Warhammer 40K 3rd/4th edition rules misc analysis thread

[Imperial Overlord]

Technical point: Gargants are usually equipped with power fields, not void shields.

[Connor MacLeod]

I'm not arguing that he wouldn't ignite (the huge amount of energy blocked by void shields and consumed by them to remain active has to go somewhere), but that a relatively slow moving (compared to most battlefield ordinance) ork passing through them is consistent with a lot of the material and doesn't require special rationalization.

Going slow into something containing huge amounts of energy (like a oid shield would) has its own problems, because well.. moving slower means you're in contact with the shield longer, and thus exposed to/absorbing more energy overall. We know contact with void shields can be lethal (eg Guns of Tanith, and IIRC either Execution Hour or Shadow point) even when the "speed" is negligible or nonexistent even. So the "go slow and you penetrate" still won't really work out, even if you ignore the BL novels (void shields sucking up power is pretty much ingrained in the fluff too.)

And that may not really even be the end of the problems either (does surface area matter? shield density vs weapons intensity - such as a nuke vs a laser, or what..) etc etc etc. Or hte "layers" of Void shielding, for that matter...

And I dont want to even THINK about powerfields..

[Imperial Overlord]

The contact lethality shields you're talking about were stationary voids in Abnett's books, not the shields on mobile objects like Titans or starships. Then there's the issue of BFG ordinance penetration, although there are a few hints about that (including the shear toughness of 40K craft).

[Connor MacLeod]

I'm not sure what the differencec "stationary" vs "mobile" makes.

[Imperial Overlord]

I'm not sure what the differencec "stationary" vs "mobile" makes.

The stationary shields have often been described as complete barriers. The mobile ones have always allowed slow moving objects, whether its because the void bearer moved into contact with them or visa versa, through.

[Connor MacLeod]

I'm not sure what the differencec "stationary" vs "mobile" makes.

The stationary shields have often been described as complete barriers. The mobile ones have always allowed slow moving objects, whether its because the void bearer moved into contact with them or visa versa, through.

So you're positing two (or more) different kinds of "Void" shield then.

[Connor MacLeod]

I lied. I'll do Eldar now. Finsih this up then Battlezone. We'll see how ti goes.

Page 3

An Eldar's heart beats almost twice as fast as a Man's, his mind processes thoughts and emotions with baffling speed, and his physical reactions are almost too fast for the human eye to follow.

Human vs Eldar biology.

Page 4

the Eldar held domninion over a large portion of the galaxy

We're not told how large "large" is, but we know the EoT composed at least a significant chunk of it. ACtual numbers or implications have varied tremendously beyond that, however.

Page 5

billions upon billions of Eldar screamed aloud in agony and fell dead.

Lower limit (?) on the number of Eldar who died. I dont remember any percentages, but a tiny fraction (millions) survived.

Page 13

Eldar spacecraft can travel through the Warp itself, although this is a slow and dangeorus process for them. AS a result the Eldar travel infrequently to palces that lie more than a few light years from their webway portals.

It used to be the Eldar never travelled through the Warp due to fear of consumption, but now its noted that they can. Its likely to be "slow" due to the absence of specialized navigators. Range is implied to be "a few light years" which is roughly consistent with the non-Navigator travel range established in Rogue Trader and BFG (up to 4-5 LY).

Page 13

The materials the Eldar use in their engineering are compelx and varied psychoplastics that can be readily formed into solid shapes under psychic pressure. In some respects thay are more like living tissue than inert substances, growing and reacting to their enviroment in a similar way to plants. The complete devices is a semi-organic machine that works in a conventional manner, though it is often operated by psychic means.

The most unusual of these psycho-plastics is called wraithbone: an immensely resilient substance, more difficult to damage than adamantium, and far more flexible. If it is damaged it will gradually repair itself, and the process can be acelerated by the psychic abilities of a Bonesinger.

Eldar "psychic engineering" and Wraithbone construction. This agian confirms its quasi-organic nature, and it is "often operated by psychic means" - but not always.

Wraithbone's qualities are also elaborated on stronger than Imperial adamantium yet more flexible, and is capable of self repair. This quality seems to liken it more to being like the Hydra from the Inquisition War - the two may have similar roots.

"A Craftworld is a sentient being, with a hundred thousand minds."
- Inquisitor Czevak

"hundred thousand" minds in a Craftworld. Nothing is specified as to whether this refers to the souls in the infinity circuit or the actual population, however.

Page 14

Wraithbone is psycho-conductive, and the core of the craftworld acts as a self-replenishing reservoir of power. The invasive rib-like structures carry this energy throughout the entire length and breadth of the craft.

In a very real sense, the craftworld is a living entity, powered by psychic energy and responding in an organic wa to the stimuli of psychic forces. The power within it can be expended as light and heat, and most ship-board devices could not actually function without the psychic power grid that runs throughout the substructure of the craftworld. The Eldar refer to this grid as
the infinity circuit.

...

The infinity circuit is therefore more than a source of energy, it is a place of refuge and eternal rest, from where the dead continue tow watch over the living. Such is the plight of the eldar that the living are sometimes forceed to call their ancestors from their rest, transferring them into wraith constructs so that they may fight for their craftworlds once more.

More on Wraithbone, and on the infinity circuit. Wraithbone is not just construction material/armor, but its also an energy-transmission network (conduit) as well as a communication/transmission medium. This is a rather notable advantage, as it means Eldar craft don't have to worry as much about incorporating such devies into their internal volume - the Wraithbone already provides it. Which means there is more internal space to devote to other concerns.

Eldar ships are also psychically powered (duh), which means they basically operate as a sort of "hyperspace tap" and therefore need not concern themselves with carrying onboard fuel. (just as their magic sails free them of a need for propellant)

What is interesting to me is that the "power system" of the ship is linked to the Infinity Circuit. Its a source of reserves, a sort of computer network, and also the power generator on a ship. This means that as souls are added to the circuit, the ship grows in power (in line with its "organic/adaptive" nature.) Using the Circuit as a troop reserve presumably weakens this aspect of the craftworld, ,however - likely one reason they simply do not rely wholly on "robotic" forces unless they have to.

