We start off from this amusing fluff piece from what I think was an old White Dwarf issue, which was among many that are now collected in Index Imperialis: Apocrypha. The book itself states that this was White Dwarf issue #104, 1988, and this was back when the Legio Cybernetica of the Adeptus Mechanicus was first introduced into Warhammer 40,000. Anyway, back to the short story. Apparently, Captain Chavez - a Space Marine from an unknown Chapter - is forcing an Adeptus Mechanicus technician (yes, technician and not tech-priest) to program four robots to fight off a bunch of Orks that have wiped out three Dreadnoughts. The technician protests, saying that he needs time to conduct the Rite of Battleprep (yeah, he really called it that), only for Chavez to shove his bolt pistol under his chin and threatened him.
"Either I will kill you, the Orks will kill you slowly, or your damned Robots will kill the Orks. Am I making sense?"
With that, the poor adept skips the rites and sends his Robots to massacre the Orks. Looks like their machine spirits are fine without those pretentious ceremonies, after all.
After that, we get a bunch of lore, about how Robots are used by all kinds of Army and Marine forces, though ultimately they are Legio Cybernetica property. There's a hilarious line that implies that the Legio Cybernetica suffers 90% plus casualties most of the time, which is quite the hyperbole and over the top, even satirical, and cheesy fluff you would expect to see in the 1980s. Hah!
The Legio Cybernetica is organized into several thousand cohorts, with each cohort organized into maniples of 3-5 Robots plus a Legio tech-adept - later, Cybernetica Datasmith or a Magos/Tech-priest with cortex controller, depending if you're in the 41st Millennium or Horus Heresy - and each cohort has about 100 or less maniples. On the upper end, this means you could easily have up to 500 Robots per Cohort, which in turn means the Imperium had at one point in time possessed millions of Robots. Even on the lower end, it's probably around 1-2 million Robots. Good times.
Oh, and in what seems to be the basis for the future fluff, you had one anecdote about the Desert Lions Chapter (do they still exist?) deploying an entire Legio Cohort of Robots during Operation Carthage (the Second Pacification of Isstvan V...wait, what?!) to attack the planet's defence forts. Thanks to the Robots' sacrifices, only a total of seven Marines were lost, and the Desert Lions inducted the surviving Robots into their Chapter as honorary members as a mark of respect.
Hmm...sounds familiar, doesn't it? Yeah, the Brethren of Iron Rite of War in the Horus Heresy. This appeared in the old Black Book 6: Retribution, and again as a Rite of War in the Liber Astartes and Liber Hereticus books in the updated 2.0 rules. Lore wise, automata have always been inducted as honorary members of Legiones Astartes as far back as The First Heretic, where the Word Bearers had Incarnadine, a Cybernetica automata, inducted as an honorary member of their Legion. Nice.
There is even a line in the old fluff:
Since the defeat of Horus the Legio Cybernetica has pledged itself anew to the Imperium. Its members now take blinding oaths of loyalty more terrible than any Marine Chapter oaths. Over the millennia they have regained the respect and admiration of the rest of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Imperial Guard, and the Adeptus Astartes.
The first two sentences, in particular, seem pretty familiar...well, you'll see them on any wiki, but funnily enough, I can't find them anywhere in the modern versions of Heresy lore, such as the Black Books. Huh. Whatever.
Anyway, in addition to that, the old fluff talks about how Robot components are interchangable with Dreadnought parts, how they are compatible, etc. So you can repair Dreadnoughts using Robots and vice versa. This has been updated in the lore, as far back as the first Horus Heresy book 1: Betrayal, where Contemptor Dreadnoughts are constructed using arcane systems drawn from the Legio Cybernetica of the Mechanicum, such as the atomantic arc-reactor that provides energy shielding. So you can basically repair Contemptor Dreadnoughts using automata components and vice versa.
