Using Chaos Space Marines

Genetically enhanced, looking to crush an empire, and probably hosting a Daemon or two, the Chaos Space Marines are a one way ticket to pain and horror. by Richard Anastasios
You will shoot your enemy once, to ensure he fights no more that day! You will shoot traitors twice, to ensure nothing less than their deserved death! Lord Governor Charleston, during the defence of his home estate from a Traitor Guard Uprising. Practically speaking however, Chaos Marines are massive powerhouses of destruction. You think a Space Marine charging you is scary? Try one who is mentally unhinged and looking to try on your skin before you even stop bleeding. They have all the same capabilities of the neo Space Marines, far more impressive powers and the will to do anything they want with it. And that's just the basic model. The worst of them, if not a tank-sized Daemon Prince out to conquer a Segmentum by himself, will be host to the most powerful gifts attainable by any human anywhere. Psychic prowess, powerful mutations and demonically enhanced wargear will make sure he's one tough cookie to best, on any level.

FUNCTION OF CHAOS SPACE MARINES IN INQUISITOR

So vile that good men recoil in their presence, so ancient their existence has faded to myth and then to ignorance, the Chaos Space Marines are the most evil characters in the entire galaxy. Even the Daemons of the warp are only evil by nature, as reflections of raw emotion. The traitorous, bastard Astartes chose their path. And it is exactly this reasoning that makes them the perfect antithesis of what the Inquisition fights against. Everything from this point on is going to convince you that if Space Marines were considered to be pushing the boundaries of propriety in this system, these rules are definitely going too far. And you're probably right! But when has that ever stopped us gamers? Open your mind, make sure you don't favour the spray and pray approach, and fighting against a Chaos Marine will open more opportunities and ideas than it closes...

INCLUDING CHAOS MARINES IN YOUR GAMES.

Every Chaos Marine is a one man army. Many are incredibly ancient, the time warping influence of the Eye of Terror and Chaos powers meaning many even fought beside their Primachs in the Horus Heresy. Wherever they now go they carve a bloody path along the way. Every single one has their own agenda, and serve themselves first, and everything else (if any) second. This means that they don't have the typical restrictions of the Space Marines, having to follow all those Codex regulations and such, and have pretty much free reign to work with whomever they want. They could be working for a crime lord, who has promised them vast amounts of slaves to be used in their armies, or perhaps even working with a radical Inquisitor to bring down a more powerful rival. Of course, that's not to say that there will be any real camaraderie. In fact, if anything there will be only slightly less hostility between the allies than between them and their enemies, and the best thing about that means as soon as they kill said enemies, you have your next scenario, them trying to kill each other! Chaos Space Marines are also leaders in their own right, and many may be on a path to glory when they are stumbled across by a training group of fledgling Enforcers led by

MOTIVATIONS FOR USING CHAOS MARINES.

Often being witch, heretic and daemon in one, the Chaos Marine is the perfect character to square off against any Inquisitor or dogooder. Not to mention that they've practically turned being evil into a competitive sport and won't hesitate to kill off their allies, or even battle brothers to get what they want. Some even going so far as to function as mercenaries to a high enough bidder. They function perfectly as villains, fantastically as members of any evil warband and superbly as the ultimate wild-card able to explode into a whirlwind of carnage and bloodlust in half a second.