Page 20

thousands upon thousands of its warriors fell in battle against the Great Devourer.

This implies craftworlds might average at least 4,000, though likely several times this actual figure as this is merely losses (high thousands to tens of thousands per craftworld in other word)

[Imperial Overlord]

I'm not sure what the differencec "stationary" vs "mobile" makes.

The stationary shields have often been described as complete barriers. The mobile ones have always allowed slow moving objects, whether its because the void bearer moved into contact with them or visa versa, through.

So you're positing two (or more) different kinds of "Void" shield then.

I positing different settings or calibrations used being used on the voids covering stationary objects than on the voids protecting moving vehicles.

[white_rabbit]

If you look at the description of a void shield in Eisenhorn, the one around the structure Ersarhaddon is hiding inside, it infers the existence of multiple patterns of Void shield, some limited to a certain geometry.

'IT'S AN OLD type-ten conical void/ Arbites Commander Lucius reported presently. Tangent eight-seven-eight harmonic wave.

'It's conical... super-surface only. And it's old. Voids shrug off just about anything, but they don't retain their field if you take out one or more of the projectors.

From what I can gather, super-surface indicates its talking about a classic sci-fi energy screen, kinda like a Trek shield, as opposed to something volumetric. The implication is that there are either different shielding systems collected under the term "void" or there are different implementations of the technology.

Obviously we know the latter is partly true, given that Titan voids can be penetrated by a relatively slow projectile/object. Wazdakkas little stunt indicates that he was going slow enough that while he could get through the shielding, he was subject to some detrimental side effects that would only increase the faster he moved through the space occupied by the presumably volumetric shield.

Then again, Titans have layers of shields.....

[Cykeisme]

What is interesting to me is that the "power system" of the ship is linked to the Infinity Circuit. Its a source of reserves, a sort of computer network, and also the power generator on a ship. This means that as souls are added to the circuit, the ship grows in power (in line with its "organic/adaptive" nature.) Using the Circuit as a troop reserve presumably weakens this aspect of the craftworld ,however - likely one reason they simply do not rely wholly on "robotic" forces unless they have to.

That does not sound like an unreasonable assumption.

However, it's worth noting that using souls to pilot/empower Wraithguard and Wraithlords are frowned upon among most Eldar, for religious reasons.
I've read sources that indicate it is looked upon as, at best, disrespectful to the deserved slumber of the departed.. and at worst, likened to necromancy. Thus, they avoid the practice except where absolutely necessary.

As a not entirely relevant aside, apparently it requires a particularly "powerful" soul to animate a Wraithguard, and even more so for a Wraithlord. Usually souls of aspect warriors are used for practical reasons (combat experience).

One of the craftworlds (Iyanden, iirc) is supposed to make heavier-than-normal use of Wrathguard because they lost a sizeable chunk of their population to one of the Tyranid hive fleets, right?

[Connor MacLeod]

I positing different settings or calibrations used being used on the voids covering stationary objects than on the voids protecting moving vehicles.

I don't see why the difference between "stationary" or "mobile" would make that kind of differencec, nevermind whether or not the explanation is more complex than "different types of void shields". And even then I'm still not sure that deals with the "void shields require large amounts of energy to operate" idea, since what I recall its a pretty common feature of all void shields (meaning its still an overly simplistic idea to say "only speed matters to penetration")

[Imperial Overlord]

I positing different settings or calibrations used being used on the voids covering stationary objects than on the voids protecting moving vehicles.

I don't see why the difference between "stationary" or "mobile" would make that kind of differencec, nevermind whether or not the explanation is more complex than "different types of void shields". And even then I'm still not sure that deals with the "void shields require large amounts of energy to operate" idea, since what I recall its a pretty common feature of all void shields (meaning its still an overly simplistic idea to say "only speed matters to penetration")

Of course it makes a difference. Mobile void shields will come into contact with other objects as the shielded object moves near them. This isn't unique to void shields. Personal refractor and conversion fields show the same traits.

[Connor MacLeod]

Of course it makes a difference. Mobile void shields will come into contact with other objects as the shielded object moves near them. This isn't unique to void shields. Personal refractor and conversion fields show the same traits.

No, I'm asking what differencee is "mobile vs stationary" supposed to make with regards to the ability to penetrate shields. I'm more than aware that "mobile shields will come into contact with other matter) since there's a good chance that void shields will extend into the ground at least in some cases (and with a Titan I'm betting its a safe assumption.) Not that ground contact wouldn't be a problem from other standpoints (the "energy content of a void shield" issue for one thing.)

The real problem I have with the "only velocity matter" argument is that it makes momentum completely and utterly irrelevant, even though I can remember cases of momentum transfer operating through void shields (ships can get shaken by impacts, for example.)

[Imperial Overlord]

The real problem I have with the "only velocity matter" argument is that it makes momentum completely and utterly irrelevant, even though I can remember cases of momentum transfer operating through void shields (ships can get shaken by impacts, for example.)

I'm not saying momentum is irrelevant. I'm just not personally sure how momentum fits into it and I'm trying to just flinging shit out. Relatively high momentum/low velocity objects such as Titans and ordinance can penetrate voids, but that might be made possible by their own shields (in the earliest versions of Titanicus[I haven't seen the most recent rules] void shields merged and protected both Titans in HTH combat). Ordinance might use similar technology to penetrate voids despite their relatively high momentum (a line from Sabbat Martyr is also suggestive of this, regarding a flyer penetrating the hive's voids).

[Connor MacLeod]

I'm not saying momentum is irrelevant. I'm just not personally sure how momentum fits into it and I'm trying to just flinging shit out. Relatively high momentum/low velocity objects such as Titans and ordinance can penetrate voids, but that might be made possible by their own shields (in the earliest versions of Titanicus[I haven't seen the most recent rules] void shields merged and protected both Titans in HTH combat). Ordinance might use similar technology to penetrate voids despite their relatively high momentum (a line from Sabbat Martyr is also suggestive of this, regarding a flyer penetrating the hive's voids).

