Basic Close Combat Weapons
These are the non-powered and overall basic and simple close combat weapons used by the Imperium and Cultists from the Forces of Chaos.
Combat Knife
The most simple, widespread and ubiquitous CCW ever. During the time of the Great Crusade, combat blades were a catch-all category which described a variety of lethal hand-to-hand weapons favoured by the Space Marine Legions, the exact form varying from Legion to Legion by its culture and tradition. They ranged from heavy razor-edged chain-bayonet, to adamantine gladius and Thule-alloy battle-axes that would be too heavy for an unaugmented human to wield.
Most Combat Knives are used as a bayonet for Imperial Guardsmen's flashlights, although their effectiveness is pretty subpar in an age of power armored roid monsters. Thus it is used against Grots and Tau.
Astartes Combat Knife
Combat Knives for the SPESS MEHREENS. Of course, due to their size, they actually considered as a short sword by Human standards. Astartes Combat Knives comes in all shapes and sizes, and are often the standard issue CCW of Tactical Squads. Tough and thick, these knives are designed for in-close fighting and are often the last weapon a Space Marine will use when all others have run out of ammunition or power.
They are best seen in the Space Marine Video Game where Titus is so awesome that merely stabbing an Ork in the head causes it to blow the fuck up.
Night Reaper
The smallest of the Catachan Knives.
Smaller than other typical designs, the blackened blade of the Night Reaper is especially suitable for infiltration and night missions, when light reflecting from a blade can mean the difference between life and death.
The blade itself is triangular in shape, so any wound caused by it is unlikely to knot or heal. Catachans are also known to poison these knives using one of the many venoms native to their nightmarish world, making them even more deadly.
Catachan Fang
Measuring up to twenty inches of gleaming steel, the Catachan Fang is the most common type of knife used by the Catachan regiments. It is renowned as a symbol of the Catachan Jungle Fighters across a thousand systems and is equally useful for cutting your way through jungle or enemies of humanity.
This knife is also used for settling disputes between Catachans: one knife is placed in the center of a fighting pit and the combatants must each strive to get hold of it. The duel ends when one fighter draws blood, but some duels still end with death.
Devil's Claw
Named after the Catachan Devil - the fearsome predator of the Catachan jungles, this is the largest type of the traditional knives of Catachan. Anywhere between three and four feet long, the Devil's Claw is closer to a sword than a knife.
The blade is hollow and half filled with mercury to give it greater swinging power. It is used mainly on the battlefield in close quarters and it has even achieved a fearsome reputation amongst Orks, who call it 'Da Cutta'. Catachan Power Swords are often identical in design to the Devil's Claw. The elite Catachan Devil Squads are also partly named after these knives, which they wield in battle.
Sword
The basic non-powered sword found on every single planet in the galaxy. It is relatively easy to manufacture and even untrained fighters can use it in battle with some degree of success. Swords can range from mass-produced blades of cheap metal to lightweight high-quality version or even elaborate versions made from Tyranid talons.
However, as with most melee weapons, it is the skill of a user rather than the actual weapon that determines the winner of combat. The sword is perhaps the most widely used weapon in the Galaxy that can be found in the hands of any servant of the Imperium or follower of Chaos as well as many Xenos races.
Flail
The Flail is a primitive close combat weapon common on feral and feudal worlds of the Imperium. They usually consist of one or more heavy spiked balls attached to the weapon's pole and, while difficult to wield, they are capable of inflicting terrible wounds.
Flails are often used as a weapon to go around the protective cover of shields whilst crumpling and deforming armor, breaking bones and lacerating exposed flesh. Of course, it is wise to not get hit by your own flail due to the mechanics of its nature.
Feral Orks are known to sometimes use oversized versions of these.
Axe
An Axe is a specialized version of utility axe used as a primitive close combat weapon. It sports a brutal blade, used both as a tool and weapon. Because of its function, axes are far more versatile than swords, being able to both function as a weapon whilst being used to chop down trees and other materials into smaller and more manageable pieces.
While it generally does not have the reach of a sword and lacks its ability to parry away blows, a strike from an axe will generally create a more lethal effect when it lands, ripping apart flesh and shattering bone with ease.
Axes are usually found on feudal or Feral worlds, but many heretics also value their simplicity and brutality.
Hammer
The Hammer or otherwise known as the Warhammer is a primitive weapon - basically a larger version of the regular hand tool, using a massive weighted end to inflict a harder and deadlier blow. Warhammers are common on primitive worlds and, as they can be carried openly by workers, they are doubly useful for heretics plotting raids against the Imperium. Many Imperial servants also favor war hammers as an enduring symbol of the Emperor's righteous justice.
The hammer is truly effective when it is mechanized and is surgically mounted onto a living person. This is done quite often by the Guilds of Hive cities to Pit Slaves who will be put to work in mines or foundries. When these slaves escape, they will often join up with any of the numerous criminal gangs present in the underhives of such planets as Necromunda where they can use these Hammers with devastating efficiency. The sheer pile-driving force of such a mass of pneumatically-driven steel is enough to shatter the most veteran gangers' defenses and knock them senseless to the ground.
Spear
The basic Spears and/or Halberds are primitive pole weapons common on Feudal Worlds where they are used to impale mounted fighters or their steeds. These weapons are favored due to their long reach and armor-piercing impact of their weapons.
They are in fact, arguably one of the most ancient forms of weapons, in which many stone age tribes fashion them out of sharpened stone, bones and wood. Various versions of these weapons are occasionally used throughout the Imperium and by some Xenos races.
Hunting Lance
Hunting lances are single-use weapons employed by Rough Rider Squadrons of the Imperial Guard. The lance is effectively a nine foot long shaft with a shaped explosive tip. When the lance impacts with an enemy the tip explodes, increasing the killing power already behind the lance. Once used, however, the lance is rendered useless for the remainder of the battle.
These weapons are advanced versions of those used for hunting big game on the primitive worlds the Rough Riders themselves are often recruited from. They are particularly effective against riotous mobs or compact hordes of infantry. When used properly, they can prove to be more effective against heavily armored troops than a standard lasgun. In game terms, this is demonstrated by the hunting lance's ability to bypass armor saves when the unit charges.
The Hunting Lance has a variety of different heads for different uses such as:
- Inferno Tip: consists of a broad, blunt head, designed to impact as much surface area of the target as possible, rather than to puncture armour. When the lance impacts a target, promethium canisters affixed below the blade expel their contents in a burst of white-hot flame.
- Krak Tip: Consisting of a shaped charge similar to that of a krak grenade, a hunting lance krak tip explodes with even more devastating effect than the standard hunting lance charge, making its use preferable against resilient enemies such as Orks.
- Melta Tip: Devastating to armored targets, they are extremely heavy due to the explosive reactive charge. Aim and poke at the side armor of any vehicle and watch it explode into metallic chunks.
- Plasma Tip: Only used in dire circumstances by regiments with deep ties to the Adeptus Mechanicus. When a hunting lance plasma tip impacts a target, it triggers a containment breach of the volatile energies stored within. As with all plasma weapons, they are of dubious reliability.
- Poison Tip: Useful against xenos opponents. These tips are filled with advance and deadly neurotoxins, poisons and venoms from a host of animals and plants collected by the Imperium. These tips is most effective against monstrous creatures such as Tyranids and Squiggoths.
- Shock Tip: Used when the Imperial Guard seeks to take prisoners, it delivers a crippling electric charge. However, there is a chance that a prisoner would die due to a weak heart or the tip has been overcharged. Could also be used to stun and incapacitate a valuable target.