The Sons of Horus worshipped one Chaos God after another, and each time more and more of their number gave themselves up to possession by Daemons. Over the centuries they were bled white in a succession of conflicts with the other Traitor Legions. To add to the ignominy of defeat, the body of the Warmaster was stolen and attempts were made to clone him, much to the horror and revulsion of his remaining Legionaries. Denied their genetic and spiritual father, the Sons of Horus swore allegiance to Ezekyle Abaddon, Captain of the 1st Company, and hailed him as the new Warmaster.
The Legion has launched attacks across the breadth of the Imperium ever since, often vanishing as swiftly as they arrive. Abaddon and his warriors fought hard to regain their honour and rebuild their reputation, throwing themselves into the most dangerous conflicts they could find. At first, Abaddon won the grudging respect of the surviving Traitor Legions, but as his deeds became ever bolder and his list of extraordinary achievements grew, respect turned into active support.
His impassioned words have since fanned the smouldering resentment of the Traitor Legions into the raging fires of hatred. Champions of many Legions and gods now vie to fight for Abaddon in the colours of his Black Legion.
The Black Legion is made up of many warbands whose appearance and motivations vary wildly, but all are guided by the implacable will of Abaddon the Despoiler and so broadly employ the same tactics in battle.
The Legion has a preference for close assault over ranged combat, and the swift application of extreme force to disrupt or neutralise key targets. The frequency of these attacks increases exponentially, applying a constant and escalating pressure on the enemy and gradually crushing their ability to muster a coordinated defence. Eventually, the Black Legion commanders and their Chosen launch a devastating strike at the crucial moment — usually a teleport strike by warriors in Terminator armour — which breaks the back of the enemy forces.
As long as a warrior is willing to bow before Abaddon the Despoiler and take the oath of obedience, he may join the Black Legion. During the centuries of warfare and acts of vengeance since the Horus Heresy, Space Marines from dozens of Chapters and other Legions have joined the Despoiler. Now, the Black Legion boasts warlords and warbands from almost every permutation of Chaos worship, depraved doctrine and ruinous faith. Usually, these warbands work in isolation, raiding planets and pillaging the Imperium in the name of their master, but largely pursuing their own agendas.
Their preferred style of warfare is to engage the foe swiftly in closequarters combat and to cut off any chance of retreat. They advance relentlessly towards the lines of their enemies, laying down hails of fire and bellowing dark oaths as they press forwards.
Wherever their foe presents weakness, the Black Legion are swift to exploit it, sending their elite warriors to eradicate a collapsing flank or to slaughter enemy champions who have left themselves exposed. Warbands vary greatly in size, from a few score Heretic Astartes to as many as several hundred. Each such force boasts its own transports, Battle Barges, heavy landing craft, war machines and Daemon Engines, as well as throngs of fanatical cultists who charge screaming into the fray.
This gives the tyrannical Chaos Lords who lead these warbands free rein to maraud as they please, sating their thirst for carnage and power without the need to form lasting alliances with their brethren. However, when Abaddon calls, the warbands gather. Their oaths to the Warmaster force them to put aside their hatreds and feuds to fight alongside the Legion united.
Only their collective fear of the Despoiler forces them to suffer cooperation — fear and the chilling memory of the fates of those who have crossed him. The Black Legion bear the Eye of Horus upon their shoulder pads. Brother Narghast has wielded his boltgun Hateslaker for millennia, and has put it to gruesome use on countless planets throughout the galaxy.
Many warbands worship one of the Chaos Gods above the others, adorning their black battle plate with icons, trophies and the favoured colours of their patron in the hope of attracting more divine favour — and perhaps ascending beyond the Black Legion to claim mastery of their own fate. The Hounds of Abaddon revel in close combat, where they can spill the greatest volume of blood for their god, using chainaxes, lightning claws or even their own fangs.
He has won great favour with Khorne due to his skill at launching ship-toship ambushes, and has a reputation for initiating spectacular boarding actions. This is largely through the ceaseless efforts of the warlords that have led them; invaluable psykers such as Zaraphiston and Ygethmor the Deceiver.