Also, astute readers will notice something very familiar. Their cortex - synthesized from artificial proteins and enzymes - serves as their brains, and they replace firmware routines with wetware, which is held in a small slice of bioplastic. Hang on, where have we heard that before...right! The Doctrina Wafers used by Cybernetica Datasmiths for the modern Kastelan robots. They retained that part for the 2015 Cult Mechanicus codex and lore. Not bad.
You also have these crazy robot classes, and back then...there wasn't really much of a distinction between Imperial and Traitor, for the whole Chaos narrative hadn't been developed back then, and we were still doing the Civil War thing as justification for why similarly designed Titans and armies were battling each other. So the only difference is the...uh, paint scheme. Heh.
So the classes we have are:
Cataphract
Conqueror
Castellan
Crusader
Colossus
Aside from all of them starting with C (because Cybernetica...get it? Heh), and their weird, goofy designs back in 1988, I think it's important to take note of their names because they'll show up later. You'll see what I mean, about how these older classes of Imperial Robots evolved into the automata of the Legio Cybernetica we see today.
For example:
Castellan -> Castellax and Kastelan
Conqueror -> Domitar and Arlatax
Crusader -> Vorax
Colossus -> Thanatar (or so I surmise, because they don't actually state it, but it's the closest we have in terms of design)
But you can see how the design team at Games Workshop often look back at old concepts and update them for modern Warhammer 40,000 (and Horus Heresy). These awesome artworks were drawn by the legendary Jes Goodwin, who remains one of Games Workshop's foremost miniature designers, as well as being a sculptor and an artist. And look at that amazing art! It still holds up very well even today, and I believe he continued to design more miniatures later down the line. It's a really cool line of evolution, and shows the development in art, lore and aesthetic over the years.
But even back then, you can see a few very familiar designs that...huh, yeah, look at that insect-head automaton. Isn't that basically the Vorax? And look at the hand of the guy on the top left. That's almost the same as the phosphor blaster for the Kastelan Robot, plus the shoulder-mounted gun. Very interesting. Anyway, these were all in 1988 and they were last seen in maybe the early 1990s? I'm thinking Epic was the last time we saw them, but I could be mistaken.
After that, the poor Robots and Legio Cybernetica were simply forgotten or excluded for over two decades. The tabletop game and lore for Warhammer 40,000 continued to develop in the 1990s and 2000s, but they didn't include anything on Robots, Legio Cybernetica or Knights.
That all changed in 2012, when the Horus Heresy series were released by Forge World, penned by the legendary Alan Bligh, may the Emperor bless his soul in the hereafter. In fact, prior to the Horus Heresy game, the Legio Cybernetica was mentioned several times in the Horus Heresy novels. I believe they first appeared in Nemesis by James Swallow in August 2010. Gergerra Rei was a Mech-Lord and Master of the Kapekan Sect who fought alongside the Luna Wolves during the Great Crusade. He was in control of two whole Cohorts. Unfortunately, we don't actually get to see the automata or Rei in action, because he was ignominiously killed off by a Callidus Assassin. What the f.
The next appearance of the Legio Cybernetica, thankfully, is mentioned in Aaron Dembski-Bowden's The First Heretic that was released shortly afterward in November 2010, where Xi-Nu 73, the Tech-Adept of the 9th Maniple, Carthage Cohort (I'm very sure this is a reference to the old fluff regarding the Desert Lions and the second pacification of Isstvan V mentioned above). And here, we get the aforementioned Incarnadine, who is inducted as an honorary member of the Word Bearers following his impressive performance in combat when deployed by them.
Actually, I might be mistaken. I think the first mention of the Legio Cybernetica might actually be in Graham McNeill's A Thousand Sons, released in March 2010 even before Nemesis. The Thousand Sons were using what were known as "Cataphract" battle robots. However, instead of using the doctrina wafers provided by the Legio Cybernetica, the Thousand Sons used psychically resonant crystals to control their automatons. I believe Graham McNeill meant to use this to foreshadow the Legion's eventual transformation into soulless automatons, enchanted dust encased within suits of armor. These same robots appear once more in Battle of the Fang by Chris Wraight, released in June 2011 over a year later, and taking place chronologically in the 32nd millennium. These were apparently the last Legio Cybernetica Cohort owned by the Thousand Sons, and they were all destroyed during the Battle of the Fang, which explains why modern Thousand Sons do not have any Cybernetica robots in their army list in 10th edition. Anyway, the Horus Heresy black books retconned the Cataphracts into Castellax-Achea battle automata in March 2017. In Horus Heresy: Inferno, these Castellax-Achea automata are controlled by a psi-control matrix instead of the usual cybernetica cortex. But that's another story for another time.
