3rd Edition Rulebook + Non-Chaos Codices Chaos Lore (1998-2004)

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CODEX ASSASSINS (1999)

 

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CODEX CITY FIGHT (2001)

WALK DOWN CHENTELLE STREET
During the latter stages of the Battle for Vogen the advantage of numbers lay heavily with the Imperial forces. In the shattered streets of Vogen, however, a fresh raw platoon could be turned into a jaded veteran squad in just one hour. On the west-central side of the city, Chentelle Street is a long promenade once popular with the city’s wealthier citizens. It has been shelled into ruins during the battle though and the ruins, many of them hiding deep cellars have been occupied by small detachments of Night Lords Chaos Space Marines. The Night Lords have mounted several successful ambushes on Cadian units forming up for the next big push. Lieutenant Corvinn James of the 122nd Cadian along with his platoon has drawn the duty of flushing out one of these squads.

Chaos Marine Veteran Squad: Aspiring Champion of Chaos Undivided Hikkorsi 4 this (power weapon, bolt pistol)
Veteran Chaos Space Marines (1 with flamer, 3 with bolt pistol and close combat weapon). All have frag grenades.

As this battle is quite small it is played on a two foot square table. While you are building your Cityfight terrain there is no reason why you can't use the buildings you already have for small games. These will help you to learn the rules and get playing quickly. In addition, small games between squads are great at conveying the desperate mood of a cityfight as well as being reminiscent of the sort of action portrayed in war movies.

To make this point, the terrain for this battle has been kept very simple as shown in the scenario map.

The square in the diagram shows where enough of a building remains standing to form an observation post. Rikkorsi knows that the Cadians will probably try to capture this position and has prepared to defend it. The Mission played is High Ground. The dotted line on the diagram divides rebel territory on the left from loyalist territory. on the right. Rikkorsi and his Night Lords deploy on the western edge of Ruins 1. They plan to use their infiltration ability to quickly fespond to the Cadian advance. Lieutenant James deploys with his 2nd Squad moving up the road from the south, his 1st Squad amongst Ruins 2 and the Command squad in Ruins 4 ready to support either, His plan is to move the 1st Squad quickly up they the road and capture the high ground. lf need assistance then he and his Command squad will join them. In any event the 2nd Squad will provide covering fire.

Turn 1.
The Loyalist player goes first and 2nd Squad races along the road unhindered. The traitor forces are not yet in sight 1st of Squad moves slowly, ideally they want to get close enough so that they can see the objective but at their rate of advance this could take some time. Evidently the sergeant is proceeding very carefully having heard terrible stories about Night Lord ambushes. Lieutenant James and his squad move towards the 1st Squad in order to effect a link-up. The Night Lards now move. They get-an extra move because of their infiltrate ability and move south, they reach the side road and hurry across it, just reaching safety on the far side and turning 2nd squad's flank.

Turn 2.
The Cadians move and once again 1st Squad proceeds very slowly and still hasn't brought the objective under the cover of their guns. The 2nd Squad now has some Night Lords closing quickly on them but they decide to press on are to the relieved junction of the main road and the side road. They to and see Lieutenant James and his Command squad moving through the ruins to the east. In the Shooting phase they discover that the Night Lords are still (just) out of sight cannot be fired at. In their turn the Night Lords appear from the shadows and debris of the side street and run toward the crossroads. The Cadians have given them an opportunity! Just as they near the startled Guardsmen they open fire with four bolt pistols and a flamer. The flamer inflicts D6 hits and rolls a 5. This, combined with accurate bolt pistol fire, leaves six of 2nd Squad lying dead wounded. Without any hesitation the Night Lards throw themselves on and the survivors and although the Cadians fight gamely (two Night Lords only being saved by their power armour) they are cruelly hacked down. They consolidate after the melee.

Turn 3.
It is beginning to look bleak for the Guard who have lost by one squad already, 1st Squad is distracted from its plan shouts from their Command squad and they hurry in the direction of the fighting. Unfortunately they find the ruins as treacherous as ever and once again have to carefully step around unsafe floors and leap aver exposed cellars. In three moves this squad has moved a total of 6". This clearly illustrates how difficult it can be to coordinate separated units in € you io cityfight and that relying an one squad to do exactly what ahead. need them to do is a bad idea. Not being close enough charge 1st Squad can only blanche at the sounds of terror, from Lieutenant James’ Command squad lack the the 1st firepower to hold off the Night Lords so they retreat to link up with Squad. Their fear makes the ruins even more treacherous however and the Cadians barely stumble away firing rest, behind them as they go to no effect. The Night Lords pursue ruthlessly in their turn and are far more sure-footed. Their fire drops one Cadian and a chargé quickly disposes of the Rikkorsi killing the inept Lieutenant James personally. They consolidate a little further from 1st Squad with the intent of staying out of view.

Turn 4
1st squad freezes when they hear Lieutenant James’ final scream. More carefully they skirt round to the north west closing on the objective while keeping some distance between themselves and the Night Lords. The Night Lords cannot be seen through the ruins but the Cadians know they are being stalked. The trick now is judging distance. Can the Night Lords reach the Cadians or do they risk being stranded in view of them where the guardsmen can shoot them down? Chaos can be impulsive so Rikikorsi and his men sprint forward at full speed apparently. unimpeded by the terrain. They fire a volley and then charge. Four members of 1st Squad fall to the shooting, one to a bolt shell, the others to flame and the rest go down in the short one-sided melee that follows. With this the game is over, Rikkorsi and his heretics can take up another position and wait for same more inexperienced Cadians to walk into their clutches.

This game illustrates how fighting in a city is completely different to fighting in open country. In more open terrain the superior numbers of Imperial Guard with their powerful heavy weapons would probably be able to shoot down the Chaos “Marines before they could get into close combat. As it was the Night Lords turned their flank and rolled up the line without being shot at significantly. If the Cadians had stayed together it is doubtful that five Chaos Marines could beat twenty-five of them but spread out, with the platoon's sub- units unable to support each other, they made it easy for the Night Lords.

