Moderatus

Moderati of the Collegia Titanica prepared to operate outside of their Titan.

A moderatus (pl. moderati) is an officer of the Adeptus Mechanicus' Collegia Titanica who serves as a member of the crew of a Titan under the leadership of that god-engine's commanding princeps. Moderati are specialist crew, the exact number of who are present and the roles they play dependent on the class of the Titan they serve on as well as the doctrines of their parent Titan Legion.

Each moderatus is given responsibility for operating and monitoring a different Titan system, such as the sensors, the helm or a specific weapon. The moderati add their own oversight to the commands of their Titan's princeps that are fed through the god-engine's Mind Impulse Unit, a device that cybernetically links together the minds of the princeps and the moderati with the Machine Spirit (artificial intelligence) of their Titan.

Several moderati are usually stationed at the princeps' side within the "head" of the god-engine, while others are located elsewhere in the Titan's mighty form -- the gun moderati, for example, are often stationed in the carapace as near to their weapons as the Titan's complex anatomy allows.

As a result of the battles they come through together and because of their link to their Titan's Mind Impulse Unit, princeps and their moderati are often more closely knit than most families. Being linked to the MIU can also be dangerous and even lethal, as the potent Machine Spirit of a Titan can wreck an unprepared individual's consciousness and drive them to madness.

Damage to the MIU system's circuitry can cause the MIU to go haywire, and in such circumstances, the luckiest members of the crew are killed instantly by the psychic shock, while the rest are reduced to gibbering lunatics.

Most of the crew members' connections to the MIU are equipped with manual emergency cut-offs; however, sometimes the moderati and princeps are not able to utilise them quickly enough to avoid the damage. MIU links are attached via implanted cybernetic socket connectors in the cranium and neck, or in the body armour the crew wear. The armour's role is to shield them from secondary damage caused by shrapnel and impacts, and it additionally contains power and life support units, also attached by umbilicals to external devices.

These umbilicals have many redundant channels, so that if any one is severed in the heat of battle, another can easily take its place, making sure that nothing impedes the crew's ability to fight.

Quick Answers

What role does a moderatus play on a Titan?

A moderatus is an officer in the Collegia Titanica, part of a Titan's crew under the princeps. They manage navigation, sensors, and weapon systems. Moderati are ranked as majorus, overseeing major weapons, or minoris, handling minor systems. Their roles depend on the Titan class and Legion doctrines. They collaborate with servitor-slaves and Tech-priests for efficient Titan operations.

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What systems does a moderatus operate on a Titan?

A moderatus manages systems on a Titan, such as navigation, movement, sensors, and weapons. Their role varies by Titan class and Legion doctrines. They oversee specific systems like sensors or weapons, integrating their input with the princeps' commands via the Mind Impulse Unit. They also control servitor-slaves linked to the Titan's weapons and engineering systems.

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How many moderati are typically on a Titan crew?

The number of moderati on a Titan crew depends on the Titan's class and Legion doctrines. A Warlord-class Titan usually has several moderati, often four, each managing a primary weapon. The crew also includes a princeps and Tech-priests.

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What is the relationship between moderati and the Titan Legion?

Moderati serve as officers in a Titan's command crew, executing orders from the princeps. They manage systems, operate weapons, and ensure the Titan's functionality. Linked to the Titan's Machine Spirit via a Mind Impulse Unit, moderati work closely with the princeps. Their roles depend on the Titan's class and Legion doctrines, with ranks like moderati majorus and moderati minoris overseeing major and minor systems. This setup is crucial for the operation of a Titan Legion.

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How does a moderatus differ from a princeps?

A moderatus is part of a Titan's command crew, tasked with executing the princeps' orders, monitoring systems, and firing weapons. Unlike the princeps, who commands the Titan, the moderatus does not have ultimate control. Both roles involve MIU links, but the princeps has higher authority.

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Roles

The "moderati majorus" are moderati who are given oversight over a Titan's major weapon systems.

The "moderati minoris" are those moderati who are given command over a Titan's minor weapon or other support systems.

Ranks

Moderati only have two ranks, which are granted based on their seniority within a Titan's crew and the importance of the Titan systems which they oversee. Senior moderati are given the title of "moderatus primus" and more junior moderati are addressed as "moderatus secundus."

Notable Moderati

• Jonah Aruken - Jonah Aruken was a moderatus primus of the Legio Mortis Imperator-class Titan Dies Irae during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. Aruken's ambition, as was true for most moderati, was to eventually become the princeps of his own Titan, a dream he felt would be jeopardised if the Dies Irae' commanding Princeps Turnet believed he was involved with the forbidden underground cult of Emperor-worship known as the Lectitio Divinitatus, like his friend and fellow moderati Titus Cassar. During the Battle of Isstvan III, as Cassar prepared to kill Turnet to stop the Dies Irae' betrayal of the Loyalist Space Marines on Isstvan III, Aruken's ambition led him to kill his friend, which allowed the Dies Irae to carry out the mission assigned to it by the Warmaster Horus and turn on the Loyalist Death Guard Astartes it was supporting in the battle for the Choral City.
• Titus Cassar - Titus Cassar was a moderatus primus of the Legio Mortis Imperator-class Titan Dies Irae during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. Cassar was secretly a member of the underground cult of Emperor-worship known as the Lectitio Divinitatus in direct violation of the Imperial Truth. Cassar was often ridiculed for this belief by his friend and fellow moderatus Jonah Aruken, though the two rescued the Remembrancer and future Imperial saint Euphrati Keeler from the mute assassin Maggard sent to slay her by the Warmaster Horus. During the Battle of Isstvan III, after the world had been ravaged by the firestorm unleashed by the aftereffects of the virus bombing ordered by Horus, the Dies Irae' Princeps Turnet ordered his moderati to open fire on the Loyalist Death Guard Astartes they had been providing fire support to. Cassar confronted Turnet with his autopistol to stop that betrayal of the Emperor. However, Aruken, fearful that such a betrayal would end his chances for promotion within the Legio Mortis so that he might one day become a princeps himself and command his own Titan, killed his friend instead. The Dies Irae then completed its assigned mission and sought to kill any Loyalist Astartes who had survived the viral bombardment.

Sources

• Adeptus Titanicus: The Horus Heresy - Rulebook (Specialty Game), pp. 8-12
• Warlord: Fury of the God Machine (Novel) by David Annandale
• Betrayer (Novel) by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, "Dramatis Personae"
• False Gods (Novel) by Graham McNeill
• Galaxy In Flames (Novel) by Ben Counter
• Helsreach (Novel) by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, Chs. III, XI
• Iron Corpses (Audio Book) by David Annandale