a priest investigating local murders who just happens to have forgotten his holy water. They will often employ powerful psykers (if they're not one themselves), daemonhosts and mutants, as well as pirates, traitors and cultists as a means to achieve their ends. If the lackeys really do their job well, the Marine might not kill them once they're finished... Due to the selfish nature that the Chaos Marines experience, it means that they are no longer susceptible to hindering restrictions such as: Suffer not the Unclean to live; in this case they are the unclean. No Surrender, No retreat/And they shall know no fear; whilst probably not knowing fear, they're happy to retreat to ensure they live to fight another day. To serve the Emperor is its own reward; I'm not touching that with a 30 foot pole. Yet however confusing it may seem, all this freedom has its own restricting effect, with the self centred nature of a Chaos Marine taking precedent. Here are a few guidelines to demonstrate and keep your characters in line. 1. My last breath won't be for the likes of you; Chaos Marines don't have a cause to die for. Their cause is staying alive with as much power as possible. Therefore it's more likely they will retreat when their life is in danger, rather than fight to their last. 2. A contract is worth nothing unless written in blood; Not one to go out of their way to help others, a Chaos Marine is likely to leave an ally to die unless they have a really, really good reason to help. 3. Chaos is the only truth in this galaxy; Many Chaos Marines worship the Dark Pantheon, and as such perceive any other religions as pathetic and inferior, seeking members out in a hope to illuminate them, especially members of the Imperial Creed. 4. Decayed soul, decayed body; Chaos Marines lack many of the superior advancements that are available to the loyalist Space Marines. When generating stats, they will tend to be 15-25 points lower than an average Space Marine, although this is made up for in other juicy ways. It's important to make sure, especially for the GMs, that these traits are enforced, to keep a good narrative to the game, and ensure your players don't suddenly have free reign with these powerhouses.

Being a Chaos Marine is no simple life of spilling blood and the drinking of said blood. Many are hunted for crimes by the Inquisition, betrayals of old allies or just simply because they are evil. Someone very powerful indeed has a bounty on their head, and they have to escape, and make a few examples of those sent to seek them Seek. The Chaos Marine must locate an informant/device/place in order to make his next move. Once he has reached it he will have to escape with his new found knowledge, and it's likely someone knows he is coming and will try to get in his way. Defile/Corrupt. Armed with blasphemous banners and heretical knowledge the Chaos Marine seeks out to defile the works of another religion in the name of Chaos. A preacher may be converted to become his personal demagogue, or a basilica may be soaked with the clergy's blood. Either way, Chaos will be appeased, and by the Chaos Marine's hand it will be done. Now you can make up your own, and its likely you will need to, as this is a very small list. But each Chaos Marine will have his own agenda and will want to do things his own way (hence the open ended nature of these 6 missions). So just roll a d6, pick your mission, and let your character do the rest, I promise each mission will bring up new surprises. Skills. Now whilst the stats line that exists for the Space Marines, and indeed any of the abilities detailed within both the Rule Book (Ambidextrous, Spit Acid, Nerves of Steel, Awareness) and the Using Space Marines update (Hurl opponent, Shoulder/Terrifying Charge, Shield, Covering fire), are all completely suitable for the Chaos Space Marines, there are many new (or rather old) skills they have maintained. Here are some universal Chaos Marine skills your character may have:

THE MOTIVATIONS OF A TWISTED MIND

Chaos Space Marines can have many goals, and most of them involve killing vast numbers of innocents to gain it. They might be seeking to awaken a daemon to do their bidding, or perhaps a Seer of legend to divine the path to power for them. Whatever the case, you know it will be bloody and it will take some serious opposition to slow them down. Here are some basic scenarios so you can just start a game with your models and your dice (and a calculator and a rulebook and). Murder. The Chaos Marine has a single goal in mind; to end a life. It could be a rival Chaos Marine, or the preacher of the Imperial Creed come to spew lies to the people. In any case, it's not a lucky day for the target. Claim/Capture/Kidnap. The Chaos Marine is seeking something, and it is something he would commit all his resources to. A daemon weapon of great power, a tome of dark secrets, or the succession to the throne of a world. He will kill, steal or destroy what he needs to achieve his goal, but first he must get to it. Summon. Great resources and years of planning have culminated in the final ritual to summon a daemon/pull a planet into the warp/create a warp-storm, and the Chaos Marine is not going to let anything get in his way. The local Inquisitor/Arbites are on their way, and one way or another, the ritual will end. Flee.

MILLENIA OLD
Many of the Chaos Marines likely to be striking out on their own, are those who have strode in the Shadow of the likes of Purtrabo and Montarion. Thousands of years of combat have taught them almost every way in which to kill and survive. The Chaos Space Marine has Decisive Fighter, and a Sagacity of at least 85.

