Hammer and Bolter is a animated anthology series exclusive to Warhammer+. It features stories set in the universes of Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer: Age of Sigmar.
The show provides examples of the following tropes:
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Death's Hand
"Hubris is the weapon the fool uses to cut his own throat"
"Excitus acta probat: the outcome justifies the deed"
— Dictatus Vindicare
Inquisitor Kiamoro’s death has been foretold. It is a certainty. Yet he will do anything to prevent it - even embracing the heretical ways of the alien Aeldari. His endeavours draw the attention of a fellow Inquisitor, who resolves to challenge Kiamoro, but in doing so sets in motion a chain of events that sees Kiamoro drawn inexorably towards his fate - for little does either Inquisitor know that a shapeshifting Callidus Assassin is in their midst.
- Book Ends: The beginning of the episode has Kiamoro shooting a seer in the head and ordering the room to be purged in flame. After he is shot dead via headshot by a Vindicare assassin, the Callidus assassin he was interrogating takes his form and burns the interrogation room with an incendiary grenade.
- Exact Words: Upon her capture, the callidus assassin explains to inquisitor Kiamoro that she isn't there to kill him. She's actually there to serve as bait, to bring him where she wants him to be so that another assassin, a vindicare, would have him in his sight.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: One of Kiamoro's retinue, an aeldari ranger, suffers this fate at the hands of the callidus, having their body sliced vertically.
- Identity Impersonator: The main schtick of the callidus temple of assassins. A callidus assassin impersonates as one of inquisitor Arturo's retinue. By the end of the episode, the callidus shapeshifts into inquisitor Kiamoro after a vindicare assassin shoots him dead.
- Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: The plot is driven by Kiamoro's attempts to avert his prophesized death. The Callidus Assassin points out that his actions caused the creation of a Vindicare assassin (once an innocent boy who survived one of Kiamoro's crusades) who snipes the inquisitor dead.
- Sword Cane: Arturo's weapon of choice.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: When he is read his tarot and it is explained that he is destined to die, and soon, Kiamoro shoots the seer reading his tarot with a bolter round and has the room purged in fire.
Bound for Greatness
"Knowledge corrupts. It is a dangerous thing..."
"An open mind is like a fortress with its gates unbarred and unguarded."
— Imperial Proverb
In the great library on the Imperial world of Antioth, Adept Neath has only one job - to count the endless books. He is one of hundreds of adepts who count thousands of books under the ever-watchful eye of the Prefect. In the great processionals and squares outside, Imperial preachers read to the gathered masses from the tomes in the library’s collection. Neath is diligent in his duty, anxious not to draw the attention of the Prefect, until one day he discovers a strange, new book has appeared in his section of the library. What harm could opening it do?
- The Bad Guy Wins: The Prefect manages to secretly corrupt the ministorum preachers with books tainted by Chaos, with the preachers unwittingly spreading their corruption onto the masses. The ending heavily implies that the entire planet ultimately falls to Tzeentch.
- Book Ends: The episode begins with preachers of the Ecclesiarchy preaching the word of the God-Emperor. By the end of the episode, they have been corrupted by books tainted by Tzeentch, and now spread the word of the Changer of Ways.
- Great Big Library of Everything: The setting was built to be an attempt at this and carries the aesthetic, but by the time of the story it has degraded to the point that the only people in it are adepts who do nothing but count the books on the shelves and are forbidden from reading them.
- I'm Melting!: Neath's fate as he is being absorbed by the chaos-tainted book, first with his flesh melting and then his skeleton until he dissolves into nothing.
- Poverty Food: The food that Neath and the other adepts eat everyday is a sort of dark, mushy type of gruel.
- Scary Librarian: The Prefect is one, as he is the menacing head of the librarium and a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch in disguise.
- The Shadow Knows: The Prefect is seemingly just a mutated cultist of Tzeentch. By the end of the episode, his shadow is shaped like a Lord of Change, suggesting that the Prefect was actually a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch in human disguise.
- Soul-Crushing Desk Job: Neath's job consists of waking up every morning to eat darky, mushy gruel before going on to count the seemingly endless books in the enormous librarium before going to sleep in an uncomfortable looking bed. And he does this all while having to listen to the vox speakers that basically dehumanize him by reminding him not to think or even talk to anyone.
