Codex Imperialis (1993) Chaos

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SPACE MARINES

The Legions of Adeptus Astartes are more commonly known as the Space Marines — the most powerful and the most dreaded of all human warriors. In some respects they are not really human at all but superhuman — superior in almost every way to an ordinary man. Compared to humanity’s teeming billions there are very few Space Marines indeed. They are far too few to form the sole fighting forces of the Imperium. The Space Marines are the Imperium’s elite fighting troops, a core of highly mobile shock troops trained to fight on land and in space. On the battlefield they are expected to take part in the most dangerous and important attacks, and to hold their positions no matter how hopeless the situation.

Space Marines are entrusted with all sorts of dangerous missions, such as lightning raids behind enemy lines, infiltration attacks to capture vital positions, and tunnel fights in enemy-held cities. They also undertake long voyages of planetary exploration and conquest on behalf of the Imperium, ear-marking planets which are too well defended so that they can be attacked later with the support of the Imperial Guard.

CHAPTERS Space Marines are organised into small independent armies called Chapters. Each Chapter has its own ships, its own uniforms, and its own distinct identity and traditions. Most Chapters operate from a world owned by the Chapter, known as the Chapter Planet. Chapter Planets are part of the Imperium, but they are ruled by the Space Marine Chapter that has its base there. Some Chapters are not based on a planet at all: their base of operations can be a vast space fleet, an orbital asteroid, or a giant space station. All the Space Marines in a Chapter belong to its warrior cult. In many cases the warrior cults of the Space Marines preserve traditions and practices older even than the accepted ritual of the Ecclesiarchy. The details of these practices are rumoured to be barbaric and darkly sinister. Space Marines belonging to a Chapter are therefore spiritual brothers as well as brothers at arms. This dual role as physical and spiritual warriors is very important, and it is what makes the Space Marines such dedicated warriors.


ORIGINS
The Space Marines were created at the very dawn of Imperial history, approximately ten thousand years before the present day. Some of the Chapters can trace their history back to that time. These are the Chapters of the First Founding, created by the scientists of the Emperor to take part in the Great Crusade. Since that time many other Space Marine Chapters have been created, the most recent being those of the Twenty-Sixth Founding. The chart below lists the original twenty Chapters and their original leaders (Primarchs) and uniform colours. Many of these Chapters took part in the rebellion known as the Horus Heresy and were subsequently destroyed or exiled.

THE FIRST FOUNDING
This chart shows the original number designations, names, Primarchs, and unit colours of the first twenty Space Marine Chapters. Those indicated with an asterix rebelled during the Horus Heresy and are no longer part of the Imperial Forces (some have survived as Chaos Renegades in the infernal regions of the Eye of Terror). The names and histories of Chapters 2 and 11 were deleted from Imperial records following the Horus Heresy. The name of Chapter 16, the Lunar Wolves, was changed to Sons of Horus prior to the Horus Heresy, and subsequently to the Black Legion, under which name it now serves the forces of Chaos.




THE DARK ANGELS
Of the Battle Brothers of the Dark Angels history cannot speak. for there are no records of the Dark Chapter’s beginnings, of their part in the Great Crusade, or of their deeds during the terrible wars of the Horus Heresy. Only the legend persists - the legend that once the Dark Angels tectered upon the brink of Chaos, that foul betrayal besmirched the Chapter's valour and made vain all acts of former virtuc. Yet they returned to the fold of the Emperor's love and tore themselves from the very bosom of temptation. Perhaps they sought the Emperor's pardon too late, for ever since they have bora the Mark of the Unforgiven. Can ten thousand years of purgatory absolve those to whom every battle is redemption? Can it be the lost souls of the slain that clamour for the absolution that victory brings?

 

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THE PRIMARCHS
Over ten thousand years ago, at a time when the Earth was enmeshed in the warp storms conjured by the Chaos Gods, the Emperor made his plan to free the human race. Together with his scientists, the greatest minds of that age, he slowly unlocked the secrets of life, unravelling the energies of the warp and refashioning them to his purpose. He created twenty super-human creatures, twenty beings whose powers equalled, and in some respects exceeded, his own. The Emperor's plan was that the twenty super-beings would help him reunite human space into a single empire under his protection.

The Emperor’s plan was not unknown to the Chaos Gods. They recognised in the Emperor a creature whose powers equalled their own, a being who they could not realistically expect to harm, and an implacable foe who would not rest until they were destroyed. They also recognised the twenty super-humans as a force that could make the Emperor invincible. The Chaos Gods struck whilst the foetal super-humans grew in their incubation chambers. The Emperor had placed a psychic shield around the chambers, but the Chaos Gods managed to break it down and pluck the infant super-humans from Earth, casting them adrift into warp space. Fortunately, the infants were only dispersed by this action and not destroyed, and the twenty fell from the warp onto human worlds where they were variously adopted by human parents.

The Emperor was to spend the following decades searching for his lost creations. Eventually he found them, and after many long adventures recruited them to his service. Their role was to become the Primarchs ~ the founding fathers of the Space Marines. Using genetic material taken from the Primarchs, the Emperor engineered the implants that distinguish Marines from normal men. As a result, all Space Marines have powers derived from the Primarchs, although a Marine’s powers, considerable as they are, are feeble compared to the super-human energies of a Primarch. The Primarchs were practically indestructible and possessed warp enhanced strength. They could scatter whole armies or even the daemonic creatures of the warp. Some had other powers which do not survive amongst the Space Marines at all, such as flight and invisibility.

The Primarchs led the first Space Marine Chapters in the conquest of the galaxy, effectively creating the Imperium as it is known today. However, the initial influence of Chaos in their unborn lives was to leave some Primarchs with a life long weakness, a hunger for personal power that was to lead to their downfall. It was Horus, founding Primarch of the Lunar Wolves. who was to lead the revolt known as the Horus Heresy.

