Founding: 1st (M30). No successors.

Primarch: Lorgar (Daemon Prince)

Affiliation: Chaos Undivided

Original homeworld: Colchis (destroyed)

Current homeworld: Sicarus, Eye of Terror

Organization: Word Bearer chaters are called Hosts. They vary greatly in size; from a few hundred brothers to several thousand. The Legion is led by its Chaplains - as is proper for the most religiously devout of all the legions. Chaplains are called Apostles (or DARK Apostles in Imperial reports). Senior Apostles are part of the Council (or DARK Council if you will). Many senior Apostles lead Hosts. More junior Apostles serve as sub-commanders. Promising brothers may be named First Acolyte to an existing Apostle; if he proves himself he will eventuall become a Dark Apostle in his own right. Only very rarely will a Dark Apostle rise without having first been First Acolyte. Not all Word Bearer commanders are Apostles - to be an Apostle requires a special kind of dedication to the Word and Will of Lorgar.

The warriors of the Adeptus Astartes have access to the most potent and deadly wargear the Adeptus Mechanicus can fashion for them. Potent and deadly is not the same as the most archaic or capricious. Marine wargear is invariably tried and true. It can be manufactured, maintained and supplied with a minimum of effort compared to its lethality, protective value or other additions to the continued success of the Marines. Take that iconic weapon of the Astartes: The hallowed bolt gun. It’s not the most advanced weapon ever made, but it’s incredibly reliable, versatile and deadly – the bolter is possibly the weapon responsible for the most enemy deaths since the Great Crusade.

Battle-Brothers are strongly linked to their battle armour – the sacred suits of powered armour that the Emperor designed before the start of the Great Crusade. Without the armour the Marine would still be a deadly super-human warrior, but he would be terribly exposed against the terrors of the Galaxy. The Emperor, in his infinite wisdom saw this and made sure his champions would be protected by adamantine, plasteel and ceramite. But the PA is more than just a suit of protective armour; it also enhances the marine in many ways, making him faster, stronger, smarter, and more lethal.

But a true Space Marine is not just a super-human warrior encased in advanced armour and carrying devastating weapons; a Space Marine also an integrated man/machine (the armour suit machine spirit) combat team. All designed by the Emperor himself for optimum combat efficiency, fearlessness and unflinching loyalty to mankind. Unlike the ghoulish warriors of the Dark Age of Technology, Marines were intentionally made from modified human stock – rather than designed from scratch and birthed in bio-genesis tanks. And equally important is the fact that it the human component who is in charge of the man/machine team and never the other way around; the Emperor would not see a replay of the Man/Machine wars of the Dark Age of Technology.

Space Marines have jump packs as standard war-gear. Without jump capability Marines become little more that glorified infantry; they can't even cross major rivers without help. The pack contains a micro-fusion power plant, suspensor field generator, vectored thrust unit and reaction mass (which the pack can replenish from most atmospheres). The pack allows for quick movement across the battlefield using powered jumps, or even short-distance flight (for about one minute). It is very versatile and can be employed in both vacuum (endurance is somewhat limited, but much greater than within a gravitized/atmospheric environment) and while submerged (in a sort of water-jet mode; the suspensor field acts to limit drag while the thrusters provide propulsion).

Marines may employ flight packs as needed. Flight packs have much more powerful thrusters and also contain a full contra-grav unit, allowing true powered flight and extended hover-mode. The Flight Pack can operate in the same range of environments as the jump pack (including underwater to great effect; the flight pack unit generates a more powerful field and has more thrust). The flight pack is specialist gear that is only issued to assault troops that have received training with it.

Power armour can also be deployed without the pack, resulting in a less bulky and somewhat more agile suit. Without its main power supply, however, the crystal-matrix batteries in the armour only has enough power to last 24-72 hours (depending on intensity of use) before the energy stacks are depleted. The same applies if the backpack is damaged or destroyed. With the jump/flight pack intact the suit has near-infinite endurance, as the suit siphons energy from the backpack power plant to continuously replenish the crustal-matrix stacks.

Marine power armour allows a full range of human movement, including crawling, jumping and climbing. The only thing a PA wearer can't do very well is swim; the suit weighs hundreds of pounds, too much for even the augmented strength of a suited Marine to manage (but they can 'swim' quite well using a jump or flight pack). A Marine in fully powered armour can move and lift about ten times as much as a normal soldier with little effort, more if the suit is put in enhanced power mode. Because of the added power provided by the armour Marines can move much faster than non-augmented infantry, and jumping distance is also greatly enhanced (even without resorting to their jump pack).

Marine Power armour is engineered to provide maximum deflection and damage reduction from all angles, with added focus on protection from the front quarter – Marines are by nature an offensive weapon system! Shoulder guards are enlarged to provide added protection for the neck joint/head from side/oblique attacks without having to resort to heavy fixed helmet pieces. The torso section is very heavily armoured with double thickness composite ceramite-based plating, as are the lower legs – a Marine firing from a crouched position effectively has extra cover provided by his own armour. The rear of the suit, the upper legs, the arms, and the abdomen has an average protection level. Joints are comparatively weakly protected, as they are with all armours – care has been taken to minimize exposure and maximise the chances of deflection.