Old Bale Eye
"Gud enemies iz hard ta find"
"Success is measured in blood; yours or the enemy's"
— Maxim of the Astra Militarum
In an Ork encampment, an old Runtherd called Dursnang puts a couple of young upstarts in their place by reciting the tale of the great Warlord Ghazghkull Thraka and his rivalry with the Imperial hero, Commissar Yarrick. Through the eyes of the young upstarts, we glimpse scenes from the fabled Wars of Armageddon, and chart Yarrick’s progress from a young thorn in Ghazghkull’s side to his most respected enemy, as Yarrick leads the soldiers of the Imperium in victory after victory.
- Adaptation Deviation: The dialogue between Yarrick and Ghazghkull when the latter lets the former go free is different compared to the novel "Chains of Golgotha".
- In the episode:
Ghazghkull: "You...Get in."Yarrick: "What kind of trick is this?"Ghazghkull: "No trick. Gud enemies iz hard ta find..."- In the book, Yarrick says nothing to Ghazghkull and Ghazghkull says this:
Ghazghkull: "A great fight. My best enemy. Go to Armageddon. Make ready for the greatest fight." - An Arm and a Leg: The episode shows how Yarrick and the Ork Runtherd lost their limbs. Yarrick loses his left arm during the fight against warboss Ugulhard, and the Ork Runtherd loses his left leg after surviving a confrontation with Yarrick.
- Badass Boast: Yarrick loses his arm to Ork Warlord Ugulhard. He promtply kills Ugulhard, cuts off his arm and raises the Power Klaw for all to see, and states "Like for like... which part are you willing to give me?" The Orks flee from this display.
- Continuity Nod: The episode adapts elements of the novel "Chains of Golgotha", which details Yarrick's capture by Ghazghkull.
- Lampshade Hanging: After the umpteenth "FOR THE EMPEROR!" the Runtherd tells the boys that yeah, 'umies say that a lot.
- Title Drop: The episode's title is in reference to the nickname the Ork's have given Yarrick, which is in reference to his bionic laser eye known as the "Bale Eye".
- Worthy Opponent: When Ghazghkull captures Yarrick and makes him a prisoner, Ghazghkull reckons that perhaps he overestimated Yarrick as an adversary. But when Yarrick makes an escape attempt that results in the deaths of several orks, Ghazghkull returns his equipment and gives him an imperial space shuttle for him to return to imperial space. Ghazghkull acknowledges that Old Bale Eye still has spunk in him, as Yarrick's escape attempt fully solidified him in the eyes of Ghazghkull as a worthy opponent.
Fangs
"On the darkest nights they come, the Sky Warriors of Fenris. Riding upon steeds of starfire and flame. Striking like storm-wrath from above."
— Legend of the Sky Warrior
Three famed warriors of the Space Wolves gather for a game in the halls of their fortress, the Fang. But the real game is being played out in the frozen wilds, as three hopeful aspirants battle both the elements and an assortment of terrible beasts to win their place amongst the Space Wolves. Each of the Space Marines has placed a bet on one of these young warriors, and will win the game only if their chosen competitor returns first with a new playing piece - a fang taken from a great beast. As the aspirants battle to the death in the icy wastes, the old veterans drink and talk of old times.
- Continuity Nod: A helmet of a Rubric Marine can be seen beneath a frozen river, alluding to the fact that Fenris was invaded (more than once) by the Thousand Sons.
- Dire Beast: Befitting it's status as a Death World, the Fenrisian fauna includes giant bears, giant bat-like creatures, Kraken and the iconic Fenrisian Wolves.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Njal's aspirant is tested by being tasked with retrieving a fang of one of Fenris' deadliest creatures. He nearly dies in the attempt, but makes it back to Njal with the fang in hand. Although he is still to face even more grueling trials that await him, the ending Time Skip reveals that he has passed them all and has fully become a Space Marine.
- Eye Scream:
- Njal's aspirant slashes a Fenrisian wolf's face with his battle axe, resulting in the wolf being blind in it's left eye.
- Krom's aspirant impales a Fenrisian bear's eye with a sharp rock. Although the attack doesn't kill it, the aspirant jams it further into it's skull to escape it when the bear locks the aspirant's arm with it's jaws.
- Kraken and Leviathan: A silhouette of a kraken can be seen whilst one of the aspirants is fighting a Fenrisian wolf underwater.
- Monster Is a Mommy: Inverted. Krom's aspirant has a giant bear as his target. When the aspirant kills the bear and takes it's fang in triumph, an even larger bear (supposedly the slain bear's parent) appears behind him and kills him.
