Changes: Legion Destroyer Squad

Revision as of 06:52, 29 December 2012

WE Destroyer2 Mk IV — An Astartes who served in a Pre-Heresy Destroyer Squad of the World Eaters Legion

A Legion Destroyer Squad was a special weapons formation of the ancient Space Marine Legions that saw action during the Unification Wars, and the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras in the late 30th and early 31st Millennia. Considered dishonourable by some of the Legions who made little use of them or eschewed their use altogether, the Destroyers were equipped with and expert in the use of otherwise proscribed and forbidden weaponry that made use of technology developed during the Age of Strife. Though none could deny the effectiveness of such foul weapons of mass destruction, Destroyer cadres were often shunned by other Legionaries as being somehow tainted.

History

The origins of the Destroyer Squads lay in the conduct of the Unification Wars on Terra in the late 30th Millennium, but surprisingly not with the forces of the Emperor but with the armies of His enemies. Considered dishonourable by some Space Marine Legions who refused to make use of them altogether, the Destroyers were equipped with and expert in the use of otherwise proscribed and forbidden weaponry, including certain weapons of mass destruction. Alongside certain factions of the Mechanicum, only Astartes Destroyer cadres were sanctioned to use such verboten weapons within the forces of the Imperium by the Emperor's command. Radiation-based weapons, bio-alchemical munitions and the crawl-burning horror of Phospex were amongst the compoents that comprised the Destroyers' dark arsenal -- weapons which irrevocably tainted the ground on which they were used. During the long nightmare of the Age of Strife such weapons of mass destruction rendered many once life-sustaining human colonies uninhabitable charnel houses.

Destroyers were marked by their fire-blackened and chem-scalded Power Armour. These Space Marines were often shunned and deemed somehow tainted by their fellow Battle-Brothers in many Legions. This was because Destroyers were considered only a necessary evil of the Great Crusade, although the effectiveness of their relic-weapons in wiping out particulalrly diffuclt foes could not be denied. The drawbacks of using such deadly weaponry was the inevitable physical toll it took on a Legionary's body. Despite their genetically-enhanced Astartes physiology, Destroyer Squad Space Marines often displayed the physical affects of long-term use and proximity to such toxic weaponry, including: radiation-induced cellular degeneration, abnormally pale skin that displayed unhealthy lightning-storms of veins and blood-bruises staining the flesh, yellowed-jaundiced eyes, and aggressive and rare forms of cancer which often resulted in the replacement of the affected organs withaugmetic replacements.

Wargear

Power Armour or Artificer Power Armour
Pair of Bolt Pistols
Chainsword or Combat Blade
Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades and Rad Grenades

Optional Wargear (for Destroyer Squad Sergeant)

Optional Wargear

Melta Bombs
Jump Packs
Missile Launcher equipped with Suspensor Web and Rad Missiles
Volkite Serpenta
Hand Flamer
Plasma Pistol

Sources

Imperial Armour - The Horus Heresy Betrayal - Book One, pp. 92, 195

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 The origins of the Destroyer Squads lay in the conduct of the [[Unification Wars]] on [[Terra]] in the late 30th Millennium, but surprisingly not with the forces of the Emperor but with the armies of His enemies. Considered dishonourable by some Space Marine Legions who refused to make use of them altogether, the Destroyers were equipped with and expert in the use of otherwise proscribed and forbidden weaponry, including certain weapons of mass destruction. Alongside certain factions of the [[Mechanicum]], only Astartes Destroyer cadres were sanctioned to use such verboten weapons within the forces of the Imperium by the Emperor's command. Radiation-based weapons, bio-alchemical munitions and the crawl-burning horror of Phospex were amongst the compoents that comprised the Destroyers' dark arsenal -- weapons which irrevocably tainted the ground on which they were used. During the long nightmare of the Age of Strife such weapons of mass destruction rendered many once life-sustaining human colonies uninhabitable charnel houses.
-Destroyers were marked by their fire-blackened and chem-scalded [[Power Armour]]. These Space Marines were often shunned and deemed somehow tainted by their Battle-Brothers in many Legions, Destroyers were considered a necessary evil although the effectiveness of their relic-weapons couldn't be denied. The drawbacks of using such deadly weaponry was the inevitable physical toll it took on a Legionaries body. Despite their enhanced physiology, Destroyer squad members often displayed the physical affects of long-term use and proximity to such toxically lethal weaponry such as: radiation degeneration, pale skin showing unhealthy lightning-storms of veins and blood-bruises staining the flesh, yellowed-jaundiced eyes, and aggressive forms of cancer which often resulted in the replacement of affected organs with augmetic ones.
+Destroyers were marked by their fire-blackened and chem-scalded [[Power Armour]]. These Space Marines were often shunned and deemed somehow tainted by their fellow Battle-Brothers in many Legions. This was because Destroyers were considered only a necessary evil of the Great Crusade, although the effectiveness of their relic-weapons in wiping out particulalrly diffuclt foes could not be denied. The drawbacks of using such deadly weaponry was the inevitable physical toll it took on a Legionary's body. Despite their genetically-enhanced Astartes physiology, Destroyer Squad Space Marines often displayed the physical affects of long-term use and proximity to such toxic weaponry, including: radiation-induced cellular degeneration, abnormally pale skin that displayed unhealthy lightning-storms of veins and blood-bruises staining the flesh, yellowed-jaundiced eyes, and aggressive and rare forms of cancer which often resulted in the replacement of the affected organs with[[ augmetic]] replacements.
 ==Wargear==