Chaos Vehicles
The forces of Chaos use a variety of vehicles, ranging from those derived from the Imperium they turned against, to hellish hybrids of machinery and daemonic entities.
History of Chaos Vehicles
At the time of the Horus Heresy, the Imperium was in a state of great change with regards to its military arms: ancient technology rediscovered from the Great Crusade was being assimilated by the Adeptus Mechanicus and new improvements to both weaponry and armour were being filtered into the ranks of the Adeptus Astartes. Because of this, the forces battling in the Heresy used a combination of familiar and reliable technology from the Crusade previously and strange, arcane weapons from forgotten constructs.
As the Traitor Legions were fighting in the furthest reaches from Terra and Mars, the radical improvements were encountered by them late, if at all. When the defeated legions fled into the Eye of Terror, they took with them the armour, weapons and vehicles they possessed during the Crusade - the following millennia in the altered time of the Eye kept them from the technological advances of the Imperium. Without the new advances of the Imperial troops, the wargear and vehicles of Chaos have become characteristically archaic (and often physically corrupted), but nonetheless brutal and terrifyingly effective. Although the Chaos forces lack modern developments such as Land Speeders, the consorting with daemons by the traitors has led to several daemonically possessed vehicles in their ranks.
Vehicles of Chaos
Traitor Legions
- Rhino Armoured Personnel Carrier[1]
- Land Raider Heavy Tank / Armoured Personnel Carrier[1]
These staples of the Adeptus Astartes are virtually the same as at the time of the Horus Heresy, although the forces of Chaos do not have the use of subsequent variations on the chassis such as the Land Raider Crusader, or the Razorback as these were developed after the flight into the Eye.
This single-mount vehicle is very similar to the Space Marine version, although the usage is quite different. Whereas the Imperial bike tend to be used for reconnaissance and fast support, Chaos bikers refit their vehicles with all manner of scythes, spikes and hooks and use them in a close assault role. Chaos forces also do not have access to the more recently produced Attack Bikes.
The Predator tank has also remained in use by the Traitor Legions, unchanged from when it was in use during the Crusade and Heresy. Although the terms 'Annihilator' and 'Destructor' are not used by Chaos, their Predator tanks are able to take identical weapon fits to Imperial models, with the exception of rare variants such as the Baal class Predator.
Whereas becoming interred in the mighty shell of a Dreadnought is an honour to Space Marines, followers of Chaos fear and hate such a fate, believing it to be worse than the peace of death. Becoming trapped in a metal tomb, unable to smell battle or feel the kick of their weapon in their hands, the unfortunate recipient of the "honour" slowly goes insane - in the heat of battle they are likely to charge blindly into the enemy ranks, or unload all their weapons in a fire frenzy towards the nearest unit, friend or foe. Due to this unpredictability the sarcophagi of the Dreadnoughts tend to be physically disconnected between battles and dragged away from the armed frame for fear of a berzerk rampage, and the Dreadnought body chained to keep it secure.
Other Chaos Space Marine vehicles include:
- Decimator Super-Heavy Tank (Pre-Heresy)[6]
- Sicaran Battle Tank
- Dreadclaw Drop Pod[5]
- Fellblade Super-Heavy Tank (Pre-Heresy)[6]
- Typhon Heavy Siege Tank
- Spartan Assault Tank
Looted Vehicles
As well as the Traitor Guard, several legions of the Chaos Space Marines manage to get their hands on otherwise unseen vehicles - usually those who specialise in siegecraft, such as the Iron Warriors. Whereas mere human traitors use the vehicles as they were created, the warping powers of chaos granted to the mighty Traitor Legions allow them to corrupt the very fabric of the tanks, making them daemonic engines of terror capable of tearing apart fortifications.
- Vindicator Siege Tank[2]
- Basilisk Artillery Tank[2]
Variations of Chaos
Although the vehicles that fled to the Eye of Terror after the defeat of Warmaster Horus were the same as those used by the Loyalist forces, the twisted machines that sally out during attacks can be very different. The hulls themselves spew warp-flame, weapons are controlled by daemons and even battle damage can melt back and become whole due to the influence of the warp. However, the weapons used by the traitors are usually more basic versions of the advanced armaments carried on Imperial vehicles - Combi-Bolters are used exclusively instead of Storm Bolters, and racks of Havoc Missiles are used as long range anti-personnel support in lieu of the high tech Hunter-Killer Missiles.[1]
Traitor Guard and Chaos Renegades
Traitor forces generally have access to the same types of armaments as their Loyalist counterparts - often corrupted, stolen or captured from loyal Imperial Guard sources. They function as their Imperial counterparts, not yet being totally altered by the powers of the warp.
