Power Armour

Power Armour is an advanced form of powered combat armour, worn primarily by the Space Marines and the Chaos Space Marines, though suits have been created to be worn by mere mortals. It is a completely enclosed suit of combat armour composed of shaped Adamantium and Plasteel plates, encased in a Ceramite ablative layer.

Each suit possesses a full suite of life-support functions for operation in hostile environments, an automated medicae system to provide some level of first aid to a wounded wearer and a highly advanced and fully integrated tactical targeting and threat analysis system known as Auto-senses.

The suit would be heavy and cumbersome to wear but for the electrically-motivated fibre bundles within the armour that replicates the wearer's movement and enhances his strength beyond its already considerable superhuman baseline (for Space Marines). Whilst Power Armour is most commonly associated with the Space Marines of the Legiones and later Adeptus Astartes, many organisations have also use powered armour of one sort or another, including but not limited to; the Emperor's own Custodians, the Kastarian First, the Sisters of Battle and the Inquisition.

Typically, however, these armours may not contain the same strength-enhancing properties or life-support functions of Space Marine Power Armour, nor do they always provide the same level of protection.

## Design

The enclosing suits of armour worn by Space Marines are made from thick ceramite plates and would be cumbersome but for electrically motivated fibre bundles that replicate the movements of the wearer and supplement his strength. The last gene-seed organ to be implanted in a Space Marine -- the Black Carapace -- rests beneath the skin, itself fitted with neural sensors and transfusion ports.

These plug-in points mesh with Space Marine Power Armour, linking the wearer's nervous system to his suit's mind impulse controls, turning the suit into a second skin that moves with all the speed and precision of the Battle-Brother's own body. Without the Black Carapace, Space Marine Power Armour is almost useless, and it is therefore the most distinctive feature of a Space Marine and the true mark of an Astartes.

There are several patterns (or "marks") of Power Armour, whose appearances differ significantly. Many marks have special associations for certain legions and are often worn by their ceremonial Honour Guards or elite units, or may be entirely unique to a single legion all together. Power Armour is sometimes maintained by skilled Artificers who are not Space Marines, especially in the less mechanically inclined legions, but servants who spend their lives working for the Legion and their Chapter descendants, generations of their family's passing on the craft to their children through the ages. Especially talented Artificers are justly celebrated, and examples of their work highly prized.

Power Armour is fully sealed, isolating the wearer from the outside environment and protecting him from chemical and/or biological weapons and toxic atmospheres. It also commonly includes numerous auxiliary systems such as radio frequency communicators, auto-senses, etc. Space Marines go through an arduous process where they receive various biogenetically-engineered implants culminating with the implantation of the Black Carapace which allows the Astartes a direct and instinctual neural interface with his Power Armour, transforming it into effectively a second skin.

The advanced systems of Space Marine Power Armour also monitor the Astartes' biological functions, feeding the collected medical information to the wearer and, if necessary, to the Legions Apothecaries when he is wounded. The armour's backpack contains the suit's main power source -- a sub-atomic microfusion generator and a back-up solar power converter and 100 solar cell batteries to store the absorbed solar energy. The backpack also contains the armour's environmental and life support systems and additional movement stabiliser thrusters for low and zero-gravity combat.

## Common Components of Space Marine Power Armour

All patterns of Adeptus Astartes Power Armour since the Mk2 suit possess the following components:

* **Helmet** - The armoured reinforced headgear that protects an Astartes head.
	+ **Auto-senses** - A Space Marine's helmet contains most of his armour's combat systems, all of which are referred to by one title -- Auto-senses. These include thought-activated comm-augers and audio-filters, targeting reticules and range finders, tactical displays and Auspex-links, and a host of other features that further enhance the Space Marine's already superhuman senses.
	+ **Photolenses** - The photolenses are the reinforced eye guards in the helmet that protect the Space Marine from dazzling light bursts. They also allow him to see into the infrared and ultraviolet ranges, as well as enabling vision in low-light conditions.
	+ **Respirator Vox Grill** - The Vox grill can amplify a Space Marine's battle cries to deafening volumes. It also contains a respirator to filter out toxins and can be shut off with a thought, drawing instead upon an internal oxygen supply.

