TITAN UPGRADES

Regardless of the world on which they were constructed, every Titan of the same class was based upon an STC pattern. Without this ancient technology, crafted during the Dark Age of Technology, a Forge World could not create their own Titan Legion and few, if any, Mechanicum enclaves were willing to share the knowledge with those devoid of it. The use of an STC ensured that two Forge Worlds, no matter the distance between them, would ultimately construct each class of Titans with only minor differences present between them, many of which were merely cosmetic.

Despite this, differences were not unknown. A Titan Legion hailing from a particular Forge World benefited from the expertise of its Tech-Priests to better tailor its god-engines towards a particular method of warfare. As the Horus Heresy progressed, these differences became greater as the schism that tore through the Cult Mechanicus led the two sides down different paths. The changes wrought upon Loyalist Titan Legions were typically far less dramatic than those aligned with the Warmaster, yet it would be foolish to say no changes occurred. Indeed, the vaults of each Forge World ran deep, containing technologies and designs Mechanicum orthodoxy would view as abhorrent. Nevertheless, as the Horus Heresy dragged on, many Titan Legions marched to war with weapons unseen since the Age of Strife, unleashing wrath and ruin down upon their traitorous foe.

This section offers a number of upgrades for your Titans. These upgrades are similar in function to Legio Specific Wargear, however, are more widely available. Two types of upgrades exist: Universal Titan Wargear and Loyalist Specific Wargear. The former can be used by Titans from any battlegroup and Titan Legion, including Crusade Titan Legions (see Adeptus Titanicus: Defence of Ryza) regardless of allegiance. The latter can only be used by Loyalist battlegroups. Unless otherwise stated, a Titan can purchase any and all wargear, though a Titan can only purchase each upgrade once, unless instructed otherwise.

A small number of Universal Titan Wargear are the same as Legio Specific Wargear options available to custom Titan Legions in Adeptus Titanicus: Defence of Ryza. However, the costs and rules shown here may have been altered; this is intentional. If creating a custom Legion, a player can choose the Legio Specific Wargear as one of their four choices, thus getting access to a cheaper cost for that wargear, or use the generalised version here, which holds a higher points value.

Universal Titan Wargear Universal Titan Wargear: Tracking Gyroscopes The installation of articulation motives within a Titan’s carapace was a painstaking process known only to a few. However, their use was favoured due to the greater movement they gave a Titan’s weapons, allowing them to track targets over a greater frontage.

Any Titan of Scale 10 or lower can be upgraded with Tracking Gyroscopes for +25 points. A Titan with this upgrade changes the Fire arc of all their carapace weapons to include the entire Front arc of the Titan.

Universal Titan Upgrade: Ranging Auspexes Focusing lens arrays stud the Titan’s command canopy, allowing its Princeps an unequalled view of the battlefield. Through these telescopic eyes the distance to enemies can be swiftly determined, allowing for the most effective weapon volleys.

Any Titan can be upgraded with Ranging Auspexes for +15 points. In the Combat phase, a Titan with this upgrade can pre-measure the range and check weapon arcs between itself and potential targets before selecting a target.

Universal Titan Upgrade: Hardened Casing In some ways, the most vulnerable part of a Titan was its weapons – which were often considerably less armoured than the rest of the Titan. To counter this, Tech-Priests would often reinforce weapons with ablative armour to decrease the chance of lasting damage.

Any Titan’s weapon can be upgraded with Hardened Casing for +5 points. Each of the Titan’s weapons must be upgraded separately. A weapon with this upgrade increases the Armour roll needed to achieve a Weapon Disabled Damage effect by 1 (e.g., a Reaver Arm Melta Cannon with this upgrade would need a 11+ instead of a 10+). After this weapon suffers a Detonation (X) damage effect, this upgrade has no effect for the remainder of the battle.

Universal Titan Upgrade: Bastion Shielding This was the name given to minor networks of power generators often incorporated into the void shield array of a god-engine, typically used during gruelling campaigns. They saw considerable use during the Horus Heresy owing to the strength of weapons wielded by Titan Legions that had now turned upon one another.

Any Titan can be upgraded with Bastion Shielding for +10 points. Once per game, a Titan with this upgrade can declare Voids to Full! without pushing its reactor.

Universal Titan Upgrade: Oath Banner Many Titan Legions held long-standing bonds with one or more Knight Houses of the Questoris Familia, with a Forge World offering support to the Household in return for loyal service. Often, this service would be commemorated by the commissioning of an Oath Banner. Titans would carry these banners into battle as a reminder of the duty both god-engine and Knight owed one another.

Any Titan can be upgraded with an Oath Banner for +5 points. Friendly Knight Banners within 6" of a Titan with an Oath Banner can re-roll Command checks to see if they become Shaken.

