The Ordo Sinister

"There are monsters, and then there are the monsters we make to fight them. Both are the same. The difference is simply a choice of how we see ourselves."

The Emperor, at the Massacre of Angorite, late Unification era

The Emperor, in His will and reason, divined and designed weapons for every possible threat humanity might face upon taking to the stars. One such creation, wrought by the hand of the Emperor Himself, was forged from experiments with weaponry long deemed forbidden. Thus was the Ordo Sinister born. The exact time of the Ordo's creation lies shrouded in secret, with some scattered records suggesting their foundation was laid during 967.M30, when the Emperor issued a Writ of Compulsion to Mars, requiring the deliverance of 25 Warlord Class Battle Titans. Though the intended purpose of these Warlords was not recorded, those scholars aware of the Writ's existence reason that such Titans were, if not the genesis of the Ordo, a new generation of the Emperor's creations.

The Titans of the Ordo Sinister possess undeniable strength, for they combine the might of a god-engine with the power of psykers locked in place and bound to the will of the Preceptor- Intendant, who stands as the Titan's Princeps. Each Preceptor- Intendant is an "Untouchable", a psychic blank immune to the vortex of aetheric forces generated by the Titan. Operated by such individuals, the engines of the Ordo Sinister were capable of harnessing psychic power on the grandest of scales, from eradicating their foes to mending damage as if it had never been inflicted. Even their weapons were of unique design, each capable of unleashing devastation that dwarfed those unleashed by their Mechanicum mirrors. The power of a single Psi-Titan could bring a world to heel simply by walking upon its surface, for its very presence instils terror in the hearts of all who perceive it.

Official reports, sworn before the Council of Terra by an officer of the Order named as Prefect Kelner Anahat, placed the numbers of the Ordo Sinister at 20 modified Warlord Titans, divided into four self-contained fortress-crypts on Terra at the start of the Horus Heresy. By their own words, the Order were to remain on Terra until called upon by the Emperor Himself and thus few records speak of their conflicts across the galaxy, both during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy that followed. Claims of their inactivity are to be taken with some scepticism, for reports speak of unsettling Titans walking upon battlefields across the galaxy during the Horus Heresy, silent god-engines striking against the servants of the Warmaster. The strength of the Ordo Sinister also stands in doubt, for scattered tales speak of Titans forged in all manner of designs unleashing powers far beyond mortal ken.

+++ACCESS GRANTED+++ ++Ref: ORDO SINISTER: COMPOSITION++

+CHAMBER: Occedentalis+ Occedentalis-Damysus [STATUS: DATA DENIED]

Occedentalis-Chirion [STATUS: ORION]

[DATA DENIED] Occedentalis-Sabaktes [STATUS: ORION]

[DATA DENIED] +CHAMBER: BOREALIS+ Borealis-Thoon [STATUS: CTHONIC] +++ERROR: INTRUSION DETECTED.

Access Denied. Intrusion Protocols Engaged+++

Using Psi-Titans

A Psi-Titan is a rare creation; few have seen one and even fewer understand their workings or know their provenance. The presence of a Psi-Titan is an ill-omen for the battle to come for it speaks of threats that even god-engines are endangered by.

Players can include one or more Psi-Titans in their battlegroup. In Open Play (see the Adeptus Titanicus rulebook) using Psi-Titans is as simple as deciding which models from your collection you wish to include, taking a Command Terminal for each one and getting the battle started. In Matched Play and Narrative Play, the rules for using Psi-Titans in a battlegroup are a little more structured. A player can include one or more Psi-Titans with the following restrictions:

A Psi-Titan is an Auxiliary Titan, meaning a maximum of one Psi-Titan (or other Auxiliary Titan) can be included for every maniple in a player's battlegroup.
Psi-Titans cannot be included as part of a maniple or form squadrons with any other Titan unless otherwise stated.
A battlegroup which contains one or more Psi-Titans cannot include any Corrupted Titans or Traitor Titans of Legend.
A battlegroup which contains one or more Psi-Titans cannot include any Renegade or Corrupted Knight Banners.
A battlegroup which contains one or more Psi-Titans cannot use Traitor Legion Stratagems or Stratagems usable only by a Traitor player.
A player cannot declare that a Psi-Titan is part of any particular Titan Legion and thus a Psi-Titan cannot gain any Legio Specific benefits.

