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Making an Adeptus Mechanicus army is a complex task, normally involving lots of converting & kitbashing. It's helpful to see what other people have done, to get inspiration. This thread aims to help with one specific part of the Adeptus Mechanicus: the Knights. Knights are giant one-man warmachines, that bridge the gap between Dreadnoughts and Titans. Whilst they're a long-established piece of Adeptus Mechanicus fluff, until 2014 they had only seen official models in Epic scale. But lots of people have made 40k scale models of them, and in this thread we'll showcase these. FLUFF & EPIC MODELS Origins & Allegiance (NB: Based on pre-2014 fluff, needs to be edited) The Knights have their origins during the Age of Strife. The Priests of Mars sent out teams settling new worlds, establishing Forge Worlds and so on. They gave technology to the feudal worlds near the Forge Worlds - these feudal worlds became the Knight Worlds. The most popular piece of technology was the Knight, a heavy one-man walker. Using these vehicles the Knights could compete with Eldar Exodites on dragons, Eldar Knights, Ork Stompas and other such threats. Knights are often called up to serve alongside the Mechanicus or the Titan Legions. Some Knights also work directly for the Mechanicus - in the Horus Heresy 'Mechanicum' book there are 3 knights called the 'Knights of Taranis' based on Mars. Knights mostly belong to Knightly Houses. Details of all the official ones can be found here. Physical Description Knights are one-man heavy walkers. They are taller than dreadnoughts (6m tall) and smaller than warhound titans (14 or 15m tall) - the Horus Heresy 'Mechanicum' book describes one 9m tall, whereas some Epic models were as tall as a Warhound although much less bulky. They are mostly bipedal and roughly humanoid, and feature a cockpit resembling a helmet. There are a variety of types, but typically Knights are armed with 2 main armaments (on their 2 arms). Typology & Epic Models Knight Paladins are the most common Knights, armed with gigantic weapons (often chainswords) and a battle cannon. 1991 Catalogue 1995-96 Catalogue (metal) 1995-96 Catalogue (plastic) Knight Errants are a version of Paladins with weaponry better suited to attacking large vehicles - a large melta-based thermal cannon and a power fist. In the 2014 reboot, they just have a thermal cannon and a chainsword.1994 CatalogueKnight Lancers are more high-speed, specialising in flanking enemy positions. They often have very long legs, and are armed with a power lance.1991 CatalogueKnight Crusaders and Knight Castellans are heavier Knights, without combat weapons. Both feature a small quake cannon as their primary weapon. Their secondary weapon varies: Crusaders are anti-vehicle and have twin lascannons; Castellans are anti-infantry and have multi-barrelled autocannons.Crusaders: 1994 Catalogue Castellans: 1995-96 Catalogue Knight Wardens are another type of heavy Knight lacking close combat weapons. They have distinctive for their overlapping armour plates and are armed with two multi-barrelled autocannons and a carapace-mounted missile launcher.1991 CatalogueBarons are the head of feudal households, with personalised and individualised suits. The standard model had a battlecannon and a power lance.1995-96 CatalogueNon-Imperial Knights There are also Chaos Knights, twisted versions of the proud Imperial Knights. GW have only released models for Slaaneshi Knights, pictured here in the 1995-96 Catalogue. The Chaos Daemon Engines like the Defiler (GW website), Decimator (Forgeworld), Forgefiend/Maulerfiend (GW website) and Lord of Skulls (GW website) are all vaguely similar in scale to Knights, but are controlled by bound Daemons rather than people. The Grey Knight Nemesis Dreadknight is a very similar concept, although the Grey Knight isn't in an enclosed cockpit: GW website The Eldar also had