| abstract | - A banesword was a magical +1 lawful longsword that was decorated with the symbols of the dark god Bane. They were commonly found in possession of Bane's followers and were worth around 18,000 gold pieces.
- The Banesword is one of the newest variants of the Shadowsword. The commanders and tacticians of the Imperial Guard had long requested a super-heavy tank which could destroy fortifications like the Shadowsword, but which would possess better mobility and a higher rate of fire. The Tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus eventually managed to fulfill this long-standing request by swapping the Shadowsword's Volcano Cannon for a Quake Cannon, both weapons normally found on Titan weapon hardpoints. The Quake Cannon is one of the largest artillery pieces in the Imperium of Man's arsenal, and by wedging an armoured casemate specially designed to dampen the Quake Cannon's massive recoil into the Shadowsword's chassis, the most brutally effective siege tank was born. Like the Basilisk, the Banesword's place on the battlefield is in the rear areas, obliterating enemy fortifications with long range fire. Like the Basilisk, the Banesword can also be pressed into the frontlines. The Banesword's armoured mass and secondary armament of three sets of twin-linked Heavy Bolters and two Lascannons allow it to perform much more efficiently than a battery of Basilisks when fielded in this way. In addition, the sight of a super-heavy tank rumbling forward and blasting the enemy into oblivion is always a potent morale bolster for the Guardsmen fighting alongside it. The Banesword dispenses with the most hampering disadvantage of the Shadowsword, namely having to disengage its engine before firing. However, like all super-heavy tanks based on the Baneblade chassis, it suffers from poor top speed and maneuverability, and the Quake Cannon's fixed setting requires the Banesword to be bodily aimed at its intended target. Additionally, the Quake Cannon is inefficient against enemy Titans, for unlike the Lance beam from a Volcano Cannon, or the massive plasma burst from a Plasma Blastgun, the massive shell will be stopped by any remaining Void Shield, requiring the target's shields to be taken down before the shot is taken with any hope of success.
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