Space Hulk 1st Edition (1989), Genestealer (1990), Campaigns (1991), Deathwing (1990) Chaos / Psyker Lore

MISSION BOOK



THE SPACE HULKS

There are currents in warpspace. Spacecraft ride these currents, entering the warp at a warp gate, travelling along them for a time, then, hopefully, emerging back into our universe again at another gate. Some vessels never return. Sometimes they founder and are ripped apart by the tremendous force of warpstorms. Sometimes they miss their exit gate, and journey forever through the warp, eternal prisoners of the void, or drop back into the universe countless untold miles and endless years from their intended destination. Perhaps that's how the first Genestealers arrived in this galaxy. No one knows. Some vessels, however, become locked in a strange current of the warp, emerging from time to time in realspace, but then later helplessly sucked back into the warp. They have no control over their destination and may travel in the warp for centuries, appearing at the same gate whence they came, or light-centuries away, only to disappear once more after several hours or days. For some reason, according to the demented physics of the warp, more than one of these prison-ships from time to time emerge at the same gate at the same time. One vessel might be an abandoned wreck, another a new craft, complete with living crew. If possible, the crew will scavenge the wreck, perhaps binding it to their own vessel, to increase their living space, and perhaps in the in hope that they will be able to fashion an escape vessel out of the wreck. Thus are born space hulks.

No one knows how many space hulks there are. Millions of Human vessels have been lost in the warp countless billions more must have been lost by other races over the millennia. Most are empty piles of junk -space flotsam , some, however, contain treasures of bygone ages, the lost science of the fantastic Dark Age of Technology or of other races. as far advanced above Humanity as we-ire above the insects. Thus. some seek out the spacehulks. travelling aboard them in the hope of discovering treasure. risking eternal prison for the chance of wealth beyond the dreams of avarice.

Some creatures, particularly chaos Renegades, use the hulks as pirate vessels ' appearing in a system, sending out smaller ships to murder and rob nearby Planets or vessels' then escaping to safety in the random warp jumps of the space is dangerous in the extreme' but chaos Renegades do not fear danger.


THE INVASION OF IMPEPERIAL SPACE

Despite its growing weakness, the Imperium of Man is still an extremely formidable opponent. Humanity is a warrior race, like the Genestealers, and, though no match for the Genestealers in hand-to-hand combat, their ability to use sophisticated weaponry makes them deadly fighters indeed. The Imperium cannot be cowed or bargained with. The Imperial inquisition ruthlessly exterminate any infected planets they discover - they are not afraid to kill the innocent to ensure that all of the tainted ones are destroyed. The Inquisition keep strict silence about this threat to the Imperium, ruthlessly killing or mindwiping all who come into contact with the aliens, fearing the taint of Chaos and spiritual contamination.


As a whole, Mankind is psychically weak, but some individual Men are strong. The Emperor of Mankind is all but dying, but the Stealers have tasted his mind from afar- and they fear him, more than any being they have ever encountered.

But the Stealers have no choice. They are driven. They must conquer - or perish.

The Genestealers' plan, evolved over eons of conquest, is simple, yet very subtle. Individual Genestealers will infiltrate a large number of Imperial planets, establishing small covens amongst the disaffected populace which exist throughout Humanity. They will increase their families slowly - as slowly as their burning drive to procreate will allow - taking great pains to avoid detection. After the fourth generation hybrids are born, they will leave their planet as merchants, diplomats, trades, and even soldiers in the Imperium, to found covens on new planets.

Using their psychic powers and shrewd diplomatic skills, honed by millennia of inter-family warfare, the Stealers' covens will make alliances with other. non-Stealer covens- those created by Vampires, mad Humans, the forces of Chaos - extending their power and influence a thousandfold. When the time is right, q/hen the Imperium is at its weakest, under some grave threat from outside, the Stealers will strike, fomenting unrest and rebellion amongst the populace across a thousand thousand Imperial worlds.

THC DARK AGE OF TECHNOLOGY

Exploration brought new ideas, never wealth, new arrogance, and science became God. The machines of travel and conquest achieved incredible levels of sophistication. There seemed nothing that Man couldn't do. Man himself was changing, and psychic power, once the stuff of quack science and trashy pulp thrillers, came to be accepted, and studied.