Knights, which looked similar to their wraithlords but larger - the humanoid Fire Gale, four-armed Towering Destroyer, and four-legged Bright Stallion: 1991 Catalogue. In 2013 GW released the Eldar Wraithknight - a one-man walker that's almost the size of a titan: GW website The Ork Stompa is broadly similar (a mini-titan), but is a bit larger and not one-man: GW website The Necron Triarch Stalker is a large one-man walker, so roughly analagous: GW website The Tau XV104 Riptide Battlesuit is a similar concept to a Knight, a large 1-man walker: GW website GW'S 40k IMPERIAL KNIGHT MODEL In 2014, Games Workshop answered all our prayers and released an Imperial Knight model. It's huge (6 or 7 inches tall), and bulky, and so beautiful. A proper updating of the Epic model into 40k scale, which fits in beautifully with the Forgeworld Mars Pattern titans. Lots of people have brough them. In this section we'll look at some notable conversions, not at standard builds. We'll examine scratch-builds and alternative kits (and all models made pre-2014!) in the section below. Re-posed Knights Some people have re-posed their Knights, to have them running or climbing scenary. The GW model comes with one-piece legs, but these can be modified: Quindia Studios blog - A mini-tutorial on reposing the front leg to stand on things. JeffTibbetts on B&C - Fully reposed legs and heavy battle damage. Nusquam on B&C - made the legs more upright, less straight. Also cut the helm in half to make a cool gorget-style faceplate. Extra Detailing For some people, a plain GW kit just isn't enough. They have to add extra details... 40k Hobby Blog - with added interior detailing. SpartacusBob on DakkaDakka - a standard build, but with lights! isotope99 at BoLS - a knight being prepared for battle, with full interior decorating and a techmarine busy repairing armour plates. Knight Errants with Power Fists In Epic, Knight Errants had Power Fists. Forgegworld is rumoured to be making one, or some people think that Defiler claws are the way forward, or others are are trying to scratch-build them. Golem Painting Studios on Fb - a full tutorial, using spoons (genius idea!) Koran on B&C - A thread dedicated to scratch-building a powerfist. Knight Lancers/Barons with Power Lances In Epic, Knight Lancers and Knight Barons had battlecannons and power lances. Miteyheroes on B&C - The Baron of House Nordcote has a scratch-built Power Lance (and the head swapped with a sentinel cockpit).Knight Wardens In Epic, Knight Wardens had distinctive overlapping armour plates, twin multi-barrelled autocannons on stubby arms, and carapace-mounted missile launchers. Quindia on BoLS - A standard knight torso rotated more to the front gives a beetle-backed look reminiscent of the old Epic model.Chaos / Dark Mechanicus Knights Although according to the rules Chaos can't ally with Knights, people are making Chaos Knights anyway. Two such houses are mentioned in the background section of the Codex, House Devine (Slaanesh, fell during the Horus Heresy) and House Drakon (Dark Mechanicus, fell more recently). GuitaRasmus on B&C - An evil spikey knight, with a truely terrifying head. GW Metro Centre on Facebook - a bright pink Slaaneshi knight. I love the weapon-tail, just like old Epic Chaos Titans! Andy at GW Oxford on Facebook - two corroded and evil Dark Mechanicus knights. One with a Forgeworld Renegade Psyker instead of a head, another with a Blight Drone head and lots of tentacles! Unknown - a walking Lord of Skulls using Imperial Knight legs. More Unusual Conversions Conversions that don't really fit into any of the other categories. What even is this? Unknown - an Imperial Knight torso on Lord of Skulls tracks... Looks a bit like a Kaban Machine, I guess? And if you've made a walking Lord of Skulls, this is the obvious next step! Brian Slifka on Facebook - a looted knight. Orks will loot anything! SCRATCH-BUILT 40k MODELS Until 