Artificer Armour

**Artificer Armour** is the name given to individualised and heavily modified suits of Power Armour. Even in the time of the Great Crusade, such armour was rare, often maintained from some of the very first suits of Power Armour forged for the Great Crusade, but freshly created suits were known, wrought with such care or such high quality materials that they exceeded the defencive qualities of standard Power Armour, approaching the realms of Tactical Dreadnought Armour. Each suit is often highly decorated by their owners, and should they fall, these suits are often passed to other high ranking or honoured individuals within their legion, kept as a link to the glorious military history of each of the Emperor's might armies.

Though Artificer Armour and Power Armour are similar in appearance, Artificer Armour is as far beyond standard Power Armour as Power Armour is beyond the Carapace Armour used by the soldiers of the Imperial Guard. Ingeniously designed damage control mechanisms and superdense materials allow most suits of Artificer Armour to offer a much greater degree of protection than standard Power Armour, even rivaling that offered by Terminator Armour in some cases. Artificer Armour cannot, however, make use of weapons as powerful as those available to Astartes in Terminator Armour.

A suit of Artificer Armour is an extremely valuable relic for a Space Marine Chapter, and even the legions of old could not readily make use of these suits on a grand scale. Many elements of the suit will have been replaced or repaired over the long years and its heraldry altered for each wearer, but it is still held to be the same suit of armour and so is venerated for its history.

Techmarines also wear a form of Artificer Armour. These suits are rarely as old and venerated as the others possessed by the Chapter, but are essentially suits of Power Armour that have been heavily modified and improved by several generations of Techmarines. Such suits usually contain a vast array of mechanical interfaces and built-in servo-tools to aid a Techmarine in his duties for the Chapter.

## Unique Suits of Artificer Armour

* ***The Shield of Nephtis*** - Designed to be adaptable to any theatre of war the *Shield of Nephtis* is the armour of Khnum-Anhuret of the Watchers of Akhet. Striking a near perfect balance between speed and defence, the armour allows Khnum to strike forward with blistering speed before falling back into a defencive pattern, flowing between the two with consummate ease. The Armour also acts as a base for the now integrated weapon known as the Sunstone’s Sting, the combi-weapon allowing Khnum to remain deadly at any range, playing to the adaptable nature of his armour.
* ***The Embers Kiln*** - The unique set of armour known as the *Embers Kiln* was crafted by Galvarian of the Ashen Crows during his long stay on Terra after his unification with the Emperor. Apart from being a masterfully wrought set of artificer armour, the Embers Kiln incorporates a large shield generator on its chest that can be projected outwards, providing cover for nearby troops as well as Galvarian, though this does strain the generator and can burn it out if not used with care. The armour is also equipped with a large supply of combat stimulants and pain suppressants, all designed by the First Ember to allow him to push past the limitations of his own ravaged body, even if they do lead to him suffering from horrendous withdrawals after the fight is won.
* ***The Cuirasses of Similitude*** - The Geminius Twins of the Brothers Encarmine both wear identical suits of power armor known as the *Cuirasses of Similitude*, each bearing a striking resemblance to the MkIV pattern of power armour that would eventually see use across the legions, despite the armour not yet being past the early prototype stages. The suits are both for quick movements and rapid strikes, as well as accentuating the gladiatorial mindset both twins still carry with them. One pauldron is higher than the other, increasing the protection on one side while lessening it on the other to compensate, forcing the twins to rely on their skill, speed and one another to keep their weaknesses covered in combat.
* ***The Centauran Carapace*** - Initially designed as a heavy-set suit of artificer armour, designed for use within a saddle to ensure the rider would be as secure upon their mount as possible, when Bartosz of the Palatine Wings first received the Centauran Carapace, he was unimpressed. He was used to combat at speed, but the ways of the jetbike were foreign to him, and though the armour aided in his learning, he never took to it. It was not until he ordered the suit to be almost completely stripped bear and remade that he started to bond with it, lightening the protection, replacing the bulky power plant with a sleeker version and adding power fields to supplement its otherwise lighter protective capabilities. Above all however, the Centauran Carapace was now designed with a singular, overriding purpose, dozens of additional interface ports added to its spine, all to allow for a new seamless interface with the Sagittar, and though it was not to the same level as the connection offered by an Interexine Warsuit, Bartosz could once again gallop, taking to the battlefield as the Imperial Sagittarius.
* ***The Croen Byw*** - The *Croen Byw* worn by Artellion of the Silver Basilisks is a sleek suit of power armour, providing the Primarch with an almost unrestricted range of motion while fighting, relying instead on several dozen micro conversion fields built into his armor to shield himself from incoming fire.As an added benefit, these shields give Artellion an almost mirage-like appearance when moving, making his movements more difficult to track during combat.

* ***The Nyx-pattern Power Armour*** - Made from a rare metal native only to the world of Archeron, the *Nyx-pattern Power Armour* is worn by the Primarch Charon of the Wisps of Archeron. Seeming to eat the surrounding light, the armour allows the wearer to disappear into the darkness, specially designed servo bundles allowing the user to move almost completely silently. As a secondary aspect, the armours metal is also capable of withstanding far higher temperatures than contemporary power armour made from Ceramite, though its rarity means it cannot be used en-masse, most of known the supplies of the metal used in the single suit.
* ***The* *Kthonic Pallium*** *-* Crafted by the hand of the Emperor himself for Surmah of the XXth upon his founding, the *Kthonic Pallium* was designed to withstand obscene punishment while sacrificing nothing to his mobility, able to reduce the effects of even the most heavily radiated and thermally saturated areas to a non-threatening level. Most importantly however, the armour enhanced his phase-walking capability, allowing him to maintain his incorporeal form for greater spans of time and thus allowing him to avoid attacks that would see even Imperial tanks reduced to slag.