 

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Codex: Chaos Space Marines The Traitor Legions are feared exponents of urban warfare. In by the Eye of Terror the cities of Skalathrax were fought over the World Eaters and the Emperor’s Children. During the Horus Heresy they fought room to room within the Emperor's Palace. On Vogen the Night Lords were ever at the forefront of the Chaos attack. Because the legions of Chaos fight their Black Crusades against the Imperial Cult its cities are a popular battleground.

Chaos Space Marine armies get the ability to upgrade their tanks to carry siege armour.

Juggernauts of Khorne and Beasts of Nurgle are treated as infantry for purposes of moving through buildings.

The Nurgle psychic power Stream of Corruption counts as a template weapon as does the Slaaneshi Doom Siren.

Siege Armour: A number of tanks, such as the Vindicator and Lerman Russ Demolisher, are constructed with extra armour designed to make them less vulnerable to fire in a city is environment. The main adaptation is that the armour extended to the hull roof to deal with high trajectory fire, which means that enemy engaging them with height advantage count as attacking their side armour rather than their rear armour. The same adaptation can be improvised in and other vehicles by covering the hull in sandbags, metal plates other available to the protection. This is a vehicle upgrade Imperial Guard, Space Marines and Chaos Space Marines for +20 points.

 

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FAMOUS SIEGES OF THE IMPERIUM

Below are some brief accounts of famous sieges and cityfights that have taken place since the founding of the Imperium in the 30th millennium.

THE SIEGE OF BADAB
The Badab War, M41

In 901.M41 the Master of the Astral Claws and Lord of Badab, Lufgt Huron, led his Chapter in open revolt against the Imperium. The Tyrant of Badab, as Huron became know, was able to stave off two punitive expeditions but a third, much larger. expedition finally forced him back into Badab City. Fighting for the city was as fierce as any seen since the Horus Heresy, as Space Marine fought against Space Marine in the ruined streets. Although outnumbered the defenders fought with a fury fuelled by desperation. After weeks of fighting barely two hundred Astral Claws were left alive, and they had been driven back to their last stronghold in the Palace of Thorns. At this point Huron was critically injured by a melta blast. Realising further resistance was futile, the remaining members of the Astral Claws took their Chapter esters body and fought their ‘way past the Imperial blockade in a handful of surviving ships, escaping into the lawless area of space known as the Maelstrom.

THE SIEGE OF THE FANG
The War of Harek’s Shame, M32

The Fang has been besieged several times, but most famous is that which took place in the 32nd millennium. Following the end®efsthe Horus Heresy, Magnus the Red, Primarch of the Thousand Sons, was determined to exact revenge on the Space Wolves from their destruction of the Thousand Sons’ home world. He was-able to lure Great Wolf Harek Ironhelm into a foolhardy assault on the world of Gangava. While Harek was engaged here Magnus led the bulk of his forces against the Fang! For . forty days and nights the Thousand Sons assaulted the famous citadel, but were unable to take it. A force of Wolf Scouts were able to escape from the Fang and bring word ¢ | to Harken of the siege. He rushed back and drove off the Thousand Sons, but was mortally wounded in single combat with the evil Primarch.

THE DEFENCE OF MORDIA PRIME
The Mordian Conspiracy, M36

Cultists on the Imperial planet of Mordia conspired with the Chaos gods to create a portal that allowed the forces of darkness to invade the planet. The famed Mordian Iron Guard resisted as best they could but were driven back into the planet's capital city. Here they put up a desperate defence, but were driven back street by street, building by building, until finally they took up a final stand around the Tetrarchal palace at the heart of the city. At this last moment the spell holding open the portal to the realms of Chaos was broken, and as the Iron Guard watched their enemies vanished before their eyes. The Iron Guard's heroic resistance had given Imperial psykers enough time to break the spell before Chaos won the planet for all eternity.

SIEGE OF THE EMPEROR’S PALACE
The Horus Heresy, M31

The most infamous siege in Imperial history. Traitor Space Marines under the command of Warmaster Horus attacked Earth at the culmination of the Horus Heresy. Horus’ drop ships fell like rain upon the Imperial Palace, disgorging company after company of Traitor Marines. The palace spread over many miles of corridor, courtyards and administrative buildings, and the fighting was fierce and determined. The Traitor Marines and rebel Imperial Guard units gradually forced back the loyal Marines and Emperor's Guards.

The defenders only gave way grudgingly, and the attackers were forced to win their way forward step by step over the casualties of both sides. In places the dead lay so thickly that corridors were blocked off by the press of bodies. As the rebel forces slowly closed the net on the loyalist troops, the Emperor took up a last defensive position with his bodyguard and Primarch Rogal Dorn of the Imperial Fists. All would have been lost if Horus had not lowered the shields on his battle- barge, allowing the Emperor and a small entourage to teleport on board. In the subsequent fight Horus was slain and the siege lifted. Tragically the Emperor was so badly wounded in the battle with Horus that he has been confined to the life support systems of his Golden Throne ever since.

 

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THE BATTLE FOR BLADEN THE GOTHIC WAR — 143.M41

At the start of the Gothic War the Imperial Navy anchorage above the Hive World of Bladen in the Lysades sub-sector was devastated by Abaddon's surprise attack. The Traitor Marines of the Black Legion took the opportunity to attack Massena Hive. The Ecclesiarchy was strong on Bladen and Massena was the site of their greatest cathedral. The Mission of the Emperor Triumphant was the oldest Ecclesiarchy building in the sub-sector, built on the site of an Apothecarion said to have been founded during the Great Crusade it was a place where the Emperor himself was believed to have trod, The Chaos fleet subjected the hive to a sustained bombardment, the city shield held but the Imperial forces in the city were blinded to events outside, The Black Legion landed as close to Massena as the bombardment allowed and blasted their way through to a subterranean rail-link running from Massena to Tegus hive. Passing beneath the shield the rail-link was secured by a series of massive gates, these were opened by insurgents to admit Abaddon's forces.

