History VideoGame / Warhammer40000Mechanicus

* UnwinnableByDesign: After letting you fight your way through a bunch of weak mooks, the tutorial mission ends with your two low-level Tech Priests and a few servitors, all of them possibly half-dead already, going up against Lord Agrolekh, one of the game's bosses. The guy has heavy armor, tons of hitpoints, an enormous movement range and enough attack power to OneHitKill almost everything you have. This trope is deliberately invoked to teach you a lesson about a) how losing a mission doesn't mean losing the game, and b) how utterly [[CrapsackWorld shitty]] the 40K universe is. You actually ''can'' beat Agrolekh with the right tactic, but unfortunately, the game doesn't recognize this aside from unlocking the boss achievement. The debriefing will still talk about the mission as if you got your arse kicked, and you still have to hunt down Agrolekh for real later on.

* '''Magos Dominus Reditus''': Faustinius' unusually chatty Servo-Skull, made from the skull of the titular Magos Dominus, and who might just be said Magos Dominus.

An expansion, ''Heretek'', released in late July, 2019. In addition to new maps and new units for you to command, the expansion adds a new story involving a Xenarite (heretical Tech Priests obsessed with hording and studying Xenos technology) uprising on your own ship.

* MinionMaster: Secutor Tech-Priests focus their skills on enhancing and commanding your Troops on the battlefield, from simple buffs and a few free Canticles to letting them attack out of turn order or even deploying them early for a single CP. The discipline tends to be DifficultButAwesome thanks to relying entirely upon having enough troops within range or on deck to make the CP cost worth it.

* LegendFadesToMyth: Briefly touched on when Videx quotes a scripture urging the cohort not to delve too deeply into Necron mysteries, lest they repeat the disaster that was the Men of Iron. When Tiresus asks Videx what the "Men of Iron" are, Videx admits that he isn't sure, as the quoted scripture was written many millennia ago and no other references to the Men of Iron can be found in his databank[[note]]In WH40K Lore, the Men of Iron were intelligent robots that [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters turned against humanity]] and plunged the galaxy into a conflict so destructive that in the aftermath, artificial intelligence was completely banned, leading to the Adeptus Mechanicus viewing AI as abominable.[[/note]].

* LegendFadesToMyth: Briefly touched on when Videx quotes a scripture urging the cohort not to delve too deeply into Necron mysteries, lest they repeat the disaster that was the Men of Iron. When Tiresus asks Videx what the "Men of Iron" are, Videx admits that he isn't sure, as the quoted scripture was written many millennia ago and no other references to the Men of Iron can be found in his databank.

* BonusBoss: [[spoiler: The Sufferer, a [[CapturedSuperEntity C'tan shard]] that can only be fought by going through the seven secret missions given by Xenobiologist Tiresus. These missions can only be accessed if the player activates the noosphere overlay on the mission select screen, outside of battle.]]
** The ''Heretek'' DLC also gives us Epsilus Dammek-Yoth, the leader of traitorous tech-priests aboard your ship.

* GuideDangIt: Did you know that Tiresus[[note]]the guy who sometimes chimes in when Necron glyphs need translating[[/note]] offers his own set of missions that eventually lead to a BonusBoss? No? Don't worry, you're far from the only one. [[spoiler:His QuestGiver portrait appears only when you activate Noosphere Mode in the mission selection screen by holding the spacebar, which you don't know about without looking at the keymapping menu, and has no use outside of combat, so you have no reason whatsoever to ever do this on your own volition.]]

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: As is usual of the Mechanicus. Most visible with Videx' missions. He'll have you broadcast religious chants, spread incense, etc... You wouldn't think going around spreading smoke around the tomb would hinder the necrons. Yet it does.

** If you primarily support Videx, [[spoiler:Faustinius decides that the Necrons and their tech are too much of a threat to let remain, and resolve to arrange an Exterinatus for Silva Tenebris. Enraged at the loss of so much Xenos tech, Scaevola flees the ship for a Xenarite base, vowing revenge.]]

