechanicus since the Imperium's first contact with the Tyranids in the 41st Millennium that the Catachan Devils are the descendants of a long-lost Tyranid vanguard organism that has effectively become feral after being cut off from the Tyranid Hive Mind.For many years Catachan has been prized by the Imperium for the excellent training that its denizens provide to the units of the Astra Militarum, the Catachan Jungle Fighters, raised there and has often sought to further utilise the sheer killing power of the Catachan Devils. Though the Imperium has been unsuccessful in training or taming them, Catachan Devils have sometimes been intentionally introduced to other Imperial worlds in order to dissuade invaders.This proliferation of the species has inevitably led to escapes, and there have been rumoured sightings of Catachan Devil nests on some Hive Worlds and other Human colonies all over the Imperium.Such is the infamous lethality of this creature that the Catachans have named both their most fearsome knives and deadliest, most elite soldiers after it. |
Catachan Devil Squads - Catachan Devil Squads: Catachan Devil Squads are made up of the deadliest and most experienced troopers within the Astra Militarum's Catachan Jungle Fighters regiments. Any Catachan Jungle Fighter is simply a superior warrior in a way baseline Humans cannot match, making the reputation of the Catachan Devil Squads' troops that much more impressive. |
Catachan Devil Squads - Role: The fearsome Catachan Jungle Fighter regiments of the Astra Militarum include squads of warriors exceptional even by the exacting standards of their birth world of Catachan. They are seasoned Jungle Fighters who are lethal in close combat, also making use of a versatile array of ranged weapons for every occasion.In Catachan regiments, these elite soldiers are called "Catachan Devils," in reference to their famous Catachan Knives and the voracious predators of their homeworld whose fierceness they emulate in combat.The Catachan Devils' senses are honed to a razor's edge, allowing them to recognise hidden threats in their midst, even enemies who are under cloaking devices. Their particular mission is usually to conduct long-range, deep penetration raids behind enemy lines, responsible for bearing the brunt of the enemy's response when battle is finally joined.In other instances, Catachan Devils are used as expert scouts and reconnaissance specialists. When deployed in this manner they range ahead of the Catachan Jungle Fighters' main force, engaging enemy ambushers, launching surprise attacks, setting traps and herding enemy forces into the most dangerous terrain.Catachan Devil Squads typically consist of one grizzled sergeant (always known as a "Sarge") and between four and nine "Catachan Devil" guardsmen, though some squads may include a veteran officer. Occasionally, a demolitions expert, or "Demo Man," will also accompany the team. |
Catachan Devil Squads - Notable Catachan Devils: Sly Marbo - The greatest of the fearsome Catachan Devils is the famed "One Man Army" himself.Stonetooth Harker - Harker is a hulking Catachan Devil sergeant renowned for his feats of strength and resilience who commanded Harker's Hellraisers, a squad of Catahcan Devils like himself. |
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Catachan Jungle Fighters: The Catachan Jungle Fighters are the members of the Militarum Regimentum of the Astra Militarum that has been recruited from the Death World of Catachan. They have the well-deserved reputation of being the deadliest practitioners of jungle warfare in the galaxy. They are primarily deployed in the Segmentum Solar and the Segmentum Ultima and are highly skilled at combat in especially hazardous terrain and in carrying out guerilla and asymmetric warfare.Their homeworld of Catachan is a jungle Death World, where natural selection ensures only the most deadly flora and fauna survive. Extremely resourceful and uncompromising warriors, the natives of Catachan recruited into the Imperial Guard are deadly melee fighters with their specialised close combat blades or from ambush with their Lascarbines. In jungle terrain they are unsurpassed by nearly any other mortal soldiers in the Imperium, with each Catachan Fighter being worth ten soldiers from any other regiment. The skills learned in the jungles of Catachan are easily adapted to other war zones.Indeed, Catachans believe that even the most suicidal of military engagements are as nothing compared to spending but a single solar day in the lethal jungles of their homeworld. This "gung-ho" enthusiasm is often mistaken for bravado by guardsmen from other regiments. The fact remains, however, that Catachan Jungle Fighters are the most uncomplaining, determined and valorous soldiers of the Astra Militarum, whether assigned to basic garrison duties or a hopeless assault upon an impregnable fortress.Though their planet's predators, plant life, air, soil and water are all inimical to Human life, these natural warriors not only survive, but maintain a population high enough to raise dozens of new Astra Militarum regiments every year. Though little production occurs in these rough survivalists' few permanent fortified settlements, Catachan is rich in resources it trades for essential goods. These include bio-specimens, exotic vegetation, toxins and rare chemicals and, above all, the native Catachans themselves, for they are perhaps the most worthy component of their world's tithe to the Imperium.They have become legendary amongst the rest of the Imperial Guard. In stories told to children they are almost as lauded as the Adeptus Astartes themselves, and in many ways maybe even more so, for the men and women of Catachan are just that -- mortal men and women. Everything they do, every storied battle they have won, they have achieved without all the genetically-enhanced advantages of the Emperor's Space Marines.Catachans exhibit a fearless and gung-ho attitude to danger. Thanks to the brutal environment in which they are raised, they are physically and mentally resilient on a level that much of Humanity simply cannot match. Cunning, resourceful and uncompromising, Catachans must be born survivors simply to reach adulthood on their homeworld.The natives of Catachan are renowned for being both taller and more powerful than normal Humans. Due to their heavily developed physiques, Catachans are sometimes referred to as "Baby Ogryns" by other guardsmen, although saying this within earshot often results in serious injury.Catachan is one of the deadliest worlds known to Mankind, and its inhabitants are amongst the hardiest, most dangerous Humans in the Imperium. Almost every creature and plant on Catachan is deadly to Human life in some way, from the monstrous Catachan Devil to the mind-destroying Brain Leaf and the carnivorous Venus Mantrap. The true diversity of life on Catachan has never been catalogued, though many Adeptus Mechanicus Explorator expeditions have tried and failed.Because of these creatures and innumerable others, life on Catachan is unimaginably harsh; fifty percent of the planet's Human population does not survive infancy, and fifty percent of the remainder does not live past the age of ten solar years. Those who do reach adulthood are invariably among the toughest, most uncompromising and resourceful warriors in the Imperium, masters of surviving in one of the most inhospitable environments in the galaxy. With little to offer the Imperium but their lives, many Catachans are recruited into the Imperial Guard, their skills such that each one of them is worth a dozen other guardsmen when fighting in dense jungle.Catachan itself has little need for a Planetary Defence Force, the world's flora and fauna being sufficiently deadly to thwart almost all invaders without the need for Human intervention, and so most Catachan guardsmen are instead recruited from amongst the population of hunters, skilled trackers, and combatants used to clearing the encroaching jungle and driving off or slaying the beasts that would threaten the small, short-lived Human settlements.Their necessary skill with an assortment of weapons, and the dangers they face keeping their homes safe from predators, mean that they are well-prepared for the dangers of the battlefield. Indeed, a state of almost constant mortal peril has resulted in the Catachan mind-set being one of apparent recklessness and bravado, paradoxically mixed with constant vigilance and almost paranoid caution.This seeming contradiction can be explained by the simple matter of familiarity -- natives of Catachan are so accustomed to danger that their responses, while appearing foolhardy, are honed by practice and a perpetual, careful awareness of their surroundings. This is compounded by a contempt for the threat of death, born from that familiarity. To a Catachan, the threat of death is a constant thing, and they do not understand the concept of safety or peace.Catachan regiments are most commonly light infantry, making the most of their legendary talents as scouts and ambushers. However, their daring and aggression have been employed in other ways, with potent armoured regiments hailing from Catachan in the past.The skills employed by some of their most famous regiments -- the Catachan XXIV "Waiting Death," the XVIII "Swamprats," the MXIV "Unseen Lurkers" who have seamlessly adapted to combat in urban sprawls -- include the setting of complex and invisible booby traps, vanishing into dense terrain and effortlessly negotiating and fighting on the most hazardous ground.The Catachan Jungle Fighters take special pride in their officers, who fight side-by-side with their rank-and-file troops, sharing in their suffering on the battlefield. As a result, discipline within Catachan regiments is maintained through trust and respect won over many Terran years of campaigning, rather than purely through the formal rank structures and unearned authority relied upon by many other regiments. This has, however, resulted in a reputation for willfulness amongst other regiments and outsiders, particularly figures of authority such as commissars, who have difficulty earning the trust and deference of Catachan guardsmen. |
Catachan Jungle Fighters - History: The world of Catachan was colonised by Humans many Terran millennia ago during the Dark Age of Technology, long before the Imperium was established. When the first exploratory probes arrived in its star system, the planet was a deceptive, calm green orb when scrutinised from orbit, but when the first colony ships crash-landed on the jungle planet and the colonists had no way to escape, they discovered themselves to have arrived on one of the harshest and most dangerous planetary ecosystems in the galaxy.The colonists only barely survived, holed up in their spacecraft against a living, besieging jungle, a battle for survival in which undoubtedly many of them died before they finally managed to learn enough about their new homeworld to survive, if not thrive, beneath its jungle canopies.In time, their skill at surviving on Catachan came to the notice of the Departmento Munitorum, which realised that the Catachans would make excellent Astra Militarum troops dedicated to service in some of the galaxy's most hostile planetary environments, and the first regiments of the Catachan Jungle Fighters were raised.Catachan is one of the most notorious Death Worlds in the Imperium, and its planet-wide jungles are lethal beyond reason. Yet despite the exceptionally perilous nature of the Catachan ecosystem, the servants of the Emperor inhabit this vast world in surprising numbers.Thanks to the brutal environment in which they are raised, Catachans are physically and mentally resilient on a level that much of Humanity simply cannot match. Cunning, resourceful and uncompromising, Catachans must be born survivors simply to reach adulthood. It speaks volumes of the Catachans that they maintain a population capable not only of fighting their own battle for survival, but of sending forces to fight the wider wars of the Imperium as well.Catachan raises dozens of regiments for the Astra Militarum every standard year, their skills honed to a knife-edge upon the world of their birth. Viewing daily survival upon Catachan as but a microcosm of Humanity's wider struggle, the Death World's warriors proudly answer the Emperor's call to arms.Each regiment raised is exchanged with the Departmento Munitorum for much-needed medical and military supplies. These in turn allow the Catachan settlements to maintain their daily fight for life. This arrangement has stood for thousands of standard years, and though the Catachans bleed more than most for the Imperium of Man, they would have it no other way.The very factors that shape the Catachans into such exceptional warriors also leave them proud, aggressive and insular. Individuality is prized amongst the Catachan infantry regiments, known as Jungle Fighters, and only a handful of traditions are treated as sacrosanct, such as the wearing of red bandanas that symbolise the blood oath sworn by each newly founded regiment.The Jungle Fighters are notoriously dismissive of the shiny medals and gaudy attire flaunted by other Militarum Regimentos -- rank and status are displayed through the inking of specific tattoos, or by the winning of famed Catachan weapons such as a four-foot-long Devil's Claw. Pragmatism is key to these grizzled warriors, with a favoured tactic being to lay explosive traps before hunkering down in dense cover. Those enemies not outright blown to shreds are quickly finished off by las-fire and torrents of burning Promethium.Catachan's armoured regiments are similarly renowned for the destruction they unleash. With their hulking frames, Catachan crewman are able to heft massive shells and magazines into place with ease, allowing their gunners to lay down a near-unending rain of shots. Bedecked with vines, camouflage netting or splatters of concealing mud, Catachan tanks may look out of place on the parade ground, but are invaluable on the battlefield.Catachan military leaders typically eschew the privileges of authority, instead suffering through every hardship alongside their troops, a great point of pride among the regiments. Many Catachan commanders can claim to have personally saved the lives of half their company. Rather than treat their men as servile underlings, Catachan officers command with crude banter that conceals an underlying mutual respect. Though inarguably effective within Catachan ranks, this style of leadership makes the job of outsiders such as Commissars doubly difficult and often extremely dangerous when they are attached to Catachan regiments. |
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Third War for Armageddon: During the Third War for Armageddon, when the sheer number of Feral Orks pouring out of the mountains of the Equatorial Jungles became apparent, two full regiments of the infamous Catachan Jungle Fighters were dispatched to Cerbera Base, the legacy of the Second Armageddon War. The citizens of Armageddon had no idea just how many of the aliens had been quietly flourishing in the humid, overgrown belt of dense jungle dividing the sub-continents of Armageddon Prime and Secundus.Although their numbers were thought to have been kept in check by the native Armageddon Ork Hunters, the presence of Ghazghkull on the planet triggered a massive increase in the Ork presence throughout the jungle, from which they staged their raids on the Imperial settlements around Death Mire and Cerbera Base.Commissar Yarrick quite rightly assumed that due to the Catachans' upbringing on one of the harshest Death Worlds in the galaxy, they would be more than capable of taking on the Feral Orks in this region, even on their home ground. In fact, many a Catachan fighter described patrolling the steaming, Ork-infested jungles as akin to paid leave. However, the Orks outnumbered the Catachan forces roughly thirty to one, and it was still a hard-fought battle, yet the Jungle Fighters took a heavy toll on the Ork population.Many times the Orks surrounded the Catachans completely, cutting them off from Cerbera. As a result the Catachans often went for solar weeks without contacting base. Several high-ranking Imperial officers proffered the theory that squads of Catachans had deliberately cut themselves off from their superiors, content in the knowledge that when they were deep in the jungle, they knew exactly what they were doing.The smell of burning Ork bodies permeating the Equatorial Jungle is testament to the brutal efficiency of the Catachans. Most of the small squadrons of Jungle Fighters were equipped with Heavy Flamers, as not only were they extremely effective in such densely packed terrain, but the only way to properly cleanse the Ork infection from a location is to immolate their corpses until all organic material is destroyed.Due to the excessively humid atmosphere and heavy water-laden leaves of the native trees, these fires were generally controlled. If an Ork nest was located, however, whole hectares were burnt to the ground. Yarrick himself had authorised these extreme measures in an attempt to rid Armageddon of Ork spores completely.At night, from Cerbera base, the jungle was lit by hundreds of blazing fires. The screams of dying Greenskins rang out over the howls and hoots of jungle beasts. Most of the troops stationed in Cerbera learned to sleep through this horrendous noise over several painful solar weeks.In the Catachans, both Yarrick and the Imperium knew they had found the perfect tool for an extremely difficult job. Even assuming that Armageddon is not overrun finally by the aliens, it will be many Terran years before the Ork population is fully culled, let alone wiped out completely.The initial deployment of the Jungle Fighters soon instigated an intense rivalry between them and the native Armageddon Ork Hunters, but as Feral Orks continued to flood from the mountains and dense jungle, the Ork Hunters soon realised that they needed all the help the Catachans could give them. Due to their lethal effectiveness, but also their disregard for command and independent operations, it has since been proposed that the Catachans fighting in the Equatorial Jungles be stationed at Cerbera indefinitely. |
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Spinward Front: There are comparatively few Catachan regiments within the Calixis Sector's Spinward Front. However, for reasons that remain entangled within the bureaucracy of the Departmento Munitorum, a small number of regiments from Catachan found their way into the region, likely due to a planned deployment that never came to fruition, perhaps because the campaign had already concluded by the time the Catachans had arrived.Whatever the reason, a number of these legendary Death Worlders found themselves redeployed to serve on the Spinward Front. For the most part, these regiments serve in a variety of roles on a variety of worlds; there are few planets in the Periphery Sub-sector requiring the particular talents of Death World veterans, but their skills are nonetheless valuable, particularly as scouts and assault troops.The daring and gung-ho attitudes of the Catachans have put them at odds with elements of the Spinward Front’s command, and out of tacit mutual consent, Catachan regiments tend to be placed in isolated battlegroups deployed to brutal warzones, where their distrust of authority figures and their tendency towards independence are less of a hindrance. |