Under the dominance of Skyrak Slaughterborn, the Nurglites have converted many to their cause. This could also be why many other warbands will have little to do with the Bringers, repelled by the blessings of the Plague God they bear. Gholbax Ghlaur, host to the dreaded Byleworm Gutpox Under the guidance of such warlords as Devram Korda and Zagthean the Broken, the followers of Slaanesh that have joined the Black Legion are collectively called the Children of Torment.
These traitors have sided with the Despoiler so they might wallow in the anguish he spreads and bathe in the gushing blood of his victims.
Together with the Maelstrom, near the galactic core, and the Hadex Anomaly, on the cusp of the Eastern Fringe, it was classified by the Ordo Malleus as Anathema Nonplus Ultra, the most extreme of all categories. These livid purple bruises in the sky were visible from a hundred thousand worlds, yet so long as the warding-signs were made, the correct prayers offered and the regions avoided by all right-thinking folk, the danger remained relatively distant.
A new cataclysm had erupted across the stars, splitting the galaxy from end to end. Since the coming of the Cicatrix Maledictum, the vast majority of Imperial worlds are under attack, from within and without. The Great Rift is visible in near every night sky, in some places so prominent it is forbidden to look upward lest its madness infect the mind of the observer. It is afflicted by howling warp gales that bring waking nightmares and terrors of the darkness to even the most well-defended realms.
Piratical renegades vie with hate-filled traitors and Daemon hosts for the grisliest deeds and most earth-shattering conquests. In such a time, only the truly zealous may prosper.
Every time, the Despoiler and his hordes have achieved a great victory, slain millions of loyalists or completed some obscure objective before vanishing back into the Eye of Terror. At the close of the 41st Millennium, Abaddon has led his Thirteenth Black Crusade in the final conquest of Cadia, emerging stronger than ever before at the head of a vast army of traitors, heretics and Daemons.
At his side, Horus and the Luna Wolves fight with great fervour, laying waste to countless foes in his name and helping to create the Imperium of Man. Fully half of the Legiones Astartes join with him as he attempts to bring the Imperium to its knees and destroy the loyalist Space Marine Legions. In the final battle for Terra, Horus is struck down by the Emperor in mortal combat aboard the Vengeful Spirit. The Legion War The traitor Astartes fight among themselves within the Eye of Terror in a war for resources and slaves that further fractures the already broken Legions.
Swearing to succeed where his forefather failed, Abaddon takes up the mantle of Warmaster and begins the Long War anew. In a great battle around the worlds of Cadia, the traitors are turned back by newly raised Space Marine Chapters and the Legio Titanicus. He constructs a vast mine to harvest its wealth for the Warmaster. Slaves prove too fragile to work the mine as the ore mutates them uncontrollably, while some mine shafts secrete fluids that dissolve the workers within.
Faenroc remedies this problem by binding daemonic entities to his mining machines in a ritual that involves the mass sacrifice of the entire mortal workforce.
The Imperium, focusing on the war in space, musters a naval force to fight back. Entrusting his flagship to his Sorcerers, the Despoiler then teleports to the Inquisitorial stronghold of Nemesis Tessera. The Inquisition later find that a critical vault cell has been opened and its daemonic prisoner — the legendary nemesis for which the planet is named — is missing. Eventually, the Space Wolves manage to banish Tallomin back to the warp. Gifted with a profound understanding of the millennia to come, Zaraphiston pledges his loyalty to Abaddon the Despoiler.
The Black Legion and their daemonic allies fall upon the Kromarch and his kin, conquering the citadel and extinguishing their ancient line. Taking the Convent of Alabaster Maidens prisoner, he exposes them to the energies of the warp, triggering their latent psychic gifts. Zagthean then uses warp-tech to fuse the maidens into a single entity, before using the resultant abomination as a living warp portal to unleash a daemonic invasion. For eight days, the Chosen fight in the gore-spattered holds of the Vengeful Spirit until only one of them remains.
Each act of violation shatters the warp-seals that had held psychic mutation stable in that region of space.
The Despoiler singles out the sons of Sanguinius, personally leading a band of Khorne Berzerkers in a charge against their lines. So frenzied is the assault that the surviving Blood Angels are unable to recover the bodies of their fallen.