PSYCHOPATH
Unpredictable and explosive, this character may be laughing at the top of their lungs as they flame a church mass one moment and then sitting on the ground chewing their own fingers off the next. Either too long in the warp or too many possessions has left little of this mind intact. Often found amongst the more sinister Chapters, such as Night Lords, the more serious cases means a player cannot reasonably control the character. It is more likely some of their captors brought them out of stasis to unleash upon their foes. Lesser cases lead to characters simply being unpredictable, and as such, will only engage in combat with the last person who attacked them, and will often push past the person they were meant to assassinate in order to crush the skull of the body guard who looked at him funny.

WORD OF CHAOS
Whether aligned to a specific deity or not, all Chaos Space Marines worship Chaos, and as such know their litanies and hymns. As a special speaking action, the Chaos Space Marine may utter the Words of Chaos, seeking to overwhelm the minds of the weak. Any who are within hearing range must pass a Sagacity test, and failing that a Nerve test at -15, or act as though having taken a blow to the head as their mind is overwhelmed by the truths of Chaos, and are then at -20 to Nerve for the remainder of the match as their soul is shaken. All characters of less than 50 Sagacity automatically fail. Does not affect worshippers of Chaos.

BUTCHERMAN
A trait common amongst the Berserkers of Khorne, this character seeks nothing but the flow of blood. Hacking through friend and foe alike they will barely remember their task at hand, let alone notice an arm go missing, through the red haze that clouds their visions. This character gains the frenzied and mindless attributes as soon as they see someone who is not clearly an ally, and from that point on will remain frenzied and mindless until there are no more opponents they are aware of. At this point they must pass a Will test or attack the nearest character regardless of allegiance, and continue to make Will tests at the beginning of each turn until they pass. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other specialist ability other than Gifted of Chaos.

DEATH IS A MERCY
Many have heard tales of the torture pits of Chaos, where a man's soul is flayed from his body and exposed to eternal torment. For some of those, it is mere myth and legend, but to those who know the truth, it is a fate far worse than death. If a character appears to be in danger of being captured or rendered unconscious in the presence of a Chaos Marine, and it appears there will be no escape (GM discretion), a character will go berserk, and attempt any means possible to kill themselves, even if this means shooting themselves in the head with a bolt pistol, unless they can pass a nerve test. In many cases they will simply render themselves unconscious anyway, but some will find the sweet release of death. Characters of less than 65 sagacity are not susceptible, knowing nothing of the true nature of the traitor Astartes.

DEMAGOUGE
True pilgrims of Chaos, these beings seek only to spread the truth of the universe to the universe. Able to shake the faith of farmers and governors alike, these skilled orators have a silver tongue that disguises the serpents poison in their words. All Word of Chaos tests by the enemy are done at -15%, and should they fail more than once, they must pass an additional Sagacity test or begin to fight for the opposition. In the case of a campaign, this may mean a character may switch allegiances until captured and re-programmed/executed.

DARK WHISPERS
All Chaos Marines have the potential for possession and psychic prowess. Their constant exposure to the warp and its inhabitants leaves a mark that stains the mind. The voices of Chaos speak to those most attuned, and if one takes heed they can guide you to victory unimaginable. Once per game, the GM should instruct the player on what the voices have said. If the Chaos Marine is staying true to their goals, then perhaps they will be given a hint. If not, then they may find themselves straying into a waiting ambush. The whispers also grow stronger when psychic activity is occurring, and therefore if the Chaos Marine is attempting to use or nullify a psychic power, roll a d6, on a 3-6 he receives +15 to his willpower as he draws on the voice's power, however on a 1 or 2 he receives -15 as they push focus from his mind. There are many different Chaos Chapters though, and some more piratical groups, and all have their own styles, from frothing maniacs to cold and calculating. Here are some more specialist skills you can use to customise your Chaos Marines;

BITTER AND TWISTED

Some Chaos Marines did not turn to the allure of Chaos for power. Many, such as the Iron Warriors, became disillusioned during the Horus Heresy and the years before, seeing the Imperium for what it was, the play-pen of a selfish Emperor. Cast into the shadows for thousands of years, they lash out at the Empire they once helped forge. Many fear to work with the likes of the Iron Warriors, even other Chaos Marines, because unlike the frenzied berserkers, the sadistic Emperor's Children, or even the conniving Thousand Sons, who all have their desires plainly exposed on the surface, these individuals show nothing to the world except an aura stronger than granite. All bitter and twisted characters will seek their goals single mindedly, and see betrayal as the ultimate sin. If any character they are allied with seemingly acts in a way that could be deemed contrary to the Chaos Marines goals, they will be killed without hesitation.

