Warhammer 40k Glossary — Keywords, Weapon Abilities and Rules Terms

Plain-English definitions for every Warhammer 40k rules term — unit keywords, weapon abilities, characteristics, phases, and core concepts like Deep Strike, Engagement Range and Battle-shock.

Core concepts

Advance: An Advance move — add a D6 to the unit’s Move, but it cannot charge or start an Action for the rest of the turn, and can only shoot with [ASSAULT] weapons
Anti-X: Anti-KEYWORD X+ — against units with the matching keyword, an unmodified Wound roll of X+ is a Critical Wound
Assault shooting: How a unit that made an Advance move can still shoot — with its [ASSAULT] weapons only
Attached unit: A unit with a Leader attached — the Leader and its Bodyguard unit count as one unit while they are together
Attack dice: The pool of dice gathered for a weapon before any Hit rolls — abilities like [BLAST], [CLEAVE] and [RAPID FIRE] add to it
Attacker and Defender: The two roles both players roll off for before the battle — some secondary missions are only available to one of them
Aura: An ability with a radius — the bearer is always inside its own aura, and being in range of the same aura twice still only applies it once
Battle Round: One full cycle of both players’ turns — a battle runs five battle rounds
Battle Size: The game size agreed before mustering armies — Incursion (1000 pts), Strike Force (2000 pts) or Onslaught (3000 pts)
Battle-shock: A failed Battle-shock roll — the unit’s Objective Control drops to "-", your Stratagems cannot target it, and it cannot start or finish an Action
Benefit of Cover: Worsens the attack’s Ballistic Skill by 1 — a unit has it while every model is Infantry, Beasts or Swarm inside a terrain area, or is screened from the shooter by intervening terrain
Bodyguard unit: The squad a Leader is attached to — while any Bodyguard models remain, attacks cannot be allocated to the Leader
Central objective: An objective in the middle of the battlefield, away from either deployment zone — the ground both armies have to walk into
Charge move: The move a charging unit makes — pick targets within 12", roll the charge, and end within Engagement Range of one of them
Close-quarters shooting: How an engaged unit shoots — with [CLOSE-QUARTERS] weapons, or as a Monster or Vehicle, targeting what it is engaged with
Coherency: Every model within 2" horizontally of another model in its unit and within 9" of all of them — units out of coherency lose models at the end of the turn
Command Points: CP — the currency of Stratagems; both players gain 1CP at the start of each battle round
Consolidation move: The move a unit makes after fighting — Ongoing Consolidation keeps it locked with what it fought, Engaging Consolidation reaches a unit within 3"
Critical Hit: An unmodified Hit roll of 6 — always hits, and triggers abilities like Sustained Hits and Lethal Hits
Critical Wound: An unmodified Wound roll of 6 — always wounds, and triggers abilities like Devastating Wounds
Damaged: Damaged X — while the model is down to X wounds or fewer it is damaged, and subtracts 1 from its Hit rolls
Declare Battle Formations: The pre-battle step where you attach Leaders to units, embark units in Transports, and place units into Reserves
Deep Strike: When the unit makes an ingress move it can be set up anywhere more than 8" horizontally from every enemy unit — even inside your opponent’s deployment zone
Dense terrain: Buildings, ruins, woods — Infantry, Beasts, Swarms and Mobile models pass through it; everything else goes over or around
Deployment map: The pattern that carves the board into the two deployment zones — Dawn of War, Hammer and Anvil, Search and Destroy and the rest
Deployment Zone: The region of the battlefield the mission gives each army to set up in
Destroyed: A model is destroyed when its wounds reach zero, and a unit is destroyed once its last model is — which is the moment most kill-scoring missions count
Detachment: The army-wide plan of attack chosen at muster — it brings its own rule, its own Stratagems and its own Enhancements
Detachment Points: The budget a Detachment is bought with, set by battle size — 2 DP at Incursion, 3 at Strike Force, 4 at Onslaught
Disembark move: Leaving a Transport — a Rapid Disembark after the Transport moved, or a Tactical Disembark from a Transport that stayed put
Emergency disembark move: Bailing out of a Transport that was just destroyed — every model takes a Hazard roll as the unit is set up around the wreck
Engagement Range: Within 2" horizontally and 5" vertically of a model — models inside each other’s Engagement Range, and their units, are engaged
Enhancement: An upgrade bought for a Character at muster from the detachment’s enhancement list
Expansion objective: An objective out towards the flanks rather than the centre — held by spreading out instead of by massing
Exposed terrain: Craters, razorwire, scattered debris — crossed freely by anything, and it offers no cover
Fall Back: A Fall-Back move out of combat. A steady unit makes an Ordered Retreat; a Battle-shocked one is forced into a Desperate Escape, taking a Hazard roll per model
Feel No Pain: Feel No Pain X+ — each time the model would lose a wound, roll a D6; on X+ that wound is ignored
Fights First: While every model in the unit has it, the unit fights in the Fights First combats step — ahead of the units resolving normal combats
Fire Overwatch: A Stratagem — at the end of your opponent’s Movement phase, one of your unengaged units shoots using snap shooting
Fixed mission: A secondary mission marked Fixed — taken up front and kept for the whole battle instead of being drawn and cycled
Force Disposition: The stance your detachments give your army — Take and Hold, Purge the Foe, Reconnaissance, Priority Assets or Disruption — which decides the primary mission you are dealt
Frame: A model measured to and from its closest point rather than a base — most baseless Monsters and Vehicles carry the keyword
Half-strength: At or below half its Starting Strength (or half its Wounds, for a single model) — the unit must take a Battle-shock roll each Command phase
Heroic Intervention: A Stratagem — at the end of your opponent’s Charge phase, one of your unengaged units within 12" resolves a charge of its own
Hidden: Infantry, Beasts or Swarm inside light or dense terrain that has not shot since your opponent’s last turn — only visible within 15"
