Necrons



In the table-top wargame Warhammer 40,000, the Necrons are a mysterious robot-like race that have lain dormant and largely unknown by the other races of the universe for untold hundreds of million years, and are reemerging in the distant future of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Within the game's universe, the Necrons have become known and feared for their ability to absorb physical punishment, as well as their enigmatic, yet powerful, Gauss weapons and technology.

Most Warhammer 40,000 armies are inspired by fantasy and popular culture to an extent, however the Necrons are noted for combining ideas from dissimilar sources. The Necron concept draws from Star Trek's Borg aesthetically, and the overall feel as an army that is supposed to be soulless, relentless and unstoppable. The Necron Warriors bear resemblance to the Terminators of the Terminator series. The Necrons fill the role of the undead in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, and are roughly analogous to the Tomb Kings from Warhammer Fantasy Battle.

Development history
The Necrons first appeared as usable units for Warhammer 40,000 as Necron Raiders. The rules for these were first published in White Dwarf Issue 216 towards the end of the lifespan of the second edition of Warhammer 40,000. At the time, only Necron Warriors and Scarabs were given game rules and the warriors were armed with Gauss-Flayer Guns. This was quickly followed up with an expanded army list in the following month's issue of the same magazine. The Necron Lord and Necron Destroyer were part of this slightly-expanded army list. At the time, the lord was armed with the Staff of Light while the destroyers were armed with Gauss-Cannons. The issue of White Dwarf also had the Necrons' first major appearance in a battle report in the article entitled Massacre at Sanctuary 101, a battle between the Necrons and the Sisters of Battle. This particular altercation soon made its way into the background material as one of the first times the Imperium officially encountered the Necrons. The first Necron miniatures, all metal, were also released during this time. In fact, a free Necron Warrior was included with issue 217 of White Dwarf.

In the release of the third edition of Warhammer 40,000 in 1998, the Necrons had no usable army list. The first, full-fledged Necron army list for the new edition of the game was printed in the March 1999 issue of White Dwarf. This first army list was very restrictive, with the Necrons having mostly one choice per force organization category. The Necron Lord, Necron Immortals and Necron Warriors were the only available HQ, Elites and Troops choices respectively. This early army list had two units for the Fast Attack selections, Necron Destroyers and Scarabs. The latter were different from their current counterparts in that the original Scarabs were controlled individually and were not swarms on a single base as they are today. The Necron Immortal metal miniature was released at the same time as the publication of the army list. In a later issue of White Dwarf, Games Workshop further expanded the Necron army list by providing different equipment choices (wargear) for the Necron Lord. Along with the Gaze of Flame and Scourge of Light upgrades, this was the first time that the Veil of Darkness wargear was added to the Necron Lord's available options.

The Necrons received their first, full sourcebook with the release of Codex: Necrons in August 2002. The book featured a wealth of background information expanding upon the origins of the Necron race and expanded the scope of the Warhammer 40,000 history by several million years more. A full army list was also introduced in the sourcebook, with heavily revamped rules for existing units and the introduction of new ones. New units introduced in the codex were Flayed Ones, Pariahs, Wraiths, Heavy Destroyers, the Necron Monolith and the infamous C'tan. New miniatures were produced and released alongside with the release of the codex. Necrons received their first plastic miniatures kit in the form of the Necron Warriors boxed set, which contained enough parts to make twelve Necron Warriors and three Scarab bases with four Scarabs each. The boxed set was a first for Games Workshop, as it was the first time that transparent, coloured parts were included in a boxed set along with the standard polystyrene parts. The transparent, green rods in this case were meant to be used as part of the Necrons' gauss weaponry. The Necron Destroyer model was also revamped and made into a plastic kit. Whereas the old, metal version was essentially a Necron Warrior riding a flying platform, the new Necron Destroyer plastic kit featured a Necron Immortal torso mounted and merged with a floating platform. The other miniatures released for the army were metal, such as the Flayed Ones, Immortals, Pariahs, Wraiths and the Necron Lord. Two more miniatures soon followed suit - the massive Necron Monolith, the largest miniature kit produced by Games Workshop at the time, and the Necron Destroyer Lord, a Necron Lord mounted on a Destroyer body.

