A force field, also called an energy field and an energy shield, is an immaterial defensive barrier generated by a field of fundamental physical force such as electromagnetic energy, gravity or the psychic energy of the Immaterium.
The technology is in use by many of the intelligent starfaring species and interstellar empires of the galaxy, including the Imperium, the Aeldari, the Necrons, the Orks, the T'au Empire and the Leagues of Votann. Force fields can be generated as a form of personal protection that can defend a single individual from kinetic or directed energy attacks or, if enough power is available, can be extended to protect entire military units, vehicles, strongholds, fortresses, voidships, void stations or even entire cities.
Force field technology is known in the Imperium but is relatively uncommon, being available only to high-ranking military commanders and civilian leaders or on Imperial voidships, fortifications and some high-value vehicles like Titans and Knights. Force field technology is much more commonly used among the more technologically advanced xenos species such as the Aeldari, the Necrons and particularly the Leagues of Votann.
Imperium[]
The Imperium of Man is known to make use of Warp-powered Void Shields, which are typically deployed as defensive barriers around key installations and vehicles like voidships and Imperial Titans. These fields are powered by a variety of sources, including Void Shield Generators, which are capable of absorbing and redirecting massive amounts of energy.
In addition to static force fields, the Imperium also utilises mobile versions known as Refractor Fields and Conversion Fields. These fields can be projected around individual soldiers or vehicles, providing an additional layer of protection against enemy fire.
Other notable Imperial force field technologies can be found below.
Aeldari[]
Aeldari force fields are some of the most advanced in the galaxy, utilising highly sophisticated technology to create shimmering barriers that can deflect incoming fire. These fields are often used in conjunction with the Aeldari forces' lightning-fast mobility, allowing them to dart in and out of combat while remaining protected from enemy fire.
The Aeldari also prefer to use force field technology which is less directly protective known as a Holo-Field. A Holo-field is a three-dimensional photonic projection created by a computer-controlled network of special laser projectors that create a field of visual distortion around a vehicle or starship.
This distortion makes it extremely difficult to target the vehicle or vessel so protected either by using computer-assisted targeting or by eye, since the projection distorts both electronic and physical perception of the actual location of the object generating the Holo-field. This technology allows Aeldari vehicles to maximise their speed and manoeuvrability without having to carry the added weight of a power source potent enough to generate a trully impentrable barrier field.
The Craftworld Aeldari are a highly psychic species, and they use their psychic powers to manipulate wraithbone, a psychically reactive substance, into various constructs, including using it to craft a psychic force field generator. These constructs are incredibly potent, able to withstand massive amounts of damage before failing.
Aeldari force fields can also be projected as spheres around a unit, offering protection from all angles.
Necrons[]
Necron force fields are powered by the same mysterious and highly advanced technology that fuels their robotic bodies. These force fields can absorb a tremendous amount of kinetic or directed energy, making them highly effective against enemy fire.
In addition to defensive applications, Necron force fields can also be used offensively in a manner somewhat similar to the molecular dispersion fields that surround Power Weapons, allowing them to tear through enemy lines with ease.
Necrons, lacking any access to the Warp, use a more traditional technology-based approach to the creation of force fields that relies on natural physical forces rather than the energies of the Immaterium like Imperial Void Shields or Craftworld Aeldari psychic shields. Necron force fields are known as Quantum Shielding, which is unique in that it can adapt to different types of attacks, allowing it to even protect against weapons that it has never encountered before.
Quantum Shielding is comprised of layers of additional defensive energy shielding that exists out of quantum phase with the rest of the vehicle until the moment enemy projectiles impact the vehicle's surface. Quantum Shielding thus only truly exists in the normal space-time continuum at the moment of deflection -- at all other times there is no indication of its presence.
Orks[]
Orks, being the crude and brutal species that they are, have developed their own unique type of force field technology. Often known as "kustom force fields," Ork energy fields are made from scavenged parts and held together with spit, glue, and sheer willpower, like all Greenskin technology. Ork force fields are crude and unpredictable, often created by their Mekboyz out of scavenged parts and powered by their own psychic WAAAGH! energy.
While not as effective as those utilized by other factions, Ork force fields can still be a potent force on the battlefield, providing additional protection to their ramshackle vehicles and units. While not particularly reliable, Ork force fields are incredibly powerful when they do work, able to withstand massive amounts of damage before failing.
T'au Empire[]
The T'au Empire is known for its extensive use of force field technology, which is incorporated into almost all aspects of their military hardware. T'au Battlesuits are equipped with powerful energy shields that can absorb incoming fire, while their vehicles are protected by advanced shield generators that can project force fields around them. As the T'au have little knowledge of the Immaterium, their shield technology works by manipulating the physical force of gravity to deflect projectiles and directed energy beams.
Leagues of Votann[]
The Kin make a specialty of force field technologies. The crowning glory and most ubiquitous example of Brôkhyr force field technology is the Weavefield Projector. Variants of Weavefield Projector have been developed for everything from personal protection for void miners and soldiers of the line, to massive examples that are used to protect Kin voidships.
The system employs an energy-weaving technique called "weavewërke" which interlaces energy frequencies common to both refractor and conversion field technology employed by the Imperium, interlinked with more exotic energies -- such as magnetic repulsion fields. The resultant multispectral energy shield is maintained either in a personal energy cowl, or else projected outwards to form a protective dome, the better to shelter entire squads of Kin warriors or bands of Cthonian miners.
Amongst the Kinhosts, Weavefield Projectors are commonly worked into armoured crests worn on personal void armour, exo-armour or mounted on war engines. From here, their shimmering, amber energies flow outward into translucent energy domes, capable of intercepting even esoteric or apocalyptic-scale munitions depending on the scale and capacity of their power generators.
Tyranids[]
The Tyranids have no known use of technologically-generated force fields, relying instead on their sheer numbers and biological resilience to survive enemy fire.
However, for anti-air and voidship defence they rely on a type of bioweapon known as the Mucolid Spore. A Mucolid Spore field is an area of space that has been seeded with these Tyranid spores by a Sporoscyst. Operating in clusters, they move swiftly through the air or the void, exploding with lethal, biochemically-induced explosive force once they close with their targets.
While not technically a force field, the spore field largely serves the same purpose by creating in this case a biomechanical barrier that prevents enemy forces from advancing.
Sources[]
- Codex: Eldar (6th Edition), pp. 65, 67
- Codex: Leagues of Votann (9th Edition), pg. 33
- Codex: Necrons (5th Edition), pp. 82, 91, 93, 95
- Codex: Orks (4th Edition), pp. 34, 57
- Codex: Tau Empire (6th Edition), pp. 33, 45, 59, 69
- Imperial Armour Volume Eight - Raid on Kastorel-Novem (Forge World Series), pp. 141, 189
- Only War Core Rulebook (RPG), pg. 196
- Games Workshop - Sporocyst and Mucolid Spore