Marines are highly reluctant to go into prone position, as this compromises the protection offered by the shoulder guards, exposing the relatively fragile jump pack unit. It also greatly reduces mobility, which is anathema to Marine combat doctrine – to stop moving is to lose the initiative, and loss of initiative invariably leads to defeat and dishonour. The only time Marines regularly go into prone position is for infiltration missions that absolutely require this; in that case the jump pack may be abandoned or the Marine may opt to wear lighter armour. Such missions will usually be handed to Marine Scouts if they are available.

The defensive layout of the armour ties in with Marine doctrine; it calls for rapid oblique advances on the enemy, maximizing the protective profile of the suit while also making it difficult for enemy gunners to track the movement of the Space Marines. When advancing in the open Marines will leap-frog, using the increased mobility afforded by their suits (including powered jumps) to quickly move from cover to cover. If no cover is available they have the option of going into kneeling position, where their armoured legs/shoulder/chest plates offer excellent cover in itself.  Head-on charges are not (contrary to Imperial propaganda) Chapter-approved, except in close quarters fighting where engagement time is very short. Such charges should always be preceded by the use of grenades to obscure visibility and supporting fire to force enemy gunners to take cover, allowing the Marines to enter close-combat without exposing themselves to masses of lethal point-blank defensive fire.

A Marine will never rely solely on the protection of his armour, but constantly seek to use movement and terrain to augment his defences. The suit itself offers almost complete protection against small-arms fire, concussion damage and shrapnel. The suit can, however, be breached by high-velocity armour-piercing rounds or hi-power lasguns it they strike joints or other lightly-armoured portions of the suit. Bolt guns can deal effectively with power armour if clean hits can be achieved; only the heavy ceramite plates on lower legs/shoulders/chest can resist direct hits from such weapons with any degree of certainty.  Moreover the explosive damage caused by internally-exploding bolts can incapacitate or kill even a Space Marine, making the bolter a premium Marine-stopping weapon system (but then again the bolter can kill just about anything).

Power armour is not just heavy slabs of plasteel ceramite; it’s a highly advanced sandwich of materials that provides the maximum protection to weight ratio available to Imperial science. PA protects not only from projectiles and concussion effects, but also functions against the full range of direct energy weapons seen on the 41^st Millennium battlefield. It must be noted, however, that no armour system provides complete protection against hi-energy weapons like lascannon, plasmatic ordnance or fusion systems. Marines that expect to be exposed to any quantity of such weapons are best protected by a combination of Tactical Dreadnaught Armour and personal refractor fields.

Power armour is completely sealed and offers full protection from a number of environmental hazards, including radiation, high pressure and vacuum. The suit can replenish its stores of oxygen and other compounds by processing the local atmosphere. In less hazardous environments the suit has an efficient filtration system that gives near-infinite endurance given proper field-maintenance rites. The suit comes with a partial auto-med suite that includes an auto-injector system with a full range of combat drugs, a body-fluid/waste filtration system, and other medicae-related subsystemss. The suit also includes and emergency nutrition that can keep a Marine operational of two weeks even if no other food supply is available.

Propaganda usually portrays Marine heroes in full parade colours charging into the fray. This is not Chapter-approved tactics except under highly special circumstances (such as final resort defiance suicide charges). This image of the Marine has been carefully crafted by the High Lords to give the marines yet another advantage over their heretical enemies. Rare are those with the imagination required to understand that the Marine can and will use stealth as needed to defeat their enemies. Indeed they are all well versed in the art of infiltration – no Marine is ever made a Battle-Brother until he’s proven himself as a Marine Scout many times over. Integrated stealth systems ensure that the Marine is not prematurely detected; stealth systems include full spectrum cameleoline camouflage, radiated-energy dump (stored in the suit's crystal-matrix capacitors), and ray dispersal technologies. Although still detectable by a skilled auspex operator at shorter ranges, a stationary Marine is nearly undetectable without specialized equipment except at point-blank ranges. While moving, firing or otherwise engaged in operations Marines are easier to detect.

Power armour also includes a wide range of sensors, giving the Marines unprecedented access to battlefield intelligence. The suit offers visual and audio pickups that can peer into bands even beyond those accessible to the super-human sense of the Marines. There are even olfactory pickups included. The full range of electromagnetic sensors is also included, active auspex suites, sensor illumination warning systems, powerful vox- and cogitator links etc. The suit comes equipped with a triply redundant multi-band encrypted communication suite; it takes a lot of jamming to isolate a Marine from his unit and breaking the encryption protocols have proven rear-impossible. A Marine linked into his unit communications grid enjoys an unprecedented advantage in terms of command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance, and target acquisition (C3IST).

Each suit of Astartes Power armour links directly into the Marine central nervous system through a series of neural jacks installed in the Black Carapace. This ensures optimum performance from the suit/Marine team; the suit and the soldier are, quite literally, as one. Marine Power armour hosts a powerful integral machine spirit that oversees the suits numerous subsystems and logic routines, and controls the data-flow between machine and man. The machine spirit is also tasked with keeping the Marine in touch with his Battle-Brothers as well as any other battlefield presences; utilizing powerful encrypted vox-links. The combination of nerve-link interface and machine spirit controller makes any form of HUD (or similar archaic tech) superfluous; everything is fed directly into the Marine's brain through the nerve-link. A complete virtual reality simulation, based upon input from the Marine's own suit as well as any other battlefield data relayed from other source, can be projected directly into the mind of the wearer.

