Menial: The wretched masses toiling in the factories and workshops of Hell Forges will claw each other for the chance to gain power, and the feistiest or fittest pf these laborers can be taken into the ranks of the Skitarii.
1-20
Vat-grown: These clones were born away from the grasp of unclean nature, and created to fulfill whatever exacting criteria their masters had in mind. This can be automatically taken alongside alongside other recruitment methods, after all the Legion always needs more manpower.
21-30
Traitors: Traitors with the right physical aptitudes, rather than being converted into servitors, traded, or sacrificed to dark gods, may find themselves pressed into the ranks of these Skitarii.
31-40
Slaves: Low on raw materials, these Dark Mechanicus simply purchased this meat from chaos bands or offworld merchants as was convenient.
41-50
Pilgrims: The teachings of the Dark Mechanicus draw a constant stream of pilgrims from across the sector, who offer themselves up to the Dark Mechanicus in hopes of becoming greater than the limitations of their prison of flesh and bone.
51-60
Firstborn: The eldest child in every home is handed over the Legion as their world's tribute.
61-70
Breeding Program: The product of a generations long callous experimentation of the Divisio Biologis, these men were born to be the finest raw materials for the Dark Skitarii Legions.
71-80
Glorious Veterans: Human(-ish) defenders of the Hell Forge, proven warriors may earn the right to prolong their service beyond the mortal span.
81-90
Fallen Knight Worlders: These Dark Skitarii are drawn exclusively from the techno-feudal dominion of a Fallen Knight World. From disgraced nobles to starving serfs, all can be remade to fit into the Legion.
91-99
Extremely Mutated Stock: Vastly degenerated examples of the human species, these make for oh-so interesting and fun canvases to build Dark Skitari from.
Offlined Aegis Protocols: The maniple's intrusion countermeasures are weak or disabled, leaving them vulnerable to malicious code injection from hostile forces – whether loyalist and Chaos.
01
Unreliable Construction: This Legion was unfortunate enough to be cobbled together from the dregs of the Hell-forge’s resources; cheap augmetics, rushed surgeries, and botched gene-bulking negatively affect their performance.
02-05
Whispering Geist-Code: The Skitarii of the Legion are very prone to auditory glitches and hallucinations, ranging from the voices of their overseers to strange promises of power whispered into their ears. Occasionally, they act on them, to the dismay of their allies.
06-10
Containment Failure Critical: The vehicles of this maniple run extremely hot, providing them with greater speed and punch at the high risk of violently exploding when under provocation or stress.
11-20
Rampant Mutation: The legionnaires’ flesh is prone to spontaneous and dramatic mutation. This may result in augmetic limbs and components being pushed out of place, beneficial changes, or even total biological collapse.
21-30
No Glitches: Through luck or some esoteric design, these Dark Skitarii do not suffer any glitches.
31-50
Tight Leash: The creative and self-thought sections of the cortex are surgically suppressed in each Skitarii. While this makes them exceptionally efficient and obedient, it also leaves them with almost no independence or initiative of their own, requiring their Dark Magi overseers to pay particular attention to the Maniples’ behaviour lest they stall out from lack of instruction.
51-60
IFF Failure: The Legion's identify friend/foe systems are persistently flaky, making it difficult to determine between ally and enemy in the heat of battle. There is absolutely no way this could be abused whatsoever by their overseers.
61-70
Wrath of the Warp: Whether through incorrect rites, a botched bargain, or some other circumstance, this Legion has *royally* pissed off a Warp being. Ill luck, hostile daemons, and inexplicable malfunctions dog their every step as an expression of its outrage. (Roll on the Chaos Allegiance table for this enemy, discarding Renegade rolls. Can be either a standard Daemon, a Prince, or one of the gods)
71-80
Uncontrollable Frenzy: The maniples’ skitarii delight above all else in melee combat and the close-up kill, seeking out any opportunity to indulge their bloodlust – sometimes exploiting loopholes in their masters’ orders, or running into enemy lines that vastly outmatch them. (BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!)
81-90
Relentless Recall: Dark Skitarii of the Maniple will persistently regain pre-recruitment memories, even if they are routinely mind-scourged.
91-95
Rust Buckets: The Legion's arms and armour are unusually prone to wear and tear, requiring frequent maintenance.
96-99
Network Cascade Failure: A random officer’s death scrambles the whole Maniple’s command and control protocol. Alphas are recognised as mere soldiers, the Dark Adepts’ commands go unheard, and the force’s organisation collapses into a rampaging horde until the system can adapt or be reset.