* **Gorget** - Part of the armour that protects the throat.
* **Pauldron** - The auto-reactive shoulder guards are shaped to deflect as well as absorb incoming blows, these shoulder plates typically display Adeptus Astartes identification markings, including Chapter symbols, company and squad markings, as well as many other honour badges.
* **Gauntlet** - The armoured glove that protects both the hand and the wrist.
* **Cuisses** - The part of the armour that protects the thigh.
* **Plastron** - The armoured chestplate that is designed to protect the suit's armoured power cables, and more importantly, the Astartes vital organs. It is typically adorned with the Imperial Aquila or the Imperialis honour for more veteran Space Marines.
* **Couter** - Part of the armour that protects the elbow.
* **Vambrace** - Part of the armour that protects the forearm.
* **Poleyn** - Part of the armour that protects the knee.
* **Greaves** - Part of the armour that protects the lower leg. The greaves incorporate gyroscopic stabilisers and power units that can magnetise the soles of the armour's boots for combat in zero-gravity or other unstable conditions.
* **Sabaton** - The armoured boot that protects the foot.
* **Backpack Power Unit**- The main power source for the suit of Power Armour is located in the suit's backpack. This highly-efficient sub-atomic microfusion reactor core provides the power for all internal systems. The suit does contain a reserve power supply and a back-up micro-solar panel array in case of emergencies.
* **Life Signs Monitor** - Adeptus Astartes Power Armour contains a suite of life-support functions, including an auto-*medicae* equipped with various painkillers, combat stimulants and anti-venoms.
* **Temperature Regulator** - Astartes Power Armour automatically maintains the Space Marine's temperature. Heat is provided by the power core and thermal build-up can be vented via the backpack's distinctive nozzles. As a result, a Space Marine can fight anywhere, in the cold vacuum of space or the raging heart of a volcano, without even noticing the change of temperature. This thermal waste can also be used for limited maneuvering in zero-gravity.

* **Nutrient Reservoir** - Astartes Power Armour contains a self-replenishing, high-energy liquid food store that can sustain a Space Marine's metabolism without need for further nourishment. During battle, there is no need for a Space Marine to stop to eat or drink.

## History and Development

Power Armour has been in use since before the Age of the Imperium, worn by the techno-barbarians that dominated Terra during the Age of Strife. It was also worn by the early genetically-engineered warriors that formed part of the Emperor's retinue during his unification of Terra towards the end of the Age of Strife in the 30th Millennium. In the armour's earliest incarnation, the suit was not fully sealed or life-supporting, this being unnecessary while its use was still confined solely to Terra. Over the history of the Imperium, Power Armour has developed into many different forms. Need, circumstances and the recovery of new materials and lost advanced technology, so-called archeotech, has shaped the armour's evolution.

It may be noted that there appears to be a steady improvement in engineering and design through the years. However this progress is not because of any particular invention or creativity. Rather, the changes were triggered by the gradual rediscovery of knowledge and materials from the Dark Age of Technology, as the Emperor's Great Crusade reconquered the galaxy. Following the end of the Antarus Apostasy, the general stagnation of Imperial culture and technology has meant that the advancements in Power Armour technology have been few and far between.

### Mark I Thunder Power Armour

The first Power Armour suit type used by the proto-Astartes Legions was not in fact designed for them, but merely retrofitted from the suit worn by the older cadre of genetically-augmented soldiers, the Thunder Warriors, and from them it gained its name as the “Mark I Thunder Power Armour”, though the name was assigned after the fact and at the time of its use the suit was simply called "Power Armour." It was developed from the powered combat armour worn by the techno-barbarians that plagued Terra near the end of the Age of Strife. It was used during the Emperor's campaign to retake and reunite the homeworld and its moon before the Great Crusade.

It was by no means unique to the first Space Marines -- in fact, the techno-barbarian warriors the Emperor fought during the conquest of Terra wore it too, and the Emperor's forces of genetically-enhanced warriors were wearing it even before the first true Space Marines were developed. However, because it was designed with fighting in a terrestrial environment in mind, it is not fully enclosed, with no means to support the wearer in a vacuum. Only the upper body is powered, due in part to the fact that during the Emperor's Conquest of Terra, ranged weapons were difficult to make due to technological constraints, and so a warrior's upper-body strength was his most important asset. This early armour was produced on a completely local basis. There was no standard design, individual suits varied heavily and their exact designs were often a matter of personal taste.