The Prison of Madness Abaddon conducts experiments on captured loyalist Space Marines, torturing them with repeated visions of a future in which the Imperium falls to Chaos.
Despite the psycho-indoctrinated mental resilience of the Adeptus Astartes, such is the ring of truth in these prophecies that those who do not take their own lives are left as soul-blasted husks that eventually swear allegiance to the Despoiler. The living-metal monoliths beneath the crater-cities of Teekus glow brighter with each ritual slaughter until, at the culmination of the ninth, the structures begin to melt.
In the depths of the hulk, they uncover a stasis chamber containing a single casket. Inside is an ancient warrior of the Luna Wolves. In the Warpwind Canyons, the Chaos Space Marines erect a towering steel-framed device with a sail-like membrane of flayed skin. The creatures of the immaterium are drawn to the world to feed on the soul-stuff caught in the nightmarish construction. When the Cadian nd Expeditionary Force land on Sanisor, they find it crawling with Daemons like flies on a corpse. Black Legionnaires butcher their way through the lower levels of the hive, whilst the Despoiler himself storms its inner sanctums.
As a gesture of contempt, the Black Legion drop a dozen cyclonic warheads onto the ruins of Monarchive. The seventeenyear war that ensues eventually robs both Antecanis and Cancephalus of their most precious resource — manpower. Without the fleets of the naval fortress to stop him, Abaddon is able to ravage the sector at will, and his Sorcerers are free to conduct the rituals required to weaken the walls of reality in that region of space with impunity.
Abaddon travels to the planet located at the coordinates in the message to find his ancient brothers have become a twisted parody of his original Legion, perverting their own gene-seed with primitive rituals and dwelling with the native inhabitants. The Chapter Master of the Savage Swords mistakenly believes the Imperial governor of the planet Hyboras has stolen an ancient relic blade belonging to his Chapter.
Caught up in their wrath and righteous retribution, his Space Marines commit a series of atrocities on the world. When the Black Legion arrive to push the world over the brink of disaster, the Savage Swords have already fallen to the worship of Khorne. It does not take much for Abaddon to persuade them to join him. While the Black Legion assault the capital world, Thracian Primaris, the Iron Warriors focus their attack against the Iron Hands Chapter, seeking to settle an old blood debt.
Amongst its rusting gantries and crumbling manufactorum towers, the Warmaster finds a halfconstructed vessel, vast in scale and terrible in its design. His Warpsmiths examine the ship, marvelling at its dark majesty, and promise that, when complete, it will be the doom of worlds. In the ruins of Relorria, the Black Legion bring the greenskins to battle. After months of fighting, Abaddon orders the Black Legion to leave Relorria to its fate and return to the Eye of Terror — but not before the Warmaster fills the holds of his fleet with captured Ork Weirdboyz.
In conjunction with a coven of his most powerful Sorcerers, he uses the volatile psychic energies of the greenskin abductees in a daemonic hybridisation ritual that weakens the fabric of reality across the Relorrian System.
Insatiable in its hunger, the Daemon Prince consumes everything and everyone in its path, swelling to immense proportions with the meat of worm and man.
Eventually, Glutgora bursts in a tide of festering organs and rancid effluvia, and a million Nurglings crawl out from its corpse. The planet is declared perditas and quarantined indefinitely.
In the ruins of an ancient wraithbone city littered with skeletons, the Sorcerer leads the Warmaster to a room where a tapestry of flayed skin covers the walls from floor to ceiling. Upon its surface Abaddon reads a prophecy that reveals the secrets of six weapons of immense power. Eldar reinforcements react swiftly to drive the Despoiler back, but not before he secures his prize.
The Pilgrimage of Dark Lament Struck by a vision of Abaddon, millions of pilgrims abandon their worship of the God-Emperor and turn their ships towards the Eye of Terror. After a long and perilous journey in which thousands perish, the pilgrims finally reach worlds held by the Black Legion, where they are immediately enslaved.
Even as they fall beneath the lash of their new masters, the pilgrims give thanks to the Warmaster. Sweeping aside Imperial resistance, Abaddon breaks into the vaults below the world and opens the Damnation Cache, an ancient portal to the warp. Unbeknownst to the Imperium, however, the Despoiler has already left Pandorax, taking with him a rogue psyker of prodigious strength. The Salamanders fight an urban war against the Black Legion on Heletine.
