Defenders of the Adeptus Mechanicus: Part 2

 An Article by C.J. Young

Hello again everyone! Sorry for the slow posting, but I have been doing finals here at UW and been studying for the LSAT I am taking this Saturday. So without further ado, I give you part two of Defenders of the Adeptus Mechanicus.  (here's a link to Part One)

The Adeptus Mechanicus has many methods to protect its domain. Titan Legions and the Skitarii are just two of the most common defenses the Mechanicus has, but another less well known defense is the Knight Titan Orders.  

On many of the rural Mechanicus agriculture and mineral worlds the Mechanicus need guardians. These worlds do not warrant a full titan legion like a true forgeworld, but need more security than the Skitarii can provide. To fill this gap the Mechanicus uses Knight Titan Orders. These are organized much like a medieval knightly order like the Knights Templar history. They are both an independent and self reliant military order. They have their own fleets, tech-priests and are a self ruling body. These Knight Titan Orders have a fortress where they often times rule over the worlds they are stationed on much like some space marine chapters do i.e. the Ultramarines. The order is made up a number of knights who rule the world as feudal lords, but in times of war they also pilot the iron knight titans.

These knight titans are built like their larger brothers, the battle titans and have many of the same features. They have a strong machine spirit, they have power fields (weaker void shields) and powerful weaponry. There are three patterns of the knight titans that perform different roles on the battlefield just like the full size titans.

The Warden is the largest and rarest knight titan. It stands at about 2/3 the height of a Warhound titan and carries very powerful weapons. It most often has missile batteries on the shoulders and powerful energy weapons in place of arms. It is most often used to support its smaller brethren at a distance or to level enemy fortifications.  

The Paladin is the most common knight titan and is a bit smaller than the Warden. It carries an energy weapon or battle cannon on one arm and a close combat weapon on the other arm. The Paladin is the most versatile pattern of knight titan, because it has decent firepower and the ability to do devastating close combat attacks. This is the main workhorse of the knight titan orders.  

Lastly, is the Lancer pattern knight titan. This is the smallest pattern knight titan and is a little taller than a space marine dreadnought. The Lancer is armed mostly for ranged combat and is used as a scout for the knight titan orders in a similar manner to how the Warhound titan is used for full scale Titan Legions.

When it comes to battle these various patterns can be used together to complement each other on the battlefield or sometimes operate in groups of three for smaller missions. First and foremost they defend the worlds they are stationed on, whether it is from Eldar Pirates or a full scale invasion. They also receive requests for assistance from various other Imperial organizations and the Adeptus Mechanicus. Most of the time they are not powerful enough to assist in major Imperial crusades and their lager brothers the Titan Legions fill this role. However, they are often the saviors of remote isolated Imperial worlds who are under siege from the countless enemies of the Imperium. They are also heavily used to provide heavy security for the Adeptus Mechanicus explorator fleets exploring the dangerous edges of the Imperium. Most Knight Titan Orders also have some other form of military assets usually in the form of their own Skitarii. These Skitarii are often less well equipped then those of larger forgeworlds or Titan Legions, but they do provide security for the knight titans especially when their knights are not present at the orders fortress.

I have given a lot of information on knight titans and could go on forever, because I love these guys so much. However, I think this gives the reader a good start with who the Iron Knights are. My next post will give a brief history of my order the Knights of Victis along with pictures of my finished army. Until next time, happy gaming!