Warlord Battle Titan
The Warlord Battle Titan is a class of Imperial Battle Titan. It is the most numerous of Imperial Titans with millions having been built over the many years of its existence; in fact the design is older than the Imperium of Man itself.[6a] The Warlord is essentially a walking fortress, packing enough firepower to wipe out entire armies on its own.[1] The only true threat to a Warlord is another Titan of the same magnitude, such as those used by the traitorous Dark Mechanicus or the alien Ork and Eldar races.[9] Thousands of Warlord Titans saw action on both sides during the wars of the Horus Heresy.
Contents
Overview
The Warlord is by far the most widely employed, numerous and versatile class of Imperial Battle Titan deployed by the Collegia Titanica; it is second in power only to the rare Emperor Class Titans. Some Warlords date back to time of the Great Crusade or even the Dark Age of Technology. The sheer longevity of the Warlord means a variety of different patterns and variants have been built, some mounting unusual upgrades such as landing platforms for aircraft, siege rams to batter down walls and assault pods to disgorge infantry into the enemy's strongholds.[8] This also means the design's capabilities and tolerances are well-known among the Mechanicus, making the Warlord an ideal test-bed for new devices conjured up by the Divisio Investigatus.[6a]
The primary role of a Warlord is as front-line combatant where the fighting is heaviest. Its primary line of defence are six Void Shield generators which intercept enemy fire before it even hits the war engine.[8] So powerful are these shields that a Warlord can withstand continuous bombardment from over five dozen armoured vehicle and artillery platforms with no loss of shield strength.[2e] Beneath the shields are meters of adamantium armoured plating, which themselves can ward off a regiment's worth of firepower with but minor scarring.[10a] The weaponry the Warlord mounts is similarly stupendous, with four primary Titan-grade systems and numerous secondary armaments for fighting in built-up areas.[8] So powerful are these weapons that Warlords can level entire cities with them.[10b] A Warlord can easily destroy a Warhound Scout Titan in a matter of seconds,[3h] and will handily defeat a Reaver Battle Titan in a one-on-one duel.[2i] Warlord Battle Titans do have one weakness in that their plasma reactor is located in the abdominal cavity, making it susceptible to heavy weapons fire if the armour is breached. For this reason many Warlords are geared towards long-range fire support.[8]
The Warlord Titan is equipped with powerful heavy-duty auspex equipment meant to allow it to locate targets within the most hellish and inhospitable conditions.[7] Everything from radar scanners and echo-locators to spectrographic sensors and electromagnetic detectors are used to paint an accurate picture of the surrounding terrain and the location of enemy forces.[10a] A Warlord can get an accurate target lock based on heat signatures, seismic activity, motor noise, communication signals, even falling masonry knocked over by foes attempting to flee the war-god's wrath.[2f] A Warlord's aural phones are sensitive enough to locate the distinct "wailing" made by void shields operating in a high-static environment while in the middle of a sandstorm.[2j]
The command crew of a Warlord consists of a Princeps and several Moderati housed in the armoured head of the Titan,[2b], which connect with the Titan on an intimate level through a Mind Impulse Unit and view the outside world through the Manifold. The Princeps maintains primary control of the Titan, thoughts becoming action with a direct link with the mighty war engine's spirit.[6a][2f] In the days of the Great Crusade a Warlord Titan could be controlled through a command throne with implants fused into the princeps' flesh and hard-switches for emergency overrides, but even back then this method was fast becoming obsolete. Both the mental and physical strain of a princeps being disconnected from his engine, combined with the degradation of their body through wear and tear over the many centuries of service, meant many quickly transferred to a fully immersed amniotic tank.[3a][3b][3c] This method of being suspended in liquid information means a Warlord princeps is able to maintain remote congress with their Titan, while the loss in personal mobility pales in comparison to being a walking god on the grim battlefields of the far future.[2c][2d]
