Plagueburst Crawler

A Plagueburst Crawler is a Daemon Engine used by the Death Guard Traitor Legion as a mobile artillery piece to provide combat support to Death Guard Plague Marine infantry assaults.

Role
The Daemon Primarch Mortarion himself perfected the designs for the first Plagueburst Crawlers as a labour of pure spite. The Death Lord sought to create a superlative mobile artillery piece that would outclass any comparative Imperial weapon, and thus demonstrate the Death Guard's superiority over their corpse-worshipping former kin. For many solar months he locked himself away in the smog-wreathed spires of the Black Manse on the Plague Planet, obsessing endlessly over his foul brainchild, turning all of his remarkable intellect to the challenge.

The resultant Daemon Engines reflect well the values of the nightmarish figure that created them. Plagueburst Crawlers are lumbering, formidable siege tanks whose huge ram-blades, thick armour plating and daemonic energies provide them with incredible resilience. Their fearsome Plagueburst Mortars boast a parabolic fire arc and terrifying range, while the shells they fire combine high-radius explosives with lethal clouds of corrosive spores to inflict damage comparable to that of Imperial Demolisher Cannons. The drawback of this weapon is its inability to fire at targets that are closer than its minimum range. However, the remainder of the Crawler's weaponry is intended to slaughter the foe up close, spraying diseased slime and hails of viral shells at any who approach.

Mortarion's decision to make these vehicles Daemon Engines says much for his contempt for all living things. Live crew -- even Death Guard Heretic Astartes -- might be injured or slain, or suffer an all too human error of judgement in battle. By comparison, though great effort is required to bind a daemon within each Plagueburst Crawler, once installed the possessor entities tirelessly obey their masters and, by extension, the will of Mortarion.

Plagueburst Crawlers are not swift vehicles, even running at full power. Yet their advance is as grinding and relentless as the Death Guard themselves. Intended to support infantry offensives, Plagueburst Crawlers plough forward like huge mechanical slugs, their mortars firing with metronomic regularity. Shell after shell whistles down to explode amidst the enemy ranks. Every shot spreads billowing clouds of lethal spores amidst shock waves of fire and shrapnel.

An area under sustained bombardment from these weapons becomes so saturated with foul spore clouds that it is inimical to all life. Armour provides scant protection, for the daemonic spores chew through ventilator grills and enviro-seals, corrode the thickest adamantium plating, and wear through rockcrete layer by layer until they spill into even the deepest and most well-protected bunkers. These hideous effects have made the Plagueburst Crawler a much-hated weapon of war. Enemies strive to destroy them at any cost, while even the daemons of Nurgle look at them askance. After all, where the Plagueburst Crawlers strike, there can be no cycle of rebirth, no matter how foul. For its victims, there is only ever-lasting death.

Unit Composition

 * 1 Plagueburst Crawler

Armament

 * Plagueburst Mortar
 * Heavy Slugger
 * 2 Plaguespitters
 * 2 Entropy Cannons (Optional replacement for Plaguespitters)
 * Rothail Volley Gun (Optional replacement for Heavy Slugger)

Ordo Malleus Departmento Analyticus Technical Specifications
The technical specifications of the Plagueburst Crawler have not yet been determined by the Ordo Malleus of the Inquisition.