Forces of The Chaos Space Marines
Each of the Chaos Space Marine Legions fights using a different style of warfare; also, four of the nine are dedicated to one of the four major Chaos Gods. Codex: Chaos Space Marines (Thorpe, Cavatore et al., 2007) includes the current rules for fielding a Chaos Space Marine army in a game of Warhammer 40,000, 4th or 5th Edition. The previous Codex, published in 2003 for 3rd Edition, also includes rules for fielding the troops of the specific legions, but this Codex was designed for 3rd Edition and cannot be used with 5th Edition.
Chaos space marines
- Emperor's Children, devoted to the Chaos god Slaanesh
- Iron Warriors, specialists in siege warfare
- Night Lords, specialists in fast strikes and terror tactics
- World Eaters, close combat specialists, devoted to the Chaos god Khorne
- Death Guard, devoted to the Chaos god Nurgle
- Thousand Sons, containing many sorcerers, devoted to the Chaos god Tzeentch
- Black Legion, formerly the Luna Wolves and later Sons of Horus, now led by Horus' lieutenant Abaddon the Despoiler
- Word Bearers, fanatical Chaos cultists who make extensive use of summoned daemons
- Alpha Legion, specialists in infiltration and subterfuge
- Red Corsairs, a pirate band specialists in hit and run attacks led by Huron Blackheart
The legions are often featured in short stories and novels. For example, The Night Lords appeared in the short story Chains of Command and also "Lord of the Night", a story that follows the Raptor lord Zso Sahaal in his struggle to regain his dead Primarch's stolen legacy, adding an entirely different view and depth to a legion that had previously little attention. Another appearance is made in the Space Wolves story "Sons of Fenris", where a group of Night Lords are fighting against Wolf Lord Ragnar Blackmane and his cadre of Wolfguard. They also appeared in the Eldar stronghold mission of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Dark Crusade (it is said that they were lured by the Eldar as a distraction). The Iron Warriors have appeared in the novel Storm of Iron and favour siege warfare.
In addition, since the Horus Heresy, several Space Marine Chapters have been corrupted in one way or another by Chaos. No specific rules exist for renegade chapters, allowing players to adapt other rules to represent their forces. According to the records of the Ordo Malleus (the body responsible for protecting the Imperium from Chaos and daemons), approximately 50 chapters have turned renegade after the Horus Heresy; however, the accuracy of this number is doubtful. Examples of given Space Marine chapters include the Sons of Malice, the Damned Company of Lord Caustos, the Violators, the Steel Cobras, the Thunder Barons, the Sons of Vengeance, the Silver Guards and most notably the Astral Claws (known as the Red Corsairs since their rebellion).Their numbers are even harder to gauge, as usually when a chapter succumbs to Chaos there will be marines who remain loyal to the Emperor. One example is the Battle-Captain of the Death Guard's 7th Company, Nathaniel Garro, who rallied his company and escaped with other surviving loyalists from Istvaan V, returning to Terra and warning them of Horus's betrayal. Another example is Iacton Qruze, the only member of the Sons of Horus to remain loyal to the Emperor and survive the Horus Heresy (both of these Marines are rumoured to have formed the core of what would become the Imperial Inquisition). These loyalist survivors are rare, as they are usually outnumbered and slaughtered by their corrupted brethren. However, the few loyalists that do survive when a chapter falls are amongst the most skilled warriors in the Imperium.
It is also worth note that the Thousand Sons didn't fall from the path of the Emperor and were still loyal, and in fact tried to warn the Emperor of Horus's upcoming treachery. However the methods used in the divination and form of the warning is what angered the Emperor and they were called to Terra to answer for themselves, also it was Magnus's intervention that prevented the Emperor from accessing the Eldar webway through the use of the Golden Throne therefore removing humanities reliance on the warp for transport. It was only the interception, and subtle twisting of this order by Horus that set the Space Wolves on an Exterminatus rather than an escort mission to Prospero. Even in these extreme circumstances the Thousand Sons were still loyal, and thought the Wolves the traitors, and fled Imperial space to avoid persecution. Only then with their already close connection to the Warp, and the damage done by the Failure of the Rubric of Ahriman, did they turn from the Imperium.
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