The main part of the armour is the massive powered torso which encloses the chest and arms. Coiled energy cables beneath the armour plating transmit energy from the power pack on the back to the arms, greatly increasing physical strength. Since the fighting on Terra during this period was primarily close-quarters, the strength of a warrior's chest and arms was of paramount importance. The legs of this armour are not powered at all, but are enclosed in tough padded breaches, though simple steel plates were sometimes also used. Although uncommon, the best-equipped warriors sometimes wore armoured greaves and armoured boots. However, this ancient suit of Power Armour was noticeably noisier than later models, perhaps due to the unpowered legs, making stealth operations nearly impossible in it.

### Mark II Crusade Power Armour

Mark II Power Armour was developed towards the end of the Age of Strife and was used during the dawn of the Imperium by the Space Marines who carried out the Emperor's Great Crusade to reunite the lost colony worlds of Mankind in a new Imperium of Man. After the conquest of Luna by the Emperor's new armies of Space Marines and the peaceful unification with the Martian Mechanicum, the red planets factories were set to work constructing a new and far more advanced type of Power Armour purpose made for the Emperor's newborn Space Marines.

This armoured suit is commonly referred to as "Crusade Armour," since it was designed with the planned Great Crusade in mind. It was the first fully enclosed suit of Power Armour, making it suitable for the conquest of space and operations in a vacuum. It was designed as a fully enclosed suit with life-sustaining systems that now allowed the Astartes to fight in deep space and on alien worlds with hostile atmospheres or environments.

The armour was made up of microscopic circular armoured rings of ceramite fitted under and over each other, making this armour relatively tedious to repair. The larger armour plates composed of these microscopic rings were linked together to allow for a greater ease of movement and most of the power cabling for the suit was threaded inside the plating.

The backpack retained a similar shape to that of the Mark I suits but now contained advanced life support equipment such as air-scrubbing, fluid recycling and emergency medical first aid systems as well as the power supply for the armour. The helmet was initially set in a fixed position, but did allow the occupant to turn his head inside the suit. In time, this was altered with newer technology, allowing the wearer some level of mobility. The helmet also contained electronic sensory devices and miniaturised Cogitators (computers) that monitored the surrounding battlescape and fed visual and auditory signals directly to the Astartes' cerebral cortex through a neural feedback mechanism.

This further enhanced the Astartes' already superhuman sight and hearing, while at the same time dampening any blinding flashes or deafening explosions. These so-called "autosenses," as well as the other internal improvements, all became standard equipment in every subsequent pattern of Imperial Power Armour.

Though quieter than the Mark I, Crusade Armour is also not intended for stealth, though the sight of an Astartes wearing this armour draws every Space Marine's mind to the glory of the Great Crusade before the disaster of the Antarus Apostasy and provides a major enhancement to unit morale.

#### MkII ‘Sub-Pattern Embarus’ Power Armour

By M30.900, the MkII Armour was beginning to show its age, numerous flaws being discovered and catalogued faster than they could be retrofitted. A new type of Power Armour was desperately needed to fully replace the aging armour fully, rather than the specialised suits of MkIII that were already in use across the Imperium.

In an attempt to lessen this burden for his own warriors, Galvarian of the Ashen Crows set to work developing the Embarus pattern, widely regarded as an overall improvement on every part of the Crusade armour, and one of the stepping stones to the MkIV armour.

The Embarus armour focused mostly on the internal systems of power armour, increasing the sensors, power and heat distribution systems, armour plating and servo actuators to create a suit that was superior in almost every way. While its increased armour was not to the level of the MkIII suit, it was far more mobile than such instances of siege armour. Soon, the Embarus pattern began to see use amongst the veterans of the XIth Legion, its use continued even after the MkIV armour was developed and deployed across the legions.

#### MkII ‘Sub-Pattern 'Stalkkeri' Power Armour

A more specialised pattern of the MkII suit, jointly developed in M30.914 by Shaaa Hydrades and Surmah Nyyrik for the XXth Legion, the designated 'Stalkkeri' pattern was refined to help deal with the extensive use of forbidden destroyer class weaponry the Hounds of Surmah utilised to wage war.

The suit boasts an increased insulation to heat and radiation, allowing the occupant to survive greater levels of both than warriors clad in other marks of armour, while an advanced servo system based off of the Star Guardians own unique pattern of armour ensured that mobility was maintained despite the additional weight, something of upmost importance to the XXth Legion.

