Codex Covenant

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Codex Covenant

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Contents

Introduction……… pag. 3

The Covenant Empire Timeline. pag. 4

Covenant Forces……….. pag. 6

Unggoy……….. pag. 6

Unggoy Heavy……….. pag. 7

Kig-Yar and Kig-Yar Explorers………. pag. 8

Promethean Crawler………. pag. 10

Jiralhanae………. pag. 11

Sangheili……… pag. 13

Huragok………. pag. 15

Sentinels……… pag. 17

Promethean Knight……… pag. 18

Yanme’e………. pag. 19

Promethean Watchers……….. pag 20

Ghost Squadron……… pag. 21

Chopper Squadron………. pag. 22

Banshee Squadron………. pag. 23

Locust Squadron……….. pag. 24

Wraith………. pag. 25

Phantom………. pag 26

Hunters Team………. pag. 27

San’Shyuum………. pag. 28

Sangheili Honor Guard………. pag. 30

Sangheili General………. pag. 31

Arbiter………. pag. 32

Unggoy Deacon………. pag. 33

Jiralhanae Chieftain……….. pag. 34

Spirit……….. pag 35

Prowler……… pag 36

Spectre………. pag.37

Covenant Army List………. pag. 38

HQ……….… pag. 38

Elites………. pag. 40

Troops………. pag. 42

Dedicated Transports……… pag. 43

Fast Attack……… pag. 44

Heavy Support……….. pag. 46

Covenant Armory………. pag. 48

Armor Abilities……… pag. 51

Vehicles Armory……… pag. 52

Allies Chart……… pag. 53

Weapon Profiles………. pag 55

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Introduction

This work is aimed at those fans of both the “Warhammer 40.000” and the “Halo” franchises that have always dreamed of merging those two science-fiction masterpieces together. This codex is still in need of playtesting, but the point costs and the rules should be balanced enough (hopefully, since the author has all the official codexes at hand... Yes, he is a madman) to grant you a pleasant experience fielding such a peculiar army against any of the “official” armies out there.

Some important clarifications are necessary before starting to read:

- This work tries to merge the history of the Covenant Empire into the existing storyline of the 41th Millennium, so no Spartans for you! The UNSC is not and will never be included into this project, simply because it never existed in this timeline (or maybe not in the same “shape”. Who knows, the Golden Age of Mankind is reduced to just a big blur in the grim darkness of the far future…).

- The “General Background” section of the Codex is still missing, as well as its final layout, a fact that the author hopes to correct as soon as possible, real life issues permitting.

- Some of the events and information described into “Halo 4” have been utilized into this work, so beware of minor spoilers if you still have not played it, you odd person…

- The rule set used is the one for the 8th edition of WH40K.

- English is not the mother tongue of the author, that apologizes in advance for any mistake and/or convoluted phrase that you may find in the following pages.

Also, many thanks to all the contributors to the Halopedia, from where many background extracts and images were shamelessly taken and/or adapted. This work would have been much more time-consuming without them, so really: Thank You!

Enjoy your read!

AveImperator

Disclaimer

All of this remains the intellectual property of Microsoft, Bungie, and Games Workshop. Support those companies by buying their products from their respective websites. Everything has been used without permission. No challenge to their respective statuses intended. All Rights Reserved to their respective owners. I will immediately modify/remove this document if deemed necessary by the parties involved.

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The Covenant Empire Timeline

60 millions years B.C.

The War in Heaven. The Old Ones battle the Necron Empire and its C’Tan allies in an hopeless struggle. Two members of this ancient race, the Didact and the Librarian, escape to the corner of the galaxy in order to find a counter against the mechanical hordes. Construction of the eight Halo Stations as anti-C’Tan defenses.

60 millions years B.C.

Having known about the Enslavers appearance, the Librarian tries to develop new races without psychic potential to counter the Necrons. At the same time, the Didact starts the Sentinel Project for the same reasons.

60 millions years B.C.

The Sentinel Project fails. The Didact, in desperation, starts the Promethean project using as test subjects both the first exemplars of the races nurtured by his wife and other young races still in their early development stage.

60 millions years B.C.

The Promethean Project succeed, but only at a terrible cost. The victories won by the Promethean constructs and the power of the Halo Stations ensure the safety of the Halo Stars for a while.

60 millions years B.C.

Death of the Didact at the battle of the Gulf. The Librarian hides the surviving Prometheans together with the genetic samples of the future Covenant races in the Halo stations, but dies shortly after.

M27 Eldar archeologists find the first of the Halo Stations. In the following years, all the stations are discovered and occupied. Researches to revive the Covenant races are made.

End of M29 All the Covenant races are finally engineered and sent to inhabit their respective worlds. Conflict sparks among the research team members about how to interact with their creations’ development process.

End of M29 A pirate raid organized by one of the Eldar team members to “remove the

competition” goes too far and becomes an orgy of violence and gratuitous murder: all the members of the research team are killed, and a lot of records damaged. The Halo stations and the civilizations developing in their shadows are quickly dismissed as uninteresting by the arrogant and capricious corsair leader.

End of M30 Fall of the Eldar. The Emperor of Mankind begins the Great Crusade. The Halo Stars, being at the very galactic hedge, are not reached by the Space Marine Legions.

Beginning of M31

The Horus Heresy. The Emperor is entombed into the Golden Throne.

780 M37 The first Covenant race to reach space faring technology, the San’Shyuum, discovers the Halo stations and the fragmented records about their creation. Birth of the “Forerunners” veneration.

870-877 M37 The Sangheili are met by the San’Shyuum. After a dire conflict between the two races, an alliance is formed and the Covenant is created.

050 M38 First war against the Orks. A minor infestation on the planet XXX is utterly eradicated by the Sangheili.

100 M38 – 035 M39

During this time period, all the “Chosen Races” are united under the Covenant banner, some peacefully, some after brief conflicts. Many other planets are also colonized.

156 M39 With the unification of the entire knowledge contained into all the Halo stations, a massive breakthrough in space travelling technology is made. Production of the “Slipspace Engine” starts, making Galactic expansion a concrete possibility. Start of the first true Great Expansion.

187 M39 First contact with the Human race, specifically the Humoyan Protectorate, a trio of planets never rediscovered by the Imperium.The San’Syhuum decree to consider them as potential

allies/mercenaries, due to their slight resemblance with the “Forerunners”. 031 M40 The first major test for the Covenant: a

massive Necron fleet appears in a newly discovered star system. The Covenant forces are initially repelled, but when the Necrons follow them to Halo Installation 06, the Promethean warriors rise from their slumber. Together, Promethean and Covenant utterly defeat the skeletal enemy. Only a small fraction of the original Necron ships manage to escape.

930 M41 A small Tyranid hive fleet enters Covenant space. The ensuring fights are costly, but again the Prometheans warriors ensure victory for the Covenant in the end. The few bio-ships that survives attempt to infest Halo installation 04, but are sucked into a strange warp gate and scattered away. Unfortunately, the same phenomena catch also the Covenant pursuing fleet, catapulting it on the other side of the galaxy, near Tau controlled space.

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937 M41 The remaining Tyranids appear near the Imperial planet of Carcasson Fortress. They are so disoriented by the experience and weakened by the previous fights that a single regiment of Cadian Imperial Guard (the 9th) is able to destroys the entire fleet without losing a single company.

