Summary
Skitarii are the augmented infantry of a forge world. They are not simple soldiers: they are war-priests of the lowest grade, men and women whose biological matter has been refined and partially replaced with machine, whose minds are bonded to the Lingua-Technis and to the orders of their officers via cranial implants.
Composition
- Vanguard — radium-armed front-line cohort. Their weapons emit background radiation that wears down enemies on extended deployment; the Vanguard themselves are radiation-hardened.
- Rangers — long-range galvanic-armed cohort. Optimised for reconnaissance, sniping, and overwatch; the precision of their weaponry is matched by augmetic sensorium suites.
- Sicarian (see Sicarian) — sit above the Skitarii proper; faster, deadlier, but doctrinally distinct.
Doctrine
A Skitarius does not return to the line of unaugmented humans after service: the augmetic alterations are permanent, the bonds to the cohort absolute. The Skitarii are the Cult’s standing answer to the Imperial Guard model: heavier, fewer, more loyal by mechanism rather than by oath.
Cross-references
- Mars — Forge Primus · originator pattern.
- Metalica — Forge of the Iron Choir · the largest current producer.
- Skitarii · term entry.