Imperial Knights - Imperial Knights: The Imperial Knights, or Questor Imperialis in High Gothic, are piloted robotic combat walkers of small to medium size in the service of the Imperium and sometimes the Adeptus Mechanicus.Each Knight is piloted by a single Human warrior drawn from an ancient feudal aristocratic culture that stretches across the galaxy.However, a Knight is smaller and less capable in combat than even the smallest class of true Titan utilised by the Collegia Titanica, the Warhound-class Scout Titan. Knights normally deploy in squadrons comprised of several of these war machines.These ancient battlesuits stand thirty to forty Terran feet (9 to 12 metres) tall, are protected by nearly impenetrable Ion Shields and armed with a devastating array of heavy weapons.Imperial Knights are colossal war machines that tower over the battlefield. They are propelled into battle by powerful servos and have the power to kick over tanks and crush soldiers into red paste.Vulnerable limbs and joints are protected by sweeping armour plates of adamantium and supported by an incorporated Ion Shield which responds to the thought-commands of its Noble pilot. The presence of just one of these towering engines of destruction is enough to change the course of a battle, and only the Titans of the Adeptus Mechanicus are more feared by the enemies of Mankind.Knights are not mere war machines, but relics from a lost age, armoured giants from a forgotten era. One does not drive such an heirloom -- it must be bonded with. Only a Noble from an ancestral knightly house may have such an honour.During a strange and terrible rite known as the Ritual of Becoming, the Noble fuses their mind with the Machine Spirit of the Knight -- a union of flesh and metal. Only then can the Noble truly occupy the Throne Mechanicum -- the seat of control from which they use his mind to command the towering Knight.Thousands of standard years before the rise of the Imperium, Mankind reached out to the stars and settled many far away worlds. Among the apparatus of colonisation were formidable war machines known as "Knights," which existed to protect the settlers from any threat.The strongholds constructed from the remains of ancient Terran colony starships are ruled by the descendants of the first Human settlers of those far-flung worlds, mighty fighters who go to war in their towering armoured battlesuits and who are sworn to protect and guard the Imperial citizens who now inhabit their worlds.These proud and haughty warriors can trace their bloodlines back to Terra itself and are colloquially known as "Nobles" or "Scions" in Imperial society and as the Questoris Familia in formal High Gothic.Over the millennia, the pilots of these massive war suits have established a rich culture, Noble houses each sworn to the defence of their homeworld, bound by oaths of fealty to the Golden Throne of Terra and the Adeptus Mechanicus of Mars.Knight armour comes in a wide variety of forms, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. The two most commonly seen types are the Knight Paladin and the Knight Errant. These both use the same basic body form, but are fitted with different weapon arrays. Each is well-liked for its balanced and deadly combination of manoeuvrability, protection and firepower.All Imperial Knights are protected by thick adamantium armour and are fitted with powerful weapon systems. Usually, this entails two primary weapons, one attached to each of its "arms," which will be supplemented by a number of secondary weapon systems fitted to its body and shoulders.The hand-forged armour that protects each Knight was crafted long ago, and elements such as the individual armour plates, helm or crests can therefore vary considerably depending on the skill of the artisan who made them.The armour is often lavishly detailed and adorned with complex heraldry that reveals the Knight's allegiances and the deeds he has accomplished in battle.In addition to their weaponry, all Knights carry potent defensive field generators called Ion Shields. This ancient technology works by projecting an energy field across a narrow arc to the front of the Knight.By quickly moving the position of the shield so that it intercepts enemy attacks, a Knight is able to survive even the heaviest fire, whilst still being able to fire its own weapons in return.The exact setting and positioning of the shield is essential, as the Ion Shield is only designed to deflect and slow shots, rather than absorb them in the manner of the far more powerful void shields used on Imperial Titans. This means the effectiveness of the shield is partially dependent on the skill and experience of its operator.Both the Knight Paladin and Knight Errant are traditionally equipped with enormous melee weapons and are famed for their skill with them, charging into the enemy and delivering blows left and right with their massive Reaper Chainswords.This impressive close combat capability is supported with powerful ranged weapons that can blast apart enemy vehicles, and Heavy Stubbers to mow down infantry targets.Other, much rarer, types of Knight armour are used on some Knight Worlds. Amongst the heaviest types of Knight armour made by the Forge Worlds are the Crusader and the Castellan. Although slower than other suit types, these two benefit from substantially increased firepower and much thicker armour, and are instead used in a fire support role.The Lancer is a faster version of a standard Knight suit. These agile machines are used to outflank the enemy, scout out their defences and distract hostile forces while slower units get into position to attack. This type of armour is sophisticated and extremely difficult to manufacture, and its use is therefore usually reserved for rulers of knightly houses, or for Nobles that have proven themselves worthy of it in the fires of victory.However, while the Crusader, Castellan and Lancer are rightly revered, the Paladin and Errant's perfectly balanced combination of speed, firepower and armour make them the supreme examples of Knight design.