Fleets of Chaos

The Imperial Navy's spikier and crazier opposite number, Chaos Fleets are a catch-all term for ships that over the millennia went renegade, and now swear loyalty to the Ruinous Powers. Most of these make their home in large Warp Rifts like the Eye of Terror or the Maelstrom, but many also haunt the lawless frontiers of many subsectors as pirates.

While most of these are disorganized rabble, there are also those who retained some sort of discipline and coordination, with the fleets of the Traitor Legions foremost among these. A single Renegade ship will be a terror to the tradeways of a system, but a Traitor Legion fleet can bring entire planets to heel (see how the Word Bearers and their invasion of the White Consuls protectorate world of Sabatine).

Often these renegades assemble under the banner of a powerful Warlord (like Huron Blackheart and his Red Corsairs), but rarely the Warmaster of Chaos himself, Abaddon the Despoiler, will rally a massive fleet to his command. When this armada finally sallies forth from the Eye, entire sectors burn, their populations becoming sacrifices to the Dark Gods.

The Claws of the Dark Gods

Compared to the ships of the Imperial Navy, who have a common Gothic design theme to them, the ships of Chaos are an ecclectic sort, made up of a hodgepodge of classes and sizes. That said, the bigger ships have a tendency to have a wider and sleeker profile to them (those that haven't been mutated extensively, that is), with older ships lacking the armored prow so common for Imperial ships.

Another thing common to Chaos ships are how much faster they are compared to Loyalist ships, with even Battleships being able to outpace their opposite numbers easily. This makes sense, as your average Renegade ship is as much a raider as it is a ship of line, and speed is always a consideration if one wants to get away with plunder before the Navy arrives to investigate.

Due to being relatively less armored compared to Imperial vessels, Chaos vessels focus on being able to destroy things from extreme range. Heretic Astartes ships are a different matter entirely, of course, as these still have enough armor to duke it out in a close-ranged brawl.

Add to this mix the variety that Marks of Chaos bring, and this means that one fleet can be very different to the next despite having the same numbers and classes of ships. Because of course a Cruiser dedicated to Khorne will act very differently compared to one worshipping Slaanesh. And this isn't even getting into actual Daemon-possessed ships...

Battleship

Desolator

A design predating the Heresy, the Desolator emphasizes killing things at extreme range, and it does that really well. It comes with front-facing Torpedo Launchers, Lance broadside batteries, and macrocannons up the wazoo.

Despoiler

A Carrier based around a design found on Barbarus, the homeworld of the Death Guard Primarch Mortarion. Flaws in its Geller Field led to many going renegade through the millennia (as if the name wasn't a clue).

Possibly even more dangerous at long range than the Desolator, the Despoiler supplements its already impressive Lance and macrocannon batteries with several Launch Bays worth of fighters and bombers.

Gloriana

A massive and rare class of Battleship, the Gloriana was created to be flagships of Primarchs. When half of them joined Horus Lupercal's forces, they took their flagships with them, and when Horus lost his fateful duel with the Emperor, these followed their commanders into their escape to the Eye of Terror.

Many are still around, and each is easily the match of an entire Imperial fleet. The most infamous of them all, the Vengeful Spirit, is the de-facto flagship of Abaddon the Despoiler.

Grand Cruiser

Repulsive

Originally called the Corinus-class, many went over to the Despoiler's cause when the experimental drives it used interfered with its Geller field. Whoops. The class itself is armed with both Torpedoes and Macrocannons, which oddly enough gives it a (relatively) shorter range than other Chaos ships.

Vengeance

An old design from which current-day Battlecruisers and Cruisers are descended from. Though still used by the Imperium, many had gone over to Chaos' cause over the centuries. Due to its suite of Lances and long-ranged macro batteries, it fits with the preferred M.O. of Chaos disturbingly well.

Retaliator

The Carrier of the Grand Cruisers, it carries a mix of Macros, Lances, and Launch Bays. Because of experiencing the same drive issues as the Repulsive, many went renegade.

