Captain Baphomet is a Black Legion veteran that serves as Asmodeus' executive officer and general right-hand man. Where Asmodeus is busy with the near-impossible tasks of keeping the reavers working together (as much as can be hoped for) and keeping support for the reaving flowing from the powers-that-be in the Eye, Baphomet is responisble for keeping things running on a day-to-day basis. As such he is easily the most overworked person in the Finial sector.

Baphomet is definitely a veteran of the long war - even though he did not take part in the Great Crusade he's seen more action than most of the 'old guard'. Baphomet has no visible signs denoting his status as a Chaos Marine. He looks just like any other close-cropped, grim-faced, steely-eyed Space Marine veteran out there.

Baphomet has joined the lodges to make sure his master doesn't get mixed up in things Baphomet knows nothing about.

Name: Maiden of Golgenna

Class: Not verified, possibly Overlord-class.

Type: Battlecruiser (BC)

Description: One enemy ship is starting to earn a reputation among the Reavers; the Maiden of Golgenna. She's not one of the mighty battleships of the Navy or legendary Astartes battle barge - she's a raider stalking raiders. A battlecruiser that pounces unwary or overeager reaver ships, leaving no-one alive. Which is clearly an ecaggeration; if no-one survives, how come she's become infamous?

Castor's rag-tag choir of torturers, intelligence analysts, sorcerers and daemonic servants have finally come up with something of interest: Your enemy has a name - Lord Militant Haxtes Guilliman. It would seem that this person is the overall commander of the enemy's efforts in the Calixis sector. You don't have a lot of verified details yet; if you combine all the drivel your sources have come up with so far he's quite the colorful character: A Space Marine that's been been given high command. Some claim he's a Librarian, others insist he's a Chapter Master. Those of your advisers that agree he's Astartes name the Green Knights as his Chapter. But there are a couple who decry this information, naming him instead an Imperial officer - or ever an Assassinorum operative working in the guise of an officer. It will be fun to see how this turns out.

In an effort to make it easier to picture a ‘Typical Imperial World’ I’ll try to paint an OOC picture of one. You won’t find any worlds that are exactly like this, but you’ll find plenty of variations over this theme. So this is intended to provide a reference against which other worlds can be compared. Should be useful for all games – Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, Deathwatch and Black Crusade.

The world has been settled for a relatively long period of time, usually in the 500-2000 year range. Shorter settlement times are possible if there are massive investments. Longer settlement times are also possible, but only in special cases – the Imperium isn’t balanced on a local level, but tends to lay waste to planetary ecospheres sooner or later. Population ranging from a few hundred million into the low billions. Resources of a variety of types are relatively abundant and industry well-developed, society is fairly homogenous and stable.

The Imperial Governor is the highest-ranking Imperial representative on any given world (‘world’ in this contexts usually includes the entire solar system in which the world is situated, but there are exceptions). The governor is effectively a feudal ruler: Upon him the High Lords of Terra has bestowed dominion over his world in return for his fealty, which includes a not inconsiderable tithe tax. The Governor is not a direct part of the Adeptus Terra chain of command, and does not formally have any power over the Adepts present on his world. In practice many Governors will have established working relationships with whatever parts of the Adeptus Terra are present (though there are plenty of examples of friction or outright conflict between Governors and parts of the Adeptus Terra). Meanwhile the Adepta watches the governor – and each other (and the Inquisition keeps an eye on all of them).

Many Governors rule as dictators, but it’s not universal. Some worlds have a more feudal arrangement (even if they are not ‘feudal’ in the techno-social sense) or are ruled by oligarchies and other elitist forms of governments. True representative democracies are very rare, but there are a number of semi-democratic worlds in the Imperium (worlds where only a small elite has a vote in political matters). The High Lords of Terra do not care how a world is rules as long as it meets its obligations – in practice it’s difficult to rule as anything but a tyrant when your masters are all a vile mix of ignoramuses, tyrants, religious zealots, bureaucrats and warmongers.

Governors are not without civil servants. For ever billion population there is likely to be approximately 50 million people somehow employed by government, ranking from high officials and officers, via soldiers and spies, to the lowliest clerks and manual labourers. The worlds of the Imperium are not just dictatorships; they are government-heavy dictatorships.

The Governor may be the most powerful ruler on a planet – his position may even effectively be hereditary – but he’s not the only power figure. There are always other factions vying for power and even a Governor isn’t immune to assassination, rebellion or outright civil war. As long as it doesn’t rock the boat too much the Imperium will not intervene – only if the sacrosanct Adepts of Terra are harmed or the tithe is threatened does the Imperium become concerned. So the successful Governor must devote some of his resources to keeping his enemies and rivals in check – another burden upon his income.

Every major part of the Priesthood of Terra will invariably have a presence on a typical Imperial world. The Arbites are present in some number to make sure the world does not fall victim to sedition or tithe evasion, the Astra Telepathica provides psyker services and readies psychic cargo for transport on the Black Ships, the Adminstratum is there to count coppers, collect tithe, make records, spy and generally make a lot of bureaucratic trouble for everyone. The Mechanicum provides important technical support, monitors the world for deviant technologies and keeps an eye on local tech-guilds. The Ministorum keeps an eye on local religious practices, tries to shape them into forms more in line with the Imperial Truth, and generally encourages the worship of the God-Emperor. The Army and Navy are not present in numbers unless the world is a fleet base or fortress world – but they may have some liaisons, recruitment officers, etc. in place.

The Inquisition has a presence on every Imperial World. How big a presence varies tremendously, but for a typical world there will be at least one planetary office that handles the processing of information from a number of planetary sources. Typical worlds will have at an Interrogator or other senior officer commanding. 

No two worlds are the same. They all have their unique identity. Yes, there is Imperial influence, but there is also strong local traditions. For simplicity’s sake it’s usually enough to have each world appear fairly homogenous, but in reality this is rarely the case – most worlds are likely to have a variety of sub-cultures, just like our own world does. There are some things that are fairly universal though:

As a rule of thumb the masses hate the Governor and his servants. Many also detest the Priesthood of Earth. If they are pious they worship the God-Emperor, but his servants may be another matter. A lot of the Governor’s energy goes into controlling the masses – keeping them sufficiently fed and entertained, downtrodden and brutalized. A rebellion involving one area or one group of dissidents can be handled – and entire world revolting is another matter. Upward social mobility is very limited.

Not all worlds have a feudal structure and a nobility. But almost every world has a hereditary upper class. They protect their own interests, their wealth and their power from generation to generation. This is usually best accomplished by siding with the Governor in keeping the planet productive and the masses under control, but sometimes they plot to become governors themselves (and they always plot against each other in petty games of prestige). So even if they aren’t nobles in name they are nobles in fact.

There is a middle class on the typical imperial world. It’s fairly small and does not have a lot of power. Generally a member of the middle class lives in great fear – fear of falling down the social ladder into the great abyss of the masses. They also dream of riches and try as best they can to ape after the nobility. The middle class is usually the most traditional of the bunch and support the Governor – anything the rocks the boat is a bad thing.

The Adeptus Terra uses High Gothic for internal communication. High-ranking local officials are also likely to use High Gothic both when interacting with Adepts and otherwise – the use of the master tongue gives an extra veneer of credibility. Local citizens do not speak High Gothic. Instead they speak Low Gothic. Low Gothic is an amalgamation of High Gothic and whatever local languages existed before the coming of the Imperium (if the world was colonized from another Imperial world it will simply inherit its dialects).  Some worlds can have multiple variants of Low Gothic, but with a little effort they can understand one another. That’s not necessarily the case with people from another world: The Low Gothic of Baraspine is nearly incomprehensible to a citizen of Tranch for example, whereas the Scintillan Low Gothic can be understood on many worlds in Calixis because Scintilla is the capital and has influenced other planets over the last two thousand years. People who travel should ideally learn High Gothic AND the local Low Gothic (or hire a translator). Remote regions and primitive worlds often cling to their non-Imperial tongues. These are separate languages entirely.