2014, GW only made Mechanicus Knight models for Epic, although they made similar models for Grey Knights, Eldar, Tau, Chaos and so on. But they did produce many kits that people converted to make into Knights for 40k - I've collected some of my favourite conversions below! Size-wise, the conversions varied between 4 and 8 inches tall (whilst the official model is between 6 and 7 inches tall). Compare it to other 40k models: dreadnoughts and sentinels are 2 1/2 to 3 inches tall (contemplators are 3); dreadknights, decimators and forgefiends/maulerfiends are 4 inches; the riptide is 6 inches; monoliths are 8 inches to the very top; wraithknights are 9 inches; warhounds are about 10 to 11 inches. The Upright Defiler Probably the most widely-done technique, and for a long time the only one apart from Full Scratchbuilding that was available to someone not wanting to stray beyond GW-only bits. Personally I find them a bit too lanky - they tend to be overly skinny? But they're the best way to get a good amount of height. Hortwerth on Warseer - let's face it, you have to mention Hortwerth! I don't particularly like the angle of his legs/hips though, they look odd. The Damned Artificer on Warseer - another of the great sources of inspiration! I really like his Knight, particularly the curved torso armour. The Hoff on Warseer - the third of the Great Inspirational Trilogy, Hoff's Knight features legs built more like a sentinel (with forward and rear joints) and an excellent beaked head. Loki on Work In Progress - a really scary Chaos Knight! Major Buzzmore here - cool models, dramatically re-posed legs and lovely weathering on the paint scheme. Bad Buddha here - less lanky than many Defiler-Knights, very brutal. Jonathan Willingham on WhiteScars blog - really matches the Forgeworld Mars-pattern Titans. Beautiful work! xeniusascendant on CoolMiniOrNot - A massive beast! An upright defiler with most of a land raider on top, standing 14 inches tall (bigger than a Warhound!) Xanthos on DakkaDakka - Really dynamic model with a sentinel head and Whirlwind missile pods as fists! CommissarKhaine on DakkaDakka - A very tall model, combining defiler and manufactorum bits. Miteyheroes on B&C - The Crusader uses a defiler torso and a sentinel cockpit head. Smaller than most Defiler-Knights. The Blood Slaughterer The torso of a Blood Slaughterer does make a very cool Knight-Titan. Of course, you need to make legs (scratchbuilt or from Defilers or whatever), but it's a great base! King Fluff on the Great Crusade - scratchbuilt legs and lots of great other components. The complete Knight Titan household at the end? Gorgeous. The whole thread is just so inspiring. I love how he rotates the torso round to make a Warden. Miteyheroes on B&C - The Lancer uses the Blood Slaughter torso with defiler legs and a sentinel cockpit for a head. The Dreadknight As soon as Grey Knights came out people seemed to grasp the possibilities of this kit! It needs the least conversion - give it a cool head instead of the stupid baby-walker and you've got a great Knight model! It's on the small end of the scale though. Miteyheroes on B&C - The Paladin is a Dreadknight with a sentinel cockpit for a head. NineBreaker's on DakkaDakka - the cockpit is a bit too Eldar / anime for my liking, but it's very well-done. Xanthos' on DakkaDakka - a Valkyrie cockpit and some massive guns! Brother-Captain Basilus on The Great Crusade - a whole household, 'House Katchar', with great modifications, very dynamic posing and some beautiful battle-damage painting. A baron, 2 paladins and 2 wardens. Pendragon38 on BoLS - interestingly uses a Storm Raven top-turret as the cockpit. Adir on B&C - sentinel cockpit head and massive chainsword arms... Vforvendetta1 on Wikia - a very nicely painted dreadknight, with the babywalker turned into a cockpit. Dave Taylor Miniatures - lovely brass paint-scheme, wonderful lance & gatling gun conversions. But