Chaos Space Marines

The Chaos Space Marines are an army that features in Warhammer 40,000.

History

The Chaos Space Marines were a force whose origins were traced to the Horus Heresy that culminated at the end of the Great Crusade. During that time, the Emperor of Mankind had the forces of the Space Marines spread across the stars to bring them under the control of the Imperium of Man. In this time, various figures throughout mankind that included individuals among the Space Marine legions came to be influenced by the forces of Chaos. Chief among them was the Warmaster Horus who assembled likeminded comrades that resented their leaders in turning against the Emperor with these becoming the Chaos Space Marines.

Overview

After their seduction by Chaos, the ranks of the Chaos Space Marines followed the various Chaos Gods:

• Khorne : the Chaos God of war, blood, and violence, and personifies the emotions of hatred and blinding rage. He acts outwardly by seeking the deaths of others, preferring close combat over ranged weaponry, and the only things he respects are strength and martial prowess. Khorne's followers are always ferocious warriors. Men turn to Khorne for martial power and the strength to conquer but he doesn't care for his followers or from where the blood flows, only that it does as he sits upon a throne crafted from the multitudes of skulls from enemies and allies alike. He openly despises magic in all its forms, believing it to be effeminate, weak, and the craft of cowards.
• Nurgle : the Chaos God of death and mortality, embodying disease and rot, and personifies the emotion of despair. His power comes from the inevitability of death and decay, and Nurgle is often referred to as 'Grandfather Nurgle', as entropy is the most ancient of forces, and he is the only one who outwardly shows care for his followers. Nurgle's followers are granted power by their acceptance of this reality. Nurgle prides himself on the achievements of his followers, gifting them with hideous diseases while sheltering them from pain, and his followers rejoice in their blessings, shrugging off lethality and disfigurement in a state of rapturous undeath. Tzeentch is his equal and opposite, and the two will frequently battle each other.
• Tzeentch : the Chaos God of change, revolution, knowledge, vigour, and sorcery, and is the personification of hope or ambition. His titles include the Changer of Ways, the Architect of Fate and the Great Sorcerer. Tzeentch excels in subtle machinations and is patron to schemers and conspirators of all sorts, favouring the cunning and the wise over the strong. He is also among the most progressive and enlightened of the Chaos Gods, seeking betterment and refinement, though he ultimately manipulates his followers and betrays those who become useless to him.
• Slaanesh : the Chaos God of lust, pleasure, and satisfaction, and personifies desire. A sensuous, androgynous deity that is simultaneously referred to as male and female, Slaanesh is associated with hedonism and decadence. It is known by many colourful names such as The Prince of Pleasure, She Who Thirsts, and the Lord of Excess. Slaanesh is said to be both the youngest and weakest of the four Chaos gods, though early in its existence it was far stronger, and murdered and consumed nearly the entire pantheon of Eldar gods. Slaanesh's creation was due to the sum of the Eldar's own excesses over millennia, due to their uniquely powerful psychic presence in the Warp, excesses described as equal parts hedonism and painful delight. This event led directly to the near-extinction of the Eldar, and the creation of the Eye of Terror. Mortals who seek charisma and fellowship follow Slaanesh, for its mark makes one popular and inspiring, though its followers are just as likely to be terrifying orgiastic maniacs. For this reason, the followers of Slaanesh are known to be particularly dangerous, as they seek pleasure with hopeless abandon in all martial actions, even those actions considered suicidal by any sane commander.

The Traitor Legions included:

