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Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Dark Crusade

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Dark Crusade is the second expansion to the real-time strategy video game Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War developed by Relic Entertainment and published by THQ. Based on Games Workshop's tabletop wargame, Warhammer 40,000, Dark Crusade was released on October 9, 2006.

Description adapted from Wikipedia contributors, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Dark Crusade · CC BY-SA 4.0. Text adapted for this entry.

FULL SPOILERS AHEAD

The story, including the ending.

These write-ups discuss major events and outcomes for this listed work. Each source and its coverage are identified below.

Source plot synopsis — includes the ending

=== Setting ===
After the Eldar on Lorn V break their alliance with the Imperial Guard during the events of Winter Assault, the Guard form a task force led by Colonel Lukas Aleksander to hunt their leader, Farseer Taldeer. The awakening of Necrons on the fringe planet of Kronus causes Taldeer to travel there with Aleksander in pursuit. The planet has been under the tenuous control of the Tau Empire for centuries, having wrested it from the Imperium of Mankind and subjugated its human population. The protagonist of Fire Warrior, Kais, leads the Tau forces arriving on the planet. Feral Orks are combined into a force by the arrival of Warboss Gorgutz, who killed the former ruler of Lorn V, the Chaos Lord Crull. The Chaos Lord Eliphas commanding forces from the Chaos Undivided warband Word Bearers arrives in turn to conquer the world and retrieve Crull's skull. Blood Raven Space Marines under the charge of Captain Davian Thule are tasked by Chapter Master Azariah Kyras to purge the world and retrieve relics and information pertaining to the chapter's early history. However, Thule's orders lead him into conflict with the Imperial Guard forces.

Possible Endings

Tau: The Tau regain control of Kronus. Imperial Guard forces and human dissidents are forced into reeducation camps. Humanity becomes a small minority on Kronus, with mass sterilization rumored to have been undertaken.
Chaos: Eliphas ascends into Daemonhood, uses Kronus as a staging point, and leads Chaos forces in the most devastating offensive since the Horus Heresy.
Necron: The Necrons purge Kronus of all life, and campaigns throughout nearby systems, repelling all attempts at retaking the planet.
Ork: Gorgutz uses the planet as a recruiting ground for his later campaigns.
Imperial Guard: Aleksander remains on the planet as its Imperial governor. He yields command of his regiment, passing it to his deputy.
Eldar: Taldeer leaves the planet after putting enemy forces into chaos, leaving it as anarchic, contested by warlords.

Canonical Plot

The canonical plot of the game follows the Blood Ravens. The Blood Ravens defeat the Imperial Guard and kill Colonel Aleksander. The survivors are given treatment and evacuated off-world. The Blood Ravens then defeat the Eldar, capturing and then executing their leader, Taldeer. The Word Bearers are defeated and Eliphas' body is destroyed by a daemon. The Necron Lord of Kronus is destroyed by Thule, though he loses an eye in the process. The Tau and Orks are defeated by an unknown force. With the Blood Ravens victorious, the world is returned to the Imperium of Man, though not before it is purged and pillaged. The Imperial Guard report the Blood Ravens to the Imperial Inquisition, though Thule and his officers manage to convince the Inquisition that their actions were justified. However, the victory on Kronus precedes the revelation of Kyras' allegiance to Chaos, and the defeat of the Blood Ravens in the Kaurava System.

Campaign

The expansion features a "Risk-based strategic layer", a campaign including a "meta-map", similar to that in Westwood Studios's Dune games as opposed to the programmed, linear storylines of previous versions. Due to this lack of linearity, there is no plot aside from the opening cinematic; rather, as the player conquers various opposing factions the game provides a narrative specific to whom the player has conquered. If the player wins the campaign, a cinematic is played that depends on which faction the player was controlling.
The player may pick a faction to play as, and then engages in turn-based combat with the other A.I.-controlled factions. There are multiple provinces, which are conquered by fighting a regular skirmish match over them. These may either give a special bonus or supply special 'honour guard' units, which are powerful, non-trainable versions of regular units. They may only be made on the main battlefield overview screen, and, like provincial reinforcements, cost planetary requisition, a resource gained on a per-turn basis based on how many provinces the player controls. Honour guard units transfer over provinces and may be used repeatedly. There are also seven 'Stronghold' provinces that function as bases for respective factions; these are made like more traditional campaign games, with multiple secondary and primary objectives that vary from faction to faction.

Also, a race's commander unit may be upgraded with special "wargear", unique, customizable upgrades that vary by race. These are awarded at battle milestones, ranging from a certain amount of kills to conquering many provinces.
Campaign scenarios are persistent, meaning that all player structures are 'saved' when a game is won. For example, if a player builds a base and conquers a province, only to have a neighbouring faction attack aforementioned province, the player will start out with all the buildings of the previous base, as well as any building upgrades. However, the player's researched technologies will not be carried over and must be reacquired. The AI always begin with their bases at the same location on the map, with the exact number of bases and the buildings they contain dependent on their strength level and progression into the Campaign. If the player has previously built structures near the location of an enemy base, these structures may be cleared to make room for the AI's starting structures. Players may also choose to garrison provinces with units that are instantly available should the province be attacked. These are bought with planetary requisition.
Sources and content license

Source and revision history ↗ · Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Dark Crusade. Section headings and formatting adjusted. · Content license