how does it see? The Decimator Forgeworld's Large Chaos Walker. With a slightly larger head it'd be a perfect Chaos Knight Titan. It's gorgeous! It does take quite a lot of sanding to make it plain and suitable for loyalist AdMech, but for the renegade AdMech it's a (machine)godsend. Again, it's a little on the small end of the scale. Forgeworld Chaos Decimator Daemon Engine - the official model on Forgeworld's site. So pretty! Miteyheroes on B&C - The Baron is a sanded-down Decimator, with a sentinel cockpit for a head. The Dreadnought Dreadnoughts are really too small to be Knights, standing 2 1/2 to 3 inches tall rather than 4 to 8 inches. But using sentinel legs can help, and the sentinel cab also then provides a nice cockpit. Magc8Ball on DakkaDakka - a dreadnought/sentinel kit bash. Certainly gives interesting ideas about what could be done! Alexander the Alchemist - a short-and-stout heavy Knight with a sentinel cockpit, dreadnought body, and legs made from bastion lascannon mounts. The Lord of Skulls The Lord of Skulls is a Chaos Super-Heavy, with a humanoid torso on a tank lower body. Some people have added legs to it: Isotope99 on BoLS - a flying Lord of Skulls, with defiler claws as legs and helldrake wings. Agis on Blogspot - another attempt at a flying Lord of Skulls, with legs a combination of scratchbuilding and defiler claws. Quickfuze on DakkaDakka - a walking Lord of Skulls using Leviathan legs. Unknown - a walking Lord of Skulls using Imperial Knight legs. Full Scratchbuilds & Resin Kits Not the easiest route, but several people have made full scratchbuilds or extensive kit-bashes. Some have even made casts of their work, and these turn up for sale occassionally (and normally only briefly before GW takes them down!) Frowbakk on Warseer - barricades and IG tank track guards combine, somehow... Tebrey on Photobucket - a Lancer, Baron and Warden, entirely made from plasticard. Great updatings of the classic models, made to fit in with the Lucius pattern style of titan. See also his Knight Warden on Work In Progress and his Knight Lancer on Work In Progress. Big Daddy on DakkaDakka - seriously old-school, really close reproductions of the old Epic models. See also his French blog Kouzes' paladin - Totally stunning conversion & paintscheme of a Big Daddy Knight. In French. Lordokaos on Livejournal - An old-school resin kit off ebay. AdeptusCustodes on B&C - a very cool scratch-built model, mixing old-school and an almost Contemptor type feel. Cold Moon - several different models here, all closely based on the classic Epic models. http://www.tanksandtrolls.co.uk/40KPaladinTanks & Trolls[/url] - card templates for a Paladin. At 30cm high it's a bit too tall, IMHO, but you could resize the templates? Isotope99 on BoLS Lounge - a hulking beast, built in a warhound/warlord style. All GW parts, including a Shadowsword gun housing as the main body and a land speeder as the cockpit. Painted pictures here. Vitruvian XVII on DakkaDakka - a squat and tough hulking figure. Non-GW Models There are lots of Mecha models out there that can be given a GW gloss and called Knight Titans! Here are some that I like: Musing of a Metal Mind's Warden - a great updating of the overlapping plates and hunched form of the Warden Knight Titan. It's massive though! Zealot Miniatures - clearly meant to be a dreadKnight replacement, but with it's helmet and everything it looks rather Knight titany. There's also a varient with a more robotic head. Warmachine - there are many models in the Warmachine range that look quite AdMechy, and some of the Colossals are pretty good for Knights? DreamForge-Games - their "Leviathan" is a great Knight. They've made him in 15mm scale, 4.5" high, and in 28mm scale, 8.5" high. Which should make people who like their Knights smaller <em>or</em> larger happy! Originally in resin, thanks to a Kickstarter he's now available in plastic and much much cheaper.