During the Heresy many of the Marine Chapters joined Horus against the Emperor, and many other troops joined his side. In the terrible war that followed, Primarch fought Primarch, Marine fought Marine, and Man fought Man, as the newly conquered galaxy tore itself apart once more. The bloodiest battle of all was the final contest over the possession of Earth, when the Emperor himself saved the planet by launching a cloaked attack against Horus’s battle-barge. During the Emperor’s confrontation with Horus the traitor was slain, but the Emperor was wounded badly and physically incapacitated. Following the battle the Emperor retired permanently into the life-sustaining Golden Throne where he remains to this day. The followers of Horus were driven into the Eye of Terror, where the Traitor Marine Chapters established themselves as the arch-enemies of the Imperium.

Of the original twenty Primarchs only nine survived the Horus Heresy. The remainder were either killed in the fighting (like Horus) or fled with their Chapters into the Eye of Terror. The survivors helped the Emperor to rebuild the Imperium. A genetic bank was formed from their gene-material so that new Space Marine Chapters could be founded in the future. Although long lived, the Primarchs were not immortal and the last of their kind finally died after fourteen hundred years. Many extraordinary legends are told of the deeds of the Primarchs, many of which are preserved by the lore of the Marine Chapters. Today the Primarchs are worshipped alongside the Emperor as saints in the pantheon of the Chapter cults. Their tombs have become places of pilgrimage, and their bones and personal possessions revered relics.

 

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THE IMPERIUM
Over one hundred centuries ago the Great and Beneficient Emperor of Mankind ascended to the Golden Throne of Earth. Not even the ancient records of the Historitors of the Adeptus Administratum tell how the Emperor came to rule over the Imperium. Legends hint darkly at the terrible wars of the Horus Heresy, of the battles that raged across the galaxy, and of the final victory of the Emperor over the Daemon Horus and the forces of Chaos. The truth lies buried under millennia of superstition, submerged beneath centuries of myth, and perhaps locked behind adamantine doors sealed with ancient runes of power. The only man who might remember those far off days is the Emperor, and none can guess what thoughts revolve inside his carrion skull.

Ten thousand years ago the Emperor lived and breathed as a mortal man, but his physical life has long since ended, crushed out of him by Horus the Great Enemy, in the final Battle for Earth. Today, as for the last one hundred centuries, the Emperor lives only by the immeasurable force of his supreme will. His broken and decayed body is preserved by the stasis fields and psi-fusion reactors of the Golden Throne. His great mind endures inside a rotting carcass, kept alive by the mysteries of ancient technology. His immense psychic powers reach out from the Golden Throne, enveloping and protecting mankind across the entire galaxy. His consciousness wanders through warp space, warring against the daemons that inhabit it, keeping closed the doors between this world and the next.

If the Emperor should fail then the daemons of Chaos will flood into the galaxy. Every living human will become a gateway for the destruction of mankind. Finally, the galaxy itself will be submerged by the stuff of warp space, and all physical life will end. There would be no physical matter. No space. No time. Only Chaos.

THE EYE OF TERROR
This eye shaped swirl of star clusters is the largest zone of warp space intrusion in the galaxy. Here the fabric of the material universe has broken down and consumed by the warp. The Eye of Terror contains the Daemon Worlds of Chaos: bizarre sub-realities ruled by horrific Daemon Princes of Chaos.

 

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THE GALAXY

The Imperium of Mankind is spread across almost the entire galaxy and consists of more than a million worlds. Although this is a huge number of planets it is as nothing when compared to the immense size of the galaxy. The Imperium is actually spread very thinly across space: its worlds are dotted through the void and divided by hundreds, if not thousands of light years. It is therefore wrong to think of the Imperium in terms of a territory which extends across the galaxy. The truth is far more complex. Within the galaxy are countless alien civilisations, many separate Ork empires, and vast areas occupied by the Tyranids or given over to Chaos. Most of the galaxy remains unexplored. Who knows what secrets lie undiscovered amongst the stars? Undoubtedly there are other advanced civilisations, lost human colonies, and the ruins of long dead races waiting to be explored.

The pattern of human settlement throughout the galaxy undoubtedly owes much to the nature of space travel. All interstellar travel is undertaken using power warp drives which launch a spacecraft into the alternative dimension of warp space. Within warp space a ship can cover the equivalent of many thousands of light years within a relatively short time, dropping back into real space far away from its starting point.

Because of the unpredictable and turbulent nature of warp space, some parts of the galaxy are harder to reach than others. Some zones are eternally isolated by violent currents of movement within warp space. Other areas are difficult to get to or can only be reached during periodic lulls in the warp. More bizarre still, some parts of warp space act like power vortices, pulling or sucking helpless spacecraft to their doom. Only the spacecraft of the Imperium can fully exploit the medium of warp space to travel from one side of the galaxy to another. Other races, such as Orks, can only travel short distances through the warp and this limits the size of their individual empires and prevents them becoming united. It is only this factor which enables the Imperium to function as a whole.


THE TIDES OF THE WARP
The reason why the spacecraft of the Imperium can move quickly over the entire galaxy, while other races suffer more restricted and slower spaceflight, is a combination of three factors. The first is the maintenance of ancient technology by the Adeptus Mechanicus — the Tech Priests of Mars who preserve the lore of ancient science on behalf of the Adeptus Terra. Without the technological advantage of efficient warp engines it would be impossible for the Imperium to defend its scattered planets. The second factor is the existence of human mutants known as Navigators — a race apart which traces its origins to the uncertain times of the Dark Age of Technology. Only a Navigator can pilot a ship within warp space. His swollen cranium houses a mind which is sensitive to the tides and currents of the warp, enabling him to guide his ship through warp space to its eventual destination. Other races must rely upon guesswork and endless corrective manoeuvres to travel even short distances through the warp.

The third factor which makes warp travel possible is the immeasurably powerful psychic beacon called the Astronoiican. Broadcast by a choir of psykers from Earth, the Astronomican reaches out through warp space, guiding spacecraft to their destination. Only a Navigator can sense the guiding light of the Astronomican, and only he can follow its psychic signal. It is the Astronomican which allows a Navigator to use his powers to the full: without it not even the most powerful Navigator could pilot his ship over the immense distances which separate the worlds of the Imperium.


PERILS OF THE WARP
Warp space is an alternate dimension composed of energy as opposed to the physical space of the material universe. There are dangers within the warp which can wreck spacecraft and carry them off course, unexpected turbulence, warp storms, and loops that can trap a ship for eternity. These dangers, though considerable, are nothing compared to the greater and unimaginable dangers that lurk in warp space.