The Order of the Ebon Chalice arrives to reinforce the Space Marines, and together they push forward, but their advance is halted by the Daemon Prince Gralastyx. Saint Celestine appears suddenly, storming through the Chaos hordes and slaying Gralastyx, before vanishing once more. After a gruelling campaign with a death toll that spirals into the trillions, Abaddon the Despoiler succeeds in tearing down the strange pylons that for thousands of years had held the Cadian Gate as a stable region of space.
Cadia falls soon thereafter, and a wave of warp storms roars into being across the length of the galaxy. The Chaos invaders are driven off, but the damage has been done. Within the year, a nearby warp storm breaks the Daemon cage entirely, plunging the system into warp-haunted mayhem and adding to the empyric tempest raging across the galaxy.
A chain reaction of warp cataclysms rips across the Imperium, plunging its worlds into disaster and awakening the dormant powers of latent psykers across the galaxy. The Imperium is torn in two along its length, giving rise to the phenomenon known as the Cicatrix Maledictum. Countless civilisations are lost to daemonic incursions as the galaxy burns.
The forces of the Dark Gods read like a roll call from epic battles of the ages. Renegade Chapters long thought extinct renew their assaults on the Imperium of Man. Before them run scabrous cultists, deranged mutants and traitorous scum in numbers too great to count.
The sons of Dorn deploy numerous squads of Intercessors, creating a series of heavily defended redoubts across the surface of the agri world. Rather than allowing themselves to become bogged down in a prolonged siege, the Hounds of Abaddon withdraw to wreak destruction elsewhere. Gods from the Warp After a months-long battle in the Aralest System, the Imperial Navy are all but wiped out by a massive war fleet comprising several Black Legion warbands.
The few remaining Imperial forces retreat to Everwatch Stanchion, the heavily fortified orbital docking platform above Aralest VII, to consolidate their strength.
Thousands of Imperial planets lying along the edge of the Great Rift are evacuated as the tapestry of warp storms threatens to consume them. On the forge world Raeddon, the Adeptus Mechanicus Tech-Priests gather their most sacred manufacturing relics in preparation of shipping them off-world. But before the frigates are loaded and launched, an armada of Black Legion warships emerges from the warp, forming an impenetrable blockade around the planet. These deluded fanatics do not see the Chaos Space Marines as invaders, but rather as saviours who have emerged from the Great Rift that burns across the sky day and night.
Indis is forced to expend his troops in bloody fights deep inside the hive cities to prevent the planet from falling to the savage cultists before the Black Legion even arrive. Before long, hordes of Chaos Space Marine shock troops descend upon the forge world. The bulk of its Skitarii defenders are deployed to guard the basilica logisticum where the Mechanicus have stored their invaluable archeotech.
However, the Chaos forces do not even attempt to lay siege to this complex. With Raeddon stripped of its transport capabilities, the Black Legion armada recedes, leaving the Tech-Priests and their precious relics untouched as the warp storms envelop them. Their prayers are not answered. The explosion created by the colossal impact leaves only a crater where the hive city once stood, and the ensuing quake is felt across the planet.
This display of raw power is the final proof the Chaos cults need. Under the critical eye of their twin Primarchs, Alpharius and Omegon, the Legion became renowned for its discipline and strict organisation during the Great Crusade. Though the youngest Legion, the Alpha Legion sought to outshine their brethren in all things, as if to prove their worthiness amidst the older Legions.
The Alpha Legion are devious beyond measure. Where other Legions seek to dominate through raw strength, divine favour or inspirational charisma, the Alpha Legion impose their will through intelligence and skill. The tools of war they value most highly are misdirection, confusion, treachery and duplicity, but when the time comes for them to spring their traps, they are such a focused and well-coordinated force that they can set a world ablaze in a single hour of blitzing assault.
When Horus made his pact with Chaos, the martial pride of the Alpha Legion was their downfall. By comparison, he made the distant Emperor on Terra seem a weak and cowardly individual. So the lies of Horus and his agents were insinuated into the hearts and minds of the Alpha Legion, and if any lie is repeated often enough it begins to be accepted, and once accepted, it ultimately becomes truth.
