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Chaos Vehicles

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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

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:

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.

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 -

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

Tzeentch

Slaanesh

Nurgle

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.

Named Chaos Titans

Chaos Fleet

Main article: Chaos Space Fleet

Sources


Chaos
Gods of Chaos KhorneTzeentchSlaaneshNurgleMalice
Chaos Space Marines Traitor LegionsDaemonkinArmouryWarbands
Daemons Daemon PrinceGreater DaemonLesser DaemonDaemonic BeastsDaemon EnginesDaemonic HeraldChaos Daemon ArmouryDaemon WeaponsDaemonic Gifts
The Lost and the Damneds Chaos CultTraitor GuardMutantsBeastmenRogue PsykerGellerpox InfectedArmoury
The Traitor Primarchs Alpharius/OmegonAngronFulgrimHorusLorgarKonrad CurzeMagnus the RedMortarionPerturabo
Notable Characters AbaddonAhrimanBlue ScribesChangelingEpidemiusFabius BileHorticulous SlimuxKairos FateweaverKu'GathTyphusKhârnLuciusLufgt HuronBe'lakorM'karThe MasqueRotigusShalaxi HelbaneSkarbrandSkulltakerSyll'EsskeVashtorr
Other Traitor Titan LegionsChaos KnightsDark MechanicumChaos Space FleetChaos VehiclesChaos ArtefactsGreat RiftEye of TerrorMaelstromWarp