### Mark III Iron Power Armour

In M30.858, the Imperium made first contact with a race of Abhumans known as the Khazadi, sparking a conflict that would come to be known as ‘The Squat Wars’. A proud and stubborn people, the Squats would not bow down to the Imperial forces intent on their destruction, just as the leader of the Imperial war effort, Shaaa Hydrades, would broker no notions of peace. As fighting in the underground tunnels and cities of the Squats empire intensified, a new type of armour was created, initially as a battlefield modification used amongst the warriors of the IVth. When the Squat Wars finally came to an end, the Mechanicum of Mars quickly worked to ratify the prototyped pattern.

The Mark III was best suited for spacecraft boarding actions and combat in confined subterranean tunnel complexes with little cover. This armour was ideally used by Space Marines when cover was minimal and combat was a matter of a simple frontal assault. Because of this pattern of Power Armour's great strength, it became known as the "Iron Armour" or Armorum Ferrum in Imperial High Gothic.

The Mark III was never intended to replace the Mark II armour but instead was a specialised suit to provide heavier protection than the normal Mark II suit when fighting in conditions similar to that found on the Squat homeworlds, in mines, subterranean complexes or the tight corridors of a spacecraft. It has more frontal protection than the Mark II Armour, but the weight of the rear armour was lessened to compensate.

The suit uses a heavy armoured helmet with sloping plates designed to deflect shots to the left and right, thus inspiring its name as the Iron Pattern. The helmet inspired the Mark IV and VI helmet designs. The wedge-shaped helmet (designed to deflect incoming fire from the front) formed the basis for the later distinctive Corsair Beak helmet of the Mark VI Pattern.

#### Mk3 ‘Sub-Pattern Void’ Power Armour

Unsurprisingly for a legion so focused on boarding and other Zone Mortalis combat, and its initial creators, the IVth Legion used MkIII armour to the exclusion of all others, and thus were constantly at the mercy of the armour’s failings, of which there were many. Heavy, slow, and prone to burning out its own servo motors under its own weight after continued use meant the armour required constant and time consuming maintenance.

Unwilling to accept this, Shaaa Hydrades began to experiment with his own sub-pattern, eventually travelling to Mars to gain the assistance of the Mechanicum, all culminating the the Void sub-pattern being created in M30.906. Designed as a super heavy form of power armour, one step removed from Terminator armour, the suit boasted rear armour that the standard MkIII lacked, as well as enhanced servo motors designed to stop the systems burning out, though these extra muscle bundles had no effect on the armours speed, the suit still as ponderous as its standard counterpart.

The armour was also void sealed and hardened by design, rather than as a field modification as with other examples of such void hardening, and it was this that gave the armour its name. Possessing a self-sealing gel-layer to ensure cracks were plugged with an air-tight seal, as well as extended oxygen tanks akin to the fuel reserves on a jump pack, the Void armour ensured its wearer could operate in airless environments for extended periods of time, beyond what other warriors of the legions could manage.

Only the Star Guardians ever made use of this pattern of armour, though aspects of its design were shared with the IInd and XXth Legions, and by M30.943, the armour was standard across the entire legion, each warrior laying claim to a suit of the super-heavy plate.

### Mark IV Maximus Power Armour

As the Great Crusade reached its climax and the Imperium reached its zenith in terms of technology and strength, the Space Marine Legions found their original suits of Mark II armour wearing out. While some Legions chose to continue local production and maintenance, the Mechanicum of Mars designed a new variant, which was to be called the Mark IV or Maximus Pattern since it was produced during the days of the Imperium's greatest glory. Aspects of both the Ashen Crows Embarus sub-pattern and the Star Guardians Void sub-pattern were used in the armours construction, but the suit was more advanced than both,

At the Mark IV stage of Power Armour development, Space Marine armour began to take on an appearance recognizable to that of contemporary Power Armour patterns, its primary change being the abandonment of the separate abutting plates of armour in favour of larger, inflexible armour casings incorporating flexible joints. This marginally reduced an Astartes' mobility but was far easier to produce and maintain, and the suit was actually lighter and provided its wearer with more overall mobility due to the lessened weight, while not reducing the actual level of protection the suit provided compared to its Mark II counterpart.

