Chaos Titan and Obliterator Virus

[Whitelion]

I was wondering, but have the corrupt chaos Titans, which I see have demonic forms and organic-like structures, been infected by the Obliterator virus? I asked myself as I see strange weapons and unusual structures appearing on many.

[Gederas]

I was wondering, but have the corrupt chaos Titans, which I see have demonic forms and organic-like structures, been infected by the Obliterator virus? I asked myself as I see strange weapons and unusual structures appearing on many.

That's just general Chaos corruption.

 

For example, the titans of Legio Mortis were turning fleshy and tainted DURING the Heresy, to the point where Dies Irae was nearly unrecognizable to the defenders at the Siege of Terra.

 

And that was long before the Obliterator Virus became a thing, per the fluff for it.

[MegaVolt87]

Legio Mortis fell to the service of Nurgle, nothing to do with the actual obliterator virus. 

[Whitelion]

Does chaos corruption have the same effects on the body of the victims that causes the Obliterator virus?

[Gederas]

Does chaos corruption have the same effects on the body of the victims that causes the Obliterator virus?

Depends on the source. Chaos corruption is, like all things Chaos, incredibly random. It also tends to depend on if the thing being corrupted is Undivided, or Dedicated to a specific God.

[Whitelion]

in the space marine of the chaos there is the ability to absorb and reproduce weapons, and in the final stage the ability to create any weapon. Can the Titans do it too?

[Gederas]

in the space marine of the chaos there is the ability to absorb and reproduce weapons, and in the final stage the ability to create any weapon. Can the Titans do it too?

As of right now: No.

 

But that's because none of the writers have ever depicted a Titan afflicted by the Obliterator Virus.

[Whitelion]

But doesn't Chaos corruption behave like the Virus?

[Beren]

No. The Obliterator Virus is a very specific type of chaos corruption rather than another term for the same thing.

[Whitelion]

ok , thank you very much. Please can you explain me in what the virus is different to Titan'a Chaos corruption? What tipe of improvements recive a Titan corrupt by Chaos?

[Lord_Caerolion]

Just because something is a fleshy machine doesn't mean it's got the Obliterator Virus, as most daemon-engines have this same flesh growths. 

 

The better way to see this is that the Obliterator Virus isn't characterised by "flesh over armour", but rather the ability to form and absorb weaponry. So far, the only things that have displayed this ability are the Obliterators themselves, who are infected Marines. We haven't seen any infected vehicles yet, let alone Titans. Until we see Titans/Vehicles demonstrating the same ability to absorb and create weapons, then it appears the Virus infects mortals and spreads from there, rather than infecting vehicles directly.

Of course, there is the possibility of a person being infected, and then reaching a stage where they're able to merge with a tank/titan, but we've not been shown the Virus progressing anywhere near that stage yet.

 

Basically, all Obliterator infections are Chaos corruption, but not all Chaos corruption is Obliterator infection.

[Whitelion]

ok thanks, but what improvements recive an Titan corrupted by Chaos? Only evil aspect or also some weapons?

[Lord_Caerolion]

It kinda depends. Chaos corruption isn't a set thing, that's why it's called "Chaos", and not just "Evil", or something like that. 

 

Usually when they get daemonically possessed, it seems to at the very least result in the Titan becoming far more responsive, as it no longer has to rely on the mechanical transmission of messages like the Imperial Titans, but responds to the will of the animating daemon. If it's really early, this could even just be limited to a single weapon that gets locks on targets quicker than normal, or an engine that allows the Titan to move faster when closing into melee range on enemy Titans. Once it's full-blown, the daemon would start changing the physical form of the Titan to closer match its own "natural" form, perhaps altering existing limbs, or growing new ones, like a tail, etc.

Really, it all comes down to exactly what daemon possessed the Titan. If it's possessed by a Bloodthirster, it's probably going to do its best to change the long-ranged guns into some form of daemonic weapon, like claws or a sword, if they weren't already removed in place of melee weaponry by the increasingly angry Princeps. A Great Unclean One might affect the resilience of the Titan, as fungal spores start growing on every surface, with armour plates flaking away to reveal obese, rotting flesh underneath, and the reactor starting to give off massive clouds of pollution behind it, but it might not care so much about the weaponry, so that might stay relatively unchanged, beyond the usual spikes and other assorted gribbly-ness.

[MegaVolt87]

Titans are corrupted two main ways. The machine spirit or the princeps. A dakka titan's machine spirit would be unlikely to fall to khorne as the killing is done at range. One with a melee weapon and gun sure. A princeps on a dakka titan would not be feeling khorne's pull as they are more detached from the killing at range. Sure it could happen but would be rare IMO. The third way is binding a greater demon to an inert titan. If its a khornate binding, the titan would be refitted with melee weapons beforehand as it would be a waste of the guns if the demon transmutes the body to its liking. The guns can be re-furbished to Ordinatus platforms, incorporated into fixed defenses etc. Chaos forces waste nothing. 

