Immortal Dreadnoughts

Immortals are an ancient Pattern of Dreadnoughts that predate the Imperium itself and are in use primarily within the Obsidian Wyrms legion. Immortals owe their name to their extreme durability, which is seen as monstrous even by the already exacting standard of Dreadnought sarcophagii. These Dreadnoughts are often the anchor of any assault or defensive line in which they are deployed, drawing - and withstanding - fire that would otherwise have gone to their more vulnerable brethren. Immortals are also noteworthy for their use of an arcane Graviton Reactor, which harnesses Graviton particles in order to accomplish feats largely unheard of in more common patterns of Dreadnoughts.

## History

There is some confusion as to whether the Immortal pattern's design was a product of the Golden Age of Technology, or that of the ensuing Age of Strife. It is generally agreed upon that the overwhelming - if not entirety - of major technological advances were a product of the former, but the Immortal appears to be a design native to the ashen moon of Corusco Parva, which was largely pacifist during said Age of Technology and did not begin its militarization until the onset of the Age of Strife. The most logical conclusion that can be drawn is that the Dreadnought's overall, completed design was itself developed during the Age of Strife, but that the technologies that made up the design were already existing prior to it and simply adapted for this use.

Either way, the first Immortals began to be sighted in the armies of the techno-barbarians that protected Corusco Parva from the predations of various Xeno and pirate raids somewhere around the 26th or 27th millennium. Contradictory records as to when the first sarcophagus was constructed and which of the Warbands did it belong to make any more precise answer impossible at the time. What can be assessed for certain is that they were used to extend the lives of the techno-barbarians' most revered Warlords and heroes who were mortally wounded or crippled in combat, making them one of the few extant patterns of Dreadnoughts which was used for non-augmented humans as opposed to exclusively Astartes. Their numbers increased significantly in the wake of the Corusco Incursion which itself saw an explosive increase in casualties and heroes alike as the Coruscoans came under threat of annihilation by unknown creatures.

In the wake of Corusco Parva's integration into the Imperium and receiving status as an Adeptus Astartes homeworld, the Immortals have passed on to the IInd Legion almost exclusively, though they are sometimes also seen among the ranks of the Coruscoan Velites Auxilia force. The Mechanicum has shown extreme interest in learning the secrets of the Immortal-pattern, but has not yet been able to make any headway, owing in no small part to the reluctance to provide any STC data. As of now, the production of Immortal sarcophagii has continued to increase as the Legion grew and suffered combat losses through the Compliance campaign, and they - alongside the also vaunted Contemptor pattern - now make up the bulk of the Obsidian Wyrms' Dreadnought talons.

## Design

The Immortals are about as tall as a Contemptor, but broader and more stout with bulkier and more heavily reinforced mechanisms and motive drives. Aesthetically, it bears some degree of resemblance with the Leviathan pattern that would later be developed on Terra - hinting to some commonality in design - but is smaller and less powerful. It does not share the powerful Atomantic energy shields present on both of these designs however and the Immortal's own extreme durability comes not from power field but from the sheer resilience of its staggeringly reinforced and heavily armored frame.

The armor of each Immortal is a product of arcane and starts with the gathering of large, ultra-dense metal ores from asteroid belts and trojans, most commonly Osmiridium, which will eventually become mated with the diamond-weave fashioned from the crushing depths of Corusco Magna's stormy atmosphere, also present in Shimmerscale-pattern Void Armor and giving it its energy-refracting properties. These materials are then compressed to levels not found naturally outside of massive stellar objects by using Graviton generators to subject it to ship-crushing forces not achievable by conventional, mechanical means. The end result is a material that is both impossibly dense and with extremely high energetic dispersion capabilities. Moreover, Immortals are often fitted with redundancies in its systems and motive drive, allowing them to shrug off battle damage that does somehow manage to breach their armor. It is also known that Immortal chassis are capable of some limited degree of self-repair, but the means by which they do so is as of now completely unknown to the Mechanicum

At the core of each Immortal - and interfering with regular shield generators - is its Graviton Reactor. Using arcane means, the reactor is capable of harnessing, storing and using Graviton particles which can be used in a variety of utilitarian ways, though its poorly-understood technology is sometimes prone to malfunctions which can cause internal damage. If it is ever breached, the Graviton Reactor's sudden collapse is almost certain death for the entombed warrior inside. Rather than blast outwards in a typical explosion, a breached Graviton Reactor lets out a pulse of gravitational forces that sucks in nearby combatants indiscriminately before rippling back out with a force similar to a direct hit by a Graviton Cannon.

