IMPERIAL

ATOMICA V 1.1

Nuclear Warfare and

Postnuclear Survival
in the 41st Millenium
Konigstein, 2018

Contents
Introduction ........................................................ 4
What’s in This Book ........................................ 4
What’s Next ....................................................... 4
Acknowledgements and Contact ................. 4
Part 1: Strategic-Scale Warfare ....................... 5
The Ferm Gauge ................................................. 5
Table 1: The Ferm Gauge ............................... 6
Tracking Radiation ..........................................7
Coping with Radiation ....................................7
Mutation Potential ............................................ 8
Table 2: Mutation Potential........................... 8
Irradiated Environments ..................................9
Minor Ambient Radiation ..............................9
Moderate Ambient Radiation .......................9
Major Ambient Radiation...............................9
Catastrophic Ambient Radiation ...............10
Black Rain..........................................................10
Rad Storms ........................................................10
Tactical Fission Weapon ...............................10
Salted Fission Weapon................................... 11
Subterranean Blast .......................................... 11
Underwater Blast............................................. 11
Atmospheric Blast ........................................... 12
Fusion Weapon ................................................ 12
Neutron Weapon............................................. 12
Sanctic Weapon ................................................ 12
Exterminatus-Scale Weapon ....................... 13
Part 2: Tactical-Scale Warfare ......................14
Atomic Origins ..................................................14
Rad-Blasted World......................................... 15
Rad-Blasted World: Lenk VIII ................. 16
Atomforged World ......................................... 18
Atomforged World: Haigerloch ............... 20
Irradiated World .............................................. 21
Atomforged World: Somdele ...................... 23
[OW] Regiment Type: Nuclear Shock .. 24
[OW] Regiment Type: Zone Operations
.............................................................................. 24
[OW] Regiment Type: Nuclear Artillery
.............................................................................. 24
[OW] Training Doctrine: Duck and
Cover .................................................................. 24
[OW] Equipment Doctrine:
Contamination Operations ..........................25
[RT] Trials and Travails: Scorched ..........25
Careers in Nuclear Science............................ 26
Using These Career Ranks ......................... 26
[DH1] Alternate Rank: Rad-Poisoner ... 27
Table 3: Rad-Poisoner Advances [DH1] 27
[DH1] Alternate Rank: Nucleic Initiate 29
Table 4: Nucleic Initiate Advances [DH1]
.............................................................................. 29
[DH1] Elite Advance: Twisted Survivor . 31
Table 5: Twisted Survivor Advances [RT]
............................................................................... 31
[RT] Alternate Rank: Atomic Scholar .... 33
Table 6: Atomic Scholar Advances ............. 33
[RT] Alternate Rank: Magos Nucleic ..... 35
Table 7: Magos Nucleic Advances ............. 35
[RT] Elite Advance: Twisted Survivor ....37
Table 8: Twisted Survivor Advances [RT]
...............................................................................37
[DH2] Elite Advance: Magos Nucleic..... 39
[DH2] Elite Advance: Rad-Poisoner ...... 41
[DH2] Elite Advance: Twisted Survivor 42
New Skills, Talents and Traits ..................... 44
Scholastic Lore: Nuclear Physics (Int) ..... 44
Talent: Formidable ........................................ 44
Talent: Fast Metabolism .............................. 44
Talent: Feverish Focus ................................. 44
Trait: Twisted but Unbroken......................45
Atomic Armoury ............................................... 46
Weapon Qualities ........................................... 46
Scorched Souls ................................................. 46
The Minutiae of Atomic Blasts .................. 47
Exotic Ammunition ....................................... 48
Table 9: Exotic Ammunition ...................... 48
Weapon Upgrades...........................................50
Table 10: Upgrades and Glas Weapons ....50
Glas Weaponry .................................................50
Anti-Radiation Clothing .............................. 51
Table 11: Anti-Rad Clothing .......................52
Radiation Detection Gear ............................ 53
Table 12: Radiation Detection Gear ......... 53
Table 13: Anti-Rad Drugs ............................ 55
Anti-Radiation Drugs.................................... 55
New Cybernetics and Implants .................. 57
Vehicles ............................................................... 58
Vehicles and Radiation ................................. 64
Changelog ........................................................... 65

3
Introduction
“It worked.”
-J. Robert Oppenheimer
By the time of the 41st Millenium,
humanity has pretty well mastered and
moved beyond nuclear physics. Fusion
power is not merely well-understood, it is
commonplace, from the huge plasma
reactors of Imperial Navy voidships to the
tiny self-contained power cells of Astartes
power armour. While ancient atomic
weapons are rare, they are not unheard of.
It is only natural that, from the irradiated
depths of a Calixian underhive to the empty
void of space, the heroes and villains who
exist in the grim darkness of the far future
should occasionally run into the sinister
hazard of atomic radiation and nuclear
warfare.
What’s in This Book
Imperial Atomica is a sourcebook for nuclear
warfare and nuclear survival in the 41st
millennium. It contains content for both
editions of Dark Heresy, as well as Only
War and Rogue Trader. With it, you can
play Inquisitorial agents exploring the
irradiated underhive, or a privateer crew
hauling strange radioactive ore for profit,
or Guardsmen face to face with apocalyptic
nightmare of a nuclear firestorm. While this
content has not been tailored to the
Deathwatch or Black Crusade systems, it
can easily be adapted.
This book is divided into two main parts.
Part 1, Strategic-Scale Warfare, covers nuclear
weaponry on a grand scale, dealing with the
effects of radiation and the kind of nuclear
and post-nuclear environments players will
encounter.
4
Part 2, Tactical-Scale Warfare, contains the
systems and rules for surviving, coping with
and carrying out nuclear conflict. It
includes character creation options for the
above-mentioned systems, from Imperial
Guard nuclear artillery to the Magii
Nucleic of the Adeptus Mechanicus and the
subtle Rad-Poisoners of the underhives.
Next up, it presents a full armoury of
radiological weapons, anti-radiation
protection gear and chems, as well as
vehicle built for surviving the harshest
environments in the Galaxy.
What’s Next
This volume is still very much a rough draft
or work in progress, and there are a variety
of major additions to look forward to in the
future. Updates will include the addition
of, among many other things:
• A Template system, for
representing changes to NPCs and
enemies due to prolonged radiation
exposure.
• A variety of nuclear-themed air
vehicles and vehicular weapons
• Nuclear Psykana, in the form of the
Fragormancy Discipline, with
powers for all systems.
Acknowledgements and Contact
Thanks are in order as always to anon and
to the rest of the fa/tg/uys for their help
and advice and to the good folks of Ordo
Discordia for providing useful commentary
and balance advice.
As always, I can be reached on the Ordo
Discordia server, or by email at
windowsfullofglass@gmail.com. You can
find other stuff I’ve written, and donation
links if you’re inclined, at
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4432611.
Part 1: Strategic-Scale Warfare
“Paw saw a flash on the horizon, like heat
lightnin’, but we didn’t think nothin’ of it ‘til the
black rain started to fall, and all the Grox died.”
-Mungo Hunklin, last survivor of the
Cleansing of Lenk IX
Nuclear weaponry, however outdated as it
might be in the 41st millennium, still has the
power to wither continents, turning verdant
landscapes into choking, glassy wastelands
of irradiated dust. Even outside of the
endless warfront, the cold ticking of a
Geiger counter is no stranger to many
Imperial citizens. The beating heart of
many a Hive City is an ancient fission or
fusion reactor, tended by wizened keepers
who grow more twisted with each irradiated
generation. Some worlds are even naturally
radioactive due to quirks of atmosphere or
geology, their hardy inhabitants never quite
sure why other Imperial citizens regard
them with such disgust.
This chapter covers how radiation works in
the 41st millennium- how to measure it,
detect it, where it emanates from, and the
myriad ways it can kill you.
The Ferm Gauge
“Past ten? See a medic. Past thirty? See a
Hospitaller. Past sixty? See a priest.”
-Sergeant Lamasa DuFresne, 11th
Haigerloch Lamplighters
The databases of the Adeptus Mechanicus
record dozens of different systems for
measuring radiation exposure used
throughout human history, but the one
most familiar to the average Imperial
citizen is the Ferm. Named in honour of a
legendary Magos from Earth’s past, this
5
simplified unit does a very poor job of
actually reflecting anything like reality, but
is simple enough that even those uninitiated
into the arcane secrets of nuclear physics
might be able to grasp it simply and easily.
The Ferm gauge functions not dissimilarly
to the Insanity and Corruption systems
already present in game. It is scaled from 0
to 100, with 0 representing a character who
has been exposed to no dangerous
radiation, and 100 representing a character
instantly dying from lethal exposure. The
effects of Ferm levels can be seen in Table 1
below. All listed effects are cumulative-
severe radiation exposure in no way reduces
the symptoms of mild radiation exposure, it
only exacerbates them. Once a character
drops below a Ferm level, so too do their
symptoms diminish, with the exception of
Mutation Potential, which cannot be
reduced through normal means.
You will notice that some levels of the table
include options, usually to take levels of
Mutation Potential (explained in the
section below) or merely further
Characteristic penalties. This is to allow
variable levels of realism when handling
radiation exposure in the Warhammer 40k
universe. The citizens of the Imperium of
Man are supposed to have fairly mutable
genetics, hence the presence of Abhumans
and Psykers, but sometimes you just need
the messy horror that is dying from
radiation poisoning.
Table 1: The Ferm Gauge
Ferm Effect
Dosage

0-10 None

10+ Mild nausea and dizziness: -2 to Toughness and Perception

20+ Moderate nausea and dizziness: -2 to Toughness and Perception.

+1 Mutation Potential or further -1 to Toughness and Perception.

30+ Infrequent vomiting and skin burns: -2 to Strength and Agility.

40+ Frequent vomiting and skin burns: -2 to Strength and Agility.

+1 Mutation Potential, or further -1 to Strength and Agility.

50+ Hair loss and agonizing burns: -2 to Willpower and Fellowship. Character must test
Toughness or Willpower at +0 or be immediately reduced to 0 Wounds.

60+ Total hair loss and excruciating burns: -2 to Willpower and Fellowship.
Character must test Toughness or Willpower at -10 or be immediately reduced to 0
Wounds.
+1 Mutation Potential, or a further -1 to Willpower and Fellowship.

70+ Early stage organ failure: -2 to Strength, Agility, Toughness and Perception. Character
must test Toughness or Willpower at -20 or be immediately reduced to 0 Wounds.
Character now glows in the dark: enemies gain gain a +10 to any vision-based perception
tests to locate them in poor visibility or Character’s total Wounds are temporarily reduced
to a value equal to their Toughness Bonus.

80+ Significant organ failure: -3 to Strength, Agility, Toughness and Perception. Character
must test Toughness or Willpower at -30 or be immediately reduced to 0 Wounds.
+1 Mutation Potential, or character gains a level of Fatigue which cannot be removed or
ignored until their Ferm level is reduced below 50.

90+ Total Bodily Collapse: -2 to all Characteristics. Any character with the Unnatural
Characteristic trait halves the value of that trait. Character cannot make Full Actions to
move. Character must test Toughness or Willpower at -30 or be immediately reduced to 0
Wounds.
+2 Mutation Potential, or if character ever hits 5 Critical Wounds to any Location they die
immediately from exhaustion and organ failure.

100 Character dies from lethal radiation exposure. If they choose to burn Fate to survive this,
they automatically gain 1d5 random mutations, or permanently reduce any 3 of their stats
by 5.

