Poison Weapons
Poison weapons are a unique set of weapons that uses either venom (lethal through injection) or poison (lethal through consumption) to kill their target. Targets afflicted by these concoctions die seconds or minutes after. Because of the unique way it kills a target, Poison Weapons are the bread and butter for assassins. But whilst they are great assassination weapons, they are poor against mechanical constructs or creatures outright immune to them.
The vast majority of Poison Weapons are close-combat weapons, although a certain sub-set of Poison Weapons can be turned into range weapons if so needed. These are called Needlers.
It should also be noted that at least a third of the Tyranid Bio-Weapons are venomous as well, but for the sake of categorisation, they are reserved on their own page.
They should not be confused with Chem Weapons, as the latter uses toxic chemicals to burn and dissolve their targets to goo, Poison Weapons don't do that.
Imperium[edit]
The Imperium has a lot of poison weapons to use, most of them utilised by assassins.
Poison Globe Grenade[edit]
For more information, see here: Poison Globe Grenade
Venom Claw[edit]
Equivalent to the Genestealer's Toxin Injector, or the poor man's version of the Neuro Gauntlet. The Venom Claw is pretty on the nose on what it is trying to be. You can take a guess on what it exactly does.
Seems to only be used by the Death-Maidens of House Escher in Necromunda for some reason. Venom Claws work basically in the same way as a Toxin Injector: a glove-like weapon whose finger points are perpetually envenomed by tubes running on the glove's back. Except in this case, the tubes containing the venom seem to come from the Death-Maiden herself. Given that a Death-Maiden's bloodstream is 99% liquified super-cocaine by now, the concept shouldn't be that out of the ordinary.
Also, the fingertips (or the venom) seem to be pink, so we can guess that the Death-Maiden's chem-blood is in fact, pepto bismol.
Crunchwise, they are the same cost as the Stiletto Sword, but AP -2 and Entangle, making it a more offense-oriented melee weapon than the Stiletto Sword. A properly outfitted Death Maiden can make this weapon fairly scary.
Neuro Gauntlet[edit]
The Neuro Gauntlet is a specialized weapon only used by the Eversor Assassins of the Imperium of Man's Officio Assassinorum. The weapon is a glove or gauntlet consisting of a hyper-alloy glove whose fingers end in sharp hypodermic needles. When the glove strikes an opponent, the needles immediately inject their toxin into the person's bloodstream. The toxin's onset is almost instantaneous and causes a horrifically painful death as the victim is completely paralyzed while his organ systems shut down one by one. These toxins even work on Warp entities like daemons, but they are a great deal less effective against such creatures.
In effect, it is similar to the Needler in terms of killing the target with poison, although it lacks the secondary laser gimmick.
Hookfang[edit]
The Hookfang is a type of poisoned blade and one of the primary weapons used by Venenum Asssassins of the Officio Assassinorum. According to GeeDubs, it is considered as a dagger, despite looking nothing remotely close to it.
These tonfa-looking blades are capable of causing damage to the enemy far after the initial strike as the poison inbedded within the blade acts as a slow-onset toxin. By the time the target realised he/she has been gunked, it is already too late. From what we see, the Hookfang has a venom capsule on the side of the weapon; it is assumed that an internal vial system connects the venom capsule to both the injector at the front and the blade at the back, ensuring that the blade stays perpetually envenomed.
Tl;dr, it is the Imperial equivalent of a Dark Eldar poison weapon.
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Bottom View
Venenum Toxin Injector[edit]
Not to be confused with the other Toxin Injector.
The Venenum Toxin Injector is a type of poisoned weapon used by the Venenum Temple of the Officio Assassinorum and it is one of the primary weapons used by the assassins.
These Toxin Injectors can kill even the toughest of foes without any metabolic trace. Just one jab and even TEQs can just drop dead within a minute of injection. It heavily resembles the hidden blade from Assasin's Creed. However, this is misleading as the hidden blade-looking contraption is actually one of the needle capsules for the injector.