Every Imperial world subscribes to the Imperial creed. But the Imperial Creed can take many forms, some of them utterly contradictory. Those worlds that have been brought to compliance instead of being colonized are particularly likely to have divergent religious beliefs: But as long as they preach in favour of the Imperium and accept the God-Emperor as the head of their religion they are tolerated. Religious practices can vary greatly even on the same Imperial world.

The Adeptus Arbites does equal the sum of law enforcement in the Imperium.  The Abrites are only there to ensure the world does not fall into sedition or fail to meet the tithe: They are a bit like a mix of federal police, riot police, and intelligence agency. How deeply they are involved in planetary affairs varies according to traditions and the local situation. On a world like Malfi there are literally a million Arbitrators, who are actively patrolling the hives in an effort to keep the unemployed and dissatisfied masses under control. More typically the Arbites only patrol intermittently, come out to supress major revolts, and/or investigate special cases.

The Governor is responsible for his own law enforcement and judicial system. Typically this includes a professional police corps, a secret police, and an at least semi-functional judicial system. The average citizen can expect to see police fighting crime, which cases get to court and are resolved there. Corruption and injustice is probably common, but there is at least some reason and rhyme to the system.

If there is a large Adept presence the Department Magistratum might be present – this is the Administratum equivalent of a police force. It’s primarily intended to self-police the Administratum, but in certain Adept-heavy areas it has replaced local law enforcement entirely.

All imperial worlds produce something and a typical Imperial World will have a decent industrial base and a decent population. The economy is geared towards local consumption (the lower classes get but little, but the upper classes are typically very rich indeed), some exports to generate trade revenues (necessary to maintain needed imports and to pay the monetary part of the tithe), seeing to planetary defence needs, maintaining a largish public sector, and paying the tithe (the bulk of the tithe is paid in local produce and natural resources).

Typical Imperial worlds are largely self-sufficient, but not completely. Interstellar transportation is cheap and commonplace so there is a profit to be had in specialization and trade. It is also a design feature – the Imperium does want their worlds to be too self-sufficient. Might give them incentive for rebellion So a typical Imperial world will be tied to the greater Imperium through ties of trade – it will import and export both bulk goods and lesser volumes of luxury items.

Transportation is handled mostly by Chartered captains, some charters are hereditary, most are not (the former are often employed by corporation, the later may operate individually or in guilds). Free charters work the same as normal charters, only with fewer limitations. Fleet charters are tied strictly to work for the Navy. Rogue Trade charters are the most coveted – they give their holders the right to go outside the Imperium, to explore, to trade and to exploit. If there are multiple settlements with a system there will also be in-system charters, but these are handled by the local Governor and not the Adeptus Terra.

The ships involved in trade range in size from the biggest macrohaulers who can haul million upon millions of tons of cargo to light transports that can speed a few thousand valuable tonnes or a handful of passengers across the great voids of interstellar space. The biggest macro-haulers dwarf even the mightiest battleship, while the smallest ones fall in the lower end of the raider spectrum. The more common vessels are the destroyer-to-frigate-sized sprint freighters, the cruiser-sized medium freighters and the battleship-sized bulk transports. The typical Imperial world will have a number of vessels calling inn over the course of a year – it would be very rare for no traders to be in-system at any given time.

While some of the smallest interstellar freighters can land on planets such ships are the exception rather than the norm. Some large escorts are able to land, but rarely do – landing is very stressful for a big hull and ships are very vulnerable when landed. So ships, even those that could have landed, usually dock with orbital facilities and then rely on local transportation guilds to move cargo up/down. To/from orbital transportation can take many forms, but the most common method involves orbital barges. These craft combine anti-gravity systems with some form of multi-purpose propulsion for cheap and efficient transportation.

Imperial worlds are rated by their Gross Planetary Product (GPP). GPP and several other more esoteric factors determine a world’s Tithe Grade. GPP times Tithe Grade gives the annual tithe to the Imperium.  That’s the basics. It gets a little more complicated than that because worlds do not necessarily pay their tithes with money – they pay some or all of it in manpower, resources, industrial produce, food, water, starships, Ghostfire Pollen, etc.

Unless the tithe is set very low (which usually means a world has big economic problems or has little of importance to offer) it is a very real burden to the planetary economy. Not an insurmountable burden, but definitely a burden. Other worlds may have really high tithe grades, so high that they are effectively bled dry. The typical Imperial World, however, can manage its tithe with a little effort. Failing to meet the tithe is the dread of every Governor – failure equates Imperial attention and Imperial attention often means additional trouble.

A typical tithe will include manpower (for the Guard/Navy), monetary transfer, grants of natural resources and industrial produce, plus the transfer of any and all psykers to the Black Ships.

The Imperium is at a constant state of war. That doesn’t mean that every world is ravaged by war all the time, but it does mean that every world must be both ready if war comes and ready to support war. The former is the province of the Planetary Defence Force (FDF) and the second is handled by planetary tithes (including manpower tithes for the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Navy).

Tithes to the Imperium will indirectly work towards the protection of a typical world, although it might not be readily apparent to its Governor or its people. The burden of the tithe might even seem to weaken the system needlessly. This is of course only an illusion – without the tithe the Imperium cannot protect its member worlds and all would eventually come to ruin. Only if war actually comes knocking will a typical world see the Imperial Guard upon its soil and the Imperial Navy in the skies above. Some key worlds will have Guard armies as garrisons or a permanent Navy presence, but these are best classified as fortress worlds, not typical worlds.

Barring the aid of the Imperium it’s still the sacred duty of the Imperial Governor to keep his fief safe, including safe from external (raids and invasions) and internal military threats (civil wars and insurrections). To this end the Governor must maintain a large enough military to credibly deter any threat. Placed on top of the tithe and the Governor’s other obligations (maintaining law and order, bribing the Adeptus Terra, and maintaining an opulent palace and lifestyle) this usually places a great strain upon the world’s economy.

System defence

Unless a Governor for some reason has his fief restricted to a specific planet he’ll be responsible for the security of the entire system and its immediate surroundings. That means maintaining a fleet of system ships (ships without warp drives), monitoring stations, surveillance platforms, orbital and planetary defence batteries.

The outer system will be only lightly protected: A few surveillance platforms, maybe some minor monitoring stations above any outer system planets. If there are commercial interests in the deep beyond there may be patrols, fighter garrisons and orbital defences attached. Inside the warp threshold military presence increases: There is more surveillance and patrols will be more common.

Space is large, however, so it’s around key worlds that the real defences can be found. Typical Imperial worlds will have at least one battle station in orbit, backed up a number of weapon platforms. If the Governor can afford he’ll expand his orbital network to include more forts and more platforms. These systems carry a mix of lances, batteries, torpedoes and fighter/bomber squadrons. Since they don’t need warp drives or real space drives they can dedicate space to offense/defence. Their only weakness is a lack of mobility.

Additional weapon systems will also be deployed on the planetary surface. Surface to space missiles (equivalent of torpedoes) and heavy defence lances are the most common types. More fighter and/or bomber squadrons can be based on the surface. There are also anti-air defences of a variety of types. Key areas (major cities/hives and industrial areas) are likely to be protected by heavy void shields. Planetary weapons are easier to hide and protect and cheaper to maintain that space-based weapons. Their range is limited however.

If there are natural satellites around a planet they can be fortified and serve as bases for small craft. If the satellite is close enough it’s even possible for long-range weapon systems to be employed against ships attacking the mother world. Even if no natural satellites exist the Imperium has the ability to move large asteroids or other objects so ‘natural’ satellites can be created if need be (and the resources exist).

Backing up these relatively static defences are the systems fleet. It is probably not very large in the case of a typical world. A handful of heavy raiders and scores of lighter raiders. All probably relatively old, poorly maintained and manned by second-rate crew. They should not be underestimated, however, for backed up by orbital/planetary defences they can be a formidable obstacle. Wealthy systems can have many more ships – massive fleets of cruisers, battleships even. Some systems have managed to purchase decommissioned Navy vessels – even without their warp drives they can be formidable system defence ships.

