I was looking through the Creatures Anathema book for villain ideas for a campaign I'm writing when I stumbled across the False-Men of Nomen Ryne. The concept really intrigued me, and I thought it would be a great way for the Tech-Priest in my campaign to get a little RP love. Anyway, reading the description, as well as the gear loadout, I noticed that cogitators were mentioned. The description says that Nomen Ryne may or may not have created the Unholy Thirteenth Pattern of Cogitation, a way to construct cogitator cores in a fashion considered heresy. The description implies, to me, at least, that Nomen Ryne is a big proponent of this Thirteenth Pattern. As such, I'm inclined to believe that the False-Men carry cogitators constructed based on this unholy pattern. I figure this'll be a good opportunity to exercise some Tech Use, Forbidden Lore (Adeptus Mechanicus), or maybe some other Lore Tests to discern that A) the cogitator is not of one of the twelve standard patterns, and possibly B) that the cogitator is fashion from the Unholy Thirteenth Pattern.

I can find no mention of cogitators in the core rulebook, save for in the talent Rite of Pure Thought, in which a tech-priest removes the right half of his or her brain and replaces it with a cogitator, and that Cortex Implants perform the functions of a cogitator, not that it explains what those functions are. Now, should anyone in my group ever decide to take this talent, it won't be something I'll let them take whenever they have free time, but rather in a controlled medical environment. I do feel as though they should also be required to obtain a cogitator for this purpose. I have to wonder, then, what kinds of cogitators are available. Does anyone know what the original Twelve Patterns are? I think this would be a good opportunity for some customization, if, beyond making you purely logical, cogitators of different patterns granted unique abilities (e.g. cogitators that focus on certain types of processing), or each came with their own skill/characteristic enhancements or detriments. If so, I would would certainly be interested in knowing more about the Thirteenth Pattern. I figure installing it should come with Corruption Points, if not some Insanity Points, and maybe a mental defect, but to balance that, should have some sort of significant enticement for using it. After all, Nomen Ryne, or someone, went through the trouble of creating a new pattern and is propagating its use; it must offer some benefit over the other twelve patterns, right?

Beyond that, however, how should cogitator use function? Should they be treated as cortex implants and available to all? Or should they only be available to Tech-Priests? If they're only for Tech-Priests, should they only be available when taking the Rite of Pure Thought (RoPT) talent? Can you replace the left half of your brain instead of the right half, gaining no logic benefits, as in RoPT, but conferring the other advantages of your selected cogitator pattern? Or am I going about this all wrong?

I fully intend on requiring my tech priest to supply the cogitator used for RoPT, or for any other cogitator installation he might want. If he fails to discern the true nature of the cogitator obtained from a False-Man, the consequences should be quite interesting. I'd love to be able to say what happens when he has it installed. If he does figure it out, I want to be able to tell him what his character knows of the risks of using it, as well a few juicy reasons to take the plunge anyway.

What do you guys think?

Cogitators are listed as equipment in the Inquisitors Handbook. If you are reading this, you are sitting in from of a cogitator now. Basically, it's just a computer... albeit one with brass keys and gargoyles. I don't know anything about different patterns, but I expect they represent different ways of building the CPU, whether with vacuum tubes, nano-circuits, bio-chips or some tech we haven't even thought of.

Part of my brain keeps suggesting that the Unholy 13th Pattern probably runs DOS.

i think the 13 pattern is proberly slightly better/worse, but much better at AI than the usual cognicators and thus is bad/unholy, and support the false men

Thanks. The cogitator of the False-Men is listed as a personal cogitator, which, based on what you've told me, sounds like it's just a handheld computer or calculator of some kind. Honestly, that kind of bums me out; I'd prefer to think of it as the cogitation unit which did ran the AI. I think I'll take a little creative license and treat it that way. One of my friends has been reading a lot of the 40k books recently, especially the ones on the Mechanicus. Maybe there's something mentioned outside of DH which talks about cogitators and hopefully describes how Tech-Priests go about choosing them and installing them in their heads.

basicly they are computers and as you might know computers can be in just about every shape, you could if you wish fit a mordern computer into a skull if you could convince a computer fabricator to fashion a motherboard in the shape of the inside of the skull.

A portable cogitator would be like a laptop.

THe unholy cogitators remind me of the grey devices mentioned in the IH.

The false men are a lesser form of artificial intelligence, disturbing, but not as dangerous as a full blown AI.

To make some assumptions: a hardwired "personal" cogitator ist just that. A computer with limited capabilities, not able to host an AI.

The 12 patterns of cogitators are probably just different designs categorized in the dogma of the mechanicus. Like synchronous/asynchronous processors, motherboard layouts, different sizes, etc. Even components of different patterns may be able to work with each other.

The 13th pattern is probably not a consistent group of technologies but a class of patterns that is forbidden - in effect all technology that is constructed with the goal to simulate a neural network. With the exclusion of xenos tech, which is abominable in all cases. So, no matter if a heretek tries to construct a processor or a crystal matrix or whatever thingsawhosis they can come up with - the admech will chuck the "13th pattern" on it and fire up the pyre.

Musings or tossing ideas at a dartboard
13th pattern...hey the number is even unlucky. Possible that this pattern uses Bio mancy of a sort such as brain parts (from a new dead person).
Or possibly holds the identity of the person into the computer part.

Yes even that this pattern may allow for demonic possession of the PC a ghost in the machine if you will. This last idea would be more akin to the theory that it’s a physical pattern, the way the hardware is laid out that may lead to possession of the Adept.

Im not sure if this helps or not, but if you look at our history in the Dark Ages and then toss in some modern tools you get a nasty idea for Heresy