History
Little is known about the origins of the ancient race known as the Necrons. They were one of the earliest races to appear in the galaxy (the exact time frame is not known). They were originally a race called the Necrontyr, who clung to their short lives (The actual length of life is not certain), fearful of incineration by their large sun. They employed their knowledge to try and find answers for making their lives longer, but to no avail. Then the C'tan were discovered, who offered immortality, but at a price. The Necrontyr accepted this offer with haste, and their souls were encased in living metal bodies. Thus were born the creatures known as the Necrons. What the Necrontyr did not know was that the process made them subservient, and the C'tan made slaves of them. The C'tan needed warrior-slaves to harvest the bodies and lives of the life forms in the galaxy, so that the star-gods could feast on the bodies and souls. After a massive culling which nearly emptied the galaxy of life, the Necrons were placed into stasis, until such a time as life was once more abundant. In the tabletop game "Warhammer 40,000", the Necrons have awakened to a galaxy which is teeming with life once more. At present, the Necrons are a shadowy presence; there full force as yet either hidden or ungathered. They strike as if from nowhere and without warning, slaughtering their enemies and departing before reinforcements can arrive. The origins of these attacks and their motives are unknown, though it is clear that the Necron forces in the galaxy are but the first glimpses of the full might of the Necron war machine.

In addition to direct battle, the Necrons have infiltrated the Imperium of Man to an unknown extent. Their elite anti-psyker troops, the Pariahs, are a cross-breed with human genes, and it is as yet unknown if the Necrons are acquiring individuals with the Pariah gene by themselves or with the help of Imperial traitors (or possibly even elements of the Adeptus Mechanicus).

Little is known of the present goals and objectives of the Necrons. Given that their masters, the C'tan, are interested primarily in consuming the life-energy of living creatures, their goal may simply be to weaken resistance and develop an understanding of the strengths, weaknesses, and motivations of the various species which are currently active in the galaxy. As the Necrons themselves understand it, their goal is simple: eradicate all life within the galaxy. To the Necrons, death is the ultimate peace, whereas life is but a series of primitive conflicts.

Necron Forces & Weaponry
Physical Appearance & Psychology 
 * Necrons are tall, skeletal figures made of a living metal which provides excellent protection in battle and also has a special self-repair effect, which means even heavily damaged Necrons can quickly return to the battle. In the Warhammer 40,000 game, this counts as a rule called "We'll be back!". Psychologically the Necrons are a shadow of their former selves, it is unknown how much independent thought they are capable of. It is mentioned that some Necrons may have retained memories. In any case, the Necron Lords are the only Necrons that are known to be sentient - and even they're usually to a limited extent.


 * In the Warhammer 40k story, the names and terms that describe the Necron forces and their weapons, all come from the other 40k races and not the Necrons themselves. The Necrons rarely communicate to non-Necrons; only the C'tan known as the Deceiver has been observed infrequently communicating with non-Necrons. The only other communications that have been received have been threats and ultimatums.


 * One exception to this is from the book Xenology, a graphic novel background book of sorts told in the form of text based 'audio recordings', autopsy reports, and various art and fabricated images used to tell the story. In it an Inquisitor named Sasham is sent to investigate and decommission a radical Inquisitor's research facility when a report is intercepted that Inquisitor Ralei has become recently deceased. The "research facility" turns out to be an alien bestiary that was owned and frequented by Ralei and maintained mostly by his Magos Biologis servant, Darvus. Which within it, along with specimens of the other races from the game, also contained a Necron Warrior in Cell 1 of the bestiary. Ralei had established the menagerie to gather alien species and find out all the information he could about them as well as their strengths and weaknesses. And ultimately to have them dissected with these same goals. During the climax of the Story it is revealed that Inquisitor Ralei did not actually die and is in fact a Necron Lord who has retained his memories of his former existence and has disguised himself as this Inquisitor Ralei for close to a century. He confronts the Investigative Inquisitor Sasham and tells him that he was the one that had Sasham, falsely, believed that he was ordered to investigate the bestiary, "A Simple transmission, a few stolen authorizations".

He goes on to tell him.

