Techmarine Gottfried

It is tradition that a chapter send its marines who share a high affinity with technology to the cult of the Omnissiah. Those astartes who train in the ways of the mechanicus become members of two worlds, and are forever known as techmarines. Due to the zealous nature and importance placed on melee prowess, the Black Templar chapter is not particularly known for its techmarines, despite possessing the geneseed of Rogal Dorn. In spite of this, it was the Black Templars who would raise Brother Gottfried into the ranks of the Techmarines. A sharp an inquisitive mind, Gottfried showed a great propensity for technology as a neophyte, and even had a knack for soothing unruly machine spirits. These talents were quickly picked out by the techmarines of his company, and he was quickly selected to join the mechanicus cult on the forge world of Campania. Spending many years honing his skills, he would return to his chapter, a fully realized techmarine. Although a talented mechanic, he possessed an unsavory characteristic that almost costed him his position, that being the need to innovate. It has been a long standing policy of the mechanicus to not seek innovation or change, a rule that Brother Gottfried often ignored in his pursuit to create. This often led him into direct disagreements with his tehcpriest instructors. Despite this, brother Gottfried has been at the forefront of many amazing innovations, and although they are not wide spread among the imperium, his inventions have become great boons for the Black Templars, and in particularly the Invictus crusade.

### The Atoner Pattern Dreadnought

When Sword Brother Dieter Ludolf was gravely injured at the hands of Chaos space marines, it was Brother Gottfried who would orchestrate his survival. Theorizing that the drawbacks of the leviathan and redemptor dreadnoughts could cancel one another out, he spliced the two patterns together into the experimental Atoner pattern. Under the orders of Marshal Tann, Gottfried went to work creating this new design, and with the help of the chapter apothecaries and many sleepless nights, they finally produced a new chassis. The Atoner Pattern Dreadnaught combined the Intensity of the redemptor with the haziness of the Leviathan in a sort of equilibrium, in which the two drawbacks worked in tandem with one another. The design proved to be successful and not only saved the life of Ludolf, but also increased his overall combat ability.

### The Warhammer Gram

Having participated in the Invictus crusades, Gottfried was present when Marshal Torismund requested a new weapon after his old sword was shattered. A competition quickly started among the techmarines, and many went to work producing elegant and ornate swords. But brother Gottfriend could not help but remember the Marshals words, when requesting a weapon, he specifically asked for "a weapon that could fell an opponent in a single swing." Not one to shy away from a competition, Gottfried quickly set to work. On the day of the event, each techmarine presented their creations. Many had created beautiful ornate blades, each a work of art, perfectly balanced with monomolecularly honed edges. Many were surprised to see brother Gottfrieds weapon, a crude and brutish thunder-hammer. Despite its appearance, a single swing of this hammer had settled the competition. Easily demolishing solid ferricrete pillars and punching holes in plasteel plates, it was easy to see why the hammer had won. Even Torismund was noted to have grinned when he swung the hammer, a rare site for the Marshal. Given the Name Gram, the hammer used a similar principle as the Atoner dreadnaught. Marrying two previously dangerous technologies to cancel out their flaws. By utilizing solid dampening cores and twin linked force emitters, Gottfried was able to create a hammer that boasted an impressive damage output while remaining relatively safe for the user. Given the designation of a Ukonvasara patterned Thunder hammer, it currently remains a one of a kind design.