CAMPAIGNS OF THE AGE OF DARKNESS ™

The Battle for

Beta-GarmonSHADOW WARS
Warhammer: The Horus Heresy – Campaigns of the Age of Darkness: The Battle for Beta-Garmon © Copyright Games Workshop Limited 2024.
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 Contents
THE CRUCIBLE OF A DARK AGE 6 LEGIONES ASTARTES: SHATTERED LEGIONS 130
The Years of Blood and Death 7
The Garmon Cluster 12 LEGIONES ASTARTES: BLACKSHIELDS 150

THE WAR FOR THE GARMON CLUSTER 16 LEGIONES AUXILIA 164

Legiones Consularis: Overseer 177
LEGIONS REFORGED 78
SOLAR AUXILIA: RULES ADDENDA 178
CAMPAIGNS OF THE AGE OF DARKNESS: Solar Auxilia Hermes Light Sentinel Squadron 180
THE GARMON BULWARK 94 Solar Auxilia Hermes Veletaris Squadron 181
The Onslaught Campaign System 95 Solar Auxilia Aethon Heavy Sentinel Squadron 182
The Garmon Bulwark Campaign 106 Solar Auxilia Lifeward Section 186

AGE OF DARKNESS CORE MISSIONS 109 LEGIONES ASTARTES: NEW UNITS 188
Horus Aximand 190
THE GARMON BULWARK APEX MISSIONS 122 Tybalt Marr 192
Hibou Khan 194
Shadrak Meduson 196
Endryd Haar 198
Legion Optae 200
Legion Company Command Squad 202
THE CRUCIBLE OF A DARK AGE

The Crucible
of a Dark Age
“We shall fight for every last world, every last city and to the last bolt in our arsenal.
In victory Horus shall be a master only of ruin and the emperor of a dead realm.”

Attr. Miras Gilrastes, Military Advisor to the Palatine Lords of Beta-Garmon

The Garmon Cluster was the graveyard of the Imperium. the Seneschal of Terra, had seen the inhuman cost already
paid to hold the Garmon Cluster, had heard the name
Here, billions upon billions of lives were thrown into the by which history would refer to this folly. Yet, even he
raging fires of Horus’ ambition and Dorn’s desperation, could not stop that which was now underway, only feed
discarded without thought or pause to feed the fighting the flames of death and war in the hope that it would
that was consuming the dominion of Mankind. A realm, consume his enemies even as it did his servants. To that
once powerful and prosperous, was reduced to ruin; its end he would throw his own brothers, Sanguinius and
triumphs laid low and people slaughtered at the whim Jaghatai, into the crucible.
of distant warlords and generals. This was the fate of the
Imperium writ in blood for all to see, a grim and fearful This was the bitter end of the Horus Heresy, the last
darkness of eternal war. reward due those that had blackened the Emperor’s dream
of unity.
For Horus to rise all the realms of Garmon must endure
that fate, and for the Imperium to live then at least some This was the Great Slaughter in all its terrible glory.
fragment of Garmon’s broken glory must survive. Dorn,
The Years of Blood and Death
THE YEARS OF
BLOOD AND DEATH

THE HAND OF THE WARMASTER

In the immediate aftermath of Horus’ first betrayal upon Isstvan III, the Warmaster’s
emissaries and agents find their way into the Garmon Cluster, conducting acts of coercion,
assassination and sabotage to pave the way for the Traitors. Ominously, Loyalist holdings
across the outer systems and isolated outposts of the cluster simply fall silent, a stark warning
for the Garmonite Lords of what awaits them should they spurn Horus’ rule.

THE DROPSITE MASSACRE

Seven Space Marine Legions are sent to crush Horus’ nascent rebellion upon the world of
Isstvan V, only for four of the Legions to reveal their own treachery and all but annihilate
those who hold true to the Imperium. Scattered vessels of Iron Hands, Salamanders and
Raven Guard survivors flee the cataclysm, several finding their way to the Garmon Cluster and
inciting further terror among its populace.

THE GARMONITE CONCLAVE

Across the cluster the actions of Horus’ agents escalate, leaving hundreds of senior officials
dead and resulting in widespread sabotage including the depressurisation of agri-domes upon
Delta-Garmon II and mutiny among the void docks of Theta-Garmon X. At Nyrcon City upon
Beta-Garmon II, a Conclave of the Garmonite Lords is called to address the growing unrest,
only for a Millennial of the Emperor’s Children under the guise of Loyalist survivors of Isstvan
V to intercede. After days of foreboding silence from Nyrcon City, the Palatine-lady and a host
of Loyalist Garmonite Lords are publicly announced to have withdrawn from office, with a
freshly appointed regent-council having taken their place. In the face of broad dissent and
distrust at what many see as an obvious coup by Horus’ forces, the new regent-council enacts
martial law, setting into motion a cascade of events that will initiate open war across the cluster
within a year as Loyalists marshal their own forces to restore Palatine-lady Vail to power.

THE FIRST BATTLE OF PARAMAR

A vital acquisition in Horus’ planned route to Terra, the warp nexus and provender world of
Paramar V is seized via guile and brute force by the Alpha Legion. Connected to the Garmon
Cluster by a short stretch of the Via Solaris, the violent seizure of the Paramar system is a
statement of intent from the Traitors as they turn their gaze upon the worlds of Garmon.
BIRTH OF THE RUINSTORM
With the strife unleashed across the Garmon Cluster having finally boiled over into open
warfare, Lorgar’s Ruinstorm descends upon the galaxy: a warp storm of impossible scale which
renders interstellar travel all but impossible for large swathes of space. Hosts of Loyalist titans,
knights, Space Marines and Imperial Army drawn to the escalating conflict in the Garmon
Cluster are suddenly trapped, cut off from all communication and reinforcement while Horus’
fleets, still capable of navigating the ætheric turmoil, ferry a steady flow of Traitor forces to
oppose them.

THE FIRST BATTLE OF NYRCON CITY

A relief force of Imperial Fists, Saturnyne Rams and Legio Astorum titans dispatched by
Rogal Dorn manages to penetrate the Ruinstorm engulfing the Garmon Cluster, immediately
moving to besiege the Traitor-held Nyrcon City and reinforcing Loyalist troops across Beta-
Garmon II at large. Assisted by the unexpected arrival of a Salamanders host aboard the Ebon
Drake, the Imperial Fists capture Nyrcon City and restore Palatine-lady Vail to rule, although
the resumption of Imperial authority over Beta-Garmon II does little to quell the ongoing
conflict across the planet.

THE CHARNEL FATE OF ZETA-GARMON X

The World Eaters’ 49th Chapter, having marauded across the Garmon Cluster for almost three
years, falls upon the blighted world of Zeta-Garmon X. Here the World Eaters fortify the
surface installations above one of the world’s vast mining prisons, continuing to strike out at
targets throughout the cluster from this new base of operations even as refugees pour into the
backwater system in the hope it might be spared the same fate as the war-torn domains around
it. Once the 49th Chapter has departed for Beta-Garmon II at the waning of the Ruinstorm,
these refugees are discovered alongside masses of prisoners in hastily converted lab complexes,
their bloody cadavers the detritus of a rapid-induction effort of massive scale.

THE RUINSTORM ABATES

The turbulent warp eddies engulfing the Garmon Cluster begin to subside as the Ruinstorm
wanes, finally allowing communiques and reinforcements to reach Loyalist holdouts. As Rogal
Dorn commands all forces within reach to join the cluster’s defence, focussing their muster on
Beta-Garmon II, Traitor fleets are also pulled into the conflict, further intensifying the fighting
as the Loyalists desperately try to hold this primary route to Terra.

HOUNDS OF THE WARMASTER

Outrider fleets unleashed by the Traitors strike at the outer systems of the Garmon Cluster
in uncoordinated but deadly raids, forcing Loyalist commanders upon Beta-Garmon II and
III to dispatch troops lest they lose contact with these outer systems entirely. With armies
defending the core worlds now stretched thin, Horus directs the main power of his Titan Legios
against them, crushing resistance around the agri-domes of Delta-Garmon II and breaking
the defenders of the Garmonite shipyards at Theta-Garmon X, meagre reinforcements from
Loyalist Legios the only factor which prevents these systems from falling under complete
Traitor control.
THE SECOND BATTLE OF NYRCON CITY
With the other core systems of the Garmon Cluster aflame, Beta-Garmon itself finally falls
under the Warmaster’s shadow. Titan Legios battle across the fortifications encircling Beta-
Garmon II’s primary hives while the void above seethes as Traitor vessels do battle in the
space about the Anvil, a star fortress which hangs in geostationary orbit above Nyrcon City.
Within Nyrcon, the garrisoning Imperial Fists and Saturnyne Rams hold off waves of Traitor
Legionaries, but finally succumb as Traitor titans breach the city’s gates and burn the Loyalists
from their redoubts. As Beta-Garmon II’s capital falls to the Traitors, Horus’ forces move
rapidly to seize the rest of the planet, whilst nearby Beta-Garmon III remains tenuously under
Loyalist control, siege battalions of Sons of Horus and Iron Warriors Legionaries harrying the
defenders relentlessly.

DESPERATE ENTREATIES
Loyalist forces across the Garmon Cluster prepare to make their final stand against the Traitor
onslaught as Horus’ armies multiply, descending upon the outer systems in an attempt to
overwhelm the remaining defenders. Constant astropathic pleas for aid are broadcast from
the Diviner’s Needle upon Beta-Garmon III in the hope of persuading any of the Emperor’s
armies within reach, though most Loyalist forces resort to hurling themselves at their foes
with little pretence of strategy in the face of certain death.

COMMENCEMENT OF THE SEA OF FIRE CAMPAIGN

A colossal battle erupts in the void between Beta-Garmon II and III as Loyalist and Traitor
ships vie for position, intent on destroying their foes’ holdings from orbit. Fresh fleets finally
arrive from the Segmentum Solar, sent by Rogal Dorn in response to the deluge of astropathic
entreaties and bringing sorely needed relief to various Loyalist forces across the cluster.

THE ANGEL AND THE KHAN

The Praetorian Rogal Dorn tasks the Primarchs Jaghatai Khan and Sanguinius with rallying
the Loyalist defenders of the Garmon Cluster, dispatching them at the head of a host of Space
Marine Legionaries and Solar Auxilia. While the Primarch of the Blood Angels is determined
to arrive en masse as an emboldening display of Imperial power, the Khan dispenses with what
he deems as idle posturing and races ahead into the cluster, beginning a pronged attack across
the outer systems. Sanguinius deploys to the core systems of the cluster in an effort to marshal
the disparate Loyalist forces, but suffers for the lack of a clear command structure among the
defenders, failing to unify hosts which are fighting across a hundred fronts.
GARMON DEFIANT
As the Great Khan’s divided fleet reaves across the northern and southernmost reaches of
the cluster and Sanguinius gathers Loyalist enclaves to his banner en route to Garmon’s core
systems, the central Traitor domains fortify in anticipation of the Angel’s onslaught. Dark
Mechanicum elements upon Delta-Garmon II reform the remnants of felled war machines
into vast fortifications of agglomerated wreckage, while the defences of Nyrcon City upon
Beta-Garmon II are brought to readiness once more, waiting to be turned against the Loyalists
who once manned them. Across the cluster, Horus’ lieutenants gather what void assets
they can, redirecting relic escorts and vast battleships alike in anticipation of a cataclysmic
confrontation with Sanguinius’ fleet.

THE DEATH OF 147-GAMMA MINORIS-GARMON

Chapter Master Raldoron – tasked with gathering Loyalist forces from the scattered worlds
of the Minoris-Garmon – leads a host of Blood Angels to 147-Gamma Minoris-Garmon, a
lesser world located apart from the primary warp routes of the Garmon Cluster. The planet’s
once lush agri-plains have been reduced to toxic sludge by alchem-munitions unleashed by
the Death Guard and their ‘Bleak Marcher’ Legiones Auxilia, consigning the Solar Auxilia
and Imperial Militia defenders to a slow and cruel death from starvation as they hold
back the Traitors’ assault. The Traitor force is broken and scattered by an orbital assault
conducted by the Blood Angels, but despite Raldoron’s entreaties, the Loyalist defenders
refuse to abandon the world they have fought for these past six years, knowing that to
remain spells certain death. Unwilling to punish the recalcitrant Imperial Army soldiers
for cleaving to their ruined home world, Raldoron mournfully orders his fleet to depart,
re-designating 147-Gamma Minoris-Garmon a death world on Imperial charts.

ARRIVAL OF THE DARK SENTRY

The anomalous and ill-omened rogue celestial body known as the Dark Sentry appears
inexplicably within the reaches of the Beta-Garmon system, a Traitor fleet concealed in its
shadow. Loyalist ships embroiled in the wider Sea of Fire Campaign move to counter this new
threat lest the Traitor vessels deposit troops against the remaining Loyalist redoubts upon
Beta-Garmon III. Ultimately, fighting sprawls onto the surface of the Dark Sentry itself, the
forces arrayed against each other doing battle over a world whose physical properties seem to
shift at a moment’s notice.

THETA-GARMON AFLAME
Loyalist titans and voidcraft attempt to seize the vital shipyards at Theta-Garmon V in the
hopes of establishing a foothold within the heart of the Garmon Cluster. Initial titan landings
upon the hardened exterior of the orbital shipyards make significant headways, pushing back
Traitor forces from several key docks, though this is eventually revealed as a ploy to draw out
the Loyalist Legios when a solar event is triggered by Dark Mechanicum adepts to burn out the
god-engines’ sensor arrays. Debilitated, the Loyalist titans are crushed by the Traitor Legios
arrayed against them, depriving Sanguinius’ fleet of a valuable harbour to resupply and repair
en route to the Beta-Garmon system.
THE TITANDEATH
Gargantuan musters of Loyalist and Traitor hosts, drawn from across huge swathes of space in
anticipation of a deciding conflict for the Beta-Garmon system are finally unleashed, headed
by Sanguinius and the Warmaster himself. The largest titan battle in recorded history occurs
upon the surface of Beta-Garmon II as hundreds of titans drawn from over twenty Legios
contest the shattered remains of the world’s primary hives, the magnitude of the devastation
which is unleashed spelling the end of entire Titan Legios.

CALDERA PRIMUS BESIEGED

With Sanguinius and his Blood Angels embroiled in fighting across Beta-Garmon II and the
Anvil orbital star-fortress, Horus moves with his Sons of Horus and reserve Titan Legios to
assault the Loyalists’ main holdings upon Beta-Garmon III. Detonating a vortex warhead in
the upper atmosphere, the Traitors forge a break in the caustic storms which have enshrouded
Caldera Primus for millennia, causing the hive’s ancient and ill-understood void shield array
to deactivate and opening a path for the Warmaster’s forces to strike the hive city before the
storm descends once more.

THE GREAT SLAUGHTER

Across the region, the renewed intensity of warfare during this final, climactic phase of the
war for the Garmon Cluster brings about utter devastation. Known as ‘The Great Slaughter’,
the tally of death in the cluster reaches into the billions, though any true accounting of the
dead is impossible as forces resort to obliterating their own cities and fortresses rather than
seeing them conquered. The harvest domes and planetary surface of Delta-Garmon II are both
cracked open, while what remains of Theta-Garmon X’s shipyards are encompassed by a vast
debris field that stretches for millions of kilometres.

SHATTERING OF THE DIVINER’S NEEDLE

Having drawn in the greater strength of the Loyalist defence upon Beta-Garmon III to Caldera
Primus, Horus directs a host of Titan Legios and knights against the Diviner’s Needle, now
protected by a meagre handful of Loyalist titans divided among several different Legios. Vastly
outnumbered, such a force cannot hope to hold off the Traitor onslaught and at the height of
the battle, the astropathic relay itself is toppled, releasing a psychic howl that reaches every
corner of the Garmon Cluster and beyond, inducing panic and terror among Loyalist forces.
With the Loyalists now unable to contact Terra or the wider Imperial war effort, this action
heralds the end of the Beta-Garmon campaign as all attempts to delay the Warmaster’s march
upon Terra collapse.
The Garmon Cluster
 PREFACE
I dare not hope for the future of the Imperium, for I know the horrors of its past.

War came to the Garmon Cluster and worlds were split asunder, the death scream of billions echoed
through the Empyrean. It was a place, like so many others, where once life had thrived but was now a place
that became so familiar with death that it was forever darkened.

Weapons of apocalyptic power were levelled to unleash their unspeakable fury and in the fires they wrought,
entire armies were consumed. Full Legios of Titans walked and fell, machines built to emulate the gods
of old were cut down amidst the tempest of battles that saw cities smashed to dust and ruin. In the space
of each heartbeat, so many lives were lost that the warriors who fought for the Garmon Cluster became
numbed to grief. They paid no mind to reverence, for they too may perish before the tears of their mourning
had dried upon their bloodied cheeks.

Into this crucible of destruction, the Praetorian sent forth his armies to hold against the coming of
the Warmaster. His champions, Sanguinius and Jaghatai Khan, were forced to exert their strengths to
defend the Imperium of Mankind, to stem the tide of devastation that lapped at Terra’s bounds. From
this unthinkable task though, no victory could be gleaned, merely a demonstration of the defiance of
the Imperium.

Herein is an account of the Garmon Cluster, a place destroyed not in a desperate struggle for victory,
instead laid to waste in a battle for survival, the outcome of which would decide the fate of Mankind.
THE WAR FOR THE GARMON CLUSTER

War for the

The
Garmon Cluster
“All have witnessed the horrors unleashed in Mankind’s darkest hours but they are naught compared to what has awoken…”

Unsanctioned inscriptions applied to the Sector Municipalis – Bulkhead-A 60-3 quadrant of the Imperial Palace
Swiftly, the shadow of Horus’ betrayal enveloped the With the destruction of these worlds and many more like
galaxy, the initial acts of fratricide committed at Isstvan them, billions of humans experienced torturous suffering
III becoming a pall of darkness that spread throughout beyond the scope of imagination. They were caught in the
the Imperium. The fel power of proscribed weapons was tempest of a war between the grandest armies ever raised
once again unleashed upon the field of battle, no longer by Mankind, led by warrior demi-gods, the Primarchs
levelled against the xenos threats that encroached upon born for this purpose. Many were found longing for death
the borders of the Imperium but upon those who had as an escape from the horror-filled existence within the
bled to establish its foundations and raised it to grandeur. ruins of the galaxy that once was. Oblivion, no matter the
Brother fought brother with all the vitriolic fervour that means by which it came, began to appeal as a tempting
Mankind had once vented upon the alien and the despot respite from the reality of the life that now awaited them.
at the frontiers of the domain of the Emperor. The warriors of the Emperor’s Legions would not wish
for such an escape and instead, divided by betrayal, they
The Warmaster’s armies were joined by new and terrifying would fight on, desperate to prevail as the tempest of war
threats; beings of murder and hatred made manifest, burned around them, driven by the bitter enmity for their
coaxed forth through tears in the fabric of reality itself cousins who they had once known as kin.
by the dying screams of billions. They joined alongside
the ranks of Space Marines and human warriors that Internecine war reached every corner of the Imperium.
swore allegiance to the Warmaster, to bring death to the In addition to the Legions, now divided by their loyalties
Imperium of Mankind. even within their own ranks, the Martian Mechanicum
were embroiled in a civil war that engulfed the Red Planet.
No place was spared the onset of apocalyptic destruction; Factions within their coalition aligned with either the
Cthonia, the home world of the Warmaster, was Emperor or Horus and swore to destroy the other in a bid
embroiled in a bitter war between the Imperial Fists for control of the forges of Mars and their production of
and the Sons of Horus that would see the planet machines and weapons, the tools of war itself. Each of the
broken to fragments. The splendour of verdant Calth, thousands of Solar Auxilia cohorts was forced to choose
a glittering jewel amongst the five hundred worlds of their side as their domains were shrouded by the creeping
Ultramar, was scoured by the radiation of its wounded darkness of Horus Lupercal’s betrayal. In the same
sun, part of a ritual performed by the Word Bearers to manner, the countless billions under arms that formed
stir the Ruinstorm itself into being. In the Segmentum the Imperial Army and the Militia Auxilia throughout
Tempestus, the surface of Tallarn was reduced to an the reaches of the galaxy were forced to stand with the
irradiated wasteland by the virus bombs of the Iron Emperor or to bear aloft the banner of the Eye of Horus
Warriors, another once lush and plentiful world laid to and join the Warmaster’s crusade upon Terra.
waste under the heels of the Traitor host.
THE ADVANCE ON TERRA The Garmon Cluster sat at a waypoint between Paramar
The armies of Horus fought not merely to seed chaos and and Terra on one of the most stable and predictable warp
destruction across the burning galaxy. At the command conduits to the west of the galactic core; it represented a
of the Warmaster, the Traitor host sought to take Terra, pass through the mountain ranges of the Empyrean and
the seat of the Emperor’s power over the Imperium itself. would be a critical staging point for the Warmaster’s final
Although their actions appeared as little more than a assault on Terra. Through the Garmon Cluster, Horus
headlong push for the Sol System, the Warmaster and would be able to direct his fleets rapidly and accurately
his allies marched upon Terra along a measured path, from throughout the Ultima Segmentum and the
each victory in battle constituting a single, bloody step surrounding sectors and bear down with irresistible force
towards the gates of the Imperial Palace. The paths these on the Loyalists within the Segmentum Solar, at the same
incremental steps followed were determined and shaped time depriving Dorn of a route by which reinforcements
by the whims of the prevailing currents of the Empyrean, could reach Terra and the resources of the cluster itself.
that swirling and billowing realm that spanned an infinite Significant numbers of Loyalist troops were deployed
and unmeasurable space beyond the bounds of physical within the many systems of the Garmon Cluster in
reality. To follow these paths, many of which were only concentrations around the majoris-grade systems such as
mapped by the trial and error of early warp voyages, Beta-Garmon, the site of Nyrcon City, the capital of the
facilitated the most rapid and reliable travel throughout cluster, and Theta-Garmon, which was the location of vast
the galaxy and it was along these conduits that Horus’ shipyards and Imperial battlefleet facilities. This Great
armada moved. Although the Warmaster’s forces, aided by Muster, as it was known, was intended to ensure that the
the pantheon of dark gods that they served and favoured Garmon Cluster remained under Imperial control as part
by the whims of unreality, suffered less in the perilous of the extended defence lines before Horus’ oncoming.
turbulence of warp energy due to their malevolent
allegiance, the forces of the Imperium relied on these Owing to this, the Garmon Cluster would play host to
routes for resupply and reinforcement. It was by these some of the most pivotal and cataclysmic battles of the
actions that Horus sought to block and impede with the Horus Heresy. In the Sea of Fire thousands of ships would
presence of his own forces. burn in war zones so vast that tallies of their dead could
never hope to be recorded. Billions would perish during
the Great Slaughter, a war so grand that the funeral pyres
of its fallen would burn for a thousand years. More would Traitor and Loyalist control. In the face of such wanton
perish at Nyrcon City alone than had in the conquest of destruction, Dorn’s Great Muster was sent into disarray
entire sectors of the galaxy, and the monumental events and instead of a cohesive Loyalist force, the defenders of
of the Titandeath would inflict damage so extensive that the Garmon Cluster were fragmented and disorganised,
even by the labour of a hundred generations, it could not fighting as isolated pockets of resistance.
be repaired. Two loyal sons of the Emperor would be sent
forth, both the Primarchs Sanguinius and Jaghatai Khan, Only with the cataclysmic destruction of Davin and
the only of their kind that remained able to, and would the resultant waning of the Ruinstorm did the warp
find their strength and resolve tested in holding back the turbulence that shrouded the Garmon Cluster abate and
might of their traitorous kin, Horus Lupercal and his host. allow Rogal Dorn to commit further reinforcements to
break the Warmaster’s momentum. Any efforts to repel or
THE RUINSTORM destroy Horus’ forces within the Garmon Cluster would
The Loyalists’ capabilities to send and support be costly, but miniscule in comparison to the price of
reinforcements into the cluster were hampered by ceding the territory. If Loyalist forces were to retreat from
the Ruinstorm; a tempestuous disturbance in the the sector and fall back to the Segmentum Solar, there
Immaterium, a storm that swallowed the stars themselves would be little to prevent the Warmaster’s armada from
that was called forth with the culmination of arcane filling the vacuum behind them and establishing a direct
rituals conducted by the Word Bearers on distant route through which to march his armies upon Terra.
Calth. Lesser effects were felt by the Traitors, who, in
the shadows, enacted malevolent schemes to bolster Even as humanity itself was divided and burgeoning
their numbers and subjugate the worlds of the Garmon darkness threatened to smother all that was light, a fire
Cluster. Operatives of the Alpha Legion and companies still burned in the hearts of many. In some, the fire was
of Emperor’s Children having awaited the time to rise up fuelled by hope, a belief that all could be rebuilt in the
during the Garmon Cluster’s isolation, sent even prior to wake of Horus’ betrayal, if only his advance on Terra could
the rousing of the Ruinstorm as infiltrators and agents be halted. In others, fires of hatred burned, fuelled by the
of disorder, destabilised the control of the Garmonite desire to exact vengeance upon the Emperor’s treacherous
Lords. Titan Legios and Knight Households were set in son and all that followed with him. None, however, were
opposition, bringing their cataclysmic weapons to bear in ignorant to the fact that there could be no peace for
battle, embroiling worlds throughout the cluster in open Mankind now, for no loyal son could bear to tolerate the
warfare as control was wrested back and forth between existence of a traitor and no traitor could rest whilst a
single loyal soul stood in defiance.
The Praetorian’s
Command
“Let the seas boil, let the stars fall. Though it takes the last drop
of my blood, I will see the galaxy freed once more.”

Horus Lupercal
Horus would return to Terra. Terra’s governing council was riven by such a bold
decision. Several subordinate sector commanders and
Although destined as it was, the Warmaster foresaw grand-generals of the Imperial Army reckoned such a
the vital importance of the timing of his assault on course of action to be too reckless and uncharacteristic
the Throneworld and the manner in which it must be of the Primarch of the VIIth Legion. Following this, a coup
delivered. If he struck before the time was right, he risked was birthed in the cloisters of Terra’s great command
doing so with forces unprepared, lacking their full number strategiums and open questioning of Lord Dorn’s orders
and momentum, without the aid of the pantheon of his followed, with some so bold as to voice doubts of the
dark masters and with his might still in ascendancy. To Primarch’s motivations.
strike too late and Rogal Dorn, the Praetorian of Terra,
would have the opportunity to muster his defensive Arguments were made that the loyal Primarchs would
strength and the might of Guilliman, the Lion and their perform such a pivotal role in the defence that to have
Legions would be at the Warmaster’s back, forcing his them sent forth beyond the lines of the terrestrial
armies to fight on two fronts. defence was needlessly risky and left the Imperial Palace
without contingency in the event of failure. The generals
For Horus, delay would increase the likelihood of defeat conspired to deny the Praetorian the assistance of their
but to descend upon the Throneworld recklessly was no armies, insisting that entire numerous companies of
better. If Terra, and with it the Imperium itself, were to troops, in themselves composed of many hundreds of
fall into the Warmaster’s grasp then it would require both thousands of troops, would not leave Terra and instead
cunning strategy and an amassed host of the kind never remain within the walls of the palatial defences.
before seen in all the realms of Mankind. The Garmon
Cluster would prove vital for both, and sat at the crux of Divisio Marshal Denne Korst accused the Praetorian of
Horus’ onslaught. duplicity and betrayal during a strategic council assembly
of minor-grade overseers, instigating an unruly rebellion
To waylay Horus, trap him in the Garmon Cluster and that threatened to ignite the chambers of command at the
delay his inevitable assault on Terra, Rogal Dorn ordered heart of the Imperium, which had become a tinder box of
not one but two Primarchs into the region. Sanguinius paranoia and suspicion. Elsewhere, violence erupted and
and Jaghatai Khan, accompanied by their respective battle the blood of dissenters was spilled upon the white marble
hosts, were drawn from the inner defences of the Sol steps of the Sanctum Centrum as palatine arbitration
System and Terra itself and called upon to ride out from squads were forced to bring lawless protests to order with
behind their walls and meet their foe. deadly force.

These two were among the greatest warriors and generals The Khan responded by interrupting the ceaseless
that yet remained within the Sol System. Brothers training of his warriors to place them on alert, ready to
born to reclaim the stars in the name of their father, respond to any further uprisings with their overwhelming
but now forced to stand guardian over the ruins of his might. He viewed the unrest to be instigated by privileged
dreams. Both had been tested in battles beyond the bureaucrats who had earned no place to criticise the
ken of any mortal soldier, had conquered foes beyond methods of warfare, and instead promised that further
count, and were eager to test their mettle against their dissent would result in the enforcement of the order by
treacherous brothers. the blades of the Vth Legion.

Despite their glorious legacies, Dorn was forced to select Sanguinius acted in response to these rebellions not
Sanguinius not for his superhuman charisma that willed with escalating violence, but by taking to the streets and
supplication and fealty from his lessers, nor Jaghatai for walking amongst the people to call for unity, imploring
his fearsome prowess as a crusading warrior, but simply the renegade generals to heed Dorn’s command, insistent
because they were all that remained of their kind in that his strategy was in the interest of the Imperium’s
defence of the birthplace of humanity. Not idly though defence. It was through the Great Angel’s brokering of
did the Praetorian send his brothers beyond the walls of diplomacy that a summit of the war council of Terra was
the Imperial Palace, for their absence undermined the held, assembling even those that held the most opposed
very integrity of the defence of Terra. However, so too did and conflicting views within the same auditorium.
their absence from the Garmon Cluster undermine the
chances of victory there, for only they held the strength Before the ranks of thousands of warriors, who had
necessary to delay the oncoming of Horus. gathered in the parade squares, drill spaces and barrack
houses of Terra’s defence installations, the image of Rogal
Dorn was projected via holo-cast.
Where such technology was not available, his voice What was not known throughout the diplomatic
transmitted across a network of emergency vox-emitters chambers of the Imperium’s greatest command centre,
that were intended to be used to alert Terra’s inhabitants was that Rogal Dorn had in fact acknowledged the
in the event of an attack. Dorn reasserted his orders strategy as having risks beyond even the gravest any dare
by simple repetition, his voice stern and unwavering, make utterances of. Despite the unmoving stoicism of
seeming able to cut through the metres-thick ferrocrete Dorn’s demeanour, within, he wrestled with the potential
walls that reinforced every sector of the Imperial Palace. consequences of the decision Horus had forced him to
make. Should either of his loyal brothers be lost as they
In the conclusion of his short and direct address, he played their part in this daring gambit, the impact on the
demanded that anyone who still questioned them should defence of Terra would be incalculable and the fate of
present their concerns directly, in person, within his the Imperium would be cast to the winds. For as much as
quarters, for the doorways to them would be left open for Rogal longed to go in the place of Sanguinius, it could not
any to venture within. Rogal Dorn would make this offer be, nor would he entertain the prospect of shackling the
but none came forth, for it was through the ministrations Khan with the responsibility that the role of Praetorian
of Sanguinius that mutual understanding had been entailed. As the Emperor’s appointed Primarch, chosen to
reached, even before the Praetorian had spoken. act in the stead of Master of Mankind, Dorn must remain
and await the coming of the Warmaster.

THE PRAETORIAN’S DECREE

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“It is I, Rogal Dorn, appointed Praetorian of Terra, who speaks to you
now but know that my voice is the vessel of the will of the Emperor of
Mankind and with it, I make this command.
My kin, Sanguinius, The Great Angel, Lord of the IXth Legion and
Jaghatai Khan, The Warhawk, Master of the Vth Legion are given leave of
the bonds of Terra to exert their rightly dominion over the worlds of
the Garmon Cluster and to turn back the insurrection of the perfidious
Horus and his followers.
Their absence will be felt in the hearts of all who reside here
upon this Imperial domain, but, I will accept no insubordination in
response. To doubt this command is to doubt the very will of the
Emperor. Terra demands that we stand in unity and cast out indecision,
for within indecision lies the path to duplicity.
If any amongst you possesses within them the desire to question such
authority, you may seek passage to my quarters where you will find
their doors unbarred and within them, you may speak freely of your
apprehensions before me.
In this, the will of the Emperor is made plain.”
+++Transcript ends+++
 BLOOD ANGELS ASSAULT LEGIONARY
ASSAULT LEGIONARY DIOM AGRIPA
ASSAULT SQUAD PORPHYS, IXTH LEGION, BLOOD ANGELS
WARRIOR OF THE REPRISAL HOST OF THORNE’S STATION

Legionary Agripa fought as part of Squad Porphys

of the Reprisal Host at the forefront of the
assault on 576 Minoris-Garmon. Following the
incapacitation of his squad’s sergeant, who was
grievously wounded by defensive heavy weapons
fire during their descent upon entrenched
enemies, Agripa assumed command. Spurred
on to avenge his leader, he led no less than five
separate assaults throughout enemy fortified
trench networks, using his Warhawk jump pack
to traverse the kill zones of emplaced weapons
and his chainsword to cleave apart those who
opposed him.

In the wake of the Blood Angels’ victory over

576 Minoris-Garmon, Legionary Agripa received
a commendation from First Captain Raldoron,
himself charged with the overall command of the
action. Despite the notable actions of Legionary
Agripa, his fate remains unknown but it is assumed
that he fell in battle and his body was rendered
unrecoverable in the tempest of destruction that
enveloped the battlefields in his designated sector.

PANOPLY OF WAR
Sol-militaris MkIIb pattern combat shield:
Adorned with personal heraldry incorporating
an icon of three blood drops, used by
Squad Porphys.
MkVI pauldron:
Armoured pauldron plate adorned with IXth
Legion armorial.

1. 2.
 THE IMPERIAL REPRISAL FLEET
The following compiles what is reckoned to be the most significant constituent forces and Order of Battle for the Imperial
Reprisal Fleet from what remains of extant documentation. Records of the total number of troops involved in combat actions
throughout the Garmon Cluster remain unsubstantiated by this administrative department.

Although the fates of many remain unknown, those amongst the Loyalist forces who are unaccounted for are assumed to have
fallen in the honour of Terra, until such time investigations may determine otherwise.

THE LEGIONES ASTARTES

IXth Legion, Blood Angels Vth Legion, White Scars

Sanguinius, Jaghatai Khan,
Primarch of the IXth Legion, Blood Angels Primarch of the Vth Legion, White Scars

An estimated 37,000warriors, drawn from numerous Approximately 25,000warriors formed into two
companies of the Terran defensive reserve, distinct Brotherhoods, each directed into separate
supplemented by approximately 7,000Inductii regions of the Garmon Cluster. The Brotherhood of
warriors raised from Terran population intakes, the Black Khetan, sent towards the Northern Sectors,
largely incorporated into existing formations. is known to have been augmented by considerable
numbers of Inductii troops.
Fleet Vessels
741 vessels of the IXth Fleet of comparable or greater Fleet Vessels
than line-class tonnage, at their head the Red Tear Approximately 650 Legion fleet warships led out
under the steerage of the Primarch Sanguinius, by the Lance of Heaven under the steerage of
supported by 3,012 auxiliary vessels. Jaghatai Khan, supported by an unaccounted number
of auxiliary support vessels.
Notable Commanders
Raldoron – First Captain Notable Commanders
Azkaellon – Guard Commander Nugen Tarya Khan,
Amit, Nassir – Captain Brotherhood of the Black Khetan
 LIBERATED LOYALIST FORCES THE TRAITOR HOST
The following Loyalist forces were amongst those Under the overarching command of Horus Lupercal,
encountered within the Garmon Cluster engaged in extensive forces of numerous traitorous Legions enacted
actions against Traitor forces. their treachery within the Garmon Cluster. Herein is
recorded a summary of the greater hosts that were observed
The Shattered Legions in combat actions.
Under the command of Shadrak Meduson, former Captain
of the Iron Hands, were approximately 300 void-worthy The Garrison Of Deitus
vessels, many of which had undergone extensive refit, In excess of 35,000troops stood in defence of the world
repair and modification and no longer bore the names of Deitus, with significant contingents of not only Sons
given at the time of their launch. Upon these vessels of Horus but also World Eaters and Emperor’s Children.
were an unknown number of warriors under Meduson’s Amongst them was the Warmaster himself, accompanied by
command, with estimates ranging from 3,000to 12,000 prominent individuals of the XVIth Legion hierarchy.
individuals of various Legionary provenances.
Ashurhaddon’s Command
The Fangs Of The Emperor Corroborated sightings of over 1,500 vessels under the
At the head of a band of warriors estimated to number command of Cadre-captain Vheren Ashurhaddon were
in excess of 1,000 and as many as 2,000warriors was the recorded to be operational throughout the Garmon Cluster,
former World Eater Endryd Haar. Under his control was with a projected 50,000Sons of Horus also under his
a fleet of some 150 vessels, many of which appeared to be authority. The exact composition of this force is unknown
salvaged or commandeered from various sources. and may be far greater than estimates indicated due to the
presence of unaccounted Inductii warriors.
87th Solar Auxilia Cohort, ‘Star Reavers’
An estimated 700 individual troops and approximately 50 Aximand’s Fleet
battle tanks and armoured carriers under the command of Some 300 vessels, at their head Horus Aximand aboard the
acting Cohort Marshal Varsha Doule. Aggressor, engaged the IXth Legion fleet as they traversed the
contested space to the galactic west of the core systems.
102nd Solar Auxilia Cohort, ‘Inwit Phalangites’
Cohort strength present as part of the garrison host Zeta-Garmon’s Defenders
of Beta-Garmon II, primarily concerned with the Recently commissioned XVIth Legion troops under the
extended planet-side defence of Nyrcon City, based at extended command of Ashurhaddon, estimated to number
Crypta Terminii. as many as 20,000,formed the defensive strength of the gene-
forges of Zeta-Garmon X. Elsewhere in the system, warbands
Additional Forces of the XIIth Legion, the World Eaters, and IVth Legion, the Iron
Upwards of 1,500,000troops and their supporting Warriors, were present and although operating under their
armoured companies were liberated from existing war own independent command structure, appeared to act in
zones within the Garmon Cluster and integrated under the concert with the Sons of Horus.
command of the Reprisal Fleet, incorporating elements of
the 104th, 345th, 400th and 983rd Cohorts of the Solar Auxilia. 141 st Solar Auxilia Cohort, ‘Cthonian Headhunters’
This number was also bolstered by the induction of Significant numbers of Solar Auxilia troops, bonded to the
massed ranks of planetary militia forces, relieved of their sub-commands of the Sons of Horus, augmented the strength
garrison roles and pressed into frontline duties. of the Warmaster's Legion with not only manpower but also
the might of their warmachines and void-fleet.
 THE BROTHERS’ OATH
THE MORTIFICATION INDEX Aboard the great capital ship, Phalanx, Dorn privately
Within the Garmon Cluster, Dorn’s objective was held court with both Jaghatai and Sanguinius. With
not to strive for the slimmest chance of victory, but preparations underway for the great battle hosts of
instead to merely hold off absolute defeat for as long the Vth and IXth Legions to make way for the Garmon
as possible. In order to gauge the success of this Cluster, the Praetorian chose for them to convene not
endeavour, whole communities of militarum adepts within the windowless interiors of the great bastions that
formed from generations of labourers that lived only surrounded the epicentre of the Imperium, but within
to fulfil their predisposed roles toiled at the cogitator his sanctum. Only there could adequate perspective be
banks within the grand strategium of the Praetorian gained, where the orb of Terra itself could be seen, framed
to determine what was known as the Mortification within a single viewing port of the mightiest vessel of the
Index: a vast and carefully calculated algorithm by Imperial fleet. The three loyal brothers could gaze upon
which the viability of the actions within the Garmon the one place where the entirety of humanity had, at one
Cluster and the resultant threat to Terra and the point, lived and died. In an uncharacteristically emotional
Imperial Palace could be judged. In order to preserve display, the likes of which would be revealed only to his
the already fraught morale of the Loyalist forces, the brothers, Dorn wished to impress the importance of the
true parameters of the Mortification Index, or Death mission he had devised.
Clock as it became known to them in keeping with
the now common gallows humour that had been As Luna’s shadow slowly crept across the grey-blue sphere
adopted, were not known. of Terra, the Praetorian spoke to his brothers in the
manner of a tutor, as he was prone to doing. He spoke
Outside of the Terran-based command, the of the history of humanity, of his learnings of ancient
Primarchs and the highest ranking members of the civilisations and of the triumphs of the tribes of Old
Divisio Militaris, none knew the critical numbers Earth. Times of glory and of enlightenment that had been
at which victory could be claimed or even effective and gone in the passage of time and long-dead kings and
defeat occurred. It was assumed that the deaths of tyrants whose bones had become dust before Mankind
individual humans caused an almost imperceptible had ventured out into the stars. Dorn spoke of the great
impact on the index, but when multiplied across victories of the Imperium, many of which the Great Angel
entire squadrons, formations and cohorts, the effect had enacted by his own hand.
was cumulative, with each additional formation and
war machine having a more profound impact on the “Once we trod the stars themselves as our domain, none
index itself. that existed could be found our equal. Just as humanity laid
conquest to Old Earth, we spread the borders of our dominion
It was also reckoned that the loss of either loyal with impunity. Those days are now behind us, only memories
Primarch would negatively impact the index to such for us to cleave unto.”
a degree the method of measure would become
irrelevant but throughout the Imperial force, soldiers Sanguinius, a scholar as he was, listened intently to the
would make boastful jests at their own worth lecture, allowing the indulgence as Dorn framed the orb
according to the index, making light of the fact that of Terra with his hands, as if gauging its proportions.
their continued existence had been reduced to a
simple, numerical value.
Jaghatai though, even respectful of his brothers as he
was, could not hide his impertinence at the recollection THE ANGEL’S MARCH
of these dead and irrelevant tales and his gaze was drawn As the Red Tear prepared to depart from the Sol
to the pinpoints of starlight that were visible beyond System, its glistening gold hull latticed with the scars
the curve of Terra’s horizon, each exerting a pull on his of a lifetime at war, the navigational lights on the
attention. He paced the floor like a captive animal, his flanks of each escort ship within visual range blinked
hand drawn to the hilt of his sword, longing once again in a salute to the departure of the Great Angel.
for glorious battle at the frontiers of the Imperium. Despite Jaghatai and his Legion’s prior departure,
Some moments had passed before Jaghatai had realised itself an understated affair reduced to a plain,
his distraction had silenced Rogal, who waited patiently logistical action by the ever-pragmatic Warhawk,
to continue as the Khan once again sat upon one of the Sanguinius and his war host still represented a
grand chaises that furnished the chamber. gathering of Imperial might rarely seen since the
conclusion of the Great Crusade.
As the eclipse of Luna came to veil Terra in full, Dorn’s
oratory finally came to its point, his face hardening With ceremonial order a holo-cast was broadcast to
as shadows grew from the deep lines that had been every ship’s bridge and relayed to the pict-screen in
etched across his features. Much as it was demonstrated every cabin and galley, the image of Sanguinius upon
before them by the alignment of the celestial bodies, the the command dais of his flagship. Across the fleet,
Warmaster’s shadow threatened to envelop Terra in a millions of crew, soldiers and Space Marines paused
darkness from which it would never emerge. The Garmon in the conduct of their duties and turned to view the
Cluster would be a critical point at which this darkness nearest holo-picter display or listen in to the vox-
could be held back and the light of the Imperium could be casters as the hail began. Mighty power armoured
allowed to eventually prevail. warriors towered above the human proportions of the
crowds that gathered around them, eager to catch but
As close to the Praetorian’s equal as any that lived, the a glimpse of the majesty of the Great Angel himself as
Warhawk and the Great Angel understood the nature of he prepared to deliver his address.
the Garmon Cluster and the vital role that it played in the
defence against Horus, but it was not of this that Dorn Sanguinius began to speak. He told of Horus
wished to entreaty them. Dorn did not need to rouse Lupercal, a brother he had once held dearest, how
the spirit of either one of his brothers to perform acts of Horus had become consumed by pride and how
heroism or bravery, for they were already the embodiment power had corrupted his sense of humility and duty.
of such attributes, but instead he must implore them Of a warlord who had been corrupted by his own
otherwise. Instead he warned them that although the authority, turning against the ones he once served
Garmon Cluster must hold, their actions should not and of a brother to whom he could deliver their own
be motivated by their personal desires to exact their salvation. In place of an account of the realities of the
vengeance upon their traitorous brother but instead they age, he told a tale of hope.
must be restrained, as should they fall in an ill-measured
attempt on Lupercal himself, they would damn the What Sanguinius did not speak of were the things
defence of Terra to the same end. he wished to shield the Imperium from. He did not
speak of the monsters that he had faced in the dark
recesses of the galaxy, at Signus and at Davin, and
he told not of the inescapable and ruinous influence
they had over the psyche of humans. Sanguinius
spared the truth and he alone carried the burden of
the horrors that he had witnessed, the things that
now haunted his mind, because they were things too
terrible to know, things that were the ending of hope.

With the conclusion of his address, void-drives flared

into life and combat stations were manned, setting
the bulk of the fleet following the Red Tear and
Sanguinius on a direct course for the Delta-Garmon
system. A chain of astropathic relays lit in the fleet’s
wake, carrying word of the commencement of their
mission back to Terra and to Dorn.
The Primarchs Muster
“Night has fallen and with it has come darkness and fear.
Here, I bear the torch that will bring light until the coming of a new dawn.”

Attr. Sanguinius – Address of the 567 th Solar Auxilia Cohort

The assembled might of the White Scars and the Blood In the presence of the Great Angel though, the fires in the
Angels translated from the Warp within the borders of hearts of these broken soldiers were stoked and behind
the Garmon Cluster to little fanfare. In any other age, the their glazed eyes lit a glimmer of hope. Sanguinius walked
spectacle of such a gathering would be sufficient to bring amongst the warriors and looked into their hollow eyes,
an entire sub-sector of space to a standstill but even the windows into minds haunted by the atrocities of battle,
coming of two mighty Primarchs, each capable of laying and noted many were missing arms, legs or both. He
conquest to entire systems with the forces under their enquired why they had not been fitted with mechanical
command, would be overshadowed by the dire situation replacements and was informed by his escorting staff,
and immensity of the battles already underway. who spoke in hushed tones, that supply of such items
was limited and reliant on units that could be salvaged
The people of the Imperium within the Garmon Cluster from the battlefield dead and reused. Sanguinius fought
cried out for aid, Nyrcon City had already been besieged to maintain a neutral expression and he detached one
by the Warmaster’s armies and the Loyalist resistance of the priceless animal furs that hung over his pauldron
was forced to adopt guerilla tactics in order to survive. and draped it around the shoulders of a young soldier
The planet of Beta-Garmon II was contested by two vast who balanced on a crutch, his right arm and leg missing.
armies and the fires of that war threatened to consume The soldier attempted to salute as per the custom of
Beta-Garmon III as well. Imperial troops had been his cohort forgetting the limitations inflicted by his still
drawn to the outlying systems of the Garmon Cluster, recent injuries and stumbled as he did so, his frustration
only for Horus to orchestrate fresh attacks on targets giving way to tears that streamed down his filth-smeared
within Delta-Garmon and Theta-Garmon. Few places in cheeks. The Angel reached forward to grasp his shoulder
the cluster were beyond the scope of the vast war, and and steady him, he needed no thanks for this gift and only
those that still lived, longed for their salvation. To mark wished that the injured man find comfort in its warmth.
the arrival of Sanguinius and Jaghatai Khan, those that
could spare time away from the front lines made good Jaghatai followed Sanguinius in procession, looking over
their battle-worn uniforms and unfurled their frayed and the assembled troops that bowed in supplication to the
bloodied battle standards to stand to attention, paying might of the demi-gods of war before them and observed
respect to the angels that they hoped would deliver them their pitiful state. He carried with him no trappings of
from oblivion. ceremony to be given as petty gifts and wore only his
battleplate, about him hanging no favours nor trinkets
Sanguinius was shuttled from aboard his flagship, the and only weapons. In the presence of the Khan, adorned
Red Tear, to preside over the muster aboard the Loyalist in his battle panoply, men did not react as they did in
auxilia cruiser Celestial Fury as it rearmed at the Delta- the presence of Sanguinius and instead they were cowed
Garmon system. His serfs clamoured to tend to his and flinched with each of his thunderous footfalls as if
ceremonial armour even as he walked, buffing its mirror- each were the burst of shot or shell, the cacophony of
polished plate and smoothing the drape of the exotic furs the battlefield.
that hung at his back. Within the great launch bays of this
venerable craft, itself wracked by months of ceaseless war, As he stooped to bring his eyes to the level of the battered
the Great Angel was met with a paltry display of troops, warriors that were arrayed before him in their patchwork
ordered by their commanders to honour the coming of uniforms, their wounds still bound with dressings,
the Primarchs despite many recovering from grievous the Khan noted that few could bear to meet his gaze.
wounds, not all to their physical bodies. The psyches of Instead their stares were drawn to the blade of the White
those who had so far survived the wars of the Garmon Tiger Dao that hung at his side as they took in the fine
Cluster were often shattered; fear held these injured
veterans in its imprisoning grasp, some forced to relive
scenes of horror over and again each time they slept.
Others scrambled for cover each time a bulkhead door
was slammed closed within earshot, or ceaselessly sought
to reload rifle magazines they no longer held.
latticework of thousands of scratches and dents in its haste, overlooking the opportunity to relieve the Loyalist
bladed edge; to them, each was a disturbing memento forces held in the systems local to his point of ingress.
of the death of one of Jaghatai’s enemies. Where the Despite the bridge of the Lance of Heaven detecting
presence of his kin, Sanguinius, comforted men and numerous distress beacons as they passed through the
inspired them to stand tall, they regarded the Khan with sector, the Khan decreed that they would go unanswered
great caution and unease, as if they were trapped in a by the Vth as he sought to reach deeper into the Garmon
cage with a wild beast that had slipped its restraints. With Cluster where glory would await him. He had been asked
every individual Jaghatai regarded, his ire grew until he to seek out the enemy and harry him wherever he was
realised that his face had hardened into a contemptuous found and so the toils of humanitarian aid would be left
sneer, which only served to heighten the atmosphere of to Sanguinius and the fleet of the Blood Angels.
tension that clung to his procession.
Instead, Jaghatai’s fleet skirted the centre of the Garmon
Without word, the Khan cut his participation in the Cluster under his orders to find a war away from the core
ceremonial welcome short, tired of its futility he turned systems or to instigate one of their own making. To do so
on his heels and strode purposely from the launch bay. was to distract the Warmaster’s troops and occupy them
His attendants bowed to the congregation, awkwardly so that an overwhelming concentration could not be
bidding them farewell on behalf of their master and gathered in any one place.
jogged to keep pace as they turned towards the shuttle
that would carry him back to his flagship. Even as the The reality of the war being fought was that, even far from
Great Angel continued to walk amongst the assembly the frontlines, none were ever truly beyond the predation
of his troops, offering his thanks for the sacrifices they of enemy patrols. Like the hunter-seeker organisms that
had already made, Jaghatai had returned to the Lance of lingered in the wake of duelling leviathans in the deep,
Heaven and once more assumed his position upon the cold oceans of Europa, countless fragmentary warbands
command throne, the fleet set to delve into the fires of cruised between the stars. Those under the Warmaster
the Garmon Cluster. The Khan could not win the hearts cruelly struck at targets of opportunity, keen to sow fear
of the people of the Imperium through charisma, he knew and disruption amongst the Loyalist camp. Likewise,
only the ways of war. those loyal to the Imperium were not limited to only the
forces committed to the great battle zones and instead
Keen to prove his worthiness of the role that Dorn had some fought as piratical raiding parties, striking at the
assigned him in comparison to that of Sanguinius, the underbelly of the beast where they could interrupt the
Khan drove his White Scars into the Garmon Cluster with supply lines and logistics chains with targeted strikes.
 THE SHATTERED LEGIONS
Composed of Iron Hands, Salamanders and Raven Guard warriors, all the embittered survivors of Isstvan sworn to
enact revenge on the Traitors, Meduson’s new Legion was one reconstructed from the broken fragments of many.
They fought as an intermingled force, each individual bearing the heraldry of their own parent Legion, bonded
together by their specialisations, demeanours or experiences on the battlefield.

