Games Workshop Warhammer 40k - Adeptus Mechanicus Skitarii Rangers/Vanguard

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The Sydonian Dragoons echo the tactics of these ancient Martian warrior-explorers. Using incense exhausts, they march through an ochre cloud redolent of ancient Sydonia. Many a foe has been confounded by this mist long enough for the Dragoons to mount a deadly charge. Ironstrider Ballistarii are mounted upon the same long-legged combat walkers as their Sydonian Dragoon counterparts, able to walk the most hostile of terrain for years on end without rest. The monotask servitor charged with the duty of steering the Ironstrider is often the first component to fail, its long-suffering body finally wheezing its last.

Upon such occasions the Ironstrider will keep pacing out into the hinterlands on its last heading. It can only be repaired by the ministrations of a Tech-priest upon a grav-bier who will excise the dead flesh and install a replacement even as the engine walks on. The strider will later be returned to duty as if nothing had happened, the remains of the former incumbent cast into the dust without comment. The Skitarii are the bionic heart of the Adeptus Mechanicus' infantry legions. Their tireless ranks defend the Forge Worlds of the Imperium, annihilate the enemies of the Tech-priests, and fight at the vanguard of the Quest for Knowledge. As the technocracy of the Cult Mechanicus extends its reach into the stars, the cybernetic Skitarii are always at the fore. Skitarii War Plate - Skitarii warriors are protected by armoured war plates designed to be worn for several standard years at a time. Secreted under a superdermal layer of ceramite alloy are recombinant cells that harness moisture from the wearer and recycle it. This liquid is transmuted into a gelatinous unguent that coats the inside of the suit, preventing the slow abrasion of the wearer's body whilst affording a measure of protection from the harmful emanations of their own weaponry. Skitarii are used to defend Mechanicus Forge Worlds, manufacturing installations elsewhere in the Imperium and often accompany high-ranking Tech-priests and magi as their bodyguards. Skitarii also serve as the armed forces that defend the Mechanicus' Explorator vessels that explore the galactic frontier.One who looked for consistency in Skitarii augmentations would be sorely disappointed. A soldier of the Mechanicus may have a punchcard skullslot and leather bellows for lungs, whilst at the same time housing quantum bioware in his brain.

This scheme is one where the army is cohesive as a whole, whenever a colour is missed on one unit it is balanced out in another! The Tech-priests of Graia and their Skitarii forces accentuate the deep crimson of Mars with the bright red of spilt blood. Their detractors believe this is because Graian warriors take an unhealthy interest in each spray of gore that jets from their victims. Wearing fully-sealed battle raiments and electromagnetised cybernetics, the Skitarii of Graia have fought space battles across the silvered exterior of their masters' spaceborne metropolises. The warriors of Graia bear the icon of the solar cog. The rising sun at its heart signifies the dawn of a new age, while the cog that surrounds it shows that the Tech-priests of Graia intend to be its masters. A Forge World's Skitarii Legion is divided into a number of macroclades, which are in turn broken down into cohorts and maniples. The vast majority of Skitarii War Cohorts are not borne into battle by armoured machines or aircraft, but simply stride to the front line without stopping, even should they have to start the journey solar months in advance of their allies.

Skitarii Rangers – Warhammer 40’000 (40K).

Paint the interior of the cloak with Ushabti Bone. You’ll want to thin this down and apply multiple thin coats. Also paint the very edges of the cloak with Ushabti, but take extreme care to not accidentally paint over the red cloak, as it’s a pain to correct.

The Skitarii Legions do not fight alone, for they escort the vast goliaths of the Centurio Ordinatus to war, and even march in the shadow of the god-machines of the Titan Legions. It is the Skitarii that bolster the battle robots of the Legio Cybernetica and they who act as bodyguards for Tech-priests brave enough to take the field. This practice of using seemingly-outdated weaponry appears a little odd until one remembers the Tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus revere ancient technology. To them, the wargear and weapons designed during the Dark Age of Technology were at the pinnacle of their design and everything since is but a poor substitute. But these ancient weapons aren't just superior: they're vastly superior, inspired by the Machine God Himself and, as such, regarded as holy instruments. At least that is what the Tech-priests believe. To tamper with the design of one, even slightly, would be a terrible heresy. After all, who has the right to challenge the creations of a god?

Holy Orders

To fight the foot soldiers of the Cult Mechanicus is to kill or be killed, for the Skitarii Rangers never give up when hunting down their foes, and their stamina is legendary.

The combat archives of the Skitarii Legions are so extensive it would take a Lexmechanic a thousand lifetimes to comprehend them. Even the Secutors that assess Skitarii battle doctrine have only scratched the surface. Only the Omnissiah knows the true sacrifice His selfless legions have made in His name: As the centuries marched past, these escorts were refined over and over again until they evolved into the Battle Maniples of the late 41st Millennium. Many variants have been codified, from the Maniples Automata of the Legio Cybernetica to the teeming Auxilia Ordinatus, but the core fighting formation remains the War Cohort. Skitarii Rangers, featuring cowls and gasmasks, stalk their prey with galvanic rifles. Each trooper is sealed in heavy, industrialised Skitarii warplate, emblazoned with the symbol of the Adeptus Mechanicus, bristling with data-collecting sensors, antennae and environmental monitors. Mindful of the harsh terrain of Mars, their legs have been removed from the knees down, with bionic replacements lending each model an air of cold, cybernetic augmentationOne who looked for technological consistency in Skitarii augmentations would be sorely disappointed. A soldier of the Mechanicus may have a punchcard skullslot and leather bellows for lungs, whilst at the same time housing quantum bioware in his brain. The glow from the impact guides his unit's next charge even in the fog of war. Within moments, one so marked is assailed by a stampede of titanium-hard feet and high-yield taser weaponry. Technomartyr Concords (Beta) - Devotional commands spool through the minds of the Skitarii at dizzying speed, each new imperative driving the warriors of the Omnissiah further into the ranks of the foe. One so compelled will fight with the skill of a true weapons expert, his mind and muscles filling with the boundless energy of the Motive Force. The Executors Fetial are the diplomats and ambassadors of the Titan Legions, and are noted to have undergone much of the same combat conditioning as the Skitarii, save for the rampant muscle mass increase and inducement of an adrenal battle trance. It is unknown if the Executors are considered to be official members of the Tech-Guard. To compare a maniple of Skitarii to a platoon of Imperial Guardsmen is to compare a well-oiled gatling gun to a simple iron hammer. The Skitarii do not simply crush their foes, but instead pitilessly blast them into bloody chunks of flesh. Even as they do so they record every tiny screed of data for later analysis.