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Notable Campaigns: Macharian Crusade (392-399.M41) - Large numbers of Catachan Jungle Fighter regiments participated in Lord Solar Macharius' Macharian Crusade to expand Imperial rule into vast new territories on the fringe of the galaxy.First Tyrannic War (745.M41) - Catachan Jungle Fighter regiments were deployed across the galaxy during the First Tyrannic War to stop the advance of Hive Fleet Behemoth.Assault on Kato (762.M41) - The Catachan MXIV "Unseen Lurkers," led by Colonel "Steel Eye" Black, battle against Orks from the Deathskulls clan on the shadow world on Kator. Dire visibility and exceptionally rough terrain reduce the war to a never-ending string of bloody skirmishes that test the skills of the Catachan infantry to their limits. Neither side is able to gain an advantage until Sentinel teams locate and destroy the Orks' Stompa factory, hidden in the depths of the Widow Valley. The Deathskulls respond by launching an all-out final offensive that threatens to overwhelm Imperial forces with its sheer ferocity. However, the Orks' attack is caught in the jaws of a series of Catachan ambushes, the coolly strategic Colonel Black dissecting and destroying the remaining Ork forces over three solar days of bloodshed.Sacking of Colonia (857.M41) - A surprise assault by the Craftworld Aeldari of the Saim-Hann Craftworld threatens to annihilate the Imperial Guard forces of the Mortant VII "Headhunters" during the Sacking of Colonia. The Aeldari retreat after a single squad of Catachan Devils, led by the famous Gunnery Sergeant Stonetooth Harker, emerges from concealed positions and Heavy Bolter fire kills the warhost's Autarch.WAAAGH! Grax (925.M41) - WAAAGH! Grax descends upon the Ryza System. Imperial Guard regiments are raised from all planets within ten light years, including the worlds of Catachan, Barac, Ulani, and Dulma'lin. To meet the additional tithe requirements, the world of Dulma'lin drafts four-fifths of its total population. Commander Mordrid van Hordric finally defeats the bulk of the Orks, decades later, at the Battle of Desolation Valley.Dulma'lin Cleansing (926.M41) - The Cadian II Regiment, under the command of the bombastic Colonel Straken, was the only regiment of the Astra Militarum to survive planetfall on the world of Dulma'lin. Under Straken's orders, the Catachan II fought a year-long guerilla war in the subterranean depths of the planet's caverns, earning a fearsome reputation amongst the Ork tribes. The decisive moment in the campaign came after the Catachan scouts located the centre of the Ork city in a massive underground cavern known as the Mommothian Vault. Straken personally led a hand-picked team of demolitions experts and infiltrated the Greenskin settlement. The Humans' presence was detected on the third day of the infiltration by a roving pack of Squig-hounds and in the ensuring firefight Straken accounted for the deaths of at least 30 Orks and a mob of Killa Kans. The colonel was seriously wounded when he dragged the Ork Warlord Killzkar into the path of a stampeding Squiggoth that trampled them both into the cavern's floor. Straken's troops succeeded in destroying the Vault's primary support stacks and carried their colonel's injured body to safety before the entire cavern collapsed and destroyed the Ork city. Imperial reinforcements arrived two days later, led by an arrogant Purbech officer, the High Praetor Osh'preen. The remaining Orks, scattered and now leaderless, were exterminated within a week. Osh'preen's report to the Segmentum Command failed to mention the II Catachan's true involvement in the Cleansing of Dulma'lin, and simply cited Straken's regiment as "uncouth soldiers, little more civilised than the Orks themselves." Osh'preen took full credit for the success of the campaign on the world and was rewarded by being made the new Planetary Governor of Dulma'lin. The troops of the Catachan II were immediately redeployed to the Ulant System. Colonel "Iron Hand" Straken was tended to by a team of medicae personnel, and barely clung to life during the journey. He awoke after receiving extensive bionic augmentations to find himself surrounded by the enemy and the II Catachan ready to follow him to yet another victory.Ulani Campaign (928.M41) - The Catachan II Regiment assist the Ulani defence battalions in search-and-destroy missions against Ork Kommandoz in the planet's polar mountain range.Arandra V (930.M41) - The Catachan XXIV Regiment, the "Waiting Death," destroys WAAAGH! Krakskull on Arandra V, luring the entire Greenskin horde into a booby-trapped ravine with "Baiter Squads."Jollov Campaign (932.M41) - Techno Magus Stannum Vir of the Adeptus Mechanicus discovers fragments of an STC database on the Agri-world of Jollov. However, a vanguard tendril of the newly emergent Tyranid Hive Fleet Moloch threatens to consume the world before it can be recovered. At the Tech-priest's behest, a courageous defence of the planet's spaceport ensues. Elements of Catachan, Mordian, Kanak, Molov and Agathon Imperial Guard regiments die in large numbers to buy enough time for the Adeptus Mechanicus to flee with the invaluable technological relic.Yaquit 27 Campaign - Battle for Moden's Ridge (938.M41) - Colonel "Iron Hand" Straken personally leads the Catachan II Regiment in the charge at the Battle of Moden's Ridge, exterminating the L'Huraxi invaders despite being outgunned and outnumbered more than ten-to-one.Conquest of Atria IV (940.M41) - The Conquest of Atria IV is halted when Imperial forces are unable to take the Palace of Hate. With the arrival of the Catachan XXIII Regiment five years later, elite sapper units breach the palace walls within the week.Kieldar Rebellion (956.M41) - The Kieldar Rebellion is utterly crushed by the combined forces of the Catachan, Morax, Elysia, Cadian, Aegis, Tallarn, Harakoni, Neocassan, Paragon, Vostroyan, Birmingham, Mordian, Jjojos, Pintax, Athanos, K'phrani, Rassiosan and Bannan Imperial Guard regiments.Defence of Catachan (972.M41) - Chaos Lord Ratathrax of the Night Lords Traitor Legion invades Catachan. Sending vast orbital barrages down onto the planet aimed at incinerating vast swathes of the Catachan world-jungle, Ratathrax robs the Catachan Jungle Fighters of their most natural defence before systematically bombing their bastion networks into rubble. Ratathrax makes planetfall to enjoy the butchery first hand. Unfortunately for him, Colonel "Iron Hand" Straken of the illustrious Catachan II Regiment lies in ambush in a quagmire of toxic sludge, waiting for Ratathrax to remove his helmet before successfully ambushing him and throttling him to death with a poisonous barb-root.Second Tyrannic War (990-993.M41) - Catachan Jungle Fighter regiments were deployed across the galaxy during the Second Tyrannic War to stop the advance of Hive Fleet Kraken.Third Tyrannic War (997.M41-Present) - Catachan Jungle Fighter regiments were deployed across the galaxy during the Third Tyrannic War to stop the advance of Hive Fleet Leviathan.Defence of Jorn V (997.M41) - The 12th Army Group, comprised mainly of Catachan and Jornian Imperial Guard forces, continue to hold out against a tendril of Hive Fleet Leviathan. Reinforcements continue to be raised to help combat this dire threat.Fortuse III Campaign (997.M41) - Catachan regiments route the Eldar forces of the Alaitoc Craftworld from the Mining World of Fortuse III. Tech-priests are dispatched by the Mechanicus to investigate arcane ruins on that world discovered by Catachan scout teams.Third War for Armageddon (998.M41) - A large number of Catachan Jungle Fighter regiments were deployed by the Segmentum Solar High Command to aid the Imperial defenders in throwing back the second planetary assault by the Orks of WAAAGH! Ghazghkull against the strategic Hive World of Armageddon.Assault on Epsion Octarus (Date Unknown.M41) - The Catachan Jungle Fighters are known to have fought on Epsion Octarus against the Orks of Warlord Grubnak at his Gargant construction site. The Catachans spent 40 days during this campaign amongst the Crotalid-infested swamps making their way towards Grubnak's construction facility. When combat ensued, the Catachans were so ferocious that Grubnuk ordered his Gargants to be painted in the colours of the Catachans, green stripes with red bandanas.Cytherian Annexation (5.985.999.M41) - During the Third Sphere Expansion campaign of the T'au Empire, a T'au expeditionary force was assembled and dispatched from the Bork'an Sept and tasked with the annexation and colonisation of the Imperial world of Cytheria. As the T'au expected stiff resistance from the Human defenders, the expeditionary forces was well-supplied for what would be a long and difficult campaign. An outlying Imperial world in the Eastern Fringe, Cytheria was a planet defined by its dry, rugged plains and dense alien jungle. Although only sparsely populated, the world was home to a valuable research facility of the Adeptus Mechanicus. As such, Cytheria's defences were reinforced by 7 regiments of the Catachan Jungle Fighters, including 3 standard infantry regiments, 2 veteran light infantry regiments and 2 armoured regiments. The T'au force's landing sites were cleared by Stealth Teams and spearheaded by T'au Battlesuits. Despite this initial success, the T'au soon took heavy casualties. Phase two included the eradication of the Imperial armour, which was highlighted by the destruction of the entire XCVII Catachan Armoured Regiment by T'au Hammerhead "Elimination Groups" on the third solar day of the invasion. As the T'au gained the upper hand, the remaining Catachan units withdrew into the jungles to carry on a protracted guerrilla war against the xenos invaders. During this third phase of the campaign, the T'au Fire Warriors found themselves outclassed in such dense terrain. Sensing a loss of momentum in the campaign, the T'au Ethereals redirected the attack on the Herzen Ridge research and communications zone, which ultimately forced the Catachans to enter open battle. The combat on Herzen Ridge broke the last organised Imperial resistance and Cytheria was largely pacified by the T'au. The transport of the needed materials and personnel for T'au colonisation of the world was soon underway and represented another success in the Third Sphere Expansion. Scattered remnants of the Catachan forces still mount sporadic guerrilla attacks on vulnerable T'au targets, in the hope of eventually receiving Imperial reinforcements. However, regular T'au hunter patrols scour the jungles to eliminate these foolish Humans who stubbornly refuse to accept the Greater Good.Conquest of Uttu Prime (Date Unknown.M41) - The Necron Overlord of the Tomb World of Gidrim, the Nemesor Zahndrekh, gave an ultimatum to the Imperial defenders of the world of Uttu Prime that provided them with one solar month to withdraw from the planet, as was required by the ancient Necron codes of battle. After the deadline passed, the Humans had refused to accept this most generous offer. Instead, whilst the Necron fleet remained in orbit around Uttu Prime's desert moon, 4 regiments of the Catachan Jungle Fighters and three companies of Imperial Fists Space Marines had arrived to reinforce the world's defences. When Zahndrekh finally launched his assault, he did so against a very well-defended target. However, when his courtiers argued against prosecuting the war to completion, the Nemesor simply laughed and sent the interstitial command that set the Necron fleet in motion. Zahndrekh initially ignored Uttu Prime's outlying cities, focussing his assault on Fort Anan, the planetary capital. Zahndrekh's first attack wave included a dozen squadrons of Doom Scythe fighters. They swarmed over Fort Anan's fortifications, their death rays ploughing through bastions, ferrocrete walls and the unfortunate defenders within. To their credit, the Humans resisted fiercely. Hydra Flak Tanks and defence lasers scoured the skies, driving or destroying many of the Necron aircraft. Yet every time a Doom Scythe was destroyed another immediately peeled off from the main group to enact vengeance. Before long, Fort Anan was stripped of its aerial defences and the Necron landings began. Transport craft followed in the wake of the first attack. Night Scythes flew low over the wreckage of crashed Necron aircraft and the Imperial bastions. Small arms fire hit the Night Scythes' hulls as their flickering invasion beams delivered Zanhdrekh's assault troops in the heart of the Human defences. Phalanx after phalanx of Immortals and Necron Warriors stalked through the ruins, Gauss Weapons blazing as they drove the Catachans back. Here and there, a Catachan officer's orders held the Imperial Guardsmen in line, but when those strong-willed commanders inevitably fell, the Imperial troops went into full retreat. It was when the Necrons reached the Planetary Governor's citadel that the Astartes of the Imperial Fists made their presence known. Thunderhawk gunships began to shred the oncoming Necron Warriors with Heavy Bolter fire and blast the Immortals apart with missile strikes. As the Astartes gunships touched down amongst the ruins of Fort Anan to disgorge the Space Marines into combat, the Necrons shifted to defensive protocols and awaited reinforcements. Unfortunately for the Imperial Fists, from his vantage point in orbit Zahndrekh had marked the approach of the Thunderhawks long before they had made their presence known on the ground. Even as the roar of Bolter-fire echoed through the ruins of the capital city, a shadow fell over the battlefield as the Necron Megalith descended. The Megalith was a massive floating Necron fortress. Green Gauss fire lanced out from its sides, blasting Thunderhawks from the air or crippling them on the ground. As its shadow grew larger, chunks of the Megalith's understructure broke away, and the blocks fell to the ground. Yet this was not wreckage, but Necron Monoliths detaching from their massive mothership's hull. As each made planetfall, it added its own firepower to the barrage assaulting the Imperial Fists. The Space Marines knew that they could not win, but duty and the stubborn tenacity always displayed by the Sons of Dorn led them to double down. Lascannon and Multi-melta fire flickered through the ruins, the beams converging to pierce the Montoliths' Necrodermis hulls. Astartes Assault Squads threw themselves at the Necron phalanxes, Chainswords screaming as they ripped through metallic bodies. But the Megalith was now close enough to the ground to unleash its invasion beams. The Necron teleport beams activated to deliver Doomsday Arks, legions of Necron Immortals, as well as Zahndrekh and his personal guard into the thick of combat. Those Space Marines that survived now withdrew to the Planetary Governor's citadel, but 3 Doomsday Arks converged their Gauss fire on the citadel's large adamantium gate. For a handful of moments it glowed cherry-red then burst into fragments with a crack. As the Imperial Fists fell back deeper into the citadel, Zahndrekh raised his Warscythe in salute to his valiant but doomed foes. Then the Nemesor led his army through the ruined gate and shortly thereafter, Fort Anan had fallen, with every Astartes and Catachan guardsman dead to the last man. The rest of Uttu Prime would quickly follow and another world would have been added to the territory of the Gidrim Tomb World and the Necron Sautekh Dynasty.Cleansing of Koralkal VIII (Date Unknown.M41) - The Catachan XVIII, the "Swamp Rats" under the command of Colonel Gator, fought for seven standard years against a Tyranid infestation on the world of Koralkal VIII. During this campaign, the Swamp Rats were forced to develop a number of unorthodox tactics to combat the Tyranid threat. Teams of highly experienced Tyranid hunters covered their bodies in ichor taken from the xenos they had slain to build up an immunity to the aliens' toxins and also to mask their own scent from the Tyranid bioforms that were hunting them in turn. The Catachans were thus able to lie in ambush, using the pheromone glands cut from the bodies of slain Lictors to lure the bulk of the Tyranid swarms into carefully constructed and heavily trapped fire-zones. After successfully eliminating the Tyranids, the surviving Swamp Rats were required to spend two standard years aboard a decontamination ship to ensure that any infections or toxins they had picked up from contact with the aliens was not spread to a wider Imperial population. |
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Regimental Combat Doctrine: These tough, resourceful and uncompromising warriors excel at fast-moving, close-quarter firefights, infiltration and sniping. As born survivors, these courageous people have endured growing up on one of the most dangerous and perilous Death Worlds in the galaxy.In battle, Catachans have a reputation for reckless bravery that borders on the insane, willingly throwing themselves into danger. Their preferred choice of weaponry are Flamers and demolition charges, armaments that can be as deadly to the user as the enemy.The Catachan regiments also boast some of the best snipers in the Imperial Guard. Catachan marksmen will take up position solar hours, or even days, before a battle in order to get the best vantage point. |
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Booby Traps: Catachans are experts at utilising booby traps, for in the jungle, even the slightest scratch can prove to be fatal as necrotic bacteria swarm into any open wound and gangrene quickly sets in. Growing up in the harsh environment of a Death World, Catachans take advantage of these harsh conditions by rigging traps from natural materials on the battlefield such as vines and tree branches.They also use a variety of specially-built devices to create "Devil's Gardens" -- areas where the most innocuous looking mound of leaves or tree root can conceal a Shredder Mine or Plasma Charge. These traps can also take the form of dead falls, spiked pits, snares, Spring Mines and "Toe Poppers" (buried shells set to explode when someone step upon them).Many new recruits mistakenly believe that the object of mines and traps is to kill or maim the enemy. This, of course, is only their secondary function, as their primary value is in disrupting and slowing an enemy's advance into certain areas. After several encounters with booby traps, most enemies are liable to become demoralised, overly cautious and spread out, leaving them vulnerable to a well-placed ambush. |