940 M41 Arbiter Ba’Alaam defeats an Ork Waaagh! trying to capitalize on the destruction path carved by the Tyranid. His deeds during the campaign are so heroic that he is among the few Arbiters to be granted an official pardon by the High Council of the Prophets. 945 M41 The Covenant Enclave in the OOO System

is officially recognized as an ally by the Tau Empire. The Covenant forces however refuse to fully submit to the Greater Good philosophy and maintain their own dogmas and believes. For now, the Tau let them maintain a greater degree of independence than even the Kroots, some says because the Enclave acts as a useful cushion against the near Ork empires in the Red Stars.

960 M41 The Jiralhanae Chieftain Tar’Trus discovers and conquers the Necron tomb world of Therax. The still slumbering occupants are unable to recover in time to effectively counter the brutal assault of the Jiralhanae and Promethean forces combined.

976 M41 A Kig-Yar corsair fleet reaches the frontier world of Deimar. First contact with the human Imperium. Hostilities on a small scale starts due to the xenophobia of this human realm. An exploration fleet is launched to gather more information about Imperial Space.

979 M41 The Imperial observatory stations near Ultima Macharia records an unidentified fleet entering Imperial Space. A Dauntless Light Cruiser is lost while investigating the treat.

980 M41 The Time of Doubt. The fleet sent to explore Imperial space is lost due to a massive Dark Eldar raid. The few survivors tell that those cruel aliens closely resembled the Forerunners. They are quickly executed as heretics, but the video feeds of the attack somehow start circulating among the masses.

980-985 M41 In order to avoid a massive crisis of faith among their people, the High Council takes drastic measures: it identifies the Dark Eldar as “False Forerunners”, created by the jealous humans as a mockery to their Gods, since they could not fully emulate them. The subsequent outrage keep the Covenant races together, giving them a new common enemy. A Crusade is quickly launched against the Humoyans and then the Imperium.

986 M41 Harvest, a small undefended agriworld, is the first planet to be attacked and subsequently glassed over by the Covenant Fleet. No survivors escape the sudden attack. In the following years, more than 20 other Imperial planets suffer similar fates.

991 M41 Battle of Reach. The recruitment world of the Adeptus Astartes known as Reach is lost to the Covenant. However, the defenders gain enough time to let the Aeneis Draconis, the Chapter owning the world, muster their forces to prepare a counter offensive.

992 M41 The Space Marines and the Imperial Navy together manage to defeat the Covenant Fleet at the border of the Reach system. Without support, the majority of the Covenant ground forces still in the system are defeated by the Imperials. Space Marines become known as “Daemons” among the Covenant races, supposedly another failed experiment of the humans to copy the Forerunners.

993 M41 Having witnessed some of the true strength of the Imperium, the remains of the Covenant invasion fleet retreat beyond the reach of the Astronomican Light to regroup. Without a way to pursue their foe, the Imperials are forced to halt their advance. Fortifications of the area is however impossible, since the start of the Third Armageddon War and the appearance of Hive Fleet Leviatan absorb all the Segmentum Command resources. 994 M41 A Chaos raiding fleet menace to destroy

the Lekgolo home world of Te, but the timely return of the veterans of the war against the Imperium turns the tide in favor of the Covenant.

999 M41 Under the leadership of a new Arbiter and with the blessing of the Prophets, the Covenant army is reorganized and a new, much bigger Crusade is launched against the Imperium. Many human planets are conquered anew or simply glassed by orbital bombardments, while rebellions in the entire Segmentum Pacificus make the arrival of reinforcement almost impossible.

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Covenant Forces

Unggoy

The Unggoy ( “Monachus frigus” in High Gothic) are a species of squat bipedal vertebrates coming from Balaho, a temperate, swampy planet with a methane atmosphere and naturally occurring pillars of fire. Unggoy also have thick, bio-luminescent, light-blue blood. The Magos Biologis theorize that this can be a result of methane-based proteins in the blood to facilitate methane-based respiration. Among the unified races of the Covenant, they are the lowest-ranking species in the hierarchy, and are frequently mistreated by almost every higher-ranking race. Unggoy are primarily used as laborers or, in combat situations, cannon fodder. This status is due both because they were one of the latest races to be introduced into the

Covenant, and because of their inherent physical weakness and general distaste for battle. They are referred to as “Grunts” by the soldiers of the Imperial Guard, mainly because of their weakness compared to both humans and to their own superiors, but also because they perform the majority of the labor required by the Covenant. Being the lowest-ranked species of the Covenant, they are bitter rivals with the Kig-Yar, who are also low-ranked. The higher-ranking races of the Covenant have often ignored this rivalry, except in those cases when it affected the overall performance of an army on the battlefield. Despite this, the true irony is that the Unggoy's entry into the Covenant has ensured their species' survival. Membership in the Covenant granted the Unggoy freedom from risk of extinction during Balaho's harsh winters, as they now have access to sufficient supplies of food. Infant mortality has decreased to below fifty percent, and geronticide is no longer a necessity for survival. The average life expectancy for non-combatant Unggoy has doubled (even if, admittedly, the opposite could be said for conscripts…). They are usually sent to the battlefield in huge numbers, usually armed with low-level war gear: simple plasma pistols and armor a bit thicker than the vests commonly wore by other infantry units. This is only due to the need to protect the methane tank that each Unggoy carries on his back: due to the particular atmosphere of their home world, Unngoys need to wear rebreathes to operate in more conventional, oxygen-rich environments. Large Unggoy units are also often lead in battle by a Sangheili or a Jiralhanae non-com officer, to ensure that their tendency to flee from dangers is kept in check.

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Unit Type: Infantry. The Unggoy Ultra, or any Sangheili/Jiralhanae chosen as unit leader, are Infantry

(Character).

Wargear: Covenant Plasma Pistol, Unggoy Armor, Defensive Grenades.

Special Rules: Expendables (If an allied unit is gaining a cover save against enemy fire due to the presence

of the unit with this rule in-between, the cover save is increased to 4+. However, D3” Unggoy must be removed as casualties each time this ability is activated. Additionally, Sangheili and Jiralhanae leaders attached to the squad pass their “Look out Sir!” tests on 3+, but if they are killed the squad count as having automatically failed a moral check and must flee at the end of the phase in which the character has been killed), First Line Duty (the mission compulsory troop choices must be filled with Unggoy units).

Unggoy Heavy

Unit Name WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv

Unggoy 2 3 2 3 1 2 1 6 5+

Unggoy

Ultra 2 3 2 3 1 2 2 7 5+

While Unggoy as a race are small, stocky, and lacking in agility, they are quite sturdy; most may be weak, seeming unable to carry a weapon heavier than a plasma pistol, although certain Unggoy of higher ranks appear to be surprisingly strong, able to carry a fuel rod gun without toppling from the weapon’s recoil. However, physical strength does not always go along with rank; as rank-and-file Unggoy are clumsy and tactically inept, more powerful weapons are usually only issued to those who have proved themselves more disciplined and experienced. For these reason, units of “Heavy Grunts” as they are called by the Covenant’s enemies, are more likely to be led by a member of the same race compared to their less trustworthy companions.

Unit Type: : Infantry. The Unggoy Ultra, or any Sangheili/Jiralhanae chosen as unit leader, are Infantry

(Character).

Wargear: Fuel Rod Gun, Unggoy Armor, Defensive Grenades. Special Rules: Expendables.