Well, I'll say this much, you probably CAN sayh that settings OR models are involved somehow. We know that torpedo velcoities run at least tens or hundreds of km/ (former from the Rennie BFG novels, the latter from the Green novel Iron Hands and that was just for boarding torps). Obviously this wouldn't work with Titan grade void shields, since most projectiles will be moving at far less than escape velocity (a few km/s likely, even for Titan grade weapons) and that would mean stuff like tank rounds and shit penetrating. So either there are different models of shields, or they can adjust the "velocity" that shields penetrate by. But that pretty much means that the criteria for "shield penetration" are going to "differ" by one way ro another. and that's just by speed.

AS far as the energy intput goes, that alone probably varies depending on the size/type of shield (some shields may draw more energy than others for one reason or another. Maybe its a matter of effieciency or model) but arguably if you have a big enough, tough enough mass it could be immune to any destructive effects associated with that (and 40K torpedoes are almost certainly massive, tough things - they have to be to penetrate through thick hulls after all.)

I suppose its also going to depend on how you figure void shields interact/stop physical objects, which is still up in the air. I can think of some ideas that might mesh with the "velocity" issue, but as I said, velocity won't be the only criteria (nor should it be.)

It can get more complicated than that if you introduce cases whwere we know torpedoes DON't ignore void shields (eg Sabbat Martyr) but that just largely plays into the point that "Shield penetration must involve multiple factors)

What it amounts to is tht this is just one of those cases where I play looser with the text because its almost required. Void shields are as bizarre in nature as SW shields are (and many of he same problems, truth be told.)

[Balrog]

Are you still going to do anymore with the Eldar codex? IIRC the Fire Dragon fluff description says their fusion guns are powerful enough to vaporize someone in a second, which ought to give an idea of their firepower.

[Imperial Overlord]

Are you still going to do anymore with the Eldar codex? IIRC the Fire Dragon fluff description says their fusion guns are powerful enough to vaporize someone in a second, which ought to give an idea of their firepower.

They're eldar meltaguns and so presumably somewhat superior to their human equivalents. Necronlord calculated a lower limit of 25GJ on an IG melta from Caves of Ice, involving the vaporization of large amount of ice.

[Falkenhayn]

One of the craftworlds (Iyanden, iirc) is supposed to make heavier-than-normal use of Wrathguard because they lost a sizeable chunk of their population to one of the Tyranid hive fleets, right?

Sizeable in an "Amerindians lost a sizeable portion of their populations to smallpox and other European diseases" sense. The Craftworld is more or less a sepulcher. The Iyanden host uses Wraithguard like other Craftworlds use Guardians, and things must be dire indeed for them to risk Aspect Warriors or Guardians in combat. They also implant Souls into their Falcons and Wave Serpents as pilots.

[Cykeisme]

The Fusion Guns used by the Fire Dragon warrior aspect are described in most sources simply as the Eldar equivalent of Imperial meltaguns, with no specific comments about their superiority. There's still a strong chance that they're better in some ways.. probably lighter, at the very least.
However, they do have a less commonly fielded weapon (only wielded by Fire Dragon Exarchs) called a Fire Pike that's superior to any melta weapon in the Imperial arsenal.


Regarding void shields, assuming (big assumption) leniency to moving objects can be calibrated on-the-fly in real time, I would think that it would be ideal to allow passage of all objects moving slower than the titan's current walking speed.
Thus, it would avoid wasting energy frying/pushing around terrain in the titan's path, while at the same time minimizing exploitation by the enemy.
If this is the case, I'm sure Wazdakka's bike was travelling above the threshold when he made his jump, which would subject him to the protective qualities of the void shield; I propose that he breached it using sheer Orky brute force (power of the WAAAAGH! and all that).
Of course, all this is based on a big assumption about void shield behaviour.

[Connor MacLeod]

Yes, I have more to do on the Eldar Codex. That's the next update here... Fire dragons and fusion guns in next edition...


Page 22

Each impulse detaches a monomolecular slice of the ammunition core and catapults its from the wepaon's barrel, allowing the weapon to fire up to a hundred bladed discs in a burst of a few seconds.

Shurkien catapults, 4th edition iteration. Rate of fire seems to have gone down from third edition (20-50 discs a second, ,depending on how you define "few") This may be rationalized by my earlier conjecture that Shuriken weapons are somewhat variable in operational paramaters (velocity, projectile mass, rate of fire, etc.) depending on circumstance. Alternately, it may simply be that shuriken weapon are simply built to specialized designs (some have lower rates of fire but fire individaully more powerful discs.) noite that "up to a hundred discs" does imply rate of fire IS variable.

Additionally of note, ,the ammunition for the shuriken seems to be larggely self-formed into a tube of solid matter already - the discs are simply sliced off to a given thickness, it would seem.

Page 22

Each weapon's (starcannon's) plasma core produces the incandescent heat of a sun, but sophisticated containment fields ensure that the weapon remains cool to the touch.

Meaning naturally that Eldar weapons are more reliable than Imperial ones, but by virtue of advanced technology (rahtr than reduced settings or performancec, as Tau weapons do.)

I am not going to try quantifying "heat of a sun" other than saying it doesnt mean that plasma guns are gigaton range in their personal weapon iteration.

Page 23

In place of thick armour plates used by the foot soldiers of the Imperium, the Eldar use psychicailly activated bodysuits. Guardians wear armour formed from complex psycho-plastics which stiffens with the impact of a shot or blow. Aspect warrior armour is similar in design but incorporates moulded plates to better reinfroce the suit. Both are constructed of a psycho-sensitive material that reacts to the movements and thought forms of the wearer, moulding and rehsaping itself to fit like a glove as the warrior moves and fights. Even the heavist and most ornate of these suits, worn by the Exarchs, are still lightweight compared to the bulky armour of other races.

The Eldar also use force fields varying from personal shield proejctors to the holo-fields employed by Grav-tanks and their gigantic titans. Some are stranger in function still. These include the pyschic shielding of rune armour, said to pulse in time with the wearer's heartbeat, and the arcane holo-suits used by the Harlequins, whcih project dazzling domino fields.

Eldar body armor and other protective devices. Its implied that the armor is thinner/more form fitting than Imperial armor (small shock given the properties of wraithbone) and will "stiffen with the impact" much the same way we know mesh armor did in earlier editions or the Inquisition War novels.

