Alchem Weapons

Alchem Weapons is a nasty family of weapons spawned from both their Flamer and Chem weapon parents. A sub-group of its own that bears a fusion of characteristics of its aforementioned parent weapons. These things were truly unique and used exclusively by the Death Guard during both their loyalist days and their post-Heresy depression. Whatever is left of them has either been destroyed/mothballed/restricted by the Imperium or mutated/modified by the remaining Death Guard legion in the 41st Millennium. When fired, it spews out a unique emerald-green fire that both burns and melts the target at the same time and was so corrosively flammable that it could reduce a Cataphractii-wearing Legionary's flesh to ash and destroy their power armour in the process; possibly one of the worst ways to go in 40k since Phosphex Weapons and that's saying something. In Darktide however, they seemed to have made a unexpected return as the Nurglite Cultists (Called Dreg Tox Flamers) with Flamers belch out fire in a similar colour to what has been described. How these Murderhobos manage to make Alchem weapons we have no idea, so the only likely explanation is that the fuel mixture itself is shockingly easy to create, just not used due to how toxic it is for the wielder.

Tl;dr, the 40k version of a Skaven Warpthrower.

Variants

Alchem Pistol

Alchem Pistol

The smallest baby of the bunch. Alchem Pistols were small Hand Flamer types that were wrist-mounted and used exclusively by the Deathshrouds as their only 'range' weapon.

These nasty little bastards were nothing more than a tube attached to a small tanker of chemically-laced promethium/acid solution. They were still enough to reach in areas inaccessible to the Deathshroud and proverbially melt and burn any poor bastard standing in the way of where that thing is pointing. After 10,000 years in the Warp, the Alchem Pistol has mutated and morphed into the Plaguespurter Gauntlet.

Crunchwise, the Deathshroud's template Alchem Pistols, combined with up to 10 attacks on the charge between the two of them via their Power Scythe combo, spell serious trouble for the majority of objective holders. By itself, they function like a normal Hand Flamer but with Fleshbane instead.

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  Plaguespurter Gauntlet

Alchem Flamer

Alchem Flamer

The middle child of the family.

The Alchem Flamer resembles a stock-standard Flamer of the Great Crusade era, albeit one that has been heavily degraded due to the sheer corrosive nature of its ammunition. So its barrels and tanker has been reinforced to avoid a breach of containment when fired.

They were used exclusively only by the Mortus Poisoners because they were the only ones insane enough to wield these things long-term. By the time of the 41st Millennium, these guys have been mutated/modified and turned into the Bile Spewer and Plague Belcher we all know and love.

In Darktide, these flamers are used by dudes called Dreg Tox Flamers and has a completely radical redesign compared to their Great Crusade/Horus Heresy ancestors. They appear far more cleaner, ironically enough, than its ancestor weapon. This could either be due to better maintenance by the Nurglite cultists (Ironic I know), a more improved mixture of the toxic fuel or better and more resistant materials (Meta-plastic composites?). The most notable change is that the barrel stores part of the corrosive fuel in a glass-like barrel before being ignited and injected like that of a Chem-Thrower. In Darktide they are quite fucking dangerous as their AOE effect plus their fire damage immediately removes all of your toughness, leaving you vulnerable to health damage and staggering effects.

On the tabletop, Alchem flamers are just a fantastic thing to replace the Poisoner's stock-standard Bolter and you’ll do a lot of damage with them if you use them well. A couple of these guys strapped by a Poisoner squad can ruin infantry nearby in a way that normal flamers just can’t due to the Fleshbane rules.

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  Model

Alchem Heavy Flamer

Alchem Heavy Flamer

The big blue rotting cheese of the lineup.

The Alchem Heavy Flamer like their smaller brethren, resembles a stock-standard Heavy Flamer of the Great Crusade era, but one that has shown increasing rust and degradation due to the toxicity of its ammunition. So its barrels and tanker has been reinforced to avoid a breach of containment when fired.

They were used exclusively only by the Mortus Poisoners and Grave Wardens (Who then further modified that into a Death Cloud Projector) because they were the only ones insane enough to wield these things long-term. By the time of the 41st Millennium, these guys have been mutated/modified and turned into the Plague Spewer.

On the tabletop, Alchem Heavy Flamers like their smaller counterparts, a really good weapons in cleansing entire crowds due to the Fleshbane rules. Making them superior than conventional flamers of their ilk.

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