- Not Quite Dead:
- Ulrik's aspirant has a giant bat-like creature as his target. When it seems like the aspirant has dealt a killing blow on the creature and prepares to take one of it's fangs, it reveals itself to still be alive and fatally slashes the aspirant's stomach open.
- Njal's aspirant seems to drown in the frozen river, only for him to burst out of the ice with the fang of the Fenrisian wolf he killed.
- Rasputinian Death: Krom's aspirant dies by first having his hand bitten off by a larger bear and being slammed onto an icy wall, causing a stalactite to fall and impale him before being crushed by the falling rubble.
- Underdogs Never Lose: Krom's aspirant is stated to be a runt. The episode makes it look like Krom's aspirant will make it back to the Aett with his prize after seemingly being the only one left alive while the other two have failed and died...Only for it to be subverted when he's ultimately killed, and Njal's aspirant comes out on top after seemingly dying in the attempt.
A Question of Faith
"In duty do we found ourselves. And in faith do we find meaning."
"No army is big enough to conquer the galaxy. But faith alone can overturn the universe"
— Ecclesiarch Deaclis XI
Two Battle Sisters, Elena and Agatha, attempt to hold a saint’s shrine against rampaging Chaos Cultists. The Sisters are wearied by the constant onslaught and running low on ammunition, yet while there is still a chance other warriors of the Adepta Sororitas will come to their aid, Elena and Agatha will not abandon their duty. Saint Josephine was a legendary figure, said to have aided the convent's defenders in their hour of need through the centuries, and her tomb cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of the worshippers of Khorne.
- Bittersweet Ending: Sister Agatha, empowered by Saint Josephine, eliminates all the cultists but dies shortly afterwards. Sister Elena survives, albeit blinded after witnessing divine power. She takes on Agatha's duties as the guardian of the Shrine, and it is likely that she will never make the pilgrimage to Antioth and see it's great libraries as she expressed earlier.
- Catchphrase: Given that the antagonists are Cultists of Khorne, it was inevitable that they would utter the iconic phrase "BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!"
- Cool Sword: When she runs out of ammo, Sister Agatha switches to a sword and engages the cultists in melee.
- Continuity Nod: Sister Elena says that if they survive the coming onslaught, then she would like to make a pilgrimage to Antioth. Antioth was the world featured in the previous episode Bound for Greatness, where it ended up being corrupted by the machinations of Tzeentch.
- Dirty Coward: A khornate cultist is killed by another cultist for attempting to use a ranged weapon, with his killer deeming him to be a coward for not charging at their targets in close combat as Khorne demands.
- Divine Intervention: The story of Saint Josephine has it that she sacrificed herself in a last stand to prevent an army of daemons from overruning her convent. In her last moments, she prayed for the Emperor to give her strength, and the Emperor answered by turning her into a living saint. And as a saint, she is known to give her power during times of great need. Sister Elena gives a dying Agatha the Sword of Saint Josephine, and Agatha is imbued with the Saint's power, allowing her to incinerate all the cultists in holy light.
- Last Stand: The entire episode centers around two Sisters of Battle trapped in a crypt and making their last stand against a horde of khornate cultists.
- Stock Scream: The Wilhelm Scream is used when the Battle Sisters shoot at the first wave of cultists.
- Tempting Fate: After defeating the first wave, the Battle Sisters believe that they have a moment of respite. Sister Agatha even boasts that their other Battle Sisters will soon arrive and the shrine with once again be at peace. A few seconds after saying this, the Cultists breach the Shrine by blowing up an entrance through the Shrine's wall.
In the Garden of Ghosts
"Gather the dead for war. Let them join our ranks, lest we are forced to join theirs."
— Farseer Kelmon
A small party of Aeldari return to the ruins of their ancestral craftworld to seek the spirit stones of the dead, so that those lost in battle might be returned to a semblance of life, and their memories preserved. The Warlock Iocarus has a more specific agenda, one which can only be fulfilled by reliving the agonising events of the day the craftworld fell.
- Berserk Button: Iocarus despises the Astartes, as he almost loses himself in a rage when he sees a corpse of a Primaris Marine. Considering that the Space Marines destroyed his Craftworld, killed his kin (which also resulted in many of their soulstones being shattered and condemned to the horrific tortures of Slannesh) and his mother, it's understandable why.