6
Tracking Radiation
Unlike Insanity or Corruption, however,
players might not know their current Ferm
level- tracking Ferms requires external
equipment. It is up to the GM to either
track Ferm values themselves or put players
in a situation where their characters are
provided with, or can easily acquire, Ferm
detection gear. Characters may feel the
effects of radiation exposure, but they
seldom know how much they’ve absorbed
until it is far, far too late. Various pieces of
gear that allow a character to track their
Ferm exposure can be found in the
Armoury in Part 2.
Coping with Radiation
It is well-night impossible to actively
combat the effects of radiation on the
human body in a field setting; this is an
unfortunate fact of human biology. While
chemicals can be taken that will flush
radiation out of the body, and many of the
symptoms of radiation poisoning and burns
can be easily mitigated with a variety of
drugs, the underlying cause, namely
damage to the cells in the body, is simply
out of reach of the vast majority of human
medecine, even in the 41st Millennium.
In gameplay terms, this means that
characters will be able to repress the
symptoms of their Ferm level with a variety
of items and consumables, found in the
Armoury section in Part 2, but will find it
very difficult to actually reduce their Ferm
level in the course of normal play. There is
a certain amount of natural reduction as
isotopes stabilize, but this happens
incredibly slowly. In gameplay terms, for
7
ever month a character spends in a non-
iirradiated environment, they reduce their
Ferm level by an amount equal to half their
Toughness Bonus, rounded down.
Human beings of exceptional physical
strength and resilience may be able to resist
a certain amount of radiation before
succumbing. A character reduces any
incoming Ferm by a value equal to their
Toughness Bonus -3, to a minimum of 0.
Clothing and worn gear can also provide a
certain amount of protection against
radiation. Any piece of specifically anti-
radiation gear has a Ferm Reduction value,
which is the number subtracted from the
amount of Ferm a character would normally
gain when exposed to a hazard. If the gear’s
Ferm Reduction is equal to or greater than
the current amount of incoming Ferm, the
character’s Ferm level naturally does not
increase. Ferm Reduction is distinct from,
and entirely separate to, AP, except in the
case of armour that does not normally
provide radiation protection (See Armoury).
Reducing radioactive presence in the
human body through non-natural means is
well within the scope of Imperial medical
technology, but it requires a variety of
advanced medical equipment and is slow
enough to be impractical in the field. For
every week a character spends in a medical
facility equipped with functioning baseline-
level Imperial medicae technology, they
reduce their Ferm level by an amount equal
to half their Toughness Bonus, rounded up.
Mutation Potential
One of the most sinister thing about
radiation exposure is its long-term
effects. What might feel in the short
term like the symptoms of a mild cold
can, decades later, re-manifest as lethal
cancers and organ failures. Mutation
Potential represents this longer-term
cellular damage. Whenever a character
with any levels of Mutation Potential
loses all of their Critical Damage,
whether through natural healing or
supernatural means, they must test
Toughness at the end of their healing
period. The penalty on this test is equal
to the number of levels of Mutation
Potential they have, as shown in Table 2. If
they fail this Test, they immediately gain a
randomly generated Mutation, rolling off
whatever mutation table from whatever
system the GM deems most relevant. A
character cannot reduce their levels of
Table 2: Mutation Potential
Mutation Toughness Test
Potential Level Difficulty
0 None (no Test needed)
1 Challenging (+0)
2 Difficult (-10)
3 Hard (-20)
4 Very Hard (-30)
5 Arduous (-40)
6 Punishing (-50)
Mutation Potential, unless they are
undergoing some form of highly advanced
genetic therapy during their healing
process. Generally speaking, a cost of 100xp
per level of reduction of Mutation
Potential would be reasonable.
8
Irradiated Environments
“And the sky will be rent with smoke, and the
land seething as molten glass, and the seas will boil
and steam, and the lamenting of the unfaithful
will go unheard by the Emperor.”
-De Templum Nuclei Exitium, Volume 12
Different irradiated environments are
represented by three stats. Dosage Time
indicates how long it takes for an invidivual
in that environment to absorb a dangerous
or noteworthy amount of radiation. It is
measured in in-game Days, Hours or
Rounds, representing a Ferm gain every 24
hours, every single hour, and every combat
round (approximately 5 seconds)
respectively.
The Dosage Test indicates what difficulty
of Toughness Test needs to be passed to
prevent a character from receiving any
levels of Ferm. This test is modified by
talents such as Resistance (Radiation), and
unless specified otherwise is purely
pass/fail- Degrees of Success do not matter.
Dosage Tests are considered to take no
amount of in-game time. If no Test is
listed, then the Ferm gain is automatic and
cannot be avoided.
Minor Ambient Radiation
The presence of radioactive minerals or
chemicals in an area can leave its
atmosphere saturated with continuous, but
thankfully low-level radiation. Such
conditions might be found in the outer
areas of Imperial power plants, plasma
reactors, industrial facilities, environments
which underwent nuclear bombardment
long ago or even the void of deep space.
Dosage Time: Days
9
Dosage Test: Easy (+20)
Ferm Gain: 1
Characters who eat, drink or heal Wounds
in an area of Minor Ambient Radiation
automatically gain 1 Ferm, not reduced by
armor or Toughness, for each time this
occurs.
Moderate Ambient Radiation
After a certain point, background radiation
in an area stops being a minor irritation and
starts to become a serious health problem,
though not necessarily an immediately fatal
one. Such conditions might be found in the
operating areas of Imperial power plants,
environments which have recently
undergone significant nuclear
bombardment, or in the void of deep space
when in proximity to stellar objects.
Dosage Time: Days
Dosage Test: Challenging (+0)
Ferm Gain: 1d5
Characters who eat, drink or heal Wounds
in an area of Moderate Ambient Radiation
automatically gain 2 Ferm, not reduced by
armor or Toughness, for each time this
occurs.
Major Ambient Radiation
In some areas, every cubic millimeter of
space contains tiny particles of fissile
material, leading to ambient radiation levels
so high as to kill an unprotected human in a
matter of hours. Such conditions can be
found in damaged Imperial industrial areas,
environments in which a nuclear
bombardment has just occurred, areas of a
voidship damaged by enemy Atomics, or in
the void of deeps space when in close
proximity to stellar objects.
Dosage Time: Hours
Dosage Test: None
Ferm Gain: 1d5 +1
Characters who eat, drink or heal Wounds
in an area of Major Ambient Radiation
automatically gain 1d5 Ferm, not reduced
by armor or Toughness, for each time this
occurs.
Catastrophic Ambient Radiation
In such places, life simply cannot exist;
molecules are constantly battered with
energy, and living beings die in seconds.
Thankfully, such conditions are rare, but
they might be found in the heart of
Imperial or xenos power generators, or in
the upper layers of a star.
Dosage Time: Rounds
Dosage Test: None
Ferm Gain: 3d10
Characters who eat, drink or heal Wounds
in an area of Catastrophic Ambient
Radiation must burn a Fate Point or die.
Black Rain
Black rain occurs when a nuclear detonation
occurs in an area with large amounts of
surface or subsurface water, which is
evaporated by the explosion and then falls
again as contaminated rain, frequently
black in colour because of soot and dust in
the air.
Dosage Time: Hours
Dosage Test: Routine (+10)
Ferm Gain: 1d5
If at any time a character in an area
experiencing Black Rain drinks any
exposed surface water or rainwater, or
allows the rainwater to contact their skin
for more than a few seconds, they
10
immediately gain 1 Ferm and their Ferm
Gain becomes 1d5+1 for the remainder of
their time in the area.
Rad Storms
Nuclear detonations in dusty or desert
areas, especially those already prone to dust
storms and high surface winds, can result in
deadly rad storms. Huge clouds of fallout
carpet the area, blasting anything foolish
enough to get out in the open. Similar
conditions can also occur in extremely cold
environments, where snow and hail become
contaminated instead.
Dosage Time: Hours
Dosage Test: Challenging (+0)
Ferm Gain: 2d5
Characters operating in a Rad Storm
without mouth and nose protection, such as
a Respirator, increase their Ferm Gain to
2d5+2. All characters operating in a Rad
Storm recieve a -10 to all vision and
hearing-based Perception and Awareness
Tests.
Tactical Fission Weapon
Fission Weapons function by tearing atoms
apart in a chain reaction that releases a
tremendous amount of energy, in the forms
of both heat and radiation. Because of their
comparatively small yield, the radiation
threat from a Fission Weapon is relatively
low, and the fallout it produces is much
more dangerous.
Dosage Time: Rounds
Dosage Test: Hard (-20)
Ferm Gain: 2d10
The Dosage Time for this environment
occurs only on the Round in which the
weapon is detonated; it is a one-off dose
which does not reoccur. Depending on the
environment in which it is detonated, a
Tactical Fission Weapon detonation might
cause Minor Ambient Radiation, Rad
Storms, or Black Rain.
Salted Fission Weapon
These radiological weapons are designed to
spread massive amounts of fallout over a
wide area which will not dissipate for an
extremely long time. Though their initial
blast is not particularly strong, they can
poison the blast zone for centuries.
Dosage Time: Hours
Dosage Test: None
Ferm Gain: 2d5
Characters caught in the blast of a Salted
Fission Weapon take Ferm as if they were
in the blast of a Tactical Fission Weapon,
except that the Ferm Gain is 1d10+4.
Subterranean Blast
Nuclear blasts contained wholly
underground are relatively easy to cope
with, because dense soil and rock absorbs
the bulk of the radiation. However, highly
radioactive gasses can leak out in the form
of minor seeps or geyser-like vents, both of
which can be deadly and difficult to detect.
If characters are underground in an area
where a Subterranean Blast occurs, instead
treat this environment type as Major
Ambient Radiation, as radioactive gasses
will build up belowground.
Dosage Time: Hours (Seep), Rounds (Vent)
Dosage Test: Challenging (+0) (Seep),
Difficult (-10) (Vent)
Ferm Gain: 1d5 (Seep), 3d5 (Vent)
Subterranean Blast seeps are clouds of
almost-undetectable gasses occupying a
11
radius 5m across. Ferm-detection
equipment is needed to locate them.
Moving out of this radius removes the
radiation threat. Vents are clouds of
upwelling superheated radioactive gas from
scorched cracks in the earth, occupying a
radius 10m across. A character who fails
their Dosage Test in a Vent area also takes
1d5 Wounds because of the extreme heat
involved. Vents can be detected with a
Challenging (+0) Vision, hearing or smell-
based Awareness Test. Moving out of a
Vent radius removes the radiation threat.
Underwater Blast
Though the actual detonation of a nuclear
weapon underwater is relatively mild for
those on the surface, the same cannot be
said of its fallout. Radiation is absorbed by
impurities in the water which are then
carried along by the superheated steam of
the blast, coating the target area in a thick,
poisonous mist. When it dries, it leaves
behind a thin, delicate coating- of intensely
radioactive salts.
Dosage Time: Rounds
Dosage Test: Hard (-20)
Ferm Gain: 2d5
Characters in the radius of an Underwater
Blast, but not in the water, only take half
damage from the resulting explosion,
rounded down. Characters in the water take
the full damage. For ten rounds after the
detonation, the blast area is treated as being
filled with Smoke and the weapon’s Ferm
Gain and Dosage Tests are calculated as
normal. After these ten rounds end, the
environment becomes Major Ambient
Radiation.
Atmospheric Blast
An atmospheric blast, or airburst, occurs
when a nuclear device is detonated high
above ground. This produces very little
fallout, because there is no dust in the blast
area to contaminate, but also an intense
shock wave, as the concussion of the bomb
bounces off the ground and turns in on
itself.
Dosage Time: Rounds
Dosage Test: Hard (-20)
Ferm Gain: 1d10 + 6
The Dosage Time for this environment
occurs only on the Round in which the
weapon is detonated; it is a one-off dose
which does not reoccur. On the turn in
which an Atmospheric Blast goes off, all
characters in the Blast Radius become
Stunned for 1d5 Rounds and gain a level of
Fatigue from the force of the concussion,
in addition to any other injuries gained
from the weapon’s blast. Depending on the
environment in which it is detonated, an
Atmospheric Blast detonation might cause
Minor Ambient Radiation or Black Rain.
Fusion Weapon
Fusion weapons force atoms to collapse in
on themselves, releasing exponentially
more energy than fission weapons. While
the blast is intense, the amount of radiation
emitted is minimal, and the bomb can
actually be designed to tailor exactly how
much it puts out. A Fusion Weapon
environment represents a ‘standard’ fusion
weapon, designed to output as little
radiation as possible.
Dosage Time: Rounds
Dosage Test: Difficult (-10)
Ferm Gain: 3d10
12
The Dosage Time for this environment
occurs only on the Round in which the
weapon is detonated; it is a one-off dose
which does not reoccur. Depending on the
environment in which it is detonated, a
Fusion Weapon detonation might cause
Moderate or Major Ambient Radiation,
Rad Storms, or Black Rain.
Neutron Weapon
A sinister and rarely-used Imperial
radiological device, a Neutron Weapon is
an ordinary Fusion Weapon custom-
designed to put out the largest possible
amount of radiation in its initial blast.
Though this radiation clears relatively
quickly, it burns away all life in the blast
area almost instantaneously.
Dosage Time: Rounds
Dosage Test: None
Ferm Gain: 8d10
The Dosage Time for this environment
occurs only on the Round in which the
weapon is detonated; it is a one-off dose
which does not reoccur. Depending on the
environment in which it is detonated, a
Fusion Weapon detonation might cause
Major Ambient Radiation, Rad Storms, or
Black Rain.
Sanctic Weapon
The exclusive preserve of the Ordo
Malleus, Sanctic Fusion Weapons are
designed to purge daemonic entities on a
massive scale. These high-yield fusion
weapons produce little radiation, but every
single one of their components has been
laced with holy materials and the strongest
blessings the Ecclesiarchy can produce. The
blast from these weapons sear the body as
well as the soul.
Dosage Time: Rounds
Dosage Test: Very Hard (-30)
Ferm Gain: 4d10
The Dosage Time for this environment
occurs only on the Round in which the
weapon is detonated; it is a one-off dose
which does not reoccur. A character caught
in the blast of a Sanctic Weapon receives an
extra 1d5 Ferm for every 10 points of
Corruption they possess. Any Daemons or
warp entities that enter this environment
must pass the Dosage Test or be
immediately destroyed. Depending on the
environment in which it is detonated, a
Sanctic Weapon might cause Major
Ambient Radiation or Catastrophic
Ambient Radiation.

Exterminatus-Scale Weapon

The use of nuclear weapons to conduct

Exterminatus is considered inefficient and
outdated, but the Imperium still maintains
stockpiles of ancient fusion devices just in
case. The detonation of these weapons can
be on the order of hundreds of megatons,
sufficient to scour areas the size of
continents.
Dosage Time: Rounds
Dosage Test: None
Ferm Gain: 10d10
The Dosage Time for this environment
occurs only on the Round in which the
weapon is detonated; it is a one-off dose
which does not reoccur. Depending on the
environment in which it is detonated, an
Exterminatus-Scale Weapon detonation
might cause Major Ambient Radiation or
Catastrophic Ambient Radiation.

13
Part 2: Tactical-Scale Warfare
“I marvel always at the remarkable ability of the
human being to live, and continue living in
environments so thick with poison and suffering
that it makes the mind recoil.
-General Iszek Ironheart, Atomkrieg

On the small scale, atomic technologies

have touched and ended the lives of
countless Imperial citizens. Atomics drive
nuclear technologies, nuclear economies
and of course nuclear wars, and their great
power and constant risk are a source of life
and livelihood for hundreds of Imperial
worlds across the Galaxy.

Atomic Origins
“Somehow the ticking of them rad-counters
always reminds me of Nana’s hab-unit. Sounds
like going home.”
-Reliyon Kreth, Imperial Agent

A world can become radioactive in a

thousand thousand ways, some of them
mundane, some of them quite surprising.
What is even more surprising is the number
of ordinary, bog-standard Emperor-
fearing human beings willing to live on, or
at least be born on, such planets.

14
Rad-Blasted World
Many fairly advanced Imperial worlds have
seen some deployment of nuclear
armaments in their history, but the
inhabitants of this planet have gone
through the hell of a large-scale nuclear
conflict and survived intact. The most
famous of these worlds is Krieg, of course,
but there are numerous others. Soldiers and
citizens hailing from these planets have
lived through blast waves, rains of fallout,
and the cold dark of nuclear winter, but
their poisonous home environment leaves
them frail and sickly.
Only War
Cost: 3 Points
Characteristics Modifiers: +3 to Perception
and Agility, -3 Toughness and Fellowship
Starting Skills: Rad-Blasted World
characters start with Common Lore (War),
15
Linguistics (Low Gothic), Medicae and
Survival
The Dust Settles: Characters from these
worlds have lived through conditions
utterly inimical to human life, but the scars
of such conditions have permanently
weakened them. Rad-Blasted World
characters take a -10 penalty to all tests to
resist Radiation, but can ignore the
negative effects of radiation exposure up to
30 Ferm.
Life in the Dark: Prolonged nuclear
bombardment blackens and thickens a
planet’s atmosphere, and anyone living
there must quickly adapt to survive in the
dusty blackness of nuclear winter.
Characters from a Rad-Blasted World
halve any skill penalties as a result of
operating in extreme darkness or with their
vision impaired.
Wounds: Rad-Blasted World characters
begin play with -2 starting Wounds.

Rad-Blasted World: Lenk VIII
The Lenk system was considered a
breadbasket of the Segumentum Solar before
M.40; a system with five major planets and
four moons, all of them habitable and well-
suited for agriculture. Defended by an
ancient archaeotech missile defence array on
Lenk III, it was a prosperous, hard-working
system by all accounts.
Then the local Inquisition discovered the
Tzeentchian chaos cult shadow government
controlling the entire system. They had
infiltrated all levels of the Administatum and
Munitorum without being detected, and were
planning… something involving the system’s
next grain tithe. Immediate action was
needed.
Inquisitorial troops stormed the Lenk III
Missile Control Center, killed the PDF
troops occupying it, then fired its entire
payload off, cleansing the whole system. The
populations of Lenks I through VII,
including the Stormtrooper team, were killed
instantly. The missiles that hit Lenk IX
detonated high in the atmosphere, creating
rad-storms that left the planet devoid of life
in a matter of months.
Lenk VIII’s thicker atmosphere protected it
from the worst of the barrage, but not from
the Space Marine purgation team that moved
in to make sure everyone left alive in its
irradiated wastelands wasn’t a heretic. Now it
is barely on the level of a Feudal World, with
traumatized, tumor-ridden survivors eking
out subsistence farming in ashy, tainted soil.
16
Dark Heresy
Rad-Blasted Worlder Skills: Rad-Blasted
World citizens start with Medicae.
The Dust Settles: Characters from these
worlds have lived through conditions
utterly inimical to human life, but the scars
of such conditions have permanently
weakened them. Rad-Blasted World
characters take a -10 penalty to all tests to
resist Radiation, but can ignore the
negative effects of radiation exposure up to
30 Ferm.
Life in the Dark: Prolonged nuclear
bombardment blackens and thickens a
planet’s atmosphere, and anyone living
there must quickly adapt to survive in the
dusty blackness of nuclear winter.
Characters from a Rad-Blasted World
halve any skill penalties as a result of
operating in extreme darkness or with their
vision impaired.
Make it Work: The constant
electromagnetic pulses of nuclear blasts can
scramble the systems of even the most
hardened electronics, and the survivors
must make do with frequently broken and
defective equipment. Rad-Blasted World
characters treat all Poor-Craftsmanship
weapons and equipment as being Common-
Craftsmanship.
After the End: Rad-Blasted Worlders have
lived through a veritable apocalypse. Drive
(Agility), Chem-Use (Int), and Survival (Int)
count as Basic Skills for Rad-Blasted World
characters.
Rogue Trader Starting Fate Points: Roll 1d10 to
determine a Rad-Blasted World character’s
Replaces: Death World starting Fate Points. On a 1-4, he begins
Characteristc Modifiers: +5 Perception, +5 with 1 Fate Points, on a 5-8 he begins with 2
Agility, -5 Toughness, -5 Fellowship Fate Points, on a 9-10 he begins with 3 Fate
Points.
Starting Skills: Living in the midst of
intense radiation requires a modicum of DARK HERESY 2nd EDITION
medical knowledge. All Rad-Blasted World
characters begin with Medicae. Characteristic Modifiers: +Perception, +
The Dust Settles: Characters from these Agility, -Toughness
worlds have lived through conditions Fate Threshold: 3 (Emperor’s Blessing 5+)
utterly inimical to human life, but the scars
of such conditions have permanently The Dust Settles: Characters from these
weakened them. Rad-Blasted World worlds have lived through conditions
characters take a -10 penalty to all tests to utterly inimical to human life, but the scars
resist Radiation, but can ignore the of such conditions have permanently
negative effects of radiation exposure up to weakened them. Rad-Blasted World
40 Ferm. characters take a -10 penalty to all tests to
Life in the Dark: Prolonged nuclear resist Radiation, but can ignore the
bombardment blackens and thickens a negative effects of radiation exposure up to
planet’s atmosphere, and anyone living 30 Ferm.
there must quickly adapt to survive in the
dusty blackness of nuclear winter. Home World Aptitude: Fieldcraft
Characters from a Rad-Blasted World Wounds: A Rad-Blasted World character
halve any skill penalties as a result of starts with 6 + 1d5 Wounds
operating in extreme darkness or with their Recommended Backgrounds: Mutant,
vision impaired. Imperial Guard, Outcast
Make it Work: The constant
electromagnetic pulses of nuclear blasts
can scramble the systems of even the
most hardened electronics, and the
survivors must make do with frequently
broken and defective equipment. Rad-
Blasted World characters treat all Poor-
Craftsmanship weapons and equipment
as being Common-Craftsmanship.
Starting Wounds: Rad-Blasted World
characters double their Toughness
Bonus and add 1d5-2 to determine their
starting number of Wounds.