The cockpit is split into two levels, with the moderati, steersman and sensori seats placed in the chin while the princeps' amniotic tank is placed behind them.[2b] In the event of an emergency the head contains a fire suppression system and a weapons locker, protected by biometric sensors, containing shotguns and lascarbines to fight off boarders. Access to chemical stimulants means the crew is capable of over eight days of continuous combat, although by this point they will be dangerously exhausted and forced to return to replenish ammunition anyways.[2g] While the head is armoured against attacks, a kamikaze run by a Lightning fighter is capable of decapitating the Warlord.[15]
Other members of the crew include a Tech-Priest housed in a secluded alcove in the back of the cockpit and an Enginseer who monitors the machinery in the belly of the Titan.[2h] Like other Titans the Warlord is equipped with Servitors who are slaved to individual weapon systems. While it is possible for the firing of weapons to be done manually by one of the crewmembers, servitors are able to do so far more effectively.[3e] Assuming manual control is sometimes necessary in cases such as the Titan's spirit overwhelming the low-grade servitor minds in a fit of feral bloodlust and firing the weapons itself without being commanded.[3d]
To steady itself Warlord Titans are fitted with internal gyros and gravitational stabilisers to brace themselves when firing or moving over difficult terrain.[3i][14b] Warlords have a stride length of 20 meters.[10d]
Patterns
Mars-Alpha Pattern
The Mars-Alpha Pattern Warlord Titan is an ancient class of Warlord Titan forged on the numerous major Forge Worlds such as Metalica, Anvillus and great Mars itself.[17][19] In addition to its Mauler Bolt Cannon and lascannon turrets, support weapons that would be considered main armaments on smaller war machines, this pattern of Warlord was commonly fitted with a pair of carapace-mounted triple-barreled laser blasters and two Belicosa pattern Volcano cannon.[17]
Mars-Beta Pattern
The Mars-Beta Pattern Warlord Titan is one of several variant designs to express the machine spirit within. Used by Legio Ignatum even prior to the founding of the Imperium, this pattern was held to be especially bellicose.[41]
Lucius-Alpha Pattern
The Lucius-Alpha Pattern Warlord Titan is a distinctively warlike form built by the Titan-Wrights of Lucius. Taken part in the Great Crusade and seen on both sides of the Horus Heresy and later battles, the Lucius Alpha is known to have parts compatibility with Mars Pattern Warlords, including the entire head/cockpit assembly. [20]
Proximus Pattern
The Proximus Pattern Warlord Titan is a variant built by the Forge World of Proximus for Legio Invicta. Unlike some patterns, the Proximus requires amniotic connection for the princeps, with a further crew of a Moderatii, Steersman, Sensorii, and often a Famulous as well. [2k]
Sub-classes
Custodian
The Custodian Titan is a Warlord Titan that has been fitted with a huge devotional Custodian Bell atop its carapace and is commanded by high-ranking Princeps who command battlegroups. The bell further enhances the Titan being the ultimate symbol of the Emperor's might and it is preferred that the Custodian Titan's appearance is altered to reflect this. These changes include replacing the Warlord's head with one exclusively used by Custodian Titans, being given extra insignia and having preaching balconies installed as well. When deployed, the Titan's Custodian Bell will emit deafening tolls that resound across the battlefield and it is an inspiring site to the Imperium's forces. Because of this, any Imperial that is next to the Custodian Titan will fight to the utmost of their abilities and also perform acts of almost insane courage. They are further blessed by its appearance, as the Titan has the ability to weaken any damage that is taken by the Imperial forces near it. However their morale will be damaged, if the Custodian Titan is wrecked or destroyed during the battle.[36]
Death Bringer
The Death Bringer Class Titan is the most common configuration of Warlord Class Titans and are equipped with a variety of weapons that can be used for a multitude of battlefield roles.[6x]
Eclipse
The Eclipse Class Titan is a lighter version of the more common Death Bringer. An Eclipse Warlord is deployed if more staying power is needed than a Reaver Class Titan can provide but a Death Bringer is not available or needed. They are typically armed with Volcano Cannons, Macro Gatling Blasters, and Apocalypse Missile Launchers.[6x]
Nightgaunt
The Nightgaunt Class Titan is a variant of the standard Warlord pattern designed mainly to hunt down enemy Titans and destroy them in close combat. Nightgaunts are faster than other Warlord patterns, always equipped with one or two Titan Close Combat Weapons or lighter, short-ranged firepower.[6x]
Nemesis