Though few realized it at the time, the end of the Age of Technology was heralded by the appearance of psykers -humans capable of using psionic powers such as telekinesis The trigger for this appearance has never been precisely determined, but within mere centuries psykers were recorded on almost every planet known to Man. some went mad uncounted millions were burnt as witches, destroyed by ignorance and fear, and, possibly, prescience. A few those on civilized, 'enlightened' planets, were protected and nurtured, allowed to test and explore their new-found skills.

This was to prove the greatest calamity that Man has ever perpetrated upon himself in a long history of foolish arrogance and stupidity.

Untrained and ignorant of what they meddled with, the novice psykers opened the galaxy to invasion. Daemons- fell creatures in the warp, born of Chaos - attacked the minds of the unprotected psykers, and through them, gained entrance to our galaxy. Monsters walked the worlds. Ignorance and madness replaced enlightenment and technology. Aliens, sensing Man's weakness, attacked savagely, attempting to regain all that they had lost. The Age of Strife was born.


THE AGE Of STRIFE

For more than five thousand years, warfare wracked Mankind. Nation battled nation, planet fought planet, system laid waste system. Man fought Himself, Daemon, and Alien. The fragile bonds of civilisation were lost. Abandoned colonies perished by the scores or reverted to barbaric savagery. Outspacers and aliens plundered and grew fat on the wreck of Humanity. It v/as at this time that the mutants began to appear in great numbers. As science crumbled, terraformed worlds slowly reverted to their natural conditions the Men on them adapted, or died. Thus were born the abhumans - the stocky Squats, the powerful Ogryns, the mad Beastmen, and many others. Only the worlds where psykers were rigorously suppressed survived intact. The retrenchment of Mankind was almost total
 
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GALAXY OF THE IMPERIUM

The galaxy contains around four hundred thousand million stars . Of these, only a fraction are orbited by planets which are habitable or within the capability of human engineering to make habitable. And of these few, fewer still have been investigated and settled by humans. This 'few,' however, numbers millions of worlds.

It is simply impossible to count the systems where humanity or one of its sub-species can be found. New worlds are constantly being colonised and added to the Imperium, in such number that even the sophisticated computers of the Adeptus Terra cannot keep track of them all. Even using faster-than-light warp drive, travel from Terra, the centre of government, to the edge of the Imperium can take literally years - by the time one arrives, the border is likely to have advanced even farther. Despite its inexorable growth, the Imperium is unlikely to ever explore the entire galaxy, let alone spread its rule to others. The galaxy is bigger than Man, and is likely to remain so.


WARP SPACE

Warp space is both the single greatest boon to Man, and the single greatest threat. The conquest of warp space is the power that binds the Imperium together, allowing spacecraft to move hundreds of thousands of light years in or y a few hours. However, warp space is also the domain of Chaos, and its minions gnaw constantly at the Imperium, seeking to conquer it from without, seeking to rot it from within.

At the simplest level, warp space is a separate and complete universe, coexisting with our universe. For every point in our universe, there is a corresponding location in warp space, and the two universes are intimately connected. However, warp space is not an exact duplicate of 'real' space. Warp space exists according to its own set of physical Iaws: distance and time are different there. Tho points that, in our reality, are tens of thousands of light-years apart, might, in warp space, be seperated by mere miles, or inches. Thus, it is possible for a suitably-equipped vessel to enter warp space, travel for several hours, arid re-emerge in outspace light years from its starting point.

Spacecraft Navigators find their way across warp space by fixing their course on the Astronomicon, the psychic beacon of the Imperium. Maintained by the Emperor's will and consuming the energy of uncounted millions of psykers, the Astronomicon shines across reality and the warp, allowing Navigators to steer spacecraft safely through the currents of warp space.

In warp space, however, nothing may be taken for granted. It is a universe filled with cross-currents. eddies and whirlpools of power Ships disappear, without reason, or emerge from the warp centuries after they entered it, or millions of light years from their intended destination. Warpstorms flare up, blocking travel through huge reaches of the warp. These storms can last for seconds or persist for millennia, destroying or sending off-course any ships which enter them, isolating areas of real space from all but painfully-slow sublight travel. And there is always Chaos, the primal force of the warp, waiting...
 
The Great Powers of Chaos

Through forbidden research, the ordo Malleus have determined that their are four great Powers within the forces of chaos - Tzeentch, the Lord of Change, Slanneesh, the Lord of Decadence, Nurgle, the Lord of Corruption, and Khorne. the Lord of Battle. Each Power has human servants working within the Imperium and actoss the universe. Each has a coterie of Daemons within the warp. The Powers seek the destruction of Mankind and, in that destruction, the ultimate domination of Chaos throughout this reality.