Before the Cathedral was the Square of Final Redemption, surrounded on the other three sides by the towering buildings of the Administratum. In the square the men of the 35th Cadian threw a line of improvised defences across the approaches and took up positions in a few Carefully selected buildings which they fortified as best they could, The balance of the force and all their vehicles took their stand at stood the foot of the steps leading up to the Cathedral gates. Cardinal Andrallos behind them under the Ecclesiarchal banner Surrounded by his Confessors. The initial attack came in the north, the fortified Imperial Exchange building was rocked by repeated salvos of missiles before a wave of Black Legionaries swarmed through the desperate fire of the defenders and using meltabombs forced entry in half a dozen places. The Traitor Marines cleared a foothold with their flamers before squads of vile Plague Marines forced their way in and crushed all resistance. The defenders found the Plague Marines to be virtually invulnerable and one by one they fell to the festering plaque knives, weakened by the aura of corruption and decay that shrouded their enemies.

The roof of the Imperial Exchange was soon packed with Black Legion havoc squads. Almost at once a firefight erupted across the ancient plaza as the havocs engaged the Imperial forces around the square. Suddenly the barricades blocking the roads entering the Square to either side of the Imperial Exchange were smashed aside by lumbering Chaos Dreadnoughts leading a veritable sea of summoned daemons, Everywhere the morale of the defenders wavered. Only the forces gathered around the Cardinal kept their nerve and buried themselves in the litany of loading and firing. The daemonic horde was halted some fifty paces from the steps and then driven Statues back of inexorably by the unceasing volley fire. The many saints and martyrs that adored the square were destroyed alongside the abominations of Chaos. The daemons began to fade, their grip on the real universe waning under the physical bombardment of the Guardsmen and the faith of the Ecclesiarchy. Left alone the Chaos Dreadnoughts rampaged on but Were unable to break through the line although one overturned a ‘Leman Russ and set a clawed foot on the Cathedral steps before it was destroyed.

As the last Dreadnought was reduced to mangled metal an unearthly screech from above announced the arrival of the Chaos Raptors. Dropping onto the Cardinal's, retinue they were soon engaged in a merciless hand to hand battle, which raged up and down the cathedral steps. Atop the steps, reality turned inside out and the smell of ozone mingled with daemon ichor and human fear. The Black Legions’ Chaos Terminators had teleported into the thick of the action. Their initial salvo cut through the Cardinal's guards bringing down Andrallos’ banner along with the Cardinal himself. With his death resistance crumbled, | ~ The ways in which the Cathedral was defiled were gross and barbarous. Thousands of citizens were slaughtered to complete the desecration. Such was the horror that even after Abaddon’s departure the city was a place of madness and corruption. The taint of Chaos was upon it and in 159.M41, sixteen years atter it fell to the dark gods Massena was put to rest by a blessed Exterminatus at the command of Lord Admiral Ravensburg and) the Inquisitor Lord Proccuppio Vex.

“The Chaos taint had only embraced Urthwart for a few months but when we landed to retake it a nightmare awaited us. Flayed human skin flapped from every streetlight, everywhere you looked grinning skulls were piled in pyramids and always just around the next comer was an infernal giggling and cackling that seemed to come from the wails themselves, We lost almost as many men to madness as we did to enemy action...." Veteran Sergeant Hessel, 122nd Cadian Regiment

 

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DAEMON CITIES

Deep within the Eye of Terror, the natural laws of reality are flouted as Daemon Princes use their enormous powers to shape their world to their unnatural desires. Here, madness serves as architect and planner, with a daemon’s whims given form in stone and flesh. The streets writhe in eternal motion, faces leer from liquid walls and screams issue from eyeless creatures bound forever to the substance of the city. Every conceivable form and possibility is given shape upon a daemon world and sights that defy description are common place. Vast, continent-spanning factories belch fumes into bloody skies, churning out weapons for the daemon armies that populate the world. Life is cheap and these worlds are populated by human renegades and creatures that are barely recognisable as human any more. The Traitor Legions that turned against the Emperor thousands of years ago make their homes within the Eye of Terror and their worlds are terrible to behold.

Whole planets echo to the sound of worship, as entire populations unite in cries of adoration to their infernal masters. On one world, daemonic bells, larger than starships and requiring the labour of millions to sound, ring out over twisted cities and the thunder of their peals can be heard for thousands of light years. Yet another world resonates with the dolorous chanting of billions of daemons of Nurgle as they endlessly circle the globe, counting the number of plagues that ravage the universe.

The cities of daemons can be as varied as you like, because as far as Chaos is concerned, anything goes and your imagination can run riot! However, almost all the cities of a particular Chaos god will have some broadly similar features. Cities of Khorne are filled with sacrificial altars, blood pools, executioner's blocks and all manner of implements of pain and death, while those of Nurgle are pestilential nightmares of contagion and delerium. To venture within such places is ta bear witness to fly-choked thoroughfares, stinking hovels of indescribable filth and enormous vats of diseased, liquefied flesh. Charnel pits overflow with the decaying corpses of those who have succumbed to Nurgle’s Rot, only to rise again as daemonic servants of the Plague Lord.

 

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BATTLE FOR VOGEN
THE KHAI-ZHAN UPRISING 968.M41

In the early hours of the morning of the twelfth day of the fifth bi-lunar cycle, the Imperial planet of Khai-Zhan was riven by open revolt. All across the planet covens of Chaos cultists, aided and abetted by other disaffected elements of the population, attacked vital strategic locations. Within hours Khai-Zhan was in turmoil, as battles between loyal Imperial forces and the cultists and their allies erupted everywhere. To compound the problem for the defenders, reports soon Started coming in that units of darkly-armoured Chaos Space Marines from the Night Lords Traitor Legion were involved in the fighting. By the end of the first day's confused fighting over half of Khai-Zhan's major population centres were controlled by the rebels. Most vital of these was the planet's Capital, the ancient Imperial city of Vogen. The battle for control of the city was to last for the duration of the uprising, and matched in intensity and ferociousness any cityfight in recent Imperial history.

PLANETARY DETAILS

Khai-Zhan is an o-class Agri World located approximately seventy-five light years to the galactic south of the important Imperial planet of Cadia. The Cadian Sector stands upon the edge of the Eye Of Terror within a narrow corridor of stable space called the Cadian Gate. This forms the one and only predictable passage between the Chaos-infested lies well over a hundred light years from the Eye Of Terror, its loss would be a terrible blow to Imperial defenses.