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Mines: There are three types of mine commonly employed by the Catachan regiments: Shredders, Spring and Plasma Mines:Shredder Mines - Explosive fragmentation charges mounted on an upright plate hurls the blast in a specific direction, creating an expanding cone of destruction filled with white-hot fragments of metal. Shredder Mines are Ideal for covering trails, streams and paths. Common mines of the Shredder type include: Triplex Phall Type XII "Repudiator" auto-mine, Armageddon "Hammerhead" area denial weapon, and the Necromunda Pattern "Widowmaker" anti-personal savager.Spring Mines - Spring Mines received this moniker because these devices spring into the air before detonating. Spring Mines are particularly effective against dispersed targets. However, a wary squad leader will advance with a trooper moving ahead on "point" to try to reduce the effectiveness of Spring Mines. Common mines of the Spring type include: Necromunda Pattern "Jumping-snap" anti-personnel leaper, the Gearian Type XIV vertical blast device, and the Martian Type CXI Fragmentation Mine.Plasma Charges - Most anti-personnel mines employ blast waves and shrapnel to injure or kill their victims, but a Plasma Charge renders them relatively ineffective against enemies wearing thick personal armour such as power armour. Larger Tyranid creatures and armoured walkers are also likely to survive even a close proximity detonation from a Spring or Shredder Mine. Where such opponents are expected, Plasma Charges are most useful. This "fires" a blast of super-heated plasma at whatever triggers it, inflicting hideous and invariably fatal injuries. The greatest drawback to Plasma Charges is their small detonation pattern compared to more conventional munitions. Common types of Plasma Charges include: all standard plasma weapon photonic-hydrogen fuel flasks, the Necromundan "Cyclops" anti-armour blast sphere, and the Golgotha Pattern Mark 90KW Energy Mine. |
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Other Traps: Circumstances may sometimes preclude the employment of purpose-built munitions for booby traps. However, it is relatively simple to improvise a variety of basic traps from natural materials and commonly available ammunition. Some common examples include:Lashing Branch - Locating a springy branch at head, waist or knee height, the twigs along the branch are sharpened to a fine point. The branch is then carefully bent back and a line is used to secure it (the thinner the better), tied off with a slip-knot so that the branch is under tension. The line is then strung as a tripwire below where the branch was originally positioned. When an enemy trips the line, the branch is arranged so that it will lash forward and impale the unfortunate victim.Spike Pit (or "Devil's Maw") - A small pit is dug to about knee-deep. The base of it is then lined with sharpened spikes and then further spikes are placed around the edges so they point downwards towards the base of the pit. The pit is then camouflaged using leaves, grasses and whatever else is available. When an enemy steps into the pit, their foot will be impaled by the spikes at the bottom. As they attempt to pull their foot free, the downwards pointing spikes will inflict further injury. A common variant of this is to place dangerous local lifeforms into the bottom of the pit, as this encourages an even faster extrication of the limb and increased chance of injury (aside from whatever bites, stings, etc., the lifeforms can inflict).Buried Bullets ("Toe-Poppers") - These consist of a basic Autogun shell, Bolt Round or Shotgun shell buried so that its base is resting on a nail, rock or sharpened spike and the tip of the shell is just below the surface of soft ground. When an enemy steps on the tip of the round, their weight pushes it back onto the striker, triggering the round directly under their foot, causing moderate to severe injuries. |
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Regimental Organisation: The men and sometimes women who form the regiments of the Catachan Jungle Fighters are tough, resourceful and always uncompromising warriors. They excel at fast-moving, close-quarters fire fights, infiltration and sniper work.Every Catachan is a born survivor by definition and they have been hardened by life on their deadly homeworld to the very core of their beings. These courageous people have endured for millennia one of the most dangerous and perilous ordeals ever known to Mankind -- simply growing up alive on the planet of their birth.Catachan is classified as a Death World, and is perhaps the most notorious of all the known Death Worlds in Imperial space. Every native creature is a carnivore and every form of plant life is highly toxic. Catachan is a planet so inimical to Human life that every day there plays out as a struggle for survival. With such a hideously high mortality rate, only the toughest members of the Catachan population survive into adulthood. Half of the Catachan population dies before they can walk and another half again perish before they have seen ten standard years pass.There are no mineral or other strategic assets present on Catachan and its people offer only one true resource of value to the Imperium -- their superb skill as warriors. Catachan warriors readily accept the Imperial Guard's call to arms in the name of the Emperor and in exchange for this regular tithe of troops, their settlements receive much-needed supplies from the Imperium that would otherwise be impossible to obtain on a world with no industrial base.Common to all the soldiers of the Catachan regiments are their red bandanas, which are a symbol of the blood-oath that every warrior takes when he joins a regiment and a steel-alloy Combat Knife. A well-honed Catachan combat blade is not only a tool and weapon amongst these soldiers, but also a sign of status.On their homeworld, Catachans maintain strong tribal traditions and structures, and this carries over to the regiments drawn from the Death World. Where a Catachan tribe would elect a headman, a regiment will elect its own captains, sergeants and other ranking officers.Entire regiments may be drawn from small geographical areas. It is not uncommon for many squads to be made up of men related to each other. Cousin fights alongside cousin, brother alongside brother and quite often all serve under an uncle or, in rare circumstances, a grandfather. These close-knit structures have resulted in levels of trust and teamwork that are virtually unparalleled within the Imperial Guard.Catachans take great pride in the fact that their officers, all renowned jungle hunters and skilled warriors, share with their fighters every danger and hardship, just as is common amongst the Death World's jungle settlements. As a result, discipline in the Catachan regiments is maintained more through trust and respect than through the simple fact of rank.The Jungle Fighter regiments tend to be fiercely independent as a result and outsiders, particularly authoritative figures like Commissars, can have great difficulty earning the respect and deference of Catachan troops. Thus, Catachan regiments generally lack Imperial Commissars.Even these tough and uncompromising officers are unable to assert their authority over Catachan soldiers, who are notoriously disrespectful to any who have not shared the perils of their homeworld; in fact, Commissars are generally deeply resented by these troops, and it is not uncommon for Commissars assigned to Catachan regiments to be "fragged" by their own men. It is common for Ogryns, however, to fight in Catachan regiments.Catachans have a reputation for reckless bravery that borders on insanity. This is reflected in the dangers that they willingly throw themselves into and their preferred choice of weaponry. Flamers and demolition charges, armaments that can be as dangerous for the user as to its intended target, are commonplace amongst Catachan regiments and the specialists who wield them are well known for their claims that such weapons wouldn't dare to harm a Catachan!The Catachan regiments also boast some of the best snipers in the Imperial Guard. Catachan marksmen will take up their positions hours or even days before a battle in order to get a better vantage point. |
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Catachan Officers: The regimental Colonels and company Captains of the Catachan regiments are usually elected by the rank-and-file. These commanders are often renowned hunters or warriors, the headman of the settlement from which the regiment or company was recruited or perhaps the patriarch of an extended family which has sent many of its men-folk (and sometimes women-folk) to join the ranks.Discipline is maintained through trust and respect rather than by respect for rank. Catachan warriors have a strong sense of pride in the fact that their officers share with them every danger and hardship.Colonel - The commanding officer of an entire Catachan Jungle Fighters regiment.Captain - Officers of the Catachan Jungle Fighters who are subordinate to the regiment's commanding colonel and are the commanding officers of an entire company.Lieutenant - Lieutenants are the junior officers of the Catachan Jungle Fighters regiments who are given command over each company's platoons and who report to their company's captain.Commissars - The inhabitants of Death Worlds like Catachan are usually fiercely independent souls. Outsiders have difficulty earning their respect, particularly commissars who tend to "come on all high an' mighty." These Death World warriors are also very unsubtle in demonstrating disapproval and for this reason such regiments suffer a much higher attritional rate amongst their commissars than those from other, more civilised worlds. |
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Elite Units: Catachan Devil Squads - The fearsome Catachan Jungle Fighter regiments include squads of warriors exceptional even by the exacting standards of their birth world. They are seasoned Jungle Fighters who are deadly in close combat, and make use of a versatile array of ranged weaponry for every occasion. In Catachan regiments these elite soldiers are called "Catachan Devils," in reference to their famous kill-knives and the voracious macro-predators of their world whose fierceness they emulate in combat. The Devils' senses are honed to a razor's edge, allowing them to recognise hidden threats in their midst, even enemies who are concealed under cloaking devices. Their particular mission is usually to conduct long-range penetration raids deep behind enemy lines, responsible for bearing the brunt of the enemy's response when battle is finally joined. In other instances Devils are used as expert scouts and specialists, but when deployed in this manner they range ahead of the main Catachan force, engaging would-be ambushers, launching surprise attacks, setting traps and herding enemy forces into the most dangerous of terrain. These elite squads consist of one Veteran sergeant and between four and nine "Catachan Devil" guardsmen, and some squads may include a Veteran officer.Veteran Assault Teams - Second only to the Catachan Devil Squads themselves, these groups are formed from the bravest and most "Gung Ho" of the regiment's warriors. Assault Teams take the fight directly to the enemy, they bear the brunt of the bloody combat that often occurs in jungle fighting and so are heavily armed with Frag Grenades, Demolition Charges, Flamers, Meltas and Plasma Guns. These fearsome teams consist of a Veteran Sergeant and three to six Catachan Veteran Guardsmen.Veteran Snipers - The Catachans recruit their own snipers from amongst their finest marksmen. These snipers will take up a position for hours, even days before a battle just to find the perfect spot in the trees or amongst the roots and will conceal themselves fully before the enemy draws near. Concentrated sniper fire can throw enemy units into complete confusion, as the snipers are almost impossible to spot in the dense jungle canopy of the environments where the Catachans usually serve. Most companies have up to three Veteran Snipers that act autonomously. |
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Troops: Veteran Infantry Squads - These squads make up the bulk of jungle fighting forces. They are lightly equipped and armoured so that they can move quickly through thick vegetation but still make use of heavy weapons when the situation demands. These squads are composed of one veteran Sergeant or a standard Sergeant and between five and nine Veteran Guardsmen.Fire Support Heavy Weapons Squads - Compared to a standard Imperial Guard force, Catachan Heavy Weapons Squads are rare. The weapons' bulk and the weight of their ammunition makes them difficult to transport across a wilderness as unforgiving as the jungle environments where the Catachan Regiments see most of their combat. Nonetheless, the firepower of Heavy Bolters and Autocannons can be decisive in close battles. These squads are composed of one and three Heavy Weapons Teams, each consisting of two Catachan Veteran Guardsmen.Ogryn Squads - Some Ogryns are native to Death Worlds, but where they are not, certain Death World regiments will "acquire" squads of them, often without informing their previous commanders. Catachan Veterans find Ogryns have the same values of personal loyalty, physical toughness and determination as they themselves, so Catachans and Ogryns get on famously well. |
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Fast Attack: Sentinel Squads - Due to the impassable terrain they fight in, Catachan Jungle Fighters use no vehicles other than the hardy Sentinel scout walker. Sentinels are used as roving hunter-killer units, utilising Heavy Flamers and chainsaws to obliterate knots of resistance. These Death World Sentinels are heavily modified, boasting extra armour, camouflage and other innovations. A Catachan Sentinel Squadron consists of between one and three Sentinel walkers.Veteran Patrols -Veteran Patrols are formed to make long range penetration raids behind enemy lines. They scout out the terrain and locate the precise positions of the enemy. Before the main forces engage in battle, patrols will set up ambushes and lay booby traps where they can do the most harm. These squads consists of one Veteran sergeant or standard sergeant and three to five Catachan Veteran Guardsmen.Rough Riders - Catachans have been known to field unique Rough Rider units. These Jungle Fighters ride into war mounted atop one of the mighty giant reptiles native to the Catachan jungle. |
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Heavy Support: Mortar Heavy Weapons Squads - Mortars are greatly favoured for use in jungle fighting. They have the ability to rain fire down upon the foe while the Mortar crews stay far back among the enshrouding trees. This makes them an invaluable weapon because, unlike Heavy Bolters and Autocannons, Mortars can support the widely spread Catachan Veteran Squads despite the close terrain. Barrages of Mortar fire are also useful for pinning down enemy units and enabling Catachan squads to then outmanoeuvre them. A Mortar Heavy Weapons Squad consists of between one and three Weapons Teams, each made up of two Catachan Veteran Guardsmen. |
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Catachan Beliefs: The Catachans do not think highly of medals and other military decorations and see them as little more than pretty baubles. They prefer to mark out true achievements by tattoos. Skull motifs are common amongst Catachan veterans who have served -- and survived -- for more than 5 standard years. Dagger symbols are used by those lucky enough to have survived for ten standard years in the Emperor's service.A highly practical people, Catachans often dull their regimental badges with soot and dirt so as not to reflect light and give away their positions to the enemy, a practice which has often infuriated Imperial Guard officers native to worlds with a more materialistic culture.Catachan tank crews often adorn their vehicles with non-standard stylised decals, kill-markings and unofficial nicknames in addition to the standard Imperial Guard honours and badges. Catachan Sentinel pilots in particular are known to personalise and modify their walkers to better suit an individual's particular combat style. |
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Wargear: Most Catachan warriors eschew the use of the Imperial Guard Flak Armour that they receive as standard issue because they are often deployed in steaming hot tropical jungle terrain. As a result, Catachan Jungle Fighters usually prefer to rely on their own mobility and instincts for protection in such dense, hostile terrain. The use of armour would also leave them at greater risk of dehydration, which in an alien jungle can be as deadly a killer as any living enemy.As specialists in ambush tactics, the Jungle Fighters also make notable use of demolition charges and improvised explosives, as well as possessing their own sniper cadre. Their preferred heavy and special weapons are the Flamer and Heavy Bolter, while they will make use of jury-rigged traps, Spring Mines, Shredder Mines and Plasma Charges to kill different types of enemy troops and other units in carefully prepared ambushes.Similarly, the warriors of Catachan do not place much regard in medals, preferring, as noted above, their own system of battle honours: marking their flesh with tattoos. While such markings are unique to individual regiments, campaigns, and soldiers, some uniform elements remain common to virtually all Catachans, such as the red bandannas that evoke the blood-oaths sworn upon each soldier joining the regiment, and a wide variety of steel-alloy knives that are as much marks of status as they are weapons and tools.Such is the pragmatism of the Catachans that they dull their knives, regimental insignia, and any other metal on their persons with soot and soil to avoid revealing their presence to the enemy with errant reflections.The average Catachan guardsman -- if such a thing truly exists -- will be outfitted with the following wargear:Mark IV Lascarbine - The standard ranged weapon employed by Catachan troops is the Mark IV Lascarbine. A lighter, cut down version of the Lasgun, the Lascarbine has a lower rate of fire and a shorter range but is easier to carry and aim, and often possesses a folding stock. Lascarbines can be fired using only one hand.4 Charge Packs - Charge Packs are powerful capacitors used almost exclusively by Imperial laser weapons. The potency of a Charge Pack varies depending on the class of the weapon. In all cases, it provides shots equal to the weapon's full clip value and can be recharged to fire the full number of shots once more.Catachan Knife - Catachans make use of many close combat weapons collectively called Catachan Knives, including the Catachan Fang, a Combat Knife measuring up to 20 Terran inches of gleaming steel, which is the most common melee weapon in use among these regiments. It is also used for settling disputes between Catachans. Another Combat Knife is called the Night Reaper, which is smaller and blackened, effective for night infiltrations and assassinations. Night Reapers are sometimes poisoned to improve their kill strength, the poisons coming directly from the highly toxic native flora of Catachan. The Devil's Claw, named after the great Catachan Devil predator on Catachan, is the longest such weapon, up to four feet long. It is closer in size to a sword than a Combat Knife and has achieved status among the Orks who call it "Da Cutta." The blade is hollow and half filled with mercury in order to improve swing strength and control, and the design of this weapon has been copied by Catachan regimental officers for use as a Power Weapon.Flak Vest - The most common type of armour in the galaxy is Flak Armour, as it is standard issue to the countless millions of Imperial Guardsmen. Many layers of ablative and impact absorbent material go into making each suit, enough to deflect or negate most low-level attacks such as small arms, shrapnel, and proximity blasts. Solid hits from high impact weapons can generally negate it, but given that it is relatively lightweight, cheap to produce, and dependable in most combat situations, many veterans keep using it even when offered better.Flak Helmet3 Frag Grenades - Frag Grenade explosives use a combustible charge and special fillers of shrapnel fragments. Imperial frag grenades are roughly the size of a clenched fist and covered with a heavily notched shell, both to increase the shrapnel produced and provide a more secure grip for throwing.2 Smoke Grenades - Smoke Grenade explosives release a dense smoke which only obscures basic eyesight and optical based systems. They do not block detection systems that use heat or other spectral bands outside of normal Human eyesight, but are much more widely available and easier to construct.Catachan Jungle Fighters Imperial Guard UniformPoor Weather GearRucksackBasic ToolkitMess Kit and Water Canteen2 Solar Weeks' RationsStummer - The reverse of the automated alarm device known as a Screamer, Stummers generate sound waves to cancel out ambient sounds and noises made by moving personnel in a small area.Grapnel - Grapnels use a small launcher or gas-gun to fire a hooked or magnetic grapnel, connected to the launcher with a coiled 100 metres' length of thin but strong line. Once the grapnel attaches to the desired spot such as a rooftop, a guardsman can manually climb the line or activate a powered winch. Common sets can hold 150 kilograms, while the best can support 200 kilograms.Blanket & Sleep BagRechargeable Lamp-Pack - Sturdy and reliable, glow-globes illuminate many an Imperial paveway and cathedral. Most portable ones are roughly the size of a clenched fist and can shine strong, yellowish light a dozen or so metres in width, lasting roughly five hours before their power pack needs recharging or replacing.Dog TagsImperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer - A staple piece of gear that Guardsmen are required to have on them at all times—this piece of kit is never to fall into the hands of the enemies of the Imperium. It details everything a guardsman needs to know: principles and regulations of the Imperial Guard, issued arms, attire, apparatus, and equipment, basic battlefield policy and Imperial Guard organisation and structure, elementary battlefield medical instructions, and a detailed guide on the foes of the Imperium. No guardsman should ever be found without possession of a copy of the Uplifting Primer -- the punishment is severe. |
