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SPACE MARINES
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"While vile mutants still draw breath, there can be no peace. While obscene heretics' hearts still beat, there can be no respite. While faithless traitors still live, there can be no forgiveness."
- Legiones Astartes Silver Skulls' Catechism of Hate, Verse 1 of XXV
Created by the Emperor and forged in the fiery furnace of war, the SPACE MARINES are warrior monks devoted to serving their creator and honor-bound to their sacred duty. Though relatively few in number, the Space Marines fight with fury at the front lines of Humanity's bloody struggle for survival against the vicious, never-ending onslaught of attacks from Mankind's enemies.
The superiority of the superhuman Space Marines is the result of numerous genetic modifications, psycho-conditioning, rigorous physical training and unquestioning faith. A single Space Marine is a formidable fighter, but when he fights with a thousand of his brethren (in organizations commonly referred to as CHAPTERS) they form a steely weapon of righteousness -- the Emperor's living, breathing swords of destruction, serving His will and protecting His people throughout the Imperium.
It could be said that a Space Marine will serve until his dying breath, but that underestimates their devotion, for some continue to serve even beyond life - they are the deadly DREADNOUGHTS. A Dreadnought is a sentient, fighting, walking vehicle that excels in destroying hard targets such as vehicles and buildings. Every Dreadnought is piloted by a Space Marine, grievously wounded in battle, and now saved from certain death by permanent entombment within an armored sarcophagus.
The Dreadnoughts are just one of the many units that comprise a Space Marines Chapter.
Each Chapter is led by a FORCE COMMANDER whose extraordinary skill and heroism are remarkable even by the already exceptional standards of his fellow Space Marines. A stalwart veteran of thousands of battles, the Force Commander is always found in the forefront of the battlefield, leading each charge and commanding his troops with absolute authority.
The keeper of the Chapter's ancient knowledge is the LIBRARIAN whose powerful psychic talents can be used to cast a wide range of spells -- banishing demons, striking down enemies, protecting his troops from psychic attacks or augmenting his own physical prowess in the heat of battle.
A key specialist within each Space Marines Chapter is the APOTHECARY. Although he wields a chainsword with skill and precision, the Apothecary is primarily a healer who repairs the wounds that his Battle-Brethren incur in the heat of battle. And, when a brother falls in battle, it is the Apothecary's sacred duty to retrieve his fallen comrade's gene-seed (the genetic material that is unique to his Chapter and shared by each of his brethren) to ensure that this inextricable genetic link can be used again in order to create new Space Marines and continue the Chapter's history.
The flesh and bones of the Space Marines are the INFANTRY SQUADS, from the SCOUT MARINES with their speed and stealth, to the highly experienced and heavily armed TERMINATORS who can be teleported directly into combat; each squad performs a vital function within the Chapter.
Whether Scholar, Healer or Infantry, each and every Marine under the leadership of the Force Commander knows his purpose and serves with single-minded focus and devotion to the heroism of his Chapter and the glory of his Emperor.
They are the Space Marines…
...and they shall know no fear! |
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FORCES OF CHAOS
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"Death to the False Emperor! Death to the weakling Imperium of Man!"
- Common Chaos Battlecry
Born in a bloodbath of betrayal, the CHAOS SPACE MARINES are the darkest of villains. Although they were once proud members of the Imperium’s great and honorable Space Marine, these traitors fell willingly under the sway of the diabolic CHAOS GODS, the infernal entities who gnaw at the edges of reality, greedily devouring the souls of the damned.
When these heretics betrayed the Emperor and abandoned their sworn brothers in exchange for the promise of immortality, little did they realize that the path to immortality would lead straight through a hell of mutation and madness. At the end of that road, the reward that awaits these blasphemers is transformation into demonhood and an eternity as slaves to Chaos.
Yet the Chaos Space Marines lustily embrace their fate. Fueled by a burning hatred of the Emperor and all that He stands for, they fight with skill and cunning. They are the cornerstone fighting unit of the FORCES OF CHAOS, but they do not fight alone.
Many other squads of infantry fight alongside them, including the POSSESSED SPACE MARINES, Chaos Marines who have been possessed and transformed by demons. These monsters thrive in the cesspool of close combat, using their demonic strength and razor-like talons to rip their enemies limb-from-limb.
For those brave souls who fight against the Forces of Chaos, still more nightmares must be faced. For on the field of battle, HORRORS await. Horrors are terrifying demons that, when summoned into battle, viciously incinerate their enemy’s armies with demonic fire.
Far worse than a pack of Horrors is the BLOODTHIRSTER, a winged demon that is the incarnation of the power of the Chaos god of carnage and war, Khorne. Looming and intimidating at thirty feet tall, the Bloodthirster uses his awesome weapons, along with his deadly teeth, claws, and feet to slice, dice and decimate the enemies. Entire armies have met their deaths on the Bloodthirster’s surgically sharp blades.
At the lead of each bloody battle in the never-ending war against the Imperium is a CHAOS LORD. A Chaos Lord has a wide range of weapons at his disposal, but he does not rely on cold steel or hot plasma to destroy his enemies. His fierce power is derived from his CHAOS GIFTS, which enhance his physical characteristics, imbuing him with the strength of demons and inspiring paralyzing fear and hopeless dread in the hearts of his enemies.