Khai-Zhan is a stable planet, little troubled by subterranean activity, while its twin. moons are so small and distant as to have very little effect on the planet's surface. It is the most important producer of food-stuffs in the Cadian Sector, and Khai-Zhan kelp cakes form over half the dietary requirements of the human populations on planets within a hundred light year radius. The nutritious seaweed used to which is produce Khai-Zhan’s main export is collected and processed by huge mile-long harvesting ships, which constantly criss-cross which the shallow oceans that make up 98.3% of the planet's surface.

Khai-Zhan is home to some four million imperial citizens, most of whom work on the harvesting ships and in the towns and ports that service them. All of the planet's population centres are located on the land mass located at Khai-Zhan’s nerthern pole, which forms the planet's only solid land above sea level. This population hugs the coast of this continent, leaving the heavily forested interior untouched apart from the small settlements and outposts scattered along the roads and trails which link the coastal population centres,

The fleet of harvesting ships are owned and run by a number of family cartels, each of which is based in a different part: There is great rivalry between the different cartels, and open warfare between them over the right to harvest a particularly lush kelp bed is not unknown. The only neutral ground where members of the different cartels are willing to mix without outright war breaking out is in the city of Vogen.

Vogen is Khai-Zhan’s capital and from here the planet's Impérial Governor rules in the name of the Imperium. It is the only city on Khai-Zhan that has a spaceport. Because of this all of the cartels must bring their goods to Vogen in order to have them exported, and for mast of Khai-Zhan’s history this has allowed the planet’s governor to keep the unruly family business empires in line with Imperial policy.

 

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THE KHAI-ZHAN UPRISING

The tragedy of the Khai-Zhan uprising was that it could have been easily avoided. It came about through the greed and misjudgement of ane man, Imperial Governor Harikon Kadulus. As already noted, all goods exported from Khai- Zhan had to leave from Vogen's single spacepart. Since the founding of the planet a tax had been levied on the goods exported, technically to pay for the support and upkeep of the Spaceport and Planetary Defence Force. It had been long accepted that some of these taxes found their way into the pockets of the staff and officials of the planetary government. Governor Kadulus, however, was a vain and greedy man, and he demanded a bigger and bigger share of the money raised from the charges levied on the cartels for using the spaceport. This had a two-fold effect: it led to cut-backs in the planet's defences in order to help pay for Kadulus’ excesses, and it led to growing discontent amongst the planet's population as the cartels began passing on their increased costs to the workforce. Within a decade of Kadulus being appointed Governor the situation was ripe for disaster. All that was required was a spark to set it off.

The spark came in the form of von Guyen, a petty thief and con-man who was wanted in over a dozen Imperial systems for impersonating officials of the Ecclesiarchy and convincing gullible citizens to donate their savings to him for 'the betterment of the Imperial Cult’. Until he arrived on Khail-Zhan, von Guyen had simply used his ill-gotten gains to finance an extravagant and luxurious lifestyle. At same point, however, he clearly came into contact with agents of the Chaos gods, who found in him a very useful servant.

When von Guyen arrived on Khai-Zhan he immediately set about founding covens dedicated to the gods of Chaos, his honeyed words and promises of wealth and freedom fram Imperial oppression falling on the fertile ground tilled by Kadulus’ corruption and greed. Very quickly von Guyen was able to build up a network of covens dedicated to overthrowing the gavernment of the planet. Once they were strong enough in numbers von Guyan’s followers began arming themselves and preparing for war. Word was sent by nefarious means to the Night Lords Traitor Legion, who despatched their hardened warriors to aid Guyan. On the twelfth day of the Khai-2han’s fifth bi-lunar cycle, just over a decade after van Guyan had arrived on the planet, the rebels Struck.

THE REBEL FORCES

The rebel forces that took part in the Khai-Zhan uprising ranged from bands of untrained cultists armed with home- made weapons, through to battle-hardened Ghaos Space Marines of the Night Lords Traitor Legion, and just about everything in between. As well as human warriors, the rebels were aided by daemonic creatures summoned to the battlefield from the warp. However, the actual number of such summonings was very small indeed. The exact reason for this is unclear, but it would appear that Vogen's great distance from the Eye of Terror and the lack of real devotion to any of the Chaos cults shown by von Guyan’s followers and the Night Lords Space Marines may have been contributory factors. Whatever the reason, it was human Warriors rather than supernatural monsters which did most of the fighting during the Khai-Zhan uprising.

The bulk of von Guyan’s army was made up of cultists. Although they lacked heavy equipment in the form of armoured vehicles or heavy artillery, many of the cultists were well-armed with lasguns and heavy weapons such as missile- launchers and heavy bolters which had been stolen from the Planetary Defence Force or smuggled onto the planet. At the start of the uprising the cultists had little training or experience, but this was quickly learned over the course of the campaign, and by the end of the fighting the best cultist units were the equal of any of the Cadian Imperial Guard units that they fought.

The cultists were backed up by a large number of trained military units from Khai-Zhan's Planetary Defence Force (K2- PDF). About a third of the KZ-PDF went over to the rebels, providing von Guyan with a cadre of well-trained. and equipped personnel which proved invaluable. Rebel KZ-PDF armour and artillery were particularly useful, especially in the early stages of the uprising, where they were used to crush Imperial strongpoints and bastions. Later in the campaign the arrival of Imperial Navy fighters and orbiting spacecraft made it increasingly difficult for rebel armour and artillery to operate successfully, but even under these conditions they proved a constant thorn in the side of the Imperial forces. However, probably the most important result of the disloyalty of so many K2-PDF units was that the Imperial Guard and Space Marine forces drafted in to suppress the rebellion did not trust Or respect the ones that had remained loyal. In many cases this distrust was completely unjustified, but nonetheless it led to a number of situations where attacks were aborted or held up because Imperial Commanders did not trust loyal K7-PDF which were fighting alongside them.

