vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Adeptus Mechanicus - History: The Adeptus Mechanicus is the one Imperial adepta that as the Cult Mechanicus actually predates the Imperium of Man itself, and was known originally as the Mechanicum of Mars. Though the Adeptus Mechanicus was formally integrated into the Imperium by the Treaty of Mars (known as the Treaty of Olympus Mons to the Mechanicum) over 10,000 Terran years before the "present" of the 41st Millennium at the dawn of the Emperor's Great Crusade to reunite Mankind in ca. 800.M30, it retains an unparalleled degree of autonomy from the rest of the Adeptus Terra for an Imperial Adepta.This autonomy was guaranteed to the Mechanicus in the Treaty of Mars to provide the Tech-priests with immunity to the dictates of the atheistic Imperial Truth and to allow the Mechanicus to continue to exercise sovereignty over all of the Forge Worlds it had settled across the galaxy during the Age of Strife. In return, the Mechanicus agreed to aid in the construction of the massive fleets and the provision of the technical aid necessary for the Imperium of Man to launch the Great Crusade.Whereas nearly all the citizens of the Imperium observe the tenets of one of the various sects of the Imperial Cult that worships the Emperor of Mankind as the God-Emperor, the Adeptus Mechanicus is virtually synonymous with the Cult Mechanicus, another faith that could easily be considered heretical by the rest of the Imperium if the Adeptus Mechanicus was not essential to the survival of the Imperium and if the Tech-priests had not proven their loyalty to the Emperor in countless ways.The Adeptus Mechanicus is vitally important to Humanity because the Imperium, despite its technologically advanced state, has a very limited scientific knowledge of how its technology actually functions. This has only reinforced the prevailing Imperial view that the building and use of advanced machinery is almost a magical or religious act, fraught with ritual and inviolable instructions.The Adeptus Mechanicus, with its inherent understanding of the Machine Spirit and the Machine God, has a near-monopoly on Standard Template Construct (STC) designs and other advanced Imperial technological knowledge. As a result, the Mechanicus wields a tremendous amount of power in the Imperium as the primary manufacturer, maintainer and repairer of everything from basic farming equipment to interstellar warships.
Adeptus Mechanicus - The Quest for Knowledge: Over the long millennia since its inception, the Cult Mechanicus has been riven, reformed, brought to the brink of catastrophe, and has engaged in conquests that span the galaxy. Calculus Logi labour night and day to catalogue its history, though they disclose it not. Only a handful of events are allowed to reach the annals of Imperial truth:
Adeptus Mechanicus - M15-M25 The Age of Technology: Although existing accounts of the Age of Technology in the 41st Millennium are incomplete and unreliable, it is generally considered to be a golden era of technological development and interstellar expansion as Mankind first spreads across the galaxy.The development of Warp-Drive, Navigators and Standard Template Construct (STC) database technology herald this new era of discovery. The first of what will later become known as Knight Worlds are established by Long March sublight cononisation vessels during this period. The Human mutants known as psykers first appear in ever-increasing numbers at the end of the period.
Adeptus Mechanicus - M25-M30 The Age of Strife: The collapse of Mankind's first interstellar civilisation comes with terrifying swiftness. It is difficult to unravel the truth, but tales abound of anarchy, Daemonic possessions, the coming of the Warp-entities known as the Enslavers and the betrayal of Humanity by its own thinking machines in the so-called "Cybernetic Revolt."With the collapse of the Aeldari Empire and birth of the new Chaos God Slaanesh, the galaxy is engulfed by Warp storms that isolate vast swathes of settled space from FTL travel and communications. Those Human civilisations not destroyed outright are cut off from one another at the start of what Imperial historitors will later call the "Age of Strife."Many people, particularly on Old Earth and Mars, come to know this era as "Old Night," and it descends like a shroud over the galaxy. During this time, the Human-settled Knight Worlds fare best among Mankind's colonies, for they eschew psykers and purposefully regress technologically. They grow superstitious and hidebound in their own traditions while they stand alone in a galaxy besieged by evils.Mars Expands and the Founding of the Mechanicum (M25-M30) - The beleaguered people of Mars overcome strife and disaster to reunite beneath the aegis of the newly-established theocracy of the Cult Mechanicus and the governing organisation of the Tech-priests known as the "Mechanicum." The Mechanicum Parliament is established, comprised of senior Tech-priests and magi, to govern the Red Planet. As lulls between the waves of Warp storms allow, the fleets of Mars travel outwards, raiding for lost technology and establishing new colonies of Tech-adepts dedicated to the worship of the Machine God that will grow into new Forge Worlds. With a few exceptions, such travels remain limited in scope and stay within the confines of what will later become known as the Segmentum Solar.Treaty of Mars (712.M30) - The Emperor, fresh from uniting the techno-barbarian tribes of Terra, arrives on Mars. Many of the Tech-priests declare him to be the Omnissiah, the avatar of the Machine God in the physical universe, and so the Emperor forges a successful political and military alliance with Mars. It is the adepts of the Cult Mechanicus that equip the Emperor's Space Marine Legions for the Great Crusade. In recognition of the fact that to achieve His galactic plans, the Emperor needs the technological and scientific aid of the Mechanicum, Mars becomes an ally to Terra rather than her subject, which is cemented by the signing of the Treaty of Olympus Mons, known as the Treaty of Mars on Terra, which also allows the Cult Mechanicus to maintain its religion in contravention of the newborn Imperium of Man's official atheistic doctrine of the Imperial Truth. Of the countless worlds that the Imperium soon claims, only Forge Worlds dedicated to the Cult Mechanicus are esteemed in such a way.
