A Knight Paladin of House Terryn strides into battle.
The Knight Paladin is the archetypal Questoris-class Imperial Knight combat walker, usually armed with a large calibre Rapid-Fire Battle Cannon and a giant, Knight-sized Reaper Chainsword. For long-ranged devastation, there are few weapons that can match or best the Knight Paladin's Battle Cannon. This massive ballistic weapon is equally adept at blasting apart massed hordes of enemy infantry, gunning down entire squadrons of light vehicles, or duelling a foe's artillery at long range.
The Battle Cannon is capable of piercing even a true Titan's armour. A heavy, direct-firing artillery gun that spits a pair of shells at its target in quick succession, this weapon's concentrated double-salvoes ensure a very high shot-to-confirmed-kill ratio. The distinctive thump-thump sound of these cannons firing is so iconic that amongst certain Astra Militarum regiments -- those that have fought alongside these Knights -- it has become habit to wish "the twinned thunder" upon hated foes.
A Knight Paladin of House Taranis makes quick work of a force of Orks.
Incoming firepower is blunted as the pilot shifts the directional Ion Shield towards the approaching shots. With its long strides, the Knight Paladin can reposition quickly, firing as it manoeuvres to give maximum fire support. Should enemies approach too closely, a pair of Heavy Stubbers can mow them down.
In close combat, the Reaper Chainsword or Thunderstrike Gauntlet the Knight Paladin carries makes it virtually unstoppable, able to disregard any enemy armour with impunity. The Reaper Chainswords used by Knight Paladins are described as being easily as destructive as the close combat weapons used by the larger Warhound-class Scout Titans, capable of harming even an Imperator-class Titan's armour plating.
No matter whether the enemy engages at short range or long, or if they send tanks, infantry or rampaging monsters into battle, the Knight Paladin has the versatility and might to face any threat. This Knight is designed to provide a strategic backbone for any lance, and -- though it may not be as specialised towards a certain form of combat in the manner of other Questoris Pattern Knights -- the Paladin is a traditional favourite amongst nearly every Noble house.
A Knight Paladin of House Terryn advances through the ruins of an Imperial hive city.
Knights Paladin are a common sight in Adeptus Mechanicus armies, most often seen surrounded by supporting Skitarii infantry. The Paladin-class Knight suit is a perfectly balanced combination of speed, firepower and armour -- a supreme example of combat design. Those Nobles who pilot Knights Paladin pride themselves on being able to perform any battlefield assignment with aplomb.
So prevalent are the Knights Paladin amongst the Noble houses that it is a rare lance that does not include at least one. House Hawkshroud has long referred to their Paladins as the "soul" of their knightly hosts, while amongst the ranks of House Vulker they are referred to simply as "Optimals." Although Paladins are sometimes piloted by younger Knights just out of their Ritual of Becoming, such novitiate pilots are more often entrusted with a simple and effective Knight Errant. Paladins, by comparison, are usually the steeds of seasoned Nobles whose experience allows them to get the most out of these adaptable and effective Knight suits.
History[]
A Questoris Knight Paladin of House Orhlacc during the Horus Heresy.
Knight-class walkers are true relics of a human history lost now to allegory and myth. These unique machines and the mind-impulse systems that control them produce the arts and arcana of the ancient Mechanicum by a considerable measure, and to the priests of the Omnissiah they are things of sacred mystery and beauty. Questoris-class Knights are true wonders of the Dark Age of Technology, and they are beyond the realms of all but the most learned Magos to fully understand, but due to the presence of priceless STC manufacturing units devoted to their construction on the ancient colony worlds of the Knight Houses, these phenomenally powerful machines may still be replicated and maintained.
The Knight Paladin and the Knight Errant were the most common patterns of Knights utilised during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras, sharing the same basic design save for the armament load-out. Towering war engines, they are burnished and caparisoned in heraldic livery, and only a Titan could hope to overmatch one in single combat. These armours are little different from the ancient war machines carried to the stars by the first Long March colonists. Only the hand-forged and intricately embossed armour plating separates them from those early exo-armours, and many of these machines have fought in the defence of Mankind for long centuries, bearing honour markings from wars long since forgotten on their plating.
Armament[]
House Terryn Knight Paladin, Scythe of Light, piloted by Sir Myrcor
On the battlefields of the 41st Millennium, a Knight Paladin is a truly fearsome opponent. Striding swiftly across the battlefield, the Paladin's weapons lay down a withering hail of fire, after which it can deliver a devastating charge. Once amongst the foe, the Paladin strikes left and right with its Reaper Chainsword and crushes the enemy underfoot. Few opponents survive such a deadly series of attacks.
