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[[Image:NLArt.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Night Lords (Post-Heresy){{Fn|16}}]]
===Heresy-Era===
During the [[Great Crusade]] and [[Horus Heresy]], the Night Lords followed standard [[Space Marine Legion]] organization save , albeit with a lower amount of [[Breacher Marine|Breacher]] and siege units.{{Fn|70}} They also maintained a command council of [[Space Marine Captain|Captains]] known as the [[Kyroptera]].{{Fn|15b}}
During this time the Night Lords would deploy "Pacification Battalions". These were formations of heavy armor and shock infantry, including the infamous [[Terror Squad]]s. These would deploy to isolated worlds with the sole goal of breaking whatever limited defences they could find, then promptly ravaging the planet and its population. This served as an example for others for the price of defiance. These units would first deploy their heavy armor en-masse and once the defenders were broken and scattered, infantry as well as [[Land Speeder]]s and [[Space Marine Bike|Biker]]s would hunt down the survivors. The purpose of these operations was to cull and cause as much collateral damage as possible. They rarely made any attempt to hold their ground, most often departing after their brief but vicious onslaught.{{Fn|28c}}
==Culture==
Even during before their betrayal of the Horus HeresyEmperor, the Night Lords were naturally rebellious thanks to the conditions of their homeworld.{{Fn|70}} The Night Lords were, and largely still are, misotheists. Possessed of no holy or unholy crusade, no unifying belief, martial creed or even bonds of honour, they exist merely to reap the spoils of their actions and terrify those they despise. Curze had been their sole source of unity and command, and without him the Legion ceased to function as a coherent unit.{{Fn|70}} Most of them, though far from all, have little to no interest in Chaos itself and shun the company of those that do. Their use of terror tactics and fondness for piracy and salvage operations are the only common themes found amongst their disparate warbands.{{Fn|1}}
The desire to cause fear is central to what philosophy the Night Lords have. This has become ritualised, to the extent that each Night Lord goes out of their way to affect a terrifying appearance, having their armour heavily artificed with symbols and imagery of death and nightmare such as skulls, skeletons, winged maws, lightning etc. Any edge gained over an opponent - including psychological ones - is important to the Night Lords. As a result, it is not uncommon for Night Lords to own a variety of personal weapons (some ornate, ancient and very deadly) and to prize them highly.{{Fn|1}} A key aspect of the Eighth Legion's terror tactics is that of dominance; the Night Lords believe in theoretically achieving it before beginning a combat action in the first place, and will go out of their way to gain a superior position over the enemy, using psychological warfare for some time before the attack, or stealth tactics in order to infiltrate the battlefield or set up in ambush. Night Lords, while not averse to enjoying the slaughter they cause, do not simply engage in battle for the enjoyment in brings; they only fight when they intend to win, and win easily and well. A Night Lord will attempt every underhanded trick he knows before engaging in a straightforward, stand-up fight.{{Fn|1}}
*{{Endn|68}}: [[Black Crusade Core Rulebook]], pg. 286
*{{Endn|69}}: [[Carcharodons Red Tithe (Novel)]], Chapter 2
*{{Endn|70}}: [[The Horus Heresy: Age of Darkness 3rd Edition Rulebook]], pg. 69
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