Technical secrets from the Dark Age of Technology recovered on newly conquered worlds during the Great Crusade allowed the Mechanicum of Mars to develop the more efficient mark of armour, improving the quality of protection and reducing the suit's weight at the same time. Improved armouring of the suit's power cables allowed the main arm and chest power supply cables to be safely relocated to the exterior of the armour, while the use of new materials reduced the size and number of cables.

The various systems contained within the suit's backpack were miniaturised and made more efficient, allowing the backpack to be smaller, lighter and to make use of an altered exhaust system that provided a shape much closer to that of the Mark VI and Mark VII patterns of armour in widespread use at the present time.

The Mark IV suit's helmet was a completely new design, the basic shape inspired by the sweeping front of the Mark III, but with a new neck piece that allowed for far more freedom of movement while still maintaining an environmental seal. This advancement represented the Artificers' increasing experience with neural connector gear and the new materials which flooded into the Martian workshops as the Great Crusade progressed.

Whilst standard patterns of armour were shared across the Space Marine Legions during the Great Crusade, variations on these templates surfaced in most of the Legions. Mark IV Styx Pattern Power Armour arose as a local variation of Mark IV Maximus Power Armour, produced for the Wisps of Acheron Legion by the forges local to that Legion's homeworld of Acheron. More stylised than their standard armour, Achean Pattern battle plate was most often worn by the Legion Veterans.

### Mark V Phalanx Power Armour

In the wake of the successful supply of MkIV Power Armour across almost all of the Emperor’s legions, all but replacing the aging MkII pattern, the Mechanicum soon turned its eyes to the equally ancient MkIII pattern, the Siege suit sharing many of the issues with the MkII, as well as bringing its own host of issues that taxed those legions who used it. Priority on the suit was given a lower rating, the suit not designed for full replacement as the MkIV had, which contributed to the patterns Maximus grade priority. As such, the MkV would not see use for some time, the first suits being passed to the Praetorian legion to rigorously test in their numerous Zone Mortalis exercises.

Passing with flying colours, the MkV Armour, given the name of Phalanx by Shaaa Hydrades himself in recognition of the recent ‘Phalanx Incident’ was prepared to be distributed across the Imperium less than a decade before Antarus would tear the galaxy apart. More than just the MkIII enhancements placed upon MkIV armour, the Phalanx suits were far more comfortable and mobile than their predecessor, as well as boasting easy to replace modular armour coverings, greatly speeding up repairs both on and off the battlefield, a tech marine able to replace a damaged plate on the armour in a matter of minutes, not hours.

The armour was deemed superior to the MkIII in every regard, and legions who made heavy use of the armour soon began to cry out for greater shipments of the suits to replace their aging siege armour. However, with the exception of the Star Guardians, who had the advantage of sharing close proximity to Mars and the armours manufactorums, the vast majority of these suits went not to the legions who needed them most, but to those that Antarus, already plotting against his father, already knew would side with him. When the Apostasy ripped through the galaxy, the MkV proved time and time again it was the superior armour, outshining the loyalists wearing the aging MkIII armour time and time again.

#### Mk5 ‘Sub-Pattern Void’ Power Armour

Created as an upgrade to the older MkIII Void sub-patten, the MkV Void Pattern is almost identical to its predecessor, but uses the more advanced Phalanx armour compared to older Iron armour. Otherwise the two armours are similar, the Star Guardians swiftly moving to take advantage of this new development.

### Mark VI Corsair Power Armour

This classic Power Armour variant was developed in the last years of the Great Crusade by the Mechanicum and is still commonly used even in contemporary Space Marine Chapters. It is characterized by the beak-like muzzle on the helmet and a molecular bonding studded auto-reactive shoulder plate on the left shoulder of the armour.

The Mark VI suit was intended to be extremely easy to repair and maintain by Space Marine Legions engaged in the constant warfare, and was built with dual technology circuits that allowed the easy replacement of rare or sophisticated parts with more common or basic alternatives with no degeneration in protection or performance. It also included new fail-safes such as duplicate power cabling. Most notable in the armour however was the large sensor bundle that gave the armour far greater tactical visibility across a battlefield, all contained within the conical beak like helmet the armour sported.