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Kig-Yar and Kig-Yar Explorers

Unit Name WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv Kig-Yar 2 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 6+ Kig-Yar Skirmisher 3 3 3 3 1 4 2 8 6+ Unit Name WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv Kig-Yar Explorer 2 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 6+ Kig-Yar Skirmisher 3 3 3 3 1 4 2 8 6+

9 Kig-Yar (High Gothic designation: “Perosus Latrunculus”) are a bird-like saurian species which serve the Covenant as mercenaries and privateers. There are two distinct races of Kig-Yar; the more common of these races are known to the Imperium rank-and-files as Jackals, while the larger, less common specimens are called Skirmishers. In combat, Kig-Yar typically serve as snipers and scouts within the Covenant due to their excellent senses of sight, smell, and hearing. Skirmishers, due to their low number but stronger physiology, usually acts as unit leaders. During their early history, Kig-Yar society was divided into clans that sailed across their home world Eayn's large seas as pirates, raiding the encampments and settlements of rival clans. Eventually, the clans united, and the Kig-Yar species worked together in developing space-travel technology. They had just started to explore their own star-system and the Halo device at its border when the Covenant fleet discovered and indoctrinated them into the alliance. Many Kig-Yar decided to continue their ancient ways of life and became pirates once more, but now their objective were the merchant starships and isolated planets held by the enemies of the Covenant. In this endeavor they often clashed with ork and human raiders, quickly becoming experts in hit-and-run space tactics, second only to the Sangheili in naval engagements. Recently they have found their true foe in Dark Eldar raiders: their similar tactics, coupled with their better vessels , caused the complete annihilation of a Kig-Yar corsair fleet near the recently colonized world of Chu’Ot. Since then, Kig-Yar captains are set to extract revenge against the “False Forerunners” and their supposed human creators, more out of spite than actual religious belief. Despite their expertise, their behavior and general lack of religious pietas are considered dishonorable by the Sangheili, that asked and obtain to relegate them to the lower ranks of the Covenant Hierarchy. This position is cause of conflict with the Unggoy, the only race lower than them in that hierarchy and the only one upon which the Kig-Yar have any sort of power. On the battlefield, the lower ranked member of the specie serve as infantry units, in a role similar to Unggoy units, even if with better equipment. Their more skilled, and less hot-blooded, brethren are instead employed as snipers, role in which they naturally excel.

Unit Type: Infantry. The Skirmishers are Infantry (Character)

Wargear (Kig-Yar): Needler, Force Shield and Reinforced Vest. The Skirmisher is armed with a Covenant

Plasma Rifle, Arm Shields and a Reinforced Vest.

Wargear (Explorers): Covenant Carbine, Reinforced Vest. The Skirmisher is armed with a Particle Beam Rifle

and a Reinforced Vest.

Special Rules (Kig-Yar): Night Vision, Move Trough Cover.

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Promethean Crawlers

Unit Name WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv

Promethean

Crawler 3 3 3 3 1 4 1 10 4+

The most common (and expendable) form of the Promethean Warriors, Crawlers are small, quadrupedal machines capable of both ranged and close-quarters combat, using a built-in Boltshot or Suppressor as their primary weapon. Unlike the majority of the automatons found aboard the Halo space stations, they lack anti-gravity capabilities of any kind and instead rely on their four legs for locomotion. Crawlers are ferociously aggressive, having been specifically designed to hunt down and eliminate any foreign threats. They travel in large packs and work together to destroy enemies by overwhelming them from every conceivable angle, relying on skirmishing tactics. Their agility was meant as an advantage against the average slowness of Necron constructs, but is also a much appreciated boost to the slowness of the rest of “basic” Covenant infantry. Also, the melee capability of the Crawlers, while not exceptional, are truly a blessing against foes relying on close combat to overwhelm the Covenant lines, like the barbarian Orks. The enemies is tied up by the ferocious charge of these metal beasts, until the elite fighters of the Covenant army can close in for the kill.

Unit Type: Beasts.

Wargear: Boltshot, Protective Forerunners’ Alloy. Special Rules: Night Vision, Furious Charge, Fearless.

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Jiralhanae

Also known as Brute for their barbaric appearance, the Jiralhanae (“Servus Ferox” in High Gothic) are the most recent addition to the Covenant army. With the discovery of the seventh and last Halo near their home world of Doisac, the unification of the Children of the Gods was completed, and the time of the Great Journey began. Exceedingly strong and surpassing the strength of even the Sangheili, the Jiralhanae place a greater emphasis on brutality than wisdom and are on the whole a savage species. The continuous state of warfare caused the extremely slow advancement of Jiralhanae society, due to the cyclical loss and recover of knowledge, coupled with the general low interest of the population into scientific breakthroughs void of military value. By the time the Covenant found them, the species had just discovered radio and basic space rocketry. In their primitive state, they were quickly defeated, indoctrinated and absorbed into the

Covenant. As part of the Covenant, Jiralhanae were required as a prerequisite to convert to the Prophets' religion of worshiping the Forerunners. Previously, their culture revolved around the worship of totems and idols, but they made swift converts. They are now the most fanatical adherents to the Prophet's faith, although they seem to hold little understanding of the more theological aspects of the faith. The Jiralhanae came to occupy a fairly prominent role in the Covenant military, serving as heavy infantry and shock troops. Jiralhanae troops are starting to be present during all the most vicious battles throughout the recent Covenant wars against the Orks, Tyranids and Necrons menaces, including the first conflict against the Imperium, especially on the planets Harvest and Reach. While effective combatants, they remained

subordinate to the Sangheili, who regarded the Jiralhanae with universal disdain due to their general lack of strategic coordination in their actions on the field of battle. They prefer to use weapons from their home world, rather than the Covenant standard-issue plasma-based firearms. “Brute” weapons are notable for being extremely dangerous, somewhat primitive and brutal, and always featuring a blade attachment for use in hand-to-hand combat. Although they do theoretically have access to Plasma Rifles, they are rarely chosen. In general, Jiralhanae have a pronounced dislike of the Sangheili, believing themselves to be better

12 protectors of the Prophets than them and depositaries of a “purer” form of the faith compared to the complex rituals favored by the Sangheili.

Unit Type: Infantry. The Jiralhanae Ultra is Infantry (Character). Wargear: Spiker, Reinforced Vest, Frag Grenades.

Special Rules: Rage, Furious Charge, Blind Fury (when a unit with this rule passes a moral check that it was

forced to make, it must be moved 2D6” in the direction of the closest enemy unit. If this movement brings it in base contact with said enemy unit, it counts as a successful charge (the enemy cannot choose to overwatch). A unit with this rule is also Stubborn when in close combat).

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Sangheili

A founding species of the unified conglomerate of races known as the Covenant, being one of the first species to achieve space-faring capabilities, the Sangheili (High Gothic: “Macto Cognatus”) are a saurian species of fierce and intelligent warriors and strategists. Proud, strong and agile, they are more than a match for the strongest alien warriors. Sangheili are named after their home planet, Sanghelios. Known to humans as Elites, due to their adeptness and skill in military strategy, the Sangheili had formed the military backbone of the Covenant for the entirety of its existence. They have a very strong rivalry with the

Jiralhanae, another proud, if less civilized, warrior race recently introduced to the Covenant. Their primitive ways are looked down by Sangheili warriors, with some of them going so far as labeling the Jiralhanae as “Orks who learned to aim”. This rivalry is strong, but it has not developed into open confrontation… yet. At the dawn of their civilization, the Sangheili discovered artifacts left by the Eldar on their planet. The Sangheili revered the objects these "gods" had left, a belief reinforced in later years by the discovery of the Halo station in their solar system, and considered tampering with them a heresy beyond any other. In the year 870 M37 they encountered the San 'Shyuum (who would later be known as "Prophets" by Xenos and Humans alike), a race who also worshiped the Eldar (known to them as “The Forerunners”) as gods, but had utilized a mix of Eldar’s and Old Ones’ technology for their own needs, believing it had been left behind by the gods as gifts for their children. This sparked a war between the two races over how to treat the relics. Even though the Sangheili were much more physically imposing and numerous, they suffered extreme casualties under the sheer power of the San 'Shyuum's superior fleet. By 876 M37 even the most devout had to admit their survival depended on the reverse-engineering of their own “Forerunner Technology”. This change of mind led both sides to an agreement that ended with a shaky alliance, that eventually expanded into the Covenant.