Marine Power armour also features a host of less advanced subsystems, including; retractable boot and gauntlet spikes (primarily for traction and climbing, but usable as melee weapons), mag-lock boots for traversing spaceship hulls, voice-amplifiers, external directional lighting, etc. The suit also comes with a full array of STC utility attachment points to allow the Marine to easily add any type of mission-specific equipment to his loadout.

MARINE SPACE ASSETS

The Adeptus Astartes is not the Imperial Navy; it was never intended to fight fleet actions on its own. Marines do, however, have their own organic transport capability and support vessels. In this they differ greatly from the Imperial Guard, who is entirely dependent on the Navy for transportation and combat support (intentionally – the High Lords wills it to be so).

The Battle Barge is a massively oversized battleship-class vessel optimized for planetary assaults; heavy shields and armour, massive launch bays and drop pod launch batteries, augmented by interlaced point-defence batteries and ample space-to-ground ordnance. A Battle Barge will typically carry into battle one Battle-Cohort (5 companies) of Marines, plus their supporting elements and assets. With such an arrangement the Battle Barge has the capacity to launch the Battle-Cohort in one go and provide it with support through all phases of the assault. Obviously more Marines can be carried if needed, but if so the Barge is reduced to effecting a staggered launch and it loses the ability to provide full command and fire support for all launched Marine elements. Battle Barges lack in speed and long-range weaponry and should not voluntarily engage in fleet actions. Most Chapters control 2-3 of these vessels, although older and renowned chapters might have acquired more though their Mechanicus contacts, while less fortunate Chapters might have access to only one.

Green Knights Chapter Adeptus Astartes Battle Barge Glorious Retribution here seen in orbit over Protasia. Battle Barges such as this one are marvels of ancient technology. Also note the cavernous launch bays on either side of the vessel, ideal for quickly launching squadrons of Thunderhawks and support craft. Smaller Astartes Strike Cruisers look like slender versions of the Battle Barges.

The Strike Cruiser is a smaller vessel (cruiser-sized) that like the Battle Barge also lacks heavy long-range weaponry. It does, however, have ample speed (unlike the Battle Barge) and protection, making it a potent infiltrator. Its main task is quickly delivering a strike force of Marines onto a target and then withdrawing. A Strike Cruiser can carry up to a Battle Cohort of Marines, but will more typically be assigned to transport one Tactical Company and their support. The Strike Cruiser can deliver and support an entire Company and its support elements in a single swift drop. While launching a Cohort-sized formation staggered follow-up drops must be utilized (usually avoided since it makes the Strike Cruiser vulnerable to attack and deprives the Marines on ground of their organic aerospace support assets).

Assault Transports are the smallest autonomous vessel (it is comparable to a Navy frigate in size and power) regularly employed by Marine Chapters; it is a heavy transport capable of carrying up to a full company of Marines and their support elements into battle (more typically carrying anything from one squad to a Battle-Company). The Assault Transport is, like all Astartes craft, heavily armoured and shielded, with several defensive weapons batteries. Most Chapters will have a number of such transports patrolling their regions of space and/or standing by to reply to distress calls from Imperial Commanders.

The Astartes also have a wide variety of support ships available; including space-capable interceptors and strike craft. Once again the Marines are not geared towards space supremacy operations, but towards strikes against planetary targets and boarding actions against spaceborne targets. As a result Marine small-craft are almost always multi-purpose and atmospheric capable. Most Marine craft are also heavily armoured and/or shielded and carries weapons and/or ordnance, but for extended operation the Marines have access to a lightly armed heavy lander type craft. Marines also employ two specialized types of small-craft; the drop pod for planetary assaults and the boarding torpedo for use against spaceborne targets. The drop pod and the boarding torpedo is really the same system, but the former is optimized for planetary landing and the other for penetrating deep into the hull of enemy starships. Common for both of them is their very low sensor profile, extremely high speed, and massive shielding systems; all needed to deliver the Marines onto target with minimum chance of detection and interception. Combat craft are almost always commanded/piloted by Marine Officers or Flight Crew Specialists. Support craft, as well as the majority of capital starship crews, can be run by non-Marines and/or servitors (many Chapters use failed Marine recruits as pilot-servitor material).

Some Chapters may have acquired other vessels over the years and have the resources to refit, maintain, and crew them. The Adeptus Terra is, however, very suspicious of Marine Chapters acquiring significant space assets. In the past chapters have been forced to disband their fleets (877.M38 – Destroyers Chapter stands down its considerable fleet of capital ships, acquired over the span of almost ten thousand years of fighting) or failing that have been declared Excommunicate Traitoris and destroyed (346.M37 – Fiery Hearts Chapter destroyed by Battlefleet Tempestus and the Brazen Claws Chapter).