The main homebase of this Dark Skitarii Legion (d10)
d10
Hell Forge: This fallen Forge-World is a valuable manufacturing center, supplying countless Chaos worlds and warbands, and its Dark Skitarii.
1-9
Factory Ark: SPAAACE! This Dark Legion has the honor of serving aboard the mobile fortress-factorums of the Dark Mechanicus fleet, bringing the shadow of their dark Knowledge to the far reaches of the galaxy. While they still have a homeworld to resupply from, their true home is aboard this void-fairing vessel.
Before M30: Age of Strife: Founded by one of the proto-Mechanicum's Forge Worlds for its defense, exploration or reclamation. As Imperial Compliance was met, this unit secretly held to it's own causes until Horus rose up and they were able to liberate themselves. After Horus fell, the dark truths of reality awakened them.
6–20
Early M31: Horus Heresy: Threw their lot in with Kelbor-Hal's treason, they found that Chaos was far preferable to the firing squad after Horus died at Terra.
21–30
Early M31: Great Scouring (Shortly after the Horus Heresy): Accused of heresy or some crime in the post-Heresy purges, falsely or not, they would flee and start the path to the Dark Mechanicus.
31–40
M31-M32: Time of Rebirth: As the Imperium struggled under the Ork rampage of The Beast, these Dark Skitarii were forged by the Dark Mechanicum still licking their wounds after the Heresy and the first few Black Crusades.
41–50
M32-Mid M34: Forging: As a relative calm fell over the galaxy, the Dark Mechanicus built ever forward.
51–55
Mid M34-M35: Nova Terra Interregnum: As the Mechancius was brought to the point of civil war during Moirae Schism, these Dark Skitarii started a long pilgrimage for knowledge, perhaps forced to escape after a false accusation or perhaps the tides of the Primordial Corruptor whispered one too many dark secrets to the Cogitators.
56–60
M36: Age of Apostasy: Taking advantage of the mad rule of Goge Vandire, this legion built itself up and has since stood apart from the Imperium.
61–70
M37-M38: Age of Redemption: Despite the Mechanicus allowing the Moirae Schismatics to rejoin the orthodox Machine Cult as the High Lords of Terra were restored following Vandire's fall, a period of purging still took place and many fled to avoid death, earned or not.
71–80
M39-M40: Waning: The Imperium is bleeding like a stuck-pig, and there are many ready to be shown the glorious path denied to them by the Mechanicus and Imperium.
81–90
M41:Time of Ending As the Necrons awake and Tyranids arrive and the galaxy is torn in half by the greatest warp rift of all time, this legion was raised to throw more stuff to the frontline to bend the Imperium beyond breaking.
91–100
M42: Age of the Dark ImperiumRoboute Guilliman's Indomitus Crusade purged its way across the galaxy, but not without resistance. The Dark Mechanicus provided it's fair share of forces to break the Son of the Corpse as Horus did his father.
Purpose for raising this Legion (d10)
1-3
Meeting Quotas - It came time to raise another Dark Legion of Skitarii in order to meet required needs, simple as that.
4-6
Reinforcements - Strengthening the lines against a new Imperial crusade.
7
Enemy at the Gates - While under attack, a Hell Forge raised a completely new Legion to hold back the offensive. Long after the battle was over, these Dark Skitarii continue to fight.
8
Expedition - This Legion was raised as part of a conquest of a new region of space, to take full stock of the new technology that could be found in its wake.
9
The Gods will it! - The Chaos legions are on the warpath, and these Dark Skitarii were raised to fight through this unholy campaign.
10
Blessing of the Hell Forge - While some may say it was a logistical error, others maintain that this Dark Legion was bought up by the Hell Forge itself. After eating all those poor shmucks that one time it certainly owed us a bit of manpower back!
Home World (d100)
d100
Hive World: Decades and centuries of lost archeotech await, and endless mutant or degerated humans too.
1-25
Feral World: Tough people and tougher beasts, a perfect world to draw subjects.
26-40
Death World: For these people, life was a war before they could speak.
41-55
Hell-Forge: A twisted parody of it's former status of a Forge World, endless, dark delights await those willing to understand the machine.
56-60
Imperial World: Once from among devout citizens, now loyal to chaos.
61-70
Pleasure world : Once pampered by a life of ease, they were swiftly turned to the Lord of Excess.
71-80
Shrine World: They charge into battle eagerly, and their very prayers are warcries. After all, they're free from those stifling conditions now.