 

Oblit virus lore got an update- Perty created it with Nurgle's help, its origon used to be unknown. Its a deliberate mutation to merge fleshmetal, weaponry, absorb weaponry and manufacture its own ammo. Its for infantry, not vechicles as direct bindings and pledged service for gifts of chaos are more powerful. A titan with a sentient machine spirit that pledges itself to the gods directly is more powerful than having the oblit virus. Same with a princeps. 

[Lord_Caerolion]

Keep in mind that Khorne isn't purely close-combat, they do make use of ranged weaponry, in fact they have several Epic-scale super-heavies that are artillery support, and the Lord of Skulls has two long-ranged weapons. Sure, Khorne Beserkers are "all rip and tear, all the time", but they're not indicative of the entirety of Khorne's military forces. Khornate Titans definitely wouldn't always give away their ranged weapons.

 

Secondly, it'll be interesting to see what happens with the Obliterator Virus in future, as the Slaves to Darkness book seems to feature the first proto-Obliterator, and it's an Iron Warrior possessed by a maybe-Khornate daemon, that of the First Weapon.

[Gederas]

Keep in mind that Khorne isn't purely close-combat, they do make use of ranged weaponry, in fact they have several Epic-scale super-heavies that are artillery support, and the Lord of Skulls has two long-ranged weapons. Sure, Khorne Beserkers are "all rip and tear, all the time", but they're not indicative of the entirety of Khorne's military forces. Khornate Titans definitely wouldn't always give away their ranged weapons.

 

Secondly, it'll be interesting to see what happens with the Obliterator Virus in future, as the Slaves to Darkness book seems to feature the first proto-Obliterator, and it's an Iron Warrior possessed by a maybe-Khornate daemon, that of the First Weapon.

This. Especially since the Banelord (which is a Khorne-corrupted Warlord) is actually a dakka-monster in all depictions.

 

Even the original Epic model had it be a dakka-Titan:

[Whitelion]

Chiamato Khorn, devi modernizzare Omnia Victrum con un cannone nova e missili Helfire sulla cattedrale. 

[Magos Takatus]

I was about to bring up the Banelord. I know of it's existence since a friend of mine bought one years ago but is it supposed to be a variant of the Warlord that is constructed in a form more pleasing to Khorne or is it supposed to be a mutation of an existing Titan? I honestly don't know but the first seems more likely to me.

[Beren]

It's origins are described in Titandeath (or at least some form of Khornate daemon Titan, but I think it's supposed to be a Banelord). It is - or at least the originals were - a mutation of an existing Titan after extensive corruption, ritual, and then near death in battle. I think they may have been among the first daemon possessed Titans constructed, and I do remember that is was deemed extremely important to find even 1 in a recoverable state after the battle.

[Whitelion]

Little curiosity, what happens if the pilot of a Titan is infected by the virus obliterator?

From what I have read, the infected soldier merges with the armor or with the dreadnought in which he is housed, they become one, develop organic structures and generate new weapons, the original structure of the unit can also change.

 

In the case of a Titan pilot, it is plausible that the same thing happens, since a Titan is like a dreadnought, only much larger.

[Lord_Caerolion]

I would imagine that it would slowly consume the rest of the Titan, although it could also be that the machine spirit of the Titan is strong enough to destroy the infected Princeps' soul. So it could go either way.

 

We've yet to even see an Obliterator-infected Dreadnought, the models we've seen have always been in Terminator armour (presumably the new ones are just more heavily corrupted). Theoretically it should be possible, GW just tends not to include things in fluff that aren't at least somewhat able to be replicated in the rules. 

[Whitelion]

I ask this because the virus obliterator, amio notice, represents an inexhaustible source of variables. Sometimes for fun, my friends and I tried to play (even if we didn't master the rules) by inserting a super titan, the equivalent of a final boss, into the game. The virus obliterator could represent a good game variable (clearly invented, not canon), in which a titan with the infected pilot, would have the ability to develop extraordinary weapons, such as the cannon of the ordinatus armageddon, or hellfire missiles, and etc. I would very much like to include such a unit at the end of a game, where more players have to work together to fight it effectively. A sort of final boss.

[Lord_Caerolion]

I mean, I can't see why it couldn't theoretically occur, and it'd certainly make a memorable final fight.

 

The only nitpick I'd add is that it seems to be that the Obliterator Virus works in a way that the infected can only manifest the guns of those weapons they have been able to make direct physical contact with and absorb into them. Hellfire missiles would work fine, but the Ordinatus Armageddon was a single construct, so in the nit-pickiest, neck-beardiest way possible, you couldn't technically have its gun. An absolutely massive, equal-effects-in-game-terms Chaos Cannon ? Sure, absolutely.