Heretic Legion
A shroud of darkness blankets the world. Smoke and brimstone spew from the yawning Gates of Inferno, enveloping the lands where people have abandoned God and openly wage war against His Creation. It is a grim reality that a full third of humanity has bent its knee before the idols of Hell. The main satanic military force on Earth are the Heretic Legions, raised from amongst these citizens of the damned.
Spies are sent into Hell’s domains under special absolution by the Cardinal Protector. Most are caught, never to be seen again, save for some whose eternally screaming heads are returned to New Antioch, branded with bleeding runes that mock the Holy Trinity.
Yet some do make it back to the light, whispering of the horrors they have witnessed: of firstborn cast into the mouths of the burning statues of Baal and human flesh sold by the pound in dreadful markets. They speak of the great idols of the Golden Calf and rapturous men and women who prostrate themselves before them. Inverted pyramids and towers plunge into the depths of these cities, built of iron and black stone. Within these pits stand sacrificial altars where weeping captives are slowly sliced to death over agonising days and weeks with wicked knives made of infernal basalt. Cathedrals to the princes of Hell hang from grand arches of volcanic stone, while the condemned are crucified on hundreds of upside down crosses.
Accounts speak of sprawling factories made of mutilated flesh and metal, their forges yielding endless munitions for the ongoing war. Guided by the teachings of Tartarus’ smiths, alchemists toil over colossal weapons and armoured warmachines, wielding the forbidden secrets of their patrons’ metallurgy to forge instruments of death and suffering beyond the grasp of any human engineer. Once proud cities of Earth, where churches have been toppled and entire populations subjugated, are now dedicated towards bringing down the very Throne of Heaven.
Amongst the forsaken citizens who endure within the earthly domains of Hell, the greatest status is afforded to the soldiers fighting in the Great War. But joining the elite units of the army of damnation is no easy task. Those who wish to win a place amongst the Heretic Legions must make an unholy pilgrimage to the burning bronze Gates of Hell, where even from leagues away, the infernal heat sears both flesh and spirit until the pain becomes unbearable. In the Valley of Tears, the great road that leads to the Gate, paved with wailing souls and lamentations, is littered with endless mounds of charred bodies. Many are still half-alive, writhing in agony, trapped in a grotesque twilight between life and death, their wickedness deemed insufficient. These discarded souls are doomed to writhe in agony until the Day of Judgement.
Those who make it within sight of Hell’s Maw are considered worthy and are initiated into the Legions, taking unbreakable vows that chain them into darkness for all eternity, their bodies branded with the mark of the demon lord that has claimed them. The Armouries of Hell then equip them for battle, and Heretic Priests beckon forth new supplicants as dictated by the whispers of the archdevils. Thus, a new Heretic Legionnaire is born. They hail archdevils as their masters and are thus damned.
Yet there are some who push further on: to the very Gate itself and beyond. Their very flesh ignites, never to recover, but those with the blackest souls can enter the Inferno itself. Amongst those, the Anointed are especially revered amongst the Legions. They are the paragons of unhinged brutality – men and women of colossal vigour and unyielding devotion. Having tread the accursed path to the shores of the Lake of Eternal Flame, where the damned wither and contort in ceaseless torment, the Anointed emerge forever scarred by the embrace of abyssal fires. The blackened and burnt flesh of the Anointed will never heal, but in exchange, they are granted the right to wear heavy Gehenna armoured suits and gain strength to wield weapons that a normal man could barely lift. It is said that glancing into their eyes, one can see the reflection of the very flames of Hell, forever etched in their vision.
Though the vast bulk of the Heretic Legions are made of mortal humans, Hell often sends their own abhorrent progeny to reinforce their mortal foot soldiers: nightmarish War Beasts made of captured and possessed creatures, and dreaded Artillery Witches who act as mobile artillery, supporting lightning assaults.
Captains
A Heretic Priest can take a Puppet Master ACTION. If they do so, take a Risky Success Roll for the model. If the roll is a Failure, the Heretic Priest’s Activation ends immediately. If the roll is a Success or Critical Success, pick 1 enemy or friendly model that is within 12" of the Heretic Priest and in their Line of Sight. You can move the model D6". The move must be in a straight line, but can be in any direction, and can be used to make the model move with 1" of an enemy or retreat, and to Climb a sheer surface, Jump across a gap, or Jump Down.