Aspect armour is similar, except more personally fitted (IE not mass produced one presumes) and is psychically "linked" to the wearer (similar one assumes to the way Imperial power armor does) - the ability to "re-shape" itself is presumably not jsut for comfort issue, but may also have defensive benefits (growing thicker or denser to improve resistance to impacts, closing up over gaps or holes in the armor, etc.)

Exarch armor is implied to be even more durable (naturally) they also make use of personal forcefield technologies (like some vehicles like the Wave Serpent do.) Logically this means their ships probably do as well, even if BFG never acknowledges it as such (chalk it up to game mechanics and game balance)

Page 26

So powerful is a Farseer that he can obliterate an enemy leader's mind or hurl a battle tank into the air.

Farseers have proficient telekinetic abilities, in other words. ASsuming your standard Russ, this means lifting a Russ up against the pull of gravity (hundreds of thousands, or millions of kg*m/s worth of momentum) although the timeframe for this isn't specified (but presumably short)

Page 27

In the hands of a Warlock, a witchblade strikes with a devastating burst of force that can incinerate a foe where he stands.

...

Though not as powerful as farseers, few psykers of other races can equal the arcane might of an Eldar Warlock or match them in battle.

Witchblades can "incinerate" foes - implying hundreds/thousands of megajoules of energy output (depending on inefficiency) - and that Farseers are even more powerful than that. (This also means Warlocks may not be likely to hurl tanks around.)

Page 29

The Eldar favour sleeve-mounted field projectors over the clunky and restrictive armour used by other races.]

Eldar shield projectors (at least some kind). I will cuation this was quoted from the Autarch section regaridng Forcec shields, so it may or may not refer to ALL kinds of Eldar shield projector. (The context implies this may be a safe assumption, at least out of game.)

[Connor MacLeod]

Are you still going to do anymore with the Eldar codex? IIRC the Fire Dragon fluff description says their fusion guns are powerful enough to vaporize someone in a second, which ought to give an idea of their firepower.

They're eldar meltaguns and so presumably somewhat superior to their human equivalents. Necronlord calculated a lower limit of 25GJ on an IG melta from Caves of Ice, involving the vaporization of large amount of ice.

At least equivalent in most respects, possibly several times more powerful. IIRC they are certainly more advanced, and have better range and focus than meltaguns though.

[Connor MacLeod]

Okay now we get to the Eldar Fusion guns.. some people should be happy now This will also finish out the Eldar Codex.


Page 32

They [Fire dragons] carry powerful fusion guns that can reduce an enemy to a cloud of superheated vapour in a second. Though short-ranged, these weapons are capable of turning ven the heaviest battle tanks into piles of molten slag.

Fusion guns have hundreds of megawatts, possibly thousands (depends on the target - some enemies can be quite massive - IE Tyranids - and thus warrant multi-GJ output in a second.) We can conjecture that since they seem to do this in a second (Meltas IIRC require a few seconds) they are much more powerful than meltaguns, although this may be variable (the seconds thing is from 3rd edition IIRC, while earlier suggest they can explosively vaporize a person, which would be much more rapid.) Fusion guns, however, still have greater range and a more focused dischrage than a meltagun, so they can still be considered superior weapon even if comparable in firepower (they can concentrate more energy on a smaller area, over a greater distance.) so even if they're comparable in energy output they're still better weapons over all.

"heaviest battle tanks" may infer super-heavies, meaning they can melt hundreds of tons of mass in an unknown timeframe (hundreds of gigajoules/terajoules) Mind you, I don't think it could be very long in a battle situation (taking minutes to do it would be too dangerous - either the targeted tank or osme other vehicle or soldier would target the Fire Dragon) so we're probably talking seconds.

Page 34

Their [Dark Reaper]skills are increased still further by powered limb supports that absorb the recoil of the Reaper launcher, advanced sensor vanes upon their helmets that can lock onto a fast-moving target, and mind-liks that allow a reaper to "see" from the muzzle of his weapon.

Reaper gear elaborated on - the targeters, the recoil compensation gear, and the "mind links". Similar to (but possibly more sophisticated htan) what the Astartes have. The recoil thing suggests the rockets are either very massive or they have a very high initial velocity to stagger a person like that (possibly both) though the ability to carry and fire multiple rockets will limit their individual mass.

Page 35

The ritual weapons of this [Swooping Hawk] Aspect are the lasblaster - a far more efficient energy weapon than the clumsy lasgun of the Imperium

Lasblaster again "more efficient" - this can mean more powerful, although it could also mean "as much destruction with less energy" in this context. Since we have very little in the way of eldar laser calcs, its up in the air.

Page 36

Using a compact warp-generator housed within their armoured backpack, they [Warp Spiders] can make short warp-jumps, disappearing and reappearing in the blink of an eye.

Warp spiders and their fast teleport ability. This could be a tenth or a twentieht of a second or more (40K huhman reaction times on the upper end, and astartes reaction times - Ragnar) We have no idea how short short warp jumps are, so we can't really establish an effective "speed".

It does indicate that if your tech is good enough, you can open warp portals even in a strong gravity field. AT least small ones.

Page 38

Blending in with their surroundings, they use their long rifles [Rangers] to deadly effect, their energy bolts finding the eye sockets and neck joints of even the most heavily armoured troops.

Ranger long rifles dont seem to be simple needle weapons anynmore (or at least not wholly that) anymore, but they are energy weapons. (For estimate of weapons output, see Tau codex description pulled from Grand 40K quantification thread. I may have to re-do that calc sometime tho). but if it boiled/cauterized the head (half teh head lost IIRC) we're probably talking a few MJ. single or double digit KJ for simply "exploding" it (or part of it)

I'd guess that the "energy bolts" bit implies its a laser weapon.

Page 39

Guardians wear a tight-fitting armoured suit consisting of thousands of tiny thermo-plastic cells woven together. Much like Aspect armour, when under the influence of blast pressure or gunshot these cells meld togehter in a rigid defence. This flexibility enables the Eldar Guardians unrestricted movement as they take up advantages positions upon the battlefield.