To understand these dangers it is important to realise two important facts about the nature of the warp. Firstly, warp space is composed entirely of psychic energy. It is this psychic energy which a human psyker draws upon to use his powers, to send telepathic messages hurtling through the warp from world to world, or to propel a psychic bolt of energy against a foe. Secondly, warp space is not empty but inhabited by many strange and dangerous creatures, the most dangerous of which are the Great Gods of Chaos and their legions of daemons.

Daemons lust after the flesh and blood of living creatures. They want only to destroy mankind, to drag the souls of men back to their shadowy realm, to obliterate the material universe and engulf it within the energy of warp space. Fortunately this is not easy to accomplish. Daemons cannot exist for long in the material universe and they need to find psychic gateways in order to leave the warp. Such gateways exist but they are rare. The most vulnerable gateways of all are the minds of psykers. A psyker’s powers open up a path between reality and the warp, a path which a daemon may find and follow to the mind of the psyker himself.

Such are the dangers of the warp — at once a boon and protector, and an unimaginable horror. Without the ability to travel throughout warp space the Imperium would certainly collapse and mankind would fall victim to the thousand perils that threaten to destroy it. Without psykers the whole system of astro-telecommunication would be non-existent, and it would be impossible to guide the Imperium’s armies and fleets against its many enemies. For these reasons at least warp space is essential to the Imperium’s very existence. Yet at the same time warp space harbours terrors so great, dangers so profound, that much of the Imperium’s efforts are spent in combat against them.

 

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COMMISSARS
Commissars are guardians of the regiment’s physical welfare as well as their fighting spirit. A Commissar works with the regiment’s commander, and makes sure that proper discipline is enforced. Sometimes this isn’t easy, and often a Commissar has to earn the respect of his regiment in battle before he is truly accepted. It is common for Commissars to fight personal combat with a regiment’s commander just to prove who is the stronger. Many regiments come from worlds that are more civilised, where troopers already exemplify high levels of discipline and commitment. Such regiments do not always make the best fighting men however, and every Commissar knows that the best troops are often the hardest to keep in line. Another role of the Commissar is to ensure that Imperial Guard recruits do not harbour the likes of Chaos Cultists, alien spies, or genetic deviants. Commissars must be eternally vigilant for the enemy within, individuals who might incite rebellion, engage in sabotage, or turn against their fellows in the midst of battle. Should a Commissar uncover such evil and dangerous creatures his duty is clear — he must protect the regiment by eradicating the insidious threat that lurks within.

PSYKERS
Most humans do not have psychic powers, although it is generally accepted that all humans have at least a limited potential for psychic activity. A small but growing minority of humans develop tangible powers — these people are called psykers. Psykers are dangerous individuals whose powers can only be tolerated when safely harnessed within the Imperial organisation. After all, the psychic universe is the universe of Chaos and therefore perilous. It is a universe inhabited by daemonic aliens that care nothing for living creatures and wish only to use and destroy humanity. All psykers, even the most powerful, offer these aliens a potential means of entering and affecting the material world.

Every world in the Imperium is bound by decree of the Administratum to control its psychic population. Persecutions or witch-hunts are an everyday part of life on most worlds. The same laws oblige rulers to set aside a levy of young and relatively promising psykers for transport to Earth by the Adeptus Astra Telepathica. It is from this levy that the Adeptus Astra Telepathica separates those who will live and serve from those who will be sacrificed to the Emperor.

PREACHER
Throughout the galaxy Preachers minister to the spiritual needs of mankind. They do not shirk from violence — indeed part of their credo calls for the physical destruction of all enemies of humanity. When Orks or Chaos forces invade, the Preachers are amongst the first to organise local defence from amongst the citizenry. As the Imperial Guard landing ships make planetfall it is the Preachers who welcome their liberators, and fight alongside them, inspiring the troops with their personal leadership.

ASSASSINS
The Emperor knows there is darkness in the human soul that can never be brought into the light, an evil that must be crushed before it is seen, for knowledge of it would blight mankind and bring low his every endeavour. The Assassins protect the future of humanity by eliminating the few who become tainted with abomination, treachery, and other gross evils too heinous to name. They are like a fine needle that reaches to the heart of evil and punctures its rotten core. For every world that is led into rebellion by a treacherous Lord how many more are saved by the knife of an Assassin? How many more would fall to Chaos and the eternal torment of damnation were it not for the poisoned cup and toxin dart? And how many worlds would suffer the cleansing fire of Exterminatus? None can answer these questions. The Assassins work silently and without thanks. They are the bloody-handed and secret saviours of the Imperium. The Officio Assassinorum or Office of Assassins is one of the most secretive of all the Lmperial organisations. Its leader is the Grand Master of the Officio Assassinorum, one of the most mighty of the High Lords of Terra. Only the High Lords themselves can sanction the deployment of the Assassins. It is said that in the distant past Grand Masters used Assassins to further their own ends, even murdering fellow High Lords in their bid for power. During the anarchy of the Wars of Vindication the Grand Master himself became the victim of an Assassin, and all persons of power and privilege lived in terror of their lives. Today it is only heretics who fear shadows in the dark, for the Assassin's blade has an insatiable thirst for the blood of traitors.

 

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THE ELDAR

The Eldar race has a long and complex spacefaring history, so long in fact that little is known for certain about the course of their physical evolution and early planet-bound existence. A great deal of the Eldar’s own understanding of their origins was lost when the original Eldar home world and thousands of colony planets were destroyed during a catastrophic collapse more than ten thousand years ago. Exactly what happened to the Eldar is not fully understood by the humans of the Imperium. The Inquisition records on the matter are a subject of an indefinite Inquisition Seal of Heresy (the Inquisato Relinquo).