For you the 13th Black Crusade has been a rather dull affair. Your prophet and leader, Lorgar, remains secluded within the Templum Inficio - as he has these past 10.000 years. His concerns they say, are far weightier than those of mortal man - his Word Bearers included. A less faithful man would perhaps have pondered upon the odd resemblance between this secluded, non-communicative prophet and his former object of worship - the Corpse-God. And so it fell to the Dark Council to rule over the world of Sicarus and its resident Legion of Adeptus Astartes. Once again a less faithful man might have considered how this arrangement mirrored the one between the Corpse-God and his Ruling Council - the False Lords of Terra.

Be that as it may. What is important is that the Council is much given to internal debate, interpretations of the Will of Lorgar and other esotericum. With the Council things are best measured, not in days or weeks or months, but years or even decades if the matter is of grave importance. The Chapter Masters will sometimes grow restless and do things on their own, but rare is the Master who is not either a Dark Apostle himself or under the iron fist of one. Word Bearers are also a proud lot, as are all Astartes, so that they are unlikely to meekly follow where Abaddon goes. To them he is no more than a favored servant of the Powers - he may command a legion of Asartes, but he is no Primarch.

So it was that the bulk of the Word Bearers sat out the opening stages of the 13th Black Crusade. Not before Abaddon's bloody victory over the Imperial Navy in the skies above Cadia did the Dark Council find it in the omens that it was indeed the Will of Lorgar that the Word Bearers join their brethren in their holy quest to liberate Terra - and the rest of Mankind. A man of little piety would perhaps think that the Council got of their fat asses only when the road to Terra had already been paved with the corpses of other, braver men. Abaddon certainly wasn't impressed. And he was said to be even less impressed with the way the Word Bearers subsequently clamored to mount their own little crusade against the Imperium. So unimpressed in fact, that he allowed them the honor of leading the advance into Segmentum Solar. The Warmaster is even said to have smiled when the word came of the Word Bearer's ineviatable collision with reality - the Imperium of the False Emperor is not defeated yet. Segmentum Obscurus may have fallen to Abaddon, but Segmentum Solar is another matter entirely...

Chaos can be many things. Different things to different people. It can even be wildly different things to the same person. That's why its called Chaos. It's hard to pin down, hard to quantify. It will undoubtedly be different things at different times within the cope of this game.

That said it is to the benefit of all involved to know that that Chaos is, amongst other things, insidious. It is a fact easily forgotten when imagery of fallen Space Marines with rotting flesh for bodies charge across the battlefield at the head of a mutant army - with Chaos sorcerers providing mobile artillery support and daemons fly air missions overhead.

Chaos can be that too - but it is not primarily that. Most of all Chaos is sneaky, insidious, corrupting. And very, very powerful. Like the law of cause and effect - there is no denying the power of entropy, not the utterly and irrevocably corrupting nature of Chaos. So beware - once you start down the path there is no turning back. At best you can hope to slow your fall into the dark abyss.

This has the added benefit of making Chaos potentially very social, very interactive. It's not all bolters, chain-swords, and bloody rituals. It's trying to convince people that freedom, liberty and equality are better than droning for the Corpse-God. Corruption of the mind and spirit - not just bloody mayhem and physical mutation.

---

If some of you are tempted to ask meta-questions like 'are the Chaos gods real' or 'is the Emperor truly a god' or 'what happen to the souls of the dead/do people even have souls' - I'm not answering those. If you want to believe in the Powers that's a faith-thing. Just like believing in the Corpse-God. If you want to imagine there are gods out that that answer YOUR prayers, then feel free to believe that. In fact, you're free to believe what you like. It might even be true. You might even make it true by believing. Or not. Maybe your just insane. If there is even a difference between faith and insanity.

At the dawn of the Age of the Imperium the Emperor created twenty beings of great power to be his generals in the Great Crusade that would reunite humanity and reclaim the galaxy for man. They were the Primarchs. From their genetic stock the twenty first Space Marine legions were created. With this army of super-humans the Emperor reached out from Terra and none could stand before his might and glory. But then, at the height of the Great Crusade the Emperor abandoned his warriors and retreated to Earth, leaving Horus as Warmaster. Saddened, yet elated at the same time Horus did not question his father's motives, but resumed the Crusade with renewed vigor. He pushed the forces of the Crusade harder and further than Father ever had, reclaiming lost worlds and destroying xenos civilizations at an unprecedented rate. Hoping that the Emperor would take notice and be proud of his children. And the Emperor did finally take notice, when the legions were all but spent, facing nothing but the great unknown of the Halo stars. Then he did finally notice. He congratulated his children with a job well done, then bade them stand down the legions and return to Holy Terra. The war was over, now it was time to return home to rest and bask in the praise of the masses.

But they were all being deceived. The Emperor had never intended for the Great Crusade to set humanity free of all bonds and shackles. He had only intended for it to replace a thousand horrors with one tyranny and a million kings with one tyrant. The Great Crusade was not a great quest to bring freedom, illumination and equality to all - it was only meant to enslave humanity to the will of one man, the Emperor, father to Horus and the other Primarchs. Horus' great success has shown him that there was only one threat to his hegemony - his own sons. If his rule was to be undisputed he must be rid of the Primarchs and the legions. Horus was no man's fool though, not even before the glory of the Emperor. He, and he alone saw through the lies and the deception to discern the Emperor's true motivations - to rule the galaxy absolutely and for all time, the greatest tyrant that ever would be! Knowing full well that he would die in the attempt Horus nevertheless raised his banner and stood up to the Great Enslaver. Great was his joy when fully half his brothers flocked to his side and many other warriors beside. But great was his sadness also, for he knew that many, if not all would die in the battles to come. And he also knew that the chance of victory was slim - he would have to strike hard and fast directly for Terra, sacrificing whatever was needed to get within striking distance of his father. One blow to strike off the head of the monster, or die trying...