Elite
A Death Commando can take a Hide ACTION if they are in contact with a terrain piece that is at least ½" high. If they do so, take a Risky Success Roll for the model and add +1 DICE to the roll. If the roll is a Failure, the Death Commando’s Activation ends immediately. If the roll is a Success or Critical Success, enemy models cannot choose the Death Commando as the target for a Ranged Attack or Charge until the Death Commando moves, charges, retreats, makes a Ranged Attack, or an enemy model moves within 1.5" of them. The Death Commando can be hit if they are within the blast radius of a Weapon with the BLAST Keyword.
Add -1 DICE to Ranged Attacks that target a Death Commando.
Add -1 DICE to Success Rolls taken for enemy models that are within 8" of one or more Choristers.
Choristers sacrifice themselves upon black altars, and if worthy, rise after nine days, finishing their own beheading as their severed heads begin to sing. Their hymns conjure visions of Hell, sapping the strength and resolve of all who hear, the Chorister’s cold blood forming diabolic symbols in rhythm with their unholy chorus. Those who hear their song find their minds flooded with visions from the Pits of Hell, weakening both their resolve and strength, as the dreadful music eats away at their very soul.
Infantry
Infernal Brand Mark
NEGATE FIRE
A Heretic who has made a holy pilgrimage into Hell itself is branded by their patron devil with an ever-burning mark. Mortal fire no longer has the power to harm them.
Reinforced Armour
-2 INJURY MODIFIER
Reinforced armour is a master-crafted suit made individually for the most important and elite troops. Each one is richly decorated and often carries the personal device of the warrior who wears it.
You do not have to take a Risky Success Roll for an Artillery Witch when they Climb or Jump, or an Injury Roll if they Fall.
Add -1 INJURY DICE for an Artillery Witch that has been hit by an attack with the GAS Keyword.
You may include 0-2 Artillery Witches in a Warband if the total cost of all of the other models in the Warband (including their Battlekit, etc) adds up to 1,000 or more.
Infernal Bomb
| Range | 36" |
| Hands | 1 Hands (Ranged) |
RELOAD, SHRAPNEL, SCATTER, IGNORE COVER, IGNORE LONG RANGE, IGNORE ELEVATED POSITION, BLAST 3"
Add -1 INJURY DICE to the roll for a model that is hit by an Infernal Bomb if it is in contact with a terrain piece that is at least ½" tall and that lies in between it and the target point.
When you make an Injury Roll for a model that was the target for an Infernal Bomb and hit by it, or if the Infernal Bomb scattered and the target point was on the model’s base, roll 3D6 and add all 3 dice together. Any +INJURY DICE or -INJURY DICE that applied to the Injury Roll will apply normally, except that you pick the 3 highest or lowest dice in the roll instead of the 2 highest or lowest. Injury Rolls for other models caught in the Infernal Bomb’s Blast are made normally.
If a model that has been hit by an Infernal Bomb is not taken Out of Action by the Injury Roll, it is blown away D3" in a straight line by the explosion. Roll separately for each model to see how far it is blown away by an Infernal Bomb. If the model was the target of the attack, it is blown directly away from the Artillery Witch. If the model was caught in the Blast of the weapon, it is blown directly away from the target point. The model stops if it is blown into another model, Impassable terrain, or terrain it cannot cross without having to Climb.
Artillery Witches stalk the battlefields, hurling ordnance assembled in the death factories of Hell’s Third Circle. They are completely mute, and no one has ever seen their faces, leading some to question if they are even alive. Rumours suggest that they too, were manufactured in Hell. They can call forth an endless number of Infernal bombs from a portal to Hell that they manifest at will, summoning them to their hands from a gate of midnight blackness.
You can upgrade Heretic Troopers in your Warband to Heretic Legionnaires, at a cost of +10 each. You cannot upgrade a Heretic Trooper if doing so would result in there being more Heretic Legionnaires in your Warband than there are Heretic Troopers. When you upgrade a Heretic Trooper to a Heretic Legionnaire, you can change either their Ranged Characteristic or their Melee Characteristic from 0 to +1.
A Heretic Trooper or Heretic Legionnaire can have any Battlekit from the Heretic Legions Armoury Tables.
Add +1 DICE to the Risky Success Roll for a War Wolf that is taking a Dash ACTION. In addition, a War Wolf ignores the penalty for moving through Difficult terrain (other terrain affects it normally).
A War Wolf is armed with two Melee Weapons (its Chainsaw Mouth and Shredding Claws). When it makes a Melee Attack, it can attack once using either its Chainsaw Mouth or Shredding Claws, or twice, first with the Chainsaw Mouth and second with its Shredding Claws (the Off-Hand Weapon modifier applies to the attack made with the Shredding Claws). Note that both Weapons have the RISKY keyword, which means that the War Wolf ’s Activation ends immediately if the Success Roll for an attack made with either weapon is a Failure.