There are also brief mentions of "battle robots" in Graham McNeill's Mechanicum, released in December 2008. And despite the mentions of battle robots, there are no references to the Legio Cybernetica. The Skitarii do show up, though, which is cool. Lukas Chrom, a Forge Master, was said to be known for his brutal Skitarii and considerable battle robot maniples. Unfortunately, battle robots are mostly brought up whenever they try to compare the appearance of the Kaban Machine, which is not a battle automata but an artificial intelligence. Chrom is also renowned for constructing automata, and when the Imperial Fists, led by Sigismund came to Mars...well, not Sigismund, but when two companies of Imperial Fists and four Imperial Army regiments of Jovian Grenadiers under the command of Camba Diaz landed in Lukas Chrom's forge, he unleashed his army of battle robots on them.
Chrom's battle robots were armed with "blazing fire lances" and "power maces" and basically crushed scores of desperate men of the Imperial Army. Yikes. They were even able to hold the merciless advance of the Astartes and hold both the Imperial Fists and Jovian Grenadiers in a bloody stalemate. I suppose you can say Lukas Chrom is an Archmagos of the Legio Cybernetica, but again, the term "Legio Cybernetica" wasn't officially mentioned until A Thousand Sons, about a year and 4 months later.
But even with this, we hardly get any details about the Legio Cybernetica until The Horus Heresy: Betrayal was released in October 2012. Even then, we get little more than a small footnote, a brief mention about them imparting their arcane systems and atomantic arc-reactors to construct Contemptor Dreadnoughts for the Astartes Legions. It wasn't until The Horus Heresy: Massacre that was released in October 2013 that we finally get an updated expansion of the Legio Cybernetica.
Long story short, the creation of AI was banned. Legio Cybernetica was extremely powerful because of their battle-automata, which are deployed in Cohorts that may contain anywhere between 30-100 maniples, each of which comprising between 1-5 automata. To control their power, they weren't allowed to found their own forges or chantries, so they have to rely on other Mechanicum Magi and Forge Worlds for construction and repairs. They also participated in the Great Crusade, fighting alongside Legiones Astartes, Knight Houses and Imperial Army Hosts, who for obvious reasons, revere their combat abilities and firepower.
Like Contemptor Dreadnoughts, battle-automata have atomantic shielding, powered by their atomantic reactor cores. The battle-automata have cybernetica cortex - a throwback to the old fluff, if you recall. Unlike the Kastelan Robots, who require swapping of doctrina wafers - or wetware - apparently, the battle-automata of the 31st millennium function differently.
The cybernetica cortex remains the same - a synthetic brain that's a complex bio-plastic mass with its own nervous system, and once again guided by a programmed framework of encoded behavior. Unlike the poor Cybernetica Datasmiths of modern 41st millennium, who have to run from Kastelan Robot to Robot to manually swap out Doctrina wafers, Mechanicum Adepts of the 31st millennium instead have cortex controllers, which is a control and signalling device that uses data-djinns to command battle-automata remotely. In other words, they just need to be within 12" of the automata to control them, unlike the Cybernetica Datasmith, who has to be in the same unit/squad as his Kastelan Robots.
These cortex-automata are built for war, using knowledge from the Dark Age of Technology. So yeah, they are Dark Age of Technology robots, basically.
