In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war – and within the tumultuous, convoluted machinery of the battlefield, the Forge Fiend reigns supreme. This monstrous beast, part daemon, part war machine, is a terror brought to life from the darkest corners of the Warp. Its hulking form, armored and bristling with weaponry, houses a network of convulsing, churning cables that function as twisted intestinal tracts. This grotesque internal mechanism feeds large bore ammunition into the creature’s autocannon chambers, each projectile bearing the lethal kiss of daemonic flame.
The Forge Fiend’s insatiable hunger is not limited to the flesh of its enemies. It readily devours metal, replenishing its ammunition supply from the very battlefield it dominates. A well-nourished Forge Fiend can sustain a blistering salvo of shells for several minutes before pausing to gorge itself on more raw materials. The pulsating heart of these mechanical monstrosities is their warp fire furnace, a blazing energy source that sometimes transcends the production of solid ammunition.
Some Forge Fiends are equipped with ancient plasma weapons, relics from a time before the galaxy burned. These weapons, massive and imposing, are shielded by protective housings that look more fitting for a light aircraft than a ground walker. The Imperial forces, ever inventing new names for the horrors they face, have dubbed these plasma-wielding beasts ‘Hades’. Hades are typically equipped with three plasma weapons, one mounted on each of their weapon arms and another located within their maw. The searing energies these weapons unleash are a deadly hybrid of plasma and burning ectoplasm, channeled directly from the Forge Fiend’s tainted heart.
The Forge Fiends of the Thousand Sons are unique creatures, filled with jealous contempt for the unbound daemons of Tzeentch. Confined within their mechanical exoskeletons, they are limited in their ability to exert their will, to create change and flux. But the Thousand Sons use this to their advantage, harnessing the torture of these daemons to devastating effect. When a Forge Fiend gets the chance to release the fires within, it rains multifaceted destruction on anything unfortunate enough to be in its sights.
Then there are the Maulerfiends, demon engines that thunder towards the foe like monstrous attack dogs unleashed from the leash. Their eyes glow with balefire, and ectoplasmic drool drips from their fanged maws. With thick, front limbs ending in articulated claws, these beasts can tear apart a dreadnought or crush a squad of infantry with a single flex of their massive talons.
Maulerfiends, also known as Stalkers or Scalers, possess strength and agility that allows them to climb sheer surfaces. Nowhere is safe from these relentless predators once they have the scent of their prey. If a Maulerfiend reaches an enemy stronghold, it will clamber across vertical faces until it finds a weak point, peeling it open and forcing its way inside. Maulerfiends are particularly favored by the Warp Smiths of the Iron Warriors for their utility in siege warfare, and even the most formidable Imperial strongholds fall silent at the sight of a Maulerfiend breaching their walls.
The Maulerfiend’s magma cutters are weapons of terrifying power, focusing the beast’s inner fury into a white-hot jet of flame that can melt through even the thickest of fortress walls. Many an Imperial Titan has been felled by a pair of Maulerfiends clambering up its legs and shearing through its joints with pinpoint energy blasts and raking adamantine claws. Their utility extends further, serving as demonic battering rams, barreling headlong through enemy lines, defending themselves with segmented tendrils that whip out to crush and confound those who would dare to stand against them.
The Forge Fiends and Maulerfiends of the 41st Millennium are a testament to the dark ingenuity of the forces of Chaos. Whether they’re melting through the armor of a Titan, reducing infantry to bloody paste, or raining fiery destruction from their warp fire furnaces, these mechanical monstrosities are a horrifying sight on any battlefield.
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