Catachan is the most infamous death world in the Warhammer 40,000 galaxy. Part of the Imperium of Man, Catachan is a world hostile to all life not native to it. The planet has no strategic worth to the Imperium except it's people, with the conditions they must survive daily producing some of the best soldiers in the Imperial Guard. The average Catachan, assuming they survive long enough to reach adulthood, is larger and more physically developed than the average human, earning them the nickname "baby ogryns" by other guardsmen, though few would be brave enough to say this in front of them.
First colonised during the Dark Age of Technology, long before the Imperium of Man was established, Catachan is one of the oldest human worlds besides Holy Terra itself. When the first exploratory probes arrived, they found a lush jungle world, seemingly perfect for human life. However, when the first colony ship crash-landed on the planet, the colonists discovered they'd arrived on one of the harshest and most dangerous planetary ecosystems in the galaxy. Survival was a war in and of itself, and it is believed many died before they learnt enough to survive, and later thrive, on the planet. Their only homes were the hulls of their spacecraft, constantly besieged by the jungle around them.
Centuries later, in the time of the Imperium, Catachan came to the attention of the Departmento Munitorum. They realised that Catachan offered natural survival training on the daily, and that the people who walked out of there alive would make excellent troops for the Astra Militarum, suited for hostile environments. This was the birth of the Catachan Jungle Fighters.
In the current day, the few settlements which can adequately hold back the jungle are giant fortresses surrounded by vast plains, cleared out to improve lines of fire for the defenders. Building on Catachan is difficult - vines and lichen take hold wherever they can, poisons from the planet's fauna and flora can melt mortar, and some vines can even crush tanks and bunkers with ease. Buildings are constantly rebuilt, which prompts the jungle to work harder in eliminating the human population. Eventually, the native wildlife gather in numbers large enough to push the humans out of their settlement, restarting the cycle as they resettle elsewhere.
During the 13th Black Crusade, Catachan was cut off from the greater Imperium by the Warp Storm Bas Infernia, roughly at the same time both a wounded Void Whale and Freebooter Kaptin Badrukk led an Ork WAAAGH! against the planet. Due to astropathic interference, Catachan wasn't warned in time to repel these threats, but both Badrukk's WAAAGH! and the Void Whale failed to make any headway, the planet fighting back as hard as her human colonists.
Following the Fall of Cadia at the dawn of the Era Indomitus and the formation of the Great Rift, Catachan was once again caught in the Warp, this time exposed to a daemonic incursion. Once again, the planet fought back against the invaders, and when Roboute Guilliman and the Indomitus Crusade arrived, they found that they weren't needed, the local Catachan regiments having already dealt with the daemonic threat.
Native Life[]
Flora[]
Barbed Venomgorse - A highly adaptable carnivorous plant possessed of a cunning sort of primal satience, Venomgorse snake towards anything living, their bodies generating new weapon-growths and toxins throughout their life cycles, and injecting debilitating neurotoxin into prey, with fatal results. Commonly found with a collection of dead animals bones, xenos skeletons and the odd unfortunate guardsmen, the venom of a single one of these weeds is enough to kill the majority of a hive city's population, which can number in the billions at the lowest and trillions at most.
Brain Leaf - A small tree, easily concealed in the jungles of Catachan, that attaches its tendrils to the spine and brain of a person, taking control over them. It is commonly believed that the Brain Leaf may be an evolutionary offshoot of the TyranidCortex Leach, which has similar abilities.
Breathweed - It isn't known if this is a plant or a fungus, though the latter seems likely. What is known is that Breathweed spores attach themselves to a victim's tongue, consuming it over several days. Upon maturing, it uses the host to collect nutrients, slowly killing its host and releasing a cloud of spores upon the host's death.
Canak Floater - Bizarre plants that are filled with lighter-than-air gases, allowing them to drift over the jungle in search of a place to release their seeds. Curiously, the Canak Floater is an exception amongst most native life on Catachan, as it isn't outwardly hostile to human life. The Floater's tendrils are able to detect heat and moisture below it, and upon finding a source of both, it will explode, showering the area with razor-sharp seed pods. These tendrils are searching for streams, hot springs and other sources of water. Unfortunately for the planet's native population, they're sensitive enough to mistake the internal body temperature and moisture changes of humans as such.
Catachan Mantrap - A distant cousin of the Venus Mantrap, the Catachan Mantrap differs from its relation in one crucial way - it's aggression is heightened. Where the Venus Mantrap is a sedimentary predator, waiting for prey to come to it, the Catachan Mantrap will constantly move its leaves, searching for nearby prey.
Grappleweed - The most common and deadly variant of Venomgorse, the Grappleweed is a much more aggressive plant than its origin. Where the Barbed Venomgorse will simply seek out prey nearby, the Grappleweed will barrel towards prey like a living creature, spewing out digestive acids that quickly leave its victims a pool of slurry. When it does behave like a typical Venomgorse, it doesn't simply poison victims with neurotoxin barbs. Rather, it grabs the victim, dragging them into the maw of its fleshy trumpet.