In sum the average Imperial world can stand up to anything short of a major invasion. The occasional raid might cause trouble and pirates could prey upon intrasystem and interstellar shipping, but as long as defences are maintained the world will be safe. 

Planetary defence

Standing armies are deployed as to protect key assets – main cities, spaceports, production areas, and so on – both from outside attack and insurrection. They are equipped in the fashion of their homeworld. Typically this will be autoguns and flak armour. These PDF armies will a have whatever support weapons, vehicles, ships and aerospace craft the forges of their world can supply them with. As a rule of thumb there will be a million men under arms per billion of population. Quality varies. Most worlds will have at least some elite formations. Depending on the political situation the entire PDF may be under the command of the Governor, but more typically there are several factions controlling part of the world – and part of the military.

There will almost always be some form of armed insurrection on most Imperial worlds, but full-scale rebellions are rare. The Imperium is a violent and oppressive regime where many feel they have nothing to lose – keeping a lid on this seething anthill of human emotion is simply not possible. Rebellions are rare because Governors can usually suppress local insurrections.

Invasions are also rare, but not unheard of. Raids are somewhat more common, but there are not many potential attackers out there who are willing to risk a planetary assault just for the sake of a raid (Chaos reavers and Eldar corsairs are among those who does). Successful invasions almost invariably require the use of weapons of mass destruction and massive invading forces; you simply can’t take an entire world with a billion-strong population without massive collateral. Orks are good at this type of operation – they have the numbers, the weapons, and a complete disregard for real estate.

Guytoga is an Imperial World located deep in the Hazeroth subsector of the Claixis Sector – which means it’s just about as far away from anything as you can get and still be within the Imperium. It’s not a complete backwater – it’s a civilized world and part, however remote, of the greater Imperium of Man.

The world played no part in the Angevin Crusade. It was rediscovered early in M40 by Imperial Explorators during a centuries-long push to catalogue and ‘reclaim’ the Hazeroth sub. Despite its remote location it was deemed to have sufficient potential to warrant development. In addition to a near-Terran ecosphere and exploitable resources it had a native feral human population. Attempt were made integrate the natives into the Imperium, but despite the best efforts of the Ministorum they remained stubbornly opposed to the notion of a human God-Emperor.

A minor crusade was called in 213.M40, drawing manpower for Imperial Guard Regiments from all over the sub-sector. Fifty divisions and supporting assets were deemed sufficient to remove the natives. The initial projection called for a 5-year campaign. Fifteen years later there was still stiff resistance, but core areas had nevertheless been cleared for colonization. The Guard Regiments were disbanded and the survivors granted lands on Guytoga. Additional colonists were brought in and settlement began in earnest.

Despite some continued trouble with the natives the colony prospered. Former Guardsmen became the ruling caste of Guytoga and maintained a large and professional PDF force to deal with remaining savages. Guytoga still has a strong martial tradition and provides the Imperium with valuable Guard recruits when called upon to do so.

Guytoga trades with neighbouring systems, but lacks anything really valuable to export. Its remote location also works against it. The good news is that the planet is essentially self-sufficient. Imports are either hi-tech goods or luxury items. Exports include some rare minerals, luxury items, and carapace armour for the Calixis Abrites.

Given Guytoga’s remote location and proximity the Hazeroth Abyss the Governor maintains a strong PDF that includes substantial space assets. Imperial navy patrols make their way here at least twice per year, but rarely venture deeper into the Abyss – they are mostly there to wave the flag and collect manpower.

Most of the population lives in or around one of the many small hives scattered across the planet. Each hive and its surroundings are ruled by the descendants of the original Guardsmen that settled Guytoga. The hives offer a great deal of protection even for those that do not normally live inside them – much like the castles and fortified towns of an older age they are places of refuge should trouble come. Which is good, since those citizens that do not live in the hives must contend with the savages that still live in Guytoga’s hinterlands. Each hive maintains its own PDF forces, including an air wing and anti-orbital defences.

The Governor of Guytoga is a direct descendant of Lord General Chern, the overall Guard commander during the Guytoga Crusade. He’s more like a first among equals than a true sovereign. The Governor also claims to be the rightful Lord sub-sector: While it is true that Guytoga was at one time intended to be the capital of the ‘new’ Hazeroth sub this was abandoned a long time ago and the capital ended up at Gunpoint instead.

The general lack of trade revenues, high military expenditure and factitious nature of the world means that the Governor is hard pressed to meet his tithe quotas – even though they are relatively low for such a well-developed world. The nobles use this fact to pressure the Governor and retain their extensive freedoms and privileges.

Black Legion chapter master that leads the 3rd Reaving. Personally appointed by Ezekiel the Just. He rarely appears without his wargear and is a warrior of great renown. Despite his mettle it is know that he's been killed at least 3 times by agents of the Haegum. Fortunately for Asmodeus he's got some dark pacts to keep him going - but it's no doubt costing him dearly.

Asmodeus is a tall and regal figure. He wears his dark hair long and flowing. His shadow seems to have a life of its own, moving about when Asmodeus is standing still and vice versa. In private he prefers robes, but in public he is rarely without his suit of terminator armour. He carries and ancient warp-infused power blade that was granted to him by the God-Emperor of Mankind all those aeons ago.

---

Castor has made a deal with Asmodeus: Asmodeus arranges for Obel Gar to go away and Castor will keep the Haegum away from Asmodeus. A life for a life so to speak. Asmodeus has also joined the 3rd Reaving lodges created by Castor.

Every day of the year tens of thousands of promising telepaths are brought before the Golden Throne to be bonded to the God-Emperor. This soul-bonding is the culmination of a long journey that started with their arrest and interment aboard a Black Ship, followed by an agonizing trip to Terra, then testing, training and indoctrination conducted by the Adeptus Astra Telepathica. Despite the seemingly vast number of graduate there are never enough astropaths - their duties are many (the Imperium is utterly dependent on their service) and their careers often short (astrotelepathy is a taxing trade).

The soul-bonding gives the telepaths the ability to send and receive data across vast distances - even across lightyears of empty space. It also hardens them to the horrors of the warp and makes them very resistant to possession. There is a price for such power; most astropaths are permanently blinded or otherwise crippled.

USE

Astropaths can send and receive data. They are in effect living psychic telecommunication devices. Techniques vary a bit, but all astropaths can read a text, convert it to astrotelepathic signals and then transmit. Another astrotelepath within range can receive and reverse the process, producing an identical text (barring any errors or disturbances in the transmission). Skilled astropaths can transmit more complex data; picts, audio, holograms, even sensory and emotional data. Most data is encrypted in some fashion.

RELAYS

Astropaths can’t send data clear across the galaxy. Instead they work through relays. Each Imperial world constantly scans for incoming signals, check for destination in the message header, and if necessary they pass on the message. This way a signal can leapfrog across the Imperium (duplication of messages is common, but that’s a strength and not a liability). Priority signals will be bumped to the top of the queue and/or passed on to high-grade transmitters.

CHOIRS

Astropaths either work alone or they pool their resources. Such groups are called Choirs. All major Imperial worlds will have one, but fringe systems might not.

GRADING

Astropaths come in four grades. Grading is most important when it comes to transmission - weaker astropaths can receive nearly as well their stronger comrades.

Grade 1: These rare individuals can send across vast interstellar distances on their own - across whole sectors, if not longer. If joined by a strong Choir their range is, if not unlimited, then nearly so (across as Segmentum).  They are reserved for use by the highest echelons of the Adeptus Terra.

Grade 2: The 'common' sort of interstellar transmitter. Can reach nearby systems, or further if joined by a Choir. Few commercial astropaths are of this grade (those few who are were originally typically graded as 3, but have since risen in skill and power).

Grade 3: The most common type of astropaths. Can receive well enough, but transmission range is limited to sub-stellar. Can be used in Choirs to boost signal strength, but they add but a little each. Most find use aboard Navy vessels in intra-fleet communications or take up commercial work if the Adepta have no need for their services.

