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"By bolter shell, flamer burst and melta blast, the mutant, the heretic and the traitor alike are cleansed of their sin of existence. So has it been for five millennia, so shall it be unto the end of time."

— Sister Immaculata, Words of Devotion, Verses IV-V, Chapter X, Volume LII
Flamer

An Imperial Flamer

Flamers, also known as "Flame Guns", are Flamer Weapons that come in a wide variety of designs and patterns, but all are ideal for flushing out enemies in cover and putting groups of foes to the torch with projected flame.

The two most common variants of Flamers either have a detachable fuel canister under the barrel, or a hose connecting to a backpack canister.

Flamers are most commonly used by Imperial assault forces such as Space Marine Assault Squads, though xenos races such as the Eldar, Orks and the Tau are also known to make use of similar weapons.

Operation[]

Mk IIIa 'Heretic' Pattern Novamarines

Mark IIIa Heretic Pattern Flamer, used by the Novamarines Chapter

Flamer Weapons project fire upon their foes and generally use a fuel referred to as Promethium, though it can also be a home-made concoction or other chemical brew depending on the local technology level. Most forms of Promethium are mono-propellant fuels that ignite via a smaller pilot flame at the tip of the barrel, though some Flamers use binary hypergolic fuels that ignite on contact with one another.

Once produced, the intense jet that spurts from the barrel creates a torrent of liquid fire, which spreads out in an inferno that burns even underwater, leaving enemies hard-pressed to put out the fire.

Known Imperial Flamer Patterns/Variants[]