"It's taken me a century to insinuate my way into your Inquisition. There are few of my kind capable. Most are Mindless, 'pure', undistracted by personality. But there are those of us who remember. Lords and Ladies of another age, converted and purified but not 'cleansed' of memory. I remember the frailty of emotion, the weakness of the flesh, the imperfection of mortality. Hiding amongst your kind was of no challenge at all. In my bearing, in my diaries, in my notes, I have 'been' Inquisitor Ralei. Am I not a convincing counterfeit?"

He then rips off his false skin and reveals to Sasham his true body underneath before bringing in the Necron Warrior from cell 1 along with the now insane Darvus and has Sasham dissected for study as well. You also then find out that the Bestiary was built on top of, inside, or around a hidden Necron Monolith as it rising up from the bestiary and leaves the planet before Inquisitorial forces destroy the facility with an orbital strike.


 * A Necron also spoke to a Pariah during the attack on Lorn V when the Pariah made contact with the invading forces. There is only one other similar incident, during the online article The First Pariah. In this article an unknown Necron entity gives instructions to an ex-Culexus Temple Assassin.


 * In the RTS PC game Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Dark Crusade the human archeologist, Thomas Macabee, who was researching a dig site on the planet Kronus that turns out to be a Necron Tomb World, he is apparently taken by the Necrons and turned into a Pariah. During the Necrons' campaign scenes he talks as the spokesman for the Necron Forces, often exchanging banter with the enemy commander.

Necron Units
In the game, Necrons advantages include their devastating Gauss weapons, powerful and versatile Wargear, and their ability to self-repair. Their biggest weaknesses is their low number of unit types and high points cost. If a Necron army is reduced to 25% of its original strength (determined by remaining models in play), the remaining forces "phase out", and the opposing player(s) win instantly.

Special Characters
C'tan
 * There are currently four remaining C'tan in the 40K universe: The Outsider, The Void Dragon, The Nightbringer and The Deceiver. Of these only The Nightbringer and The Deceiver have been given rules and significant background. While The Deceiver is the weakest of the C'tan, he has been the most active and has earned his name. He pits all the other races against each other both to weaken them and for his own amusement.  On the battlefield, he has various abilities which target enemy units' morale and leadership. The Nightbringer is (literally) death incarnate in the 40K universe, and is considered to be the most dangerous of the C'tan, having implanted himself as the personification of death in every species' racial memory, with the Krork (as the Orks were known millions of years ago) as the only exception. On the battlefield, he excels in close combat. The Adeptus Mechanicus believe that their Machine God is an aspect of the Emperor of Mankind, but some (both real-world gamers and individuals within the Warhammer 40,000 universe) postulate that it is actually the Dragon.  Some evidence suggests that the Mechanicum worshiped something "far darker" before Mars' reunification with the Imperium. There is currently very little information about the Outsider, except that it was driven insane when it was tricked by the Deceiver into consuming its brethren during the War in Heaven. Its current whereabouts are unknown.

HQ
Necron Lord
 * Necron Lords are the commanders of Necron forces, chosen due to being one of the few Necrons to retain sentience and are currently the only choice HQ available. They are formidable foes on the battlefield, being quite adept with both ranged and close combat weaponry, although their main purpose is to enhance other nearby Necrons. Due to their special position as "leaders" in the Necron forces, they are often equipped with special gear. This gear can be used to either increase the effectiveness of other Necrons around the Lord, such as augmenting their healing factor, while other gear carried can increase the Lord's survivability or his prowess in battle. Necron Lords are also some of the few Necrons who keep pieces of memory remaining from their previous lives. Necron Lords are ranked in staged levels of importance, ranging from strike force level bronze lords, to platinum-level overlords. some necron lords carry resurrection orbs into battle. these devices have the power to bring destroyed necrons, back into the heat of battle.