These vehicles include, but are not limited to -
- Sentinel Scout Walker[3]
- Hellhound Flame Tank[3]
- Chimera Armoured Personnel Carrier[3]
- Basilisk Artillery Tank[3]
- Medusa Siege Tank
- Bombard
- Leman Russ Battle Tank[3]
- Salamander Scout
- Stalk Tank[17]
- Minotaur Artillery Tank
- Macharius (Heavy Tank)
- Malcador (Heavy Tank)
- Valdor (Heavy Tank)
- Baneblade Super-Heavy Tank
- Hydra Flak Tank
- Valkyrie Gunship
- Arvus Lighter Transport
Daemonic Vehicles
Main article: Daemon Engines
Due to the association with daemons by the forces of Chaos most favoured by the Gods, several vehicles have been sighted in use that combine powerful war machines with the raging power of daemonic entities.
Unaligned
Khorne
- Blood Reaper[8]
- Brass Scorpion[3]
- Cannon of Khorne
- Cauldron of Blood[4]
- Death Dealer[4]
- Doom Blaster[8]
- Lord of Battles[4]
- Slaughterfiend - a Defiler variant[13]
- Tower of Skulls[4]
- Skull Cannon
- Blood Throne
- Lord of Skulls
Tzeentch
- Deceiver - a Defiler variant[11]
- Silver Tower of Tzeentch[9]
- Doom Wing[9]
- Fire Lord[9]
- Burning Chariot
Slaanesh
- Debaser - a Defiler variant[12]
- Hell-Strider
- Hell-Scourge
- Hell-Knight
- Seeker Chariot
- Hellflayer
- Subjugator[14]
- Questor
Nurgle
- Desecrator - a Defiler variant[10]
- Plague Tower[15]
- Blight Drone[3]
- Contagion
Chaos Titans
When the Warmaster Horus declared for the forces of Chaos following the events at Isstvan III, it sparked bitter wars and schisms throughout the Imperium, including the Titan Legions. For this reason, the forces of Chaos have at their disposal a variety of Titans - some from the Heresy, some who have turned from the Emperor at a later date. There have also been unique variants of Titan sighted, named Banelords by observers, which do not appear to match any Imperial designation known.
- Emperor Class Titan
- Feral Titan[3]
- Chaos Reaver Titan[3]
- Banelord Titan - Khornate variation of the Warlord Titan[8]
- Questor Scout Titan
- Subjugator Scout Titan
- Daemon Knight
Named Chaos Titans
- The Abominatus - The "Despoiler of Worlds" - created by binding a Greater Daemon of Khorne within an immensely destructive Imperator Titan. The summoning required the sacrifice of thousands of souls, and the resultant monstrosity was a huge damonically possessed Titan that could destroy armies by itself - the current location is unknown, but it is unlikely such a creation would die quietly.
- Dies Irae - an Imperator Titan which sided with the forces of Horus on Isstvan III, later going on to lay siege to the Emperor's Palace.[16]
Chaos Fleet
Main article: Chaos Space Fleet
- Swiftdeath Fighter[18]
- Hell Blade Interceptor[19]
- Hell Talon Fighter-Bomber[19]
- Harbinger Super-Heavy Bomber[20]
- Locust Fighter[21]
- Tormentor Fighter-Bomber[21]
- Thunderhawk Gunship
- Storm Eagle Gunship
- Fire Raptor Gunship
- Dreadclaw
- Kharybdis Assault Claw
Sources
- 1: Codex: Chaos Space Marines (3rd Edition, 2nd Codex), [Needs Citation]
- 2: Index Astartes I, [Needs Citation]
- 3: Imperial Armour Volume Seven - The Siege of Vraks - Part Three, [Needs Citation]
- 4: White Dwarf 148 (UK), [Needs Citation]
- 5: Imperial Armour Update 2002, pgs. 42-43
- 6: Epic Armageddon Black Legion army list
- 7: http://www.specialist-games.com/assets/BlackLegion.pdf (site is no longer active)
- 8: White Dwarf 164 (UK), [Needs Citation]
- 9: White Dwarf 156 (UK), [Needs Citation]
- 10: Death Guard Experimental Army List v1.0 (viewed 2007.11.26) / Fanatic Online #90
- 11: Thousand Sons Army List v2.1 (viewed 2007.11.26)
- 12: Emperor's Children Experimental Army List v2.0 (viewed 2007.11.26)
- 13: Apocalypse Reload: Slaughterfiend Bloodpack, p.58
- 14: Games Workshop Official Site
- 15: Games Workshop Official Site
- 16: Galaxy In Flames (Novel), [Needs Citation]
- 17: Gaunt's Ghosts (Novel Series) by Dan Abnett, [Needs Citation]
- 18: Battlefleet Gothic Resources: Ships of the Gothic Sector p126 (accessed 2010.11.14)
- 19: Imperial Armour Update 2006, [Needs Citation]
- 20: Aeronautica Imperialis Rulebook, [Needs Citation]
- 21: Double Eagle (Novel) by Dan Abnett, [Needs Citation], pg. 43