Loyalist Titan Upgrades Loyalist Specific Wargear: Spark of Vengeance Many amongst the ranks of those Titan Legions still loyal to the Emperor developed an intense hatred towards those who had spat upon their oaths. To harness this rage, some Titan Legions authorised the use of prohibited MIU modifications that allowed greater control of the machine spirit’s anger, albeit at the potential cost of long-term damage caused to the god-engine.

Any Loyalist Titan may be upgraded with a Spark of Vengeance for +10 points. When a Titan with this upgrade is required to roll on the Awakened Machine Spirit table, they apply the Wrathful result instead.

Loyalist Specific Wargear: Vortex Payload When the Emperor ratified His treaty with Mars, one of His commandments was the sealing of technologies deemed too perverse or unstable for use. Many Forge Worlds ignored such a decree during the Horus Heresy, retrieving esoteric weapons from war vaults sealed long ago.

Any Loyalist Titan equipped with a Warp Missile can be upgraded with a Vortex Payload for +20 points. Each of the Titan’s weapons must be upgraded separately. A Warp Missile upgraded with a Vortex Payload loses the Warp trait and gains the Vortex trait. However, the X value of the Limited trait cannot be changed in any way, i.e., it will always be Limited (1).

Loyalist Specific Wargear: Aquila Benedictus The Aquila Benedictus was one of the rarest honours bestowed upon Titans during the Great Crusade, for it was given solely by the Emperor Himself. Any Titan honoured with an Aquila Benedictus wore it proudly upon their form, serving as a source of inspiration for their allies.

A maximum of one Loyalist Titan within a battlegroup can be upgraded with an Aquila Benedictus for +15 points. A friendly Loyalist Titan within 6" of a Titan with this upgrade, including the upgraded Titan itself, suffers no penalties to Command checks. If the Titan is destroyed, all friendly Loyalist Titans within 6" of the upgraded Titan immediately roll on the Awakened Machine Spirit table, as if they had failed to quell the Machine Spirit.

Loyalist Specific Wargear: Plasmatic Binders The Forge World of Ryza had long hoarded secrets relating to the creation and engineering of plasma technologies, a handful of which they shared during the Horus Heresy. Plasmatic Binders proved to be the most widely utilised; though time consuming to craft and short- lived, they provided a rapid means through which to quiet the raging heart of a god-engine.

Any Loyalist Titan can be upgraded with Plasmatic Binders for +25 points. Once per game, during the Damage Control phase of any round, a Titan with this upgrade may activate its Plasmatic Binders. Until the end of the round, the Titan can Vent Plasma on a 2+ instead of a 4+.

Loyalist Specific Wargear: Null Emitter As the Horus Heresy wore on, the Titan Legions that had sided with the Warmaster began to change. In many instances, these changes were spurred on by the machinations of the Dark Mechanicum, with some Titans becoming vessels for malignant powers pulled forth from the Warp. To counter this, rare esoteric devices, known as Null Emitters, that exhibited destabilising properties upon so-called ‘corrupted Titans’, were crafted and distributed to Loyalist Titan Legions in an attempt to combat this new threat.

Any Loyalist Princeps Seniores’ Titan can be upgraded with a Null Emitter for +25 points. Corrupted Titans within 6" of a Titan with a Null Emitter subtract 1 from the result of any Command check they make. In addition, once per game, when a Titan with this upgrade is activated during any phase, they may discharge their Null Emitter. If they do so, choose a visible Corrupted Titan within 10" of the Princeps Seniores’ Titan. Until the end of the round, a single additional Mutation the chosen Titan is upgraded with has no effect – a Base Mutation cannot be chosen. Once a Null Emitter has been discharged, it no longer applies negative modifiers to the Command checks of Corrupted Titans.

Loyalist Specific Wargear: Hunter Shells Produced solely by the Forge World of Tigrus, Hunter Shells were specialised ammunition that contained a small logic-engine designed to direct the flight of the shell towards the weakest armour of the target. Titan-scale Hunter Shells were exceedingly rare, and the limited supply ensured a Titan rarely carried a full complement into battle.

Any Loyalist Titan equipped with a weapon with the Ordnance trait can be upgraded with Hunter Shells for +5 points x the Dice value of the weapon (e.g., a Reaver Gatling Blaster would be +30 points), so long as that Titan does not already have an upgrade affecting that weapon. Each of the Titan’s weapons must be upgraded separately. Once per game, a weapon upgraded with Hunter Shells may fire a hunter salvo rather than firing as normal. When firing a hunter salvo, the Titan does not apply a -2 modifier to the Hit roll when making a Targeted Attack.