Grey Knights
From Lexicanum
Contents |
General
| Marine | Basic Data | Chapter Symbol | |
| Name: | Grey Knights | 
|
| Founding Legion | Unknown (gene-seed rumored to come from the Emperor himself) | ||
| Founding: | Closely guarded secret - shortly before the Second Founding | ||
| Current Chapter Master: | None, the hierarchy of the chapter consists of the Grand Masters | ||
| Homeworld: | Titan | ||
| Fortress-Monastery: | Unknown | Miniature | |
| Known Descendants: | None | 
| |
| Colours: | Steel-grey | ||
| Specialty: | Combating daemons and Chaos | ||
| Current Chapter Strength: | ~3000 | ||
The Grey Knights are the legendary Chapter 666 - and although nominally a Chapter of the Astartes, they are in fact part of the Inquisition's Ordo Malleus, serving as the ordo's elite military forces. They were founded in mystery somewhat before the Second Founding, and are rumoured to have the most pure of all gene-stock. Each member of the chapter undergoes a gruelling and torturous selection process, and even once inducted, their harsh training regime is without equal. In battle, they move as an army of silver ghosts, surrounded by awe, and equipped to the teeth to deal with the worst foes that Chaos can raise to meet them.
The Grey Knights hold a unique honour among the chapters of the Adeptus Astartes - in over ten thousand years of service, not a single one of their number has ever defected to Chaos.
Their armour is left unpainted, leaving the silver-grey of the ceramite exposed. This tradition is thought to have originated from their desire to lead lives of absolute purity. In contrast to this their armour is highly decorated, encrusted with protective symbols and engraved litanies5.
Origins
Just before the Second Founding, the Imperium was still reeling in shock from the recent galactic civil war, and very vulnerable. The Emperor ordered the creation of a 'secret chapter' of the Adeptus Astartes: chapter six-hundred-and-sixty-six. The gene-seed for this chapter is strongly suspected to have been taken from the Emperor directly. After their creation, the chapter was assigned to the Ordo Malleus as their Chamber Militant. The name of this chapter has become legend, and is feared throughout the galaxy by those it opposes, and is whispered in reverence by all those it protects: the Grey Knights.
Organization
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 available 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 erased1, to better 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. Once accepted into the chapter and undergoing the standard process to transform into a member of the Adeptus Astartes, the new Grey Knight is also implanted with silver purity wards under his skin which cover his entire body.
Homeworld
The fortress-monastery of the Grey Knights is based on Saturn's moon, Titan, and is carved entirely of basalt. Within the fortress hang pennants, banners and flags commemorating the victories and sacrifices made by the chapter in their war against the daemonic, but none other than the Grey Knights would recognise the names of these campaigns. The chapter operates in oppressive secrecy, beyond the knowledge of the Adeptus Terra and even the High Lords - as a part of the Ordo Malleus, the Grey Knights are answerable only to the ordo and the Emperor. Titan itself is surrounded by the rings of Saturn and multiple confidential Malleus-controlled Planets: Mimas, the prison and execution centre of the Ordo Malleus, Enceladus, home of the leaders of the Ordo Malleus and other influential Malleus Inquisitors, and several others worlds.
Beneath the fortress lies a cool, damp crypt. It is here that every Grey Knight wishes to finally reside, in the hallowed halls of the glorious dead. Almost every member of the chapter will have their body recovered and brought to this crypt beneath the Emperor's Temple. As a final tribute to those that have given their lives, the names of the dead are carved ceremoniously into a great basalt wall in the heart of the fortress. Among these names are some of the Imperium's greatest heroes who died in the most heroic circumstances imaginable. And like all other matters in regard to Grey Knights, they will remain almost completely unknown. This world is also home to the Librarium Daemonica, the Imperium's foremost repository of information relating to Daemons and Daemonology.
Hierarchy
The hierarchy of the Grey Knights is drastically different from Codex-adherent Chapters. A council of the Chapter's Grand Masters fulfill the role of Chapter Master.