Elites
Flayed Ones
 * Flayed Ones are Necrons who retained their minds after transferred to their metal bodies, and have been driven insane by the endless solitude in the tombs. Enemy fighters lose their nerve by just looking at the Flayed Ones. They are quite capable melee fighters, with claws and blades that can flay a man alive in seconds. Flayed Ones also frequently serve as scouts and infiltrators, as they are capable of being teleported in individual squads to almost anywhere on the battlefield. They can sneak ahead of the main Necron force or even bury themselves in the ground to come out anywhere near other necron units. They frequently adorn themselves with the bloody skin of their victims in a horrible parody of the living. In such a state, they are a terrifying sight to behold. They can be upgraded with disruption fields which warp reality around their numerous claws. In the novel "Hellforged" it was shown that they are capable of folding their bodies in such a way as to hide themselves inside human corpses, although the corpses were in an advanced state of decay (and one would assume, somewhat bloated) at the time. In the same novel there was also an account of a Flayed One which was able to infiltrate a fortress (that was under attack at the time) by pretending to be a fatally injured soldier, in order to open a "back door" and allow the other Necrons access.

Immortals
 * Those favored Necrontyr who were among the first to give up their flesh and embrace the metal were rewarded by being Immortals. They are more durable, heavy variants of the Warrior and they wield Gauss Blasters, which are a more powerful version of the Gauss flayer wielded by the Warriors.
 * In Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Dark Crusade, they are described as dealing excellent damage to vehicles and normal damage to other unit types; for game mechanics reasons, units in Dark Crusade tend to be specialized against particular unit types.

Pariahs
 * Pariahs represent the true horror of a Necron-ruled galaxy. They are created by fusing Necron technology with human victims who bear the "Pariah gene" (an incredibly rare and unusual genetic defect which gives the bearer a negative warp presence). Each Pariah is a formidable warrior, and wields a deadly warscythe. They radiate an unnatural aura that severely unnerves their enemies, especially psykers. Interestingly, since Pariahs are partly human, they are currently unable to self-repair, unlike other Necrons.
 * Within the Imperium, Humans bearing the Pariah gene are also known as Blanks, Nulls, or Untouchables. Some (if they are strong enough) become Culexus Assassins, who are used by the Imperium to combat enemy psykers, while others are generally found in an Inquisitor's retinue. It is possible that it was the C'tan who originally put the "Pariah Gene" in humanity's gene pool and have merely been waiting for the proper time to make use of it.

Troops
Warriors
 * Necron Warriors are the backbone of the Necron army as they are currently the only troops choice available. They provide strong fire support with their Gauss Flayers, while their high toughness and strong armor make them extremely resilient. Despite being the Necron's basic troops, their Gauss weaponry allows them to take on many stronger opponents that they would not normally be able to harm, including vehicles. they are skeletal in appearance and are made from living metal which has the ability to repair itself, so even the most heavily damaged warriors can quickly return to battle. (In the desktop game this is represented by the "we'll be back roll".)

Fast Attack
Destroyers
 * Destroyers are Necron Warriors (specifically Immortals) fused to fast and agile hover-platforms. Equipped with Gauss Cannons and sophisticated targeting systems which enable them to fire while moving. Destroyers are ideal for hit-and-run attacks or disrupting enemy flanks. Destroyers are usually used against enemy troops instead of enemy vehicles, and Necron Lords can be upgraded to be destroyer lords.

Wraiths
 * Wraiths are one of the more sophisticated Necron units. They lack legs or a lower body (except for the spinal cord) and hover over the battlefield, moving at supernatural speeds. They are fearsome close combat warriors, and they can phase in and out of reality during their flight, becoming ghostly figures (thus the name wraith). This phase shift ability allows them to avoid being slowed when moving through obstructions or even to avoid damage. It has been suggested that Wraiths were murderers or psychopaths before their enslavement. They are armed with several vicious surgical tools on the end of their spinal cord. It is speculated that they can turn anti-psykers into necron pariahs.

Scarab Swarms
 * Countless small, beetle-like robots called Scarabs often appear on the battlefield; these clouds of Scarabs are termed Scarab Swarms by their opponents. These swarms rely on sheer numbers and are difficult to destroy. They are useful for disrupting enemies who are caught unaware, and for tying up fast and/or tough opponents. Tomb Spyders are capable of mid-game production of such scarabs, though at the risk of damaging the Spyder.

Heavy Support
Necron Monoliths
 * Monoliths are massive weapons platforms that the Necrons bring into battle. Shaped like pyramids, these have the power to rip even the most powerful Imperial tanks to shreds, with one huge Gauss crystal-powered Particle Whip weapon on the top and several Gauss Flux Arc projectors on each of the corners, it also has a portal which can teleport Warrior squads to the battlefield. It can also use its portal to augment the Necrons self-repair capabilities.

