Adeptus Mechanicus
The Adeptus Mechanicus is an organization that features in Warhammer 40,000.
Contents |
History
The Adeptus Mechanicus were an organization and cult that formed in Mars in the period when mankind had begun to colonise space. The ancient Forge World was colonised early in humanity's history where its arid surface came to be terraformed with a man-made atmosphere allowing the colony to flourish. During the era of the Age of Strife, the various colonies became separated from one another with Mars developing separately from Terra on both a cultural and technological level. This saw the inhabitants of Mars gradually evolving to become worshippers of ancient technology and led to a formalised religion that worshipped the Machine God with its adherents becoming the Cult Mechanicus.
In this turbulent time, there were few shelters for the Tech-Priests and none for unbelievers. Marauders and mutant raiders often targeted these sites in order to use them for themselves. This resulted in many cultists dying to defend the shelters and many of the early ones being destroyed in the process. However, those that survived came to be stronger and more determined where they interpreted their survival to being members of the Cult Mechanicus. On Terra, rival warlords battled over remnants of the planet whilst on Mars the Tech-Priests built it anew with the first temples of the Machine God being built. In addition, they scoured the surface of ruined Mars for any surviving machinery that they enshrined in the Temple of All Knowledge. The High Altar came to be formed that held a vast database of the entire knowledge of the Tech-Priests which became linked to all the Forge Worlds through a living Transmat link that was a psychic Servitor that joined all the altars of the Cult Mechanicus into one holy machine enity.
As a result, the Mechanicum became incorporated into the Imperium of Man where they made up one of the power blocs within the united human society.
Overview
Organization
In appearance, the Adeptus Mechanicus was a religious organization that styled itself as a cult which worshipped machines and tasked with their repair, maintenance and construction. Though part of the Imperium of Man, it was actually quite independent and had its own organizational structure as well as beliefs. The religion and religious structure of the Adeptus Mechanicus was known as the Cult Mechanicus The symbol of the Adeptus Mechanicus is a skull, half-bone and half-machine, set against the background of a black and white cog.
Adepts of the Adeptus Mechanicus were known as tech-priests who were often cybernetically augmented. Any member of the Cult Mechanicus over the rank of menial would often be referred to as a tech-priest, though Magi and higher ranks are usually referred to by rank. Typically, they tended to wear robes which were usually either rust-red or white. Tech-priests The level of a techpriest's augmentation was highly dependent on their rank within the Cult Mechanicus; a novice may have only one or two augmented systems, if any, while very senior members may have only a few biological organs left in their bodies. Tech-Priests were the ruling castes of the Adeptus Mechanicus who were robed zealots whose flesh was replaced over time with bionic enhancements. These technosavants carried a bewildering array of titles each of which specialised in arcane knowledge and esoteric lore that was perpetuated with religious fervour.
The driving mission of the Mechanicus was the Quest for Knowledge that pushed them to research and explore though the main goal was the recovery of a working Standard Template Construct (STC) system. The purpose of the many exploratory missions was the recovery of STC knowledge.
Ranks within the Mechanicus included:
- Fabricator-General :
- Myrmidon Secutors : ordained priests of the Cult Mechanicum that embodied the art of destruction at close quarters and used feared weapons technology to further their ends with them being drawn into battle.
- Magos :
- Magos Dominus :
- Magos Prime :
- Magos Reductor :
Organizations within the Mechanicus included:
- Legio Cybernetica :
- Collegia Titanica :
A division within the Adeptus Mechanicus was the Prefecture Magisterium who operated as a secret police charged with preserving the dogma of the Cult Mechanicus and persecuting Hereteks. They operated military Cohors and hunter-killer claves that were maintained on the Forge Worlds.
Among their military forces included:
- Tech-Priest Dominus : these masters of the Cult Mechanicus had a prodigious talent and hunger for war with their minds being filled by a constant stream of information including bullet trajectories, optimal artillery arcs, las-pack capacities. They used this information to bring destruction on their enemies with every command issued from their cybernetically-enhanced forms. These Tech-Priests possessed insectile metal legs and various extra arms making them appear almost alien where they featured an impressive array of weapons that included volkite blasters, a macrostubber, an eradication ray, a phosphor serpenta and a power axe that was a badge of office containing a microphone and loudspeaker.
- Tech-Priest Manipulus : A bulbous augmentation in their bodies contained galvanic cells that channelled powerful charge of divine Motive Force that was the underlying current of all life. They eagerly sought out new sources of power, in order to drain them dry with their mechadendrites.
