Warhammer 40,000 is filled to the brim with a wide variety of different factions. While many factions are Xenos, the various forms of aliens that occupy the universe, or are a Chaos faction, under the influence of the notorious Chaos Gods, a significant amount of the factions in Warhammer 40K stem from the Imperium of Man. As the name would suggest, the Imperium is the overarching system of humanity and is home to a plethora of varied human factions such as the iconic Space Marines, or the Sisters of Battle.
One of the most noteworthy factions of the Imperium is the Imperial Knights. While Warhammer is often known for massive armies made up of countless soldiers, the Imperial Knights are a faction that is made up of a small number of giant robots.
So today, we’re going to examine the grandiose Imperial Knights and explore ten facts that you likely didn’t know about them!
10 Noble Pilots
Unlike the majority of factions in Warhammer 40K that are made up of sizable militaries, the Imperial Knights are made up of numerous noble houses. These nobles are able to directly track their lineage thousands of years back, directly to the earth. Due to their noble lineage, the Imperial Knights tend to have a much more traditionally royal culture that is centered around their massive mechanical suits.
9 A System Of Houses
The nobles of the Imperial Knights are broken up into numerous distinct houses. While these houses range in their sizes, prevalence, and influence, a house is most often characterized by the feats that it performed in the past in notable battles and wars.
While some of these houses may be rivals with their fellow houses, at their core, they are loyal to the Imperium and their allies, the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Some of the most notable houses in the Imperium have such major influence that they govern and rule over entire planets!
8 Freeblade Knights
Despite a major part of the Imperial Knights is their allegiances and their respective houses, there are also Imperial Knights who serve a function more reminiscent of a sellsword.
Freeblades serve whom they choose to, any Knight may choose to become a Freeblade, though by doing so, they are no longer considered a member of their house. Despite not being a part of a house, Freeblades are still knights first and foremost and are driven by honor, often aligning themselves with those in need of help.
7 The Ritual Of Becoming
One of the most integral parts of any Imperial Knight’s life is the ritual of becoming. In this ritual, a noble is augmented and bonded to their machine, allowing it to be piloted with the utmost precision. Rather than pilot a Knight in a traditional mechanical manner, this ritual is performed so that the pilot and machine can function as one, the pilot and machine sharing sight and feeling while the Knight is being piloted.
These rituals allow Knights to be piloted with the same degree of finesse as an Eldar Wraithknight.
6 Side Effects Of The Ritual
The Ritual of Becoming is not a simple endeavor, and it can be quite taxing on a noble’s psyche. It is said that more than a tenth of potential pilots don’t make it through the ritual, either suffering irreparable brain damage or even death.
Aside from these dangers, the ritual can have lasting side effects on both the pilot and the Knight they are bonding with. Any strong emotions such as fear or rage that were felt during the ritual can become more prominent within the pilot, even lingering within the knight itself.
5 Knight Worlds
Warhammer 40K’s universe is absolutely immense, containing countless planets that are occupied by the various factions within the game. As one may expect, Knight Worlds are planets that serve as the homeworlds of Imperial Knights.
Feudal and possessing cultures akin to that of medieval Europe, these planets are ruled by the various houses of the Imperial Knights, with some of the most noteworthy houses often having their own whole planets. Many Knight worlds are quite old, and are among the first planets that were settled by humanity.
4 Sanctuaries
Sanctuaries are among the most important locations that can be found on any Knight World. These mammoth structures are among the oldest on their respective planets, constructed within the age of technology.
The primary purposes of these sanctuaries are to store a plethora of Knights while they aren’t in use, and are where nobles undergo their integral Ritual of Becoming.
3 Predating The Emperor
The formation of the Imperial Knights within the lore of Warhammer 40K spans back farther than the Emperor and the Imperium itself.
In the midst of the “Age of Technology” that predates the Imperium, many had set out into the uncharted reaches of space. Many of the individuals who’d set out at this time in fact founded the first of the previously mentioned Knight Worlds, forming many of the oldest still present houses of the Imperial Knights.
2 Partners With Mechanicus
Though the Imperial Knights are an integral part of the Imperium, they are unquestionably most closely tied to the Adeptus Mechanicus. First and foremost, the Imperial Knights would not exist if not for the Adeptus Mechanicus, as the Mechanicus are responsible for creating their robotic suits.
While nearly every faction within the Imperium fights in the name of the Emperor, the Imperial Knights swear oaths not only to the Emperor but to the Adpetus Mechanicus as well.
1 Chaos Knights And Their Pilots
Like the iconic Space Marines, there are former Imperial Knights that have become traitors, falling to Chaos. Unlike many of the marines and cultists of chaos who still possess a human form, While the Imperial Knights are humans that pilot these giant robotic suits, the pilots of Chaos Knights have lost a physical form, their spirits possessing the grotesquely altered knights.