Adeptus Mechanicus - M31-M32 Age of Rebirth: The Mechanicum of old is reforged as the Adeptus Mechanicus following Lord Commander of the Imperium Roboute Guilliman's Reformation of the Emperor's realm and the new Fabricator-General of Mars is given a permanent position as a High Lord of Terra. Crippled by His wounds during the final Heresy battles, the Emperor is interred within the Golden Throne, a device so complex that only the Adeptus Mechanicus can hope to maintain its systems.The Shadow War (Unknown Date.M31-Present) - An intense paranoia drives the Cult Mechanicus to bury their secrets deep. When the Inquisitors of Terra's new order take their tithe of data-tapestries, they also unwittingly take the countermeasures that will unravel them. Aware of their mistake but unwilling to admit it, the Inquisition devises purge protocols that engage in an unseen battle with the self-replicating deletion-programs of the Cult Mechanicus. Though this shadow conflict flares up into several planet-wrecking wars before fading, battles between them still rage in secret to this day.The Giridium Experiment (011.M32) - The Cult Mechanicus builds a fortress around the "haunted" caves of Giridium. During the manifestation which occurs every equinox, the disciples of the Omnissiah blast apart rank upon rank of red-skinned daemons. The process is repeated for nine long standard years. Just as the Adeptus Mechanicus are compiling reports and preparing to withdraw, the sky above yawns wide and disgorges a rain of capering, whirling flame-daemons. The ensuing battle rages for solar months, and when a new wave of blood-horrors bursts from the caves at the next equinox, the combined daemonic onslaught sees the personnel of the Cult Mechanicus present slain to a man.A New Breed of Overseer (Unknown Date.M32) - House Taranis begins the practice of sending the Nobles that fail to enmesh properly with their Imperial Knights to the Adeptus Mechanicus. Though unfit for a place in Taranis' Knight armies, each of these cyborg warriors -- known as Psychosis-Neuracanium -- are from primaris-grade Imperial stock, and prove to be excellent raw material for the creation of Skitarii overseers. Similar exchanges between other Knight and Forge Worlds occur across the galaxy.
Adeptus Mechanicus - M33-M34 The Forging: As the Imperium solidifies its measures of control across key star systems, including the adoption of the Imperial Cult as the official state religion, the Adeptus Mechanicus becomes ever more secretive.The Howling (401.M34) - An Adeptus Mechanicus Explorator fleet clashes with the Cacodominus, an alien cyborg of colossal psychic potential. The horrific creature learns well of Humanity and its agents. Within a standard year it controls the populace of thirteen hundred planetary systems. The resultant heresy is ended by a concerted attack from the Legio Cybernetica and their Black Templar allies. Alas, the Cacodominus' psychic death scream burns out the minds of a billion Astropaths and distorts the signal of the Astronomican itself. Entire sub-sectors slide into barbarism without the light of the Emperor to guide them.The Prophet of Cogs (979.M34) - The long-time rivalry between those Tech-priests who dwell in the north of Mars and those of the Martian south flares up into open war. As the conflict grinds on, both sides are assailed by the feral packs of malfunctioning Servitors and burnt-out war machines that haunt the desert wastes. The war reaches a gory conclusion when the self-proclaimed "Prophet of Cogs" broadcasts a control-chorus that binds millions of long-abandoned machines to his cause. Appalled by the half-living cyberghouls he sets on his foes, both the Martian north and south unite to drive him from the face of the Red Planet. Rumours persist that he haunts the Alpha Centauri System well into the 41st Millennium.
Adeptus Mechanicus - M35-M36 Nova Terra Interregnum: The Time of the Two Emperors during the Nova Terra Interregnum pits many forces of the Imperium against each other, and all Forge Worlds are asked to declare their allegiance.The Moirae Schism (ca. Early M35) - During the secession of the Segmentum Pacificus during the Nova Terra Interregnum, the rebel Forge World Moirae is destroyed by retaliatory Exterminatus, but not before the Moirae Schism has split the Adeptus Mechanicus in two. The ensuing conflict draws Titan Legions and even those Space Marine Chapters affiliated with the Adeptus Mechanicus into the turmoil. The schism takes a heavy toll on the Adeptus Astartes, resulting in the destruction of dozens of companies and the excommunication of several Iron Hands clans. It takes over two millennia of desperate warfare before the Moirate doctrines are considered fully purged.The Fleet Wars (Unknown Date.M35) - Of all the battles of the Moirae Schism, none are so expansive or long-lasting as the prolonged naval engagement over the nebula space fields of the Gulf of Black Shadows. There, mining wars between rival Forge Worlds escalate to massive fleet battles. It is estimated that the wrecks of over ten thousand voidships -- from mining craft to vessels of war -- float between the gas clouds. Yet the battle is far from over, for within the floating graveyards, salvage crews continue the war for centuries, fighting each other in desperate boarding actions, each side seeking to reclaim valued technology. Entire robot maniples are recovered by opposing sides, and reprogrammed to attack their former controllers.