Whilst training and doctrines between the Legions were far from standardised, the common experiences and
pacts of vengeance shared by the warriors that fought under Meduson’s banner were sufficient to overcome the
cultural and doctrinal differences in battle. Driven by a singular and encompassing desire to seek vengeance against
the Warmaster’s forces, Meduson’s warriors used the flexibility of their combined experience to bring war to the
Traitors where they were least prepared, to act as the hidden dagger that supplemented the sword and shield that
the united Loyalist Legions represented.

Continuously growing as greater numbers of Loyalist troops consolidated and sought to fight their own war against
the Traitors, Shadrak’s army ever lacked the numbers to attack the Sons of Horus and their allies head-on. Despite
being actively hunted by cadres of Traitors, Meduson used the pervasion of untruths and misguidance surrounding
his own survival and whereabouts as a shroud, and in its cover, waged a disruptive war, striking measured blows at
the Warmaster’s armies at the fore of a contingent of what had become known as the Shattered Legions.

THE HUNTERS AND THE HUNTED they monitored the screens of cogitator banks to
In the expanse of space between Delta-Garmon and coordinate the attack of their strike force. In near silence,
Theta-Garmon, amidst the sea of minoris-grade systems, various squadrons were readied and sent the signal to
a Shattered Legions strike fleet had sprung upon an attack in perfect synchronicity as boarding torpedoes
unsuspecting convoy of bulk haulers that had seemingly and Kharybdis assault claws were launched at the
little in the way of security escort or fleet protection. targeted vessels.
Upon his command dais aboard the nominated command
vessel Aleph-639, Shadrak Meduson was interlinked As the assault craft approached their destinations, their
with a trio of his delegate commanders and together clamping arms thrust forward to penetrate the hulls
of the cargo ships, each expected to contain supplies
of weapons, munitions and provisions destined for the
Traitor manufactorum outposts and resupply orbitals.
Melta-cutters fired up to finish the work that the ripping
claws had started, burning access ports through which
the warriors of the Shattered Legions boarded. As they
did so, their inter-linked vox networks were alive with
communications, vital to the conduct of the mission but
also appended with boastful jests between the warriors
of mixed provenances, who constantly vied to outdo the
efforts of each other in the conduct of battle.

Warriors who hailed from the XVIIIth voxed remarks about

those of the XIXth, goading them about their propensity
to linger in the shadows of the mighty Salamanders, who
were ever keen to take the lead in such boarding actions.
Retorts were given voice by the Raven Guard troops,
who made light of the comparatively clumsy and heavy-
handed nature of the Salamanders in battle. Such frivolity
was rarely shared by the warriors of the Xth Legion, who
transmitted only vital, strategic data in curt and clipped
messages, using disciplined vox procedures.

Despite their obvious rivalries, such division was

superficial and as brothers they fought, each willing
to lay down their lives for another and unerringly
respectful of the commanders of their assigned squad
leaders, no matter where they hailed from. Meduson
himself encouraged such exchanges, despite his cold other Legion parentage stalled their pace to stay in their
and calculating mind making him a stranger to the position in the marching order of such squads, trusting in
finer points of their humour. He believed it to break the the predefined calculations of Ferrus’ unyielding sons and
barriers between the Legions and allow his warriors to becoming part of their machine-like operation.
interact in combat with a fluidity and cooperation that
would otherwise be hampered. Moreover, it allowed for a MERCILESS ASSAULT
brief moment of relief from the crushing grief that every Shattered Legions squads chased small contingents
member of the Shattered Legions felt at the losses already of Sons of Horus through the winding labyrinth of
suffered in this dark age. corridors that led deeper into the interior of the cargo
hauler in running firefights. The Traitors stopped only
A spearhead of Salamanders breachers blasted a path momentarily to fire short bursts of bolter fire, less aimed
through the inner void hull layers of their targets, their and more intended to slow the advance of their pursuers
melta-charges punching through the bulkheads, leaving as they ducked through bulkhead doors and hatchways.
yawning breaches rimmed with molten iron through The Loyalists could not hope to catch the warriors of
which they pressed their advance, their drake-skinned the XVIth as they fell back, their familiarity with the
boarding shields held out before them to deflect the layout of the vessel lending them pace beyond their
salvos of incoming rounds, fired from the defenders and physical capabilities.
their automated sentry weapons. To their rear, a group of
Raven Guard Space Marines fanned out, hugging the walls To combat this, Meduson’s men relied on their
of the internal spaces to use the concealment of their technological advantages, deploying disruptive code
shadows and metering out short and accurate bursts from sequences into the ship’s mainframe to control the access
their bolters in a consciously selected order, defined by the ident-codes. In doing so they pinned the Traitors against
threat their targets presented. With each chamber cleared bulkheads that would not open and emerald green-clad
of enemies, they once again folded back into formation, warriors brought forth flamers to burn the Warmaster’s
ready to repeat the process. troops where they were trapped. Grimly, the Xth Legion
warriors looked on as the Sons of Horus burned, sparing
Elsewhere, warriors of the Iron Hands deftly overrode their ammunition, whereas the warriors of the XIXth doled
the security protocols of the enemy vessels, fooling their out single execution shots with their bolt pistols, if only to
systems into parting the vast tooth-locked ceramite slabs silence the dying gasps of their enemies.
that served as doorways between sectors. Cooly and
calmly they progressed through the assigned target levels, As Meduson’s assault teams systematically worked
their footfalls echoing through the corridors in unison as through the ship, they were hampered by the sheer weight
they marched in lock-step, allowing the foremost warrior of panicked bodies, a horde released from the cargo holds
in the advance to fall back to the rear of the column by the Sons of Horus in a callous attempt to preserve their
when his bolter required reloading. The warriors of
own lives. Instead of weapons or supplies, the holds had DEADLY AMBUSH
been filled with thousands of men, women and children. A flotilla of Sons of Horus light cruisers tore into realspace
Now emaciated and encrusted in filth, they had been dangerously close to Meduson’s strike fleet, opening fire
driven insane by their maltreatment and captivity, some without mercy. The ships, under the command of Vheren
reduced to shambling wrecks, indifferent to the mayhem Ashurhaddon, were well-equipped and well-maintained
that unfolded around them. Others were driven into Legion vessels, their formidable weapons fired with pin-
frenzied rage, unable to decipher the difference between point accuracy and coordination, destroying the Loyalist
their captors and the warriors of the Shattered Legions boarding craft and leaving their assault parties with no
who had come to liberate them. reinforcements or means of escape from the cargo haulers
they were aboard.
As the Loyalist warriors worked to restrain the human
cargo that had spilled out from the ship’s holds and to The sheer violence of the Sons of Horus assault set
understand the reasons behind their presence, their Meduson’s fleet into disarray and with malicious intent,
techmarines decoded data-manifests that revealed they Ashurhaddon’s fleet encircled the Aleph-639. Ruthlessly,
had been destined not for the fields of battle as first they positioned themselves to unleash the full force
suspected but instead for remote locations, deep within of their weapons batteries, firepower intended not to
Traitor-held space within the Zeta-Garmon system. The tactically eliminate the capabilities of Meduson’s vessel,
Loyalist raiders found the holds of the ships stripped of all but sufficient to overcome its shields in the blink of an eye
but the bare necessities to support unaugmented life and and simply erase it from existence.
littered with the bodies of the dead, numbering as many
of those that still clung to life. The hulls of the Sons of Horus ships shuddered as their
weapons charged, their captains diverting power from
Meduson showed little emotion as the flood of vox- their shielding in order to unleash their full strength in
data was relayed to his command position aboard the a single salvo of overwhelming firepower, intended to
Aleph-639, instead his mind worked to devise a solution spitefully obliterate the Aleph-639 and Meduson himself. A
to rescue the survivors extracted from the Warmaster’s starburst of white light erupted, illuminating the darkness
captivity. So often had retribution and vengeance of the void as plasma fire engulfed the hull of a starship,
dominated the objectives of the war they now fought, that but it was not the Aleph-639 that burned, but instead the
rarely did the opportunity to preserve human life present Sanctor, a ship that had served under the Sons of Horus.
itself. Even as he worked though, his valiant endeavours As the explosion faded, the majesty of the Lance of Heaven
were shattered by the reality of the war they fought, as came into view, its prow-mounted batteries already
contacts alerts blared, bathing the command deck in red reloaded and ready to fire on a new target.
light, proximity alarms sounded, signalling the presence
of approaching enemy vessels.
As the Sons of Horus had ambushed their enemies, As the din of battle faded, Meduson was hailed by the
so too did the White Scars, the ivory-white hull of the acting equerry to the Primarch of the Vth Legion, who
Khan’s flagship joined by a trio of mighty battleships had summoned the former Iron Hands captain to
reflecting the dim light of the void as they charged meet with him aboard the Lance of Heaven. Meduson
forward in an arrowhead formation. The arrival of such dutifully responded and boarded the White Scars flagship
an overmatching force, although merely a splinter of the accompanied by a combat-ready squad of warriors drawn
Vth Legion strength that had departed from Terra, was from numerous Legions, not a retinue or personal guard
enough to cause the Sons of Horus to flee. Several of the but simply those who had completed their resupply
sea-green vessels were split amidships by las beams as they routines following the previous engagement. The former
turned about, as the ships under Meduson’s command Iron Hands captain had grown estranged from ceremonial
rallied and began to lend their firepower to the battle. proceedings and had become accustomed to a constant
and unrelenting state of battle readiness. He carried
With his advantage reasserted by the arrival of the White his own battle panoply about his person, even upon the
Scars, Meduson himself, accompanied by a contingent command deck of the Khan’s ship, where he and his
of his most battle-hardened, veteran warriors, boarded warriors were escorted.
a stricken vessel bearing the Eye of Horus, keen to make
the most of the opportunity that had been presented. BEFORE THE KHAN
The Traitor warriors they fought were not the twisted As Meduson and his men crossed the threshold of the
veterans of the Great Crusade, shaped by generations of bridge of the Lance of Heaven, they stood before the
war, but instead they were Inductii, taken from human Warhawk, who too was garbed in his battlegear, his
stock born long after Meduson had walked upon his weapons stowed at the side of the command throne he sat
hundredth battlefield. upon. For a moment, Meduson simply stood, momentarily
forgetting the procedure or decorum expected when
They had all been conscripted from the same world addressing one such as the Primarch of the Vth Legion. As
within the Garmon Cluster to populate an induction he recalled the proper practice, the former Iron Hands
cycle to swell the Warmaster’s ranks. Under the captain quickly bowed in respect, followed by his company
command of Ashurhaddon, what the Inductii lacked and Jaghatai smiled wryly before inviting them once again
in battle-hardening, they made up for in discipline and to stand at ease. Meduson took the opportunity to offer
organisation, emulating the hatred the veterans of the his gratitude for the intervention of the White Scars and
XVIth Legion possessed for the followers of the Emperor their assistance in defeating the ambush attack.
despite only now meeting them in battle for the first time.
They did not fall back or attempt to flee as their brethren
before them had, upon the ships filled with human cargo,
but instead they stood and fought, unflinching as their
squad mates were cut down by shot or blade.

Despite their drilled order and coordination, the Sons

of Horus Inductii did not number enough to match the
combined might of Shadrak Meduson with the support
of the White Scars. The Vth Legion’s vessels drove off
the Traitor ambushers and formed a hardened cordon,
vigilant for enemy reinforcements. With this assistance,
the Shattered Legions warriors extracted from the enemy
vessels they had neutralised to reinforce the ships in
which the enemy had put up the most stalwart resistance.
Meduson regained control of the battle, the warriors of
the Shattered Legions moved with impunity through the
corridors and decks, methodically eliminating the Traitors
aboard every vessel that had not fled the sub-sector.
The Loyalists took no Legionary enemy as prisoner or
captive and instead were motivated by the memory of the
suffering inflicted on the human captives they had found
aboard Horus’ cargo haulers, taking the heads of all who
had sworn an oath to the Warmaster without exception.
Jaghatai accepted Meduson’s thanks with the curt and Primarch would assume command of his troops, not out
understated modesty of a warrior king, insisting that the of respect or willing subordination but out of necessity.
customs of Chogoris allowed no other course of action. This, though, would erode the standing of Jaghatai Khan
The Khan informed Meduson of the mission that Rogal amongst those still loyal to the Imperium, something not
Dorn had ordered his Legion to complete and of the worthy of the adoration that Sanguinius bathed in. The
presence of Sanguinius and the Blood Angels elsewhere in Khan’s response was uttered quietly as he turned away
the Garmon Cluster. Presumptuously, in expectation of from Meduson… “So be it.”
the former Iron Hands captain’s compliance, the Primarch
of the Vth Legion outlined the role that Meduson’s THE FIELDS OF NAMELESS DEAD
Shattered Legions would play as they joined with the From aboard the Lance of Heaven, Jaghatai Khan once
White Scars fleet under the overall command of Jaghatai. again led his Legion onwards, deeper into the Garmon
Cluster, descending upon Traitor-held positions to
Meduson, ever respectful of the Khan, insisted that his unleash their wrath. Augur stations in the deep void
oathsworn duty in the war that had engulfed the galaxy had been shattered by the lightning assaults of the
was not yet satisfied and that his path did not lead him Vth Legion, who had annihilated their defences with
to serve under the Khan. To make such a bold statement their ship’s prow batteries before launching ferocious
provoked the ire of the Khan’s keshig guard, who sprang boarding actions to seek out and kill the Warmaster’s
forward with their power glaives raised, ready to cleave troops without mercy. The Khan delivered the same fate
the head from Meduson’s body for such an affront to their to the defiant Traitors at an ice-encrusted supply void-
Primarch’s honour, but their killing blows were stayed as terminus, where he personally led an assault to hunt and
Jaghatai rose to his feet and called for them to cease. In destroy the corrupted automata-constructs that had been
the clamour, members of the keshig shouted indignantly, reprogrammed to serve Horus.
questioning why Meduson would not accept the honour
of fighting alongside the Primarch and the Vth Legion. After intercepting the faint echo of a distress beacon their
attentions were drawn towards the Alpha planet of the
The Khan stood motionless as a silence enveloped system designated officially as 678 Minoris-Garmon and
the chamber, the keshig’s gazes remained fixed upon known informally as Barren’s Landing, a title dating back
Meduson, who stood immobile at its centre as his men to the age of the ancestor colony’s first forays into that
glanced around warily. At Jaghatai’s command, the defiant region of space. Militaris records suggested that the planet
captain could be executed for his disrespect and the had been the destination of a Solar Auxilia cohort who
had pursued Traitor forces of an unknown constitution Owing to the turbulent atmospheric conditions and
to that sub-sector, but the outcome of the action was not rugged terrain, the Khan’s veteran drop force was alone
known and the fate of the combatants a mystery. in reaching its designated zone accurately and mobilised
in Explorator Land Raiders, supported by a company of
The Vth Legion splinter fleet, some fifty vessels led sky-hunters riding Scimitar jetbikes. Little word of how
out by the Khan himself, approached the system, many other drop companies had deployed successfully
passing the wrecks of long inactive augur stations and reached the Primarch and a number of companies
communications relay satellites consigned to dereliction, remained uncommunicable, their vox channels silent
adrift and slowly decaying. Ever vigilant of a duplicitous and their troops scattered across that sector of the
ambush by hidden Traitor ships, the White Scars planet. Those that were reachable had made planetfall
maintained a level of high alert, shields powered and with so far off-course or beyond mountain ranges or canyons
gunnery batteries primed to fire at will. Despite this vigil, substantial enough that it would take days to traverse. In
no aggressors were detected and no attack materialised stillness though was death, and so the Khan resolved to
on the approach towards the gravitational well of their proceed towards the site of the distress beacon. Ordering
objective planet. Even with the imposing form of the his warriors to mobilise, engines flared into life and tracks
Lance of Heaven drawing into high orbit, no response from rolled forwards at his command.
any defending army was provoked. Efforts to hail forces
on the surface of Barren’s Landing were met with empty In convoy formation the Khan’s company made its way
static; a thick atmospheric cloud cover smothered the across the rocky, unforgiving terrain of Barren’s Landing,
planet and several thousand kilometre-wide stormfronts relentlessly moving towards the objective location. The
generated electromagnetic interference great enough to short-ranged augur arrays of the lead Land Raider began
make blind even the most sophisticated auspexes. to return signatures from beyond the crest of a wide,
rolling hill that appeared to give way into an expansive
As the fleet drew closer, vox-officers reported that hollow. Impetuously, the Khan gave orders for the convoy
efforts to collimate the distress beacon’s signal had been to move into line formation and crest the hill at full
successful. The transcripts pulled from the degraded combat speed, with gunners to engage targets as their
battle-data told of an unsuccessful Loyalist assault, the guns came to bear.
survivors collapsing into a defensive line and a single
pocket of surviving troops holding out to the last, besieged
by savage warriors that stalked them in the night, amongst
the fields of their dead enemies. Such tales were of no
concern to the Primarch of the Vth and only served to
instigate within him a desire to meet those who instilled
such dread in others and slay them in battle.
THE LAST SURVIVORS of bravery and honour despite the inevitability of the
As the formation sped over the summit, grit and exhaust cohort’s demise. Marshal Doule pledged her subservience
smoke trailing behind the ivory-white vehicles, target to Jaghatai Khan and the White Scars, and joined with
locks flashed red; infantry forces were identified, and as his company.
ammunition feeds jerked into life, a vox-broadcast opened
up on all channels prefixed by dated but valid Imperial The combined Imperial force set about the conduct of
ident codes, pleading for the White Scars to hold their fire. the mission as planned and moved in battle formation
Each Land Raider ground to a halt, their tracks juddering towards the source of the distress beacon. As they drew
across the rough granite surface, and before them stood a closer, the meteorological conditions in the region were
figure bearing aloft a tattered banner adorned with faded becalmed and no battle raged in the region the comm-
numerals beneath the symbol of the Raptor Imperialis. intercepts were traced to. Instead, the forward elements of
Several hundred troops in Solar pattern void armour, each the force came to a halt at the edge of a vast killing field,
a patchwork of field repairs, stood three ranks deep at once one of the planet’s barren plains, now bountiful with
either side, tentatively they lowered their lasrifles. They the dead.
were the remnants of the 87th Solar Auxilia Cohort, the
‘Star Reavers’, in service of the Emperor and loyal to Terra. Strewn about in a thick carpet were armour plates, torn
from their undersuits with deliberate force, broken rifles
The 87th Cohort of the Solar Auxilia reported having and the bodies of countless soldiers, many of which were
been plagued by continued and harrying attacks by XVIth little more than desiccated skin sacks of fragmentary
Legion warriors whose descriptions correlated with bone. Great piles of ashen corpses were piled upon the
several recorded formations or cadres the Warmaster’s skeletal remains of fallen war walkers and the rusting
own Legion was known to employ. The Star Reavers, carcasses of tanks and transport vehicles, all burned to
were merely a shadow of their former strength after black in the fire of their own destruction. Doule informed
suffering massive losses having fought off the predation the Khan that this was just one of many battlefields
of Traitor forces since the Ruinstorm had veiled the they had encountered upon this world and the dead had
Garmon Cluster. mouldered there before the Star Reavers had arrived.

Led by Varsha Doule, who had been promoted directly As the foremost troops of the White Scars company
to the rank of cohort-marshal from that of troop master dismounted from a Land Raider Explorator squadron
after the cohort’s previous commander had been killed to make their assessments, it became obvious that what
in action, those that remained of the 87th were hardened had transpired was less of a battle and more a carnival
survivors, few in number but fierce warriors, dedicated of destruction wrought by the army that these dead had
to ensuring the lasting legacy of the Star Reavers was one once constituted. Extreme caution was exercised and a
full-spectral sweep of the battlefield was conducted as
they advanced. Conscious of the threat of unexploded
ordnance or traps hidden beneath the piles of dead, Doule
volunteered the Star Reavers to form the forward line of
the advance in a demonstration of their ongoing fealty to
the Imperium. In response to this request, the Khan saw
no reason to deny the cohort marshal’s wishes.
SHOCK ASSAULT In the face of the oncoming enemy assault, Marshal
As the front line advanced close to the centre of the Varsha Doule of the 87th Cohort strode to the fore of her
expansive plain, with wreckage and ruin stretching as troops and amongst the line of White Scars Legionaries;
far as the horizon in all directions, the ground erupted keen to demonstrate the valour of her troops for the
in a cloud of powdered bone and shattered rock as Primarch of the Vth to bear witness, she commanded the
hidden explosives detonated. The front lines of the Star Star Reavers rifle sections to form ranks, the weight of
Reavers were shredded by the force of the explosion, cut their fire supplementing that of the Vth Legion warriors.
down by shrapnel and pulverised by the shockwave of Volleys of their las-fire cut through the dust-choked
overpressure that made a mockery of their comparatively atmosphere but for every shot that found its target,
light armour. Even portions of the White Scars’ advance twenty more were deflected by the ceramite plate of
suffered similarly, with dismounted troops crushed the Sons of Horus leaving the momentum of their
beneath the mass of a Land Raider flipped over in the advance unbroken.
blast. The surviving auxilia troopers struggled to their
feet and unearthed each other from beneath the rubble As their enemies drew ever closer, the White Scars slung
thrown up by the explosion as White Scars Space Marines their bolters and drew blades and chainswords, as one
strode forward through their lines, their boltguns levelled they cried their battle oaths and ran to counter their
on the forms of the enemies suddenly revealed as the attackers. In reply the Sons of Horus let out a loose chorus
blast subsided. of battle cries in reply, their language a broken Cthonian
dialect. Warriors clashed at running speed and the lines
Despite the sudden shock of the ambush attack, of white-armoured Loyalists collided into the dust-caked
disciplined and measured bursts of fire were doled out by green plate of the Sons of Horus with jarring force. Blades
each Legionary as they advanced. Even those injured in clashed and were stabbed through layers of ceramite,
the blast, some with limbs hanging limp to their side or tearing flesh and grating upon bone. With great sweeps of
entire panels ripped from their power armour, maintained their savage chainaxes, the XVIth Legion’s warriors ripped
ordered discipline knowing their actions were under the the legs from under their enemies and cleaved down in
watchful eye of their gene-sire. overhead strikes that smashed through any blade or limb
that was offered up to counter or parry the irresistible
White Scars warriors directed their fire at the silhouetted force of the oncoming blow. They fought with the ferocity
enemies that strode towards them through a wall of and excitement of gangers gifted the strength of a Space
fine dust that hung in the air after the initial explosion, Marine to wield at will, using artless brutality in the stead
as auxilia sections moved up to lend their volleys of of honed technique and relishing in the thrill of murder.
firepower to the fight. Vehicles within the Loyalist lines
wheeled about to lend their supporting fire, with heavy
bolters hammering in bursts and lascannon spearing fire
into the lines of the newly revealed enemy. The Sons
of Horus advanced in uniform spacings, firing their
bolters in disciplined bursts as they paced towards the
Loyalist lines.
In the press of a close assault, the White Scars faltered. THE IRE OF THE KHAN
The Sons of Horus responded to the impact of the Within a scrum of warriors, Doule found herself amongst
counter-charge with only more zeal and ferocity, driving the tightening ranks of her troops, forced together as
the sons of the Khan back, over the ground which they they tried in vain to evade the deadly strikes of the Space
had gained. As they disengaged, the ordered ranks of Marines that attacked them. She found an opening to
the Star Reavers resumed their volley fire, deep-draining strike as one of the Sons of Horus moved within her
their charge packs as they fired their weapons in blast reach, his attention hyper-focused on the body of an
charger mode into the ranks of the Sons of Horus that auxilia warrior he hacked at with a gore-splattered
had pressed into the fray. Still though, their enemy came chainaxe. Doule forced her sword into the warrior’s gorget
on, too few cut down to stall their advance. Knowing seal with a lunge. Her strike was true but even as she
the grim inevitability of their fate, Marshal Doule drew sunk the tip of her blade into the Space Marine’s neck,
her power sword and ordered her rifle section to affix he fought back against his own death with an animalistic
their bayonets once their ammunition was spent. With a determination. The Traitor dropped his own weapons and
defiant cry she led the final charge of her company into gripped the polished blade of the elegantly curved sword
the teeth of the Traitors, an act that invited certain death as he fell to his knees, spluttering blood through the
for the Star Reavers but one that would buy time for their latticed vox-grille of his helm as he choked. The Marshal
Legionary brethren to consolidate their lines and range tried in vain to pull her weapon free to no avail. Instead,
their weapons. she let go, surrendering it and turned about in time to
see the huge axe blade of another attacker swing down
Despite the tally of the dead that had joined those and with a sickening crunch she was cleaved from collar
already laying upon the battlefield, mere moments had to hip by the brutal blow. In witnessing the death of their
passed since the ambush on the Loyalist forces had been commander, the remaining Star Reavers lost the will to
triggered. Jaghatai Khan had raced on foot to reinforce his fight but no mercy was granted by their attackers as they
troops at the first voxed signal, crossing the rugged ground routed, the Sons of Horus chasing them down before they
in great bounding strides. He raced to the epicentre of the could reach the safety of the White Scars line.
battle, weaving through the vehicles of the convoy, keen
to vent his fury on the Traitor attackers, and as they drew The Khan witnessed the marshal’s ignoble death from
closer, the carnage wrought by the Sons of Horus ambush afar and with a Chogorian curse bellowed in fury, he
came into view. Marshal Doule fought fiercely in the renewed his charge, ignoring his warriors’ cries on the
centre of a knot of warriors, desperately sidestepping the vox-network, who had intended on using the power of
crushing blows of several Traitors whilst hacking at them their ranged weapons to thin the ranks of their enemy.
with the single edge of her duellist’s sword. The Sons of Horus ambush had caught the patrol
unawares but with the arrival of the Primarch, their
advantage was lost. Jaghatai charged headlong, the impact
of his momentum smashing several Sons of Horus from
their feet, sending them sprawling into their own ranks.
With great sweeps of his dao, he split armour plating and
severed limbs with contemptuous ease, felling scores
of warriors with each passing heartbeat. Those who
attempted to fight were no match for the Warhawk’s fury
and those that chose to flee were gunned down by the
White Scars line until the Khan stood alone, surrounded
by dust-clad bodies lying motionless on the blood-soaked
earth. As the Khan looked to the horizon though, he
saw that the attack had been merely the vanguard of a
much larger force of Sons of Horus that now amassed to
encircle them.
 STAR REAVERS AUXILIARY
AUXILIARY SILAS HOERZ
3 RD INFANTRY TERCIO, 87TH SOLAR AUXILIA COHORT,
‘STAR REAVERS’
SURVIVOR OF BARREN’S LANDING

Although officially a member of the 3 rd Infantry

Tercio, Auxiliary Silas Hoerz was incorporated into
a consolidated formation of Star Reavers following
heavy losses suffered on the planet known as Barren’s
Landing. Stranded after their drop ships were destroyed
in a protracted series of attacks perpetrated by their
enemies, the 87th Solar Auxilia Cohort, or ‘Star Reavers’,
were forced to employ survival protocols. They are
known to have weathered ambush attacks but in this
time suffered a toll of further attritional losses, leading
to individuals being assigned to roles outside that of
their specialisations.

Following the rediscovery of the remaining Star Reavers

by the White Scars when they reached Barren’s Landing,
Auxiliary Hoerz is documented as having acted as both
driver and secondary gunner of the Leman Russ assault
tank ‘Victrix MMXI’, finally abandoning the vehicle after
its fuel combustion chambers were ruptured. Upon
reassuming his infantry role, his final documented actions
were known to have been in support of a Vth Legion
counter-assault where he is reckoned to have fallen
alongside the majority of his cohort.

PANOPLY OF WAR
Void armour shoulder markings:
3 rd Tercio numeral; Star Reavers armorial.
Lasrifle, Kalibrax IV pattern

1.

2.
 INDEX MORTIFICA

Data Scheme: Mortificationby Sector

Output Format: Data-read (Textualised)

CLEARANCE CIPHER REQUIRED

INPUT: *********************-****-***-

VALIDATED

***

Quadrant: Septent - Factor - 302.114

Quadrant: Subsol - Factor - 229.467

Quadrant: Meridi - Factor - 503.829

Quadrant: Occidi - Factor - 602.947

Quadrant: +REDACTED+ - Factor - 901.378

+Data Complete+

By Dorn’s command, Sanguinius and his war host bore At 576 Minoris-Garmon, a world known as Thorne’s
down upon the Garmon Cluster with the force of a Station by the nomadic labourer clans that operated the
hammer blow, the renowned commanders of his Legion harbour-docks and provision resupply stores there, large
at his side sweeping through the sub-systems that lay contingents of both factions were embroiled in ceaseless
between their mustering point at Delta-Garmon and the conflict, but with neither making any significant gains.
core systems. Prior to his arrival, the Great Angel received From the heavens the Blood Angels descended; at their
reports from the front line and post-battle scriptures that fore, Raldoron, the First Captain of the IXth Legion,
made clear the grave situation that had developed: the brought with him the authority of Sanguinius himself.
Great Muster was in disarray and Imperial forces were The presence of such a storied and glorious warrior alone
in a state of dire disorganisation, teetering on the edge would be enough to unite the Loyalist forces with new
of collapse. purpose and direction, yet his wrath was unleashed upon
the Traitor forces and Imperial control of Thorne’s Station
As the Blood Angels marched, the intervention of was once again asserted, without question, by crimson-
Sanguinius and those that served him turned the tide armoured angels.
of desperate battles already underway. Loyalist troops
rallied to the Great Angel and his majestic Legion, and Glorious victories were won and Loyalist forces rallied
were instilled with a new will to fight under his banner. under Sanguinius’ banner, his very presence hardening
The Great Angel’s war fleet was bolstered by the strength their resolve and redoubling their efforts with renewed
of companies of troops newly liberated from the battles focus. With his preternatural skills as a leader, the Sire
they had been ensnared in, the Blood Angels shattering of the Blood Angels knew that he could not unify the
deadlocked battlefronts with decisive and overwhelming Imperial forces across such a vast front, for to do so would
force. Fragments of Dorn’s original muster were recovered require his presence at many locations at once. Instead
along with entire Solar Auxilia cohorts, who willingly he resolved, he must be victorious at one critical location,
followed the leadership of Sanguinius and the renowned at the heart of the Garmon Cluster where his glorious
commanders of the IXth Legion. victory would unite Loyalist forces and his rallying cry
would be heard across the segmentum.
Garmon Burns
“Those who speak of victory before the foe lies dead are fools.
Only once the final blow has been struck does the struggle end.”

Attr. Endryd Haar, The Riven Hound

With Jaghatai Khan having taken to the field of battle as THE FANGS OF THE EMPEROR
the exemplar of his Legion, the Traitor resistance on the Much as Meduson led his campaign against the Traitors,
planet of Barren’s Landing was methodically eradicated by so too did Endryd Haar at the head of a contingent known
the warriors of the Vth Legion. Despite the disadvantages as the Fangs of the Emperor, a band of warriors who had
posed by the rugged terrain, battle-hardened White Scars erased the heraldry of their parent Legions, eschewed
used their expertise in mobile warfare to scour every hold their oaths of allegiance to their kin and who had taken
of enemy presence in an ever-moving, kinetic campaign. up a new purpose: to satisfy their own desires for revenge
Sky-hunter squadrons had soared over the craggy terrain before all else. Of Terran birth and a warrior prior even
to identify enemy positions, providing reconnaissance to to his induction into the World Eaters, Haar himself had
direct the precision assaults of their brothers, allowing been spared the implantation of the Butcher’s Nails and
none to escape their wrath. The heavier vehicles of the segregated from the XIIth during their reunion with the
Legion had moved relentlessly to smash the walls of Primarch Angron, setting him apart from his brothers
their enemy’s bastions with irresistible firepower, leaving even before the Legion had sided with Horus at Isstvan.
only fractured rubble and the broken bodies of their
inhabitants where their fortifications once stood. In the wake of the World Eaters’ treachery, Haar had
renounced the lineage of Angron and his oaths to the
This victory had come at the cost of the survivors of the XIIth and had surrounded himself with those who had also
Star Reavers, a Solar Auxilia cohort who, in unity, had done likewise. Unlike Meduson’s warriors, who, united
dutifully sacrificed their lives to honour the lord of the in their loss, had vowed to continue to fight until such
Vth Legion. The cost to the Khan’s Legion had also been a time came when they would be reunited with their
high, with over forty percent of the Legion’s war machines own Legions, Haar’s warriors cared not to restore what
that were deployed having been rendered inoperable had once been. Instead they sought to bring death to
or irrecoverable by enemy attacks that made use of the Horus through any possible means and tolerated nothing
hostile terrain to devastating effect. Regardless of the price that waylaid this end, to the extent of turning on and
paid for it, Barren’s Landing had no native population killing those amongst their own who questioned Haar’s
or military forces to liberate and no assets to garrison. perilous endeavours.
Instead, like so many of the worlds that were caught in
the fires of the Horus Heresy, it was ruined and left in Like sharks drawn to blood, the Fangs of the Emperor
the wake of the Vth Legion fleet as they continued their entered the Garmon Cluster seeking the Warmaster,
campaign through the Garmon Cluster. but found instead a vast mire of open war. In order
to operate freely from the restraints of the Imperial
The White Scars delved ever deeper amid the chaos of command, Haar’s ingress into the cluster was via the
the Great Slaughter, a warfront that had enveloped the eastern sectors, amongst the dead systems far from the
region, to enact the will of their Primarch. They laid waste cluster’s core. Making no effort to communicate with any
to fleets of Traitors as they traversed the void and cracked allies in the region and having little desire to abide by the
the bedrock of the planets they fell upon to bring death orders of Terran command, the Fangs of the Emperor
to the enemies of the Imperium. The great battles of the stalked the interstellar space, spitefully striking at the
preceding years had given rise to fragmentary warbands enemies they encountered as they searched for any hint
and marauding warriors of both allegiances, many drawn of the Warmaster’s location, including preying upon the
in from the surrounding space that still contributed to XVIth Legion garrisons that watched over mining worlds
the growing carnage. Some factions were sent in by the recently spurred back into action to resupply the Traitor
command of their superiors, others arrived by their own armada as it pressed inexorably towards the Sol System.
volition or were drawn in through a sense of duty, to aid
their allies and vent their hatred upon their common With the pretence of honour long forsaken, Haar stopped
foes. Despite the fact that the Warmaster’s campaign at nothing to ensure he could bring his once traitorous
had reached a pivotal point, much of the fighting had brethren and their kind to justice. At the vast munitions
become motivated by visceral emotion, rather than the caches of the Axioma Pass, a company of Fangs of the
achievement of any strategic goals. With the war so far Emperor led by Haar himself, feigned allegiance to
having shattered the unity of the Space Marine Legions, the Warmaster, claiming to be sons of the Red Angel
many pursued the satisfaction of their own objectives as
a priority, the vast area of the Garmon Cluster providing
ample opportunity for such endeavours.
and still sworn to the body of the XIIth Legion. Amidst Haar himself led the push into the void station, striding
an atmosphere of heightened suspicion, the company through the corridors and walkways of the Axioma
was granted access to the void-freight docks only after Pass void station, bellowing the name of Autura Pyne
Haar had threatened to take the head of the auxilia as a challenge, as the las bolts of defensive sentry guns
commandant, Autura Pyne, if he had continued to deflected harmlessly from his armour. Those that would
question Haar’s loyalties and defy his wishes; a promise attempt to bar his path were swept aside by the wide
Haar intended to keep once their vessels were allowed swings of the Riven Hound’s great, studded gauntlet
entry. Immediately as the Blackshields were given docking as it crackled with barely restrained power. In support,
authorisations, their veneer of falsehood was shed and squads of Space Marines, each a warrior who had sworn
they set about butchering the auxilia cohort that stood new allegiance to the Fangs of the Emperor, advanced.
in defence of the facility, rampaging through the orbital They wielded familiar weapons, boltguns and pistols that
stations in loose packs rather than the highly ordered roared fiery muzzle flashes with each round fired, but
squads of conventional Legions. also bizarre and esoteric weapons not commonly seen
in the hands of the Emperor’s Legions. From elongated
Although equipped to repel a void ship attack, the barrels, ridged with cooling fins and draped with bunches
defensive batteries and perimeter cordon of the Axioma of cabling that appeared to conduct dark energy, these
Pass offered little of their capability in the event of a weapons emitted howling blasts of black light that scalded
successful boarding action and it was left to the veletaris the air and instantly withered living flesh to carbon husks
sections that guarded the munitions stores to hold at the slightest touch.
the facility until further aid could arrive. They sealed
bulkhead doors and erected makeshift barricades in an THE COWARD’S FLIGHT
attempt to slow the ingress of their attackers, a futile The frantic cries of numerous auxilia sections echoed
offering of resistance as Tartaros-plated warriors equipped over the vox nets and comm-address hailers, calling for
with chainfists cleaved through them with impunity and their comrades to fall back to escape pods and abandon
their more lightly armoured brethren followed in their the facility. Pyne ordered his closest officers to sever the
wake. The standard doctrine governing Legion assaults in lines of communication to prevent the dissemination of
such situations would call on the use of flamer weapons to such messages and instead reasserted that all under his
purge the tight corridors and confines of such structures, command should stand and fight, lest they dishonour the
but Haar’s men favoured the option of closing with the name of the Warmaster. Where Pyne’s men chose to fight,
enemy to make visceral use of shot and blade, regardless they raised their power axes against the roaring chain
of the additional risk factor to their own survival that it blades wielded by the Space Marines, small groups of
posed. In a matter of minutes the Fangs of the Emperor several soldiers working in concert in an attempt to resist
had breached every major sector of the facility and had the augmented might of each enemy warrior. Together
used the ferocity of their attack to force the defenders they strived to land blows that carved white-hot rents
onto the back foot. through the ceramite plate of power armour but only
after a great many individual strikes, each that would
cost the life of a man, would the incensed Space Marines
finally fall.
 WHITE SCARS THUNDERHAWK GUNSHIP
F irst introduced into the service of the Vth Legion in
the latter days of the Great Crusade, the Wind of the
High Plains was an example of a number of Thunderhawk
of veteran Stormseer Ulayan Bha’at who was killed by a
mech-construct, pirated by the Gohst rebels during their
uprising. After the extraction of his body, the Stormseer
gunships commissioned to replace the ever growing was later returned to Chogoris where it was interred with
number of Stormbirds and other vessels that were lost in honours.
battle. Despite its relatively short service period compared
to many of the Legion’s assets, the gunship was used At Deitus, the Wind of the High Plains was amongst the
exclusively by members of the inner council of Jaghatai first wave of drop ships to make planetfall, and despite
Khan, known as the Kurultai, and as such was spared suffering significant damage to the airframe, its pilot
none of the peril faced by the Warhawk’s Legion. was able to land and disgorge a cargo of the Khan’s
veteran warriors directly into battle with the Sons of
In its maiden deployment, the Thunderhawk was the Horus, before assuming a low-altitude ground attack
only one of its squadron to escape the orbit of Gohst bombardment. The craft continued on and its entire
IV, the rest were blasted from the skies by unrelenting payload of munitions was expended successfully to
interceptor craft piloted by the duplicitous warriors of the notable effect upon the enemy.
Word Bearers. In doing so, the vessel carried the remains
 WHITE SCARS LEGION NUMERAL, EMBELLISHED WHITE SCARS LEGION NUMERAL
Ceremonially applied in memoriam of the fallen of the Displayed in accordance with Vth Legion standardised
Satherax IX campaign. visual identification schemes.

THUNDERHAWK GUNSHIP WIND OF THE HIGH PLAINS

VTH LEGION, WHITE SCARS
Attached to the Kurultai of the Great Khan
With every sector of the void station overrun and with the The escape vessel interior was becalmed, save the last
chaos of open war his cover, Pyne ordered his companion dying groans of Pyne’s finest men and the snivelling
guardians to fall back to the escape pods and to bar each whelps of the commandant himself as he dragged the
hatch behind them, stating that any men left behind blood-soaked ruin of his lower limbs away from the
would be considered an acceptable loss, their deaths deliberate advance of his attacker. Pyne’s whimpering
earning them the honour of facilitating Pyne’s survival. grew to a scream as Haar’s mighty power-armoured boot
As the corridors of the Axioma Pass void station ran stepped down on the shredded remains of his legs, but fell
with blood and the Blackshields claimed the territory silent as the Riven Hound’s blood-soaked fist swung in a
in the name of the Fangs of the Emperor, Autura Pyne hammer-blow to crush his skull to paste.
fled, sealing himself and the remaining members of his
companion guard within the sanctuary of the facility’s With the Axioma Pass cleared of Traitor presence, the
escape craft. Fangs of the Emperor did not care for the plunder of
the caches it held and instead their minds were turned
The vessel, a basic and outdated mark of retrofitted once more to spite rather than self-perpetuation. Within
civilian transport shuttle, failed to launch as the auxiliary several of the hangars, Haar’s warriors discovered caches
power systems began to falter, their workings destroyed of macro shells and immense missiles, undoubtedly
as the structure rang with the reverberation of explosions. destined to rain down upon the Loyalist defences in the
Pyne cowered in the darkness behind the remnants of his core of the Garmon Cluster. Although their effect would
elite guard. He watched in terror as the immense hand of be devastating if directed towards their foe, Haar’s fleet
Endryd Haar inexorably tore through the entrance hatch, ignored their potential for use and instead primed the
ripping away metal in jagged strips. With a final punch, weapons for detonation, annihilating the Axioma Pass
the hatchway was breached and half a dozen impact- void station moments after the Fangs of the Emperor had
triggered frag grenades were casually tossed through the vacated it.
jagged-edged hole.
CAMPAIGN OF DESTRUCTION
Pyne’s troops scrambled for cover but the combination Haar’s warriors obliterated dozens of orbital stations and
of explosive fragmentation and overpressure caught supply convoys as they did the Axioma Pass, destroying
those that were too slow to find safety. With indifference all they found without consideration for what could be
to the sporadic defensive fire those few who survived preserved to turn against the Warmaster by those that
returned with their lasrifles, Haar strode through the opposed him. Jaghatai Khan first witnessed the shadows
breach casually meting out single shots from his heavy of the fire-blackened hulls of the Fangs of the Emperor
pistol into the surviving auxilia. He was followed by two fleet as they fell over the planets of 248 Minoris-Garmon,
Space Marines who scanned the gloom with mechanical a sub-system behind the Warmaster’s line of advance.
precision, seeking threats to eliminate but Haar raised his Here the auxiliary companies of Sons of Horus laboured
mighty fist and clenched it in wordless communication, to repair thousands of Legion vehicles, a minute fraction
causing them to immediately stop. of those committed to the Garmon front but a number
that would serve well in replenishing the losses that the
Vth Legion had so far sustained.
Row upon row of Deimos pattern battle tanks sat, many Fire Raptor squadrons thundered overhead, tempest
destined for a world known as Deitus. They were repaired rockets loosed from their rails with abandon as Sons of
and refitted, and awaited the allocation of new crews that Horus warriors rushed to man the defensive anti-air gun
were still undergoing the implantation processes that posts in response to the lightning-fast attack. Even as
would transform them into Space Marines. Predators they began to return fire, their positions were assaulted
sat, their primary cannon ammunition hoppers filled and by Haar’s troops, who had stormed across the airfields
their fuel tanks brimming with promethium. Vindicators, to overwhelm the defenders before their lines could be
fully laden with their fortress-breaking shells, awaited the established. Such assaults were prized by some Legions
thunderous transport ships that would carry them to the who carried them out with careful orchestration and
heart of battle, and Scorpius artillery vehicles idled, their artful planning, but under the command of Endryd Haar
targeting systems dormant as missiles sat arrayed in their they were driven by little more than impetuous fury,
launch tubes. Although now daubed in the colours of the leaving cratered fields littered with ruined hulls, buckled
Traitor Legions, such vehicles had no innate allegiance and burning in their wake.
and as the wars of the Age of Darkness had aptly
demonstrated, could just as easily be turned upon those The destruction wrought upon the mech-yards of 248
that wore the same colours as any other weapon could. Minoris-Garmon was total, with naught to be salvaged
in the wake of battle; one which would be regarded as a
The Khan had ordered his communications officers to success from the perspective of Endryd Haar but one that
open vox-channels with Haar’s warriors as the Fangs of would be considered a senseless waste of vital resources by
the Emperor initiated their attacks. The Primarch wished Jaghatai Khan. Enraged by the impetuous and careless acts
to issue orders for them to spare the assets of war materiel of the Fangs of the Emperor, the Khan did not summon
that sat on the surface from collateral damage, but his Haar before him as he would any other subordinate
hails went without reply. Uncaring for the preservation beneath him in the established chain of command,
of these potential assets and ignorant to their value to the but instead demanded to be taken to the location of
greater war, the strafing attacks of the harbingers of the Haar himself.
Fangs of the Emperor’s assault descended on trails of fire
and rained destruction upon the hangar-pads, sending
war machines tumbling end over end as explosions
billowed amongst them.
THE WARHAWK DEFIED and inability to perceive the wider situation and of the
Jaghatai’s Stormbird descended on roaring retro-thrusters perilous balance that the fate of Terra and of humanity
amidst the burning debris of hundreds of Legion battle found itself in. Scornfully he admitted though, that he did
tanks on the surface of 248 Minoris-Garmon. As the Khan not expect any more from those of the lineage of Angron,
exited its landing ramp, Haar was striding through the the most feral and indignant of those amongst his kin.
wreckage of the battle, his innermost circle of warriors
following in a loose group. Their tarnished armour was The Khan watched intently as he saw the fury boil behind
slick with the blood of their enemies and crusted with the eyes of Endryd Haar, the weight of his anger building
the filth of battle. They laughed callously as they walked, like water behind a dam until finally his restraint failed.
administering execution shots to the wounded Sons of Haar sprang to his feet with an explosive release of
Horus troops that were strewn amongst the debris and tension, his massive fist swinging in a wide arc, driven not
desecrating the bodies of those that were already dead. by skill but by incandescent rage. Jaghatai had predicted
The Khan saw not noble warriors of the Imperium in such an outburst of emotion leading to such an inelegant
them, but savages who had long forgotten any honour or and poorly balanced attempt to strike him down. With
respect they possessed. a deft half step to the side, the Warhawk avoided Haar’s
clumsy attack and crouched to sweep his own leg in a
Jaghatai bellowed the name of Haar as a summons, even tight circle that entangled Endryd’s feet as he passed,
as he approached him, his voice a clarion call across the knocking them out from under him and once again
landscape. Haar glanced up in response, breaking his causing him to land in an awkward heap.
attentions away from his toils with the dead and dying
around him. Even before he had the opportunity to greet Making no effort to draw his own weapons or instigate an
the Primarch of the Vth Legion, the back of the Khan’s attack himself, the Khan watched Haar with a sideways
right gauntlet met the side of the Riven Hound’s head in stare as he hauled himself to his feet again and began to
a sweeping blow, knocking him clean from his feet and circle slowly, his frustration manifesting in his posture as
sprawling through the air several metres to the right, he tensed and released the grip of his fists. The Fangs of
where he landed awkwardly amidst the detritus of battle. the Emperor that accompanied Haar stood motionless as
spectators, knowing better than to intervene in matters
Haar’s men watched aghast, their feet locked to the of honour and also reluctant to seal their own deaths by
ground as if in the hold of gravitic clamps. Despite their attacking the Warhawk himself.
prowess and skill at arms, they hesitated to strike at
Jaghatai Khan in retaliation, for none amongst them Haar’s restraint once again slipped and he broke into a
could move swiftly enough to even take a step before the charge directly towards Jaghatai, throwing the mass of
Primarch would strike them down with a deadly blow. his body in an ungainly attempt at a tackle. Once more,
They looked on as their leader spat congealing gobbets the Khan predicted Haar’s actions and in the blink of an
of his own blood, the force of the Khan’s blow having eye had clinched him in a grapple, throwing him over his
caused several injuries to face and jaw that would have shoulder and using Haar’s momentum to slam him into
been sufficient to kill an unaugmented warrior. He hauled the ground on his back. Before Haar had even recovered
himself up onto a knee as the Warhawk towered over from the force of the blow, Jaghatai had drawn his sword
him. When Haar had been admonished in such a manner and its tip was pointed directly at Haar’s throat, as he lay
by lesser warriors than the Khan, his supposed superiors on his back.
from within the XIIth Legion, he had responded with an
uppercut punch, driven with the force of both his arms With the Riven Hound at his mercy, Jaghatai muted his
and legs or a feigned blow to buy time to deliver a volley tone and spoke closely to the warrior that he held captive,
from his sidearm at point blank range. Either attempt to casually informing him that, as a consequence of his
strike the Warhawk in anger would be a death sentence actions he would be relieved of the command of his men.
and one that he was only prepared to serve as a result of Their fighting strength would be reassigned under the
an attempt on Horus’ life. control of the Khan where they would fight at the will of
the Vth Legion. The notion of such a thing caused Haar
Instead, each warrior remained still as an uneasy silence to scoff involuntarily, an act that provoked the Khan to
descended, only moments passed but each stretched drive the dip of his blade ever closer to his throat. With
to the span of an age before the Khan’s voice, like the his voice a breathy rasp, as the tip of the Warhawk’s
thunder that heralds the coming of a storm, finally broke blade threatened to cut into the flesh of his neck, Haar
the silence. He told Haar of the disgust he felt, that whispered… “You will fail in your endeavour Warhawk,
his personal vendetta had led to the squandering of so unless you heed me now. I know more of the Garmon Cluster
much that could have been of value to the Vth Legion. than you would suppose.”
He chastised the former World Eater for his ignorance
 INDEX MORTIFICA

Data Scheme: Mortificationby Sector

Output Format: Data-read (Textualised)

CLEARANCE CIPHER REQUIRED

INPUT: *********************-****-***-

VALIDATED

***

Quadrant: Septent - Factor - 402.141

Quadrant: Subsol - Factor - 400.922

Quadrant: Meridi - Factor - 643.893

Quadrant: Occidi - Factor - 731.865

Quadrant: +REDACTED+ - Factor - *NULL*

+Data Complete+

Little could oppose the might of the Blood Angels as they Tens of thousands of Legionary warriors were committed
fought ever onwards towards Beta-Garmon and although to multiple fronts across the planet and entire companies
they faced fierce resistance from the Traitors as they went, of warriors, columns of hundreds of armoured vehicles
none were found to be of their equal. Ever more Loyalist and artillery trains advanced upon Traitor positions
troops heard the rallying cries of the Great Angel, swelling beside the thunderous footfalls of the engines of the Titan
the confidence of the Loyalist fleet. Their objective lay Legios. The Blood Angels spared none of their fury and
within easy reach and it seemed as though the presence of in the orbit of Beta-Garmon II they attacked the great
Sanguinius would be enough to turn the tide of the war in star fort known as the Anvil. The Great Angel entrusted
the Garmon Cluster. The Great Angel intended to reclaim his most elite warriors to ensure it was wrested from the
Beta-Garmon II in the name of the Imperium and scour it control of the Warmaster. Shoals of boarding torpedoes
of the presence of the Sons of Horus. As the capital world streaked the void-space to deliver the warriors of the IXth
of the system, this would be an act that would destabilise into the heart of the enemy positions.
the Warmaster’s hold upon the Garmon Cluster and
prevent him from dictating the pace of the war as he had Undaunted by any who stood against him, Sanguinius
so far done. took to battle to lead his warriors from the fore, to inspire
those who fought under him to ever greater acts. Upon
Instead, with a stronghold at the heart of the cluster, the surface of the planet he laid waste to even the greatest
Sanguinius would exercise dominion and would be able war machines of the Traitor muster in a demonstration of
to commence the process of retaking all that had slipped his prodigious might. The Imperator titan, Axis Mundi, fell
into the control of Horus’ host. As the fleet drew into to Sanguinius and his companion guard, no armour was
orbit, Sanguinius ordered Beta-Garmon II to be subjected proof against their blades and no shields offered shelter
to bombardment, intended to eradicate the defences from their wrath. The Great Angel was poised to retake
and weaken the resolve of the Traitor forces that were one of the most vital locations in the Garmon Cluster
encamped there. Millions of tonnes of ordnance were and in doing so would stall the momentum of Horus’
hurled towards the surface of the planet as its crust advance upon Terra. No longer would the Traitors march
reverberated with the impact of explosions that carried with impunity and once more would the Imperium assert
force enough to break mountains. From the skies the control over the keystone of the Garmon Cluster.
Blood Angels descended, a force the likes of which had not
been seen upon the field of battle since the times of the
Great Crusade, to assail the Traitor host.
Assault on Deitus
“The seat of every king rests upon the bones of those who ruled before him…”

Excerpted from the writings of Maran II, last ruler of the Aphamerii
The hull of the Lance of Heaven blazed with heat as it The massed assault plunged the entire planet into a war
flew into the atmosphere of Deitus, followed by the that encompassed every ancient city across every desolate
vessels of the Vth Legion retribution fleet in a tight continent without a single word exchanged between
formation, disgorging drop pods and landing ships as the generals of either army. The equatorial wastelands
a massed planetary assault. There was no other herald became the site of massive battles in which the treads of
of Jaghatai Khan’s arrival, no opportunity to offer a thousands of tanks crushed the remains of the planet’s
surrender nor enter into a process of diplomacy, only ancient civilisations, raising clouds of dust and ash high
the might of the White Scars unleashed to attack at their into the atmosphere. White Scars assault companies
Primarch’s command. targeted the temperate jungle regions of the planet,
stalking through the dense vegetation to silence outposts
No sooner had the first assault craft of the Vth Legion and remote silos from which the Traitors launched missile
broken the low cloud cover of the brooding skies came the strikes on Loyalist locations.
reaction of the Traitor army that inhabited Deitus. They
replied in kind, with unrelenting barrages of weapons Armoured columns of sea-green Kratos tanks, flanked by
fire directed towards the invaders; macro cannon and scores of infantry, rolled from within the subterranean
las batteries emplaced within ground fortifications hangars of long-abandoned manufactorum facilities to
turned skywards as they tracked the trajectories of meet and oppose the waves of ivory-white grav-skimmers,
the Loyalist ships, criss-crossing the skies with red- jetbikes and land speeders that ran at the vanguard of
orange incandescence. the White Scars’ assault. Entire civitas blocks erupted in
vicious room to room fighting as companies of the Khan’s
The Sons of Horus sent squadrons of Xiphon Interceptor troops and their allies performed aerial drops, landing on
craft soaring in near-vertical climbs, their afterburners the highest rooftops to fight floor by floor through the
trailing fire as they accelerated. They raced to meet the defenders, down to ground level.
larger, less manoeuvrable dropships as they descended.
Like packs of hungry wolves snapping at the ankles of Ashurhaddon’s men had repurposed the dilapidated
herd beasts, they harried their chosen prey with strafing structures of Deitus’ ancient settlements to meet their
cannon fire, damaging thrusters and wings, sending the requirements, turning ruined habitation settlements
larger craft tumbling, without control, through the lattice into barrack houses and armouries and agri-sectors into
of contrails that webbed the sky. launch pads and ammunition caches. These locations
became the epicentres of great battles where the White
Thousands of Loyalist troops were lost when their Scars attempted to eliminate the infrastructure behind
transports crashed or were obliterated by direct hits from the Traitors’ defence. In truth, all but one of these assaults
the potent guns of the Traitor defence, but for each that by the White Scars was a feign, intended to misdirect the
was lost, another ran the gauntlet of fire to reach the strength of the Traitors.
ground. Despite the remote location of their garrison
upon Deitus, set apart from the well-travelled routes
of the Garmon Cluster, Vheren Ashurhaddon’s Sons
of Horus had maintained a constant state of vigilance,
maintaining their battle readiness and alertness at
all times.