- Tech-Priest Engineseer :
- Skitarii Marshal : Marshals were veteran warriors of countless crusades who were privileged to bear enhanced augmentations. They led maniples and cohorts of Skitarii soldiery where they served as intermediaries between their formations and their priestly masters. As senior officers of the Skitarii, their presence bolstered the efficiency of nearby units under their command where they employed sacred uplinks to refine their warrior's doctrines closer to holy perfection.
- Skitarii Vanguard :
- Skitarii Rangers : Rangers of the Skitarii were implacable and relentless hunter-killers who harnessed the energies of forge worlds with their curious weaponry. They wore cowls and gasmasks that stalked their prey with galvanic rifles. Each trooper was sealed in heavy, industrialised Skitarii warplate that was emblazoned with the symbol of the Adeptus Mechanicus where they were bristling with data-collecting sensors, antennae and environmental monitors. To operate on the harsh terrain of Mars, their legs were removed from the knees down, with bionic replacements lending each model an air of cold, cybernetic augmentation. Units of Rangers were led by an Alpha who were armed with either a radium or arc pistol and a close combat weapon that were fitted with an enhanced data-tether or an omnispex.
- Sicarian Ruststalkers :
- Sicarian Infiltrators :
- Corpuscarii Electro-Priest :
- Fulgurite Electro-Priests :
- Tech-Priest Enginseer :
- Tech-Priest Dominus :
- Kastelan Robot :
- Kataphron Breachers :
- Kataphron Destroyers :
In war, the Adeptus Mechanicus assembled military forces known as Battle Congregations that were armed groups consisting of a variety of units from the myriad militant Mechanicum forces that were under the general command of a Tech-Priest Dominus. Their makeup was largly dependent on the strength of the Forge World and the Dominus's status within the hierarchy of the Mechanicum Priesthood.
Equipment
Equipment used by the Mechanicus included:
- Galvanic Carbine :
- Galvanic Rifle :
- Galvanic Weapon :
- Radium Carbine :
- Radium Jezzail :
The Mechanicus made use of a number of automated combat automata that included:
- Scyllax Guardian-Automata :
- Castellax Battle-Automata :
- Thanatar Siege-Automata :
- Domitar Battle-Automata :
- Vultarax Stratos-Automata :
In terms of vehicles, the Mechanicus utilised:
- Ironstrider Balistarius : a mobile artillery platform with a distinct two-legged tank-shape that were a fearsome sight on the battlefield. They were gyroscopically balanced with downlinks providing them with the sum of knowledge on their enemies with them being deadly accurate.
- Onager Dunecrawler :
- Skorpius Disintegrator :
- Skorpius Dunerider :
- Terrax Pattern Termite Assault Drill :
- Imperial Knight Paladin :
The premier capital ship used by the Adeptus Mechanicus was the Ark Mechanicus that were often deployed as part of Explorator Fleets.
Territory
The homeworld of the Adeptus Mechanicus was the red world of Mars located in the Solar System that was also the first Forge World.
Members
- Draykavac :
- Belisarius Cawl :
- Anacharis Scoria :
Notes
- The Adeptus Mechanicus were created by Games Workshop and featured in the Warhammer 40,000 setting.
In other media
Video games
- In Battlefleet Gothic: Armada, the Adeptus Mechanicus appeared in the setting of the real-time space-based strategy video game.
- In Battlefleet Gothic: Armada II, the Adeptus Mechanicus appeared as a playable faction in the setting of the real-time space-based strategy video game.
- In Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr, the Adeptus Mechanicus appeared in the setting of the action RPG video game. The were shown to be present within the Caligari Sector with a secret sect known as the Requisitioners serving the Caligari Conclave. The Inquisitor sought out a Mechanicus Genetor to help in repairing a badly wounded Space Marine whilst another he recruited to help uncover the mystery of Uther Tiberius's vessel namely the Martyr.
- In Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus, the Adeptus Mechanicus featured in the turn-based strategy video game. It was set after the formation of the Great Rift with Magos Dominus Faustinius who commanded the Ark Mechanicus vessel Caestus Mealican that was investigation a transmission from the world Silva Tenebris. Upon arriving, the expedition discovered the planet to be a Necron Tomb World with the expedition looking to stop it from awakening and threatening the Imperium.
Appearances
- Warhammer 40,000:
- Codex: Cult Mechanicus:
- Codex: Skitarii:
- Codex: Adeptus Mechanicus:
External Links
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