Dreadnought
From Warhammer 40k
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[edit] Overview
A Dreadnought is a Space Marine who has proven himself invaluable to the Imperium. Therefore, he is implanted into a hulking robotic armor suit soon after he is mortally wounded, usually only if he is dismembered, or his implants cannot handle the sheer bulk of his wounds. Because of the life giving effects of dreadnought armor, a marine can serve for millennia. There are reports of dreadnoughts still in service who walked alongside the Emperor (the Space Wolf dreadnought Bjorn The Fell-Handed is the oldest dreadnought in service, having been interred in his scarcophagus just after the departure of Primarch Leman Russ). Having such vast experience in the field of combat means that when a dreadnought speaks all listen.
Because the knowledge to make new Dreadnoughts has all but been lost, if one falls in combat every effort is made to recover it so that tech-priests may repair it. It is considered one of the greatest honors any Space Marine can have to be placed within a dreadnought, its complex life-support systems allowing him to serve even after death.
[edit] Terminators
Terminator armor is officially called Tactical Dreadnought Armor, and the privilege of using it is just below full dreadnought status.
[edit] Grey Knights
The Grey Knights chapter does not consider Dreadnought status as a great honor, as they would rather be buried in the Mausoleum on Titan with the rest of their fallen brethren. This is not to say that there are no Grey Knights Dreadnoughts, just that they are few and far in between. Grey Knights dreadnoughts may have the "holy hull" upgrade, in which the hull is inscribed with scripture verses, holy sigils, etcetera, to make them unapproachable to Daemons.
[edit] Non-Imperial Designs
[edit] Chaos
Chaos Dreadnoughts are feared, not revered, and rightly so, as their pilots are utterly psychotic. Rather than having devotion and faith to the Emperor, Chaos Marines tend to have their minds immersed in bloodlust or hunger for carnal experiences. Thus, the centuries-long entombment in a dreadnought sarcophagus drives all but the most strong-willed into complete insanity. They are chained down during transit to prevent them from attacking their allies, and only unchained to unleash them when enemies are present. They can have special Chaos sigils painted on them that grant them power from the Chaos God it represents.
[edit] Orks
Ork Dreadnoughts (or Deff Dreads, as they call them) are more clumsy than the other races' mechs. They require the attention of a Mad Dok and a Mekboy to be constructed and maintained, as they implant a (relatively) healthy Ork boy. "Killa Kans" are a smaller type of Ork Dreadnought and are piloted by Gretchin rather than Orks. Most Grots are all too happy to pilot a Killa Kan, and usually celebrate their new life by stomping those who bullied them into a fine red paste.
The other way that a less affluent Ork warband can obtain Dreadnoughts is to go for a less sophisticated construction. For them the alternative is to build a chassis, and add manual controls. Instead of integrating a warrior into the systems, he (or it) uses switches, levers, and dials to pilot his machine.
[edit] Eldar
The Eldar forgo using the body of a pilot, instead integrating the very soul of a fallen warrior, and nothing else into a wraithbone walking construct. Man-sized constructs are known as Wraithguard, and dreadnought-size constructs are called Wraithlords. Only particularly strong souls can power and control a Wraithlord.
In the Rogue Trader edition of the game, Eldar dreadnoughts were divided into two categories, the standard dreadnought which had entombed inside the body of an Eldar (hence the large head) and the Spirit Warrior, which was controlled by the spirit of an Eldar contained inside a gem. These spirit warriors could also be psykers. Late in the 2ed of the game, Eldar dreadnoughts had a name change to wraithlord and had a limiter placed on them in the form of requiring other living Eldar to remain on the board in order for them to function properly.
[edit] Tau
The Tau Empire uses the XV8 Crisis Battlesuit which operates in a similar manner on the battlefield as any other race's Dreadnoughts. The main difference is that the pilot is not permanently integrated into the armor. Instead the pilot can exit the Battlesuit when not in combat.
A Tau battlesuit is an exo-suit that protects a Tau Fire Warrior from enemy fire while enabling it to wield heavy armaments, better sensory arrays, and more battlegear such as markerlights and jetpacks. The battlesuits are mainly used by the higher-ranking warriors of the Fire Caste.
[edit] Variants
[edit] Furioso
The Furioso pattern Dreadnought is meant for assault, sporting a pair of Dreadnought close-combat weapons instead of a long-ranged heavy weapon on one arm. One of the close-combat arms is outfitted with a meltagun, and the other is equipped with either a storm bolter or a heavy flamer. This pattern is used in the Warhammer40k game "Dawn of War" and expansions, simply called a "Dreadnought"; the unit can then have its right arm upgraded to an assault cannon or twin-linked lascannon to make a regular Dreadnought. They are only used by the Blood Angels and their successor chapters. The reason in dawn of war may be that the only chapter used in the campaign are the "blood ravens".
[edit] Ironclad
The Ironclad Dreadnought is another close-combat Dreadnought which sports a seismic hammer (a large thunder hammer which releases a catastrophic shockwave on impact) with a meltagun mounted on it, the other arm is a Dreadnought close combat arm with a storm bolter mounted into it. The options include replacing either mounted weapon with a heavy flamer, replacing the Dreadnought close combat and mounted weapon for a hurricane bolter (three sets of twin linked bolters) ,and replacing the seismic hammer with a terminator chainfist.
[edit] Mortis
The Mortis pattern is the polar opposite of the Furioso pattern, designed for long-ranged combat. The Dreadnought's arms are both equipped with identical long-ranged heavy weapons, usually twin-linked for maximum firepower. The standard weapons that the Mortis can be equipped with are two twin-linked lascannons, two twin-linked autocannons, two twin-linked heavy bolters, or two missile launchers. They are only used by the Dark Angels and their successor chapters.
[edit] Siege
The Siege Dreadnought is designed to overrun and destroy bunkers, fortresses, and other fortified emplacements. The Siege pattern Dreadnought is equipped with an Inferno cannon mounted on one arm and an assault drill with built-in heavy flamer on the other. The assault drill consists of three ball-shaped grinders, which rotate to produce a drill effect, able to drill through rock and ferrocrete with equal ease. Once the drill has penetrated the enemy fortification, the heavy flamer is fired, engulfing the target with burning promethium and incinerating anything inside.
[edit] Venerable Dreadnought
An ancient pattern of Dreadnought, whose pilots have gained great wisdom and combat prowess over the many thousands of years of their internment. While being some of the finest Dreadnoughts in the Imperium, they are so old that many parts that they use are no longer manufactured, thus maintenance is extremely difficult. Many Venerable Dreadnought are destroyed, .K book series, The Horus Heresy.