Psi-Titans on the Battlefield

As befitting the esoteric powers a Psi-Titan possesses, they are subject to a number of additional special rules. All Psi-Titans have the following special rules:

A Psi-Titan does not follow the Issue Orders step as described in the Adeptus Titanicus rulebook, and cannot be given Orders by any means unless stated otherwise.
Psi-Titans have access to a number of Psychic Powers which are determined by the Psi-Titan's class. Psychic Powers follow the rules presented below.
A Psi-Titan can only ever use their own Command Value, regardless of any special rules.
All units, friend or foe, within 10" subtract 1 from the result of any Command check. Any Corrupted Titan within 10" subtracts 2 from the result of any Command check instead. Psi-Titans are not affected by this rule.

Psychic Powers

Each Psi-Titan houses a Ciricrux Anima, a psychic amplification matrix device conceived by the Emperor Himself. It is to this blasphemous artifice that the Titan's crew are bound, fed by psykers left slumbering until purpose calls. Controlled by the Preceptor-Intendant, an Untouchable immune to their powers, a Psi-Titan harnesses their "gifts" on an unprecedented scale.

Each Psi-Titan has access to Psychic Powers, the nature of each is dependent on the Titan's class and is described in detail in its relevant supplement. Psychic Powers are Channelled in the Strategy phase during the Issue Orders step. During this step, a Psi-Titan can be activated as normal. When a Psi-Titan is activated in this step, the controlling player can choose to either Channel a Psychic Power from the list available to them or issue the Shutdown order, then make a Command check.

If the check is successful, an Order dice, representing the Psychic Power or Order, is placed on the Order space on the Titan's Command Terminal with the chosen "Order" showing. If the check is failed, the chosen unit does not receive the "Order" but Orders can still be issued to other Titans in the battlegroup. In addition, if the Psi-Titan attempted to Channel a Psychic Power and the check was failed, the Psi-Titan suffers a Psychic Malfunction. During the End phase, all Channelled Psychic Powers come to an end and their dice are removed from any Command Terminals.

Psychic Powers are not Orders and are unaffected by rules that remove or affect Orders such as the Vox Blackout Stratagem. If the Strategy phase ends before a Psychic Power has been channelled, any Psi-Titans may still Channel Psychic Powers before the start of the next phase.

Order Dice and Psychic Powers

For ease of play, a Psi-Titan makes use of the standard Order dice to represent Psychic Powers. Each Psi-Titan will have access to a number of Psychic Powers and each will be assigned to a symbol on the Order dice. When issued a Psychic Power, simply place that Order dice with the appropriate face showing. As all Psi-Titans have access to the Shutdown order, this is used as normal.

Psychic Malfunction

The powers unleashed by a Psi-Titan do not come without a price. Though the psykers are bound to the Ciricrux Anima and controlled by an Untouchable, such safeguards cannot prevent every misfortune. The dangers are only heightened when the Psi-Titan is in close proximity to the raw power of the Warp or its fragile machinery has been damaged.

Psi-Titan Psychic Manifestation Table

(see Psi-Titan Psychic Manifestation Table, page 56 of the Matched Play Guide)

Warlord-Sinister

The Warlord-Sinister is a thing that should not be. A fusion of one of the mightiest god-engines with the "weaponised" power of numerous, bound alpha-grade psykers, and crewed by a soulless Untouchable, a Warlord-Sinister was constructed with methods only the Emperor Himself could permit. For a Warlord-Sinister, fear is its constant companion, bleeding those around it of hope and joy with its very presence.

Roused to anger a Warlord-Sinister is a terrible beast, able to project psychic phenomena on a truly gargantuan scale. Despite this, the most devastating power a Warlord- Sinister can draw upon rests in its left arm. Known as the Sinistramanus Tenebrae, literally the Left Hand of Darkness, each Warlord-Sinister possesses such a weapon, more akin to a weaponised warp engine than any conventional armament. With it, a Warlord-Sinister spits forth a bolt of darkness that disassembles any matter it touches, casting it into the Empyrean molecule by molecule.

Warlord-Sinister Titans

Any Warlord Titan can be designated as a Warlord-Sinister at a cost of +300 points. All Warlord-Sinister Titans are Psi-Titans and as such follow all rules that apply to Psi-Titans.

All Warlord-Sinister Titans are equipped with a Sinistramanus Tenebrae on their Left Arm and an Arioch Power Claw on their Right Arm. A Warlord-Sinister must purchase a Carapace Weapon and can replace their Right Arm weapon with any weapons available to a Warlord, at the appropriate cost.

Warlord-Sinister Psychic Powers

(see Warlord-Sinister Psychic Powers, page 56 of the Matched Play Guide)