Home objective: The objective inside your own deployment zone — the one most primary missions pointedly refuse to pay you for holding
Hover: The unit takes to the skies without the usual 2" penalty — it keeps its full move while airborne
Indirect shooting: Shooting at units you cannot see with [INDIRECT FIRE] weapons — the target has the Benefit of Cover against those attacks
Infiltrators: Deploys anywhere on the battlefield, so long as it stays over 8" horizontally from both the enemy deployment zone and every enemy unit
Ingress move: How a unit arrives from Strategic Reserves — set up near a battlefield edge, more than 8" horizontally from every enemy unit
Invulnerable save: A saving throw that is never modified by Armour Penetration — it can be used in place of the armour save
Leader: A unit that leads a Bodyguard unit, paired while mustering — the two form an attached unit that counts as one unit all battle
Level of Control: The total Objective Control of your models within range of an objective — the higher level at the end of a phase or turn takes it
Light terrain: Barricades, low walls, statuary — everything can move through it, and it can give cover but not concealment
Lone Operative: Not visible to enemy models more than 12" away, and out of reach of [INDIRECT FIRE] past that range — unless it has joined an attached unit
Mission matchup: Your Force Disposition crossed with your opponent’s — the pairing that names each player’s primary mission, and outside a mirror the two of you are usually playing different ones
Mortal wound: Damage that skips the Hit roll, Wound roll and saving throws entirely — each mortal wound deals 1 damage straight to the unit
No Man’s Land: The ground between the two deployment zones — neither player’s territory, and where most missions are won or lost
Normal Move: The plain Movement phase move, up to the unit’s Move characteristic — it must be unengaged to make one and unengaged when it ends
Objective: A marker both armies fight to hold — you control it while your models’ Level of Control within range beats your opponent’s
Obscuring: A terrain area holding light or dense terrain — two models with every line of sight crossing one cannot see each other
Operation marker: A token a mission has you place to record something you did there — a consecration, a decoy, a sabotage — which later scoring then counts
Overrun fight: How a unit that is not engaged still fights — it makes an extra pile-in move first, then attacks
Pile-in move: The move made before fighting, toward the units it will attack — an unengaged unit that overruns can reach targets within 5"
Plunging Fire: Improves the attack’s Ballistic Skill by 1 when shooting down at a unit on ground level from 3" up — or from a Towering model within 12"
Primary mission: The mission your matchup deals you and the bulk of your score — capped at 15 victory points in a battle round and 45 across the game
Remain Stationary: The unit is not moved or rotated at all, so nothing that triggers on starting or ending a move goes off
Reserves: Units set up off the battlefield during deployment and brought on mid-battle — via Deep Strike, Strategic Reserves or similar rules
Scout move: The pre-battle move granted by Scouts X" — made from wholly within your deployment zone, ending more than 8" horizontally from every enemy unit
Scouts: Scouts X" — before the first turn the unit makes a Scout move of up to X", or redeploys out of Strategic Reserves into your deployment zone
Secondary mission: An extra scoring card played alongside your primary — you hold a hand of them, and both players draw from their own deck rather than sharing the matchup’s
Secured objective: An objective that stays yours after your units leave — until your opponent’s Level of Control over it beats yours at the end of a phase
Smokescreen: A Stratagem for Smoke units — for the phase, attacks against the unit (and against anything it screens) are resolved as though the target had the Benefit of Cover
Snap shooting: Reaction fire at one visible unit within 24" — only unmodified Hit rolls of 6 land, and Hit rolls cannot be re-rolled
Starting Strength: The number of models a unit had at the start of the battle — used to judge when it is Below Half-strength
Stealth: While every model in the unit has it, ranged attacks against the unit are resolved as though it had the Benefit of Cover
Stratagem: A Command Point ability — spend CP to use one at the moment it names; the same Stratagem cannot be used twice in one phase
Strategic Reserves: Units held off the battlefield, capped at half your points — from the second battle round they arrive with an ingress move, and any still waiting at the end of the third are destroyed
Super-Heavy Walker: Moves through models and low terrain; can take the Mobile keyword for a move, risking Battle-shock on a 1
Support: Like Leader — a support unit leads a Bodyguard unit to form an attached unit, and a Bodyguard unit can take one Leader and one Support
Surge move: A reactive move toward the closest enemy unit, ending engaged with it where possible — the unit must be unengaged, unshaken and not yet moved this phase
Table quarter: One of the four corners the battlefield divides into — missions that reward spreading out count how many of them you are standing in
Take to the skies: A Flying unit’s optional airborne move — 2" shorter, but it ignores vertical distance and passes over models and terrain
Terrain area: The footprint a terrain feature occupies — what units are measured into, hide inside, and contest objectives from
Terrain layout: One of the recommended board setups for your matchup — where every ruin, barricade and objective sits before a single model deploys
Terrain objective: An objective that IS a terrain area — a model is within range of it while it is inside that area
Territory: Your half of the battlefield — wider than your deployment zone, and what missions mean by pushing into your opponent’s
Unengaged: A unit with no model inside an enemy model’s Engagement Range — the state most moving and shooting requires
Victory points: The score a game is decided on — primary and secondary missions both pay in them, and the higher total when the last battle round ends wins
Warlord: Your army’s nominated leader — chosen at muster; some rules and missions key off the Warlord