• Emperor's Children : once the III Legion of the twenty original Space Marine legions. Their primarch, Fulgrim, was dedicated towards the pursuit of perfection and was said to have given a speech so eloquent that his legion was given the honor of bearing the Emperor's Aquila as their symbol. During one of the Emperor's Children's missions against a xenos race called the Laer, Fulgrim was possessed by a daemon trapped within his sword. He later freed himself and joined Horus as leader of one of the original traitor legions. Driven by hubris and pride, the Emperor's Children later became devotees of the Chaos God Slaanesh, making extensive use of Noise Marines, armed with exotic Sonic Weaponry.
• Iron Warriors : once the IV Legion of the twenty original Space Marine legions. Their primarch, Perturabo, grew increasingly jealous of his brother primarchs, particular Rogal Dorn, primarch of the Imperial Fists. Specialists of siege warfare, they often came into conflict with the Imperial Fists, who also specialized in siege warfare. After a series of unrecognized, grueling attrition battles in which the Iron Warriors became more and more disillusioned, they turned to chaos and willingly joined Horus against their brother marines. After a series of civil wars, they have split apart into numerous warbands, with Perturabo himself achieving daemonhood and retiring to Medrengard, his personal planet filled with large metal fortresses belching smoke and fire. They possess a large number of daemon engines and Obliterators, hulking monstrosities of flesh and metal who can create any weapon they desire from their bodies.
• Night Lords : once the VIII Legion of the twenty original Space Marine legions. Their primarch, Konrad Curze (more commonly known as Night Haunter), grew up in the dark world of Nostramo, and took power of the planet's populace by executing and flaying all the criminals that stood in his way. The Night Lords became the most terrifying of the Space Marine legions; whole rebellious worlds surrendered at the knowledge of their arrival. Their primarch was also cursed with multiple visions, including one foreshadowing his own death, thus leading him further into insanity. After discovering that his homeworld had returned to anarchy after his campaign of terror to pacify them along with the fact that the Nostroman psychopaths who replaced the legion's losses were polluting the Night Lords, he ordered the destruction of his homeworld before fleeing to join Horus. After the Horus Heresy, he allowed himself to be killed by an Imperial assassin, wanting to prove that even the Emperor was willing to resort to such dishonorable actions. Unknown to the rest of his legion, Curze secretly despised his own legion, as they were made up of murderers and killers. The Night Lords currently are a united group of marines specializing in terror attacks, and so possess a large number of Raptors, chaotic versions of jet pack equipped assault marines.
• World Eaters : once the XII Legion of the twenty original Space Marine legions. Their primarch, Angron, grew up in the gladiator pits of Nuceria, and plotted a mass rebellion against the planet's rulers. The Emperor rescued him at the last moment, however, leading to his army's destruction and a deep rooted resentment of the Emperor for denying him an honorable battle alongside his gladiator brethren. Refusing to accept his legion, he killed the first seven captains before the eighth, Kharn, managed to earn his respect. Christened the World Eaters, Angron's legion was known for their relentless savagery in battle. Having been under Imperial pressure and already bloodthirsty thanks to the mental implants known as the Butcher's Nails, they willingly joined Horus and partook in his rebellion against the emperor. The legion's unity was shattered by their Champion Kharn attacked his comrades in a rage for accepting a ceasefire with another Chaos Legion during a civil war, leading to infighting that caused them to split into smaller warbands. Angron later achieved daemonhood, and currently resides in the Warp. The World Eaters now are devoted to the Chaos God Khorne, boasting more Khornate Bezerkers then any other legion.
• Death Guard : once the XIV Legion of the twenty original Space Marine legions. Their primarch, Mortarion, was raised by a warlord on a planet filled with noxious fumes, before rebelling against his adoptive father and finding solace with the enslaved populace of the planet. Having been saved by the Emperor from the warlord and denying him his chance to kill him, Mortarion gained a legion who specialized in biological warfare. Having been disillusioned by the Emperor's goals and believing him nothing more than a drunken tyrant, he was brought into Horus's rebellion and joined Horus as one of the four original legions who betrayed the Emperor. Known for their incredible fortitude, the Death Guard fought across the most noxious and hazardous war zones unscathed. Having been tricked by Typhus, the First Captain, into the Warp and besieged by plagues from all sides, Mortarion swore devotion to the Chaos God Nurgle and the Death Guard became fully swollen with disease and death. Having achieved daemonhood later on in history, Mortarion retreated to the Plague Planet which he now spends his time creating new plagues for his master. The Death Guard is composed largely of Plague Marines, specialists in biological warfare and disease.
• Thousand Sons : once the XV Legion of the twenty original Space Marine legions. Their primarch, Magnus the Red, was distrusted by all the other Space Marine legions, in particular the Space Wolves, because of their frequent use of magic and the powers of the Warp. Upon learning of Horus' corruption, Magnus sought to warn the Emperor with forbidden warp powers; only to unknowingly breach the Emperor's secret Webway portal Project. To make things worse, the Emperor refused to believe Horus turned traitor and sent the Space Wolves to apprehend the Thousand Sons for trial. Unfortunately, the Space Wolves were tricked by Horus into purging the Thousand Sons on their homeworld of Prospero. With his cities burning and his soldiers being slaughtered, Magnus had no choice but to swear fealty to the Chaos God Tzeentch, escaping into the Warp. Because of their frequent use of the Warp's magical energies, the Thousand Sons were cursed with frequent mutations, thus they historically numbered usually no more than a thousand Space Marines before Magnus' arrival. After a period of stability due to Magnus' use of warp powers, the mutations returned tenfold after turning to Chaos. In order to stop these mutations, their chief librarian Azhek Ahriman secretly cast a powerful spell which stopped the mutations while enhancing the powers of all psychic marines. However, the spell inadvertently turned the non-psychic marines into dust and bound their souls inside their Power Armors; reducing them to semi-distant automatons known as Rubric Marines. Of all Chaos Space Marine legions the Thousand Sons possesses by far the most Chaos Sorcerers.
• Black Legion : once the XVI Legion of the twenty original Space Marine legions. Formerly the Luna Wolves, their primarch, Horus Lupercal, was the first primarch discovered by the Emperor and was raised alongside his birth father, becoming the Emperor's most trusted primarch. After all the other primarchs were discovered, Horus was named the Warmaster and was granted command of all the Space Marine legions. He renamed his own legion the Sons of Horus, but a twinge of doubt existed in him as the Emperor kept secrets from Horus regarding the reason why the Emperor left the Great Crusade. After an accident which resulted in the Word Bearers manipulating Horus to fall under Chaos's sway, Horus openly declared a rebellion against the Emperor, instigating the Horus Heresy. After a series of attacks, most notably the purging of loyalists from the traitor legions on Isstvaan III and the decimation of the loyalist legions on Isstvaan V, Horus finally faced off against his father on the Emperor's warship, and was killed by the Emperor. In shame, the Sons of Horus painted their armor Black, renamed themselves the Black Legion, and fled back into the warp. Now Ezekyle Abaddon, the First Captain of the Sons of Horus, has sought to reunite all the forces of chaos under him in a bid to destroy the Imperium, christening himself the Despoiler. He has launched thirteen Black Crusades against the Imperium, the most recent being the setting of the current 40K universe. The Black Legion is also the largest and most infamous of the Chaos warbands, and quite possibly the most powerful.
• Word Bearers : once the XVII Legion of the twenty original Space Marine legions. Their primarch, Lorgar Aurelian, venerated the Emperor as a god, but was censured and made example of because the Emperor rejected religious superstition through the "Imperial Truth". Having grown disillusioned, Lorgar ventured into the Warp to seek new gods to believe in, discovering new masters in the Chaos Gods-who claimed they were vital to humanity's survival, and became the first legion to fall to Chaos. They orchestrated Horus's corruption and the entire Horus Heresy. Lorgar himself later achieved daemonhood, and the Word Bearers fractured after the end of the Heresy. Currently they make extensive use of daemons and possessed Space Marines, and also have a lot of Dark Apostles, priests who guide the members of the Word Bearers further in to the veneration of the Chaos Gods.
• Alpha Legion : once the XX Legion of the twenty original Space Marine legions. The last primarch to be discovered, Alpharius had a secret unknown to everyone: he actually had a twin named Omegon. The Alpha Legion was primarily used for secret missions, as they were known for their use of deception and subterfuge. It is said that after being revealed the future by an alien race, Alpharius joined Horus in his betrayal of the Emperor as a secret bid to finally eradicate Chaos from the universe. After the Heresy one of the two primarchs was said to have been killed by Guilliman, the primarch of the Ultramarines, while another may have been secretly killed by Rogal Dorn on Pluto. However, knowing the Alpha Legion's frequent lies and dissent, no one knows if one of them really survived or whether both survived. The Legion frequently uses Chaos Cultists for infiltration and sabotage, spreading throughout the universe in a web of lies and deceit.

