| WARHAMMER 40k continued |
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| Orks: A race that has spread like a plaque throughout the galaxy, the Orks have been found everywhere mankind has dared to go. An plant-based life form, the Orks are born with one overpowering desire.to fight. The Orks live by a very simple code, survival of the fittest. The greatest warriors eventually take control of a group of warriors, possibly a very large force that takes control of a larger force of Orks, etc. It is this that makes the Orks a force to be reckoned with, for when one mighty Warboss takes control of enough Orks he can organize them into a force known to all who would oppose them only by the warcry that is voiced by a million million throats on the day of battle. WAAAAGH! Imperial Guard: The everyday armies of mankind, the Imperial Guard have some of the harshest lives in the Imperium. Fighting against the numerous enemies of the Imperium, the Guard have the advantage in plentiful numbers and heavy firepower with which to support it. Raised from almost every world in the Imperium, the Guard have many heroes to their ranks, both in antiquity and today. In addition to their large regiments of troopers and regiments of tanks, the Guard have are also entrusted with large quantities or artillery weapons with which to soften up their opponents before obliterating them with Super-Heavy tanks such as the Baneblade and the Shadowsword, crushing their opponents between the hammer and anvil. If on the defensive, the Guard have been known to erect massive fortifications, allowing them to force their opponents into a long and costly battle. Tyranids: From beyond the far eastern fringe of the galaxy comes a presence so malevolent that it was predicted by the Farseers of the Eldar and the Librarians of the Space Marines. The Tyranids are named after Tyran, the first planet to be utterly consumed by the great beast. The true nature of the Tyranids was shown on that dreadful day, as the Imperial outpost was utterly annihilated, then every scrap of organic material was consumed whole, only to be made into more heinous warriors to consume another planet whole. Everything is alive in a Tyranid army, right down to what passes for the arms and ammunition. All Tyranids are driven by a single will termed the "overmind." Though no single creature has ever been seen the would constitute this creature, there are those who would seem to pass along the overmind's influence more strongly. The destruction of these creatures tends to result in a panic in the lesser troops, though a panicked throng of Tyranids is sill a deadly opponent. Still it gives hope to all the other races that there is some sort of weak spot in the chitinous armor of the menace that is the Tyranids. Dark Eldar: Of all the races in the stars, it is the Dark Eldar that keeps children up at night. Instead of simply killing their enemies, the Dark Eldar make a habit of capturing as many people as possible and enslaving them, taking them back to their home planet of Comorragh, for a decidedly terrible fate. If you are lucky, you will be a servant for the rest of your natural life, under the cruelest of overlords, if not, you are to be sport for the wyches in the gladiatorial arena matches, or worst of all you are given over to the dread Haemonculi, the Dark Eldar master torturers. The Dark Eldar armies are lightly armored, but extremely fast. This is an advantage when the usual tactic is to hit hard and fast, take as many slaves as possible, and leave before a response can be organized and deployed. Whatever happens, there is a general rule when it comes to the Dark Eldar, never let them take you alive. Tzeentch: The Changer of Ways, Tzeentch is the Chaos god of sorcery. Secrets and magical power are his stock in trade, deception and traps preferred to hand-to-hand combat. During the Horus Heresy, Tzeentch turned the great Thousand Sons legion, their primarch's thirst for knowledge turing out to be his legions downfall. During the Heresy, the Thousand Sons home world of Prospero was almost entirely destroyed, the Orbital Defense Batteries having been captured by Space Wolf Blood Claws, under the orders of the Emperor himself. Betrayed and beaten, the Thousand Sons retreated into the Eye of Terror. It was sometime afterwards, after countless hours studying the Book of the Thousand Sons, a tome compiled by the mighty primarch of the Thousand Sons himself, Magnus the Red. The Chief Librarian of the Thousand Sons performed a spell that would forever change the Thousand Sons. The impossibly complicated ritual is now infamous throughout the galaxy as the Rubric of Ahriman. It turned the bodies of every Thousand Son that was not directly helping Ahriman to dust, trapping their soul within their power armor for all time. Now they tirelessly march the battlefield, firing their bolters into all who would oppose them, until as their rasped warchant states, "All is Dust." |