81-90
Home World Lost: Ghosts do not fear death, but they seek life with a terrible fury.
91-99
Daemon World: So privileged as to be born upon a world held by one of the gods own.
100
Home World Predominant Terrain (d100)
d100
Jungle/Swamp: Mechanical Predators stalk in amidst the endless plains of this green hell.
1-10
Desert: Well designed cybernetics and bionics make these Dark Skitarii laugh at the idea of sand jamming.
11-20
Volcanic: Burning lakes of brimstone, choking fogs of hot gas, and the endless bounty of metal-rich magma channels.
21-30
Toxic: When you breathe poison from your first breath, only the strong survive.
31-40
Cavernous: Cored through with subterranean passages and galleries, the darkness holds no fear for those that live in it.
41-50
Ice: Cold-blooded, with mechano-hearts of burning promethium.
51-60
Ocean: The dangers of the vast, deep, lightless, and ever crushing depths are old friends.
61-65
Wasteland: Excellent scavengers and hardy survivors.
66-75
Urban: Living in an urban environment already ensures some measure of small arms training before training routines are installed.
76-80
Dead World: Able to make full use of the technology required to survive in such places.
81-85
Airless: The surety of compressed oxygen tanks and processed air.
86-90
Agriworld: Some of the few living, or semi-living, entities on the machine riddled agri-worlds.
Ironclad Logic: Their baser instincts and desire constrained by suppressant-protocols and training subroutines, the Legion is less unruly and more organized compared to most Chaos forces.
2
Counter: The Legion has expansive databanks relating to a specific foe and the best ways of slaying them, giving them a particularly lethal edge should they encounter them in battle. (Roll on the Enemies table to determine this foe.)
3
Stealth Warfare: Through the use of augmetic signal-shrouds, scrapcode interference, and Warp-fuelled technology this Legion confounds the sensors of its prey. Invisible until they strike from the shadows.
4
Lightning Strike: Stripped down, lightweight, and made to move, the Legion’s Skitarii are masters of blitzkrieg tactics and sudden, deeply penetrating attacks.
5
Trench Warfare: This Legion specialises in the grim art of attrition and siege warfare, battering down their enemies with artillery barrages and sorties until their fortresses lie in burning ruin.
6
Close Combat: The Legion prefers the close-and-personal shedding of blood over all other forms of combat. Screaming of "BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!" not optional.
7
Ranged Combat: This Legion prefers to deny the corpse-worshipping scum an honourable death in battle, instead blasting them into chunks of miserable flesh from far away.
8
Shock & Awe: Overwhelming shows of power and strength are this Legion's speciality, breaking the foe's will through displays of the True Mechanicus' superiority.
9
Terror Warfare: To strike fear into the hearts of the Imperial scum is their Gods-given purpose, and the Legion has embraced it with delight. They excel in breaking the will of the enemy though sheer brutality, paranoia-inducing broadcasts, and wholesale terrorism.
10
Hive/Dense Urban Warfare: These Dark Skitarii are well-adapted to the brutal, door-to-door fighting of claustrophobic spaces such as hivesprawls or urban zones.
Chaos Allegiance
D100 Roll
Renegade (Not Chaos, nor Imperium, all on their own)
Loyalty Rating (d10) (Don't roll if Renegade, count as Disloyal)
1
Overzealous: need to be actively held back from shedding their blood as sacrifices to the Dark Gods.
2-3
Fanatical: No remorse, no retreat, no fear.
4-5
Adherent: Hold fast to the Word and the Dark Gods' will.
6-7
Undisciplined: Will follow the Gods, but don't expect them to bow to authority figures.
8-9
Unorthodox: Their faith in the Gods is a strange one, and their practices raise the eyebrows of more traditional followers.
10
Disloyal: These scum fight only for themselves, or even seek to return to the wretched Corpse-Emperor.
Special Equipment (d100)
1-10
Heavy Artillery: The Skitarii have a love for big guns, from the classic Basilisk to new artillery pieces cobbled together in their Hell-Forge’s workshops. (Reroll if artillery core units.)
Obliteratii: The Legion’s Dark Skitarii were (un)lucky enough to be used as testbeds for a modified Obliterator virus variant. Those few who did not die screaming or go mad continued to serve in the legion as heavy assault specialists, and infection with the virus has since become a rite of passage for officers.
31-40
Exotic Mounts: From augmented animals to scaled-down Daemon Engines, the Legion employs number of monstrous entities into battle as cavalry, transports, or beasts of war.