* RobotBuddy: Every Tech-Priest is accompanied by a servo-skull, who provide them with a bevy of useful functions on the battlefield, which can be further upgraded according to their owners skill progression. Basic skulls can draw Cognition from any source on the battlefield or scan Necrons for data, but they can be used to [[SupportPartyMember improve performance]], [[AttackDrone chip away at targets]], [[CombatMedic enact repairs]] and more. These little guys are half the reason your Tech-Priests are so damn important.

* HealingFactor: An early Enginseer skill lets the Tech Priest regenerate one hitpoint per round no questions asked. Doesn't sound like much but goes a long way towards improving suvivability.

''Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus'' is a TurnBasedTactics game developed by Bulwark Studios and published by Kasedo Games. The game was written by Black Library author Ben Counter, and was released on PC November 15th 2018, and is available for purchase [[https://store.steampowered.com/app/673880/Warhammer_40000_Mechanicus/ on Steam]].

''Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus'' is a TurnBasedTactics game developed by Bulwark Studios and published by Kasedo Games. The game was written by Black Library author Ben Counter, and was released on PC November 15th 2018, and can be purchased [[https://store.steampowered.com/app/673880/Warhammer_40000_Mechanicus/ on Steam]].

* AnAxeToGrind: Power axes are the go-to melee weapons of the Tech-Priests.

* GunsAkimbo: Tech-Priests don't actually hold their guns; instead, they mount them via Doc-Oc style robot limbs, allowing them to dual wield anything ranging from peashooters to BFG[=s=] and still have carrying space for AnAxeToGrind.

** '''Xenarite:''' Introduced in the ''Heretek'' expansion, xenarites are radicals who dabble in alien technology, utilizing augments derived from reverse-engineered necron devices. Xenarites are pure damage-dealers with plenty of hit points, built around dealing lots of critical hits ([[CriticalStatusBuff with their crit chance increasing as they lose health]]).

* StatusEffects: Downplayed but still present. The only SSE you can inflict on the Necrons is Burning to deal 2 points of damage per turn for a few turns on top of the flamer's base damage. Necron scarabs have acidic melee attacks that have the same effect, and the Immortals' rare Tesla Carbines inflict a "reduced movement" debuff on anything they hit.
** With heretekal Xenarite weapons installed, you can inflict Acid and Reduced Movement yourself.

* TimedMission: The whole game is one, and in two layers, to boot. On the tactical level, the longer you take exploring and fighting in any given tomb, more and more necrons awaken to oppose you. Maxing out this tomb awakening gauge makes the mission a whole lot harder but not impossible to beat. The strategic layer, however, is a hard counter that advances depending on how well you perform on the tactical layer, with every level of tomb awakening translating to 1% of the entire planet's awakening. The strategic gauge hitting 100% automatically locks out all other missions except the FinalBoss. This is particularly frustrating for completionists because it's virtually impossible to 1) explore every room on the tactical maps lest you lose too much time and 2) play all 46 missions (and even more with the ''Heretek'' DLC) in any one campaign. Good players manage ~30 missions before the game ends.

* WhamEpisode: The tutorial serves as one. After clearing out a few easy rooms, your cohort bumps into one of the Necron Overlords guarding the tombs - and it speaks to the team in Low Gothic, aka ''English'', immediately freaking out both the team and the player (likely because the Ad-Mechs have thus far being speaking in robotic muffles and static). This immediately establishes the Necron threat as much more than an AlienInvasion, and also reveals that more intelligent Necrons can serve as both powerful units [[ItCanThink and dangerously intelligent adversaries.]]
-> '''Agrohlek:''' ''I wake with the turning of aeons. Stars yet burn. Life yet blossoms. Is it truly time?

* ZergRush: Necron Flayed Ones can neither take nor deal a lot of damage, but they tend to come in large packs that converge on whoever hit one of them last. While this does make them highly exploitable, it can also make them very dangerous if you don't know how to handle them properly.

* AndManGrewProud: Briefly touched on when Videx quotes a scripture urging the cohort not to delve too deeply into Necron mysteries, lest they repeat the disaster that was the Men of Iron. When Tiresus asks Videx what the "Men of Iron" are, Videx admits that he isn't sure, as the quoted scripture was written many millennia ago and no other references to the Men of Iron can be found in his databank.