Chain Maw
| Range | Melee |
RISKY, IGNORE ARMOUR, +1 INJURY DICE, +1 DICE
Shredding Claws
| Range | Melee |
| Hands | 2 Hands (Melee) |
RISKY, CUMBERSOME, +1 INJURY DICE
If an attack made by a Wretched takes an enemy model with the ELITE Keyword out of Action, the Wretched model gains its freedom and is immediately removed from the game. It no longer counts as being part of the Warband for the purposes of Morale Checks and is removed from the Warband Roster.
When a Wretched is taken Out of Action, place 1 BLESSING MARKER next to the nearest friendly model with the ELITE and HERETIC Keywords. If two or more eligible models are equally close to the Wretched, you can choose which receives the BLESSING MARKER.
In a campaign, Wretched can be sold in the Quartermaster Step for 25 plus half the cost in of any Battlekit they have.
Many unfortunates fall into the hands of Heretic warbands, captured in raids, purchased from the slave markets, or seized by watchful patrols. Such Wretched are branded with cursed flesh-eating tattoos as a safeguard against escape and heavily drugged to degrade and dull their will, while still leaving their aggression intact.
Mercenaries
A Goetic Warlock can take a Goetic Portal ACTION. If they do so, take a Risky Success Roll for the Goetic Warlock with +1 DICE. If the roll is a Failure, the Goetic Warlock’s Activation ends. If the roll is a Success or Critical Success, you can pick up the Goetic Warlock and deploy them on the battlefield anywhere within 6" of the location they originally occupied (measured from the centre of its base to the centre of its base). If this is impossible for any reason, the Goetic Warlock must stay in their original position. Note that the Goetic Warlock can redeploy even if they are down or within 1" of an enemy model (in which case the enemy model cannot make a Melee Attack before the Goetic Warlock is redeployed), and can deploy within 1" of an enemy model. In addition, if the roll is a Success or Critical Success and the Goetic Warlock is within 1" of any enemy models mounted on a 32mm base or smaller, then the Goetic Warlock can take 1 of the enemy models with them. If they do so, you must deploy the Goetic Warlock first and then deploy the enemy model within 1" of the Goetic Warlock. If you cannot deploy the enemy model within 1" of the Goetic Warlock, then the enemy model stays in its original position.
An enemy model within 1" of a Goetic Warlock cannot take a Retreat ACTION.
A Goetic Warlock can make a Melee Attack even though it does not have Melee Weapons. When a Goetic Warlock makes a Melee Attack, it can attack twice using the CRITICAL Keyword even though it doesn’t have Melee Weapons (the Off-Hand Weapon modifier applies to the second attack).
A Goetic Warlock can take a Goetic Gaze ACTION. If they do so, take a Success Roll for the Goetic Warlock. If the roll is a Failure, nothing happens. If the roll is a Success, place 1 BLOOD MARKER next to an enemy model within 24" of the Goetic Warlock and in their Line of Sight. If the roll is a Critical Success, place 2 BLOOD MARKERS next to an enemy model within 24" of the Goetic Warlock and in their Line of Sight instead of only 1.
Sword / Axe
| Range | Melee |
| Hands | 1 Hands (Melee) |
CRITICAL
Because of the martial traditions of many proud nations and due to the advances in armour technology, swords and axes are extremely popular, especially amongst elite units and officers. They are supremely useful for finishing off downed opponents and causing profusely bleeding wounds.
Reinforced Armour
-2 INJURY MODIFIER
Reinforced armour is a master-crafted suit made individually for the most important and elite troops. Each one is richly decorated and often carries the personal device of the warrior who wears it.
Goetic Warlocks are nightmarish creations forged in the death factories of the Third Circle of Hell. Captured priests, prophets, vicars, rectors, and monks are tortured in fiendish machines that burn away their flesh with hellfire, encasing their still-living skeletons in infernal suits of armour, and stamping them with Goetic runes. The process is so agonising that the victims, driven by desperation, willingly enter into demonic pacts, seeking an end to their unbearable suffering. Thus, a new Goetic Warlock is born, now a ruthless predator, driven to hunt the very mortals they once swore to protect.
The mere gaze of a Warlock induces necrosis. In close quarters, they clasp their enemies in a merciless embrace. Drawing on Goetic power, they portal to a secluded location, where they can savour the prolonged destruction of their victim, slowly shredding them into pieces. They revel in the grotesque act of skinning their victims alive, transforming the remains into repulsive vellum for dark grimoires and profane religious texts. Some even wear the faces of their victims to power their illusionary spells, confounding their enemies.