SADISTIC
This individual takes his pleasure from the suffering of others, and will do all in its power to prolong the pain it can inflict on another being. If in combat, the character will continue to attack their opponent/s until they are rendered unconscious, upon which they will move onto the next opponent. Only in extreme circumstances will they leave their prey without having dealt the maximum pain they could inflict. The Emperor's Children are very susceptible to this type of behaviour. All hit location rolls are at -10%, as they will prefer to strike a persons extremities, not wanting to incapacitate their plaything until the last. From each victim this character will also take a trophy, often mutilating their face, as a memento of their encounter. This takes one action and causes -10% to Nerve of anyone in sight to them per trophy, as they recognise their allies' ear/eye/lower jaw.

PSYKERPATH
Perhaps the most feared of Chaos Marines are those whom have mastery of the warp. Psychic powers in the hands of an already formidable beast are enough to make even the High Lords of Terra give pause. Many Chapters have Psykers, and some such as the Thousand Sons specialise in it, the appeal of having those who can divine the warp allows their masters to seek the superior paths to glory and power. The ways in which they achieve their powers often leads them to follow a single discipline, and they will therefore become more powerful as their minds become more focused over thousands of years. The Chaos Marine does not treat psychic powers as a risky action, although they can still experience psychic blowout. If a Chaos Marine has no psychic powers outside of a single discipline, then they receive +10 to all psychic power related tests.

GIFTED OF CHAOS
The gifts Chaos can bestow upon its followers are many, and in the case of Chaos Marines they are often the most powerful and fearsome. However, seeking the attention of the Dark Powers is also dangerous, and can lead to retribution beyond mortal comprehension. At the beginning of the game, the Chaos Marine's controller rolls on the following table/s. Gifted of Chaos table: D100 1-10 The gods are angry; roll once on the Ravages of Chaos table below. 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80 81-90 Daemonic Mutation; Character gains a randomly determined mutation from the Mutant mutation table. Daemonic Fire; Character may shoot as though they had a hand flamer. Daemonic Toughness; Character gains impervious daemon ability. Daemonic Strength; Character ignores the first 2 points of armour in combat. Daemonic Speed; Character gains +1 to speed and +1 yard to all movement rates. Daemonic Flight; May move as though they had a jump pack (not risky action). Daemonic Aura; Character is protected by a force shield that prevents d6+4 damage. Daemonic Essence; Character gains +1 to their Base Injury Value and counts as daemonic (select one Daemonic attribute).

GIFT OF CHAOS
Reaching out with their mind, the Psyker attempts to show their victim the path of Chaos trodden by the weak and ignorant. This is a ranged power with difficulty equal to half his victims toughness. The Psyker chooses a target within 20 yards of himself, and upon passing a psychic test, they will be forced to roll a d6 on the Ravages of Chaos table.

DOOMBOLT
A salvo of pure Chaos, this attack ignores conventional defenses and instead strips away its targets soul. This is a psychic ranged attack with the following profile: Range: J, Damage: X, Mode: Semi (4), Acc: -, Diff: 15 The Doombolt ignores all armour, shields and force-fields (excepting daemonic ones) and instead does one point of damage for every 5% the psychic test is passed by. Divide the targets Willpower by 15, this is how many points of damage are repelled.