The San 'Shyuum helped assuage the Sangheili by informing them of the Great Journey: by seeking out the Holy Rings scattered throughout the Halo Stars and uniting the races developing behind their protection, a Great Journey would begin. This Great Journey would culminate in the finding of their Gods, which will

14 transform believers into godlike beings. Since then, the Sangheili became the best fighters of the Covenant Army, the tip of the spear in every assault and the shield against which the enemy assault would crumble. Only the might of the Adeptus Astartes, the legendary Space Marine, has proven enough to reliably stop an assault led by these skilled warriors.

Unit Type: Infantry. The Sangheili Ultra is Infantry (Character).

Wargear: Combat Harness, Energy Shield, two Covenant Plasma Rifles (count as a single, twin-linked rifle),

Plasma and Haywire Grenades. The Ultra has a single Covenant Plasma Rifle and a Plasma Sword, Plasma and Haywire Grenades.

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Huragok

Unit Name WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv

Huragok 1 2 2 4 2 2 1 9 3+

A sentient labor-saving device with the ability to self-repair and self-replicate, the biomechanical construct known as Huragok, or simply as “Engineers”, are a race originally created by the Old One known as the Didact to maintain the Halo stations and their technology into combat efficiency. When the Eldar found them, they considered their race an abomination, due to their artificial nature giving them a lack of

presence in the warp. They proceed to exterminate them, encountering surprisingly low resistance in doing so: unknown to the Eldar, the program codes installed into every Engineer inhibits them to use the

technology under their care against a race created by their original masters. Caught in between two conflicting orders (protecting the stations and not arming the Eldar) the Huragok were almost completely wiped out. When the Eldar left and the various races that where going to compose the Covenant started to develop on their own, the few surviving Huragok emerged again, coming back to their original task. But they were so few (and in many cases so damaged) that the amount of errors and “hectic behavior” displayed skyrocketed, causing many damage to the structures themselves and, worst, to the data contained within. This, together with translation errors, is the main reason why the Covenant races knowledge about their creation and past is so flawed. Anyway, when the Covenant reached the Halo stations, they managed to be recognized as the legitimate inheritors awaited for so long, and thus

progressively allowed access to the hidden robotic legions of the Didact. After being discovered by the San 'Shyuum, the Huragok were employed as the Covenant's science, maintenance and archaeological

specialists. Now these remarkably helpful and docile entities are used to retrieve and dissect “Forerunner” artifacts, as well as to repair spacecraft and machinery . They float via bladders that contain a mixture of gas lighter than air, and their four tentacles are able to split into many fine cilia, with which they are able to manipulate machinery on a near-microscopic level. Huragok are also capable of quickly learning the

functionality of new technology. On one occasion, an Engineer was observed by an Imperial Servoskull dismantling a Chimera's engine, assembling it into various other working configurations, and then returning it to its original state, all in a matter of minutes. Huragok have little interest in taking sides in conflict; they

16 appear to draw no real distinction between friend and foe, preferring to spend their time inspecting or repairing technology, although they will react with agitation if Old Ones’ derived technology is damaged or compromised in any way. They are apathetic to any sort of combat, and tend to just float along with a single goal: to fix things.

Unit Type: Jet Pack Infantry.

Wargear: Reinforced Forerunners’ Alloy, Shield Generator.

Special Rules: Independent Character, Technology-Obsessed (friendly units can never use the Ld value of

an attached Huragok: they are not commanders, they just “tag along”), Field Repairs (if the Huragok is in base contact with a friendly vehicle in the shooting phase, even one belonging to an allied contingent, it can repair a single “weapon destroyed” or “immobilized” result that said vehicle has previously suffered. Alternatively, it can restore a single lost Hull Point), Self-Destruction (If it fails a moral check for any reason or the moment it lose its last wound, the Huragok will explode. Centre the large blast on the model: any other model, friend or foe, touched by it takes a single S6 AP4 hit. Then remove the Huragok from the game).

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Sentinels

Unit Name WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv

Sentinel 1 3 3 4 1 2 1 10 3+

Sentinels, referred by the Covenant as "Holy Warriors of the Sacred Rings", are Old Ones’ automatons programmed to act as security and maintenance drones and protect the Halo installations. Sentinels are the only completely robotic warriors created by the Old One known as the Didact, the first prototype created to fight the Necron menace at even terms. They were then relegated to second line duty due to the ability displayed by some of the Necron Overlords to seize control of the Sentinel’s core programs and use them against each other. The failure of the Sentinel Project forced the Didact’s hand in the creation of the Promethean. Sentinel are created at special manufacturing facilities, massive airborne platforms that are located on every Halo Installation. These facilities produce Sentinels when the Huragok guardians face an external threat to their local installation. The massive assembly lines, at maximum performance, can produce Sentinels at a very fast rate to either supplement existing defenses or to replace those destroyed for whatever reason. These factories were not limited to just the Halo stations: manufacturing facilities were also located on every planet-based construct that relied on Sentinels for guarding, although these facilities were different in appearance and are today largely lost due to the passing of time.

Unit Type: Jet Pack Infantry.

Wargear: Reinforced Forerunners’ Alloy, Sentinel Beam.

Special Rules: Fearless, Defenders (Sentinel units count as Scoring, but only for objectives situated into

18

Promethean Knights

Promethean Knights are the strongest class of mechanized Forerunner Promethean warriors discovered by the Covenant. The Knights are bipedal, fully weaponized mechanical warriors designed to operate and eliminate threats in a wide variety of environments. They utilize a broad arsenal of weapons: in addition to a hard light blade on one hand, they have also access to various powerful options for ranged combat, such as Scattershots, Suppressors, Light Rifles, and even the mighty Incineration Cannons. Their dedicated armament largely depends on their class and role. They also frequently employ pulse grenades in combat, and are able to deploy Watcher drones, carried in the back of their armored carapace, for combat support. Knights are remarkably agile, since in addition to using their limbs for conventional movement they are also capable of teleporting over moderate distances, allowing them to either swiftly retreat from the battlefield or to flank their enemies. Although not commonly employed that way, Knights can also be deployed directly from warships and are equipped with thruster engines for maneuvering in the vacuum of space. This capability was first used during the war against the Necrons, when Knights were deployed to board and destroy enemy ships from within. Upon taking critical damage, Knights completely disintegrate: their bodies erode away from where the fatal shot was received and dissolve into glowing particles. After disintegration, a small ball of swirling light is left behind for a brief period; a Promethean Watcher can use this digitalized remnants to recreate and revive the Knight, another way to replicate one of the more fearsome abilities of the Old Ones’ hated foes. In the end, not even the amazing abilities of the Knights could save the Didact; woken again in the modern galaxy, this time they are determined to not fail in the duty forever imprinted in their processors.

Unit Type: Infantry. The Knight Commander is Infantry (Character).