Since the Horus Heresy, many 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 Inquisition branch 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, etc. Beside those chapters the forces of chaos are also strengthened by individual corrupted companies or detachments from loyalalist Space Marine chapters; forming smaller warbands or joining other renegade chapters.

A Black Crusade was composed of all the mustered forces of Chaos, from traitor space marine legions to heretical imperium citizens. It is believed to be the one true path to gain the favor of the Chaos Gods. A Black Crusade can be dedicated to a particular Chaos God in order to invoke their blessing and appease the Warmaster's or the heretics' patron. However, one should be careful in dedicating a Black Crusade to a particular Chaos God or multiple Chaos Gods as the Gods are protective of their champions' achievements and jealous of each other. Since M32 (the 32nd Millennium), there have been a total of 13 Black Crusades.

Members

• Horus Lupercal :
• Fabius Bile :

Notes

• The Chaos Space Marines feature in the setting of Warhammer 40,000.

In other media

Video games

• In Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior, Chaos Space Marines appeared as antagonists in the setting of the action video game.
• In Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, the Chaos Space Marines appeared as antagonists in the setting of the action video game. They were led by Lord Nemeroth who headed a warband that corrupted Inquisitor Drogan and used him as a puppet to create a warp weapon called the Scourge on the Imperial Forge World Graia. The weapon was activated thus creating a portal into the warp allowing for the Chosen of Nemeroth to invade the planet where he embarked on his plans to become a Daemon Prince.
• In Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr, Chaos Space Marines appeared as antagonists in the setting of the video game. Various Chaos Space Marine warbands were working in conjunction with one another to corrupt the Caligari Sector in order for Abaddon to invade and conquer it.

Appearances

• Warhammer 40,000:
• Codex: Chaos Space Marines:

External Links

• Wikipedia Entry

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