The actual weapon itself is a gauntlet-looking device where the needle capsule is placed on a revolver system. By - presumably - doing a punching motion, the device activates and launches the needle capsule at sufficient speed to unload its toxins into the target before quickly dispensing the used needle capsule. The assassin themself is protected from any malfunction via the protective caestus-looking shield on the fist.
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Top View
Toxin Whip[edit]
With the revamp of the Spyrers from Necromunda came a selection of new weapons for the Malcadon Hunting Rig to choose from.
The Toxin Whip is one of the new weapons that Malcadon wearers can be equipped with and, based on its name, it is a type of whip laced with toxins, poisons and whathaveyous that are found in Necromunda. Since the Malcadon wields them, and Malcadon wearers are meant to be stealthy. Having a weapon that is known to generate a thunderous clap is...odd for a stealth unit.
Unfortunately, for some reason, the models never came with this weapon sprue. So we have no idea what it looks like outside of custom conversions. That is typical GeeDubs fail for you.
On the tabletop, Toxin Whips are AP-2, 2” Versatile, albeit with a -1 to hit modifier outside of Engagement range and with Entangle. For a close-combat weapon, the range itself is not that bad due to the reach advantage. But of course, the main thing you are here for is its poison affects. True to its name, the ship has the Toxin rule, which in itself is S4, but also circumvents the target’s number of Wounds – a blow that gets through any saves simply forces the roll of 1 Injury Dice. The result is an interesting experience where the weapon sucks if its damage is greater than the target's wounds but still kicks ass since it is far better than any D1 weapon against multi-wound targets. Wrap your head around that.
Once augmented, whips gives some interesting benefits. First, it removes the -1 to hit penalty when using Versatile. Then, it grants the Shield Breaker trait. Finally it lowers the target’s Toughness by 1 when rolling for Toxin – this is basically +1 to Wound in most situations, pretty cool.
Dartmask[edit]
A strange, strange weapon.
A Dartmask is what happens when one combines a Mandiblaster with a blowgun to create a lethal but not really "subtle" weapon. Seriously, that mask is not the most innocuous of things. But it looks cool as shit, so shut up about it.
Whilst it isn't really stated outright, it is highly likely that the Dartmask is a poison weapon, owing to the fact that most dartguns/blowguns use poison or venom-laced darts as its killing blow; compensating for their weak kinetic energy and poor penetration. If true, it makes the Dartmask one of the only purely ranged poison weapon in the entirety of 40k.
The crunch kind of follows the fluff. It has a very limited range of just 6", and its damage is just as poor at just D1/1 with BS/WS of 3+ and A of 4. But it has Lethal 5+ and Stun give it some use. So yeah, poison weapon it is.
Now, we know how the weapon functions, since it is an overglorified blowgun wrapped around a gimpmask. The real question is how one reloads such a thing. The only known users are Death Cult Assassins.
Venom Caster[edit]
A strange piece of wargear that straddles the line between a Poison Weapon and a Chem Weapon.
A Venom Caster is a type of flamethrower-like device that so far, remains to be one of the only purely ranged poison weapon in the entirety of 40k that isn't some sort of ejaculating dick gun.
As far as know, these weapons are manufactured and used exclusively by the Ash Waste Nomads of Necromunda. The fact that only Nomad Chieftans carry these indicates it as a status weapon. Now, with regards to it being a mix-and-match weapon. That is because its effects are more like a Chem Weapon, as in, it spews toxic materials over a short distance. However, knowing the Nomads and taking the name literally, it is likely said sludge are some sort of corrosive venom they milked out from their many insectoid pets.
It should be noted that there seems to be some sort of pressure lever or valve on the weapon. Most likely a way for the Chieftan to control the intensity and range of the weapon.