CHAOS
Mention has been made elsewhere of the malevolent psychic creatures which live in warp space. These beings have preyed upon psykers throughout human history using them as gateways into the real universe. Accounts of witchcraft, possession, and daemons appearing in and again in the Imperium's most secret records, along with hints of other. darker mysteries.

The Ordo Malleus
Within the Inquisition there is a secret college, the Ordo Malleus, which is devoted to combatting such phenomena. Few know of the struggle, for to know is to risk corruption and temptation. Humanity as a whole must never learn of the battle, else the Darkness would surely triumph. Ignorance is the armour of purity.
 
THC LEGIOINES ASTARTES

The Legiones Astartes is the official title of the warrior organization known as the Space Marines. Its warriors are acknowledged as the most powerful and feated fighting men in the Imperium. Most of its troops are recruited from the feral planets, where traditional warrior castes compete for the honour of becoming a 'warrior of the stars.' For true aggression and psychotic killer-instinct, however, few recruits can best the murderous followers of the city-scum that roam the darkest pits of the hive-worlds. Driven to extremes of insanity by colossal pressures of hive-world living, these merciless killers make ideal Space Marines

Young recruits are subjected to many hours of intensive training and indoctrination. Their bodies are toughened by bio-chemicals, and their resolve is hardened by psycho-surgery. A special black carapace is merged with their natural flesh, forming a sort of identity tag as well as permanent armour By the end of his training, the recruit has been turned into a Marine, a disciplined - or at least controllable - killer.

The basic unit of the Legiones Astartes is called a Chapter. Each Chapter is like a small army in itself, fully equipped with its own transport, non-combatant support staff, ect. Although it contains at most only a thousand fighting Marines, the Chapter has the fighting potential of many times that number of ordinary troops.

Fully recognizing their value, the Imperium does not often waste the Space Marines in sand-up brawls where sheer numbers will decide the day. Instead, they are used with surgical precision, to mount lightning raids and surprise attacks. Their reputation for cold-bloodedness and complete lack of mercy has earned them the nickname Angels of Death,

During the upheaval known as the Horus Heresy, when one of the Ernperor's most trusted generals succumbed to the lure of Chaos and turned on his liege, the Space Marines fought with savage ferocity on both sides. The Chapters in particular, the Imperial Fists and the Whitescars, earned great renown in the heroic defence of the Imperial palace



CHAPTERS

The Chapters are self-contained, almost monastic communities, answerable only to the Emperor. For the vast bulk of the Space Marines, the Chapter is their world, and the only contact they have with outsiders is in battle. tradition and ritual are of great importance within the chapter, and the training and daily routine of a Space Marine places as much emphasis upon moral welfare and dedication to the Emperor as on physical training and combat skills.

Each Chapter has its own base, or fortress-monastery ,where the Space Marines spend their time between battles in training and meditation. As well as barracks, training facilities, machine shops, defence systems and shuttle silos, a fortress-monastery includes a chapel for each of the Chapter's Companies, and buried deep beneath it all, catacombs where lie the Chapter's honoured dead.

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ORGANISATION

Marines belonging to the same Chapter are called battle-brothers or battle-kin. Each Chapter led by a veteran Marine with the rank of Chapter Master, comprises administrative staff, maintenance teams, transport teams, medical teams and about a thousand fighting Space Marines. The warriors are divided into fighting Squads of 5-10 troopers, each led by a Sergeant. Ten such Squads make up a Company, commanded by a Captain and usually assisted by one or more Lieutenants. Typically, one Company of up to one hundred Marines is trained in the use of Terminator armour.

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THE EMPEROR

Ageless and ancient, the Emperor is the undisputed master of Humanity. wounded during the great conflagration known as the Horus Heresy, the Emperor caused a life-support machine of incredible complexity, the Golden Throne, to be built on Terra. Once it was completed, he was placed within its confines, where he has remained ever since, ruler and prisoner, sustained by life-energy drained from millions of human psykers. His will maintains thenavigation beacon known as the Astronomicon and binds Humanity together

Throughout the Imperium, the Emperor's will is carried out by two colossal organisations: the Inquisition and the Adeptus Terra. Tens of billions of men and women - adepts, scholars, priests, governors, soldiers and inquisitors - exist only to serve the Emperor.