Sounds like Guardians were a kind of mesh armour or mesh analogue (no surprise, since Mesh was supposed to be common "eldar" armour back in earlier editions.) with much the same performance charteristics. Though this does carry a possible disadvantage - if you can keep up steady fire on the Eldar, you can probably hamper its mobility by keeping said armour rigid.

Also confirmed are the essential similarity between Guaridan and Aspect armour, save for the Aspect armour being better.

As far as durability goes - we know from earlier cases (Inquisition War, for example) that Mesh can stand up to small arms fire and shotguns with little/no problem, and probably has better resilience against lasfire (a couple shots) without being scratched. But it still can't stop a bolter round (at least not an Astartes grade one)

Page 45

The Wave Serpent's energy field projectors gneerate a rippling bow wave of forcee at the front of the craft that disrupts incoming fire.

Again Wave Serpents have shield projectors. Again I take this as evidence they do have shielding defenses of some kind, and its likely they do use it on other vehicles (like starships) since there's no logical reason they couldn't or shouldn't (again like with personal shields.) Other than game balance.

Page 46

Too heavy for a normal Eldar to carry, the wraithcannon allows a Wraithguard to focus a portion of its psychic power upon a fixed point. This incredible weapon can then open a rift between Warp space and the material universe at that location for a split second.

Wraithcannon are a sort of D-cannon, but the wraithcannon seems to be powered by the Wraithguard- the cannon only acts as a focus/amplifier for the psychic power. It also seems to fire more quickly - likely a tradeoff between destructive power and speed.

[Connor MacLeod]

Okay I decided to handle the Necron Codex (4th edition I believe).. too lazy to go dig it up and look. I'm sure this will be liked. it does have some interesting material and implications. Anyhow, here we go..

Page 2

Even their [Necron] most basic weaponry can strip a man to his constituent atoms in a second.

Generally speaking, this is what we think of when we think of Gauss weapons, and we see it depicted that way in many cases (most notably Caves of Ice). Small nitpick being is that Gauss weapons seem to have the problems with most sci fi weapons - their capabilities or effects are not neccesarily consistent (Much like TLs can behave like beams or projectiles interchangably, or phasers exhibit insanely bizarre effects.) In the case of the Gauss weaponry, its that while they can basically distintegrate a person (or even an Ork, a more massive entity) rapidly, they don't always do this. Hell, even in this very Codex we don't see that effect. Sometimes you see them only disintegrate parts. Or sometimes they'll just drill holes in things (like tanks) when they should spread out and envelop (like they need to do with people). It just drives me nuts.

For now, I just put it up to variable power settings/effects. Sorta like the way some science fictiony weapons have needle beams or widebeams or whtaver (like phasers or the Delameters from Lensman). The reason they dont neccesarily use the "distingertae entire body rapidly" setting may be for vairous reasons (ammo, cooling, whatever.)

Page 3

..the first red rays of the morningsun reflecting from hundreds of staring skulls.

...

Tuirrets swiveling to the side, the column of tanks unleashed salvo upon salvo into the steadily advancing Necrons. His guardsmen formed up, running into position and opening fire. Let them taste the might of the Cadian 23rd, thought Janssen, his partched lips twisting into a snarl. Raising his macrobinoculars, he focused on a crater of vitrified sand scattered with Necron remains . Pieces of broken machinery and shining debris were crawling back togehter, the shattered and blackened Necrons rising as they grew whole again.

....

Janssen's breath caught as what had been merely a puddle of molten metal and fizzing sparks behind it flowed smoothly back into shape, a shining skeleotn once more.[

The Cadian regiment fires its lasguns as well as tanks, appearing to partly melt the hundreds of Necron warriors as well as the surrounding sand in a very short barrage (seconds at most). A Cadian regiment runs 4000-8000 troops. As a rule, I'm assuming the tanks made the crater and the lasguns melted the sand/Necrons (the tanks fired first after all, andthe lasguns mopped up).

Assuming each Necron masses around oh 60 kilos, iron composition, and maybe 10% of that mass was actually melted (the rest blown apart) and a minimum of 200 necrons about 1200 kg was melted. Assuming each Necron is about .5 meters in width and that the hundreds more or less formed a perfect square (14-15 ranks of 14-15 each) will bea n area 7-8 meters wide on each side. A crater, however, is more hemispherical so we might guess at a 10-15 m diameter crater (either more necrons, or slightly greater spacing) and the ground was melted to roughly a few inches depth, around 20 tons of sand would be melted.

Roughly you can assume 40-50 Gigajoules to do the melting overall, minimum (20 tons x ~2 mj per kg for melting the sand, 1200 x 1.2 MJ/kg for the Necrons - the latter contributes very little overall.) A 10-15 meter diameter crater needs 2-3 GJ worth of TNT to create (500-800 kg.) Its not likely that the Cadians had more than a few dozen tanks (say a company) as attached forces. Assuming 2-3 salvos from ~30 tanks (say about 100 rounds) you get each round having at least 5-8 kg of TNT per round. Likely they are using high explosive rounds of some kind, so this makes sense.

Assuming 10 seconds of sustained fire for 8000 men, you get a sustaned output of around 625 kilowatts. Its worth noting, however, this ignores ineffieciences, assumes 100% accuracy, and that Necrons aren't iron, so the actual output would be several megawatts per lasgun (say 50% accuracy and several times increase due to ineffieciency.. easily 2-3 MW per lasgun)

Its also worth noting the cadians fired long before the Necrons did. Either the Necrons were for some reason holding back (for effect perhaps, although usually they're more practical than this) or their guns were much shorter ranged than the Cadian lasweapons. We dont know the definite range, but it was long enough the commander had to use magnoculars to observe the results. (hundreds of meters likely.)

Page 3

Immense monoliths began to crest the ridge, their ponderous advance as silent as the metallic warriors before them. Several bulky Necron skimmers swept from behind another dune, swivelling arcane cannon in the direction of his armoured support. Janssen began to sweat, watching helplessly as the tremendous forces exerted by their bizarre weapons burrowed through the armour of the tanks, leaving gaping holes before the armored behemoths detonated.

...