So began what the priests of the Corpse-God call the 'Horus Heresy'

The game will be set in the opening years of the 42nd Millennium. You are part of Abaddon the Despoiler's 13th Black Crusade. Your target is Terra and your goal is nothing less than the complete and utter destruction of the Imperium of Man. Well, Abaddon's target is Terra anyway - you have a different, but no less important, role to play in upcoming events.

The game is essentially a Black Crusade game, but will borrow from other games as well; you'll get to play a Space Marine (Deathwatch), a high-rank non-Marine (essentially Ascension-level characters), there will be starship action (Rogue Trader), and a fair bit of gritty low-rank investigation-and-murderous mayhem (Dark Heresy, only reversed).

You will be required to submit several characters:

1 'renegade' Space Marine: One Deathwatch-style Space Marine. Only a renegade one. This means you'll be a cut above the 'common rabble' Marines, but not über-experienced (or perhaps old and experienced, but slow and weary of war). Suitable for being you main character.

1 suitably 'heroic' non-Marine: One high-end DH/Ascension-style human. A powerful psyker, a tech-magos of many secrets, a temple Assassin, a fallen Cardinal. Someone who is very, very good at his choen vocation. Suitable for being you main character when a Marine is not desireable.

1+ supporting cast: Any number of non-heroic supporting cast.

Warmaster Abaddon is the undisputed master of the 13th Black Crusade. If the legendes are true then once upon a time he strode across the stars at Horus' side as a commander of the Luna Wolves/Son's of Horus legion of Space Marines. When Horus fell it was Abaddon who kept together the remaining free forces and led them to safety in the Eye of Terror, the only place safe from the vengeful High Lords of Terra. Initially content to have saved his people Abaddon went into retirement. He only became a warrior once more when he learned that the cropse of the Emperor had been entombed within the Gold Throne and that the Adeptus Terra was now preaching the gospel of the Corpse-God. He has sworn never to rest until humanity is free to choose its own destiny. Abaddon commands the direct allegiance of many warriors, including the Black Legion Adeptus Astartes, these most deadly of all Space Marines. Many more legions, worlds and captains owe Abaddon fealty, so many that there is no other general equal in skill or measure.

You are a Reaver of the Tirteenth Black Crusade and Abaddon is your master. You will fight on the front lines of the final war where it is your duty to tear down every last vestige of the Imperium of Man. You will triumph where lesser warriors would fail; you will infiltrate Imperial worlds to sow the seeds of sedition, you will stalk the corridors of enemy strongholds with bolter and chain-sword in hand, you will torch their ships at anchor and in the dark void between stars, and you will meet their soldiers on the battlefield - the Angels of Death that know no fear, the near-invincible war-machines of Mars, and the endless hordes of lesser men that slave for the High Lords of Terra. You will meet them and you will destroy them all. You will likely never lay eyes on Terra, but if you stay true you will die knowing that you did so as a free man, and that your sacrifice was not in vain, for it is only by the blood of martyrs that Terra can be liberated and humanity freed from the shackles of tyranny!

This is the dawn of the 42nd millennium. For more than a hundred centuries the decadent priests of the false Corpse-God of Terra have ruled the galaxy with an iron fist. But no more. Their god is dead, freed from the deathless prison his jail-keepers named the Golden Throne in mockery of its purpose. Warmaster Abaddon, heir to Blessed Horus, is leading a mighty Crusade against all the wicked works of Earth. He has sworn never to rest until there is no more falsehood left in the galaxy. Yet even with their god fallen the fools of the Adeptus Terra refuse to see reason. They continue to drone as they always have, blinded by false faith and numbed by fear of everything they cannot understand. And so the dying Imperium continues to fight. Mighty Imperial battlefleets continue to cross the Immaterium. Vast armies still give battle in the name of the Corpse-God on uncounted worlds. The Adeptus Astartes, the Space Marines, still slave for Terra as they have done since they were broken. Their comrades in arms are ever legion; the inexhaustible armies of the Imperial Guard and countless planetary defence forces, the enforcers of the Adeptus Arbites, the servants of the Inquisition and the tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus to name only a few. But for all their multitudes, they are failing. As the Crusade grinds on more and more worlds are breaking free from the tyranny of Terra, adding their strength to Abaddon's holy quest, the liberation of Mother Earth. For when the cradle of humanity has been scourged free of all taint the human race will know that it is free at long last.  To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to rise up to topple the most oppressive and powerful regime imaginable - or die trying. Forget the power of technology and science, for so much has been forgotten, never to be re-learned. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for there is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods.