17
Atomforged World
Rare are those worlds in the Imperium
where nuclear weapons have not been
misused, but they do exist- on planets
where atomic technology is needed to
compensate for inimical environments or
hostile wildlife, atomic proliferation can be
seen as a boon and not a threat. On these
few optimistic worlds, even the common
citizenry use rad devices for household
tasks, and their industry is driven by the
ever-burning fires of fusion and fission.
When everything you use emits radiation,
the future truly looks bright.
18
Only War
Cost: 4 Points
Characteristic Modifiers: +3 to any two of
the following Characteristics: Intelligence,
Perception, Ballistic Skill
Skills: All Atomforged World characters
start with Scholastic Lore (Nuclear
Physics), Common Lore (Tech), Logic,
Tech-Use and Linguistics (Low Gothic)
Your Friend the Atom: Having a fairly
well-versed understanding in nuclear
devices of all forms, from simple cloud
chambers to full-scale fusion reactors,
Atomforged World characters generally
possess an intuitive grasp of how to operate
atomic machinery. Characters from these
worlds gain a +10 to Tests to operate any
nuclear or fusion-based technologies,
including plasma weaponry, even if they are
not trained in their use.
Dangerous Optimism: The Mechanicus
maintains a tight control over nuclear
technology in the wider imperium for very
good reason; if it fails, it fails hard.
Tinkering is the first step on the road to a
lethal nuclear accident, after all. When a
character from this homeworld fails any test
to operate a nuclear or fusion-based
technology, increase their number of
Degrees of Failure by 2.
Starting Wounds: Atomforged World
characters generate their Starting Wounds
normally.
Dark Heresy
Atomforged World Skills: Atomforged
World characters start with Scholastic Lore
(Nuclear Physics)
Your Friend the Atom: Having a fairly
well-versed understanding in nuclear
devices of all forms, from simple cloud
chambers to full-scale fusion reactors,
Atomforged World characters generally
possess an intuitive grasp of how to operate
atomic machinery. Characters from these
worlds gain a +10 to Tests to operate any
nuclear or fusion-based technologies,
including plasma weaponry, even if they are
not trained in their use.
Dangerous Optimism: The Mechanicus
maintains a tight control over nuclear
technology in the wider imperium for very
good reason; if it fails, it fails hard.
Tinkering is the first step on the road to a
lethal nuclear accident, after all. When a
character from this homeworld fails any test
to operate a nuclear or fusion-based
technology, increase their number of
Degrees of Failure by 2.
19
Swords into Plowshares: Atomforged
Worlders believe they can use the most
dangerous technology to build a brighter
future for themselves. Demolition (Int),
Tech-Use (Int) and Pilot (Agility) are Basic
Skills for Atomforged World characters.
Rogue Trader
Replaces: Forge World
Starting Characteristics: +5 Willpower, +5
Fellowship, -5 Perception
Atomforged World Skills: To operate
nuclear technology, you need to
understand the theory behind it.
Atomforged World characters start with
Scholastic Lore (Nuclear Physics).
Your Friend the Atom: Having a fairly
well-versed understanding in nuclear
devices of all forms, from simple cloud
chambers to full-scale fusion reactors,
Atomforged World characters generally
possess an intuitive grasp of how to operate
atomic machinery. Characters from these
worlds gain a +10 to Tests to operate any
nuclear or fusion-based technologies,
including plasma weaponry, even if they are
not trained in their use.
Dangerous Optimism: The Mechanicus
maintains a tight control over nuclear
technology in the wider imperium for very
good reason; if it fails, it fails hard.
Tinkering is the first step on the road to a
lethal nuclear accident, after all. When a
character from this homeworld fails any test
to operate a nuclear or fusion-based
technology, increase their number of
Degrees of Failure by 2.
Scent for Danger: High levels of ionizing
radiation can cause chemical changes in air
which are detectable by human scent… if
you know what you’re looking for.
Atomforged World characters gain
Heightened Senses (Scent) and gain a +5
bonus to any Perception-based Test to
detect the presence of radiation.
Starting Wounds: Atomforged World
characters double their Toughness Bonus
and add 1d5 to determine their starting
number of Wounds.
Starting Fate Points: Roll 1d10 to
determine an Atomforged World
character’s starting Fate Points. On a 1-5,
he begins with 1 Fate Points, on a 6-8 he
begins with 2 Fate Points, on a 9-10 he
begins with 3 Fate Points.
Dark Heresy 2nd Edition
Characteristic Modifiers: +Willpower,
+Fellowship, -Perception
Fate Threshold: 2 (Emperor’s Blessing 9+)
Your Friend the Atom: A life spent in the
presence of advanced nuclear technology
gives one an intuitive sense of how to use it,
but also when things are going wrong. An
Atomforged World character gains a +5 to
all Tests to operate fusion or fission-based
devices, including weapons, as well as to all
Perception-based Tests to detect radiation
sources.
Home World Aptitude: Intelligence
Wounds: An Atomforged World character
starts with 7 + 1d5 Wounds
Recommended Backgrounds: Adeptus
Mechanicus, Rogue Trader Fleet, Imperial
Navy
20
Atomforged World: Haigerloch
An unimportant Industrial World on the far
edges of the Eastern Fringe, Haigerloch was
one of few Imperial worlds not immediately
overtaken by the first wave of Hive Fleet
Kraken. Primarily a mining hub for the
export of medicinal radioisotopes, it was
utterly unprepared to deal with an oncoming
Hive Fleet. The world was strategically
unimportant- and left to defend itself.
When Imperial forces re-established contact
more than six months later to find Haigerloch
utterly transformed. Once a mundane and
temperate planet, it had become a glassy,
blasted moonscape, its atmosphere so
intensely radioactive that the world visibly
glowed. And yet, its inhabitants were thriving.
The Haigerlan government instituted a
massive armament program, producing
hundreds of thousands of nuclear weapons of
all kinds in factories that employed almost
the entirety of the planet’s population; young
and old, all worked feverishly to build an
arsenal strong enough to fend off the
Tyranids. Most of the population was moved
into the depths of the world’s few Hives,
where they would be safe from the fallout.
The Haigerlan people bombarded their own
world for three continuous months before the
Tyranids finally withdrew. They had burned
their own homeworld’s biosphere away, but
emerged proud, unified, and confident that
their nuclear technology had preserved their
civilization. Now their main tithe is their
Lamplighter Imperial Guard regiments, some
of the finest nuke-troops in the Imperium.
Irradiated World
Every isotope has its half-life, and even the
burns of nuclear fallout fade with time.
There are many worlds in the Imperium
which have recovered from ancient nuclear
conflict, and many more which simply bear
natural deposits of radioactive materials
which lead to high levels of ambient
radiation. Indeed, the relics of ancient
conflicts can prove a boon to those who
inhabit worlds once torn by conflict, as new
societies scavenge the dessicated remains of
the old.
Life on such worlds may be quite mundane
and humdrum, but centuries of human
breeding in a tainted environment makes
for hardy, but surprisingly mutable citizens.
Unfortunately, citizens of such worlds tend
to attract a great deal of Inquisitorial
attention; unusually high levels of mutation
tend to attract attention, unfortunately.
21
Only War
Cost: 2 Points
Characteristic Modifiers: +3 Strength, +3
Toughness, -2 Intelligence
Skills: Irradiated World characters begin
play with Common Lore (Imperium,
Imperial Creed) and Linguistics (Low
Gothic)
Bred for Resilience: Those born and raised
in environments high in radiation tend to
develop a natural resistance to low-level rad
poisoning. Irradiated Worlders begin play
with the Resistance (Radiation) Talent. Any
time they would increase their radiation
dosage, reduce the number of Ferm they
gain by 1, to a minimum of 0.
Unstable Helix: A higher exposure to
radiation also leads to a higher rate of
mutation, much to the detriment of those
from Irradiated Worlds who head out into
the wider Imperium. Irradiated Worlders
recieve a -20 penalty to any Tests made to
resist mutations.
Marked for Observation: Anywhere there
is the potential for new strains of
Abhumans to form, or simply for mutation
to express itself, one will also find Imperial
authorities looking to clamp down on
sedition and heresy. Soldiers from this
homeworld will find themselves subjected
to much more frequent and rigorous
screenings for evidence of mutation and
genetic degradation. What this means in
terms of gameplay is up to the GM.
Wounds: Irradiated World characters begin
play with +1 Starting Wounds.
Dark Heresy
Bred for Resilience: Those born and raised
in environments high in radiation tend to
develop a natural resistance to low-level rad
poisoning. Irradiated Worlders begin play
with the Resistance (Radiation) Talent. Any
time they would increase their radiation
dosage, reduce the number of Ferm they
gain by 1, to a minimum of 0.
Unstable Helix: A higher exposure to
radiation also leads to a higher rate of
mutation, much to the detriment of those
from Irradiated Worlds who head out into
the wider Imperium. Irradiated Worlders
recieve a -20 penalty to any Tests made to
resist mutations.
Trust Not the Mutable: Even if not
actively mutated, characters from
Irradiated Worlds represent the very real
possibility of mutation, and that prospect
tends to make Imperial citizens
uncomfortable. Irradiated World characters
receive a -10 penalty on all non-Intimidate
Interaction Tests with characters who know
what planet they are from.
22
One Step from Normalcy: Irradiated
Worlders live lives not dissimilar from many
Imperial citizens. Mostly. They treat
Common Lore (Imperial Creed, Imperium)
and Forbidden Lore (Mutants) as Basic
Skills
Rogue Trader
Replaces: Imperial World
Starting Characteristics: +5 Strength, +5
Toughness, -5 Intelligence
Bred for Resilience: Those born and raised
in environments high in radiation tend to
develop a natural resistance to low-level rad
poisoning. Irradiated Worlders begin play
with the Resistance (Radiation) Talent. Any
time they would increase their radiation
dosage, reduce the number of Ferm they
gain by 1, to a minimum of 0.
Unstable Helix: A higher exposure to
radiation also leads to a higher rate of
mutation, much to the detriment of those
from Irradiated Worlds who head out into
the wider Imperium. Irradiated Worlders
recieve a -20 penalty to any Tests made to
resist mutations.
Trust Not the Mutable: Even if not
actively mutated, characters from
Irradiated Worlds represent the very real
possibility of mutation, and that prospect
tends to make Imperial citizens
uncomfortable. Irradiated World characters
recieve a -10 penalty on all non-Intimidate
Interaction Tests with characters who know
what planet they are from.
Starting Wounds: Irradiated World
characters double their Toughness Bonus
and add 1d5-1 to determine their starting
number of Wounds.
Starting Fate Points: Roll 1d10 to
determine an Irradiated World character’s
starting Fate Points. On a 1-6, he begins
with 2 Fate Points, on a 7-9 he begins with
3 Fate Points, on a 10 he begins with 4 Fate
Points.
Dark Heresy 2nd Edition
Characteristic Modifiers: +Strength,
+Toughness, -Intelligence
Fate Threshold: 2 (Emperor’s Blessing 7+)
Unstable Helix: Irradiated World
characters are used to heavy radiation
exposure, but their DNA is fundamentally
changeable. Any time they would increase
their radiation dosage, reduce the number
of Ferm they gain by 1, to a minimum of 0.
Irradiated Worlders recieve a -20 penalty
to any Tests made to resist mutations.
Home World Aptitude: Toughness
Wounds: An Irradiated World character
starts with 7 + 1d5 Wounds
Recommended Backgrounds: Adeptus
Administratum, Adeptus Arbites, Mutant
Atomforged World: Somdele
A tiny, rocky world in the Ultima
Segmentum, Somdele’s history is remarkable
for its sheer instability. It has been fought
over by warlords, crusaders, revolutionaries,
anarchists, xenos and daemons, and still its
native population endures.
A dusty, dry husk of a world, Somdele sits
directly atop one of the few stable Warp
passages into the Maelstrom Zone. While the
planet is little more than dusty, gravelly
desert, it has slowly acquired a biosphere, and
a considerable population, as a result of
centuries of conflict in its orbit. Each time a
pirate or Imperial or Ork or Chaotic vessel
was destroyed in the dozens of skirmishes
over the Somdele Warp Corridor, bits of it
would fall from orbit, and the planet is still
dotted with the broken skeletons of ancient
starships, their crippled reactor cores slowly
leaking radioactive isotopes into the sand.
Somdele’s population is nominally aligned
with the Imperium, though the area is still
constantly contested by the Orks and various
piratical factions. The Somdelians themselves
are mostly content to get on with their lives
of scavenging and reselling exotic and rare
starship components to whoever will buy
them, though as the planet becomes more and
more polluted, and its citizenry more
mutated, the Sector Administratum has taken
an interest.
Hoping to quell a potential hotbed of mutant
sedition before it can begin, the junky dunes
of Somdele have just acquired a massive and
quite unexpected Arbites presence, and the
locals are none too pleased.
23
 [OW] Regiment Type: Nuclear Shock
Any shock and awe operation requires a
follow-up, and few things produce more
shock or awe than the newborn sun of a
thermonuclear detonation. Nuclear shock
regiments are light mechanized infantry
used to exploit the opening left by tactical
nuclear attacks. Though they are equipped
with basic radiation protection, they are
first and foremost breakthrough troops,
expected to move past the blast zone, not
hold ground within it. Being a nuclear
shock trooper requires incredible esprit de
corps, if not the most delicate tactical sense.
Cost: 3
Characteristics: +3 Willpower, -3
Intelligence
Starting Skills: Operate (Surface)
Starting Talents: Berserk Charge
Standard Regimental Kit: One Chimeron
per squad, One Rad-coat, rebreather and
Mars-Pattern Fermatic Augur per Player
Character.
[OW] Regiment Type: Zone Operations
To undertake truly effective military
operations in a haze of lethal radiation
requires heavy personal protective
equipment and iron tenacity. Though the
Imperium tends to field very few radiation
Zone Operators, those regiments that do
see combat are vaunted for their ability to
fight in environments that would kill the
average infantryman in seconds. Equipped
with heavily specialized power armour and
gear, Zone Operators know that they are
truly the elite, albeit with a very niche role.
Cost: 5
Characteristics: +3 Toughness, -3 Agility
Starting Skills: Tech-Use, Navigate
(Surface)
Starting Talents: Weapon-Tech
24
Standard Regimental Kit: Regimental
Favored Basic Weapon, One Arad Harness,
one Radgauge, one Injector with three
doses of Radduce per Player Character.
[OW] Regiment Type: Nuclear Artillery
The Imperial Guard depends on a huge
roster of specialized long-range
bombardment and siege weapons, but
sometimes mono-purpose vehicles like
Medusa Siege Bombards or Deathstrike
Missile Launchers simple aren’t available
and an artillery force needs to hit well
above its weight class. The addition of
nuclear warheads to an artillery round
provides this force multiplier- though by
no means subtle, dropping a few dozen
kilotons on a battle line has all the same
effect as hundreds of conventional rounds.
Nuclear artillery troopers are known more
for collateral damage and inaccuracy than
anything else, but their effectiveness is
undeniably terrifying.
Cost: 4
Characteristics: +3 Perception, -3 Ballistic
Skill
Starting Skills: Operate (Surface)
Starting Talents: Bombardier
Standard Regimental Kit: one Basilisk with
8 Modo-Pattern Atomic Warheads or one
Manticore with 4 Laplace-Pattern Atomic
Warheads per Squad or one mortar with 3
Pascal-Pattern Atomic Warheads per 2
Player Characters, one vox-caster per
Squad, one Rad-coat, rebreather, Mars-
Pattern Fermatic Augur, pair magnoculars
per Player Character.
[OW] Training Doctrine: Duck and Cover
For any infantryman to survive in parallel
with massive bombardment operations,
they must be light on their feet and willing
to sacrifice their dignity for their own
personal safety. Many trench and atomic
combat regiments expose their soldiers to a
wide variety of blasts, concussions,
shockwaves, conflagrations and airbursts to
better teach them the importance of both
ducking and covering.
Cost: 4
Starting Skill: Dodge
Starting Talent: Formidable
Special: Sprinting headlong towards the
nearest cover doesn’t look particularly
brave, but if it works it works. Characters
with this Training Doctrine gain a +10 to
any Dodge Test made as a Reaction on any
turn in which they have already spent a Full
Action to move.
wastelands that came after. You have faced
the apocalypse head-on, and the experience
has left you twisted but unbroken.
Rad-Waste Resilience: You gain the
Sound Constitution talent as well as the
Chem-Use Skill.
Tainted to the Bone: Your body is still
riddled with tiny quantities of radioactive
material, too small to excise. Your Ferm
level can never be reduced below 5. Any
time you take Critical Wounds, you gain 1
Ferm for each level of damage received.

[OW] Equipment Doctrine:

Contamination Operations
Even those regiments which do not
deliberately seek out contaminated
environments in which to fight may still
find themselves fighting for prolonged
periods of time in hostile and poisonous
conditions, and will outfit their troops
accordingly.
Cost: 3
Standard Regimental Kit: One Rad
Auspex per squad, one rad-suit, one
Rebreather, one Injector with three doses
of Fermblok per Player Character.

[RT] Trials and Travails: Scorched

Replaces: Calamity
Everything you ever knew and loved is
gone, your home turned to a burning,
scorched nothing whose very air is deadly
to human life. You were burned, battered,
blinded and torn by hurricane winds, and
yet by some feat of will you survived not
only an atomic blast but the irradiated

25
Careers in Nuclear Science
“See those white rocks? Boil them down for 48
hours, then mix what’s left with the blue rocks over
there and you get a poison that’ll melt a man from
the inside out. How do I know? Trade secret.”
-Grell Torbors, Calixian Hive Scum

Humans have discovered a huge variety of

ways to work in, on, near, with and because
of radiation in the 41st millennium, but all
these jobs tend to be similar. They
frequently either pay extremely well or not
at all, and they frequently end with a long,
slow death from cancer or some other nasty
ailment.

Using These Career Ranks

Each career rank or Elite Advance
presented is its own separate unit; you’ll
notice lots of repetition in the different
versions of the Rad-Poisoner or the Magos
Nucleic, for instance. In each case, do not
cross talents or abilities between systems, as
there are subtle differences between them.