Wargear: Reinforced Forerunners’ Alloy, Displacer Field, Suppressor, Hard Light Sword, Pulse Grenades. Special Rules: Night Vision, Fearless, Deep Strike, Very Bulky, The God’s Legacy (every Covenant unit within

19

Yanme’e

The Yanme'e (“Turpis Rex” in High Gothic) are an insectoid species capable of flight, with a hive-minded social structure. Their home world is Palamok, a planet similar to the ancient Holy Terra, but twice the size with over twice the gravity. This gives them the ability to fly quite well in 1.0 G environments. Yanme’e society consists of reproductive queens, reproductive males and non-reproductive female workers and soldiers. Because of their eusocial nature, they can be extremely dogmatic and hive-minded, a trait that may have made for an easy conversion into the Covenant hierarchy and earn them the nickname “Drones” (Imperial troopers appear to prefer the term “Buggers”). Yanme'e obey the commands of the higher castes without question, but have little concept of religion and do not partake in social norms due to

communication difficulties with other species. They refer to the Prophets as "Queens", a remnant of their former hive lifestyle. They do not interact with other Covenant member races except to trade resources and to serve in the military, where they typically serve as mechanics and repair crews on warships (they are highly skilled with technology, although not nearly as effective as Huragok), or as scouts and ambushers on the ground. Yanme'e are quite capable of using most light Covenant weaponry, and depending on their rank may wield plasma pistols, needlers and plasma rifles. They can also be seen lifting their enemies off the ground to impressive heights despite their frail appearance. During large-scale ground engagements, Yanme'e have a tendency to entrench themselves and establish hives within enemy territory, as seen during the Siege of Reach or during the conflicts against the Stratocracy on Elthari. This can make them a persistent threat, as the hives provide a constant supply of Yanme'e to reinforce occupying Covenant troops.

Unit Type: Jump Infantry.

Wargear: Reinforced Vest, two Covenant Plasma Pistols.

Special Rules: Hit and Run, Fleet, Scouts, Jink (the unit can use this rule even if they are jump infantry, with

the following exceptions: they receive a 5+ CS if the unit has moved more than 6” in the movement phase, and a 4+ CS if they have chosen to run in the shooting phase).

20

Promethean Watchers

Unit Name WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv

Watcher 1 3 3 3 1 3 1 10 4+

The Promethean Watcher is a Sentinel variant, developed to fulfill a similar role more efficiently. Like the other Promethean constructs, the Watcher was designed as a countermeasure against the Necron Empire, and represented a sort of middle way between the massed Crawlers and the powerful, but fewer in number, Knights. Watchers typically accompany mechanical Promethean ground units, and can be deployed from the armored carapace of their Promethean Knight commanders, assisting them with aerial combat screening and often forcing opponents to engage the Watchers first. Watchers are also capable of healing and augmenting damaged allies and can catch and return enemy small ordnance, such as grenades, with a gravity-displacement field.

Unit Type: Jet Pack Infantry.

Wargear: Suppressor, Protective Forerunners’ Alloy, Energy Shield.

Special Rules: Night Vision, Fearless, Technical Support (if all the Watcher in the unit do not open fire in the

shooting phase, they can restore a maximum of D3” previously lost wounds in a unit of Promethean

Crawlers or Knights within 6” for every 5 Watchers in the unit), Gravity-Displacement Field (grenades of any kind cannot be used against a unit containing at least one Watcher, neither in the shooting phase nor in the assault phase).

21

Ghost Squadron

Unit Name BS F S R HP

Ghost 3 11 10 10 2

The Type-32 Rapid Attack Vehicle, more commonly identified as Ghost, is the Covenant's standard

reconnaissance and rapid attack vehicle. Known for its speed and maneuverability as well as its near silent anti-gravity propulsion system, the Ghost's use on the battlefield is varied. Actually, its main advantage is exactly the easiness with which this vehicle can fulfill any role required to it at a moment’s notice. From a design standpoint the Type-32's design is a sleek winged vehicle design more akin to an aircraft then a ground vehicle. The Ghost is composed of two major components: first is the fuselage, which contains the Type-32's hardware including its energy weapon system, its anti-gravity propulsion system, imaging, control and guidance systems and fuel as well as its two stabilizing fins. The second part of the vehicle is the seating and guidance section, a multi-joint piece of the vehicle connected to the pilot's seat and the fuselage by a ball joint that aids the pilot in maintaining the intended flight course, as the vehicle is controlled as much by weight distribution as it is by conventional steering. The vehicle is armed with a set of twin-linked forward firing plasma repeaters. These directed energy weapons serve as powerful anti-infantry and are moderately effective even against light vehicles. The fact that Ghosts can be deployed much faster and in greater numbers on the field than Wraiths makes them advantageous as the first attack crafts to be launched during an operation. Their flexible role make Ghosts great tactical asset for Covenant ground force

commanders as fast, reasonably hard-hitting vehicles that can destroy enemy infantry formations, while at the same time serving as superb reconnaissance and scout units.

Unit Type: Vehicle (Fast, Skimmer, Open-Topped). Wargear: Twin-linked Plasma Repeater, Boosters. Special Rules: Scouts, Acute Senses.

22

Chopper Squadron

Unit Name BS F S R HP

Chopper 3 11 11 10 2

The Type-25 Rapid Assault Vehicle, commonly simply known as Chopper, is a Covenant ground assault vehicle used exclusively by the Jiralhanae. The Chopper is a heavily-armored, one-man assault vehicle, kept aloft by a repulsor array on its rear seating and propelled by a massive pair of wheels in the front. The Chopper is designed for a variety of roles, from reconnaissance to anti-armor assaults. Its powerful autocannons can take down most light ground vehicles with ease, and the large blades on the front can instantly destroy any light armored vehicle by ramming into it. For this reason, it is capable of short bursts of increased speed up to 120 kph, thanks to a pair of booster vents located on either side of the wheel. The blades on the wheel are strong enough to take down and cut through any vehicle when coupled with the boost ,except large ones like Wraiths, Ork Battlewagons or Necron Monoliths. Even if it does not destroy the vehicle, a boosted impact may inflict severe damage anyway. Jiralhanae love close combat, so the pilots try to use ramming tactics at every opportunity, a behavior that brings to peculiar fights when the like-minded Orks are involved… While potentially a very fast and robust vehicle, it is never used for

recognizance missions like the Ghost, both due to the pilot’s mentality and to the relatively small fuel tank, that gives the vehicle a maximum travel range close to a quarter of the average one of a Ghost.

Unit Type: Vehicle (Fast, Open-Topped). Wargear: Twin-linked Brute Autocannon.

Special Rules: Ramming Charge (the vehicle can attempt to Tank Shock and to Ram even if it is not a Tank.

When ramming, it considers its front armor value as 14, but only for the purpose of calculating the strength of the hit against the enemy vehicle. The hit taken by the Chopper is resolved against its real armor value, normally 11), Robust (the vehicle automatically pass any dangerous terrain test it has to take).

23

Banshee Squadron

Unit Name BS F S R HP

Banshee 3 10 10 10 2

The Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft, more commonly known as Banshee, is the Covenant's standard ground assault aircraft. The Banshee is a versatile single-pilot aerial assault craft in the Covenant's vehicular arsenal, piloted either by Sangheili or Jiralhanae. The cockpit, in which the pilot rests prone, is encased in a curved, reflective cowling with no discernible windscreen; one version features an enclosed cockpit and thus is capable of space flight. It has two wing canards, each of which terminates in a boosted gravity propulsion drive, including a jet and an anti-gravity pod; these leave a vaporous exhaust trail behind the Banshee. The craft is capable of achieving extremely high velocity, while at the same time remaining capable of performing complex maneuvers, such as aileron rolls and flips. The Banshee sports two weapon pods attached underneath the fuselage; one pod contains two plasma repeaters linked together for an increased rate of fire, the other a Class-2 fuel rod cannon, simply known as Banshee fuel rod cannon. The plasma repeaters are deadly to infantry; one bolt can instantly kill a medium-armored target. Even heavily armored targets like the Space Marines can withstand only a limited number of bolts before being killed. A direct hit from the Banshee's fuel rod cannon is almost always fatal, even to armored infantry and light tanks. Indeed, it is often used against other flyers, making the apparently fragile Banshee a fearsome opponent against other aerial targets.

