Rubric Marine

Chaos Portal Thousand Sons

Thousand Sons Rubric Marine^[7b]

Rubric Marines, also known as Rubricae, are disembodied spirits of Thousand Sons Marines trapped within their power armour.

Together with the Aspiring Sorcerers of Tzeentch who lead them, they form the basic Thousand Sons squads.^[4a][4b] The sorcerers and lords of the Thousand Sons use these "Rubicae" as bodyguards and enforcers.^[5]

Overview

Rubric Marines were created shortly after the Thousand Sons Legion fled to the Eye of Terror. Having dealt with sorcerous practices and energies for decades and now under the sway of Chaos, mutation ran wild within the Legion.^[4a] In order to put an end to this warping process, a mighty spell called the Rubric of Ahriman was cast upon them. However, the powers unleashed reduced all Marines without psychic abilities to ash, sealing every clasp and joint of their armour and trapping their souls within.^[1][2][3][4]

These living suits are still capable of fighting and receiving orders from their masters, and with no fear and no will of their own, they make perfect bodyguards and guardians. Without an Aspiring Sorcerer to guide them, Rubric Marines tend to fall into inactivity; in combat, however, their battle-hunger returns and so they tend to move more like their former living selves^{[Needs Citation]}.

A single Sorcerer is capable of controlling a whole squad and will use his powers to enchant their bolters and turn their ammunition into explosive Inferno Bolts. These magical shots are able to ignore mundane armour and burn the souls of sentient beings.^[4a]

When a Rubric Marine dies, the dried remains of his material form pour from his rent armour and are scattered to all winds of the battlefield. After this, only the most powerful sorcerers could re-collect this dust, reseal the armour, and through a complicated ritual reanimate the Rubric Marine to a new "life". The sorcery required for this deed are very dangerous and just one syllable misspelled could drive the Sorcerer insane - or kill him outright.^[7b]

A variation of the Rubric Marine is the Rubric Marine Genie, whose lower body is nothing but a dust swirl.^[8]

The Ynnari have demonstrated the ability to restore the Rubicae, using it as a ploy to throw off Ahriman during his battles with them. This process completely renews the souls of Thousand Sons with their personalities and full memory - continuing as if the Rubric of Ahriman was never cast.^[6]

Weapon

Usually Rubric Marines are armed with Inferno Bolters, Warpflamers and Soulreaper Cannons (one Marine in a unit). Leaders of Rubric Marine units - Aspiring Sorcerer - armed with Plasma Pistol (alternatively - Inferno Bolt Pistol, Warpflame Pistol) and Force Stave.^[7a]

Images

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  1991

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  2002

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  2015

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  Rubric Marine Genie^[8]

See also

• Thousand Sons Armoury
• Rubric of Ahriman

Sources

• 1: Index Astartes III - The Thousand Sons - The Rubric of Ahriman
• 2: Codex: Chaos Space Marines (3rd Edition, 1st Codex), pg. 21
• 3: Codex: Chaos Space Marines (3rd Edition, 2nd Codex), pgs. 29 & 62
• 4: Codex: Chaos Space Marines (4th Edition)^{[Needs Citation]}
  • 4a: pg. 37
  • 4b: pg. 51
• 5: Codex: Chaos Space Marines (6th Edition), pg. 45
• 6: Gathering Storm: Fracture of Biel-Tan, pg. 85
• 7: Codex: Thousand Sons (8th Edition):
  • 7a: pg. 72
  • 7b: pg. 40
• 8: Warhammer Community: My Kill Team: Mike Idris' Thousand Sons (Posted on 26/07/2018) (Last accessed on 14/02/2024)