The Eldar themselves never speak of the Fall. as they call it, to other races. Whatever occurred was clearly a great calamity, for it led to the destruction of all the Eldar worlds along with all who lived there. Of the ancient and sophisticated race of the Eldar only a few desperate remnants escaped. Dark rumours tell of worlds swallowed by the warp, and whisper of a people become careless and corrupt so that the darkest daemons of their own minds overcame them. The only thing that is indisputable is that today the area of the galaxy once home to the ancient Eldar worlds is instead dominated by the Eye of Terror, the most extensive area of warp-real space overlap in the galaxy. It has become an infernal region, a Realm of Chaos uninhabitable by creatures of ordinary flesh and blood. These hellish worlds are ruled by Daemon Lords of Chaos, the most mighty servants of the Chaos Gods themselves. The physical laws of the material universe no longer apply there, and the landscapes assume nightmarish qualities at the whim of their overlords. Could it be that in the Eye of Terror the captive souls of long dead Eldar scream in eternal torment under the lash of sadistic daemons? To the Eldar such matters are the stuff of dark terror.

Eldar are physically similar to humans, although not entirely identical by any means. They have long, elegant limbs and fine ascetic features with penetrating and slightly slanted eyes. Their ears are also slightly pointed but otherwise they could pass as human at first glance. The most obvious difference between humans and Eldar is revealed when they move, for the movements of an Eldar radiate an inhuman grace which has an eerie, almost supernatural quality. This is true of their slightest gestures and can be seen in the disturbing dexterity with which an Eldar holds and manipulates the smallest object. Their whole manner is somewhat aloof and detached, which makes it very hard for humans to understand them.

The Eldar have never recovered from the great tragedy when their worlds were consumed by Chaos. This loss gnaws at their consciousness and embitters their hearts. They know that they have failed, that there is no hope for them, and yet continue to cling to the universe by their very fingernails. Perhaps it is their hatred for Chaos that drives them on, but perhaps it is their own failure which they cannot face or acknowledge, or their own arrogance and sense of superiority which is impossible to humble. To the Adepts of Earth the Eldar are a mysterious race haunted by their past tragedy and impossible to predict or befriend. They are more often ally than enemy to the Imperium, yet the two races owe each other nothing and conflicting interests have driven them to war on occasions. Although all of the original Eldar worlds were destroyed during the Fall, some did escape. A few amongst the Eldar obviously recognised the dangers, and fleets of spacecraft were prepared to evacuate. Today the Eldar race lives on gigantic Craftworlds, spacecraft which have grown around those original fleets to become artificial worlds in space. These Craftworlds preserve all that is left of the Eldar civilisation. The records that they contain are the only remnant of a once proud and numerous people. Today they are few in number and continue to decline. No-one knows exactly how many Craftworlds there are, not even the Eldar themselves, for the evacuation of their worlds was hurried and many ships disappeared into the void. The largest and most important of those identified by the Imperium are Alaitoc, lyanden, Biel-tan, Saim-hann and Ulthwé. There are many more smaller Craftworlds, including the mysterious Black Library, the doomed Craftworld of Meros, and the legendary lost Craftworld of Ctho. Undoubtedly there are Craftworlds which have yet to make contact with either the Imperium or the main body of Eldar Craftworld civilisation.

Over the thousands of years that they have existed the Craftworlds have grown organically, as areas have been abandoned or rebuilt, and new outer shells created. These vast craft float through the void, self-sufficient in everything they need, entire worlds in space. Each Craftworld is an independent realm that governs and protects its own people and which has many of its own cultural idiosyncracies. The Eldar Craftworlds sometimes act mutually, combining forces for military expeditions, trading, and exchanging knowledge, but not all have a tradition of friendship with each other. Most strange of all is the Craftworld of Dorhai, which refuses to deal with other Craftworlds at all, believing themselves the only untainted survivors of the Fall and maintaining that other Craftworlds are infested with the seeds of Chaos. The Eldar do not, indeed cannot, use warp travel in the same way as the humans of the Imperium. For some dark reason they do not speak of, the warp is a hostile environment to them. The Eldar Craftworlds are interconnected by a complex web of warp space tunnels through which the Eldar can move from one Craftworld to another. The web interconnects some planets too, where the Eldar Craftworlds have established new colonies. The Eldar have also discovered and made contact with far flung colonies which survived the Fall. These pre-Fall survivors are called Exodites.

This network of warp tunnels allows the Eldar to travel easily between a limited number of places, but makes it impossible for them to travel outside their web. Warp displacements, the loss of some nodal points in the form of smaller Craftworlds, and the destruction of some planets, have disrupted the web over the centuries. Some areas are cut off, others accessible only periodically or at great danger, while most Journeys involve complex re-routing via several Craftworlds. The armies of the Eldar are not military forces in the way of humans. Every Eldar is a trained fighter able to defend the Craftworld against enemy attack. There are far too few Eldar for things to be otherwise. The mass of Craftworld inhabitants fight as Guardians, an apt title for these troops as their role is primarily to guard the Craftworld. Guardians can be male or female, for the Eldar make no distinction when it comes to protecting their homes from enemy attack. All Eldar are determined fighters, cold and murderous warriors who give and expect no pity. Their usual weapon is the shuriken, a magnetically charged projector which fires a hail of mono-molecularly sharp discs. The discs are no bigger than the width of a palm, but their edges are so sharp that they slice straight through armour, severing limbs and tearing apart flesh.

The Guardians are respected by all enemy forces they meet, but they are as nothing compared to the Aspect Warriors. These masked warriors fight with the ferocity of daemons and their fighting skills exceed those of the Guardians many times over. To human eyes these warriors exhibit supernatural speed and dexterity. To the Eldar the Aspect Warriors merely represent what an Eldar can do when he devotes his entire powers to one purpose. The Eldar possess minds and bodies honed to a pitch of perfection impossible for humans to imagine. When an Eldar devotes his or her whole self to a single pursuit then he does so with a mystical intensity that transforms the individual utterly. The Aspect Warriors are the ultimate warriors in mind and body, their entire being is absorbed with the aspect of the Eldar character that lusts for blood and death. This is why Eldar Aspect Warriors are so dangerous. They have expunged from their minds all the qualities extraneous to their lives as warriors. This is a strange and terrifying thing to the Eldar because their mental commitment is so strong that it is possible for their personalities to become permanently entrapped in the Warrior Aspect. Those who have become trapped on the warrior path are called Exarchs — lost souls doomed to an eternity of battle.