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THE COLLEGIA TITANICAA

A subdivision of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Collegia Titanica controls the Imperial war Titans - huge, manlike war machines, up to one hundred feet tall. The Titans saw much service in the long-ago Horus Heresy, when Titan battled Titan for control of the Imperium. Today, most of the Imperial Titans are employed garrisoning the boundaries of the Horus worlds. where remnants of the Traitors still exist, an ever-gnawing thorn in the Imperium's side.
 
DEATHWING


“Lord Shaman . .“ said Bloody Moon. The Librarian almost smiled, the habits of their ancient former lives had returned in strength now that they once more walked the soil of their homeworid. “Brother Librarian is my title, Bloody Moon. You are no longer my honor guard. We are both Marines.” “Lord - Brother Shaman,” Bloody Moon continued. “No warriors of the Plains would have wrought such havoc. Do you think...”“We shall have to investigate, old friend. We must visit the other lodge towns and speak with their chieftains. If someone has returned to the customs of the Reaving Time, we will put an end to it. ”It was rumored that some of the Hill Clans still kept to the old daemon-worshipping practices from the time before the Emperor’s people came. If that were true, it was up to the Marines to take action. Somehow Two Heads Talking did not think it would come to that. This did not have the feel of daemon worshippers, although there was a taint in the air that was akin to it. An almost recognizable horror clawed at his mind. He fought it down and hoped that his suspicions were not true.


All the squads gathered around the fire. The great logs smoldered in the dark, underlighting the faces of the Marines, making them look daemonic. Behind them, Deathwing Sat On its landing claws, a bulwark against the darkness. He knew that beyond it lay the city of their enemy, where dwelled abomination. Nearest the fires squatted the squad leaders, faces impassive. Behind them were their men, in full battle regalia, storm bolters and flamers near at hand. Firelight glittered on the winged swords painted on their shoulder pieces. Their garb was Imperial, but the scarred faces that showed in the firelight belonged to the Plains People

“I looked around: only Terminators stood in the hall. We whooped with joy to find ourselves still alive, but then the number of our fallen struck us, and we stood in appalled silence. Only six of us survived. We did not count the number of the Stealers fallen. “In the world above, the children of the Plains People waited. A huge crowd had gathered outside the temple to see the outcome of our battle. They looked at us, awe-struck. We had destroyed their temple and killed their gods. They did not know whether we were daemons or redeemers. “We looked on the weary creatures who were the only remnants of our former clans. We had won, and we had reclaimed our world. Still, our victory seemed hollow. We had saved our descendants from the Stealers, but our way of life was gone. “As we stood before the assembled throng, it struck me what we must do. The Emperor himself provided inspiration in that moment. I explained my plan to the others. “We drove the crowds from the city and assembled them on the plain outside. We searched for traces of the brood among them, but there were none. The Stealer taint seemed to have been destroyed in our vengeance war.


“For weeks, I lay in feverish agony while my body changed. The walls danced, and my spirit fled to the edge of the cold place. While I wandered lost and alone, one of the Brothers stood beside me reciting the Imperial litanies. “In a vision, the Emperor came to me, riding Deathwing, mightiest of thunderbirds. It was different from that which had borne the Sky Warriors home. It was a beast of spirit; the other had been a bird of metal, a totem cast in its image. “The Emperor spoke to me, telling me of the great struggle being waged on a thousand thousand worlds. He showed me the races other than man and the secret heart of the universe, which is Chaos. He showed me the powers that lurked in the warp and exposed me to their temptations. He watched as I resisted. I knew that, if I had given in, he would have struck me down. “Eventually, I awoke, and I knew then that my spirit belonged to the Emperor. I had chosen to abandon my people, my world and my bride for his service. I knew I had made the correct choice. ”Cloud Runner glanced around at the other Terminators. He hoped he had told the story well enough to catch his listeners’ minds and remind them of their duty to the Emperor. He hoped he had reminded them that they had all made the same decision as he had and that they would once more make the correct choice.
 
“We did not have long to wait for an answer. They swarmed down the corridor toward us in a vast wave. They were garbed in the armor of Marines, but they were horribly mutated. Some clutched rusty bolters in tentacles instead of hands. Some had faces that were moist and green and slimy like toads. Some had claws and extra limbs. Some dragged themselves along, leaving a trail of mucus behind them. “The mark of Chaos was upon them. They called on Horus and those powers that are better not named. And we knew them - they were renegades, survivors from the Age of Heresy who had pacted with Chaos in exchange for eternal life The fighting became close and heavy. They had the weight of numbers, but we had our Terminator armor and the strength of righteousness. “For a moment, it looked as though they might overwhelm us, but then our thunder hammers and lightning claws came into play, and we cut through them inexorably. They fought like daemons, and they had the strength of the damned, but eventually we won. “I stood looking down at the body of my last foe, and a thought occurred to me: this man had once been a Marine like myself. He had undergone the same training and indoctrination as I had. He had sworn to serve the Emperor. And yet be had betrayed humanity. How could this be?“ How could a true Marine become forsworn? It seemed unlikely that he would suddenly turn his back on the pattern of a lifetime and pact with the Darkness. What had Chaos to offer him?