** The devs had some fun with this while coming up with achievement names: Vivisected Visier, Celestial Cartography Catastrophe, Competent Cohort, Radium Ready, and a few more.

* FlunkyBoss: Lord Ekropis and Lord Ubjao both possess the "Endless Legions" special ability, which summons reinforcements every turn they're alive. Ekropis summons individual necron troops from caskets, while Ubjao summons flayed ones in packs of two or three. Ubjao is also actively strengthened by his flunkies - his "Blood Protocol" passive increases his max HP by 4 points every time a flayed one is killed for the first time.

* LargeAndInCharge: Overlord Szaregon, the FinalBoss, is significantly taller than any of the other bosses and regular Necron units, possibly even taller than Agrolekh, who's mounted on a hovering Destroyer chassis.

** The three options for room events are typically represented by alliterative words (Determine/Defy/Divert, Follow/Foray/Flame, etc). If they aren't alliterative, they usually rhyme instead (Defiance/Compliance/Science).
** The devs had some fun with this while coming up with achievement names: Vivisected Visier, Celestial Cartography Catastrophe, Competent Cohort, Radium Ready, and a few more.

** The three options for room events are typically represented by alliterative words (Determine/Defy/Divert, etc). If they aren't alliterative, they usually rhyme instead (Defiance/Compliance/Science).
** The devs had some fun with this while coming up with achievement names: Vivisected Visier, Celestial Cartography Catastrophe, Competent Cohort, Radium Ready, and a few more.

* AliensSpeakingEnglish: [[ExaggeratedTrope Exagerated]] [[PlayingWithATrope in a sense.]] The Necron characters' voice lines are in English, but the human character's are not, [[SpeakingSimlish but are instead in the chosen language of the Adeptus Mechanicus, Cant Mechanicus.]] Both group's text boxes are in English though. However, it is lampshaded by ingame characters as they mention the Necrons broadcast in an omnilingual manner, which is why it sounds like English.

* '''Lector-Dogmatix Videx''': The Id to Scaevola's Superego. Videx' cybernetic actually enhances his emotions. He is TheFundamentalist, an ardent adherent to the Mechanicus' faith, quick to quote the scriptures and always on the eye for Heresy. Videx' role is to fight the corrupting nature of the Necron machines, and uphold the faith and morale of the crew.

* '''Prime Hermeticon Caprix''': An advisor specializing in hunting high priority targets - in this case the Necron leadership.

* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: The devs had some fun with this while coming up with achievement names: Vivisected Visier, Celestial Cartography Catastrophe, Competent Cohort, Radium Ready, and a few more.

** As for the consequences of succumbing to the overly logical thought of a machine mind, one [[ItsAllAboutMe need]] [[WeHaveReserves look]] [[RoboSpeak no]] [[ForScience further]] than Scaevola.

Set in the ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' universe, the player commands the crew of the Ark Mechanicus Starship "Caestus Metalican", which has uncovered the Necron Tomb World of Silva Tenebris. Led by Magos Dominus Faustinius and his (somewhat quirky) retinue of Tech-Priests, the player is tasked with leading the Adeptus Mechanicus' effort to explore the tomb world. Making matters more pressing is the fact that the Necrons are awakening, and the Great Rift cuts any hope of further reinforcement. While the Skitarii hold perimeter against the ever increasing Necron forces, it's up to a small squad of Faustinius' Tech-Priests to perform surgical missions to secure the Mechanicus' victory before the Necron forces fully awaken. Adding yet more complication, Faustinius' advisors all have their own agendas and goals, and it's up to the player to decide whose advice to follow.

--->'''Khepra:''' Most tech-priests do not care about Skitarii lives.\\
'''Faustinius:''' Other tech-priests are not in command here. I am.

* BadassCrew: Your Tech-Priests are this, and become even better as they get upgraded. Technically one can unlock all skill trees, but that's horribly counter productive.

* BarrierChangeBoss: Void Admiral Argolekh's special ability "Nightmare Shroud", which shifts him between 5-point physical armor and 5-point energy armor each turn.