The Nemesis Class Titan is fielded if brute power is required. These machines excel in long-range firepower and siege warfare but possess poor maneuverability. Usually foregoing close-ranged weapons, they sometimes will nonetheless field a single Titan Close Combat Weapon to discourage any deepstrikes by enemy forces. Nemesis Warlords are typically equipped with a mix of Quake Cannons, Volcano Cannons, Inferno Guns, Plasma Destructors, and Apocalypse Missile Launchers.[6x]
Weapon Head
Weapon Head Titans are Warlords that are equipped with Weapon Heads, that commonly contain secondary weapons of a single Gun Battery or an Assault Weapon. A variant of the Weapon Head, though, is the 'Deathstrike Centerline Cannon, which are equipped with a Mega-Cannon. This design however, reduces the Warlords into serving as siege-breakers or defensive bastions.[36]
Warlord-Sinister Pattern Psi Titan
The Warlord-Sinister Pattern Psi Titan is an extremely limited and secretive design used by the Ordo Sinister, modified to harness the power of Alpha-grade psykers to power the dread Sinistramanus Tenebrae weapon and Ciricrux Anima array.[28]
Chaos Warlord Titan
Chaos Warlord Titans are used by the Traitor Titan Legions which currently dwell within the Eye of Terror and other similar Warp Rifts. These Warlords have been hideously mutated by the power of the Warp over the millennia and often sport tail-like appendages.[37] With highly corrupted Machine Spirits that can completely dominate the crew inside, Chaos Warlord Titans also have displayed the ability to reanimate themselves after their apparent destruction.[39]
Some Chaos Warlord Titans have become twisted into effigies of a particular Chaos God, such as the Banelord of Khorne[37] and Plaguelord of Nurgle.[40]
Armament
As with all Titans the Warlord has multi-configuration mounts which allow it to interchange weapons for specific situations, although different patterns of Warlords are factory-built with standard weapon configurations; most crews will also develop a specific style of combat and thus mount weapons appropriate for the role. The standard weapon configuration for a Mars-pattern Warlord are two Turbo-Laser Destructors in the carapace mounts with a Volcano Cannon and a Macro Gatling Blaster in the arm mounts.[9]
A Warlord Titan's two arm weapons can consist of any of the following:[1]
- Macro Gatling Blaster
- Sunfury-Pattern Plasma Destructor
- Quake Cannon
- Saturnyne Lascutter
- Volcano Cannon
- Volkite Destructor[32]
- Graviton Ruinator[34]
- Extirpator Cannon
- Harpoon Missile[35]
- Trident[35]
- Titan Close Combat Weapon including an Arioch Power Claw with built-in Vulcan Mega-Bolters as well as Power Rams, Power Saws, and Wreckers.[35]
Its carapace and head can be mounted with the following:[1]
- 2 Double-barrel Turbo-laser Destructors
- 2 Triple-barrel Laser Blasters
- 2 Plasma Blastguns
- 2 Gatling Blasters
- 2 twin Vulcan Mega-Bolter
- Multi-Laser batteries[35]
- 2 Apocalypse Missile Launchers
- 1 Deathstrike Cannon (head mounted)
- Vortex Missiles
For light/point defense weaponry, it can be equipped with:[33]
- 2 Ardex-Defensor Mauler Bolt Cannons
- 2 Ardex-Defensor twin Lascannons
Technical Details
| Vehicle Name: | Warlord Titan (Mars Pattern)[29] | Main Armament: | x2 arm-mounted Volcano Cannons, x2 3-barreled carapace-mounted Laser Blasters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forge World of Origin: | Mars | Secondary Armament: | Mauler Bolt Cannon and lascannon turrets |
| Known Patterns: | N/A | Traverse: | N/A |
| Crew: | 7-12 (including 1 Princeps, 2-5 Moderati, 1-2 Tech-Priests) + 22-34 Servitors | Elevation: | N/A |
| Powerplant: | Theta-Maximal Type Plasma Reactor | Main Ammunition: | N/A |
| Weight: | N/A | Secondary Ammunition: | N/A |
| Length: | N/A | ||
| Width: | N/A | Armour | |
| Height: | 32.76m | ||
| Ground Clearance: | N/A | Superstructure: | 14-26" Thickness frontal. Ceramite/Plasteel composite |
| Fording Depth: | Hull: | N/A | |
| Max Speed - on road | N/A | Gun Mantlet | N/A |
| Max Speed - off road: | N/A | Vehicle Designation: | N/A |
| Transport Capacity: | None | Firing Ports: | 3-5 Gun-Servitor ports, head mounted |
| Access Points: | N/A | Turret: | N/A |
Notable Warlord Titans
- Augustus Secutor — Imperial Hunters.[21]
- Canis Vertex — Relic of the Thousand Sons during the Horus Heresy.[26]
- Death's Head — Legio Mortis.[25]
- Ferrum Salvator — Legio Pallidus Mor.[21]
- Gloria Vastator — Legio Pallidus Mor.[21]
- Imperius Dictatio[24]
- Invictus — Legio Astraman.
- Luxor Invictoria — Fought for the Legio Solaria in the Battle of Beta-Garmon.[30]
- Majesti Indomitabilis — Destroyed in the Sabbat Worlds Crusade.[23]
- Nuntio Dolores — Fought for the Legio Vulpa in the Battle of Beta-Garmon.[30]
- Ostentio Contritio — Fought in the Horus Heresy.