No amount of preparation could repel the onslaught of

the White Scars though, their landing craft and dropships
filled the skies above the long-forgotten world, darkening
the light of the day as they deployed the full force of their
Legion. The initial waves of Loyalists paid a high price for
conducting such a bold and direct assault on the Traitor
position as they charged directly at the enemy’s guns.
This was the way of warfare Jaghatai Khan had instilled
in his sons, opting to harness the shock and awe of a
rapid assault instead of a time-consuming preparatory
bombardment and escalation of force.
THE VTH UNLEASHED The victories the White Scars had enjoyed were merely
It was not blindly or by chance that the Vth Legion had peripheral and in the greater scheme, ones that would
happened across Deitus and it was not out of fury or not impact the course of history. Even if it defied Dorn’s
vengeful rage that Jaghatai had ordered the assault of the instruction to seek neither revenge nor personal glory,
planet, instead his actions were guided by the information the Khan could not ignore such an opportunity and in
extracted from Endryd Haar. Under duress, the former successfully pursuing it, he would be able to change the
World Eater had confessed that, during his own campaign course of the Horus Heresy. The Khan’s victory could
through the Garmon Cluster, it had been revealed to waylay the Warmaster’s return to Terra, and in turn
him that the Sons of Horus had amassed upon Deitus, contribute more to the preservation of the Imperium
gathering to them reinforcements from the Zeta-Garmon than the work of any other. In admonishment for his
system and allies from many of the Traitor Legions and impetuous campaign of wanton destruction, the Khan
other factions that had aligned with the Warmaster. had ordered Endryd Haar to instead lead his Fangs of the
Emperor elsewhere within the Garmon Cluster, to the
Together they had claimed the entire planet as their own Zeta-Garmon system, leaving the prize of hunting the
and repurposed the primitive structures of long dead Warmaster to himself and the Vth Legion. Before their
civilisations, draping from them banners that bore the departure though, the Warhawk swore that should Haar’s
sigil of the Warmaster. Where many of these structures recountings be revealed as false or should he disobey the
were utilised as military installations, necessary to Primarch’s will, then he would once again feel the bite of
supply the vast Traitor armies with key resources, fuel the White Tiger Dao upon his throat and it would be the
and ammunition, one location, given the name of Ghal- last sensation he would experience.
Zammad, roughly ‘God’s Throne’ in a particular Cthonian
dialect, had a far more sinister purpose. The very presence of the Traitor forces at Deitus had
told Jaghatai that at least some of Haar’s story had been
Endryd Haar had intended to travel to Deitus to find this true, but in a time of such deceit and betrayal, there ever
place, where, it was told to him, Horus himself would remained the possibility of a ruse or a misrepresentation
seek to perform a ritual, a communion with his dark of truth, intended to drive the Vth Legion into a baited trap
patrons that would further the ascension of his malign within which their peril awaited them. With the White
powers. Jaghatai, although suspicious of this revelation, Scars committed to a full-scale attack and locked with
had harried the Warmaster’s forces ceaselessly but Traitor forces, there was no time for doubt and should
knew that the White Scars’ campaign, no matter how Haar’s words prove to be naught more than falsehood,
impactful, would ever be cast into shadow by the glorious there would be no honour in recalling the Legion.
endeavours of the Great Angel.
THE TRAITOR’S LAIR
Upon their arrival, no scouting parties had been necessary
to validate the words that the Khan had been told. The
structure of the Ghal-Zammad, although obscured by the
thick cloud cover that enveloped the planet, was visible
to the multispectral augurs of every vessel in the fleet.
Set within an octagonal perimeter of concentric curtain
walls that had existed since before Imperial records began,
unmistakably the architecture of some lost civilisation,
the Ghal-Zammad was a plateau-topped pyramid formed
from cut stone, each the size of a munitorum container.

Although formidable as a position to assail, the original

architects of the structure had clearly intended
some grander purpose, more akin to the legendary
constructions of pre-industrial Terra, a time when the
gods of old had supposedly walked the earth. The Ghal-
Zammad bore the characteristics of a place that formed
not only the centre of a civilisation but also acted as a
monument to faith, a place where life and death were
intertwined, a place of creation and of ending, a gateway
between one realm of existence and another.

Horus and his followers had not revered or respected

this place as those who built it had, although it was
impossible to know if those who came before would have
considered the labours of the XVIth Legion to constitute
desecration. To augment the defences, shield generators
and gun emplacements had been recently added by the
Warmaster’s engineers within sprawling fields of dragon’s loss deemed acceptable according to the Principia Belicosa
teeth and tank traps. They had created a new monument and its teachings on the conduct of siege warfare. Those
from the Ghal-Zammad, they had made it a temple to that remained set about breaching and disabling the
conquest and dominion but one that, at its core, would networked gun emplacements around Ghal-Zammad and
still play host to some ritual of arcane significance. bringing down the void aegis that shielded it from direct
assault. With roaring chainfists they carved through the
The Traitors’ stronghold was an affront to the purity plasteel bulkhead hatches and burned out the enemy
of the Imperium, and that the blasphemous, ancient gunners with their heavy flamers, igniting the ammunition
structure stood at its heart incensed the Warhawk. At in the magazine of each position as they went. Detonations
the fore of his Legion, the Primarch’s company focussed erupted as the ebon-armoured terminators of the Vth
the main strength of their assault on the Ghal-Zammad Legion enacted the rites of the Kharash and one by one
whilst screening forces of indentured Loyalist troops silenced the defenders’ guns, working relentlessly towards
and Solar Auxilia cohorts were deployed to contain the generators within the walls of the fortress.
and occupy the enemies stationed within the lesser
fortifications to prevent them from harassing the main With the coverage of the enemy’s interceptor fire reduced,
assault. A formation of Vth Legion terminators advanced the White Scars were able to land greater numbers of
upon the Ghal-Zammad, forced to entrust their survival troops safely and moved quickly to amass their forces and
to their Cataphractii terminator plate – the narrowness besiege the enemy position, but even with many of the
of the defences preventing them being delivered into Traitors’ guns silenced, they were not unopposed. Wild,
battle by their Spartan assault tanks. Across open ground ravaging packs of World Eaters charged from portcullis
the warriors marched, unrelenting in their pace even gates in the walls as outriders, too filled with bloodlust
as brothers amongst their number fell to the torrent of and fury to stand behind their defences and wait for their
defensive fire and explosions rippled through their ranks. attackers to come forth.

Less than half of the warriors that set out to cross the Although with numbers enough to form companies,
deadly, open ground surrounding the fortress reached the XIIth Legion warriors fought no longer with the
their objective, the rest were slain during their advance, a organisation of a Legion force but moved in loose bands
and recognised no central command elements, instead Flanking the arrowhead column as they closed on the
relying on an instinctive desire to move forward and tear World Eaters’ line below them were Javelin and Kyzagan
their foes limb from limb to guide them. They disembarked land speeders, who rained fire on the XIIth Legion warriors
from their vehicles and rushed forward on foot when from afar, strafing along their disordered lines with a hail
their drivers had to slow down to manoeuvre between the of solid shot and shredding fragmentary missiles, cutting
angular ferrocrete defences to avoid collision. the legs from beneath the World Eaters as they charged.
This was not the true strength of the Zao assault but
The World Eaters were not the only warriors intent on merely a preparatory bombardment as Jaghatai Khan and
closing with the enemy line rapidly and a Zao formation the Vth Legion warriors continued their meteoric descent
of Vth Legion warriors dropped from the heavy clouds that towards the enemy line, weaving and dodging to avoid
hung over Ghal-Zammad, having departed their dropship the sporadic gunfire of the World Eaters before finally
high above to shield the terminator squads that worked unsheathing their blades and Kontos power lances to
to systematically disable the defences. The Great Khan charge the enemy line at full speed.
himself rode at the fore, his battle cries audible over even
the roaring jets of his Sojutsu pattern voidbike as they The force of the impact sent a thunderclap shockwave
tore at full speed towards the Traitor line. Where the through the atmosphere as the explosive discharges
sight of a Primarch such as Jaghatai would have caused of power lances pierced the ceramite armour of both
other warriors to baulk or even rout, the effect on the XIIth warriors and war machines alike, pulverising the flesh
Legion was the inverse and their champions tightened of the bodies within. Lesser warriors would have turned
the chain-bindings of their weapons and clamoured over and fled, but the World Eaters were undeterred by the
their own troops to bellow challenges to the Lord of the ferocity of the charge and sought to tear White Scars
Vth Legion, eager to prove themselves worthy in personal riders from their saddles with their bare hands as they
combat as was the custom of their heritage. Jaghatai passed and hacked with grinding chainaxes to bring their
sought only to test himself in combat with the Warmaster opponents low.
himself, but if those aspirant warriors were so keen to
cross his path, he was prepared to gladly deliver unto them Jaghatai leapt from his mount and emptied a single shot
the death they so desired. from each chamber of Storm’s Voice, his artificed sidearm,
into the central mass of six World Eaters, the impact The sun of Deitus set and rose again as a blood-red
punching them clean from their feet, and had re-holstered orb before the fury of the World Eaters was finally
it before the bodies of his enemies hit the ground. The extinguished by the unremitting determination of the
elegantly curved White Tiger Dao blade sang as Jaghatai Vth Legion. Thousands had died during a single night of
carved arcs from left to right, right to left, cleaving his carnage but what remained of Jaghatai’s loyal sons now
enemies at the midriff with each pass. stood before the gates of the Ghal-Zammad as they were
broken open. The venerable Vth Legion Mastodon Atlasa,
First came one would-be champion of the XIIth Legion, itself a relic of the Great Crusade, had been sacrificed to
roaring and frothing from the breather grill of his helm breach the gates. Even in its machine-death the massive
as he swung the weight of a massive chainblade in a vehicle’s stricken hull provided an armoured conduit
competent yet predictable manner. through which the White Scars could make their ingress
into the inner fortress. The Atlasa’s crew drained the dying
The Khan had decided on how this opponent would throes of its reactor’s output to fuel searing blasts from
die even as he advanced, the Traitor’s rage and bluster its siege melta array, burning a path through the throngs
no match for the swordsmanship of the Primarch. He of Sons of Horus that rushed to fill the breach, reducing
spun away from the World Eater’s blows and reversed his armour and flesh to ash.
grip on his sword, thrusting it through the back of his
opponent as the momentum of a misplaced blow carried Jaghatai Khan emerged from the gloomy interior of
the World Eater past. Next came two, chained together the stricken Mastodon, treading the fire-scoured path
left arm to right as part of some barbaric gladiatorial before him, followed closely by a score of Ebon Keshig
ritual, each wielding weapons fashioned in the shape of terminators wielding glaives sheathed in crackling power
the tools of ancient hunters in their free hands. For a fields. Each of them was wearied by the preceding hours
fraction of a second the Primarch hesitated, a period of of battle but sustained by not only their transhuman
time imperceptible to mere humans but a moment long physiologies but also their burning hatred for their
enough for Jaghatai to delay and take in the spectacle of a duplicitous brethren. Sons of Horus amassed upon the
pair of warriors fighting in such a manner. The moment steps of the central pyramid, emerging from subterranean
passed, a period less than the blinking of an eye and the bunkers and silos to bring their weaponry to bear. They
Khan struck, beheading them as one with a single sweep. unleashed volleys of bolt rounds and incendiary blasts of
plasma that cut through the ranks of the White Scars as
With the momentum of the initial charge spent, a they fanned out from the breach to press a fresh assault.
grinding melee ensued before the walls of the fortification Even as more White Scars poured through the breach,
as more warriors committed to the fight; White Scars they were forced to fight across open ground to reach
born aloft on Warhawk jump packs reinforced the line the steep, stepped sides of the pyramid and paid a toll in
first, with additional squads of warriors following on foot. spilled blood for every step forward.
Scorpius artillery batteries were brought forward from
their landing sites within range of the Traitors’ walls. THE WARMASTER REVEALED
They unleashed a relentless barrage upon the defenders Over the bodies of his fallen sons the Khan climbed
whilst land speeder and jetbike squadrons continued in search of Horus, each having sold their lives only
their strafing runs, shielding the Khan from the focussed after sending many times their own number of Traitor
firepower of the XVIth Legion warriors atop the massive Legionaries tumbling down to the ground below. At last
battlements of the ancient fortress.
he reached the plateau atop the Ghal-Zammad, as those had found their equal in Horus and his servants. Where
that remained of his company drove the blades through his warriors fought as slavering monsters that revelled in
the throats of the few enemies that still defied death slaughter, Horus himself fought impassively, his gaze ever
around them. At the foot of the pyramid far below, battle fixed at some point beyond Jaghatai. He moved to counter
still raged as Traitor warriors in the sea-green of the XVIth each of the Khan’s blows with premonitory intuition,
were joined by those clad in the royal violet of the IIIrd and maintaining an impervious guard against his deadly sword
the deep crimson of the XVIIth to repel the White Scars. A strikes, the blade of the White Tiger Dao skittering from
fog as thick as oil smoke began to coalesce, blocking the the haft of Worldbreaker in showers of white-hot sparks
Khan’s view as he peered back and enveloping the plateau with each pass.
in isolation. With his view of the battle beneath him
obscured, Jaghatai’s sight was drawn to the presence that Even with the preternatural stamina of a Primarch,
moved in the haze before him, it was at first an indistinct Jaghatai began to tire but the Warmaster’s strength was
silhouette in the distance, but as the figure strode closer, unwavering. Like a mountain of granite he remained
the vision became clearer. Horus Lupercal was finally unmoved before the flurry of blows that the Khan
before him. unleashed, evidently the ritual he had come to Deitus
to conduct was already complete and his physical form
The Warmaster was not alone on the plateau of the already bestowed with the eightfold blessings of his
Ghal-Zammad as dozens of the elite of the XVIth Legion malevolent benefactors. Horus’ capabilities were now
prowled closer, the gold-cast skulls of their former foes something beyond those that he had been created with;
hanging from the chains of their baroque, spiked armour he was enhanced, he had ascended. With a dismissive
and the eye lenses of their fire-blackened helms glowing forward kick to Jaghatai’s chest, he sent the Warhawk
like embers in the dark. Behind them, a hunched figure sprawling backwards where he landed amongst a heap
with all the trappings of a Space Marine bore his weight of his own sons, all of them dead, their armour torn
upon a staff topped with a brazen rendering of the Eye through by blade and claw and their bodies now twisted,
of Horus. The Khan glanced about him, his companions crumpled wrecks.
instinctively raised their power glaives and formed around
him in a protective circle but he had no intention of Sons of Horus spat guttural Cthonian slurs as they
fighting defensively, instead immediately breaking into a prowled around him but Horus held them at bay with a
charge directly towards Horus himself. subtle gesture of his hand as he loomed over the Khan,
who lay prone, breathing heavily with the exertion of
Jaghatai struck out at Horus with the force of a hurricane, battle. Jaghatai awaited the coming of a killing blow as the
a storm of fury and vengeance unleashed against the Warmaster raised his enormous spiked mace, but before
arch-traitor. The Khan’s faithful company of Ebon Keshig it was delivered, Horus hesitated as if reminded of some
fought at his side, each a warrior of exemplary discipline greater purpose, an eventuality that would yet come to
and skill pitted against the brute force and resilience of pass. Jaghatai searched the face of his brother and looked
the elite warriors that accompanied the Warmaster. The deeply into his eyes, now black and bottomless pits; no
blade mastery and fervour of the White Scars would have kin of his resided within that physical form any longer –
been sufficient to best almost any other warriors but they something hateful and malevolent had taken it as its own.
Above, as Horus was poised to deliver his brother’s end, With the primary systems of the vessel once again under
fire wreathed the skies of Deitus, not of some celestial their control, the Shattered Legions and the White
phenomena but the burning ruin of Legion warships, far Scars worked in concert. Meduson was informed that
too many of them bearing the heraldry of the Vth Legion. although his techmarines were successfully able to fix
The blinkered focus of the Khan’s assault upon the world the location of Jaghatai Khan upon the surface of Deitus,
had placed his fleet in peril and as the Sons of Horus the extraction of the Warhawk to relative safety by
were reinforced, fresh vessels under the command of means of standard teleportation, the equipment that the
Tybalt Marr had moved in response to the attacks. With warriors of the Vth Legion were familiar with, would have
the overwhelming majority of his warriors committed been impossible.
to supporting the ground assault, the Khan’s fleet had
resisted the counter-attack of the Sons of Horus, who The enhanced and experimental technological artefacts
had arrived from their stations within the sub-sector, but that the warriors of the Shattered Legions had in their
in the face of such overwhelming enemy forces, defeat possession had far greater capabilities, including that of
was imminent. much more accurate and powerful teleportation, although
in many cases were untested and their use had unforeseen
The Lance of Heaven itself and many other ships of the consequences. Despite the dire risks, Meduson was
White Scars had come perilously close to being overrun, pressed to make a choice, for without his intervention,
their crews’ vox hails for assistance unheard by the Khan the Warhawk would fall before Horus, the effect of which
or any other, as if they had been silenced by some unseen would damn the defence of Terra to almost certain
corruption. The invaders upon the Vth Legion flagship failure. At his command, Meduson’s men had initiated
were driven off through the intervention of Meduson’s the mechanisms of technology the likes of which existed
Shattered Legions, warriors in ebon, emerald and iron- nowhere else within the Imperium and opened a rift
grey who had arrived, drawn in pursuit of Tybalt Marr, through physical space, allowing them to reach to the
unannounced but welcomed by the White Scars, to purge surface of Deitus and deliver Jaghatai Khan from within
the Traitor presence. the grasp of the Warmaster.

Shadrak Meduson himself had boarded the Khan’s ship The Warmaster towered over Jaghatai as he struggled
and fought to clear the bridge of enemies, his troops to stand, his limbs giving way under his own weight as
securing it at the cost of many lives. Amongst Meduson’s if stricken by some debilitating malady that radiated
men who also hailed from the Xth Legion, some had from Horus. Just as the Khan had finally accepted the
elevated the practice of vox-encoding and communication imminence of his own end, a blinding flash of pure white
beyond that of standard Legionary training. These light erupted around him, the miniature supernovae of
Space Marines plied their mysterious skills to bypass the a teleportation flare. When the whiteout faded, Jaghatai
obfuscating pall in their vox-networks and re-establish was gone, leaving Horus on the plateau surrounded by the
communications with the troops on the surface of scenes of butchery he and his warriors had wrought, but
Deitus. For their intervention, the White Scars gave their there were no screams of fury at the theft of his triumph
gratitude to Meduson and his warriors, although their over the Khan, instead an aura of cold detachment settled
efforts had revealed a dire situation, one of imminent over the arch-traitor.
Loyalist defeat and the Primarch of the Vth himself in peril.
 INDEX MORTIFICA

Data Scheme: Mortificationby Sector

Output Format: Data-read (Textualised)

CLEARANCE CIPHER REQUIRED

INPUT: *********************-****-***-

VALIDATED

***

Quadrant: Septent - Factor - 534.132

Quadrant: Subsol - Factor - 489.232

Quadrant: Meridi - Factor - 722.453

Quadrant: Occidi - Factor - 810.235

Quadrant: +REDACTED+ - Factor - 999.999

+Data Complete+

With the strength of the Blood Angels thrown into the Angel and slowly grinding down the momentum of the
fight for Beta-Garmon II, the control of the planet hung Loyalist assault.
in the balance. The war between the titans saw more than
twenty Legios reduced to just a fraction of their former The attacks on the Anvil star fort were fruitless, the
strength as hundreds of the god-engines fell never to enemy presence there merely a superficial sacrifice
stand again. intended to divide the attention of the Loyalist assault
and usher them into a trap. Azkaellon, foremost amongst
The Loyalists had ravaged the Traitor forces and overrun Sanguinius’ personal guards, and his men barely escaped
their lines, but with each sector they took, yet more with their lives as the Traitors detonated the Anvil and its
defences lay ahead of them, more guns to face down and wreckage rained down upon Beta-Garmon II.
more enemies to slay. The Blood Angels were forced to
advance over ground strewn with the bodies of their own It was now, following the news of the Khan’s defeat at
dead, with assault squads using their Warhawk jump Deitus that Sanguinius learned of Horus’ arrival in the
packs to advance in great leaps between the cover of the Beta-Garmon system. However, he did not come to
hulls of their own burned vehicles, and yet the Traitors Beta-Garmon II to contribute to the growing carnage,
still remained. but instead landed upon Beta-Garmon III and began to
exercise his dominion. This action, perpetrated by the
The walls of Nyrcon City had fallen and the bodies of Warmaster, served to bring the futility of the campaign
Loyalists and Traitors alike were piled amidst their rubble. upon Beta-Garmon II into stark contrast.
The hives of Beta-Garmon II burned with such ferocity
their pyres could be seen from orbit. Sanguinius’ offensive If, at this juncture, Sanguinius were to take flight and
on Beta-Garmon II slaughtered his Legion’s enemies in make an attempt on the life of Horus Lupercal, it would
great numbers as entire sectors fell to their deft assaults surely cost the deaths of all who fell on Beta-Garmon II
and dauntless attacks, but still it was not enough to over again, a price that the Great Angel simply could not
claim the planet. Still the Warmaster’s troops held within bear. Moreover, it would be an act that would defy the
their impregnable defences, defying the will of the Great orders of the Praetorian.
 SONS OF HORUS LEGION OVERSEER
LEGION OVERSEER UMMAOS LUDARCH
XVITH LEGION, SONS OF HORUS
THE LASH OF DAGONET

Overseer Ludarch, known informally by his

contemporaries as ‘The Lash of Dagonet’, is known
to have served the Warmaster’s Legion during the
Great Crusade but following his appointment to the
role of overseer, the record of his prior service became
increasingly unclear. To further obfuscate his previous
actions, Ludarch is noted to have utilised an ever
changing panoply of war, varying not only his weapons
but also his battleplate over a short space of time.
The motivations behind such inconsistency remain
a mystery but one aspect that has remained a staple
part of the overseer’s panoply is the vicious whip after
which he is named.

During the battles for the Garmon Cluster, several

accounts exist of warriors matching the description of
Overseer Ummaos Ludarch requisitioning contingents
of mortal warriors of the Solar Auxilia, often by force
and driving them before the guns of his enemies
to support the Traitor cause. At Zeta-Garmon X, a
notable counter assault against the Blackshields force
of the Fangs of the Emperor was spearheaded by
several tercios of Auxilia warriors, fighting under the
command of a Legionary after their own command
elements seemingly deserted the field.

PANOPLY OF WAR
Armoured pauldron:
Artificer-grade armoured pauldron bearing
the Eye of Horus.
Power lash:
Modified Trecauda pattern power lash, known
to be utilised primarily by overseers aligned to
the Warmaster.

1. 2.
 CTHONIAN HEADHUNTERS AUXILIA SERGEANT
AUXILIA SERGEANT RYVAN STOLL
34 TH INFANTRY TERCIO, 141 ST SOLAR AUXILIA COHORT,
‘CTHONIAN HEADHUNTERS’ – BONDED TO THE XVITH LEGION
THE RAZING OF 248 MINORIS-GARMON

Sergeant Stoll was amongst the first wave of Cthonian

Headhunters ‘recruited’ as part of Horus’ mass formation of fresh
Legiones Auxilia cohorts in the years following the Ullanor
Triumph, conscripted alongside his entire generation to expand
the nascent Warmaster’s force of arms. After a decade of war,
Stoll had attained command over his twenty-strong lasrifle
section, though by the Horus Heresy its entire number – save
for Stoll – had been replaced by fresh Auxiliaries, the sergeant
having outlasted each of his peers by dint of malign cunning,
often placing his supposed fellows directly in the path of the
XVIth Legion’s wrathful overseers.

Stoll is depicted here during the Razing of 248 Minoris-

Garmon, where his sub-cohort had been garrisoned
amongst the Sons of Horus’ mech-yards. His transverse
sergeant’s crest was discovered alongside his butchered
tercio in the aftermath of the Loyalist attack, but aside
from this shorn-off rank signifier, no trace of Stoll himself
was found.

PANOPLY OF WAR
Void armour shoulder markings:
Cthonian Headhunters armourial;
Section Command designation.
Power sword, Phaeton ‘Choler’ pattern
Blast pistol, Kalibrax II pattern

1.

2. 3.
War in the Shadows
“The Hel of the ancients hath surely been filled, for now the damned are amongst us.”

Ancient Terran Proverb

Jaghatai Khan rapidly recovered from the shock of sudden Despite the option to retreat from the surface of the
teleportation, his enhanced mental and physical resilience planet, far fewer White Scars were extracted than had
proofing him against the trauma of the process far been part of the initial planetfall, not only had the losses
more effectively than that of any Space Marine. He was, during the fighting been great but also many had refused
however, still rendered insensate for a short period, a side to leave, instead opting to continue fighting stubbornly to
effect of the mysterious technology employed to deliver hold back the tide of Traitors that would give chase to the
him once again to the bridge of the Lance of Heaven. escaping Loyalist fleet. Jaghatai remained silent, locked in
During his recovery, much of the surviving Loyalist fleet introspection for only a moment before he spoke. He bade
had escaped from the proximity of Deitus and made way that those who had remained on Deitus should not be
for the near void in a hasty and disordered disengagement. mourned, for they were not lost but instead that fate had
set them on a separate course. He spoke of the assurance
As the Primarch was roused, he brushed away the he had that their paths would cross again, if only they
attentions of the Legion serfs who clamoured to tend found the resolve to continue to fight.
to his wounds and the rents in his armour, surrounded
by the cacophony of battle communications that still As the Vth Legion fleet, now joined by vessels under the
screamed across the vox network. Meduson had watched command of Shadrak Meduson, continued on its course
over him in vigil since the teleportation had been away from Deitus, its personnel began to reorganise and
completed and took to a knee in respect as the Primarch recover from their rapid departure. Amidst the toils of
regained his bearings. The Space Marine bowed and repair and the restoration of order throughout the decks,
for a brief moment, Jaghatai Khan regarded him as his Meduson himself remained upon the Lance of Heaven
prodigious mind rebuilt an eidetic recollection of events, alongside Jaghatai Khan, the two sequestered away from
before placing his hand upon the former Iron Hand’s the labouring crew and staff, and was extended the
pauldron, willing him to rise once again to his feet. honour of accompanying the Khan within the Primarch’s
private quarters. Together they communicated openly
The Khan did not chastise Meduson for his intervention of the war within the Garmon Cluster, sharing their
nor did he thank him, for there was little time for own concerns and aspirations as Jaghatai emulated the
sentimentality, instead he asked to be appraised of a mannerisms of Sanguinius, offering not only enquiries
strategic overview of the battle fleet. Initially, the bridge of his comrade, but also listening intently as he spoke.
crew began to relay the lists of battle companies and their Meduson suggested that a valid contribution to the
remaining strengths. The Khan ordered them to cease, war effort may still be made if only a victory could be
asking simply what had survived. Hesitantly, a lowly claimed at Zeta-Garmon, a comment that the Khan
adept announced that losses were estimated to be in the considered intently.
region of forty-seven percent and detailed how extraction
ships had flown hundreds of sorties under heavy fire to
ferry troops back into orbit until the fleet was forced to
break away from anchor. Much had been lost and many
remained unaccounted for.
Under Meduson’s command, his Shattered Legions had The Vth Legion had suffered defeat at the hands of the
waged a disruptive campaign of targeted attacks on the Sons of Horus at Deitus and without the intervention of
Traitors’ logistical framework, the gears that drove the Shadrak Meduson, the Khan’s hubris would have led to
war and undermined the Warmaster’s foothold within his ending at the hands of the Warmaster. The strength
the Garmon Cluster, much as they had strived to do since and skill of Horus had always been amongst the greatest
the atrocities at Isstvan had riven their Legions apart. of their brotherhood, but now he had been enhanced,
Inevitably though, Meduson knew the leviathan’s gaze somehow imbued with ever more power and speed.
would shift and the might of the Warmaster’s forces Where that battle had been lost though, the greater war
would be focussed upon those who sought to destabilise may still be won. Meduson told the Khan of the gene-
the mechanisms by which they waged Horus’ war and this forges of Zeta-Garmon, one of several places his scouting
was an unavoidable consequence of his actions. vessels had witnessed from afar, facilities under the
control of the XVIth Legion that provided a seemingly
The Shattered Legions were forced to claim victory not endless stream of reinforcements with which Horus
over vast armies upon grand warfronts that spanned enforced his reign over much of the Garmon Cluster and
entire continents, nor would they march triumphant at fed the battlefields of the core systems.
the fore of grand hosts of celebrated warriors. Instead,
their wars would be fought in the darkness, in the Although this region was far from the Beta-Garmon
shadowed regions where the golden light of glory did not system and the capital of the cluster itself, to prevent
shine and through the perpetration of acts that few would its supply of troops would starve the Traitors of
ever speak of. In this, Jaghatai Khan saw the parallels reinforcements in the core systems and had the potential
between Meduson’s legion and his own in the war for the to swing the balance of the wider war in Sanguinius’
Garmon Cluster. Their victories would not be won over favour. Instead of striking at the supply convoys of the
the Warmaster himself, nor would the conquest of the Warmaster’s campaign, they would strike at its heart.
core systems be listed amongst their accomplishments When Jaghatai and Meduson emerged from their
but without their contribution, nor could they be won seclusion aboard the Lance of Heaven, they did so with
by Sanguinius. new clarity of purpose and vigour. Together, they stood
as the Khan gave the address to his fleet and set a course
to Zeta-Garmon.
THE TIDE OF DEVASTATION In his wisdom, the Khan knew better than to attempt to
The Zeta-Garmon system itself had been sheltered from restrain Haar’s intentions with any pretence of strategy or
the rigours of the war, the tide of devastation had not coordination. The Riven Hound spoke only the language
reached it and from its worlds a stream of Space Marine of war and any attempts to suggest the utilisation of a
Inductii had issued forth as reinforcements for the XVIth complex strategy or install a hierarchy of command would
Legion. Vast numbers of enemy troops were produced by fall upon deaf ears, but worse still, he knew that Haar
gene-forges constructed at numerous locations across the would ask questions of the success of the actions upon
system and fed with human stock, originally sourced from Deitus. These were things that Jaghatai Khan did not wish
the population of Zeta-Garmon’s penal colonies. When to speak of.
those populations had been exhausted, fresh candidates,
extracted from systems throughout the Garmon Cluster, Instead, the Warhawk commanded his crews to make
were shipped in aboard the Warmaster’s black arks. communication with Meduson and his vessels; they
were to join the attack alongside the Fangs of the
When the Lance of Heaven broached the system under the Emperor. Where Haar had charged headlong into battle,
steerage of Jaghatai Khan, it became clear they were not the Traitors had risen up in response and gained the
the first to attack Zeta-Garmon and instead it was already upper hand as the initial shock assault had bled off its
embroiled in open warfare. Before the Loyalist fleet battle momentum. Although merely the garrison forces of a
raged as the distance between immense voidcraft was system that languished far from the crucible of the war,
closed with reckless speed and endless rafts of boarding the Traitors that remained within the Zeta-Garmon
torpedoes sped between the lines. The ravaged hulls of system were well-placed to defend their territory and
ships from both factions listed lifelessly, their passengers were able to fight with the ferocity of a force many times
and crews spilled into the void and already long dead. their true number. The Khan intended to be the hammer
that would smash the Traitor force, to triumph over the
They beheld not the crimson majesty of the IXth Legion Warmaster’s troops and deliver the Fangs of the Emperor
arrayed but instead the scoured and blackened hulls of from their inevitable destruction.
the myriad ships of the Fangs of the Emperor engaged
throughout the system. Jaghatai saw that this was where
Endryd Haar had ventured to vent his fury upon the
enemy and his features hardened as his crew began to
assess the state of the battle before them, and followed
standard Legion protocols by attempting to make contact
with the ships that assailed the Traitor positions. Sternly,
he called for them to cease, ordering that no attempts at
communication with Endryd Haar or any of his forces
should be made.
VINDICATION THROUGH VICTORY ASSAULT ON ZETA-GARMON X
The displacement of Haar’s forces was the evidence Even as the last landers and drops pods of the Fangs of the
of a one-dimensional attack, one that Jaghatai Khan Emperor were expelled from their flight decks above Zeta-
considered ill-conceived and destined for failure but Garmon X, the hulls of the vessels that had delivered them
which was characteristic of the perpetrators. The evident began to slew away in cataclysmic explosions, the void
lack of counter-contingency and depth of strategy shields that had protected them finally succumbing to the
employed by the Fangs of the Emperor would have caused relentless barrages of fire they had been forced to endure.
the Warhawk dismay, had they been the conduct of They had flown too close to the surface of the planet,
any other faction. Instead, the Khan was buoyed by the their pilots as impetuous and reckless as their leader and
opportunity to intervene as he rapidly directed his sub- had been trapped, inescapably, within the gravity well of
commanders and company captains via vox as he made his Zeta-Garmon X.
way to his own Stormbird. He paced through the corridors
of the Lance of Heaven in strides three times the length of The Khan’s strike force threaded through the burning
that of his adjutants, causing them to run to keep pace as wreckage that began to tumble towards the surface like
they relayed critical battle data. meteors of adamantine and iron. Squadrons of ivory-
white Stormbirds carried companies of elite warriors,
The Khan was informed that, initially, Haar’s forces had flanked by scores of smaller craft that reflected the red-
attempted to form a semblance of a blockade of the orange light of explosions, causing them to glitter like
Traitor forces at Zeta-Garmon II, their ships ringing the jewels against a backdrop of smouldering umber. Jaghatai
high orbit of the planet, but the besieging fleet had not had shed the flight restraints of his drop cradle and
the numbers to maintain their cordon and their lines stood amongst the warriors of his retinue at the centre
were now perilously close to being overrun by the Sons of the hold of his personal Stormbird, despite the violent
of Horus that had sallied forth from their encampments turbulence of their descent. On open vox-channels,
in defiance. The Khan showed little interest in this broadcast to his entire drop company, he promised
sub-theatre of the conflict and suggested that Meduson that the traitorous Sons of Horus would taste defeat at
may wish to direct his forces there. He gestured for the the hands of the White Scars and that the Fangs of the
adjutant to continue. Emperor would be delivered a victory by the intervention
of the Vth Legion. Little more was spoken and instead the
In the crystalline asteroid belts between Zeta-Garmon Khan let the wrath of their guns speak of their intentions
V and VI the Traitors maintained an iron hold on as they opened fire on the Traitors.
their territory, resisting and repelling the Fangs of the
Emperor’s every attempt to gain a foothold, leaving Battle raged across the surface of Zeta-Garmon X with
the sundered hulls adrift amongst the barren rocks. A fronts opened where the Fangs of the Emperor had
bloody war of attrition had set in there and would not be made planetfall. Prior to the Traitors’ occupation, the
decisively concluded whilst the surrounding territories planet had once housed penal colonies of billions within
remained contested. This too disinterested the Khan and towering incarceration stacks, built from prefabricated
he impatiently ordered for the adjutant to proceed. ferrocrete modules that were added as the population
dictated. Around them the vast plains had been stripped
Another human subject shuffled through dataslates of vegetation and utilised to train and harden Imperial
clumsily and began to relay information regarding Zeta- Army troops to the conditions of combat throughout the
Garmon X, where the main strength of the Traitor defence galaxy. To escape from incarceration on Zeta-Garmon
was gathered. There, the ship Haar had most recently X had been to flee into an active firing range, littered
commandeered, the Balthansa, along with a number of with explosive mines, ordnance and the furnishings of a
other ships of comparable tonnage were completing the deadly battlefield.
final stages of an orbital drop. Jaghatai’s eyes widened
and his pace quickened ever more. He would strike here Most now found new use under the control of the
– at Zeta-Garmon X he would make his mark upon the Warmaster’s armies, many becoming gene-forges, filled
Garmon Cluster. with rows of amniotic tanks and surgical slabs as far
as the eye could perceive. Penal facilities had become
strongholds, studded with hardened bunkers, clad in
ferrocrete and bristling with automated weaponry that
watched over conveyance lines, constructed to ship cargo
to and from the landing pads that had been built on the
featureless plains.
 RAVEN GUARD ASSAULT LEGIONARY
ASSAULT LEGIONARY EILOS LA’SHA
ASSAULT SQUAD UMBRAX, XIXTH LEGION, RAVEN GUARD
INCORPORATED INTO THE IMPERIAL REPRISAL FLEET

Assault Legionary La’Sha was part of a dwindling

Raven Guard force that had engaged in guerilla
attacks on Traitor forces whilst the Ruinstorm
blocked reinforcement or aid from Terra. It is
absent from record where exactly Legionary
La’Sha joined the Loyalist force led by Sanguinius
as it blazed a path of destruction towards
Beta-Garmon, due to the nature in which these
remnants of larger forces were extricated from
the battles they were embroiled in.

It is of note, that, despite the protracted

campaign of warfare that this Legionary was
doubtlessly engaged in, his wargear retained
a remarkable level of functional maintenance
and remained in an approved and standardised
configuration. Whether this was owing to the
successful utilisation of the modular and easily
repairable nature of MkVI battleplate, exemplary
martial prowess of the wearer or simple good
fortune, it remains unknown.

Following the incorporation of Legionary La’Sha into

the Reprisal Fleet, records of his actions became
increasingly vague, with the last known deployment
being noted to be upon Beta-Garmon II where
entries cease. It is assumed that the warrior fell in
service to the Imperium in battle and, as with so
many others, his remains were unrecovered.

PANOPLY OF WAR
MkVI pauldron:
Armoured pauldron plate adorned
with XIXth Legion armorial.
Sol-militaris pattern MkIII chainsword:
Standard Assault Legionary issue
chainsword with perma-etched
XIXth Legion emblems.

1. 2.
UNITED IN BATTLE PATH OF DESTRUCTION
With little attention paid to disabling the orbital guns of Jaghatai Khan’s target was a nexus of battle in the
the enemy or to establishing staging and resupply points, planet’s southern hemisphere. As his Stormbird dropship
Haar’s troops had attacked indiscriminately, striking only approached for landing, the scale of the conflict already
at places where the presence of Legionary resistance could fought here became apparent, with the roadways that ran
be assured. Vth Legion troops were divided amongst these between the squat, grids of functional structures littered
locations to reinforce the points at which Haar’s assault with both dead Sons of Horus and a great number of the
had floundered. Fangs of the Emperor. At the junctions between the roads,
tank hulls still burned inside the craters they had punched
Spearheads of Land Raiders led assaults on fixed positions, into the surface as they had exploded.
where the Fangs of the Emperor had become pinned
down by enemy fire. Their armoured hides were able to The rear section of a Fellglaive smouldered, the front
weather the explosive barrages that sent shrapnel scything rendered into a molten pool of white-hot slag by the
through the ranks of Haar’s infantry. When the distance cyclonic melta lance of the Leviathan dreadnought that
had been closed, assault ramps opened like the jaws of itself lay motionless, its ceramite hide pocked by molten
howling beasts to disgorge the warriors of the Vth Legion shrapnel, only several paces away. What parts of the
in close assault. Boltguns roared the fury of Chogoris Fellglaive that remained identifiable were still larger than
and silenced the Sons of Horus’ ranged weapons that had the Deimos Rhino chassis that were scattered around it,
halted the advance of Haar’s assault. upturned and draped in the bodies of their occupants,
gunned down as they had tried to escape from the inferno
Despite the entrenched positions held by the Sons of of burning promethium fuel that had engulfed them.
Horus in the defence of the planet, the sudden influx Amidst the wreckage and death a path could be discerned,
of the White Scars and the ferocity of their assault Haar’s warriors had pressed their assault through the
was sufficient to unweight their defence and allow the enormous armoured blast doors of a cavernous hangar
Loyalists to gain a foothold. The Traitor lines of defence and into the dark interior of the gene-forge Natus-17.
were forced to fall back on themselves but in doing so they
goaded the Loyalist attackers forth across killing fields No cordon had been left by the Fangs of the Emperor to
that were overlooked by hardened positions that bustled prevent them from being pursued and surrounded by
with heavy support squads who brought autocannon their enemies and thus it fell to the Khan to implement
and lascannon to bear. Undaunted, the White Scars such measures, apportioning companies from his strike
reinvigorated their charge to once again close with their force to hold their position and prevent the ingress of
enemies, heedless of the price in blood that they were Traitor forces into Natus-17 as he led the remainder of
forced to pay.
his contingent into the depths of the unknown structure. cord, causing the reactor to overload and explode in a
Soon after they had been deployed, the White Scars that miniature supernova. The surrounding warriors, both
held the gates of Natus-17 were beset by indentured forces Fangs of the Emperor and Sons of Horus engaged in
of the Warmaster, cohorts of the Solar Auxilia that no combat, blade against blade, were caught in the blast and
longer bore their heraldry and instead each warrior now several were immolated by the sun-fire that enveloped
bore crude renderings of the Eye of Horus upon their them. Haar himself was blasted from his feet and thrown
uniforms. Thousands of Auxiliaries marched upon their through the air but even as the brief instant of brightness
position, driven before squadrons of Leman Russ battle was still fading, he had regained his footing. As he scanned
tanks that advanced in support. his surroundings to regain his awareness of the battle, his
eyes fell upon the figure of Jaghatai and with a grimace
Entrusting his rearguard to hold against the enemy forces upon his face in acknowledgement of his presence, Haar
that amassed outside, the Warhawk and his company once again charged headlong into his enemies and spared
advanced at pace to reach the front line of the fighting, no more time on welcoming the arrival of his allies.
now within Natus-17, several levels below the surface
of the planet. Endryd Haar himself was at the forefront Jaghatai followed in kind, bounding through the hordes
of the fighting, locked in combat with a Contemptor of enemies that climbed from the depths of Natus-17 to
dreadnought adorned with vicious spiked studs and oppose them. Veteran warriors, Sons of Horus that had
draped in chains of black iron. Upon its emerald green formed part of the original garrison force of Zeta-Garmon
armour, it wore an accumulated film of gore and soot that X were now only one in every ten of the Traitor force. The
stained it a glossy burgundy-brown. The dreadnought rest were Inductii warriors, awoken from their hypno-
bore down upon Haar, grasping with the bladed claws of indoctrination to defend the place of their birth. So new
its two massive power fists but the former World Eater to their lives as Space Marines were they that they pressed
side-stepped each blow, batting away the enraged attacks forward without the cohesion of squad organisation, there
of the war machine with his own mighty fist and causing having been no time for their masters to assign such roles
it to stumble forwards, overbalanced. to them.

Instinctively, Haar lunged and tore at the atomantic core Although just metres apart, the Khan could snatch only
from the rear of the Contemptor chassis, ripping out glimpses of Endryd Haar amidst the press of power
power conduits and cables like a biomechanical spinal armoured bodies that filled the chambers of the interior
of the structure. In each he saw a snapshot of the pure
brutality, frozen in the stroboscopic flashes of light from
the thousands of bolt rounds that were discharged in the
space between each of his breaths. One moment he saw
Haar crush the windpipe of an unhelmed warrior with a Here, the coalition of Loyalists had found a wellspring
blow to the throat, the next he wielded the disembodied of the Warmaster’s strength, the means by which Horus
limb of one of Horus’ sons as a weapon against the leveraged his conquest of the Garmon Cluster and here
warrior it had been detached from. The Khan could not they would bring about its destruction. With cleansing
help but find humour in the situation and allowed a smile promethium fire they purged the gene-forges of their
to spread across his blood-splattered face. stocks, toppling the fluid-filled silos and calling on flamer
teams to incinerate their contents as they spilled upon
The Khan himself fought with the force of a hurricane, the ground. They raised an inferno as the means to create
each sweep of his blade cutting down half a dozen of his thousands of Traitor reinforcements was destroyed.
foes but over their lifeless bodies stepped ever more to
replace them. His armour’s systems registered the impact The Khan received reports of numerous similar facilities
of blows against his body, but he no longer felt them, uncovered as his forces fought to take Zeta-Garmon X,
his muscles were saturated by the acidic burn of their sector by sector. He ordered them all to be committed to
superhuman exertion and numbed to any other sensation. the same end, their gene-stocks burned to ash and their
As the shockwave of the detonation of a massive structures razed. Vth Legion logisticians estimated that
breaching charge washed over him, a bomb set to bring enough resources had been stored within the planet’s
down the defences of the Traitors, the din of battle was facilities to build a force of Legion strength, hundreds of
temporarily drowned out, and in a brief moment of calm, thousands of warriors, warriors that would doubtlessly
the Khan saw his sons as they fought. Even combined have been committed to the battle for the core systems.
with the warriors of the Fangs of the Emperor, they were
outnumbered, with five or more Sons of Horus for every Zeta-Garmon was left under the control of Endryd Haar
one of the Loyalists that still stood. In the face of such an and the Fangs of the Emperor, who pledged to prevent it
enemy, where others may have faltered, the spirits of the once again falling under the control of the Warmaster.
White Scars sang in unison, spurring each of them to feats Extant records suggest that Haar’s forces rebuilt at
beyond even that of their augmented physiologies. least one working gene-forge at the site, or otherwise
discovered the location of one that was not destroyed
Relishing in the destruction they wrought, the Warhawk under the watch of Jaghatai Khan. Through its use,
and the Riven Hound fought side by side at the front his warband was reinforced with a number of Inductii
of their assault into the gene-forge. Although they did recruits each created from the unwilling people of the
not speak, they were united as warriors upon the field Garmon Cluster, and its strength was bolstered.
of battle – there was no need for words to express their
bond. Their enemies fell in droves before the combined
might of the White Scars and the Fangs of the Emperor
as they forged a path of blood and destruction into the
central atrium of Natus-17. At the heart of the forge were
the gene-vats within which new progenoid glands were
grown, enough to implant into hundreds of thousands
of Inductii warriors and rebuild the strength of the
XVIth anew.
 INDEX MORTIFICA

Data Scheme: Mortificationby Sector

Output Format: Data-read (Textualised)

CLEARANCE CIPHER REQUIRED

INPUT: *********************-****-***-

VALIDATED

***

Quadrant: Septent - Factor - 704.542

Quadrant: Subsol - Factor - 750.431

Quadrant: Meridi - Factor - 850.937

Quadrant: Occidi - Factor - 850.357

Quadrant: +REDACTED+ - Factor - 996.696

+Data Complete+

Sanguinius was forced to watch as Horus and his forces Those closest to Sanguinius told that he was fraught with
lay waste to Beta-Garmon III, as the Traitors’ fel weapons his own indecision. Restless and ill-tempered, he had
rent the atmosphere of the neighbouring planet apart, flown into a destructive rage, upending the holo-map
enacting the destruction of the Caldera Primus. Once casters and strategic displays within his field command
again the Warmaster had made folly of the Loyalist efforts bunker, perhaps the only moment during their long
within the Garmon Cluster and the Blood Angels would service to him that the Angel had displayed emotions that
damn Beta-Garmon II to fall into the hands of the Traitors most had thought beneath him.
should they quit the field there.
To his confidants, the Great Angel had admitted that he
The Great Angel’s forces upon Beta-Garmon II were had contemplated launching an assassination attempt on
able to hold out through sheer tenacity, the war they the Warmaster and that he had sensed an opportunity to
fought now one of spiteful attrition rather than strategic take flight during the dead of night. A mission to bring
gain as fragments of once massive elements battled on down the Warmaster but one from which his own return
through the rubble. Sanguinius was forced to take this was unlikely. He told that as he slept he had dreamt of his
into account when deciding upon the viability of their treacherous brother, struck down by some fugue, perhaps
continued presence in the cluster and recalled that the result of a wound inflicted by the blade of the Khan or
Dorn’s decree was that the cost to the Imperium should even of Russ, that would provide a weakness for his own
be minimised. weapon to exploit.