Phases

Command phase: The first phase of a turn — both players gain 1CP, Battle-shock tests are taken, and start-of-turn abilities resolve
Movement phase: The phase where your units make Normal Moves, Advance, Fall Back or Remain Stationary, and Reserves arrive
Shooting phase: The phase where your eligible units shoot their ranged weapons
Charge phase: The phase where your units declare charges and roll 2D6 to reach combat
Fight phase: The phase where units in Engagement Range pile in and attack with melee weapons — units that charged strike first

Characteristics

Move characteristic: M — how far the model can move in inches when it makes a Normal Move, Advances or Falls Back
Toughness characteristic: T — how hard the model is to wound; the attacker compares their weapon’s Strength against it
Save characteristic: Sv — the D6 roll needed to shrug off an attack, worsened by the attack’s Armour Penetration
Wounds characteristic: W — how much damage the model can take before it is destroyed
Leadership characteristic: Ld — the 2D6 score the unit needs to pass Battle-shock and other Leadership tests
Objective Control characteristic: OC — how much each model counts for when contesting an objective marker
Weapon Skill characteristic: WS — the D6 roll a melee weapon needs to hit
Ballistic Skill characteristic: BS — the D6 roll a ranged weapon needs to hit
Range characteristic: The maximum distance in inches a ranged weapon can shoot
Attacks characteristic: A — how many attack dice the weapon rolls
Strength characteristic: S — how hard the weapon hits; compared against the target’s Toughness to find the Wound roll needed
Armour Penetration characteristic: AP — how much the weapon worsens the target’s armour saving throw (AP -2 turns a 3+ save into a 5+)
Damage characteristic: D — how much damage each successful, unsaved attack inflicts on the target