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Notable Catachan Jungle Fighter Regiments: Catachan II Regiment, "Green Vipers" - The II Catachan are made up of many Catachan Devil Squads. They fought valiantly during the Dulma'lin Cleansing, where Colonel "Iron Hands" Straken was seriously injured, and were subsequently redeployed to assist the Ulani defence battalion. They presumably took part in the Battle of Moden's Ridge, during the Yaquit 27 Campaign, fighting the xenos called the L'Huraxi. The Ogryn Nork Deddog is also known to have served under Colonel Greiss within the II Regiment.Catachan III Regiment, "the Green Devils" - The III Catachan was the home regiment of Captain Rock, who commented on the similarities between Varestus Prime and Catachan.Catachan IV Regiment - The Catachan IV took part in the Macharian Crusade with varying success. The IV Catachan was wiped out during the invasion of Jucha.Catachan V Regiment - The Catachan V took part in the Macharian Crusade with varying success. The 5th met fierce resistance during the Invasion of Jucha.Catachan VI Regiment, "the Cobras" - The Catachan VI took part in the Macharian Crusade with varying success. The VI Catachan were notably deployed from the battlecruiser Opus Dei.Catachan IX Regiment - The IX Catachan's exploits are not recorded in current Imperial records.Catachan XII Regiment - Led by Colonel Traupman, the Catachan XII took part in the Macharian Crusade and deployed from the battlecruiser Defiance during the invasion of Jucha. They also fought during the recent 13th Black Crusade in 999.M41. This was Sly Marbo's original regiment before moving to the Catachan II.Catachan XIV Regiment - The Catachan XIV participated in the Macharian Crusade and were victorious in their missions.Catachan XVII Regiment, "the Screaming Devils" - The Catachan XVII is led by Captain Thorn and includes the famous sniper Dell, who won the Silver Bullet seven standard years in a row. During the re-pacification of the world of Bad Sanctuary, Captain Thorn and his Screaming Devils "lost contact" with their assigned Commissar during a treacherous ravine crossing. The regiment's fighting efficiency has markedly increased since that fateful day.Catachan XVIII Regiment, "the Drakebats" - The drakebat is an Ogryn-sized, winged, pseudo-reptile that lurks amongst the upper canopy of the equatorial jungles of Catachan, descending from the treetops to ambush and devour unsuspecting prey. The Catachan XVIII Light Infantry, famed for their swift ambushes and surprise assaults, took on the name of these beasts, as is a common tradition amongst Catachan regiments. The speed at which the drakebat performs its swooping attacks is echoed by the Catachan 18th’s ability to deploy and execute an ambush with minimal time to prepare. An uncommonly large regiment, the Drakebats have been divided up into a number of company-strength groups and spread across the Spinward Front warzone of the Calixis Sector, lending their skills to the hostile wilderness of several worlds. Most recently, the Orks in the fungus jungles on Thrax have been the Drakebats' primary concern, with the Catachans forming part of a task force charged with retaking the world and driving the Orks from it. Before that, they waged war across the dusty plains and frontier towns of Ganf Magna, purging Feral Orks with knife, Lasgun, and Flamer. The regiment's commanding officer is a long-serving soldier in his early sixties, remarkably old for a Catachan, and bearing a wealth of experience that could only have been gained from over forty standard years at the front lines. Colonel Tiho Anders, referred to as "The Old Man" by his men, is a cunning and resourceful leader, still uncomfortable with outside authorities and justifiably proud of his warriors' accomplishments. He is distrustful of his superiors, and has long been vocal of his dislike of what he calls the "witless interference of the Commissariat." This outlook has not endeared him to senior commanders, who only tolerate Anders because of his regiment's skills.Catachan XVIII Regiment, "the Swamp Rats" - The Catachan XVIII fought the Tyranids in a seven-year-long campaign on the world of Koralkal VIII under the command of Colonel Gator, during which they covered themselves with the ichor of Lictors to mask their scent. They subsequently spent two standard years in decontamination before they were allowed to return to active duty. They also have a rare Thunderer siege tank as part of their forces. This regiment may have been the second incarnation of the Catachan XVIII Regiment, raised after its former incarnation, "the Drakebats."Catachan XIX Regiment, "the Scorpion Fangs" - The XIX Catachan is known to include a Mars Pattern Leman Russ Exterminator, the third tank of the third squadron of the only company supporting the rest of the regiment. It was equipped with a bulldozer blade to aid it in the fighting on Armageddon Secundus during the Third War for Armageddon.Catachan XXIII Regiment - The Catachan 23rd were crucial during the conquest of Atria IV, as their elite sapper units were able to breach the Palace of Hate within a week. The Catachan XXIII also fought on an unknown jungle world against the Eldar of an unknown Craftworld.Catachan XXIV Regiment, "the Waiting Death" - The "Waiting Death" are known for their almost exclusive and highly successful employment of booby traps. They are known to spend solar days, even weeks, preparing a large area with mines, improvised spike pits, long falls and other deadly traps before their foolhardy "Baiter" squads lure the enemy into the deathtraps awaiting them. Most notable of their achievements was the almost complete destruction of Warlord Krakskull's entire Ork horde with a single massive pit trap. They accomplished this by covering the mile-deep Hellsmouth Gorge on Arandra Five. So perfect was the trap's construction that almost all of the greenskin horde had started to cross the hidden ravine before the fake floor of branches and leaves gave way under their tremendous weight.Catachan XXVII Regiment, "the Flaming Devils" - The XXVII Catachan were stationed on the world of Gerran Prime to fight against the Necrons in 962.M41. The campaign went very badly for them and within a year they were almost wiped out. They fought a desperate last stand in a jungle ruin, led by Commissar Von Blacke, though their commander cowardly fled the battle in the first Valkyrie that arrived, and called off any more Valkyries from entering the drop zone, leaving his men to die. However, a maverick Imperial Navy Valkyrie pilot risked his own life to fly into the ruins and rescue any survivors. Although his Valkyrie was badly damaged (almost destroyed, in fact), he managed to rescue Von Blacke and the remaining handful of Flaming Devils survivors. Von Blacke promptly executed the regiment's commander for cowardice. The remaining Flaming Devils were merged with the understrength Katon Dragoons Regiment and Von Blacke was re-assigned.Catachan LI Regiment, "the Black Vipers" - The Catachan "Black Vipers" fought on the world of Cytheria after its governor defected to the Tau Empire. Snipers from the regiment eliminated a prominent Tau leader, striking a critical blow to the alien's morale.Catachan CXLVI Regiment, "the Red Cobras" - The CXLVI Catachan's exploits are not recorded in current Imperial records.Catachan CLXXXIII Regiment - The CLXXXIII Catachan Regiment protected the world of Pandorax from an assault of the Black Legion and other Chaos Space Marines. Led by Colonel "Death" Strike, the regiment successfully managed to survive against the Traitor Marines, using their jungle and city fighting skills to the fullest.Catachan CCCXCI Regiment, "the Coiling Cobras" - The CCCXCI Catachan's exploits are not recorded in current Imperial records.Catachan MXIV Regiment, "the Unseen Lurkers" - The MXIV "Unseen Lurkers," led by Colonel "Steel Eye" Black, battled Orks from the Death Skulls Ork Clan on the Shadow World of Kato. Sentinel teams from the regiment destroyed the Ork's hidden Stompa factory. |
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Notable Catachan Jungle Fighters: Colonel Tiho Anders - The Catachan XVIII Light Infantry Regiment's commanding officer is a long-serving soldier in his early sixties, remarkably old for a Catachan, and bearing a wealth of experience that could only have been gained from over forty standard years at the front lines. Colonel Tiho Anders, referred to as "The Old Man" by his "Drakebats," is a cunning and resourceful leader, still uncomfortable with outside authorities and justifiably proud of his warriors' accomplishments. He is distrustful of his superiors, and has long been vocal of his dislike of what he calls the "witless interference of the Commissariat." This outlook has not endeared him to senior commanders, who only tolerate Anders because of his regiment's skills.Colonel "Steel Eye" Black - Colonel Black was the regimental commander of the Catachan MXIV Regiment, the "Unseen Lurkers." Colonel Black and his soldiers battled the Orks of the Death Skulls Clan on the Shadow World of Kato. Sentinel teams from the regiment were able to successfully destroy the Ork's hidden Stompa factory.Colonel Gator - Gator was the regimental commander of the Catachan XVIII "Swamprats" of 762-771.M41, leading them for seven years against a Tyranid horde on the world of Koralkal VIII. Teams of highly experienced Tyranid hunters covered their bodies in the ichor of the aliens they had slain, to build up an immunity to the toxins and mask their scent from the Lictors which hunted them. After successfully wiping out the Tyranid swarm, the "Swamprats" had to spend two years on a decontamination ship.Colonel Traupman - Traupman is the commander of the Catachan XII Regiment and the famed Sly Marbo's original commanding officer. It is said that only the Colonel knows the truth of Marbo's origins and the tragedy that befell his brothers. Between missions Traupman often acted as Marbo's only source of Human contact, as well as awarding him some of his many Stars of Terra.General Greiss - Greiss was in command of the Catachan II Regiment as its colonel when it was involved in the pacification of the world of Balur. The campaign lasted for four standard years and Greiss was severely wounded on several occasions. He is most famous for his association with the Ogryn Nork Deddog. Nork saved Greiss' life several times, including carrying him from Breakback Hill when most of Greiss's body was shattered. Greiss was eventually promoted to become a general of the Astra Militarum and was succeeded as colonel of the Catachan II by his former subordinate, "Iron Hand" Straken. In his new postition as general, Griess orchestrated the Astra Militarum's assault during the Dulma'lin Cleansing, personally selecting his former regiment to undertake the mission of sabotaging the Ork war effort. He was one of the few survivors of the ill-fated journey of the Selvian Dragoons, which saw them ambushed and slaughtered by the Orks, leaving the Catachan II stranded within Dulma'lin's capital.Colonel "Iron Hand" Straken - Regimental commander of the Catachan II, now possesses even more extensive chest and arm bionics following the events during the Cleansing of Dulma'lin. His original nom de guerre predated the Dulma'lin campaign and is derived from his unique Augmetics, which replaced the portions of his body devoured by a Miral Land Shark, which he killed mere moments after the initial attack.Colonel "Death" Strike - Colonel Strike was the commander of the CLXXXIII Regiment of the Catachan Jungle Fighters during the Pandorax Incursion. He earned his nickname whilst fighting against enemies in the forests of Burlion VIII. The CLXXXIII was en route to the Maelstrom War Zone during the 13th Black Crusade, when suddenly an engine failure ended up trapping them upon the world of Pythos. If it had not been for the CLXXXIII Regiment and Colonel Strike, Pyrthos would have been lost to the Forces of Chaos.Gunnery Sergeant "Stonetooth" Harker - Gunnery Sergeant Harker, nicknamed "Stonetooth" Harker by his comrades within his regiment, is one of the most renowned warriors hailing from Catachan to ever serve in the Imperial Guard. He is so exceptionally resilient that all who have served with him believe that the creature who can kill him simply has not yet come into being. Harker serves in Colonel "Iron Hand" Straken's II Regiment of the Catachan Jungle Fighters, the equally-renowned "Catachan Devils" who have a reputation for getting the job done, whatever the odds against them. Harker is the most senior Sergeant of the regiment, and leads his hand-picked team of veterans with the patience and cunning of the most dangerous of predators. In addition to being his squad's leader, Harker doubles up as the squad's heavy weapon specialist, wielding his trusted Heavy Bolter named Payback as easily as other Guardsmen wield their Lasgun.Burk Canten - Growing up in the lethal jungles of Catachan, Burk developed deadly skills with a knife and a dark sense of humour to cope with the perils of life on a death world. In his years as a soldier he has refined both of these talents and become skilled with a plethora of other weapons, including the short-barrelled auto-shotgun that he favours for deep reconnaissance missions. Burk is often called upon by his commanders for his vast experience, and has learned a great deal about military strategy and the Tactica Imperialis from working with them. Burk is quick to crack jokes about the enemy, his squadmates, or the imminent likelihood of annihilation, but he nonetheless avoids slipping into the despair that often plagues those possessed of such dark humour. Burk often acts as a voice of reason and intermediary between the more eccentric members of the Catachan 233rd Jungle Fighters Regiment, offering unexpected solutions to problems within and without.Sly Marbo - Sly Marbo is a member of the Catachan II Regiment and is considered the best camouflage expert and sniper in the entire regiment. He has also been referred to as the "one man army" by his commanding officers and fellow Catachans. He often works completely alone in the field, shadowing his regiment's squads as they travel through dense jungles, acting as their sniper support. His character is heavily inspired by the famous fictional character of John Rambo as portrayed by Sylvester Stallone in the 1980's Rambo films (Marbo is an anagram of Rambo, while "Sly" is a nickname for Sylvester, after Sylvester Stallone, the actor who portrayed John Rambo). Little is known of Marbo's past, but it is hinted that he and his nine brothers joined a Catachan regiment that was wiped out -- only Marbo survived, returning to his post with a severed enemy commander's head with a bullet hole between the eyes. Marbo apparently stares vacantly into space in the time between assignments, and few have heard him speak; both attributes unsettle commanders who encounter him, but none can argue with the results of his solo missions or his combat effectiveness.Trooper Arden - One of the most famous -- some would say infamous -- fighters to have served in the warzones of the Spinward Front was Trooper Arden of the Catachan CCCI Regiment. Known for favouring his Catachan Knife over the standard issue Lasgun, Arden quickly gained a reputation as a brutal melee fighter. His most notable feat came when he personally slew nearly two dozen Ork warriors in a single hand-to-hand engagement. Arden mysteriously disappeared soon after, during a raid upon an Ork Warboss' base. Rumours abound, however, that since then he has been sighted on numerous battlefields within the Spinward Front.Nork Deddog - Nork Deddog is the Ogryn bodyguard of Colonel Greiss, the former commanding officer of the II Catachan Regiment of the Imperial Guard. Nork is a genius by Ogryn standards, and is also the only Ogryn to have ever been assigned directly to serve a Commissar. He was assigned to guard the life of Colonel Greiss, commander of the 2nd Catachan Regiment, and did so faithfully. He was selected by the Schola Progenium due to his ability to write his name ("N is for Nork"), count (to four), and even speak fluently and understand orders without hesitation or difficulty, this being a rare occasion in Ogryn development as the majority of Ogryns would find these tasks very difficult, if not impossible. He was taken out of the normal stream of warfare and underwent artificial mental enhancement (possibly the same process used in the creation of Bone 'Eads) as well as extensive training. He was then assigned to the II Catachan under Colonel Greiss, who trusted Nork with his life and had been saved by his loyal bodyguard and friend on many occasions, notably during the disaster at Breakback Hill, where he pulled an entire damaged Chimera transport vehicle across the battlefield when asked by his commander to retrieve a medi-kit. He then carried his wounded colonel out of battle and to safety whilst being shot at by thousands of enemy troops and seemingly feeling no pain.Sergeant "Ripper" Jackson - A Veteran sergeant of the Catachan Jungle Fighters.Captain Catachan - A legendary Catachan Devil who is used for propaganda purposes by the the Astra Militarum's Regimental Standard newspaper. |