Miral Catcher - Ground-hugging vegetation that looks surprisingly innocent for Catachan. The roots of a Miral Catcher are extremely sensitive to vibrations, such as those of animals wandering past. When disturbed, huge tentacles whip from its many maws. These tentacles carry a paralysing toxin, which will incapacitate anyone they touch almost instantaneously.
Shardwrack Spines (also known as Devil's Teeth) - A common species across multiple death worlds, Shardwrack Spines are formed of fossilized organic matter, which have hardened over thousands of years into razor-sharp organic walls. They impede movement, but they also form a physical threat to anything that comes to close, as they're sharp enough to pierce armour as though it wasn't there.
Spiker - Another common species across several death worlds, the Spiker will fire its spines at any creature who comes to close. These spines will slowly transform the victim into a new Spiker. Although the victim retains their mobility for some time, their mind fractures under the effects of the Spiker's toxin, leaving them to wander aimlessly until the transformation is complete.
Spitting Cactus - Much like the Spiker, this species of jungle cactus fires toxin-coated spines at victims.
Spore Tree - The branches of a Spore Tree are lined with flowers that, when disturbed, release a cloud of spores. The spores are the plant's seeds, and it uses the victim to spread itself further. However, the spore cloud is so dense, it often kills the victim, choking them to death.
Stranglevine (also called Strangleplant) - Plants that grow best in the shade, Stranglevines keep themselves hidden from sight. When detecting prey, their stamen wraps around the victim, dragging it back to die of dehydration.
Sucker Tree - A truly deceptive predator, the Sucker Tree looks like any other tree, with a fungal growth on it. However, when something passes by, this fungal growth will latch on to its head, sucking them dry of their life fluids, before flinging the body away, to ensure future victims aren't aware of its nature.
Venus Mantrap - A giant carnivorous plant native to several jungle death worlds, the Venus Mantrap appears to be an enlarged variant of its namesake, the Venus Flytrap. Whilst it behaves similarly to the Venus Flytrap, it is capable of moving its leaves to find prey.
Fauna[]
A Catachan Devil
Blood Wasp - Blood Wasps are swarms of small, deadly insects, capable of stripping prey to the bone in under an hour.
Catachan Barking Toad - Probably the most dangerous creature on a planet of dangerous creatures, the Barking Toad is seemingly benign and harmless. However, they are easily startled, and when they are, they explode, killing themselves and spreading their toxins over a 1km radius. Nothing is safe from Barking Toad toxin, with even fully sealed suits of power armour failing to protect their victims.
Catachan Bloodfly
Catachan Devil - The apex predator of the Catachan jungles, these kilometres-long insectoids resemble a cross between a scorpion and a centipede, and are highly territorial, capable of taking on Imperial Guard tank companies when agitated.
Catachan Face-Eater - Perhaps one of the most unpleasant ways to die on Catachan, the Face-Eater resembles a towel, allowing it to spread with ease when taken off-world. These creatures wait for prey to come to them, before either dropping on or flinging themselves at the head of the victim, wrapping around the face. The victim simultaneously suffocates and suffers the creature's namesake, as the Face-Eater releases powerful digestive acids to feed on their victim's face. Once the victim is dead, the Face-Eater releases a clutch of eggs, which quickly hatch into maggot-like larvae that devour the rest of the body.
Catachan Pusworm
Catachan Water-drake
Drakebat - Ogryn-sized winged pseudo-reptiles, Drakebats lurk in the upper canopies of Catachan's jungles, waiting for unsuspecting prey they can ambush and devour.
Death Fly
Grox - Native to the Solomon system, Grox were brought to Catachan, just as they were many other planets within the Imperium of Man. On most worlds, they are kept in check by lobotomy and brain implants. However, on Catachan, they have gone feral, escaping into the wild with the same ferocity as the planet's native species.
Heretic-Ant -Named because they target their prey's feet (their "soles"), Heretic-Ants possess an extremely deadly bite. One bite can put a man in hospital, two gives them a day to find treatment before they die, and three will kill the victim outright.
Shambling Mamorph - Native to the world's volcanic lands, Shambling Mamorphs are the only true competition for the Catachan Devil, capable of putting up a good fight against these creatures.
Snakes - Catachan is home to several species of snake, each more dangerous than those that once inhabited ancient Terra. Some of these species possess a poison that can kill in 30 heartbeats.
Spinebore Leech
Vein Worm - Vein Worms secrete an anesthetic ooze, numbing the victim's skin so they can't feel the creature burrowing into them. Once inside, the creature lays its eggs, which spread throughout the body through the bloodstream. At this stage, the victim is doomed, as there is no way to cure a Vein Worm infection. When the larvae hatch, they'll eat their way through the host's brain, heart and bones.