 

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THE AVATAR
At the heart of every Craftworld sits the Avatar, its own incarnation of the Bloody-handed God of the Eldar, Kaela Mensha Khaine. Aroused from his throne of smouldering iron, the Avatar leads the warriors of his Craftworld to battle. Huge and all-powerful, the Avatar is a god incarnate, the embodiment of the Eldar racial soul, and a deadly opponent even for the most mighty powers of Chaos.

GUARDIANS
Every Eldar is trained and ready to fight if need be and the Guardians are the Craftworld’s most numerous body of fighting troops. Every Craftworld has a distinctive style of clothing typified by the use of certain colours and patterns. These are not a fixed uniform as such and vary considerably from squad to squad and even between individuals within squads. For example, the Guardians of Ulthwe are known as the Black Guardians after the predominant colour of their uniforms. Black is the Eldar colour of mourning and the Craftworld of Ulthwe has much to mourn, for it lies close to the Eye of Terror and has suffered the attacks of Chaos warbands many times in its long history. Other Craftworlds use equally distinctive colours or combinations of colours. Alaitoc favours blue or a striking mixture of blue and yellow, for example, while Saim-Hann has red or fiery orange uniforms, and Biel-tan uses white, grey or pale green.

ELDAR SCOUTS
The confinement of the Craftworld homes can become oppressive for the Eldar, some of whom choose to spend part of their lives as wanderers away from their home worlds. These adventurers form the bulk of spacecraft crews, but many are lonely figures, travellers who often leave Eldar society altogether and travel amongst the worlds of men. These Eldar adventurers are the only Eldar likely to be encountered by men except on the battlefield. They are gaunt and haunted figures, torn between the love of their Craftworld homes and the greater glories of the forbidden universe. Their instincts lead them to lives of danger, seeking lost civilisations, rooting out the hidden threat of Chaos, and visiting the ancient Exodite clans on the far rim of the galaxy. Eldar Scouts are resilient, independent, world-weary warriors used to looking after themselves. Those who survive often return to their Craftworld to settle down into a more conventional life, but most do not return, they die deep in space, alone with their secret anguish, their spirit stones drifting forever in the darkness. When a Craftworld is threatened its Scouts may hear its psychic distress call, take up their weapons and come home to war again.

HARLEQUINS
The Harlequins are followers of the strange Eldar god the Great Harlequin, one of only two Eldar gods to survive the Fall. The Harlequins live on no Craftworld but wander from world to world through the network of interspacial tunnels that binds the Craftworlds together. Only they know the whereabouts of the Black Library, for they are the keepers of its terrible secrets about the Fall and the true nature of Chaos. The Harlequins are warrior troubadours whose carefully constructed masques and impressive displays of mime and acrobatics tell the many strange stories of Eldar mythology. They wear exotic multi-coloured costumes, brightly patterned to represent figures from the Eldar myth cycles. They never show their real faces but conceal them beneath a shifting costume mask which can assume any image at the will of the Harlequin. When the Harlequins fight in battle their masks are said to reflect the worst nightmares of all those who gaze upon them, causing their foes to quail with supernatural terror.

 

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SQUATS

THE TIME OF ISOLATION
At some time in the distant past the galactic core was cut off from the rest of human space by devastating warp storms. Many worlds were swallowed by the warp and disappeared forever, others were trapped in stasis and became lost. Most survived although they were separated from Earth and all contact was lost with the rest of the galaxy. During thistime of isolation and danger the Squat worlds still in contact with each other began to organise for their mutual defence. It was at this time that the Squats began to refer to their worlds as the Homeworlds. The Homeworlds remained isolated for thousands of years and their inhabitants learned to survive in a universe that was becoming increasingly hostile. With their planets inaccessible to the human fleets the Squats built their own spacecraft and developed their own weapons to fight off marauding Chaos warbands and plundering Ork Warlords. Some of the Homeworlds were lost to invasion, others were destroyed by environmental instability, and few were devastated by internal strife. Those that survived grew and prospered. Settlements were enlarged and fortified into impregnable strongholds.

Left to fend for themselves the Squats were obliged to develop their own technological base. Not only had they to re-invent complex machines such as spacecraft and advanced weaponry, but they had to keep their life-support systems and hydroponic units active. Without air, heat and food the Squat communities would not be able to survive, and such matters became a priority for them. Fortunately the natural expertise of these hardy miners enabled them to exploit the materials at hand, and they quickly developed alternative technologies to make up for the lack of supplies from Earth. The warp storms that isolated the Homeworlds lasted for many thousands of years and were only dissipated just over ten thousand years ago. This freed human and Squat spacecraft to travel to and among the Homeworlds again, and contacts were quickly re-established between the former colonies and the newly founded Imperium.

During their isolation the Squats had changed. They were no longer human and their civilisation had taken a divergent path that gave them many advantages over the Imperium. Today the Homeworlds and the Imperium trade for their mutual benefit and, for the most part, enjoy peaceful relations. Squats and humans share many common enemies, including Orks, so it is in both races’ interests to co-operate wherever possible. However, relations have not been entirely peaceful by any means. Squats are intensely proud, bluff and straightforward, they take great hurt at any slight to their honour or double dealing (especially in matters of trade) and are likely to be stubborn in pursuit of retribution.

THE 700 LEAGUES
Although each Squat Stronghold is independent they have developed relations with each other. Some Strongholds have been allies for thousands of years, and interchange of peoples and cultures has made them virtually one nation. Others are loosely federated to their neighbours and share the duty of patrolling local space and defending outlying planets against the Orks and Chaos. These alliances are usually formed for defence or trading purposes, but they also define power blocks within the Homeworlds, where the most powerful rivals gather together the other Strongholds into mutually supportive Leagues. Each League is led and dominated by a single powerful Stronghold, and includes other Strongholds which either rely upon their leader for trade and defence. or which identify themselves with their League on cultural or historic grounds. There are currently approximately 700 Leagues in all, the most powerful being the influential League of Thor which includes over 300 Strongholds. The other Leagues are less powerful, and the smallest is the League of Emberg which lies close to the Eye of Terror and includes only four Strongholds.

