Chapter Relations with other 40k Factions

In order to map Cardinal Archivists' interactions with other factions and forces in the 40k universe, this page will list relations and friend/foe status of all major Imperium, Chaos, and Xenos factions.

Relations with Other Astartes Chapters
Relation to other space marine Chapters: It all boils down to three points:

1: The chapter's adherence to the Codex Astartes

2: The chapter's views on tech

3: The chapter's battle doctrine

Dark Angels
In response to the Dark Angels' casual disregard of the Cardinal Archivists and a generalized sense of superiority, the Chapter Lord and Lady have settled on a 'hands-off' policy on the Dark Angels, allowing them to engage whatever secretive objectives they wish. Unless it comes to fighting traitor Astartes and Chaos Space Marines, in which case the Ravenwing is often shown respect and tolerance by Archivist bike squads when engaging as a combined force.

White Scars
In the early days of the Chapter, as the first generation of Astartes were refining their battlefield technique and doctrine, the White Scars served as a model for hit-and-run, fast-strike tactics. These strategies and unit models would eventually be incorporated into the Chapter's basic doctrine and organization. This is largely due to the Chapter's focus on exploration/salvage operations, which usually involve minimal forces with reinforcements available, but not immediately present. In larger-scale campaigns where the Chapter is called to war, these hit-and-run tactics still form the basis for Chapter engagements, albeit supported by heavy artillery.

Current relations are respectful, as the Chapter has been happy to provide material and manpower assistance when requested, and Chapter veterans freely credit the White Scars for their tactical genius.

Space Wolves
This is the only Chapter that has been widely noted to be in close relations with the Cardinal Archivists. The presence of the Fenrisian wolf petting zoo and potent Fenrisian ale are all hallmarks of a close working/economic relationship. This is due in large part to Lady Snipe's history with the Wolves. Her exceptional skills, cunning, survival and combat skills left a lasting impression with the Sons of Rus, and solidified into an unbreakable bond of respect when their "She Wolf of the Snow" ascended to the level Astartes. She is annually invited to the Great Kraken Spawn hunts, of which she brings her husband and inner circle along; at their behest or no.

Trade details are open to discussion, but the trade of non-divine holo-movies and heavy metal to the Space Wolves have been discussed. Rumors have risen of a "project" involving the creation of a new type of ale has surfaced, with the possibility that the Space Wolves are involved, but are inconclusive.

The philosophical and practical approaches of these Chapters seems to be highly congruent, and would seem to create steadfast allies and mutual partners. Not to mention the obvious adoration by the Archivists of the Space Wolves use of chain axes and their Fenrisian wolves.

Imperial Fists
The Archivists' habit of shouting "Rigor Fistus!" in greeting to the Imperial Fists Chapter has led to much confusion and some discomfort, nonetheless: siege warfare experts need siege warfare equipment, and the ancient Mastodon tank is the perfect example of something the Imperial Fists crave. And being among the few Imperial powers invested in the salvage and repair of such ancient and powerful tools of warfare, the Archivists have much to provide. Thereby, the Cardinal Archivists maintains an excellent rapport with the Imperial Fists, unexplained shouting notwithstanding. Recent rumors place the customary war-cry as the result of Captain Maximus Omar's secretive operations, though confirmation is not expected in this case.

Blood Angels
Generally neutral dealings with the Blood Angels, with an option to get out of the way of any that "go batshit insane". General mockery and accusation of Blood Angels vampirism is noted as "good humor" and "fun times" by the Chapter higher-ups.

Iron Hands
Nearly the same as the Imperial Fists and Salamanders. With respect to the Iron Hands slow, methodical, and vicious approach to close combat, they have earned a place of respect in the hearts of many Chapter Captains. Any reported incidents involving attempts to convince Iron Hands Astartes to "dance the robot" are of course lies, and should be discredited immediately.