The left shoulder plate, which usually took the brunt of enemy fire, boasting molecular bonding studs so as to be more easily replaceable. The Mark VI Pattern of Power Armour is the lightest form of the technology and has gained a reputation among Space Marine Techmarines as having the smoothest fit between its moving parts, reducing noise and power consumption, leading to the armour quickly being adopted adopted for specialised use within the legions, especially amongst reconnaissance or infiltration units.

The finalised pattern of the Mark VI armour was named Corsair Armour in honour of Caladrial Hex and the Vth Legion, who had been chosen as the test bed for the new design, and as such were given more suits than almost any other legion, the armour becoming synonymous with the Sirens of Kastar. It looked little different from the Mark IV armour many of them already wore, but upon closer inspection, there were subtle differences in panel shape and bonding, the thicker material of the flexible joints, the solid greaves covering the knees. Most obvious was the bolt-reinforced left shoulder plate and the helmet design.

### Mark VII Aquila/Ruinous Power Armour

This version of basic Power Armour was also known as Ruinous Armour. It is the contemporary variant of Power Armour most commonly used by the Space Marine Chapters of the Imperium in the wake of the Antarus Apostasy. Mark VII armour was developed during the early years of the Antarus Apostasy.

It represents the final major development of power armour beyond battlefield modifications, developed on Mars during the Apostasy, and shipped to the loyalist legions who were reachable. When Mars showed its true colours however, the armour began to find its way into the hands of traitors, the Imperial Aquila removed and instead replaced with other, far darker, symbols of the ruinous powers. This armour is often called Ruinous pattern, while the loyalist forces referred to theirs as Aquila, owing to the double headed eagle upon its chest, but the differences between the two were purely cosmetic.

The Mark VII armour is characterised by the grim-looking Vox-caster on the faceplate, and the plastron displaying the Imperial Aquila or the Space Marine honour known as the Imperialis. In the hands of traitors, the armour often sported the darker marks of the eight pointed star, or the symbols of the Gods of Chaos themselves.

During the Great Crusade, the Emperor had decreed that only the Palatine Wings Legion could wear the Imperial Aquila, the symbol of the Imperium and the Emperor Himself, upon their chest plates, as a sign of the great respect He held for the XIVth Legion. However, as civil war tore the galaxy apart, the Emperor decreed that no single legion who stood by his side was more worthy than another, lifting this restriction so that every Loyalist Astartes was now worthy of bearing the Aquila upon his breast.

### Mark VIII Frontier Power Armour

Though almost all of the legions were equipped with advanced power armour suits by the time of the Antarus Apostasy, such as the MkIV, V, VI or even VII, the demands of the period known as the “Frontier Wars” put a strain on the fractured empire of man, both traitors and loyalists feeling this burden more and more as the war went on. Supply chains were disrupted beyond rerouting, and near constant legion versus legion conflict destroyed suits of power armour with a ravenous appetite that seemed to know no end.

This suit of Power Armour was developed by Space Marine Artificers and Techmarines on both sides of the divide as a solution to the supply problems caused by the Apostasy. It was manufactured from the most basic of materials, and it was easy to maintain. Almost all of its users used molecular bonding studs to hold the armour layers of plasteel and ceramite together, and these studs became a distinctive marker of this pattern of Power Armour.

In time, it became traditional for the studs to be found on the head, lower legs, and left shoulder plate of the armour. Since the highly advanced Mark IV-VII suits became so difficult to maintain, the Mark VIII was defined by its flexibility, as it was capable of being repaired with either new or old materials, depending upon their availability.

In many cases, older, heavier power cabling was used, which created a weak point on the armour throughout the suit's composition. To deal with this problem, many Legions Techmarines reinforced these suits with an extra plate of ceramite fitted over the top of the original plates with molecular bonding studs, which as noted above were responsible for the armour's distinctive appearance.

Due to the sub-standard materials used in the construction of this armour variant, the Mark VIII had a tendency to overheat quickly, and many Space Marines had to endure substandard performance by turning down the power output of their backpack to prevent intolerable heat build-ups. The helmet appears to be an early version of the Mark VII helmet derived from a modification of the Mark IV helmet, although it is significantly more primitive in its design, likely being a dead end and abandoned design that now saw new life amongst the warriors of the legions.