Other Leagues include the League of Kapellar. which is actually the largest in size. and the League of Norgyr which lies closest to Earth. Although these Leagues. and many others, are permanent institutions, others represent looser or temporary alliances between Strongholds. The total number of Leagues therefore varies, but the most influential remain fairly constant and form the largest united political institutions of the Squats.

Although the Squats have a strong sense of mutual preservation it has been known for rival Leagues to go to war against each other. Such occasions can lead to lasting enmity, for Squats are inclined to remember deeds of infamy for many generations. The League of Thor and League of Grindel fought an unusually bitter war some 2,000 years ago when settlers from both sides clashed over the exploration of the Lost Stronghold of Dargon. The war that followed resulted in the destruction of several Strongholds and the capture of Thungrim and Bruggen by the League of Thor. Peace only came with the huge Ork invasion of Grunhag the Flayer which obliged all the Leagues to co-operate against their mutual foe. Although the war ended with the rout of the Orks the two Leagues have remained distrustful rivals and both sides consider themselves owed heavy debts of blood and honour.


THE ORK WARS
The Homeworlds lie close to two of the most dangerous adversaries in the galaxy, the Chaos warbands of the Eye of Terror and the extensive Ork empires of the northern spiral. The Squats have never relented in their struggle against Chaos, and lose no time in tracking down and destroying Chaos raiders. The main threat from Chaos has always been in space, where Chaos warbands attack ships as they move through the warp. The other great enemy of the Squats are the Orks, although this was not always the case. At one time the Squats were content to leave the Orks alone and even to trade with them to some extent. The Homeworlds are inhospitable to Orks in any case so there was never any great clash of interests between the two races. This state of affairs did not last for very long!

The Squat records of their early history are confused and incomplete, but it is clear that after a short period of mutual trading the Squats found themselves suddenly attacked by massive Ork forces. Caught by surprise several Strongholds fell to the Ork invaders, and only a last ditch defence eventually brought the green-skinned aliens to a halt. The Squats were appalled at the massive loss in life but also by the unashamed treachery of the Orks. The Squats have never forgotten this lesson. Some of the more enduring Squat folk legends tell of the hopeless defence of a beleaguered fortress or a stranded Land Train during the Ork attack. Many wars have been fought against the Orks since the first Ork attack, all bitter conflicts fought to the last proud warrior.

 

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CHAOS

The nature of the alternate dimension of warp space remains one of the darkest mysteries of the galaxy. Even to the great Technomagi of the Adeptus Mechanicus on Mars the warp represents both the ultimate source of power and the ultimate threat to human existence. The Black Library of the Eldar is said to describe the secrets of its daemonic energy, but its portals are barred by the servants of the Great Harlequin. Perhaps warp space is simply too complex and volatile to be understood by mortal minds. Whatever the truth, the warp is home to terrors every bit as real as marauding Orks and ravenous Genestealers. For it is the home of the Dark Gods of Chaos and their daemonic hordes, it is the Realm of Chaos itself: raw and powerful, its dark energies succoured by the most dreadful nightmares of mortal existence. If warp space were wholly separate from the material universe it would present no danger. However, there are many gateways between the world of matter and the realm of power, some great and others small, but all bristling with potential danger. The largest gateway is the Eye of Terror, a region of space where the two universes overlap. At the centre of the Eye of Terror all is Chaos, a whirlpool of energy where the creatures of the warp bathe in swirling currents of hate and madness. This is the pupil of the Eye of Terror. Around this is a far broader zone of overlap, where the material universe is cojoined with the warp. Here the laws of the material universe are subject to the whims of Chaos daemons.

The daemons themselves can effortlessly take on material shape by drawing upon the energy of the warp to manifest their physical bodies. Here can be found the daemon worlds, private hells created and controlled by daemon lords, the most powerful daemons of all, second only to the Gods of Chaos in might and malice. On the daemon worlds a mortal may live forever at the whim of his daemonic masters. enduring an eternity of torment or pleasure without release. As the influence of the Eye of Terror spreads and weakens so the worlds upon its edges become more normal, more closely bound by the physical laws of the universe and less by the warp. Here daemons can manifest themselves for only a short time because the nurturing power of the warp is too weak to sustain them for long. These worlds are home to the mortal followers of Chaos, the bands of Chaos Renegades that plague the galaxy, to outlaws and desperados from a thousand worlds, and to the most dreaded enemies of all — the Chaos Space Marine Legions. The threat of Chaos is most obvious in the case of the Eye of Terror, but it is by no means the only threat. Smaller zones of overlap also exist, presenting dangers of a similar kind but a different magnitude. The majority of gateways are more subtle, and the dangers they pose are different but no less potent. The mind of every psychic creature is a potential gateway through which a daemon can enter the material universe, planting seeds of doubt and ambition into its victim. Such thoughts can corrupt a man, turning his mind to the pursuit of power and personal gain.

All over the Imperium there are hidden cults dedicated to the worship of the Dark Gods of Chaos. This is the most heinous of all heresies and the most terrible betrayal of mankind. Once it has begun, the corruption spreads like a foul disease, the victims of doubt becoming the new evangelists of heresy, corrupting others with their perversity and tempting the innocent with promises of easy power. Chaos cults incite revolt and disorder, or work their way into governmental organisations and seize control from within. Whole worlds may be plunged into anarchy. Freed from the righteous restraints imposed by the Imperium psykers go out of control, releasing a vortex of psychic energy that tears at the fabric of the multiverse. If allowed to go unchecked, the psychic emanations of a frenzied population will produce a massive warp-rift, engulfing the planet within a tide of daemons, swallowing the whole world within the warp and creating yet another substantial gateway from which the perils of Chaos can invade the universe. Small wonder that the Inquisition would rather subject a world to Exterminatus that let this happen.