- Bittersweet Ending: More bitter than sweet. Iocarus manages to find the soulstone of his mother, to his great relief. He places her soulstone in a Wraithguard and although she doesn't yet know that the person she's speaking with is her son, she is assured that he made it to safety. This doesn't change the fact that most of his kin are dead (with many of their soulstones shattered and their souls damned) and his craftworld is still an abandoned ruin. And the fact that her soulstone was placed in a Wraithguard means that she will be sent to battle if needed, thus running the risk of Iocarus losing his mother again.
- Continuity Nod: When we first see Striking Scoprion Exarch, Omo'Dai, he is seen meditating in front of a ruined statue of Karandras, the Phoenix Lord of his aspect shrine.
- Do Not Go Gentle: The Avatar of Khaine dies fighting against the Primaris Marines, but makes sure to slay several of his killers before finally expiring.
- Fate Worse than Death: The Aeldari spirit stones are meant to contain their souls when they die. Should an Aeldari die without a spirit stone or if the spirit stone is broken, then their souls are condemned to go to Slaanesh, the Chaos God of Excess. Many of the spirit stones that Iocarus finds amongst the dead Aeldari are shown to be broken. He ultimately manages to save three spirit stones, one of which contains the soul of his mother.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Flashbacks show that several Aeldari guardians (one of them being Iocarus' mother) held the line against the invading Primaris Marines so that the Aeldari civilians (including Iocarus) could escape to safety.
- Knight Templar : Space Marines are this in Warhammer 40000's lore in general, but thus far it is the Bolter and Hammer episode who plays this trope the clearest way. We do not know exactly why they attacked the craft-world, but they slaughtered Eldars, including civilians and presumably children, just for being xenos, in the name of Humanity's good.
- Off with His Head!: A variation. In a flashback, Exarch Omo'Dai fights several Primaris Marines. One of them that Omo'Dai kills has Omo'Dai slice the top of a Primaris Marine's skull and brain off.
- Too Dumb to Live: There is a scene where a squad of striking scorpions are confronted by a redemptor dreadnought. Seeing that this foe is beyond their skills, as the striking scorpions are not specialized in anti-armor, you'd expect that they would quickly retreat. But no! They just stand there and futilely shoot at it. This works as well as you'd expect, as they are quickly slaughtered without so much as scratching the dreadnought.
Kill Protocol
"Spirit of this machine, heed my will: Kill Protocol!"
"Let nothing dissuade your quest for knowledge. Let none slow your pursuit and acquisition of holy technology."
— Thusdorius Knoch. Invictus Acquisitor
In the aftermath of an all-consuming war, a lone Tech-priest and the Kastelan Robot she commands set out through Ork-infested wastes on a quest to retrieve a sacred piece of technology from the ruins of a distant city.
- Bait-and-Switch: When the Tech-Priest and her Kastelan Robot encounters a lone guardsman, the latter reasons that he might be of some assistance. You'd think that the Tech-Priest could bring along the guardsman as extra protection, but in actually she murders him for his bionic arm to repair her Kastelan's damaged leg.
- Hidden Depths: Despite the Mechanicus' doctrine of cold logic and reasoning, after the Tech-Priest murders the lone guardsmen for his bionic arm to repair her Kastelan's damaged leg, she justifies what she just did to her Kastelan as necessary in a somewhat somber tone, implying that she does feel some amount of guilt. By the end of the episode, she sacrifices a very precious STC just to fully repair the severely damaged Kastelan after a battle with the Orks. Her justification that she was never going to get the thing off the planet without the Kastelan anyway gets greeted by some apparent skepticism by the machine.
Cadia Stands
"Everyone stands here"
"Alone, we stand as bastions of strength. But when we fight side by side, we are a fortress of faith that no foe can overcome."
— Lord Commander Solar Macharius
On a war-torn battlefront, Astra Militarum forces fight for survival against endless waves of Tyranids. Eoin, a messenger, must deliver a crucial communique from the Cadian commander to the central command staff, and Sergeant Harlan is given the task of keeping him alive. Together the two make their way through embattled trench lines and face the horrors of grinding warfare to deliver Eoin's vital message.
- Alien Blood: The Tyranids are shown having purple blood in this story.
- Determinator: During their journey through the trenches, Eoin and Harlan find a wounded guardsman. Despite being gravely wounded, his legs cut off and his intestines spilling out of his stomach, he insists on being given a lasgun and brought to the trench parapet to continue holding off the attacking Tyranids.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Harlan saves Eoin from an Spore Mine, at the cost of her life.