26
 Table 3: Rad-Poisoner Advances [DH1]
[DH1] Alternate Rank: Rad-Poisoner Advance Cost Type Prerequisite
The poisoner’s art encompasses a vast Chem-Use 100 S
range of chemicals, toxins, venoms,
Chem-Use +10 100 S Chem-Use
tinctures, potions and other arcane
Concealment 100 S
methods, but few can compare to the
horror of death by radiation Concealment +10 100 S Concealment

poisoning. Such a death is slow, Decieve 100 S

agonizing and nearly impossible to Decieve +10 100 S Decieve
treat, keeping the victim conscious for
Disguise 100 S Decieve
as long as possible even while their
bodies melt away. Indeed, it is not Intimidate 100 S

uncommon for victims of such Intimidate +10 100 S Intimidate

poisonings to seek suicide long before Medicae 100 S
their bodies would naturally succumb. Medicae +10 100 S Medicae

Medicae +20 200 S Medicae +10

Rad-Poisoners are the most feared of
the underworld assassins, for they Security 100 S

promise suffering just as easily as they Security +10 100 S Security

do death. Relying on networks of Security +20 200 S Security +10
industrial contacts to acquire and Shadowing 200 S
synthesize a huge variety of lethal
Shadowing +10 200 S Shadowing
radioactive compounds, they move
from job to job, hunted by the Arbites Silent Move 200 S Shadowing

and even more honourable members of Scholastic Lore (Nuclear 100 S

Physics)
the criminal underworld.
Scholastic Lore (Nuclear 100 S Scholastic Lore (Nuclear Physics)
Physics) +10
Required Career: Any except Imperial
Psyker or Arbitrator Scholastic Lore (Nuclear 100 S Scholastic Lore (Nuclear Physics)
Physics) +20 +10
Alternate Rank: 4 or higher (2000 XP)
Scholastic Lore (Chymistry) 100 S
Other Requirements: Character must
have killed another using a Scholastic Lore (Chymistry) 100 S Scholastic Lore (Chymistry)
+10
radiological weapon or radiation
Jaded 200 T
poisoning, and have at least 20
Insanity. Light Sleeper 200 T

Exotic Weapon Training 200 T

New Talent: Fear the Glow (Choose one)

It takes a disturbed mind to willingly Paranoia 100 T

poison an enemy to death with Chem Geld 100 T
radioactive chemicals, and even a brief
Fear the Glow 200 T Intimidate, Scholastic Lore
insight into such mind can leave more (Nuclear Physics) +10
stable, normal souls deeply shaken. A Rad-Killer 300 T Fear the Glow
Rad-Poisoner with this Talent gains a
Patient Murderer 300 T Rad-Killer

27
+5 to Willpower Tests while in areas of
Radiation, as well as +20 to Intimidate
Tests.
New Talent: Rad-Killer
Talents applied to contract killing can just
as easily prove useful on the battlefield, and
a Rad-Poisoner forced to fight for their life
is a deadly opponent for any living being
foolish enough to get in their way. Once
per combat, the Rad-Poisoner can make a
Difficult (-10) Scholastic Lore (Nuclear
Physics) Test to make a number of
subsequent ranged or melee attacks equal to
their number of Degrees of Success gain
the Fleshbane Weapon Quality. All these
attacks must be made with the same
weapon. If they fail the test by more than 2
Degrees of Failure, they gain 1d5 Ferm.
New Talent: Patient Murderer
The Rad-Poisoner is an expert in the slow
kill, and they take s ick satisfaction in
reducing an enemy to a limp pile of
quivering flesh before dispatching them.
Experienced Rad-Poisoners can utilize the
tools of their trade to maximize this drawn-
out death. Any
time a Rad-
Poisoner attacks
with a weapon
that has the
Fleshbane
Quality, the
attack also gains
the Rad-Phage
quality if it did
not already have
it, and increases
its Damage by 3.
Radiation Poisoning for Fun and Profit
Obviously, the Rad-Poisoner represents
a very dark shade of gray in the 41st
Millenium’s spectrum of “good versus
evil.”
This raises the question of how to play a
Rad-Poisoner character in a party of
devout do-gooders, like Arbites or
Sisters of Battle, who generally frown on
injecting their enemies with chemicals
that make them melt at the genetic level.
When picking the Rad-Poisoner
alternate rank, check with your GM that
the character concept you have in mind
fits the overall tone of your party.
With that said, playing a Rad-Poisoner
can be an excellent way to bring in a little
drama to a stable party scenario, or
represent a once-pure character’s slow
descent into corruption and madness.
Just bear in mind that the character
concept is a fairly dark and edgy one,
even by Warhammer 40k standards, and
make sure your party is on board.

Evelyn de Morgan, "The Love Potion", 1903

28
 Table 4: Nucleic Initiate Advances [DH1]

[DH1] Alternate Rank: Nucleic Initiate Advance Cost Type Prerequisite

Destined for eventual mastery of the Forbidden Lore 100 Skill
radiological mysteries of the Adeptus (Archeotech)
Mechanicus’ power generation Logic +20 100 Skill Logic +10
technologies, the Nucleic Inititates are
Scholastic Lore 100 Skill Scholastic Lore (Chymistry)
distinguished among the red-robed (Chymistry) +20 +10
followers of the Machine God by their Tech-Use +20 100 Skill Tech-Use +10
independent spirit and healthy paranoia.
Dodge 200 Skill
Working under the Magii Nucleic, the
Dodge +10 300 Skill Dodge
Initiates perform hazardous repairs on
ancient reactor piles, scrabble rare ores Scholastic Lore (Nuclear 100 Skill
Physics)
out of irradiated mines, and generally
perform jobs considered too dirty and Scholastic Lore (Nuclear 100 Skill Scholastic Lore (Nuclear
Physics) +10 Physics)
too unpleasant for their superior officers.
Scholastic Lore (Nuclear 300 Skill Scholastic Lore (Nuclear
While being an Initiate is a task for those Physics) +20 Physics) +10
with a strong constitution, it carries with
Scholastic Lore (Nuclear 400 Skill Scholastic Lore (Nuclear
it certain advantages; if one can succeed Physics) +30 Physics) +20
in such dangerous conditions, the path
Command 200 Skill
for advancement and authority is rapid.
Command +10 300 Skill Command

Though generally not issued with Climb 100 Skill

specialized equipment, the Initiates have Climb +10 100 Skill Climb +10
few qualms about expanding the Climb +20 200 Skill Climb +20
filtration and protection systems of their
Contortionist 100 Skill
own augmetics, the better to serve the
Contortionist +10 100 Skill Contorionist
needs of the Omnissiah. Systems that aid
their mobility are also highly favored; if Trade (Miner) 100 Skill

you can’t block radiation poisoning you Trade (Miner) +10 100 Skill Trade (Miner)
can at least run away from it, after all. Trade (Miner) +20 200 Skill Trade (Miner) +10

Energy Cache 100 Talent

Required Career: Techpriest
Sound Constitution 200 Talent
Alternate Rank: 5 or Higher (3000-5999
xp) Resistance (Radiation) 200 Talent

Other Requirements: Character must Duplex Filters 200 Talent Medicae

have worked to maintain nuclear-based Rappelling Systems 300 Talent Mechadendrite Use
technology or engaged in combat using (Utility)
radiological weapons, and done so with Mag-Graspers 400 Talent Ferric Lure
the approval of a more senior Techpriest. Basic Weapon Training 200 Talent
(Melta)

Melee Weapon Training 200 Talent

(Power)

29
New Talent: Duplex Filters
A simple improvised method used by many
Initiates to afford themselves an extra level
of radiation protection, the addition of a
second layer of particulate and chemical
scrubbers can keep one alive for that much
longer. That being said, such systems can
quickly become oversaturated. A Nucleic
Initiate may roll twice on Toughness Tests
to resist airborn toxins or radiation and
choose the higher result. If both rolls fail,
however, any amount of Ferm they would
gain is doubled.
than Servitors, made to haul heavy loads for
long periods of time. Experienced Initiates
just avoid this by reinforcing their hands
with magnetic load-bearing units. A
Nucleic Inititate with this Talent gains a
+10 to Strength tests to lift, carry or throw
metallic objects, a +30 to the Opposed Test
to resist the Disarm talent, and their
unarmed melee attacks gain the Shocking
Weapon Quality.

New Talent: Rappelling Systems

Initiates generally perform most of

their work in areas which are not
designed for regular access by
unaugmented humans or even
normal Techpriests, and they must
develop a wide variety of mobility-
enhancing tools as a result. An
inbuild rapelling system consists of
a wide variety of deployable
grapnels and winches, combined
with compressed air jets that allow
for unparalleled vertical
maneuvering.
An Initiate with this Talent gains a
+10 to any test to jump, leap, climb
or abseil, and can do so as a Half
Action. Additionally, when
climbing they move a distance
equal to their total Agility Bonus,
not one half.

New Talent: Mag-Graspers

New Initiates frequently complain

that they are treated little better

30
[DH1] Elite Advance: Twisted Survivor Additionally, they may spend xp on the
Twisted Survivor advances seen in Table 5.
In the 41st Millenium, surviving a nuclear
blast can seem to be a blessing in the short Table 5: Twisted Survivor Advances [RT]
term, but may just as easily be a curse. Years Advance Cost Type Prerequisite
of ambient radiation and Warp energy
exposure have made the human genome Forbidden Lore 100 Skill
(Mutants)
more than a little mutable, and intense,
wracking mutations can quickly follow what Forbidden Lore 100 Skill Intelligence 30,
might appear to be a miraculous escape. A (Mutants) +10 Forbidden Lore
(Mutants)
Twisted Survivor is a mutant who has
passed through the nuclear gauntlet Disguise 100 Skill
unscathed in mind if not in body; though Disguise +10 100 Skill
they frequently must operate outside of the
bounds of Imperial law to avoid being Scholastic Lore 200 Skill Scholastic Lore
(Nuclear Physics) (Nuclear Physics)
purged, for more radical Inquisitors the
unique abilities and talents of an intelligent Resistance 100 Talent Toughness 30
and motivated mutant can be extremely (Radiation)
valuable if applied correctly. True Grit 200 Talent Toughness 35

Font of Radiation 300 Talent

Nearly all of the Hive Worlds of Calixis
have mutant populations of come kind or
another, and those mutants who have a level
head or heads on their shoulders can find, if
not luxury, at least a living in the crime-
ridden anarchy of the Underhive. Though
seldom recruited by all but the most radical
of Inquisitors, these broken, barely human
survivalists can prove a valuable if
dangerous asset to any inquisitorial cell not
too concerned with keeping a low profile.
Career: Any
Restrictions: Character must have at least 2
Mutations, and have survived exposure to
an irradiated environment for at least a
month.
Advance Cost: 500xp
Effect: Character gains Enemy (Imperium),
loses any Peer Talents they might have, and
gains the Twisted but Unbroken Trait.
Break the Bonds 400 Talent
New Form, 500 Talent Character has at least 3
Terrible Purpose Mutations
New Talent: Font of Radiation
This Twisted Survivor’s body has become
so impregnated with radiation that they can
actually release it at will, creating small
pockets of localized fallout. Once per day,
this character may make a Challenging (+0)
Toughness Test to create an area of
Moderate Ambient Radiation around
themselves with a radius equal to twice their
Toughness Bonus. They receive no Ferm
gain while in this area, though the same
does not apply to other characters. This
effect persists for 12 hours.
New Talent: Break the Bonds

31
 of the effect, the character automatically
By pushing their mutated biology beyond takes 1d10 points of Impact Damage,
the limits of what should be humanly ignoring Armour and Toughness. If
possible, this character can unleash strength gaining this mutation would cause the
and attacks that defy belief, though at the character to gain Corruption, they gain it at
cost of long-term damage to their already the end of the effect, when they take
unstable souls. Once per day, this character damage.
may choose, as a Free Action, to gain one
level of Unnatural Characteristic in one
Characteristic of their choice. This effect
lasts for a number of hours
equal to half their
Willpower Bonus,
rounded up. At the end of
the effect, the character
automatically takes 1d5
points of Corruption.

New Talent: New Form,

Terrible Purpose

This character has fully

embraced the mutability
of their bodies, and can
call forth new and horrific
forms to suit their own
purposes, at the cost of
great damage to their
twisted forms. Once per
day, this character may
choose, over the course of
2 Full Actions in which
they cannot move or act,
to temporarily gain one
new Mutation. They roll
1d100, and may modify the
result by their Toughness
Bonus in either direction.

This effect lasts for a

number of hours equal to their Toughness
Bonus when they made the roll. At the end

32
 Table 6: Atomic Scholar Advances
Advance Cost Type Prerequisite
[RT] Alternate Rank: Atomic Scholar
Evaluate 100 Skill

The trade in unstable heavy elements is Trade (Miner) 100 Skill

risky; they tend to be rare, difficult to Trade (Miner) +10 200 Skill Trade (Miner)
extract and process, and require heavily-
Common Lore 100 Skill
shielded storage equipment to transport (Tech)
without poisoning their handlers.
Scholastic Lore 100 Skill
However, the payoff is incredibly (Chymistry)
lucrative if a Rogue Trader can find a Scholastic Lore 200 Skill Scholastic Lore (Chymistry)
potential buyer, for many of the more (Chymistry) +10
esoteric technologies used by the Scholastic Lore 100 Skill
Adeptus Mechanicus require a huge (Nuclear Physics)

array of strange isotopes which can only Scholastic Lore 200 Skill Scholastic Lore (Nuclear Physics)
(Nuclear Physics) +10
be found on the fringes of Imperial
space. Some Rogue Trader crews who Scholastic Lore 300 Skill Scholastic Lore (Nuclear Physics)
(Nuclear Physics) +20 +10
involve themselves in this obscure
industry will deliberately seek out those Scholastic Lore 400 Skill Scholastic Lore (Nuclear Physics)
(Nuclear Physics) +30 +20
few Imperial scholars, engineers and
Search 200 Skill
miners who still specialize in antique
atomic theory, or even seek training Search +10 300 Skill Search

from sympathetic members of the Tech-Use 100 Skill

Adeptus Mechanicus. Tech-Use +10 300 Skill Tech-Use

Demolition 200 Skill

Required Career: Any Explorer.
Demolition +10 300 Skill Demolition
Alternate Rank: 1 or higher (5000 xp)
Requirements: Intelligence 35, Chem-Use 200 Skill

Perception 35 Logic 200 Skill

Other Requirements: This explorer Speak Language 100 Skill
must have undertaken research or (Trader’s Cant)
extraction work involving radioactive Common Lore 100 Skill
elements, whether it be in the field or (Koronus Expanse)

under formal instruction. Resistance 200 Talent

(Radiation)

New Talent: Know the Signs Paranoia 200 Talent

Prerequisites: Intelligence 35, Perception Nerves of Steel 200 Talent

35, Scholastic Lore (Nuclear Physics) +10 Total Recall 200 Talent Intelligence 30
This explorer is has internalized their
Feverish Focus 300 Talent Willpower 40
theoretical knowledge of nuclear physics
Hard Bargain 400 Talent
and radioactive substances, and has
developed an instinctive understanding Know the Signs 500 Talent Intelligence 35, Perception 35,
Scholastic Lore (Nuclear Physics)
of the influence of radiation on +10
themselves and their environment.

33
When in a radioactive environment,
this Explorer may test Scholastic Lore
(Nuclear Physics) to increase their
default Ferm Reduction, as well as a
number of allies equal to their
Intelligence Bonus, by 3. This effect
lasts for a number of hours equal to
their Intelligence bonus divided in
half, rounded up. In addition, this
Explorer always knows their Ferm
level, even without access to a
detection method.

David Ryckaert III, The Alchemist, 1649

Atomic Scholars in Calixis

In order to play an Atomic Scholar, one first needs a place to study. Here are some
suggestions:

Ryboth: This ruined Forge World is an excellent example of the effects of massive
radiation bombardment on a planetary population, and the destruction that resulted. An
Atomic Scholar on Ryboth could be a well-educated native, or merely interested in
studying the aftereffects of the planetary cataclysm.

The Serpent’s Cradle: Rumors of xenos influence aside, the worlds of the Serpent’s Cradle
present a fascinating insight into how life forms evolve under sustained radiation.
Atomic Scholars with more of a biological-centric bent could find a lifetime of learning
here. Or perhaps something more sinister.

Maleziel: Though the grim inhabitants of this barren penal world are not rich by any
means, their continued survival on the irradiated planet depends on outside help, and
they would likely be willing to pay handsomely for an expert in radiation to assist them
in any way possible.