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Trivia: The Catachan Jungle Fighters are loosely based upon the real-world United States military during the Vietnam War (1964-1973), particularly the United States Army Special Forces, known colloquially as the "Green Berets." |
Catachan Jungle Fighters - Sources: Codex: Armageddon (3rd Edition), pg. 32Codex: Catachans (3rd Edition), pp. 3, 4, 6, 16, 22-23Codex: Astra Militarum (6th Edition) (Digital Edition), "Regiments of Distinction - Catachan Jungle Fighters"Codex: Astra Militarum (8th Edition), pp. 20-21, 58Codex: Astra Militarum (9th Edition), pg. 20Codex: Imperial Guard (3rd Edition, 1st Codex), pg. 7Codex: Imperial Guard (3rd Edition, Revised Codex), pp. 9, 30Codex: Imperial Guard (5th Edition), pp. 8, 15, 22-23, 25, 38, 60-62Codex: Necrons (5th Edition), pp. 15, 21Codex: Tyranids (4th Edition)Dawn of War II - Retribution (PC Game)Deathworld (Novel) by Steve LyonsImperial Armour Volume One - Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy, pp. 51, 76Only War: Core Rulebook (RPG), pp. 44-45Only War: Eleventh Hour (RPG), pp. 4-5, 7Only War: Hammer of the Emperor (RPG), pp. 55Pandorax (Novel) by C.Z. DunnStraken (Novel) by Toby FrostWarhammer 40,000: Rulebook (5th Edition), pp. 76, 140, 172-173Warhammer 40,000: Rulebook (7th Edition), pg. 40White Dwarf 286 (US), "Regiments of the Imperium"White Dwarf 239 (US), "Glorious Battles of the Imperial Guard, Part 1 - Catachan Background," pp. 17-19White Dwarf 180 (US), "Catachan Jungle Fighters: Imperial Guard," pp. 12-17White Dwarf 243 (UK), pg. 9Third War for Armageddon Worldwide Campaign - Forces Disposition, Imperial Forces: Catachan Jungle Fighters (Archived)Third War for Armageddon Worldwide Campaign - Forces Disposition, Imperial Forces: Armageddon Ork Hunters (Archived)Regimental Focus - Catachanhttps://www.warhammer-community.com/2020/03/01/sunday-preview-star-lizards-and-start-collecting-boxes/Catachan Devil (Novel) by Justin Woolley, Ch. 8 |
Catachan Knives - Catachan Knives: Catachan Knives are the notorious one-handed melee weapons used exclusively by the elite Catachan Jungle Fighters regiments of the Astra Militarum.These fearsome weapons include: the Catachan Fang, a Combat Knife measuring up to 20 inches of gleaming steel, which is the most common melee weapon in use amongst these regiments and also used for settling disputes between Catachans; the Night Reaper, which is smaller and blackened, effective for night infiltrations and assassinations; and the Devil's Claw, named after the great Catachan Devil predator that hails from their jungle Death World of Catachan and has taken so many Catachan lives over the centuries. |
Catachan Knives - History: A knife is not only a tool and the weapon of a Catachan warrior but also a mark of his status. The steel alloy used for these knives is only found on the jungle planet of Catachan. A well-honed Catachan blade will not rust and its edge will remain keen even after continuous use.Catachan Knives are highly valued and sought after throughout the Imperium. Many counterfeit copies are sold by roaming Rogue Traders, but the only sure way to get an authentic Catachan Knife is to take it from a Catachan. This is no easy task, as the Catachans place a tremendous value on their knives.It is said that a Catachan would rather give up his right arm than his knife. Indeed, Catachans do not just see their knives as brutally effective weapons, but also as great tools, useful for hacking through foliage, as a climbing aid, a first aid kit and a true lifeline in the deadly environments in which they fight.Each Catachan learns the craft of making knives from his parents and making one's own knife is considered one of the tests of adulthood on the Death World. While the basic design of the knives remains the same, there are subtle variations between family groups and individuals, depending on the height and preferences of the user. |
Catachan Knives - Variants: Each Catachan Jungle Fighter learns the craft of making knives from his parents and making one's own knife is considered one of the tests of adulthood on the jungle Death World.While the basic design of the knives remains the same, there are subtle variants between family groups and individuals, depending on the height and preferences of the user.The following are the most common Catachan Knives found throughout the Catachan Jungle Fighters regiments.Catachan Fang - Measuring up to 20 inches of gleaming steel, the Catachan Fang is the most common type of Catachan Knife used by the Catachan regiments. Equally useful for cutting your way through jungle or a deviant Aeldari, the Catachan Fang is renowned throughout thousands of star systems. This knife is also used for settling disputes between Catachans. Usually, one knife is placed in the centre of a fighting pit and the combatants must each strive to get hold of the knife. The duel ends when one fighter draws blood, though this can often mean death as well.Night Reaper - Smaller than other typical designs, the blackened blade of the Night Reaper is especially suitable for infiltration and night missions when light reflecting from a blade can mean the difference between life and death. The blade itself is triangular, so any wound caused by the Night Reaper is unlikely to clot or heal. Catachans are also known to poison these knives using one of the many animal and plant venoms or toxins native to their inhospitable planet.Devil's Claw - Named after the fearsome predator known as the Catachan Devil of the fearsome Catachan jungles, this is the largest type of the traditional knives of Catachan. Anywhere between three and four feet long, the Devil's Claw is closer to a short sword than a knife. It is used mainly on the battlefield in close quarters and it has even achieved a fearsome reputation amongst the Orks, who call it "Da Cutta." The blade itself is hollow and half-filled with mercury to give it greater swinging power. Power Swords wielded by senior members of the Catachan regiments are often identical in design to the Devil's Claw. |
Catacomb Command Barge - Catacomb Command Barge: A Catacomb Command Barge, whilst similar in appearance and structure to an Annihilation Barge, serves a very different purpose for Necron forces; whereas Annihilation Barges bring ruination upon the living from a distance, Catacomb Command Barges close on the foe as quickly as possible so that the embarked Necron Overlord can strike at his enemies with sword and scythe. Catacomb Command Barges serve solely as conveyors for Necron nobility, particularly those with a propensity for melee combat. Catacomb Command Barges are far swifter than Annihilation Barges, so that the barge’s master might be conducted to wherever he is most needed, and to ensure that no foes escape their intended fate. It is a near-universal truth that the nobility of every thinking race seek to showcase their status, and the Necrons are no exception. |
Catacomb Command Barge - Role: The most aggressive Necron Overlords fight not on foot, but rather from the deck of a Catacomb Command Barge -- an armoured, dimensional repulsor-driven skimmercraft. In ancient times, this craft would hover high above the army, so that all Necrontyr could see their Overlord’s presence and take heart from it. Catacomb Command Barges are first and foremost a way to show how (literally) far above their servants and enemies a Necron Lord or Overlord is. For those Lords who prefer to keep their skeletal hands clean, a Command Barge can hover above the battlefield, allowing them to survey the combat and issue orders while avoiding the swirl of melee and all but the most dedicated of ranged attackers. Most Overlords can no longer directly inspire the soldiery as they once could though -- few Necrons still possess the capacity for such emotions -- but technology has filled the void.A Catacomb Command Barge is nothing less than a giant carrier wave generator, equipped with sophisticated sub-frequency broadcasting equipment, omnivoxes, and hyperspace transmitters, that allows an Overlord to instantaneously issue commands to nearby troops, Necron forces in the local vicinity and even in orbit, regardless of conditions or interference. Even in the present age, when inspiration has little to do with visibility, an Overlord will often seek a raised vantage point from the battle’s start, so he might better define the enemy’s intended strategy before it unfolds.The Catacomb Command Barge itself is a swift and manoeuvrable craft -- it has to be, for an Overlord must keep pace with the battle at all times. Though the Overlord is undeniably the Command Barge’s master, he does not operate its controls. Such work is beneath a member of the nobility, and especially below those of such esteemed rank as he. Rather, the skimmercraft’s controls are the charge of two slaved Necron crew who act as both pilots and as gunners for its underslung weaponry. These Necrons are hard-wired to the Overlord through the craft's mechanism and can react to his instructions in a fraction of a second. This does not, however, prevent the Overlord from issuing verbal commands -- old habits die hard in old soldiers. Indeed, it is often possible to hear the Overlord’s authoritative instructions or angry epithets echoing across a battlefield as he drives his crew hard up to, and sometimes beyond, their limits. Whether this is out of vanity, nostalgia for the time of flesh, or a damaged engrammatic synthapse, depends on the individual Lord.Service aboard a Command Barge is considered to be a great honour, though it is not without its risks. Not only does it guarantee a place in the very heart of battle, but if the Overlord is slain -- or sometimes even if he is merely put to inconvenience through mechanical failure -- retribution falls upon his pilots. However, an Overlord can perform a symbiotic repair if the vehicle has its weapon or motor drives destroyed. This comes at a physical cost though for the Overlord himself, as he must give up a portion of his personal energy to repair the barge.With his barge’s systems attended to by his minions, the Overlord is free to wield his Warscythe against his foe, for a Catacomb Command Barge allows a Necron royal to swiftly engage his foes in close combat. Sometimes he will disembark before doing so, preferring to face his chosen foe with feet braced firmly on solid ground. At other times, however, the Overlord will remain seated on his Catacomb Command Barge; choosing instead to strike at the foe with great sweeps of his blade as his barge screams past. While Catacomb Command Barges are typically employed in large-scale engagements, they might also be utilised whenever a Necron noble requires speed and manoeuvrability to accomplish his goals. The barge's transmitters can be useful for a Lord who wishes to conduct a more delicate operation from a safe distance. For a Lord taking a more personal involvement, the Barge’s speed ensures that no fleeing witnesses escape with their lives. The last sight of many an enemy has been that of a Catacomb Command Barge swooping out of the sky with the Overlord’s blade gleaming as it swings around in a decapitating arc… |
Catacomb Command Barge - Armament: A Catacomb Command Barge can be armed with either of these weapons mounted on its underside:Tesla Cannon – Tesla Cannons unleash bolts of living lightning that crackles from foe to foe after hitting its target, charring flesh and melting armour. Tesla bolts feed off the energy released by the destruction they cause, thus making their lightning become more furious with every fresh arc.Gauss Cannon – The same weapon as that wielded most commonly by Necron Destroyers, Gauss Cannons make for a reliable weapon that is easily capable of laying waste to enemy infantry through the molecular disassembling beams they deliver; reducing flesh, armour and bone to their constituent atoms.Catacomb Command Barges are also protected by the following:Necrodermis - The armour of Catacomb Command Barges is made up of the same living metal Necrodermis that makes up all Necron bodies and vehicles. Its remarkable regenerative properties allow it to automatically repair damage to itself; whether this is the regeneration of parts of its hull, the reknitting of metal plates, and the reconnection of circuits and other delicate systems to bring its weapon online again.Quantum Shielding – Catacomb Command Barges are also protected by a layer of Quantum Shielding which exists out of phase from the rest of the vehicle until the moment of deflection. It can deflect the first shot that would otherwise penetrate the Barge’s armour, after which it cannot be used again for some time. |
Catacomb Command Barge - Ordo Xenos Departmento Analyticus Technical Specifications: The technical specifications for this Necron unit have not been obtained or released by the Ordo Xenos. |
Catalepsean Node - Catalepsean Node: The Catalepsean Node is the 6th of the 19 gene-seed organs that are implanted into a Space Marine neophyte to produce a new Astartes. This organ is implanted into the back of the cerebrum, just above the brain stem. When deprived of sleep for a long period of time, the Catalepsean Node "cuts in" upon detecting a rise in the Astartes' stress and fatigue hormones.This allows the Astartes to consciously "switch off" sections of the brain sequentially, while remaining awake and alert. This ability comes at a price, as prolonged use of this ability can be hazardous, possibly inducing hallucinations or even psychosis.This implant's function bears a resemblance to an ancient scientific theory as to how ceteaceans known as "Bottlenose Dolphins" "sleep": shutting off sections of their brain while remaining awake and alert through the active use of the other sections.Yet even the mighty Space Marines cannot go too long without actual rest. The longest any Space Marine has ever been on active combat duty without rest is 328 solar hours, achieved by a squad of the Crimson Fists' Kill-team during the battle against the Orks for Rynn's World. |
Cataphractii Pattern Terminator Armour - Cataphractii Pattern Terminator Armour: Cataphractii Pattern Terminator Armour was originally a prototype for the later patterns of Terminator Armour first used by the Space Marine Legions and the warriors of the Legio Custodes throughout the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras.Whilst similar in many respects to the standard Indomitus Pattern Terminator Armour used by the Adeptus Astartes of the late 41st Millennium, it was set apart by a number of features such as the large, layered pauldrons, the pteruges protecting the elbow and thigh joints, and a helmet that resembled that used by the Mark III Iron Pattern suit of power armour.Although the use of the Cataphractii Pattern was rare before the Horus Heresy, some Legions, such as the Sons of Horus and the Iron Hands, possessed a large number of these suits. The Iron Hands Legion passed on these suits to their Successor Chapters during the Second Founding of the early 31st Millennium. |
Cataphractii Pattern Terminator Armour - History: The technology for Exo-armour was originally developed during Mankind's Dark Age of Technology. These sealed environment suits enabled maintenance crews of spacecraft to operate in extremely hazardous environments such as hard vacuum or in other adverse atmospheric conditions. During the Great Crusade era of the late 30th and early 31st Millennia, the Mechanicum was receiving a steady influx of new and rediscovered technologies from each planet brought to Imperial Compliance.In an effort to stem the horrendous loss of Legionary lives resulting from the ferocious conquests, the Mechanicum attempted to design the "ultimate" pattern of Power Armour which would render a Space Marine virtually invulnerable. The design emerged from a hybrid of standard Legionary Power Armour, the cybernetic shell of a Dreadnought and the armoured hostile environment suits long worn by Terran engineers who worked in difficult environments like debris-plagued orbital space and the radioactive engine cores of interstellar spacecraft. Tactical Dreadnought Armour, as it was called, would turn the Astartes warrior within it into a living tank.The eventual result of the Mechanicum's travails was only a partial success: the first suits of Terminator Armour did, as intended, afford a level of protection previously unattainable for its wearer. Like Power Armour, these suits were equipped with fibre-bundle synthetic muscles and imposed few movement restrictions upon the wearer despite their immense weight.But they were also too bulky, and their massive weight made running difficult despite built-in auto-balancers. The suits suffered from voracious power demands and few existing armaments could be carried as the armour's sheer bulk made handling and reloading impossible. But most importantly, the sheer amounts of raw materials and manpower required to craft Terminator Armour were so great that retrofitting the whole of the existing Space Marine Legions with it was simply not feasible for the already thinly stretched logistics of the nascent Imperium of Man.Several patterns of Terminator Armour evolved in parallel from the Forge Worlds of the Mechanicum and the armouries of the Space Marine Legions. The Mechanicum refined their concept, and developed weapons specially adapted for it, like Combi-weapons and the Reaper Autocannon. Terminator Armour was then presented in limited numbers to the crusading Legions, who quickly found a use for them.Massively armoured, sealed against any hostile environmental conditions and incorporating their own heavy ranged or close combat armament, Terminator Armour designs soon proved their worth. Terminator Armour, with its ability to maximise the firepower and protection for a Space Marine, became standard on missions in extremely confined spaces like the corridors of a hive city, or during a boarding action on a Space Hulk where Dreadnoughts and armoured vehicles could not operate because they were too large to fit.Anecdotal evidence of the adaptability and willingness to embrace new weapons of warfare can be found in the Warmaster Horus' vocal backing of the Tactical Dreadnought Armour project, with the result that his Luna Wolves Legion was one of the first and most widely equipped with Terminator Armour and at the forefront of the development of tactics for its use in assaults. By the time the Horus Heresy erupted and the Arch-traitor Horus first struck a blow against the Emperor during the Istvaan III Atrocity, these heavily armoured suits had become widely available to the Space Marine Legions.Cataphractii Pattern Terminator Armour was one of the first issued Tactical Dreadnought Armour patterns. The Cataphractii suits were even more heavily protected than their contemporaries, with slab-like ceramite pauldrons housing additional shield generators. This design had the unfortunate side effect of overstraining the armour's exoskeleton and slowing the wearer dangerously. This difference led to the pattern's declining use with some Legions at the outbreak of the Horus Heresy and the shift to the use of the Indomitus Pattern most widespread among the Space Marine Chapters of the present 41st Millennium. |