41-50
Rare Heavy Weapon: Photon accelerator cannons, volkite weaponry, or the crawling horror of alchemic heavy flamers. The legion is one of the Omnissiah-blessed few to bear exotic heavy weaponry and comprehend how to employ it.
51-60
Warp-Blessed Wargear (Re-roll if Renegade): The wargear of the Legion is bathed in the fell power of the Warp and often possessed by bound Daemons, granting it powers as unique and sinister as the Warp itself.
61-70
Bio-Augmented Troops: These Dark Skitarii are doubly blessed by their makers. From muscular gene-bulking to the implantation of xenological razor-limbs and monstrous claws, they are biological patchworks that demonstrate the True Mechanicum’s genius.
71-80
Special Vehicle: The Legion makes particularly heavy use of a certain vehicle, tailored specifically for this Legion’s needs. This may be an existing pattern of Daemon Engine, a more orthodox vehicle, or something entirely innovative.
81-90
Preferred Fighting Style: The Legion has an unusual or distinctive fighting style that diverges from or supplements their core units, such as using armoured vehicles as glorified battering rams or teleporting within melee range of the enemy before attacking.
91-100
Unorthodox Construction: The Skitarii are physically modified far past the baseline by their creators through advanced bionics and construction techniques. Any one regular Skitarii of this Legion is a match for several of another’s, while their officers are more vehicle or monster than anything else
Regiment Creed (d100)
1-40
For the Forge: This regiment's mission is to demonstrate the skill and steel of the homeworld to the Galaxy, woe unto them.
41-65
For the Dark Gods: They believe in the Word of Chaos as their gospel, and see it as their holiest endeavor to spread that Word with the flames. Re-roll if Renegade.
66-75
Eternal Efficiency: The Legion strives obsessively for efficiency in all things, from their performance in battle to their methods of communication.
76-80
Glory In Death: The legion's mission is to die, and take as many enemies with it as possible.
81-85
We Must Repent: The legion believes it is on a mission to pay for some sin of homeworld with mountains of wrecks and corpses with rivers of blood and prometium.
86-90
Tribal Faiths: This legion is beholden to primitive beliefs. If from a civilized world, clannish practices from hive gang cultures or other such traditions predominate.
91-95
Death to the False Omnissiah!: This Legion is fanatically dedicated to the destruction of loyalist Mechanicus forces, viewing their existence as a blasphemy against the Omnissiah.
Heirs of the Dark Age: Discovered a valuable STC fragment.
6–10
Scion Exemplars: Defeated the Tau in a massive gunbattle and captured a high ranking Ethereal for the Dark Biologis.
11–20
Siegemasters: Engaged in a vicious siege against a fortress of the hated Imperials, the Legion won the day; breaking open the great citadel’s walls, carrying the breach, and sacrificing or converting all within to the Dark Gods.
21–30
Black-Cloaked Guardians: Tore through the enemies ranks to liberate higher-ups of their Legion, delivering them back to continue their dark research.
31–40
Hell Divers: Drop-inserted into the heart of a raging battle against the Orks, the Dark Legion wreaked havoc upon the greenskins’ lines, slaughtering mobs of Ork Boyz by the thousand and throwing their already fragile organisation into utter confusion. This daring assault would turn the tide of the battle and thereby ensure a victory for their masters.
41–50
Dark Architects: Established a entirely new Hell Forge from scratch.
51–60
Engineers of Collapse: Finding an Imperial world too defended to be assaulted outright, the legion brought it low by attacking nearby agri-worlds and establishing an orbital blockade. After months of interdicted supply and relief forces, famine ensured, with the starvation-crippled defenders proving no match for the Legion’s Skitarii.
61–70
Bloody Gauntlet: Obliterated an Imperial force with such ruthless, inhuman, and machine-like efficiency that it is broadcast to their enemies to strike fear in their hearts.
71–80
Dark Idol: Brought a loyalist Titan down on its knees, infesting its interior and corrupting the machine-spirit; claiming both a valuable weapon and a dark idol of their beliefs.
81–99
Enlightening Corruption: Captured a Forge World or an Explorator fleet through subterfuge or force, before helping them to shed their faith in the False Omnissiah and enter the ranks of the True Mechanicum.
100
The Angels Felled: The Legion engaged in a gruelling battle against a Chapter of loyalist Space Marines, besieging their fortress-monastery itself. While they suffered fearsome casualties in exchange, the Legion refused to relent in their siege until the Chapter’s heroes were slain, their gene-seed plundered, and their souls sacrificed to the gods of the Warp.