Still, these dangers are worthwhile, as the Graviton Reactor is capable of negating much of the Immortal's chassis' mass for a short while, which combined with an elaborate system of advanced Repulsor plates and thrusters present on its legs, torso and back, allows it to move as if it were jump infantry. This apparatus, called the Null-Grav System, allows it to both rapidly relocate headless of obstacles in its path and to enact unexpected charges that can terrify foes and shatter their ranks in one fell swoop. The reactor can also project what is called an Event Horizon Field, which projects gravitational forces outward around the Immortal. This field greatly slows down the movements of all combatants around itself as they must suddenly struggled with these forces and prevent them from moving directly away from the Immortal, giving it significant crowd control and lockdown abilities. The Even Horizon Field's weakness however is that it does not discriminate between friend or foe.

## Wargear

The main weapon of the Immortal-pattern Dreadnought is a pair of Wyrmclaws. These weapons are essentially Dreadnought-sized versions of the standard Astartes lightning claw. While other Dreadnought close-combat weapons feature four articulated fingers or claws distributed evenly around the first-assembly, Wyrmclaws feature four parallel power blades, slightly curved and long enough to each be as sizable as an individual power sword. This gives it the ability to rend and cleave wide swathes through ranks of massed infantry, with little care for even such formidable protection as power armor and causing horrific casualties in tightly packed forces. Each Wyrmclaw is also fitted with an inbuilt twin-linked bolter which gives it some modest measure of ranged firepower.

Due to various tactical needs, it is commonly enough seen that an Immortal will replace one of their Wyrmclaws, but never both. In such instances, alternative loadouts that have been seen include Siege Wreckers (to topple down great walls and defensive positions and create openings for infantry to rush through), Flamestorm Cannons (to more readily wipe out large hordes of lightly to moderately armored foes) and Quad Heavy Bolters (When a long-range punch is necessary.) Additionally, a Quad Heavy Bolter or Twin-linked Missile Launcher fitted with Rad missiles can be fitted to a shoulder hardpoint when even further long-range firepower is deemed necessary. Finally, Immortals can also carry Stormbringer Bolts to enhance their long-range, anti-infantry power even further.

## Justiciar-Immortals

A recent sight that began to appear in the closing days of the Great Crusade after the rank of Justiciar was formally recognized within the Legion. Justicarius who fall in battle without being outright slain often have the unwavering willpower to cling on to life until rescued by an Apothecary and interred into a Dreadnought. These avatars of vengeance upon death combine the immense defensive abilities of an Immortal Dreadnought with the fervor and brazen audacity of a Justiciar, acting as living symbols of their undying resolve and inspiring all nearby warriors to greater heights of personal bravery in the face of even the direst of threats and headless of casualties suffered. Justiciar-Immortals carry sized-up versions of the battle standards they carried in life upon the backs of their sarcophagi, allowing them to slaughter foes with both hands while becoming an even greater symbol than ever before.

## Rules

 Searchlight

 **-** | +2

  ¤ Siege Wrecker with twin-linked bolter (free)
  ¤ Quad Heavy Bolter for 10p (losing one Attack)
 Any Immortal Dreadnought in the Talon may take one of the following Shoulder-mounted weapons:
  ¤ Twin-linked Missile Launcher (Rad missiles) for 25p
 Any Immortal Dreadnought may take one of the following:
  ¤ Extra Armor for 10p
 One Immortal Dreadnought in the Talon may be upgraded to a Justiciar Immortal, gaining the Crusader Special Rule and a carapace-mounted Banner of the Justicarius, for 30p

 It Will Not Die

*Star-Forged*

By using a mixture of rare materials and ancient techniques involving the use of graviton technology, it becomes possible to compress armor to the ship-crushing pressures found within massive celestial bodies, resulting in an ultra-dense material of unparalleled durability. If an Immortal Dreadnought is hit by a Melta or Armourbane weapon only suffers D3 additional penetration instead of D6 while any Melee weapon with a final Strength score above 10 is considered to be 10 instead. In addition, reduce the roll of any Penetrating hit by -2.

*Graviton Reactor*

The Immortal’s power source is an arcane reactor capable of harnessing Graviton particles for a variety of non-weapon uses. At the beginning of each phase, the controlling player may choose to activate the Graviton Reactor to use -one- of its special abilities. On a roll of 2+, the ability is activated properly, but on a 1, the Immortal loses one HP automatically.

If an Immortal Dreadnought suffers an Explode result, a Graviton Shockwave occurs and all models within 9” are pulled closer by D3”. The blast is resolved as one Graviton Cannon hit with its blast template centered on the wrecked Dreadnought.

* *Null-Grav Thruster* – On a successful activation of the Graviton Reactor, the Immortal uses advanced Repulsor technology to temporarily negate its own massive weight, counting as a Jump Unit for the duration of the turn. It may thus Move 12” or re-roll a Charge.
* *Event Horizon Field* – On a successful activation of the Graviton Reactor, the Immortal projects a massive gravitational pull. No unit - friend or foe - in a 9” radius may move directly away from the Dreadnought and all movement dices are cut by half. Jump and jet pack units may not lift off.