Adeptus Mechanicus - M36 The Age of Apostasy: A new age of dissent washes over the Imperium. A growing distrust separates the Adeptus Mechanicus from the Adeptus Ministorum, with each side conspiring against the other. Few records of their internecine battles are ever recorded by the Adeptus Administratum, but each side keeps their own secret tally.The War of Recovery (104.M36) - Twelve Knightly houses are led by the Adeptus Mechanicus into the Mortuam Chain system. The campaign lasts over a standard century and many human worlds are freed from xenos rule. The interfering Aeldari are defeated when their own weapons are turned against them. Much ancient technology is rediscovered by the great quest. The fact that one of the conquered worlds had already been converted into a Shrine World by missionaries from the Ecclesiarchy is hastily covered up by furtive Tech-priests, who speak only of the triumphant return to Mars of several first-generation STC databases.The Xenarite Schism (335.M36) - The Forge World of Stygies VIII comes under attack from dozens of Deathwatch Kill-teams when news of the Xenarites' dabblings with alien technology reaches the Ordo Xenos. The Adeptus Mechanicus are forced to employ radical measures in order to survive the ensuing purges.
Adeptus Mechanicus - M37-M40 The Age of Redemption: The Imperial Cult gains political momentum, and countless crusades are launched. As the Space Marines and Imperial Guard are drawn into more and more campaigns, the Adeptus Mechanicus conserve their strength, focusing on their own expeditionary fleets, as well as their manufacturing duties to supply the Imperial war machine.Missing from Imperial Records (Unknown Date.M37) - Fearful of the growing record of violations against its Tech-priests, the Forge World of Stygies VIII uses viral programming, machine canticles, and infiltration methods to destroy or alter the documentation of the Adeptus Administratum and even the datastacks of the Inquisition itself. Self-perpetuating programs ensure the obfuscation is continuous.The Occlusiad (550-560.M37) - The northwestern fringe of the galaxy is ravaged by the Apostles of the Blind King. Rogue Tech-priests who view Humanity as an affront to the Machine God, the Apostles uncover artefacts lost in the Dark Age of Technology that allow the creation of supernovae from the hearts of living suns. Constellations are forever changed as the Apostles purge the outer sectors of the Segmentum Obscurus. War rages for a solar decade as thousands of heretical macroclades and robotic Cohorts Cybernetica exterminate all human life from world after world with chilling efficiency. The tide turns only when Navigator Joyre Macran discovers the palace-warship of the Blind King hidden in a fold of Warpspace. Macran guides the Emperor-class Battleship Dominus Astra to the palace's location and the Blind King is slain. Without his prescience, the Apostles are overcome -- not least due to the efforts of Mars itself and the founding of the heroic Dark Hunters Chapter of Astartes.The Telok Expedition (383.M38) - The Radical Magos Vettius Telok leads a foray into the void beyond the Halo Stars in search of the fabled artefact known as the "Breath of the Gods." His expedition is reported lost with all knowledge.The Shadow of Silica Animus (Unknown Date.M38) - Proof is found of dangerous experiments being conducted by rogue cults within the Mechanicus. As the creation of complex and intelligent artificial minds is strictly outlawed, a search-and-destroy inquest begins that probes every single Forge World for signs of the forbidden technology.War of the Golden Cog (Unknown Date.M39) - The Fabricator-General of Mars claims ownership of the riches of the Fortress of the Soulless, lair of the Culexus Temple. A disastrous civil war between Mars and Terra is averted by a sniper's bullet, but the artefact known as the Golden Cog is left in Skitarii hands.Fires of Conscience (Unknown Date.M39) - The rogue Tech-priest Veriliad, after leading his Skitarii to a stomach-churning victory during the Cremation of Alcadia Secundus, knowingly destroys the STC for Phosphex Weapons.