  • Accatran Pattern Mk Ic - A common pattern Flamer utilised exclusively by the Imperial Guard troopers of the Elysian Drop Troops Regiments. The weapon's Promethium canisters are worn on the back instead of the large webbing pack commonly worn by other Imperial Guard troopers. This fuel supply is good for about 12 seconds worth of sustained fire. A pressure gauge is mounted on top of the weapon.
  • Anoxis Burst Pattern - A commonly used Flamer within the Calixis Sector, it is also known (very informally) as "Hax's Breath". This Flamer variant weapon shoots a quick pulse of fire designed more to frighten and repel than to seriously injure. Unlike regular Flamer Weapons, they do not spray a Promethium stream, so the targets are not smothered with flammable liquid. Unless hit at point-blank range, targets instead receive a burst of heat that may singe eyebrows or ignite loose clothing, but do not suffer any significant burns.
  • Astartes Flamer - This Imperial Flamer is an ideal weapon for flushing out enemies in cover and cleansing areas with purifying flame. It is the most typical pattern employed by the Space Marines of the Adeptus Astartes, and accepts fuel through a pressure seal that can attach to a backpack feed for longer uninterrupted usage, or to a smaller canister for quick refuelling in bursts.
  • Balefire Gun - Brutally effective against Orks and other xenos with natural regenerative capabilities, this Flamer uses highly refined Promethium fuel mixed with a number of radioactive compounds to both burn and irradiate foes. Only rarely deployed due to the collateral environmental damage it causes, Balefire Guns are used solely by the Deathwatch to cleanse particularly resilient xenos. They are particularly effective in controlling and eradicating Ork infestations.
  • Cadence Promethium “Destroyer” Incineration Device - A weapon produced only to order by special commission by the artisan-masters of Cadence, the Destroyer is a highly advanced pattern of hand flamer that uses force-compression technology similar to that of a plasma weapon to create a superheated thermal-incandescent blast that burns far hotter and with greater fuel efficiency than that of a usual flamer.
  • Conflagration Cannon - The Conflagration Cannon is a massive Flamer that is one of the primary armaments of the Dominus-class Knight Valiant. The Conflagration Cannon is a magnificently unsubtle weapon, comprising three enormous, Knight-grade Flamers linked together and fed from armoured promethium reservoirs. When triggered, the Conflagration Cannon spews forth an inescapable firestorm that washes over everything in range and reduces all to blackened ash. So does the Knight Valiant burn the Emperor's enemies as the worthless Heretics they are.
  • Exterminator - Utilised exclusively by the fanatics of the Redemptionists upon the Hive World of Necromunda, Exterminators are particularly used by their Novice Brethren whose shooting skills are more enthusiastic than accurate. An Exterminator is not really a weapon as such, and is more like a Flamer nozzle attached to a small canister of fuel. This is strapped under a basic weapon like an Autogun or a Shotgun to give the fighter carrying it a single-shot Flamer to use at close quarters.
  • Flameburst - This weapon was created by Heretek munitionsmiths in the Breaking Yards, a notorious location in the rimward reaches of the Koronus Expanse that consists of a series of massive asteroids and the remains of planets tethered together, owned and operated by a cartel of pirates. This pattern of Flamer has become widespread amongst those who cannot or will not deal with legitimate sources of technology. The fuel is run through a crude but effective compressor before reaching the nozzle, generating brief gouts of flaming Promethium that reach further than those projected from conventional Flamers. However, the compressor pump does not work quickly, causing a seconds-long delay between shots. Even so, it is popular amongst the combatants in the constant fighting that takes place in the Breaking Yards.
  • Flame Gauntlets - The Flame Gauntlets are a new type of Flamer developed for the Primaris Space Marines. Flame Gauntlets are designed to unleash blazing streams of Promethium upon any foes that get in close, and are a weapon often used by Primaris Space Marine Aggressor Squads. Though their units are intended to provide heavy, long-range fire support, Aggressors use Flame Gauntlets to slay any foes who move into close combat range.
  • Gas Torch Flamer - The "torch" or "gas-lighter", as most call it, is not strictly a weapon but an industrial tool that uses incandescent vapour to burn debris and clear the fungal growths that plague many hive city duct-systems. The "gas-lighter" also serves well enough as a Flamer for many low-rent hive gangs who can't afford the real thing and it is frequently found in the hands of insurrectionists. The "torch" is nowhere near as effective (or stable) as a true Flamer, but it is easy to procure and the wash of burning gas can still crisp flesh to cinders. Gas torches use bulky, ill-protected canisters to carry their fuel.
  • Hades Pattern Mark III Assault Flamer - A commonly utilised Flamer pattern by the troopers of the Imperial Guard, the Hades Pattern features a long, narrow barrel and nozzle connected by a sturdy cable to a fuel canister worn on the user's back. This design grants an increased fuel reserve, while keeping the weapon itself light. This makes the Hades a perfect choice for squads requiring high mobility. The Hades' simple construction has earned it a reputation for reliability and efficiency, and it is a favourite of many light infantry regiments that prefer the speed with which it allows to bring its raw killing power to bear.