Due to the rarity of the victims required to create Goetic Warlocks, these abominations are reserved for the most renowned Heretic commanders, with the greatest need and the most influential connections in the twisted web of Heretic politics. Mammon, the mighty devil of Greed, offers his personal battalion of Warlocks to the highest bidder.
Treat a Scripture Guardian as having a Movement Characteristic of 3"/Infantry when it takes a Dash ACTION.
The Scripture Guardian reads words from the holy (or unholy) text it carries. A Scripture Guardian can take a Vengeful Scripture ACTION. If they do so, pick 1 enemy model within 18" of the Scripture Guardian and in its Line of Sight. Then take a Success Roll for the Scripture Guardian, with +2 DICE if the enemy model is within 9" of the Scripture Guardian and +1 DICE otherwise. If the roll is a Failure, nothing happens. If the roll is a Success, make an Injury Roll for the enemy model, with a +1 INJURY MODIFIER for each BLOOD MARKER the enemy model has (in addition to any benefits you receive if you then spend them to affect the Injury Roll). If the roll is a Critical Success, make an Injury Roll for the enemy model with +1 INJURY DICE and a +1 INJURY MODIFIER for each BLOOD MARKER the enemy model has.
Combat Helmet
NEGATE SHRAPNEL
The simple combat helmet has proven its value on the battlefield time and again.
Reinforced Armour
-2 INJURY MODIFIER
Reinforced armour is a master-crafted suit made individually for the most important and elite troops. Each one is richly decorated and often carries the personal device of the warrior who wears it.
Sin Eater can take a Devour the Guilty ACTION. If they do so, pick 1 model (friend or foe) that is within 1" of the Sin Eater and is mounted on a base that is 40mm or smaller. If the model is an enemy, take a Risky Success Roll for the Sin Eater. If the model is friendly, take a Success Roll for the Sin Eater with +1 DICE. If the roll is a Failure, the Sin Eater’s Activation ends, if it was a Risky Success Roll, and nothing happens if it was a normal Success Roll. If the roll is a Success or a Critical Success, the model you picked is devoured, and the following rules apply to it:
- Place the model to one side, along with any MARKERS it may have. It is inside the Sin Eater and cannot be affected in any way or carry out any ACTIONS except as described below. While it is in the Sin Eater it is considered to be Down for the purposes of Morale Checks. A Sin Eater can only have 1 devoured model at a time.
- When it is Activated, it can take a Fight ACTION and must target the Sin Eater. Add -3 DICE to the roll for the Melee Attack, and do not use any of the model’s abilities or any of the special rules for its weapons.
- If the Sin Eater is taken Out of Action, before removing them from the battlefield, deploy the devoured model within 1" of the Sin Eater and place it Down. If this is impossible, the model is taken Out of Action. In either case, the Sin Eater is then removed from the battlefield.
- If a devoured model is still inside a Sin Eater when the game ends, it is considered to have been taken Out of Action.
- Each time the Sin Eater is Activated, place 1 BLOOD MARKER next to the devoured model. As soon as a devoured model has 6 BLOOD MARKERS, it is immediately taken Out of Action and is no longer considered to be inside the Sin Eater.
- A Sin Eater that has a devoured model inside it can take a Purge ACTION.If it does so, take a Success Roll for the Sin Eater with +4 DICE. If the roll is a Failure, nothing happens. If the roll is a Success or Critical Success, deploy the devoured model within 1" of the Sin Eater and place it Down. If this is impossible, the devoured model remains inside the Sin Eater. Once released the model can be Activated normally.
Tenderizer Maul
| Range | Melee |
| Hands | 2 Hands (Melee) |
HEAVY, +1 INJURY MODIFIER
When a model armed with a Tenderiser Maul takes a Fight ACTION, instead of making only 1 Melee Attack, you can make 1 Melee Attack against each enemy model with 1" of the attacking model. Resolve each Melee Attack one at a time in the order of your choice.
Reinforced Armour
-2 INJURY MODIFIER
Reinforced armour is a master-crafted suit made individually for the most important and elite troops. Each one is richly decorated and often carries the personal device of the warrior who wears it.
Sin Eaters were once mortal men and women, but their overwhelming greed, combined with the corrupting influence of the Hellgate, turned them into an abominable form that matches their inner foulness. Sin Eaters are among the few creatures outside Beelzebub’s followers that he deems worthy as their boundless gluttony mirrors his essence.
Armoury
Variants
Promotions