Rolls & tests

Advance roll: The D6 added to a unit’s Move characteristic when it Advances
Battle-shock roll: A Leadership roll taken in the Battle-shock step — fail it and the unit becomes Battle-shocked; pass it and an already-shocked unit recovers
Charge roll: The 2D6 a charging unit rolls — it must be enough to end the move in Engagement Range of every target
Damage roll: The roll made for a weapon with a variable Damage characteristic (D3, D6…) to see how much damage an unsaved attack inflicts
Desperate Escape: The Fall-Back mode a Battle-shocked unit is forced into — one Hazard roll per model, and it may move through enemy models
Hazard roll: One D6 — on a 1 or 2 the unit takes 1 mortal wound, or 3 instead if every model in it is a Monster or Vehicle
Hit roll: A D6 per attack — meeting the weapon’s WS/BS scores a hit. An unmodified 6 always hits (a Critical Hit); a 1 always misses
Leadership roll: 2D6 against the unit’s Leadership — it succeeds if the result matches or beats any Ld characteristic in the unit
Save roll: The defender’s D6 to shrug off an attack — armour worsened by AP, or an unmodifiable invulnerable save, taken group by group down the allocation order
Saving throw: The defender’s D6 roll to ignore a wound — the armour save modified by AP, or an unmodifiable invulnerable save, whichever is better
Wound roll: The D6 that turns a hit into a wound — the score needed comes from comparing the weapon’s Strength with the target’s Toughness. An unmodified 6 always wounds (a Critical Wound)

Weapon abilities

Assault: Lets the unit use assault shooting — it can still shoot after an Advance move, but only with its [ASSAULT] weapons
Blast: One extra attack dice for every five models in the target unit
Cleave: Cleave X — if every attack goes at one target, add X attack dice for each five models in it
Close-Quarters: Lets the unit use close-quarters shooting while engaged; under any other shooting type each model fires either these weapons or its other guns
Deadly Demise: Deadly Demise X — when the model is destroyed, roll a D6; on a 6, units nearby suffer X mortal wounds
Devastating Wounds: A Critical Wound ends the attack sequence and deals mortal wounds equal to the weapon’s Damage, one model per Critical Wound
Extra Attacks: Made on top of the model’s other melee attacks — take all of its [EXTRA ATTACKS] weapons plus one other melee weapon
Firing Deck: Firing Deck X — when this Transport shoots, X embarked models can fire their weapons through it
Hazardous: Once the unit has resolved its attacks, make one Hazard roll for each [HAZARDOUS] weapon it fired
Heavy: Add 1 to Hit rolls while the unit is unengaged, was not set up this turn, and no model moved more than 3"
Ignores Cover: The target cannot have the Benefit of Cover — including cover granted by rules such as Stealth
Indirect Fire: Lets the unit use indirect shooting at targets it cannot see — those targets get the Benefit of Cover
Lance: Add 1 to the Wound roll if the bearer charged this turn
Lethal Hits: A Critical Hit can be taken as an automatic wound — no Wound roll, so no chance of a Critical Wound
Melta: Melta X — inflicts X extra Damage at half range
One Shot: Can only be fired once per battle
Pistol: Identical to [CLOSE-QUARTERS], which supersedes it — the unit can shoot while engaged
Precision: Attacks can be aimed at a Character group in the target unit rather than the models shielding it
Psychic: A psychic attack — you may ignore any or all modifiers to the attack’s BS/WS and to its Hit roll
Rapid Fire: Rapid Fire X — makes X extra attacks at half range
Sustained Hits: Sustained Hits X — a Critical Hit scores X extra hits
Torrent: Automatically hits its target — no Hit roll
Twin-linked: Re-roll the Wound roll