Grade 4: These are they failed astropaths. They either have trouble transmitting, receiving or both. Some are strong, but cannot control the direction of their signal. Others are too weak to be useful. Yet others fail to grasp Imperial communication protocols and are forced to rely on symbolic or emotional communication. Few such astropaths are found in Imperial service – most must fend for themselves.

COMMERCIAL ASTROPATHS

The Adeptus Terra releases a percentage of astropaths for commercial use, conscious that the commercial sector, Imperial Governors and other factions have need of their services. Many, but not all, are weaker or otherwise second-rate (lack of control, lack of moral purity, etc.) astropaths. Some are released for reasons of corruption within the Adeptus Astra Telepathica. There is also said to be a certain trade in ‘non-sanctioned’ astropaths, whatever that is.

CAPITAL VESSELS

These are the major raiders.

CA OSIRIS (Cpt. Borosa) - Lunar-class Heavy Cruiser that defected from Imperial Service during the Age of Apostasy. The command crew is blessed (some would say possessed) with eternal life, but they require psyker sacrifices to maintain their existence. By far the most potent vessel in the raider fleet. DESTROYED

Update: Cpt. Borosa and the Osiris are among the few ships that will regularly raid deep inside Calixis. Other captains find it too risky for the potential rewards, but Borosoa keeps heading into dangerous territory. Borosa is not loyal to the Word - he is only loyal to those who can provide him with the only treasure he craves; psyker sacrifices.

Update 2: The Osiris has been destroyed. After years of raiding merchant shipping and remote settlements Borosa finally met his match when he was ambushed by the Maiden of Golgenna off Zumthor in the Markayn Marches. Borosa survived, but was abandoned by Castor upon the planet's surface - a captain without a ship is worse than worthless...

CL BRINGER OF FAITH (Cpt. Melkar) - Dauntless-class Light Cruiser. Captured from the Imperial Navy several centuries ago. On the surface the ship still appears to be a loyalist vessels – closer examination will reveal the truth; that is has been thoroughly reconsecrated to the Word and Will of Lorgar. De-facto commander is Anointed Sergeant Melkar, Castor's (pre-10th) warleader. The second most powerful vessel of the original raider fleet. REASSIGNED

Update: Melkar's loyalty is unquestionable and together with his squad of Anointed he is more than capable of keeping the ship under his control. The role of the Bringer of Faith is undecided; will it join the fleet of the 10th Host as a scout/screen or will it continue to perform as a raider to show that Castor is still committed?

Update 2: The Bringer of Faith has been reassigned to Fleet duties and is no longer considered a raider.

CL DURANTE'S HONOUR (Cpt. duRante) - Rogue Trader vessel belonging to the duRante clan. Original pattern unknown, but capabilities after launch bay refit are similar to those of Defiant-class vessel except somewhat slower and with less protection, but with more cargo capacity. Carries light fighters (Lightnings) and light bombers (Marauders). Used correctly it is a potent addition to the fleet. Captain Durante is an effete man that has shown an interest in the Word. REASSIGNED

Update: Captain duRante has become a convert to the Word and been accepted into one of the lodges, despite not being Astartes. He is extremely loyal to the Word and Will of Castor and has begun spreading the gospel among his officers. The ship is well care for and has been continuously upgraded since the beginning of the Reaving. It would be better still if some real voidfighters could be put on board to complement the aerospace fighters/bombers now on board.

Update 2: Durante's Honour has been reassigned to Fleet duties (more specifically as an escort carrier to the fleet train) and is no longer considered a raider. The ship has been refitted with several squadrons of dedicated voidfighters and voidbombers, but retains enough aerospace assets to help with aerospace superiority during planetary actions.

URIEL'S SQUADRON

CA ??? (Cpt. Uriel) - Lunar-class Cruiser. Formerly the vesser of Warsmith Duremo, now flagship of Warsmith Uriel.

FF ANGYR ANGST (Cpt. ???) - Nova-class Strike Frigate. Extremely fast, agile and armed with lances. Excellent raider. Human command crew of Iron Warrior bondsmen. Numerous servitors. The slave holds are topped of regularly to provide bodies for new servitors. Magos Kruger oversees the creation and maintenance of the servitors. Ton by ton this is the most capable vessel in the raider fleet.

Update: Served a spell as an independent scout, searching for the Maiden. Later temporarily reassigned to fleet escort duites.

MIKAELA'S SQUADRON

FF DIAMANTINA (Commodore Mikaela) – Elderly Sword-class frigate that has been refitted with opulent quarters and more general cargo space, mainly at the expense of weapons stores. The Diamantina has mostly energy-based weapons. Captain Mikaela is as beautiful as she is deadly. She comes from a long line of pirate kings and queens.

Update: The Diamantina was ambushed by an Imperial patrol and is presumed destroyed with all hands.

Update 2: The Diamantina survived the attack and returned to Fleet. She was breifly captured by the Tigers, but has been refitted and returned to Princess-Captain Mikaela. Since Mikalea rarely leaves 'her' planet the ship stays in orbit; she's too paranoid to let anyone else command it!

FF CLAWS OF FURY (Cpt. Affar) - Gladius-class Attack Frigate. Formerly of the Tiger's Argent. Affar received command after the loss of the Cape of Sorrows. The great Affar has quickly risen to become Mikaela's right-hand man. He likes to weave a memento of his fallen enemies into his dreadlocks – he claims it binds their souls to him and grant him power. REASSIGNED

Update: Captain Affar was the only commander to escape when Mikaela's squadron was ambushed in the Markayn Marches near Acreage.

Update 2: Captain Affar has been executed for treason against the Word and Will of Castor. The ship has been reassigned to Fleet duties.

DD DEIMOS ULTRA (Unnamed) – Customized (more armour, less speed) Cobra-class Destroyer. Sister ship to Deimos Maximus.

Update: Destroyed by the Maiden

DD Deimos Maximus (Unnamed) - Customized (more armour, less speed) Cobra-class Destroyer. Sister ship to Deimos Ultra.

Update: Destroyed by the Tigers Argent.

RH x2 - Heavy raiders. These are ships that have flocked to Castor’s banner during the reaving. Being the two most capable vessels they were subsequently recruited by Mikaela to strengthen her own sub-fleet.

Update: Destroyed by the Maiden.

CL - Hulks of Dauntless-class cruiser; towed to Diamantina to augment orbital defenses.

Update: Destroyed by the Tigers.

DD x2 - Hulks of two Cobra-class destroyers; towed to Diamantina to augment orbital defenses.

RIBBEN'S SQUADRON

DD THE GRANDFATHER (Commodore Ribben) – Large destroyer of unknown class and origin - appears to be an STC-template that's been heavily modified. It has weak shields, but is extremely well armoured and carries an unusually powerful battery armament (in addition to the usual torpedoes). Ribben is a Champion of Nurgle, with all that entrails. Adrotos and his Death Guards are stationed aboard.

Update: Ribben has favored a more direct approach, but after the destruction of Mikaela's squadron he has grown quiet and taken to prowling the far side of the Hazeroth Abyss.

Update 2: Ribben is now ferrying Sgt. Adrotos behind enemy lines, looking for signs from Nurgle.

DD x2 – Iconoclast-class destroyers. This class of destroyer is essentially large gunboat – they do not carry a torpedo armament. These are the two remaining ships of a trio that serves under Ribben. These ships are all very old and poorly maintained, yet they seem able to endure almost anything (by not quite, as the loss of one of the ships shows).                                                  

FF ASTRAL VENGEANCE (Cpt. Devis) - Astral Claws rapid response vessel. Commanded by Astartes Captain Devis. His honour betrayed by Chapter Master Huron he felt a need to betray some oaths of his own. Took the Astral Vengeance and has been raiding ever since. Has been known to aid Imperial worlds and ships if it pleases him - but mostly he's fighting the servants of the False Emperor.