“As the slaves of the Corpse-God marks time it was 999 years ago that the proud Ultramarine Chaplain Castor Rebelius Xandor went into battle and was slain, a broken man on his knees upon the Blood Fields of Chaqrst IV.

His vestments were placed in a cauldron of his own blood and at the sound of his soul's laments they were remade into totems of Chaos; his venerable armor repainted with blood and shadow, his blessed boltgun given new purpose, and his holy Crozius imbued with malefic spite.

Castor now lives anew, born of Chaos to fight on for the Powers as a shadowy Angel of Death: To spread the word and will of Lorgar, to denounce the Corpse-God and his false servants, to free Mankind from the shackles of tyranny.

The former bearer of the name and vestments screams eternally in the Warp, knowing fully well that he died before his duty was done. Like a shadow he is bound to his slayer, and like a shadow he can do naught but watch - watch and scream, to the laughter of the dark gods. “

Name: Bringer of Faith (ex-Baccus Eihruus)

Class: Renegade Dauntless-class

Type: Light cruiser (CL)

Commissioned: 455.M41, Cypra Mundi Yards, Cypra Mundi, Segmentus Obscurus

Displacement: 9,4m tonnes (typical), 11,8m tonnes (maximum)

Deadweight tonnage: 1,4m tonnes

Length: 1.500 m (main hull), 1.886 m (from forward auspex spires to aft plasma baffles)

Beam: 396 m (main hull), 512 m

Draught: 480 m (main hull), 660 m

Crew: Varies with configuration, 2.000 (skeleton crew), 16.500 (typical cruising configuration), 20.000-22.000 (full wartime crew w/variable number of extra naval armsmen).

Accel: 4.2G/0G (sustainable), 26G/1G (max), 45G/2G (emergency)

Void shields: Duplex CL.

Armour: All except prow (CL light), prow (CL medium).

Main armament: Zelson pattern CA lance battery, forward flight axis

Secondary armament: CL type batteries, port/starboard

Turrets: CL defensive grid, full coverage

Ordnance: Escort-type torpedo battery, forward hemisphere

Small craft: Full complement of light craft.

Description: The Imperial Dauntless-class light cruiser is optimized for scouting and escort duties. The Dauntless forms the mainstay of the CL component of many battlefleets. Light cruisers carry enough firepower to drive off opposing escorts and enough fuel and supplies to remain away from Imperial fleet bases for months of subjective time.

Hei,

Virker som vi har dreid mer i rettning av en Marine-kampanje enn en Kaos-kampanje. Den originale ideen var å holde seg mer til Black Crusade konseptet med ulike typer characters. Derav den greia med at dere skulle ha en Marine og en ikke-Marine. To ulike perspektiv på samme events. Men det funker fint med å konse på Marine-delen først. Så kan vi evt. ta med mer av det andre senere. Uansett; disse Marinsa har blitt litt mer epic enn det som originalt var tenkt, men det funker greit det også - de har jo sitt lille warband og der kan det dukke opp mye morsome NPCer og evt. et par støtte-PCer. Funker mycket bra.

Men for at denne kaos-kampanjen ikke skal bli bare...kaos er det greit å tenke over en del ting. Dere kan svare her - eller ikke - det viktigste er å tenke litt på det.

- Hvor menneskelig er du? Marines er i utgangspunktet ikke så veldig menneskelige. Og hvis man er veldig gammel og veldig kaotisk i tillegg...da blir man til slutt klin sprø. Og ganske uspillbar. Dette er vel problemet til mange av NPCene der ut. Så dere får nesten tenke ut hva som gjør at dere, tros alt, er sånn passelig i vater.

- Hvor gammel er du? Ikke egentlig å viktig i forhold til hvor god du er, mest i forhold til å spille. Er du 10.000 år gammel huker du Det Store Sviket som det var i går - og noen viktige ting his og her - men ellers er de lange årene med krig mest sannsynlig ganske tåkete. Skallen til en Marine er ikke laget for å leve så lenge.

- Hvor dypt inn Kaos er du egentlig? Er du bare med av vane og tradisjon? Er du Troende - altså at Kaos er din religion? Eller er du en av disse som har sunket virklig dypt og latt ditt indre mørke manifestere seg på utsiden?

- Har du noen lojaliteter? Utover til deg selv altså. Kaos har plenty av lojale folk som er dedikert til et eller annet. Gudene. En sterk leder. Sine nærmeste 'brødre'.

- Har du et problem med Imperiet? Sånn utover det normale altså. Et brennende behov for å ødelegge det for eksempel. I så fall; hvorfor? Har du det ikke fint i Horus Øye?

- Hva er dine svake punkt? Du har garantert noen. Og hvis du bare har et eneste ett er det garantert et alvorlig et..

- Og så er det greit å ha klart for seg at dette ikke kommer til å ende godt. Du er tross alt en av the Lost and the Damned, så jeg håper du ikke tror du får et trivelig liv herfra og inn i evigheten!