Cataphractii Pattern Terminator Armour - Notable Variants: Cataphractii Primus - The Cataphractii Primus represents the very earliest example of Cataphractii armour, modified from suits which were designed to survive inside operational plasma reactors. While one of these suits is retained by the Martian Mechanicum and another in the Legion's own Forge, the third is traditionally worn by a Sons of Horus assault captain who has risen through the ranks of the Justaerin Terminator elite, its superior power generation and transmission systems granting the wearer protection far above that of other patterns of Terminator armour. |
Cataphractii Pattern Terminator Armour - Sources: The Horus Heresy - Book One: Betrayal (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 237The Horus Heresy - Book Two: Massacre (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 49, 57, 61, 75, 102, 144, 228, 249The Horus Heresy - Book Three: Extermination (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 70-71, 92, 119The Horus Heresy - Book Four: Conquest (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 154, 227The Horus Heresy - Book Five: Tempest (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 92-93, 112The Horus Heresy - Book Six: Retribution (Forge World Series), pp. 24, 36-37, 73The Horus Heresy - Book Seven: Inferno (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 23, 47, 53, 56, 165, 214, 229, 242,The Horus Heresy: Collected Visions (Artbook), pp. 33, 45, 52, 61-62, 65, 67, 78, 111-112, 138, 176, 189, 229, 235, 239-240, 243, 262-263, 274-275, 303, 352, 367 |
Catelexis Heresy - Catelexis Heresy: The Catelexis Heresy was an Imperial conflict that broke out in 401.M34, after the xenos cyborg known as the Cacodominus used his formidable psychic presence to control the populace of 1,300 Imperial planetary systems.The zealous Black Templars Space Marine Chapter called a Crusade against the vile aliens and ended the Catelexis Heresy when they executed the Cacodominus. Alas, this outcome had unexpected consequences that would soon prove dire for the Imperium of Man, resulting in the infamous event known as "The Howling."The Cacodominus' death scream echoed though the Warp and was amplified by it, burning out the minds of billions of Astropaths and even distorting the signal of the Astronomican. Millions upon millions of Imperial starships were lost in the resulting upheaval as entire Sub-sectors slid into barbarism without the dictats of the Adeptus Terra to guide them. |
Catheric - Catheric: The Catheric faith was an ancient religion of Old Earth still practiced in some form during the early 31st Millennium at the time of the Horus Heresy. The Catheric faith was the descendant of the Roman Catholic Church, and those who still practiced the religion during the early days of the Imperium of Man were looked down upon by others because of their refusal to accept the atheistic doctrines of the Imperial Truth.A known pious Catheric of this period was Ollanius Persson, a former Imperial Army trooper and Perpetual who had retired from his service in the Great Crusade to the world of Calth in the Realm of Ultramar in the hope that being on the Imperial frontier would make it easier to practice his ancient religion.It is unknown if the Catheric faith survived in some form after the founding of the Imperial Creed as the state church of the Imperium in the 32nd Millennium. |
Cato Sicarius - Cato Sicarius: Cato Sicarius is the former captain of the Ultramarines 2nd Company and current commander of the Victrix Honour Guard. His titles include "Master of the Watch," "Knight Champion of Macragge", "Grand Duke of Talassar" and "High Suzerain of Ultramar."He is known as one of the greatest of the Ultramarines' heroes, and is also said to be the heir apparent to Marneus Calgar, the current Chapter Master of the Ultramarines and the Lord of Macragge. Each of these honours reflects only a fragment of an entire lifetime of diligent and extraordinary service to the Realm of Ultramar and the Emperor of Mankind.After accompanying Roboute Guilliman to Terra during the Terran Crusade following the Primarch's resurrection on Macragge in 999.M41 during the Ultramar Campaign of the 13th Black Crusade, Sicarius was ordered by Guilliman to return to Macragge.He brought with him a force of Primaris Space Marines raised from Guilliman's own genetic line to serve as reinforcements for the defence of Ultramar. However, the small fleet was caught in the massive Warp disturbances that marked the birth of the Great Rift and the onset of the Noctis Aeterna. Sicarius' vessel was lost in the Warp, though the precious cargo of Primaris Astartes still managed to reach Ultramar.However, Sicarius had not been slain, and eventually managed to escape the Warp and return to the side of Roboute Guilliman, accompanying the Lord Commander of the Imperium as one of his chosen protégés throughout the Indomitus Crusade.When that campaign ended after over a standard century of war, Sicarius was among the forces who joined Guilliman in returning to Ultramar to aid his besieged sons against the forces of Nurgle during the Plague Wars.The Ultramarines were overjoyed to learn that Sicarius was still alive, but no determination was made to restore him to the command of the 2nd Company, which had been handed over to Captain Sevastus Acheran.Only the most accomplished of warriors could hope to command the Ultramarines 2nd Company and Sicarius rose to that challenge as he had to all the others in his life.All Astartes make use of the lightning assault as their preferred combat doctrine, but Sicarius refined this tactic to near-perfection and often committed his forces to combat with only the briefest appraisal of the tactical situation.In another man, such haste might seem reckless or unwise, but Sicarius possessed an unparalleled ability to adapt to the chaos of war and proved capable of easily marshalling his forces and seizing the advantage in almost any combat situation.Sicarius' assaults always took a fierce toll amongst the foe, in both numbers and morale. Even other Astartes were often left in awe by the sheer speed with which Captain Sicarius could analyse and then react to a rapidly-evolving tactical situation.In the course of his service to the Chapter, Sicarius earned a wide variety of battle-honours. His Artificer Armour, the finest in the armouries of Macragge, bears solemn testament to his service, with the Victorex Alpha hanging from his waist, the Eternium Ultra which set him apart as the High Suzerain of Ultramar, the Imperial Laurel, earned after the Crusat Minor Planet Strike in 733.M41, the Honorifica Valorum after the Battle of Dyzanyr, and the Valour Crest following the Battle for Fort Telendrar.Amongst the political positions awarded to Sicarius as a high-ranking officer of the Ultramarines was that of Grand Duke of Talassar, his homeworld, and Suzerain of Ultramar in 849.M41.Each of these glories has been won through courage and honour, and none can say they are undeserved -- for thousands of foes lie dead at his hand in testament to Sicarius' prowess.Whatever his detractors may say, whatever ill fate he has brought upon himself through his battles with daemons, xenos and Traitors, Sicarius remains ready to serve -- and will fight with all the might of the Chapter's greatest champion until he dies in its service.In time, Cato Sicarius' very name became a byword for Imperial victory, a legend that came to the ears of allies and foes alike far beyond the borders of Ultramar.At the close of the 41st Millennium, the Ultramarines 2nd Company always draws the most dangerous missions assigned to that Chapter and Sicarius is still believed by most Ultramarines to be a fitting heir to become the Ultramarines' Chapter Master and Lord of Macragge when Marneus Calgar finally passes to join the Emperor.This sentiment amongst his comrades probably does not sit quietly with Severus Agemman, the Captain of the Ultramarines 1st Company and the current Regent of Ultramar. |
Cato Sicarius - Master of the Watch: Sicarius was born and raised in the ducal household of Talassar, one of the most prominent of Ultramar's noble dynasties. Even before he could walk and talk, Sicarius was being guided towards the martial arts.By the time of his fourth standard birthday he could wrestle, sword fight and shoot to the satisfaction of his masters, and as he grew, his schooling in matters of warfare intensified. The training masters in the Talassari agoge pressed the young noble hard, sensing his gift and the glorious future that it offered for their household were it honed sufficiently.At ten years old, he could outfight youths twice his age with consummate ease, and he was developing strength and stamina to match his skill. The house savants sought to marshal his intellect equally to his physique, teaching him history, poetry and the laws of the Imperium.For all the academia that was poured into his young mind, however, it was always the thought of battle, the thrill of competition and a yearning for victory that drove him onwards. His tutelage in the ways of war was only reinforced by his later induction and training amongst the Ultramarines Chapter.When he was recruited into the Ultramarines, Sicarius earned commendation after commendation and rose swiftly through the Chapter's ranks. In the solar decades that followed, he served as Sergeant and then 2nd Company Champion before ultimately assuming the command of the 2nd Company himself.Several centuries later, Sicarius was the Master of the Watch, Captain of the Ultramarines 2nd Company and, by rank, the third most influential man within the Chapter. The authority of the 2nd Captain was eclipsed only by Captain Severus Agemman of the 1st and their liege, Chapter Master Marneus Calgar.As Master of the Watch, Sicarius was tasked with the defence of Ultramar, overseeing a staff of thousands of planetary defence force commanders and generals on both his homeworld and the surrounding systems in the Ultima Segmentum.Without doubt, Sicarius has found the responsibility of ensuring Ultramar's safety especially difficult in the wake of the Behemoth invasion, for the Tyrannic threat continues to increase, as do the predations of the T'au on the Eastern Fringe, the Orks in what remains of the Arch-Arsonist's empire and the recent and recurring engagements with the Necrons.Were matters martial not a grave enough concern, Sicarius is also responsible for the prosecution of those within the Chapter whose infractions breach the sacred laws as laid out by the Codex Astartes. This is a solemn task, and many would think ill-suited to the relatively loud, brash Sicarius, but as with everything he attempts, Captain Sicarius took to it with a vigour bordering on zeal.Those who have emerged from a tribunal with Sicarius are often shaken, and usually humbled. It is perhaps telling that fewer defendants have chosen trial by combat against the Second Captain than any other Master of the Watch in the past three thousand years. |
Cato Sicarius - Knight Champion of Macragge: While many of the duties that fall to Sicarius, by dint of his office as Captain of the Second, involve officiating, planning and a large degree of bureaucracy, there is no doubt that the role to which he is best suited is that of Knight Champion of Macragge.Twice in his career Sicarius has served as a Company Champion, first to Captain Idaeus of the 4th and later to Captain Invictus of the 1st Company. It is a mark of how great a warrior and protector Sicarius is that in both those tenures, neither Captain came to any serious injury.Some within the Chapter whisper that Sicarius' apparent venom towards Captain Ventris of the 4th Company, during his trial following the Tarsis Ultra debacle, was due to the Suzerain's fondness for the late Captain Idaeus, beside whom he had fought during his own time in the 4th Company.As Knight Champion, Sicarius must answer challenges addressed to the Chapter as a whole and he has done so with startling and bloody results on many occasions. When Inquisitor Orchaedes denounced the precognitive abilities of Chief Librarian Varro Tigurius as evidence of forbidden pacts with the dark powers of the Warp, the accusation was met by the Chapter with the derision it deserved.However, Orchaedes pressed the issue, demanding an audience with Chapter Master Calgar. The trial took place in the Temple of Corrections, with more than a hundred Space Marines standing watch. As Orchaedes spat forth his anti-psyker rhetoric, scorning the good name of Tigurius and the honour of the Chapter that shielded him, the Ultramarines listened.To his credit, the Inquisitor was undaunted when Calgar's voice cut through his tirade like a peal of thunder, and only blanched slightly when Captain Sicarius, clad fully for war, descended from the left hand of his master to issue a challenge under the laws of trial by combat.For his part, Orchaedes had a champion of his own, and from within his personal army of Acolytes, Confessors, sycophants and soldiers emerged a hunched and hooded figure. Sicarius pointed with his sword, the legendary Talassarian Tempest blade, and ordered his opponent to show himself.Slowly the robes dropped to the ground to reveal a battle-class chrono-gladiator, which raised itself to full height on Skitarii-grade servo limbs. Roughly simian in shape, the chrono-gladiator was the height of a Space Marine in Terminator Armour and covered in strength-enhancing servo bundles and interlocking plates of armoured carapace.Designed for one-on-one combat, it combined Adeptus Mechanicus gene-science, hundreds of hours of augmetic surgery and the mind of a psychopathic killer. "Naogotha," the Inquisitor hissed, slowly pointing his finger at Captain Sicarius, "Kill him."Although Sicarius could never have seen it with his eyes locked on his newly unveiled foe, his liege, Marneus Calgar nodded once at Orchaedes as the battle began. Stim-activators surged into life, pumping frenzon, 'slaught and a dozen other war chemicals into the chrono-gladiator's frame, and it raised up a power flail and stun maul in its over-muscled hands.Sicarius did not pause for a moment, but advanced the twenty or so paces to the slathering techno-brute before him. The chrono-gladiator rushed forwards, thrashing at the Space Marine with every step. Sicarius dodged a crushing downward blow from the shock maul that fractured a flagstone in an explosion of marble, stepped back from a sweeping attack from the power flail that could have beheaded a Terminator, and parried its backswing in a shower of sparks.His lip curled in snarling anger, Sicarius drove his knee into the construct's stomach, forcing it back, and smashed his off-hand into the stim-injectors around its face. Before the chrono-gladiator could retaliate, he danced back, using the length of his Tempest Blade to hold it bay.Again and again, the Captain used his blade only to block and parry, instead crushing armour plates with his bludgeoning fists. Twice he tripped his foe to the ground, before stepping back to allow it to rise. Minutes turned to hours, and the chrono-gladiator's movements became laboured, the swings of its weapons clumsier and slower.The stimm-injectors feeding its frenzied movements ran dry, and it stumbled and fell, limbs thrashing and twitching until it was still. Sicarius' sword was unbloodied, and slowly he looked from his prone foe to the Inquisitor, whose mouth was silently working, as if to utter some dire proclamation."It is time you took your men and left Ultramar," Sicarius spoke, his tone low with menace. The Inquisitor's voice broke into a shrill cry as he strode towards the Space Marine -- all eyes in the hall, Adeptus Astartes and Inquisitorial retinue alike, looked on in horror.The Inquisitor stopped five paces from Captain Sicarius, a tirade of vitriol spewing from his lips as he denounced Tigurius as Warp-tainted and corrupt, and Sicarius as a whoreson and a lackey. As his rant rose in volume and invective, Orchaedes reached to his belt, perhaps for his rosette of office, or perhaps for his archeotech pistol...In a blur, Sicarius lunged forwards, swinging the Talassarian Tempest blade up in a savage arc that struck Orchaedes just as his hand emerged from the robes, slicing through the flesh and bone of his wrist. As Orchaedes' hand flopped to the ground, nerveless fingers clenched around the grip of his pistol, the Captain turned to face the Inquisitorial retinue, some of whom scurried forward to bear up their master, while others looked panicked enough to reach for weapons.With a snarl, Sicarius stamped forwards with a power armoured boot, crushing the severed hand and the precious pistol it still clutched into a meaty paste. He paused a moment longer, to drive his blade into the skull of the prone chrono-gladiator, before ordering the Inquisitor's followers to take their master and depart, never to return.As his words died down, one hundred Space Marines raised their Bolters and racked the slides. Calgar stood from his throne and, quaking with fear, Orchaedes' retinue filed out, their master's querulous cries for justice and vengeance going unanswered... |
Cato Sicarius - Assault on Black Reach: While his service as Knight Champion has been exemplary, there are those who would argue that Cato Sicarius is ill-suited to the practical duties of commanding a Battle Company, and they hold as examples battles that have seen the 2nd Company tested to the very limits of its endurance -- battles such as the Assault on Black Reach, where Sicarius' highly aggressive tactics thwarted a major offensive spearheaded by the unusually cunning Ork Warboss Zanzag.The culmination of that campaign took place within the Ork Warboss' underground lair, where the heart of Zanzag's WAAAGH! was ended in a spectacularly violent fashion after terrible losses to the Ultramarines 2nd Company.During this campaign, the entire 2nd Company was deployed against a force numbering some 10,000 Greenskins. When the Astartes ultimately ran out of ammunition against the savage xenos, Sicarius ordered them to use Combat Knives and Chainswords until every last Greenskin had met its end. The Warboss was eventually slain, his head taken by Sicarius in personal combat. But the cost had been high.At the battle's conclusion, a Terminator and 12 Battle-Brothers from the 2nd Company had been slain during the Ultramarines' operations on Black Reach. It is certain that Sicarius and his warriors saved the world of Black Reach from the clutches of the Orks, but voices within the Chapter council whispered that the toll in Astartes blood was too great. |
Cato Sicarius - Undying Enmity: In 878.M41, roughly twenty Terran years after the prosecution of the Black Reach campaign, Sicarius crossed swords with a foe that would come to haunt him repeatedly for more than a century. An attack by Chaos raiders revealed itself to be masterminded by the Daemon Prince M'kar known as the Reborn or the Thrice-born in various records.Sicarius commanded the Ultramarines strike force that faced the forces of Chaos during the Battle of the Halamar Rift and his Strike Cruiser Valin's Revenge and its Escorts managed to defeat most of the Chaotic warfleet.However, after the Ultramarines boarded the main Chaos warship, Sicarius failed to kill the Daemon Prince. Sicarius triumphed in a space battle that broke the back of the Chaos forces, and forced his daemonic foe to retreat into the Warp.M'kar would return twice more to Ultramar, finally returning for vengeance with a force of Iron Warriors that required the combined strength of the entire Ultramarines Chapter to vanquish.In these times, Sicarius led his warriors with an iron will -- unflinching in the face of the daemonic and unnatural. |