At last they had found an opponent as tough, as trained and as ferocious as themselves. The brethren of the hydra inflicted stinging defeats on the loyalists at Tallarn, Yarant and dozens of smaller outposts before moving onwards into the Ultima Segmentum.
The Alpha Legion became entirely separated from the forces of Horus, but continued to wage war on all they came across. By the end of the Heresy, they were inventing objectives and missions of their own to fulfil their war-lust without reference to their allies. The last of the Legions to be founded, they were considered by others to be latecomers bereft of any true experience, and hence were keen to prove themselves as capable as any other.
With the Ultramarines being held up as the exemplars of what a Legion could be, it was not long before the Alpha Legion sought to match themselves against the standards of Macragge — and in the end, match themselves in battle against those who had dismissed them or looked upon them as pale by comparison. Even after the Heresy ground to a halt, the Alpha Legion continued to fight a covert war against the Imperium.
Raiding parties still sally out from secret bases to catch the defenders of Humanity unaware — sabotaging bases, attacking shipping, terrorising settlements and destroying small outposts with merciless efficiency.
The Alpha Legion coordinates and directs the activities of Chaos cultists across entire sectors and they instigate massive insurrections against Imperial rule. The Annals of Darkness The Word of Lorgar World Eaters Oceans of Blood Anointed with the Blood of Worlds. Pinnacles and Nadirs. The Brotherhoods of Excess Renegades and Tyrants. Daemon Princes. Chaos Lords.
Masters of Possession Dark Apostles Masters of Executions. Lords Discordant. Chaos Space Marines. Warp Talons. Cult of Destruction. Chaos Battle Tanks. Chaos Cultists. Chaos Spawn. Daemon Engines. Lords of Skulls Khorne Berzerkers. The release of the Tau coincided with a rise in popularity for the game in the United States. The fourth edition of Warhammer 40, was released in The fourth edition was released in three forms: the first was a standalone hardcover version, with additional information on painting, scenery building, and background information about the Warhammer 40, universe.
The second was a boxed set, called Battle for Macragge , which included a compact softcover version of the rules, scenery, dice, templates, and Space Marines and Tyranid miniatures. The third was a limited collector's edition. Battle for Macragge was a 'game in a box', targeted primarily at beginners. Battle for Macragge was based on the Tyranid invasion of the Ultramarines' homeworld, Macragge. An expansion to this was released called The Battle Rages On! The fifth edition of Warhammer 40, was released on July 12, While there are some differences between the fourth and fifth editions, the general rule set shares numerous similarities.
Codex books designed prior to the fifth edition are still compatible with only some changes to how those armies function. New additions to the rules include the ability for infantry models to 'Go to Ground' when under fire, providing additional protection at the cost of mobility and shooting as they dive for cover.
Actual line of sight is needed to fire at enemy models. Also introduced is the ability to run, whereby units may forgo shooting to cover more ground.
In addition, cover has been changed so that it is now easier for a unit to get a cover save. Damage to vehicles has been simplified and significantly reduced, and tanks may now ram other vehicles. Likewise, 5th edition codexes have seen a return of many units previously cut out in the previous edition for having unwieldy rules.
These units have largely been brought back with most of their old rules streamlined for the new edition. Fifth edition releases focused largely on Space Marine forces, including the abolishment of the Daemonhunters in favour of an army composed of Grey Knights, a special chapter of Space Marines, which, in previous editions, had provided the elite choices of the Daemonhunter's army list.
Another major change was the shift from metal figures to Resin kits. Sixth edition was released on June 23, Changes to this edition include the adoption of an optional Psychic Power card system similar to that of the game's sister product Warhammer Fantasy Battle as well as the inclusion of full rules for flying vehicles and monsters and a major reworking of the manner in which damage is resolved against vehicles.
It also includes expanded rules for greater interaction with scenery and more dynamic close-combat. Some of the early release box sets of Dark Vengeance contained a limited edition Interrogator-Chaplain for the Dark Angels. Announced in White Dwarf issue 15, pre-orders for May 17 and release date of May 24, The 7th edition saw several major changes to the game, including a dedicated Psychic Phase, as well as the way Psychic powers worked overall, [25] and changeable mid-game Tactical Objectives.