The Adeptus Astartes – the Space Marines – is an ancient warrior brotherhood created by the Emperor more than ten thousand years ago to help him reclaim the galaxy for Man. In the 41^st Millennium they are humanity's champions in the unending struggle for survival. A space Marine is not born, he is made. Made in the image of the Emperor. To make a Marine you recruit at an early age the most dangerous killers humanity has to offer, transform them into superhuman giants, teach them nothing but killing, and instil in them an unflinching loyalty to the Golden Throne and a willingness to die in service of the God-Emperor. Then you encase him in a suit of armour without equal and equip him with the deadliest weapons the Machine God has to offer. The end result is aptly called the Angels of Death; they descend from the heavens to smite the foes of Man with divine wrath.

CHAPTER ORGANIZATION

The Chapter is the largest Marine organizational unit commonly used in M41. During the Great Crusade the Marine Legions would each be composed of many Chapters. A Chapter was the Legion's smallest unit capable of sustained independent operations. It is a popular misconception that Chapters number 1.000 Marines. It is true that newly formed Chapters are made up of a cadre of only 1.000 Marines, plus a command staff taken from their progenitor Chapter, but that is probably the only time a Chapter will number exactly a thousand. In reality the number of Marines available to a Chapter varies quite a bit, as battle deaths and recruitment causes troop numbers to fluctuate. Each Chapter of Astartes has per the Codex Astartes a nominal fighting strength of 1.000 Space Marines, but that is 1.000 battle-ready Space Marines. To be able to field such a force, even for an organization as lean as the Marines, you need 2-3 warriors per position. Then there is an increasingly large command and support staff, plus a number of semi-retired Marines filling semi-honorary position (though most could fight if need be).

Although no Chapter is anywhere near in size to the massive million-strong Legions of old, there are some fairly big Chapters out there. The Black Templars, for example, are known to field at least 5.000 Battle-Brothers at any one time, which could mean that there are as many as 15-20 thousand Black Templars out there, not counting command and support or retirees. The Space Wolves remains the only non-traitor legion not to have complied with the Adeptus Terra with regards to the dissolution of the Legions. They still retain their original thirteen Chapters (though the 13^th has been lost in the Eye of Terror for quite some time), although some Administratum scribes have deftly evaded the truth by labelling the Chapters 'Cohortes Maximus' (i.e. Great Companies). The Space Wolves M41 Chapters are not, however, at their maximum Great Crusade size. Instead they are comparable to other marine Chapters of the present day and age. The Ultramarines are Codex-bound, but control a number of 'vassal' Chapters in and around the 'Kingdoms of Ultramar', thus easily outnumbering all other Chapters in terms of fighting men. Losses against Hive Fleet Behemoth and Hive Fleet Kraken have been considerable, with several vassal Chapters having been completely destroyed and others reduced to just a small cadre.

The Squad is the basic Marine tactical unit. It comprises 10 Battle-Brothers, one of which is a Sergeant. The Sergeant is invariably a battle-hardened marine that has displayed both leadership skill and unusual initiative. The rest of the squad's members are ranked according to seniority, although some awards, commendations and/or disciplinary black marks can cause changes in effective seniority. Regardless of battle deaths or incapacitations there will always be someone in command of the squad. Squad members are typically armed with bolters, except for two heavy weapons (frequently a heavy bolter and a missile launcher) and possibly up to two specialist weapons (such as a flamer or melta gun). Squads are very flexible can be broken down into smaller units, typically two five-man Battle-Squads led by either the Sergeant or a Veteran Brother (some Chapters name this marine Corporal, others have a second junior Sergeant per squad; both are fairly rare). One Battle-Squad might be assigned the heavy weapons while the other one takes the assault weapons; or each could have one heavy weapon assigned. Or one or both Battle-Squads can be split into two-Marine fire-teams as the situation warrants. Options are nearly endless; squads can quickly be made to match any situation.

Ten squads make a Company, led by a Captain. Some Chapters also have a separate position for a company Lieutenant. Those Chapters that do not have lieutenants lists the senior squad Sergeant as the company second-in-command. Companies are sometimes split into two 50-Marine Battle-Companies, led by the Captain and Lieutenant/Veteran Sergeant respectively. Companies can be further subdivided into any combination of squads as warranted by the battlefield situation. The Company (or Battle-Company) is the smallest tactical unit that is commonly deployed in an independent role; one Marine Company and supporting assets are considered sufficient to deal with most targets. This Marine Company Strike Force can easily be fitted into a single Strike Cruiser (most crusier models allow for even bigger forces, usually a maximum of 2-3 Companies worth of troops).

The number of companies to a Chapter will vary; but the basic 1.000 Marine line-up calls for ten companies, one of which is the Veteran/Terminator Assault Company and another which will be a Training/Scout Company. The remaining companies are Tactical Companies, although some Chapters operate with specialized companies – Jump Assault, Heavy/Devastator, Mobile Response, Urban Infiltrators, etc. These are roles that a normal Tactical Battle-Brother can fill, but within the ranks of the specialist companies each Marines focuses on that role to the exclusion of anything but basic Marine skills. Some Chapters wholeheartedly approve of such specialization as a means of pursuing perfection, while other Chapters frown upon it, claiming instead that each Marine should always be ready to face any challenge. Most Chapters are somewhere in between, maintaining just a few specialist companies and/or rotating Marines on a regular basis to avoid calcification within one narrow role. A Chapter is commanded by a Chapter Master. The Master is attended by a senior Commander (sometimes called a Praetor) who is the Chapter's second-in-command. Some Chapters lack a specific position for the Praetor and instead has the senior company Captain hold the honour.