As one, the Necron warirors raised their weapons, green hellfire crackling within the chambers of their guns. They fired without breaking step. All around him Janssen's men writhed and screamed as their armour was stripped away and their flesh flayed from their bones, exposing their viscera before disintegrating completely. Ahead, his adjutant was eviscerated by one of the lethal fields, clucthing the bloody ruin of his torso and screaming as an unlearthly wind whipped sand across his raw flesh.

Necrons fire back, and the results. Note that the tanks merely get holes in them before blowing up (Their munitions and/or fuel cooked off somehow. Gauss weapons may have some thermal component to them.) and that the adjutant was still largely intact despite having his torso at least partly flayed. It goes without saying no armour did much to hlep.

Page 3

Disciplined veterans who Janssen had commanded for years were falling to their knees like terrified children at their approach.

Fear effects of the Necrons and their effects on disciplined veteran troops.

Page 4

Within the mile long logic stacks of the Librarium Omnissiah on Mars and the archive-catacombs of the Adepts of Terra are a thousand such enigmas.

..

Others are less obvious, dangerous nuggets generally overlooked in the morass of information packed into the data archives by thousands of years of Imperial bureacracy.

Imperial storage devices (or just computers) contain "thousands" of years of the Administratums tediousness. I can't begin to imagine how much data that means compiled from million (or millions) of worlds - tithe information, information about the military, etc.)

Page 4

Another example is the reports of hundreds of tomb-worlds discovered by the Explorators of the Adeptus Mechanicus over the millenia. Most lie at the far edges of the galaxy, dead worlds where ranks fo ancieint, ,cyclopean structures bear testimony to aeons-past gloreis of long-dead races
.

"hundreds' of Tomb worlds that are merely known to the Imperium. Its no idea if this is a precise number or just a lowball, but I'm inclining towards the second option. It certainly doenst include ones they don't know about or haven't uncovered. With hundreds of thousands or millions of Necrons per world, thats tens or hundreds of millions of troops at a very very low end.

Page 4

If the Lexmechanics and Logisticians of the Adeptus Mechanicus could complete their translations of arcane hieroglyphs and sigils within those unbreachable tombs, they would know a little more.

The AdMech haven't deciphered Necron language yet.

Page 4

Last of all, there is the Machine God of the Adeptus Mechanicus themselves. In Imperial theology the holy spirit of the Omnissiah worshipped by the Tech-priests of Mars is af acet of the Immortal God Emperor of Mankind.

..

However, the most ancient and zealously guarded records of their Order tell of a time before the coming of the Emperor when a far older power was paid homage on Mars. They make veiled refrence to unspeakable knowledge won in the Goldgen Age of Technology, and how it brought about Mankind's downfall in the Age of Strife.

Its implied the Necrons (or rather' the C'tan) had a hand in Mankind's Tech development as well as influencing the "religion" of the AdMech itself. Its also hinted that the Necrons (or C'tan, likel the Deceiver) had a hand in bringing about the DAoT)

Page 5- not gonna quote anyhting here, since its just an evil poem about the rise of the Necron. The big thing I want to note is metion of "Father jonas Urelie on Rahe's Paradise". I'm not sure if this is a direct take from Goto's Dawn of War novels or if he simply borrowed the name andplanet from the Necron Codex to expand for his own purposes, but I thought it was worth noting.

Also worth noting of interest is an AStropathic message being noted as a "vox record" and apparnetly including visual elements to it as well. This may indicate that Astorpaths can convey more than just words, although their ability to "see" images psychically isnt an unusual thing, and the method of "reception" of astropathic data can vary (via mind impulse link, or simply recorded, or both)

I also can't help but laugh but they call the Banshee an eldar mythical creature.

This story also mentions the first hint of C'tan drinking stars dry, although we dont know the timeframe . As of the "time" of this Codex, the star had gone dead a year before (and was at least eight million years old.)

[Connor MacLeod]

More Necron stuff coming up...


Page 8

In deep space, twenty light years from the nearest Star system, Craftworld Altaioc glided on its course. Kilometre after kilometre of flowing wriathbone, gleaming domes, and towering spires, its real size could only be guessed at by comparing it with the swarms of vessels that accompanied it. Even the mighty Void Stalkers seemed like minnows beside a leviathan.

Implied size/scale of Altaioc craftoworld. Assuming an eldar Void Stalker is roughly similar in size to 40K battleships (at least 4-5 km or more, whch is technically battlecruiser scale but what the hey), we could liekly assume the craftworld is in the high tens/low hundreds of km in diameter, at least, although this is admittedly conjectural (assuming "minnows beside leviathan" refers to something like an "orders of magnitude" difference in size)

Page 8

The Culexus were psychic nulls, carriers of the Pariah gene, a trait that debilitated psykers in proximity to them. That the greatest minds of the Eldar could be hunted down and slaughtered was a source of shame and terror. No stone had been left unturned in the search for the lair of these abominations and it had been Alladrios who had coordinated the search.

Eldar apparently had been hunted down by the Culexus before (this Eldar's sister, for example.) Also reference to nulls, blanks, untouchables and all others of that type as caryying the Pariah gene.

Page 8

"I was wondering just how corrupt poor old Takis was going to have to get before he was condemned to a swift death. Your High Lords are to soft. That will have to change."

This here was the Deceiver IIRC speaking to an Assassin. Its implied he is capable of doing something about the High Lords, although whether he could infiltrate Terra and do something about them is unknown (at least by me. I'd at least think the Emperor would have something to say about that.)

Page 8

Light burst from his eyes, the light of a sun, blinding and burning the assassin as a sudden wind lifted her and smashed her into the wall.

I'm not sure whether this represents actual telekinesis, elemental control (wind manipulation) or something that is in between or both, but its pretty powerful.

Page 8

With his free hand, he reached down and smoothly withdrew the phase sword. He held it up and in a language she did not recognise but understood he said.

"how nice it is when one's children come home."

The blade withered in his hand, dissolving into liquid form, which leapt from the hilt to his hand like a serpent of mercury to be absorbed into his skin.

"And how wonderful when they bring gifts. You will not be aware of this but the polymorphine drug you metabolise so often gives human essence such a delicate flavouring."