Zayth: The ancient combats between the city-ships of Zayth have left the planetary crust
saturated with all manner of exciting radioactive elements just waiting to be mined,
studied, and sold to the highest bidder. The same applies to the ancient and esoteric
technologies driving the cities themselves.
34
[RT] Alternate Rank: Magos Nucleic Table 7: Magos Nucleic Advances
Advance Cost Type Prerequisite

Among the rarest of the Magii of the Command 100 Skill Fellowship 30
Adeptus Mechanicus, the Magii Nucleic Survival 200 Skill
are specialists in all things nuclear, from
Medicae +10 200 Skil Medicae
handling ancient reactor cores to
extracting the transuranic elements that Scholastic Lore (Nuclear 100 Skill
Physics)
form the core of so many Taghmata
Scholastic Lore (Nuclear 200 Skill Scholastic Lore (Nuclear
weapons systems. Little-known even to Physics) +10 Physics)
the rest of the Mechanicus, they tend to
Scholastic Lore (Nuclear 300 Skill Scholastic Lore (Nuclear
operate in lonely postings with little Physics) +20 Physics) +10
oversight so long as their projects do not Scholastic Lore (Nuclear 400 Skill Scholastic Lore (Nuclear
result in catastrophe, their interest in Physics) +30 Physics) +20
semi-obsolete technologies an Chem-Use 200 Skill
eccentricity at best and borderline tech-
Chem-Use +10 300 Skill Chem-Use
heresy at worst. Their bodies insulated
Trade (Reactor 100 Skil
and sealed against hellish levels of Technician)
radiation, they lack the spidery grace or
Trade (Reactor 200 Skill Trade (Reactor Technician)
gothic bulk of other Techpriests, Technician) +10
preferring instead forms that emphasize
Demolitions 300 Skill Scholastic Lore (Nuclear
simplicity, high function in extreme Physics)
environments and layer upon layer upon The Flesh is Weak I 500 Talent Mechanicus Implants
layer of lead.
Machinator Array 600 Talent The Flesh is Weak I

Unarmed Warrior 200 Talent

Many Explorator fleets will seek out the
services of the Nucleics, for their obscure Resistance (Cold) 100 Talent

and semi-useless knowledge can prove to Resistance (Poisons) 100 Talent

be remarkably helpful out beyond the Resistance (Heat) x2 100 Talent
bounds of Imperial space. Though the
Resistance (Radiation) x2 100 Talent
character of such Techpriests tends to be
Formidable 300 Talent Resistance (Heat),
unusually independent and self-sufficient, Resistance (Radiation)
it is considered a necessary evil when
Sound Constitution x3 200 Talent
compared to their readiness to handle
unexpected dangers. Shielded Bulk x4 400 Trait Mechanicus Implants

Heavy Manipulators 500 Talent Shielded Bulk

Required Career: Magos Explorator. Fermatic Purge 300 Talent Shielded Bulk
Alternate Rank: 3 or higher (10,000 xp)
Requirements: Toughness 40, Perception
35 of nuclear technology, or frequently
Other Requirements: This explorer must operated atomic weapons in combat.
have recovered or activated an ancient piece
New Trait: Shielded Bulk

35
The servo-limbs of a Magos Nucleic are of New Talent: Fermatic Purge
a peculiar design, for they involve layer Prerequisites: Shielded Bulk
upon layer of rad-warded lead and heavy A system of radiation protection is nothing
metal plating over a tiny core of insulated if it doesn’t have a way to clear accumulated
organic material. Supported by a complex radiation out of the protected area, and the
system of motors, this layout provides near- Magii Nucleic know this full well. A
human levels of mobility and dexterity, as fermatic purge system allows their organic
well as immense levels of radiation components to be flooded with radiation-
protection. Despite these advantages, the suppression chemicals.
end result is unbelievably heavy. As a Half Action, a Magos Nucleic may
Each time the Magos Nucleic takes this choose to gain a level of Fatigue in order to
Trait, they increase their Ferm Reduction reduce any Ferm they would gain to 0 for a
by 3, gain 1 AP in all locations, and increase number of rounds equal to twice their
their weight by 250 kilograms. These effects Toughness Bonus.
stack with themselves and with armour
worn by the Magos Nucleic. What this
extreme weight, and its interaction
with Machinator Array entails is up
to the Game Master, but a Magos
Nucleic might have significant
difficulty operating light vehicles,
climbing and moving over soft
terrain, or manoeuvring in zero-
gravity.

New Talent: Heavy Manipulators

Prerequisites: Shielded Bulk
The hand units of a Magos Nucleic
are a wonder of Mechanicus
manipulatior technology, posessing
the dexterity of ordinary human
hands with the structural strength
sufficient to tear open the walls of
a nuclear pile. An Explorer with
this Talent gains a +20 bonus to
any Strength Test to break, knock
down, bend or punch holes in
inanimate objects, and their
unarmed melee attacks gain a
Penetration of 5.

36
 Table 8: Twisted Survivor Advances [RT]
[RT] Elite Advance: Twisted Survivor
Advance Cost Type Prerequisite

In the 41st Millenium, surviving a nuclear Forbidden Lore 100 Skill

(Mutants)
blast can seem to be a blessing in the
short term, but may just as easily be a Forbidden Lore 100 Skill Intelligence 30,
curse. Years of ambient radiation and (Mutants) +10 Forbidden Lore
Warp energy exposure have made the (Mutants)

human genome more than a little Forbidden Lore 200 Skil Forbidden Lore
mutable, and intense, wracking mutations (Mutants) +20 (Mutants) +10
can quickly follow what might appear to Forbidden Lore 200 Skill Forbidden Lore
be a miraculous escape. A Twisted (Mutants) +30 (Mutants) +20
Survivor is a mutant who has passed
Scholastic Lore 200 Skill Scholastic Lore
through the nuclear gauntlet unscathed in (Nuclear Physics) (Nuclear Physics)
mind if not in body; though they
Resistance 100 Talent Toughness 30
frequently must operate outside of the
(Radiation) x 3
bounds of Imperial law to avoid being
purged, for more unorthodox Rogue True Grit 200 Talent Toughness 35
Traders the unique abilities and talents of Font of Radiation 300 Talent
an intelligent and motivated mutant can
Break the Bonds 400 Talent
be extremely valuable if applied correctly.
New Form, 500 Talent Character has at least 3
Heavily mutated individuals frequently Terrible Purpose Mutations
find their homes on the edge of Imperial
society, where they live solitary existences gains the Twisted but Unbroken Trait.
in an attempt to escape purgation or Additionally, they may spend xp on the
enslavement. Sometimes, enterprising Twisted Survivor advances seen in Table 8.
Rogue Trader crews will employ such
individuals as local guides, mercenaries or New Talent: Font of Radiation
scouts, their bizarre biologies permitting This Twisted Survivor’s body has become
them to survive in environments that would so impregnated with radiation that they can
kill a normal human in seconds. Some may actually release it at will, creating small
even find employ as performers or pockets of localized fallout. A number of
entertainers, the novelty of their anatomy times per day equal to their Toughness
an entertainment in and of itself. Bonus, this character may make a
Career: Any Challenging (+0) Toughness Test to create
Restrictions: Character must have at least 2 an area of Moderate Ambient Radiation
Mutations, and have survived exposure to around themselves with a radius equal to
an irradiated environment for at least a twice their Toughness Bonus. If they pass
month. this test with more than 3 Degrees of
Advance Cost: 500xp Success, they may choose instead to create
Effect: Character gains Enemy (Imperium), an area of Major Ambient Radiation. They
loses any Peer Talents they might have, and recieve no Ferm gain while in this area,

37
though the same does not apply to other their Toughness Bonus in either direction.
characters. This effect persists for 24 hours.
This effect lasts for a number of hours
New Talent: Break the Bonds equal to their Toughness Bonus when they
By pushing their mutated biology beyond made the roll. At the end of the effect, the
the limits of what should be humanly character automatically takes 1d10 points of
possible, this character can unleash strength Impact Damage, ignoring Armour and
and attacks that defy belief, though at the Toughness. If gaining this mutation would
cost of long-term damage to their already cause the character to gain Corruption,
unstable souls. Once per day, this character they gain it at the end of the effect, when
may choose, as a Free Action, to gain one they take damage.
level of Unnatural Characteristic in one
Characteristic of their choice. This effect
lasts for a number of hours equal to half
their Willpower Bonus,
rounded up. At the end
of the effect, the
character automatically
takes 1d5 points of
Corruption.

New Talent: New

Form, Terrible Purpose
This character has fully
embraced the
mutability of their
bodies, and can call
forth new and horrific
forms to suit their own
purposes, at the cost of
great damage to their
twisted forms. Once per
day, this character may
choose, over the course
of 2 Full Actions in
which they cannot
move or act, to
temporarily gain one
new Mutation. They
roll 1d100, and may
modify the result by

38
[DH2] Elite Advance: Magos Nucleic
Among the rarest of the Magii of the
Adeptus Mechanicus, the Magii Nucleic are
specialists in all things nuclear, from
handling ancient reactor cores to extracting
the transuranic elements that form the core
of so many Taghmata weapons systems.
Little-known even to the rest of the
Mechanicus, they tend to operate in lonely
postings with little oversight so long as
their projects do not result in catastrophe,
their interest in semi-obsolete technologies
an eccentricity at best and borderline tech-
heresy at worst. Their bodies insulated and
sealed against hellish levels of radiation,
they lack the spidery grace or gothic bulk
of other Techpriests, preferring instead
forms that emphasize simplicity, high
function in extreme environments and layer
upon layer upon layer of lead.
Many of the greatest Imperial hives or
ancient voidships have a few Magii Nucleic
operating at their hearts, who seldom take
on new disciples to teach their bizarre and
esoteric ways. To acquire the services, or to
become a Magos Nucleic, is to immerse
one’s self in an exotic and semi-forgotten
form of Imperial technology, which is no
less dangerous for its air of mystery. And
Inquisitorial warband with a Magos Nucleic
supporting will find itself protected by the
toughest individuals the Mechanicus has to
offer.
Experience Cost: 500xp
Prerequisites: Character must be a member
of the Adeptus Mechanicus, and must have
spent extensive amounts of in-game time
working on nuclear equipment or operating
nuclear weapons in battle. They must also
39
have at least Scholastic Lore (Nuclear
Physics) +10.
Instant Changes:
Character gains Resistance (Radiation),
Resistance (Heat), and the Shielded Bulk
trait, listed below.
Unlocked Advances: The Magos Nucleic
gains access to 3 new Talents which are
purchased
as normal.
New Trait: Shielded Bulk
The servo-limbs of a Magos Nucleic are of
a peculiar design, for they involve layer
upon layer of rad-warded lead and heavy
metal plating over a tiny core of insulated
organic material. Supported by a complex
system of motors, this layout provides near-
human levels of mobility and dexterity, as
well as immense levels of radiation
protection. Despite these advantages, the
end result is unbelievably heavy.
Each time the Magos Nucleic gains this
Trait, they increase their Ferm Reduction
by 3, and increase their weight by 250
kilograms. These effects stack with
themselves and with armour worn by the
Magos Nucleic. What this extreme weight
entails is up to the Game Master, but a
Magos Nucleic might have significant
difficulty operating light vehicles, climbing
and moving over soft terrain, or
manoeuvring in zero-gravity.
Elite Talent: Shielding Upgrade
Tier: 2
Aptitudes: Intelligence, Defence
Prerequisites: Toughness 35, Intelligence 35
A little bit of radiation shielding is good,
but a lot is better. When a Magos Nucleic
purchases this Talent, they gain another
level of the Shielded Bulk Trait.
They may purchase this talent 3
times.

Elite Talent: Heavy Manipulators

Tier: 2
Aptitudes: Strength, Offence
Prerequisites: Unarmed Warrior
The hand units of a Magos Nucleic
are a wonder of Mechanicus
manipulator technology, possessing
the dexterity of ordinary human
hands with the structural strength
sufficient to tear open the walls of a
nuclear pile. An Acolyte with this
Talent gains a +10 bonus to any
Strength Test to break, knock
down, bend or punch holes in
inanimate objects, and their
unarmed melee attacks gain a
Penetration of 3.

Elite Talent: Fermatic Purge

Tier: 3
Aptitudes: Intelligence, Defence
Prerequisites: Toughness 40,
Intelligence 35
A system of radiation protection is
nothing if it doesn’t have a way to
clear accumulated radiation out of
the protected area, and the Magii
Nucleic know this full well. A
fermatic purge system allows their
organic components to be flooded with
radiation-suppression chemicals.
As a Full Action, a Magos Nucleic may
choose to gain a level of Fatigue in order to
reduce any Ferm they would gain to 0 for a
number of rounds equal to twice their
Toughness Bonus.

40
[DH2] Elite Advance: Rad-Poisoner
The poisoner’s art encompasses a vast range
of chemicals, toxins, venoms, tinctures,
potions and other arcane methods, but few
can compare to the horror of death by
radiation poisoning. Such a death is slow,
agonizing and nearly impossible to treat,
keeping the victim conscious for as long as
possible even while their bodies melt away.
Indeed, it is not uncommon for victims of
such poisonings to seek suicide long before
their bodies would naturally succumb.
In the growing anarchy of Askellon, rad-
poisonings are a worryingly common
occurrence to the citizens of the major Hive
Worlds. The breakdown of society makes it
easier and easier for ordinary people to gain
access to toxic industrial chemicals and
waste they should not have, and many small
criminal empires have been started by
particularly murderous labourers with
access to the right kind of materials.
Experience Cost: 500xp
Prerequisites: Character must have at least
10 Corruption, and have killed an enemy
with radiation or a radiation weapon.
Instant Changes:
Character gains the Paranoia and the
Enemy (Adeptus Arbites) Talents. They
also gain 1 rank in the Security Skill.
Unlocked Advances: The Rad-Poisoner
gains access to 3 new Talents which are
purchased as normal.
Elite Talent: Fear the Glow
Tier: 1
Prerequisites: 10 Insanity
Aptitudes: Offense, Willpower
It takes a disturbed mind to willingly
poison an enemy to death with radioactive
41
chemicals, and even a brief insight into such
mind can leave more stable, normal souls
deeply shaken. A Rad-Poisoner with this
Talent gains a +5 to Willpower Tests and a
+20 to Intimidate Tests while in areas of
Radiation.
Elite Talent: Rad-Killer
Tier: 2
Prerequisites: Fear the Glow
Aptitudes: Offense, Willpower
Talents applied to contract killing can just
as easily prove useful on the battlefield, and
a Rad-Poisoner forced to fight for their life
is a deadly opponent for any living being
foolish enough to get in their way. Once
per combat, the Rad-Poisoner can make a
Difficult (-10) Scholastic Lore (Nuclear
Physics) Test to make a number of
subsequent ranged or melee attacks equal to
their number of Degrees of Success gain
the Fleshbane Weapon Quality. All these
attacks must be made with the same
weapon. If they fail the test by more than 2
Degrees of Failure, they gain 1d5 Ferm.
Elite Talent: Patient Murderer
Tier: 2
Prerequisites: Fear the Glow
Aptitudes: Offense, Willpower
The Rad-Poisoner is an expert in the slow
kill, and they take sick satisfcation in
reducing an enemy to a limp pile of
quivering flesh before dispatching them.
Experienced Rad-Poisoners can utilize the
tools of their trade to maximize this drawn-
out death. Any time a Rad-Poisoner attacks
with a weapon that has the Fleshbane
Quality, the attack also gains the Rad-
Phage quality if it did not already have it,
and increases its Damage by 2.
[DH2] Elite Advance: Twisted Survivor
In the 41st Millenium, surviving a nuclear
blast can seem to be a blessing in the short
term, but may just as easily be a curse. Years
of ambient radiation and Warp energy
exposure have made the human genome
more than a little mutable, and intense,
wracking mutations can quickly follow what
might appear to be a miraculous escape. A
Twisted Survivor is a mutant who has
passed through the nuclear gauntlet
unscathed in mind if not in body; though
they frequently must operate outside of the
bounds of Imperial law to avoid being
purged, for more radical Inquisitors the
unique abilities and talents of an intelligent
and motivated mutant can be extremely
valuable if applied correctly.
In service to an inquisitorial warband,
mutant soldiers play roles as diverse as their
mutations. Some may be brutal shock
troopers, tearing down enemies with claws
and teeth, others may be devious
infiltrators who can slip through cracks, or
even interrogation specialists who use their
horrifying appearances to terrify their
victims into confessions of guilt.
Experience Cost: 300xp
Prerequisites: Character must have at least
2 Mutations, and have survived exposure to
an irradiated environment for at least a
month.
Instant Changes:
Character gains Enemy (Imperium of Man)
and loses any and all Peer talents they
might have.
Character gains True Grit, 2 levels of
Resistance (Radiation), the Twisted but
Unbroken Trait (see below), and increases
their base Ferm Resistance by 1.
42
Unlocked Advances: The Twisted Survivor
gains access to the following Talents which
are purchased as normal.
Elite Talent: Font of Radiation
Tier: 1
Prerequisites: 35 Toughness or 35 Willpower or
35 Strength, Twisted Survivor
Aptitudes: Toughness, Offence
This Twisted Survivor’s body has become
so impregnated with radiation that they can
actually release it at will, creating small
pockets of localized fallout. Once per day,
this character may make a Challenging (+0)
Toughness Test to create an area of
Moderate Ambient Radiation around
themselves with a radius equal to twice their
Toughness Bonus. They recieve no Ferm
gain while in this area, though the same
does not apply to other characters. This
effect persists for 24 hours.
Elite Talent: Break the Bonds
Tier: 2
Prerequisites: 40 Toughness or 40 Willpower
or 40 Strength, Twisted Survivor
Aptitudes: Toughness, Offence
By pushing their mutated biology beyond
the limits of what should be humanly
possible, this character can unleash strength
and attacks that defy belief, though at the
cost of long-term damage to their already
unstable souls. Once per day, this character
may choose, as a Free Action, to gain
Unnatural Characteristic (X) to one
Characteristic of their choice, where X is
equal to half their Willpower Bonus,
rounded up. This effect lasts for X hours.
At the end of the effect, the character
automatically takes 1d5 points of
Corruption.
Elite Talent: New Form, Terrible Purpose
Tier: 3
Prerequisites: 45 Toughness or 45 Willpower
or 45 Strength, Twisted Survivor
Aptitudes: Toughness, Offence
This character has fully embraced the
mutability of their bodies, and can call
forth new and horrific forms to suit their
own purposes, at the cost of great damage
to their twisted forms. Once per day, this
character may choose, over the course of 2
Full Actions in which they cannot move or
act, to temporarily gain one new Mutation.
43
They roll 1d100, and may modify the result
by their Toughness Bonus in either
direction.This effect lasts for a number of
hours equal to their Toughness Bonus when
they made the roll. At the end of the effect,
the character automatically takes 1d10
points of Impact Damage, ignoring
Armour and Toughness. If gaining this
mutation would cause the character to gain
Corruption, they gain it at the end of the
effect, when they take damage.
New Skills, Talents and Traits
“You know how to work a fancy plasma reactor?
Well la-dee-dah, I’m sure that will be a great help
when you’re heaving around graphite blocks with
your skin melting away.”
-Magos Nucleic Ulabash
The unusual nature of nuclear technology,
and the extraordinary risks involved with its
use, demands unusual skills and abilities.
Scholastic Lore: Nuclear Physics (Int)
Aptitudes: Intelligence, Knowledge
The formal (or somewhat informal) study of
nuclear materials, technology, science,
theory and practice in all its forms, Nuclear
Physics know-how is a must when dealing
with atomic equipment or concepts. While
most Imperial citizens will have little more
than a rudimentary understanding of
nuclear technologies, expertise in this field
can be a literal life-saver.
Example Modifiers
+30: Studying the basic principles of
atomic structure or chemistry.
+20: Performing study with the aid of a
data-vault or reference text.
+10: Researching a specific unstable
element.
+0: Learning the operating mechanisms of
a fission reactor.
-10: Studying the fuel mixtures of an
ancient fusion weapon.
-20: Mapping the fallout spread from a
wide-scale nuclear bombardment.
-30: Assembling the plans to build a
compact fission reactor from scratch.
44
Talent: Formidable
Tier: 2
Prerequisites: Iron Jaw, Sound Constitution
Aptitudes: Toughness, Defence
Though the human body can never truly
adapt to the intense pressure, heat and
vibration shocks of explosions, any
experienced demolition or artillery trooper
becomes somewhat accustomed to such
harsh conditions.
When this character takes damage from a
weapon with the Blast or Atomic Blast
Quality, they halve the number of Wounds
of damage they receive after accounting for
armour and Toughness, rounding up.
Talent: Fast Metabolism
Tier: 1
Prerequisites: Toughness 35
Aptitudes: Strength, Toughness
Some human beings are naturally better
able to purge radioactive substances from
their bodies, or maintain a diet that flushes
their system free of contaminants.
Whenever a character with this Talent
reduces their Ferm level from natural
healing or time spent in a medical bay, they
reduce it by an amount equal to their
Toughness Bonus per month and per week,
respectively.
Talent: Feverish Focus
Tier: 2
Prerequisites: WIllpower 40
Aptitudes: Willpower, Offense
In the nightmarish depths of lethal
radiation sickness, some find an odd clarity;
though their bodies melt away, their minds
hold on to reality with an almost
supernatural focus. In combat, a character
with this Talent may spend a Full Action to
make a Difficult (-10) Willpower Test. If
they succeed, they may add half their Ferm
level, rounded down, to the first Ballistic
Skill or Weapon Skill Test they make on
their next turn. If at any point between
these two turns they are attacked, Pinned,
or otherwise distracted, they become
Stunned for one round instead. Characters
cannot Dodge or make Reactions while this
ability is active.