- I'm Melting!: One scene has a group of guardsmen fighting off a Carnifex. The Carnifex spews bio-plasma on several unfortunate guardsmen, resulting in their skin melting to the bone.
- Mercy Kill: Harlan delivers the Emperor's Peace to one unfortunate guardsman being eaten by rippers. When a horrified Eoin condemns her for the act, Harlan strikes back that the guardsman was beyond saving and he would have done the same had she been in the same situation.
- Not So Stoic: Sergeant Harlan shows herself to be The Stoic when facing against the Tyranid swarm. Yet even her cold and steely character breaks at times, such as when she briefly reacts in horror when she witnesses a guardsman being eaten alive by Tyranid Rippers.
- Took a Level in Badass: Eoin starts out as meek and frightened of the battle going on around him. Which makes sense because, and he himself explains, he's just a messenger rather than a professional soldier. By the end of the episode, he becomes more courageous and confident after killing a few Tyranids and even manages to save sergeant Harlan from a hormagaunt.
Artefacts
"All mortal endeavor is just the universe's futility wearing a mask of self-delusion"
— Szarekh, the Silent King
After ransacking a Necron tomb world, a group of Black Legion Terminators led by the veteran warrior Hesiod are ordered to track down a powerful xenos artefact by Abaddon the Despoiler himself. However, their prize lies in the depths of a vast space hulk, and they are not alone in seeking it.
- Asshole Victim: Considering the nature of the Drukhari, and that the story is following a set of Black Legion Chaos Terminators, the fact remains that neither one is deserving of sympathy, and the audience is probably happier knowing two sets of evil characters are stuck in a time loop they cannot escape from unless they never enter, and they are seemingly unable to avoid doing so because of their pride, especially in Hesiod's case (And knowing Aeldari of any kind, their racial pride prevents them from seeing logic pretty frequently).
- BFG: The Chaos Terminator, Kreld, is armed with an auto-cannon and serves as the heavy support for Hesiod's squad.
- Big "NO!": Hesiod has this reaction just as Trazyn is about to reset the time loop.
- Continuity Nod: The ending of the episode gives us a showing of Trazyn's "carefully, curated collection". This includes Ursakar Creed, confirming that it was he who saved Creed during the Fall of Cadia and added him to his collection.
- Failure Is the Only Option: Trazyn gleefully explains to Hesiod that he and his squad are not prisoners. All they have to do to escape their Stable Time Loop prison is to not enter the Labyrinth. However, even if they do free themselves or never enter the Labyrinth in the first place, Abaddon is likely to kill or torture Hesiod and his squad for returning empty handed.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: Just as Hesiod is about to grab the titular Necron Artefact, one of his squad mates observes that the Drukhari in the artefact room died by bolter and power weapon wounds. Not even thirty seconds later, the true nature of the artefact's resting place is revealed as a "Groundhog Day" Loop.
- Foreshadowing: That cryptek's staff looks awfully familiar, eh? A hint of his true identity as Trazyn the Infinite in disguise.
- "Groundhog Day" Loop Hesiod and his squad were doomed to be inside one the moment Abaddon sent them to retrieve the artefact. While the end of the loop differs each time according to Trazyn, it always begins again with Hesiod and his squad attempting to retrieve the artefact.
- Only Sane Man: Surprisingly, a Chaos Marine can be one. The one with tusks, named Kreld, is rather cautious and constantly questions the nature of the situation he is in, compared to his overconfident and eager peer with power claws. He notes that the Drukhari ships are not part of the original mass of destroyed ships, wonders how said Drukhari are still alive inside despite their ships having signs of extreme age, and questions how a light still has power despite the wreck being millennia old. All of this foreshadows the true nature of the space hulk.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: The cryptek attempts to bargain with the chaos terminators in that he will reveal the location of an Aeldari artifact in exchange for his life. Hesiod refuses his offer, but Abaddon arrives and demands to know the location of artifact. After the cryptek reveals the artifacts location, under the belief that they have a deal, Abaddon shoots off the cryptek's head. Though it is later revealed that the cryptek was Trazyn in disguise, and that he was never in any real danger.