Tomb Spyders
 * Tomb Spyders are large, spider-like robots that slowly hover over the battlefield, which are normally tasked with maintaining the Necron tomb complexes. On the battlefield they make resilient fighters who have limited ability to augment the healing factor of the "living metal" on nearby Necrons. They also can use their internal systems to manufacture Scarabs in the midst of a battle at the risk of injury to themselves. They can be equipped with a particle projector which is as comparable to the Necron Lord's Staff of Light, but they will lose some melee proficiency if equipped with one.

Heavy Destroyers
 * The Heavy Destroyer is a more powerful version of the Destroyer, so it moves, shoots and has the same profile as the Destroyer. A Heavy Destroyer is armed with the Heavy Gauss Cannon which is useful for destroying foes with heavy armor (vehicles mainly).

Apocalypse models
Pylons
 * Pylons are enormous ground based defense platforms that are capable of taking down spacecraft and ground units alike. Pylons have only been encountered a handful of times by Imperial forces and are believed to be primarily defensive in nature (although ground reports from the first recorded planetary raid by a Necron Harvest fleet mention "strange crescent-shaped weapons" that appeared suddenly at various locations on the planet and began systematically destroying everything in range).
 * In the PC game Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Dark Crusade, they are explained as cosmic radiation beacons that even kill the bacteria, harvesting the entire biomass of the scourged planet (these may be a different form of Pylon).
 * Pylons are the only Necron unit not to appear in the Necron Codex, but instead appear in the Apocalypse Codex.

Tomb Stalker Tomb Spyders are the largest non-Tank class Necron on the field. They repair the tombs and the denizens of such tombs. They are giant and powerful, but die easily.The Tomb Stalker's primary purpose is to build Tomb Spyders.
 * Scarabs are drones, insects and bugs in the Necron army. Produced by Tomb Spyders, they are diminuitive and easily produced on field
 * These massive creatures are mentioned in the Medusa V Campaign, and are the Necron equivalent of Titans.

Necron Weapons
In the game, Necrons are renowned for their devastating Gauss weapons, their Warscythes, and other powerful Wargear, as well as their ability to self-repair. All Necron weapons listed as Gauss Weapons have the ability to damage opponents, even those which due to their high toughness cannot normally be harmed. In the tabletop, a roll of 6 on a dice scores a glancing hit automatically on a vehicle, and an instant wound on non-vehicle units (effectiveness against vehicles has been dramatically reduced with 5th edition). Their biggest weaknesses are their low number of unit types and high points cost, not to mention the fact that they vanish if three quarters of their force are defeated (phase out).

Gauss Flayer
 * Gauss Flayers are the most basic Necron weaponry. They are described in the codex as "asynchronous linear induction motors" and, when fired, project a beam of green energy towards their target. This beam is calibrated towards disrupting the molecular bonds of a target. As each 'layer' is exposed, it is broken apart and stripped away, accounting for the 'flayer' name of this weapon. Other Gauss weapons use exactly the same method of destruction, however due to their higher strengths the process is much more rapid.

Gauss Cannons
 * Gauss Cannons are one of the most powerful weapons wielded by the Necron armies. Its high strength, armour-piercing characteristics, and high rate of fire allow this weapon to cut down swathes of light infantry, as well as damage even the heaviest tanks due to the "Gauss Weapons" rule.
 * Heavy Gauss Cannons are an anti-tank variant of the Gauss Cannon, which are wielded by Heavy Destroyers. Sacrificing firing rate for a single high-strength shot, the Heavy Gauss cannon is almost guaranteed to destroy lighter armoured vehicles with a single shot, and hardly need rely on the "Gauss Weapons" rule to damage heavier fighting vehicles.
 * In the Necron codex section which describes the (believed) process and effects of Gauss weapons, an Imperial tech adept(scientist) remarks on the effects of the Gauss Cannon. He observes a pict-capture(video feed/still picture) which shows the beam from "one of their light skimmers" (silhoette appears to be a Destroyer) passing through both armoured sides of a Land Raider with no visible deflection. He further remarks that Imperial technology was unable to accomplish a similar feat using any weapon mounted on anything smaller than a Titan or starship.

