Genetic Engineering - Vat Grown - Tau AI - Men of Iron?

[Dolnikan]

That was already a part of it, the magos was doing some borderline heretical stuff he wants to keep hidden.

[Kaled]

I don't mean a heretical (ex)member of the Mechanicus - what about a member of some tech-cult, such as the Logicians. They are said to have backers in the nobility, and are involved in the study of archaeotech, xeno-tech, forbidden fleshworks, transgenic blasphemies, abominable intelligences and other proscribed technologies. Sounds much like this character.

[krenshar]

There's another type of vat-grown human that's not been mentioned yet; the Geno 52, a Terran regiment featured in Legion from the heresy books.  The women of the regiment were all command staff and had their ovaries harvested.  Eggs were fertilised by highly decorated male officers from other regiments, who were also recruited as senior officers for the Geno 52, and the offspring became the next generation of the regiment - males to the rank and file, females to the command staff and the process starts again.
So still vat-brats but not actual clones and possibly more acceptable in the current Imperium.

Hypno-indoctrination was certainly a feature of the regiment, as the troopers could sleep on command but I'm not sure about any genetic tweaking.  I don't recall anything specific but supposedly the Emperor cited the Geno 52 as inspiration in the creation of the space marines.  Although that might just have referred to the hypno-training as I'm working from memory.

Almost any organisation of your choice could find enough data-scraps to want to start a similar program but if they want to stay in charge, then as Kaled says they'd probably be needing experts from outside the Mechanicus.


Another option entirely would be to have the genetics stuff be entirely legit (no use of astartes progenoid organs, nothing inhuman like scaly skin for armour for example) and the shared history for a few characters.  These characters have since fallen in with some heretical types trying to recreate the men of iron and could be willing -even key- conspirators or reluctant mercenaries guilty by association.
There's even two warbands in that; one headed by your lady gene-warrior and her heretech friends, the other made up of her siblings who want to stop her without drawing the Imperium's attention.

Edit: that last bit is going in the big book of campaign ideas, thanks for the inspiration!

[Nemesis]

Logicians seem to be the group I looking for to do the story around.

[Dolnikan]

A regiment such as the geno 52 would either have a large surplus of command staff or there would be a lot of pre-incubation selection going on. One set of ovaries easily contains enough egg cells for an entire new regiment, so harvesting them all would be quite a bit of work I think.

Completely legitimate genetics stuff would be hard to do, there is a lot of prejudice and many groups would disagree with even the slightest tampering not sanctioned by the Emperor Himself.

[Nemesis]

Archeotech is there any list of the stuff or just the list on lexicanum.

Isotropic crystal fuel rod - what would theses be like?

http://blightwheelminiatures.vendder.com/mantis-tank

Hrmm abit big for a robot but still alright design.

[MarcoSkoll]

Archeotech is there any list of the stuff or just the list on lexicanum.

Archaeotech can be almost anything. It's pretty much what it says on the tin:

Archaeo-: Ancient; earlier; preceding
Tech: shortened from the word technology.

Old technology can cover a very wide range. It might be the most advanced tech from the height of the Golden Age of Technology, but it might also be an iPod.

It just happens people tend to go for the "oh look, it's awesome super-tech" end of things. Shame, because I think there's something to be had from a Tech-Priest who's found a Gameboy which he'll defend with extreme violence. (If there's anything which will last until the 41st millennium, it's the original Gameboy brick.)

Isotropic crystal fuel rod - what would theses be like?

They're not really archaeotech, but the DH Inquisitor's Handbook has them as metre long rods of about 10 kilos, capable of powering a small settlement for a month or so. Basically, they're one hell of a battery.

[Nemesis]

Isotropic crystal fuel rod - was going to use it as a early robot power source for character before she can upgrade them? bad idea?

[Dolnikan]

I don't really think that there is any real reason to upgrade such a power source, it contains a lot of energy and is quite easy to obtain, compared to some of the other power sources.

[Nemesis]

plasma generators ? but reading and finding that plasma is like a almost lost technology

[Dolnikan]

Plasma generators have their uses but I would try not to build one into it, it is sure to be shot at and you don't want a 'lightly' protected plasma reactor close to you when the shooting starts, those things have a tendency to go really wrong. Another issue would be miniaturisation, most reactors in the background a a bit bigger than would fit on a robot.

[Nemesis]

Thanks Dolnikan

It's good i don't have to data mine theses forums are great.

Edit: is there any background data on anti gav engines ? like the ratio of engine compared to lift

[Draco Ferox]

Well, the jetbikes used by the custodians seem to have engines about the size of one of today's Jeep engines, and that's able to transport a single person plus weapon systems plus bodywork, so that's a starting point. Obviously, other races (eldar) have significantly advanced anti-grav technology, but the sort of stuff available to the imperium generally is land speeders for the astartes and/or a few very old, almost priceless examples from the dark age of technology.  I think that somewhere in the canon it states that the mechanicus don't actually know how to make the more powerful systems anymore, and so the only personal transports to use anti-grav are antiques.

There are also backpack sized grav-chutes, though these aren't powerful enough to fully resist the pull of gravity, and are almost exclusively limited to specialised armies such as the Elysians and the Phantine. An inquisitor could probably get hold of a few sets, but they would be very expensive.

I'd say that on average, a man-sized anti-grav engine would be about a metre square and six inches thick, and would be able to carry a person and all the paraphenalia which accompanies them.

[Dolnikan]

Antigrav technology is described with different rarities, some authors have it as nearly incomprehensible and rare while others make it appear even on civilian vehicles. This is often solved by saying that the technology is very vulnerable, for a civilian transport it is possible to build it, but to make it work in suboptimal conditions like the Imperial military often faces takes much more work and is very hard to do.

[Koval]

Antigrav technology is described with different rarities, some authors have it as nearly incomprehensible and rare while others make it appear even on civilian vehicles. This is often solved by saying that the technology is very vulnerable, for a civilian transport it is possible to build it, but to make it work in suboptimal conditions like the Imperial military often faces takes much more work and is very hard to do.

Grav-tech can't be that incomprehensible and rare if you consider the number of servo-skulls in the Imperium, or the ways in which starships and space stations must generate their own gravity to stop the crew floating around. I think whoever wrote that little nugget about incomprehensible tech dropped the ball.