It was, however, highly probable that the losses suffered Finally though, Sanguinius conceded that such an act
on Beta-Garmon II would have been total if it had not would carry too much risk and that he would curtail
been for the Khan’s efforts to stem the tide of Traitor his own selfish ambition for the good of the Imperium
reinforcements. Following the destruction of the gene- at large. The cost of the Garmon campaign had already
forges of Zeta-Garmon, Horus was apparently starved of climbed too high and the count of the Mortification
the resources needed to claim a total and decisive victory Index had reached critical. The Garmon Cluster must be
over Beta-Garmon II in addition to his conquest of the abandoned and the forces of the Imperium must return to
neighbouring planet. Terra where they would make their final stand.
 Epilogue
“Only by the toll of billions of dead have we earned a chance that Terra may stand before the coming of conquerors.”

Excerpted from apocryphal accounts of the Garmon Cluster Campaigns

After seven years of torturous conflict, the Garmon Both of the Primarchs had found allies within the Garmon
Cluster had seen atrocities to rival any theatre of war that Cluster, those they had aided or those that had fought
had or would ever exist. Billions were lost and planets alongside them to thwart the Traitor host. Shadrak
were scoured of life, rendered uninhabitable by dread Meduson had played a role in the Khan’s crusade and it
weapons wielded by those who exercised the power of could be said that it was to him that the Warhawk owed
vengeful deities. Entire armies had been eradicated, those his life, but now their paths diverged. Meduson would
both aligned to the Emperor and to Horus, and those fight on separately within the Garmon Cluster and
who survived had done so only by guile or by chance, for beyond, the bitter enmity between him and Tybalt Marr
none had been spared a modicum of mercy, such were would only end with the death of one of them. Endryd
the wars of an age of unparalleled darkness. Haar would too remain within the sector, rebuilding
and forging the strength of the Fangs of the Emperor,
Those on Terra had watched as the Garmon Cluster still filled with a hatred only felt by those who had been
had been set ablaze, the hellish glow of the fires of its betrayed. Neither would return to Terra yet, for it was not
destruction had grown ever brighter with each planet their time.
and system that was burned. Though these wars were
still beyond the horizon, they loomed now with ever The message had reached the Imperial Palace and word
increasing threat, as if the clash of blades and cries of the spread that Dorn’s chosen champions, Sanguinius and
dying could be heard, carried on cold winds that blew in Jaghatai, both still lived and that they made way to the
from distant mountains. Sol System. The people of Terra celebrated this victory in
itself, jubilant that the protectors of humanity returned
Sanguinius had done all that Dorn had asked, more than to once again take their place upon the walls. The people,
any could have expected him to achieve. He had led his however, were ignorant of the immensity of the horrors
Legion on a crusade into the heart of darkness, into the that would soon be upon them, for an army wrought of
crucible fires of battle of an apocalyptic scale. He had darkness itself that thirsted for the blood of the Imperium
been the carrier of light that had rallied the forces of the burgeoned. Horus’ followers had amassed as water behind
Imperium under his banner and he had stood in defiance a dam and the final levy was on the verge of failing. Soon a
of the arch-traitor, Horus. Although the Garmon Cluster flood would come to engulf Terra and it held the power to
had been lost, the Great Angel had taken his measure wash away all that had been built in the name of Mankind.
of the Warmaster’s strength and he now knew what
would confront him at the gates of Terra. The weight Horus would return to Terra.
of knowing was shared only with the Warhawk, the one
other that had faced Horus in his ascended state and
knew of the power that he wielded.

The Khan had fought a war on his own terms, he had

reaved across the Garmon Cluster, harrying at the
heels of the Warmaster’s armies to undermine their
strength. Jaghatai had won his victory at Zeta-Garmon,
an act that may have changed the course of the war for
the core systems. Although he had strived to prove his
worth in comparison to Sanguinius and he had suffered
for his aspiration and hubris, he too had witnessed the
power that Horus now wielded and he too knew what
challenges the Imperium was yet to face.
LEGIONS REFORGED

Legions Reforged
“We toiled in the service of the Angels of Death, heedless that
their fall would damn our labours and stain our hands.”

Attr. Legate Marshal Serena Marsay, 209th Solar Auxilia, ‘Gilded Sentinels’
SHATTERED LEGIONS BLOODIED BANNERS
The Horus Heresy was a cataclysm from which nothing Owing to the intensity of the war unleashed upon the
survived unchanged. Entire Space Marine Legions were galaxy by Horus, it was not only the betrayed Legions
brought to the brink of ruin in its very opening moments of Isstvan V who would be forced to amalgamate their
and its conclusion would herald the death throes of the troops in order to persist as a functioning force. Many of
Legiones Astartes as an organisation. To endure amidst the bloody battles which came to mark this age left few
such calamity it was necessary for the Legions to evolve, survivors and exhausted vast quantities of war materiel,
spawning several irregular formations unseen before or producing warbands of isolated Legionaries incapable
since as Legionaries cast aside the tenets of the Principia of operating as conventional Legion forces unless they
Belicosa in the face of a war they had never been expected merged their hosts with those of their kindred Legions.
to fight. The first of these were the Shattered Legions, an As certain Traitor Legions grew increasingly unstable,
attempt to reconstitute more typical Legion detachments some Legion detachments would simply be abandoned
from the depleted remnants of several distinct Legions, to this fate either as a form of punishment or merely as
whose oft-unremarked upon legacy nevertheless left an victims of their Legion’s lack of overall cohesion. While
indelible mark upon the outcome of the Horus Heresy. the designation of these armies as ‘Shattered Legions’
was a retroactive one, made to ease comprehension as
BROKEN SONS the embers of the Horus Heresy finally cooled, their
At Isstvan V three Loyalist Legions were broken, the conformity to the new archetype established by the
Warmaster’s supposed punishment reshaped into a survivors of Isstvan V is undeniable, perhaps indicating
trap designed to maul the Emperor’s armies before some shared root in the precepts laid down during the
Horus’ war had even started. In the aftermath, the Iron Great Crusade.
Hands, Salamanders and Raven Guard Legions were no
longer whole, their surviving numbers scattered and As befits a structure assumed out of desperation in
their command elements destroyed, each incapable of order to stave off defeat, the Shattered Legions were by
operating as a cohesive body and forced to adapt should their very nature an impermanent and malleable force,
they wish to survive the unfolding darkness. From with hosts composed of every single Legion in almost
this bloody crucible were born the so-called ‘Shattered all possible combinations known to have existed during
Legions’, amalgamations of warriors drawn from across the Horus Heresy, no matter how briefly. In practice,
these betrayed Legions in the hopes of alloying their Shattered Legions forces were almost never composed
strengths to strike back at the Traitors, deprived of much of Legionaries from more than three separate Legions,
of their original arsenals but resolute in their hatred. possibly indicating a breakpoint where the clash of Legion
cultures or simple quantity of divergent forces proved
Assembled under the leadership of the Iron Hands too great an impediment to effective coordination upon
Warleader Shadrak Meduson, these first Shattered the battlefield. Appearing across the Loyalist and Traitor
Legions dispersed into dozens of small cells, bereft of the divide, the Shattered Legions configuration would also be
supply chains that had once sustained them and shorn of adopted by forces of Legionaries sworn to neither camp,
the command hierarchy that had given them direction. whether driven on a campaign of heedless vengeance,
Instead, each cell sought to mitigate their diminished slipping the chains of fealty to raid and pillage at will or
resources by scavenging where they could and playing pursuing some more obscure motivation besides.
to the strengths of their individual natures, armoured
assets often deputised to the warriors of the Iron Hands
and reconnaissance equipment seconded to the Raven
Guard. Determined to bleed the Traitors via a thousand
cuts, these cells raided strategic locations away from
the front lines: sabotaging shipyards, raiding munition
stockpiles and devastating recruitment worlds, wounding
the Traitors’ capability to sustain the war long-term and
forcing them to devote ever greater resources to defending
their conquered territory.
FRACTURED HOSTS
While many Legion hosts which fought during the Age THE FIRST BETRAYAL
of Darkness were accompanied by detached formations While the archetypal Shattered Legions template
from their counterpart Legions, what distinguished the would ever be attributed to Shadrak Meduson’s
Shattered Legions on an organisational level was the scattered warbands, it can be argued that these were
degree of integration between their constituent parts. not in fact the first Space Marines to adopt such a
The Legions comprising a Shattered Legions warband structure. Horus’ opening betrayal, conducted upon
were merged not only at the strategic level but all the way the Isstvan system’s third planet, condemned those
down to the formation of individual units, such that a Legionaries of the IIIrd, XIIth, XIVth and XVIth Legions
single squad might contain warriors from several different ill-disposed to the Warmaster’s treachery to death
Legions. Even vehicle crews could be drawn from multiple for their perceived loyalty to the Emperor. In the
Legions, with squadrons of vehicles crewed by warriors aftermath of the Traitors’ failed attempt to annihilate
bearing colours entirely apart from those which clad their these Legionaries from orbit, the Primarch Angron
armoured flanks. led a ground assault against the surviving Loyalists,
whose hosts were divided between the four Legions,
Parted from the supply structures of the Great Crusade each equally mauled by the ravages of the life-eater
and their wider Legions, Shattered Legions warbands virus and the firestorm which had been unleashed
typically had limited access to the most advanced patterns upon them.
of wargear and specialised war machines contained within
the Legions’ arsenals. This factor – in concert with their Among these surviving Loyalists, the same conditions
composition from fragments of heavily depleted squads – which led to Shadrak Meduson’s supposed founding
generally restricted the availability of various unique units of the Shattered Legions can be observed – depleted
for which the individual Legions were known, for while numbers, a lack of supplies and a severed chain of
a tactical squad held a shared lineage across the Legions, command. While many of the Loyalists would fight
specialist formations like the Mor Deythan could not so according to the divisions of their Legions – honour-
easily be replicated. bound to face their erstwhile brothers alone – some
number of these betrayed warriors would come
Broadly, Shattered Legions warbands could range from a together as combined hosts, forming ad hoc units of
few dozen Legionaries to a few thousand strong, though mixed Legionaries in much the same way as those
most frequently their numbers were counted somewhere later betrayed at Isstvan V. Around such figures as
in the lower hundreds, typically based upon a single major Saul Tarvitz these first Shattered Legions forces
void craft but invariably accompanied by a ragtag flotilla emerged, warriors clad in purple, white, bone and
of appropriated vessels. In addition to the cells of Shadrak teal fighting as one, fresh bonds forged in the fires of
Meduson’s Loyalists (which in theory could be counted at betrayal proving to be of greater worth than decades-
almost 20,000 Legionaries were they ever to regroup as long kinships.
a single body), one much-suppressed example of a larger
Shattered Legions formation was the host of Cadre-
captain Skyrar, a hybrid force of his own Sons of Horus
chapter and the survivors of the Space Wolves’ mauled
6th Great Company. Originally sworn to the service of the
Warmaster and bearing his Serpent’s Eye, this warband
butchered Neo Cadiz and its surrounding systems in
the opening stages of the Horus Heresy, supposedly
tasked with bringing so called ‘Dark Compliance’ to the
westernmost fringes of the Imperium but given wholly
to reaving and slaughter by the time the Traitors were
amassing around Terra, refusing all attempts at recall.
 IRON HANDS TACTICAL LEGIONARY
TACTICAL LEGIONARY KAZIMIR INOSANTO
DRO’MANN TACTICAL SQUAD, SHATTERED LEGION ATTACK CELL ‘AXIOM’
(FORMERLY OF CLAN SORRGOL, IRON HANDS LEGION)
THE ASSAULT ON DOCKYARD L/41

One of the myriad Shattered Legions hosts marshalled under

the overall leadership of Shadrak Meduson, Attack Cell ‘Axiom’
participated in the Loyalist assault upon the shipyards of
Theta-Garmon V in 013.M31. Deployed via assault ram and
boarding claw to the interior of dockyard L/41, Attack Cell
Axiom successfully wrested control of nearby defence
systems after fighting through throngs of Traitor
Auxilia, though the fate of its component Legionaries
– including Inosanto – would go unrecorded in the
aftermath of the Traitors’ trap which ensnared the
Loyalist titans fighting across the shipyard’s surface.

Like most Iron Hands Legionaries who fought under

Meduson, Inosanto retained the standard heraldry
and colouration of his Legion, the numeral upon
his bolter denoting his original position within Clan
Sorrgol’s Order Primarii.

Upon Inosanto's knee is the ‘Ossilegium’ icon common

among Shadrak Meduson’s wider Shattered Legions hosts,
a mortuary symbol indicating the bearer’s commitment to
die in the course of vengeance.

PANOPLY OF WAR
Clan Sorrgol insignia
Iron Hands armorial
Phobos R/028 pattern bolter

1.

2. 3.
 HERALDRY OF THE SHATTERED LEGIONS
Even in their depleted state, most Legionaries who comprised a Shattered Legions host still bore their Legion’s colours
– be it from a sense of pride, duty or simple spite. Many Shattered Legions forces appended distinguishing insignia or
supplementary colouration to these existing liveries, aiding cohesion on and off the battlefield.

DROPSITE SURVIVORS
The archetypal Shattered Legions, amalgamated hosts of Iron Hands, Raven Guard and Salamanders, fought in myriad
arrangements throughout the Horus Heresy. Many incorporated symbols of vengeance or death into their modified
heraldry, with the cells of Shadrak Meduson known to display complex insignias undecipherable to any outside their ranks.

IRON HANDS RAVEN GUARD SALAMANDERS RAVEN GUARD SALAMANDERS

MKVI HELM MKVI HELM MKIII HELM MKIII HELM MKVI HELM

IRON HANDS RAVEN GUARD SALAMANDERS RAVEN GUARD SALAMANDERS

ARMOURIAL COMMAND LEGION ELITE VETERAN ARMOURIAL
‘Ossilegium’ ‘Ossilegium’ ‘Ossilegium’ ‘Ossilegium’ ‘Ossilegium’

HUNTER-KILLER MISSIONS
Dispatched to hunt the survivors of Isstvan V with little prospect of resupply or reinforcement, several lesser Traitor
fleets would adopt the Shattered Legions’ structure to counteract their diminishing numbers, often displaying unique
symbols attesting their fealty to the Warmaster or warning of what their ire would unleash.

SONS OF HORUS EMPEROR’S CHILDREN NIGHT LORDS SONS OF HORUS EMPEROR’S CHILDREN
MKIII HELM MKVI HELM MKVI HELM MKVI HELM MKIII HELM

SONS OF HORUS EMPEROR’S CHILDREN NIGHT LORDS SONS OF HORUS EMPEROR’S CHILDREN
ELITE ARMOURIAL ARMOURIAL ARMOURIAL ORDINAL
‘Serpent’s Eye’ ‘Serpent’s Eye’ ‘Serpent’s Eye’ ‘Serpent’s Eye’ ‘Serpent’s Eye’
REPRISAL FLEET SPLINTERS
In several instances, elements detached from the Loyalists’ ‘Reprisal Fleet’ amassed together into a singular force. Here,
the Legionaries of the White Scars and Blood Angels supplemented their iconography with symbols of Terra or the
Emperor, occasionally mustering alongside the remnants of Imperial Fists garrisons dotted across the Garmon Cluster.

BLOOD ANGELS WHITE SCARS IMPERIAL FISTS BLOOD ANGELS IMPERIAL FISTS
MKIII HELM MKVI HELM TEMPLAR HELM MKVI HELM MKVI HELM

BLOOD ANGELS WHITE SCARS IMPERIAL FISTS BLOOD ANGELS IMPERIAL FISTS
SERGEANT ARMOURIAL VETERAN ARMOURIAL ARMOURIAL
‘Raptor Imperialis’ ‘Raptor Imperialis’ ‘Raptor Imperialis’ ‘Raptor Imperialis’ ‘Raptor Imperialis’

VEHICLES OF THE SHATTERED LEGIONS

Similar to the personal arms of the Shattered Legions, vehicles typically retained their existing heraldry with
supplementary insignia or colouration, proudly bearing the livery of their Legion of origin even when crewed by
Legionaries of a different provenance.

IRON HANDS SICARAN BLOOD ANGELS MASTODON EMPEROR’S CHILDREN

BATTLE TANK SUPER-HEAVY ASSAULT TRANSPORT RHINO TRANSPORT
‘Ossilegium’ ‘Raptor Imperialis’ ‘Serpent’s Eye’
BLACKSHIELDS BROKEN OATHS
The upheaval and destruction of the Horus Heresy The term ‘Blackshields’ itself speaks to this schism. For it
did more than shatter some Legions, it tore at the very refers to the erasing of a warrior’s heraldry, a repudiation
soul of the Legiones Astartes. For as the very Primarchs of their origin and loyalty for all the galaxy to see. In many
themselves turned their back on their oaths of loyalty, so cases, especially in the earliest years of the Horus Heresy
too did their sons. They chose to remake themselves, not it was quite literal in its meaning, for warriors who could
in the image of their fallen progenitors or the shattered not countenance the actions of their Legion or Primarch
Imperial Truth, but in new and terrible forms born of would daub over the colours they had once borne proudly
the horror of the Horus Heresy. These independent with flat black – long the colour of dishonour and tragedy.
companies of Space Marines, sundered from the sins of Though the practice would evolve from these simplistic,
the past and the chains of old loyalties, would serve as a if profound, rejections to encompass a more wholesale
deadly new threat beholden to none and known to the replacement or subversion of the identities once forced
galaxy as ‘Blackshields’. upon the Emperor’s Space Marines, the term Blackshields
would remain in use to describe them. Given that no two
It cannot be known when the first Blackshields appeared such forces shared much, from allegiance to appearance,
upon the battlefields of the Age of Darkness. Yet, as in common any attempt at a more formal military
the veil of Dark Compliance fell across the northern classification was deemed impossible. As such, within the
Imperium in the first brutal years of the Horus Heresy, annals of the Horus Heresy, the term ‘Blackshields’ came
Space Marine forces bearing unknown or debased to refer to any force of Space Marines whose origin among
heraldry were noted fighting on both sides of the the original Legions and current allegiance in the ongoing
conflict. These incidents were but the first of many that war was unknown.
would be reported across the Imperium as the Age of
Darkness progressed along its bloody course. Disparate Given these facts, some have compared the Blackshields
warbands of Blackshields would appear in war zones to the Shattered Legions, framing them as simply another
the length and breadth of the sundered Imperium, each type of irregular or non-conventional Legiones Astartes
fighting its own bitter war and evidence not of one force. However, while the disparate elements of the
overarching will or cause, but of a widespread crisis of Shattered Legions maintained a definite sense of Legion
faith among the Legiones Astartes. identity and inheritance, the Blackshields invariably
went to great lengths to reject, denounce or obscure
their origins. Indeed, while the Shattered Legions were
constituted of warriors from several different parent
Legions, they ever sought to uphold and maintain their
Legion’s traditions even as they acknowledged those
of their compatriots. This was not the case in most
Blackshields bands, whose very nature was to reject and
obscure the traditions and heraldry they had chosen to
abandon, often turning to violent ritual and dire oaths to
bury their past.

The differences between the Shattered Legions and

Blackshields were apparent not only in appearance,
but also in action. Most forces of the Shattered Legions
sought to co-operate and support those warriors that
fought under the same banner, whether it be the Eye of
Horus or the Aquila of the Emperor. The Blackshields
proved less predictable, preferring to fight a solitary and
bitter private war with little regard for the actions of
those that might have been allies. Worse still, while the
Shattered Legions were resolute in their allegiance, many
Blackshields forces were less constant, being allies one day
and enemies the next as they sought to pursue their own
hidden goals. They were a random element that did not
fit into any scheme of military logic, inscrutable and often
deliberately antagonistic.
 BLACKSHIELDS SUPPORT LEGIONARY
SUPPORT LEGIONARY KELL DRAY
TRUE FLAME BLACKSHIELD
SCOURING OF 116 MINORIS-GARMON

Scant few accounts of the actions of the Blackshields

warband known as the True Flame exist and indeed only
from retrospective is it possible to piece together any
evidence of a campaign of actions conducted by them.
Many such accounts occurred in the war for the Garmon
Cluster where it is thought that the organisation first rose
to prominence.

Legionary Kell Dray was part of a disparate band

of warriors encountered within the defences
of 116 Minoris-Garmon as Loyalist forces
swept through to eliminate Traitor resistance.
Although no hostility was shown towards the
Imperial forces, the True Flame Blackshields
declined to join the Reprisal Fleet and instead
were given permission by Sanguinius himself
to garrison the system. Hails to ascertain their
status several weeks later went unanswered, leaving
Loyalist commanders to assume that they had
abandoned their post.

PANOPLY OF WAR
Sol-militaris type-beta fragmentation/dispersion
grenade (left); Sol-militaris type-beta anti-
material shaped charge ‘krak’ grenade (right)
Primus MkII pattern meltagun

1. 2.
THE FORMS OF MADNESS
Many individual Blackshields warbands would be identified over the course of the Age of Darkness, yet no two were
exactly the same in constitution. Most would in fact bear almost no similarities to either standard Space Marine
formations or other Blackshields bands, each a bewildering array of mismatched warriors and doctrines forced together
by fate and dire circumstance. Observed strengths among these Blackshields warbands varied from as few as two
dozen warriors to as many as 2,000, with a few hundred warriors being the most common force size. The strength of
these warbands was almost always concentrated in its core infantry elements, for, divorced from conventional Legion
logistical chains, stocks of heavy equipment very quickly dwindled in battle. It was rare indeed for such groups to utilise
the heaviest vehicles and weapons once available to the Legions, and they relied upon the lighter, more commonplace
combat assets. Indeed it is likely that many Blackshields raids were motivated more by the need to acquire arms and
munitions than any interest in the wider war.

The exact nature of their panoply varied, some equipped in the manner of a standard Legiones Astartes infantry
company and others wielding weapons of alien provenance and dire power. Likewise, their methods of organisation
were in some cases quite ordinary, with units forming ordered companies, while others defied all sane military logic.
Given that some warbands may have come into being as a result of accelerated implantation regimes or unsanctioned
replication protocols, their unsanctioned and often dangerous orders of battle have their root in desperation and
madness as much as any rejection of the past. However, despite these vast differences, scholars of the Age of Darkness
would later separate these unconventional warriors into several loose categories:

Renegades Marauders
The most common warbands of Blackshields were those Shorn of honour and duty by the actions of Primarch
that chose to forsake their own Primarch and fight against and Warmaster, some of the Legiones Astartes found a
them on the battlefield. Some were the outcast sons of new truth in their own strength. For if the Warmaster
the Traitor Legions, true to their oaths to the Emperor might claim for himself an empire, then the mighty Space
but forever seen as tainted by those who ought to be their Marines could claim petty kingdoms of their own. Pledged
brothers, while others were those among the Loyalist to no faction but their own greed and self interest, these
Legions that were fool enough to declare for Horus marauders raised dark and terrible fiefdoms among the
and seek power among the damned. What separated forgotten shards of the Imperium. The noble truth of the
these warriors from more common turncoats was their Imperium was quickly forgotten and replaced with the
complete rejection of their old identity. They did not see rule of might, that the strong take for themselves what
themselves as Loyalist World Eaters or Traitor White they saw as their due and the weak languish in servitude
Scars, but rather as something other, often viscerally and suffering.
removing the signs and symbols of their old selves.
Operating as pirates and raiders, these forces could not
In battle they were single minded in their pursuit of their stand against a true army in open battle, but proved a
former brothers and gene-father, often forsaking rational persistent thorn in the side of those warlords fighting the
tactics in order to engage in suicidal assaults. In the eyes great conflicts of the Horus Heresy. Preying on isolated
of such warriors even a single wound inflicted upon their outposts and vulnerable supply convoys, these warriors
old master was worth any number of lives, for bitter struck only where they perceived weakness before
hatred and rage had long since replaced the sense of duty fleeing to their hidden domains, leaving behind them
that had once governed them. Few of these warbands only ruin and destruction. Indeed many of these petty
would survive the Age of Darkness, most driven to kingdoms would persist into the Scouring and beyond,
destruction by the new oaths they had sworn or overtaken as Blackshields warbands plunged remote sectors into
by despair when all their efforts proved futile. a nightmare from which they could not escape, cut off
and lost to the Imperium for centuries in the wake of the
Horus Heresy.
Atavists Damned
Among the strangest of those phenomena that would be The most terrible of all those that wore the title
labelled ‘Blackshields’ were those warbands who, when Blackshields were those that chose to embrace that
faced with the bitter truth of the Imperium’s collapse, which the Emperor had once forbidden. Many heinous
chose denial over rage. Such warriors returned to the technologies and fearsome psychic abominations had
nameless storm-grey armour of the Great Crusade’s first been sealed away by the Emperor, kept safe by the threat
days, the time before the Primarchs when all the Legions of his wrath should any be foolish enough to unleash
had been as one. Abandoning the insanity of the Horus them. Yet, with the outbreak of Horus’ rebellion, there
Heresy, they turned once more to the task of conquest, remained none to ensure such terrors remained lost.
seeking out the last empty corners of the galaxy to spread Whether driven by desperation, self-consuming hatred or
the Emperor’s Truth. They fought only for their own simple madness, some warriors took up these forbidden
delusional goals, heeding no emissary of the Warmaster tools to destroy their enemies. Even the worst fanatics of
or Emperor, and indeed would turn their blades upon any the Traitor Legions and the most ardent defenders of the
that dared hinder their private crusades. Emperor would not countenance the use of such deviant
tools, and those who would turn to them were cast out,
Unlike many Blackshields warbands, these groups often lest they drag down others in their madness.
retained the forms and titles of the Great Crusade, even
if they had not the numbers or the panoply to match. In These abominations included weapons capable of terrible
battle they fought in the old style, in rank and square, destruction to both friend or foe, as well as the corruption
as they had during the Great Crusade, and eschewed all of body and soul. They were weapons, not of last resort,
the modern trappings of the Imperium. Of all their kind, but of mutual annihilation, those that would serve
these warriors found little favour among the factions only to see the Imperium dragged down into ruin and
of the Age of Darkness, save as fodder for the guns of madness, with nothing left for the victors to rule over.
their enemies. Most would be lost, yet, in the last days From xenos arms of maddening construction to psychic
of the Scouring, there exist scattered records of new powers long forbidden, and even the horrific techno-
realms incorporated into the Imperium, their conquerors heresy of mutagenic cloning or the silica animus, some
clad in blank grey armour not used by the armies of the branded Blackshields would turn to any means to press
Imperium in centuries. their grudges. These bitter experiments would all end in
disaster, some swiftly consuming those foolish enough to
awaken them, while the most unfortunate would linger
in torment for years laying waste to many isolated worlds
before finally being annihilated.
 HERALDRY OF THE BLACKSHIELDS
The various Blackshields forces known to have operated during the Horus Heresy had no fixed pattern of heraldry. Each used
a unique set of icons and colours, often intentionally chosen to obscure or deride their origins and making identification of
loyalty difficult in combat conditions. While no ‘standard’ form exists, what follows is a selection of the more well known
insignia that demonstrates the lengths to which such heraldry deviated from the original Legion armourials.

FANGS OF THE GERASENE HOST DESOLATION MIND-BLADE TRUE FLAME

EMPEROR LEGIONARY LEGIONARY HOUNDS LEGIONARY LEGIONARY LEGIONARY
MkVI helm MkVI helm MkVI helm MkIII helm MkIII helm

FANGS OF THE GERASENE HOST DESOLATION MIND-BLADE TRUE FLAME

EMPEROR VETERAN VETERAN HOUNDS VETERAN VETERAN VETERAN
MkVI helm MkVI helm MkVI helm MkVI helm MkVI helm

FANGS OF THE GERASENE HOST DESOLATION MIND-BLADE TRUE FLAME

EMPEROR ARMORIAL ARMORIAL HOUNDS ARMORIAL ARMORIAL ARMORIAL
MkVI pauldron MkIV pauldron MkVI pauldron MkVI pauldron MkVI pauldron

FANGS OF THE GERASENE HOST INSIGNIA, DESOLATION MIND-BLADE TRUE FLAME

EMPEROR COMMAND PURPOSE UNKNOWN HOUNDS ELITE UNIT COMMAND INSIGNIA TACTICAL LINE UNIT
MkVI pauldron MkVI pauldron MkVI pauldron MkIII pauldron MkVI pauldron
 BLACKSHIELDS TARTAROS TERMINATOR
UNKNOWN LEGIONARY
PURPORTEDLY OF THE GERASENE HOST
ENCOUNTERED WITHIN THE MINORIS REGION OF THE
MERIDI QUADRANT

This unknown Legionary warrior was

encountered by the Vth Legion as they
waged their campaign through
the south of the Garmon
Cluster. Bearing no name nor
having made any attempt to
communicate with Loyalist forces,
this Legionary bore only obscure
numerical identifiers but assisted
the White Scars in their assault on a
number of Traitor strongholds before
he fell amidst the firestorm of an
exploding ammunition dump.

Later analysis of several pict-

captures, including the attached
example, have led scholars to
believe the warrior to be part of a
Blackshields faction known as the
Gerasene Host, or at the very least,
a warrior whose non-standardised
heraldry bears a resemblance to
that worn by the aforementioned
irregular formation.

PANOPLY OF WAR
Tigrus pattern combi-bolter
Embellished Tartaros pattern
armoured pauldrons:
Pauldrons displaying hand-applied
heraldry that matches that worn by
warriors of the Gerasene Host.

1. 2.
 THE LEGIONES AUXILIA
IN THE SERVICE OF ANGELS warfare. Over time the nature of their induction and the
At the height of their strength, the Legions encompassed character of their patron Legion would serve to refashion
far more than the Space Marine Legionaries which formed a Legiones Auxilia cohort’s tactical doctrines, freshly
their heart. In the Legionaries’ wake fought the Legiones inducted cohorts adhering most rigidly to the tenets of
Auxilia, troops drawn from the famed Solar Auxilia the Solar Auxilia while cohorts purposefully established as
cohorts and inducted directly into the Legions’ order Legiones Auxilia only ever knew the methodology handed
of battle. Here they served in every military sphere the down to them in service of the Legiones Astartes.
Legions required; entrenching seized ground, screening
flanks and conducting mass artillery bombardment, When the Imperial Fists breached the blockade of Ur
leveraging the Solar Auxilia’s renowned discipline and Secondus, the 92 nd Inwit Phalangites launched flights
considerable arsenal to form a body of troops capable of of Shark assault boats at the reeling Diasporex vessels,
meeting the Legiones Astartes’ exacting standards. spending thousands of lives in gruelling shipboard
combat to waylay the xenos fleet as the Imperial Fists
Being a force purposefully assembled to prosecute war made planetfall. At Krypt, the Death Guard slaughtered
in the most hostile environments faced by the Great the Ork hordes which amassed against the fortified lines
Crusade, the Solar Auxilia were uniquely placed to of the 345 th ‘Bleak Marchers’ Cohort, days of long-range
accompany the Legions into battle, with the Legiones artillery bombardment drawing Ork warriors from
Auxilia outfitted to serve alongside the Legiones Astartes across the southern ice sheet into a killing ground where
in almost any theatre of war. Fully mechanised tercios the Death Guard could deploy their alchemic arsenal
of infantry rolled out alongside the Legions’ armoured with impunity. Among the Thulos Deeps, the 684 th
companies across thousands of worlds just as the ‘Chainshroud’ Legiones Auxilia deployed to counter vast
legendary drop pod assaults of the Emperor’s Space masses of Thulur conscripts, holding off waves of poorly
Marines were followed by flights of Anvillus pattern drop armed infantry deemed beneath the Iron Hands’ notice
ships and Thunderbolt fighters, the hosts of the Legiones as armoured companies of Xth Legion super-heavies
Auxilia immediately moving to secure every gain made obliterated the hanging Thulur mountain-fortresses, the
by the Legions’ furious advance. Even the hellish confines techno-arcana which bore them aloft undone by crackling
of Zones Mortalis were little impediment to soldiers clad beams of energy. Across every front of the Great Crusade
in Solar pattern void armour, wings of specialised assault the Legiones Auxilia fought at the Legions’ heels, paling
rams allowing the Legiones Auxilia to perform the brutal in comparison to the Space Marines they served but
boarding actions typically the purview of the Legiones nevertheless vital to the Legions’ ongoing independent
Astartes themselves, often deploying to capture or disable operation, a factor that – with the luxury of hindsight
lesser vessels as the Space Marines focussed on larger prey. – may have exacerbated the growing distance of the
Legiones Astartes from the wider mechanisms of the
Doctrinally, the methods of war employed by the Solar Imperium as the Great Crusade’s second century drew to
Auxilia formed the cornerstone of the Legiones Auxilia’s a close.
own methodology; strategies of aggressive defence,
measured advance and asymmetrical assault well-served PRAECEPTA INDUCTIONIS
as counterparts to the Legions’ highly mobile lightning The Legiones Auxilia emerged from ad hoc practices
which stretched back to the earliest days of the Great
Crusade, though they were never realised as the text of
the Principia Militaris established. The first Solar Auxilia
cohorts that would go on to be codified as Legiones
Auxilia endured years of service attached to a single DUTY AND DAMNATION
Expeditionary fleet, fighting alongside a given Space It is important to note that while for much of the
Marine Legion across dozens of worlds. Some were Legiones Auxilia induction into a Legion was a mark
informally folded into the structure of the Legion they of great honour and an act of recognition for lauded
accompanied as a matter of course, a simple practicality service, some Legions took a far more perfunctory
of warfare at the leading edge of the Great Crusade. approach to the induction of Solar Auxilia cohorts.
Others were awarded honorary Legion membership with Both the Iron Hands and Iron Warriors had a grim
varying degrees of fanfare, the 58 th Cohort ‘Last Vigil’ reputation for mass inducting Solar Auxilia cohorts
inducted into the VIth Legion with a single blood-daubed as broadly disposable screening troops, while the
sigil amidst the blackened ruins of the Æschere Combine, Night Lords were officially proscribed from inducting
while the Emperor’s Children were known to preside Legiones Auxilia forces by the Imperial Court in
over formal induction ceremonies that could last days 974.M30 after the Cilurnam Massacre, where the 315 th
in length. Cohort were exposed to psychotropic toxins and sent
screaming into the ranks of their foe, desperate to
As these practices continued outwards, drawing elements escape their Night Lord ‘minders’.
of the Legio Cybernetica and Imperial Army into the
orbit of the Legions, questions were raised as new ties Even in those Legions who cast the Legiones Auxilia
of fidelity began to distort the rigid command hierarchy as kindred warriors oathbound to a common duty,
of the Excertus Imperialis and the complex feudal the grinding attrition of the Horus Heresy revealed
structure of the Mechanicum. Across several campaigns a darker mien, fresh cohorts conscripted wholecloth
in the Great Crusade’s first few decades, this dual loyalty from local populations to blunt Horus’ advance
gave rise to incidents disquieting to the officials of the on Terra, the glorious laurels of Legion induction
Divisio Militaris. At the burning of Aesika, an entire rendered to nothing more than grist to the mill
Armada Imperialis flotilla was all but obliterated as of war.
cohorts oathsworn to the IVth Legion ignored external
orders to retaliate against a mass Hrud counter-attack.
On Isurum II, a battlegroup of the Legio Tempestus was Ultimately, the Praecepta Inductionis would give rise to
stranded planetside for almost three years when their an entirely new breed of Legiones Auxilia cohort, the onus
macro-landers were destroyed, the defensive cordon of supply placed upon the Legions galvanising the direct
around their landing site abandoned by the 821 st ‘Petran formation of cohorts as dedicated bodies rather than
Voltigeurs’ Cohort as they rushed to aid their patron Luna inducted hosts. Raised within a given Legion’s demesne,
Wolves Legion. These incidents and dozens more created such cohorts were wed closer to their patron Legion than
a pattern the Lords Militant and Solar of the Divisio any which had come before, fully formalised as a militant
Militaris claimed was impossible to ignore. arm of the Legions and often recast as a distinct force,
their cohort numeral supplanted by broader cognomens
Midway through 847.M30, the Divisio Militaris formally like the Spireguard Templars and Ultramar Accensi.
ratified the Praecepta Inductionis, articles drafted to
govern the official process through which a Solar Auxilia For several Legions – most notably the Ultramarines,
cohort could be inducted into the service of the Legiones Imperial Fists and Alpha Legion – these internally raised
Astartes. These dictated a complete withdrawal from cohorts had come to widely replace inducted Solar Auxilia
the supply structure of the Excertus Imperialis, inducted forces within their Legiones Auxilia hosts by the waning
cohorts directed to surrender any void craft, vehicles years of the Great Crusade, significant tributary domains
and supplies deemed “in excess to immediate and urgent providing a steady supply of both Legionaries and
demand” as well as relinquishing all rights to planetary Auxilia. The advent of the Horus Heresy would catalyse
domains at the end of any Auxiliary’s service. Intended to a paradigm shift in the Legions’ schema of war however,
disincentivise cohorts from accepting incorporation into with the induction of extant Solar Auxilia cohorts
the Legions and place additional strain on their resources, resurgent as the Legions sought any means available to
the gradual rediscovery of the Primarchs and resultant supplement their diminishing numbers and the Traitor
establishing of broader Legion fiefs defanged the articles Legions unveiling sizeable hosts of hitherto unseen
considerably, rendering them into an almost purely Legiones Auxilia at the war’s outset.
political gesture in concert with the impracticality of any
real enforcement effort.
 HERALDRY OF THE LEGIONES AUXILIA
The cohorts of the Legiones Auxilia derived much of their heraldry from the systems established for the Solar Auxilia,
often supplemented with iconography from their patron Legion’s own schema. Various cohorts were also awarded the
right to bear elements of their Legion’s colours; typically those purpose-founded from a given Legion’s domain.

CTHONIAN SELUCID PROSPERINE ULTRAMAR INWIT

HEADHUNTER THORAKITE SPIREGUARD HIGH GUARD PHALANGITE
Veteran Artillery Crew Pilot Tercio Command Tank Crew

CTHONIAN SELUCID PROSPERINE ULTRAMAR INWIT

HEADHUNTER THORAKITE SPIREGUARD HIGH GUARD PHALANGITE
Cohort Icon Cohort Icon Cohort Icon Cohort Icon Cohort Icon

CTHONIAN SELUCID PROSPERINE ULTRAMAR INWIT

HEADHUNTER THORAKITE SPIREGUARD HIGH GUARD PHALANGITE
Troop Master Helmet Auxiliary Helmet – Auxiliary Helmet Auxiliary Helmet Auxiliary Helmet –
– Transverse Crest Reinforced Blast Shield Tank Crew

BANNERS VEHICLE INSIGNIA

The various forms of vexilla and banner carried by the Many Legiones Auxilia vehicles retained the standard
Legiones Auxilia often bore hybrid iconography drawn ‘militaris grey’ livery, though several cohorts adopted
from both the Solar Auxilia and the Legiones Astartes. colour schemes which adhered closer to that of their
patron Legion.

HEXAGRAMMATON ARMOURED CORPS

INDUCTION ICON AXE SIGNIFIER

CTHONIAN GANG EYE OF THE SERPENT

MARKINGS
 CTHONIAN HEADHUNTERS AUXILIARY
AUXILIARY ENFIS TARRHEN
98TH INFANTRY TERCIO, 141 ST SOLAR AUXILIA COHORT,
‘CTHONIAN HEADHUNTERS’ – BONDED TO THE XVITH LEGION
DEFENCE OF THE ANVIL

The identifying red and black livery of the Cthonian Headhunters

– shared in kind with the Sons of Horus’ elite Justaerin – was
awarded by Horus Lupercal to the very first cohort raised from
Cthonia in the aftermath of the Melchior Compliance. By the
closing years of the Great Crusade, over a dozen numbered
cohorts of the Cthonian Headhunters were established in
Imperial records, each bearing these same colours in perpetuity,
though the Horus Heresy’s opening battles would reveal
this number fell significantly short of the actual quantity of
cohorts raised at the Warmaster’s command.

Unlike the Cthonian Headhunters’ original foundings, which

subjected volunteers to extensive trials before admittance,
by the time of the Horus Heresy whole communities of
Cthonians were conscripted en-masse to fill the ranks of
the Legiones Auxilia cohorts, the bloody war games which
followed intended to winnow the least capable from
their ranks. Auxiliary Tarrhen was one such conscript,
substituting the brutal gang warfare of their youth for the
Horus Heresy’s internecine bloodshed.

PANOPLY OF WAR
Void armour shoulder markings:
Excertus Imperialis icon;
Cthonian Headhunters armourial.
Lasrifle, Kalibrax IV pattern

1.

2.
CAMPAIGNS OF THE AGE OF DARKNESS: THE

GARMON BULWARK

CAMPAIGNS OF THE AGE OF DARKNESS

The Garmon Bulwark

T he following rules present a campaign system that allows players to play a short sequence of linked games.
The Onslaught Campaign rules are intended to be used to represent any engagement during the Horus
Heresy – but this section also presents a set of additional rules and missions to allow players to replicate the key
events of the Garmon Bulwark and re-fight the campaign with their own armies.
T HE
The ONSLAUGHT
Onslaught CAMPAIGN SYSTEM
Campaign System ONSLAUGHT CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW
The Onslaught Campaign system allows for a short series The basic sequence of play for an Onslaught Campaign
of linked battles of Warhammer: The Horus Heresy – revolves around forcing a Decisive Battle. After each battle
sometimes known as ‘Campaigns’. Each battle contributes that is played as part of an Onslaught Campaign, the
to a player’s chances of overall success, with a final player that won the battle must make a Seize the Moment
climactic battle deciding the course of the campaign as a roll, with the chance of success dependent on how many
whole. In this context, the Onslaught Campaign system battles in the campaign that player has won. If this Seize
represents two hostile armies manoeuvring and seeking the Moment roll is successful then the next battle fought
to gain advantage over their enemy, each hoping to force must be the Decisive Battle – and whichever player wins
the foe to commit to a final confrontation while they that battle wins the entire campaign, regardless of how
themselves hold the advantage. many other battles they have won or lost.

An Onslaught Campaign can be used to represent any SETTING UP AN ONSLAUGHT CAMPAIGN

engagement between the various armies of the Horus To set up an Onslaught Campaign, players should
Heresy with only the basic rules provided here, or it can undertake the following steps:
be used to represent specific campaigns and historical
engagements. When representing a specific campaign, • Select a Campaign
supplementary rules will provide additional rules and • Arrange Teams
options to help theme the battles played as part of that • Select Campaign Stratagems
campaign and add further tactical options to battles.
SELECT CAMPAIGN
Each Onslaught Campaign requires a minimum of two Before beginning any battles, the players involved
players and is played over the course of a minimum of two must decide if they are playing a generic Horus Heresy
battles and a maximum of six. The armies used by players campaign, which is a series of battles not thematically
as part of an Onslaught Campaign can be of any points linked to one of the known historical events of the Horus
limit decided by the players involved, but the standard Heresy, or a campaign based upon a specific historical
army size of 3,000 points is recommended. In between event. Which specific additional rules that will apply to
battles, the players will only need to record the number the campaign and all battles played should be decided at
of battles each has won, though when playing specific this point, with all players being made aware of which
campaigns or with certain optional rules other record– rules will be used. Many Warhammer: The Horus Heresy
keeping may be required between battles. publications will include rules to allow players to theme
their Onslaught Campaigns around specific historical
events, and will offer advice on which optional rules
would best suit such battles.
 Arrange Teams
An Onslaught Campaign is intended to be played by two players, with each player
taking one side of the conflict. At this stage, the players should decide which
“Let not the company a Allegiance they will represent during the campaign. When playing a generic
man keeps in battle be a Onslaught Campaign, one player should represent the Traitors and the other the
true measure of his worth Loyalists, while specific campaigns will offer more detailed rules on defining the two
as a warrior, for war makes sides of the campaign.
scoundrels of us before it
makes us corpses all.” However, if desired, an Onslaught Campaign can also be played using two teams of
players, with each team representing one side of the conflict. If playing with teams,
Informal motto of the then those teams should be set at this point of the campaign – with one taking
Heredian Militia the Loyalist side and the other the Traitor. If possible, teams should be of an equal
number of players, and while players may change their army or Faction during the
campaign, they should not change team or Allegiance.

Select Campaign Stratagems

Once a campaign has been selected and all teams and Allegiances have been decided,
each player must pick four Campaign Stratagems.

These Campaign Stratagems must be selected from either the Core Stratagem list, or
from an optional list that is included as part of the specific campaign being played.
A player may select from any available Campaign Stratagem lists, but may not select
the same Campaign Stratagem more than once.

Stratagems may be used in any battle played as part of the Onslaught Campaign, and
the use of a Campaign Stratagem must be declared before either player has selected
an army or scenario to play, with the number of Campaign Stratagems, but not the
name of the specific Campaign Stratagem, being declared to the opposing player.

Each Campaign Stratagem may be used only once per campaign – and once used
in any given battle may not be used again. In the Decisive Battle, only the Decisive
Player (the player that won the previous battle and succeeded at the Seize the
Moment roll, see page 98) may choose to play Campaign Stratagems, the opposing
player may not and any Campaign Stratagems they have left are discarded before the
final battle begins and may not be used.

Optional Rules
Some optional Onslaught Campaign rules may require additional setting up before
beginning a campaign. If this is the case, then that optional rule will explain how and
when to go about this.
PLAYING AN ONSLAUGHT CAMPAIGN
Once all set-up tasks have been completed, an Onslaught Campaign is played by
following these steps, in the sequence shown:
“No battle is won until
the war is over. No peace
Resolve A Battle achieved until victory is torn
from the grasp of the enemy.”

Vox intercept fragment,

The winning player Legionary Gara Heth
makes a Seize the of the Iron Warriors,
Moment roll. the Liberation of Darra
Is it successful?

Yes No

Resolve the
Decisive Battle

An Onslaught Campaign ends when the Decisive Battle has been resolved – the
winner of the Decisive Battle wins the campaign.

Resolving Battles
Each individual battle played as part of an Onslaught Campaign is played as per the
standard rules for Warhammer: The Horus Heresy, as agreed by the players. In a
standard campaign, the following rules apply:

• All battles are played with armies of the same points total as agreed at the start of
the campaign.
• Players may change their army list in between battles, but must adhere to the
agreed points limit.
• Players may change the Faction of Detachments within their army between battles,
but may not change the Allegiance of the army.
• All battles must be played using the Core Missions list, found on page 112, the
exact mission either randomly determined or agreed upon by both players.

Victory is determined as per the standard rules for Core Missions (see page 115), and
once the victor is determined a Seize the Moment roll must be made.

When playing an Onslaught Campaign as part of a team, all members of each team
must play a single battle against a member of the opposing team. Once all players
have played one battle, then the team that won the most battles must nominate one
player to make the Seize the Moment roll. If both sides have won the same number
of battles, then the team that scored the highest combined total of Victory points in
those battles is the winner. If this still results in a tie, then the two teams must roll
off to see which team will nominate a player to make the Seize the Moment roll.
 Any player may declare the use of any number of Campaign Stratagems in a battle –
though each Campaign Stratagem a player has access to can only be used once per
campaign. Campaign Stratagem use is declared before the Mission or Army Lists
“Do not long for the end of for a battle have been decided, with either player declaring how many Campaign
war for when that day comes, Stratagems they will commit to the battle at this stage. When the players decide
so too does the end of us. upon their Army Lists, the Campaign Stratagems they intend to use must be noted
We were forged in the fires on those Army Rosters. Once a player has declared the use of a Campaign Stratagem
of battle and tempered in it is considered used, and may not be used again, even if during the course of
the blood of the dead. Our the battle its effects do not come into play or it is not activated (if the Campaign
hands have done the work Stratagem requires activation).
of murder and their touch
brings only death.” Seize the Moment Rolls
After each battle has been resolved, the winning player must make a Seize the
Unsanctioned inscriptions Moment roll. If the battle ended in a draw, then the players must roll off, with the
applied within the Red Tear winner making the Seize the Moment roll. If that Seize the Moment roll is successful,
– Unattributed then the next battle played must be the Decisive Battle and the player that succeeded
at the Seize the Moment roll is the Decisive player for that battle.

A Seize the Moment roll is made with a single D6, and the score required to succeed
is based on the number of battles won by both players up until that point of the
campaign, as shown on the table below:

*The winner of the fifth battle in an Onslaught Campaign automatically succeeds at the
Seize the Moment roll and no dice are rolled.