The Legio Cybernetica is usually led by a Magos Dominus - or Achmagos Dominus. They are masters of the arts of the Legio Cybernetica. They lead their Legio Cybernetica Cohorts under service to Archmagos Prime, though for obvious reasons, Archmagos Prime of the Cybernetica Orders are basically Archmagos Dominus Prime, so whatever. Uh, they are known for modifying themselves greatly, probably altering themselves to resemble more like the automata they are in charge of, and are renowned for their skills in the arcana of the cybernetica, allowing them to be Cybertheurgists, particularly specializing in the Cybertheurgy Arcana of the Artificia Cybernetica.
The Castellax battle-automata is the most common Castellan type battle automata in service, and is a general battle unit developed during the Great Crusade for siege and shock assaults. They are highly armored and durable, and make use of the same atomantic shielding technology as the Contemptor Dreadnoughts. A mainstay of the Legio Cybernetica, they are deployed in large numbers during the Heresy, but the toll of the Great Betrayal meant that they would never be seen in such force again. Still, they can be armed with a main armament of either a mauler bolt cannon, a darkfire cannon or a multi-melta. Their hands carry either twin bolters or flamers, and they have shock chargers, power blades or siege wreckers for melee weapons.
The Domitar battle-automata is a sophisticated variant of the ancient Conqueror pattern, and designed as a swift linebreaker that can cross the open battlefield and crash into the enemy. Armed with graviton hammers, it can pulverize tanks and even challenge Legiones Astartes Dreadnoughts in combat. They also come with missile launchers, for flexibility.
The Thanatar siege automata is a heavy mobile artillery platform that is armed with a Hellex plasma mortar that launches dense spheres of blazing plasma on arcing trajectories and into the heart of enemy fortifications. They are massive and heavily reinforced, making them impervious to small arms fire, and protected by an atomantic shielding array, they are incredibly durable. They can replace their Hellex plasma mortar with a Sollex heavy lascannon, which was a product by the Sollex Myrmidon and Omega-Shevar Covenant of the Ordo Reductor plus Legio Cybernetica representatives, allowing them to punch through fortifications with devastating firepower. This variant, known as the Thanatar-Calix, also possesses a graviton ram to destroy vehicles.
The Vultarax stratos automata was the most common stratos automata used by the Mechanicum during the Heresy, and I believe Belisarius Cawl was piloting one in Wolfsbane by Guy Haley. A robust, multi-role war engine, heavily armed and fitted with sophisticated sensory gear and able to operate in diverse and hostile environments, it serves as a high-mobility scout, a hunter-killer and rapid response unit in open battle.
Apparently designed from patterns for autonomous aerial machines found within ancient pre-Imperium STC templates and constructed around a powerful variant of the cybernetica cortex as its control mechanism, it's armed with the Vultarax arc blaster that can fry the electronic systems of vehicles or short out circuits in Dreadnoughts and automata, as well as two Setheno patterned havoc launchers.
Arlatax battle automata, also known as the only Mechanicum unit so far to not have an official model, is a variant of the ancient and versatile conqueror automata. A rapid-moving, shock assault unit that was constructed by both Xana and Atar-Median, they were jump pack automata armed with power claws and a plasma blaster. They can replace their power claws with an arc scourge, so yeah.
And this brings us to the modern Legio Cybernetica of the 41st millennium...which mostly originates from the 2015 Cult Mechanicus codex and forms what we know about Imperial Robots today.
Here, we come to the ubiquitous Kastelan Robots of modern 41st millennium. Considered relics as they have endured from an age from before the Imperium, they are constructed from solid metal and ceramite, and are incredibly resilient not only because of those materials but also their repulsor grid. For some reason, the repulsor grid is different from the atomantic shielding that is used by other battle automata or Contemptor Dreadnoughts, but it allows us to reflect attacks on a roll of 6 for saving throws. They are armed with carapace mounted incendine combustors - which are basically more powerful flamethrowers - or heavy phosphor blasters, and either sport power fists and/or hand-mounted phosphor blasters in any combination.
