40K: Vigilus Defiant Lore Overview
The War for Vigilus has begun! But how did it start and why Vigilus? It’s time for a quick refresher and we’re taking a guided tour through the book to show you what the heck is going on in the Vigilus System.
We got our hands on our copy of Vigilus Defiant and have been scouring the lore. There is a lot to catch-up on for all your loremasters out there so lets get started:
Blame Chaos
By now, I’m hoping you’re all familiar with the Cictrix Maledictum – the giant warp scar that ripped a hole in reality and split the galaxy in (roughly) two. The planet of Vigilus is located in a pivotal spot in a corridor of space known as the Nachmund Gauntlet:
This is one of the very few passages that ships can travel from one side to the other relatively safe. How and why? Well that’s part of the mystery. Vigilus is also a pretty massive Forge World – meaning the Adeptus Mechanicus have a presence on this planet and they help fuel the Imperial War Machine with their weapons and tech.
Those dark spots – those aren’t continents, those are massive industrial “city-states” the lighter grey spots are all basically wasteland. The water of this planet is a valuable resource and is housed under the surface. Which is where the Genestealer Cults have infiltrated and have been plotting and planning to overthrow the government for generations.
However, their plans were interrupted by the arrival of a massive Ork WAAAGH! that was intent on taking the planet. Leave it to Orks to throw a wrench in a well laid plan. The planetary defenders did have a massive advantage – the city-states all had powerful shields that would repel the Ork attacks. Unable to bring the shields down with traditional means, the Orks basically got bored. So they started to race around the wasteland and found “entertainment” with these crazy Orkifed Death Races. You might of heard of them:
Now – when the Orks arrived, they sent out a distress call – that reached the Imperium and the Astartes were pretty quick to respond. However there was a warp storm that arrived to disrupt the Imperial Support. The first wave was basically showing up piece-meal. Luckily for the planet the Space Wolves had sent a pretty fierce Pack Leader to the planet. Now, this warp storm also triggered a flaw in the shields that protected the planet. The Planetary defenders were overwhelmed by the Orks on the surface. With the Orks invaded, the Genestealer Cult decided now was the time to strike.
Also, around the period was when a certain Inquistor and her crew were dealing with an unknown chaos techno-virus that had corrupted her crew. This virus also happened to spread to some of the systems on the planet. The Gellerpox may have even been what caused the planet’s shields to fail in the first place…
The battle on the surface raged and many more factions and reinforcements arrived. While all of this was going on, the Aeldari foresaw that a chaos cultist was raising a fanatical army on the planet and so they sent a strike force to eliminate the threat. After killing the leader and effectively saving the Imperial forces from having to deal with yet another uprising, the Aeldari were intercepted by an Astra Militarum patrol which quickly overwhelmed them with firepower. However, one member survived and vowed vengeance on the Imperium. That Aeldari leader lead a crusade against the planetary leaders and the Ultramarines rose to their defense.
…And Then Chaos Showed Up
As all the actors in the place finally found their places and the battlelines were drawn, yet another faction decided to get in on the action. The arrival of the Black Legion heralds yet another army that wishes to claim this battlefield. But a hero of old has been reborn to fight this foe and the winner could decided the fate of the galaxy!
That was just a VERY brief overview of the lore you’ll find in Vigilus Defiant – and this book is just the first part. Spoiler – it ends with the arrival of Haarken Worldclaimer. This fight is just getting started. The Imperium is dumping massive amounts of resources into the fight because of the strategic value of this planet, the forces of chaos know this, the orks love a good fight, and the Genestealer Cult just wanted to overthrow the planetary government and summon the four-armed emperor…yeah, it’s a lot.
The good news is that there is something for everyone in this book and if you’re army isn’t involved, I have a feeling that the next chapter just might drag them into the conflict too! This place is Armageddon 4.0 and the fight is going to be a bloody one.
We’re going to have a whole lot more coverage on the Vigilus Defiant campaign and all the extras all this week so stay tuned!