Unit keywords

Aircraft: Fly-only with special movement and targeting rules
Battleline: Counts as a Battleline unit for detachment composition requirements
Battlesuit: T’au battlesuit chassis — targeted by battlesuit-only rules and stratagems
Beast: Treated as Infantry for most rules; usually fast and melee-focused
Cavalry: Mounted unit — fast and benefits from Cover
Character: Can attach to a bodyguard unit; targetable rules vary based on attachment
Daemon: Warp-spawned daemon — affected by anti-Daemon and daemonic rules
Dedicated Transport: Can carry friendly units inside; embarked units stay safe until disembark
Dreadnought: Dreadnought chassis — targeted by Dreadnought-specific rules
Epic Hero: Named character — only one of this exact unit per army
Explosives: Can use the Explosives Stratagem to hurl demolition charges at a nearby unit
Fly: Can move over models and terrain freely during the Movement phase
Fortification: Static defence you set up in your deployment zone
Grenades: Superseded by EXPLOSIVES — the unit can use the Explosives Stratagem
Infantry: Foot troops — can move through dense terrain and are hidden inside a terrain area
Jump Pack: Jump-pack equipped — special deployment and movement rules apply
Markerlight: Equipped with markerlights — grants extra benefits when spotting targets
Mobile: Moves through dense terrain as Infantry do — granted for a move by rules such as Super-Heavy Walker
Monster: Large creature — vulnerable to Anti-Monster; moves like a war machine, not Infantry
Mounted: Mounted unit — fast and benefits from Cover
Psyker: Has Psychic abilities — affected by anti-Psyker weapons and rules
Smoke: Can use the Smokescreen Stratagem, gaining the Benefit of Cover
Swarm: Multi-creature swarm — small bases, high model count, low individual durability
Synapse: Projects the Hive Mind’s will — steadies nearby Tyranids against Battle-shock
Terminator: Terminator-armoured elite — Terminator-only rules and transports apply
Titanic: Colossal model — cannot embark in Transports, and nothing can move through it
Towering: Very tall model — visible over most terrain, and its Plunging Fire reaches units within 12"
Transport: Can carry friendly units inside; embarked units stay safe until disembark
Vehicle: Mechanical unit — vulnerable to Anti-Vehicle weapons; cannot Fall Back from combat normally
Walker: Vehicle that moves like Infantry — and can be picked out by Heroic Intervention

Battlefield roles

Characters: Leaders and heroes — many can attach to squads to lead them
Fortifications: Static defences you set up in your deployment zone
Monsters: Massive creatures — powerful in melee and hard to bring down
Mounted & Beasts: Fast-moving riders and creatures — strike quickly, then reposition
Transports: Carriers that ferry a squad safely across the battlefield
Vehicles: Armoured machines — durable, but vulnerable to anti-tank fire

Faction keywords

Aeldari: Of the Aeldari race — Aeldari-wide rules and abilities apply
Chaos: Sworn to the Dark Gods — Chaos-only rules and abilities apply
Imperium: Loyal to the Imperium — Imperium-wide rules and leaders apply
Khorne: Marked by Khorne — interacts with Khorne-dedicated rules
Nurgle: Marked by Nurgle — interacts with Nurgle-dedicated rules
Slaanesh: Marked by Slaanesh — interacts with Slaanesh-dedicated rules
Tzeentch: Marked by Tzeentch — interacts with Tzeentch-dedicated rules
Undivided: Devoted to Chaos as a whole — Undivided-keyed rules apply