Cato Sicarius - Damnos Incident: In 974.M41, Sicarius led an assault against the recently awakened Necrons that had overrun the resource-rich Mining World of Damnos, which was also a Necron Tomb World.Unable to land heavy weaponry and ground vehicles due to skyfiring Gauss Pylons, the Captain relied on the use of his infantry in a two-pronged Drop Pod insertion.The first group, led by Chief Librarian Tigurius, was tasked with the destruction of the Necron artillery situated on the hills of Thanatos. Once this objective was met, the Ultramarines could field tanks and Thunderhawk gunships to better counter the xenos with their heavy guns.The second group, led by Captain Sicarius, was to relieve and liberate the only surviving human city on Damnos, Kellenport, the planetary capital.Chainsword and Bolter brought the fury of the Adeptus Astartes to the Necron phalanxes, but even when the Space Marines had joined forces with the surviving Imperial Guard troops present on the world, the xenos did not bow and were ever ruthless and indomitable.Sicarius himself cut down dozens of Necron raiders and single-handedly crippled a looming Necron Monolith with a well-placed Melta-Bomb, but these heroics barely slowed the enemy's advance. In frustration, Sicarius sought to buy more time for Tigurius's strike team by assaulting the supreme Necron Overlord, known as "the Undying."The duel proved closely matched, but the Necron leader's raw strength served as the deciding factor when his Warscythe cut deep into Sicarius' torso and grievously wounded the Ultramarine officer.Roaring in anguish, the Venerable Dreadnought Agrippan stormed through the Necron ranks to protect the body of the fallen Captain and crushed the xenos overlord. This led the rest of the xenos army to revert to vulnerable defensive protocols that the Ultramarines briefly exploited.Meanwhile, Tigurius' forces had managed to destroy the Gauss Pylon battery, which allowed the Ultramarines to land tanks and gunships. However, despite their best efforts, the Ultramarines were eventually forced to evacuate the surviving citizens and withdraw from Damnos.This course of events became known as the Damnos Incident, and the world was lost to the Necrons and classified as a Forbidden World by the Imperium.It can be argued that since Sicarius and his men were able to evacuate large swathes of the world's population from certain death, the mission was not a complete failure. However, the fact remains that the Ultramarines failed in their primary objective of destroying the Necron threat that had emerged on Damnos.Sicarius was determined to not let such a slight go unanswered for long. For the first time, he had tasted bitter defeat in battle and it was a black mark that would twist within his breast for the next twenty-five standard years.In future battles, his violent displays of courage became reckless to the point of unnecessarily endangering the lives of his men and every victory after Damnos rang hollow to him.In the aftermath of Damnos, as Sicarius recovered from the wounds he had suffered, Sergeant Chronus was by unanimous assent honoured with the title of "Spear of Macragge", a title rarely bestowed in the history of the Chapter and only given to an Astartes who was considered a great hero of the Ultramarines.Some say this was a move by Sicarius' detractors to lessen his influence. |
Cato Sicarius - Legacy of Victory: Sicarius commanded the Imperial operations during the Fall of Medusa V in 999.M41 and deployed his forces across the world to take up defensive positions before finally giving the order for an Exterminatus of the planet following a long and bloody campaign.Captain Sicarius led his company and the forces of 30 other Space Marine Chapters and Imperial Guard regiments during the Zeist Campaign in 999.M41 against the forces of the T'au Empire, which were seeking to expand into Imperial space on the Eastern Fringes of the galaxy.By the time the Imperium moved to counter the T'au expansion, 26 Imperial worlds had already been claimed by the servants of the Greater Good. The forces of the Imperial Guard and contingents of Astartes from the Night Watch, Halo Dragons, Silver Skulls, Crimson Fists and other Chapters joined Sicarius and his Ultramarines on the world of Praetonis V to coordinate the Imperial defence and counteroffensive.Sicarius chose to deploy his forces using the same tactics of mobility and precisely targetted firepower that had allowed the T'au to claim so many successes. The combined Imperial strike force reclaimed all of the 26 planets that had been annexed by the T'au and badly blunted the T'au's offensive, forcing them to delay their Fourth Sphere Expansion until they recovered from the heavy defeat inflicted by the Zeist Campaign.But before the Imperium could launch a full counter-invasion of Tau space, the High Lords of Terra recalled the force to deal with the onslaught of the 13th Black Crusade.When Sicarius and the 2nd Company returned to Macragge in 854.999.M41 they discovered that the Realm of Ultramar had come under assault by the forces of Chaos led by the Daemon Prince M'kar the Reborn.The entire Ultramarines Chapter was despatched to protect all the worlds of Ultramar that were under attack, while Marneus Calgar joined Sicarius and the 2nd Company to defend Sicarius' storm-wracked homeworld of Talassar from the Chaotic assault.After a fierce campaign, M'kar was finally slain and banished back to the Warp by Calgar, who promised that he would slay the foul Daemon Prince a hundred times more if such was required to keep Ultramar and the Imperium safe from his corruption. |
Cato Sicarius - Return to Damnos: Despite the Inquisition's efforts to suppress all knowledge of the Necrons' reemergence into the galaxy, the Imperium's faith in its military supremacy was shaken by the news that spread across the galaxy after 974.M41 that these xenos had overcome both the Imperial Guard and the Ultramarines at Damnos.Eventually, reports of the loss of Damnos made their way to Terra, where both the Fabricator-General of the Adeptus Mechanicus and the High Lords of Terra decreed that the Ultramarines must return to Damnos and eradicate the Necron threat once and for all.Twenty-five standard years after the original Damnos Incident, in 999.M41, this Imperial order was brought to Macragge by the experienced Deathwatch strike team led by Squad Lazarius. Chapter Master Marneus Calgar was not pleased with the Imperium's decree, for he knew that his 2nd Company had faced only a fraction of the awakened Necrons on Damnos a quarter of a century before.Once they returned to Damnos, the Ultramarines would face the entire strength of a Necron Tomb World and risk the deaths of hundreds of the Chapter's Astartes. Yet, Calgar knew that the High Lords of Terra were right and that the Necrons on Damnos must be defeated if the Imperium was ever to know peace in the face of the growing Necron threat.With the record of the Ultramarines stained by the action on Damnos, it was their duty to banish the ghosts of the past. Upon hearing Calgar's announcement that the Ultramarines' 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th Companies, accompanied by elements of the 10th, would return to reclaim Damnos for the Emperor, Cato Sicarius smiled for the first time in decades.It is said that during the preparation for the assault, Sicarius trained so hard that he fought with the fury of a man possessed and even slept in the cage-vault. Before the solar month was out, Calgar's armies and fleets had been assembled and over 500 Space Marines stood ready for war. In addition, Sicarius was granted a Vortex Grenade by the Deathwatch Sergeant Davian Imocles, who was rumoured to be an old friend and former squad mate.The journey to Damnos was a perilous one, with Calgar relying on various ruses and distractions to get his warriors safely to the planet's surface. By the time the Necrons had spotted the true location of the Ultramarine warships, the Astartes fleet was in a position to launch their Drop Pods.The first wave consisted of unmanned variants designed to draw the fire of the Gauss Pylons. The second wave, however, represented the true assault, which brought hundreds of Space Marines as well as a number of vengeful Imperial Guard regiments to the heart of the Necrons' subterranean tomb complex.Their objective was to destroy the pyramidal complexes that controlled the Necron power grid and to do it before the Imperial forces were overwhelmed. However, one factor that they did not account for was the physical incarnation of a C'tan held within a Tesseract Vault. It was determined that this vault was the true source of the Necrons' power and must be neutralized if the Imperial forces were to have any hope of victory.Despite the power brought to bear by the Imperial assault on Damnos, Marneus Calgar felt like a duelist being taken apart by a superior foe in the battle-cage. The xenos' battle logic proved impeccable, with its master intelligence anticipating the Ultramarines' every move and neutralizing each tactic they employed.Thanks to an energy shield emitting from the vault, every plasma volley and melta blast employed against the Necron Monoliths dissipated harmlessly or detonated prematurely before it could harm the constructs.Since the xenos had managed to analyze the Ultramarines' battle doctrine, Calgar realized he must attempt a completely unexpected strategem. Assaulting the ranks of the Necron Immortals, the Chapter Master jumped onto the metallic base of a malfunctioning Gauss Pylon and slowly pushed the war engine's crescent back until its viridian beam hit the energy shield of the floating necropolis.With a blinding flash of light, the energy shield protecting the tomb complex collapsed and the Tesseract Vault was broken wide open to reveal the enraged demigod imprisoned within. A giant cruciform of pure light rose above the Necron army, the remnants of the C'tan's energy cage still crackling around it.Roaring in exultation at its newfound freedom, the booming sound threw Ultramarines and Necrons alike to the icy ground and cracked the planet's crust. Its first victim would be the Necron Overlord, the Undying, which the star god crushed with ease by transforming the earth around his metallic form into an oversized fist.The Overlord phased out of reality, seeking to escape back to his subterranean lair. But deep underground, the surviving members of the Deathwatch's Squad Lazarius had reached their own objective.The Undying teleported back to his cabled sarcophagus right in front of the Deathwatch's eyes. Unfortunately for the Necron, the crack team of Astartes had replaced his revivification engines with melta charges and entropic destabilisers and proceeded to blast the Necron Overlord into atoms.Back on the surface, the xenos reeled from the loss of their leader and the artificially intelligent command programs that had governed their warriors' every action. Meanwhile, the unleashed C'tan lashed out in fury at both its Necron enslavers and the Ultramarines as Captain Sicarius duelled a Flayed Ones Lord.After ramming his Power Sword into the powerful Flayed One's torso, Sicarius summoned twenty-five years of anger and frustration into a final burst of strength. He unclipped the Vortex Grenade that had been given to him earlier and activated the weapon before throwing it at the enraged demigod hovering overhead.The grenade detonated and formed a spiralling orb of nothingness as its unstoppable force sucked the C'tan into the Warp before collapsing and winking out of existence. Sicarius felt a great weight lift in that moment, as he realised both he and the Ultramarines had been redeemed for their original failure on Damnos in the sight of the Emperor.Over the next few solar days, the Imperials eliminated the surviving Necrons with grim efficiency. Empty tomb complexes were collapsed or detonated under the guidance of the Deathwatch and the citizens of Damnos whom Sicarius had rescued decades before were restored to the world to reclaim it for their own. |
Cato Sicarius - Resurrection of Guilliman and the Terran Crusade: In 999.M41 the Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman was resurrected on Macragge through the efforts of the Celestinian Crusade made up of the survivors of the fall of Cadia and their allies among the Aeldari Ynnari.As Guilliman immediately moved to reclaim leadership of both the Ultramarines and his former stellar empire, Captain Sicarius played a key role in the Primarch's campaign to liberate the worlds of Ultramar from the massive assault by the forces of Chaos that was part of the 13th Black Crusade.But the war across Ultramar was still ongoing when Guilliman realised that his true duty lay beyond the boundaries of Ultramar -- he had to defend the Emperor's faltering Imperium. To this end, Guilliman announced that he would undertake the Terran Crusade through the growing Warp activity that was increasingly disrupting travel and communications across the galaxy to reach the Imperial Throneworld.There, he would meet with his father the Emperor of Mankind for the first time in ten standard millennia and ask for guidance.As such, Guilliman gathered a select force of Battle-Brothers from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Companies of the Ultramarines to accompany him to Terra, and gave the honour of their command to Cato Sicarius. He further requested that Grand Master Aldrik Voldus and the Grey Knights of the 3rd Brotherhood join their Crusade.Others pledged their aid to the Primarch's cause, including the assembled strength of the Ultramarines' Primogenitor Chapters, and the Emperor's Champion Marius Amalrich and his Black Templars brethren. Saint Celestine, the Inquisitor Katarinya Greyfax and Archmagos Dominus Belisarius Cawl also accompanied the Primarch -- whatever aid they or the military forces under their command could provide the Primarch would be gladly given.Guilliman gratefully accepted all offers of aid before commanding Marneus Calgar, Chief Librarian Varro Tigurius and Captain Severus Agemman to remain and lead the reconquest of Ultramar.During the Terran Crusade, Sicarius was given the honour of serving as the commander of the Primarch's Victrix Guard, an elite formation of Ultramarines Astartes chosen by Guilliman after his resurrection to accompany him on the Terran Crusade.Hand-picked by the Primarch himself to act as his bodyguards and diplomatic envoys, the Victrix Guard seek to excel in every aspect of battle and statecraft alike. Veteran Marines with countless standard centuries of combat experience between them, the Victrix Guard advance fearlessly into battle with their Bolters thundering and their heads held high.At their head strides a band of Ultramarines Honour Guard led by none other than Sicarius. A true gathering of courageous heroes, the Victrix Guard are more than capable of cutting their way through entire armies of foes, heaping their bodies in gory mounds for the enduring glory of Ultramar and the ever-lasting realm of the Emperor Himself.Through the course of the Crusade, Sicarius' combat prowess and unwavering faith aided the Imperial forces of the Crusade in all their trials and tribulations in the Warp rift known as the Maelstrom, where they had been cast by a great sorcerous ritual cast by the Daemon Primarch Magnus the Red.While trapped within the Maelstrom the Crusade fleet came upon a world of black marble and bloody seas. They struck hard and fast against several strongholds of the piratical Renegade Space Marines called the Red Corsairs, eliminating outlying enclaves before finally laying siege to a fortified palace upon a claw-shaped headland above booming, gory waves. While Archmagos Cawl coordinated the siege, Greyfax and Sicarius led a daring raiding party that threw open the palace's main gates and sealed the Heretics' doom.The survivors of the Terran Crusade finally arrived in the Sol System at Luna through the Webway after being freed from imprisonment in another Blackstone Fortress belonging to the Red Corsairs. Following the Crusade's rescue by the Fallen Angel Cypher and a troupe of Harlequins, Sicarius was one of the few Imperials to survive the Terran Crusade.After aiding in the defeat of the forces of the Thousand Sons Traitor Legion and Magnus the Red on Luna, Sicarius and her allies were finally ferried to the Imperial Palace on Terra.There, before the Eternity Gate of the Inner Palace leading to the throne room of the Emperor where Guilliman would meet his father for the first time in ten standard millennia, Sicarius took up his post with the Victrix Guard to await their master's return.Guilliman emerged a solar day later from the Palace and was soon restored to his former position as Lord Commander of the Imperium.As Guilliman prepared to launch a massive counteroffensive against the gathering forces of the Ruinous Powers known as the Indomitus Crusade, there was no doubt that Cato Sicarius and his fellow Battle-Brothers would stand at their Primarch's side and face the enemies of the Emperor. |
Cato Sicarius - Lost In the Warp: While the Ultramarines Primarch organised what was to become the Indomitus Crusade, the Great Rift tore the galaxy asunder. Fearing for Ultramar, Guilliman sent to safeguard his realm much of the task force of Ultramarines and their Successor Chapters that had accompanied him to Terra.With them went the first Primaris Ultramarines, for Archmagos Belisarius Cawl had begun to open his secret vaults. The small armada -- commanded by Captain Sicarius and dubbed "Fleet Avenger" -- ran into Warp Storms the like of which had not been seen since the Age of Strife.With the fleet battered and split apart, Sicarius signalled for each voidship to make its own way back to Macragge, the interference growing so bad he feared many would not receive the message.Sicarius' own Strike Cruiser, the Emperor's Will, was still in the Warp when the Astronomican faded and then went black, marking the onset of the Noctis Aeterna.Amidst the tidal waves of psychic energies that cascaded randomly across all star systems of the galaxy, one last transmission was received from the Emperor's Will. The fragmentary message was accompanied by disturbing images, and only one sentence could be made clear: "They have breached the hull, they are here."Fully half of Fleet Avenger ultimately reached Ultramar, bringing with them their precious cargo, but of the Emperor's Will there remained no sign.Though Sicarius was considered missing in action, he was still regarded as the rightful Captain of the 2nd Company, though the position was assigned to Captain Acheran until his fate was determined definitively. |