Trait: Twisted but Unbroken

Though this character’s body is horribly
mutated by radiation exposure, their minds
are still for the most part human. By sheer
effort of terrible will they can suppress the
agony of their condition. This character can
choose whether or not they would like to
gain Mutation Potential from Ferm
exposure at any time when they would
normally be forced to gain a level of
Mutation Potential. At the start of each
day, they may make a Routine (+20)
Willpower Test to ignore the penalties to
their Intelligence, Perception and
Willpower from their current Ferm level
for the remainder of that day. If they fail,
they gain 1d5-1 Insanity (minimum 1).

45
Atomic Armoury
“In this our time of desperate need we call upon
the benefice of Saint Geiger; free us, noble soul,
from this invisible menace.”
-De Templum Nuclei Exitium, Volume 3
Many tend to make the assumption that
nuclear weapons are gigantic and messy
weapons, deployed only by Titans or heavy
aircraft and artillery, but that is very much
not the case. Radiological weapons are
found at all scales, from tiny directed-
radiation pistols to megaton-level
warheads.
However, nuclear equipment is not limited
to weapons; protective equipment,
shielding and anti-radiation medication are
also vital parts of the nuclear arsenal.
The target's Armour values function as
normal.
Rad-Phage: This weapon causes debilitating
radiation poisoning, leaving those who
survive its attack wracked with sickness. If
an enemy receives a wounding hit from this
weapon, they must make a Challenging (+0)
Toughness Test or suffer 2d10 Toughness
Damage. If they fail the test by more than 4
degrees, the damage is permanent.
Atomic Blast (X/X/X): Full-power fission
and fusion warheads have a blast radius just
like their smaller counterparts, but on a
massively larger scale. This means they can
be wildly inconsistent in the kinds of
damage they do- people hundreds of
meters from the epicenter of a blast will

Weapon Qualities
Scorched Souls
Electromagnetic Pulse (X): A haywire field on
If you’re running a campaign that
a grand scale, a nuclear-initiated EMP can
involves a darker or more horror-themed
scramble electronics across continents. This
tone, you may wish to enhance the
Weapon Quality functions identically to
nightmarishness of a nuclear blast with a
the Haywire quality, save that its area of
little something extra, to reflect the real-
effect is equal to the Moderate Radius of
life psychological effects of being close
the firing weapon’s Atomic Blast Weapon
to a nuclear blast. In this case, add the
Quality. It goes without saying that only
following Weapon Quality to any large-
weapons with the Atomic Blast Quality can
scale radiological weapon attacks.
also have the Electromagnetic Pulse
Quality.
Atomic Horror: Sometimes the sheer scale
of a nuclear weapon going off can be an
Fleshbane: This weapon is designed
assault to the mind and the senses so
specifically to attack biological targets
violent it drives men mad. Any character
through the use of noxious chemicals,
within line of sight of this weapon when
radiation, biological agents or other nasty
it activates, but unaffected by it, must
methods. Damage from this attack ignores
test versus Fear (3). If this character has
the target's Toughness Bonus, if it has one.
witnessed an atomic detonation, or the
If the target has Unnatural Toughness, it
use of similar weapons before, the test
instead reduces the value of that Trait by 1.
instead becomes versus Fear (1).

46
survive, but targets kilometers away are
utterly destroyed.
The Atomic Blast quality represents these
different degrees of nuclear lethality. It is
divided into three different radii from the
blast: Close, representing immediate
proximity to the point where the blast wave
originates, Danger, representing a distance
well within the effective blast radius of the
weapon, and Moderate, representing an
area on the edge of a weapon’s blast radius.
If a character is within any one of these
radii, they will take damage; a nuclear blast
cannot be dodged or absorbed by force
fields. The damage received, on the other
hand, depends on the radius the character
occupies on the turn the weapon detonates.
If a character is in the Close Radius, damage
received is as follows:
10d10 E, Pen 12, Concussive (6), Flame,
Flash (10), Fleshbane
If a character is in the Danger Radius,
damage received is as follows:
8d10 I, Pen 8, Concussive (4), Flame, Flash
(5), Fleshbane
If a character is in the Moderate Radius,
damage received is as follows:
6d10 I, Pen 4, Concussive (2), Flash (2)

The Minutiae of Atomic Blasts

Okay, roll me 350d10...
Obviously, detonating an atomic bomb involves a ton of dice rolling on the part of the GM
and the players, to represent the infinitesimal chance that someone might actually survive.
However, if you’re trying to run, say, the effects of a nuclear weapon on an entire army,
actually rolling hundreds of d10s isn’t particularly fun. As a rule of thumb, if you’re trying to
calculate nuclear weapon damage for more than 6 characters at a time, roll the dice once and
apply the damage to all of them simultaneously. It’s less exciting, true, but it will save you a
ton of time.

The Speed of Sound:

Obviously blast waves with radii measured in kilometers take time to get places; it takes a blast
wave roughly three seconds to travel a kilometer, after all. If you’d like to get more granular
in simulating bomb detonations, and give your players the ‘oh fuck’ moment of trying to
outrun a nuclear explosion, consider the following optional rules:

For every 2 kilometers in a damage radius, it takes that long for the damage to be applied to
characters, in turns. A character who is 10 meters from the center of the Critical Radius of a
bomb will always take damage the moment it goes off, but a character in the Danger Radius
2km away will take damage on the next turn after that, while a character in the Moderate
Radius 4km from the blast’s center will take damage 2 turns after it goes off.

