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[[File:Mk.IITerminator.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Terminator Armour early design{{Fn|2}}]]
Terminator armour was originally meant to replace normal power armour, however but the destruction wrought by the [[Horus Heresy]] destroyed many of these suits, and the limited resources left after the war ended combined with the complexity of building and maintaining Terminator suits contributed to their increase rarity.{{Fn|3}}
Today Terminator suits are highly prized by their [[Chapter]]s and kept in a constant state of repair and renewal. Although the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] still maintains limited production of Terminator suits,{{Fn|3}} the rate is so slow that often a "new" suit is cobbled together from refurbished parts salvaged from the battlefield. This explains the sometimes disparate and ragged look of Terminator squads. Indeed, as time marches onward the knowledge of how to fabricate some of the more complex pieces becomes an increasingly faded memory in the decrepit minds of the Adeptus Mechanicus, and "reverse engineering" is an all-too-common science in the 41st millennium.{{Fn|5}}
===Saturnine Pattern===
[[file:SaturnineTermieArt.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Saturnine Pattern Terminator Armour{{Fn|29}}]]
The Saturnine Pattern is the tallest, heaviest, and most technologically advanced type of Tactical Dreadnought Armour. The Saturnine Pattern featured an additional exoskeleton frame to which slanted reinforced armour plates were attached.{{Fn|20}} Though slow and lumbering, they were nearly impenetrable to most forms of fire thanks to their heavy armour and [[Thermal Diffraction Field]]s.{{Fn|30}} The armour also possessed superior targeting systems that allowed its users to accurately aim and fire multiple weapons simultaneously. However , like the [[Saturnine Dreadnought]], only a warrior possessing sufficient mental strength and discipline could utilize the armour pattern. It has also been suggested that the user required a measure of [[Cybertheurgy|cybertheurgic]] resonance, although few are willing to speak upon this.{{Fn|34}} The exact level of innate psychic ability to operate the armour is unclear, save that it is above that of an average Space Marine but still well below that of a [[Librarian]].{{Fn|36}}
Saturnine-pattern Armour originated from a [[Tech-Enclaves of Phoebe|banished Mechanicum Tech-Cabal]] from [[Saturn]]'s moon of [[Phoebe]], who thanks to their independence were able to develop technology based on [[Dark Age of Technology]] templates outside [[Mars|Martian]] dogma. Shortly after the [[Unification Wars]], the [[Emperor]] signed the [[Phoebian Accord]] with the Tech-Enclave, giving them his direct protection while also gaining access to Saturnine Armour outside of the purview of the wider [[Mechanicum]]. As part of the Accords, the Tech-Enclaves sent attachés of Tech-Wrights to maintain Saturnine suits distributed to each [[Space Marine Legion]].{{Fn|42b}}