Adeptus Mechanicus - M40 The Waning: With Imperial armies stretched thin across countless campaigns, the Imperium becomes ripe for invasion. Xenos and Chaos attacks increase tenfold, occurring with alarming frequency all across the galaxy.Crushing the Mecha-WAAAGH! (Unknown Date.M40) - Led by House Raven, five different Knightly houses, along with no less than a dozen Freeblades, halt the mechanised hordes of WAAAGH! Gluttok. Across several star systems, the Imperial Knights are able to counter the Battlewagons and looted tanks employed by the wily Gluttok. It is on the factory planet of Blastoom that the Warboss' Stompa Mob is at last brought to final battle. Leading his Exalted Court into the thick of the fighting, Grevan, the Iron Duke, smashes into the wall of Ork walkers and uses his Reaper Chainsword to rip apart Gluttok's Stompa. The Stompa's head can still be seen, for it was taken for display and remains at the Keep Inviolate.Graia Assailed (Unknown Date.M40) - When attempting Warp travel with its "Graian Crown," Forge World Graia is assaulted by Necrons and nearly destroyed.The Forbidden Runes (Unknown Date.M40) - After the disastrous Battle of Elixia, Skitarii survivors are sent to extract the runic inscriptions upon the ancient standing stones of Grave's End. In doing so, they open a long-forgotten gate into the Warp. Elixia is consumed by a daemonic invasion, its remaining populace eliminated by a necessary Exterminatus within the solar week.The Reality Cage (743.M40) - The Tech-priests of Venatoria create cagefields of pure law and reason that magnify the material dimension's inherent resistance to the energies of the Warp. Forbidden to test the resultant technology in realspace, the Tech-priests lead an invasion fleet into the Ocularis Terribilis -- the Eye of Terror. Three Venatorians make it back alive to their Forge World. They devote the rest of their careers to the creation of a "reality bomb" that they believe will seal the Eye of Terror forever more. Sadly, their test run, staged upon the yawning Warp rift known only as the Maelstrom, ends in disaster.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Post-Heresy Adeptus Mechanicus Forge World Hierarchy: Fabricator GeneralFabricator LocumPriests of the Cult MechanicusLegiones Skitarii - The naming convention presented below is that used by Mars and most of its brother forge worlds; some style their armies the "Divsion Skitarii" and group their cohorts into regiments instead.Macroclade 1 - (Known variously as Prima Macroclade, Macroclade Primus, ect.) A forge world's first macroclade traditionally garrisons its Titan Legions and/or Ordinatus Engines.Macroclade 2Macroclade 3Macroclade 4War Cohort 1 - Each War Cohort is identified by a cohort numeral displayed on the hull of their Onager Dunecrawler vehicles.War Cohort 2War Cohort 3War Cohort 4Battle Maniple Delta - The typical Skitarii maniple is the combined arms Battle Maniple, but specialist cohorts, maniples and clades can be arranged as needed: Infiltration Clades, Armoured Cohorts, Assault Maniples, Anti-aircraft Cohorts, Anti-tank Cohorts, and son on. Units in a Battle Maniple are identified by a common maniple sigil, usually displayed next to squad and vehicles identification numbers. Other formations are identified by combinations of glyphs and sigils on the bodywork of their war machines.Skitarii RangersSkitarii VanguardSicarian InfiltratorsSicarian RuststalkersIronstrider CavalryOnager DunecrawlersBattle Maniple EpsilonBattle Maniple Omega
Adeptus Mechanicus - The Cult Mechanicus: The Cult Mechanicus believes knowledge to be the manifestation of divinity, and holds that anything embodying or containing knowledge is holy because of it. The supreme object of devotion is therefore the omniscient Machine God (also known as the Deus Mechanicus or, in its embodied form as the God-Emperor, the Omnissiah), an eminent and omnipotent spirit governing all machinery and knowledge in the universe. Generally, this deity is held to be an aspect of the God-Emperor (or, most commonly within the Cult itself, both are held to be aspects or faces of the same divine being). The Omnissiah is believed to be friendly to humanity, and to be the originator of all human technological and scientific knowledge. Subservient to the Omnissiah are the pantheistic Machine Spirits, who are believed to inhabit all machinery and which must be appeased before a piece of technology is used or repaired, lest the machinery fail.It should be noted that the Void Dragon, one of the C'tan Star Gods who are the true masters of the Necrons, is supposedly hidden somewhere beneath the surface of Mars. This could be what the Adeptus Mechanicus actually worship as the Machine God. The existence of the C'tan beneath Mars is a highly classified secret of the Imperium.
Adeptus Mechanicus - The Quest for Knowledge: The ultimate goal of the Cult Mechanicus is to understand and fully comprehend the glory of the Omnissiah. The communal and personal attempt at this form of enlightenment is known as the Quest for Knowledge. The Cult believes that all knowledge already exists in the universe, and it is primarily a matter of time before it can be gathered together to complete the Quest.The Cult is therefore disinclined to perform most basic scientific research and development. Despite this, some original scientific research does continue on Mars and the other Forge Worlds of the Imperium, enough to keep Imperial technology advancing steadily, if extremely slowly. The faith of the Cult is defined by a series of sixteen precepts, known as the Sixteen Universal Laws, which have been divided into two sets of eight precepts known collectively as the Mysteries and the Warnings, which are listed below.
Adeptus Mechanicus - The Mysteries of the Cult Mechanicus: Life is directed motion.The spirit is the spark of life.Sentience is the ability to learn the value of knowledge.Intellect is the understanding of knowledge.Sentience is the basest form of Intellect.Understanding is the True Path to Comprehension.Comprehension is the key to all things.The Omnissiah knows all, comprehends all.
Adeptus Mechanicus - The Warnings of the Cult Mechanicus: The alien mechanism is a perversion of the True Path.The soul is the conscience of sentience.A soul can be bestowed only by the Omnissiah.The Soulless sentience (i.e. Necrons) is the enemy of all.The knowledge of the ancients stands beyond question.The Machine Spirit guards the knowledge of the Ancients.Flesh is fallible, but ritual honours the Machine Spirit.To break with ritual is to break with faith.