So yes. Essentially, it's a Chem weapon. But technically, it's a Poison weapon. If the corrosive effects won't kill you, the venom will. On tabletop, the weapon ignores both armour, denies the enemy access to an area of the board, or is able to blast tightly-packed gangers in a corrosive spurt.
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Venom Caster's Fuel Pack
Chaos[edit]
Chaos, surprisingly, isn't a faction known for their diversity in poison weapons, despite - by all accounts - they should have them in droves. However, there is a few of them as listed below.
Terrorchem Vial[edit]
For more information, see here: Terrorchem Vial
Tainted Blade[edit]
What happens when a knife gets coated in a Terrorchem Vial.
Tainted Blades are the catch-all term used to describe any close-combat weapon that has been drenched in this toxic miasma. So, it can range from a knife to a sword, spear, or even a maul.
Fearmongers from the Nemesis Claws favour them due to the debilitating effects of Terrorchem. As Terrorchem causes the target to bleed out due to its anti-coagulant properties, the knives that a Fearmonger choose are deliberately serrated with all types of edge in order to improve the weapon's lacerating effects further and make their target bleed out even more.
On the tabletop, this translates to any enemy suffering d3 MWs each turn without any way to cure themselves of it. This may sound quite rapey, and it probably is. However, it starts to understandably suffer when pitted against heavily armoured mooks, as the knife is just a conventional blade. So depending on what enemy you fight, the weapon can range from absurd assrape to borderline useless. Like, this thing will struggle against the like of the Necrons.
Genestealers[edit]
The Genestealers will utilize poison weapons from their own blood. Given the caustic nature of their Tyranid ancestry, this is to be expected.
Toxin Injector[edit]
The nastier cousin of the Neuro Gauntlet, the Toxin Injector is a type of poisonous weapon used by the Genestealer Primus. The tubes of a toxin injector coat a Primus’ claws in deadly poisons – a mere scratch from such a talon can quickly prove fatal.
In 8th Edition, Toxin Injectors are the Default Primus close quarters combat weapon; a venomous Rending Claw, it always performs better than the Bonesword the Primus carry, so always use the Toxin Injector.
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The model.
Gene-Needler[edit]
Despite the name, Gene-Needler have nothing to do with Needler weapons. Hell, it isn't even a range weapon as the tabletop treats it as a melee one.
So what is a Gene-Needler? In a nutshell, it is the poor man's version of the Injector Goad, since they are both genetic toxin weapons that are meant to fuck up any normal human in the process. Do take note that although it looks like a gun, it does not function like one. As aforementioned, it is treated as a melee weapon for a good reason, as the Gene-Needler is more like a giant weaponised syringe.
Crunch-terms, Gene-Needlers are used as a coup de grace. It can only be used once, but it is a dangerous 5/7 damage weapon with a Lethal 5+ special rule. So any downed operatives that gets jabbed with this thing would be insta-killed. Against high-priority and strong opponents, this little thing makes the Brood Brother Medic very scary.
Injector Goad[edit]
A strange and weird staff-sized syringe wielded only by the Biophagus of the Genestealer Cult, the Injector Goad is perhaps one of the strangest and bizarre weapons within the Genestealer's armory. As it is a goad, the weapon's main function is to catch and restrain a target around its neck or torso; however it also has a third function which is to obviously inject whatever viral Tyranid venom and artificial toxins the Biophagus has come up with into the victim once they are restrained.
With the four huge syringes, the Injector Goad is not a pretty weapon to die to, especially if it gets you in the neck area. The venom and toxins are connected to a pipe attached to the backpack apparatus which houses the majority of its ammunition. The trigger mechanism can be found lower at the weapon's grip, similiar to the Guardian Spears of the Custodes.
Crunchwise, the Injector Goad is a weapon that can cause some mortal wounds and always wounds non-vehicles on a 2+ with D3 damage. A pretty nasty weapon especially for a unit that is the Genestealer equivalent of a Apothecary/Haemonculus.