Here we see the C'tan phase blades apparently employ living metal, much the similar material as that encasing the body of the C'tan themselves. A more insidious implication here is that the phase blades are a deliberate creation, and that they serve some ulterior motive for the C'tan, although the purpose of that is beyond my guessing.

Page 9

Eventually his consciousness tubmled into the Infinity circuit of the Legacy of Eldanesh, a Shadow Class Criuser operating far from the nearest warp tunnel. Even as Alladrios connected with it...

..

Alladrious gently reached out through the Wraithbone to the cruiser's instruments, quickly finidng what he had come for.

The aforementioned Farseer can psychically travel up and link up with an infinity circuit in a cruiser far away from the craftworld. Including its instruments. It implies considerable (FTL) psychic communication/detection ability for the Eldar... although the Imperi8um and other psychically attuned races probably have similar to some lesser degree. It also implies to some degree they can remotely operate their ships (at least thorugh the infinity circuit), although its debatable whether they could actually fight a warship like this (probably not)

Page 9

The planet was a void to him. Normally his mind's eye would see beyond the mundane, revealing past, present and futures a panorama of possibility. He would see the auras of the living and the spirits of the recent dead. He would see intent, ambition, hopes and fears, all mirrored in the warp. The exiled world was just a rock though, scarred by the absence of any warp reflecton at all.

This is due to the effects of the Culexis temple. Curiously, it doesnt strike me as a good idea from a stealth perspective, since anyone psychically inclined would detect the null space and possibly investigate. And we know from the Ravenor/eisenhorn novels that the Pariah/null effect can be mitigated via a limiter, so you think they'd block it.

The ability of a null to counteract or block a farseer's precognitive abilities also seems a useful talent, especially since its implied here it can extend over a significant distance.

Page 9

Throughout his long serach he had dreamed of reducing this den of monsters to a charred ruin;

..

His precognitive powers led him along the paths of fate, examining the possible outcomes of destroying the orphan world.

Its obviously no surprise to anyone, but the Eldar do have the ability ot level/destroy a planet.

Page 9

Long before the Fall, the Mon-Keigh were nothing. They were comical tree-beasts, part of the eco-system of their world, but with no greater role defined for them by the Old Ones. That was before the God War between the sucessor races, had almost consumed the galaxy. In the aftermath of the conflict many worlds were devastated, and it took time to rebuild them. In this power vaccuum the lesser creations of the Old Ones, such as the Mon-Keigh, developed in unforseeable ways. Raw, elemental evolution took a hold, turning these noisy but harmless beasts into a life form that now infested a million worlds. The Eldar had let them be, perhaps they were reluctant to harm what little life remained, but others were not.

Eldar POV on the evolution and rise of Man (Mon-Keigh - monkey. ha ha) This basically seems to confirm that the Old Ones had a hand in developing them as a race, including psychically, although after the "God Wars" (the wars with the Necrons?) they suffered uncontrolled evolution.

The Eldar also refer to the Imperium "mililon worlds" although their knowledge of the scope of the Imperium is up for debate (even the Imperium never knows for certain how big it is.)

Page 10

Deep within the core of the Unholy Harbinger we found a small but dense asteroid (approximately 3 meters in diameter and displacing an estimated 37 tons.)

...

he ordered me to put the Indomitable Presence on full battle alert and to stand 200 miles off Unholy Harbinger.

the object is a Necron warp portal, presumably made out of Necron buidling material. a 3 meter diameter sphere (asusming a sphere) implies an (average) density of roughly 2600 kg*m^3.

The Indomitable Presence (no idea of the class of the ship, likely a cruiser or battleship though., My guess is cruiser because they're liklier) is 300 km or so roughly away from the Space hulk.

Page 10

When Masseuko replied he was wildly elated, claming down long enough to route his bionic eye's optical feed to the bridge.

Tech Priest gives a visual data feed to the starship. Presumably all techpriests with similar modifications could do this.

Page 10

Daska, to his credit, already has his bolt pistol in his hand and a line of explosions across the monster's chest was testament to his accuracy.

..

...I held it aloft as I watched the metal thing fall.

Bolt pistol fire (multiple shots) downs Necron Warrior. Doesn't stay down, though...

Page 10

Daska calmly reached for a fresh magazine but before he could load, all three fired at him. He was held in the beams, writhing as layer after layer of his skin was stripped away until all that was left was a bloody rag doll.

3 Necron flayer beams strip off a fair bit of skin it seems, but still leave him mostly intact, rather than outright vaporizing him as othe beams do. Your guess is as good as mine as to why.

Page 10

We had surveyed Unholy Harbinger for some time so we knew where to aim. One salvo of torpedoes detonated the working reactor - the hulk started to crack open ending the transmission from Masseuko's eye. I widened the range and kept firing at every fragment large enough to target until the debris was spread through the system.

The Imperial ship's sensors were able to locate weak points to target to maximize destruction on the Space hulk. A Salvo of torpedoes (at the reactor) seemed to basically fracture the ship, but the ship's own fierpower blasted it to bits. It could probably be calced if we knew the size of the hulk and the firing duration but we don't.

Best we can do is maybe guess. We know up to 300 (3 x 100 missiles from battlecrisers) 600 GT missiles could be enough to wipe out a space hulk from very early sources (wish I had it but could never find it) so we could conjecture it might have needed TT level firepower over an unknown length of time to demolish said space hulk.

Page 11 - reference to Uriel Ventris and the Ultramarines here, and the events in the novel Nightbringer.

Also, the Tyranids are noted as actively avoiding worlds of Necron inhabitation (likely at least)

Page 11

After pursuing the invaders ot the Noctis Labyrinthus, a mine complex in the northern reaches of Mars, defence ships were finally able to catch the Necron vessels. Though all five were destroyed, it was only at a fearfully high cost, and one of the hsips actually managed to land on the blessed red soil of Mars itself before being vapourised.

..

.. various vocal members of the Adeptus Mechanicus have voised wildly differing opinions regarding the future of the mine complex, ranging from its total destruction to the enforcement of a Perditia zone. Fresh from his expedition to the dead world of Naogeddon, Magos Prime Reston Egal has proved the most strident in his criesf or the site's destrucition with fusion bombs and its sealing with ferrocrete...

