A Vostroyan Firstborn commander of the Astra Militarum surrounded by his Regimental Advisors
Regimental Advisors are specialists in service to the Astra Militarum who provide a particular tactical or strategic advantage to Imperial Guard commanders in combat. The Adeptus Munitorum can call upon a vast array of esoteric personnel to advise Astra Militarum Company Commanders in battle. Be they enigmatic astrosavants, starch-collared aide-de-camps or ancillary military officers, these regimental advisors form an eclectic entourage who lend their diverse skills to whichever command post they are assigned to.
While many senior Astra Militarum officers resent the peculiar proclivities or bombastic second-guessing of such advisors, none can deny the strategic value of having these specialists present in the heat of battle. Each type of advisor serves as a representative of a different arm of the Imperial war machine.
Master of Ordnance[]
A Master of Ordnance, for example, serves as a combat attaché despatched from a Militarum Regimentum's artillery companies. They are the eyes on the battlefield, spotting for batteries of long-range weaponry nested far from the front lines.
Utilising complex ocular arrays and barometric auguries, they coordinate devastating artillery strikes on the enemy's positions. Wherever the Master of Ordnance directs their gaze, a rain of exploding shells is sure to follow. If mobile artillery is needed closer to the thick of combat, the Master of Ordnance will typically be stationed nearby to coordinate their devastating firepower.
Officer of the Fleet[]
An Officer of the Fleet waits beside his fellow Regimental Advisor, an Astropath, for the outcome of the battle
An Officer of the Fleet performs a similar role to the Master of Ordnance, but is responsible for the coordination of aerial support for ground troops. As a junior commander of the Aeronautica Imperialis assigned to an Astra Militarum company, an Officer of the Fleet has the authority to direct the Attack Craft and personnel transports of the Imperial Navy.
Under their guidance, squadrons of Valkyries are ordered to converge on designated targets where they lay down a fiery curtain of las-blasts and missile strikes. If a particularly high-value target cannot be reached by the Valkyries, an Officer of the Fleet can request a precision strike to be delivered by Aeronautica Imperialis vessels stationed in low orbit above the battlefield. With but a few calm words over long-range Vox, Marauder bombers descend from the stratosphere to drop their explosive payload on top of the unsuspecting enemy.
Astropath[]
Astropaths are Sanctioned Psykers in the service of the Scholastica Psykana, and are commissioned to the Astra Militarum to aid the soldiers of the Imperium with their prognostications. Their ability to divine the shifting psychic currents amidst the roiling swirl of combat makes them invaluable to a Company Commander. Guided by an Astropath's dread visions, commanders order their Heavy Weapons Teams and tank squadrons to fire into seemingly empty patches of cover -- the resultant enemy screams and the wet splatter of shredded flesh quickly silence any doubts as to the psyker's intuition.
Astropaths are known to unsettle their comrades with their hollow, eyeless gaze and the susurrus of telepathic murmurs that fogs the air around them. Yet none can deny that their ability to project their thoughts, or to influence the thoughts of others, can make them a potent weapon on the battlefield.
Unit Composition[]
- 1 Master of Ordnance, 1 Officer of the Fleet or 1 Astropath
Wargear[]
Master of Ordnance[]
- Flak Armour
- Laspistol
- Hand-Held Artillery Targeter
Officer of the Fleet[]
Astropath[]
Sources[]
- Codex: Astra Militarum (8th Edition), pp. 71, 95, 101-102
- Codex: Astra Militarum (6th Edition), "Regimental Advisors"