When counting the number of battles ‘won’, battles that ended in a draw but for
which that player made the Seize the Moment roll are counted as having been ‘won’.
In an Onslaught Campaign played with teams composed of multiple players, the
number of battles ‘won’ by that team is treated as the number of times that team has
been eligible to make the Seize the Moment roll and not the total number of battles
the team has won.
Resolving Decisive Battles
A Decisive Battle played as part of an Onslaught Campaign is played as per the
standard rules for Warhammer: The Horus Heresy, as agreed by the players.
However, in a standard campaign the following additional rules apply to a “Should our foe set the world
Decisive Battle: alight, they will fight amidst
the flames. Should he call
• All battles are played with armies of the same points total as agreed at the start of upon the tide to cover us, they
the campaign. will fight amidst the churning
• Players may change their army list for the Decisive Battle, but must adhere to the waves. We fear no man nor
agreed points limit. death in battle for we fight in
• Players may change the Faction of Detachments within their army for the Decisive the company of angels.”
Battle, but may not change the Allegiance of the army.
• A Decisive Battle may be played using a Mission from an Apex Mission, such as Cohort Marshal
those found on pages 124 and 126, chosen by the Decisive player. If not using an Omer Masska prior to
Apex Mission then any other mission may be chosen by the Decisive player. the Battle of Jahgost
• When resolving a Decisive Battle, only the Decisive player (the player that
succeeded at the Seize the Moment roll) may declare and make use of Stratagems.
Any Campaign Stratagems remaining to the other player are discarded before the
Decisive Battle begins and may not be declared or used.
• The player that wins the Decisive Battle wins the campaign, regardless of how
many other battles have been won or lost by either player.

Victory in the Decisive Battle is determined as per the standard rules for the Mission
being played, and once the victor is determined the Onslaught Campaign ends, with
the winner of the Decisive Battle winning the entire campaign. If the Decisive Battle
ends in a draw, then the player that has won the most battles over the course of the
Onslaught Campaign is declared the winner.

When playing an Onslaught Campaign as part of a team, the Decisive Battle can be
handled in a number of ways. The most simple is for the two teams to nominate
or randomly select two players to resolve a single Decisive Battle to decide the
campaign, in which case all the noted rules for Decisive Battles apply as stated above.

Instead, the two teams can have each player play one opposing player in a Decisive
Battle, with the team whose players win the most Decisive Battles claiming victory
in the campaign, or the two teams can play a single multi-player battle as the
Decisive Battle. In both of these cases, all players on the same team as the player
that succeeded at the Seize the Moment roll are treated as Decisive players and can
declare and use Campaign Stratagems if they play in a Decisive Battle, while their
opponents may not.
 CAMPAIGN STRATAGEMS
Campaign Stratagems are additional special rules that add beneficial effects to a
single game for the player that chooses to use them. They represent the strategic
“To make the pact of acumen and skill of the commanders directing the campaign and allow the players
war is to make a binding to tip key battles in their favour – at the cost of losing a potential advantage in a
commitment, one satisfied by future battle.
your life or mine, that cannot
be broken. There can be no At the start of any Onslaught Campaign, each player may select up to four different
peace without the death of Campaign Stratagems from either the Core Stratagem list and/or any Campaign
you or I, yet this war must Stratagem lists that have been chosen for the campaign they are playing. Each
cease before all the worlds lay Campaign Stratagem may only be selected once by each player and may only be used
in ruin. I will be the one to once per campaign – and as such its use should be carefully considered, for once
end it, not with surrender but expended that advantage is gone.
with the work of this blade.”
Before the start of any battle played during the campaign, any player may declare
Final recorded words the use of any number of Campaign Stratagems. This must be done before the
of Sergeant Vethor, mission has been selected and before any Army Rosters are finalised, and uses the
Emperor’s Children following procedure:

Both players should secretly record which Campaign Stratagems they wish to declare
for the next battle, without showing the opposing player, and then reveal them
simultaneously to their opponent. Once both players have seen which Campaign
Stratagems have been declared by all players, then armies are selected and a Mission
chosen using the standard rules. Note that for the Decisive Battle, only the Decisive
Player may declare Campaign Stratagems and as such can simply state to their
opponent which will be in use.

The declared Stratagems are then in play for that battle – each individual Campaign
Stratagem will detail how and when it is used during a battle. The effects of any given
Campaign Stratagem are in play only for the battle for which it was declared, and do
not affect any other battle. Note that during the campaign’s Decisive Battle, only the
Decisive player (the player that succeeded at the Seize the Moment roll) may declare
and use Campaign Stratagems – a key advantage for seizing victory.

Once a Campaign Stratagem has been declared, it will no longer be available in any
future battles that take place during that Onslaught Campaign. In order to make best
use of their limited pool of Campaign Stratagems, players will have to balance using
them to win earlier battles against saving them for the Decisive Battle.

The following list comprises the Core Campaign Stratagems, these are suitable for
use in any Onslaught Campaign and are always available for players to select:
CORE CAMPAIGN STRATAGEMS No Surrender – One last assault is often enough to turn the
Big Guns Never Tire – For this battle the commander has battle around and wear down the enemy’s defences.
released all reserves of artillery and heavy tanks for one great
assault on the enemy’s lines. The player that declared this Stratagem may, at the
end of the last Game Turn of the battle, choose for one
The player that declared this Stratagem may include an additional Game Turn to be played. During this additional
additional Heavy Support choice in each Detachment of Game Turn, all units under the control of the player that
their army (these must be paid for from the army’s points declared this Stratagem gain the Fearless special rule
limit as normal). for the remainder of the battle (units that were Falling
Back stop Falling Back and act normally, while units that
Forced March – Pushing their warriors to the limits of their were Pinned recover and may also act normally). If both
endurance allows a general to claim the greater portion of players have declared this Stratagem, then one additional
the battlefield. Game Turn must be played (the players may not choose
to not play it) and both players gain the benefits of this
The player that has declared this Stratagem may shift the Stratagem during that Game Turn.
boundary of one edge of their Deployment Zone up to 6"
in one direction (this does not allow a player to expand Masters of the Crusade – The Primarchs were masters
their Deployment Zone off of the battlefield or into of entire Legions, but would sometimes take command of
another player’s Deployment Zone, and may only be used smaller forces where the need was dire.
to have the Deployment Zone cover more of the available
battlefield). If both players have declared this Stratagem, The player that declared this Stratagem may ignore the
then they must roll off to see which player will apply its points limitation placed on models with the Primarch
effects first – this may limit or stop the opposing player Unit Type for that battle – which means that any amount
from making use of the Stratagem. of the army’s Points Limit may be spent on a Primarch
choice, allowing their use in smaller battles than would
Lightning Strike – Warriors ready to pounce, the canny normally be allowed.
general plans for their reserves to be unleashed as a hammer
blow upon the foe.

The player that declared this Stratagem passes all Reserves

rolls they are called upon to make on the roll of a 2+
instead of a 3+. Additionally, if the player that declared
this Stratagem has any units in Reserves at the beginning
of Turn 3, they may choose to have them enter play
automatically without any dice being rolled.
Renewed Zeal – The best generals fight not only on the Remembrancer Corps – Sometimes how a battle is
battlefield, but also in the spirit of their warriors, seeking to remembered is more important than how well it was fought
exult them to heroism. or how cunning was the general’s strategy.

During the battle for which this Stratagem has been Whenever the player that declared this Stratagem scores
declared, none of the units under the control of the Victory points, roll one D6 for each Victory point scored.
player that declared this Stratagem may be Pinned. If For each D6 that results in a 4+, the player that declared
they would normally be Pinned, then instead that unit this Stratagem scores an additional Victory point.
moves D6+1" towards the nearest enemy unit it can draw
line of sight to (if there are no enemy units in line of Into Hel’s Heart – Warriors that are prepared to die serve
sight then it does not move). best when given the chance to prove their convictions.

The Perfect Ground – It is not only warriors that win Any units controlled by the player that declared this
battles, a battlefield well chosen and prepared can prove as Stratagem, that are deployed using the Deep Strike special
deadly as any blade or cannon. rule or as part of a Deep Strike Assault, do not scatter
when deployed, and whenever a rule would require any
The player that declared this Stratagem decides what model from such a unit to be scattered it is ignored.
terrain will be used in the battle and also places it onto
the battlefield – the opposing player may not place any The First Cut – Often, it is not strength or cannon that
terrain (other than Fortifications that are part of their decide victory, but which side strikes first.
army). If both players have declared this Stratagem,
then they must roll off to see which player will apply its The player that declared this Stratagem chooses which
effects, the loser of the roll-off gains no benefit and the player will take the first player turn and which player
Stratagem is still expended. will deploy first, no dice are rolled to determine this.
If both players have declared this Stratagem, then they
must roll off to see which player will apply its effects, the
loser of the roll-off gains no benefit and the Stratagem is
still expended.
ONSLAUGHT CAMPAIGN OPTIONAL RULES
This section presents a number of optional rules that CHARACTER FATALITY TABLE
players may choose to add to their Onslaught Campaigns D6 Result
to add an extra challenge at the cost of some additional 1 Mortally Wounded: This model may not
complexity. These optional rules are not linked to any be used in any further battles during this
specific historical campaign and may be used in any Onslaught Campaign – and the opposing player
Onslaught Campaign. gains a bonus of +1 to any Seize the Moment
rolls made for the battle in which this model
As with all optional rules, the players involved in any was removed as a Casualty (if they are eligible
Onslaught Campaign should agree which, if any, of these to make such a roll).
rules are in effect before the start of the campaign.
2-3 Badly Hurt: This model begins the next battle
CHARACTER CASUALTIES in which it is selected as part of an army with
The fate of heroic warlords, as well as famed and infamous one less Wound than shown on its profile, to
characters, is a key part of the struggle and epic scale of the a minimum of 1 Wound. After that battle it
Horus Heresy, and such influential figures cannot simply be suffers no further penalties (unless it is again
expended as resources – for no force can expect to succeed in removed from play as a casualty and suffers
battle without their greatest warriors. penalties from a roll on this table).

If a player’s Warlord and/or any model with the Unique 4-5 Shaken: This model suffers a modifier of -1
Unit Sub-type are removed as a casualty during a to its Leadership Characteristic in the next
campaign battle (including when due to falling back off battle where it is selected as part of an army
the battlefield, etc.), the controlling player must roll a D6 in this campaign. This penalty will be in effect
for each such model at the end of the battle – after the in every following battle until the controlling
victor has been decided, but before the victor makes any player wins a battle in which this model has
Seize the Moment rolls. The result of this D6 roll should been deployed, after which it suffers no further
be referenced on the Character Fatality table (as follows), penalties (unless it is again removed from play
and apply to the remainder of the model’s controlling as a casualty and suffers penalties from a roll
player’s battles in the campaign. If the controlling player on this table). This penalty to Leadership stacks
was victorious in the battle in which the model was (reducing the model’s Leadership Characteristic
removed as a casualty, they may add +1 to the result of the to a minimum of 1) should the model be
D6 roll on the Character Fatality table. removed as a casualty again before the initial
penalty has been removed.
Note that if a Warlord that does not have the Unique Sub-
type suffers a negative effect from a roll on the Character 6 Unscathed: This model may be used again in
Fatality table, then the controlling player may elect to subsequent battles without penalty.
simply not use that model in future battles during that
campaign. If they choose to do so then they may not field 7+ Hungry for Revenge: This model gains a bonus
a model selected from the same unit entry in the next of +1 to its Attacks Characteristic in the next
battle of the Onslaught Campaign. battle where it is selected as part of an army
in this campaign. After that battle, it gains no
For example, if a player selects a Legion Praetor as part further bonus (unless it is again removed from
of their army and uses it as the army’s Warlord, but play as a casualty and gains benefits from a roll
that model is removed as a casualty in play and suffers a on this table).
negative effect and the controlling player elects not to use
that Warlord in following battles, then that player would
not be able to select any models using the Legion Praetor
Army List entry in their next battle.
 BATTLEFIELD ACHIEVEMENTS
Victory offers those with the courage to seize it numerous benefits, but to those with
the elan to grasp it in the most spectacular or beneficial manner it can be so much
“You have but one goal, one greater. When a battle is more than a simple fight, but a tool to force the enemy into
objective. You must destroy the ideal position for the final blow, the ability to make the most of victory is key to
the enemy utterly. Seek him controlling the flow of a campaign.
out and kill him, kill them all.
Let none survive!” Once a battle has ended and a victor decided, the winning player may apply modifiers
to their Seize the Moment roll based on the manner in which they won and the
Gharra Kharax, composition of their army – for a greater victory or more manoeuvrable army will
Despoiler Sergeant, allow victory to be more easily followed up on.
XIIth Legion, World Eaters
If this optional rule is in use, then the following modifiers may be claimed by a
victorious player when making their Seize the Moment roll as long as they fulfil
one or more of the criteria required, referred to as Battlefield Achievements
(future publications or specific campaign rules may provide additional
Battlefield Achievements):

Overwhelming Victory
If the winning player has fulfilled the following Battlefield Achievement, then they
may roll an additional dice when making a Seize the Moment roll and select a single
dice from among those rolled to determine the result of the roll:

• If the winning player’s total number of Victory points was double or more than
that of the losing player, then the victor has fulfilled this Battlefield Achievement.

Undaunted
If the winning player has fulfilled the following Battlefield Achievement, then they
may add +1 to the result of the Seize the Moment roll (to a maximum result of 6):

• If, by the end of the battle, all enemy models with any of the following Unit Types
or Unit Sub-types in the enemy army have been removed as casualties (Primarch,
Unique, Super-heavy, Knights and Titans), then the victor has fulfilled this
Battlefield Achievement.

Battlefield Superiority
If the winning player has fulfilled the following Battlefield Achievement, then they
may re-roll any one dice rolled to determine the result of the Seize the Moment roll:

• If, at the end of the battle, at least half of the units recorded on the victor’s army
roster are on the battlefield and have not been entirely removed as casualties and/
or are not Falling Back at the end of the battle then the victor has fulfilled this
Battlefield Achievement.

Pyrrhic Victory
If the winning player has fulfilled the following Battlefield Achievement, then they
must roll an additional dice when making a Seize the Moment roll and select the
single dice that scored the lowest result from among those rolled to determine the
final result of the roll:

• If, at the end of the battle, both players have the same number of Victory points
and the victor is decided by a tiebreaker of any kind then the player that counts as
the victor has fulfilled this Battlefield Achievement.
 T HE
The GARMON
Garmon Bulwark B ULWARK CAMPAIGN
Campaign
This section presents a series of additional rules to allow players to tailor their
Onslaught Campaign to represent the Garmon Bulwark. A full Garmon Bulwark
“Each boarding craft had Onslaught Campaign will use all of the optional rules presented here, and will allow
met a wall of defensive fire players to select from the additional Campaign Stratagems provided. Additionally,
before the melta-cutter when playing a full Garmon Bulwark Onslaught Campaign, the Decisive Battle
arrays of their vessel had fully should be played using one of the Apex Missions provided on pages 124 and 126.
breached the hull plating.
Automated multi-lasers had While historically, the Garmon Bulwark was fought primarily between forces of the
burned their barrels through White Scars and Sons of Horus, with aid from various Blackshields and Shattered
and heavy bolter-equipped Legions forces, players may choose to use any combination of armies and Factions
sentry stations expended their when playing the campaign. Whether it is considered to be an alternative history – a
ammunition before the first ‘what-if’ situation – or simply a focus on lesser known forces that were present on the
waves of defenders charged sidelines of history, it is completely acceptable to tailor the setting and rules to suit
forwards from their lines. The the preferences of the players involved.
Warmaster’s forces were not
content with simply holding THE GARMON BULWARK OPTIONAL RULES
their ground against our The following rules are intended as optional rules for the Onslaught Campaign
attack but fought with the system, allowing players to fight the Garmon Bulwark Campaign themselves. These
intention of forcing us back rules are divided into two sections: first are a number of optional rules that are
out into the void through the applied to every game played as part of a Garmon Bulwark Onslaught Campaign, and
breaches we made.” secondly a list of the Garmon Bulwark Campaign Stratagems is provided.

Post-engagement account As with any Onslaught Campaign, players should agree which of the optional rules
of Auxiliary G. Deptar presented here are in play before beginning a campaign.
The Mortification Index The March of the Angel
On distant Terra Dorn would monitor the war in the Garmon Even as battle raged among the star systems of the Minoris-
Cluster, with only one metric by which he would judge victory: Garmon, Sanguinius led his Blood Angels on an inexorable
death. Each Loyalist life lost must be balanced in the scales march towards destiny and Beta-Garmon. With each move
by time bought to reinforce Terra, lest the battle be lost before closer to his target, the fighting grew more fierce as the
even it was concluded. Loyalists sought to aid the Great Angel from afar and the
Traitors battled to limit his support.
If this optional rule is in play during a campaign
representing Garmon Bulwark, then all players whose If this optional rule is in play during a campaign
army have the Loyalist Allegiance must track the representing the Garmon Bulwark, then the players
Mortification Index. The Mortification Index is a value should track the current success of Sanguinius and the
that is in play for every battle of the campaign, will change Blood Angels as they march on Beta-Garmon II. If the
based on the results of each battle and affects all players Traitor players have won more battles than the Loyalist
with the Loyalist Allegiance. At the start of any battle players, then the Blood Angels are ‘Stalled’, while if the
fought as part of the Garmon Bulwark Campaign, the Loyalist players have won more battles than the Traitor
Loyalist player modifies all rolls to determine Strategic players, then the Blood Angels are ‘Advancing’. While the
Advantage by the current value of the Mortification Index. Blood Angels are ‘Stalled’, all Loyalist players may add
+1 to all rolls to gain Strategic Advantage, and while the
At the start of the Garmon Bulwark Campaign, the Blood Angels are ‘Advancing’, all Traitor players may add
Mortification Index will be 0. At the end of each battle +1 to all rolls to gain Strategic Advantage.
one player with the Loyalist Allegiance must compare
the number of Index Points (see below) scored by all If the Mortification Index Campaign rule is also being
Loyalist players to the total number of units with the used, then all Loyalist players generate one additional
Loyalist Allegiance from any army that have been entirely Index Point if the Blood Angels are ‘Advancing’ at the start
removed from play as casualties. Index Points are scored of that battle.
for the following:

• Winning a Battle: 3 Index Points

• Drawing a Battle: 2 Index Points
• Achieving the ‘Slay the Warlord’ Secondary Objective:
1 Index Point
• The battle ends because there are no enemy models on
the battlefield (see Sudden Death): 2 Index Points

If the total number of units with the Loyalist Allegiance

from any army that have been entirely removed from
play as casualties is greater than or equal to the number
of Index Points scored, then the Mortification Index
is reduced by 1 (it can enter a negative value), while if
the number of Index Points scored is greater then the
Mortification Index is increased by one.
THE GARMON BULWARK CAMPAIGN STRATAGEMS
The following list comprises the Garmon Bulwark Campaign Stratagems. These are suitable for use in an Onslaught
Campaign intended to represent the Garmon Bulwark Campaign and are only available for players to select if all players
in the campaign agree on their use:

The Ragged and Forgotten – While the great and the Void Superiority – As armies roved across the vast expanse
mighty warred for distant Beta-Garmon, it was the forgotten of the Garmon Cluster, it was not just superiority at arms but
warriors of the Shattered Legions and Blackshields warbands also their ability to dominate the orbit above their targets
that prosecuted the desperate struggle that unfolded in that would grant victory. The force that controlled the sky
their shadow. The Garmon Cluster was to see a greater could control the flow of troops to the battlefield and gain a
concentration of these irregular formations than any decisive advantage.
other battlefield of the Horus Heresy and they fought with
redoubled fury to prove their worth. When this Campaign Stratagem is declared, the player
that declared it may choose one of the following two
When this Campaign Stratagem is declared, the player options to be in play for the remainder of that Game Turn:
that declared it may choose to include an additional
Allied Detachment in their army (allowing a total of • Interdiction Protocols – All enemy players that make
two different Allied Detachments to be selected, but not Reserve rolls while this effect is in play only succeed
requiring two Allied Detachments to be selected). This at those rolls if the result of the roll is ‘6’ or more
additional Allied Detachment must be of the Blackshields (modifiers from other rules may be applied to the roll, if
or Shattered Legions Sub-factions, and all units selected the roll would normally ‘automatically’ succeed without
as part of that Allied Detachment gain the Hatred (any any dice being rolled, then this Stratagem has no effect).
one Faction represented in the enemy army) special rule • Intervention Protocols – Any Reserves rolls made by
for the duration of that battle. the player that has declared this Campaign Stratagem
succeed on a result of ‘2’ or more (modifiers from other
A Hidden Fortress – Few charts exist of the entirety of rules may not be applied to the roll, but it may be re-
the Minoris-Garmon, and among the hundreds of isolated rolled if another rule presents this option).
systems both Loyalist and Traitor forces had prepared a
number of hidden strongholds. Each of these was a redoubt to The Great Slaughter – The Great Slaughter had by this
which a harried force could retreat and a trap which any foe point gained a fel and terrible life of its own, driving warriors
would be hard-pressed to break. and generals to feats of grim violence and casual slaughter.
These outrages offered little tactical advantages, and served
When this Campaign Stratagem is declared, the player only to deepen the madness and brutality of the war. Known
that declared it may, at the start of the battle before any to many as the ‘Curse of Nyrcon’, this madness would seize
other models are deployed, place a single Fortified Wall many and drive them to some of the worst excesses of the
(see page 227 of the Warhammer: The Horus Heresy – Age Horus Heresy.
of Darkness Rulebook) composed of three Strongpoints
anywhere within that player’s Deployment Zone at no When this Campaign Stratagem is declared, the player
additional cost in points. that declared it is under the effects of the ‘Madness of
Nyrcon’, which affects all units and models under that
player’s control that are on the battlefield and last for the
duration of the Game Turn in which it is declared. While
under the effects of the ‘Madness of Nyrcon’, no unit
or model under the control of the affected player may
control or score Victory points from any Objective marker
or Objective zone. Instead, whenever any unit – friendly
or enemy – is entirely removed from play as casualties, the
player under the effects of the ‘Madness of Nyrcon’ scores
1 Victory point.
AGE OF DARKNESS CORE MISSIONS

AGE OF DARKNESS

Core Missions
T he Core Missions are intended to be used as both part of a linked set of campaign games using the campaign
rules, and as the standard Matched Play experience. These missions are balanced for both competitive and
casual play alike and allow players to make full use of the tactical options presented in the Warhammer: The Horus
Heresy rules.
 HOW TO USE CORE MISSIONS
The following rules will allow players to make use of the Core Missions when playing
battles, from selecting armies through to resolving the end result of the mission.
“This is the birthplace of
empires – of Ur, of Gyptus, of PLAYING GAMES USING THE CORE MISSIONS
Rom. It is where kings have Regardless of whether using the Core Missions for standalone battles or as part of
dwelt and heroes uncounted a campaign, all players must prepare for the battle using the following preparatory
have forged their legends. steps. Each of these steps should be completed in the sequence they are presented in,
Now my brothers stand as its with each step being fully completed before moving on to the next.
final scions and protectors.
If they fail then Terra, the
Imperium and all its history CORE MISSION SEQUENCE
will burn and be forgotten.
This is our moment of truth, 1. Select Armies 4. Place Terrain
the most important moment 2. Select Core Mission 5. Declare Mission Reserves
of our lives and I must ask 3. Select Deployment Map 6. Play Core Mission
them to go forth into fire 7. Decide Victor
with no guarantee they will
ever return.”

Rogal Dorn,
Praetorian of Terra
Selecting Armies for Core Missions
The first step in preparing to play a Core Mission is for all players to create an Army Roster, a list of all models, units and
options to be included in their army.

All armies for use in a Core Mission must use a points limit of 3,000 points, or as dictated by the campaign rules or the
choice of all players involved in the battles, selected using the Crusade Force Organisation chart. Furthermore, all armies
for use in a Core Mission must be selected before the mission is selected or any other stage of battle preparation is taken
– this includes selecting any Warlord Traits, Rites of War, Psychic Disciplines or other such options, which must all be
noted on the controlling player’s Army Roster.

Once Army Rosters have been completed by all players taking part in the battle, those Army Rosters are then available
for any player to review, excepting only any options where a special rule specifically requires a choice to be kept secret
from another player. A player may not choose to amend their own Army Roster after having reviewed that of any of
their opponents.
Select Core Mission to Play Select Deployment Map
Once all Army Rosters are completed, and all players have Once all terrain has been placed onto the battlefield, a
had the opportunity to review those of their opponents, a deployment map must be chosen for the deployment
Core Mission must be selected for play. of armies.

The players may either select one of the Core Missions The players may either select one of the core deployment
that both players agree on; roll off and have the winner maps that both players agree on; roll off and have the
select a Core Mission to play; or roll a single D6 on the winner select a core deployment map to use; or roll
table below to decide which Core Mission will be played. a single dice on the table below to decide which core
The default method is for the players to roll off and the deployment map will be used. The default method is for
winning player to roll once on the table below, with that the players to roll off and the winning player to roll once
D6 roll determining which mission will be played. on the table below, with that dice roll determining which
deployment map will be used.

CORE MISSIONS CORE DEPLOYMENT MAPS

D6 Result D6 Result
1-2 The Crucible of War 1-2 Hammer and Anvil
3 The Heart of Battle 3-5 Dawn of War
4 Sudden Strike 6 Search and Destroy
5 Take and Hold
6 Strike and Fade
1. Hammer and Anvil
If players are using the Hammer and Anvil
deployment map, the battlefield is divided
into two equal halves across its width.

For Hammer and Anvil battles, a player’s

battlefield edge is the short battlefield edge
touching their own Deployment Zone.

2. Dawn of War
If players are using the Dawn of War
deployment map, the battlefield is divided
into two equal halves across its length.

For Dawn of War battles, a player’s battlefield

edge is the long battlefield edge touching
their own Deployment Zone.

3. Search and Destroy

The Search and Destroy deployment
map divides the battlefield into four
equal quarters. Each quarter constitutes
a Deployment Zone. Units may not be
deployed into the circular 18" diameter area at
the centre of the battlefield.

A player’s battlefield edges are any that form

part of their Deployment Zone.
Placing Terrain Once terrain has been assembled, the players should roll
Once a Core Mission has been chosen and all Army off. The player that wins the roll-off then chooses a piece
Rosters have been completed, the players place terrain of terrain and places it anywhere on the battlefield, after
on the battlefield. All Core Missions must be played on which the opposing player chooses a piece of undeployed
a battlefield measuring 6' x 4' – this must be a flat area terrain and places it anywhere on the battlefield. The
whose edges are clearly defined for all players. players continue to alternate placing terrain until all
available terrain has been placed onto the battlefield.
Before placing terrain, the players must decide what
terrain will be available to be placed for this battle. When When placing terrain onto the battlefield, no piece of
playing a Core Mission, the following is suggested as an terrain may be placed so that it overlaps with the base
appropriate amount of terrain for use, though players may or footprint of another piece, nor in any position that
instead choose to use an amount of terrain appropriate to would cause any part of the terrain piece to be outside the
their collection and preference: boundary of the battlefield. If there are pieces of terrain
that cannot be placed due to these restrictions, then those
Area Terrain – Two large zones of generic Area Terrain pieces of terrain must be discarded and are not used as
(i.e., rubble or other difficult ground that provides a 6+ part of the battle – if possible, the player attempting to
Cover Save, counts as Difficult Terrain and does not block place that piece of terrain may choose a different terrain
line of sight) of up to an approximate footprint of piece to place.
10" x 10" and two smaller zones of specific Area Terrain
(Ruins, Woods or Craters) with a footprint of Once all pieces of terrain have been placed onto the
approximately 6" x 6". battlefield, each player, starting with the player that
placed the first piece of terrain, may choose any one piece
Terrain Features – Six Terrain Features, none that of terrain and redeploy or remove that piece of terrain –
occupies an area larger than 4" x 4". These may be either following the rules listed above. Note that both players
Impassable Terrain that blocks line of sight, or Buildings may not select and redeploy the same piece of terrain.
of a small or medium size that begin the battle controlled
by neither player. If desired, Buildings may be replaced Declare Mission Reserves
with Ruin Area Terrain with the same footprint. Once all terrain has been placed, both players should roll
off. The player that loses the roll-off must then declare
Fortifications – No Fortifications should be placed, unless if they intend to make a Deep Strike Assault, Flanking
the Core Mission being played specifically calls for such Assault, Subterranean Assault, Drop Pod Assault or
a piece of terrain. Any Fortifications selected as part of a other similar special deployment from Reserves, and
player’s army are deployed during the deployment stage of which units from their Army Roster will be committed
a Mission alongside other units and not during this stage. to those actions. Once these units have been noted on
that player’s Army Roster, the player that won the roll-off
must declare if they intend to make a Deep Strike Assault,
Flanking Assault, Subterranean Assault, Drop Pod Assault
or other similar special deployment from Reserves, and
which units from their Army Roster will be committed to
those actions.

RESERVES ACTIONS
A Reserves Action is any special rule that requires a
player to assign units to a specific alternative type of
deployment that forces units assigned to the action
to begin the battle in Reserves. The most common
examples of Reserves Actions are Deep Strike Assaults
and Flanking Assaults.
Once both players have declared all appropriate Reserves Decide Victor
actions, they may choose to place any other units from Once all turns have been completed in a battle played
their armies into Reserves. These units may not be added using the Core Missions, the victor is decided by the
to an already declared Reserves Action, nor may further number of Victory points the players have scored.
Reserves Actions be cleared at this point.
Victory points are scored either by the Primary Objective,
Note that all players must deploy at least one unit onto which is unique to the Core Mission being played and
the battlefield at the start of play, unless another special detailed as part of that Core Mission, or by Secondary
rule states otherwise. Objectives, which are common to all Core Missions.

During deployment, further units may only be added In any Core Mission, the following Secondary Objectives
to Reserves if there is no position where the controlling will always be in play:
player can legitimately deploy them according to the
deployment rules of the Core Mission being played. • Slay the Warlord: If a player causes the enemy Warlord
Where this is the case, those units that cannot be to be removed as a Casualty for any reason before the
deployed are placed immediately into Reserves – end of the battle, that player scores 1 Victory point. If
but cannot be assigned to any previously declared the enemy player’s Warlord also had the Primarch Unit
Reserves Action. Type then the player that caused it to be removed as a
casualty scores an additional Victory point.
Play Core Mission • Giant Killer: If a player causes an enemy model with
Once all prior steps have been completed, the players the Super-heavy, Knight, Titan or Lumbering Sub-type
should begin the battle as instructed in the mission rules. to be removed as a casualty, then that player scores 2
Victory points (this may only be scored once per battle,
All Core Missions are played for four Game Turns. At the regardless of the number of qualifying units removed
end of the fourth Game Turn, the battle ends and the as casualties).
players move to the final step to decide the battle’s victor. • Last Man Standing: If, at the end of the battle, a
player has more units that are not Falling Back on the
Some special rules or missions may allow for additional battlefield than all enemy players combined, then that
turns to be played in certain circumstances. In all cases player scores 1 Victory point. If that player has twice as
these rules will explain how and when these additional many units that are not Falling Back on the battlefield
turns come into effect. than all enemy players combined, then that player
scores an additional Victory point.
• Break Their Ranks: If a player causes one or more
Sudden Death enemy units to have all of their remaining models
If, at the end of any Game Turn, any player has no removed as casualties (units that Fall Back off the
models on the battlefield, the battle immediately battlefield count for this purpose) in their first Player
ends regardless of the number of turns that have Turn as the Active player, then that player scores 1
been played. Models that are in Reserves do not Victory point. If at least one of the units whose models
count as being ‘on the battlefield’, however models were removed as casualties was an Elites or HQ choice
in a unit that is Falling Back, or Embarked in a then that player scores an additional Victory point.
model with the Transport Sub-type or in a Building
or Fortification, do. The player with the most Victory points is the victor. If
both players have scored the same number of Victory
If a battle is ended due to the Sudden Death rule then points then the game is a draw.
the victor is still decided by Victory points scored up
to that point in the battle, but the player that still
has models on the battlefield scores an additional
Victory point.
 CORE MISSION ONE

THE CRUCIBLE OF WAR

This mission is a clash of armies on open ground, each vying to take and control the
field of battle and deny the strategic position to the foe.

In order to claim victory in the Crucible of War, players must capture and hold three Objective markers to accumulate
Victory points each turn.

VICTORY CONDITIONS: CONTROL THE FIELD DEPLOYMENT

• At the end of each of their player turns, the Active • Once all Objectives have been placed, the player with
player scores 1 Victory point for each Objective marker Strategic Advantage must select a Deployment Zone
they control. from the map determined during set-up and deploy
• Players may also score Victory points from the Core their entire army. Once the player with Strategic
Mission Secondary Objectives. Advantage has deployed all of their units, the player
• At the end of Game Turn Four, the player with the without Strategic Advantage must set up all of their
highest total of Victory points is the winner. own units in the Deployment Zone that was not chosen
by the opposing player.
STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE • If there is no position where the controlling player
Before beginning set-up, the players should roll off. The can legitimately deploy one or more of their units
winner of this roll-off gains Strategic Advantage. according to the deployment rules of the Core Mission
being played, those units may be placed into Reserves
OBJECTIVES instead. Where this is the case, those units that cannot
Before any models are deployed onto the battlefield, be deployed are placed immediately into Reserves
and starting with the player with Strategic Advantage, – but cannot be assigned to any previously declared
the players must alternate placing Objective markers Reserves Action.
anywhere on the battlefield that is not within any player’s • Once both players have deployed all of their units, the
Deployment Zone, is at least 6" from any battlefield edge, first turn is begun.
is at least 12" from any other Objective marker and not
within any area of Impassable Terrain. THE FIRST TURN
The player with Strategic Advantage takes the first turn,
A total of three Objective markers must be placed for this unless the opposing player can Seize the Initiative.
Core Mission.
MISSION SPECIAL RULES
Core Missions all have the Reserves Mission special rule.
Additionally, the player with Strategic Advantage may
choose to begin the battle with the Night Fighting special
rule in effect.
 CORE MISSION TWO

THE HEART OF BATTLE

Two determined forces clash in open war, seeking to meet their foe and sweep them from the field.
This is war in its most uncompromising form, brutal and unrestrained.

In order to claim victory in the Heart of Battle, players must capture a single central Objective marker to accumulate
Victory points each turn.

VICTORY CONDITIONS: THE STORM’S CENTRE DEPLOYMENT

• At the end of each of their player turns, the Active • Once all Objectives have been placed, the player with
Player scores 3 Victory points if they control the Strategic Advantage must select a Deployment Zone
Objective marker. from the map determined during set-up and deploy
• Players may also score Victory points from the Core their entire army. Once the player with Strategic
Mission Secondary Objectives. Advantage has deployed all of their units, the player
• At the end of Game Turn Four the player with the without Strategic Advantage must set up all of their
highest total of Victory points is the winner. own units in the Deployment Zone that was not chosen
by the opposing player.
STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE • If there is no position where the controlling player
Before beginning set-up, the players should roll off. The can legitimately deploy one or more of their units
winner of this roll-off gains Strategic Advantage. according to the deployment rules of the Core Mission
being played, those units may be placed into Reserves
OBJECTIVES instead. Where this is the case, those units that cannot
Before any models are deployed onto the battlefield, a be deployed are placed immediately into Reserves
single Objective marker is placed at the centre point of the – but cannot be assigned to any previously declared
battlefield. If the Objective marker cannot be placed at the Reserves Action.
centre of the battlefield, due to the presence of Impassable • Once both players have deployed all of their units, the
Terrain or another obstacle, then the player with Strategic first turn is begun.
Advantage must select a point on the battlefield as close to
the centre of the battlefield as possible, whilst also being THE FIRST TURN
outside of any area of Impassable Terrain and clear of any The player with Strategic Advantage takes the first turn,
obstacles, to place the Objective. unless the opposing player can Seize the Initiative.

A single Objective marker must be placed for this MISSION SPECIAL RULES
Core Mission. Core Missions all have the Reserves Mission special rule.
Additionally, the player with Strategic Advantage may
choose to begin the battle with the Night Fighting special
rule in effect.
 CORE MISSION THREE

SUDDEN STRIKE
Two forces must seek to take swift control of the battlefield in order to secure victory. Hesitation will only grant advantage to
the enemy, but a bold and committed onslaught will set them on the backfoot.

In order to claim victory in Sudden Strike, players must capture six Objective markers to accumulate Victory points – but
beware, as each Objective can be captured only once.

VICTORY CONDITIONS: DEPLOYMENT

SHIFTING PRIORITIES • Once all Objectives have been placed, the player with
• At the end of each of their player turns after the first, Strategic Advantage must select a Deployment Zone
the Active Player may select a number of Objective from the map determined during set-up and deploy
markers from among those that they control based on their entire army. Once the player with Strategic
the current Game Turn (as shown below). The Active Advantage has deployed all of their units, the player
Player scores 1 Victory point for each Objective marker without Strategic Advantage must set up all of their
selected, but those Objective markers must then be own units in the Deployment Zone that was not chosen
immediately removed and may not be scored again by by the opposing player.
either player. • If there is no position where the controlling player
- On Game Turn One, no Objectives may be chosen can legitimately deploy one or more of their units
or scored. according to the deployment rules of the Core Mission
- On Game Turn Two, a single Objective may be chosen being played, those units may be placed into Reserves
and scored. instead. Where this is the case, those units that cannot
- On Game Turn 3 and all further Game Turns, two be deployed are placed immediately into Reserves
Objectives may be chosen and scored. – but cannot be assigned to any previously declared
• Players may also score Victory points from the Core Reserves Action.
Mission Secondary Objectives. • Once both players have deployed all of their units, the
• At the end of Game Turn Four, the player with the first turn is begun.
highest total of Victory points is the winner.
THE FIRST TURN
STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE The player with Strategic Advantage takes the first turn,
Before beginning set-up, the players should roll off. The unless the opposing player can Seize the Initiative.
winner of this roll-off gains Strategic Advantage.
MISSION SPECIAL RULES
OBJECTIVES Core Missions all have the Reserves Mission special rule.
Before any models are deployed onto the battlefield, Additionally, the player with Strategic Advantage may
and starting with the player with Strategic Advantage, choose to begin the battle with the Night Fighting special
the players must alternate placing Objective markers rule in effect.
anywhere on the battlefield that is not within any player’s
Deployment Zone, is at least 6" from any battlefield edge,
is at least 12" from any other Objective marker and not
within any area of Impassable Terrain.

A total of six Objective markers must be placed for this

Core Mission.
 CORE MISSION FOUR

TAKE AND HOLD

To claim victory, an army must seek to hold both their own territory and claim that of the foe. Here, a general must apply both
a powerful offence and a solid defence, or be doomed to a stalemate that denies victory to either side.

In order to claim victory in Take and Hold, players must hold an Objective marker in their own territory and capture one
in enemy territory to accumulate Victory points.

VICTORY CONDITIONS: ALL OR NOTHING DEPLOYMENT

• At the end of each of their player turns, the Active • Once all Objectives have been placed, the player with
player scores 1 Victory point if they control a single Strategic Advantage must select a Deployment Zone
Objective marker, or 3 Victory points if they control two from the map determined during set-up and deploy
Objective markers. their entire army. Once the player with Strategic
• Players may also score Victory points from the Core Advantage has deployed all of their units, the player
Mission Secondary Objectives. without Strategic Advantage must set up all of their
• At the end of Game Turn Four, the player with the own units in the Deployment Zone that was not chosen
highest total of Victory points is the winner. by the opposing player.
• If there is no position where the controlling player
STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE can legitimately deploy one or more of their units
Before beginning set-up, the players should roll off. The according to the deployment rules of the Core Mission
winner of this roll-off gains Strategic Advantage. being played, those units may be placed into Reserves
instead. Where this is the case, those units that cannot
OBJECTIVES be deployed are placed immediately into Reserves
Before any models are deployed onto the battlefield, each – but cannot be assigned to any previously declared
player must place a single Objective marker anywhere in Reserves Action.
the opposing player’s Deployment Zone that is at least • Once both players have deployed all of their units, the
6" from any battlefield edge and not within any area of first turn is begun.
Impassable Terrain.
THE FIRST TURN
A total of two Objective markers must be placed for this The player with Strategic Advantage takes the first turn,
Core Mission. unless the opposing player can Seize the Initiative.

MISSION SPECIAL RULES

Core Missions all have the Reserves Mission special rule.
Additionally, the player with Strategic Advantage may
choose to begin the battle with the Night Fighting special
rule in effect.
 CORE MISSION FIVE

STRIKE AND FADE

The best generals can adapt to the shifting tides of war, and in this battle they must keep pace
with changing intelligence and shifting responsibilities to control the battlefield and defeat the foe.

In order to claim victory in Strike and Fade, players must capture an Objective marker that shifts each turn in order to
accumulate Victory points.

VICTORY CONDITIONS: TIDES OF WAR DEPLOYMENT

• At the end of each of their player turns, the Active • Once all Objectives have been placed, the player with
Player scores a number of Victory points equal to Strategic Advantage must select a Deployment Zone
the current Game Turn number if they control the from the map determined during set-up and deploy
Objective marker. Once any player has scored Victory their entire army. Once the player with Strategic
points from the Objective, it must be immediately Advantage has deployed all of their units, the player
scattered D6+6" as described in the rules for Objectives. without Strategic Advantage must set up all of their
• Players may also score Victory points from the Core own units in the Deployment Zone that was not chosen
Mission Secondary Objectives. by the opposing player.
• At the end of Game Turn Four, the player with the • If there is no position where the controlling player
highest total of Victory points is the winner. can legitimately deploy one or more of their units
according to the deployment rules of the Core Mission
STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE being played, those units may be placed into Reserves
Before beginning set-up, the players should roll off. The instead. Where this is the case, those units that cannot
winner of this roll-off gains Strategic Advantage. be deployed are placed immediately into Reserves
– but cannot be assigned to any previously declared
OBJECTIVES Reserves Action.
Before any models are deployed onto the battlefield, a • Once both players have deployed all of their units, the
single Objective marker must be placed at the centre first turn is begun.
of the battlefield, or as close as is possible without the
Objective being placed within Impassable Terrain. THE FIRST TURN
Once the Objective marker has been placed it should be The player with Strategic Advantage takes the first turn,
scattered D6+2" – if this would place the Objective marker unless the opposing player can Seize the Initiative.
off the edge of the battlefield or on Impassable Terrain,
then the player with Strategic Advantage must move the MISSION SPECIAL RULES
Objective marker the minimum possible distance in a Core Missions all have the Reserves Mission special rule.
direction of their choosing so that it is on the battlefield Additionally, the player with Strategic Advantage may
and not on an area of Impassable Terrain. If a ‘Hit’ symbol choose to begin the battle with the Night Fighting special
is rolled while scattering the Objective marker, then the rule in effect.
Scatter dice must be re-rolled until a result that is not a
‘Hit’ is rolled.

A single Objective marker must be placed for this

Core Mission.
 WHITE SCARS DESPOILER
DESPOILER KA’HARRA HU
VTH LEGION, WHITE SCARS
LIBERATOR OF THE NORTHERN REACHES

As a member of the Brotherhood of the Black

Khetan, Legionary Hu fought under the command
of Nugen Tarya Khan and embodied the same
young and impetuous spirit of his leader. At the
behest of Jaghatai Khan, this force reaved across
the Northern Reaches of the Garmon Cluster,
taking war to the enemies of the Imperium. In
doing so they liberated many of those oppressed
by the minions of the Warmaster and also drew
the attentions of the major military strength
that Horus commanded within the region.

At 637b Minoris-Garmon, the Rhino

transporting Hu’s Despoiler squad was wrecked
by a direct hit from enemy artillery fire, leaving
it ruined and the majority of the troops dead
and tangled within the twisted remains of its
hull. Presumed to be lost and despite suffering
grievous injuries to his left side, Hu worked to
recover the bodies of his battle-brothers from the
burning wreckage and honoured them according
to the rites of the Legion. Only after doing so did the
Legionary walk alone for over eleven hours in order to
rejoin the advance and finally seek aid for his injuries.

PANOPLY OF WAR
MkVI pauldron:
Standard issue MkVI pauldron bearing the Vth
Legion armourial above the crescent of the
Brotherhood of the Black Khetan.
Sol-militaris MkXII pattern
heavy chainsword:
Standard Despoiler issue heavy chainsword
bearing Chogorian glyphs that symbolise
blessings of good fortune and protection
in battle.

1. 2.
THE GARMON BULWARK APEX MISSIONS

THE GARMON BULWARK

Apex Missions
 HOW TO USE APEX MISSIONS
Apex Missions are intended to be used as both part of a linked set of campaign
games using the Onslaught Campaign rules, or as one-off gaming events for “True heroes are not those
players interested in a more narrative gaming experience. They are not intended who seek glory, but those who
for Matched Play events and will often present asymmetrical or unbalanced are willing to make sacrifices.
situations intended to represent specific background events. As part of an Onslaught If the cause is just then a hero
Campaign, they are intended for use when players play a Decisive Battle – but may be will always be willing to do
substituted for a Core Mission during play whenever both players agree to their use. what must be done.”

In all cases, Apex Missions should only be used when all players agree to their use, Sanguinius,
and are given the opportunity to select an army tailored to the mission – in many The Great Angel,
cases these missions will prove more difficult or awkward if players do not adjust Primarch of the
their forces to meet the unique challenge of each Apex Mission. Blood Angels

The Apex Missions presented here are intended to represent the Garmon Bulwark,
and present a series of battles allowing players to refight key parts of the narrative.

PLAYING GAMES USING THE APEX MISSIONS

Regardless of whether using an Apex Mission for standalone battles or as part of a
campaign, all players must prepare for the battle using the following preparatory
steps. Each of these steps should be completed in the sequence they are presented in,
with each step being fully completed before moving on to the next. Most of the steps
are identical to those used when preparing to play a Core Mission and players should
consult those rules for further details.

APEX MISSION SEQUENCE

1. Select Apex Mission* *Note that some Apex Missions may
2. Select Armies place specific limits or restrictions on any
3. Place Terrain of the following steps, in all cases these
4. Declare Mission Reserves will be detailed as part of that Mission.
5. Play Apex Mission As such players are encouraged to read
6. Decide Victor the Apex Mission in full at this point
before continuing.
 THE GARMON BULWARK APEX MISSION

CLASH ATOP THE GHAL-ZAMMAD

To the summit of the Ghal-Zammad, Jaghatai Khan climbed, over the bodies of his fallen sons, to confront the Warmaster.
Horus, granted the gifts of his dark patrons, awaited the Khan’s coming, to test his new strength against the brother
who dared to challenge him.

In order to claim victory in the Clash Atop the Ghal-Zammad, each player must secure positions atop the Ghal-Zammad
structure while their Primarch does battle with their opponent’s.

VICTORY CONDITIONS: CUT OFF THE HEAD BATTLE SET-UP

• At the end of each of their player turns, each player Attacker & Defender Roles
scores 1 Victory point for each Objective marker they Before beginning the Clash Atop the Ghal-Zammad
control and 1 Victory point for each enemy unit that mission, players must determine which player will
is entirely removed from play as casualties during that take the role of the Attacker and which the role of the
player turn – including any units that Fall Back off the Defender. This can be done either by player choice or by a
battlefield and are counted as destroyed. roll-off, with the winner assigning roles.
• No Secondary Objectives are used in this mission, but
any special rules or Warlord Traits that allow players to In the narrative of the Garmon Bulwark, the defenders
score Victory points may be used. were the Sons of Horus under the command of their
• At the end of Game Turn Four, the Defending player Primarch, Horus, while the attackers were a force of
must roll a D6. On the result of a 4+ the battle ends, if White Scars led by Jaghatai Khan. However, players may
the result is less than 4 then another full turn is played. choose to assign the roles as suits their available forces
At the end of Game Turn Five (if Game Turn Five is and players.
played), the Attacking player must roll a D6. On the
result of a 3+ the battle ends, if the result is less than 3 Army Selection
then another full turn is played. If a sixth Game Turn is For the Clash Atop the Ghal-Zammad mission, both
played then the battle automatically ends once that turn players must use the Crusade Force Organisation chart
is completely resolved. to select their army, and both armies must include a
• At the end of the battle, if a player controls one or more Primarch choice, though this Primarch may not have a
Wounded Primarch Objective markers, that player Retinue Squad.
scores 5 Victory points. If that player’s Primarch has not
been removed as a casualty, they score an additional 2
Victory points.
• Once the battle has ended, the player with the highest
total number of Victory points is declared the victor.
Deployment Map & Deployment Zones
The Clash Atop the Ghal-Zammad mission
uses the deployment map shown to the right:

Mission Reserves THE FIRST TURN

For the Clash Atop the Ghal-Zammad mission, neither The Attacking player takes the first turn, unless the
player may declare a Drop Pod Assault, Deep Strike Defending player can Seize the Initiative.
Assault or Subterranean Assault in this mission.
MISSION SPECIAL RULES
OBJECTIVES This mission uses the Reserves, Single Combat and
Before any models are deployed onto the battlefield, Emergency Extraction mission special rules.
starting with the Defending player, each player must
alternate placing two Objective markers each, anywhere SINGLE COMBAT
on the battlefield that is not within any player’s The two Primarch models are treated as starting the battle
Deployment Zone, is at least 6" from any battlefield in an ongoing combat. While this combat is ongoing, each
edge or the centre of the battlefield, is at least 12" from Primarch has the It Will Not Die (3+) special rule.
any other Objective marker and not within any area of
Impassable Terrain. Neither player can select their opponent’s Primarch as the
target of a Charge until one of the Primarchs has been
DEPLOYMENT removed as a casualty.
• Once all Objectives have been placed, each player
sets up their Primarch model in base contact with the EMERGENCY EXTRACTION
centre of the battlefield and in base contact with their If a player’s Primarch model loses their last Wound,
opponent’s Primarch model. before the model is removed as a casualty, replace that
• The players then alternate setting up their remaining model with a Wounded Primarch Objective marker.
units within their Deployment Zone, starting with the Units from that player’s army have the Fearless special
Attacking player until both players have set up all of rule while within range of their Wounded Primarch
their units. Objective marker.
• Once both players have deployed all of their units, the
first turn is begun.
 THE GARMON BULWARK APEX MISSION

ACROSS THE FIELDS OF DEAD

Such was the intensity of the war in the Garmon Cluster, the frontlines were ever changing. As territories were contested, those
that conceded them sowed fields of death in their wake, goading their enemies forth into deadly traps and hidden ambushes.

In order to claim victory in Across the Fields of Dead, the Defending player must endure their foes’ ambush and push
through the minefield to make their escape – while the Attacking player must ensnare and cut apart their foe while
they can.