- Who Wants to Live Forever?: Discussed by Trazyn. As he explains to Hesiod, his Necron form allows him to continue his hobby of collecting various artefacts and lifeforms for eternity. But he also partly does this to keep himself from growing mad from boredom, as there is only so much an immortal can do before they start to grow weary of their eternal lives. The "Groundhog Day" Loop that the Chaos Terminators suffer from is just one of his scenarios to keep himself entertained.
Plague Song
"Sing now. Let the void hear your lament"
"Victory needs no explanation. Defeat allows none"
— Anon
When the Death Guard champion Morior Dermatis finds his warband's ambitions thwarted, the sorcerer Ephisis takes matters into his own hands and decides on a new approach. Realising that Grandfather Nurgle's gifts are not bound by mortal conceits of space and time, Ephisis plans to unleash a plague unlike any the Imperium has suffered before.
- Body Horror: Suffering a transformation by Nurgle's power is this in the most horrific way imaginable. How bad is it? Let's just say, it starts with the torso splitting open to reveal a huge, gaping maw and ends with the still (barely) cognizant head being devoured by the body. It says a lot when the extra eyes popping up alls over the body are perhaps the least disturbing part.
- Fat Bastard: Fitting for the servants of Nurgle, members of the Death Guard are shown with bloated bodies as a result of being the carriers of Nurgle's plagues. The Sorcerer, Ephisis, notably has an opening in his armor that shows his bloated belly.
- A Fate Worse Than Death: The aforementioned body horror. Especially since the victim is still alive.
- Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Ephisis' plan mainly runs on it. How dare he attack a such heavily guarded Imperium beacon with just one ship? Because it was foretold his mission will be a success. So he tries, and easily succeeds. He just needs to kill some of his soldiers who don't believe in this reasoning, and to bring a sacrifice to help Nex takes care of the hardest part.
- Stable Time Loop: The main crux of Ephisis' plan is to use the corrupted choir, combined with the Warp's ability to affect space and time, to send a plague back in time, and allow his past self to succesfully conquer the planet and corrupt the choir to... well, you get the idea.
- The Starscream: Ephisis takes over the Death Guard Warband from Morior due to the latter having failed in his conquests one too many times. The fact that the nurgling, Nex, the herald of Nurgle abandons Morior for Ephisis further proves Ephisis's point that a change of leadership is in order.
Double or Nothing
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"Lads, Gorkamorka wants us to smash up them shiny humies over there. No one orders us orruks around. Let's get em!"
— A Brute Boss
In the wilds of Ghur, a vast tribe of orruks threatens a Sigmarite city. Lord-Celestant Carinus and his Hammers of Sigmar do not have the numbers to stand against them, and it seems the city is doomed. Only Sigmar's greatest champion, Hamilcar Bear-Eater, could find a way out of this fix...
- Batman Gambit: Hamilcar manages to save the Sigmarite city with a rather elaborate plan. First he goes to the invading Orruk warboss' camp and makes a wager: If he will defeat Warboss Urgarrk in battle, then he and his forces will leave. If Hamilcar is defeated, then Hamilcar will name Urgarrk the greatest Warboss to have ever lived and spread his reptuation across the mortal realms. However, Urgarrk wants to test how mighty Hamilcar is, so he pits him against his boyz. With the exception of the first challenge, Hamilcar is defeated each time, but each time afterwards he requests another bout whilst increasing the wager. First he offers his gryph-hound, Crow, then his armor, and then the secret of reforging if Urgarrk defeats him. The last one has Hamilcar slaying Urgarrk and proclaiming himself the Orruks boss...Then he makes the same offer that he made to Urgarrk to the rest of the horde, but demands that they all prove themselves. This causes the entirety of the Orruk Waaagh! to fight amongst themselves, thus allowing the Sigmarites to safely evacuate.
- Breather Episode: This episode comes after Plague Song, and compared to the latter which was filled to the brim in Body Horror,
Squick and resulted in a downer ending, Double or Nothing is more light-hearted and comedic in tone. - I Need a Freaking Drink: By the end of the episode, Hamilcar, somewhat bloodied and bruised, asks for ale after managing to turn the invading Orruks against each other.
- Jaw Drop: Lord-Celestant Carinus' reaction when Hamilcar, whom he regarded as an idiot and fully expected him to die, succeeds in his gambit.
- Lighter and Softer: While not without it's share of blood and gore, Double or Nothing is easily the most light-hearted episode of Hammer and Bolter (on par with Old One Eye) due to it's greater emphasis on humor.