Update: Devis and his ship are seen but rarely around Kazim. They are thought to roam the backroads of the Finial sector, hunting for the Tigers Argent, for whom Devis has developed a particular dislike.

Update 2: After tracking down the Icefang Devis has resumed raiding in Finial. He is almost never seen at port in Diamantina.

TOSK/E'DANASH SQUADRON

DD BLACK ARROW (Cpt. Tosk) – The colourful Captain Tosk commands a mixed crew of humans and xenos. They care nothing for the cause – plunder is their guiding star. The Black Arrow is a ship of xenos origin. It looks like a serrated black arrowhead. In terms of size and power it's the equivalent of a quick and powerful destroyer.

Update: Tosk is doing quite well for himself, ranging deep inside the 6th Circle of Finial and finding good plunder there. Presumably his Eldar ally has shown him these good hunting grounds.

Update: Continues raiding, primarily in Finial. Uses the Diamantina base on a regular basis. Said to be engaged in a ménage à trois with Princess-Captain Mikaela and his Eldar partner.

RHX ‘THE CLAW’ (Cpt. E'Danash) - Dark Eldar heavy raider. Complete with near-perfect stealth and boarding capabilities. The ship and its captain have worked with the Black Arrow during a few raids, but have otherwise kept their distance. Its Eldar is hard to pronounce, but means approximately ‘the Claw that rends unblemished skin’ or ‘the Claw’ for short.

Update: The Eldar and the human have become closer over the past months, rarely leaving each others side (both personally and in terms of ship operations).

Update 2: See under the Tosk entry. E'Danash has also attracted several lesser Eldar captains to Diamantina.

LESSER COMMANDS

Various ships have come to Diamantina. Most take diretions from Mikaela, seeing has she has access to repair facilities, supplies and local warp routes.

Update: Despite losses there is an increasing number of ships anchoring over Diamantina.

RH x7 – Seven heavy raiders have come to Diamantina.

RR x20 – Nearly two dozen raiders that have flocked to Diamantina.

RRX x4 - Four Eldar reavers has joined the raiding fleet, no doubt called here by tales of E'Danash's exploits.

SUPPORT SHIPS

These ships are primarily non-combatants.

TP (BB) RIVERS OF BLOOD (formerly DM 1112-J) (Cpt. Kraal) – The biggest ship of the fleet (the size of an Imperial battleship). This massive corporate vessel was once used to haul indentured workers bought on one world to their destinations. On this particular ship there was an uprising and the serfs took over. Worship of Khorne is widespread among the ships 100.000+ residents. Leaders are elected regularly – through mortal combat. Captain Kraal has run the ship the longest – he come far when it comes to gaining Khorne’s favour, magnificent horns and red skin included.

Update: Used as a mass troop converyor. Since it's the only vessel of it's kind in the fleet it is very valuable.

Update 2: Kraal and his berserkers were killed, more or less to the last man, upon the surface of Karrik. The ship remains, run with only a skeleton crew of a few thousand maniacs.

TP (CL) BLACK DREAMS OF DESPAIR (Unnamed) – Black Ship (CL-sized) captured over Maris. Its commanding Inquisitor is now a prisoner aboard the Bringer of Faith and the psyker cargo was consumed by the crew of the Osiris. Claimed as a prize by Captain Uriel. Hastily refitted over Torfal. Used as the primary mass conveyor for the fleet. Cruiser sized, meaning it’s much bigger than the Broken Chains – but it’s not a big vessel relative to true bulk freighters.

Update: The Black Dreams is primarily used to ferry priority supplies for the 10th; because of its speed and stealth capabilites it's ideal for running the Imperial gauntlet between Baphomet's depots and Diamantina.

TP (DD) BROKEN CHAINS (Cpt. Kimery) – Formerly the Chains of Judgement. Originally an Iconoclast-class DD. Converted into an Inquisition transport ship. Now serves the role of fast armoured transport. It has a light battery armament. Home of the Daughters of the Word. Commanded by Captain Kimery (formerly of the Inquisition), leader of the Daughters.

Update: Serves as a command post and base for the Daughters. It is also used for high-priority transport runs and infiltration missions.

TP (RR) SENSIBILIOUS (Cpt. Xerxzes) – Raider-sized light transport. Xerxzes of the Emperor’s Children resides aboard with his retinue.

Update: Works almost exclusively to support the infiltration teams.

CASTOR'S BAND

Castor Rebelius Xandor – Dark Apostle of the Word Bearers. Originally of the 10^th Chapter. Served as a Scout during the latter part of Great Crusade. Promoted to Initiate status following the Great Betrayal. Slew an Ultramarines Chaplain, took his wargrear and name for his own, and then declared himself an Apostle. His rank was confirmed by the Council after a few hundred years of deliberation.

Tol Amar – Former command squad veteran. Possible acolyte material. On detached duty; he’s converting the natives of Consovor.

ELITES

Command squad (10): The command squad was once all there was to Castor’s band, old brothers from the 10^th that decided to follow the new Apostle. Now only three members are from the old days – the others have either gone on to command one of the four marine squads – or fallen in battle. When Castor is absent the squad is led by Kal Faran – Belarius is no leader.

Belarius – Champion. Has taken the name, vestments and weapons (power sword and storm shield) from the Ultramarine champion that tried and failed to protect Castor when he was an Ultramarine Chaplain. Sworn to keep Castor safe in this life and the next. Has neither spoken a word since that day nor removed his helmet in public. Always at Castor's side – the two fight as one.

Kal Faran – Icon bearer of the warband. Armed with a bolter. Castor’s closest adviser from the old days in the 10th Host. A warrior to the core.

Amarath – Close support for the command squad. Armed with meltagun. A devoted believer even for a Word Bearer. He made his peace with the gods 10k years ago and has never looked back.

Veteran Marines (7) – Seven brothers chosen for their skill, loyalty and zeal.

Anointed squad (10): Terminator armour. The squad went with the new apostle as an honour guard. They are also the spies of the Council and Castor’s would-be executioners should he step wrong. The anointed are Castor’s veteran troops from the 10th host. Body guards and spearhead in combat.

Melkar – Anointed Sergeant. Veteran of the Great Crusade. Fought on Calth. That he is a spy for the Council is well known, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t loyal to Castor. Serves as the warbands warleader (Castor’s 2^nd in command).

TROOPS

Word Bearer Marine (tactical) squads (25): Originally three ten-man 'tactical' squads. The Marines are led by one Veteran sergeant from the 10th Host. These marines are all relatively newly made – within the last 200 years or so. They are armed with mix of old and new wargear. Their zeal is tempered by skills acquired to training and battlefield experience. Most have been with Castor for quite some time now and consider themselves part of his ‘host’ (i.e. their loyalty is to Castor, not someone else).

Recent battle deaths (5) and the creation of the neophyte squads have thinned the ranks – the most experienced men have been promoted to the command squad (2) or become sergeants (8). The first accelerated batch of Marines created by Doctore has filled some of the holes (10), but there is still one squad who is a battle squad short.

Word Bearer Havoc (devastator) squad (10): The warband's heavy support (usually packs 2 heavy bolters and 2 missile launchers). All recently initiated Marines, fresh from Sicarus. Made from pure Word Bearer stock (or so it is claimed). One of the veterans from the 10^th died recently and a new an untried Sergeant is squad leader now. They are eager to prove that they are just as good as the other squads even without the experience of an old hand guiding them. Have done well in several engagements now without a single casualty.

Word Bearer Initiate Squads (80): These are 10-man Tactical Squads composed for 9 recently initiated Brothers led by a Sergeant just promoted from one of the veteran squads. They are zealous in their faith and devotion, merciless killers, suited in the finest power armour the Mechanicus has to offer. But to be honest – they were made in a year and their purity and training leaves something to be desired. The true gods will no doubt sort out the worthy soon enough.

Renegade Space Marines (9): A catchall for various Marines that have drifted into your embrace. Currently includes Flame Flacons (6) – joined recently, Black Legion (1) – survived the destruction of the Wrath of Kings, Alpha Legion (1) – prisoner aboard the Broken Chains, Unknown (1) – rescued by Uriel. Can fight as one unit if needed – or broken up into smaller teams.

