The galaxy of the 41st Millennium is littered with all manner of natural and artificial anomalies, but few are as curious as the Pariah Nexus, a psychic deadzone stretching wide across the Nephilim Sector. This anomalous region has been artificially constructed by sinister Necron science – it’s insulated from the presence of the empyrean, and over it hangs a strange, quieting pall that saps the will from mortal souls – human, alien, and even animal.
Fighting has been fierce for a while around the Nachmund Gauntlet, and then the Fourth Tyrannic War began engulfing the western fringe – but Crusade: Pariah Nexus returns the galactic narrative to Necron-held space.
Battle Group Kallides was the first sent to investigate the worrying Silent Zone, only to be immediately set upon by its Necron custodians. Unable to evacuate through the doldrums of the Nexus-stilled warp, the Imperial Fists instead sought a way to request aid from the wider Imperium.
Their gambit has paid off, and reinforcements are inbound – including Battlegroup Hephaestus, composed primarily of a large Adeptus Mechanicus fleet led by the Archmagos Belisarius Cawl. Perhaps predictably, rescue plans have taken a low priority in Cawl’s stack of tasks. His cogitators are instead dominated by schemes for acquiring and processing vast quantities of noctilith – better known as blackstone – to manufacture his new liminal abraisers. These devices, he believes, will allow his fleets to precisely modulate the energies of the warp – grinding away at the strange xenos-crafted field dominating the Pariah Nexus.
Unbeknownst to the self-proclaimed greatest mind of Mars, the Necrons have become embroiled in a civil war. Dynasties loyal to the Silent King are locked in combat with those who have aligned themselves with Imotekh the Stormlord – who has denounced the authority of the mute monarch.
Even with these undying armies distracted by a disagreement over sovereignty, Cawl and his allies have a bloody battle ahead of them. Fortunately,* the Tech-Priests drawn to his banner include some of the most radical and ambitious minds in the Machine Cult, each more than willing to smuggle esoteric, experimental, or forbidden superweapons into the Nexus. These devout followers of Cawl are now poised with their fingers on the triggers of an arsenal of apocalyptic armaments that overshadow the destructive prowess of any other Indomitus Crusade Battle Group.
To find out what escalating chaos is unleashed when ancient kings lock horns and Tech-Priests pull reality-twisting super weapons from beneath their robes, you’ll need to get your hands on Crusade: Pariah Nexus when it is released next year. In the meantime, Codex: Adeptus Mechanicus is up for pre-order this weekend so you can rally your robotic forces in advance.
As well as advancing the narrative of the Nephilim War, this book contains the core Crusade rules along with expanded Crusade options for venturing into the Silent Zone. You’ll find new Nephilim-themed Battle Traits, Crusade Relics, Blessings, and Agendas, 15 new Crusade missions, rules for harvesting and exploiting precious blackstone, and a campaign system split between alliances of Seekers, Protectors, and Interlopers.
* Um. Fortunately, right?