Unit Type: Vehicle (Flyer).

Wargear: Twin-linked Plasma Repeater, Banshee Fuel Rod Cannon. Special Rules: Supersonic, High Maneuverability.

24

Locust Squadron

Unit Name WS BS S F S R I A HP

Locust 2 3 5 11 11 10 3 2 2

The Type-30 Light Excavation/Anti-Fortification Platform, more commonly known as Locust, is a

quadrupedal Covenant vehicle used for mining and combat purposes. The Locust is a smaller, tank-sized counterpart to the Scarab, the main super-heavy “vehicle” employed by Covenant Forces, which is also a repurposed mining platform. It does not share the Scarab's spiked 'feet', though it is capable of using its legs to climb over obstacles in a similar manner to its larger cousin. Unlike the Scarab, the Locust is a completely mechanical unit, usually piloted by a Sangheili or Jiralhanae rather than by a Lekgolo colony “infesting” it. The Locust possesses one rotating turret, which is very similar in appearance to a Banshee's cockpit. The turret houses a single focused plasma cannon that fires a linear pink beam; this beam is effective against both heavy infantry and vehicles, being derived from the devastating lance technology of the Eldar. Locusts employed on direct battlefield duty are also equipped with a regenerating shield that is capable of protecting the vehicle from a limited amount of time against the majority of weapons fire, giving the pilot time to destroy the target first or to retreat to a more covered position.

Unit Type: Vehicle (Walker).

Wargear: Excavator Ray, Energy Shield. Special Rules: Move Through Cover.

25

Wraith

Unit Name BS F S R HP

Wraith 3 13 12 10 3

The Type-26 Assault Gun Carriage, nicknamed Wraith, is the Covenant's main heavy assault vehicle for ground engagements. The Covenant Army deploys Wraiths in tactical ground engagements, where they serve in both anti-infantry and anti-armor roles. The Wraith's firepower also makes it ideal for destroying structures in the way of ground forces attempting to advance in an area. Like all Covenant ground vehicles, the Wraith is sleek, bulbous and more reminiscent of an aircraft than a traditional ground vehicle.

Holographic control surfaces and displays show the pilot a 360-degree view outside the Wraith. Underneath the cockpit is a boosted gravity propulsion drive, which propels the Wraith and keeps it suspended a short distance above the ground. The Wraith's engine vents excess heat and plasma through an exhaust port at the rear of the vehicle; this port is one of the more vulnerable spots on the tank. The wide, sweeping fins at the front of the vehicle stabilize the vehicle on uneven terrain. The main weapon of the Wraith is its heavy plasma mortar. It is attached to a fixed mounting, meaning that a Wraith must be facing its target in order to hit it. The mortar works by creating a magnetically encapsulated blob of superheated plasma and firing it at a relatively low velocity. Once fired, the bolt is magnetically guided in a ballistic trajectory until it strikes the ground or target. When the bolt hits, the magnetic bubble collapses and the plasma rapidly expands from its compressed state, creating a superheated explosion that will vaporize everything within the area of impact. Only the strongest armor, such as the Terminator suits of the Adeptus Astartes, can withstand the force of such an attack, and even that sometimes it is not enough. The Type-52 Anti-Aircraft Artillery is a variant of the standard Wraith tank, differing only in its primary

armament: the Type-52 model is in fact equipped with two rapid firing, triple barreled heavy fuel rod cannons as its main armament, and is highly effective against nearby air targets.

Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank, Skimmer).

Wargear: Heavy Plasma Mortar, Plasma Repeater. Special Rules: -

26

Phantom Gunship

Unit Name BS F S R HP

Phantom 3 12 12 12 4

The Type-52 Troop Carrier, otherwise known as Phantom, is a Covenant troop carrier and gunship. They are used primarily as troop transports, flying into combat zones and deploying infantry while providing

suppressing fire, but their durability allows them to be used also as air superiority fighters, even if with mixed results. Phantoms are more heavily armed than the older Spirit dropship, sporting three defensive weapons with wide covering arcs, and are also better armored. The Phantom can carry up to thirty passengers in its troop bay: soldiers are deployed from the ventral gravity lift and/or from the doors located on either side. Phantoms are also capable of carrying vehicles such as Ghosts and Wraiths, but to deploy them directly on a warzone in this way is considered risky by the majority of pilots, due to the lesser speed and higher vulnerability that such maneuver inevitably cause. They have also been seen to transport teams of Hunters or even Huragoks, which are carried in cases and swing from the Phantom's underside. In short, Phantoms are really the main choice for the deployment of Covenant forces near hostile ground and many races of the galaxy are now exceptionally familiar with their sleek shape and powerful armament.

Unit Type: Vehicle (Flyer, Transport). Fire Points: none

Access Points: one on each side and one on the “back” (actually the belly). Wargear: Heavy Plasma Cannon, two Plasma Repeaters.

27

Hunters Team

Unit Name WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv

Hunter 4 4 4 5 3 2 2 10 2+

An Hunter (“Ophis Congregatio” in High Gothic) is not a single organism, but rather a collective of small, orange, eel-like creatures called Lekgolo. These xenos follow a peculiar diet based on inorganic alloys, that they digest through extremely powerful acids. Hundreds of individual Lekgolo may bond with one another both physically and neurologically to form a single "hive-minded" community, called Mgalekgolo. These forms are capable of manifesting in several different shapes according to what goal they are striving to achieve and the amount of Lekgolo worms that are present. The “Hunter” is the most common Mgalekgolo seen in combat, but is actually one of the rarest forms in the Lekgolo society. The collection of eels that make up a Hunter's body are unintelligent at the most basic level, but can form complex thoughts and emerge as a conscious individual when they combine into larger masses that communicate through both psychical and electrical means. Apparently, the consumption of some Eldar Wraithbone structures left behind on their home planet Te gave Lekgolo those capabilities. The composite nature of the “individual” formed is peculiar enough that the risks of demonic possession are almost nonexistent. When a single colony of Lekgolo becomes too big, it will divide itself in half to create two independent Lekgolo colonies. These colonies will share an extremely close and mysterious bond, referred to as "bond brothers", or "mates". Those are the ones preferred for battle duty by the Covenant army, which employs them as heavy infantry, equipped with powerful weapons and the thickest armor available, to provide anti-tank support at the ground level. The reason for this preference is that if one of the bonded colonies is killed, the other will go into a frenzied state, much like the berserk state of a Jiralhanae, becoming even more dangerous to the enemy, if less focused on its original orders.

Unit Type: Infantry.

Wargear: Hunter’s Assault Cannon, Hunter’s Shield.

Special Rules: Bonded (if one of the Hunters of the unit is killed, the other one gains the rules “Rage” and

“Preferred Enemy”), Collective Conscience (Hunters have an improved 4+ “Deny the Witch” roll against all psychic powers targeting them, except for Psychic Fires), Slow and Purposeful, Fear, Extremely Bulky.