Adeptus Mechanicus - The Adeptus Mechanicus At Present: Despite the never-ending thirst for knowledge of all branches of the order, most Tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus have lost the ability to innovate. No longer the master of its creations, the Cult Mechanicus is enslaved to the past.It maintains the glories of yesteryear with rite, dogma and edict instead of true discernment and comprehension. Even the theoretically simple process of activating an engine is preceded by the application of ritual oils, the burning of sacred resins and the chanting of long and complex hymns.Should mechanisms break down, as they often do in service to the Adeptus Mechanicus' war effort, a replacement must be found, or knowledge of how to repair the existing one must be learned. Across the galaxy, thousands upon thousands of Mechanicus armies and fleets are already searching, guided by a database begun before the birth of the Imperium. Once found, such items and knowledge are confiscated at all costs in the name of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Factions: There are numerous religious factions within the Adeptus Mechanicus, including the Khamrians, who pursue the forbidden science of artificial, or "abominable" intelligence which has been forbidden since the catastrophe caused by the Iron Men who attacked humanity during the Dark Age of Technology; the Omnissiads, who seek to summon the Machine God into a physical avatar other than the Emperor; and the Organicists, who see biological enhancement using genetic engineering as equal to the more common cybernetic enhancements for which the Tech-priests of the Mechanicus are best known. Some of these sects are accepted as legitimate interpretations of the Omnissiah's will, others are persecuted by the broader Cult Mechanicus and the Inquisition as Heretics.The portion of the ancient Mechanicum that split off to serve Chaos and the Heretic Astartes Traitor Legions during the Horus Heresy is called the Dark Mechanicum. These Chaos-worshiping Magi seek to combine the power of the Warp with that of the Machine God in the name of the Ruinous Powers, who they view to be the true expression of the Machine God since they offer knowledge that the Emperor forbids and place no restriction on the pursuit of any line of inquiry.The Dark Mechanicum is also responsible for constructing the majority of the war-machines for the Chaos Space Marines. Such creations include the Stalk Tanks of the Blood Pact, the Hell Talon fighter-bombers and the gargantuan Harbinger bomber recently deployed by the Forces of Chaos. It is also believed that some Dark Mechanicum Adepts have split into the Chaos faction known as the Obliterators.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Electoos: Every one of the Omnissiah's worshippers is fitted with a personal electoo. Taking the form of subcutaneous circuitry, some of these devices are little more than small identifier-plates and information wafers that can only be accessed when illuminated by senior Tech-priests. Others are far more advanced. The electoo networks the brotherhoods of the Electro-priests implant beneath their skin are so extensive they cover the entire nervous system, their bio-electric pulses potent enough to send out bursts of scorching power known as a "voltagheist" field that intercept incoming projectiles. Through devices such as these, the manna of the Machine God can visit Fabricator-General and lowly Skitarii warrior alike. Even Servitors and robots are blessed with their own form of electoo, as much to brand them as the property of their masters as for the religious rapture they can bring.Through these electoos, the disciples of the Adeptus Mechanicus can channel the electric majesty of the Omnissiah. So are the faithful bounteously rewarded, as they are filled with a glorious ambrosia of data, their floodstreams thrilling with each new pulse of the sweet nectar of pure information. In times of battle, an entire procession can have their electoos remotely set to respond to the same canticles and invocations. In doing so, the leaders of the Cult Mechanicus ensure that every member of their cybernetic congregation is simultaneously filled with the divine ability to destroy its foes in spectacular fashion -- be it with blasts of living lightning, piston-driven fists, or the blinding light of the Omnissiah's truth.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Hierarchy of the Adeptus Mechanicus: The following is an example illustration of the organisational structure of the Adeptus Mechanicus in the modern 41st Millennium:OmnissiahHigh Lords of TerraAdeptus TerraAdeptus MechanicusAdeptus MinistorumCult Mechanicus - Disciples of the Machine GodCenturio Ordinatus - Engines of the OmnissiahCollegia Titanica - God-Machines of the Titan LegionsAuxilia Myrmidon - Savants of WarLegiones Skitarii - Warriors of the Machine GodLegio Cybernetica - The Host RoboticOrdo Reductor - Bringers of Blessed Ruin
Adeptus Mechanicus - Holy Orders of the Cult Mechanicus: The term "Tech-priest" covers thousands of different roles within the ranks of the Adeptus Mechanicus which are divided into several distinct holy orders. These include the following:
Adeptus Mechanicus - Magi: Magi (sing. Magos) of all stripes are senior Tech-priests with advanced specialisations in various disciplines of science and technology who pursue esoteric agendas as likely to end in triumph as they are disaster.Prime HermeticonLord DogmaMechae MoribundusInvictus AcquisitorGerontocraftData-Predator
Adeptus Mechanicus - Genetors: Genetors probe the mysteries of the biological, creating ever stranger cyborgs or slaughtering xenos beyond number in order to excise yet more secrets of their alien metabolisms.Magos BiologisArch-chymistGrand ParasiteMetasurgeonCorpus IlluminatorGenetor Extremis
Adeptus Mechanicus - Logi: A Logis (plu. Logi) is an analyst, statistician, and logistician whose purpose is to predict future trends and make forecasts about Mechanicus expenditures and needs. Because of their duties Logi are often regarded as prophetic figures within the Adeptus Mechanicus.Lexico ArcanusBibliophiliacHyper-rationalistMonitor MalevolusInfo-executionerBiocogitatus
Adeptus Mechanicus - Artisans: Artisans create and restore truly wondrous weapons of war, from ornate Gamma Pistols to the mind-boggling immensity of the Ark Mechanicus. Also known as constructors, they design machines, buildings, spacecraft, weapons, and military hardware. They often oversee activity on Forge Worlds and control vast labor forces of Servitors.[1]Forge LordMechasapientPraetor ElectroidCybersmithTechnoarcheologistNecromechanic
