Chainsword

Lore & history

The chainsword is the quintessential close-combat weapon of the forty-first millennium—an unapologetically savage marriage of medieval swordsmanship and industrial butchery. While more esoteric blades such as power swords or force weapons require rare field generators and centuries of artisan labour, a chainsword relies on a howling internal motor and a loop of spinning, razor-edged teeth that can be manufactured on almost any Imperial hive or forge world. From the mud-choked trenches of the Astra Militarum to the boarding torpedoes of the Adeptus Astartes, the revving snarl of a chainsword's engine is the universal prelude to a charge.

Though most closely associated in the popular imagination with the Imperium of Man, the chainsword is neither uniquely Imperial nor a recent invention. Ancient patterns were carried by techno-barbarian warlords during the Unification Wars on Terra, refined for the Space Marine Legions during the Great Crusade, and adopted in sleeker, near-silent forms by the Aspect Shrines of the Craftworld Aeldari—most famously the Scorpion's Chainsword of the Striking Scorpions—as well as the jagged, blood-caked chainblades of Heretic Astartes and Ork Mekboyz.

Within the Astra Militarum, a chainsword is a badge of rank and personal courage wielded by Commissars, Sergeants and officers—none more famous than Commissar Ciaphas Cain, whose lifelong drilling with a standard-issue Imperial Guard chainsword allowed him to parry everything from Ork warbosses to Genestealer Broodlords. Among the Adeptus Astartes, the heavier Astartes Chainsword is the primary armament of Assault Squads, Vanguard Veterans, Blood Claws and Primaris Assault Intercessors, who use the sheer mass of their ceramite gauntlets to drive the screaming teeth straight through breastplates and ribcages.

Design, mechanism & battlefield effect

At its heart, a chainsword is a weighted blade-housing containing a high-torque micro-promethium or hydrogen-fuel-cell motor that drives a linked chain of monomolecular or tungsten-carbide teeth around a central guide track at blinding speed. Most Imperial patterns are single-edged, enclosing the return side of the chain within a reinforced protective spine so that the wielder can brace the back of the blade against his forearm or use it to bat aside enemy parries without chewing into his own armour. A cowled hand-guard protects the knuckles from flying bone splinters, sparks and snapped enemy teeth.

When the blade strikes a target, the warrior does not merely rely on the force of his swing. By squeezing a throttle bar built into the grip, he accelerates the tooth-track to maximum revolutions per minute just as the edge bites into armour plate or flesh. The angled teeth hook into the wound and pull the blade deeper, ripping away ragged chunks of ceramite, carapace and muscle while spraying a geyser of gore that deliberately intimidates nearby foes.

Because combat against heavily armoured enemies frequently snaps or blunts individual teeth, Astartes and Imperial Guard chainswords are engineered for rapid field maintenance. Replacement tooth-strips are carried in belt pouches, and a skilled warrior can pop the tension-lock on the housing, strip out a mangled chain, and thread a fresh loop of teeth in a matter of minutes between firefights.

Patterns, variants & doctrine

Countless variants of the chainsword exist across the galaxy. The standard Astartes Mark XI "Hell's Teeth" and the Primaris-issue Astartes Chainsword are far too heavy for an unaugmented human to swing effectively, featuring wider tracks and Kraken-tooth or adamantium-tipped links capable of sawing through light vehicle hulls. At the extreme end of Imperial craftsmanship sits the Eviscerator—a massive, two-handed chainsword fitted with a crude disruption field generator along its housing, favoured by Assault Marines, Sisters Repentia, and Redemptionist zealots to cleave straight through Terminator plate or bulkhead doors.

Among the Blood Angels and their Flesh Tearers successors, relic chainswords take on an almost liturgical status; Chapter Master Gabriel Seth wields the Blood Reaver, an enormous two-handed eviscerator chainsword whose teeth never stop thirsting for slaughter. Traitor Marines of the Chaos Legions frequently modify double-edged chainswords with barbed Daemonic teeth that shriek with the voices of trapped souls, while the Space Wolves forge frost blades whose chain-tracks are lined with diamonds or the fangs of Fenrisian ice-krakens.

Notable patterns & relic examples

• Astartes Chainsword (Mark XI 'Hell's Teeth' & Indomitus Pattern): The heavy, single-edged close-combat blade of Assault Marines and Assault Intercessors.
• Eviscerator: A massive two-handed chainsword augmented with a low-level disruption field, wielded by Assault Squads, Sisters Repentia and Flesh Tearers.
• Frost Blade: A Space Wolves master-crafted chainsword whose teeth are forged from Fenrisian ice-kraken fangs or diamond-hardened steel.
• Scorpion's Chainsword: A whispering, psychically activated Aeldari chainblade wielded by the Striking Scorpions Aspect Warriors.

Wielded & Fielded By

Characters (17)

• 
  Ciaphas Cain · Commissar, Hero of the Imperium
• 
  Sebastian Yarrick · Commissar, Hero of Hades Hive
• 
  Gabriel Seth · Chapter Master of the Flesh Tearers
• 
  Ragnar Blackmane · Wolf Lord of the Space Wolves
• 
  Astorath the Grim · High Chaplain of the Blood Angels, Redeemer of the Lost
• 
  Haarken Worldclaimer · Herald of the Apocalypse
• 
  Fabius Bile · Primogenitor, Clone Lord
• 
  Sanguinius · Primarch of the Blood Angels, the Great Angel
• 
  Rogal Dorn · Primarch of the Imperial Fists, Praetorian of Terra
• 
  Leman Russ · Primarch of the Space Wolves, the Wolf King
• 
  Corax · Primarch of the Raven Guard, the Deliverer
• 
  Sigismund · First Captain of the Imperial Fists, founder of the Black Templars
• 
  Konrad Curze · Primarch of the Night Lords, the Night Haunter
• 
  Uriel Ventris · Captain of the Ultramarines 4th Company
• 
  Commander Dante · Chapter Master of the Blood Angels, Regent of Imperium Nihilus
• 
  Kayvaan Shrike · Former Master of Shadows (Chapter Master) of the Raven Guard
• 
  Ibram Gaunt · Colonel-Commissar of the Tanith First and Only

Units (30)

Assault SquadIntercessorsDeath CompanySanguinary GuardHowling BansheesStriking ScorpionsChaos Space MarinesRaptorsKhorne BerzerkersKasrkinScout SquadApothecaryRavenwingThunderwolf CavalrySword BrethrenDeath Cult AssassinsInfantry Squad (Guardsmen)OgrynsCommissarSentinelBattle SistersSisters RepentiaPenitent EngineArco-flagellantsSicarian RuststalkersPossessedNoise MarinesChaos CultistsNeophyte HybridsGoliath Rockgrinders

Related weapons & vehicles

Guardian SpearPower FistPower SwordThunder HammerBolter & Bolt RifleMeltagun & Multi-MeltaPlasma Gun & Plasma IncineratorStorm Bolter

Primary Faction

Adeptus Astartes (all Chapters)