Notcis LAbyrinthus is the place I believe the Void Dragon is being kept buried on Mars - or at least what is implied as the location. This probably explains greatly why the AdMech are such total dicks.

I believe Reston Egal has been infiltrated and compromised by the Necrons, if not actually a C'tan in disguise.

It also says something about the Necrons that they could penetrate and withstand the firepower of Mars's defense network (Terra being the best defended locale in the Imperium), even if they were destroyed.

Page 11

"The Imperium is a big place, my boy. The universe is always unleashing some new catastrophe, some marauding race. Hundreds of worlds die, but millions more prosper. It matters not. nothing can truly hurt us here."


- Lord Magister Ithax Stroam, Terra

[

Here its implied "millions" of worlds in the Imperium. Its also implied that losses on a planetary scale to the Imperium are rather minor and that the losses are matched or exceeded by other means (colonies created or rediscovered, etc.)

Of course, the statement above is also rather obviousyl bravado, so it might need to be taken with a grain of salt, especially the "invincible" boasting, since alot of 40K also tends to emphasize the grimdark "Teh Imperium iz DOOMUD!" most of the time.

[Connor MacLeod]

More on general Necron combat capabilties, Necron types, and such. Next time we get some more stuff on C'tan.

Page 12

Necrons never gain experience during campaigns, as they have no individual identity or capcity ot learn from experience.

..
C'tan do not gain experience as they are specialcharacter,s and, because they have been around for a very long time, and there is little they have not already learned.

These are largely rules, so they should be taken with a grain of salt, but they would seem to emphasize some of the key character traits for many Necrons (there probably are some exceptions) as being essentially soulless, robotic entities. And the C'tan being such utterly long lived and knowledgbel badasses.

Page 13

Necrons are largely mechanical creatures, and as such it might seem inappropriate that weapons such as sniper rifles, which normally use poison to achieve their effect, and agonisers, which work against an enemy's nervous system, should be effective against them. In practice, anyone using these weapons against Necrons would make adjustments to counter the Necrons' defences. For example, using acid rounds insted of poison rounds or altering the charge from an agoniser to affec the Necrons' power systems. Because of this, Necrons do not receive any special immunities in this regard. In the Warhammer 40,000 universe there are many troops with an equal claim to such special immunities, such as Tyranids and Daemons. It is therefore logical to assume that weaponry will keep pace to maintain fairness and avoid unnesccsary complication.

This is again a bit of gameplay, but it has "in universe' elements that are worth noting. The "sniper rifles" are the needlers, which use the toxic poison darts. The fact you can use alternate forms of ammo (Ie poison rounds) does suggest they are variable in nature. It may be that you could use inert rounds as well, since they would need momentum and KE to have any real range (esp with tiny darts) and that would inflict damage, as some are implied to do (cf Ghosts novels). Maybe even some sort of incendiary or explosive round, for all we know.

It also suggests that Necrons are vulnerable in some way to some forms of acid, although this being 40K it could be some insane special magic warp acid.

The agonisers are another peculiarity, given the apparent implicaton that they can disrupt necron power systems (an analogue to the organic nervous system, implied.) rather than whatever computer/control networks the Necron bodies have.

Page 14

Gauss weapons are horrifying devices that can strip a target down molecule by molecule and reduce it to its constituent atoms in a matter of seconds.

Again the peculiarity of Necron weaponry and their varying effect/lethality. Whereas we've seen them evaporate people in a second, this notes it takes "seconds" to do so, Although it can still disintegrate an entire body. Maybe its variable settings, or different models of weapon, or weapons differing on individual tomb worlds.

Page 14

The Particle whip emits a tightly focussed particle beam, which is used as the carrier for a single immensely powerufl bolt of energy.

I find it peculiar that the particle beam is merely a "carrier", unless it means that the particles emit the energy (or release it in some manner) - but in one way or another any particle beam does this technically.

Page 14

A well-directed warscythe can cut the barrel from a Leman Russ or carve a hole in the side of a bunker.

A rather impressive feat, honestly. Pity I have no clue how to calc it.

Page 14

The Necrons are masters of space and time. The Chronometron allows the Necrons to act out of phase with the normal time flow, ,advancing normally while their opponents move in slow motion.

Psykers can do this too, or at least some can. A technological equivaelnt is much more reliable and useful, though.

Page 14

The grasping, metal claws of hte Necrons pulse with unnatural energies that seem to warp the skin of vehicles as they strrike.

Even unarmed Necron can do nasty things to normal matter. One presumes the bayonet-blades on their weapons emit similar fields.

Page 15

The very fabric of the Necron Lord seems hazy and indistinct, as though he were not completely corporeal. Shots and blows pass through his mechanical body and even the most powerful weapons cannot harm him.

As if their body construction did nto make them already hard to kll, some can phase out and ignore weapons fire.

Page 16

The most sohpisticated of the C'tan's servants, the Necron Lords act as leaders and energy loci for the Necorn Warriors.

They're basically the leaders of the Necron forces, of course. We learn more about the command and contorl aspects and how they all fit in in latter sources (Starting with the Apocalypse stuff, and 5th edition - stuff I have a pretty good idea on, so I dont need to be reminded about the gold, silver, etc. levels of command.)

They are also usually (IIRC) the most intelligent and "animate/lifelike" type of Necron.

Page 18

The skeletal form of a Necron Warrior is a spine-chilling sight, as bullets and lasblasts bounce harmlessly from its metlalic limbs. The gauss flayer which it wields is no less terrifying, as it strips its target atom by atom; in a heartbeat it dissolves skin, muscle and then disitntegrates bone until nothing remains..

Necrons are highly resistant to "conventional" firepower (lasrifles and auto/stub rifles) at least of a certain caliber/power setting. And again Gauss flayers and their "super disintegration" effects.

Page 20

As standard, these [Heavy Destroyers] mount the heavy gauss cannon and home in on the enemy armour, fixing them with their baleful multi-lensed targeters before raking them with devastaitng heavy gauss cannon fire.

[/quote]

"targeter" seems to be a multi-purpose description for any sort of targeting device (at least in Imperial parlance).