Executor

The Lance-boat of the Grand Cruisers, the Executor class swapped out its broadside Macros for more Lance batteries. The last of these left Imperial control when its fleet pursued raides back into the Eye of Terror.

Heavy Cruiser

Styx

Despite being armed with a mix of long-ranged Macros and Lances, the Styx is actually the Carrier of its class, armed with four Launch Bays. Four squads of bombers = a whole lot of pain. The Imperial Navy no longer uses this class, and had replaced it with the Mars instead.

Hades

Armed with a mix of Lances and Macrocannons, the Hades is comfortable at both extreme and medium ranges. The closest thing to a Brawler for Chaos cruisers.

Acheron

The Lance-boat of the Heavy Cruisers, barring the front-mounted macro turrets and missile launchers. Was initially a testbed for mixed-Lance/Macro batteries, the prototype promptly went Traitor.

Cruiser

Devastation

The Lance boat of the Chaos cruisers, the Devastation supplements this long-ranged firepower with a pair of Launch Bays to for fighter and bomber support. It's also armed with medium-ranged macro batteries in front, in case battles come a little closer in than usual. Chaos lords love these things, as they use those Launch Bays to sortie assault boats full of mutant fodder.

Murder

A mixed-weapons class, the Murder has front-mounted Lance battery and medium-ranged macro broadside batteries. Historically this class preceded the Lunar-class, but Imperials have since stopped using it even in Reserve fleets.

Carnage

The long-ranged ordinance-boat of the Chaos Cruisers, the Carnage features plasma macro batteries on its front, top, and broadsides. The Imperial Navy intended the class to be plasma-heavy fleet support ships, but the tendency of crews to go Renegade made them abandon its plans.

Slaughter

A high-speed Cruiser, thanks to its Scartix Engine Coil drive, it has the highest speed of any cruiser, period. The Slaughter bucks the usual Chaos S.O.P. by having medium-ranged macro batteries for its front and broadsides. This means that it can get in close, hit its enemies hard, then get out before they retaliate in kind. The Imperium doesn't build the Class anymore, as the designs for the drive were destroyed when one eventually went Traitor.

Light Cruiser

Hellbringer

The equivalent of the Dauntless class of Imperial Navy Light Cruisers, the Hellbringer comes in two types. The first one comes with a pair of Launch Bays, while the second replaces those for Lance batteries. Both come with long-ranged heavy macro turrets as standard.

Raiders

Idolator

A mixed-armed Raider, the Idolator features a prow-mounted Lance battery and a Macro launcher.

Infidel

A design supposed to replace the Cobra-class Destroyer, the plans were stolen and co-opted by Chaos. It's armed with Torpedoes and Macro launchers.

Iconoclast

Known for the unusual placement of its bridge (right in front), the Iconoclast featues two Macro launchers. Rogue Traders and Pirates seem to like it, for some reason, even when its generally seen as mediocre at best.

Daemonships

The Possessed of warships, Daemonships are what you get when a Greater Daemon infests the Warp Drive of a ship. The subject of many an Imperial ghost story, these ships are often lone hunters, "haunting" an area as a malign apparition, before it suddenly translates into Realspace for an attack. After its appetite for slaughter had been sated, said phantoms disappear back into the warp, leaving devastation in their wake.

In Battlefleet Gothic

Due to the faster-than-usual speeds, long-ranged weapons, and less-reliable armor, Chaos fleets are more suited to a sniper's playstyle. Bombard from afar, then use your superior speed to keep away from your enemies once they try to move in.

Space Marine Chapters that recently went Renegade are the opposite, with ships and armament that are geared for getting up close.

The different Marks of Chaos mix things up a bit. The Mark of Khorne doubles the effectivity of Boarding Actions, while the Mark of Slaanesh hits any enemy warship getting within spitting distance a big Leadership hit. The Mark of Nurgle makes ships tougher and impossible to Board (due to how disgusting such ships are), while finally the Mark of Tzeentch allows a single re-roll.