Of all the legions, the Palatine Wings were the most well known for using this style of armour. Indeed, the XIVth Legion had used an early precusor to Mk VIII Armour throughout much of the crusade, making up for their less than optimum supply chains which forced the legion to bodge and modify their armour beyond the norm to remain in fighting shape.

## Other Imperial Power Armours

Although Power Armour is most closely associated with the Adeptus Astartes and their legion forebearers, it is also used by other institutions of the Imperium of man, such as the Sisters of Silence or the kastarian First.

However, the mortals who use Power Armour do not possess the Black Carapace gene-seed organ implant, and so cannot be directly linked to the suit's advanced movement enhancement and fire control systems in the way Space Marines are, which decreases the armour's effectiveness.

Some high-ranking members of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Machine Cult, use Power Armour, Enginseers of the Astra Militarum use it to protect them from enemy fire as they tend to the Machine Spirits of the Imperial Guard's vehicles.

### Terminator Armour

Tactical Dreadnought Armour, more often called Terminator Armour, is one of the strongest forms of personal Power Armour in existence and is the heaviest and most resilient model the Imperium of Man has to offer. It was developed for a mid-range of uses between the armoured chassis of a true Dreadnought and standard Power Armour. It is composed of a specially synthesized ceramite/plasteel alloy exoskeleton whose manufacture is now unknown to the Adeptus Mechanicus, with servo-assisted interfaces that link into the user's own neurological and muscular systems to enhance movement.

It is able to withstand tremendous punishment, and serves as a solid heavy-weapons platform in open-field combat. Due to its size, it is best deployed in close quarters such as the corridors of a starship, where the standard-issue Storm Bolter can be most effective.

The most common pattern of Terminator Armour currently used by the Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes is the Indomitus Pattern. Other, archaic patterns of Tactical Dreadnought Armour dating back to the time of the Great Crusade and the Antarus Apostasy exist in current use, but they are extremely rare and will be treated as venerated relics by those Chapters lucky enough to possess such an artefact of the Imperium's lost golden age.

### Artificer Armour

Artificer Armour is the name given to individualised and heavily modified suits of Power Armour of many different patterns provided only to Space Marines who have proven themselves worthy of the honour, such as Chapter Masters, Company Captains, members of the Chapter or Legions Honour Guard, or particularly skilled Veterans.

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.

### Kastarian Power Armour

Similar in many ways to the ancient Thunder Armour of terra, the Kastarian power armour was not as bulky or heavy as those suits used by the thunder warriors or the legions, but was usable by unaugmented human warriors, and as such was utilised exclusively by the warriors of the Vth Legions Auxilia, the Kastarian First.

Difficult to reproduce even for the Imperium, this lighter variant of Power Armour provides excellent protection and increased strength with little to no reduction in movement speed or agility. Although, as the warriors of the Kastarian First are not implanted with the Black Carapace that allows Astartes to cybernetically interface fully with their own armour, they must forego the more advanced life-support systems and strength-enhancing abilities used by the Space Marines. The armour uses a similar power supply as the armour for the Adeptus Astartes and does not run out of energy unless damaged.

When the Antarus Apostasy ground to and end and the Imperial Army standardised into the Imperial Guard and Navy, the Kastarian First were amongst those who suffered from this new found standardisation, Kastarian Power Armour being confined to legend, until another band would take up the armour of the siren once more.

### Hydra Pattern Powered Carapace Armour

The Hydra Pattern Powered Carapace Armour, as its name suggests, is not true power armour in the way of the legions or Kastarian first, its protective qualities little better than the carapace armour worn by the elite warriors of  Imperial Army and later Imperial Guard and Navy. Where it does differ however is in its powered muscle bundles, augmenting the abhumans of the Ring’s already above normal strength to near super-human, and while they are still not able to match an Astartes, they are more than capable of holding their own against almost any other foe.

In the wake of the Antarus Apostasy, the Hydra Auxilia who wore such armour was disbanded almost entirely, reformed into more standardised Stormtrooper or Scion forces, examples of this armour fading away to relics, used only by officers and honour guards of the Ring’s military forces.

### Lorica Thallax/Revenax

The Lorica Thallax is a type of Power Armour worn by the Thallax and Ursarax troops of the Mechanicum, and later by the Revenax troops of the Star Guardians Legion as the Lorica Revenax. Unlike almost all other examples of power armour, the Lorica Thallax/Revenax was permanently surgically bonded to the body of the wearer. It uses mechanical armatures to replace the primary limbs, and a compact Plasma Reactor core to generate power for the warriors weaponry. The armour is fused directly to the spinal cord and nervous system of the wearer, which marks them out as a warrior of the Mechanicum while simultaneously serving as a symbol of their eternal servitude to the Machine God.