Ultramarines
Due to the Chapter's disregard of the Codex Astartes, written by the Ultramarine Primarch, there exists a low-level tension between Chapters when they involve themselves in the same combat theater. The Cardinal Archivists Chapter mandate that "don't fix it if it ain't broke" and "what works, works". Of course, this flies in the face of strict Ultramarine doctrine, leading to rare outbursts of proselytizing by Ultramarine officers. Ranging from Chapter central doctrine, (the salvaging of sacred artifacts) to Chapter weaponry and tactics, Ultramarine rants are a casual side effect of their presence. This is generally regarded with boredom and annoyance by Chapter Captains, who are usually quick to 'pull rank' in order to short-circuit Ultramarine delusions of superiority (or competence). Annually, the Archivists Marines continually send non-black listed, but atrociously bad in quality, holo-vids to spite the Ultrasmurf-Marines, predominantly with copies of the luke-warm quality, 3D animated movie, "Omega SEALS: A Battle Axe 30,000 Film".

The Archivist Records Library hold several hundred individual letters from the Ultramarines, usually condemning the Archivists and their efforts. These letters are occasionally borrowed by senior personnel, as a form of personal amusement. These copies are generally returned with "corrections" added in the margins, literary criticism at its finest.

Salamanders
Amicable relations, due to a shared interest in recovering relics of past glory, and wielding them anew. The Salamanders' legendary proclivity for fire and Melta based weapons has made them popular among the rank and file of the Cardinal Archivists. A long-standing agreement on barbecuing the more delicious Xenos fauna has led to some inter-Chapter feasts, complete with such rare and dangerous delicacies as smoked Catachan Devil, and grilled Fenrisian Kraken-spawn. The competition not only to slay such monstrous creatures but to properly cook them, has led to a good-natured rivalry between the respective Chapters' more elite and culinary-inclined Marines.

Raven Guard
It is usually found when the Raven Guard establish communications with the successor Cardinal Archivists Chapter, that they try their proverbial hand at correcting the course of the younger Chapter. The musical training of all Marines, non-standard ranking system, obsession with gaming, and roaring parties with Space Wolf emissaries have led the Raven Guard elite to suspect that there is something odd about their young successors. In spite of this, or because of it, the Chapter maintains a flawless if eccentric battlefield record and maintains a stunning level of morale among its members. Whether due to their natural gifts, or the unconventional form of leadership by the Lord and Lady Chapter Masters, the successor Chapter continues to confound and impress their Raven Guard seniors. Whenever our Chapters have succeeded in any important missions together, which are many and often, our Chapter sends high-quality copies of Stealth-Based games to our predecessors as thanks and appreciation for their hard work, and their super-human tolerance of our "quirks"; and to the relief of our Lord Chapter Master Wib, Emperor help the wonderful man! Assassin's Creed is a predominant favorite... At least, until the sequels. We usually burn those.

Grey Knights
Most of the information the Chapter holds about the Grey Knights Chapter comes from close Chapter relations with the Space Wolves. As the Grey Knights are the most secretive of Chapters, and their very existence a closely guarded secret, any information on them has become a premium. Additionally, because of the 'Months of Shame' conflict in the First War for Armageddon between the Grey Knights, Inquisition, and Space Wolves, what is known comes from highly embittered Space Wolf senior officers. Because of the Grey Knights and Inquisition habit of declaring Exterminatus on any human population with cognizance of their existence, the Cardinal Archivists Chapter has so far feigned ignorance on the subject, except in the role as Chapter Masters, in order to protect O'Magudnis and it's human population.

Because of this, the Chapter has never directly intervened in a situation where the Grey Knights were rumored to be fielded. While not hostile towards the powerful shadow Chapter, the Cardinal Archivists Marines do not involve themselves without invitation or specific request. As a closing note, unknown to the Grey Knights, due to the universal rank of Captain within the Chapter, all Cardinal Archivists Marines are aware of their existence and contentious history. This is a well-kept secret but drives the Chapter to avoid the Grey Knights and their influence at all levels.