  • Hand-Flamer - A hand-held Flamer weapon dating back to the days of the Great Crusade, the Hand-Flamer was exclusively employed by the Astartes of the Ashen Circle of the Word Bearers Legion.
  • Hellfire Pattern - A rare weapon only utilised by the Astartes of the Deathwatch in the Jericho Reach, the Hellfire Flamer is a modification of the technology that created Hellfire Bolt Rounds. It was recovered from the Omega Vault shortly after the first reports of Hive Fleet Dagon reached Watch Fortress Erioch. Mixing potent mutagenic acids into the refined Promethium mix, the fire from a Hellfire Flamer eats away at chitin and bone with alarming speed, making it an ideal weapon for facing Tyranids.
  • Incinerator - Utilised by the mysterious and highly secretive Grey Knights Chapter, the Chamber Militant of the Inquisition's Ordo Malleus, Incinerators are actually Heavy Flamers that use a psychically impregnated form of Promethium that burns hotter and more fiercely and is particularly damaging to daemons. These weapons are fuelled by the purest consecrated Prometheum, and, like Psycannons, are useful against Warp entities. These weapons are among the most effective in the imperial arsenal, as they are capable of forgoing the enemy's heretical armour, their cowardly cover, and their Warp-spawned magics.
  • Magnus-Pattern "Cerberus" Heavy Flamer - The Magnus-Pattern Heavy Flamer -- known for its triple-barrelled design -- appears in many Askellian militaries as well as witch hunting warbands.
  • Magnus-Pattern "Gorgon" Chemical Flamer - Favoured by the followers of more fanatical Ordo Hereticus Inquisitors, the Gorgon utilises corrosive chemicals that leave any survivors with debilitating injuries and lingering sickness. Its specialised design prevents the use of most common types of Flamer ammunition.
  • Magnus-Pattern "Hydra" Flamer Array - The Magnus-Pattern Flamer Array is not a single weapon, but in fact several Flamers strapped to each forearm, with tubes leading to a high-pressure fuel canister. Usually worn under heavy robes, the Hydra allows its user to wave his arms back and forth whilst spewing an unrelenting torrent of fire. The effect is nothing short of terrifying, and a Hydra Flamer Array has a prized reputation for breaking up crowds of cultists, seditionists, and other would-be heretics.
  • Mark VII Salamander Assault Flamer - A somewhat common Flamer variant made popular in the Calixis Sector's Tranch War, it uses a lighter fuel mixture at higher pressures, with inert propellant gas mixed in. The firing barrel has a large, thin nozzle, resulting in a wider but less powerful spray of Promethium. Against lightly armoured foes like insurrectionists or Gretchin mobz, the weapon worked wonders, cutting down the creatures before they could overrun the defenders. Assault Flamers use backpack-mounted fuel canisters to lessen the weight of the gun itself and provide a more extensive fuel reserve. They also fire in a 45-degree arc as opposed to the normal 30-degree arc for Flame weapons. This weapon can be equipped with any form of Flamer ammuntion canister.
  • Phaestos Pattern Flamer - These ancient but reliable Flamers units have served the Adeptus Astartes well since the Great Crusade era when they first departed from the Sol System to launch the Emperor's great campaign to reunite the disparate tribes of Humanity.
  • Pyroclast Flame Projector - These unique and complex flame weapons were wielded during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras by specialist warriors of the Salamanders Legion known as Pyroclasts. They were a type of design created by the Primarch Vulkan himself, and were both more elegant and far more potent than the standard Flamer wielded by the other Space Marine Legions. These weapons could be used to incinerate a swathe of targets in the manner of a standard Flamer, but could also focus their jet into searing cutting flames, difficult to aim, but able to slice through the most durable armour.
  • Pyrophoric Vambrace - Sometimes seen in the hands of those described as Incinerant Priests, the Pyrophoric Vambrace is an unusual and easily concealed flame weapon worn on the wrist. A long tube snakes away from the projector to a vacuum sealed case worn on the back. The case holds not promethium, as is common with most Imperial flame weapons, but various corrosive powdered metals that react explosively when exposed to oxygen. A Pyrophoric Vambrace has a limited range, but its unique design leaves the user’s hands free for other tasks.
  • Tox Spray - The tox spray is a terrifying weapon found in the hands of the worst kind of gang scum in the most polluted hive sumps. The weapon uses an unholy mixture of highly corrosive industrial residue and toxic waste contained under high pressure, unleashed through a jury-rigged spray gun. The effects of the mixture on flesh are truly horrific and all but the best armour is little protection from the burning poison.
  • Ultima Pattern Mk IV - A modern pattern of Astartes Flamer commonly utilised by the Raven Guard Space Marine Chapter.
  • Voss Pattern Nightfire - Purely a terror weapon, the "Nightfire" uses refined promethium blended with toxic chemicals. Used only by specialist assault troops in full protective gear, it not only burns but also poisons the surrounding air with noxious smoke. Foes who manage to survive the initial flames find themselves gasping for air once the toxins reach their lungs.