Figures of Legend (d100)
1–10
Alpha: A Dark Skitarii Alpha known throughout the Dark Mechanicus and even Chaos forces beyond for being an incredible warrior. Even a few mighty Traitor Astartes recognized his abilities. He met his untimely demise not on the field of battle, but through a failure in his augmentations.
11-20
Ranger: When a Chaos Space Marine Warband laid siege to the Forge World to claim itfor their own, this Ranger and their men embarked on a campaign of harassment against the invaders. Striking down their leaders from concealed firing positions before vanishing into the industriascape, the Marines were reduced to levelling entire manufactoria in the hopes of slaying their attackers – often to no avail, and to their officers’ grief. Though the Ranger would vanish during the bombardment of one such district, their actions would ultimately see the invaders repelled – and immortalise their name in the Legion’s annals.
21-30
Vanguard: This Vanguard valiantly defended a traitor world from an Ork invasion. He famously stood against the Ork Warboss, killing it with his Plasma Caliver and breaking the Greenskin invasion's back with that single shot. He died of his wounds and was disassembled by the Dark Magos. The slightest quirks and oddities found in his augmetics are now standard across the Legion.
31-40
Master of Dark Skitarii: A mightily defended Imperial Hive World was broken by this Master of Dark Skitarii’s strategies and ruthless tactical acumen, outgunning and outsmarting the defenders at every turn. The world was seized and made into a fiefdom of the Hell-Forge, and the Master rewarded for it.
41-50
Fresh-Forged: One of tens of thousands on the field, in the furor of battle this Fresh-Forged liberated a disabled traitor Titan and held that position long enough for reinforcements would arrive. He would be inducted into the Dark Secutarii and serve as the Princeps' bodyguard for the rest of his life.
51-60
Sydonian Dragoon: This Dragoon led his men against the deadly Eldar. Outnumbered and outgunned, the Dragoon nonetheless forced the enemy into a stalemate, killing so many of the xenos that they retreated in dismay and disappeared. The Dragoon is long dead, and the Eldar have never again set foot on his world.
61-70
Ironstrider Ballistarius: In the furor of a battle against the Loyalist Legions, this Ironstrider's pilot ruthlessly hunted down the enemy commanders. One by one the Astartes leaders of the loyalist force were felled by this Ironstrider's precision shots, until they broke and fled in pitiful confusion.
71-80
Sicarian Ruststalker: Outnumbered by the tens of thousands during an Ork siege, a Sicarian Killclade fought to the bitter end against wave after wave of greenskins. Though the clade was ultimately overwhelmed and slain to a man, this Ruststalker's strategies bought the Dark Magos valuable time to evacuate - taking several priceless STC fragments with them.
81–90
Sicarian Infiltrator: When his forge came under siege by a loyalist Explorator Fleet, this Sicarian Infiltrator was tasked to slay the Magos Dominus leading the Imperial forces against it. Through the use of an assassinated Skitarius Alpha’s salvaged bionics, the stolen codes of an enemy commander, and finally his sinister prowess with a Warp-enhanced neurostatic aura, stubcarbine, and power sword, he completed his mission; shattering the spine of the False Mechanicum’s crusade even as he was cut down in a blaze of fire by Imperial Skitarii.
91–100
Dark Marshal: A Dark Skitarii Marshal known for his great depths of martial genius and ruthless combat prowess. Many treatises on martial dogma written by the Magi Dominus of this Hell Forge drew on his knowledge, and his name could even be found appended to many. Though long dead, his knowledge endures as the legion's core dogma - as does the servo-skull crafted from his remains.
Chaos Cult. Re-roll if your regiment's devotion to chaos is "Disloyal".
51-75
Specific group of Chaos/renegade mortals (renegade/corrupted Lost and the Damned regiments, anti-Imperium rebels, clan of tribals, corrupted mutants, mercenary bands, pirate gangs....etc)
Specific Chaos Xenos or simply other xenos groups whom they share mutual goals with. See Minor Xenos Table below
86-95
A loyalist Astartes chapter who's heretical/radical ideals led them to do back-room deals with your regiment.
96-100
Specific Daemon Prince, Greater Daemon, or other powerful daemon. If your regiment is disloyal to Chaos; said daemon is covertly supporting and manipulating the regiment from the sidelines to suit the daemon's needs.