Imperial Knights and Titan Legions
The chapter's Marines usually get "a bit giddy" when they get to fight alongside either the Imperial Knights or Titans, for the simple reason that they are "mechs", in Chapter verbiage. This child-like adoration seems to be universal in the Chapter and has led to a somewhat one-way rapport with the Titan and Knight Legions. Official AdMech documents seem to show a correlation between Chapter deployments alongside Titans, and the suspicious painting and 'customization' of the mechanical giants. No direct involvement has yet been proven, but racing stripes and decals still appear on Knight and Titan units, either wherever or whenever they meet one another.

Angry Marines
Of all the Astartes Chapters dreamed up by the whims of gods unknown, the Angry Marines are certainly the ones with the worst tempers. After the first recorded occasion that the Cardinal Archivists and Angry Marines operated in the same theater of combat, the Archivist command had to author new engagement policies. This was deemed warranted after an Angry Marines battalion used Archivist troops as battering rams. The Archivist retaliated with a one-on-one honor duel between force commanders. After the Archivist field commander beat the armor off his Angry Marine counterpart with a drum-kit, both parties agreed to separate their forces.

As the Cardinal Archivists now had a better grasp of the necessary tactics, their Magister Musica contingent organized a series of thrash metal improvisation bands. This new arrangement whipped the Angry Marines into a killing frenzy they themselves had not seen in decades, cleansing the planet of all Xenos life within a matter of hours.

This mass outburst amused the Archivists to no end, and holorecordings of the Angry Marine forces in action are still valued entertainment on O'magudnis.

Adeptus Administratum
With relation to the official bureaucratic and galactic government arm of the Imperium of Man, the Chapter engages in 'out of sight, out of mind' philosophy. While still appearing on Munitorum and Administratum records, the Chapter homeworld of O'magudnis and the Chapter's own inventories and activities have somehow never made it to Holy Terra. In fact, despite repeated audit-type inquiries by Administratum officials, the full capabilities, battle-records, and technological holdings have never been fully reported on, and these officials seem reticent to attempt any further investigation. The Chapter's frequent contributions of precious Golden Age artifacts to the Adeptus Mechanicus has been rumored to be the reason for the lack of continued attempts at oversight by the Administratum, but this is pure speculation. Relations remain near non-existent.

Imperial Guard
"What is a "Wilhelm Scream", ''my lord...?" - ''A question asked by an Imperial Guardsmen to a Cardinal Archivists Marine The Imperial Guard on their own would be completely awestruck to see a space marine in the flesh and then scratch their heads as to try and understand the pop-culture references the marines where making. Whilst in battle the sight of the chapter's marines would be an instant morale boost and reassurance that the battle would be won. On occasion, but never "officially recorded", after battles and obtaining victory, the Cardinal Archivists Marines present to celebrate with their fellow guardsmen with beer, food, and what the chapter likes to call for a pass time victory game, "Catch the Smashed (inebriated) Cadian". All in good sport, of course! Only three guardsmen were sent to the infirmary with broken legs and minor fractures. One Guardsmen claimed that he bronzed his old leg cast after receiving a signature under the name, "Cpt.Slu."

Adeptus Mechanicus (Mars and imbedded)
"''Ye ineptus mechanicus can buck reit up th' crease hole, hear me!?" - ''Fergus Mc'Fien, while very angry - and very drunk - bids a cluster of Adeptus Mechanicus farewell, before departure. Chapter relations with the AdMech can be friendly at best, when the AdMech and the Chapter trade media and technology (and engaging in underground servitor fights but don't tell Snipe), to shaky because of the Chapter's habits of salvaging old war-gear and driving Great Crusade era tanks over their enemies. Under no means confirming or denying such accusations, that may or may not be true, the Iron Hand Marines are rumored to also participate in a competition with the Chapter's Techmarines along with the AdMech, acting as the biggest of hard-core competitors during our (non-existent) Servitor battles. It is not a topic often spoke often for fear of ire rising in the ranks of the Master Mechanics' following, but there is a deep-seeded, philosophical debate of the nature of the Machina. Often, these debates lead to faction-on-faction infighting, involving skitarii war drones, giant wrenches, and a highly inebriated McFien choke-holding a Magos while beating him senseless with an amasec flask. The Lords of Terra have ordained that these two groups maintain a distance of 1,000 feet apart from one another at ALL times.