MASS MUTATION
The Chaos Space Marine risks all in order to warp those around him to fit his image. This power requires line of sight and has difficulty 50. The Chaos Marine chooses a group of targets within 10 yards of one another and himself, and for every target above 3 they suffer an additional -20 to their willpower. Upon passing a psychic test each of these targets can either invite or resist the change, and if resisting they will be required to pass a toughness test or have the changes applied to them. The effect of the power is that a d50 (d100 / 2) is rolled, and the result is taken from the Gifted of Chaos table and applied to that character and then the next target in order is dealt with. New (old) Chaos Marine Equipment. Chaos Space Marines have archaic equipment, some of which dates back to pre-heresy technology, and whilst in some cases this means they don't have access to new advancements, it also means they have access to things the Adeptus Mechanicus no longer know exist, and things that have been created within the Eye of Terror.

91-100 Beyond Mortal Ken; roll once on the Ascension of Chaos table below. Ascension of Chaos: D6 1 Daemonic Essence; As Gifted of Chaos . 2 Enlightened; The Character gains the Demagogue ability and always counts as passing any nerve test. 3 Sight of a God; Once per game, the Chaos Marine may cause another character they are aware of to skip a turn as they are forced to see the vision of Chaos as the Dark Gods do. 4 Time shift; The character may re-roll all failed action dice in at most three turns. 5 Alpha Level; This character gains 3 psychic abilities and +10 to all psychic tests. 6 Daemonic Stature; All attributes are at +20 and Character is impervious, and daemonic. Powers. Here are several of the psychic powers more commonly seen amongst Chaos Marines;

DAEMONIC CHAINS
Inscribed with runes of binding and the blood of daemons, these chains will ensure the mastery over a daemon within a host, or aid in the summoning of one. It bestows upon the bearer a +15 to willpower in relation to mastery over daemon weapons, and also means daemonhosts and daemons are more likely to follow orders. It also means Daemonic summoning with the Personal Icon is done at +20 to willpower and sagacity and only takes 3 actions.

DAEMONIC ARMOUR
The Chaos Marine's armour has been forged by daemons and gifted to him for services rendered. It counts as being 3 points higher for conventional weapons, 3 points lower for psychic bolts and 6 points lower for psycannon bolts.

WIND OF CHAOS
The ethereal tempests of the warp blow out through the mind of Psyker, wrapping its tendrils around the weak of body, seeking to drag them into its dark embrace. This power requires line of sight and has difficulty 35. The Chaos Marine chooses a group of targets within 15 yards of one another and himself, and for every target above 3 they suffer an additional -20 to their willpower. Upon passing a psychic test each of these targets will be required to pass a toughness test or suffer d3 levels of damage to d3+1 random locations as the power of Chaos ravages their body and mind.

PRE-HERESY POWER ARMOUR

Not as protective as the newer models of power armour worn by the Adeptus Astartes, the Pre-heresy armour does not feature the additional ablative ceramite plating on the chest and abdomen. It does however feature a higher resistance to kinetic energy weapons, which includes all solid-round weapons and close combat weapons that are not non-kinetic, and will therefore count as 1 point higher. It also includes better shock-servos, with knockback being completely reduced unless hit by something equal to or greater than their strength.

SPIKY BITS
This is a special close combat attack that can only be used in the turn the Chaos Marine charges. If the character performs a Shoulder Charge attack, then the recipient of the charge must pass an initiative check or suffer d6+3 damage to locations equal to every 10% or part thereof they failed the test by.

BEDLAM STAFF
Staves often employed by the Thousand Sons, this weapon acts as a focus for their powers and is able to cloud the minds of their opponents. This weapon counts as a staff that, when used in close combat, will stun an opponent for one turn if they fail a willpower test upon receiving damage. In addition, every concentration act gains an additional 5% to willpower.

AXE OF KHORNE
Cooled in the ocean of blood surrounding Khorne's skull throne, this Daemon weapon hosts the soul of one of the beast that swim within the red sea. For every hit in close combat, this character counts as having made an extra hit, and damage is rolled accordingly and it can be dodged/parried. It does however bestow the Butcherman attribute upon the character, and lowers their willpower by 20.

