So this is crazy.

But say I had a group of Mechanicus (who I think might be Hereteks of some kind to tell the truth) who I hired on as artificers for me and the other PCs.

And then I said "I want you to create a single suit of Light Artificer Power Armor"

How long, given the proper materials and all that, would it feasibly take to create this?

I do realize that would be a huge thing to ask for, even from maybe-Heretek master artificers.

So yeah. I will say they have a very nice facility on my ship to do this kinda thing, and money is no object.

Artificer quality? A couple of decades.

power armour is not something you mass-produce on a factory line

Well, yea. The discussion is about a single suit.

Alrighty, i'll just forget about Artificer, I figured that would be a longshot. Eh, gotta try anyway.

Alright, so if said heretek artificers were to have a go at just regular light power armor? Now I figure most suits floating around are old for a reason, but they still manufacture suits for milspec and some RTs (or Inquisitors), so that would surely take far less time, yeah?

Disclaimer: Despite my 40k fluffy know-how, I know about as much as the Imperium about power armor: its big, it deflects bullets, and its generally both heavy and decorated.

I threw together some homebrew Crafting rules over here which includes guestimated build times. For me I put regular quality Power Armor at about 6 months of focused work. I'm assuming 10 hour days 6-7 days a week is the "standard" work week even for a skilled laborer.

Best quality would jump it up to the Year+ time spot.

I really like that, i'll have to run it past my GM. With those rules, it would definitely take some time, as I figured. I can wait a couple years.

Labratorium component could be argued as a way to speed things up.

I really like that, i'll have to run it past my GM. With those rules, it would definitely take some time, as I figured. I can wait a couple years.

Put in the order, do a long, circular warp jump to end up back there and it'll be done!

A long, circular warp jump filled with endeavors that is. Why wait when there is money and power to be gained? I have a few endeavors lined up, of the sort where power armor wouldn't be necessary (nonsense, power armor is ALWAYS necessary)

On the subject of power armor though, what exactly IS the difference between Artificer Power Armor and the more typical power armor?

My understanding is that Artificer is more or less just another level of craftsmanship. Poor, common, best, artificer. Artificer might include near-archeotech or actual archeotech, have been crafted with unobtanium, the best works of grand masters few and far between, or be items with a long and glorious history that makes them more or less artefacts etc etc etc.

Weirdly, no. RAW it could receive the Lathe wrought upgrade, and thus be both Best Craftsmanship, AND 'artificer armor'.

For the last word though in armor, Black Crusade has rules for Human sized terminator armor. Just add Hexagrammatic wards, and Lathe Wrought.

"Alaska's liberation is immanent!"

Weirdly, no. RAW it could receive the Lathe wrought upgrade, and thus be both Best Craftsmanship, AND 'artificer armor'.

For the last word though in armor, Black Crusade has rules for Human sized terminator armor. Just add Hexagrammatic wards, and Lathe Wrought.

"Alaska's liberation is immanent!"

Dark Heresy's Daemonhunter sourcebook has human sized terminator armor as well.

Can toss in an Empyric Ward from Radical's Handbook and you get (limited) protection from direct warp exposure (not just filtered through powers) as well. Although, that's getting into tech-heresy.

The Inquisition does keep a lot of toys for itself, so I usually restrict my RT players from acquiring the best in anti-Psyker weaponry, or Terminator Armour, or Hexagrammatic Wards unless they put in the time to justify receiving it as a reward. Even then there's the assumption that they'll monitor how you're using their sacred equipment.

Umm, is there a reason to have them MAKE a brand new suit? Sure, you might be a fan of that "new suit" smell, but I would think you could shave some time off getting higher quality gear, even maybe the Artificer-level, if they didn't have to make every rivet of a new suit, too; they could just upgrade it. Also, while I'm sure one might enjoy the fluff of saying "this suit is the culmination of my life's work as a Techmarine/Forge Master", how long might a game of DW run, where the Techmarine makes a suit of Art Armor as you play, on the side, no less, as you still go on missions. Regardless, I think it could be done, if you can compensate the AdMech heretechs enough.

There are a couple reasons. First, buying a suit, that other people have worn, is for rich peasants. Second, I'm not keeping heretek artificers aboard so they can sit around and look all heretical and such. Bonus third reason: because why SHOULD I buy one when I have the wealth and power to demand that somebody make one that fits me perfectly?

There are a couple reasons. First, buying a suit, that other people have worn, is for rich peasants. Second, I'm not keeping heretek artificers aboard so they can sit around and look all heretical and such. Bonus third reason: because why SHOULD I buy one when I have the wealth and power to demand that somebody make one that fits me perfectly?

And there's someone who gets Rogue Trader.

This maybe for another thread, but whats so complex about making a powered suit of armor? (i remember a PA being made on a low tech world, either in DH book or RT book?)

also whats so heretical about having "Heretecks" making said suit? (is the act that a formal Ad-Mech is not making it)

and who would know that its a heretek built suit unless you have an eight pointed star design on the chest.

and there was a point that Power armor was mass produced and still maybe. (like Sisters of Battle)

also how hard would it be to take a enemy terminator suit (or one that's found on a battlefield) sized for a space-marine and add in a frame structure inside so that a human could run around in (according many pictures and art that GW pushes out this is what it looks like).