Tactical Objectives would give the players alternate ways to score Victory Points, and thus win games. These objectives could change at different points during the game. As well as these additions, the 7th edition provided a new way to organise Army lists. Players could play as either Battle-Forged, making a list in the same way as 6th edition, or Unbound, which allowed the player to use any models they desired, disregarding the Force Organisation Chart.
Additionally, Lord of War units, which are powerful units previously only allowed in large-scale 'Apocalypse' games, are now included in the standard rulebook, and are a normal part of the Force Organisation Chart. Announced on April 22, [29] , pre-orders for June 3 [30] and release date of June 17, The 8th edition was a major revision, intended to make it easier for new players to enter the hobby. The narrative of the setting has also been updated: an enlarged Eye of Terror has split the galaxy in half, [34] while the Primarch Roboute Guilliman returns to lead the Imperium as its Lord Commander, beginning with reclaiming devastated worlds through the Indomitus Crusade.
The 8th Edition also introduced a new box set called 'Dark Imperium', which featured a new Imperial-aligned faction, the Primaris Space Marines, as well as introducing new characters and rules to the Death Guard Chaos Space Marines. There are many variations to the rules and army lists that are available for use, typically with an opponent's consent. The rules of Warhammer 40, are designed for games between and points, with the limits of a compositional framework called the Force Organisation Chart making games with larger point values difficult to play.
Players might field an entire man Chapter of Space Marines rather than the smaller detachment of around 30—40 typically employed in a standard game.
Apocalypse also contains rules for using larger war machines such as Titans. Cities of Death the revamp of Codex Battlezone: Cityfight introduces rules for urban warfare and guerrilla warfare, and so-called 'stratagems', including traps and fortifications. It also has sections on modeling city terrain and provides examples of armies and army lists modeled around the theme of urban combat.
This work was updated to 7th Edition with the release of Shield of Baal: Leviathan. Planetstrike , released , sets rules allowing players to represent the early stages of a planetary invasion. It introduces new game dynamics, such as dividing the players into an attacker and a defender, each having various tactical benefits tailored to their role; for example, the attacker may deep strike all infantry, jump infantry and monstrous creatures onto the battlefield, while the defender may set up all the terrain on the battlefield.
Planetary Empires , released August , allows players to coordinate full-scale campaigns containing multiple battles, each using standard rules or approved supplements such as Planetstrike , Cities of Death or Apocalypse.
Progress through the campaign is tracked using hexagonal tiles to represent the current control of territories within the campaign. The structure is similar to Warhammer Fantasy's Mighty Empires. Battle Missions , released March , this expansion contains a series of 'missions' with specific objectives, each 'race' has three specific missions which can be played, these missions are determined by a dice roll and are usually chosen from the two armies being used.
They still use the standard rules from the Warhammer 40, rule book. Spearhead , released May , allows players to play games with a greater emphasis on armoured and mechanised forces. Last Post: Did you wash it with water and soap?
First Post: Welcome all to the 52nd round of the Unofficial Painting challenge. For those who havent seen the ch Last Post: Im going to enter my wraith squad. First Post: So, I want to get a Deffkopta.
But then I saw theyre metal. Whats a good kit that would le First Post: With the 8ed rules more or less out lets get some chatter going for the pure spawn of chaos. By: Joanna [ First Unread ]. First Post: Ill be showcasing the making of my Grot army here.
Im a slow painter and often switch priorities on First Post: Well, couldnt find my Tyranid thread to add to, so starting a new one. I have a partially painted Last Post: Another update, trying to get caught up with what Ive been doing since starting this thread.
Me: Do the kaiju fight? Last Post: Slipspace wrote First Post First Post: Technological experts agree that within the near future automation and so-called A. First Post: So Pros: -Death Stranding looks fun and unique For example a unit with Augment Summoning 2D3 would give its formation 4D3 summoning points when it summons daemons and a unit with Augment Summoning 6 would give its formation 2D3 6 summoning points. Notes: Fearless, Reinforced Armour.
Do not make armour saves for damage stopped by void shields, or allocate Blast markers. If no lesser daemon pool has been purchased or it is empty then there is no effect. To get the latest information.
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