ADEPTUS ASTARTES

"They shall be my finest warriors, these men who give of themselves to me. Like clay I shall mould them and in the furnace of war I shall forge them. They shall be of iron will and steely sinew. In great armour I shall clad them and with the mightiest weapons shall they be armed. They will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness shall blight them. They shall have such tactics, strategies and machines that no foe will best them in battle. They are my bulwark against the Terror. They are the Defenders of Humanity. They are my Space Marines...and they shall know no fear."

— The Emperor of Mankind

Space Marines are the Emperor's fury made manifest.

The Adeptus Astartes (commonly known as Space Marines, and colloquially as Angels of Death) are one of the most elite and feared fighting forces in the Imperium of Man. The primary unit of organisation in the 41st millenium is the Chapter, a self-contained army fully equipped with its own transport, non-combatant support staff, etc. There are around a thousand Chapters, each comprising a thousand Space Marines. There are far too few Space Marines to form the Imperium's main military forces; instead they operate as highly mobile strike forces. They are entrusted with the most dangerous missions, such as lightning raids behind enemy lines, infiltration, and tunnel fighting. Through selection, training, and conditioning, Marines are physically, mentally, and spiritually superior to any other Imperial soldier.

Astartes Special Rules

Combat Doctrines

When the Adeptus Astartes fight alongside their battle brothers they employ a strict set of combat doctrines.

If your army is Battle-forged and is composed of Adeptus Astartes units, those units gain a bonus (see below) depending on which combat doctrine is active for your army. You can activate any of the doctrines below, but only once per game, and can only activate one doctrine a turn. The benefits of the doctrine last until the end of the turn.

• DEVASTATOR DOCTRINE: Affected models can re-roll To Hit rolls of 1 for weapons with either the Heavy or Ordinance keywords.

• TACTICAL DOCTRINE: Affected models can re-roll To Hit rolls of 1 for any weapon firing Rapid Fire, or Assault keywords.
• ASSAULT DOCTRINE: Affected models can re-roll To Hit rolls of 1 for weapons in close-combat, as well as Pistol keywords.

And They Shall Know No Fear

The Space Marines of the Adeptus Astartes stand unafraid before the greatest terrors of the galaxy.

When a Morale or LD test is taken for this unit, you can re-roll one or both of the dice results.

Combat Squads

It is sound doctrine for Space Marine units to remain flexible, splitting into two entities as the tactical situation dictates.

A full strength, ten-man unit with this special rule can break down into two five-man units, called combat squads, considered to be two five-man squads of the same type. For example, a ten-man Tactical Squad can split into two five-man Tactical Squads using the Combat Squads special rule.

SPACE MARINES WARLORD TRAITS

If an ADEPTUS ASTARTES CHARACTER model is your WARLORD, you can use the Space Marines Warlord Traits table below to determine what Warlord Trait they have. You can either roll one D6 to randomly generate one, or you can select one. If you wish, instead of selecting a Warlord Trait from either of the tables below, you can select a Chapter Warlord Trait for your WARLORD, but only if they are from the relevant Chapter.

When you have determined a Warlord Trait for an ADEPTUS ASTARTES CHARACTER model, replace all instances of the <Chapter> keyword in their Warlord Trait (if any) with the name of the Chapter that your model is drawn from.

1

FEAR MADE MANIFEST (AURA) The Emperor’s enemies quail beneath this champion’s wrathful gaze. While an enemy unit is within 6" of this WARLORD: Subtract 1 from the Leadership characteristic of models in that unit. Each time a LEADERSHIP test is taken for that unit, subtract 1 from that LEADERSHIP test.

2

THE IMPERIUM’S SWORD This warlord hurls himself forwards with unbridled ferocity, cutting down the foe like a reaping whirlwind. You can re-roll charge rolls made for this WARLORD. Each time this WARLORD fights, if it made a charge move or performed a Heroic Intervention this turn, then until that fight is resolved, add 1 to its Strength and Attacks characteristics.

3	IRON RESOLVE Faith and duty drive this warlord relentlessly onwards as he shrugs off injuries that would lay lesser warriors low. Add 1 to the Wounds characteristic of this WARLORD. Your WARLORD gains the Feel No Pain special rule.

4

CHAMPION OF HUMANITY This commander has slain enemy generals beyond counting. Each time this WARLORD fights, if it is within Engagement Range of any enemy CHARACTER units, then until that fight is resolved, add 1 to this Warlord’s Attacks characteristic. Each time this WARLORD makes a melee attack against a CHARACTER unit, you may re-roll wound rolls of 1.

5	STORM OF FIRE (AURA) This warlord expertly guides his warriors’ fire. While a friendly <CHAPTER> unit is within 6" of this WARLORD, each time a model in that unit makes a ranged attack, on an unmodified wound roll of 6, improve the Armour Penetration characteristic of that attack by 1.

6	RITES OF WAR (AURA) This commander and his warriors have vowed to secure victory. While a friendly <CHAPTER> unit is within 6" of this WARLORD, that unit has the Objective Secured keyword.