An if my particular Ad-Mech character makes a suit of armor or terminator armor does that make it a heretek device?

just wanted to throw this out here.

From my understanding (so take with grain of salt):

1) Complex devices in the Imperium are often built on otherwise low tech worlds - that's the best part about a system where nobody but the Ad-Mech incharge has to know what anything does. For a more extreme example, a Lunar Cruiser was built above a Feral/Tribal world with didn't even use firearms. I don't think anyone's going to take that to mean a feudal world can just build a cruiser without help. Consider it similar Henry Ford's factory. They could build a car just fine, even if 95%+ of the labor didn't understand the first thing about vehicular engineering.

2) Anything made by a Heretek is technically heretical, even if it conforms to prescribed patterns. An Ad-Mech (or supervised underlings) making a suit according to these same patterns would be non-heretical. An Ad-Mech who goes beyond the proscribed pattern by more than their rank and specialty would allow is also heretical.

3) Nobody, except maybe an Ad-Mech who's very familiar with the different patterns of Power Armor. And technically the star is just decoration - the armor itself could still be non-heretical. (and therefore could be purified if recovered.)

4) By most of the fluff, the Sister's power armor is the only one that is truly Mass-Produced, although astartes armor during the great crusade got close. There really isn't enough of a demand/allowance of it anywhere else in the Imperium to make Mass Production practical.

5) If your about 7'6", it wouldn't be very hard. Your limbs are similar lengths, just not as bulky. Bulk isn't hard to add. Of course, the Terminator Suit wouldn't move with you, because it only moves with Black-carapace fed interface information, but that's a different issue. If your a more standard human height, it becomes essentially impossible, as your knees, crotch, neck, elbows, etc. wouldn't even close to line up with the joints in the armor, and you can't just "cut it down" like you would clothes or even conventional armor because of the powered musculature systems.

6) Only if you don't make it within tolerances of proscribed patterns in accordance to your rank in the Mechanicum.

Reasonable questions.

What's so complicated?

Well if it wasn't complicated we'd probably have done it by now. I'd guess the most complicated part would be the receptors that translate your movement into the suit's movements that augment your strength. Computer and sensory stuff basically. $^*@ it up and at the worst you might have the suit break the guy's spine when he tries to turn to the left. Whatever you use for the motive systems, the suit's musculature, is probably pretty advanced too considering how miniaturized it has to be to fit between the armor layer and the guy wearing it and still be able to output enough power to augment a person's strength.

That's just a guess, I don't know what the lore for it is.

also whats so heretical about having "Heretecks" making said suit?

Well... They're hereteks so... Yea.

Hereteck tech presumably doesn't follow the established designs and design philosophy or incorporates non-human or proscribed technology. Would having it built by Heretecks make it automatically Heretech? Look at it this way. If you could build an I-Phone by hand, and make it exactly like an actual Apple I-Phone, would it still be illegal to own? Yep, you're breaking laws making it. The difference between Apple and the Ad Mech is that Apple will sue you to the 7 ^th generation, the Ad Mech will blast your city into dust with sky scraper mechs and tentacled robo-horrors.

Who would know that its a heretek built suit unless you have an eight pointed star design on the chest?

The eight pointed star thing is Chaos, which isn't necessarily the same as hereteck. As for who would know, it depends on the suit. Is it the same as an Ad-Mech built suit or is it something the Hereteck dreamed up and designed? How closely does it conform to the standard design? Mostly? Not very much? An Ad-Mech armorer might need to do some extensive work on the suit before he figures out it isn't an approved design, or a common armsman might be able to tell at a glance that it isn't right. Depends on the suit.

and there was a point that Power armor was mass produced and still maybe. (like Sisters of Battle)

My understanding is that the suits follow the same design but each suit is generally tailor made for an individual and when passed on to someone else has to be adjusted to the new individual.

Being inflexible, hard, jointed armor it doesn't have a lot of give and take the way a soft armor might so it does need to be tailored. I usually hand wave the adjustment assuming you've got a decent armorer. Power armor is too expensive to be worth mass producing for private sales. The market is just too small.

Also, how hard would it be to take a enemy terminator suit (or one that's found on a battlefield) sized for a space-marine and add in a frame structure inside so that a human could run around in (according many pictures and art that GW pushes out this is what it looks like).

Well I know the Inquisition has some terminator suits, but a SM is generally seven and a half feet tall, so I'm not sure that would work at all. A frame and waldoes might work for the hands and feet, but the knee and elbow joints would be somewhere around your shin and forearm for example assuming you're a foot and a half shorter. Oh actually I just remembered, the whole black carapace thing. The SM's have an implant that allows them to interface with their power armor, without the implant you have no control over the armor's motions (car without pedals and a steering wheel).

And if my particular Ad-Mech character makes a suit of armor or terminator armor does that make it a heretek device?

Not heretek, assuming it's made to the approved blueprint, but maybe illegal. Does he have whatever approval he needs to produce whatever the thing is? For generic stuff I don't worry too much, but for stuff that is “only for” a specific group, like the Godwyn bolter being only for the sisters, I say that it's something that's meant to be produced by a specific group of people at a specific location, and anyone else probably has to get special permission. Then again being part of a Rogue Trader group you've probably got the sway and wealth to get that permission if it's not too restricted access (the Terminator might fall into that category). And this is all assuming you care all that much about all that way out in the Kronus Expanse.