PERSONAL ICON
Gifted to those most favoured by the Chaos Gods, this Icon contains the bound essence of one of the foot-soldier daemons of Chaos. It counts as daemonically possessed with a willpower of 70, and requires mastery tests just as Daemon weapons do. In any of the characters turns they may summon forth the daemon within, this takes 4 actions followed by a passed sagacity and willpower test. If either is failed the Daemon ignores their tests and they must try again. Upon success, the daemon materialises next to the character under the control of the GM (acting as the Chaos gods themselves!). These beasts are dangerous and can turn on their owners if the opportunity arises, and so should be utilised with caution. The Wrap Up. And so there they are. New skills, new weapons and new ideas! (Hopefully) You'll find playing with these guys ridiculous fun if you're anything like me, and feel free to twist and crop these rules all you like as the sole rule of gaming should be; let your imagination run wild! Remember to discuss with other players/GMs before you play with rules such as these, and if you're the GM, remember to not mention anything specifically so you can spring it on your players mid match! Here's a little (little?) example of my main Nemesis for the Medusa V campaign me and some associates played, sure he seems a little overwhelming, but he only rocked up twice, and only fought once, and against Death Company Marines and a Space Marine Commander!

MANREAPER
Dipped in the filth seeping from Grandfather Nurgle's Throne, this great scythe has captured the essence of one of the Daemons cavorting there. Whilst counting as a halberd, this weapon reduces the users speed by 2 whilst in close combat. Every hit that does damage results in the recipient taking a toughness test, and if failed, they count any injury levels as one level higher, or automatically inflicting one level if one was not achieved.

LASH OF TORMENT
This whip twists and coils with a mind of its own, and it thrives on the pain of its victims, absorbing their fear. This weapon has the following stats; Reach 4, Damage d6+3, Parry -25%. If the user's weapon skill is above 90, the parry counts as +15%, as they are able to snap the whip around their opponent's wrists or knock weapons aside with ease. If any damage is dealt by the weapon, the recipient counts as losing 10 points of nerve, and are forced to take a willpower test and if they fail it they will act as though they are under the effects of Pleasure! on the Ravages of Chaos table.

Seeryx The Bloodsmith, Warsmith of the 8th Grand Company of the Iron Warriors
Commander of the 8th Grand Company of the Iron Warriors, Commodore of the Forge-Breaker, Master of The Caged, The Bloodsmith. Seeryx and his Company of Iron Warriors have carved a bloody swathe through the Imperium since the Horus Heresy. His face split in two, the flesh of one side stripped away, the bare skull heavy with bionics clamped to the bone, the skin of the other side laced with wires and tubes buried deep beneath the surface. Bitter beyond belief of the betrayal of the Imperium to his Legion, Seeryx has sought revenge in the ten thousand long years after the Horus Heresy, his latest actions within the Cadian and Medusan sectors have marked him as one of the most active lieutenants of Chaos in battle, leaving petty pirating and raids to the weak. The powers of Chaos support him greatly as well, with the Brazen Star of Chaos being awarded to his force during the fall of Medusa V. Armed with his Daemon Hammer, Vladamach the caged, Seeryx is now in the process of seeking the answers to visions of power bestowed upon him by an ancient Seer upon Medusa V, and the untrustworthy nature of the Iron Warriors compels Seeryx to oversee everything personally, although this does expose him to many situations involving the Imperium's most deadly agents, the Inquisitors. Many attempts on his life have failed, and many will fail again before he falls, although he claims he will not succumb to death until the High Lords of Terra and the Emperor's own desiccated carcass adorns his Battleship, The Forgebreaker.
WS Seeryx 102 BS 80 S 245 T 135 I 65 Wp 90 Sg 99 Nv 93 Ld 87

Equipment: Pre-heresy Terminator Armour (value 14, same attributes as pre-heresy power armour), Bionic Skull, Advanced Bionic Eye with Infrascope, Advanced Bionic right arm, Spiky Bits, Vladamach the Caged (Counts as Daemon hammer with reach 4, Magical Force, Magic Absorption, Mind Stealer). Special Abilities: Bitter and Twisted, Shoulder Charge, Gifted of Chaos, Millennia Old, Death is a Mercy, Dark Whispers, Nerves of Steel.