It is very rare for an entire Chapter's battle-ready forces to be deployed at any one time. Instead a Chapter can be divided into two Cohorts, commanded by the Chapter Master and Praetor respectively (one would normally be in the field while the other remains at base and attends to other duties, including permanent garrisons and patrols). For larger Chapters the Cohort formation can become permanent and there may be multiple Cohorts (usually of 5 companies each), each led by a Commander (one of which may also be the Praetor, unless that is a separate position). Some large Chapters, such as the Crimson Dawn Chapter, also maintain a position of Lieutenant-Commander for the Cohort second-in-command. A Space Marine Battle Barge can accommodate one five-company Cohort, support elements, and logistics train (it would e very rare, however, for a Barge to operate alone, without the benefit of support vessels).

All Chapters also have several supporting branches; the Librarium provides both astropaths and battlefield psykers, while Mechanicus-trained Tech-Marines take care of advanced maintenance rites (line personnel are expected to do undertake ordinary maintenance rites of personal and unit gear). Chaplains are tasked with caring for the spiritual well-being of the Battle-Brothers, while Marine Apothecaries are highly skilled in both first aid and advanced medical procedures. Lastly are the Battle-Brothers that are not assigned to any ready-unit, for whatever reason – they could be recuperating, receiving specialist training, be assigned as starship crew, or be semi-retired.

Most Chapters will also have extensive (non-Marine) non-combatant support staffs, offering additional logistical support. After all, someone must take care of the mundane affairs of a Chapters, be if distribution of supplies, refuelling drop-ships, acting as medical orderlies, preparing and serving meals, and so on. Some Chapters rely on serfs, others heavily on servitors, while a few even have free-men retainers who are paid for their services.

A Chapter's non-personnel assets also vary considerably. A new Chapter will be given a homeworld and recruitment rights there, as well as support staff, vehicles and a small fleet of ships, but after that they are expected to fund and fend for themselves. Old and successful Chapters can amass huge fiefs and the resources that go along with them (though they must be wary of gaining too much power, lest the Adeptus Terra become concerned.

I'm sure each and every 40k player/reader has his own mental imagery pertaining to how things look and what the world 'feels' like. Most likely those images are heavily influenced by 40k artwork. Artwork has always been one of Warhammer 40k's fortes, supplying high-quality images in a variety of styles. Whatever the personal style of the creator, such images have always been suitably heroic, gothic/baroque, and grandiose.

For this Dark Heresy game I want to tone the worst excesses a bit. Architecture will still be gothic and Imperial high society will still be suitably baroque. What I'm trying to do away with is the monstrously misshaped pieces of personal equipment, the endless array of bulky and steam-punk-looking machines. So I want to tone it down, not remove it altogether. Less is more and all that.

Example: You meet an Adeptus Mechanicus Magos, who is deep in the mysteries of the Deus Mechanicus (the Machine God). He's still going to be suitably robed and covered with techno-arcane symbols. He's still going to be able to speak to the machine spirits (i.e. interface with anything that has a processor of some sort). He's also going to have various cybernetic and/or bionic upgrades and replacements. He is, however, not going to look like some steam-punk monstrosity, with visible gears, cogs - even exhaust pipes showing. If you get a glimpse of his true nature its going to look ultra-tech, but with a suitable gothic appearance - ornamentation, gilded parts etc.

The same applies to how the world works; everything can't be all bad, corrupt, defunct, etc. Its a dark and dismal world, but it is not all pitch black. People get born, most survive after a fashion into adulthood, get work, match up, get children of their own, die of old age. Their lives may be hard and there is precious little freedom to be had (but who would want that anyway), but death does not lurk around the corner ALL the time, nor is life and endless march of pain, degradation, and abuse (for some it is, but not for all).

Once again this has to do with believability...but more importantly it has to do with contrast. If everything is as dark as it can get, then it gets damn hard for me to make an interesting game. If every Imperial citizen is equally downtrodden and corrupt, then they are all the same and without variety the world gets gray and boring.

Example: Orphanages are a common sight throughout the Empire. Some are undoubtedly nice places to grow up, filled with light and hope. And some are without a doubt pits of terror and despair, where the children prey upon each other and their caretakers heap abuse in every form upon them. But the majority are just...not very nice. The management might be skimming the coffers, leaving the children with little to wear or eat. Or the staff is disinterested and leave it to the children to establish their own pecking order, so that only the strong prosper. This allows me to describe various orphanage settings, rather than have every which one a pit of corruption.

The same goes for threats to humanity, and by extension the Acolytes; there is evil and there is Chaos evil. I don't want a game where every thug is a mutant or chaos-possessed (but no doubt you'll meet more than enough of them). I've already hinted at this with the Ordo Malleus post - and this is definitely Old School - the true nature of Chaos, the existence of the Ruinous Powers, daemons and such, will not be common knowledge even within the Inquisition. Inquisitors and others in the know will be knowledgeable to various degrees, but junior servants are not privy to such knowledge - its simply too dangerous. So you'll definitely see evil and heresy, but it won't always be of the pure Chaos evil kind.