Daughters of the Word Squads (20+): These are the abused and desperate women that have been offered a chance to strike back at the galaxy. Armed and armoured in the manner of the Sisters of Battle. Zeal and brutality go hand in hand, military skill is somewhat lacking. It will come – or they will die. Their power armour and bolters make then effective troops, but under no circumstance should they be deployed versus Astartes.

Kimery – Leader of the Daughters. Has separate entry.

HORDES

The Aspirants (200): These are the Word-Bearers-to-be. Promising candidates will be singled out from the herd and handed over to Doctore for evaluation. Some come from the Watch, but not very many. Most are of the Faithful, but there are quite a few young prospects taken directly from the slave holds. The aspirants are indoctrinated and armed with whatever wargear is available, and then expected to prove themselves in matters of faith and war. The rate of attrition is high. Similar to how the Death Guard handles recruitment.

The Watch (1000): The Word has a number the Faithful serving as professional ship security (lots of zeal and brutality, mediocre in the skill department). They role is to keep the crew in line and repel boarders. In a pinch they can be used as light infantry. Shipboard armament is comprised of light body armour, shotgun and melee weapons.

The Faithful: Those among the crew who have accepted the Word. They can be armed and expected to fight with great zeal, but even less skill than the armsmen. Can be armed with whatever personal weapons can be found in the ship’s armour at the time – usually a mix of weapons old and new, including stubbers, autoguns and lasguns of various patterns. Body armour is not available.

The Unenlightened: The remaining that have not yet embraced the word; at least not enough to trust them with a gun. Arming them is not advisable, except if all other options have been exhausted. At any rate there are not enough real weapons to go around, so they must make do with pistols, improvised weapons and simple melee weapons. Or simply pick up weapons from the fallen.

SPECIALISTS

Commander Fragmin - Naval Tactical savant from Cadia. Was set free from the chains of the Corpse God during the 12th crusade. Fragmin has traveled a lot and been part of a lot of crews. His problem and greatest asset is being a savant; he can calculate that if his advice and battle orders go against a 10k old ship captain then he will end up dead. So he joined Castor’s small one ship warband for there he is too valuable to be easily discarded – why be a dead servant of someone great when you can the great servant of someone else?

Master Lumin – Former astropath. Now a sorcerer of Chaos.Came with the Word of Faith – turned by Castor. Serves much as he did before; as chief communications officer, head augurer and adviser to Castor. He has one additional role though – it is he who divines the paths the fleet will tread in the Warp. Served by a small number of acolytes.

Emona – Feral shaman fro Nim-Kor. Granddaughter of the savages’ head witch. From a long line of shamans. Will be a great sorcerer one day.

Apothecary ‘Doctore’ - The warbands medic is known only as Doctore. He is from a late founding loyalist chapter, but his constant experiments with gene-seed and Marine physiology got him in trouble with the Inquisition and he fled to the Eye. Doctore has found a home in Castor’s warband as combat medic – and as Castor's ticket to getting more Marines. Doctore gets bodies to experiment on and he gets to hit back at the Imperium that took his old life away.

Sister Kimery – Formerly an acolyte in the service of Inquisitor Renthor. Freed from her shackles by Castor. Serves as the leader of the Daughters of the Word (her basic combat skills are good and she’s quite fearless, but she’s no match for one of the Whores of the Corpse-God). Commands the Broken Chains (no naval experience, but has a keen mind). Has created a network of spies and informants with Castor’s sub-fleet – eerily similar to what an Inquisitor would do. Dedicated mind, body and soul to Castor and freedom for Humanity (in that order).

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URIEL'S BAND

Uriel - Iron Warrior

ELITES

Command squad

Iron Warrior Veterans (?):

TROOPS

Murder servitors

HORDES

Gun servitors

SPECIALISTS

Kruger: Magos. Servitor specialist.

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ADROTOS'S BAND

Sgt. Adrotos - Death Guard Veteran Sergeant. Participated in the 2nd Reaving. Recruited from the blasted surface of Bokiba-Bapas. Has no vessel of his own.

ELITES

Command Squad

Death Guard Veterans (12)

TROOPS

Death Guard Neophytes (100+): Death Guards in training. Undergoing the transformation into Marines even as they prove themselves in battle. Attrition (a Death Guard speciality), disease (a Nurgle thing) and gene-seed corruption (caused by the Death Guard's practice of accelerated gene-seed cloning) will kill most of them before the transformation is complete.

HORDES

Death Guard Aspirants (100+):

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XERXZES' BAND

Xerxzes - Emperor's Children.

The galaxy has a million different types of starship weapons, but they can be grouped into the following broad categories based on their role and performance:

Torpedoes: Torpedoes are massive guided missiles. How massive depends on the size of the vessel - battleships generally have bigger fish than destroyers for example. Range also varies - it's a compromise thing between speed, range, ECM/ECCM, armour/shielding and payload. The exact configuaration also depends on the role of the vessel. Destroyers will tend to have torpedoes with lower ranges than cruisers for example; they are positioned in the screen and their role is to dart in using their superior speed to deply short-range but powerful torpedoes against larger vessels. Ships defend against topedoes with shields and armour, but their best option is shooting them down with batteries, turrets - or small craft. This isn't as easy as it sounds - torpedoes are small (relative to space), fast and frequently well protected.

Nova cannon: The 'nova cannon' is a variation of the torpedo concept. It uses a massive spinal-mounted massdriver (preventing all but the largest ships from carrying them) to accelerate torpedo-like munitions at cee-fractional speeds. The warhead has a limited capacity to manoeuvre during its final attack run. The end result is a weapon with extreme range, mediocre accuracy, and incredible damage potential. Practical experience has shown it to be less effective against fleet ships, but invaluable for taking on orbital defences.

Lances: Lances are heavy long-range weapons, often energy-based. They constitue the primary long-range firepower of most capital starships from frigates and up. They are relatively slow-firing are require enormous amounts of energy. As with all starship weapons they come in a variety of shapes and sizes, from the smaller demi-lances used on smaller vessel to huge batteries of macro-lances mounted on the biggest battleships. On smaller ships lances are often spinal-mounted (i.e. firing only in a narrow cone along the ship's axis), but larger vessels (cruisers and above) favor massive external turrets that provide a greater arc of fire. The best defence against lances is avoiding getting hit; range, speed, size, evasive maneuvers, ECM - anything that can prevent accurate lance fire. Shields are also useful, especially when combined with the above countermeasures. Armour is less useful - the power of lances is such that even heavy armour can be breached. As a result many captains are reluctant to waste lance fire (and energy) on smaller vessels.

Bombardment cannon: The so-called bombardment cannon is a lance-like weapon system built around a powerful massdriver system. It's range and accuracy is limited compared to true lances, but it can inflict horrendous damage on both ground and space targets (space stations and weapon platforms are especially vulnerable). In the Imperium this weapon is almost exclusive to Marine strike cruisers and battle barges.

Batteries: This is the least homogenous weapon category, including massdriver-launched hypervelocity rockets, guided missiles, energy weapons and projectile weapons. Batteries are primarily short-to-medium range weapons. As a general rule missile weapons have the longest ranges, followed by energy weapon and finally projectile weapons, although this breakdown is far from universal. Another tendency is that short-range weapons are more lethal than long-range weapons, a fact aggravate by reduced response times for the defenders at close quarters. Larger ships have their batteries located inside the primary hull, giving excellent protection for the weapons but reducing fire arcs (this is why most cruisers and battleships favour 'broadsides' at medium-short ranges). Smaller vessels have no such luxury and many mount their batteries in multiple turret-like structures to maximize firepower (but sacrificing almost all armour protection).