Adeptus Sororitas
The Cardinal Archivists usually has good relations with the Adeptus Sororitas and will fight alongside the Sisters from time to time, albeit speaking almost completely different languages. The lower ranks are always ecstatic to see their former Cannoness Commander, our Lady Snipe, as she stands as both hope and testament that a Human, either male OR female, can ascend to become Adeptus Astartes, and are always welcoming to our Chapter's forces when needed. The higher ranks are a mixed bag, however: one part admiration and respect, and one part disdain and envy. These personal qualms are always held back for when a mission needs doing, of course... Not that our fair Lady would say no to a one-on-one fight, that is.

Inquisition
"Show me your Rosette!" - Chapter Lady Snipe

The Inquisition has a long-standing, and mutual, animosity with the Chapter, largely because the Inquisition outright believe that O'Magudnis may be a pleasure world devoted to Slaanesh, and act not unlike over-zealous park inspectors, trying to find the barest shred of evidence that they are correct - which have so far proved baseless. At the best of times, they send out an "angry letter" to the Chapter Masters in response to the "suspicions of heresy". The Chapter often holds a comedy night both for Astartes and non-Astartes personnel in reading such angry letters, with the good graces of our Lord and Lady.

Ecclesiarchy
"The Eclair Hierarchy?" - Chapter Lady Snipe, when asked about the Holy Synod. This and only this is beyond doubt: The Cardinal Archivists Chapter is loyal to the Golden Throne. What the agents of the Adeptus Ministorum, the state church of the Empire, has come to accept is that this is their sole loyalty, as spiritual matters go. Whatever reports have filtered across from the Adeptus Mechanicus as to the Chapter's ignorance of the Omnissiah, the Chapter does not seem to have earned the attention of the Church. As with the Administratum, some effort, or great coincidence, has allowed the Chapter to go all but unnoticed by the Holy Synod. What agents have made sojourn or stop-over on O'Magudnis have left, usually later than planned, stumbling with the exhaustion of the revelry they've been party to, and with new confessions to make. Also with their confusion, comes "gifts", often bribes, from O'Magudnis in the form of biblical-based video games and media, to which the Ecclesiarchy studies thoroughly, and have not found wanting.

Eldar
"Look at those Eldar, Eldar-ing it up." - Chapter Lord WIb.

The esteemed Chapter Lord and Lady have long since declared an official stance on the Eldar: "meh". While never hesitant to engage in combat, the Chapter does not go out of their way to battle the Eldar. The cause of this goes back to the central thesis of the Chapter: the collection of sacred Golden Age artifacts and gaming in all its forms. Engaging the Eldar has rarely proven profitable in these regards, with the exception of Eldar encroachment on Chapter salvage sites, and Chapter Lady Snipe's occasional Jump Pack charges, which has been likened to bowling with balls made of ceramite armor and rockets.

In the rarest events where cooperation is needed, the Chapter sometimes leaves copies of D.D.R. and Mothra movies as a show of good grace when joint ventures are completed. Strangely, they are quite fond of the rock genre "Hair Banging".