The chapter is rumoured to be almost 3,000 strong (strength of a 'normal' chapter is 1000 men, give or take), and is organized along different lines:
Grand Master
The highest rank attainable by a Grey Knight. The Grey Knight chapter may have several Grand Masters at once, one of which is always a member of the Inner Conclave of the Inquisition. A master daemonslayer, the Grand Master wears Terminator armor and wields a force weapon in battle, and is also a powerful psyker. Few Daemons have been able to stand against a Grand Master and survive. The death of such a powerful defender of the Emperor's will is always mourned by the Grey Knights and the Ordo Malleus - though no common citizen will ever know of him.
Circa-equivalent rank of a Captain in other marines chapters.
Brother-Captain
Second highest ranking for a Grey knight, these hardened veterans are commonly found leading the Grey Knights Terminator Squads, but can also be force commanders.
Circa-equivalent rank of a Captain/Veteran Sergeant in other marines chapters.
Terminator
Like all Space Marine Chapters, the battle-brothers wearing Terminator armor are the elite of the Grey Knights. In addition to possessing greater armor, they also use psychic powers in combat. They also have the same special weapons options - incinerators and psycannons - as their power armor-wearing battle brothers, except all Terminators wield power weapons.
Circa-equivalent rank of a Veteran in other marines chapters.
Justicar
Justicars are the leaders of the Battle Brothers squads, tasked with raising the latest recruits to the Grey Knights - although it should be noted that such recruits may have been fighting the Emperor's foes for up to a century. This is the first step on the path to becoming a Grand Master.
Circa-equivalent rank of a Sergeant in other marines chapters.
Battle Brother
The standard Grey Knight trooper. Often, battle brothers will serve in standard squads that can teleport straight into the battle or in heavy support squads known as Purgation Squads (bearing the incinerator and psycannon, weapons lethal to the daemonic).
Combat Doctrine
The Grey Knights have a special preference for the use of teleportation, or more specifically the use of Deep Strike technology. There is a beautiful irony in using the origin of the enemy as a means of transport, and then proceeding to purge the surrounding area of their taint.
The initial detection of daemonic infestation is left to the Inquisitors of the Ordo Malleus, but the majority of combat is wisely left to the Chamber Militant.
The Grey Knights often teleport themselves directly into combat, as near to the target as possible, in order to ensure they arrive without any unnecessary losses. Any remaining hostile forces are left to be dealt with by additional Imperial troops, usually to whom squads of Grey Knights have been assigned as a specialist division.
Specialist Equipment
Nemesis Force Weapon
The characteristic weapon of the Grey Knights is the Nemesis force weapon. It can take the form of a halberd or sword. It is a powerful force weapon, housing a psi-matrix attuned to the unique psyche of its owner. In original versions, the haft incorporated a bolter weapon, similar to the Adeptus Custodes guardian spear; on newer models of the Grey Knights the bolter is a wrist-mounted storm bolter, incorporated into the armour itself. Like all force weapons, the power of the weapon itself directly corresponds to the psychic talent of the wielder; as the Grey Knights are some of the greatest psykers of the Imperium, the Nemesis is a truly devastating weapon.
Incinerator
Psycannon
Aegis Armour
The suits of power 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. The psychically charged nature of the armour allows its mere presence to induce intense terror and pain in any nearby daemons and warp spawn, also loosening their grip on the material realm.
As well as its psychic properties, the armour itself incorporates a pattern of Storm Bolter - a rare and powerful weapon which, when combined with the skill of the Knights themselves, can be used with equal effectiveness in both ranged and melee combat. When circumstances dictate, the weapon can be loaded with psychically-charged ammunition.
Liber Daemonicum
The Grey Knight Chapter's sacred book of battle rituals. Each Grey Knight enters battle with a copy of the book displayed in a beautifully decorated ceramite case fastened to his breastplate or hanging from a chain around his neck.
Dreadnoughts
Like other Space Marine Chapters, mortally wounded Grey Knights are sometimes placed within the massive battle armor known as a Dreadnought. Unlike other Chapters, however, Grey Knights do not look upon this extension of their life as an honour - all Grey Knights desire to be brought to the crypts underneath the Temple of the Emperor on Titan and laid to rest with their brothers over continuing life inside a machine. As such, Grey Knight Dreadnoughts are extremely rare.