The least numerous but most dangerous element in the rebel army were the units from the Night Lords Chaos Space Marine legion. The Night Lords do not appear to worship any one of the Chaos Gods and, following the Horus Heresy, have instead become cynical, hard-bitten and frighteningly ruthless warriors. They fight for the pleasure of it and for the material rewards it can bring, and not because they worship some deity. Over the millennia the Night Lords have seeded many uninhabited planets close in the Cadian Gate with their forces in order to take advantage of just such an opportunity as the Khai-Zhan uprising. Even though the Night Lords must have known it was unlikely that Khai-Zhan would fall to von Guyan’s forces, they despatched small numbers of Night Lord Chaos Space Marines to take part in the fighting. It seems clear now that their aim was to draw as many Imperial units as possible from éelseéwhere in the sector into the battle, in the hope that the disruption caused by the uprising would provide them with rich pickings from the neglected worlds.

Although it is unlikely that more than one hundred Night Lord Chaos Space Marines took part in the uprising, the effect of their presence Was out of all proportion to their numbers. Panic spread like wild-fire when word that Chaos Space Marines were on the planet, and the presence of just a squad of these fearsome warriors was enough to break the will of all but the bravest defenders. Later in the campaign, squads of Night Lords were used to bolster the defence of the most vital strongpoints, and to lead sudden counter-attacks to capture last ground. It was only with the arrival of the 5th and 9th Imperial Fists Space Marine companies that the Imperial forces were really able to deal adequately with the Night Lord units that were fighting on the planet.

 

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THE IMPERIAL FORCES

The Imperial forces on Khai-Zhan can be split into three distinct groups; the loyal Planetary Defence Force, Cadian Imperial Guard units, and Space Marines from the Imperial Fists Space Marine Chapter.

The troops that made up the (KZ-PDF) were of very mixed quality. Almost a third joined the rebels at the start of the campaign, and many of those that remained were of dubious quality. Endemic corruption affected many units, and Governor Kadulus’ policy of awarding positions in the PDF to his cronies and sycophants meant that combat efficiency suffered. There were very notable exceptions, however. In particular, the troops of the elite Khai-Z7han Commando and Khai-Zhan Mountain Ranger regiments fought extremely valiantly. But these were the exception rather than the rule, and the bulk of the hard fighting to quell the Khai-Zhan uprising was performed by the Imperial Guard and Space Marines fighting on the planet.

Almost all of the Imperial Guard units that fought on Khai- Zhan were from Cadia, and it was they who bore the brunt of the fighting in the campaign. The 122nd Cadian Regiment was already stationed on the planet at the start of the campaign, and offered the only really serious opposition to the rebels in the early hours and days of the uprising. Later the 9th and 72nd Cadian Infantry Regiments were transported to the planet along elementsof the 3rd Cadian Heavy Tank Regiment, whose Baneblades and Shadowswords proved invaluable in reducing the rebel strongholds in the Dragonspine Mountains to rubble. The Cadians were well equipped and trained, and had been honed by years of fighting against Chaos raids near the Cadian Gate. Nevertheless, the ferocity of the fighting matched anything in Cadian military history, and by the end of the campaign almost a third of the Cadian troops involved had been killed or wounded.

Towards the end of the uprising the loyal KZ-PDF and Imperial Guard regiments were reinforced by the 5th and 9th Companies of the Imperial Fists Space Marine Chapter. The Imperial Fists, a First Founding Chapter, have been famed for their skill at siege warfare ever since the days of the Emperor's Great Crusade. Their expertise at city fighting was put to of good use in the desperate battle for the Palace Of Peace, which marked the closing stages of the Battle for Vogen.

THE CAPTURE OF VOGEN

The Battle for Vogen began as it was to end; in bload, death, and confusion. The rebels’ presence on Khai-Zhan and their preparations for war had not gone completely unnoticed by the planet's defence forces. However the huge scale of the rebellion, and the extent of their preparations came as a terrible shock.

The rebels had chosen the time for the beginning of their uprising very carefully; it was the date of Imperial Governor Kadulus’ birthday, and had been proclaimed a public holiday. Over half of the’ Planetary Defence Force had been given leave so they could join in with the celebrations. Those PDF units that were on duty were mainly von Guyen’s followers, who had volunteered to serve that day. The rebels possessed detailed information about Vogen. They had divided the city into four attack zones and had pinpointed nearly every military installation. Units were assigned to each location and given orders to capture it no matter the cost in lives. Cult leaders had prepared a detailed list of over two hundred targets and had listed individual Imperial officials to be captured or killed.

Inside the city, Colonel Karnow, commander of the 122nd Cadian Regiment, which was stationed on the planet, was worried. He felt that all signs pointed to an imminent uprising. Cancelling all leave, he placed his units on alert and gathered his staff in the regiment’s HQ compound, which was located in the city. He decided to leave the bulk of the regiment in their containments located outside Vogen, trusting to the KZ- PDF to be able to deal with any trouble that occurred inside the city. This proved to be a mistake, for when the attack came the only other loyal troops located in the city were the Adeptus Arbites units based in their precinct house to the south of the city, When the uprising began the Adeptus Arbites precinct house and the 122nd Regiment's HO were to become the only two islands of resistance in the city.

The attack started when mobs of cultists poured into the city streets. Those loyal citizens that did not join the rebellion were forced to hide in their houses or be killed by the mob, which had been whipped into a frenzy of hatred by the leaders of the cultist covens. All across Vogen people that failed to escape were Sacrificed upon makeshift altars dedicated to the gods of Chaos, The streets ran with blood and the air was rent by the gurgling screams of sacrificial victims Walls were daubed with the marks of the Chaos gods, and any icons of the Imperial cult were desecrated or destroyed. Buildings were torched, the fires running unchecked and lighting the city with a dreadful hellish glow. fires Monstrous creatures, drawn from the warp by the nightmare scenes, appeared and rampaged through the city, killing all that got in their way, rebel or loyalist alike.