** Curatio mechadendrites heal the user or an ally within one space for 2-6 hp (depending on tier), with a cooldown of 3 turns and no CP cost. While not as powerful as real Curatio Claws on a properly-equipped Enginseer, giving them to all your priests still drastically improves the survivability of the entire team (and reduces post-mission repairs, which are expensive!) at the "cost" of filling a slot with few other standout choices.

** Even if you don't use the Arc Scourge, the simple fact is that the Heretek DLC introduces a set of missions that don't take place in the Necron tombs and thus don't increase the Necron awakening percentage when completed (even if you explore the whole level, which is normally a no-no). This means that all the upgrades and, more importantly, Blackstone you acquire during it are essentially free, letting you upgrade your troops and Tech-Priests without the traditional disadvantage of the ticking time bomb.

* GiantMook: Unlike your servitors and Skitarii, Kastelan robots are at least twice as tall as your tech-priests and several times more massive. So massive, in fact, that they routinely block the path forward with their bulk if you aren't careful with their positioning. Kataphron battle servitors are just as bulky, but not as tall.

** Tech-Priests in the Dominus discipline are all about dishing out ranged death, increasing the range and power of their firearms until they're blasting Necrons off their feet from well beyond retaliation range. However, unlike Secutors, they don't get many boosts to their HP from class gear and their defenses are are based on repelling energy attacks, leaving them quite vulnerable to physical damage. Even more once they get their final skill, which incentives running a Dominus priest with no melee weapon.

* HorrifyingTheHorror: Void Admiral Agrolekh, who is a Destroyer type and therefore rather monstrous even by Necron standards, finds tech-priests just as horrific as the Imperium finds Necrons.
-->'''Agrolekh:''' ''What is this? Flesh melded with steel... a mockery of both! Their every footstep a blasphemy! What manner of galaxy have I awakened to?!''

* HunterOfMonsters: Caprix's job. Most of her speech is all about hunting and prey and peppered with hunting terms. She only appears when there's a mission to take down a Necron boss, and upon finishing such mission, you won't even have time to catch your breath before she's plotting her next big "hunt".

** For the Caestus Metalican, the game takes place after the Fall of Cadia, the Great Rift is making warp travel near-impossible, and the Cult Mechanicus has even more fires then usual to put out, so Faustinius and his cohort are on their own dealing with Silva Tenebris. Oh yeah, and the entire planet is going to wake up and unleash a metric bangton of Necrons upon the galaxy in a couple of days. [[CrapsackWorld Just another day in the 42nd millennium]].

** Skitarii Vanguards. They aren't flashy at all, but they have impressive range and excellent Physical damage; a volley of fire from even one Vanguard will seriously hurt most Necrons, and when deploying Canticles and other methods of boosting their output and armor penetration, they can focus down virtually any Necron that crosses their path with lethal efficiency. As the cherry on the cake, they never need to worry about CP at all, other than the 2-point cost to deploy them, and at Level 2 they can **fire twice**.

** Curatio Claws heal 2 points of health on the user or an ally within one space, with a cooldown of 3 turns and no CP cost. While best used by a properly-equipped Enginseer, giving it to your other units still drastically improves the survivability of the entire team at the "cost" of filling a slot with few other standout choices.

** Even if you don't use the Arc Scourge, the simple fact is that the Heretek DLC introduces a set of missions that don't take place in the Necron tombs and thus don't increase the Necron awakening percentage when completed. This means that all the upgrades and, more importantly, Blackstone you acquire during it are essentially free, letting you upgrade your troops and Tech-Priests without the traditional disadvantage of the ticking time bomb.
* CannonFodder: The game encourages this approach with your units from the Troops category. While useful in their roles, they are more expendable and less effective than your tech-priests, so it's always preferable to sacrifice Troops over your tech-priests. However, no other Troop choice exemplifies this as much as Servitors - they cost nothing to deploy and as a result you waste no resources if you lose them, they have few useful skills, and they give you Cognition Points when enemies strike them, all of which makes them perfect expendable meatshields.

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Faustinius and Khepra chide Scaevola for her overenthusiasm, pointing out that the Tech-Priests are humans, not robots or servitors. Scaevola's response is to admit that they're right - deceased Mechanicus members are valuable research specimens, too! Faustinius and Khepra are less than amused.

'''Scaevola:''' ''Error:'' Damn not found.