Some may question your right to destroy ten billion people. Those who understand realise that you have no right to let them live!
In Exterminatus Extremis

 

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The armed forces of Chaos come in many unexpected guises but for the most part can be divided into three types. The most deadly of all are the foul daemons themselves. There are countless daemons of a myriad abhorrent shapes, each the spawn of the nightmarish terrors and secret pleasures of mortal creatures. But just as there are common vices and passions amongst mortals, so there are corresponding daemons — themselves mere conscious parts of the far greater Gods of Chaos. The four most mighty Chaos Gods are Khorne the Blood God, the master of battle and patron of mighty warriors; Nurgle the Great Lord of Decay, the bringer of plague and physical corruption; Slaanesh the Lord of Pleasure, the purveyor of secret vices; and Tzeentch the Changer of the Ways, the Lord of Change. It is these four Dark Gods who vie for the dominion of mankind, and whose daemons seek gateways through the minds of the weak and careless. There are other daemons too, a vast and impenetrable array, but the daemons of the four Great Powers are by far the most dangerous. Fortunately for mankind daemons cannot exist except where the material universe has already started to break down, for daemons need the presence of the warp to survive and the more powerful the daemon the more energy it requires to manifest itself.

Daemons are the most dangerous of all Chaos creatures, but at least daemonic incursions are rare events — rare enough to be hushed up by the Inquisition to prevent panic. More of a real threat are the constant raids of the Chaos Space Marine Legions. Ten thousand years ago during the galaxy-shattering wars of the Horus Heresy fully half the Space Marine armies of that time became corrupted by Chaos and rebelled against the Emperor. Led by Warmaster Horus, the Legions of Chaos almost succeeded in wresting control of the galaxy from the Emperor. They did not succeed, but the wounds the Emperor suffered in combat against the Warmaster drove him to the Golden Throne and ended his waking life. With the defeat of the Legions of Chaos the vanquished Space Marines fled into the Eye of Terror. There, close to the intense energies of the warp, they took worlds for their own, becoming the lords and masters of daemon realms under the patronage of their chosen gods.

From these infernal regions the Chaos Space Marines continue to launch their wars of vengeance against the Imperium. Within their warped realms time has been abolished, so that the very same Space Marine warriors who fought against the Emperor ten thousand years ago live on to make war against the Imperium today. For them the strands of time have become interwoven so that the past, present and future are as one eternal battle. The threat of the Chaos Space Marine Legions is the most tangible of the perils of Chaos, but there are other threats less easy to recognise but just as deadly. On every world in every city there are malcontents who lust for power beyond their means, whose avarice is insatiable by honest endeavour, and who would take any path to satisfy their ambition. Such minds are easy prey to the temptations of Chaos. Although a Primal Heresy throughout the Imperium there are thousands, maybe millions, of Chaos cults, all gathering their strength and extending their influence. In deep sewers hooded figures meet to worship the Dark Gods, and mages summon daemons to do their bidding. There can be no greater delusion than that of fools who seek an easy road to power, yet they can bring ruin upon an entire world.

 

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DAEMON SPECIAL RULES
Daemons are not creatures of our world — they are creatures of Chaos, warp entities whose bodies are fashioned from raw power. When they enter our universe they assume a definite form, but they continue to draw upon the power of the warp to manifest themselves. The energy of the warp suffuses daemons and gives them many strange powers. Many of the daemons described below have common powers or abilities, and these are described here for convenience rather than repeated throughout the individual entries. Unless the rules specify otherwise, the following rules apply to all daemons.

DAEMON CAVALRY
Three of the daemons described in this section are normally ridden by either another daemon or by a Champion of one of the Chaos Gods. These three daemons are the Juggernauts of Khorne, the Steeds of Slaanesh and the Discs of Tzeentch. Of these, the Steeds of Slaanesh and Discs of Tzeentch are both covered by the standard cavalry rules as explained in the Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook.

FLIGHT
Some Greater Daemons have wings and are able to fly, although the motive power comes from the warp and owes little to the aerodynamic qualities of their wings. When a daemon flies it bounds into the air and lands, or comes to rest just above the ground, and does not remain airborne as such. This is represented in a similar way to jump packs as described below.


BLOODTHIRSTER - GREATER DAEMON OF KHORNE


The Bloodthirster is the most powerful of all Chaos Daemons and the most mighty of the Blood God’s warriors. It is impossible to describe the true horror of these daemons, for their appearance is enough to drive a rational man beyond the brink of sanity. Their presence radiates sheer terror, their body exudes the stink of death, and their eyes carry the promise of cold execution. Few who have seen a Bloodthirster have lived to tell the tale. Those who have confronted their terror and lived will recall an overwhelming impression of size and steaming energy, of glowing brass armour and blood-stained fur, and teeth like murderous blades. In its talons the Bloodthirster carries an axe that drips with blood and a long lash tipped with cruel barbs of fire.

Terror.
The Bloodthirster exudes sheer horror, its very existence is a threat to the sanity of the most strong willed of mortals.

Chaos Armour.
The Bloodthirster wears brazen armour which always reflects the glow of infernal flames. This armour is a living part of the daemon, and it is sustained by its own unquenchable inner energies.

Axe of Khorne:
The Bloodthirster carries a mighty Axe of Khorne, suffused with chaotic energy and laden with death.

Fly:
The Bloodthirster has wings and is able to fly over the battlefield in great leaps and bounds as described above.

 

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BLOODLETTERS - Khorne’s Warriors of Death

These most foul and ferocious of daemons descend upon their foe in massed hordes, driven crazy by the scent of blood, screaming with fury as they fall upon mortal flesh. They are Khorne’s Warriors of Death, the foot soldiers of his daemonic armies, and their truly horrific appearance is an assault upon reason. Their skins are red and scaly and their long, muscular arms end in murderous talons which can rip a foe apart with cold-blooded ease. They carry long, jagged Hellblades which glow with power, and which, it is said, can drain the very soul from a man and suck dry his shrivelled corpse.

Fear.
The monstrous vision of the slavering Bloodletter is too much for most mortal minds to withstand.

Hellblade.
The Hellblade drips constantly with blood and glows with the heinous energies of Chaos.

 

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FLESH HOUNDS OF KHORNE


The babbling tales of maniacs who have been exposed to the unshielded horrors of the warp speak of the blood-red hounds of Khorne, whose howls of rage haunt their sleep and whose memory stalks their every waking moment.

