Fellblade

The Fellblade was a highly-advanced pattern of super-heavy main battle tank that was based upon the same Standard Template Construct (STC) design as the mighty Baneblade and Deathhammer super-heavy tanks that formed the mainstay of the vast armoured brigades of the Imperial Army during the Great Crusade and later, the Horus Heresy. The Fellblade was by far the more advanced design of the three, featuring many technologies that were unique to its construction, such as compact Mechanicum Atomantic Arc-reactor technology, a reinforced metaplas alloy chassis that provided protection superior to that of nearly all other Imperial armoured vehicles, and an advanced Accelerator Cannon as its primary armament.

Many of the technologies used in the construction of the Fellblade were all fruits of archeotech first developed during the Dark Age of Technology and restored to humanity by the later conquests of the Emperor of Mankind's Great Crusade. The Fellblade was most widely used by the Space Marine Legions, yet also saw limited use by the Imperial Army and other Imperial forces like the Mechanicum. Along with its sister tank, the Falchion, the Fellblade was one of the most powerful and most feared weapons used during this ancient time.

In this era, the Space Marines operated very differently than in the late 41st Millennium. The Space Marine Legions fought as the Imperium's front-line forces and used massive amounts of overwhelming firepower to achieve their goals, rather than acting as special forces that make use of surgical strikes against enemy weak-points as the much smaller Space Marine Chapters of the present time prefer. During the Great Crusade, the Space Marines fought on an unimaginable scale, fighting wars with tens of thousands of elite warriors who could conquer entire planets in mere days, or even hours. These massive armies of Astartes were given the very best technology constructed by the Mechanicum of Mars, and one of the greatest of their works of war was the Fellblade. The Fellblade was piloted by a trained crew of humans either from the Mechanicum or by Serfs of the Legion it was assigned to, but could also be fully crewed by the Astartes themselves. These war-machines were used as unstoppable line-breaker tanks, siege tanks, siege-breaker tanks, tank killers, and mobile command fortresses. It is thought that some Space Marine Legions, such as the Iron Warriors, Ultramarines, and Imperial Fists, made extensive use of the Fellblade, while others, like the Night Lords, White Scars, and the Raven Guard, who preferred hit-and-run tactics, may have eschewed their use altogether. During the Horus Heresy these tanks were used by Traitor and Loyalist forces alike. It is unknown if there are any Fellblades that are still in service during the late 41st Millennium, or if the technology has been lost to the Imperium like so much else from the Great Crusade era.

Armament
The Fellblade, like all Imperial super-heavy vehicles, featured a powerful and diverse array of weaponry, some of which were unique to the Fellblade design. The vehicle's main weapon was a turret-mounted twin-linked Accelerator Cannon, a weapon thought to be unique to the Fellblade. The Accelerator Cannon used by the Fellblade was designed on the Forge World of Tigrus and was a specialised Cogitator-assisted high velocity weapon capable of dealing tremendous amounts of damage to enemy targets. The weapon was capable of being switched between density-core armour-piercing shells for use against enemy armour and fortifications, and powerful high-explosive fragmentation rounds useful against concentrations of infantry. The vehicle was also armed with two sponson-mounted quad-Lascannons or two Laser Destroyer Arrays to destroy enemy targets that would otherwise waste Accelerator Cannon ammunition. In addition to the vehicle's sponson-mounted weapons, the tank was also armed with either a hull-mounted set of twin-linked Heavy Bolters or Heavy Flamers for anti-infantry fighting, and also a single hull-mounted Demolisher Cannon for destroying enemy fortifications. The Fellblade was always equipped with a searchlight and smoke launchers, but could be further upgraded with a Hunter-Killer Missile Launcher for added firepower or armoured ceramite plating for even better protection from enemy fire, especially energy-based weapons.

The vehicle could be outfitted with a variety of Pintle-mounted weapons, including twin-linked Combi-Bolters or other Combi-weapons, a Havoc Missile Launcher, and either a single Heavy Flamer, Heavy Bolter, or a Multi-Melta. There are some known variants to the standard Fellblade armament, such as replacing the turret-mounted twin-linked Accelerator Cannons with a Mega Battle Cannon and co-axial Autocannon such as those used by the Baneblade, and also replacing the sponson-mounted weapons with Heavy Bolter boxes. These were armoured pill-boxes with a Heavy Bolter placed on three sides. It is unknown if this was an officially recognised weapons loadout, a customised weapons loadout, or the result of field repairs which replaced damaged weapons with those from a Baneblade.

Variants

 * Glaive Super-Heavy Special Weapons Tank - Armed with a Volkite Carronade this vehicle was designed to battle foul xenos and light vehicles with overwhelming firepower. Although all original Space Marine Legions were issued limited numbers of this tank, only the Dark Angels and Salamanders Chapters are still able to field these engines of war, the former due to seniority and honour as former 1st Legion and the latter due to their skilled arctificers that are still able to maintain and replicate the arcane technology. It is not known whether any other loyalist Chapters or Chaos Space Marine warbands are still able to field these ancient relics in the 41st millenium.
 * Chaos Decimator Super-Heavy Tank - After the end of the Horus Heresy, the Traitor Legions fled into the Eye of Terror, taking most of their vehicles and weapons with them. After thousands of years of Warp exposure, many of the Fellblades taken into the Eye of Terror are now warped, twisted, and tainted by the foul powers of the Warp and touched by the "blessings" of the Chaos Gods, such as the Plaguereaper of Nurgle. The Forces of Chaos still make use of Fellblades and Falchions that are blessed by Chaos Undivided in the 41st Millennium, though these vehicles are now designated as Decimator super-heavy tanks by the Imperium.

Known Fellblades

 * Khatek - Khatek was a Fellblade that belonged to the Sons of Horus Legion during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy and fought during the Istvaan III Atrocity.
 * The Imperial Reaper - The Imperial Reaper was a Fellblade that belonged to the Death Guard Legion during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy and fought during the Istvaan III Atrocity.

Also See

 * Imperial Vehicles
 * Falchion

Gallery
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