28

San’Shyuum

Unit Name WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv

San’Shyuum 2 4 2 3 2 3 1 10 5+

San 'Shyuum (“Perfidia vermis” in High Gothic), commonly referred to as “Prophets” by Covenant and other races alike, are a species native to Janjur Qom that serve as the leadership caste of the Covenant, exerting complete control over the alliance's religious and political affairs. San 'Shyuum are a gangly, bipedal species, with very long necks and limbs. They evolved on a planet with low gravity, and tend to have some degree of difficulty moving in higher-gravity environments. Although young San 'Shyuum are significantly stronger and more mobile, the majority of San'Shyuum in the Covenant are very elderly, and this combined with a life of physical inactivity leaves most of them withered and weak. As a result, most San 'Shyuum elders wear some form of anti-gravity device. However, they are capable of moving unaided, if only for a brief period of time. The contemporary San 'Shyuum civilization developed on a planet covered in artifacts left behind by their Old One and Eldar creators, precisely the one closely shadowed by the Halo Installation 01, the first one built by the Didact and his base of operation for the creation of the other six stations and of all the main species now comprising the Covenant. The amount of information stored into this station was the greatest and the most complete, even if due to the degradation of the data it was still incredibly confused and fragmented. Also, the presence of two different “layers” of records and previous tampering with the data themselves could not help clarity. Anyway, the boost in technological progress that such devices granted to the San ’Shyuum made them the first space-faring race among their brethren. The high regard in which those technological wonder were already kept skyrocketed when the first

explorers sent foot upon Installation 01. The San’Shyuum, misinterpreting the information contained within it, would later revere the mysterious “Forerunners”, as they called them, as their gods, creating at the same time the dogma of the “Great Journey”. Prophets derive their legitimacy as leaders from this stronger connection with the work of their gods, that clearly showed their trust upon the San ’Syhuum race with the greater amount of relics and “guidance” left behind on their home planet. As the representatives of the gods, the Prophets held a great amount of power over the other races of the Covenant, earning reverential titles such as "Holy One" and "Eminence". The High Council, the highest level of government of the

29 Covenant Empire, is composed for two thirds by San’Shyuum (with the last third composed almost entirely by Sangheili, with only a few token members of the Jiralhanae race), and the three Hierarchs that preside it are always San’Shyuums. They are protected at all times by the mighty Legions of Honor Guards,

handpicked Sangheili elite warriors, and rarely involve themselves in combat, preferring to dedicate themselves to studying Forerunner artifacts. However, important campaigns usually see at least some high-ranking Prophets present. Should such action become necessary, the majority of the San 'Shyuum use anti-gravity thrones to reach the frontlines. These however, are not so much for support as they are for

personal defense - they are fitted with comm. devices, orbital relays, an energy shield generator and built-in plasma assault cannons. In the event of assassbuilt-ins gettbuilt-ing past their guards, they are able to defend themselves quite well thanks to them. Furthermore, as a last line of defense, Prophets are sometimes accompanied by small groups of robotic Sentinels, re-programmed to protect the throne user (instead of just the throne itself) after a very despicable incident happened during the Trivulus campaign.

Unit Type: Jet Pack Infantry (Character). Wargear: Anti-gravity Throne.

Special Rules: Adamantium Will, Zealot, Masters of The Covenant (if chosen, a Prophet must be the Army

General. Additionally, any Covenant unit that can trace a line of sight to the Prophet may reroll failed Fear, Moral, Regrouping or Pinning tests), Price of Failure (If the Prophet is slain, the Enemy gains 3 Victory Points instead of 1 for having killed the enemy’s General).

30

Sangheili Honor Guard

Unit Name WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv

Sangheili Honour

Guard 5 4 4 4 1 4 2 10 3+

The members of the Honor Guard serve as personal protection for the San'Shyuum members of the High Council. They are the most skilled of warriors and are hand-picked for the duty of protecting the Prophets, as well as the members of the High Council, from any danger. The only known exceptions to this rule are the few Jiralhanae delegates, who still prefer their own, handpicked bodyguards. In accordance with their duties, they are unwaveringly loyal to the individuals they protect and will defend them to the death. The highly ornate armor of the Honor Guard consists of a red-and-black combat harness adorned with glowing orange panels. They are always armed with bladed Energy Staves, sacred weapons created by reverse-engineering the weapons of the god themselves. No one outside the members of the Honor Guard, not even Sangheili Generals, are permitted to use them in battle. Member of the lesser Covenant races are not even allowed to touch them, such is the fear of desecrating the holy items. Wherever a Prophet is located on the battlefield, at least some Honor Guardsmen are always by his side. There could be as many as 300 Honor Guardsmen assigned to each of the High Prophet at any time, but usually the number of such warriors assigned to the lesser Prophets is much smaller, ranging from five to ten on average.

Unit Type: Infantry.

Wargear: Master-Crafted Combat Harness, Energy Shield, Energy Staves, Plasma Grenades, Haywire

Grenades.

Special Rules: Fleet, Relentless, And They Shall Know No Fear, Honor Guard (they must deploy together

31

Sangheili General

Unit Name WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv

Sangheili

General 6 5 4 4 3 5 3 10 3+

Within the military, Sangheili are promoted based upon their skills, abilities, and the number of casualties they inflict upon their enemy. Generals are the highest rank normally seen on the battlefield. They are warriors with decades of fighting experience, proficient in both ranged and hand-to-hand combat, who have slayed countless foes on dozens of different planets. They lead the armies of the Covenant from the front, as honor dictates, searching for the enemies strongest warriors and commanders to issue them a challenge that usually ends with their swift demise and the crumble of their army’s moral. Few enemies can stand their wrath, and even fewer are able to best them in combat.

Unit Type: Infantry (Character).

Wargear: Master-Crafted Combat Harness, Enhanced Energy Shield, Plasma Sword, Covenant Plasma Rifle,

Plasma Grenades, Haywire Grenades.

Special Rules: Independent Character, Fleet, Relentless, And They Shall Know No Fear, Sangheilim (allows

32

Arbiter

Unit Name WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv

Arbiter 6 5 4 4 3 5 3 10 2+

Originally, the title of Arbiter was given to the commander of the Sangheili military, and was considered the greatest privilege among them. However, when the fleet of the San’Syhuum first made planetfall on

Sanghelios, the contemporary Arbiter, Fal 'Chavamee, was the leader of the progressively smaller Sangheili faction that refused to use Forerunner’s technology in battle until the very end of the war. After the treaty between the two races, he and his closest followers were branded as heretics by the Prophets, arrested and then condemned to a dishonorable death. This chain of events led to the Prophets and the loyalist Sangheili changing the role of the Arbiter significantly. The title was thereafter given to disgraced Sangheili as an alternative to the death penalty, in order for them to regain their honor by way of suicidal missions of great importance to the Covenant as a whole. The rank of the Sangheili prior to becoming Arbiter

theoretically has no effect on the chance of receiving the title, though in reality higher-ranked individuals have better chances due to their more extensive experience and superior combat skills making them far more useful alive than dead. The rank of Arbiter is still considered a prized reward, especially as it allows the individual to die honorably rather than be shamefully executed. As a rule, the Arbiter’s missions are always so difficult that he is expected to die, becoming another great martyr of the Covenant on their path to the Great Journey. Their corpses - or memorials in some cases – are then housed in identical caskets in the Mausoleum of the Arbiter on Sanghelios, their honor posthumously restored. In the center of this room is a floating pod that contains all the armors of the Arbiter currently possessed by the Covenant. This armors, while highly decorative, are fully functional in battle. Although the Arbiter is a singular warrior, he has the authority to give orders to other Covenant soldiers in the pursuit of the mission. Should an Arbiter unexpectedly survive after completing the assigned task, the Council of the Prophets may give him a full pardon, depending on the valor of the Arbiter’s own actions and on the level of completion of the mission. If these are deemed not enough to earn rehabilitation, another almost-suicide assignment will soon follow.