I'm currently preparing my Adeptus Mechanicus army (see http://admech.blogspot.com/ for more details) for Armies on Parade. And I wanted some big impressive eye-catching centrepieces - I wanted Knights! Step 1 was to do some research (you can tell I'm a librarian in real life, right?) So I devoured the original fluff and scoured the internet to see how other people had converted their Knights, and gathered all my findings and links into the uber-post here: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/index.p...howtopic=248882 My plan is to make a complete feudal Knightly household - House Nordcote (named after my mother's family, using their heraldry). In the original fluff there were 7 different types of Knights. For now I'm making 4 of the 7: the basic Paladin, with battlecannon and chainsword the scout Lancer, with battlecannon and power lance the heavy Warden, with carapace-mounted missile launcher and twin gatling guns the anti-tank Crusader, with mini-quake cannon and twin-linked lascannon If I get time I'll add an Errant (meltacannon & powerfist) and a Baron (individualised & fancy suit), but this current list covers a nice spread of styles. I want each type to be clearly distinct, made from very different parts (and stealing ideas from all the coolest Knight models I found on the internet!) But I also want them to share common unifying elements - sentinel-cockpit-heads, loin-cloth-banners displaying matching family heraldry and a matching half-and-half colour scheme. My first challenge was the Paladin, the basic Knight. Here's the Epic models: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7080/7197290158_7b3b393e5d_z.jpg I made a non-specific Knight model from a Grey Knights dreadknight at the start of this year. With a bit of work, this became my Paladin. Here it is before any changes: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7065/6946505093_dfeb7be645_z.jpg To update it into a Paladin it needed to have a battlecannon and a chainsword. Later I'll also repaint it slightly, and add the loin-cloth. http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5454/7197290564_33373200db_z.jpg After testing out a few options for the battlecannon I decided that having it fire solid shells is hugely impractical - it'd need an absolutely massive magazine! So I made it into a sort of las-battlecannon instead, firing massive bolts of energy at the enemy. Much more AdMech. The gun is made from a Tau Ion Cannon's rear end and 3 sizes of plastruct tubing. The chainsword was another difficult choice. The giant chainswords people put on their conversions always look a bit unwieldy to me, and cutting out all those individual teeth did not sound tempting... So I went for a spare Ork Killa Kan buzz-saw instead. It's still got teeth, and is clearly different to a powerfist or lance? Everything's magnetised so that I can change it's armament for gaming purposes, but this is what it'll have in my Armies on Parade entry.

So I've been on a secret mission.... to get into a different army that is not 'power armoured'. I love my Ultra's, and my Thousand Sons/Chaos but I have built/painted/played most of the armies in the game that interested me. AdMech is different. I've played against them a fair amount. I play at our local GW, and a few groups of friends. I have to say the height of Power Armour at the store these days is insane. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a dozen power armoured armies. (Not that I recommend doing so!) So it turns out the codex is around the corner. So I thought I'd post a shot of my last game: I am struggling to find something I like that also motivates me like Thousand Sons/ Red Corsairs / Ultra. I was on my back foot vs Renegades (FW) : Even though I commit to playing "Cawl Wall", I do a lot of damage back. (All the Artillery Renegades have is sick... S10, 2 x Laser Rapiers, and indirect 10 x D6 S4 is brutal, and untouchable) Dual Onager Dune Crawlers with Cawl were fantastic. I forgot a Datasmith, never got to change protocols. I swapped out two of my 4 Dunestriders to get a squad of rangers with sniper dude in them.. big mistake. I like those walkers... all of them. I never scored a point after T2 to t5, and then on T5 I scored 4 points, but he was already at 13. I did hit 12 to his 16 going into T7 but I had the bottom of the turn, drew up my 3 cards and all were impossible at that point in the game. He started annihilating me and by mid game I thought I was going to be swamped in zombies, but I did fend them off. The walkers with repairing HQ's running around are very good I think. He had so much trouble actually finishing off those units. But the two squads of Kastellan Robots were a huge threat, and one squad survived the game. SO they always took most shots. Mobility and staying power (combined in a unit) is a massive issue. I always despise using allies, but the golden boys would fit this army very well. (custodes). That being said ti was a fun game, I came within 2 points of tying it up, but I went back and looked and EVERY card I drew until T7 was 'hold something' which is probably what I felt I was least suited towards. Baller lasted the game, he had a lot of Ogryn, possessed, zombies and deposits of artillery. It was a very good list I'd say. It mimics Astra fairly well even with sprinkles of walkers, banewolfs, chimera's etc. (IE: Similar playstyle) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Kudos to my friend. He's had this army since inception, but he doesn't like it as much as his other armies and I'm fortunate enough to borrow it while I buy some stuff, and fumble around in the dark like a fool trying to find my way. I started to work on a Onager Dunecrawler (Love the las type weapon) and was going Metalica (it's rare) and I also like the main stream red colour however it has become apparent there will be different Strategums for different Forgeworlds! So a bad choice in my first unit could suck!

Semi-shameless self promoting, but I've done conversion work for some time but am just now starting to post it over on this blog. The first one I've uploaded was my conversion of my Knight Errant's Thunderstrike Gauntlet+the arm. Thought you all might be interested. https://aveomnissiah.wordpress.com/2017/06/21/imperial-knight-arm-conversion-stygies-vii-pattern/ More stuff is gonna get posted soon, I'll probably do my Knight Crusader next.

