Time and varying needs have created a varied array of Terminator armor patterns to serve the veteran Space Marine chapters, and Custodes
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Several designs of Terminator armor evolved in parallel from the forge worlds of the Adeptus Mechanicus and the armouries of the Marines. Often bearing little physical resemblance to each other, these different exo-armor suits in fact have much in common. Massively armored, sealed against any external conditions and incorporating their own armament, Terminator armor designs proved their worth from the first.
Like power armor, the suits were equipped with fiber-bundle muscles and imposed few movement restrictions upon the wearer, despite their immense weight.Terminator armor was originally meant to replace normal power armor, however 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. Today, Terminator suits are highly prized by their Chapters and kept in a constant state of repair and renewal.
Aegis Pattern
Used by Grey Knights Terminators, this pattern of Terminator Armour is equipped with the protective Aegis system.
Indomitus Pattern
The Indomitus Pattern Terminator Armor is noted for being the most widespread pattern as of M41, due to its template being held by key Forge Worlds such as Mars.
Cataphractii Pattern
This pattern was among the first issued to the Space Marine Legions, and was used during the late Great Crusade and Horus Heresy by both the Space Marines and the Legio Custodes. Although it was rare before the Horus Heresy, some Legions, such as the Iron Hands, possessed a large number of suits. In addition to being distinguished by its large, layered pauldrons, and the pteruges protecting the elbow and thigh joints, it was functionally distinct from other patterns, bearing additional plating and shield generators. This resulted in severe straining of the suit’s exoskeleton and reduced the wearer’s movement speed, leading to its decline among some Space Marine Legions during the early battles of the Heresy.
Gorgon Pattern
A variant of the Indomitus Pattern devised by the Primarch Ferrus Manus and the Iron Fathers, this advanced prototype suit was just going into production at the onset of the Horus Heresy. The design replaced field generators embedded in the armour with experimental systems that converted incoming electromagnetic and kinetic energy into bursts of blinding light, able to incapacitate nearby foes. The heat and electro-chemical toxins bleeding from the suit limited the armor’s agility, and its effects required a high level of cybernetic modifications for its wearer to endure.
Tartaros Pattern
This pattern is issued to the Veterans of a Chapter’s 1st Company and is possibly considered the most advanced form of Tactical Dreadnought Armour. It shared many systems with the Mk IV Maximus-pattern power armor whilst providing greater mobility for the wearer compared to the Indomitus with no loss in durability. This pattern was mostly used during the last years of the Great Crusade and during the Horus Heresy. In the M41 such a Armour are incredibly rare. Even so some of the Space Marine Chapters which have this suits in possession deploys these venerable relics, given them to the most able members of the 1st Company.
Aquilon Pattern
This pattern of Terminator Armour is used by the Adeptus Custodes. Its origins lie with the Cataphractii suits of the Space Marine Legions, but with far greater power capacity and customized neuro-fiber uplinks, it is said, redesigned by the mind of the Emperor himself. Aquilon Pattern Terminator Armour was said to have adjusted for the enhanced physique of the Custodes, who were capable of bearing more weight and strain than even Space Marines.
This allowed it to be fitted with additional power systems and capacitors, increasing its durability and maneuverability. Within the ranks of the Custodes, Aquilon Pattern Terminator Armour was deployed by the Tharanatoi Caste.
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About the Author: Rob Baer