At the centre of Vogen lay the Imperial Governor’s residence, a mighty citadel known as the Palace of Peace. When the uprising began, Governor Kadulus and his closest cronies were taking part. in a debauched birthday celebration. Unknown to them most of the Palace Guard had been infiltrated by cultists, and those guards that were still loyal were quickly and quietly despatcned. The revellers did not even know that anything was untoward until von Guyan himself strode into the banqueting hall. Snapping his fingers he ordered the guards to hurl Kadulus and his followers in the Palace's dungeons, where he would deal with them at his leisure. The strongest bastion in the city of Vogen had fallen without a shot being fired,

Meanwhile a sea of cultists were attacking the Adeptus Arbites precinct house and the 122nd Regiments HQ. Again and again the cultists hurled themselves against these objectives, but both positions were heavily fortified and surrounded by razor-wire and minefields, and it proved impossible for the lightly armed cultists to take them. Even the it blood-crazed leaders of the cultist mobs soon realised that further attacks were futile, so they changed tacties and tried to subdue the defenders with heavy weapons and sniper fire from overlooking buildings. Surrounded and cut off, unaware that rebel attacks were happening across the entire planet, the Arbites and Guard garrisons could do little other than hold out and pray to the Emperor for help.

All around these compounds, rebel units from the K#-PDF and their cultist comrades cdefences, the cultists carried on hunting down any loyal Imperial citizens trapped in the city, Above the Palace of Peace a huge banner was unfurled bearing the mark of Chaos Undivided. As if this were a signal, at the very momentontrolled the city. While the PDF troops began fortifying their positions and preparing defences, the cultists carried on hunting down any loyal Imperial citizens trapped in the city, Above the Palace of Peace a huge banner was unfurled bearing the mark of Chaos Undivided. As if this were a signal, at the very moment the banner was unfurled a Thunderhawk gunship belonging to the Night Lords Chapter roared down from orbit and landed in the Palace courtyard, disgorging half a dozen squads of Chaos Space Marines to help secure the city. It had taken the rebels two hours to capture Vogen, the planet's capital and largest city.

 

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HOLDING OUT

Although von Guyen and his followers did not know it, this was to mark the high point of the uprising. All over Khai-Zhan the cultists had been successful and the Imperial defenders had been caught unprepared. But now the defenders knew what they were up against and, more importantly, they knew who their enemy was. Although hundreds of thousands had joined the Chaos covens, and a third of the KZ-PDF had joined the rebellion, the majority of the population remained loyal to the Imperium, and they now started fighting back. Within days the outnumbered rebels were forced back on the defensive.

The poorly armed and poorly trained suffered especially badly in these early days, with thousands dying in cultists futile wave attacks on Imperial strong-points. The monsters that had appeared to aid the rebels in the first days fighting were either slain in these battles or returned to the shadowy realm from whence they came, leaving the rebels to fight on unaided. Finally von Guyen realised that these attacks did little other than to deplete the ranks of his followers and called them off, but by then twa in every three of the cultists were already dead. The KZ-PDF and Night Lords fared better, but they were stretched very thin. The arrival of fresh Cadian troops, just three weeks after the rebellion began, sealed the fate of the rebels and meant it was only a matter of time before the rebellion was crushed.

Within Vogen the 122nd Regiment HQ and the Adeptus Arbites' compounds proved to be two terrible thorns in the side of the rebels Both lay just within the city walls, and allowed Imperial reinforcements to get within the city without having to fight their way in. Instead of having a secure and heavily fortified position, the rebels had to defend against multiple threats fram within what they had thought would be their von defensive perimeter. In the early days of the rebellion Guyén launched several furious assaults against each stronghold, but even with the aid of the rebel artillery to pound the defenders, and with Daemons and Night Lords Chaos Space Marines to spear-head the assaults, it proved impossible for the rebels to fully capture the compounds.

Qutnumbered and out-gunned the defenders gritted their teeth and held on as best they could, selling their lives as dearly as possible, and making the rebels pay in blood for every yard of ground they took. By the end of the first day there were only half a dozen men in the 122nd Regiment HO who were unwounded, and the situation was little better in the Arbites precinct house. It seemed impossible that the two positions would not fall, but wounded and unwounded men alike kept on fighting furiously. This desperate defence through the terrible night as shells exploded on the compound and monsters howled in the darkness bought just enough time for a relief colurnn to fight its way the twelve kilometres from the regiment's main camp to the two compounds. When the rebels attacked again at dawn on the second day they were met by fresh Imperial Guard troops and were driven back with heavy losses. Half-hearted rebel attacks continued for the rest of the day, but none made any headway. Reluctantly, van Guyen was forced to yield the initiative, dig-in and await the Imperial counter-attack.

THE RECONQUEST

Starting with the third day of the Battle for Vogen, troops fram the 122nd Regiment, eventually reinforced by troops fram two other Cadian regiments and the Imperial Fists Space Marine Chapter, began the building by building reconquest of the city. Every alley, street corner, window and wall harboured potential death. The only way to advance was to blast an entrance in a wall with a grenade or plasma charge, and then charge through the breach. Casualties amongst the assault troops were very high; just to make such an assault once called for great courage, but the Guardsmen of the 122nd regiment were called upon to do so again and again, day atter day, week after week. Very few survived such fighting unscathed, either in body or mind.

The terrain in Vegen aided the defenders and denied the attackers advantages in terms of mobility and heavy support. The rebels quickly learned that their best tactic was to stay as close to the attackers as possible, making it impossible far Imperial artillery or air support to be used without risk of hitting friendly troops. The fighting became a bloody close- quarters fight, with quarter neither asked nor given. The rebels, aided by local cultists and captured slave labour turned each building into a fortress. Heavy weapons were carefully positioned to cover streets and alleyways. The city’s sewers were used to allow squads to move quickly to a threatened location or to make a sudden and unexpected counter-attack. The attackers countered such threats by sending their own troops down into the sewers, so that fierce battles were fought between the ‘sewer rats’ of both sides in the darkened tunnels that lay below Vogen’s streets.

On the surface Leman Russ battle tanks were used to support squads as they assaulted a building. The tank would advance along the street, blasting any rebel heavy weapons that they could see. The infantry assault team would work their way from building to building, methodically reducing each rebel position and clawing the city back. From high vantage paints snipers from both sides fired down into the streets below. Deadly man-to-man sniper duels were not uncommon.