Collar of Khorne.
The Collar of Khorne that hangs about the neck of every Flesh Hound is said to be forged from the heat of Khome’s rage at the very foot of the Blood God’s throne of brass. The power of the collar is to suck the energy of the warp from around it, fortifying the daemon and also protecting it from the psychic attacks of other foes. As a result no psychic force weapon can harm a Flesh Hound, and psychic attacks against it are nullified automatically and will not work.

Fear.
Flesh Hounds are abhorrent daemons whose foul form strikes fear into the hearts of all incredulous mortals.

Their baying chills the heart and spreads icy tendrils of fear through weak mortal souls. And yet worse, yet more terrible to behold, are the huntsmen of this fell pack. Following close upon the Hounds. urging them ever forward, come deformed shapes, running and shricking, driven by the insatiable blood-hunger of their kind. With twisted crimson bodies they stride across the blighted land, crouched over as if the better to track the spoor of their prey’s terror. Masters of the hunt, they seek the blood of Man to spill at the foot of their master's Skull Throne.

 

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JUGGERNAUTS

The Juggernaut is neither beast nor machine but a daemonic amalgam of both, a creature of living metal whose flesh is brass and whose blood is pure fire. They are said to be the most brutal of all Khorne’s many daemons, and only the most favoured of his warriors are granted the boon of riding a Juggernaut into battle. Their broad brazen heads are like massive battering rams capable of pounding a building or crushing the most heavily armoured foe into bloody pulp.

Fear.
Few mortals who are exposed to the horror of the Juggernaut survive with their sanity unscathed.

Crush.
The monstrous mass of the Juggernaut is almost unstoppable — this is called the Crush.

 

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THE KEEPER OF SECRETS - Greater Daemon of Slaanesh



Slaanesh is the Lord of Pleasure whose mere image evokes ecstasy in an unguarded mind. The Keeper of Secrets is held in especial horror by the Inquisition because of the sensual temptations its presence arouses. Few who have encountered this daemon can describe the shame of their desire, nor the lust for blood which overcomes their rational senses. The Keeper of Secrets is bedecked with gorgeous jewels, and delicate coloured silks overlay its hideous form. Its long chitinous claws are at the same time delicate and deadly, graceful but hideously destructive. The daemon’s head is gross and bestial. horned and fanged in perverse contrast with the seductive aura which it exudes.

Aura of Slaanesh.
In any hand-to-hand fighting against the daemon enemies in base-to-base contact become entranced by the Keeper of Secret’s seductive power and are unable to attack unless they take and pass a Leadership test (2D6 against Ld in the same way as a psychology test).

Terror.
The Keeper of Secrets exudes sensual horror that can break the mind of a mere mortal.

The common maa is like a worm in the gut of a corpse, trapped inside a prison of cold flesh, helpless and uncaring, unaware even of the inevitability of its own doom.

 

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DAEMONETTES - The Children of Slaanesh

None exposed to the Children of Slaanesh ever forget the tide of living sensuality, the writhing limbs, the caress of razorsharp claws against quivering flesh. It is a beauty which evokes loathing, a perverse sensuality which gnaws at the pit of the stomach. In appearance they are almost female, yet wholly daemonic, disturbingly seductive despite their bestial clawed limbs.

Fear.
The disturbing beauty of the Daemonette evokes horror rather than admiration in all but the irretrievably corrupt.

 

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FIENDS OF SLAANESH


What manner of beast is this most bizarre of all creatures — the child of seductive nightmares or the spawn of horrors too terrible even to dream of? Who can describe what is an indescribable abomination? Those who have lived through the nightmare recall little, their minds refuse to remember, leaving only the dim impression of writhing limbs and long lashing tongues, the inhuman squeals of delight, and faces contorted with the ecstasy of pain. But worse than even this is the overwhelming sense of sweet suffocation, a cloying evil whose seductive scent intrudes upon the memory forever.

Fear.
The unspeakable vileness of the Fiend is too much for most men to bear.

Soporific Musk.
The Fiend exudes a sweet odour which overwhelms the mind with waves of soporific pleasure.

 

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STEEDS OF SLAANESH



A high-pitched wail of delight and a flickering tongue as long as the daemon itself are the most abiding impressions of the Steed of Slaanesh. Upon its fleshy back ride the Children of Slaanesh, spurring the squealing creature with their prickly taloned feet. A long probing tongue flickers from the steed’s long, pliable muzzle. This whip-like member is the daemon’s most dangerous weapon, for its slippery tongue can bind and trap an enemy. immobilising its victim whilst its rider administers the fatal blow.

Fear.
The weird Steed of Slaanesh with its foul lashing tongue causes fear

Tongue
Attack. The Steed has a special Tongue Attack which is added to the rider’s attacks in the normal way for cavalry models.

 

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GREAT UNCLEAN ONE - Greater Daemon of Nurgle



Even the most battle hardened of the Ordo Malleus dread this foul daemon more than any other. It is the very image of the Plague God Nurgle himself - huge, green-skinned and bloated with corruption. From open sores and swelling boils, pus and slime dribble over the daemon’s leprous skin. Decaying inner organs protrude from rents in rancid flesh. From its gaping maw trickles a bubbling stream of vomit mixed with blood, maggots, and other foulness.

Terror.
The Great Unclean One is the most foul of all daemons, its horrific bloated appearance is an offence to the world. Those who witness it rarely survive with their reason intact.

Stream of Corruption.
The Great Unclean One can unleasha stream of steaming vomit over its enemies.

 

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NURGLINGS



Nurgle’s disgusting daemons spill into the world like a plague, riding upon a tide of tiny daemons which swirl about the horde like an infestation. These tiny daemons are Nurglings, small but malevolent things that feed upon corruption. Although tiny they are as hideous as their master, each a minute replica of Nurgle, round and bloated with disease. They swarm around the Greater Daemons, scurrying over their decaying bodies and sucking at boils for their nourishment, nestling within their master’s spilling entrails for succour. Because of their diminutive size Nurglings are represented by a large base crammed with many individual creatures. Individual models don’t fight but the whole base is treated as a single monstrous creature with several attacks and able to withstand several wounds.

Fear.
Nurglings spill over their victims like an irrepressible tide of foulness that is an assault to mind and body alike.