Adeptus Mechanicus - Rank Structure: The Cult Mechanicus is ordered by a strong hierarchy, but details on this hierarchy's actual make-up are not always clear. Generally, more highly positioned Tech-priests are expected to have more seniority and knowledge than lower ones, and are consequently more theologically important as greater repositories of knowledge.Across the galaxy Transmechanics, Lexmechanics, Enginseers, Secutors, Cognitors, Trifactors, Myrmidons, Technoshamans, and more labour alongside the wider Imperium to bolster humanity's war machine.Within the Adeptus Mechanicus the ranks become even more esoteric. A tentative mapping of this hierarchy, in order from highest to lowest, will follow below. It should be noted that specialists such as Genetors and Logis may not have any specific rank within the Cult as a group, but rather will be ranked as individuals.Each Forge World is led by a Fabricator-General or other Archmagos with a similar rank but different title, and beneath them their Fabricator Locum. Each Fabricator Locum can call upon Magi Technicus, Metallurgicus, Alchemys, Cogitatrices, Pedanticum, Tech-assassins, hive monitors and Holy Requisitioners, who in turn can command a body of fabricators minoris, Fulgurites, Corpuscarii, overseers, underseers, stasis clerks, and techno-dervishes. Each sub-division within every facet of the order is split into dozens of ranks.The Adeptus Mechanicus hierarchy (from highest-ranked to lowest-ranked) is as follows:Fabricator-GeneralMagosLogisGenetorArtisanElectro-priestEnginseerTransmechanicLexmechanicRunepriestMenialsServitorsThe Adeptus Mechanicus also recognises the following specialist ranks, which stand outside the standard hierarchy of the Cult Mechanicus and usually serve a related military role for the Mechanicus or its allies amongst the other Imperial Adepta.Amongst the most learned of Magi are those rare individuals who are considered tech-savants, a genius at the forefront of whatever field to which they turn their minds. Even amongst the ranks of the Adeptus Mechanicus -- where artificial devices increase brain capacity and extend life beyond measure -- such an accumulation of knowledge in multiple disciplines is exceedingly rare.The Priesthood of Mars titles such beings as "Prime Conduits of the Omnissiah," or as Dominatus Dominus -- Master of Masters. On a Forge World, to avoid confusion during war, the most senior of the Tech-priests adopts the title of "Tech-priest Dominus" to lead the planet's military effort.Titan crews and Space Marine Techmarines are listed last not because of their actual position within the hierarchy, but because of their relative separation from the rest of the Cult Mechanicus:Dominatus DominusTech-priest DominusCollegia Titanicus PrincepsModeratusTactical OfficerTechmarineSkitarii
Adeptus Mechanicus - Fabricator General: The Fabricator-General of Mars is the highest-ranking individual within the Cult Mechanicus (in his capacity as the Magos Mechanicus), and administers not only the Adeptus Mechanicus but also governs the planet of Mars itself as the recognised Imperial Planetary Governor.The Fabricator-General of Mars is the de facto leader of the Cult Mechanicus, and as befits his position, is awarded a permanent seat on the council that runs the Imperium, known as the Senatorum Imperialis or the High Lords of Terra.Rulers of individual Forge Worlds are referred to as "Fabricator-Generals" as well, but only the Fabricator-General of Mars holds a seat amongst the High Lords of Terra, representing himself or herself as the leader of the Mechanicus as a whole.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Fabricator Locum: The Fabricator Locum is the second highest-ranking individual on the planet of Mars. The Fabricator Locum assists the Fabricator General with the governance of Mars, including the meeting of production quotas and ensuring the correct devotions to the Machine God are observed at all times.The most notable Fabricator Locum was Kane who sided with the Emperor of Mankind during the Horus Heresy and thus maintained at least some crucial Mechanicus support for the Loyalists.The position of Fabricator Locum, like that of Fabricator General, also refers generally to the second-highest-ranking Mechanicus official on any Forge World.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Logis: The accountants and mathematicians of the Mechanicus, the Logis are statisticians, analysts, actuaries and logisticians. They indirectly control a Forge World's resources.They can accurately predict almost anything with very small margins of error, making them extremely useful to anyone with an artillery piece or seeking to determine interstellar trade flows.Considered prophetic by some, the Logis are also very good at predicting future trends and forecasts and so they are often tasked by the Mechanicus with aiding the bureaucrats of the Administratum. Their dispassionate analysis is given great weight in decision making.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Genetor: Essentially geneticists, a Genetor is a Mechanicus scholar who studies all matters genetic and biological. Sometimes referred to as a "Magos Biologis," Genetors number alongside the Logis, Artisan and Magos ranks of the Adeptus Mechanicus as members of its ruling Priesthood, possessing access to knowledge and resources far beyond that of the lesser Enginseers and Lexmechanics.A Genetor's field of study makes them distinct from the majority of Tech-priests, their professional obsession with organic life often making them seem strange to their more mechanically-inclined brethren. Their interest in the organic not only pertains to the human form, but to the study of xenos life as well.The study of alien genetics, intended to better understand them and thus how to better slay them, falls to a sub-sect of Genetors collectively known as the "Xenobiologists."Genetors are typically found accompanying Imperial or Rogue Trader expeditions to new or rediscovered worlds so that they can sample previously unknown species' DNA for its potential utility. Genetors also introduce common Imperial animals to a new colonial ecosystem, such as the Grox, a large reptilian animal that serves as a common food source on many Imperial worlds.