Funnily enough, I don't think Kastelan Robots appear in the Horus Heresy. The sole exception is Rob Sanders's Cybernetica, where the Raven Guard Techmarine-in-training, Dravian Klayde, enlists the help of Magos Dominus Octal Bool and his First Maniple of Daedarii Reserve Cohort in order to destroy the uh, terraforming stations at the poles of Mars. Octal Bool's maniples consist solely of Kastelan Robots, for some reason, and this is the only mention of Kastelan Robots during the Heresy. All other mentions of battle-automata are either Castellax, Vorax or Thanatar, with the Vultarax making an appearance in Guy Haley's Wolfsbane (again, piloted by Belisarius Cawl), and I think the Domitar in Iron Warriors stories. But yeah, Kastelan Robots are mainly 40K and not 30K, whereas the other automata are what you would think of as Heresy-era Legio Cybernetica. Kind of sad that we don't have rules for them in 10th edition - that said, they do appear in lore. I recall a Castellax battle automata appearing in one of the Blackstone Fortress stories - the anthology Vaults of Obsidian, in the short story Negavolt by Nicholas Wolf. Magos Vestus Artorus Rhynne owns a Castellax battle automata that fights alongside his Kataphron Destroyer, and he uses them to destroy the Traitor Grendish 82nd in the Blackstone Fortress to steal archeotech for the Adeptus Mechanicus. Unfortunately, things don't go as planned, and he succumbs to the protagonist - now a Negavolt cultist - who is led by Reclamator Thret. Anyway, the point is that all that remains of the Legio Cybernetica are...Kastelan Robots, with the Horus Heresy era automata all fading away into Legends.
Apparently, after the Horus Heresy, the Legio Cybernetica's robots have been controlled completely by sanctified doctrina wafers held by their masters, instead of the bio-plastic cerebra and nerve-like tendril webs of the Mechanicum's older Legio Cybernetica automata. Again, this calls to mind our foray into the past, where the Imperial Robots were controlled by "wetware" - small slices of bioplastic about the same size as a credit card. Only now, instead of credit card, the codex uses "cards of the Emperor's Tarot." Heh.
So the Cybernetica Datasmith has to manually insert the doctrina wafers into dataslots hidden behind each robot's chestplate, and if he wants to switch protocols, he has to manually remove the first doctrina wafer and replace it with a new one. There are three protocols - the Protector Protocol, which is basically shoot more (add 2 to Attacks Characteristic of ranged weapons, but it used to be can't move but can shoot twice with their carapace weapons in 7th edition, basically double shots with all ranged weapons in 8th edition but can't move and charge, and can't move and charge but become BS3+ in 9th edition) ; the Conqueror Protocol, which basically means to beat up enemies with your fists more (add 2 to Attacks Characteristic of melee weapons, but used to be double Attacks Characteristics but can't shoot in 7th edition, fights twice but can't shoot in 8th edition, and becomes WS2+ and can re-roll charges in 9th edition); and the Aegis Protocol, which simply equates to tank hits like a boss (it also means that meltas will now only wound them on a 5+ instead of a 4+ - didn't always used to be that way. In 7th edition, it was a 5+++ Feel No Pain, in 8th edition, it added 1 to saving throws, and in 9th, it was add 1 to armor saves but no more invulnerable save bonuses).
I think, by now, we can ignore the whole grimdark "there are so few Kastelan Robots left, and the secrets of their construction have been lost to time" and "Tech-priests of the Mechanicus will go through any lengths to recover lost or damaged Robots," because we need ways of replacing and repairing them or we wouldn't be able to field them in the game, given the constant attrition and lethality of 9th edition. Well, 10th edition made them tougher, but they still die and blow up, and it's kind of annoying to have to salvage new ones from somewhere, in a place that conveniently has archeotech and Cybernetica relics, so I'm just going to say the Mechanicus has found some way to manufacture them. Just...that they are difficult and require a lot of resources, so you don't see them as often as you would like.
Makes more sense than the usual "we can't build them anymore because the secrets of their technology are lost, but somehow gamers still field them over and over again no matter how many times their Robots get blown up and destroyed."
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this Retrospective article, and I might do another one soon. Till then!
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