Dark Eldar
"They're going to learn to fear the phrase, "Rigor Fistus" when we're done here..." - Maximus Omar In distinct contrast of their Order-aligned cousins, the Dark Eldar hold a place of special attention by the Chapter. Dark Eldar military doctrine consists largely of raiding parties, which retreat back into the Eldar Webway at the first sign of retribution. As most Chapters work in large divisions, they can only rarely mount a rapid attack against the Xenos threat. This is where the Cardinal Archivists shine among all other Astartes. Because of the central Chapter mandate to find and salvage Golden Age relics, many Chapter Strike Groups can be found in their sector, each working largely independently. When a Dark Eldar incursion is detected, it is these rapid Strike Groups that converge at ludicrous speed. As such, few Dark Eldar raiding parties have met or escaped the Chapter. This is rumored to be because of a systematic hacking effort, uploading Golden Age adaptive software to Eldar computational and communications devices. The introduction of Golden Age adult-themed games such as "Let's Hurt Me Plenty" into Eldar command structures has so far proven almost entirely fatal. According to Chapter Strike Group Command-Captains, Kabalite commanders can often be found trying to play the game even as their crews are cut down around them. On at least one occasion, the level of frustration at the game led a Dark Eldar commander to execute himself, unable to comprehend a system that punished him for causing excess pain towards a mortal.

Orks
"Orks! Orks! Orks! Orks! Orks! Orks! Orks! Orks! Orks! Orks! Orks! Orks!" - Chapter Masters Snipe and Wib

The Ork Mekboyz are well known to get to important imperial relics at the same times as our chapter makes planet-fall, This has led our chapter to have a long and brutal history with the Orks that stretch as far back as the chapter's founding. While Chapter engineering has expressed a respect for the Orks' ability to cobble together powerful weaponry from next to nothing, this has not prevented them from handing out Thunder Hammers to entire platoons of Chapter Marines, in accordance with Chapter combat doctrine. There is actually a dedicated squad of 300 Marines who pride themselves as the "Green Skin Smashers", with their insignia resembling an Ork skull being smashed in half by a thunder hammer.

Tyranids
Chapter strategy against the Tyranid fleets is dependent on whether Carnifex meat makes reasonable barbecue or pizza toppings. Results pending. Reports from fellow Salamanders Astartes have said good things about it, though.

Tau
"GET IN YOUR ROBOTS, FOR THE ANGELS HAVE ARRIVED!" - Captain Dreadnought 5mirkeh after binge-watching mecha anime, upon the decent unto the battlefield There is little in the way to speak of between these Xenos and the Chapter. As the Tau are relative new-comers on the galactic scene, they have been engaged in communication on a hand-full of occasions, usually with the end-result of the Tau retreating quietly from the worlds or sectors in question. Combat with the these Xenos has been termed a "boot-meet-neck" affair, notable only for the commandeering of Tau railguns for Chapter recreational purposes.

Necrons
"I always keep forgetting the Necrons exist" - Chapter Lady Snipe

None at all outside of a "FIRE EVERYTHING" doctrine against any Necron Tomb World the chapter comes across, hence the sector O'muhgudnis resides in is particularly Necron-free. Rumors of use of Exterminatus grade weaponry on suspected Tomb Worlds has spread among friendly Chapters but has never been substantiated.

Other
Other races/species to be added, as the 40k sentient species list is not small.

Khorne
''"The only time you should worry about the World Eaters is when they haven't done anything yet." - ''Chapter Lady Snipe to a new recruit when questioning the tactics of Khorne Berserkers

Kill, maim, burn: essentially the tactics of every Khorne follower; from lowly cultists to the Bloodletters themselves. The Chapter has only encountered these madmen and monsters during skirmishes in Warp-heavy quadrants while searching for Pre-Golden and Golden Age media and entertainment. During one mission, the Chapter had set up a defensive position against the World Eaters while searching for the lost copies of the animated movie "Venus Wars". At first it was taken seriously, but when realizing the Berserkers were continuously repeating the same tactics - basically bang your head against the wall until it dents or until you fall unconscious - the Chapter acted accordingly: wait for the enemy to expend their forces while bringing in Dreadnoughts,Terminators and Mastodon tanks and then proceed to - as our fair Lady once stated - "... Break all your pretty pink shit!", with righteous vigor, no less. So far, this stratagem has yet to fail. Our Snipers, known for their legendary profane language, often egg Khornate Berserkers who manage to calm down long enough to hide to jump out of the open, and thus effectively eliminate them.