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Artisan: Artisans are exactly what the name implies; they build and design pieces of technology for various purposes, from agriculture to war -- they are essentially the Adeptus Mechanicus' Corps of Engineers.Usually found with an entourage of Servitors, these Adepts command labour forces that could rival small armies in size. They are responsible for controlling the vast labour force of Servitors employed by the Adeptus Mechanicus for all of their labour needs on any given Forge World.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Electro-priest: Electro-priests are techno-zealots devoted to the Cult Mechanicus, particularly the mysteries of energy, its flow through conductive bodies and the motivating spark, the sacred "Motive Force," it provides to Machine Spirits. They are known to be outfitted with a huge number of electoos.Electro-priests support other Tech-priests in battle. The most fanatical Electro-priests are heavily cybernetically modified to permit them to generate electrical energy within their own bodies, transforming them into living fonts of crackling power, destroying everything they touch before collapsing from the strain.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Enginseers: Enginseers are the technicians of the Cult Mechanicus, specially trained in maintaining and repairing machines. They are often seconded to the Astra Militarum in order to maintain and repair the armoured vehicles used by the Imperial Guard's regiments.Although most Guardsmen revere their vehicles enough not to risk annoying an Enginseer through "tinkering," some unique vehicles have been created from spare parts in time of need -- much to the chagrin of the Enginseers present.Among their fellow Tech-priests, Enginseers are afforded little respect, as their labours do not normally contribute to the Quest for Knowledge because they only maintain existing machines instead of building or discovering new technologies.Rather, they are viewed as lowly but essential cogs in the great machine that is the Cult Mechanicus. Most Enginseers have Mechadendrites attached to their back in order to facilitate their repair work.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Transmechanic: Transmechanics are technicians or service engineers who specialise in dealing with communications technology.By the nature of their speciality, Transmechanics are often called upon to serve in other Imperial organisations for extended periods of time, and often spend their entire existence aboard Imperial Navy vessels or on Imperial Guard bastion-worlds.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Lexmechanic: Also known as "Calculus Logi," Lexmechanics are the librarians and scribes of the Mechanicus. Their purpose is to compile and rationalise data so it can be entered into a central Cogitator repository.They can work with a computer's speed and accuracy, assembling battlefield reports, economic statistics, planetary reports, and so forth. Like Transmechanics, Lexmechanics are commonly assigned duties outside the Adeptus Mechanicus assisting the other organs of the Adeptus Terra.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Rune Priest: The Rune Priest's role is to inscribe runes and chant liturgies over machines as part of the Cult Mechanicus ritual of initiation.They are trained in the most arcane branches of scientific lore such as intuitive mechanics, speculation, and improvisation. Rune Priests are famous for their lateral thinking, which may be called upon when strict logic and standard procedures fail.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Menials: As their name suggests, Menials are the menial and unaugmented human labourers of the Mechanicus, used primarily for unskilled labour too complex for Servitors to economically perform.The billions of Menials are not considered true Tech-priests, but are usually indoctrinated with the beliefs of the Cult Mechanicus in a simplified form. Skitarii and, to some extent, new Tech-priests are often recruited from the ranks of the Menials on Mars and the other Forge Worlds.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Servitors: Servitors are mindless slave cyborgs, designed and programmed to perform menial, rudimentary or dangerous tasks for the Mechanicus and other elements of the Imperium like the Astra Militarum or even the Space Marine Chapters. There exists an endless variety of Servitors, from heavy mining Servitors to battlefield Gun-Servitors and elite Praetorian Servitors.A Servitor's biological components are obtained either by growing genetically-engineered human bodies artificially in culture vats, or by using the lobotomised bodies of condemned Imperial criminals or failed prospective Space Marines -- all are subsequently augmented with mechanical limbs, computer uplink jacks and whatever electronic accessories are deemed necessary to facilitate their ordained tasks.As they cannot think for themselves since their higher brain functions have all been disabled, they are essentially nothing more than partially-organic robots which use a portion of a human brain as their central processing unit. Some Servitors can be installed with combat programs which enable them to function as unswervingly loyal bodyguards.On battlefields, they often form part of the retinues of Tech-priests, Techmarines and Inquisitors. These are seen as Gun-Servitors, bearing heavy weaponry; Combat-Servitors, armed with close-quarters combat equipment; and Technical Servitors, which are intended to perform repairs and construction duties instead of fighting.Particularly large and heavily armed and armoured Servitors are referred to as Praetorian Servitors. Towering over even a Space Marine, Praetorian Servitors are created either from cybernetically-enhanced vat-grown genetically engineered giants or lobotomised Ogryns.