Unit Type: Infantry (Character).

Wargear: Arbiter Armor, Cloaking Field, two Plasma Swords, Plasma Grenades, Haywire Grenades. Special Rules: Fleet, Relentless, Zealot, Crusader, Rampage.

33

Unggoy Deacon

Unit Name WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv

Unggoy

Deacon 3 3 2 3 2 3 2 8 4+

Normally, the Unggoy obey other Covenant races out of fear more than religious faith. They have next to no political power in the Covenant; the highest political rank available to an Unggoy is the one of Deacon. These individuals are responsible for maintaining the faith among their less religious kinsmen, inspiring them with their oratory to greater deeds in the name of the Thrice Blessed Forerunners. It is not a strictly military role, but Covenant commanders have observed that the presence of a Deacon on the battlefield as the ability to turn the common Unggoy into an almost competent fighter, so their presence at the frontlines is steadily increasing. Some Deacons are so skilled (or maybe some regular Unggoy infantrymen so

desperate) that they can inspire a suicidal devotion into their followers, urging them to sacrifice themselves for the greater good of the Covenant, running against a charging enemy with overcharged plasma grenades in both hands. This behavior usually comes as a surprise to the enemy, used to consider Unggoys as nothing more than a nuisance at close quarter.

Unit Type: Infantry (Character).

Wargear: Pastoral Rod (close combat weapon), Covenant Plasma Pistol, Defensive Grenades, Combat

Harness.

Special Rules: Independent Character, Religious Fervor (as long as the Deacon is attached to an Unggoy unit

he gives to every member the Feel No Pain special rule. Non-Unggoy unit leaders or other attached characters do not benefit from this rule), For The Covenant! (instead of attempting to overwatch, an Unngoy unit lead by a Deacon can choose to sacrifice D3” members as “Suicide Grunts” in order to automatically inflict a certain amount of damage to the charging unit. The exact number of hits and the strength of the attack depend on the number of “Suicide Grunts” rolled: 1= D6”S4 hits; 2= 2D6”S4 hits; 3= 2D6”S5 hits. All hits are AP- ).

34

Jiralhanae Chieftain

Unit Name WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv

Jiralhanae

Chieftain 5 3 5 5 3 4 4 9 3+

Chieftain, also known as Alpha, is one of the highest positions in the Jiralhanae hierarchy both in social aspects and in military rank within the Covenant. While still a lower rank than that of Sangheili General, in recent times, with the expansion of the Covenant Empire following the launch of the Great Journey, Jiralhanae Chieftains are starting to be used more and more by the Prophets as leaders of entire fleets and armies. Some speculate that there is at least a faction among the San’Shyuum that sees the Jiralhanae as a potential alternative to the Sangheili as the military arm of the Covenant. Their greater fanaticism and blind faith in the Prophets may also be playing a role in these considerations. In battle, Chieftains act also as spiritual leaders, instilling a righteous fury in their “pack” of fellow Jiralhanae with both sermons and direct example. Chieftain usually prefers to fight the enemy at close quarter, offering each and every enemy casualty as a tribute to the gods of the Covenant.

Unit Type: Infantry (Character).

Wargear: Master Crafted Combat Harness, Energy Shield, Gravity Hammer, Mauler Pistol, Frag Grenades. Special Rules: Independent Character, Rage, Furious Charge, Blind Fury, Jiralhanaeim (allows to take a

35

Spirit

Unit Name BS F S R HP

Spirit 3 11 12 11 3

An older design compared to the majority of currently used Covenant vehicles, the Spirit Troop Carrier is a second-line Covenant infantry and logistical transport craft. They are angular, tuning fork-shaped spacecraft with two parallel personnel bays along the exterior of each "prong." Between these extended personnel bays, an energy field fluctuates visibly as it generates the ship's anti-gravity propulsion, similar in

appearance to the energy pulse of the gravity lifts the Covenant use to commute between the ground and hovering ships. This same gravity-beam is used to ferry payloads to their destinations. As dedicated transports for infantry and vehicles, the Spirit is capable of carrying up to 30 passengers and up to two light-armored vehicles such as two Ghosts, one heavy-armored vehicle such as a Wraith, or other possible payloads such as supply canisters for ground troops. As aforementioned, these payloads would be ferried underneath the dropship via its gravity-beam. Due to its limited armament, it was overshadowed by the Phantom Gunship, that fills the same roles as the Spirit but with an higher chance of survivability and with the ability to provide better fire support. However, due to the high need of resources that the new Crusade against the Imperium created, many of these crafts are recently starting to see the field of battle again.

Unit Type: Vehicle (Flyer, Transport). Fire Points: none.

Access Points: one on the front. Wargear: Plasma Cannon.

Special Rules: Gravity Beam Landing (the embarked unit can disembark if the vehicle has moved up to 12”

instead of just 6”. All other restrictions and disembark rules still apply, es. the unit cannot assault, can move up to 6”, etc…).

36

Prowler

Unit Name BS F S R HP

Prowler 3 11 11 10 3

The Prowler is similar in function to the Sangheili’s Spectre, though it is utilized only by the Jiralhanae. The Prowler seems to hover on a gravity-assisted "sled", as the bottom incorporates a pair of metal runners with an anti-gravity projector running between them, but the elevation is so small that almost any terrain roughness can slow the vehicle down anyway. A plasma repeater turret is located at the front of the vehicle, the driver sits in the rear of the vehicle, and passengers can make use of the jump seats on either side. It's aesthetically similar in its clear-cut, brutal nature to the lighter Chopper, or to the Jiralhanae in general. The Prowler is very stable and more effective than the Spectre at splattering enemies, and can easily be used as a battering ram. It is relatively quiet, and provides a smaller chance of giving enemies enough time to react and save themselves compared to similar vehicles used in such a fashion. In general, the occupants of a Prowler (especially those on the sides) are at risk of being killed by long-ranged attacks, and mid- or short-range combat can also leave some of the occupants dead or injured if the driver makes a poor decision or if the occupants do not work together effectively. The Prowler is also vulnerable to explosives, with a single grenade or explosive round being potentially able to eliminate several of the vehicle's crew due to its open nature.

Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank, Transport, Open-Topped). Wargear: Plasma Repeater.

37

Spectre

Unit Name BS F S R HP

Spectre 4 12 10 10 3

The Spectre is a Covenant anti-infantry and transportation vehicle. Due to the limited transport capacity, born from the presence of a plasma mortar in the back half of the vehicle, it is commonly used only by elite strike-teams of expert Sangheili warriors to quickly close in to an high priority target. The Spectre is used to fill a role between that of the Ghost, a rapid assault vehicle, and that of the Wraith, a heavy support tank. The Spectre compete in this regard with the relatively similar Prowler, which is utilized exclusively by the Jiralhanae, though neither held popular favor among the other Covenant races, making both vehicles pretty rare. The Spectre's main armament is a plasma mortar, mounted on a turret above the forward thruster at the rear of the vehicle. This weapon possesses a good rate of fire, though the bolts are less dangerous compared to the one shot by a Wraith tank. The turret can rotate 360 degrees and has a large angle of vertical inclination, allowing it to fire on targets at higher elevation. One of many disadvantages of the Spectre is the high vulnerability of its passengers to attacks. While the driver's seat is protected by the vehicle's hull, the passengers are an open target to small arms fire and splash damage from nearby explosions. The gunner must also lead his targets when firing at medium to long range, as there is a noticeable travel time for the plasma projectiles.

Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank, Transport, Skimmer, Open-Topped). Wargear: Plasma Mortar.