Abaddon

Abaddon the Despoiler is the Warmaster of Chaos and captain of the Black Legion. He is rumoured to be the clone-progeny of Warmaster Horus, and at one time, his most favoured son. He is now infamous for leading Black Crusades, when the forces of Chaos unite under his leadership and launch a massive attack against the Imperium from within the Eye of Terror. The most recent of these attacks, the Thirteenth Black Crusade, led to the partial capture of the Imperial fortress world Cadia and an expansion of Chaos-controlled Imperial space.



The Great Crusade
During the Great Crusade, Ezekyle Abaddon was the Captain of the First Company of the Luna Wolves. He, Tarik Torgaddon, Captain of the Second Company, Horus 'Little Horus' Aximand, Captain of the Fifth Company and Garviel Loken, Captain of the Tenth Company, were members of an informal council known as the Mournival - four company captains who served as the primary advisors to Horus. After the Battle for Sixty-Three Nineteen, in which Tenth Company Captain Garviel Loken managed to reach the impostor Emperor ahead of him, Abaddon recommended Loken's elevation into the Mournival to replace Fourth Company Captain Hastur Sejanus, who was killed shortly before the battle. He is also a member of the warrior lodge, the "quiet order" within the Luna Wolves, inspired by similar lodges on the world of Davin - which they had brought to compliance many years earlier.

In the first book of the Horus Heresy series published by the Black Library, Horus Rising, Abaddon notably stands against Horus's attempts to negotiate with a stray branch of humanity known as the interex, preferring to adhere to the Emperor's policy, and simply demand surrender or force compliance. This attitude is reversed in the second book, False Gods. After Horus is critically injured upon their return to Davin, Abaddon, along with other members of the warrior lodge, takes the primarch to a mystic healer - an act in contradiction with Imperial doctrine (which is depicted as stringently anti-superstition). By the novel's conclusion, Abaddon is firmly aligned with Horus against the Emperor.

In the third novel, Galaxy In Flames, Abaddon's most significant action is to seemingly kill Garviel Loken during the Istvaan III incident, although Loken survives, at least until he witnesses the orbital bombardment beginning.

The Horus Heresy
Abaddon led a unit of Sons of Horus Space Marines who wore Tactical Dreadnought Armor called "The Justaerin" at Istvaan V, Yarant and the Siege of Terra. After Horus's defeat, Abaddon led a swift counterattack to retrieve Horus' body and retreated to the Eye of Terror.

After the Heresy
After reuniting the Sons of Horus, Abaddon was principal in destroying several attempts to clone Horus by the other primachs, culminating in the incineration of Horus's corpse to prevent future attempts, after which Abaddon renamed the Sons of Horus as the Black Legion. Since then Abaddon has been instrumental in some of the Black Crusades against the Imperium. During the twelth Black Crusade in a conflict known as the Gothic War, early in the 41st millennium, Abaddon acquired the use of a battleship named the Planet Killer, capable of destroying entire planets, as well as the control of two Blackstone Fortresses taken from the Imperium.

The Chosen of Abaddon
The last recorded deployment of an Officio Assassinorum Execution Force was against the so called Chosen of Abaddon. Four individuals, so hated by the Imperium that an entire team of assassins (when it is rare for one to be sent) infiltrated Abaddon's flagship. Abaddon learned of this and laid a trap for them.

Characterization
Previous to the Heresy, Abaddon is frequently depicted as looking up to Horus as a leader and a father figure, equal to if not above the Emperor of Mankind. As the loyal captain of the Luna Wolves First Company, Abaddon is described as proud, irascible and someone that would inspire men to "cry out for Abaddon's return" if he were to die, though the character becomes inexplicably darker and quicker to anger by the time of False Gods, the second book in the Horus Heresy series. Abaddon is also written as prone to panic and desperation when Horus's life is in danger and quick to cast blame on other characters (such as The Emperor and Luna Wolves apothecary Vaddon, who attempted to treat Horus after the primarch was wounded on Davin).

Initially displaying examples of dogmatic devotion towards Imperial doctrine in Horus Rising and distrust of anything inhuman, Abaddon follows Horus unquestioningly after his recovery. Abaddon comes to believe that the Horus Heresy is the best for the Great Crusade and adopts the theory that winning and victory are the only things that matter.

Physically, he is a towering Space Marine (taller even than the vast majority of his fellow Space Marines), with a crested top-knot atop his shaved head and the straight nose and wide spaced eyes reminiscent of the Warmaster, though not enough to truly resemble the primarch.

After the Heresy, Abaddon's view of Horus is one of disdain. Abaddon has effectively stepped out of Horus's shadow, exemplified with the well known quote: "Horus was weak. Horus was a fool. He had the whole galaxy within his grasp and he let it slip away." He also displays a psychotic contempt for human life and is willing to inflict an endless stream of atrocities upon other human beings (Codex Chaos Space Marines, 3rd Edition, Page 9). Through martial skill and might, Abaddon has won the respect of the other Traitor Legions and is shown to be an inspiration to the Chaos Space Marines.

His troops know that he will not accept failure and follow his every command without question. He is the only person to command the obedience of all nine Traitor Legions; no other Chaos Warmaster has ever done the same. "He is the personification of the power of Chaos, the ultimate prodigal son whose return will bring the apocalypse."

Weapons and Abilities
Abaddon is possibly the most powerful special character in the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop game. The character of Abaddon is written as a powerful warrior of immense strength and skill. In his left hand he carries the daemon sword Drach'nyen. Drach'nyen was powerful enough to destroy a Space Marine Land Raider and flay the souls from those it struck with a single touch under Third Edition rules, although in the Fourth Edition he can roll up to eleven (including the bonus for charging) Strength eight power weapon attacks, with re-rolls for any failed rolls to wound. In his right hand he carries the Talon of Horus, a unique lightning claw fitted with a twin-linked bolter taken from the corpse of Warmaster Horus himself. Abaddon also possesses the Mark of Chaos Ascendant, which bestows all the benefits of every Mark of Chaos.

Abaddon's armour is covered with many archaic devices, runes, and fetishes that he has collected over time. His Terminator Armour "Crux Terminatus" invulnerable save is greatly improved due to the Mark of Tzeentch included in the Mark of Chaos Ascendent. Finally, it incorporates a Daemonic Rune gifted to him by the Daemon-Oracle of Asellus Tertius. He is also described as a demagogue, able to sway followers to his cause against the Imperium. Abaddon has an incredibly good invulnerable save, and he cannot be killed via the Instant Death rule if he fails any of his saves. This means that Abaddon cannot be killed outright by anything, even a super-heavy tank such as a Baneblade or a Land Raider.