Cato Sicarius - Indomitus: However, Sicarius later escaped from his tribulations in the Warp and was able to join Roboute Guilliman's Indomitus Crusade to stabilise the Imperium in the wake of the birth of the Great Rift.As the Crusade fought to save the worlds within the Imperium Nihilus, Guilliman took Sicarius under his wing, as the stubborn Captain reminded the Primarch of Aeonid Thiel, an Ultramarine of the Horus Heresy era who had once been castigated for his adaptability and unorthodox thinking yet greatly distinguished himself as a hero of the Imperium at the Battle of Calth.Guilliman spent a considerable amount of time during the Indomitus Crusade in an attempt to form Sicarius into something other than merely a great warrior -- Guilliman wanted him to become a statesman and leader, a true embodiment of the best of Mankind.When the Indomitus Crusade was finally ended by Guilliman, Sicarius was among the forces the Lord Commander of the Imperium took with him to aid his Realm of Ultramar, which had been trapped for years in a conflict with the forces of Nurgle known as the Plague Wars.Suffering from survivor's guilt and a degree of mental trauma from his experiences in the Warp, Sicarius nonetheless remained in command of Guilliman's Victrix Guard.Though his fellow Ultramarines were overjoyed to learn that the Captain of the 2nd Company had not been lost to them forever, it is not currently known whether Sicarius will now regain his command of the 2nd Company or if it will remain under the control of Captain Sevastus Acheran. |
Cato Sicarius - Honours: Aquila - The Aquila is an Imperial Honour Badge shaped in the form of the Imperium's own crest that proclaims its wearer's great wisdom. It was awarded to Sicarius at the commencement of the Dantaro Campaign, which represented Sicarius' first action as Captain of the 2nd Company.Eternium Ultra - There are few such revered relics in the Realm of Ultramar as these gardbraces. They mark Sicarius as the High Suzerain of Ultramar and defender of the eight systems of Ultramar.Imperial Laurel - This Imperial Laurel was awarded to Sicarius in the wake of his service in the Crusat Minor planetstrike of 733.M41.Honorifica Valourum - Awarded in recognition of exceptional bravery when fighting Orks during the Battle for Dyzanyr.Personal Heraldry - Sicarius' left shoulder plate originally hails from an ancient suit of Mark II Crusade Pattern Power Armour worn by the Ultramarines Legion hero Captain Orar during the Great Scouring of the early 31st Millennium. The heraldry combines the Iron Halo, the Ultramarines Chapter icon and the golden Aquila that marks Sicarius as the Grand Duke of Talassar.The Valour Crest - The right to bear a crest upon one's helmet in the Ultramarines Chapter must be earned through acts of near suicidal bravery. Sicarius won his crest during the nine-solar-day long battle for Fort Telendrar. The colours of the crest are those of the Ultramarran noble house from which Sicarius was recruited, countless decades ago.Victorex Alpha - This honour, attached to Sicarius' combat skirt, was granted in recognition of his exceptional valour during the Siege of Rynneth V. |
Cato Sicarius - Wargear: Cato Sicarius is known to wear a special suit of Artificer Armour known as the Mantle of Suzerain that provides a level of protection equivalent to that of a suit of Terminator Armour.The left pauldron of this armour belongs to the original suit of Mark II Crusader Power Armour worn by Captain Orar, a great hero of the XIII Legion during the Scouring of the Traitor Legions from Imperial space after the end of the Horus Heresy and a former Captain of the 2nd Company.It bears the 2nd Company's heraldic colours which Sicarius has also adopted as his own personal heraldry and also incorporates an Iron Halo and a Golden Aquila that designates his position as the Grand Duke of Talassar, his homeworld.Sicarius' helmet is topped by a transverse Valour Crest that was granted for near-suicidal acts of bravery during the nine-solar-day-long battle fought for control of Fort Telendrar.The colours of the crest match those of the Talassari noble house from which Sicarius was recruited as an Aspirant into the Ultramarines many standard centuries ago.Sicarius prefers to wield a potent relic Power Sword known as the Talassarian Tempest Blade in close combat. An ancestral relic, the weapon's energy field is so potent, and the blade within possesses a legendary sharpness so keen, that it has slain many a mighty foe in but a single stroke.Complementing this close combat weapon, Sicarius also wields an Artificer-crafted Plasma Pistol.Like all Ultramarines, he always possesses a ready supply of Krak and Frag Grenades. |
Cato Sicarius - Canon Conflict: When Marneus Calgar travelled to Talassar after M'kar the Reborn's attack upon the Realm of Ultramar in 999.M41 during the Invasion of Ultramar campaign, the Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition) makes clear that Calgar accompanied Sicarius and the Ultramarines 2nd Company to that world.However, in the novel The Chapter's Due by Graham McNeill, Calgar travels to Talassar with the Ultramarines 1st Company led by Captain Severus Agemman. The 2nd Company did not arrive at Talassar in the novel until first concluding their own campaign against the Forces of Chaos on the Cardinal World of Espandor.This was later explained away by the Black Library that Games Workshop maintains multiple different canons in the Warhammer 40,000 universe and that the only truly official canon is found in the various Codexes. |
Cato Sicarius - Sources: Codex Adeptus Astartes - Space Marines (8th Edition), pp. 98, 133Codex: Space Marines (6th Edition) (Digital Edition), pp. 82, 97, 346-349Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition), pp. 19, 22, 36-37, 40, 85Dark Imperium (Novel) by Guy Haley, Chs. 4, 17Dark Imperium: Plague War (Novel) by Guy Haley, Ch. 12Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook (5th Edition), pp. 18-19, 22, 36-40, 85, 129Warlords of the Dark Millennium - Sicarius (Digital Edition), pp. 3-4, 7-12, 19-24, 27White Dwarf 345 (UK), "The Battle for Black Reach," by Phil Kelly, pp. 52-79White Dwarf 317 (UK), "Medusa V Campaign"Assault on Black Reach (Novel) by Nick KymeFall of Damnos (Novel) by Nick KymeApocalypse: War Zone Damnos (6th Edition), pp. 7-24Knights of Macragge (Novel) by Nick Kyme |
Catulan Reaver - Catulan Reaver: The Catulan Reaver Assault Squads were one of the two distinct sub-formations of the elite 1st Company of the Sons of Horus Legion. Like their Justaerin Terminator Squad contemporaries in the rest of the 1st Company, they too, sported the signature black Power Armour which denoted their specialisation in harrowing actions and hit-and-run tactics. They were led by an officer with the unusual rank of Captain under the overall command of the Legion's First Captain Ezekyle Abaddon, who was also the overall commander of the entire 1st Company as well as the battle leader of the Justaerin squads. The Catulan Reavers also made extensive use of Terminator Armour, taking advantage of its additional protection and potent weaponry to hammer any opposition, though as elite Assault Squads they more often made use of Jump Packs and melee weapons to soften up the foe for their Justaerin counterparts to later demolish. Used in combination, these two elite formations of the Sons of Horus' 1st Company exemplified the Primarch Horus' predilection for precise and overwhelming attacks against strategic targets. |
Catulan Reaver - History: An evolution of the Legion Despoiler Squads and Legion Assault Squads found in the order of battle of the Luna Wolves Legion, the Reaver Squads in many way epitomised the Sons of Horus' way of warfare. Heavily influenced by the tactics of the seething and incessant tribal warfare of Cthonia, Reaver units specialised in lightning-swift assaults which maimed and disabled a foe, striking down leaders, mercilessly cutting down any who were weak or isolated, and sowing panic and disorder in any who remained. Vicious and adaptable, the Reaver Squads could fight equally well in multiple theatres of warfare, from void boarding actions, to battlefield shock-assaults, to hit and run raids and scouring operations. Each Reaver unit, whether a single squad or an entire company in strength, was effectively a warband in its own right, and its warriors fought more as individuals than regimented soldiers. Indiosyncratic both in appearance and wargear, each unit strove to make its own name and reputation. Of these squads, the Catulan Reavers were the most infamous during the early battles of the Horus Heresy and were active at both Istvaan III and Istvaan V, but there were many more. As the war progressed, the Reaver pattern of tactical organisation became more commonplace in the Sons of Horus, displacing more regimented formations as new units were formed. Accordingly they were favoured with the finest arms and wargear that Horus could provide. |
Catulan Reaver - Composition: 4-10 Reavers (Squad Members)1 Reaver Chieftain (Squad Leader) |
Catulan Reaver - Wargear: Power ArmourBolt PistolChainsword or Combat BladeFrag GrenadesKrak Grenades |
Catulan Reaver - Optional Wargear: BolterBanestrike Bolter Rounds Volkite ChargerCombi-WeaponFlamerMeltagunPlasma GunPlasma PistolChainaxePower WeaponPower FistJump Pack |
Catulan Reaver - Optional Wargear (Reaver Chieftain): Artificer ArmourMelta BombsHand Flamer |
Catulan Reaver - Notable Catulan Reavers: Kalus Ekaddon - Ekaddon was the Captain of the Catulan Reaver Assault Squads of the elite 1st Company during the final days of the Great Crusade and the early Horus Heresy. |
Catulan Reaver - Sources: Horus Heresy: Collected VisionsThe Horus Heresy - Book One: Betrayal by Alan Bligh, pg. 70The Horus Heresy - Book Two: Massacre by Alan Bligh, pg. 210Horus Rising (Novel) by Dan AbnettFalse Gods (Novel) by Graham McNeillGalaxy in Flames (Novel) by Ben CounterForge World - Sons of Horus Reaver Attack Squad |
Cauldron of Blood - Cauldron of Blood: The Cauldron of Blood is a Daemon Engine used by the forces of Chaos that is completely dedicated to the service of the Chaos God of war and bloodshed, Khorne.The veins of Daemons flow not with mortal blood but the red-hot lava of Daemon blood. A huge, bubbling cauldron of Daemon blood is carried on top of the Daemon Engine to supply the great cannon which juts out of its front. Once targets are within range a great gout of blood is fired through the projecting nozzle, raining the foe with molten lava.This profane liquid flows over and around cover, and can reduce whole buildings to rubble. Like all Daemon Engines of Khorne, the Cauldron of Blood also carries massive combat blades on its prow to slice through the opposition. |
Cegorach - Cegorach: Cegorach (pronounced KEGG-orr-ack), also known as the "Laughing God," as well as the "Great Harlequin," the "Great Fool" and the "First Fool," the Aeldari god of creativity, artists, deception and trickery, is one of the deities of Aeldari Mythology and the central figure of the Aeldari Harlequins' belief.Alone among the Aeldari gods, Cegorach is believed to have survived the Fall of the Aeldari unscathed and escaped the fate of the rest of the Aeldari pantheon, who were consumed or badly fractured by She Who Thirsts. According to legend, this Aeldari deity survived because his mocking nature distanced him from the collective psychic corruption and decadence of the ancient Aeldari Empire whose reflection in the Empyrean eventually became the Chaos God Slaanesh.Unknown to the Aeldari, Cegorach is in actuality one of three Aeldari Gods to have survived the Fall; the other two being Isha, the goddess of fertility and nature who is held captive in the Garden of Nurgle in the Realm of Chaos within the Warp, and the god of war Kaela Mensha Khaine, who lives on as a fractured collective gestalt through his Avatars within the Infinity Circuits of the Asuryani craftworlds.Aeldari myth explains that, while Slaanesh fought with Khaine, the Laughing God escaped into the Webway and hid amongst its myriad tunnels. These tales suggest that he remains there still, unassailable, laughing at the Chaos Gods as he hatches bitter plans for revenge.It is believed that he is the only being in existence who knows every single path through the Labyrinth Dimension of the Webway. This might explain how his disciples possess such an intimate knowledge of its twists and turns, for the Harlequins walk the Webway without fear, appearing and disappearing at will.So well versed are they in the Webway's secret routes that many other Aeldari have credited the servants of the Laughing God with supernatural powers. There are those who claim that Cegorach walks amongst his children from time to time, wearing the disguise of an anonymous Harlequin Player.Whatever the truth of such tales, the Laughing God's is the only authority that the Harlequins recognise as they fight their wars and perform their mythic dances across the void and for all the surviving Aeldari kindreds in his name. |
Cegorach - History: Cegorach is the Aeldari god of deception, stealth, creativity, art and trickery. It was he who tricked the Outsider into eating other C'tan according to Aeldari legend during the War in Heaven between the Old Ones and the Necrontyr millions of Terran years ago.Those Aeldari who follow him, known as the Harlequins, are protected from Slaanesh's eternal thirst for Aeldari souls in a different way from their craftworld brethren. While Craftworld Aeldari or Asuryani wear Spirit Stones which absorb their souls when they die to prevent them from being devoured by Slaanesh once they enter the Warp, the Aeldari Harlequins are directly protected by their faith in their god's power, becoming one with his own Warp emanation upon their death.The only exception to this are the Harlequin Solitaires whose souls must be won from Slaanesh after their deaths by the Laughing God.The Laughing God should not be confused with the C'tan called the Deceiver. There are a pair of stories in Aeldari mythology about the Laughing God and the Deceiver which sometimes cause this confusion. In one, the Laughing God tricks the Outsider into eating many other C'tan, driving him insane.In the other, the Deceiver consumed several C'tan to increase his own power and convinced the Nightbringer and the Void Dragon to do likewise. Neither of these C'tan, nor the Deceiver, were driven insane.There is a more obvious difference between the Laughing God and the Deceiver. The Laughing God was created by the collective psychic belief of the ancient Aeldari impacting the psychically reactive energies of the Immaterium, in the same way as were Kaela Mensha Khaine, Isha and all the other Aeldari gods, and as such Cegorach is an entity of the Warp. This belief is supported by his ability to compete for Aeldari souls with Slaanesh.The Deceiver is a C'tan, a Necron Star God, a sentient being of solely physical matter whose natural environment lies at the core of stars in realspace. A C'tan is a creature purely of the material universe; it has no soul and thus no emanation in the dimension of the Empyrean. The mysteries of the Immaterium are beyond the comprehension of the C'tan, who find the energies of the Warp to be inimical to their existence and are thus extremely vulnerable to the use of all psychic powers. |
Cegorach - The Final Act: In recent years, the Harlequins' war against Chaos has been characterised by a newfound urgency. Full masques have become an ever more common sight among the stars. Appearing from the Webway, they can be found performing within the realms of their Asuryani, Exodite or Drukhari kin or battling the galaxy's disparate intelligent races in vicious campaigns of apparently random violence.As the 41st Millennium of the Terran calendar comes to a close, more and more Aeldari of every kindred vanish into the Webway, forsaking their former lives to take up the Harlequin's mask. The Harlequins' numbers are growing, and many among the Aeldari wonder why.The truth is inspirational and terrifying in equal measure. At the very heart of the secret craftworld that lies deep within the most hidden reaches of the Webway, the so-called "Black Library," there lies a silver-lit vault. Therein stands a plinth made of finely graven obstinite, upon which rests a crystalline book said to contain the words of Cegorach himself. Since the Fall of the Aeldari, the tome's covers have remained closed, sealed shut with flickering chains of light.Yet now, long-awaited portents have come to pass. A fallen sorcerer seeks the lore of the library. A king stirs in his court of death and silence, preparing to rise once more. Within madness' eye, the Champion of the Ruinous Powers prepares to seize a realm long denied. As the signs of the Rhana Dandra have come to pass, so the bands of light about the tome have flickered and died.Now, at last, the tome has fallen open. Within its pages the Shadowseers have found a script, a secret final act that changes utterly the tale of the Fall. Penned in inks of light and shadow, these words present a slender hope, detailing an intricate, galaxy-spanning performance with the potential to change the fate of the Aeldari race.Always, the strands of fate have pointed toward the victory of Chaos during the last, mythic battle of Creation known to the Aeldari as the Rhana Dandra. Yet within the pages of the crystal tome is recorded Cegorach's ultimate jest, a way to trick Slaanesh into expending all her power not to destroy the Aeldari, but to save them.How such an impossibility could come to pass is unclear, for on this matter the final act is infuriatingly vague. Yet the Harlequins take their god's words on faith alone, for their devotion to Cegorach is total and his methods beyond question or reproach. Thus they have begun the steps of this final dance, and will see it completed, or else face absolute destruction in the attempt. |
Cegorach - Cegorach's Rose: Some Aeldari artefacts are items of incredible rarity, ancient treasures that are carefully maintained and stored within the Black Library by the Harlequins and the other Aeldari faithful of the Laughing God. Representing the barbed gift given in jest by the Laughing God to the Aeldari Crone Goddess Morai-Heg, Cegorach's Rose contains thorned monofilaments of shadowsilk.Existing in the penumbra between realspace and the Labyrinth Dimension of the Webway, these shadowsilk strands bypass even the thickest armour as though it did not exist.Once within the body of the victim, the Rose's threads uncoil, a blossom of molecule-thin blades unfurling at the end of each. Thus, the foe is slain instantly as a thicket of bloody, bladed roses bursts forth within their chest. |
Ceibhal - Ceibhal: Ceibhal is a Jungle World and the Chapter homeworld of the Obsidian Jaguars Chapter of Space Marines. Ceibhal is host to the Chapter's towering fortress-monastery, "The Sabre."Ceibhal is covered in trees called "steelpalms" whose wood is immensely strong.A verdant planet covered in wild flora and fauna, Ceibhal was defined by its steam-veiled jungles and the mighty, snow-topped peaks that ran over its surface like the scales and spines of some great thunderwyrm. Even from aboard a voidship in orbit, one could see the vast dust clouds kicked up by bovine herds millions strong as they crossed the world's enormous plains in search of sustenance.Typhoons and tornadoes swept across its continents, and lightning struck in a million places. Truly, Ceibhal was a world whose beauty was matched only by its fury. But nothing stirred the soul like "the Sabre," the Obsidian Jaguars' mighty fortress-monastery, whose walls were of deepest ebon. Never could one see such proud battlements elsewhere in the galaxy, besides those of the Space Wolves' own great fortress on Fenris, The Fang. Every hornwork, talus and glacis of the Sabre was a work of majestic art.The planet suffers from torrential rains during what is known as the "Season of Downpouring," which can cause greatly increased volume in rivers and streams like the Arrowhead River. |
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