Bloodlust and ten thousand years of bitter hatred fuel these Forces of Chaos, driving their relentless crusade to destroy the Emperor and reduce His Imperium to ashes.
Let the Galaxy burn! |
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ORKS
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"Waaagh!"
- Ork battlecry
Bloodthirsty and vicious, the ORKS are ferocious berserkers who occupy more of the Galaxy than any other race. If they were unified in their villainy, the Orks would soon crush all opposition. Fortunately for Humanity, these warring degenerates are just as likely to attack one another, as they are to invade an Imperial planet.
However, once the Orks set their teeth into a planet's jugular, it is almost impossible to dislodge them. The Orks are heavily armed with crude, but highly effective weapons, vehicles and equipment and, as combatants unlucky enough to get up close to the Orks' front lines soon learn, these barbarians also excel at hand-to-hand combat.
The mainstays of the Ork army are the BOYZ; they are the standard Ork fighting unit. The two most common variants are the CHOPPA BOYZ, who carry choppas, large ax-like weapons, and sluggas, the Ork equivalent of a pistol, and the SHOOTA BOYZ, who are armed with larger versions of the slugga and can lay down more fire, and wreak more havoc, on the battlefield.
Bigger and more powerful than the Ork boyz, the NOBZ are battle-hardened veterans filled with unquenchable bloodlust and consumed by the desire to decimate their enemies. In combat, a NOB SQUAD is one of the most lethal close combat units in the Universe. A churning vortex of violence and unspeakable horror.
All Orks, from Nobz to Boyz constantly seek out battle, because exposure to combat increases an Ork's strength and size. As Orks age and become more powerful, their green hides grow darker. On any Ork battlefield and the biggest and darkest Ork is the undisputed leader. This is the WARBOSS.
The stench of battle is irresistible to an Ork, and a skirmish will always draw increasing numbers of Orks, but it takes the arrival of the Warboss to give focus to the churning masses of Boyz and Nobz. It is his leadership that turns the Orks into a savage storm of destruction.
Storms that will rain down blood and drown the Universe in death… |
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THE ELDAR
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"What do humans know of our pain? We have sung songs of lament since before your ancestors crawled on their bellies from the sea."
- Farseer Eldrad Ulthran
An incredibly ancient race with unrivaled psychic powers, THE ELDAR once ruled a vast empire. Although the time of their absolute supremacy has passed, they remain a strong and powerful force that must be reckoned with.
The Eldar live aboard giant spacecraft known as CRAFTWORLDS that travel through the Galaxy via an intricate system of gates and tunnels that run through WARPSPACE and allow them to cross great spans of space in mere moments.
Tall in stature and relatively slender in their physiques, these nomads of the Galaxy are by no means frail. In fact, this mysterious race can field a formidable army with specialist squads that make effective use of the advanced Eldar technology as well as their unsurpassed psychic abilities.
Their armored troops include the GUARDIANS, a light infantry squad particularly useful in close range because of their large numbers as well as their speed and firepower.
Another unit of light infantry is the RANGERS, the army's scouts and specialized killers who are all but invisible thanks to the camouflage of their CAMELEOLINE CLOAKS.
While their well-armed infantries with their swift attacks and flexible defenses are essential to the Eldar war machine, the real power resides in the psykers. These elite psychic warriors include the FARSEERS, who have many extraordinary mental powers, including the ability to scry the future and divine an enemy's next move.
Although the Farseer is the Eldar's primary spellcaster, WARLOCKS can also cast powerful spells and do so in their role as guards of their Farseer and squad leaders. Warlocks frequently use their potent psychic abilities to enhance their troops' fighting abilities and protect them on the battlefield.
BONESINGERS are also spellcasters, and they use their psychic abilities to grow and shape WRAITHBONE, the substance used by the Eldar to construct weapons and buildings.
Beyond the Eldar's powerful infantry and exceptionally gifted psychics, there is another element that makes the Eldar a force to be feared throughout the Galaxy. The AVATAR OF KHAINE is the walking embodiment of the Eldar god of War, Khaela Mensha Khaine. Created by offering a living sacrifice to the ASPECT PORTAL, when summoned the Avatar is fiercely powerful in close combat. It never retreats and cannot be pinned by enemy fire.
The presence of the Avatar gives awesome inspiration to the Eldar troops and reminds them of their great and glorious past, when their race commanded the very stars to live and die.
Their time of glory will come again and their enemies will be destroyed. Until that time they will continue to worship Khaine, the god of war.
And they will lay the bodies of their enemies on his altar of death. |
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n the 41st Millennium MANKIND has spread its race and glory to over a million worlds throughout the far reaches of the Galaxy. But Humanity's expansion, in fact, its very existence, has not gone unchallenged. The ENEMIES OF MAN, including the savage and bloodthirsty ORKS, the traitorous FORCES of CHAOS, and the mysterious and powerful ELDAR, wage constant war against the descendants of Earth, seeking to destroy them. The lives of untold billions of people, indeed the very survival of Humanity itself, depend upon the protection of the Master of Mankind, the EMPEROR OF MAN, and the Emperor's loyal, genetically-perfected and lethal warriors, the SPACE MARINES.