- Miles Gloriosus: Subverted. The other Stormcasts initially dismiss Hamilcar as a braggart and a fool, and his insistence people should have heard of him is treated as a joke although one of them admits his name rings a faint bell. His swagger gets him in to see the Boss, but he gets his butt kicked in (almost) every fight. Right up until he gets serious. Hamilcar is an existing character with his own series of stories and really did all those heroic feats; his reputation for them just isn't what he thinks it is.
- Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Hamilcar, just as he's about to finish off Urgarrk.Ukrgarrk: I'm going to be a God!Hamilcar: Alas, you're really, really not.
Monsters
High in the peaks of Attramor, a horse-tribe of Darkoath warriors face a daily battle for survival. Jorvak Brand, the tribe's chieftain, has ambitions of a better future for his people, but their doom is only ever one night away...
- Barbarian Tribe: The protagonists of the episodes are the members of a Darkoath warband.
A New Life
"A new life awaits us all..."
"Survival is no birthright, but a prize wrested from an uncaring galaxy by forgotten heroes"
— Tactica Imperialis
As the Tyranids attack an Imperial colony, can a family get their newborn child off-world and save its life? This episode of Hammer and Bolter offers a terrifying insight into what an invasion looks like through the eyes of lowly hab-workers as they contend with riots, Astra Militarum defence lines, and the oncoming xenos swarm.
- All for Nothing: Despite the rigorous vetting of survivors and aggressive quelling of rebellion, the Genestealer cult gets enough members off world to spread their infection to another one, starting the whole cycle over.
- Ambiguous Situation: An Abbott in the same escape craft as the family soon discovers that the latter are Genestealer Cultists, along with the rest of the escapees. He is then injected with a green substance. It's unknown if he's being injected with a poison or a sedative. Or given the likelihood that the cultist who injected him might be a Biophagus, he might even be injected with the Genestealer infection.
- Arc Words: "New Life". The Genestealer Cultists mean for it to spread their infection into new worlds.
- Armies Are Evil: Imperial Guard are shown to have an intense disdain for civilians, to the point of firing on them for the "crime" of asking to be let onto the evacuation ships. It's clear that the Guard isn't there to protect the planet or save civilians, but just to protect the few VIPs they deem worthy of survival. This becomes a case of Extremist Has A Point as the refugee family along with various escapees turned out to be Genestealer Cultists.
- The Bad Guy Wins: It turns out the family we've been following are members of the local Genestealer Cult, and they just got off world with a young Genestealer in their arms.
- Continuity Nod: Despite the fact that the family along with several other escapees are genestealer cultists, they still intend on escaping the world from the Tyranid invasion. This is a reminder that, although the cult serve as a Tyranid vanguard to weaken the planet's defenses, not all of them are on board in being consumed as biomass. Nor are they all fully aware of the true nature of their supposed "Gods".
- Death from Above: The Tyranids start the invasion by dropping in from space
- Foreshadowing: Even before the plot twist, there were hints of it.
- One example being the lieutenant—who was sympathetic to the family—not only had a detonator, but also explosives being set up in many areas beforehand.
- Even ignoring the frigid climate, all of them were wearing headwear to cover their Genestealer crest.
- At one point, a Lictor notices the family but ignores them. And the Lictor also had a vantage point where it got a good view of the family and the baby. Seeing that the baby was an infant Genestealer, the Lictor recognized them as Genestealer cultists and moved on.
- Heroic Sacrifice: The lieutenant willingly give his life to get the refugee family run towards to ship. Subverted Trope as the family were Genestealer hybrids intending to infect other planets with the lieutenant being their accomplice. Same goes for Remiah, who gives up her chance to escape with her family when it is said that there's only enough room in the escape shuttle for two more and the baby, but she is also part of the cult.
- Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: One guardsman sees the family trying to escape through a sewer entrance and fires at one of them but misses, despite the one family member standing completely still.
- I Will Only Slow You Down: With a Tyranid invasion imminent, and the time for evacuation running short, the Elderly member of the family requests to be left behind. She assures them that she is fine with her decision on account that she's already lived a full life, and because she knows that her sacrifice will give her family a greater chance to escape.
- Leave Behind a Pistol: The Elderly member of the family is given a pistol when she decides to be left behind, possibly to kill herself once the Tyranids make planetfall.
- Through the Eyes of Madness: The infant looks like a normal baby in the eyes of it's family. To anyone else, it's a baby genestealer.