- Scion of Vigilant Light — Fought in the War Within the Webway.[27]
- Vessel of Damnation — Legio Vulcanum.[22]
Images
Original Titan Model
Lucius Pattern Warlord in desert world colours
Warlord Titan (Late 1980s)
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Trivia
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Conflicting sources
Crew
- Accounts differ as to the exact number of crew aboard a Warlord Titan. Most agree that a Warlord has one Princeps and several Moderati, although the exact number and role of the latter differ. Early sources indicate all four Moderati as being responsible for each controlling one of the Titan's four weapons.[6a] More recent sources indicate that Moderati is a specific role, that of second-in-command and charged with overseeing the general welfare of the Titan and the princeps, with the other command crew consisting of a Sensori tasked with controlling the engine's sensors and a Steersman charged with controlling its movements.[2b] Still other sources indicate that in addition to the command crew the Warlord has other ordinary crewmen numbering over one hundred, from numerous servitors and tech-adepts to gunnery crews and press-ganged ratings.[10e]
Height
- A number of sources list varying heights for Warlord Battle Titans. Direct statements about Warlord height include 33 meters,[4] 40 meters,[16] 60 meters,[7][12] and even 200 meters (656 feet).[4] Other examples include statements that a Mars-pattern Warlord sitting on its knees is still over 30 meters tall,[13] and that the head of a Warlord Titan is said to rest thirty meters above the ground,[10f] with the gunnery deck another ten meters above.[10d] According to the scale diagram in the Apocalypse Rulebook a Warlord Titan is approximately 33 m (100 ft),[1] equivalent to 23" tall on tabletop, with other artwork depictions being similarly inconsistent.
Weight
- The exact weight of a Warlord Titan is not known, with some sources indicating a weight of 1,000 tons[10a] and 2,500 tons.[7] A Warlord's foot by itself is said to weigh hundreds of tons.[14a]
See also
Sources
- 1: Apocalypse, pg. 124
- 2: Titanicus (Novel)
- 3: Mechanicum (Novel)
- 4: Redemption Corps (Novel),
[Help], pg. 88 - 5: Titan (Graphic Novel Series), Titan II: Vivaporius
- 6: Adeptus Titanicus (game) Rulebook
- 7: Hereticus (Novel) — Eisenhorn (Omnibus), Chapter 4
- 8: Codex Titanicus (2nd Edition), pg. 18
- 9: Epic Armageddon, pg. 102
- 10: Crusade for Armageddon (Novel)
- 11: Helsreach (Novel), [Help] pg. 398
- 12: Annihilation Squad (Novel) — The Last Chancers (Omnibus), [Help] pg. 688
- 13: Deathwatch: The Emperor Protects, pg. 111
- 14: Wrath of Iron (Novel)
- 15: Malleus (Novel) — Eisenhorn (Omnibus), [Help] pg. 322
- 16: Scions of the Storm (Short Story) — Tales of Heresy (Anthology), pg. 183
- 17: Forge World (last accessed 3 April 2016)
- 19: Forge World (last accessed 3 April 2016)
- 20: Forge World (last accessed 3 June 2016)
- 21: Gates of the Devourer (Short Story)
- 22: Gathering Storm: Fall of Cadia, Chapter 1
- 23: The Sabbat Worlds Crusade (Background Book)
- 24: Titan (Graphic Novel Series)
- 25: False Gods (Novel)[Help]
- 26: A Thousand Sons (Novel), [Help]
- 27: Master of Mankind (Novel), Chapter 2
- 28: The Horus Heresy Book Seven - Inferno, pg. 280
- 29: Adeptus Titanicus (2018) Rulebook, pg. 13
- 30: Titandeath (Novel) — Dramatis Personae
- 31: Warhammer Community: Shadow and Iron: Crusades of Vengeance (posted 05/02/2020) (last accessed 05 February 2020)
- 32: Warhammer Community: Pop Void Shields Like Bubbles With Adeptus Titanicus’ New Volkite Weapons (posted 25/03/2021) (last accessed 25 March 2021)
- 33: Warhammer 40,000.com Adeptus Titanicus Rules PDF (last accessed 05 May 2021)
- 34: Warhammer Community: Turn Titans’ Mass Against Them With Graviton Weapons for Adeptus Titanicus (posted 29/08/2022) (last accessed 29 August 2022)
- 35: White Dwarf 133 (UK), pgs. 51-52
- 36: Firepower Issue 1, pgs. 74-75 - Machines of Destruction
- 37: White Dwarf 164 (UK), pgs. 21-25
- 38: White Dwarf 178 (UK), pg. 8
- 39: Mortis (Novel), Chapter 12
- 40: Titan's Bane (Audio Drama)
- 41: Forge World Warlord Titan Instruction Manual
Uncited
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