Dark Eldar[edit]
No surprise the pain goblins would delve into perfecting poison weapons. Strangely, they only have a few of these weapons compared to the Imperium's several. Guess that is what being an unpopular faction gives you. Nevertheless, because poison is so ubiqious in Dark Eldar society, it may overlap in other category of weapons. The Haemonculus Scissorhands for example, is technically a poison weapon, but falls under the categorisation of Haemonculi weapons as not all Haemonculi weapons are poisonous by nature.
Venom Blade[edit]
Dark Eldar and poison go together like Orks and Choppas. There are vast numbers of all kind of poisoned weapons like vambrace blades, knives, daggers, swords, scimitars, whips and more, even beyond human imagination. Venom Blades are the pinnacle of the art of poison: even a single caress can render a man with only seconds to live out the rest of his then-onward extremely painful life.
The Venom Blade is a Haemonculus Tool that wound on 2+. Exclusive to the Covens, Archons, and Solarites. Pretty cheap and effective.
Shaimeshi Blade[edit]
Sometimes called the Lhamaean Blade for obvious reasons.
Whether elegant short sword, curved dagger or even barbed hair pin, the core of each Shaimeshi Blade is shot through with reservoirs of breathtakingly lethal poisons, while its surface is riddled with microscopic vents through which these venoms can flow. With each graceful swing or lightning fast stab, it parts flesh to vent its poisons where they can do the most harm.
The primary users are the Lhamaeans.
Crunchwise, it is a Haemonculus Tool that adds 2 to Wound, on a 6+ it deals a mortal wound in addition to its normal damage (Note: with the +2 to wound this means a roll of 4+ turns into a Mortal Wound). Exclusive to Lhamaeans. Use this on a Poisoned Tongue kabal and you will put a dent on anything.
Electrocorrosive Whip[edit]
Despite the name, they are neither electric nor corrosive.
Electrocorrosive Whips are instead, a form of poison weapon used predominantly by Archons, Haemonculi and Wych leaders.
Also, they are in no way related to the Agoniser, another Dark Eldar whip with completely different properties. Though not as lethal as the aforementioned Agonisers, these venom-soaked whips steal the fighting will of enemies by causing pain of extreme kind.
Each of its barbs is soaked with a pretty painful-ass toxin that is secreted from the barb's glands if it hits something. Definitely suited for Dark Eldar who wants their prey alive and screaming for some...'fun' stuff.
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Like Star Wars, this whip can be differentiated from the Agoniser from the color of their glow.
Scissorhad[edit]
For more information, see here: Scissorhand
Orks[edit]
The Orks only have one poison weapon and it isn't even a proper weapon to begin with.
'Urty Syringe[edit]
Ork Painboys carry a bewildering variety of mean-looking tools supposedly designed to aid the Mad Dok in his 'fixin' of wounded Orks. They may include various blunt saws, blades and hammers and other devices which an Imperial medic would never dream of using.
However, his most used tool is the 'Urty Syringe. 'Urty Syringes are huge steel syringes filled with some toxic goo or liquid. When used in combat, they prove to be an extremely powerful weapon, although they don't work against opponents with peculiar physiologies such as daemons or Tyranids.
The 'Urty Syringe as you may already know, is the Ork equivalent of the Space Marine Narthecium.
Other[edit]
These are other strange weapons from other minor factions that are too small to represent individually by themselves.
Scythian Venom Talon[edit]
Scythian Venom Talons are weapons used by Inquisitors of the Ordo Xenos. The Scythians are a race of warrior-monks dedicated to their peculiar and complex martial arts.
The dagger-like venom talon is one such tool they are adept at using, able to incapacitate foes with a single scratch. The Ordo Xenos has come across these weapons in alien hands and some Inquisitors choose to wield the daggers themselves.
In appearance, it looks strangely similar to that of the Dark Eldar's Venom Blade in both looks and function, suggesting an interesting connection.