Undercity
People are going missing on the streets of Hammerhal Aqsha. Can Witch Hunter Hanniver Toll and his reluctant colleague, the former Freeguild Captain, Armand Callis, work out what’s been going on? And just what will they discover in the sewers beneath the city’s grubby streets?
- And the Adventure Continues: Although they manage to destroy the vampire nest, a Stormcast named Valius meets with Armand and Hanniver and informs them that the nest was just one of many. And so Hanniver tells Armand to finish his drink and come along to find the rest, to the latter's displeasure.
- Bait-and-Switch: The protagonists encounter a horde of Skaven in the sewers that attack them. But after escaping the Skaven, Hanniver realizes that they weren't really attacking them, but running away from something.
- Bittersweet Ending: The protagonists are too late to save the captives, but they manage to destroy a Soulblight nest, and Hanniver and Armand renew their friendship.
- Red Shirt: Witch Hunter, Hanniver Toll, is accompanied by two soldiers. They are killed midway of the episode by Skaven. Fittingly enough, they are wearing red clothing underneath their armor.
- You Are Too Late: The main objective of the protagonists is to find and rescue the kidnapped citizens and the Arbiter's cousin from the unknown kidnappers. However, it is soon revealed that all the kidnapped citizens have already been killed and the Arbiter's cousin has been turned into a Soulblight Vampire. Hanniver bitterly notes that by the time he discovered that the kidnappers were vampires, he had already accepted that they already too late to save any of them.
Eternal
"Rapture..."
"To kill without sensation is worthless butchery, nothing more."
— Valdrax the Lavisher, Noise Marine Champion
As a Chaplain and Judicar from the Exorcists Chapter interrogate a warrior from the Emperor’s Children about Lucius the Eternal, they don't realise they are about to learn more about the chosen son of the Dark Prince than they ever thought possible.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Lucius reforms himself into the body of his killer, kills the Chaos Marine who insulted him, and slays the Exorcist Chaplain before making his escape.
- Bait-and-Switch: Lucius is attacking the Exorcist's Fortress Monastery to free one of his captured kin, an Emperor's Child named Jaidas. As it turns out, he's only their to kill him for being insulted.
- Delighting in Riddles: The captured Emperor's Child, Jaidas, gives vague information on the nature of Lucius. Chaplain Liminas demands that he stops this and gives them a straight answer. Unfortunately for them, Jaidas doesn't which leaves them fully unaware of the source of Lucius' immortality. This gets Judiciar Domisor eventually transforming into Lucius for having killed the latter.
- Evil Is Petty: The reason why Lucius goes through the trouble of trying to get inside the Excorcist's Fortress Monastery and reach his captured comrade? It is because Jaidas insulted Lucius by calling him a "joke to the legion, and a bad one at that", and Lucius is determined to kill Jaidas for that insult.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: Lucius dies this way after Judiciar Domisor bisects him. He gets better.
- I Let You Win: Seeing that Lucius is accompanied by only two chaos marines, and attacking the Exorcists heavily guarded and heavily defended Fortress Monastery is tantamount to suicide, Lucius' plan to enter the Fortress Monastery is simple but ingenious. When his group are attacked by the Excorcists, he half-heartedly duels the Chaplain and Judiciar before getting killed. Counting on his resurrective immortality, he slowly reforms himself into the body of his killer, the Judiciar, that allows him access to the Fortress Monetary without the occupants knowing long enough for him to finish his objective.
- Lampshade Hanging: This exchange when Lucius faces the Exorcist Chaplain and Judiciar. Apparently, Lucius has been cursed so many times by loyalist Astartes to the point that he's already expecting what they have to say to him.Lucius: Should you not me damning me and cursing me as a traitor?Chaplain Liminas: Death to the traitor and the fiend!Lucius: Ah, yes, there it is.
- Licking the Blade: Lucius does this after finding and killing Jaidas with his sword. He notes that the blood is "disappointingly bitter".
- Our Minotaurs Are Different: One of the Emperor's Children, a Chaos Terminator named Vaust, has been mutated to the point that he looks like an anthropomorphic bull. He even charges at the Primaris Marines in a bull charge.
- Sense Loss Sadness: Exploited by the Exorcists to a captured Chaos Marine. Jaidas, being one of the Emperor's Children is tortured by being locked in a prison that deprives him of all sensation. And to a servant of Slaanesh, that is a fate worse than death.