VICTORY CONDITIONS: BATTLE SET-UP

EXTRACT THE SURVIVORS Attacker & Defender Roles
• At the end of each of their player turns, the Defending Before beginning the Across the Fields of Dead mission,
player scores 1 Victory point for each of their units the players must determine which player will take the role
which has at least half of its models within the of the Attacker and which the role of the Defender. This
Extraction Zone. If that unit has the Line Unit Sub- can be done either by player choice or by a roll-off, with
type, the Defending player scores 3 Victory points for the winner assigning roles.
that unit instead.
• The Attacking player scores 1 Victory point for each In the narrative of the Garmon Bulwark, the defenders
enemy unit that is entirely removed from play as were a mixed force of White Scars and Solar Auxilia,
casualties – including any units that Fall Back off the while the attackers were composed of the Sons of Horus.
battlefield and are counted as destroyed. However, players may choose to assign the roles as suits
• No Secondary Objectives are used in this mission, but their available forces and players.
any special rules or Warlord Traits that allow players to
score Victory points may be used. Army Selection
• At the end of Game Turn Four, the defending player For the Across the Fields of Dead mission, both players
must roll a D6. On the result of a 4+ the battle ends, if should select an army using the same points total.
the result is less than 4 then another full turn is played. A points limit of 3,000 points is recommended for
At the end of Game Turn Five (if Game Turn Five is this mission.
played), the defending player must roll a D6. On the
result of a 3+ the battle ends, if the result is less than 3 Both players must use the Crusade Force Organisation
then another full turn is played. If a sixth Game Turn is chart to select their army.
played then the battle automatically ends once that turn
is completely resolved.
• Once the battle has ended, the player with the highest
total number of Victory points is declared the victor.
Deployment Map & Deployment Zones
The Across the Fields of Dead mission uses
the deployment map shown to the right,
with the only Deployment Zones used by
the Defender, and the Attacker’s units being
deployed by an alternative means.

Mission Reserves Both the Attacker’s Vanguard and Rearguard must begin
For the Across the Fields of Dead mission, the Attacker the battle in Reserves, with each assigned to a separate
must divide their army into two sections – a Vanguard Flanking Assault. Unlike a standard Flanking Assault, no
and a Rearguard – before any models are deployed onto Reserves rolls are made for these models and they instead
the battlefield. automatically move onto the battlefield following all the
normal rules for Flanking Assaults during the Attacker’s
The Attacker’s Vanguard must include no more than a first turn at the start of their Movement phase. One
third of the total number of units in that player’s army. Flanking marker is placed along each of the battlefield’s
For example, if their army included 6 units in total, then long edges after Deployment (but before Infiltrators are
the Vanguard could include no more than 2 units (for the deployed or Scout moves are made), with the Vanguard
purposes of this rule, Dedicated Transports and Retinue using one marker and the Rearguard using the other.
units are not counted as separate units and are counted as
part of the unit they were selected for). The Rearguard is Note that as the Attacking player has no Deployment
composed of all units that are not part of the Vanguard. Zone, when a unit under the Attacking player’s
control Falls Back it must do so towards the nearest
battlefield edge.

Neither player may declare a Drop Pod Assault, Deep

Strike Assault or Subterranean Assault in this mission
and the Defending player may not place any units
into Reserves.
 DEPLOYMENT
• Before any models are deployed onto the battlefield, the Defending player must
designate up to three units entirely composed of models with the Infantry Unit
“Let this be an end to it. But Type in their army to be Minesweepers. The Defending player must then set up all
let this be the end we have of these units in the Defender’s Deployment Zone B.
chosen, not some bitter siege • The Defending player must then set up all of these units in the Defender’s
on Horus’ terms, but one Deployment Zone A.
last gamble, one last strike • The Attacking Player places all of their units into Reserves.
against the cruelties of fate. • Once the Defending player has deployed all of their units, the first turn is begun.
I will wait for you on the
battlements my brothers, may THE FIRST TURN
we meet again ere the end.” The Defending player takes the first turn.

Rogal Dorn, MISSION SPECIAL RULES

Praetorian of Terra This mission has the Blasted Minefield and Corpse-strewn special rules.

BLASTED MINEFIELD
Each time a unit moves, a Minefield roll must be made for it, adding +1 to the roll if
the unit is from the Attacker’s army, and adding +1 to the roll if any models in that
unit have an augury scanner. On a 1-3, that unit has triggered a section of mines.
That unit suffers D6 Strength 5 AP 4 hits, allocated by the controlling player.

Any of the Defending player’s units which are following a Minesweeper unit
add +2 to Minefield rolls made for them. A model is following a Minesweeper
unit if a straight line can be drawn between the base of every model in that unit
and the Defender’s battlefield edge and that line passes within 1" of a model in a
Minesweeper unit.

CORPSE-STREWN
Each time a unit declares a Charge, the entire unit applies a modifier of -2 to its
Charge Distance. In addition, each time a model is removed as a casualty as a result
of the Blasted Minefield rule, all models in each friendly unit within 6" of any of that
removed model suffer a -1 penalty to their Leadership Characteristic until the start of
the controlling player’s next turn.
 WORLD EATERS DESPOILER
DESPOILER KHARNETH
XIITH LEGION, WORLD EATERS
ASPIRANT CHAMPION, DEFENCE OF DEITUS

The name Kharneth was not the given name of

the Legionary depicted here but instead one he
adopted after the XIIth Legion pledged their
allegiance to Horus. The appellation appears
to have been less of a title than it was a tribute
or dedication to the patron the individual had
sworn some pact with, as demonstrated by the
hand-applied symbols daubed onto his battle
plate in what, upon visual inspection, resembles
blood. Due to the erasure of any official ident
markers, the previous actions of the Legionary
known as Kharneth are largely unknown.

This image, extracted from the vid-vox data

feed of Jaghatai Khan himself, depicts Legionary
Kharneth as he fought in defiance of the
Loyalists at the Ghal-Zammad temple upon
the world of Deitus. Kharneth was amongst the
first wave of XIIth Legion warriors who rushed
to meet the White Scars advance. Analysis of other
pict-captured imagery shows a warrior matching this
likeness continuing to attempt to attack Vth Legion
warriors. Despite massive and debilitating gunshot
wounds to his central mass, he was seemingly possessed
by some rage and fury, pushing his body beyond
even the expectations of Space Marine physiology.
Such persistent aggression necessitated the warrior’s
execution by beheading, carried out by later waves of
White Scars who supported their Primarch’s advance.

PANOPLY OF WAR
MkIII pauldron:
Armoured pauldron plate bearing the
armourial symbol of the XIIth Legion,
World Eaters.
MkVI ‘Heiros’ pattern chainsword:
Standard issue Legion chainsword,
salvaged from the fallen of Deitus.

1. 2.
LEGIONES ASTARTES: SHATTERED LEGIONS

LEGIONES ASTARTES

Shattered Legions
 THE SHATTERED LEGIONS
Across the galaxy, Legiones Astartes warriors who had become severed from their Legion, “I have under me a fractious
either forcefully or voluntarily, banded together to form ad hoc strike forces. For most, collective of Legionaries.
this was a practical solution, allowing them to continue the fight as best they could. While the status of the
These formations were generally formed of a collection of warriors from several Legions, Ravenlord is unconfirmed,
resulting in chimaeric tactics led by the warriors who made up the bulk of the force, but those of my own Legion
influenced by the other Legionaries who fought alongside them. advocate for making speed
for Deliverance, seeking
In this section you will find rules for creating Shattered Legions Detachments, the truth in the rumours of
allowing you to mix the influences of several Legions in each unit in your army. his demise. Those of the Xth
These units will then behave on the battlefield according to which Legion forms Legion understandably seek
the majority of the unit. As warriors fall, the Legion in the majority in that unit may vengeance against the IIIrd,
change, meaning that casualty removal forms a key tactical part of influencing the insisting we hasten to strike
rules your units benefit from. at their recruitment centres
in the Aquitane Sector.
The sons of Vulkan, in the
DESIGNER’S NOTE: RULES INTERACTIONS wake of the betrayal levelled
The Shattered Legions are a mix of Legions with varying priorities and agendas. against us, instead seek a
The following rules have been designed to reflect this, and allow you to return to Terra, as the only
represent the internal politics of these formations in your games. As such, you confirmed loyal bastion. All
will find the following rules are more complex than those used by other Factions these considerations make no
or Subfactions within Warhammer: The Horus Heresy. The first few battles account for any foes we may
fought with one or more players using these rules will likely progress slower encounter along our route
than normal, and as such we recommend these rules be used for casual games, or the desperate condition
rather than in a competitive environment, or where a time limit is a factor. We of our stocks of munitions
also do not recommend them for Tournament play, where the complicated and supplies. We may
interactions may cause confusion with an opponent unfamiliar with these rules. instead hope to uncover an
isolated supply centre before
After selecting your Shattered Legions army, you may also find it useful to make enacting our vengeance upon
a ‘cheat sheet’ with a summary of the rules for your selected Legions, and the the Traitors.”
potential combinations as a quick reference.
Audio log from wreck of
the frigate Corax’s Lament,
recovered from the
Jadarn Nebula, c.M.33
 LEGIONES ASTARTES
‘SHATTERED LEGIONS’ STRIKE FORCE
Force estimation compiled from station security systems during the raid on Traitor-held Perdoxon V orbital supply
platform. Subsequent investigations suggest there were no survivors amongst the Word Bearers garrison force.

Strike force commander identified as Bahan Khan of the White Scars Brotherhood of the Dying Sun.
Also identified are Garran Torvig of the Iron Hands Clan Atraxii and Korsiron of the Thousand Sons.

Intermixed unit utilising Legion Intermixed unit utilising Legion Intermixed unit utilising Legion
Tactical Squad configuration. Despoiler Squad configuration. Terminator Squad configuration.

Contemptor Dreadnought identified Intermixed unit utilising Legion Contemptor Dreadnought identified
as Bhesir of the Iron Hands. Terminator Squad configuration. as Khulan of the White Scars.

Intermixed Rapier support unit. Utilised in the breaching of Sector 7/a hangar bulkhead.
Thunderhawk pattern gunships identified delivering troops to spinward supply hub before striking at Traitor-held positions
in the upper command spire. Upper command spire severed from station before being destroyed by missile barrage.

Stormbird pattern dropship identified at spinward supply hub.

Expended ammunition quota resupplied following successful liberation of cached supplies.
 SHATTERED LEGIONS DETACHMENTS
A Shattered Legions Detachment is a Detachment with the Legiones Astartes
Faction, in which every unit has the Legiones Astartes (Shattered Legions) special
“Brothers are we, not by the rule. A Shattered Legions Detachment must be the army’s Primary Detachment,
blood we share in our veins and an army whose Primary Detachment is a Shattered Legions Detachment cannot
but by the oaths we hold in include any other Detachments. A Shattered Legions Detachment may not include
our hearts. We are bound any models with the Primarch or Daemon Primarch Unit Types.
together stronger for it and
none shall break our pact When you add a Shattered Legions Detachment to your army, you must select
of vengeance.” either two or three different Legions from the following and note them on your
army roster:
Lexa Nire – Former
Raven Guard Sergeant • Dark Angels • World Eaters
• Emperor’s Children • Ultramarines
• Iron Warriors • Death Guard
• White Scars • Thousand Sons
• Space Wolves • Sons of Horus
• Imperial Fists • Word Bearers
• Night Lords • Salamanders
• Blood Angels • Raven Guard
• Iron Hands • Alpha Legion

Every model in this Detachment must represent one of your selected Legions. A
model ‘represents’ a Legion when it clearly displays the Legion iconography and
heraldry of that Legion. If any model does not clearly display iconography or colours
that obviously identify it as a member of a single specific Legion, then it represents
no Legion and is not counted for determining the Majority or Minority of a unit
(see page 135 ). The number of models in a unit that represent each Legion is at your
discretion, but each unit on your army roster must contain models representing
as many of your selected Legions as possible (e.g., a unit with two models must
represent two different Legions and a unit of three or more models must contain at
least one model representing each selected Legion).

Models with the Independent Character special rule can select options (excluding
Legiones Consularis upgrades) from the Armoury page of the Legion they are
representing as if they had the equivalent version of the Legiones Astartes (X) special
rule. For example, a model with the Independent Character special rule that is
representing the Imperial Fists Legion could select options from the Armoury of the
Imperial Fists pages of Liber Astartes as if they had the Legiones Astartes (Imperial
Fists) special rule. Note that restrictions based on Allegiance will still apply.
 LEGIONES ASTARTES (SHATTERED LEGIONS)
All models with this special rule are subject to the following provisions:

• Legion Veteran Squads with this special rule may be selected as Troops choices and gain the Line Unit Sub-type.
• Any unit with this special rule that selects a Dedicated Transport gains the Support Squad special rule.
• No unit or upgrade may be selected that is restricted to a specific variant of the Legiones Astartes (X) special rule,
excluding Legiones Astartes (Shattered Legions), unless another rule states otherwise.

MAJORITY AND MINORITY Designer’s Note:

For the purposes of determining which bonuses are Calculating Majority and Minority
available to units that include models with the Legiones While you should calculate the Majority and Minority
Astartes (Shattered Legions) special rule, at the start of Legions in each unit at the start of each Phase, in
each Phase the controlling player will need to determine practicality, you might find it easier to only worry
which of their selected Legions has the greatest number about calculating which traits apply when it becomes
among the models in that unit: relevant in a given Phase, such as the first time you
select that unit to make attacks, or the first time
Majority – The Legion that is represented by the greatest that unit is targeted by an enemy unit. You may also
number of models in the unit is said to be in the Majority. find that if, for example, you have not selected any
If the number is tied between two or more Legions then Legions whose traits interact with the Movement
the controlling player can select one of the tied Legions to phase, then it is not necessary to calculate the
be the Majority. Majority and Minority Legions during that Phase.
Similarly, in your opponent’s Shooting phase, you
Minority – The Legion that is represented by the fewest may find it easier to calculate the Majority and
models in the unit is said to be in the Minority. If the Minority Legions the first time a unit from your
number is tied between two or more Legions then the army is selected as the target of a Shooting Attack,
controlling player can select one of the tied Legions to be or the first time it is eligible to make a Reaction. In
the Minority. your opponent’s Assault phase, you may find many
of your units are not Locked in Combat or eligible to
When counting models in a unit, all models are counted be Charged (because there are no enemy units within
no matter what unit type they have – excepting only range) and so it will not be necessary to calculate
Dedicated Transports which are not considered part of the Majority and Minority Legions for those units
the unit. Models that include multiple crew or operators during that Phase. This approach will save some time
as part of a single model, such as Legion Javelins, are during the battle, and ensure you do not spend time
considered to represent the Legion whose icons or colours calculating which rules apply to a unit that will not
are displayed on the main component of that model. For need to use them during that Phase. This process
example, a Legion Javelin that has two crew models, one of judgement will become easier as you fight more
in Raven Guard colours and one in Salamanders colours, battles with your Shattered Legions army and become
represents the Legion whose colours are on the Javelin more familiar with when and how the traits for your
itself, ignoring the crew. selected Legions become active or relevant within the
various Phases of a battle.
The calculated Majority and Minority Legions apply until
the end of that Phase, and so do not require recalculating
during a Phase as units take casualties and models
are removed.
 WHITE SCARS ASSAULT LEGIONARY
ASSAULT LEGIONARY SUSU IKKAN
VTH LEGION, WHITE SCARS
BROTHERHOOD OF THE KHAN’S FURY

Legionary Ikkan fought in the company of the Great Khan

throughout the entirety of the Garmon Campaign after
having previously attained the rank of sergeant during
his prior service to the Vth Legion. As the Warhawk’s
search for Horus became increasing desperate, Ikkan’s
mood mirrored that of his gene-father, becoming
increasing bellicose and aggressive. This led him to
eschew his post, asking only to be free to take to the
field of battle unburdened by any duty aside from
that of destroying the enemy.

In recognition of his exemplary record prior to

his request, the Vth Legion command permitted
Ikkan’s voluntary demotion, unshackling
him from the command of his squad and
allowing him to join the first wave of White
Scars that assaulted the outer defences
of the Ghal-Zammad. Ikkan’s armour
transponder indicated that he was amongst
a contingent that breached the walls but
contained no further information regarding
his actions. His name is entered into the
Vth Legion’s records of the fallen, his body
remains unrecovered.

PANOPLY OF WAR
MkVI armoured pauldron:
Armoured pauldron plate bearing the armourial
symbol of the Vth Legion, White Scars.
Sol-militaris type-beta fragmentation/
dispersion grenade (left); Sol-militaris type-beta
anti-material shaped charge ‘krak’ grenade
(right)

1. 2.
MUTABLE TACTICS
In the following section you will find Mutable Tactics traits for each Legion that can
be represented in your Shattered Legions force. Each set of Mutable Tactics traits has
four rules, each of which may apply to a unit that contains models representing that “It was before the dawn on
Legion, based on whether that Legion is in the Majority in that unit, in the Minority the third day that they came,
in that unit, or represented by a model with the Independent Character special rule. their footfalls echoing like
Each set of Mutable Tactics traits also details a Flaw which may apply to the unit thunder across the blasted
under certain circumstances. plain of no man’s land. They
cared not to seek cover from
Hero Traits our sentry guns and our
Models with both the Legiones Astartes (Shattered Legions) and Independent sniper’s fire ricocheted from
Character special rules gain the 'Hero' trait for the Legion they are representing. If their inviolable armour plate
such a model joins a unit composed entirely of models with the Legiones Astartes like droplets of rain. This
(Shattered Legions) special rule, it is also bound by the ‘Major’ and ‘Minor’ traits that was not what terrified the
apply to that unit, as well as any ‘Flaw’ traits. men most though, instead it
was the pace at which they
Models with the Vehicle Unit Type can never benefit from Hero traits. advanced. They did not run
nor even hasten their strides
Major, Minor and Flaw Traits but with cold detachment
Models with the Legiones Astartes (Shattered Legions) special rule, but not the they simply walked upon our
Independent Character special rule, gain traits depending on both the Legion that defences in silence and only
they represent and the composition of the unit that they are part of: then did they open fire, their
guns speaking where their
• All models with the Legiones Astartes (Shattered Legions) special rule in a unit voices did not.”
composed entirely of models representing a single Legion gain the Minor benefits
shown under the Mutable Tactics traits for that Legion and suffer from the Flaw Testimony of
listed for that Legion. Auxiliary Sillo, only
• All models with the Legiones Astartes (Shattered Legions) special rule in a unit known survivor of the
composed of models representing two or more different Legions gain the Major Dorth Massacre
benefit from the Mutable Tactics traits for the Legion represented by the majority
of models and the Minor benefit from the Mutable Tactics traits for the Legion
represented by the minority of models in that unit. In addition, all models with
the Legiones Astartes (Shattered Legions) special rule in that unit also suffer the
Flaw from the Mutable Tactics traits of the Legion with the minority of models in
the unit.
• Units composed of a single model, or units that are split after deployment (such as
a Legion Contemptor Dreadnought Talon) with the Legiones Astartes (Shattered
Legions) special rule, gain the Minor Mutable Tactics trait of the Legion they
represent and also the Flaw of the Legion they represent.

Note that as detailed above, the Majority and Minority Legions in a unit are
determined at the start of the Phase, and so the benefits gained will not change and
Majority and Minority Legions do not need to be recalculated during a Phase as
casualties are removed.

Where the effects of a Mutable Tactics trait contradict another, Flaws take priority
over all other traits and Major traits take priority over Minor traits. If a trait
requires a Leadership test to be taken for a unit which does not have a Leadership
Characteristic, treat that unit’s Leadership Characteristic as ‘10’.
 MUTABLE TACTICS IN ACTION
The following examples demonstrate how Mutable Tactics are utilised and how the
Mutable Tactics traits which apply to a unit can change from one phase to the next,
“Darker now is this realm as models from that unit are removed as casualties.
of ours, that a man seeks
to shed the blood of his kin
in emulation of those that
were intended to protect us.
Do not seek to act as they
do and do not venerate their
murderous deeds. Monsters
are those that the false
Emperor has made and sent
forth to do his bidding.”

Sermons of Delis Rother,

executed by firing squad for
the crime of sedition

Fig. 1
This example shows a Legion Tactical Squad from a Shattered Legions Detachment
representing the Iron Hands, Salamanders and Raven Guard at the start of the
opponent’s Shooting phase. At the start of this Phase, the Iron Hands and Raven
Guard have the same number of models, allowing the controlling player to select
which Legion is in Majority. The controlling player decides that the Raven Guard will
be the Majority Legion. The Salamanders have the fewest models in the unit and so
are the Minority Legion. As a result, during this Phase this unit will benefit from the
Raven Guard Major trait, the Salamanders Minor trait and the Salamanders Flaw.
 “Of all the variants and
sub-patterns of bolter known
to be in use by the Legions,
all share a common trait in
their destructive effect upon
the human body. Issued
flak armour will provide
a modicum of protection
within the fragmentation
radius, perhaps against shell
shrapnel or even splintered
bone that is cast out by the
detonation of bolt shells,
however it will be easily
Fig. 2 overcome by a direct hit.
In that Shooting phase the unit suffers two casualties, which are allocated to two As a matter of urgency, the
Raven Guard models by the controlling player. It also suffers a casualty from an standard doctrinal procedure
attack with the Precision Shots (X) special rule, which is allocated by the attacking should be adapted when
player to the Sergeant model from this unit. Despite these casualties, the unit passes faced with such a threat and
the required Morale check. the loss factor of any action
adjusted accordingly.”

Memorandum issued to
command elements of the
Hellos IV Militia Battalion

Fig. 3
At the start of the Assault phase, because of the casualties suffered in the Shooting
phase, the unit contains four Iron Hands, two Salamanders and one Raven Guard
models. As such, in that Assault phase, the unit will benefit from the Iron Hands
Major trait and the Raven Guard Minor trait, as well as the Raven Guard Flaw.
MUTABLE TACTICS TRAITS
On the following pages you will find the Mutable Tactics traits for each Legion. Each set of traits lists that Legion Hero
traits, Major traits and Minor traits, as well as their Flaw. These are used as described on page 137.

DARK ANGELS EMPEROR’S CHILDREN

Many contingents of Dark Angels found One of the first Legions to succumb to malign
themselves separated from the bulk of their influence, the Emperor’s Children lost much of
Legion at the outset of the Horus Heresy. their cohesion in the early years of the Horus
Lacking communication with their home world, certainty Heresy. Many, such as the notorious 97th Company under
over the allegiances of their fellow Legions, or even a clear Commander Vonerios, joined with other splinter forces of
picture of the events that had unfolded, many took matters Traitors, pursuing selfish goals away from their Primarch.
into their own hands. Individual commanders prosecuted Others, such as Captain Saul Tarvitz in the opening hours
conflicts according to their own requirements. Some, such as of the Horus Heresy, aghast at the betrayal perpetuated by
Master Tavael’s Ravenwing squadrons, linked up with forces their genesire, sought to redeem their Legion's name, allying
fleeing the destruction in the Isstvan system, seeking to punish themselves to scattered Loyalist forces and seeking to strike
the Traitors, while others took the opportunity to achieve back against the Traitors.
more secretive objectives away from the eyes of their Primarch.
SWIFT BLADESMASTER
CHAMPION OF OLD CALIBAN This warrior wields their blade with ease, their opponents
This warrior has spent long hours studying the ancient texts struck down in the blink of an eye.
of the Order.
This model gains the Duellist’s Edge (1) special rule.
This model gains the Monster Hunter special rule.
UNPARALLELED SKILL
RUTHLESS BLADESMEN The IIIrd Legion have an affinity for single combat, and are a
Few are as skilled with the sword as the vengeful sons of match for any other Legion's warriors.
the Lion.
When making a To Hit roll in the Assault phase for a
If this unit is the winner in an Assault, each enemy unit model in this unit, a result of 4+ is always successful.
that lost suffers an additional -1 penalty to the resulting
Morale check. EXPERT DUELLISTS
Prone to displays of vainglory, these warriors rarely shy away
CHILDREN OF OLD NIGHT from a challenge.
The Ist Legion have slain all the horrors the galaxy has to
offer, steadfastly keeping up steady fire no matter what Emperor’s Children models in this unit gain the Chosen
assails them. Warriors special rule.

This unit makes all Snap Shots at BS 2 instead of BS 1. WARRIOR’S PRIDE

Though their self-confidence is supreme, the egos of the IIIrd
BOUND BY THE HEKATONYSTIKA bruise easily.
Even in the direst circumstances, the Ist Legion keep the
counsel of their own. If you choose to refuse a Challenge and there was an
eligible Emperor’s Children model from this unit that
Reduce the Leadership Characteristic of all models in this could have accepted, models in this unit suffer a -1 penalty
unit by -1. to all To Hit rolls until the end of that turn.
 IRON WARRIORS WHITE SCARS
The Iron Warriors had ever been a fractured Deliberately isolated from their brethren by the
Legion, scattered in hundreds of small garrisons machinations of the Alpha Legion, when news
across the Imperium. This was only made worse of Horus’ rebellion reached the White Scars,
by the destruction unleashed on OIympia at the start of the many among their number advocated for joining the Traitors.
Horus Heresy and many Iron Warriors found opportunities Ultimately, the Great Khan elected to remain loyal, and
to break away from their Legion. They sought to pursue those who sought to usurp his Legion were swiftly punished.
their own goals, or, like the Warsmith Barabas Dantioch, While many were executed, others became Sagyar Mazan,
strike back at their Traitorous brethren and the tyrannical banished from the Legion to find death among the stars. It
Perturabo alongside Loyalist warriors. is not known how many of their number held to their oaths,
dying an unheralded death in the name of the Emperor, and
CALCULATED STRIKES how many forsook them, seeking to strike back against the
This warrior strikes with a cold fury, each blow carefully Imperium that had cast them out.
placed to crush armour plating.
THE STORM OF BLADES
This model gains the Sunder special rule. This warrior engages their foe with the fury of the storm.

RUTHLESS PRECISION This model gains the Sudden Strike (1) special rule.
The Iron Warriors are adept at dismantling the war machines
of their foes with destructive volleys of firepower. SWIFT OF ACTION
The warriors of the Vth Legion move with a speed that belies
When making a Shooting Attack, this unit gains a bonus the heavy armour they wear.
of +1 to all Armour Penetration rolls, and a bonus of +1 to
To Wound rolls made against units with the Automata or Each time this unit runs, it gains the Shrouded (5+) special
Dreadnought Unit Types. rule until the start of the Active player’s next turn.

ACCUSTOMED TO DEVASTATION FLEET-FOOTED

The warriors of the IVth Legion stand firm in the face of even The White Scars fight ever on the front foot, able to swiftly
the most savage fusillade. take advantage of any opening they may create.

Models in this unit are considered to have a Leadership When Running, making Sweeping Advances or moving
Characteristic of 10 when resolving Morale checks in the as part of a Reaction, all models in this unit count their
Shooting phase. Initiative as 6.

UNCONTROLLED VOLLEYS RESTLESS TEMPERAMENT

Shorn of the rigid control of their Primarch, many Iron Inaction is anathema to the White Scars.
Warriors demonstrate a marked lack of restraint, firing their
weapons beyond safe capacity. If every model in this unit does not end the Movement
phase at least 4" from where it began that Phase, each
When making a Shooting Attack as part of a Reaction, model in that unit suffers a -1 penalty to its Leadership
weapons used for that Shooting Attack by Iron Warriors Characteristic until the start of the Active player’s
models in this unit have the Gets Hot special rule. next turn.
 SPACE WOLVES IMPERIAL FISTS
The VIth Legion found themselves drawn into While the bulk of the Imperial Fists Legion
inter-Legionary conflict many times over their fortified Terra against the oncoming Traitor
history. Many who found themselves unable to host, many strike forces found themselves
join with Leman Russ and the Censure Host sent to Prospero isolated from their Primarch. Some, such as the remnants
found the actions of their Legion distasteful, seeking to of the Retribution fleet shattered at Phall by the IVth Legion
distance themselves from the wanton destruction meted out. under Alexis Polux, found themselves seeking out new allies
Others found themselves revelling in the role of the Emperor's to strike back against the Traitors. Others found themselves
executioners, and while unable to locate the bulk of their receiving conflicting orders or deliberate misinformation
Legion, instead took the fight to his foes wherever they could from previously trusted sources, and unable to clarify these
be found. with their superiors, found themselves drawn into conflicts
furthering the Traitor cause.
SAVAGE BERSERKER
This warrior dives headlong into the foe, lashing out in GUARDIAN OF THE TEMPLE OF OATHS
all directions. This warrior has served in the Templar elite, and is relentless
in prosecuting the foe.
This model gains the Reaping Blow (1) special rule.
This model gains the Crusader special rule.
SPIRIT OF FENRIS
Shorn of the discipline of their Legion, many warriors of the DEVASTATING VOLLEYS
VIth are known to give in to their bestial nature. The Imperial Fists unleash coordinated volleys of bolter fire,
striking down whole ranks of the foe.
During a turn in which this unit successfully Charges, all
models in this unit gain a bonus of +1 To Wound. The unit gains a bonus of +1 to all To Wound rolls with
bolt pistols, combi-bolters and bolters as part of any
ONE HAND ON THEIR BLADE Shooting Attack (including as part of any Reaction).
Rather than form disciplined firing lines, the Space Wolves
unleash sporadic shots as they rush to engage their foe. DEFENSIVE INSTINCTS
Even the most paltry cover can be turned to the advantage of
Models in this unit can still fire bolters or bolt pistols in a the sons of Dorn.
turn in which they have Run. If they do so, they must fire
Snap Shots. Improve the cover save models in this unit have by 1 (e.g.,
a model in this unit who has a 5+ Cover Save instead has
UNDISCIPLINED ASSAULT a 4+ Cover Save). This does not grant a Cover Save to a
The warriors of the VIth Legion have been observed surging model that is not eligible for one.
forth to engage the foe without warning, leaving their allies to
follow in their wake. SURETY OF ACTION
Oftentimes, those of the VIIth Legion will act out their drilled
Each time this unit is selected to make a Charge, the protocols on instinct, sure that their course of action is the
controlling player must make a Leadership test for it. If correct one.
that test is failed, that Charge is Disordered.
If the controlling player has any of their Reaction
Allotment remaining, this unit must make a Reaction if
eligible to do so.
 NIGHT LORDS BLOOD ANGELS
After the destruction of Nostramo, many Night Following the events at Signus, many far-flung
Lords commanders, especially those native elements of the Blood Angels believed their
to Terra, took it upon themselves to distance Legion lost and their Primarch slain. Baal
themselves from their renegade Legion and their ever more itself, cut off from all aid, would see the creation of large
mercurial Primarch. Others instead took it upon themselves Shattered Legions formations drawn from the survivors of
to pursue their own goals, some aligning themselves with the Isstvan and the Blood Angels’ own warriors. Some, such as the
reborn Kyroptera that Sevatar sought to bring to Horus’ side, Contemptor Dreadnought Raviel, the last remaining warrior
while others eschewed the old ways and forged alliances with of the ill-fated 83 rd Expeditionary Fleet, led forces from many
scattered warbands of warriors from other Legions for as long Legions against the Traitor forces. Though rare, it was also
as they proved useful. recorded that some elements succumbed to rage or madness,
fighting alongside Traitor forces in several war zones.
MASTER OF TERROR
Through cutting jibe or savage action, this warrior is expert at FIERCE NOBILITY
exploiting his foes’ greatest fears. Shorn of the calming influence of the Great Angel, this
warrior’s genetic savagery comes to the fore.
This model gains the Fear (1) special rule.
This model gains the Furious Charge (1) special rule.
MURDEROUS INTENT
The sons of Nostramo overwhelm their foes with numbers, VENGEFUL BLOW
pinning them down and driving blades into exposed The warriors of the Blood Angels are each expert at cutting
armour joints. down a foe with the very first strike.

At the start of the Fight sub-phase, if this unit outnumbers During a turn in which this unit successfully Charges,
the enemy models in that combat, models in this unit gain or is successfully Charged, all models in this unit gain
a bonus of +1 to To Hit rolls until the end of the Phase. a bonus of +1 To Wound when making attacks with
Models with the Bulky (X) special rule count as a number weapons that do not have the Unwieldy special rule.
of models equal to the value included as part of that
special rule. ENCARMINE GUILE
The Blood Angels are adept at striking the enemy from
TROPHY TAKERS unexpected quarters, slipping past their opponent’s guard to
The sons of the Night Haunter take vicious glee in cutting strike them down before they can prepare a defence.
down their fleeing foes.
During a turn in which this unit successfully Charged,
When making a Sweeping Advance with this unit, you can Blood Angels models in this unit gain the Hammer of
roll an additional D6 and discard one of them. Wrath (1) special rule.

WARY OF A FAIR FIGHT FURIOUS BLOODLUST

The VIIIth Legion rarely committed to a fight that they weren’t Though the Blood Angels often mask their ferocity from their
confident they would come out of victorious. allies, that mask is known to slip from time to time.

This unit may not declare a Charge unless it outnumbers This unit must declare a Charge in any of the controlling
the target unit. Models with the Bulky (X) special rule player’s Assault phases if it is eligible to do so and there
count as a number of models equal to the value included is at least one model from any enemy unit within 12" and
as part of that special rule. In addition, if this unit is the line of sight of it.
loser in an Assault, it suffers an additional -1 penalty to the
resulting Morale check.
 IRON HANDS WORLD EATERS
Recorded as one of the archetypal Shattered While the bulk of the World Eaters Legion
Legions forces (indeed it was Shadrak Meduson followed their Primarch to the side of the
of the Xth who coined the term for the force he Warmaster, others, such as Captains Varren
gathered to his banner), the Iron Hands allied themselves with or Ehrlen, held true to their oaths to the Emperor, turning
other Legions betrayed at Isstvan to strike back against the their fury against the Traitor forces alongside warriors of
Traitors. Many Traitor records show forces containing the the Loyalist Legions. Others, eager for bloodshed, found
sons of slain Ferrus Manus striking against isolated outposts themselves breaking away into smaller warbands, battling
or supply convoys, hampering the advance upon Terra. It alongside other Traitor forces in smaller numbers, seeking
is also recorded that following the death of their Primarch, only the release of battle.
others of his Legion cursed him for his weakness, joining the
Traitor cause, forming auxiliary forces fighting alongside CHAMPION OF THE ARENAS
elements of many Traitor Legions. Only the strongest and most wrathful rise to command of the
World Eaters.
CYBERNETIC DEVOTEE
In the wake of Ferrus Manus’ death, many veterans of the Iron This model gains the Rage (2) special rule.
Hands obsessively replaced their flesh with resilient bionics.
VIOLENT INTENT
This model gains the It Will Not Die (4+) special rule. The warriors of the XIIth Legion are impossible to restrain
once the prospect of violence presents itself.
UNLEASH THE STORM
The Iron Hands utilise their augmented resilience to When making a Charge roll for this unit, roll one
overwhelm their foes in close range firefights. additional D6 and discard one of the results.

Each time a model in this unit makes a Shooting Attack RAGING SLAYERS
that targets a unit within 12", it gains a bonus of +1 to all Warriors of the World Eaters frequently fight on after
To Wound rolls made during that Shooting Attack. suffering wounds that would kill another Legionary, inspiring
their fellows with their fortitude.
IRON RESOLVE
The warriors of the Xth shield their allies with their own During a turn in which this unit successfully Charges, the
resilient bodies and augmented armour. first failed Armour Saving throw for this unit in that Fight
sub-phase is ignored (this has no effect if the weapon’s
Each time a Shooting Attack is allocated to an Iron Hands Armour Piercing value is equal to or lower than the
model in this unit, that model gains the Feel No Pain (5+) model’s Armour Save).
special rule against that attack.
BERSERKER FRUSTRATION
OVERLY CAUTIOUS When denied an opportunity to confront their foe blade to
After the massacre at Isstvan V, the sons of the Gorgon were blade, the World Eaters strain at the leash, unable to focus.
notably reluctant to overextend their forces.
If this unit is within 12" of an enemy unit and a Charge is
This unit may not Run or make Sweeping Advances. not declared for it during the controlling player’s Assault
phase, the controlling player must make a Pinning test for
this unit.
 ULTRAMARINES DEATH GUARD
While the bulk of the Ultramarines Legion was The Death Guard Legion was ever at the
gathered at Calth prior to the Word Bearers’ forefront of the Traitor cause and among
attack there, many smaller forces found the most dedicated of Horus’ followers.
themselves isolated by the emergence of the Ruinstorm. Mortarion’s sons were often assigned to the most brutal war
The largest such force was led by Captain Odenathus and zones and most stubborn opponents, suffering such terrible
combined the remnants of the Ultramarines 7th Company losses for the Traitor cause they were often forced to fight
with other surviving Loyalist cadres, most well known for in mixed forces to complete otherwise impossible missions.
their recapture of Honourum in the waning years of the Perhaps because of this, rogue elements of the Legion, such
Horus Heresy. Other forces, twisted or corrupted by the as those under Captain Surtha’s Eradication Cadre, persisted
malefic energies unleashed upon them, fought against their across the Imperium. They fought alongside Loyalists from
brethren at Calth before escaping alongside the fleeing other Legions in defiance of the Warmaster and their own
Word Bearers. These continued to strike at Loyalist holdings Primarchs who had betrayed the Imperium, and in service
throughout the Horus Heresy, alongside numerous forces of their own survival amid the tumult and slaughter of the
under the banner of the Warmaster. Horus Heresy.

OBSTINATE DEFENDER RESOLUTE ENDURANT

This warrior is unyielding in the face of the foe, refusing to This warrior is able to shrug off wounds that would
take a step backwards while they still fight. incapacitate less determined fighters.

This model gains the Stubborn special rule. This model gains the Feel No Pain (5+) special rule.

METHODICAL FIGHTERS INEXORABLE ASSAULT

Acting in concert, these sons of Ultramar allow the enemy no Little can slow the grinding advances of the Death Guard,
opportunity to strike back. each warrior laying down a hail of methodical fire even as
they stride forwards.
Each time this unit makes a Shooting Attack or declares
a Charge, if an enemy unit declares a Reaction, its If every model in this unit has not moved more than 7"
controlling player must make a Leadership test for in the controlling player’s Movement phase, it is counted
that unit before expending a point from their Reaction as Stationary when making Shooting Attacks until the
Allotment. If that test is failed, that unit cannot make a start of the controlling player’s next turn. This does not
Reaction during this Phase. apply to units with the Vehicle Unit Type or Artillery
Unit Sub-type.
PREPARED ATTACK PATTERNS
Those who fight alongside the Ultramarines for any period CHILDREN OF BARBARUS
of time find their textbook manoeuvres simplicity itself to The Death Guard are at home among even the most deadly
coordinate with. battlefield conditions.

Each time this unit makes a Shooting Attack as part of a Non-Vehicle models in this unit gain a 3+ Invulnerable
Reaction, add +1 to To Hit rolls for that Shooting Attack. Save against Wounds suffered as a result of Dangerous
Terrain tests.
STRICT CHAIN OF COMMAND
While the discipline of the Ultramarines is legendary, UNHURRIED DEATH
on occasion it leaves them unable to react to swiftly To their allies, the Death Guard appear almost ponderous,
changing circumstances. advancing without hurry so sure they are of victory.

Each time this unit is selected to make a Reaction, make When this unit Runs, makes a Sweeping Advance or
a Leadership test for this unit before expending a point moves as part of a Reaction, models in this unit are
from your Reaction Allotment. If this Test is failed, that treated as having an Initiative Characteristic of 2.
unit cannot make a Reaction during this Phase.
 THOUSAND SONS SONS OF HORUS
Following their Legion’s shattering at Prospero, Despite their Primarch instigating the galaxy-
the remnants of the Thousand Sons scattered wide conflict, not all of the Sons of Horus
across the galaxy. While many were gathered turned from the Emperor. Many, especially
to their Primarch , many more small groups or even single Terran veterans, remained loyal to the Imperium, casting
warriors joined with other forces on both sides of the conflict. off their sea-green panoply and repainting their armour in
the colours of the Luna Wolves, before taking the fight to the
MASTER OF FARSEEING Traitors alongside other Loyalist forces. Other Sons of Horus
This warrior has spent long hours scrying the future. found themselves assigned to fight alongside other Traitor
Legions, either as direct representatives of their Primarch
This model gains the Psyker Unit Sub-type and the or to ensure loyalty in other forces lacking a single unifying
Divination Psychic Discipline. presence.

WIELDERS OF THE WARP CHAMPION OF CTHONIA

Even when separated from others of their cult, the Thousand This warrior carries on the gangland traditions of Cthonia,
Sons are able to channel their wrath into blasts of power. exhibiting a raw fury in battle.

One non-Vehicle Thousand Sons model in this unit gains This model gains the Furious Charge (1) special rule.
the Prosperine Wrath Psychic Weapon, and is treated as
having the Psyker Unit Sub-type for the purposes of using PUNISHING VOLLEY
it (note that this does not give that model access to any The Sons of Horus excel in point-blank engagements, blasting
other Psychic Disciplines). their shocked foe in close quarters.

Prosperine Wrath (Psychic Weapon) Each time a model in this unit makes a Shooting Attack
Weapon Range Str AP Type that targets a unit within 12", it gains a bonus of +1 to all
Prosperine Wrath 24" * 3 Assault 1, To Hit rolls made during that Shooting Attack.
Rending (6+),
Psychic Focus LEGACY OF BRUTALITY
Those of the XVIth Legion know that their skill at arms counts
*The Strength Characteristic of this Psychic Weapon is equal for more than mere numbers.
to 3 plus the number of Thousand Sons models in this unit, to
a maximum of Strength 10. At the start of the Fight sub-phase, if this unit is
outnumbered by enemy models in that combat, models in
Psychic Focus: Before making any To Hit rolls with this this unit gain a bonus of +1 to To Hit rolls until the end of
weapon, the Psyker must make a Psychic check. If the the phase. Models with the Bulky (X) special rule count as
Check is passed, then the Psyker may attack as normal a number of models equal to the value included as part of
using the profile shown for this weapon. If the Check is that special rule.
failed, then the Psyker suffers Perils of the Warp, and if the
model is not removed as a casualty then it may attack as TOWERING ARROGANCE
normal but may not use this weapon. It has been said of the XVIth that their pre-eminence breeds
a contempt for their foes, and a refusal to acknowledge
CONJURED ILLUSIONS their worth.
The sons of Magnus are able to create psychic facsimiles of
themselves, distracting their foes as they break away. Each time this unit is eligible to declare a Reaction to a
Shooting Attack or Charge declared by an enemy unit,
If this unit Falls Back from combat, models in this unit are if this unit outnumbers that enemy unit, this unit is not
treated as having an Initiative Characteristic of 6 for the eligible to make a Reaction. Models with the Bulky (X)
purposes of Sweeping Advances. special rule count as a number of models equal to the
value included as part of that special rule.
UNDISCIPLINED MYSTICS
Any lapse in the careful enumerations of the Thousand Sons
can unleash the fury of the Warp upon them.

Whenever a result of 11 or 12 is rolled for a Morale check

or Pinning test for this unit, this unit suffers Perils of
the Warp.
 WORD BEARERS SALAMANDERS
The Word Bearers had long sown the seeds Suffering catastrophic casualties during the
of betrayal, dispersing throughout the galaxy Dropsite Massacre, the XVIIIth Legion found
on secretive missions, or assigned to other their remaining forces scattered. Either fleeing
Legions to promulgate warrior lodges. Not all of the XVIIth the massacre in the midst of other betrayed Legion forces, or
Legion were as devoted to their new-found objects of worship seeking confirmation of the death of their Primarch, many
however. Many returned from far-flung Expeditionary Salamanders fought among mixed Loyalist strike forces
fleets to find themselves appalled at the changes they found. throughout the Horus Heresy. It is also whispered that some
Swearing themselves to the Emperor they had devoted Salamanders betrayed their brethren on the black sands of
themselves to for so long, they joined with other scattered Isstvan V, turning their knowledge of flamecraft to commit
Loyalist forces, striking back at the Traitor forces wherever atrocities alongside their Traitor allies on worlds uncounted.
they could be found.
MASTER ARMOURER
SURETY OF PURPOSE This warrior wears ornate armour, crafted with additional
This warrior believes wholeheartedly in their cause and its layers of plating to provide superior protection against even
prosecution at all costs. the most potent weapons.

This model gains the Stubborn special rule. This model gains the Battle-hardened (1) special rule.

ZEALOUS DEVOTION SCIONS OF THE FLAME

The Word Bearers’ belief in their cause drives them forward, The sons of Nocturne know well the properties of fire, and
overwhelming even the most stubborn foes. how to manipulate it.

During a turn in which this unit has successfully Charged, When a model in this unit makes a Shooting Attack,
if it is part of a combat that results in a draw, then a side attacks made with weapons with the Flame, Melta, Plasma
that includes this unit is counted as having won the or Volkite types gain a bonus of +1 To Wound.
combat by 1 point. If both sides include models with this
special rule then the combat remains a draw. STEADFAST BULWARK
Obstinacy ran through the blood of the sons of Nocturne,
RIGHTEOUS DETERMINATION their refusal to fall an inspiration to all.
The sons of Lorgar bestride the battlefields of the galaxy
secure in their purpose. During a turn in which this unit is successfully Charged,
all models in this unit gain the Feel No Pain (5+) special
When making a Morale check or Pinning test for this unit, rule until the end of the turn.
roll one additional D6 and discard one before determining
the result. PRUDENT FIGHTERS
What some may call a lack of ruthlessness, the Salamanders
ETERNAL PENITENTS would call an appropriate level of caution.
Penance has a symbolic value of its own.
This unit may not declare Shooting Attacks or Charges
When this unit fails a Leadership test, Morale check or that target units that are Falling Back and may not make
Pinning test, it suffers one automatic Wound with no Sweeping Advances.
saves or Damage Mitigation rolls of any kind allowed.
 RAVEN GUARD ALPHA LEGION
In the wake of the massacre at Isstvan V, the The Alpha Legion, long practised in small-
Raven Guard Legion was smashed asunder. scale deployments, continued to operate in
While the bulk of the survivors found their this manner during the Horus Heresy. Many
way back to Corax and Deliverance, others found themselves Loyalist and Traitor strike forces are noted as containing XXth
rescued by other Loyalist forces, seeing out the conflict Legion elements, even in war zones which would bring them
fighting side by side with these new brothers in arms. Others, into conflict with other Alpha Legion forces. It has been noted
such as the Legionary Alastor Rushal or Captain Rovac that many of these forces appeared to have different objectives
and his 44th Armoured Company, saw their only chance for to their erstwhile allies, discarding or even eliminating them
survival in throwing in their lot with the Traitors. These once their task was completed.
saw out the remainder of the conflict fighting alongside the
Legions who had slaughtered their brothers. MASTER OF SUBTERFUGE
Secrets and lies come easily to the sons of the Hydra.
SCION OF THE SHADOW MASTER
This warrior has fought among the deadly Mor Deythan, and This model gains the False Colours special rule (see Alpha
their every action is executed with utmost precision. Legion Saboteur Consul, Liber Hereticus).

This model gains the Precision Shots (6+) and Precision ASSASSINATION TACTICS
Strikes (6+) special rules. The Alpha Legion have long studied even the most obscure
uniform markings of their brother Legions, allowing them to
EXPERT SNIPERS identify their commanders before striking them down.
Even when fighting among their brother Legions, the Raven
Guard’s affinity for decapitation strikes remain. During a turn in which this unit has successfully Charged,
Alpha Legion models in this unit have the Precision
Each time this unit makes a Shooting Attack (excluding Strikes (5+) special rule.
attacks made with Heavy or Ordnance weapons), the
controlling player can allocate the first Wound. MASTERS OF MISDIRECTION
The Alpha Legion are experts at utilising distraction and
MASTERS OF OBFUSCATION obfuscation to advance on the foe.
The Raven Guard never remain in place for long, leaving
enemy troops struggling to identify their true position. If an enemy unit makes a Shooting Attack that targets this
unit, and there is another eligible target unit that is closer
Each time an enemy unit makes a Shooting Attack that to the enemy unit making the Shooting Attack, models
targets this unit, if the closest model in this unit is more in this unit gain the Shrouded (6+) special rule for the
than 18" away, all models in this unit have the Shrouded duration of that Shooting Attack.
(6+) special rule against that Shooting Attack.
LOOK AFTER THEIR OWN
SHADOWKIN The warriors of the XXth have an uncanny knack to preserve
The Raven Guard have an affinity for the shadows, a sense of their own lives at the expense of those they fight alongside.
unease pervading them when caught in the open.
When allocating Wounds to models in this unit, the
Each time this unit makes a Morale check, if it is not controlling player must allocate Wounds to a non-Alpha
wholly within a zone of Area Terrain, subtract -1 from the Legion model if possible.
Leadership Characteristic of models in this unit.
 RAVEN GUARD APOTHECARY
APOTHECARY AIDO NECHARRI
XIXTH LEGION, RAVEN GUARD
INCORPORATED INTO THE IMPERIAL REPRISAL FLEET

A veteran of the XIXth Legion, Apothecary Necharri

was deployed as part of a Raven Guard strike force
to the Garmon Cluster prior to the onset of the
Ruinstorm. As part of this force, he fought to
reinstate Imperial order upon battlefields spread
across much of the cluster, tending to the wounded
not only of the Raven Guard but also those of the
numerous other Loyalist Legions also present.

As with many of the Apothecarion, their role

as field medics was changed by the onset
of the Horus Heresy when the number of
wounded but still living Space Marines was
drastically reduced; this was a consequence of
the destructive power of the weapons wielded
by the Legions. It did not however lead to the
redundancy of the Apothecarion and instead
Necharri’s duty shifted from one of care and triage
to one of only grim preservation, the recovery of
the gene-seed of fallen warriors so that their legacy
may live on within their Legions. It is bitterly ironic
then, that when Apothecary Necharri fell at the Battle
of Mestapo at the epicentre of a titanic blast, so little
remained of his physical body that he could only be
identified via a process of gene-analysis, carried out
on trace organic matter found within the shattered
fragments of a MkVI helm.

PANOPLY OF WAR
MkVI pauldron:
Armoured pauldron plate adorned with
a variant of the Apothecarion’s double
helix symbol.
Sol-militaris pattern MkIII chainsword:
Standard Assault Legionary issue
chainsword with perma-etched XIXth
Legion and Apothecarion emblems.

1. 2.
LEGIONES ASTARTES: BLACKSHIELDS

LEGIONES ASTARTES

Blackshields
 BLACKSHIELDS
Blackshields are those Space Marines that chose to leave their Legions and abandon their Primarch to form new warbands
centred around a shared ideal or bond. These warbands fought for both sides and caused as much chaos and destruction as any
of the larger Legions, often turning isolated sectors into charnel houses as they pursued their own goals.

These rules are intended to allow players to field Detachments of Space Marines whose iconography, goals and methods
differ wildly from those of the established Legions. Whether they are outcasts and renegades or splinter factions of the
other Legions is defined by the Oaths selected for them and the manner in which they are modelled and painted.

These rules define ‘Blackshields’ as a separate Faction, which can be selected as part of an army of either Allegiance, but
must form a separate Detachment within that army. As most Blackshields warbands were relatively small, these rules
are intended for use either as Allied Detachments in a larger force or as the Primary Detachment in smaller games, with
armies of less than 3,000 points. Players are, of course, free to use such a force as the Primary Detachment in larger
games, but may find that their more limited choice of units puts them at a disadvantage against other Factions.

When selecting a Detachment using the Legiones Astartes Army List, the controlling player may choose ‘Blackshields’
as the value of X in the Legiones Astartes (X) special rule for that Detachment. Such a Detachment has the ‘Blackshields’
Faction and is selected as normal using the Legiones Astartes army list, but may not use any Rites of War or any units
that require a specific version of the Legiones Astartes (X) special rule other than Legiones Astartes (Blackshields).