Faction mechanics

Act of Faith (Adepta Sororitas): The Adepta Sororitas army rule — spend a Miracle die to replace a roll (hit, wound, save, charge…) with the die’s value
Afflicted (Death Guard): Death Guard — the state of an enemy unit caught by a contagion inside Contagion Range
Battle Focus (Aeldari): The Aeldari army rule — fluid battlefield discipline that lets units move and act with supernatural grace (tokens by edition)
Conqueror Imperative (Adeptus Mechanicus): Adeptus Mechanicus offensive doctrine — the army advances, trading resilience for firepower (Doctrina Imperatives)
Contagion Range (Death Guard): Death Guard aura — the range within which their diseases take hold of enemy units, degrading them while they remain inside
Cult Ambush (Genestealer Cults): The Genestealer Cults army rule — destroyed units can slink away and re-emerge elsewhere via ambush markers
Dacatarai Stance (Adeptus Custodes): Adeptus Custodes fighting stance — one of the martial ka’tah forms the army adopts for a battle round
Daemonic Manifestation (Chaos Daemons): Chaos Daemons rule — manifesting daemonic units onto the battlefield from the warp
Daemonic Terror (Chaos Daemons): Chaos Daemons rule — the supernatural dread daemons project, pressing Battle-shock and Leadership on nearby enemies
Dark Pacts (Chaos Space Marines): The Heretic Astartes army rule — bargain with the Dark Gods for empowered attacks at the risk of paying in blood
Doctrina Imperatives (Adeptus Mechanicus): The Adeptus Mechanicus army rule — army-wide directives toggled between offence and defence stances
For the Greater Good (T’au Empire): The T’au army rule — units can become Observers, marking enemy units as Spotted so Guided units shoot them more accurately
Guided unit (T’au Empire): A T’au unit shooting at a Spotted target — its attacks’ Ballistic Skill characteristic improves by 1 (For the Greater Good)
Miracle dice (Adepta Sororitas): Adepta Sororitas resource — dice earned through faith, spent via Acts of Faith to substitute a roll with the die’s value
Oath of Moment (Space Marines): The Adeptus Astartes army rule — pick one enemy unit each battle round; your army re-rolls Hit rolls (and more, by edition) against it
Observer unit (T’au Empire): A T’au unit that gives up its own shooting to mark an enemy unit as Spotted for the rest of the phase (For the Greater Good)
Pain token (Drukhari): Drukhari resource — tokens earned as units destroy the enemy, spent to empower units with extra battle prowess
Protector Imperative (Adeptus Mechanicus): Adeptus Mechanicus defensive doctrine — the army braces, trading offence for resilience (Doctrina Imperatives)
Reanimation Protocols (Necrons): The Necrons army rule — units repair themselves, returning lost wounds and destroyed models over the course of the battle
Rendax Stance (Adeptus Custodes): Adeptus Custodes fighting stance — one of the martial ka’tah forms the army adopts for a battle round
Shadow in the Warp (Tyranids): The Tyranids army rule — once per battle, force Battle-shock tests across the enemy army while your Synapse network presses in
Spotted unit (T’au Empire): An enemy unit marked by a T’au Observer — Guided units improve their Ballistic Skill against it (For the Greater Good)
Waaagh! (Orks): The Orks army rule — call it once per battle to surge the whole army: extra melee aggression and durability for that battle round
Warp Charge (Thousand Sons): Thousand Sons resource — psychic power accumulated by the cabal and spent to fuel sorcerous abilities

