Servitor

From Lexicanum

Servitors are mindless drones of flesh and metal used to carry out simple, manual tasks. While many are vat-grown, often a criminal, particularly one who has offended the Cult Mechanicus, will be sentenced to Servitude Imperpituis and will be handed over to the tech-priests to be mind wiped, reprogrammed and cybernetically-enhanced to serve some specific, rudimentary function. Servitors are mindless, possessing only the most basic of instincts. Their brains are programmed to perform only the task they were designed for. The altered and fragmented brain of a servitor functions poorly unless constantly supervised. Most will go into a state of mindlock, babbling incoherent nonsense as the servitor tries to assert some form of awareness.⁵

Servitors are created by the Adeptus Mechanicus, and supplied to departments of the Adeptus Terra such as the Administratum, and to the Inquisition. Servitors make up the vast bulk of the population of Mars and other forge worlds, where they fulfill the role of workers.¹

There are many types of servitor, each designed for a certain task. Typical Servitors are Technomats which operate and service machines, Holomats which act as holographic recordists, Lexomats which are like human computers with tremendous calculating powers, and Drones which are living robots - stupid and essentially mindless slaves ideal for menial work and little else.²

Servitors are often used to carry out the more dangerous or labourous duties, such as heavy mining. They also accompany Techpriest Enginseers on the battlefield with the Imperial Guard, as well as Space Marine Techmarines. These types aid in the repair of vehicles or sometimes carry large and dangerous weapons such as Plasma Cannons. For both forces, the servitors are practically identical cybernetically, although Space Marine servitors of some chapters are created from failed Marine initiates. Perhaps the most feared of all the Servitors are the Praetorian Servitors, a class of heavily armed and armoured Servitor deployed by the Adeptus Mechanicus to guard the Techpriests, and temples dedicated to the Machine God.

Common Servitor Classes

In game terms, there are three important types of Servitor:⁴

Technical servitors are a common sight in the Imperium, they are not really intended for combat but are very useful in assisting battlefield operations. These are referred to as mono-tasks, being physically changed and augmented to perform a specific function. Commonly they are used as load lifters and cranes, but more exotic mono-tasks include the heavy weapon mount and the mobile weapons rack. These are the standard servitors that accompany a Techpriest.

Combat servitors are modified mono-task lifters intended to fight in close combat, and they are normally equipped with some form of Power Fist or sword in place of their lifter arms.

Gun servitors are intended to provide fire support for a Techpriest as he works, and often they will have whole limbs replaced with Implant Weapons. Many will have ammunition hoppers mounted somewhere on their bodies so they can lay down continuous curtains of fire without needing to reload.

Servitors
Technical Servitor with arm implants that function as vices	Gun Servitor armed with an implanted Heavy Bolter	Combat Servitor with an electro-flail and a small chainsword