Turrets: Turrets are light (in starship terms, these weapons would make short work of even heavy ground-based armoured vehicles) short-range weapon systems optimized for defending against incoming torpedoes and small craft. In a secondary role they can defend against battery fire, but unless the range is very great their chances of intercepting incoming fire is low. Typical weapons include multi-barreled heavy autocannon, megabolters, rapid-fire lascannon and tri-focused plasma cannons. Other turret options include various variations of particle field projectors ('sand-casters') that distrupt incoming energy barrages.

Fighters: Fighters are small craft that have limited ability to damage capital voidships. Their role is to destroy other fighters, bombers and other small craft, plus intercept torpedoes and protect own bombers/small craft/torpedoes  from interception. Against unshielded capital ships they can inflict damage against surface fixtures - turrets, auspex clusters, external batteries, etc. - but lack the firepower to pierce heavy armour. Some fighters can operate in athmospheres while others are optimized for space combat. Fighters operate in formations called flights (small), squadrons (medium) and wings (large). Fighters have great speed and maneuverability, but limited endurance and must be based on ships, space stations or on planetary surfaces.

Bombers: Bombers are large fighters. They have more protection, but less speed and manuverability. They are designed to dart in against capital ships and deliver their payload of ordnance. Unlike fighters they have the capacity to threathen even large vessels, such as cruisers and battleships, and they are a great threath to anything from raiders to frigates. Survivability against concentrated battery fire is limited, so they must select their attack vectors with care. Their chief enemy is enemy fighters - without escorting fighters they are nearly helpless. Bombers are otherwise similar to fighters.

Boarding craft: Imperial Navy vessels do not usually carry much in the way of boarding craft. Boarding a multi-million tonnes vessel with crews running from thousands to tens of thousands (or more) requires very specialized troops to be successful. Space Marine craft on the other hand are well equipped for boarding - correctly handles a Marine Strike Cruiser carrying a Company of Astartes can cripple a cruiser-sized vessel. Chaos and some xenos (orks for example) are also fond of boarding. There are three basic types of boarding craft: Boarding torpedoes, small craft, and teleporters.

Boarding torpedoes allow boarders to attack fully functioning enemy vessels - they can penetrate shields and starship hulls (but not heavily armoured sections). Range is short and it is not advisable to launch torpedoes against ships with heavy turret coverage. Boarding torpedoes are often used by Space Marines.

Small craft includes assault shuttles and other transports. They are best used for taking crippled ships, ships that have surrendered, and vessels without capital scale turrets and batteries (i.e. freighters and transports). The Space Marine Thunderhawk is perhaps the most well-known craft of this type; a boarding vessel that can performs as a fighter, bomber, dropship and gunship as needed.

Teleporters are the most effective - but unfortunately most fickle - boarding system. It allows attackers to strike deep into enemy vessels, taking key areas without the need for long advances through enemy territory. Space Marines are the only regular users of assault teleporters in the Imperium.

Space Marines come fully equipped with two balls and a dick. They also have more than enough manly hormones to use them. So how come they don't?

First of all they are designed not to have procreation as their No. 1 priority. It's in their genes and in their biochemical systems. Secondly they are trained and indoctrinated to focus on killing and brotherhood rather than tits and ass.

So the average Imperial Marine has no sex-drive whatsoever. It's not just that there is no sneaking a peek at the Sisters of battle, there is also no-zip-nada Sacred Band activity. A Marine can drop his bar of soap and walk out of the showers unmolested.

And remember that Marines are usually picked up for training well before sex becomes a factor in their lives. So they are not missing something they once had. It's just something they never really spend much time thinking about. Think about how much time and energy that frees up...

Chaos Marines are a bit different. You can bet the Emperor's Children are engaged in both this and that! And other Marines CAN have a sex-drive if you want them to. It might add a new dimension to the character - or it might just be very annoying. Your call.

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Under no circumstance can a Marine breed naturally.

SPACE MARINE WEAPONS

Standard armament for Marines is the ubiquitous boltgun, a weapon which has been in use since pre-Unity. A very rugged and reliable weapon, the bolter is also highly accurate and extremely deadly thanks to its high-penetration capabilities and wide range of available ammunition. Statistically speak-ing the bolter is the most lethal weapon employed by the Imperium in the 41th Millennium. It’s re-sponsible for more enemy battlefield deaths than any other weapon employed since the 30th Millenni-um. It also holds the record for shot/kill ratio and cost/kill ratio. It would, however, be a mistake to think that one could equip every Imperial Guardsman with a bolter and thereby create an invincible army (it has been tried – multiple times – with little success). The bolter is such an effective weapon because they are wielded by the Galaxy’s most skilled and consummate killers – the Imperial Space Marines. A Marine could of course kill well with any weapon, but he kills best with the weapon the Emperor chose for him. The bolter is, quite simply, optimized for exactly the types of warfare Marines engage – swift and overwhelming assaults against key enemy positions for the most part.

Bolt guns fire fin-stabilized hyper-velocity armour-penetrating mass-reactive supra-explosive rounds (bolts). Bolters (and bolt pistols) employed by the Marines use the standard Imperial .75 cal saboted booster-assisted rounds (compared to the .50 in use with non-Astartes bolt weaponry). Heavy bolters and sniper weapons instead use the Imperial 1.00 cal, gaining additional range/accuracy, penetrating power and explosive force. The chosen calibre is optimal for dealing with a variety of targets; soft tar-gets in the open are eliminated even by peripheral hits – tougher infantry such as larger xenos species and <classified> can be take down by a few well-placed bolts. Hardened targets are also vulnerable – the bolter can regularly defeat power armour, tactical dreadnaught armour given enough fire, and lightly armoured vehicles are highly vulnerable to heavy bolter/sniper fire.

Initial launch of the bolts is accomplished by use of a gauss-type (electromagnetic) mass driver; a fairly bulky piece of archao-tech largely monopolized by the Mechanicus, but available in quantities to the hallowed Astartes. New bolts are force-fed into the launch chamber, creating a completely sealed weapon system with very few moving parts and near-flawless jamming record. The rare dud or would-be jams are quickly cleared by the weapon’s machine sprit in the majority of cases.

The mass driver has a variable power setting, with the lower setting making the weapon effectively recoil-less, ideal for use in zero- and microgravity. The higher (normal) setting gives the bolt an initial velocity of around 1500 mps, while the lower setting provides a modest (sub-sonic) 300 mps with negligible recoil (standard operating mode in no-/microgravity scenarios).

After launch the bolt is given additional velocity by its miniature booster rocket, maxing out at around 1800 mps at 200 meters and sustaining this out to a range of approximately 1000 meters; accuracy out to this range is very high indeed. Bolts launched in the low-velocity setting have less accuracy, range and penetrating power; the booster burns out at 1500 mps at 200 meters with no sustain phase (partially mitigated by the fact that gravity/atmosphere is often non-existent when this setting is utilized). 

Standard ammunition is armour piercing explosive; an adamantine kinetic penetrator containing a mass-reactive fuse and supra-explosive compound. The bolt is capable of regularly defeating power armour out to 1200 meters, can penetrate Tactical Dreadnought armour if it can be made to strike vulnerable spots, and is even recorded to be effective in damaging Dreadnought suits given sufficient volume of fire (the chance of penetrating the sarcophagus is nearly nil, but the Dreadnaught’s exterior system can be terminated, thereby neutralizing the Dreadnaught).
The explosive force of the bolt and the adamantine shrapnel produced is sufficient to incapacitate (or kill if a hit to the head or vitals is achieved) even a healthy Marine. Unaugmented humans or humanoid aliens are literally blow to pieces by exploding bolter hits, and are usually killed outright even by hits to the extremities. Even if the bolt does not detonate within the target the kinetic force imparted by the heavy hyper-velocity bolt is sufficient to incapacitate or kill most soft targets.

Alternate ammunition types include hyper-dense armour penetrators (used against heavy personal armour and vehicles), explosive fragmentation (used against massed soft targets in the open), plas-matic incendiary (ideal for defeating personal armour, setting things on fire, or consuming local at-mospheric oxygen), bio-toxin (lethal against unprotected bioforms, including Tyranids), psyk-out (an-ti-psyker/warp entity ammunition), and thermic fusion ('melta bolts'; an alternate anti-armour am-munition used primarily against vehicles and strongpoints).