Factions

Adepta Sororitas: The Adepta Sororitas, colloquially called the "Sisterhood", whose military arm is also known as the Sisters of Battle and formerly as the Daughters of the…
Adeptus Custodes: The Adeptus Custodes, known as the Legio Custodes during the era of the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy, and colloquially as the "Ten Thousand," is the…
Adeptus Mechanicus: The Adeptus Mechanicus is the official Imperial name within the Adeptus Terra for the Cult Mechanicus or Cult of the Machine based on Mars which provides…
Adeptus Titanicus: The Collegia Titanica is the division of the ancient Mechanicum and the current Adeptus Mechanicus that operates and oversees the Titans, the colossal…
Aeldari: The Aeldari, or the Eldar as they were long known to outsiders, are an ancient and highly advanced species of humanoid xenos whose vast empire once…
Astra Militarum: The Astra Militarum, also known as the Imperial Guard in colloquial Low Gothic, is the largest coherent fighting force in the galaxy and serves as the…
Black Templars: The Black Templars are a Loyalist Second Founding Space Marine Chapter derived from the Imperial Fists' gene-seed and their primarch, Rogal Dorn. Their…
Blood Angels: The Blood Angels are one of the 20 First Founding Legions of the Space Marines and were originally the IX Legion before the Second Founding broke the…
Chaos Daemons: Chaos Daemons, or simply Daemons (pronounced DEE-mahns), also known as a "Neverborn" amongst the forces of Chaos, are intelligent and usually malevolent…
Chaos Knights: The Chaos Knights, also known as Renegade Knights, Daemon Knights, and the Questor Traitoris in High Gothic, are Imperial Knight combat walkers, their…
Chaos Space Marines: Chaos Space Marines, also sometimes called Traitor Marines, Renegade Marines, or Heretic Astartes, are former Space Marines of the Imperium of Man who…
Dark Angels: The Dark Angels are considered amongst the most powerful and secretive of the Loyalist Space Marine Chapters. They were the I Legion of the original 20…
Death Guard: The Death Guard are one of the Traitor Legions of Chaos Space Marines. They worship and devote themselves exclusively to the Chaos God Nurgle and as a…
Deathwatch: The Deathwatch, known also as the "Long Vigil," and the "Long Watch," is a unique Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes comprised of mostly Veteran Space…
Drukhari: The Drukhari (Aeldarix malum) (pronounced Druh-KAR-ee) or "Dark Ones" in the Aeldari Lexicon, also known to outsiders as the Dark Eldar, are a forsaken…
Emperor’s Children: The Emperor's Children, also sometimes known after their fall as the Lords of Profligacy, are a Traitor Legion of Chaos Space Marines who devote…
Genestealer Cults: A Genestealer Cult is a xenos-worshipping secret society made up of and controlled by Tyranid Genestealers that thrives in the dark corners of the…
Grey Knights: The Grey Knights are a secret and mysterious Chapter of Space Marines specifically tasked with combating the dangerous Daemonic entities of the Warp and…
Imperial Agents: The Lex Imperialis, known also as the Dictates Imperialis or simply "Imperial Law" in Low Gothic, is the civil and criminal code of the Imperium of Man…
Imperial Fists: The Imperial Fists are one of the First Founding Chapters of the Space Marines and were originally the VII Legion of the Legiones Astartes raised by the…
Imperial Knights: The Imperial Knights, or Questor Imperialis in High Gothic, are piloted robotic combat walkers of small to medium size in the service of the Imperium and…
Iron Hands: The Iron Hands are a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter and one of the original First Founding Space Marine Legions created from the gene-seed of their…
Iron Warriors: The Iron Warriors are one of the nine First Founding Traitor Legions of Chaos Space Marines that turned to the service of Chaos during the Horus Heresy…
Leagues of Votann: The Leagues of Votann are the collective confederations of the species of squat but powerfully-built Abhuman clones who refer to themselves as the "Kin".…
Necrons: The Necrons are a mysterious xenos species of humanoid, robotic skeletal warriors that have lain dormant in their stasis-tombs for more than 60 million…
Orks: The Orks, also called Greenskins, are a savage, warlike, green-skinned species of bestial, asexual humanoids who are spread all across the galaxy. They…
Raven Guard: The Raven Guard is one of the original First Founding Chapters of the Space Marines and was originally the XIX Space Marine Legion before the Second…
Red Corsairs: The Red Corsairs are a Renegade Chapter and warband of Heretic Astartes who command a vast fleet of pirates composed of mortals and other Traitor Marines…
Salamanders: The Salamanders are one of the Loyalist First Founding Chapters of the Space Marines. They originally served as the Imperium's XVIII Space Marine Legion…
Space Wolves: The Space Wolves, known in their own dialect of Juvjk as the Vlka Fenryka or "Wolves of Fenris", are one of the original 20 First Founding Space Marine…
T’au Empire: The T'au Empire (pronounced "TOW" as in "WOW"), also spelled Tau Empire in older Imperial records, is a rapidly expanding, multispecies xenos stellar…
Thousand Sons: The Thousand Sons are one of the Traitor Legions of Chaos Space Marines who are sworn solely to the service of Tzeentch, the Chaos God of change, intrigue…
Titanicus Traitoris: The Traitor Titan Legions are those Legios of the Collegia Titanica that repudiated their oaths of loyalty to the Emperor of Mankind and willingly…
Tyranids: The Tyranids are an extragalactic composite species of hideous, insectoid xenos. They actually comprise an entire space-faring ecosystem comprised of…
Ultramarines: The Ultramarines are considered one of the strongest and most honoured of all the Space Marine Chapters in the Imperium of Man, and were responsible for…
White Scars: The White Scars, who call themselves the "Horde of Jaghatai" and were originally called the Star Hunters during the early Great Crusade, are a Loyalist…
World Eaters: The World Eaters are one of the Traitor Legions of Chaos Space Marines who now inhabit the Warp rift known as the Eye of Terror in the Imperium of Man's…