If a character on the edge of two different radii moves from one radius to another after taking
damage, don’t apply the damage twice; Just because Jeff the Space Marine decides to walk
from the outer edge of the Danger Radius to the inner edge of the Moderate Radius doesn’t
mean the blast wave politely waits for him to get there and then clobbers him, after all. As
always, use common sense!
47
Exotic Ammunition
Nuclear materials generally tend to be
fairly mundane, if relatively rare, metals,
and as such can be processed into a wide
variety of ammunition and warheads.
Posturanic Rounds: Though the Taghmata
of the Mechanicus are the most famous
users of ultra-dense transuranic munitions
in their projectile weapons, some regiments
of the Imperial Guard use a cheaper,
somewhat more dangerous option in the
form of posturanic munitions. These ultra-
dense rounds are composed of depleted
transuranic elements, which make for
excellent armour-piercing munitions that
are also extremely flammable.
Unfortunately, their slight radioactivity can
make storing them long-term hazardous.
A weapon firing Posturanic rounds
increases its Penetration by 4 and its weight
by 50%. If it deals 5 points of damage or
more to a target, that target (or, in the case
of a vehicle, the vehicle’s crew) must make a
Difficult (-10) Agility Test or catch fire.
Any character carrying Posturanic rounds
on their person must pass an Easy (+20)
Toughness Test or gain 1d5 Ferm per day.
Used With: Any Solid Projectile Weapon
Rarity: Very Rare
Unstable Fermic
Rounds: Table 9: Exotic Ammunition
Impregnating a Posturanic Rounds
solid projectile U. Fermic Rounds
bullet with a variety S. Fermic Rounds
of exotic and Atomshard Bolts
unstable elements Pascal Warhead
can create a weapon Modo Warhead
which, when it hits a Laplace Warhead
target, poisons and
48
sears the flesh around the wound site.
Though the intensely unstable elements
present in such rounds make carrying,
manufacturing and storing them dangerous,
they have become increasingly common in
the ever more desperate Imperial battles
against the Tyranids.
A weapon firing Unstable Fermic Rounds
gains the Flesh-Bane Quality. Any
character carrying Unstable Fermic rounds
on their person must pass a Challenging
(+0) Toughness Test or gain 1d5 Ferm per
day.
Used With: Any Solid Projectile Weapon
Rarity: Extremely Rare
Semistable Fermic Rounds: A halfway step
on the road towards posturanic munitions,
the Semistable Round incorporates an
internal cavity packed full with nuclear
materials that are easily absorbed by
organic tissues. Though not much more
damaging than standard bullets, they can
saturate a target with radiation, weakening
them over time.
A weapon firing Semistable Fermic Rounds
gains the Rad-Phage Quality. Any
character carrying Semistable Fermic
rounds on their person must pass a Routine
(+10) Toughness Test or gain 1d5 Ferm per
day.
Used With: Any Solid Projectile Weapon
Rarity: Extremely
Rare
Very Rare
Extremely Rare Atomshard Bolts:
Extremely Rare Developed for use
Extremely Rare by the XIV Legion
Extremely Rare not long before the
Very Rare Horus Heresy,
Extremely Rare Atomshard bolt
rounds are a heavily
proscribed technology used only
occasionally by the Mechanicum and the
Ordos of the Imperial Inquisition. These
very heavy bolt rounds incorporate
thousands of microflechettes made of
transuranic elements; when they hit a
target, they spread through the wound site,
saturating it with radiation.
A weapon firing Atomshard Bolts changes
its damage type to Rending and increases
its Damage by 3. Any target that suffers
Wounds from an Atomshard Bolt gains 1d10
Ferm per day, without a test, for a number
of days equal to 10- their Toughness Bonus.
Any character carrying Atomshard bolts on
their person must pass a Routine (+10)
Toughness Test or gain 1d5 Ferm per day.
Used With: Bolt Weapons
Rarity: Extremely Rare
Pascal-Pattern Atomic Warhead: These
ultracompact nuclear fission warheads are
light enough for a single human being to
carry, though not easily. Producing a yield
on the order of 20 tons of standard
explosives and a powerful flash of radiation,
they make for a powerful, if somewhat
short-ranged tactical weapon. Most
weapons firing Pascals are designed to be
operated by remote because the blast radius
of the weapon is signifcantly larger than the
range of the weapon. A weapon can only
load one nuclear warhead at a time.
Stats: (Range: Weapon’s Maximum Range -
100 | Atomic Blast (150m/400m/1km),
Electromagnetic Pulse (1) | Reload:
Weapon’s Reload + 3 Full Actions)
Environment Produced: Tactical Fission
Weapon, Salted Fission Weapon,
Atmospheric Blast
Used With: Missile Launchers, Mortars
Rarity: Extremely Rare
49
Modo-Pattern Atomic Warhead: The
most common nuclear warhead in the
Imperial arsenal, if nuclear warheads can be
said to be common, the Modo is a variable
yield fission warhead capable of producing
anywhere from 8 to 30 kilotons of explosive
force. There are numerous sub-variants of
the Modo designed for use in a wide variety
of standard Imperial cannons, though all
except the Basilisk variants are highly
unpopular, because of the extreme risk of
collateral damage they present. Generally
speaking, Modos are only ever fired on
their lowest yield for this reason.
Stats (8 Kiloton): (Atomic Blast
(180m/900m/2km), Electromagnetic Pulse
(1) | Reload: Weapon’s Reload + 4 Full
Actions)
Stats (19 Kiloton): (Atomic Blast
(260m/1.2km/3km), Electromagnetic Pulse
(1) | Reload: Weapon’s Reload + 4 Full
Actions)
Stats (30 Kiloton): (Atomic Blast
(300m/1.5km/16km), Electromagnetic Pulse
(2) | Reload: Weapon’s Reload + 4 Full
Actions)
Environment Produced: Tactical Fission
Weapon, Salted Fission Weapon,
Atmospheric Blast
Rarity: Very Rare
Laplace-Pattern Thermonuclear
Warhead: This warhead is the largest
tactical weapon in the Imperial arsenal, a
900-pound masterpiece of fusion
technology capable of producing 200-
kiloton blasts. Though it is not particularly
flexible and cannot be dialled to different
power levels, it can also be field-modified
for an enhanced-radiation mode, turning it
into a lethal neutron weapon, and is quite
sturdy and reliable by the standard of
Imperial rad-weapons. To minimize
casualties from the weapon’s gigantic blast
radius, Laplaces are mounted on modified
extended-range Manticore
missiles, normally loaded singly to avoid
accidents.
Stats (Standard Setting): (Range 20km |
Atomic Blast (1.5km/22.5km/80km),
Electromagnetic Pulse (3), Reliable | Reload
Weapon’s Reload + 4 Full Actions)
Stats (Neutron Setting): (Range 20km |
Atomic Blast (80m/200m/1km),
Electromagnetic Pulse (3), Reliable | Reload
Weapon’s Reload + 4 Full Actions)
Environment Produced: Atmospheric Blast,
Fusion Weapon, Neutron Weapon
Used With: Manticore Missile Launchers
Rarity: Extremely Rare
Weapon Upgrades
If you can put nuclear materials in
warheads, rounds and bullets, you can just
as easily attach it to weapons in excitingly
dangerous ways.
Dirty Explosives: The addition of live
radioactive materials to a preexisting
explosive warhead creates a crude but
undeniably effective radiological weapon,
scattering radiation sources all over the
blast zone. A weapon upgraded with Dirty
Explosives causes targets to gain 2d10 Ferm
in addition to the regular damage of its
attack. If the weapon has a Blast radius, that
area is treated as
being one of Table 10: Upgrades
Moderate Ambient Dirty Explosives
Radiation for the Remote Firing System
next 24 hours. Any Glaspistol
character carrying a Glasrifle
weapon upgraded Glascannon
with Dirty Explosives must pass a
Challenging (+0) Toughness Test or gain
1d5 Ferm per day.
Used With: Any weapon with the Explosive
damage type
Rarity: Scarce
Remote Firing System: Most weapons
firing atomic rounds present a significant
risk to their users, and the safest way to
operate them is from very, very far away.
This simple upgrade kit fits a weapon with
an electromechanical firing system that
allows the operator to pull the trigger from
the safety of… somewhere else, but also
resist the electromagnetic pulses generated
by firing. A weapon fitted with a Remote
Firing System can be fired from up to 2km
away, provided its control cable is not cut.
A remotely fired attack gains the Indirect
quality, and the weapon must still be loaded
as normal. Multiple Remote Firing Systems
can be combined together with an Easy
(+20) Tech-Use or Common Lore (Tech)
Test to extend the firing radius by 2km for
each System used.
Used With: Any ranged weapon
Rarity: Average
Glas Weaponry
The Adeptus Mechanicus uses Irad and
Radium weaponry on the battlefield, but
they have largely moved away from Glas-
Gamma Laser weaponry due to its
numerous flaws, preferring to leave such
devices for the Astra
and Glas Weapons Militarum to use.
Scarce Glas weapons
Average produce a coherent
Rare beam of gamma
Rare rays, punching
Very Rare through enemy
50
armour and cooking a target from the
inside out. While they are long-ranged and
extremely effective at destroying organic
targets, they are also bulky, fuel-
inefficient, and very dangerous for their
wielders. To wield a Glas weapon, a
character must have Weapon Training
(Las).
Glaspistol: This heavy energy ‘hand
cannon’ can direct a torrent of surprisingly
potent radiation towards an enemy, but at
great risk to the user. If a target hit by a
Glaspistol fails their Toughness Test for
Rad-Phage, they also gain 2d5 Ferm.
Whenever a Glaspistol overheats, its user
gains 1d5 Ferm.
(Pistol | Range 50m | S/-/- | 1d10+5 E | Pen 2
| Clip 5 | Reload 2 Full | Fleshbane, Rad-
Phage, Overheats | 5kg | Rare)
Glasrifle: Using the same stock and trigger
group as a standard Lasgun, the Glasrifle is
an effective midrange weapon, though its
high power output compared to its size
makes it very prone to overheating.If a
target hit by a Glasrifle fails their
Toughness Test for Rad-Phage, they also
gain 4d5 Ferm. Whenever a Glasrifle
overheats, its user gains 1d5 Ferm.
(Standard | Range 150m | S/2/- | 1d10 + 6 E |
Pen 3 | Clip 8 | Reload 2 Full | Fleshbane,
Rad-Phage, Overheats, Unreliable | 12kg |
Rare)
Glascannon: The heaviest Imperial
standard gamma-ray weapon, the
Glascannon is a heavy anti-materiel rifle,
capable of punching holes in armour but
also vaporizing organic matter with intense
51
bursts of radiation.If a target hit by a
Glascannon fails their Toughness Test for
Rad-Phage, they also gain 6d5 Ferm.
Whenever a Glascannon overheats, its user
gains 2d5 Ferm.
(Heavy | Range 450m | S/-/- | 4d10 + 10 E |
Pen 8 | Clip 1 | Reload 4 Full | Fleshbane,
Rad-Phage, Overheats | 50kg | Very Rare)
Anti-Radiation Clothing
Sometimes, you just need to place a layer of
very heavy material between you and the
outside world, and pray that it’s enough to
keep your insides from being fried.
Any suit of armour or clothing that
contains its own air supply or filtration
systems by definition will act as a system of
radiation protection, to a limited degree.
Keeping radioactive particulates out of the
respiratory system, and minimizing skin
contact with radiation sources, can mean
the difference between life and death. Any
suit of armour or clothing that has been
vacuum-sealed or provides its own air
supply, but is not explicitly designed to
protect against radiation, has a Ferm
Reduction value equal to its Body AP-5, to
a minimum of 1.
Lead Apron: More commonly seen in
Medicae facilities than out in the field, a
simple layer of fabric-wrapped lead shields
the vital organs from radiation. A Lead
Apron provides 2 AP versus Impact and
Rending damage to the Body, and has a
Ferm Reduction of 1.
Weight: 8kg
Availability: Average
Rebreathers and Radiation
A rebreather is simply an air filtration system,
and most have some kind of scrubber or filter
to remove dust from inhaled air. This is also an
effective, if limited anti-radiation system- as
radioactive particulates build up in the filters,
wearing the mask becomes a hazard instead of
a help. A Rebreather provides 1 point of Ferm
Reduction for a set amount of time before its
filters need changing. Poor-Craftsmanship
Rebreathers last 1 hour, Common
Craftsmanship lasts 4 hours, Good
Craftsmanship lasts 8 hours and Best
Craftsmanship lasts 24 hours.
Radcoat: A bulky, poncho-like garment,
the Radcoat provides a bare minimum of
radiation protection without overly
impeding movement, making it a common
item of protective equipment among the
Imperial Guard. Additionally, it is baggy
enough to be easily worn over armour and
combat gear. A Radcoat provides 2 AP to
the Body and Head, which does not stack
with other armour, and has a Ferm
Reduction of 2.
Weight: 5kg
Availability: Scarce
Radsuit: Covering the entire body with a
thick, plated layer of radiation-absorbent
plastics, Radsuits are heavy and
uncomfortable but effective in their role.
They incorporate integrated gloves, boot
liners, a neck seal
and hood, making Table 11: Anti-Rad Clothing
them highly Lead Apron
unpleasant to wear Radcoat
in warm weather. A Radsuit
Radsuit provides 3 Reactor Suit
AP to all locations, Arad Harness
and has a Ferm Reduction of 3. In hot
conditions, it grants the wearer a -20
penalty on all tests to resist gaining Fatigue
or dehydration.
Weight: 10kg
Availability: Rare
Reactor Suit: Worn by starship crewmen
and Adeptus Mechanicus tech-serfs, these
hunchbacked suits of lead-plated armour
are designed for use in the hellish
conditions on the engine decks of Imperial
voidships and plasma reactors. Though they
provide excellent protection, and even
incorporate air coolers and a water supply
to keep the wearer comfortable and
hydrated, they are incredibly heavy and
clumsy to wear. A Reactor Suit provides 6
AP to all locations and has a Ferm
Reduction of 5. The wearer can only take
Half Actions to move, and takes a -20
penalty to all Tests involving fine manual
dexterity or delicate muscle movements.
Weight: 30kg
Availability: Rare
Arad Harness: A full suit of anti-radiation
power armour, the Haigerloch-Pattern
Arad Harness is a brutal, direct piece of
machinery- a motor-assisted block of
metal, filtration systems and feedback
amplifiers designed to keep a wearer alive,
and above all, fighting, in the midst of
nuclear hell. Though it only grants the
wearer human-normal mobility, it is heavily
armoured against
both radiation and
Average weapons fire, and
Scarce incorporates survival
Rare system that allows it
Rare to be worn for days,
Extremely Rare or even weeks.
52
However, it is designed to prioritize
protection over flexibility, and has some
serious limitations as a result.
An Arad Harness grants the wearer a +10 to
all Strength-based Tests, 8 AP on all
locations, and a Ferm Reduction of 6. It
contains an air recycler system with enough
breathable air for 72 hours of continuous
use, and a water filter and food dispenser
loaded with enough potable water and iron
rations for 2 weeks. Its bulky, inflexible
helmet inflicts a -20 penalty on Perception-
based Tests, and gives all weapons fired by
the user the Inaccurate quality. It cannot be
operated continuously for more than one
week before its batteries run out. If its
batteries are drained or its power systems
damaged, an Arad Harness becomes so
heavy that its user cannot move in it. An
Arad Harness cannot be worn with other
helmets, armour or facial equipment such as
goggles or masks.
Weight: 90kg
Availability: Extremely Rare
Radiation Detection Gear
One of the most sinister things about
radiation is how difficult it is to detect at
low levels; by the time the average human
being can sense it by sight or feel, they’re
dead, but just don’t know it yet.
Film Badge: The simplest and most
ubiquitous method
to detect radiation Table 12: Radiation Detection Gear
in the Imperium, Film Badge
the lowly film badge Radgoggles
exists in the earliest Fermatic Augur
records of the Ion Chamber Augur
Adeptus Rad Auspex
Mechanicus as a Radgauge
53
lightweight, if somewhat limited, piece of
safety equipment. A Film Badge is a small
radiation-sensitive patch that attaches to
clothing which changes colour from black
to white when it has absorbed at least 10
Ferm worth of radiation. Once it has
changed colour, it is no longer functional
and must be replaced. Poor-Craftsmanship
Film Badges are difficult to read, and
require a Hard (-20) Perception Test to
notice if they have changed colour. Good-
Craftsmanship Film Badges incorporate a
second layer of film which changes colour
after absorbing a further 10 Ferm, while
Best-Craftsmanship Badges change colours
at 10, 20 and 30 Ferm absorbed respectively.
When acquired, Film Badges come in packs
of 12.
Weight: 0.5kg
Availability: Plentiful
Radgoggles: A piece of sensory equipment
of debatable utility, Radgoggles find their
use in locating radiation leaks in otherwise
non-radioactive environments. Their visual
sensors allow the wearer to ‘see’ heavy
radiation through filters superimposed over
their regular vision, with radioative sources
showing up as bright splotches of luminous
blue. Unfortunately, they are almost totally
useless in areas of high radiation, as the
intensity of the image overpowers the
wearer’s regular vision. A pair of
Radgoggles allows the wearer to make
vision-based
Perception Tests to
Plentiful instantly see
Rare radiation sources
Scarce within line of sight,
Rare though it gives no
Very Rare numerical indication
Very Rare of intensity.
Weight: 0.5kg
Availability: Rare
Mars-Pattern Fermatic Augur: A bare-
bones device mass-produced by the
Mechanicus for use in its Forge Worlds and
the Imperial Guard, the Fermatic Augur
consists of little more than a compact ion
chamber detection unit, a bright light, a
shrill speaker unit and a wristband. It lights
up and makes an irritating noise in the
presence of ionizing radiation. Though
sturdy and reliable, the Augur is generally
unpopular with its users because it gives
little practical information- it is not tuned
to detect strengths or directionality of
radiation, merely its presence. Additionally,
the noise caused by the Augur cannot be
easily silenced, and the light bulb has a
nasty tendency to burn out at the worst
possible time.
Good-Craftsmanship Fermatic Augurs
include a knob that allows the volume on
the speaker unit to be altered.
The Standard Auspex
Many characters in the 41st Millenium will
possess an ordinary Auspex of some kind, a
multi-purpose sensor unit designed to detect a
wide variety of energy fields, vibrations,
electromagnetic spectra, etc. Though they are
quite capable of being used as radiation
detectors, this is not their specific purpose. A
standard Auspex can be operated in the same
way as a Rad Auspex, save that it cannot
simultaneously detect ambient radiation or the
Ferm levels of characters- it can do either, but
not both at the same time, and switching back
and forth requires 5 minutes’ uninterrupted
time spent adjusting settings and reciting
incantations.
54
Weight: 0.5kg
Availability: Scarce
Ion Chamber Augur: More commonly seen
employed in industrial facilities than in the
field, Ion Chamber Augurs are reliable and
capable of extremely precise measurements,
but they are designed for directional use-
they can only pick up the presence and
intensity of a radiation source if they are
pointed directly at it. Operating an Ion
Chamber Augur requires a Challenging (+0)
Awareness Test to scan the environment for
radiation sources. Once pointed at a source,
the Augur indicates the intensity of the
source in Ferms per hour. If pointed at a
character, the Augur indicates that
character’s current Ferm level.
Weight: 1kg
Availability: Rare
Lucius-Pattern Rad Auspex:
Incorporating a full suite of radiation
detection and analysis equipment, and
capable of being operated underwater, in
the vacuum of space, and with very little
training, the Rad Auspex would be a
miracle of technology if it weren’t so
damned heavy. Operating a Rad Auspex
requires an Ordinary (+10) Intelligence
Test or an Easy (+30) Tech-Use Test.
Success allows the operator to know the
direction and intensity in Ferms per hour
of every radiation source within a radius
equal to 1 kilometer +1 for every Degree of
Success on their original Test, as well as
the Ferm level of any character, including
the operator, within direct line of sight.. A
character carrying a Rad Auspex treats
their Agility Bonus as being 2 lower for the
sake of determining their Movement
Speed unless they have a Strength Bonus
of 5 or greater. A Rad Auspex can be carried
by one character and its handset operated
by another. Good-Craftsmanship versions
of a Rad Auspex are more compact, if not
actually lighter, and only reduce the Agility
Bonus of the wearer by 1.
Weight: 30kg
Availability: Very Rare
Radgauge: Used by Techpriests and
Enginseers across the galaxy, the
Radgauge’s many variants are the gold
standard for radiation detection. Small
enough to easily fit in the hand, a
Radgauge detects the direction and
intensity of radiation sources on an easy-
to-read screen, and comes with detachable
medical monitors which allow for
continuous registering of exposure levels in
living beings. No Test is necessary to
operate a Radgauge under normal
circumstances- the operator automatically
knows the intensity in Ferms per hour and
direction of any incoming radiation.
Additionally, the device comes with six
detacheable monitors that easily adhere to
human skin, as well as a built-in monitor in
its handle. Every character with a monitor
attached, and the operator, knows their
current Ferm level. Good-Craftsmanship
Radgauges reduce their weight to 0.5kg,
while Best-Craftsmanship versions do not
require attached monitors, and can track
the Ferm levels of up to 8 characters at
once, plus the
operator. Table 13: Anti-Rad Drugs
Weight: 1kg KI Pills
Availability: Very Kojibalm
Rare Fermblock
Radduce
Substance 691
Radfungus
55
Anti-Radiation Drugs
Once in the human body, radioactive
substances are tenacious and perfidious,
difficult to root out without advanced
medical equipment. Many substances exist
that can suppress its negative effects, but
they tend to carry with them unpleasant
side effects.
KI Pills: Potassium Iodide, KI, is one of
the oldest anti-radiation medication known
to the Imperium, and its ease of production
makes it a ubiquitous medical product,
found everywhere from medicae facilities to
emergency survival kits. Once ingested, KI
somewhat limits the body’s ability to absorb
some forms of radiation, significantly
reducing the risk of radiation damage to
the thyroid glands. Unfortunately, it has a
variety of unpleasant, if not actually lethal,
side effects. A character who consumes a
dose of KI pills gains a level of Fatigue as
they develop headaches, painful rashes and
severe nausea, but they reduce any Ferm
they gain by 1, to a minimum of 0, for a
number of hours equal to their Toughness
Bonus.
Availability: Average
Kojibalm: A remarkably potent natural
antibacterial agent derived from the
fermentation of certain common Imperial
food crops, this clear, bitter-tasting liquid
is also a powerful radiation-blocking agent.
A character who
ingests a dose of
Average Kojibalm reduces all
Very Rare incoming Ferm by 2
Scarce and gains a +10
Scarce bonus to resist
Very Rare diseases and
Rare infections for 24
hours. Additionally, they take no extra
Ferm from consuming food or drink in
irradiated areas. If they have also consumed
a dose of Radfungus (see below), the
positive effects of the Radfungus are
immediately lost until the Kojibalm wears
off.
On planets where rice is a staple food crop,
Kojibalm is treated as Rare.
Availability: Very Rare
Fermblock: The cocktail of chemicals
known as Fermblock would be much
beloved, if it weren’t for horrific false
advertising. Fermblock is still largely
marketed as an anti-radiation drug, when a
more accurate description would be an anti
radiation sickness drug- it suppresses the
symptoms of radiation poisoning, but does
actually prevent the body from absorbing
further radiation. Indeed, casualties from
Fermblock use are high, not because it is
particularly dangerous but because of the
false confidence it instills in its users. When
a character consumes a dose of Fermblock
they may ignore the negative effects of any
Ferm level below 60 for 6 hours. If they
have a Ferm level above 60, they instead
halve any negative effects for that time. If
they consume more than 3 doses in a 24-
hour period, they permanently lose 1 point
of Perception as the chemical mix causes
minor nerve damage.
Availability: Scarce
Radduce: Almost the polar opposite of
Fermblock, Radduce is a truly functional
anti-radiation drug whose side effects are
so deeply unnerving and unpleasant that it
has proven unpopular even in situations
where it could be needed. Simply put, it is
56
an aggressive purgative that flushes the
body systems clean of free radioactive
elements, in the most literal sense. A
character who ingests a dose of Radduce
lowers their Ferm level by 2 x their
Toughness Bonus. However, they find
themselves helpless for the next 2d5
minutes as they begin vomiting
uncontrollably and their bladder and
bowels release explosively. They must also
make a Challenging (+0) Toughness or
Willpower Test or gain 1 level of Fatigue.
Availability: Scarce
Substance 691: A potent bacterium
developed by the Magus Biologis of the
Adeptus Mechanicus, Substance 691 is an
aggressive genetic repair system which can
rapidly undo damage to a human being’s
DNA from long-term radiation exposure.
One of the finest ‘field’ radiation
treatments known to Man, Substance 691’s
only flaws are the extreme cost of
manufacturing it- gene-engineering
bacteria isn’t cheap- and the minor genetic
flaws it can induce- not nearly as serious as
radiation poisoning, but potentially
dangerous in the very long term. A
character who injects a dose of Substance
691 reduces their Ferm level by 1d5-1 per
hour for the next 12 hours. They also gain
one level of Mutation Potential.
Availability: Very Rare
Radfungus: Many irradiated planets have
natural plantforms which are quite happy to
metabolize hard radiation, sequestering it
in their tissues. Some of these species can
even survive inside the human body, and
provide a powerful if unpleasant form of
radiation protection.
A character who ingests a handful of
Radfungus spores is soon beset by crippling
stomach cramps and fever- they gain 3
levels of Fatigue which last for a number of
hours equal to 24-their Toughness Bonus.
Once this time has passed, the symptoms
subside. Until the next time they are healed
of Critical Wounds, or consume any
poisonous or toxic product, they naturally
reduce they Ferm level at a rate equal to
half their Toughness Bonus rounded down
per day. Good-Craftsmanship Radfungus
Spores increase this amount to half their
Toughness Bonus rounded up.
engineered radiation-metabolizing fungus
that grant the partial ability to purge the
body of radiation.
A character implanted with Radfungal
Lining naturally reduces their Ferm level
by 1 per day. If they consume any
antifungal product or Kojibalm, they are
racked by intense cramps and internal
bleeding- they must test Toughness or take
1d5 levels of Fatigue. If they fail by more
than 1 Degree of Failure, their Lining
becomes nonfunctional for a number of
days equal to their Degrees of Failure.