Chapter Fleet
Like other Space Marine chapters, the Grey Knights' primary mode of transportation is the strike cruiser class of ship that is exclusive to the chapters of the Adeptus Astartes. The Grey Knights' ships however are specially modified in several ways. One is the hexagrammic and anti-daemonic wards that are built into the entire ship from bridge to landing struts and every bulkhead in between, similar to those that are placed under the skin of the Grey Knights themselves that lend the ship added protection from the forces of Chaos. Also, the Grey Knights' strike cruisers are equipped with significantly more advanced armour than the ships of other chapters. This is to allow them to close with more powerful foes and reach their destination safely since the Grey Knights have to fight more powerful enemies than the standard Adeptus Astartes chapters. Finally, the landing and drop pod bays are enlarged to be able to deploy larger numbers of marines faster.
The modifications to their ships are made possible by two factors. The first is their fortress monastery's location in the rings of Saturn, its close proximity to Mars, the greatest forge world in the Imperium of Man, allowing access to technology that was forgotten or is impossible to replicate anywhere else in the Imperium (this could also explain the high quality of all Grey Knights equipment). The other reason is the resources that the Ordo Malleus gives the Grey Knights due to their close working relationship as the Ordo's Chamber Militant.
Heroes of the Chapter
- Grand Master Mandulis
- Grand Master Mortis
- Grand Master Tencendur
- Chaplain Durendin
- Brother-Captain Pelega
- Brother-Captain Aurellian
- Brother-Captain Stern
- Brother-Captain Karl Ruben
- Justicar Alaric
- Justicar Tancred
- Justicar Santoro
- Justicar Genhain
Campaigns
First War for Armageddon
See main article: First War for Armageddon
A Terminator company held back the last large-scale attack of Chaos warriors but with heavy losses. Captain Aurellian banished the Daemon Prince Angron back into the Warp for one hundred years. Altogether, a bodyguard of over a dozen powerful bloodthirsters and countless other minor daemons of Khorne were destroyed by the Grey Knights. Only about a dozen Grey Knights survived the conflict, but the daemonic army was completely destroyed.
Other Campaigns
- Thule Decimation of 728.M403.
- Purged the Traitor Chapter Relictors and destroyed their Chapter Fortress.
- Prevented the invasion of Godjera.
- Fall of the devoted Inquisitor Gholic Ren-Sar Valinov.
- A greater Daemon prince, Ghargatuloth, The Prince of a Thousand Faces and hordes of lesser daemons were discovered on Khorion IX. One-thousand years later the same greater daemon was hunted down on the Trail of St. Evisser by the Grey Knights.
- Luxor Rebellion crushed.
Images
 |
 early Grey Knight in Terminator armour |
 early Grey Knight Terminator Captain |
Sources and references
- 1:Grey Knights (Novel) by Ben counter, page 67
- 2:Codex: Daemonhunters
- 3:White Dwarf 109, Terminator Squads
- 4:Index Astartes - Purge the Unclean; White Dwarf Issue 260 (Australian Edition)
- 5:John Blanche, www.tearsofenvy.com
Related Articles
| Ordo Malleus Army List | |
| HQ | Grey Knights Grand Master • Brother-Captain • Inquisitor Lord |
|---|---|
| Elites | Callidus Assassin • Culexus Assassin • Death Cult Assassin • Eversor Assassin • Daemonhost • Inquisitor • Grey Knights Terminator Squad • Vindicare Assassin |
| Troops | Grey Knights • Inquisitorial Storm Troopers Seconded Units: IG Armoured Fist Squad • IG Infantry Platoon • SM Tactical Squad • SM Scout Squad |
| Fast Attack | Grey Knight Teleport Squad Seconded Units: IG Rough Rider • IG Sentinel Squadron • SM Assault Squad • SM Bike Squad • SM Land Speeder Squadron |
| Heavy Support | Grey Knights Dreadnought • Grey Knights Land Raider • Grey Knights Land Raider Crusader • Grey Knights Purgation Squad • Orbital Strike Seconded Units: IG Leman Russ • SM Devastators • SM Dreadnought • SM Predator |
| Transport | Rhino • Chimera • Land Raider |