### Vratine Armour

When a Sister-aspirant of the Sisters of Silence takes her final oaths of duty and says the last words she will ever utter aloud in her lifetime, she is given her panoply of war: the Vratine Armour -- literally "the armour of the oath."

It is a subpattern of technologically-advanced battlegear which shares design elements with both the Power Armour of the Legiones Astartes and the silicate-mesh of Selenite void-mail, though unlike either of those famed armours, it is not -- at least without additional gearing -- fully environmentally sealed or designed for extended operations.

It does, however, provide formidable protection from ballistic impacts and directed energy weapons, and is tailored and forged uniquely to its intended wearer to allow for their complete freedom of movement and to augment their reaction speed.

### Ignatus Power Armour

Although not as durable as the suits of Power Armour worn by the Adeptus Astartes, Ignatus Power Armour is a far step above the patterns of combat armour sold to dilettante Imperial nobles and mercantile cartels. Ignatus Pattern Power Armour is produced by skilled Adeptus Mechanicus artisans for the express purpose of equipping agents of the Inquisition.

Many militant Inquisitors equip themselves with Ignatus Armour, girding their bodies with ceramite just as they gird their souls with faith. Like all suits of Power Armour, Ignatus Armour consists of an ingenious merging of thick ceramite protective plates and a complex system of muscle-like, electrically motivated fibrebundles to augment the user's movements and strength. This technology is so miraculous that one wearing Power Armour can move and fight as if he was unencumbered, his suit's augmetic systems compensating entirely for the armour's crushing weight and bulk.

Ignatus Power Armour provides the following benefits to its bearer: The suit’s removable helmet contains the equivalent of integral, high-quality photo-visors (providing the user with darkvision and the ability to see in multiple spectrums of light, as well as making the wearer immune to the effects of photon flash grenades), a Vox micro-bead, and an integral Auspex sensor suite.

These devices can be controlled by speaking to the armour's Machine Spirit (Artificial Intelligence), or the wearer can commune with his armour directly if he has a cerebral plug, Mind Impulse Unit, or similar device device implanted within his cerebral cortex. When the helmet is attached, the suit has a self-contained life sustainer that allows the bearer to ignore toxic atmospheres and gasses, and even survive underwater or in a vacuum. The system operates as long as the armour has power.

The suit has an integral backpack power supply that can last for five solar days of continuous combat operations (if the Power Armour is not being used in combat, its power supply can last for far longer). If the suit becomes unpowered, it becomes a rigid tomb for the wearer, who must make a hellish effort to simply move. The helmet's Machine Spirit does open exterior vents automatically before powering down, so that its wearer does not suffocate.

The first suits of true Power Armour date back to the Emperor's Great Crusade to reclaim the galaxy, and many are maintained for centuries or millennia as much as religious relics as protective gear. Ignatus Armour is no exception, and it is not uncommon to find suits encrusted with religious iconography, inscribed with holy runes of warding, or inlaid with subtle defensive systems. Ignatus Power Armour is commonly inlaid with Hexagrammic Wards which provide the wearer with a greater ability to resist psychic powers or attacks.

### Custodian Armour

The Custodians of the Adeptus Custodes, the bodyguard of the Emperor of Mankind, also wear Power Armour of a design created just for them during the days of the Great Crusade. The panoply of the Adeptus Custodes, known as Custodian Armour, represents the pinnacle of the armourer's art.

Far more sophisticated than production-model Space Marine Power Armour, it is fashioned with rare Auramite alloy such as that used for the armour the Emperor Himself wore in battle, rather than the standard ceramite used in all other forms of Imperial Power Armour.

Each suit is unique to the Custodian Guard who wears it, as it is customised to its user, a finely wrought suit of master-crafted battle-plate in the Custodes' traditional golden colour, each a work of art in its own right and highly individualised after the fact by its user. Custodian Armour is also fitted with arrays of proximity sensors and Refraction Field generators to further enhance its formidable defences.

## See Also

* Terminator Armour
* Artificer Armour