Gauss Flux Arc
 * Gauss Flux Arc projectors are mounted on the Monolith and Pylon, and are primarily defensive weapons in battle. Being similar to the Gauss Blaster although boasting a superior rate of fire, the Gauss Flux Arc is an excellent weapon for combating infantry. Due to its modest strength, however, they find it more difficult to penetrate heavier vehicle armor.

Particle Whip
 * Particle Whips are the main weapon of the Monolith as well as on the Necron capital ships although these are much more powerful and longer-ranged. They are normally generated by large green crystals of unknown origin. When fired, a particle beam is used determine the range to the target. When this beam strikes a target, an energy bolt travels along the beam with enough force to "crack the beam like a whip," hence the name.

Staff of Light
 * The staff of Light is carried exclusively by the Necron Lords and is used both as a symbol of the Necron Lord's power and as a potent weapon, being able to be wielded as both a ranged and melee weapon in the same game turn.

Warscythes
 * Warscythes are the strongest melee weapon that the Necrons have at their disposal. Made from the same material as the C'tan themselves, it has the capacity to carve holes in tanks and cut straight through the thickest of bunker walls. Carried only by Pariahs and Lords, it is a weapon that is seldom employed in standard combat, but they can't be underestimated as they can easily cut through energy fields. Pariah-carried versions have a built-in Gauss Blaster as well. The blades do not allow armour saves or invulnerable saves, making them extremely dangerous.

Living Metal
Living Metal (also called Necrodermis) is the basis of Necrontyr technology. It is extremely durable and can dynamically restructure itself to change shape or to adapt to an outside effect to resist it, as well as having the capability to mend itself when damaged. Literally, the name Necrodermis means "corpse skin" (from Greek νεκρος as discussed earlier, and δερμις dermis). The Necrodermis represented in the table-top game as a special rule granted to necron units. Based on the roll of a die, a dead Necron may come back to life. Furthermore, close-combat attacks of certain units with weapons made of the living metal are more powerful against tanks and armor.

The C'tan (Star Gods, in the language of the Necrontyr) are encased in Necrodermis to contain their "vast energies" and allow them to manifest themselves physically. On the battlefield, if this Necrodermis is somehow ruptured or broken, either by means of weaponry or accident, the C'tan encapsulated inside the Necrodermis will escape, resulting in a massive release of this energy. This creates a blast with a large radius, damaging nearby Necrons and enemies alike. When a C'tan is destroyed in this manner its essence will return to a Necron tomb world and reform into its god-like form of pure energy, before taking on a new Necrodermis shell.

Spacecraft
There are currently only a few classes of Necron ships that are known to exist, but are generally considered to be more than a match for most the other species on a class for class basis.

Tombships Cairn class Tombships are the largest (regularly) encountered vessels in the Harvest Fleets. They are extremely powerful, easily capable of defeating any of the other species battleships (the largest common ship type in the fiction).

Harvest ships Scythe class Harvest ships are the "workhorse" of the Necron fleets as they have been present in almost every encounter with Imperial forces, and like other Necron vessels are more than a match for similar class vessels. Their armaments are similar to the Tombships, although being less powerful and lacking the Sepulchre.

Shroud Shrouds are designated as light cruisers and their main function seems to be surveillance and recon more than fleet engagements.

Raiders There are two classes of Necron Raiders classified as Jackals and Dirges. Jackals are the larger, more heavily armed of the two with a Lightning Arc and a Portal, while the Dirge is the smaller and faster of the two, being armed only with a Lightning Arc. The speed of both ships (the Dirge in particular) is sufficient to outrun even torpedoes and bombers of the other species.

It should be noted that while Necron ships are powerful, they do suffer some drawbacks, in keeping with the spirit of fair play. The most glaring is the method by which victory is calculated, with other species ships being worth anything from a fraction to the entirety of their points value to the opposing player. The Necron ships are worth anything from half to three times their points value, which (due to their high points value) can make the loss of even a single capital ship devastating. Their weapons are also seen as being undergunned for the ship's points value.