Notable Flamers[]

  • Surtur's Breath - Just as the Astartes of the Salamanders Chapter know well how to protect themselves from flame, so too are they adept at its use. Many Salamanders alter their Flamers with unique modifications and upgrades they have learned over their long careers. One such modified Flamer has a reputation with the members of the Deathwatch operating in the Jericho Reach. Legend says it once belonged to a particularly vicious Salamander by the name of Surtur, who used a unique propellant that made the Flamer shoot at an extended range with terrifying ultraviolet fire.

Xenos Flamers[]

Eldar[]

  • Dragon's Breath Flamer - Utilised exclusively by the Fire Dragons Aspect Warriors of the Eldar, the Dragon's Breath Flamer can unleash a ranging inferno upon a nearby foe. They are similar to the Heavy Flamers employed by the military forces of the Imperium of Man.

Orks[]

  • Burna - Flame has an undeniable appeal to the Greenskin race. The fascination with fire and the ignoble art of setting light to things sometimes gets so profound that an Ork will join the ranks of the Burna Boyz. Burna Boyz utilise long, stripped-down flamethrowers from which they take their name. These "Burnas" are able to spray great gouts of oily flame, and are linked to a sloshing tank of volatile promethium slung over their shoulder. Boyz can modify their Burnas with special nozzles and valves that force out a fierce blue tongue of fire instead of a cloud of orange flame. This "cuttin' flame" is powerful enough to slice through anything up to a metal bulkhead. In battle, Burnas prove extremely useful, as they can be utilised to flush out enemy hiding in ruined buildings and woods. When facing heavily armoured opponents such as Space Marines instead, the Burna Boyz simply switch to their cuttin' flames and use their Burnas to slice apart the foe.
  • Skorchas - These Ork weapons are large custom built flamethrowers designed to hurl large gouts of flaming fuel. The fuel in question is a volatile mixture of gases and liquids and compressed into a cylinder. When a valve is opened the mixture is forced through the weapon's nozzle with a staccato gurgle, and directed over the target where it ignites with a loud audible noise that causes much hilarity for the Burna Boyz. Scorchas are dangerous, unreliable, spectacular and, as a consequence, highly popular. They are the equivalent to Imperial Heavy Flamers.

T'au[]

  • Tau Flamers - The Tau Empire's Earth Caste has developed Flamers designed for use as a weapon system for Tau XV8 Crisis Battlesuits. XV8 Crisis Battlesuits can also choose to use twin-linked Flamers, in which case it will take up two of their three available system hardpoints. Most often equipped when Battlesuit teams are expected to be fighting massed, lightly-armoured opponents, Tau Flamers are lethal weapons when used against foes in dense terrain.

Sources[]

  • Black Crusade: Core Rulebook (RPG), pg. 158
  • Codex: Blood Angels (5th Edition), pp. 57, 59
  • Codex: Dark Angels (4th Edition), pp. 48-49
  • Codex: Imperial Knights (8th Edition), pg. 69
  • Codex: Orks (4th Edition), pp. 45, 89-90
  • Codex: Orks (3rd Edition), pg. 36
  • Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition), pg. 98
  • Codex: Space Wolves (5th Edition), pp. 57, 59
  • Codex: Tau (3rd Edition), pg. 17
  • Codex: Tau Empire (4th Edition), pg. 26
  • Dark Heresy: Blood of Martyrs (RPG), pg. 115
  • Dark Heresy: Core Rulebook (RPG), pp. 134-135
  • Dark Heresy: Daemon Hunter (RPG), pg. 132
  • Dark Heresy: Enemies Within (2nd Edition) (RPG), pg. 42
  • Dark Heresy: The Inquisitor's Handbook (RPG), pp. 111, 160, 172
  • Dark Imperium (Novel) by Guy Haley, Chapter 18
  • Deathwatch: Core Rulebook (RPG), pp. 148-149
  • Deathwatch: First Founding (RPG), pg. 98
  • Deathwatch: Rites of Battle (RPG), pg. 135
  • ' 'Ere We Go (1st Edition), pp. 112, 114
  • Gorkamorka: Da Roolz (RPG), pp. 22, 56
  • Imperial Armour Volume Four - The Anphelion Project, pg. 137
  • Imperial Armour Volume Eight - Raid on Kastorel-Novem, pg. 32, 119, 140, 193
  • Imperial Armour Volume Nine - The Badab War, Part One, pg. 120
  • Imperial Armour Volume Ten - The Badab War, Part Two, pp. 78, 128
  • Imperial Armour Volume Eleven - The Doom of Mymeara, pp. 116, 118
  • Inquisitor (RPG), pp. 78, 127
  • Necromunda: Outlanders Rulebook (RPG), pg. 52
  • Only War: Core Rulebook (RPG), pp. 180-181
  • Only War: Hammer of the Emperor (RPG), pg. 113
  • Only War: Shield of Humanity (RPG), pg. 127
  • Rogue Trader: Core Rulebook (RPG), pp. 123-124
  • Rogue Trader: Hostile Acquistions (RPG), pg. 51
  • Rogue Trader: Into the Storm (RPG), pp. 114, 142
  • The Horus Heresy - Book Two: Massacre (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 124,142, 146, 248, 257
  • The Horus Heresy - Book Five: Tempest (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 105, 111, 247
  • Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader (1st Edition), pg. 77
  • Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook (6th Edition), pp. 51, 56
  • Warhammer 40,000: Wargear (2nd Edition), pg. 23
  • White Dwarf 389 (UK), pg. 71
  • Dark Imperium (Novel) by Guy Haley, Chapter 18
  • Warhammer Community - Primaris Space Marines: Gaming
  • Warhammer Community - A New Breed of Hero
  • Warhammer Community - Primaris Space Marines: FAQ.

Gallery[]

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