The Legiones Astartes (Blackshields) special rule presented below, includes several additional clauses which apply to
all models with that special rule. These rules include a single main rule, with several additional rules that give models
with the Legiones Astartes (Blackshields) special rule access to a number of new options and Warlord Traits. In addition,
models with the Legiones Astartes (Blackshields) special rule gain access to a single Advanced Reaction which may be
used once per battle.

LEGIONES ASTARTES (BLACKSHIELDS)

All models with this special rule are subject to the following provisions:

BEHOLDEN TO NONE
When included in an army as part of a Primary Detachment, models with this special rule are counted as having
both Loyalist and Traitor Allegiances by any special rule that targets Allegiance. However, when included as an
Allied Detachment or other non-Primary Detachment, models with this special rule are only considered to have
the same Allegiance as the Primary Detachment. In addition, a Blackshields Detachment is always counted as
Distrusted Allies to any other Faction and counts all other Factions as Distrusted Allies. They may not be used in an
army that includes a Detachment that is considered ‘Agents of the Emperor/Warmaster’ (such as the Legio Custodes
or the Sisters of Silence).

In campaign games, where Allegiance has consequences for the linked series of battles being played (to determine
whether the campaign is won by Traitors or Loyalists), an army with a Blackshields Primary Detachment must
declare an Allegiance at the start of the campaign and use that Allegiance for all battles played and may not switch
between battles.

A TERRIBLE PURPOSE COURAGE OF CONVICTION

A Detachment with the Blackshields Faction may not A Warlord with this special rule may select a Warlord
use Rites of War, but instead gains access to Oaths of Trait from the Blackshields Warlord Trait List on page
Vengeance and Wrath (see the Oaths of Vengeance and 153 .
Wrath on page 156).
BLACKSHIELDS ADVANCED REACTION
This Advanced Reaction is available only to units composed entirely of models with the Legiones Astartes
(Blackshields) special rule. Unlike Core Reactions, Advanced Reactions are activated in unique and specific
circumstances, as noted in their descriptions, and can often have game changing effects. Advanced Reactions use
up points of a Reactive player’s Reaction Allotment as normal and obey all other restrictions placed upon Reactions,
unless it is specifically noted otherwise in their description.

No Lords, no Masters – This Advanced Reaction may be made once per battle during the opposing player’s Assault
phase when any enemy unit that includes any model with the Primarch Unit Type, Unique Unit Sub-type, the
Master of the Legion special rule, or that has been selected as an army’s Warlord, declares a Charge targeting a
friendly unit under the Reactive player’s control that is composed entirely of models with the Legiones Astartes
(Blackshields) special rule. If the Charge is successful, then all models in the unit that was Charged gain the Fearless
special rule for the duration of that combat, and any model in the unit that was Charged that is in base contact or
Engaged in a Challenge with any enemy model with the Character Unit Sub-type gains +1 Attack, or if that model
also has the Unique Unit Sub-type, gains +2 Attacks for the duration of that combat.
BLACKSHIELDS WARLORD TRAITS
A Warlord with the Legiones Astartes (Blackshields) special rule may select a Warlord Trait from among those listed
below instead of selecting one of the Core Warlord Traits.

Bloody Tyrant Twisted Strategist

Many of those that abandoned their old Legions, did not do Among the leaders of Blackshields warbands, the most
so for high-minded ideals or lofty ambition, but for their own dangerous were those that sought to guide the bloody course
gain. These warriors sought to forge their own petty kingdoms of the war from the shadows. Such warriors cared little for
and to build their own armies, to benefit from the destruction the lives of their followers or for the ephemeral benefit of glory
that had been unleashed upon the Imperium. They cared little and riches, but instead sought to fulfil some plot or prophecy
for the side they fought on, but only for what they might gain that will change the course of the war. Such opponents are
for the sacrifice of their followers’ lives. impossible to predict or anticipate, and proved a constant
peril to the plans of the great and the wise.
A Warlord with this Warlord Trait gains the Fear (1)
special rule, which affects all friendly models as well as At the start of any Game Turn, before the start of any
enemy models (this does not include any Warlord model player’s Movement phase, if the Warlord with this Trait is
with this Trait, which is not affected). However, should on the battlefield and has not been removed as a casualty
any friendly unit that is under the effect of this model’s then the controlling player of that Warlord may select
Fear (1) special rule and under the control of the player one of the special rules listed below and a single friendly
whose Warlord has this Trait, be forced to Fall Back or unit from the same Detachment (the unit that includes
become Pinned, the controlling player may instead choose the Warlord may be selected). All models in the selected
to remove a single model as a casualty. This model is unit gain the selected special rule for the duration of
chosen by the unit’s controlling player and may take no that Game Turn. Each of the listed special rules may be
Saving Throws or Damage Mitigation rolls of any kind. selected only once per battle:
If this option is used then the unit does not Fall Back or
become Pinned, but instead remains in place without • Shrouded (6+)
further effect, or if locked in Combat, remains locked in • Rampage (1)
Combat. In addition, an army whose Warlord has this • Counter-attack (1)
Trait may make an additional Reaction during their • Precision Shots (6+)
opponent’s Assault phase as long as the Warlord has not
been removed as a casualty. In addition, an army whose Warlord has this Trait may
make an additional Reaction during their opponent’s
Forgotten Hero Movement phase as long as the Warlord has not been
To some of the heroes of the Great Crusade, the actions removed as a casualty.
of their Legion during the Horus Heresy were anathema.
Unable to endure such dishonour, they chose to abandon
their brethren and forge a new path, gathering like-minded
warriors and seeking out battles that fit their ideals. Those
that chose to fight at their side did so not out of duty or fear,
but admiration and willingly followed them into the most
terrible battles of the war.

If, during any player’s Shooting phase, a model with this

Warlord Trait is allocated at least one Wound (whether
it is saved or not, and including if the Wound causes
the Warlord to be removed as a casualty), then all other
friendly models in the same unit gain a bonus of +1 to
their Weapon Skill and Strength Characteristics until the
end of the next player turn in which that unit makes a
successful Charge, or is successfully charged by an enemy
unit (this bonus is not cumulative, and a unit may only
benefit from a maximum bonus of +1 to Weapon Skill
and Strength Characteristics from this Warlord Trait). In
addition, an army whose Warlord has this Trait may make
an additional Reaction during their opponent’s Shooting
phase as long as the Warlord has not been removed as
a casualty.
 The five line companies of the Fangs of the Emperor formed the bulk
of the host at Force Commander Haar’s disposal. Each was capable of
extended independent action, but also able to act in concert with its
peers when employed as part of a larger grouping of forces.

When committed to planned military action, the 1st to 5 th Companies

were reinforced with specific support units assigned from the Support
Company, each selected to ensure success in the company’s objectives.
Force Commander The company captains further disseminated individual support assets
Endryd Haar to each detachment under their command, entrusting subordinate
centurions to oversee their employment at the tactical level.

On occasion, Force Commander Haar took direct command of multiple

Imperial Agents companies, sometimes even the entirety of the Fangs of the Emperor,
Representatives of the Loyalist cause, directly leading his forces, often from the very front line. In such
rarely permanent and with limited instances he was accompanied by the elite companions of his Field
command authority Command in addition to any Imperial Agents accompanying the force
at that time.

In addition to the core of Blackshields Legionaries, the Fangs of the

Field Command Emperor were accompanied by a far larger number of bonded logistics
The most veteran warriors whose counsel and support personnel, ranging from void ship crew to logistics serfs.
was valued by Haar

1 ST ‘CORVEXII’ COMPANY 2ND ‘VENNII’ COMPANY 3 RD ‘MILII’ COMPANY

(130-330 Blackshields Legionaries (130-330 Blackshields Legionaries) (130-330 Blackshields Legionaries)
per company)

Blackshields Captain
(accompanied by company
staff cadre)

‘CADUCEUS’ DETACHMENT ‘KERUKEION’ DETACHMENT ‘TIRESIAS’ DETACHMENT

(35-100 Blackshields Legionaries (35-100 Blackshields Legionaries (35-100 Blackshields Legionaries
per detachment) per detachment) per detachment)

Blackshields Centurion Blackshields Centurion Blackshields Centurion

(accompanied by detachment (accompanied by detachment (accompanied by detachment
staff cadre) staff cadre) staff cadre)

Veteran Squads Veteran Squads Veteran Squads

Tactical Squads Tactical Squads Tactical Squads

Support Squads Support Squads Support Squads

 The Fangs of the Emperor
CIRCA 011.M31
(DATAVERIFIED AND CODE-LOCKED BY ORDER
OF THE SIGILLITE, AUTH99832 65X-Ω)

The Fangs of the Emperor are one of the largest Blackshields forces known to have been continuously active for
much of the Horus Heresy. At their peak they numbered more than a thousand warriors with both starships and
super-heavy vehicles as part of their armoury, and are rumoured to have received support and intelligence from
senior figures within the Divisio Militaris. Indeed, the Fangs of Emperor were on occasion joined by figures of
import, often at the orders of the Sigillite on Terra in order to aid with specific missions. The most well known of
these figures was the assassin operating under the persona of Unvacar Noon.

Given their high casualty rate, the Fangs of the Emperor maintained a limited pool of field officers. Many of these
were not traditional Legion officers, but simply the most efficient killers granted authority by Haar over their battle-
brothers. They also maintained a limited pool of armour, as damaged tanks were difficult for the nomadic force to
repair, limiting their use to key engagements only. Conversely, they are the only known Blackshields force to field
Ordinatus war engines, though these are only recorded as taking the field on three known occasions.

4TH ‘ARIMANII’ COMPANY 5 TH ‘PERSII’ COMPANY

(130-330 Blackshields Legionaries) (150-200 Blackshields Legionaries)

‘PHAETHONII’
Attached fleet elements were under the direct command of Endryd SUPPORT COMPANY
Haar and not linked to any existing Imperial battlefleet. Unlike many (150-200 Blackshields Legionaries)
other Imperial navy ships operating alongside Legiones Astartes
elements, those attached to the Fangs of the Emperor were each
assigned a Space Marine commander to see to the loyalty of the crew
and to maintain discipline in often extreme combat situations. Blackshields Forge Lord

The following void assets were known to be attached to the Fangs of

the Emperor:
Ordinatus Ulator ‘Mithrax’
The grand cruiser Cicatrice Tyrannis
Eight warp-capable escort craft of varying classes and capabilities
Four fleet tenders, warp-capable transport barges with
minimal armaments Ordinatus Ulator ‘Ashurax’

Techmarine Covenants Tank Squadrons Dreadnought Talons

OATHS OF VENGEANCE AND WRATH
When selecting a Detachment using the Legiones Astartes Army List and the Faction Blackshields, up to two options
may be selected from the following list of Oaths – the effects of the chosen Oaths apply to all models selected as part
of that Detachment that have the Legiones Astartes (Blackshields) special rule, excluding models with the Unique Unit
Sub-type. Unless noted otherwise, no Oath may be selected more than once per Detachment.

INFIRMITY OF PURPOSE
The Oaths of Vengeance and Wrath define the very core of each Blackshields warband and once decided should
not be changed from battle to battle in order to gain an advantage over specific opponents. As such, when creating
an Army Roster for a Blackshields force to be used in a battle, the Oaths selected should be recorded before any
opponents are decided and the composition of an opponent’s army is seen.

OATH: THE ETERNAL VENDETTA (X)* OATH: PANOPLY OF OLD (X)†

One Legion of the Space Marines has earned the undying While they have abandoned loyalty to their old masters,
enmity of these warriors; they are pledged to its downfall this warband maintains some of the trappings of their old
and utter ruin, and fight without regard for their own lives lives, seeking to grant them new meaning and honour on
to bring them pain. Yet, against other foes, they are loath to the battlefield.
spend lives that could otherwise be dedicated to the downfall
of their nemesis. Models with this Oath gain access to any unique Wargear
options available to models with the Legiones Astartes
This Oath must always define a single variant of the (X) special rule variant noted as part of this Oath. This
Legiones Astartes (X) special rule as its focus (this being does not allow those models to select Warlord Traits,
the value X, for example ‘The Eternal Vendetta (World Rites of War, Consul Types, Praetor upgrades or other
Eaters)’ or ‘The Eternal Vendetta (Blood Angels)’), this options available to models with that variant of the
must be decided when the Detachment is selected, before Legiones Astartes (X) special rule and does not allow the
the battle is begun. Detachment to include units restricted to Detachments of
that Faction.
A unit that is composed entirely of models with this Oath
†
gains a bonus of +1 on all To Hit rolls made for weapons This Oath may be selected more than once, allowing
with the Melee type (To Hit rolls that result in a ‘1’ on the individual models to have options from more than one
dice rolled still trigger such rules as Gets Hot) targeting Legion, but a different variant of the Legiones Astartes (X)
a unit that includes any models with the variant of the rule must be selected for each Oath.
Legiones Astartes (X) special rule that is the target of this
Oath. However, a unit that includes any models with this
Oath that begins the controlling player’s Assault phase
within 12" of an enemy unit that includes any models with
the variant of the Legiones Astartes (X) special rule that
is the target of this Oath, then a Charge must be declared
for the unit targeting that enemy unit if possible. If there
is more than one enemy unit with the variant of the
Legiones Astartes (X) special rule that is the target of this
Oath within 12", then the controlling player may choose
which is the target of any Charge declared.

A Detachment with this Oath may not be selected as part

of an army that includes any models with the variant of
the Legiones Astartes (X) special rule that is the target of
this Oath.

*This Oath may be selected more than once, but a different

focus must be selected for each Oath.
OATH: ONLY IN DEATH DOES DUTY END OATH: AN ETERNITY OF WAR
In order to atone for some sin or failure, be it real or only Battle madness took many of those that forsook their oaths,
perceived, these warriors are sworn to die to the last. Rather leaving them as blood-soaked madmen who sought only to
than some simple death pact, this end must come in battle for fight and kill without regard for who their enemy might be.
the sins they bear to finally be erased and their final bloody For these crazed warriors it mattered not from where the
victory seized. blood flowed, only that it flowed.

Whenever a unit composed entirely of models with this A unit that includes any models with this Oath which
Oath is called upon to take a Morale check* for any reason fails a Morale check caused by casualties inflicted by an
and in any Phase, no dice are rolled and the Check is enemy Shooting Attack does not Fall Back but instead
considered to have been automatically passed. However, makes a Consolidate move. Additionally, if such a unit
the unit must instead immediately suffer D3 Wounds makes a successful Charge after suffering any casualties
against which only Invulnerable Saves may be taken, but due to an enemy Reaction triggered by that Charge, then
no other Saving Throws or Damage Mitigation rolls, each Wound inflicted by the Reaction is counted towards
these Wounds being allocated by the controlling player. the controlling player of the Charging unit’s score used
Additionally, when a unit composed of models with this to determine which side has won the resulting combat.
Oath is entirely removed as casualties, no opposing player However, at the end of any of the controlling player’s
may score Victory points for its removal (this includes for turns after Game Turn 1, any unit that includes one or
Secondary Objectives such as Slay the Warlord). more models with this Oath that is not locked in combat
and was not part of a combat in that same player turn
*This affects only Morale checks and not Pinning tests, suffers a single Wound against which only Invulnerable
Psychic checks or any other kind of Leadership test. Saves may be taken, but no other Saving Throws or
Damage Mitigation rolls, these Wounds being allocated by
OATH: THE SPOILS OF VICTORY the controlling player.
Some warbands, having abandoned their oaths of loyalty,
fought only for their own gain. They descended on the weak
to loot and pillage, marauders and pirates in a galaxy of ruin
where no hand enforced any law save that of the blade.

A unit that includes any models with this Oath may not
make Sweeping Advances. However, whenever such a unit
would otherwise be eligible to and capable of† making a
Sweeping Advance, the controlling player must instead
roll a D6. On the result of a 4+, the controlling player
gains 1 Victory point.

†
Note that units that are not normally allowed to make a
Sweeping Advance, such as models with the Heavy Unit Sub-
type or that have Legion Cataphractii Terminator Armour,
gain no benefit from this Oath.
OATH: THE FLESH IS WEAK OATH: THE LEGACY OF NIKAEA
Freed from the laws of Emperor and Warmaster alike, many Some Blackshields embraced the psychic powers that had once
warbands of the Blackshields turned to technology long been forbidden – such warbands were dangerous in battle but
forbidden to enhance their fighting ability. As their lonely new prone to self-destruction as they abused their power.
war ground on they replaced weak flesh with uncaring metal,
until little of what they had once been remained. Any model with this Oath and the Character Unit Type
may be given the Psyker Unit Sub-type and gains the Warp
All models with the Infantry or Cavalry Unit Type in a Torrent Psychic Weapon*. A model with this Oath and
Detachment with this Oath are instead counted as having with both the Character Unit Type and the Independent
the Automata Unit Type and gain the Feel No Pain (5+) Character special rule, gains the Warp Torrent Psychic
special rule. In addition, during the controlling player’s Weapon* and may pay an additional cost of +25 points
Shooting phase, a unit that includes any models with this per model to also select one Psychic Discipline from those
Oath must attempt a Shooting Attack if there is an enemy presented in the Horus Heresy: Age of Darkness rulebook. If
unit within range, and must target the closest enemy unit this Oath is selected, then at least one model selected as a
possible that is within its line of sight and is a valid target HQ choice must be given the Psyker Sub-type and at least
for a Shooting Attack. If two or more targets are equally two other models with the Character Unit Sub-type must
close then the controlling player chooses which will be the be given the Psyker Sub-type.
target of a Shooting Attack. If no weapon in the attacking
unit is capable of Wounding or causing a Glancing Hit or Note that models with this Oath do not gain access to
Penetrating Hit to a potential target unit, then that target the Aetheric Lightning Pyschic Weapon, unless another
unit may be ignored if there is another potential target in special rule would grant it to them or if they gain the
range and line of sight of the attacking unit. Any model Psyker Unit Sub-type from another source, such as the
in a Detachment with this Oath that has the Psyker Unit Librarian Consul upgrade.
Sub-type loses that Sub-type and may not use Psychic
Weapons or Psychic Powers. *This does not grant the model access to any Psychic
Disciplines and they may not select further Psychic Weapons
Any model in a Detachment with this Oath that has the or Powers.
Transport Unit Sub-type gains the Augmetic Transport
Bay special rule. Warp Torrent (Psychic Weapon)
Freed from restriction, those that opened their minds to the
Warp found they could channel near-endless torrents of
AUGMETIC TRANSPORT BAY power – as long as they were willing to pay the price.
These vehicles have been refitted to serve the needs of
creatures no longer hindered by the weaknesses of flesh Weapon Range Str AP Type
and blood. Warp Torrent
- Torrent 12" 5 5 Assault 2,
A model with this special rule may only be Embarked Deflagrate,
upon by models that previously had the Infantry Unit Malignant
Type, but have had it replaced with the Automata Force
Unit Type by The Flesh is Weak (Oath of Vengeance - Malignant 12" 5* 3 Assault 2*,
and Wrath). A model with this special rule also Deflagrate,
increases its Transport Capacity by 3. Malignant
Force

*For each unsaved Wound inflicted on the attacking model’s

unit due to the Perils of the Warp attack triggered by the
Malignant Force special rule, increase this value by +1.

Malignant Force: Any Psyker with the Warp Torrent

Psychic Weapon may choose to have the unit they are
a part of suffer Perils of the Warp before making any
attacks with that weapon. If this option is not chosen,
then resolve the attack using the Torrent profile. If
this option is chosen, first resolve Perils of the Warp
against the unit that the attacking model is part of, if the
attacking model survives then resolve the attack using the
Malignant profile.
OATH: THE BROKEN HELIX
Unable to claim recruits from the fiefdoms of old, some warbands of the Blackshields
turned to fouler means to fill their dwindling ranks – the old sin of gene-cloning or
crude progenoid replication. Denied the training camps of Terra or the complex hypno- “Those in ages past lived to
indoctrination forced upon the recruits of the later Legions, the warriors they produced retell the tales of their youth,
had none of the discipline that had once been the pride of the Space Marine Legions, but to pass the memories of a
instead bore terrible mutations and scars as the mark of their forbidden origins. life lived on to those that
would survive them. To live
A model with this Oath and any of the special rules noted in the following list, lose in this time, this age of death
all of the noted special rules they possess, but gain either the Clone or Aberrant and darkness is to have little
special rule (all units in a Detachment with this Oath must select the same option). to recount but misery and
The opposing player may not achieve objectives for removing a unit that includes any suffering, but it is a story that
models with either the Clone or Aberrant special rules as casualties. must be written and must
be told. It is a warning to
Special rules that are removed: those that might survive and
rebuilt, a caution to never
• Fury of the Legion again tread the same path
• Heart of the Legion as we.”
• Spite of the Legion
• Inexorable Preface of the
Eulogium Imperialis

CLONE
Cloning, though efficient, quickly reduces the stock produced to stumbling drones all
but incapable of independent thought. Such deviancy can produce vast armies, but
they are but poor copies of the original.

All models with this special rule that do not also have the Character Unit Sub-
type must reduce their Leadership and Initiative Characteristics by -1 and gain
a Damage Mitigation roll of 5+ against all Wounds that do not inflict Instant
Death – this is known as a Cloned Resilience Damage Mitigation roll and does
not stack with any other Damage Mitigation roll. A unit that includes one or
more models with this special rule may not make Reactions, but may also never
be Pinned.

ABERRANT
Forced replication of the progenoid is a dangerous endeavour, for it always results
in unintended mutation of the recipient and increases the chance of fatal rejection
tenfold. Those that survive implantation will be half-mad beasts, little more than
weapons to be unleashed upon the foe.

All models with this special rule that do not also have the Character Unit Sub-
type must reduce their Leadership and Ballistic Skill Characteristics by -1 but
increase their Strength Characteristic by +1 permanently, and after making
a successful Charge gain an additional +1 bonus to Strength until the end of
that player turn. A unit that includes any models with this special rule that
begins the Assault phase within 12" of one or more enemy units must have a
Charge declared for it, though the controlling player may choose the target of
this Charge.
OATH: IN DISGRACE ALL ARE EQUAL OATH: PRIDE IS OUR ARMOUR
Many Blackshields warbands are little more than disparate Whether Terran recruits from the original Crusade fleets,
associations of the lost and the fallen, with little direction or battle-scarred survivors of the Great Crusade or elite warriors
leadership other than war and battle. Composed of dozens of from the far-flung Legion home worlds, some Blackshields
petty warlords, such forces are powerful but divided, for each bands were composed only of the most renowned veterans of
fellowship follows only the commands of its own chief and their Legion.
cares not for any greater strategy.
Any Legion Veteran Squads in either a Primary
A Detachment with this Oath is not permitted to Detachment or an Allied Detachment with this Oath
include any HQ choices, but is not required to select a may be upgraded for +50 points per unit, gaining the Line
Compulsory HQ choice, nor may it include a Warlord. Unit Sub-type and the Heart of the Legion and Fury of
However, all models in the Detachment with the the Legion special rules. However, a Detachment with
Character Unit Sub-type gain +1 Leadership, +1 Wound this Oath may not include any Troops choices, and all
and +1 to one of the following Characteristics (which Troops slots are removed from the Force Organisation
must be noted on the army roster before the battle begins chart for this Detachment. As such, the Detachment is no
and any models are deployed, but each model may have longer required to select any Compulsory Troops choices,
a different characteristic selected for it): Weapon Skill, but one existing Elites slot for that Detachment is now
Ballistic Skill, Strength or Initiative. considered to be Compulsory. Additionally, a Detachment
with this Oath may include two additional Elites choices
All models in a Detachment with this Oath that do not – this applies to both Detachments selected as a Primary
have the Character Unit Sub-type suffer a penalty of -1 to Detachment and those selected as Allied Detachments.
their Leadership Characteristic.

(Models from a Legion Apothecarion Detachment or Legion

Techmarine Covenant do not gain any of the Characteristic
bonuses granted by this Oath, despite having the Character
Unit Sub-type, but nor do they suffer from any of the penalties
applied to models without the Character Unit sub-type).
OATH: THE TAINT OF THE XENOS
There exist many terrifyingly powerful xenos technology weapons encountered during
the Great Crusade, which, though incredibly effective, have been declared prohibited by
Mechanicum and Emperor alike for their detrimental effects on the body and mind of a “Righteous is the fury of the
human wielder. The desperation of certain Blackshields forces, however, has overcome bolter and the chainsword,
such concerns. and noble is he who wields
them, yet our enemies are
Any model in a Detachment with this Oath may exchange a plasma gun or Nemesis neither and any death will
bolter* for a Xenos deathlock at no additional cost in points; a combi-bolter for a suffice to end them.”
Xenos deathlock for +5 points per model; a plasma pistol for a Xenos doomlock at no
additional cost in points or a power weapon for a Xenos halo blade at no additional Euros Antar, Blackshield
cost in points.

*A Legion Vigilator may exchange their Master-crafted Nemesis bolter for a Xenos
deathlock for no additional cost.

Xenos Armoury
Many diverse clades of xenos technology exist, most incomprehensible to human artificers
and often deadly to those that attempt to operate them. Those few that can be bent to
human use are largely referred to simply as ‘xenos weapons’ regardless of their origin, for
few are desperate enough to make use of such heinous devices.

Weapon Range Str AP Type

Xenos deathlock 18" 6 4 Assault 2, Deflagrate,
Lethal Exposure
Xenos doomlock 9" 6 4 Pistol 2, Deflagrate,
Lethal Exposure
Xenos halo blade - +3 3 Melee, Two-handed

Lethal Exposure: If a unit makes attacks with one or more weapons with this special
rule as part of a Shooting Attack in any Phase, including as part of a Reaction, roll a
D6. If the result of this roll is equal to or less than the number of weapons in the unit
with the Lethal Exposure special rule, the unit suffers a single Wound with no Saves
or Damage Mitigation rolls allowed – this Wound is allocated to any model in the
unit by the controlling player.
OATH: THE WEAPONS OF DESPERATION
This band of Legiones Astartes warriors makes no use of the common weapons of their brethren, whether having purposefully
cast them aside as tainted by the sins of their fellows or having been imprisoned and forcefully deprived of them. Returned to
the fight, they are forced to make use of lesser weaponry, wielding mortal longarms as though they were but pistols and making
desperation into a virtue. For amid the ceaseless carnage of the Horus Heresy, even the least of weapons fed the slaughter taking
place on battlefields across the galaxy.

All models in a Detachment with this Oath and the Infantry Unit Type must exchange* any bolters and bolt pistols they
have for one of the following weapons, exchanging weapons on a one-for-one basis (for example, a model with this Oath
and a bolter and a bolt pistol must exchange both of those weapons, selecting two weapons from the following list in
exchange): autorifle, stubcarbine, shotgun, lasgun, lascarbine, laspistol or autopistol. When exchanging weapons, each
exchange may be for a different weapon, and squads and models do not have to receive the same weapon when making
multiple exchanges. When exchanging weapons for a unit of more than one model, for each three models in the unit,
one model may exchange a bolter for a heavy stubber instead of one of the other options listed above. A model with the
Independent Character special rule may always exchange a bolter for a heavy stubber.

All models that exchange one or more weapons due to the strictures of this Oath also gain the Desperate Measures
special rule.

*Note that this exchange takes place after any options are selected from a unit’s army list profile – for example, allowing models
from a Legion Veteran Squad to first upgrade a bolter to a plasma gun before any remaining bolters must be exchanged for other
weapons. However, a model with this Oath that has been given a bayonet or chain bayonet may not then exchange their bolter
for an autopistol or laspistol.

The Armoury of Desperation

Considered lesser weapons, these tools are usually the province of militia and other such forces and in the hands of the Legiones
Astartes seem more like toys than weapons.

All weapons listed here are counted as ‘Auto’ weapons for those rules that affect such weapons:

Weapon Range Str AP Type

Autopistol 12" 3 - Pistol 2
Shotgun 12" 3 - Assault 2, Concussive (1)
Autorifle 24" 3 - Rapid Fire
Stubcarbine 12" 3 - Assault 3
Heavy stubber 36" 4 6 Heavy 3

All weapons listed here are counted as ‘Las’ weapons for those rules that affect such weapons:

Weapon Range Str AP Type

Laspistol 12" 3 - Pistol 1
Lasgun 24" 3 - Rapid Fire
Lascarbine 18" 3 6 Assault 2

Desperate Measures: A model with this special rule treats all weapons from the Armoury of Desperation that have the
Assault (X) type as if it were the Pistol (X) type, and all weapons from the Armoury of Desperation with the Heavy (X)
type as if they had the Assault (X) type (the value of X remains the same in all cases). Models with this special rule count
weapons from the Armoury of Desperation with the Rapid Fire type as if they had the Pistol 2 type instead.
 BLACKSHIELDS CONTEMPTOR DREADNOUGHT

LEGIONARY ARTAL HELOC

CONTEMPTOR DREADNOUGHT, ASHEN CLAWS

Artal Heloc bears the heraldry of the Ashen Claws upon the armour plating of the Contemptor pattern dreadnought
chassis within which he is interred. The history and circumstances that befell the warrior prior to the implantation of
his physical body within the dreadnought are unknown, as are the details of the Legion with which he fought.

Despite the mystery shrouding the warrior’s life, the Contemptor dreadnought was pict-captured in no fewer than seven
separate engagements with Loyalist forces deep within the Traitor-held territory to the galactic east of the Garmon
Cluster. A prolific campaign of traitorous fratricide was put to an end by the neutron laser blasts of a squadron of White
Scars Sabre tanks on the scorched wastes of Dellar IX.
 LEGIONES AUXILIA

Legiones Auxilia
 THE SOLAR AUXILIA LEGIONES AUXILIA
Dedicated supplementary forces drawn from among the Solar Auxilia to fight at the Legiones Astartes’ side, the Legiones Auxilia
served in spheres of warfare typically outside the Legions’ purview as well as those battlefield roles which proved ill-matched to
their patron Legion’s tactical proclivities. Whether a particular Legiones Auxilia cohort was awarded with Legion induction in
the aftermath of some triumph or was purpose-founded as an extension of the Legions’ military might, each would be shaped by
their relationship to their allotted Legion, occupying a unique place in the military structure of the Imperium.

THE LEGIONES AUXILIA (X) SPECIAL RULE An Allied Detachment drawn from the Solar Auxilia Army
The Legiones Auxilia (X) special rule is intended to List which has had a version of the Legiones Auxilia (X)
represent Solar Auxilia cohorts that fight alongside the special rule applied to it still belongs to the Imperial Army
forces of the Legiones Astartes during the Horus Heresy, Faction and the Solar Auxilia Sub-faction. However, it is
showcasing the unique specialisations, equipment and always considered to have the ‘Fellow Warriors’ level of
tactics they adopted in doing so. The Legiones Auxilia (X) Alliance with the Space Marine Faction whose Legiones
special rule may only be applied to an Allied Detachment Astartes (X) special rule shares the same value of X as
selected using the Solar Auxilia Army List and where the their Legiones Auxilia (X) special rule, unless they would
Primary Detachment’s Warlord has the Legiones Astartes already have the ‘Sworn Brothers’ level of Alliance.
(X) special rule. The Legiones Auxilia (X) special rule is
currently intended to be used alongside a Warlord with When an Allied Detachment drawn from the Solar Auxilia
a base version of the Legiones Astartes (X) special rule Army List has a version of the Legiones Auxilia (X) special
and may not be applied to an Allied Detachment selected rule applied to it then all models in the Allied Detachment
from the Solar Auxilia Army List in the same army as also gain that version of the Legiones Auxilia (X) special
a Detachment containing models with the Legiones rule. Additionally, if a unit which contains one or more
Hereticus (X), Legiones Astartes (Shattered Legions) or models with the Legiones Auxilia (X) special rule has at
Legiones Astartes (Blackshields) special rules. least one model within 12" of a friendly unit containing
one or more models with the corresponding Legiones
Each variant of the Legiones Auxilia (X) special rule is Astartes (X) special rule when that unit fails a Morale
associated with a Legiones Astartes (X) special rule which check, the unit containing models with Legiones Auxilia
has the identical value of X and can only be selected (X) is immediately Pinned.
alongside a Primary Detachment whose Warlord has this
corresponding Legiones Astartes (X) special rule – e.g.,
Legiones Auxilia (Dark Angels) and Legiones Astartes
(Dark Angels). Only one Legiones Auxilia (X) rule can be
applied to any one Allied Detachment selected from the
Solar Auxilia army list found in Warhammer: The Horus
Heresy – Liber Imperium and any subsequent publications
that add additional units to this army list. Any version of
the Legiones Auxilia (X) special rule being applied to an
Allied Detachment drawn from the Solar Auxilia Army
List must be selected during army selection and noted on
the army roster alongside any Cohort Doctrine selected
for the Detachment.
LEGIONES AUXILIA (X) VARIATIONS
The following list is composed of the variations of the Legiones Auxilia (X) special rule that may be applied to units in an
Allied Detachment selected from the Solar Auxilia army list.

LEGIONES AUXILIA (DARK ANGELS) LEGIONES AUXILIA (EMPEROR’S CHILDREN)

An Allied Detachment selected from the Solar Auxilia An Allied Detachment selected from the Solar Auxilia
Army List and included in an army with a Primary Army List and included in an army with a Primary
Detachment whose Warlord has the Legiones Astartes Detachment whose Warlord has the Legiones Astartes
(Dark Angels) special rule may be given the Legiones (Emperor’s Children) special rule may be given the Legiones
Auxilia (Dark Angels) special rule. All units in an Allied Auxilia (Emperor’s Children) special rule. All units in an
Detachment with the Legiones Auxilia (Dark Angels) Allied Detachment with the Legiones Auxilia (Emperor’s
special rule are subject to the following effects: Children) special rule are subject to the following effects:

UNITY OF MIND THE ART OF SUFFERING

Raised from Calibanite stock, the Dark Angels’ Legiones Once the Emperor’s Children were followed into
Auxilia were initiated into the outer levels of the Ist battle by dozens of distinguished hosts of the Legiones
Legion’s obscure structure of hosts and orders, serving Auxilia, each having earned Legion induction by dint of
alongside each of the Dark Angels’ myriad configurations exemplary record and valiant service, acting alongside
as a single, cohesive force such that upon the battlefield the IIIrd Legion as exemplars of the Great Crusade.
Legionaries and Auxilia both were as one body. When the Emperor’s Children betrayed their namesake,
these inducted cohorts turned Traitor with them, and
Once per Phase, when a Reaction is declared for where once the IIIrd Legiones Auxilia were driven to excel
a unit entirely composed of models with both the against all odds, this impulse devolved into an almost
Legiones Auxilia (Dark Angels) and Tercio special exultant response to casualties, inducing a twisted
rules that allow it to make a Shooting Attack or fervour in those auxiliaries who survived.
Move, a single friendly unit entirely composed of
models with the Legiones Astartes (Dark Angels) Whenever a Shooting Attack causes a unit containing
special rule which has at least one model within one or more models with the Legiones Auxilia
6" of the Reacting unit may also Move or make a (Emperor’s Children) special rule to have one or
Shooting Attack as described in the Reaction being more models removed as casualties, all models in the
made as though it was part of the same Tercio as the unit with the Legiones Auxilia (Emperor’s Children)
Reacting unit and was ‘In Formation’ as per the Tercio special rule gain the Hammer of Wrath (1) special rule
special rule. This does not cost an additional point until the end of their controlling player’s next turn.
of Reaction Allotment but a unit with the Legiones
Astartes (Dark Angels) special rule which Moves
or Shoots in this way is counted as having made a
Reaction, and thus cannot make further Reactions in
the same Phase, and must target the same unit with
any Shooting Attacks made.
LEGIONES AUXILIA (IRON WARRIORS) LEGIONES AUXILIA (WHITE SCARS)
An Allied Detachment selected from the Solar Auxilia An Allied Detachment selected from the Solar Auxilia
Army List and included in an army with a Primary Army List and included in an army with a Primary
Detachment whose Warlord has the Legiones Astartes Detachment whose Warlord has the Legiones Astartes
(Iron Warriors) special rule may be given the Legiones (White Scars) special rule may be given the Legiones
Auxilia (Iron Warriors) special rule. All units in an Allied Auxilia (White Scars) special rule. All units in an Allied
Detachment with the Legiones Auxilia (Iron Warriors) Detachment with the Legiones Auxilia (White Scars)
special rule are subject to the following effects: special rule are subject to the following effects:

SHOT-SHROUDED EYE OF THE STORM

Folded into the IVth Legion’s overarching structure as yet While the Vth Legion itself was a swift blade, parting its
another cog in Perturabo’s grinding machinery of war, foes with lightning-fast strikes and outmanoeuvring
the Iron Warriors’ Legiones Auxilia cohorts marched them at every turn, the White Scars’ Legiones Auxilia
under skies riven with shell fire and across battlefields formed an inviolate bulwark amidst this hurricane
torn ragged by artillery detonations. As with Perturabo’s of force. In the wake of the White Scars’ advance,
own Legionaries, these Legiones Auxilia were expected to these troops would establish defensive lines and secure
face down torrents of fire without flinching, advancing fortifications taken by the Legion, trusted by the Khan’s
relentlessly amidst the tumult of battle. sons to hold any ground where the White Scars had
planted their standard.
When a unit entirely composed of models with the
Legiones Auxilia (Iron Warriors) special rule takes When a unit containing one or more models with
Leadership tests as part of the Pinning or Concussive both the Legiones Auxilia (White Scars) and Tercio
special rules, the unit ignores any negative special rules, as well as the Line Unit Sub-type, is
Leadership modifiers. within the controlling player’s Deployment Zone
or has at least half of its models within 6" of an
Objective, then all models in the unit gain the Feel
No Pain (6+) special rule. If any model in the unit
already has a variant of the Feel No Pain special rule
then instead increase the value in brackets of one of
those rules by +1 while the unit has at least half of
its models within 6" of an Objective to a maximum
of 5+.
LEGIONES AUXILIA (SPACE WOLVES) LEGIONES AUXILIA (IMPERIAL FISTS)
An Allied Detachment selected from the Solar Auxilia An Allied Detachment selected from the Solar Auxilia
Army List and included in an army with a Primary Army List and included in an army with a Primary
Detachment whose Warlord has the Legiones Astartes Detachment whose Warlord has the Legiones Astartes
(Space Wolves) special rule may be given the Legiones (Imperial Fists) special rule may be given the Legiones
Auxilia (Space Wolves) special rule. All units in an Allied Auxilia (Imperial Fists) special rule. All units in an Allied
Detachment with the Legiones Auxilia (Space Wolves) Detachment with the Legiones Auxilia (Imperial Fists)
special rule are subject to the following effects: special rule are subject to the following effects:

THE EARS OF MORKAI STEADFAST

Those few cohorts of the Solar Auxilia which earned Whether counted among the hosts of the Inwit
sufficient trust from the Space Wolves to be rewarded Phalangites – raised to serve as the Legion’s right
with induction fought vigilantly at the Legion’s flanks, hand – or awarded induction from further afield, the
ever watchful for feint or ambush, such that no hidden Imperial Fists’ Legiones Auxilia were relied upon to
redoubt or unorthodox concealment was proof against be just as stalwart in defence as their Legion patrons.
their scrutiny. Across hundreds of worlds, these troops stood shoulder
to shoulder with the Legionaries of the VIIth upon the
No model may make Cover Saves or Shrouded bastions they had raised, and many would go on to
Damage Mitigation rolls against Wounds inflicted by garrison those very same fortifications during the years
Shooting Attacks which are made by models with the of the Horus Heresy when their mettle would be tested
Legiones Auxilia (Space Wolves) special rule as part of against the Warmaster’s guns.
a Reaction.
A unit entirely composed of models with both the
Legiones Auxilia (Imperial Fists) special rule and the
Line Unit Sub-type increases all Cover Saves granted
by terrain by one (i.e., from 6+ to 5+). This only
increases existing Cover Saves and does not grant one
when in terrain that does not normally grant a Cover
Save. This rule cannot increase a Cover Save to better
than 4+.
 INWIT PHALANGITES AUXILIARY
AUXILIARY ANNEKA GRYCE
9TH INFANTRY TERCIO, 102 ND SOLAR AUXILIA COHORT,
‘INWIT PHALANGITES’ – BONDED TO THE VIITH LEGION
THE SIEGE OF CRYPTA TERMINII

When the Imperial Fists deployed to Beta-Garmon II early

in 010.M31 to retake Nyrcon City, a single cohort of the
Inwit Phalangites mustered alongside them, dispatched
eastwards to Crypta Terminii to garrison the capital’s
main overland approach against Traitor counter-attacks.
Having seen off sporadic Traitor incursions attempting
to navigate the surrounding mountain passes, the 102 nd
Cohort’s true test would come almost two years later, as
fresh Traitor armies claimed the surrounding hives one by
one in anticipation of a mass assault upon Nyrcon City.
Here, the Inwit Phalangites repelled a half-dozen attacks
from their counterpart ‘Cthonian Headhunters’, with
Auxiliary Gryce known to have taken command of her
severely mauled infantry tercio during the fourth assault,
a position she would retain until the 102 nd Cohort’s end.

Auxiliary Gryce is shown bearing the standard panoply

of the Inwit Phalangites’ lasrifle sections; being a faded
inversion of their patron Legion’s yellow and black
livery. The tower symbol upon her tasset indicates
the 102 nd Cohort’s former posting among the Inwit
Protectorate’s garrison.

PANOPLY OF WAR
Void armour shoulder markings:
9th Tercio numeral;
Inwit Phalangites armourial.
Lasrifle, Kalibrax IV pattern

1.

2.
LEGIONES AUXILIA (NIGHT LORDS) LEGIONES AUXILIA (BLOOD ANGELS)
An Allied Detachment selected from the Solar Auxilia An Allied Detachment selected from the Solar Auxilia
Army List and included in an army with a Primary Army List and included in an army with a Primary
Detachment whose Warlord has the Legiones Astartes Detachment whose Warlord has the Legiones Astartes
(Night Lords) special rule may be given the Legiones (Blood Angels) special rule may be given the Legiones
Auxilia (Night Lords) special rule. All units in an Allied Auxilia (Blood Angels) special rule. All units in an Allied
Detachment with the Legiones Auxilia (Night Lords) Detachment with the Legiones Auxilia (Blood Angels)
special rule are subject to the following effects: special rule are subject to the following effects:

COMBAT HAZE GLORY OF HUMANITY

Initially distributed to inure attached Solar Auxilia to Waging war in the shadow of the valiant angels of the
the horrific terror tactics of the VIIIth Legion, the Night IXth Legion, the Blood Angels’ Legiones Auxilia were
Lords’ sparse Legiones Auxilia cohorts made frequent typically drawn from those cohorts of the Solar Auxilia
use of alchem-infusions, inducing a ‘combat haze’ of which most fervently evangelised the values of the Great
heightened aggression. Crusade, driven to new heights of valour at the Blood
Angels’ side.
Models with the Legiones Auxilia (Night Lords)
special rule are never affected by any instance of the Any model with the Legiones Auxilia (Blood Angels)
Fear (X) special rule. All models in a unit entirely special rule which is locked in combat increases its
composed of models with both the Legiones Auxilia Attacks Characteristic by +1 as long as it is within 6"
(Night Lords) and Tercio special rules gain the Rage of a friendly model with the Legiones Astartes (Blood
(2) special rule for the duration of any Assault phase Angels) special rule.
in which at least a single model from the unit begins
that Assault phase within 12" of any friendly model
with the Fear (X) special rule that is not part of the
same Detachment.
LEGIONES AUXILIA (IRON HANDS) LEGIONES AUXILIA (WORLD EATERS)
An Allied Detachment selected from the Solar Auxilia An Allied Detachment selected from the Solar Auxilia
Army List and included in an army with a Primary Army List and included in an army with a Primary
Detachment whose Warlord has the Legiones Astartes Detachment whose Warlord has the Legiones Astartes
(Iron Hands) special rule may be given the Legiones (World Eaters) special rule may be given the Legiones
Auxilia (Iron Hands) special rule. All units in an Allied Auxilia (World Eaters) special rule. All units in an Allied
Detachment with the Legiones Auxilia (Iron Hands) Detachment with the Legiones Auxilia (World Eaters)
special rule are subject to the following effects: special rule are subject to the following effects:

CEREBRAL AUGMENTS BUTCHER’S DUE

The Iron Hands were a Legion which held the various Those Legiones Auxilia sworn to the service of the World
forces of the Imperial Army in callous disregard, only Eaters functioned as something of a counterbalance to
adopting Legiones Auxilia cohorts in the later years of the increasingly erratic conquests of the XIIth Legion,
the Great Crusade as a necessity of increasingly scattered moving to gun down enclaves of foes bypassed or
deployments. Even then, those cohorts inducted into overlooked by the unstoppable tide that was the World
the Iron Hands’ ‘Chainshroud’ were solely selected via Eaters Legion on the charge.
statistical cogitation and subjected to involuntary
cerebral augmentation, a process which removed an When making Shooting Attacks targeting units which
auxiliary’s capability to fear such that they would march are Falling Back or who have previously had one or
willingly into the heaviest of fire, heedless of the toll in more models removed as casualties, models with the
lives it wrought. Legiones Auxilia (World Eaters) special rule add +1 to
rolls To Hit.
When a unit entirely composed of models with the
Legiones Auxilia (Iron Hands) special rule fails a
Morale check owing to casualties in the Shooting
phase, it does not Fall Back as per the standard rules,
but instead suffers D3 automatic Wounds with no
Saves of any kind allowed (Damage Mitigation rolls
may still be used to negate these Wounds).
 BLEAK MARCHERS VELETARIS
VELETARIS KOL ORAKA
19TH VELETARIS TERCIO, 346 TH SOLAR AUXILIA COHORT,
‘BLEAK MARCHERS’ – BONDED TO THE XIVTH LEGION
THE DEATH OF 147-GAMMA MINORIS-GARMON

The 346 th Solar Auxilia Cohort formed one of many

reaving fleets dispatched to scour the lesser planets of the
Garmon Cluster, accompanying the ‘poison ships’ of the
Death Guard as they laid waste to a dozen verdant worlds.
Upon 147-Gamma Minoris-Garmon, Veletaris Oraka’s
tercio fought several pitched battles among the jungles
which blanketed the equatorial belt, their once towering
canopies half-dissolved in the wake of the Traitors’
alchemic barrage. Ultimately, these Veletarii Tercios used
to spearhead the Traitors’ initial assault upon the world
would be among the only divisions capable of fighting
for any considerable length against the vengeful Blood
Angels host which would descend upon 147-Gamma
Minoris-Garmon, their massed volkite fusillades capable
of overcoming even Legionary plate.

Veletaris Oraka is clad in the distinctive chemically-

treated void armour worn by the Bleak Marchers,
originally augmented to resist the caustic atmosphere of
their home world. After induction into the XIVth Legion’s
Auxilia, such modifications proved essential in enabling
Auxiliaries such as Oraka to endure the toxin arsenals
utilised by the Death Guard.

PANOPLY OF WAR
Reinforced void armour shoulder markings:
Veletaris designation;
Excertus Imperialis icon.
Volkite charger, Mars ‘Aurora’ pattern

1.

2.
LEGIONES AUXILIA (ULTRAMARINES) LEGIONES AUXILIA (DEATH GUARD)
An Allied Detachment selected from the Solar Auxilia An Allied Detachment selected from the Solar Auxilia
Army List and included in an army with a Primary Army List and included in an army with a Primary
Detachment whose Warlord has the Legiones Astartes Detachment whose Warlord has the Legiones Astartes
(Ultramarines) special rule may be given the Legiones (Death Guard) special rule may be given the Legiones
Auxilia (Ultramarines) special rule. All units in an Allied Auxilia (Death Guard) special rule. All units in an Allied
Detachment with the Legiones Auxilia (Ultramarines) Detachment with the Legiones Auxilia (Death Guard)
special rule are subject to the following effects: special rule are subject to the following effects:

COMBINED ARMS MANTLE OF DEATH

By the end of the Great Crusade, the Ultramarines’ In order to endure on battlefields subjected to the
Legiones Auxilia had been codified into a single cohesive notorious alchemic arsenal of the XIVth Legion, those
body in the form of the Ultramar Accensi, divided Legiones Auxilia inducted into the Death Guard were
among the fleets of the XIIIth Legion and the worlds of outfitted with additional environmental seals and
Ultramar. In battle, their doctrines primarily focussed on atmosphere filters in excess of even the Solar Auxilia’s
providing long-range suppressive fire as the Ultramarines specialised wargear. In concert with a pattern of selection
advanced, holding their foe in place to be rendered apart which tended to prioritise Solar Auxilia cohorts drawn
with surgical precision. from particularly inhospitable worlds, this equipment
enabled these Legiones Auxilia to march with impunity
When a unit containing one or more models with through clouds of choking toxins and torrents of
the Legiones Astartes (Ultramarines) special rule caustic rain.
declares a Charge against an enemy unit which has
had one or more models removed as casualties as a When rolling To Wound against a model with the
result of a Shooting Attack made by a model with the Legiones Auxilia (Death Guard) special rule, for any
Legiones Auxilia (Ultramarines) special rule in the attack inflicted by a weapon with either the Fleshbane
same Game Turn, any Shooting Attacks made against or Poisoned (X) special rules, reduce the result of that
the Charging unit as part of a Reaction in the same roll To Wound by -1 (this does not affect the Strength
Assault phase are resolved as Snap Shots. of the attack, only the result of the roll To Wound).
Additionally, models with both the Legiones Auxilia
(Death Guard) special rule and the Infantry Unit Type
may re-roll failed Dangerous Terrain tests.
LEGIONES AUXILIA (THOUSAND SONS) LEGIONES AUXILIA (SONS OF HORUS)
An Allied Detachment selected from the Solar Auxilia An Allied Detachment selected from the Solar Auxilia
Army List and included in an army with a Primary Army List and included in an army with a Primary
Detachment whose Warlord has the Legiones Astartes Detachment whose Warlord has the Legiones Astartes
(Thousand Sons) special rule may be given the Legiones (Sons of Horus) special rule may be given the Legiones
Auxilia (Thousand Sons) special rule. All units in an Allied Auxilia (Sons of Horus) special rule. All units in an Allied
Detachment with the Legiones Auxilia (Thousand Sons) Detachment with the Legiones Auxilia (Sons of Horus)
special rule are subject to the following effects: special rule are subject to the following effects:

PSY-SHOCK WARMASTER’S SPITE

Initiated into the basic mysteries of the Prosperine The XVIth Legion’s complement of Legiones Auxilia
Cult, the Legiones Auxilia who served as part of the fought doggedly at the side of their Legionary masters,
XVth Legion were trained in rudimentary techniques focussing their efforts on weakening and debilitating
to resist psychic intrusion, mitigating to some degree a foe to leave them utterly vulnerable to the famed
the increased risk presented by such proximity to the decapitation strikes of the Sons of Horus.
Thousand Sons at war.
When a friendly unit containing one or more models
Any friendly model with the Legiones Astartes with the Legiones Astartes (Sons of Horus) special
(Thousand Sons) special rule which suffers Perils of rule declares a Charge against an enemy unit which
the Warp while within 12" of a unit entirely composed has had one or more models removed as casualties as
of models with the Legiones Auxilia (Thousand Sons) a result of a Shooting Attack made by a model with
special rule and the Infantry Unit Type may choose the Legiones Auxilia (Sons of Horus) special rule in
to allocate all of the Wounds inflicted by Perils of the same Game Turn, the Charging unit adds +2 to
the Warp to the unit containing models with the the result of the Charge Distance roll.
Legiones Auxilia (Thousand Sons) special rule and the
Infantry Unit Type. Additionally, all models with the
Legiones Auxilia (Thousand Sons) special rule and the
Infantry Unit Type gain the Adamantium Will (6+)
special rule.
LEGIONES AUXILIA (WORD BEARERS) LEGIONES AUXILIA (SALAMANDERS)
An Allied Detachment selected from the Solar Auxilia An Allied Detachment selected from the Solar Auxilia
Army List and included in an army with a Primary Army List and included in an army with a Primary
Detachment whose Warlord has the Legiones Astartes Detachment whose Warlord has the Legiones Astartes
(Word Bearers) special rule may be given the Legiones (Salamanders) special rule may be given the Legiones
Auxilia (Word Bearers) special rule. All units in an Allied Auxilia (Salamanders) special rule. All units in an Allied
Detachment with the Legiones Auxilia (Word Bearers) Detachment with the Legiones Auxilia (Salamanders)
special rule are subject to the following effects: special rule are subject to the following effects:

CULT DEMAGOGUES PROMETHEAN WARDS

By the time of the Horus Heresy, the corruption which The warriors of the XVIIIth Legion regarded their
festered at the heart of the Word Bearers had taken inducted Legiones Auxilia as kindred spirits bound to
root in the Legiones Auxilia inducted into their service, a shared ideal, and in battle knew well the value of
rendering the professional soldiers of the Solar Auxilia preserving their number in situations where only the
into zealots who hungered to earn the profane blessings inviolate armour and transhuman physiology of Space
of their Legionary overlords. Marines could endure.

