Grey Knights

In the tabletop wargame Warhammer 40,000, the Grey Knights are a mysterious chapter of Space Marines. They act as the military arm of the Ordo Malleus, the Daemon-hunting branch of the omnipotent Inquisition.

History
The Grey Knights were founded at some point between the start of the Horus Heresy and the events of the Second Founding. They are not descended from any of the original twenty Space Marine Legions, having been created from a unique gene-seed - believed to have been developed from the genetic template of the Emperor of Mankind himself.

Legend has it that the Grey Knights were founded on the order of the Emperor himself. Designated Chapter 666, the Grey Knights are permanently attached to the Ordo Malleus branch of the Inquisition. The Grey Knights are unique among the Space Marines as the only chapter to have full knowledge of the dark secrets of Chaos - they alone completely know of and understand the existence of Daemons and of their appearance in the real world, and they alone are best equipped to battle and defeat mankind's most terrible enemy.

Note, however, that this contradicts the information given in virtually every other Warhammer 40,000 sourcebook, where the various other armies are portrayed as definitely being aware of the existence of Daemons. In particular, the Librarians of other Chapters are said to be the main line of defense and attack against these entities. However, while other Chapters and Imperium forces have some knowledge of Daemons and how to fight them, only the Grey Knights have privy to the darkest, deepest secrets that the Imperium knows of these creatures.

In the Chapter's long history the Grey Knights hold the highest honour of all: not one Grey Knight has ever turned to Chaos.

Organisation
While the Grey Knights are technically members of the Adeptus Astartes, they do not involve themselves with the ordinary activities of the Space Marines. They are instead attached to the Inquisition, charged with uncovering and expunging the taint of heretical Chaos wherever it is found.

Each successful recruit is given a suit of Aegis Armour and a Nemesis Force weapon, and is assigned to a squad under the leadership of a Justicar. The Space Marine can ascend to the position of Justicar, and then from this point may be awarded Terminator honours. Elite soldiers within the Terminator corps can be promoted to the position of Brother-Captain, or even to the position of Grand Master of the Chapter.

The Grand Master can be considered the galaxy's greatest adversary of Daemons, and is almost always a member of the Inner Conclave of the Inquisition.

Headquarters
The Grey Knights' fortress-monastery is located on Saturn's moon, Titan. This world is also home to the Librarium Daemonica, the Imperium's foremost repository of information relating to Daemons and Daemonology.

Although Titan is the Chapter's homeworld, squads of Grey Knights are scattered throughout the galaxy, in order to best respond to the threat of Chaos, wherever it may strike.

Recruitment
Considering the role of the Grey Knights, potential recruits are put through even more stringent trials than other Space Marine Neophytes. The recruits are drawn from across the galaxy and brought to Titan for testing. The most advanced bio-engineering and psycho-surgery is utilised to condition the Neophytes, and each recruit must pass the six hundred and sixty six Rituals of Detestation, to prove that he is capable of withstanding horrors that would break even the greatest of 'normal' Space Marines. Upon success, the recruit also has the majority of their memories and personality erased*, the better to ensure their absolute and unwavering loyalty to the Emperor. One of the main criteria for selection is that the recruit must show great psychic potential, as the entire Chapter is made up of psykers.


 * Though not specifically erased, the new Grey Knight's memories are almost entirely sublimated by the knowledge he gains from ancient teaching machines and the stress of the trials. His former life becomes a mere shadow, a flicker of time before his real life began.

Combat Doctrine
Most engagements will involve a single squad of Grey Knights supporting an Ordo Malleus Inquisitor, or a local force. For more serious daemonic incursions, several squads of Grey Knights are collected around the presence of a senior Brother-Captain, or even the Grand Master himself. In these circumstances, the Tactical and Purgation squads will attempt to establish a beachhead in the tainted area, before the Terminators and senior Marines teleport down to the surface and engage the primary Daemon, banishing it back to the Immaterium.

Equipment
As the Grey Knights are an elite chapter engaged in fighting Daemonic infestation, they have access to specialised equipment not available to other Chapters

Nemesis Force weapons
These are sanctified Force weapons, usually taking the form of a sword, halberd or spear. Each is consecrated and anointed with sacred oils, psychically charged, and inscribed with religious scripts that are anathema to Daemons.

Like all Force weapons available to the psychic warriors of the Imperium, the power of the weapon itself directly corresponds to the psychic talent of the wielder, and as the Grey Knights Chapter is made up solely of the greatest psykers of the Imperium, it is a truly devastating weapon in their hands.

Aegis Armour
The suits of powered and Terminator armour worn by the Grey Knights are incredibly well crafted; anointed and inscribed with prayers and wards, ritually consecrated and psychically charged. Working in tandem with the Grey Knights' formidable psychic powers, the Aegis armour protects the wearers from the effects of the Immaterium and the Daemons it spawns. The armor's ritual blessings and psychic resonance also serve to confound the perception of any enemy, resulting in an effect called the Shrouding.

As well as its psychic properties, the armour itself incorporates a wrist-mounted storm bolter, which, when circumstances dictate, can be loaded with psychically-charged ammunition.

The Liber Daemonica
This book, its contents drawn from material drawn from the Librarium Daemonica along with the battle-rites of the Grey Knights Chapter, is mounted on the chestplate or pauldrons of every single Grey Knight. It is a symbol of the greatest weapon against the forces of Chaos - an unshakeable faith in the God-Emperor of Mankind.

Appearance
The symbol of the Grey Knights Chapter is an open book, imposed over a vertical sword. In all accounts, this remains constant.

However, there are at least two different documented versions of their armour. One portrays the Chapter's Aegis armour as being black, with ornate silver gauntlets, shoulderpads, and decorations. The Chapter symbol is displayed in gold. The second source depicts the Grey Knights as wearing silver Aegis armour, with ornate gold decoration prevalent on many parts of the armour.

In both cases, each individual Marine bears personal heraldry, either on their shoulderpad, or on a small shield positioned over the left shoulder, facing forward. The heraldry designs incorporate black, white and red, with iconography usually made up of swords and skulls. For Grey Knights and Justicars, heraldry often includes squad markings. However, Grey Knights in Terminator armour are permitted to use their own design, with one half typically depicting their own heraldry, and the other half simple battle honour markings.