Nurgle
"KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!!" - Common battle cry during conflicts with Nurgle forces

Although rather sparse compared to other logs of relations to other factions, allied or enemy, it is safe to say that fighting Nurgle followers, and their collection of traitor legion Plague Marines, can be both dangerous in a tactical sense as well as in a biological sense. Nurglites are incredibly durable, and their bio-weapons based warfare can be costly to our forces, given how we must divide to conquer and reclaim lost Golden Age technology, weaponry, and entertainment of various genres. Nevertheless, the Chapter deals with them accordingly: assign squads of 'Deff Shreddas to eliminate foes from a distance, followed by Melta based arms and explosives, as well as flame and plasma-based weaponry, essentially cauterizing this foul wound on Reality before it spreads. Not to mention... The smell they come and leave with after death is inexcusably disgusting!

Tzeentch
"It must be difficult coming up with a better plan... without a head." - Lord Wib to a defeated Lord of Change Deamon Prince

Fighting the spawn of Tzeentch would be akin to fighting a warp-induced migraine: slow, painful, and out-right annoying. These monstrosities of chaos and change are always the most difficult to fight against, what with their abilities to manipulate the Immaterium itself, and made even more of a challenge when Traitor Astartes aligned with Tzeentch become involved. The very idea of our Imperium's ancient war gear being blasted to warp-slag makes many Brother Captains of our Chapter cringe with concern and disdain. Which is why it was agreed upon to use 'Deff Shredda-lead tactical squads and their sonic based equipment to counteract the powerful Chaos psykers. Playing loud, high-pitched, and in some cases, annoyingly catchy tunes to disrupt the concentration of enemy warp users, before mowing them down and running them over with heavy artillery and high-mobile vehicles, respectively. But it is the Chapter's shared opinion that the worst aspect of Tzeentchians would be their attitudes: acting like right-cocky sods from the earliest 1st Millennium age of the, "PC Master Race", at least from what our recovered data slate journals can tell us.

Slaanesh
"... Be very careful with those Noise Marine guitars and basses. They look... Sticky...!" - Captain Omar to a subordinate group of Brother Captains during retrieval of traitor legion equipment

The most perverse of the Chaos gods, in both perceivable and non-perceivable ways, the cult of She Who Thirsts is by far the most troubling and frequent nemesis of the Cardinal Archivists. The reasons are such: their corrupt hordes of deamonettes and their own Traitor Astartes, such as the Emperor's Children, have learned of our search for our ancestors' ancient technology of both warfare and entertainment. We, as a Chapter, have accepted that certain evils are required to succeed, as well as the responsibility of protecting the citizens of the Imperium from malign and dangerous products. These dangerous elements include, but are not limited to: "Deep Web" articles, strongly perverse adult entertainment programs and games, banned and cursed music albums, and many more obscene creations of Humanity. The Chapter has gone so far as to create giant impenetrable vaults - co-engineered secretly by those responsible for creating the holy Sanatorium of our Emperor as well - to hold and protect these black-listed items. Despite the Chapter's efforts and non-stop vigilance, the forces of Chaos manage to find their way to these vaults and attempt to break into them to steal and abuse these dark items of our history. But no matter the cost or enemy they face, the Cardinal Archivists shall NEVER yield, and shall NEVER give one piece of such dark media to ANYONE. PERIOD!

But as for the cult and daemons of the pleasure god, it can become very noisy. Literally. Magister Musicae and their Bands are needed to fight against Noise Marines to counteract their mind-melting tunes, which can boil down to a Battle of the Bands: Order vs. Chaos; Heavy Metal vs. Death Metal; White Base vs Black Skrillex, and et cetera. Heavy weaponry and vehicles are a must to crush these lewd enemies once and for all, and salvage teams are sworn to Death Watch levels of anonymity while salvaging Noise Marine weapons and equipment, in order to protect the Brothers involved from scrutiny by the Inquisition. No quarter must be given, for temptation can lead to darker places than believed.

Malal
He doesn't exist. Shut up about it...!