Edible Radfungus has an availability of A Good-Craftsmanship Radfungal Lining

Scarce on Atomforged or Irradiated does not cease functioning if the host
planets. injests an antifungal, though the host must
Availability: Rare still test Toughness or take the above level
of Fatigue. Best-Craftsmanship Radfungal
New Cybernetics and Implants Linings reduce the level of Fatigue taken
to 1.
Fermic Coil: A common sensory implant
used by reactor technicians all across the
Imperium, the Fermic Coil connects in to
the nervous system, using the body’s own
nerve fibres to detect radiation exposure.
To a limited degree, it also provides a
certain amount of low-level radiation
sensing capabilities, though the range of
the device is limited. A character with an
implanted Fermic Coil always knows their
own Ferm level, and can make a Routine
(+20) Perception Test to automatically
detect the location and intensity in Ferms
per hour of any radiation sources within 5
meters of their body.
Availability: Rare

Radfungal Lining: Favored by some Magii

Biologis, this technique involves implanting
the host body with mats of genetically-

57
Vehicles
Though the Imperium fields few vehicles
dedicated specifically to functioning within
zones of high radiation, variants and
upgrades of common models do exist for
such hazardous conditions. Though they
tend to be sluggish and poorly-armed, their
thick armour protection is a life-saver.
Elytra Radiation Disposal Vehicle:
A bizarre tracked vehicle used occasionally
by the Imperial Navy and Guard for the
disposal of damaged atomic weapons and
equipment, the Elytra combines a Leman
Russ chassis with a chunky, armoured
cockpit designed to allow the crew to
operate a series of external servo-arms with
great precision. An Elytra can park next to
an exposed plasma reactor core and keep its
crew
58
unharmed for hours while they perform
repair work too complicated or delicate for
servitors. On rare occasions these vehicles
have even been pressed into combat in
irradiated environments, where claws that
can rip apart reactor shielding are just as
capable of tearing through vehicle armour
and fortifications.
Type: Tracked Vehicle
Tactical Speed: 10 m
Cruising Speed: 20 kph
Manoeuvrability: –10
Structural Integrity:
55 Size: Massive
Armour: Front 40, Side 40, Rear 20
Vehicle Traits: Enclosed, Environmentally
Sealed (Advanced), Reinforced Armour,
Ponderous, Rugged, Tracked Vehicle
Crew: 1 Commander (Turret), 1 Driver, 1
Machinist (Hull weapon)
Carrying Capacity: None
Weapons:
Hull-Mounted Weapon (Choose one of the
following):
Heavy Bolter (Front Facing) (150m | –/–/6 |
1d10+8 X | Pen 5 | Clip 60 | Reload Full |
Tearing)
Lascannon (Front Facing) (300m | S/–/– |
5d10+10 E | Pen 10 | Clip 30 | Reload 2 Full |
Proven (3))
Heavy Flamer (Front Facing) (30m | S/–/– |
1d10+5 E | Pen 4 | Clip 20 | Reload 2 Full |
Flame, Spray)
Multi-Melta (Front Facing) (60m | S/–/– |
2d10+16 E | Pen 12 | Clip 24 | Reload Full |
Blast (1), Melta)
Special Rules:
59
Fine Manipulators: The Elytra’s huge servo
claws are just as capable of peeling a grape
as they are ripping machinery apart. The
vehicle’s Commander may make Tech-Use
Tests in place of any other Test that would
require fine manual dexterity when
operating the vehicle’s servo-arms. Such
Tests gain a +20 bonus.
Servo-Arms: Much of the Elytra’s
powerplant is dedicated to driving its arms
huge motors, giving them incredible
strength. As a melee attack, the vehicle’s
Commander or Machinist can use the
servo-arms, with the following profile
Elytra Servo-Arms (Melee | 4m | 2d10 + 10
R | Pen 4 | Unwieldy, Tearing, Felling (4))
This weapon does not add the user’s
Strength bonus to its Damage, but does
gain Proven (4) when attacking vehicles or
structures.
Chimeron Nuclear Operations Transport:
Though the standard Chimera is
undoubtedly a versatile vehicle, and even
capable of operating in irradiated
environments with the additions of air
filters and modular anti-radiation plating, it
is not designed from the ground up for
such work and suffers as a result. For
situations where prolonged functioning in
heavy radiation was necessary, the
Chimeron variant was developed on Mars.
Though less heavily armed than a standard
Chimera, as it lacks a turret or hull-
mounted weapon, the hunchbacked
Chimeron’s massively thick armour and
powerful air recycling systems allow it to
operate independently for substantial
amounts of time in conditions that would
melt a human being in seconds.
Type: Tracked Vehicle
Tactical Speed: 12 m
Cruising Speed: 65 kph
Manoeuvrability: +0
Structural Integrity: 40
Size: Massive
Armour: Front 35, Side 35, Rear 35
Vehicle Traits: Amphibious, Enclosed,
Environmentally Sealed (Advanced),
Ponderous, Rugged, Tracked Vehicle
Crew: 1 Driver (Heavy Bolter)
Carrying Capacity: 12 Imperial Guardsmen
plus wargear
Weapons:
1 remotely-operated pintle-mounted
Heavy Bolter (150m | –/–/6 | 1d10+8 X | Pen 5 |
Clip 60 | Reload Full | Tearing)
Special Rules:
Blast-Resistant: The Chimeron’s curiously-
shaped hull, though neither elegant nor
60
streamlined, does allow it to absorb the brunt
of incoming blasts, letting it power through
nuclear shockwaves with relative ease. So long
as it is facing the center of an attack with the
Blast or Atomic Blast Quality, it counts its
Front Facing AP as being 20 higher against
that attack.
Leman Russ Eradicator:
A rarer short-ranged Leman Russ variant,
the Eradicator is functionally identical to a
standard Russ with the exception of an
Eradicator Nova Cannon in its turret. This
unusual weapon is not, alas, a naval-grade
Nova Cannon firing gigantic plasma blasts,
but rather a short-barreled howitzer
designed to lob small nuclear shells.
Usually loaded with a payload of Pascal-
Pattern shells, the Eradicator’s intense
blastwaves can destroy cover and deal
devastating damage to entrenched infantry,
making it more of a dedicated linebreaker
than vehicles like the Demolisher.
However, the Pascal round is not designed
to be fired at the kind of speeds produced
by the Eradicator’s howitzer, and can
become unstable due to the continuous
shock of recoil on the tank. Their tendency
to breach and splatter the interior of the
vehicle with volatile radioactive materials is
perfectly normal, and an accepted part of
Eradicator service. Eradicators see heavy
use among the Cadian regiments, as it is
generally accepted that the nearby
Forgeworld Agripinaa makes the highest-
quality version of the tank.
Type: Tracked Vehicle
Tactical Speed: 12 m
Cruising Speed: 35 kph
Manoeuvrability: –10
Structural Integrity: 55
Size: Massive
Armour: Front 40, Side 32, Rear 20
Vehicle Traits: Enclosed, Environmentally
Sealed (Advanced), Reinforced Armour,
Rugged, Tracked Vehicle
Crew: 1 Commander (Turret), 1 Driver, 1
Gunner (Turret), 1 Loader/Gunner
(Turret/Hull Weapon), 2 additional
Gunners (Sponsons; if taken)
Carrying Capacity: None
Weapons:
Turret-Mounted Eradicator Nova Cannon
(350m | S/-/- | Clip 2 | Reload 3 Full |
Atomic Blast (150m/400m/1km),
Electromagnetic Pulse (1))
Hull-Mounted Weapon (Front Facing)
Choose one:
Heavy Bolter (Front Facing) (150m | –/–/6 |
1d10+8 X | Pen 5 | Clip 60 | Reload Full |
Tearing)
mounted weapons. Choose one of the
following:
2 Heavy Bolters (Left Facing/Right
Facing) (150m | –/–/6 | 1D10+8 X | Pen 5 | Clip
60 | Reload Full | Tearing)
2 Heavy Flamers (Left Facing/Right
Facing) (30m | S/–/– | 1d10+5 E | Pen 4 | Clip
20 | Reload 2 Full | Flame, Spray)
2 Plasma Cannons (Left Facing/Right
Facing) (120m | S/–/– | 2d10+10 E | Pen 8 |
Clip 32 | Reload 5 Full | Blast (1), Maximal,
Overheat)
2 Multi-Meltas (Left Facing/Right Facing)
(60m | S/–/– | 2d10+16 E | Pen 12 | Clip 24 |
Reload Full | Blast (1), Melta)
An Eradicator may take one pintle-
mounted weapon atop its turret:
Heavy Stubber (100m | -/-/8 | 1d10 + 4 I |
Pen 3 | Clip 80 | Reload 2 Full)

Lascannon (Front Facing) (300m | S/–/– | Storm Bolter (90m | S/2/4 | 1d10 + 5 X | Pen
5d10+10 E | Pen 10 | Clip 30 | Reload 2 Full | 4 | Clip 60 | Reload Full | Storm, Tearing)
Proven (3))
Special Rules:
Heavy Flamer
(Front Facing) Unstable Cores:
(30m | S/–/– | 1d10+5 Reloading an
E | Pen 4 | Clip 20 | Eradicator's Nova
Reload 2 Full | Cannon is an
Flame, Spray) exercise in steady
hands and strong
Options: sphincters, as the
slightest slipup
An Eradicator may can cause
take two sponson- immediate death.
Reloading an

61
Eradicator Cannon requires an Easy (+30)
Agility Test on the part of the vehicle's
Loader in addition to the listed time.
Failure causes the shell to leak, making the
vehicle’s interior count as Major Ambient
Radiation for the next 48 hours.
Atomantic Howitzer: An Eradicator’s Nova
Cannon is loaded exclusively with Pascal-
Pattern nuclear warheads, and may generate
irradiated environments accordingly.
Rare Pattern: The best versions of the
Eradicator (and more importantly its shells)
hail from Agripinaa, and they are much
appreciated by their Cadian crews. At the
GM's discretion, a squad can be assigned an
Agripinaa-pattern Eradicator. This
functions as a normal Eradicator, except
that the Agility Test to reload the vehicle is
Simple (+40), and the Nova Cannon gains a
+10 to Ballistic Skill tests to operate it.
Banelord Superheavy Tank
The Imperium has a long history of
advanced anti-tank gunnery, using long-
ranged platforms like the Leman Russ
Vanquisher to devastating effect. The
Banelord represents the pinnacle of the
high-mobility anti-tank ‘sniper’ vehicle,
being a stripped-down Baneblade chassis
with its turret crammed full of an extremely
long smoothbore Reaction Cannon. This
weapon fires long flechette rounds
composed of depleted posturanium which
are capable of piercing through
unbelievably thick armour plates and then
scouring the interior of a target clean with
heat and radiation. Unfortunately, the
complicated loading systems needed to feed
the lengthy projectiles in the gun,
62
combined with the heavy shielding that
protects the crew from their radioactivity,
means that interior space in a Banelord is at
a premium.
The end result is a superior and
surprisingly agile tank hunter with little to
no anti-infantry weaponry, making their
use very situational. Often complained
about is the grossly oversized barrel of the
reaction cannon- while it ensures excellent
accuracy, it is so large the turret cannot be
reasonably traversed in any kind of close
quarters, and actually makes it impossible
for a Banelord to fire against vehicles that
get too close. Still, their flexibility as the
only truly turreted tank-hunting Baneblade
variant have gained them a devoted
following among the few Astra Militarum
regiments that can afford to keep them
deployed.
Type: Tracked Vehicle
Tactical Speed: 12m
Cruising Speed: 50kph
Manoeuvrability: -25
Structural Integrity: 100
Size: Monumental
Armour: Front 40, Side 35, Rear 28
Vehicle Traits: Command and Control,
Damage Control, Enclosed,
Environmentally Sealed (Simple),
Reinforced Armour, Super-Heavy,
Tracked Vehicle
Crew: 1 Commander (Turret), 1 Driver, 2
Gunners (Reaction Cannon/ Hull-
Mounted Bolters), 3 Loaders (Reaction
Cannon). Banelords often have a comms
operator and Enginseer as part of their
crew.
Carrying Capacity: None

Weapons:
Turret-mounted Reaction Cannon (2000m
| S/-/- | 6d10 +10 I | Pen 10 | Clip 1 | Reload 3
Full | Lance, Accurate)
Hull-Mounted twin-linked Heavy Bolters
(Front Facing) (150m | -/-/6 | 1d10+8 X | Pen
5 | Clip 60 | Reload Full | Tearing, Twin-
Linked)
Options:
The Banelord may take one of the
following Pintle-mounted weapons atop its
casemate.
Heavy Stubber (100m | -/-/8 | 1d10 + 4 I |
Pen 3 | Clip 80 | Reload 2 Full)
Storm Bolter (90m | S/2/4 | 1d10 + 5 X | Pen
4 | Clip 60 | Reload Full | Storm, Tearing)
Special Rules:
Baneblade Chassis: The Banelord has the same
basic Special Rules as the Baneblade.
Posturanic Shells: These truly unpleasant
rounds are dense, oily, highly radioactive
and violently flammable under the right
conditions, and even seasoned Banelord
crews treat them with a wary respect. The
effect such a solid kinetic impactor has on
an enemy target is nightmarish to behold.
The Banelord’s cannon gains a +1 to any
and all Critical damage it might inflict upon
an enemy vehicle. When a vehicle is hit by
rounds from a Banelord, its hull becomes an
area of Major Ambient Radiation for the
next 1d5 rounds.
63
Whenever a Banelord’s crew would take
critical damage as a result of an attack to
the Banelord’s weapons, they also gain 4d5
Ferm.
Oversized Barrel: The Reaction Cannon’s
barrel is almost as long again as the body of
the tank, and it makes manoeuvring the
vehicle in tight spaces well-nigh impossible.
When operating in enclosed environments,
such as a cityscape, a Banelord takes a -10
penalty to all Maneuvrability Tests. In such
environments, its cannon is treated as being
Hull-Mounted instead of being in a turret.
Overpenetration: The armour-piercing power
of a Posturanic shell means that softer
targets are often holed completely as the
shell continues on its merry way. If a
Reaction Cannon shot exceeds a target’s
AP by 30 or more, the shot does damage as
normal, then continues on its flight, hitting
any target behind the first target. A shell
will pass through any number of targets in
this way, though it will hit the ground and
dig in after travelling over 6000 meters or
hitting a target whose AP it does not
overcome by 30. Any hit after the first does
not inflict Righteous Fury. Two parts of
the same vehicle (such as the two legs of a
Titan) count as separate hits.
Vehicles and Radiation

Unlike clothing, the thick armour plating of a vehicle does not necessarily guarantee
protection from the scourge of radiation. Vehicles have ventilation and cooling systems that
recirculate air around the inside, and seldom include more than basic measures to keep out
dust. All too often, vehicle crews become overconfident, not realizing that what they had
thought was a safe haven is slowly filling up with poisonous dust.

Changes to Preexisting Vehicle Traits:

Open-Topped: This vehicle’s armour provides no protection against radiation.
Enclosed: This vehicle’s armour provides a Ferm Reduction of 1.
Environmentally Sealed: This trait no longer exists. Replace it with one of the new
Environmentally Sealed sub-variants below, chosen at the GM’s discretion.

New Vehicle Traits:

Environmentally Sealed (Simple): This vehicle is fitted with basic air and water-tight seals, as well
as rudimentary air-purification or cooling systems. It can maintain an airtight atmosphere for
10-the number of occupants hours before running out of air. If it receives Critical Damage of
any kind, it loses this ability until repaired. Passengers and crew cannot fire their personal
weaponry from a vehicle with this Trait until its seals are breached. This vehicle’s armour
provides a Ferm Reduction equal to its weakest AP value -15, to a minimum of 2.

Environmentally Sealed (Advanced): This vehicle’s environmental systems incorporate

regenerative CO2 scrubbers, positive-pressure controls, and reserve tanks that allow it to
operate sealed for extended periods of time in any environment. It can maintain an airtight
atmosphere for 10-the number of occupants days before running out of air. If it receives more
than 3 Critical Damage to any location, it loses this ability until repaired. Passengers and crew
cannot fire their personal weaponry from a vehicle with this Trait until its seals are breached.
This vehicle’s armour provides a Ferm Reduction equal to its weakest AP value -10, to a
minimum of 3.

Environmentally Sealed (Total): This vehicle is fitted with an environmental control system so
advanced that it can remain airtight for months at a time. It can maintain an airtight
atmosphere indefinitely, unless it receives more than 5 Crticial Damage to any location, in
which case it loses this ability until repaired. Its passengers and crew can fire their personal
weapons from a vehicle with this trait without breaching its seals. This vehicle’s armour
provides a Ferm Reduction equal to its weakest AP value -6, to a minimum of 4.

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Changelog
11/12/2018- Version 1.0! It begins!
14/03/2019- Version 1.1
• Added more art
• Added a Dark Heresy version of the
Twisted Survivor
• Added numerous sidebars on a
variety of subjects
• Changed the Fleshbane Quality to
work with Unnatural Toughness
• Fixed missing availabilities and
added availability quick-reference
tables
• Fixed missing experience costs
• Added the new Elytra and
Chimeron vehicles
• Ported the Leman Russ Eradicator
and Banelord Superheavy Tank
Destroyer from my Potentiam
Gigantio books, with redone
radiation rules.

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