The Savlar system lies just over a hundred light years from Armageddon in the Segmentum Solar, a desolate place the Imperium values solely for the rich chemical deposits locked in the volcanic moons of Savlar Penitens. So lethal are the fumes and hazards of those mines that the death toll among the labour-convicts became a grim legend of the criminal underworld, earning the moons their bleak nickname: the Dead Dog Moons.
The Chem-Dogs are drawn from the prisons of that hell, tempted into the ranks by two promises: that they may keep whatever they loot from the battlefield, and that they will at last escape Savlar's poisoned air. They were first knocked into a fighting force by Judge Callistar, a senior magistrate of the Adeptus Arbites, in answer to an armed uprising on the moons themselves. His terms were blunt. Loot taken from the enemy was theirs to keep, but any who broke the law would be shipped straight back to the mines.
Composed of cut-throats, thieves and desperate scavengers, they are nonetheless among the most tenacious and pitiless close-quarters fighters in the Imperium. Where most penal legionaries are kept in line by explosive collars, it is naked greed that drives the Chem-Dogs forward. Discipline remains a constant problem: gang-killings between their own, old vendettas carried in from former lives, and the quiet murder of unpopular officers are all commonplace. Ragged, chem-addled and unspeakably dangerous, they are a weapon the Imperium unleashes and then does its best to point away from itself.
Order of battle
The Savlar Chem-Dogs field the units of the Astra Militarum, a detachment from the roster:
Other Astra Militarum formations
Armageddon Steel LegionForged on a poisoned hive world locked in endless war against the greenskin, the Armageddon Steel Legion are the foremost mechanised infantry of the Astra Militarum. They ride to battle sealed within Chimera transports, their faces hidden behind rebreathers that filter their world's toxic air. Tempered by successive Ork invasions on their own soil, they are grim, methodical, and utterly unyielding.
Cadian Shock TroopsRaised on a fortress world that stood sentinel beside the Imperium's greatest warp storm, the Cadians were the finest line infantry the Astra Militarum ever produced. Bred from birth for war and drilled to machine-like precision, they became the standard by which all other regiments were measured. Their discipline under fire was legendary, and their sacrifice in the defence of their homeworld passed into grim Imperial legend.
Catachan Jungle FightersFrom a death world of predatory flora and monstrous fauna come the Catachans, the deadliest close-quarters and guerrilla fighters in the Astra Militarum. To reach adulthood on Catachan is itself a feat of survival, and those who muster into its regiments bring an animal instinct for ambush, sabotage, and the killing blade. They despise parade-ground discipline but excel where the fighting is dirtiest.
Death Korps of KriegThe Death Korps of Krieg are grim specialists in siege and attrition warfare, drawn from a blasted world that atoned for an ancient rebellion through centuries of self-imposed sacrifice. Masked, silent, and utterly fatalistic, they regard their own deaths as a debt owed to the Emperor. No regiment endures the horrors of trench warfare and grinding sieges with such uncomplaining resolve.
Elysian Drop TroopsThe Elysian Drop Troops descend from the heavens feet-first into the deadliest war zones the Imperium can devise. Light, fast, and lavishly trained in airborne assault, they drop by grav-chute and rappel from Valkyrie carriers to seize objectives far behind enemy lines. Once grounded, they melt into ambush and guerrilla warfare, trusting to mobility where they cannot trust to numbers.
Mordian Iron GuardFrom a tidally locked world of eternal night come the Mordian Iron Guard, perhaps the most rigidly disciplined line infantry in the entire Astra Militarum. Resplendent in immaculate parade dress even amid the carnage of battle, they stand shoulder to shoulder and pour disciplined volleys into the foe. Where lesser men break and flee, the Iron Guard hold their ground, unmoved by terror or slaughter.
Tallarn Desert RaidersHailing from an irradiated desert world, the Tallarn Desert Raiders are the Astra Militarum's foremost practitioners of mobile and mechanised warfare. Masters of the hit-and-run strike, they wear down their foes with speed, patience, and relentless raiding rather than head-on assault. Their armoured columns strike from nowhere and are gone before the dust settles.
Valhallan Ice WarriorsBred in the frozen warrens of a shattered ice world, the Valhallan Ice Warriors are masters of attrition, siege, and the long war of endurance. They wed massed artillery to relentless infantry assault, spending lives without hesitation to grind an enemy down to nothing. Cold, stoic, and inured to every hardship, they have no equal when a campaign becomes a contest of sheer, unbreakable will.
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