"To be a king and wear a crown is a thing more glorious to them that see it than it is pleasant to them that bear it." Elizabeth I, Queen of England "We will not attempt any alliances with kings" Giuseppe Mazzini, Italian Revolutionary "...from my investigation, I can only see one truth, as difficult to accept as it is: the Freeblade Questoris know as the Skull Knight, King Crimson, Old King, Knight of the Death Rose and Rosa Mortis among other names, has not gone rogue, nor mad. The Knight has a pattern, a plan I may say, in its seemingly random acts. Unrequested support of Imperial forces, usually seen as miraculous apparition of a God of Death by guardsman, have saved lots of lives...still I can confirm reports of the Knight side with the forces of Chaos and Renegades. The "Skull King" seems to have no known base, but operates in some known subsystems, and his acts of heroism and treachery can only have one meaning in my opinion. He is protecting something, somewhere, a hidden system I think This is where I'm headed for." Inquisitor Seraph Verastirpe, Ordo Hereticus Excerpt from one of the last letters Disappeared and declared Traditoris Excomunicate from several members of Ordo Malleus +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Knights are fantastic kits, and they deserve, in my opinion, long projects and dedication. So I started my first Knight project, inspired by KrautScientst Gilgamesh and Tibbs Queen Bee, not aiming at the same results, as it would be frankly impossible, but simply to do my best with my current set of skills. I started first to work on a background, taking bits from a lot of Ideas I found or created (mangas, history, 40k fluff, previous projects backgrounds and role play campaigns); after all making models is telling a story. I aimed for a difficult task: a knight I could use with my forces, where they Imperial or Chaos. I wanted a Knight you could look at and ask "Is it loyal or traitor?". There is not so much room for grays in the grim darkness of the far future, even aesthetically, but I manage to have something to work on. Skull was my first thought as a unifying theme. Spikes, but small, not too pointy and arranged in a certain way. 30K aesthetic helped a lot! Then I remembered this guy. A lot of you probably recognized the Skull Knight from Miura's "let's hope he finishes it before dying" BERSERK. He got everything I wanted from an inspirational view. Knightly, Mysterious, Noble, Damned, Spooky and obviously very Skully! With that dangerous, evil but not monstrous look, spikes, skull, the rose heraldry on the shield...all seemed perfect to me. The ghostly appearance fitted greatly with the looks and fluff I wanted, after all we have precedents as knights goes (Gerantius anyone?) So, full with Ideas I started with mounting the knight with LOTS of TAC (not the final pose, but cool) An then set sail for Convertiland... I have no time for now to cover the process already done, but I plan to do so, I just leave you with pictures of already done stuff and little explaination First thing fist I wanted a full skull face A Crown I mean a greenstuff crown Still to be trimmed in this picture Then I needed to do something with the pauldrons I settled for this I put some skulls 'cause why not? they are the previous nobles, reciving the honor of be buried in their own war engine. Seems appropriate So this is how my knight looks like now, save for the :cussty picture Last it needed heraldry. This was an adventure in itself and a long story I will gladly tell you if you manage to follow me in this WIP log The Rosa Mortis So it's all for now! hope you like it! Filippo P.S. Yes, I plan to give my knight some kind of cape too!