Whether duelling across empty ash wastes or fighting amongst the narrow confines of a rubble-filled hive city, a Knight Paladin is an equally lethal foe. That is because the Knight Paladin suit is a perfectly balanced combination of speed, firepower and armour -- a supreme example of combat design. Those Nobles who pilot Knights Paladin pride themselves on being able to perform any battlefield assignment with aplomb.
The Rapid-Fire Battle Cannon grants the Knight Paladin the capacity to provide long-ranged fire support when needed, delivering volley after volley of massive shells onto the foe. However, while a Paladin excels in an artillery or anti-armour role, it is equally suited to close assault. The Paladin's bipedal design, agility and speed allow it to engage the foe quickly, often by moving through or over terrain that would slow down more conventional vehicles.
Its Reaper Chainsword can hack through even the iron hull plates of an Ork Gorkanaut with ease, while a single thrust from the powerful servo-motors can embed the blade deep into a ferrocrete bunker, ripping apart the defensive structure as well as any occupants. A pair of Heavy Stubbers -- one projecting from a ball-turret and the other mounted alongside the mighty Rapid-Fire Battle Cannon -- give the Knight Paladin extra firepower, allowing the adamantium-armoured giant to mow down enemy infantry that manage to avoid its crushing feet.
Unit Composition[]
- 1 Knight Paladin
Wargear[]
- 2 Heavy Stubbers
- Questoris Battle Cannon (31st Millennium Only)
- Rapid-Fire Battle Cannon
- Reaper Chainsword
- Ion Shield
- Throne Mechanicum
- Titanic Feet - The weight of the Knight alone is enough for it to crush enemy units beneath its behemoth tread.
Optional Wargear[]
- Thunderstrike Gauntlet (As replacement for Reaper Chainsword)
- Meltagun (As replacement for one Heavy Stubber)
- Ironstorm Missile Pod
- Twin-linked Icarus Autocannon
- Stormspear Rocket Pod
- Bio-corrosive Rounds for Heavy Stubber (31st Millennium Only) - Replaces the Knight's Heavy Stubber's standard ammunition for Bio-corrosive tipped rounds. These rounds are capable of eating through both flesh and armour.
- Occular Augmetics (31st Millennium Only) - An upgrade to the Knight's Occular sensors enabling a far greater degree of visual input during low-light conditions, such as night-fighting.
Sources[]
- Codex: Adeptus Mechanicus (8th Edition), pp. 56, 85
- Codex: Imperial Knights (8th Edition), pp. 61, 92
- Codex: Imperial Knights (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), pp. 5, 9, 11, 22, 27, 32, 34, 36, 40, 42, 44, 48, 54, 58, 63-64, 66, 72-73, 82, 85, 87, 90-92, 94, 103
- Codex: Imperial Knights (6th Edition) (Digital Edition), pp. 4-5, 10-11, 48, 56-57, 62-63, 67, 69, 73, 75, 77, 81, 87, 93, 95, 99, 108, 110-111, 114-115, 119, 122-123, 133-134
- The Horus Heresy - Book Three: Extermination (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 230
- The Horus Heresy - Book Four: Conquest (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 301
- White Dwarf Weekly 5 (March 01, 2014) (UK), "Codex: Imperial Knights", pp. 9-11, 34, 40, 44, 47, 49, 62
- White Dwarf Weekly 4 (February 22, 2014) (UK), "Imperial Knight" by Jervis Johnson, pp. 5, 7-8, 10, 13, 28, 30, 32-34, 52-53
- White Dwarf 182 (UK), " 'Eavy Metal: Forces of the Imperium," & "Titan Legions: Knight Households," pp. 38-40
- White Dwarf 180 (UK), " 'Eavy Metal: Imperial Knights", pg. 26
- White Dwarf 178 (UK), "The Titan Legions," by Rick Priestly, pp. 43-50
- White Dwarf 126 (UK), "Knights: Eldar & Human War Machines" by Andy Chambers, pp. 28-45
Gallery[]
| Imperial Knight Forces | |
|---|---|
| Armiger Pattern Knights | Armiger Warglaive • Armiger Helverin • Knight Moirax |
| Questoris Pattern Knights | Knight Paladin • Knight Errant • Knight Crusader • Knight Gallant • Knight Warden • Knight Preceptor • Knight Magaera • Knight Styrix |
| Dominus Pattern Knights | Knight Castellan • Knight Valiant |
| Cerastus Pattern Knights | Cerastus Knight-Lancer • Cerastus Knight-Castigator • Cerastus Knight-Acheron • Cerastus Knight-Atrapos |
| Acastus Pattern Knights | Acastus Knight Porphyrion • Acastus Knight Asterius |