Kulth (Planet)
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This article is about the Planet; for the other uses of Kulth, see Kulth (disambiguation). |
| Map | Basic Data | Planetary Image | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Name: | Kulth | 
|
| Segmentum: | Segmentum Obscurus[1][2] | ||
| Sector: | Calixis Sector[1][2] | ||
| Subsector: | The Periphery[1][2] | ||
| System: | |||
| Population: | |||
| Affiliation: | Imperium[1][2] | ||
| Class: | War World[1][2] | ||
| Tithe Grade: | |||
Kulth is a War World in the Calixis Sector. It has been fought over for 83 years since the first Ork invasion.[1][2] It was the Capital World of The Periphery Subsector before it was invaded by Waaagh! Grimtoof.[3]
Overview
Kulth is the strategic lynchpin of the Spinward Front, for it bestrides the Calixis-Scarus Warp conduit and is the last Imperial planet within the borders of the sub-sector before the route plunges into the lawless voids of inter-sector Wilderness Space.[3]
History
It was Duke Severus I’s dream that the world would be a haven for the nobles of the Sector, founding the Sanguine Palace. That dream died when Drusus was elevated to the rank of first Lord Sector, and Kulth was declared the capital of the Periphery. Despite the terms of his Warrant of Trade, the world was prised from Severus by Drusus’s servants. A massive Administratum mission descended upon the verdant grasslands and set in motion the process by which Kulth was turned into the administrative centre of the new sub-sector.[3]
Over several years, Severus carried out a ruthless purge of Kulth’s Adeptus presence until only those loyal to him and his line occupied positions of true power. The Severus line’s palace became a bustling court frequented by sycophants and murderers. Beneath the outward displays of fealty boiled decadence and heresy, epicurean dilettantes competing for favour with Xenos assassins, creating the Severan Dominate.[3]
Battle for Kulth (Waagh! Grimtoof)
Imperial Forces
Lord General Ghanzorik’s forces represent the greatest operational concentration of the Imperium’s military resources in the entire Calixis Sector at ~5,000,000 troops (two thirds serving in front line, the remainder committed to second line reserve and support formations). In addition, countless are engaged in the ceaseless logistical duties by which such a large force is maintained. Regiments are drawn from all over the Calixis Sector. With the rise of the Dei-Phage, numerous regiments have been drafted from sectors further afield, including Cadia, Tallarn, Vostroya and more.[3]
The majority of these forces are stationed at Fort Drusus, or assigned to one of the numerous front lines stretching across millions of kilometres of Kulth’s surface.[3]
Ork Forces
The forces of Grimtoof Git-Slaver is estimated at ~10,000,000 Ork Boyz, with countless more Gretchin (or Grots) being herded into battle. Grimtoof has ultimate control over his forces on Kulth and every other world in the region, and although he is most often to be found at his “kapital” of Avitohol, he makes regular appearances at the very front line of his armies on Kulth. When not on Kulth, a particularly psychopathic warlord known as Zog the ‘Zerker is acting as Grimtoof’s second.[3]
Severan Dominate Forces
The armies of Severus XIII have far fewer resources to draw upon. The majority are infantry equipped with whatever weapons the PDF of their home world were issued, and make extensive use of locally produced light tanks, ambulatory gun platforms, and crude ground attack aircraft. Despite the lack of advanced weaponry, on three separate occasions, the armies of the Dominate have come within a hair’s breadth of expelling the Imperium from Kulth until Ork counter-attacks caused the offensives to fail.[3]
The Sanguine Palace still stands, protected from orbital strike by multiple Void Shields thought to have been acquired by pacts with outcast factions of the Cult Mechanicus. The palace has never fallen, though both the Imperium and the Orks have come close to taking its outer precincts.[3]
Geography
The surface of Kulth was once considered an arcadia, its rolling hills and fertile, grassy plains ripe for different types of exploitation. Kulth’s atmosphere tastes like ash and smells of ballistic propellant.[3]
Kulth's orbit is strewn with countless void-docks constructed to accommodate Warp vessels laying over on their way to or from the Scarus Sector. Yet with the coming of the war, most of these have fallen silent and cold, while others have become low gravity, vacuum-haunted warzones in their own right.[3]
See also
Sources
- 1: Black Industries' Calixis Sector (saved archive page, dated 17 February 2008, last accessed 9 July 2024)
- 2: Archive - Fantasy Flight Games The Calixis Sector (saved archive page, dated 28 October 2012, last accessed 9 July 2024)
- 3: Only War: Core Rulebook, pgs. 336-339