House Datafile:House Jenius Primary Data Motto Historia docet, aut mori aptet (History teaches, adapt or die) Battle CryIllustrant eas (Commander only) FoundingApprox 020.M41 Homeworld Verdazur AllegianceImperium; Questor Mechanicus ColoursMagenta, white, grey, silver edging House EmblemA lightning bolt over (bisecting) a cog (image in the works) INTRODUCTION House Jenius was founded on the bones of an old abandoned experiment. During an expedition, Magos Perficio der Klaue discovered a buried knight hangar on the planet Verdazur. Those mostly intact were quickly recovered to be placed into service. Further exploration revealed training equipment and a near intact base. An amazing discovery considering the age of the area dates back to just after the great crusade. The faded lightning bolt over a cog symbol on a few of the knights pointed to the venerated House Taranis as the original owners. While the data files are incomplete magos Der Klaue theorized that the base might have been a way station or forward base for resupply and even training of new pilots. Given it's far distance from the venerated homeworld of Mars. With luck, the local sector governor had contact with a pair of Freeblade pilots in his domain. While it took a little convincing to get the freeblades to agree to train new pilots, they only agreed to train one group and that group would have to train any future generations. A large keep was constructed near the site of the hangar as Magos Der Klaue worked to restore the underground base. With that House Jenius was formed, named after the top student Llywelyn Farnia Jenius. She was granted a Lordship over the area and is the current head instructor and dean of the academy "Thank you Ms. Morwen, good to know someone was studying the material." the professor nodded to the female student as she sat down. The dozen youths in the classroom turned their attention from their fellow student to the teacher as he began speaking, "Just remember that to better prepare for your future you do need a basic understanding of the past. Human civilization has forgotten more in its long history of existence in this galaxy than it can relearn in the next thousand years." The familiar chimes sounded from outside, signalling the end of the lesson. A few students yawned and stretched before rising from their seats and heading towards the exit. "Tomorrow we will be discussing the battle of Molov City, make sure to study the datafile. Also I noticed Sir Ashley was in one of his moods, make sure to study with your running shoes on." One of the students let out an audible groan as they passed through the doorway. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The Jenius Knight Academy was built to train knight pilots and sacristan. House Jenius being it’s guard and faculty. For the past hundred years it has produced a few pilots and many sacristans in its mission given by the Confederation of Teradox. A semi-autonomous group of human controlled worlds located under the Ghoul Stars. The primary mission of the academy and the reason for the Confederation fully supporting it is what is known as the Knight Initiative. That one day every planet in the Confederacy will have their own knight lance to defend it. A lofty goal, but possible in time. HISTORY Unlike other houses, House Jenuis has little true history and is only currently forging it’s path in the galaxy. It is the goal of the current leadership to set up the house and it’s academy to have a history as rich and full as it’s progenitor. Once the first few knight frames were repaired, pilots were needed. The first pilots of the house were trained by the freeblades, Bjorg Rhonwen and Sebastian Seras. All the new trainees were taken from the titan crew training program on request of Magos Der Klause. Only eight made it through the harsh training of the freeblades. They took on the surname of Jenius by decree of the magos and Llywelyn was chosen as the commander. Llywelyn doesn't keep this practice on the next generation since she believes the right of command is earned not inherited. Since the opening of the academy there have been twenty graduate classes in its eighty years of operation. Of which six groups have gone to establish their own garrisons within the Confederacy via the Knight Initiative. During this time the House has sortied dozens of times as mentors take their charges out onto the battlefield to earn the right to pilot a knight. Outside of its’ early days, the house has not had to fully deploy to a war front, though Lady Jenius fears it may one day have to. HOMEWORLD Home Planet: Verdazur Planetary exports: Food, focusing crystals, rare metals (asteroid mining) and tourism Classification: Garden World Population: appox 1.5 million Tithe Grade: Decuma Particular (Resource yearly, Regimental decade) History: Discovered in M36, Verdazur is a watery planet covered with several archipelagos. The largest land mass ,Gaufertier, is barely large enough to be called a continent. While Gaufertier hosts the planet’s capital of Havrisar as well as the knight household’s primary base in the city of Davumior. The planet is dotted with several island towns and