The bolter is fully integrated with the PA suit; the machine spirit contained within the gun is subservi-ent to the suit spirit. The Marine will instinctively 'know' what the gun is aimed at, as the suit and gun sensors gather and calculate optimum fining solutions, adding this to the already considerable accuracy of Marine gunners. Bolters also come with back-up iron sights – these are difficult to use properly given the bolter’s lack of a proper stock, but Marines manage because of their extensive training and experience with the weapon. Bolters with sighting attachments are a sure sign that the gun is a more primitive pattern and/or the Marine’s suit lacks the means to fully integrate with the gun’s machine spirit.

Although capable of laying down a storm of fully automatic fire, the bolter is primarily a precision weapon. Marines normally conserve ammo and fire either single shots or short (3-4 rounds) controlled bursts. The burst is the preferred fire mode, for it almost ensures a hit and the elimination of the target. Single shots are used where the conservation of ammunition is important or the firing solution so good that a burst would be wasteful (and one does not waste the Emperor’s ammunition needlessly).

Bolter ammunition is large calibre, but since initial launch is accomplished by a mass driver each round doesn’t have to be very massive; only the warhead and booster/sustainer rocket. Each sickle-shaped bolter magazine contains a double ‘U’ of bolts, approximately 100 bolter rounds (varies somewhat with boltgun/magazine pattern), weighing in at nearly 10 kg (for a combined weapon/ammo weight of around 40-45 kg). Given the fact that Marine bolters are also very large and lack a proper stock they are effectively impossible to use for lesser men.

Though rarely mentioned in Imperial propaganda, Marines cannot conjure ammunition from thin air, nor are their magazine capacity without limit. Each Marine will carry a number of spare magazines clipped on their utility belt (usually 4-8 extra magazines during normal operations). If need be a single marine can easily sling bandoleers or even flak-bags of extra ammunition. A single Marine can effec-tively transport a hundred extra mags with little reduction in movement rates. Marine tactics call for sudden overwhelming attacks, meaning that a standard ammunition load is usually sufficient. 500-1000 bolter rounds are ideally sufficient to eliminate between 50 and 500 targets depending on target profile. This is way higher than the kill-to-shot ratio of other troops; only Marines can achieve this kind of lethality.

Some bolter patterns have an auxiliary under-barrel weapon system, usually a grenade launcher that’s capable of launching mini-grenades at least 200 meters. Other bolters are fitted with a grenade at-tachment point and the necessary machine spirit to enable them to fire standard grenades as rifle gre-nades – a single bolt round propels the grenade away from the rifle. This is a less accurate system, but more flexible in terms of grenade types that can be fired. Most patters eschew these options because they add bulk and complexity – and because a suited Marine can throw a grenade about as far as is needed under most battlefield situations. Bolters can be fitted with a variety of bayonets, combat blades, saws and whatnot – again rarely used except in propaganda.

All Marines also carry a bolt pistol (incl. at least 2 spare pistol-magazines) as a back-up weapon, a chainsword for melee work, a mono-blade (combat knife) that serves primarily in a utilitarian role, and a variety of grenades (typically frag, krak, and smoke/blind). Marines can also carry a variety of specialist and heavy weapons, as well as mission-specific gear.

The bolt pistol uses the same ammunition as the bolter, but has a less capable mass driver (equivalent to the low-power setting of the bolter), giving it somewhat shorter range, reduced accuracy, and lim-ited penetration. It’s largely useless against PA, but excellent for close quarters work against soft infan-try. Perfect in combination with chainsword and/or grenades for clearing out enemy trenches and fortifications. The single ‘U’ mag holds 20-30 rounds.

Chainswords are effectively hi-tech chainsaws. Using hyperdense cutting surface a chainsword can shear through soft infantry with ease. Power armour offers good protection on the heavily armoured surfaces, but a good swordsman can strike at joints and other poorly armoured sections to good effect.

Marine combat knives are primarily a symbol and a tool, but in a pinch it can be used as a melee weap-on. Such blades are invariably made using hi-tech materials and using the best techniques available to the Astartes. They cannot cut through armoured plates, but they can easily decapitate or disembowel soft infantry. Some blades can serve as bayonets.
Marines make some use of grenades during close quarters fighting. The Marine’s PA makes him imper-vious to the effects of most of his grenades; a Marine could employ frag grenades at very close ranges without any chance of harm to himself or his Battle-Brothers. The same goes smoke, shock and stun grenades – all suitable for use against soft targets, but effectively harmless against a PA suit. Gas-based grenades are also largely useless against marines, but can be employed to good effect against unpro-tected infantry, either to incapacitate/kill or as area denial weapons.

More specialized weapons are also found in the Marine arsenal. The promethium flamer is a popular specialist weapon for Marines engaging enemy fortifications or deploying in other short-range envi-ronments. Plasma guns have many of the benefits of the flamer combined with those of a direct energy weapons; unfortunately plasma guns are more temperamental and require special training to use properly. Melta guns are the Marine weapon of choice for dealing with heavy armour at close ranges. The bolt sniper rifle is also used; primarily by scout units, but also by certain marksman specializts within the Marine squads.

Heavy weapon choices include the iconic heavy bolter. Using a 5000-round drum magazine of 1.00 cal bolts it can tear apart enemy positions, hard infantry, soft infantry, or lightly armoured vehicles. In the hands of a properly trained Devastator specialist it’s a fearsome weapon indeed. The independently targeting and tracking multi-missile launcher is another favoured marine support weapon. It combines range, flexibility and killing power. Marines also employ lascannon, heavy plasma weapons and multi-meltas as needed.

A typical Tactical Squad of 10 Marines will have 1-2 specialist weapons and 1-2 heavy weapons; the exact type will depend on mission parameters. A ‘typical’ load out could consist of 1 plasma gun, 1 mel-ta gun, 1 heavy bolter, and one missile-launcher. The rest of the squad carry bolters. Assaults Squads forego heavy weapons, replacing them with weapons suitable for close combat. Devastator Squads carry up to four heavy weapons instead of specialist weapons; a four-lascannon Devastator Squad conducting mobile defence of an urban area can potentially keep very large enemy armour formations – and their attending soft infantry – tied down.

Astartes are also trained in the use of just about every type of STC weapon found in the Imperial arse-nal. A Marine that finds himself disarmed or out of ammunition could pick up anything from a lasgun to a heavy stubber and use it with full proficiency. Even in the rare even that a Marine should be without any ammunition and unable to scavenge a serviceable weapon he’s not unarmed – Marines can kill with chainswords, combat blades, sticks, stones, fists and feet. Until a marine is dead he’s always a mortal danger to his enemies!

Founding: 1st (M30). No successors.

Primarch: Mortarion (Daemon Prince)

Affiliation: Nurgle

Original homeworld: Barbarus (location/condition unknown)

Current homeworld: "The Plague Planet", Eye of Terror

Organization: The Death Guard appears now much as it did during the days of Horus; as an infantry-heavy formation that puts great emphasis on determination in the face of enemy fire, perseverance in the face of hardship, and the utter and ruinous destruction of their enemies. Less well known is the fact that the Death Guard excel at infiltration and subversion; it's something of a specialty of theirs to turn the oppressed masses of the Imperium into unwitting pawns by making them rise up against their oppressors.

Attrition is a fact of life in the ranks of the Death Guard - few other legions have such a high turnover. To compensate the Death Guard recruits extensively, implants the neophytes with force-grown organs, trains its warriors only briefly, equips them with leftover wargear and send them into battle. Losses in the field are always high among neophytes, but death through disease is also an important factor. The life of a Battle-Brother does not hold much value to Death Guard commanders - those who die in battle are honoured, but those that succumb to 'weakness of flesh and spirit' are considered to be failure. Only those who somehow survive the both the meat grinder and endure the plagues that the Grandfather tests them with are deemed worthy to become true Marines.

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).