 

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While the Cadians battled in the south of the city, loyal K2Z-PDF units were operating to the north. Using the Adeptus Arbites precinct house as their jumping-off point troops from the 2nd and 6th KZ-PDF Regiments began to clear the north wall of the city. After four days of hard fighting the 6th Regiment was able to capture the North Road Gate, making it possible for loyal KZ-PDF units to start entering the city. Facing opposition every bit as determined as that faced by the Cadians the K2-PDF regiments continued their advance. Slowly the Cadians and loyal Khai-Zhan troops began pulling the noose tight on the rebels.

After three weeks of continuous fighting the rebels had been driven back into their final strongholds in and around the Palace of Peace. But although Imperial troops had recaptured over three-quarters of the city, the rebels were by no means beaten. They still held strong positions, and were perfectly capable of launching bold counter-attacks. The Night Lord Chaos Space Marines, were still a potent threat, leading counter-attacks and carrying out raids behind Imperial lines. What was more, the attackers had been bled dry in the fierce fighting. and were all but exhausted. For nearly another month the fighting in Vegen became locked into a grinding war of attrition, with neither side able to break the deadlock.

THE FINAL ASSAULT

But although the rebels had weathered the storm of the first Imperial assault on the city, the result in the long run was not in doubt. Soon fresh Imperial troops joined the battered troops already in the city. Most important of these were two full companies of Imperial Fist Space Marines. The presence of these champions of the Imperium, renowned throughout the galaxy as one of the great First Founding Chapters, did much to restore the spirit of the troops that had been fighting for seven weeks in the ruined streets of Vogen. Within days of their arrival, the final assault on von Guyen’s stronghold in the Palace Of Peace began.

The Imperial Fists were famous for their skill at siege warfare, but nonetheless the difficulty of the assault on the Palace of Peace matched anything in their history. Imperial tanks could not operate in the narrow streets and alleyways that made up the palace grounds. The palace walls were thick and heavily fortified, and making a breach was often difficult if not impossible. The fighting degenerated into a series of headlong assaults, with the attackers having to fight their way forward across the bodies of their fallen comrades. Yet the relentless advance continued, and slowly the rebels were driven back.

Finally, after almost three months of heavy fighting, only a few dozen rebels were left alive. By order of the High Command, the surviving members of Vogen’s Adeptus Arbites were allowed to lead the final assault. The Arbites charged forward, roaring their Litanies of Justice Served as they advanced, some carrying scaling ladders to get over the walls and into the last stronghold, The rebels fought hard, but were horribly overmatched, and died to a man. Von Guyen’s body was found in the palace dungeon, not far from the hideously tortured body of former Governor Kadulus. Yon Guyen had taken poison rather than been captured. Meanwhile far above the dungeons, the troops of the Adeptus Arbites hauled down the Chaos banner that had flown over the Palace Of Peace for the duration of the rebellion. The Khai- Zhan uprising was over.

 

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CODEX HARLEQUINS

THE HARLEQUINS

The Harlequins are a strange sub-sect of the Eldar race, consisting of warriors drawn from the other kindreds; the Dark Eldar, Exodites and Craftworld Eldar. They are masters of the system of warp- tunnels known as the Webway and roam at will from place to place. They are seen as the keepers of the ancient Eldar myths, and perform complex dances and plays to recreate these allegorical tales, covering such events as the War in Heaven, the Fall and the Birth of the Great Enemy. The Harlequins are held in a mixture of fear, awe and respect by all other Eldar. Their knowledge of the Webway is unmatched, and they can appear and disappear almost at will; at an Exodite Maiden World, in the dark city of Comorragh or on a Craftworld. The Harlequins have even been known to appear unexpectedly alongside the forces of other races, particularly if they are fighting against the hosts of Chaos, the sworn foes of the Harlequins. The Harlequins see themselves as the saviours of the Eldar, a uniting force which will one day bring together the fragmented race so that they can regain their position as the most powerful force in the galaxy. They have a great plan, unknown to all but themselves and a privileged few, which is both far reaching and horrifying.

The Dance Without End by Graeme Davis

The message flashed around the craftworld at the speed of thought. All normal functions were suspended, and every Eldar on Saim-Hann came to the talaclu hall. Even the Ancestors in the Infinity Matrix watched through the craftworld’s internal sensors. At least once in their lives. every Eldar should witness The Dance — the greatest of the Harlequins’ works, retelling the story of the fall of the Old Race — and keep the lessons of the Fall alive in the spirits of the survivors. But The Dance is rarely performed, since the key part cannot be danced by any member of a masque. Only the mystic Solitaires — those touched by the Laughing god himself, who pass unrecognised as whim or design moves them — only these may dance the part of Slaanesh.

The nine troupers bounded into the centre of the stage. their dathedi suits projecting a weaving pattem of colours as they danced the part of the Old Race. The Shadowseers took up positions around the outside: emotions were monitored, amplified and returned by their equipment as the Eldar lived the fall of their ancestors: felt their joys. their prides, their petty rivalries and their driving passions. Three Great Harlequins danced the parts of the Fallen gods, leaping. cartwheeling and somersaulting around and among the dancers of the Old Race.

The dancers of the Old Race became wilder, their passions stronger and their joys more extreme, more menacing. They came together like a whirlpool, and broke upon something unseen — hurled back as the Solitaire leaped into view, somersaulting from his unseen entrance to the centre of the dancers.

An involuntary shock ran through the audience at the sight of the allegorical figure of the Chaos god Slaanesh His suit projected a constantly-writhing mass of figure, in attitudes of decadent pleasure.

From behind Slaanesh. seven figures appeared one by one to mingle with the Old Race. First came the foul Mime, passing their sensual and disturbing movements to the other dancers as the Daemons they represented had spread the corruption of Slaanesh. One by one the dancers of the Old Race began to project the pattern of writhing figures on their suits. Next came three dark figures: the Death Jesters suits displayed skeletons as they leaped and slew, dragging the inert forms of the Fallen gods to the feet of Slaanesh. As the last fell. a psychic scream from the Shadowseers echoed through the minds of the audience. It shifted and writhed like the patterns on the cancers’ suits, gradually coalescing into a chilling gibbering laugh of madness. corruption and depravity.