All models in a unit entirely composed of models Units containing one or more models with the
with both the Legiones Auxilia (Word Bearers) and Legiones Auxilia (Salamanders) special rule increase
Tercio special rules gain the Fleet (2) and Crusader the Cover Save they receive against Shooting Attacks
special rules for the duration of any of the controlling which draw line of sight through an intervening
player’s turns in which at least a single model from unit to a roll of 4+ as long as the intervening unit
the unit begins that turn within 12" of any friendly is entirely composed of models with the Legiones
model with the Legiones Astartes (Word Bearers) Astartes (Salamanders) special rule.
special rule.
LEGIONES AUXILIA (RAVEN GUARD) LEGIONES AUXILIA (ALPHA LEGION)
An Allied Detachment selected from the Solar Auxilia An Allied Detachment selected from the Solar Auxilia
Army List and included in an army with a Primary Army List and included in an army with a Primary
Detachment whose Warlord has the Legiones Astartes Detachment whose Warlord has the Legiones Astartes
(Raven Guard) special rule may be given the Legiones (Alpha Legion) special rule may be given the Legiones
Auxilia (Raven Guard) special rule. All units in an Allied Auxilia (Alpha Legion) special rule. All units in an Allied
Detachment with the Legiones Auxilia (Raven Guard) Detachment with the Legiones Auxilia (Alpha Legion)
special rule are subject to the following effects: special rule are subject to the following effects:

SPEARHEAD OF LIBERATION DIVERSIONARY HOST

Recruited from cultures which shared the Raven Guard’s As with every asset employed by the Legion, the Alpha
revulsion towards the tyrants of Old Night, those Legion’s Legiones Auxilia forces were yet another
Legiones Auxilia attached to the XIXth Legion drew component in the shifting web of lies and obfuscation
strength from their Legionary counterparts, standing used to shroud the XXth, often deployed specifically to
resolute in their conviction even as the Horus Heresy draw fire from Legionaries as they prepared to deliver a
plunged the Imperium into darkness. killing strike.

When a unit entirely composed of models with the When a unit entirely composed of models with
Legiones Auxilia (Raven Guard) special rule contains the Legiones Astartes (Alpha Legion) special rule is
at least a single model which can draw line of sight to selected as the target of a Shooting Attack during
a friendly model within 24" which has the Legiones the opposing player’s Shooting phase, the attacking
Astartes (Raven Guard) special rule and is drawn unit must first make a Leadership test as long as
from the same Army’s Primary Detachment, then there is a unit entirely composed of models with the
all models in the unit increase their Leadership Legiones Auxilia (Alpha Legion) special rule with at
Characteristic by +1 to a maximum value of 10. least one model within 12" of the targeted unit to
which the attacking unit can also draw line of sight.
If this Leadership test is failed, all Shooting Attacks
made by the attacking unit must instead target the
unit entirely composed of models with the Legiones
Auxilia (Alpha Legion) special rule – if the Leadership
test is passed, they may attack as normal.
0-1 LEGIONES
Legiones CONSULARIS:
Consularis: Overseer OVERSEER .......+25 POINTS
A Legion Centurion may be upgraded to an Overseer Consul, gaining the
rules below: Amongst the Legiones
Consularis were those who
Special Rules exercised their authority
A Legion Overseer gains the Overseer’s Retinue, Master of Auxilia and Support and control not over the
Squad special rules. number of Space Marines
that ranked beneath them
Wargear but who acted in command
A Legion Overseer may exchange their chainsword for a power maul or a power lash of human soldiery drawn
for +15 points. from the Solar Auxilia or,
in times of dire need, of the
All weapons listed here are counted as ‘Power’ weapons for those rules that affect Imperialis Militia.
such weapons.
The role of Overseer,
Weapon Range Str AP Type itself as symbolic as it
Power lash - 3 3 Melee, Shred, Reach (1) was practical, allowed
for the direct integration
In addition, a Legion Overseer may not select a Legion Spatha combat bike, Legion of simplified formations
Scimitar jetbike or Legion Warhawk jump pack. drawn from indentured
soldiery, into Legion strike
forces. In some cases, such
Overseer’s Retinue: An army that includes a model with this special rule may an act was carried out in
take a Tercio of 1-3 Solar Auxilia Rifle Sections or 1-3 Imperialis Militia Infantry ceremonial honour of a
Squads in accordance with the Strength in Numbers special rule*, as part of newly formed alliance or
the same Force Organisation choice as the model with this special rule, as an to demonstrate the fealty
Overseer’s Retinue. Note that any unit selected through the use of this special of a cohort of the Solar
rule may not take any Dedicated Transport options. Auxilia to one such as a
Primarch, who was present
Any Solar Auxilia Rifles Sections included through the use of the Overseer’s in the particular theatre
Retinue gain the Legiones Auxilia (X) special rule that corresponds with the of war. In other situations,
Legiones Astartes (X) special rule that the Legion Overseer they share a Force the bolstering of the
Organisation choice with has. Additionally, all models in a Tercio selected as number of friendly troops
an Overseer’s Retinue use the Leadership Characteristic of the model with the within a Legion force was
Legiones Overseer special rule when ‘In Formation’. necessary to compensate
for or minimise the loss of
* Note that rules for these units are found in the Warhammer: The Horus Heresy – valuable assets, either where
Liber Imperium book or the Legacies of the Age of Darkness: the Imperialis Militia the attrition of a protracted
army list. campaign had taken its toll
or the strategic importance
Master of Auxilia: A model with this special rule must join a Solar Auxilia Rifle of an objective was deemed
Section or Imperialis Militia Infantry Squad, chosen by the controlling player of insufficient priority.
that was selected as an Overseer’s Retinue during deployment and once joined,
may not voluntarily leave the unit during the course of any battle and may only In all eventualities, the
join units selected through the use of the Overseer’s Retinue special rule. Whilst Overseer was entrusted to
part of a unit selected as an Overseer’s Retinue, Wounds may not be allocated ensure that the conduct of
to the model with the Master of Auxilia special rule by the controlling player Auxilia or Militia troops
unless there are no other valid models in the targeted Overseer’s Retinue unit to met the expectations of the
allocate Wounds to. Additionally, a model with the Master of Auxilia special rule higher Legion command
is considered to have the same variant of the Legiones Auxilia (X) special rule as and that orders were
the models in the unit that they have joined. disseminated in a manner
that was understood by
unaugmented human
warriors.
 SOLAR AUXILIA: RULES ADDENDA

SOLAR AUXILIA

Rules Addenda
 HOW TO USE THESE RULES
All Army List Profiles for the Warhammer: The Horus Heresy – Age of Darkness range are divided into two categories:
Core units and Expanded units. All of the units presented in this publication are ‘Core’ units. Both ‘Core’ and ‘Expanded’
types of unit may be freely used in any Horus Heresy battle, and this category does not affect their availability as part of
an army or Detachment or the rules for their use during a battle.

The following units included in these addenda are all part of the Solar Auxilia Army List presented in Warhammer: The
Horus Heresy – Liber Imperium. Any rules that affect units or models selected or chosen from the Solar Auxilia Army List
affect these units, and Detachments selected from those Army Lists may include these units (as long as they are of the
correct Faction).

In addition, this section includes a new Cohort Doctrine. This follows all the rules presented for Cohort Doctrines as
presented in Liber Imperium.

Cohort Doctrine: Mechanised Unit Sub-type

Reconnaissance Pattern Cohorts Several units in this section have the Mechanised
Many cohorts, especially those who espoused swift assaults, Unit Sub-type.
maintained large stocks of Sentinel walkers. These had
the mobility to range ahead of their supporting infantry, MECHANISED
reporting back on enemy positions, or engaging isolated Some units lack the bulk of true combat vehicles, but are
foes in hit and run attacks. In the dark days of the Horus formed of steel and wires rather than flesh and blood. These
Heresy, only marshals commanding the largest cohorts had units mirror the agility of infantry units, but boast the
the resources to risk committing their full strength of these endurance that only a machine can demonstrate.
valuable war machines to battle simultaneously, but their
deployment was frequently effective. The following rules apply to all models with the
Mechanised Sub-type:
Effects
• A Detachment using this Cohort Doctrine may select • Successful Wounds caused by attacks with the Poisoned
Solar Auxilia Hermes Light Sentinel Squadrons as (X) or Fleshbane special rules must be re-rolled against
Troops choices. Solar Auxilia Hermes Light Sentinel models with the Mechanised Unit Sub-type.
Squadrons selected as Compulsory Troops choices gain • Failed rolls To Wound made for weapons with the
the Line Unit Sub-type. Armourbane (X) special rule, and against a unit that
• Solar Auxilia Veletaris Assault Squadrons in this includes any models with this Unit Sub-type, must
Detachment gain the Outflank special rule. be re-rolled.
• Aethon Heavy Sentinel Squadrons may include up to • A model with the Mechanised Unit Sub-type may attack
4 additional Aethon Heavy Sentinels instead of up to 2 with all weapons it has when making a Shooting Attack,
additional Aethon Heavy Sentinels. including as part of a Reaction.
• A model with the Mechanised Unit Sub-type may attack
Limitations with Heavy and Ordnance weapons while counting
• A Detachment using this Cohort Doctrine may not as stationary even if it has moved in the preceding
include more than a single Auxilia Armoured Tercio. Movement phase, and may declare Charges as normal
• A Detachment using this Cohort Doctrine may not regardless of any Shooting Attacks made in the
include more than a single Auxilia Artillery Tercio. same turn.
• A model with the Mechanised Unit Sub-type is affected
by the Haywire, Detonation and Battlesmith (X) special
rules as if it had the Dreadnought Unit Type.
• No model that does not also have the Mechanised Unit
Sub-type may join a unit that includes one or more
models with the Mechanised Unit Sub-type.
 SSolar
OLAR AUXILIA
Auxilia Hermes Light Sentinel
H ERMES LIGHT SENTINEL SQUADRON ...........50 POINTS
Squadron

FAST ATTACK M WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv
Hermes Light Sentinel 10 3 3 5 5 2 3 1 7 4+
Many Solar Auxilia cohorts
go to war accompanied by Unit Composition Unit Type
squadrons of Hermes Light • 2 Hermes Light Sentinels • Cavalry (Mechanised, Skirmish)
Sentinels. Leading from the
front, these fast-moving Wargear Special Rules
scouting units mount potent • Laspistol • None
weaponry, striking at their • Void armour
foes and disengaging before • Hermes Light Sentinel
significant resistance can be
brought to bear. Through Options
these attacks, enemy forces are • The Hermes Light Sentinel Squadron may take:
unable to mount a cohesive - Up to 4 additional Hermes Light Sentinels ........................................+18 points each
defence, leaving them easy • Any model may replace their multi-laser with a:
prey for the main advance. - Hermes grenade launcher.................................................................................+5 points

Hermes Light Sentinel

Employed as scout walkers and mobile fire platforms, the Hermes Light Sentinel is
little more than a bipedal frame and saddle, equipped with robust weaponry and
scanners. Despite its light construction, it is employed widely by the cohorts of the
Solar Auxilia and forms a vital component of their scouting and encircling tactics.

A Hermes Light Sentinel has one multi-laser. In addition, when a model with a
Hermes Light Sentinel chooses to Run, it gains the Shrouded (5+) special rule
until the start of the controlling player’s next turn.

Hermes Grenade Launcher

Employed to fire larger explosive charges than the patterns issued to frontline Auxilia
units, the Hermes grenade launcher was utilised in a variety of roles, from pinning
enemy troops in place to destroying light armour units.

Weapon Range Str AP Type

Hermes grenade launcher
- Frag 18" 4 5 Assault 1,
Blast (3"), Pinning
- Krak 18" 6 4 Assault 2
SOLAR
Solar AUXILIA
Auxilia Hermes Veletaris
HERMES VELETARIS SQUADRON .....................65 POINTS
Squadron

M WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv ELITES
Hermes Veletarii Sentinel 8 4 4 5 5 2 3 1 7 3+
Squadrons of Incursus
Unit Composition Unit Type pattern Hermes Sentinels
• 2 Hermes Veletaris Sentinels • Cavalry (Mechanised) are utilised in a much more
aggressive role than other
Wargear Special Rules patterns, allowing many
• Laspistol • Tercio commanders to increase
• Reinforced void armour • Storm Section pressure on especially mobile
• Incursus pattern Hermes foes who might otherwise
Light Sentinel outmanoeuvre the somewhat
unwieldy Auxilia cohorts.
Options Augmented with more
• The Hermes Veletaris Squadron may take: comprehensive protection
- Up to 4 Hermes Veletaris Sentinels.....................................................+24 points each for both their elite pilot, as
• Any model may replace their volkite caliver with a: well as their more fragile
- Heavy flamer ................................................................................................................Free motility mechanisms, the
Incursus pattern is purpose
built to support the frontal
Storm Section assaults the veletaris cohorts
On battlefields where additional mobility was required, Veletaris Storm Sections are famed for, moving into
would deploy modified Hermes units, utilising speed and aggression to bring their position around the flanks
potent weaponry to bear. of enemy positions before
unleashing a storm of anti-
When selecting units for an Auxilia Veletaris Tercio (see Liber Imperium), one infantry firepower from their
Solar Auxilia Hermes Veletaris Squadron unit can be included in place of one volkite calivers or driving
Solar Auxilia Veletaris Storm Section unit. their enemies back with gouts
of searing flame.
Incursus pattern Hermes Light Sentinel
Though the basic pattern lacked the armoured plating common on heavier frames
such as the Aethon, sub-patterns of the Hermes exist with some additional protection
for the pilot and other key components. The Incursus pattern favoured by Veletaris
units eschews the scanning equipment of lighter patterns in favour of more potent
weaponry and more comprehensive armour covering.

An Incursus pattern Hermes Light Sentinel has one volkite caliver. In addition,
it confers a 3+ Armour Save.
 SOLAR
Solar AUXILIA
Auxilia Aethon Heavy Sentinel
AETHON HEAVY SENTINEL SQUADRON .........70 POINTS
Squadron

HEAVY SUPPORT M WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv
Aethon Heavy Sentinel 7 3 3 6 6 5 3 2 8 2+
Aethon Heavy Sentinels are
a common sight among the Unit Composition Unit Type
ranks of the Solar Auxilia, • 1 Aethon Heavy Sentinel • Cavalry (Heavy, Mechanised)
their squat forms striding
into battle alongside the Wargear Special Rules
cohorts. Often piloted by • Aethon Heavy Sentinel • None
older and more experienced
specialists, these grizzled Options
veterans are adept at • The Aethon Heavy Sentinel Squadron may take:
identifying key enemy targets - Up to 2 additional Aethon Heavy Sentinels....................................... +65 points each
and eliminating them with • Any model may replace the Aethon Heavy Sentinel’s multi-laser with one of
overwhelming firepower. the following:
Though cumbersome in - Autocannon.......................................................................................................+10 points
appearance, these robust - Volkite culverin.................................................................................................+10 points
constructions are able to - Lascannon ........................................................................................................+20 points
traverse void station interiors - Heavy incinerator.............................................................................................+15 points
and ruined cityscapes with - Melta lance ........................................................................................................+25 points
ease, often forming the • Any model may replace the Aethon Heavy Sentinel’s Aethon missile battery with:
lynchpin around which many - 4 Hunter-killer missiles..................................................................................+20 points
a successful close quarters
assault has swung.
Aethon Heavy Sentinel
Carried along by a robust, bipedal mobility unit, the Aethon Heavy Sentinel is able to traverse engagement zones unsuited
to larger armoured vehicles or even mobile Rapier platforms, as well as spearheading Zone Mortalis assaults, shielding its
supporting infantry with its heavily armoured chassis. Capable of mounting a fearsome array of weaponry suited for most
battlefield targets, the Aethon is a common sight among the Solar Auxilia, with many cohorts maintaining large numbers
of these resilient and deadly war machines.

An Aethon Heavy Sentinel has one multi-laser and one Aethon missile battery.

Aethon Missile Battery

The Aethon mounts paired missile pods high on its stable carapace, firing flurries of explosive ordnance over the heads of
the advancing cohorts.

All weapons listed here are counted as ‘Missile’ weapons for those rules that affect such weapons.

Weapon Range Str AP Type

Aethon missile battery 30" 4 5 Assault 1, Large Blast (5"), Barrage, Twin-linked

Heavy Incinerator
Heavy incinerators are often used in aggressive actions, clearing out enemy strongpoints with blasts of flame.

All weapons listed here are counted as ‘Flame’ weapons for those rules that affect such weapons.

Weapon Range Str AP Type

Heavy incinerator Template 6 4 Assault 1, Torrent (6")

Melta Lance
The barrel of the melta lance features a number of focusing rings. These auto-adjust as a target is acquired, allowing the
weapon to retain its potency over a greater distance before dissipating. While undoubtedly effective, its near-constant
maintenance requirements have limited the weapon’s usage to units designated for less protracted engagements.

All weapons listed here are counted as ‘Melta’ weapons for those rules that affect such weapons.

Weapon Range Str AP Type

Melta lance 18" 8 1 Heavy 1, Armourbane (Ranged)
 SENTINEL WALKERS OF THE SOLAR AUXILIA
T he Solar Auxilia were routinely deployed during
the Great Crusade as long range ‘pathfinders’ for
Explorators and Expeditionary fleets, establishing
fulfilled a similar function to battle tanks, outfitted with
a range of dedicated armaments capable of countering
anything from massed infantry to heavy armour, while the
footholds on myriad worlds for following elements of the additional protection and mobility provided by Hermes
Excertus Imperialis. To provide for this role, cohorts were Light Sentinels allowed their line tercios to operate in a
outfitted with several patterns of Sentinel scout walkers, more flexible and reactive manner than traditional massed
engineered to operate in various hostile environments lasrifle sections.
and ranging from light platforms intended to augment
an infantry section’s mobility to fully enclosed, armoured In terms of livery, the Sentinel walkers of the Solar Auxilia
vehicles for spoiling and flanking attacks. followed the same broad schema as the cohorts’ other
armoured vehicles, being predominantly a utilitarian
While most cohorts would use such platforms to grey with sections or bands of identifying colour –
augment the primary strength of their tercios – that typically displayed upon the frontal glacis plating. As
being infantry sections and armour squadrons – certain reconnaissance vehicles, it was not unknown for Solar
later-founded cohorts established doctrines which relied Auxilia divisions to occasionally repaint their walkers’ base
upon the various Sentinel patterns as the mainstay of their grey tone in a camouflage scheme, though the cohort’s
deployments. Here, rapid-moving Aethon Heavy Sentinels distinctive banding was typically left intact.

AETHON HEAVY SENTINEL OF THE 87TH SOLAR AUXILIA COHORT, ‘STAR REAVERS’
The last recorded actions of the Sentinel squadrons of the 87th Solar Auxilia Cohort took place
on Barren’s Landing, a minor system within the Garmon Cluster. Here they are known to have
supported the last, stranded survivors of the Star Reavers and formed a vanguard against the
predations of unknown, possibly xenos forces that sought to annihilate them.
VOID ARMOUR SHOULDER
MARKINGS:
Selucid Thorakites
armourial; 8th Tercio
numeral.

HERMES LIGHT SENTINEL OF THE 532 ND SOLAR AUXILIA COHORT, ‘SELUCID THORAKITES’,
BONDED TO THE IVTH LEGION
Several cohorts of the Iron Warriors’ Selucid Thorakite serf-auxilia accompanied the IVth Legion’s siege
battalions during the Traitors’ assault upon Beta-Garmon III, with squadrons of Hermes Light Sentinels used
to rapidly exploit breaches forged in Loyalist fortifications in spite of the brutal losses they incurred.

REINFORCED VOID ARMOUR

SHOULDER MARKINGS:
Inwit Phalangites
armourial; 4th Veletaris
Tercio numeral.

INCURSUS PATTERN HERMES LIGHT SENTINEL OF THE 102 ND SOLAR AUXILIA COHORT, ‘INWIT PHALANGITES’,
BONDED TO THE VIITH LEGION
In addition to the Imperial Fists taskforce which participated in the First Battle of Nyrcon City, a single
cohort of the Legion’s Inwit Phalangites Auxilia was dispatched to the city of Crypta Terminii, utilising
several divisions of Veletaris assault squadrons to strike at marauding Traitor forces which attempted to
navigate the surrounding mountain passes.
 0-1 Auxilia
Solar SOLARLifeward
AUXILIA
SectionLIFEWARD SECTION ........50 POINTS
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv
HQ Auxilia Protector 6 4 4 3 3 2 4 2 8 3+

A Lifeward section has but Unit Composition Unit Type

one duty – to preserve the • 2 Auxilia Protectors • Auxilia Protector: Infantry (Heavy)
life of their Legate Marshal
against any foe, be it from Wargear Special Rules
among the enemy or even • Lasrifle • Stubborn
within their own ranks. In • Laspistol • Battle-hardened (1)
battle they stand as a rock • Basic close combat weapon • Chosen Warriors
against which any foe will • Heavy void armour • Legatine Retinue
break, shielding their charge • Refractor field
with their very lives, while • Frag grenades
off the battlefield they are • Krak grenades
vigilant against any mutiny
or rivalry among officers. Dedicated Transport
A Solar Auxilia Lifeward Section may take an Aurox Transport or Dracosan
These warriors are the finest Armoured Transport as a Dedicated Transport. As a Dedicated Transport this does
fighters a Legate Marshal can not use up an additional Force Organisation slot, but its points cost must still be paid
gather, from specially trained for as part of the army.
household retainers, veterans
of older retired cohorts Options
or even deadly outcasts • A Solar Auxilia Lifeward Section may include:
offered one last chance at - Up to 8 additional Auxilia Protectors .................................................+20 points each
redemption in return for • Any model with a lasrifle may take a:
utmost loyalty. They are - Bayonet .........................................................................................................+1 point each
granted access to the private • Any model in the unit may exchange a laspistol for one of the following:
armouries of their charge, - Blast pistol ..................................................................................................+2 points each
and equipped with wargear - Needle pistol ..............................................................................................+2 points each
beyond that of any line unit, - Hand flamer ...............................................................................................+2 points each
to further the prosecution of - Plasma pistol ..............................................................................................+5 points each
their singular focus. • Any model in the unit may exchange a basic close combat weapon for one of
the following:
- Power weapon..........................................................................................+10 points each
- Charnabal weapon ..................................................................................+10 points each
• Up to two models in the unit may exchange a basic close combat weapon and
lasrifle for one of the following:
- Power fist..................................................................................................+15 points each
- Thunder hammer................................................................................... +15 points each
• One model in the unit may be upgraded to have:
- Melta bombs........................................................................................................+5 points
• One model in the unit may be upgraded to have a:
- Command vox...................................................................................................+10 points
• One model in the unit may be upgraded to have one of the following:
- Auxilia vexilla......................................................................................................+5 points
- Cohorts vexilla..................................................................................................+15 points
Legatine Retinue
A Lifeward section has but one duty: the protection of its ward and master. On the battlefield they stand ever vigilant to
give their lives in exchange for their ward’s, and will obey only their orders.

A Solar Auxilia Lifeward Section may only be selected as part of a Detachment that includes a Solar Auxilia Legate
Marshal. A unit selected in this manner is considered a ‘Retinue Squad’ and the model with the Solar Auxilia Legate
Marshal that is part of the same Detachment is referred to as the Retinue Squad’s Leader for the purposes of this
special rule. The Retinue Squad does not use up a Force Organisation slot and is considered part of the same unit as
the model selected as its Leader. The Retinue Squad must be deployed with its Leader deployed as part of the unit
and the Leader may not voluntarily leave the Retinue Squad during play. A Solar Auxilia Lifeward Section may not
be selected as part of an army without a Leader.
LEGIONES ASTARTES: NEW UNITS

LEGIONES ASTARTES

New Units
 HOW TO USE THESE RULES
All Army List Profiles for the Warhammer: The Horus Heresy – Age of Darkness
range are divided into two categories: Core units and Expanded units. All of the units “Through victory and renown
presented in this publication are ‘Core’ units. Both ‘Core’ and ‘Expanded’ types of do warriors pass into legend.
unit may be freely used in any Horus Heresy battle, and this category does not affect With blood they paid the toll
their availability as part of an army or Detachment or the rules for their use during of remembrance. Let their
a battle. actions shape our memories
and let us stride to battle in
The units included in these addenda are all part of the Legiones Astartes Army their footsteps.”
List presented in Warhammer: The Horus Heresy – Liber Hereticus and Warhammer:
The Horus Heresy – Liber Astartes. Any rules that affect units or models selected or Inscription of
chosen from the Legiones Astartes Army List affect these units, and Detachments Memorium Bellicosa
selected from those Army Lists may include these units (as long as they are of the
correct Faction).
 HORUS AXIMAND ...........................................170 POINTS
Horus Aximand
Little Horus, Captain of the 5th Company, Half-moon of the Mournival

HQ M WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv
Horus Aximand 7 6 5 4 4 3 5 4 9 2+
Nicknamed ‘Little Horus’
for his uncanny resemblance Unit Composition Unit Type
to the Warmaster, Horus • 1 Horus Aximand • Infantry (Character, Unique)
Aximand was a high-ranking
captain of the Sons of Horus Wargear Special Rules
even before the Horus Heresy • Banestrike bolter • Legiones Astartes (Sons of Horus)
and a member of Horus’ • Mourn-it-all • Master of the Legion
Mournival. Following the • Castigatus combat shield • Independent Character
massacre of his former • Iron halo • Relentless
brethren on Isstvan III, • Frag grenades • Haunted
Aximand was haunted • Krak grenades • Traitor
by dreams of his former • Artificer armour • Warlord: Little Horus
brother, Garviel Loken, and
was noted to have become
melancholy at the scale of Warlord: Little Horus
the betrayal perpetrated, Little Horus was a being of singular will. Even the most grievous wound was unable
privately harbouring to stay his hand for long.
doubts about his decision
to side with the Warmaster. If chosen as the army’s Warlord, Horus Aximand automatically has the Little
Fighting at the vanguard of Horus Warlord Trait and may not select any other.
the Traitor forces, his every
action sought to justify Little Horus – The first time in any battle when Horus Aximand is reduced to 0
his choice, and assuage his Wounds for any reason, he is not removed as a casualty, but instead remains in
conflicted psyche. Despite play and regains D3 Wounds. This has no effect against attacks or rules which
being seriously wounded on remove the model as a casualty without inflicting Wounds or against attacks
several occasions, including with the Instant Death special rule.
having his distinctive face
regrafted into place following In addition, an army whose Warlord has this Trait may make an additional
an ambush by Hibou Khan Reaction during the Shooting phase as long as the Warlord has not been
at Dwell, Horus Aximand removed as a casualty.
commanded several notable
actions, and even took
command of the Legion
for a time following Horus’
wounding after the Beta-
Garmon campaign.
Haunted
Following the betrayal of his brethren upon Isstvan III, Horus Aximand was wracked with guilt, seemingly haunted by the
ghost of his former Mournival brother, Garviel Loken. Following his discovery that Loken still lived, their paths and blades
would cross again before the conclusion of the conflict.

If Garviel Loken is removed as a casualty whilst locked in combat with Horus Aximand or any unit he has joined
then Horus Aximand’s controlling player gains +1 bonus Victory point in addition to any others that might be
gained from this; this bonus is increased to +2 bonus Victory points if Garviel Loken is removed as a casualty while
Engaged in a Challenge with Horus Aximand.

Mourn-it-all
Horus Aximand favoured a broad-bladed sword of Cthonian blue steel. Wielded with brutal efficiency in combination with
either bolter or combat shield, this blade cut down innumerable Loyalist warriors during the dark days of the Horus Heresy.

The weapon listed here is counted as a ‘Power’ weapon for those rules that affect such weapons:

Weapon Range Str AP Type

Mourn-it-all - +1 2 Melee, Master-crafted, Murderous Strike (5+)

Castigatus Combat Shield

The Sons of Horus combat doctrine dictated aggressive close range engagements. This led to the development of the
Castigatus combat shield. The original Castigatus was adapted from the Astartes boarding shield, fitted with a compact
energy generator. As an enemy drew close this device could be activated, blasting them away and off-balance with a pulse
of directed force, allowing the bearer to dispatch them with ease. Over the course of the Horus Heresy, more powerful and
vicious charges were created, and these shields were seen in the hands of increasing numbers of Traitor warriors, each eager
to cross blades with their foe rather than dispatch them from afar.

A Castigatus combat shield provides a 5+ Invulnerable Save and each time a successful Invulnerable Saving Throw
is made for a model with a Castigatus combat shield against a melee attack, the unit that made that attack suffers a
single Str 4 AP - hit. A model with a Castigatus combat shield cannot claim bonus attacks for having more than one
melee weapon, or make attacks during the Assault phase using a weapon with the Two-handed special rule.

Invulnerable Saves granted by a Castigatus combat shield do not stack with other Invulnerable Saves, but can benefit
from rules (such as cyber-familiar) that specifically increase existing saves. If a model has another Invulnerable Save
then the controlling player must choose which one to use.
 TYBALT MARR ...............................................160
Tybalt Marr POINTS
The Either, Hunter of the Iron Heart, Captain of the 18th Company

HQ M WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv
Tybalt Marr 7 6 5 4 4 3 5 4 10 2+
One of many captains
tasked with hunting down Unit Composition Unit Type
the survivors of the Isstvan • 1 Tybalt Marr • Infantry (Character, Unique)
V Dropsite Massacre, Marr
was responsible for the Wargear Special Rules
destruction of the Iron Hands • Banestrike bolter • Legiones Astartes (Sons of Horus)
Clan-Council at Oqueth • Bolt pistol • Master of the Legion
Minor. His hunt continued • The Culling Blade • Independent Character
for another three years, • Iron halo • Relentless
during which he came to • Frag grenades • Hatred (Shattered Legions)
respect and despise Shadrak • Krak grenades • Traitor
Meduson and his forces in • Artificer armour • Warlord: By the Hunter’s Moon
equal measure. Marr believed
he had finally killed Meduson
and destroyed his fleet at Warlord: By the Hunter’s Moon
Arissak, only to discover his Marr’s shock tactics threw the Shattered Legions onto the back foot. Previously able
enemy had slipped the net to pick their fights with relative impunity, they found themselves pursued relentlessly
and made a direct attack by a superior force. While others dismissed them as a minor annoyance, Marr saw the
on the Warmaster himself true threat of Shadrak Meduson’s Shattered Legions, taking his forces and ensuring
at Dwell. Having taken his the hunters became the hunted.
suspicions as to the true
extent of Meduson’s strategy If chosen as the army’s Warlord, Tybalt Marr automatically has the By the
to Horus himself, Marr was Hunter’s Moon Warlord Trait and may not select any other.
pronounced the ‘Lone Wolf’
and tasked with hunting By the Hunter’s Moon – Once per battle, at the end of his controlling player’s
down the Shattered Legions Movement phase, Tybalt Marr can conduct a Shock Assault. When he does so,
once and for all. each enemy unit within 12" of Tybalt Marr must take a Pinning test.

In addition, an army whose Warlord has this trait may make an additional
Reaction during the Assault phase as long as the Warlord has not been removed
as a casualty.

The Culling Blade

Tybalt Marr carried a wicked blade of unusual design. Some claimed its cruel form
was inspired by those carried by Aeldari raiders. Whatever its origin, in Marr’s
hands its serrated edge cleaved though armour, leaving gaping wounds that could
exsanguinate even a Space Marine’s enhanced physique.

The weapon listed here is counted as a ‘Power’ weapon for those rules that affect
such weapons:

Weapon Range Str AP Type

The Culling Blade - User 2 Melee, Fleshbane,
Murderous
Strike (6+)
 H IBOU
Hibou KhanKHAN .................................................165 POINTS
The Outcast Khan, Sagyar Mazan, Seeker of Atonement

HQ M WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv
Hibou Khan 7 6 5 4 4 2 5 3 9 2+
Born on Terra, Hibou Khan
held a great respect for Horus Unit Composition Unit Type
and his Legion, and was • 1 Hibou Khan • Infantry (Character, Unique)
a member of the warrior
lodges seeded throughout Wargear Special Rules
the Vth Legion before the • Bolt pistol • Legiones Astartes (White Scars)
Horus Heresy. Resentful of • The Breath of the Storm • Relentless
Jaghatai and the increasing • Frag grenades • Independent Character
Chogorian influences among • Krak grenades • Master of the Legion*
the Legion, upon receiving • Refractor field • The Shattered Vth
news of the Warmaster’s • Artificer armour • Stubborn
rebellion, Hibou made the • Kharash
decision alongside several • Feel No Pain (5+)
other Khans to abandon their • Loyalist
Primarch and pledged his • Warlord: Seeker of Atonement
Brotherhood of the Dawn Sky
to the Traitor cause. When *If Hibou Khan is the only model with the
this plot was foiled, and the Master of the Legion special rule in your
majority of conspirators slain army, the only Rite of War you can select is
or captured, Hibou Khan The Sagyar Mazan (see Liber Astartes).
surrendered himself to the
Great Khan’s judgement.
Demonstrating sufficient Warlord: Seeker of Atonement
contrition to avoid outright Hibou Khan has accepted his exile, seeking out Traitor forces at every turn, slaying as
execution, he was instead many as he can before his life is ended by an enemy’s blade and his honour is restored.
sentenced to a fate many
among his Legion would If chosen as the army’s Warlord, Hibou Khan automatically has the Seeker of
consider worse: to be stripped Atonement Warlord Trait and may not select any other.
of his honour and cast out to
wander the galaxy as one of Seeker of Atonement – If Hibou Khan is the army’s Warlord, then both Hibou
the Sagyar Mazan. Seeking Khan and any unit he joins gain the Rampage (2) special rule.
absolution only in the spilled
blood of Traitors, his path In addition:
and purpose would align
with Shadrak Meduson and • If Hibou Khan has not been removed as a casualty, an army with Hibou Khan
his Shattered Legions forces. as its Warlord may make an additional Reaction during the opposing player’s
Movement phase.
• If Hibou Khan has been removed as a casualty, an army with Hibou Khan as
its Warlord may make an additional Reaction during the opposing player’s
Assault phase.
The Shattered Vth
Once part of their wider Legions, the events of the Horus Heresy saw these warriors fighting among ad hoc formations
brought together by tragedy and fortitude in equal measure.

You can include this model in a Shattered Legions Detachment that includes models representing the White Scars
Legion. When you do so, replace this model’s Legiones Astartes (White Scars) special rule with the Legiones Astartes
(Shattered Legions) special rule. This is an exception to the normal rules for Legiones Astartes (Shattered Legions).
When included in a Shattered Legions Detachment, this model must represent the White Scars Legion.

The Breath of the Storm

Hibou Khan bore a mighty two-handed blade into battle. Curved in the Chogorian style, its immense size belied its perfect
balance and light weight. When wielded by Hibou Khan, it whirled around his body like a ribbon of light, slicing apart any
who strayed within its deadly reach.

The weapon listed here is counted as a ‘Power’ weapon for those rules that affect such weapons:

Weapon Range Str AP Type

Breath of the Storm - +2 3 Melee, Two-handed, Sudden Strike (1), Breaching (4+),
Murderous Strike (6+)
 S HADRAK
Shadrak MEDUSON ......................................175 POINTS
Meduson
Warleader of the Iron Hands, Master of the Shattered Legions,
Lord of the Sorrgol Clan
HQ
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv
Assigned to the Iron Shadrak Meduson 7 5 5 4 4 3 5 4 10 2+
Hands orbital reserve
above Isstvan V, Shadrak Unit Composition Unit Type
Meduson witnessed the • 1 Shadrak Meduson • Infantry (Character, Unique)
betrayal of his Legion and
the death of his Primarch Wargear Special Rules
from afar. Following their • Storm’s Wrath • Legiones Astartes (Iron Hands)
escape, Meduson put • Albian power gladius • Master of the Legion
forward a flexible vision • Servo-arm • The Shattered Xth
for the surviving Iron • Iron halo • Relentless
Hands and the scattered • Frag grenades • Independent Character
survivors of the Raven • Krak grenades • Stubborn
Guard and Salamanders • Artificer armour • Battle-hardened (1)
that accompanied them, but • Loyalist
was overruled by the Clan • Warlord: Raise the Storm
Fathers of the Iron Hands
who wished to reorganise
the Legion along more Warlord: Raise the Storm
traditional lines. Following Shadrak Meduson’s career was notable for his ability to rouse his forces from even
a series of catastrophic the most dire circumstances, leading those under his command to victory against
encounters with Traitor the odds.
forces that saw his superiors
slain or wounded beyond a If chosen as the army’s Warlord, Shadrak Meduson automatically has the Raise
capacity to lead, Meduson the Storm Warlord Trait and may not select any other.
took command of the
remaining survivors and Raise the Storm – Once per battle, at the start of any turn where Shadrak
reorganised them into a more Meduson’s controlling player is the Active player, this special rule may be
flexible and effective fighting activated. For the duration of the turn on which this special rule is activated,
force. Playing to the strengths all models in the same Detachment as Shadrak Meduson with the Legiones
of the various Legions that Astartes (Iron Hands) or Legiones Astartes (Shattered Legions) special rule gain
made up their number, these Furious Charge (1) and Hatred (Traitors) special rules.
new ‘Shattered Legions’
conducted an aggressive In addition, an army whose Warlord has this Trait may make an additional
guerilla operation behind the Reaction during the Movement phase as long as the Warlord has not been
Traitor frontlines, engaging removed as a casualty.
in a series of sabotage and
assassination operations,
ensuring even those of the
Warmaster’s own Legion
always had one eye looking
back over their shoulder.
The Shattered Xth
Once part of their wider Legions, the events of the Horus Heresy saw these warriors fighting among ad hoc formations
brought together by tragedy and fortitude in equal measure.

You can include this model in a Shattered Legions Detachment that includes models representing the Iron Hands
Legion. When you do so, replace this model’s Legiones Astartes (Iron Hands) special rule with the Legiones Astartes
(Shattered Legions) special rule. This is an exception to the normal rules for Legiones Astartes (Shattered Legions).
When included in a Shattered Legions Detachment, this model must represent the Iron Hands Legion.

Storm’s Wrath
Utilising technology derived from captured Banestrike weaponry, the rounds fired by this utilitarian-looking bolter can
shatter even the thickest armour Meduson’s Traitor foes can muster.

The weapon listed here is counted as a ‘Bolt’ weapon for those rules that affect such weapons:

Weapon Range Str AP Type

Storm’s Wrath 24" 4 5 Rapid Fire, Master-crafted, Rending (6+)

Albian Power Gladius

An artificer-wrought sword of the hardest Albian steel, Meduson has wielded this weapon in battle since his Legion was still
known as the Storm Walkers. Its solid blade is capable of splitting open even Tactical Dreadnought Armour.

The weapon listed here is counted as a ‘Power’ weapon for those rules that affect such weapons:

Weapon Range Str AP Type

Albian power gladius - +1 3 Melee, Master-crafted, Breaching (5+)
 EEndryd
NDRYD HaarHAAR ...............................................165 POINTS
The Riven Hound, Praetor of the Black Shield, The Fangs of the Emperor

HQ M WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv
Endryd Haar 7 6 4 4 5 3 4 4 10 2+
Once of the World Eaters
Legion, Endryd Haar and his Unit Composition Unit Type
command were believed long • 1 Endryd Haar • Infantry (Character, Unique)
lost on-Crusade when their
brethren cast in their lot with Wargear Special Rules
the Traitors. Endryd was • Archaeotech pistol • Legiones Astartes (Blackshields)
driven to cold madness by • Terrawatt-pattern power gauntlet • Master of the Legion
the revelation of his Legion’s • Iron halo • Relentless
betrayal when he returned • Frag grenades • Independent Character
to find the Imperium riven • Krak grenades • Hatred (World Eaters)
by civil war, and he cast • Artificer armour • Battle-hardened (1)
off all traces of his Legion’s • Warlord: The Fangs of the Emperor
insignia and honours,
and swore a death oath to
atone for the XIIth Legion’s Warlord: The Fangs of the Emperor
crimes. Endryd Haar fought A favoured tactic of Endryd Haar’s force was to pose as Traitor forces, even going so
alongside the Loyalists as far as to mark their armour in Traitor colours, allowing them to draw close without
a field commander in the arousing suspicion before striking down their foes without warning.
dark days before the Siege of
Terra, accepting any mission, If chosen as the army’s Warlord, Endryd Haar automatically has the The Fangs
whatever the odds of survival, of the Emperor Warlord Trait and may not select any other.
so long as in doing so he
could spill the blood of the The Fangs of the Emperor – If Endryd Haar is the army’s Warlord, the
enemy. controlling player can designate up to three units with the Infantry Unit Type
that do not have the Bulky (X) special rule to gain the Scout special rule.

In addition, an army whose Warlord has this trait may make an additional
Reaction during the Assault phase as long as the Warlord has not been removed
as a casualty.

Terrawatt-pattern power gauntlet

This brutal power fist is studded with additional disruption nodes, allowing a
significant charge to be built up. Even the sturdiest foe is rent asunder as its energies
are unleashed.

The weapon listed here is counted as a ‘Power’ weapon for those rules that affect
such weapons:

Weapon Range Str AP Type

Terrawatt-pattern - x2 2 Melee, Unwieldy,
power gauntlet Specialist Weapon,
Brutal (2),
Charged Attacks

Charged Attacks: Each time Endryd Haar makes attacks with this weapon,
he can make Charged Attacks. If he does so, halve the total number of Attacks
Endryd Haar makes (rounding up), but change the Strength characteristic of his
Terrawatt-pattern power gauntlet to ‘x3’.
 L EGION
Legion OptaeOPTAE ...............................................40 POINTS

M WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv
HQ Legion Optae 7 5 4 4 4 2 4 2 9 3+

Even formations as vast as Unit Composition Unit Type

the Legions Astartes could • 1 Legion Optae • Infantry (Character)
not be everywhere at once
and so lower ranking warriors Wargear Special Rules
such as these were often • Chainsword • Legiones Astartes (X)
entrusted with command • Bolt pistol • Independent Character
over actions that did not • Power armour • Relentless
require the attention of a • Frag grenades • Strength of the Legion
higher ranked officer, such • Krak grenades
as routine subjugation or
garrison duties. Given a Options
brevet command in such • A Legion Optae may take one of the following:
smaller actions, or following - Bolter....................................................................................................................+2 points
the death of their immediate - Magna combi-weapon.....................................................................................+10 points
superior, Optae had a number - Minor combi-weapon........................................................................................+5 points
of different titles among the - Volkite charger....................................................................................................+2 points
varied Legiones Astartes, - Astartes shotgun.................................................................................................+2 points
from Adjutant to Lieutenant - Nemesis bolter ..................................................................................................+10 points
to Dominar. Despite these • A Legion Optae may exchange either his bolt pistol and/or chainsword for one of
less glamorous theatres of the following:
battle, each knew that their - Volkite serpenta..................................................................................................+2 points
performance would be judged - Hand flamer ........................................................................................................+2 points
when an opportunity for - Plasma pistol .....................................................................................................+10 points
promotion manifested. - Chainaxe ..............................................................................................................+5 points
- Charnabal weapon ...........................................................................................+10 points
- Power weapon...................................................................................................+15 points
- Power fist...........................................................................................................+25 points
- Lightning claw ..................................................................................................+15 points
- Thunder hammer............................................................................................+30 points
- Boarding shield.................................................................................................+5 points*
*A Legion Optae that selects a boarding shield also gains the Heavy Sub-type. This option
may not be selected for any model that has been upgraded to have a Legion Spatha
combat bike, Legion Scimitar jetbike or a Legion Warhawk jump pack.
• A Legion Optae may exchange both his bolt pistol and chainsword for:
- Two lightning claws.......................................................................................+15 points*
*May not be selected for any model that has been upgraded to have a Legion Spatha
combat bike or Legion Scimitar jetbike.
• A Legion Optae may exchange his power armour for:
- Artificer armour................................................................................................+10 points
• A Legion Optae may take one of the following:
- Combat shield.....................................................................................................+2 points
- Melta bombs......................................................................................................+10 points
• A Legion Optae may take one of the following:
- Legion Warhawk jump pack..........................................................................+20 points
- Legion Spatha combat bike............................................................................+20 points
- Legion Scimitar jetbike...................................................................................+30 points
Strength of the Legion
Those who have risen up through the ranks have a remarkable connection with the forces under their command, able to
inspire them with their own valour and skill at arms.

A unit which contains one or more models with this special rule automatically passes Leadership tests made to
Regroup. Additionally, a unit containing one or more models with this special rule which has Regrouped this turn
suffers no restriction on its ability to Charge or make Shooting Attacks due to having Regrouped in the same turn.
 L EGION
Legion COMPANY
Company Command C OMMAND SQUAD ...........80 POINTS
Squad

M WS BS S T W I A Ld
HQ Legion Veteran 7 5 4 4 4 2 4 2 8 3+

Company Command Squads Unit Composition Unit Type

accompanied lower ranking • 4 Legion Veterans • Infantry
officers into battle, providing
personal protection as well Wargear Special Rules
as fulfilling adjutant roles. • Bolter • Legiones Astartes (X)
Generally the most senior • Bolt pistol • Relentless
or experienced squad in the • Power armour • Chosen Warriors
Company would fulfil this • Frag grenades • Company Command
role, adding this honour to • Krak grenades
a record of reliable service
spanning decades of warfare. Dedicated Transport
A Legion Company Command Squad may take a Legion Rhino Transport, Legion
Drop Pod or Legion Termite Assault Drill as a Dedicated Transport. As a Dedicated
Transport this does not use up an additional Force Organisation slot, but its points
cost must still be paid for as part of the army.

Company Command
A Legion Company Command Squad may only be selected as part of a
Detachment that includes at least one Legion Optae or Legion Centurion
model. A unit selected in this manner is considered a ‘Command Squad’ and
the Legion Optae or Legion Centurion model is referred to as the Command
Squad’s Leader for the purposes of this special rule (if the Detachment includes
more than one Legion Optae or Legion Centurion model then the controlling
player selects one as the unit’s Leader).

The Command Squad does not use up a Force Organisation slot and is
considered part of the same unit as the model selected as its Leader. The
Command Squad must be deployed with the model selected as its Leader
deployed as part of the unit and the Leader may not voluntarily leave the
Command Squad during play. A Legion Company Command Squad may not be
selected as part of an army without a Leader.

Company Standard
Within each of the Legions, individual formations maintain their own relics and
traditions. One of these is often the maintenance of a standard or icon, listing the
battle honours earned, and displaying their iconography proudly. Whenever that
formation goes to war, this icon is displayed proudly at their head, carried into
even the most intense engagements, proclaiming their deeds and lending surety to
their purpose.

All of the controlling player’s units with the same variant of the Legiones
Astartes (X) special rule within 6" of a friendly model with a company standard
are considered to have a Leadership Characteristic of 9 when resolving Morale
checks or Pinning tests (but not Psychic checks). In addition, all models in a
unit that includes a company standard gain the Line Sub-type as long as they
remain part of that unit – this benefit is lost immediately if the model with the
company standard is removed as a casualty.
Options
• A Legion Company Command Squad may include:
- Up to 5 additional Legion Veterans ..........................................................................................................+18 points per model
• One Legion Veteran may take a:
- Nuncio-vox......................................................................................................................................................................+10 points
• One Legion Veteran may take one of the following:
- Legion vexilla ..................................................................................................................................................................+10 points
- Company standard........................................................................................................................................................+20 points
• One Legion Veteran may take an:
- Augury scanner...............................................................................................................................................................+10 points
• Any model with a bolter may take:
- Bayonet .......................................................................................................................................................................+1 point each
- Chain bayonet.........................................................................................................................................................+2 points each
• Any model in the unit may exchange its bolter for a:
- Magna combi-weapon..........................................................................................................................................+10 points each
- Minor combi-weapon.............................................................................................................................................+5 points each
- Astartes shotgun.....................................................................................................................................................+2 points each
- Nemesis bolter .......................................................................................................................................................+10 points each
• Any model in the unit may take one of the following:
- Chainsword .............................................................................................................................................................+2 points each
- Heavy chainsword...................................................................................................................................................+5 points each
- Charnabal weapon ..................................................................................................................................................+5 points each
- Lightning claw .........................................................................................................................................................+5 points each
- Power weapon..........................................................................................................................................................+5 points each
• Any model in the unit may exchange its bolt pistol for a:
- Volkite serpenta.......................................................................................................................................................+5 points each
- Hand flamer ............................................................................................................................................................+2 points each
• Any model in the unit may exchange its bolter and bolt pistol for:
- Two lightning claws....................................................................................................................................+10 points per model
• Up to two Legion Veterans may exchange their bolter for one of the following:
- Flamer ......................................................................................................................................................................+2 points each
- Meltagun.................................................................................................................................................................+15 points each
- Plasma gun .............................................................................................................................................................+10 points each
- Graviton gun ..........................................................................................................................................................+15 points each
- Heavy flamer ..........................................................................................................................................................+10 points each
- Heavy bolter ...........................................................................................................................................................+15 points each
- Missile launcher (with frag, krak and flak missiles).........................................................................................+15 points each