“Wealth? We have no use for the baubles that other men covet; we already have the finest of everything that a man could wish for. Sensual gratification? We are taught its transitory nature. Power? We know true power, which is the will of the Emperor. Who among us could equal his sacrifice?” “No - as I stood over his body I came to understand. He had deviated not in one leap but in small steps, by increments. “First he had come to place trust in the Warmaster. An easy step, for was not Horus the chief champion of the Emperor?“ Then he had come to follow the Warmaster. Who would not? A soldier follows his commander. “Then he had come to believe Horns divine. An easy mistake. Was not the great Heretic one of the Primarchs of the First Founding ,gifted with god-like powers second only to the Emperor himself?“ Thus did he stray from the path of truth, till eventually he lost both his life and soul. It is a way that is open to anyone, one small mistake leading to another until at last the Great Error is reached. This I came to realize as I studied the body of the renegade on the Prison of Lost Souls. I resolved then and there to submit myself to the Emperor’s will. I knew that all our regulations and our codes have a purpose, and it is not for us to question them, for they keep us from the path of the deviant. Around the fire, there was silence. Cloud Runner could tell that Bloody Moon’s words had touched a chord within the Marines. He found himself examining his own conscience for signs of heresy. The implication of Bloody Moon’s tale was quite clear: if they lapsed from the service of the Emperor, they were taking the first step down the road to damnation. He had also reminded them that they were Marines, the chosen of the Emperor. If they did not keepthe faith, who would? For a long time, all was quiet. Then Weasel-Fierce indicated his wish to talk. “I will speak of death,” he said, “the death of men and worlds….”
 
"We do not know where they come from," said Lame Bear. Not even the Curators of the Administratum know that. They appear without warning, carried in the mighty space hulks which drift on the tides of warpspace."
A shiver passed through even there hardened Terminator. Cloud Runner saw the gaze of those who had faced the Genestealer turn inward Their faces reflected the grim memories of their encounters.
Unconsciously, they sat up straighter and looked around nervously. For fie first time, it was brought home to the Capain that they really did face the Genestealers once more. They faced a threat that could kill them.
"They are dreadful foes, ferocious, relentless, knowing neither pity nor fear. They do nor use weapons, perhaps because they do not need them. Their claws are capable of tearing adamartium like paper.' They do not use crmour; their hides arc so tough rhat they c{nsurvive, for r lime, unsuirrd in vacuum, They ht e the espec! of abeast, yet they lre intelligent and organised. They are the mosttenible enemies rny Marine hss faced since thc time of the HorusHercsy."How d,o I know this? I h.ve fsaed thfrn. rs have othen herc."Cloud Runner ,iiver€d, recalling the rimes he had fscrd lhe SrealeN,He rehembercd rheir chitinous visage, 6eir geping jaws end fourrending claws. He tried not to rEcall their blinding, insed-like speed."It is nor their fesnome baEle prowess thst makes the Stealers 3uchdr€3dful opponents. h is something else. I will tell you of ir."One hundrEd lnd twenty ye3rs ago, befott ever I dmned Terminato,armqlr, I l,a3 lem wfth rhe lleet that investigsted the strrnge silcnceof dle hive world Thram."The Imperial Gwemor had not paid trjbute for rwenty years, and theAdeprus Terrs had decided rhar perhaps s gentle reminder of higswom duties w'r in order.



It felt like sorne evil dream, being bome down dirnly lit urnnek byrhe hunched, daemonic figurd of lhe Genestealet brood. The Librarian w.tched these evenB through a fog of pain, wcndering why he was srill alive. Pert of his mind rcslised that he was within wbatever vessel had clrried the brcod ro his hcrneworld.
 
It felt like some evil dream, being borne down dimly lit tunnels by the hunched, daemonic figures of the Genestealer brood. The Librarian watched these events through a fog of pain, wondering why he was still alive. Part of his mind realised that he was within whatever vessel had carried the brood to his homeworld.