But in the laugh there was another voice. A _ clearer laugh, an ironic laugh. A laugh which laughs because it chooses not to weep. Then. at one side of the stage, the Great Harlequin entered. His suit projected the ever-shifting multicoloured lozenges of the Laughing god as he strolled casually onstage, still laughing at the cosmic folly of the Fallen. He looked at the triumphant form of Slaanesh atop the mound of writhing dancers, and he laughed. He looked at the Mime-Daemons and the Death Jesters as they bore down upon him. And he laughed.

For a moment. he could not be seen among the press of Slaanesh’s minions. but with a cry he flew above their heads tumbling in flight to land facing them. As they turned he leaped again: two figures dropped as he touched them. and five more clawed the empty air as he somersaulted across the stage

His laugh now was one of glee as he leaped and tumbled. evading the hunters and turning now and then to strike back. He picked up the body of a Death Jester and hurled it at the figure of Slaanesh, who reeled slightly at the impact. With a wild cry the Great Harlequin leaped forward, pulled a single dancer from the feet of Slaanesh, and withdrew. At his touch. the writhing figures on the dancer s suit dissolved into the lozenge pattern. and the dancer also began to laugh as he danced the dance of the Harlequin. The two of them put the remaining Daemons to flight. and as last fell. Slaanesh joined the battle

The confrontation between Slaanesh and the Great Harlequin seemed to go on for ever. Other dancers melted from the stage as the two figures leaped, cartwheeled and somersaulted around each other. Slowly. in the background, the Mime-Daemons and _ the Harlequin troupers took up the dance resecting the movements of the two principals in perfect unison.

The Dance ended abruptly. with the struggle unresolved. It was indeed the Dance Without End. The hall was quiet. The dancers left the stage The audience sat stunned

 

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CODEX ARMAGEDDON (2000)

FIGHTING THE THIRD ARMAGEDDON WAR

So, the fate of Armageddon hangs in the balance ~ and now you can take part in the battles that will decide if the Imperial defenders held out or if the planet falls to the Ork hordes!

On the pages that follow, you will find new army lists for some of the forces that took part in the Armageddon campaign, and ideas for games to play based on the campaign. However, you can use armies from any of the published Codexes to fight battles set on Amageddon. The obvious, choices are the Space Marines, Imperial Guard and Ork Codexes, as these are the armies doing the bulk of the fighting on Armageddon. The Blood Angels and Space Wolves are also involved in the campaign, so their Codexes can be used too, and, although the Dark Angels are not involved in the fighting yet, they will doubtless arrive soon.

In addition, both sides have small allied or mercenary forces fighting with them, so Dark Eldar and Chaos Space Marine players can use their armies as mercenaries fighting for the Orks, while Eldar players can take part as Imperial allies. With a little imagination even Tyranid players should find it easy enough to come up with some sort of justification for their army to take part!

 

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HISTORY OF ARMAGEDDON

The hiveworld of Armageddon, the principle world of the Armageddon Sector lies roughly ten thousand lightyears to the galactic north east of Terra, Ibis a vital node at the centre of the Armageddon Sector's navigational channels and its thousands of weapons shops supply arms to Imperial Guard regiments several thousand light years away.

The loss of the Armageddon would pose a serious threat to the Imperium’s power in this area of the galaxy. as was proved when a massive Chaos host invaded in the mid-41st millennium. Although that titanic battle has long since passed into history, a more recent conflict has shown how vulnerable the imperium's control is.

 

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CODEX BLOOD ANGELS (1998)

 

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CODEX DARK ANGELS

THE DARK ANGELS

The origins of the Dark Angels Chapter are shrouded in mystery. There are no records of its beginnings nor any mention of its part in the Emperor's Great Crusade. Any reference in the Imperial histories to its deeds during the accursed times of the Horus Heresy has been expunged. But yet a legend persists that at one point the Dark Angels teetered on the very brink of Chaos and that an act of the most terrible betrayal dishonoured all of the Chapter's feats of valour, leaving an enduring stain on the Chapter's honour. Such is their shame, that from that time on they have borne the mark of the Unforgiven and must strive for absolution from the sins of millennia past.

Their terrible secret is that during the Horus Heresy some of their brethren were converted to the side of Chaos. The renegades were defeated in a battle that destroyed the Dark Angels’ home world, Caliban, but many of the traitor Dark Angels survived to be cast through space and time by the Chaos gods. These survivors are known to the Dark Angels as ‘The Fallen’. In the way eyes of the Chapter's leaders, there is only one that the Chapter can ever atone for their shame, restoring their honour and trust within the Emperors eyes. That is if all the Fallen are found and either made to repent or are slain. This story of the treachery and betrayal is the Dark Angels hidden shame and their secret mission to destroy all the Fallen is now their only hope of salvation. None know of this other than the Dark Angels, their successor chapters and perhaps the Emperor on his golden throne. The Chapter has been shaped by its dark past and is secretive and monastic in nature, with much time given over to worship and prayer. There are many different levels within the Chapter which individuals may gradually rise through. On attaining each new level, they find out a little more about the truth behind the Dark Angels' origins. but it is only the highest ranking members of the Chapter that know the terrible, shameful secret of what happened ten thousand years ago.

 

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The Master of the Ravenwing'’s Land Speeder is unique, and was hand-crafted during the Horus Heresy using techniques that have long since been forgotten.

Hunting the Fallen
In the eyes of the Dark Angels, the only way that they can rid themselves totally of their secret shame and restore their honour and trust within the Emperor's eyes is if all the Fallen Dark Angels are found and made to repent or are slain. However, since the Fallen were cast through the warp to all comers of space and time, this is no mean task for the Dark Angels. Unlike the Inquisitors and Grey Knights of the Imperium, whose role it is to root out the agents of Chaos at work within the galaxy, the Dark Angels are only concerned with finding the Fallen of their Chapter. Although the Chapter will be called upon for many different missions for the Imperium, the search for their Fallen comrades is a constant quest that they can never relinquish.