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Battle Congregation: The war-processions of the Cult Mechanicus are thronged with living weapons, each eager to give vent to their lethal wrath. Such a gathering is a daunting sight, for it boasts a riot of cybernetic anatomies, and the monotonous cant that emanates from it plays upon the nerves like talons drawn down glass.To witness an army of Tech-priests marching to war is to share the vision of an insane prophet. And yet beneath the curling incense and the grotesquerie of nightmarish anatomies, there is a structure that spans from one Forge World to the next.The Tech-priest Dominus that commands each Cult Mechanicus congregation will typically call upon a body of Kataphron Battle Servitors to protect him. Though these living artillery pieces are potent indeed, they are easily replaced and can be mustered in the thousands if necessary.All Forge Worlds create these half-machine war constructs on a daily basis, their biohangars stacked with rank upon rank of dormant Kataphron Servitors awaiting the binharic command to awaken. Their survival is of little import, and the Tech-priests will expend them with no more thought than a Space Marine would expend a clip of Bolter shells.The same cannot be said of the Legio Cybernetica, for its automaton warriors are ancient and blessed in the Omnissiah's sight. When the use of these machines is sanctioned, they will usually be deployed en masse, organised into cohorts each consisting of four full-strength maniples.Wherever these relics of Humanity's past march to war, they attract great numbers of the faithful, amongst them the fabled Electro-priests. These lightning-shrouded holy men trail after sacred machines in the manner of pilgrims and mendicants following the reliquaries of an Ecclesiarchal saint.Theirs is the Motive Force, the third part of the Machine God's trinity, who gives the faithful the power they need to smite the unbeliever. In times of war these priests will raise a great chorus of praise to the Omnissiah, their weapons buzzing with murderous energy.Such is the genius of the Cult Mechanicus' forefathers that their traditional war-psalms contain binharic strings of program and protocol. Each is sonically coded to enhance the Cult Mechanicus' warriors. Every Servitor, robot and priest has within him a subcutaneous electoo circuit that thrills with the glory of the Machine God, bolstering their strength when battle rages all around.The Tech-priests put the resultant boost in efficacy down to the inspiring effects of faith, forgetting that each syllable contains enough binharic cant to rouse even the basest Servitor to a murderous wrath. Truly it is said that praise to the Machine God lends the faithful might enough to prevail; those that witness the electric rapture of a Cult Mechanicus procession in full flow are lucky to survive.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Skitarii: The Skitarii are the cybernetic infantry forces of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Skitarii regiments that go to war alongside the Mechanicus' Titans are equipped with various esoteric weapons of war. Part man and part machine, most Skitarii are cybernetically-linked to their personal weapon for increased performance.Skitarii are born into service either as natural-born human Menials of the Mechanicus who are cybernetically enhanced or in some cases as clones or vat-born humans who are cybernetically enhanced from the moment of their accelerated "birth."Skitarii train with their weapon until they are of the age to be sent to a war zone. To guarantee their undying loyalty to the Mechanicus they usually undergo various forms of psychosurgery to wipe their minds of both emotion and personality.The Skitarii do not simply crush their foes, but instead pitilessly blast them into bloody chunks of flesh. Even as they do so they record every tiny screed of battle data for later analysis. Just as the Skitarii exload the martial capabilities of the foe to their masters, the Tech-priests inload their own programs into the Skitarii.It is usual practice for a legion's overseer Tech-priests to monitor each battle from a scryer-ship high above. Floating in a sea of data, each Adept sends battlefield commands down via data-tethers to the Skitarii on the planet below.In this way their soldiers can be remotely augmented, used as eyepieces, forced into suicidal engagements, or even possessed entirely. The ever-devout Skitarii see these incidents as the divine spirit of the Omnissiah entering them and acting through them to the betterment of the Imperium. To the Tech-priests, their minions are little more than electric puppets jerking upon strings of pre-programmed impulse.The Skitarii Legions do not fight alone, for they escort the vast goliaths of the Centurio Ordinatus to war, and even march in the shadow of the god-machines of the Titan Legions. It is the Skitarii that bolster the battle robots of the Legio Cybernetica and they who act as bodyguards for Tech-priests brave enough to take the field.Skitarii are often also referred to as the Mechanicus' "Tech-Guard." Some Mechanicus factions recycle the organic portions of the bodies of dead Servitors and Skitarii as raw material for the formation of new vat-grown Servitors or Skitarii. The Crimson Guard rival any of the armed forces within the Calixis Sector.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Secutarii: The Secutarii Titan Guard were created as the honour guard and protectors of the Titan Legions, developed in the lost and ancient days long before the Imperium. For while a Battle Titan might shatter a mighty fortress or blast a tank company to ruin, it is the role of the Secutarii to eradicate such threats its survivors might still pose as the Titans press on to more important targets, and to hunt down and slay those who seek to flee from the Machine God's wrath.Secutarii Hoplites go into battle armed with Arc Lances and Mag-inverter shields, weapons that enable them to hunt war machines and vehicles that would threaten their charges. Akin to the arc mauls of the Skitarii Clade officers, and the far larger of the mighty Cerastus Knight-Lancers, the arc lance inflicts damage through short range blasts of coruscating energy that can burn through xeno technology and render mute the machine spirit of even the most heavily armoured vehicle.Mag-inverter shields provide the copious power needed by arc lances, and resists blows which would otherwise slay its bearer instantly through utilising a powerful and sophisticated inversion generator at the shield's core.Their counterparts, the Secutarii Peltasts, seek targets of flesh and bone that would attempt harm on the great god-machines of the Collegia Titanicus. Armed with a Galvanic-caster, the Secutarii Peltasts are equipped for all manner of targets.This electro-galvanically driven, multi-function projectile launcher has multiple firing modes that may fire rapid bursts of low velocity, razor-edged metallic flechettes; attack concealed targets with retina-burning ignis charges; fire an armour-piercing inert slug-shot at supersonic velocities; or even fire a barrage of blind canister shot to confuse and disorientate the enemy.