estates. Verdazur is classified as a garden world. Though it has a few industries, food production and underwater mining being it’s primaries. It’s natural beauty with thousands of beaches and centralized location in the Confederacy make it an excellent vacation spot for the richer nobles of the area. However in the opening year of the 41st millenium, Mt St Hilary, thought to be a dormant volcano on Gaufertier erupted. After it had calmed, investigation into the surrounding area revealed the entrance to the buried knight keep. The keep was dated to over ten millennia old, pre-dating the founding of the colony. Further examination of the underwater region known by the locals as Lyza’s Ring points to an extinction level event in the planet’s history. Based on the timing some in the higher government fear it might have been a man-made event. Notable Locations: Sacventdeile - Founder’s old estate, currently a major resort. Jenius Knight Academy Lyza’s Ring - A 10 km wide hole in Verdazur’s ocean, the bottom resting on the mantle of the planet. The walls contain several crystal deposits with the most pure being closer to the bottom. Between the heat and pressure few have been mined. COMBAT DOCTRINE Light lance - A questoris or dominus pattern escorted by a squad of armigars. Students are taught this method for a two fold reason. First, the mentor phase is done in this formation so it doesn’t take much tactical relearning. Second, the Throne Mechanicum is the hardest part of the knight to manufacture making the larger knights rarer currently. If a larger force is needed then a few light lances are combined into a more formal Knight lance. NOTABLE KNIGHTS All knights of House Jenius have the lion helm, a design from Magos Der Klaue to mark her charges. The house took them up as a design for the thier knights. Graduate pilots of the academy use other helms and colours of their design if they chose garrison duty. The house emblem is still displayed on all knights (garrison or house) in some fashion. Königin der Löwen - Llywelyn’s personal knight frame, the frame was modified to allow for weapon swaps prior to battle allowing her to use whatever class is needed for the mission. Her preferred class is Crusader. Jägerin Mond - Warden class Questoris operated by Lady Hotaru Jikan, one of the academy’s primary mentors. The Jägerin Mond has fought on many battlefields, it’s avenger gatling cannon taking the lives of many foes. Zorn des Löwen - A Castellan class, it wreaked havoc during the Flesh War campaign. With its volcano lance and upgraded plasma destructor it had the honour of standing up to and defeating a chaos warhound near single handedly. It’s current owner is the house second in command Lady Gwyneth Thranc Jenius. NOTABLE PERSONNEL Lady Llywelyn Farnia Jenius - Headmistress of the academy and leader of House Jenius. She was already tracked for the coveted Titan program before being tapped for knight training. She has helped in the training of several generations of knight pilots. Even in her advanced years she manages to hold her own versus many foes. Her ruthlessness is legendary, both on campus and the battlefield. Her mount ,Königin der Löwen, has the ability to mimic any class of knight, showing that she has the ability to teach for any frame. Lady Gwyneth Thranc Jenius - Llywelyn’s second in command and the primary administrator of the academy. She is a stoic and pragmatic woman, one of the reasons she was given command of the castellan Zorn des Löwen. Which she has piloted to victory in many sorties. Lady Hotaru Jikan - Current lead mentor of the academy. She only takes on two students at a time, but pits them against the odds and is as harsh a master as Lady Llywelyn Jenius. She pilots the Jägerin Mond with skill and grace, though that might also be due to her more ingrained connection. A paraplagic, her limbs are bionic augments that integrate with her throne. Awateru Tsuki - Recent graduate of the academy. During her senior term she kept the skies above her allies clear while piloting the helverin Beta 02. Fighting alongside her mentor Lady Jikan and her twin brother Kyofu she earned her seat with honours. She is currently piloting the Echavalier XX, leading her lance on a pilgrimage to Mars. NOTABLE CAMPAIGNS: BRIEF More detailed descripts are here The Cleansing of Block 76 - Early battle against a necron force to reclaim a forge. The Flesh War: The house’s first major campaign against a durkari incursion. The Sunsus Campaign - House Jenius assists a forgeworld in dealing with a xenos incursion. Lady Jikan used it as the final trial for her students. The Mecha Trail - The pilgrimage of Lady Tsuki’s lance to Mars Organizational Connections Confederation of Teradox - A semi-autonomous group of human controlled worlds located under the ghoul stars. Verdazur is in their territory. (My IG army) Conclave of Esus - Perfactio’s mechanicus group. They not only teach new sacatians but build new knight frames for House Jenius and their allies. (Admech) Fel Knights - A group of freebladed knights that roam the area under the Conferatacy’s protection. They can be spotted by the wolf helms their knights wear.