Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

-What is like in a loyalist dreadnaught?

-What is like in a chaos dreadnaught?

Gooey.

Basically the coffin is a protein solution that suspends and feeds the body inside. This attaches to the rest of the dreadnought body, which is basically upilinks and machinery.

i bet its worse with chaos

Scorpionov wrote:i bet its worse with chaos

Yes, imperial dreadnoughts are put in stasis between battles, sleeping away the boardem. Chaos dreadnoughts don't have this and their sensory systems are shut down, imagine being paralysed, blind deaf and dumb, while being conscious for decades at a time.

I always thought of it like Luke when he's suspended in the bacta tank except with more wires.

For a Chaos dread I do;ot think it's that uniform since they can mutate.

The body of the driver is placed in a fluid and is hooked up to neural interfaces and Life Support systems.


in addition to the Auto-senses, the pilot can see out the little window on the front(earlier dreds left the marine's helmet exposed. which allowed for greater visability, but left the pilots head exposed)

although the pilot has some visual and physical stimulous due to the sensors, he does under go much sensory depravation. the result is that a marine might go a little kooky after awhile. as such, the dreadnought is placed in stasis and the pilot sedated to sleep away the centuries.


for Chaos, dreds are used as a form of punishment. the same as above except the Pilot often has all his sensors except for vision turned off, or just not present. The sensory depravation slowly drives the marine bonkers.

although, if you wish to punish a subordinate, putting him in a steel warmachine with powerful weaponry at his disposal doesn't seem smart. especially if he doesn't like you and the interrnment will drive him crazy.


not all Chaos Dreds are marines getting punished. there would be those that were in Dreds when the Heresy took place.

Seems to me its a dreadful punishment, forgive the pun, I cannot imagine being unable to move, to feel, to do anything... think about those Slaaneshi guys...

hence why it's a true punishment to be put in a Dred for the Emperor's children.

Everyone knows there are no CSM's in CSM dreads.
They are filled with chocolate.

alexwars1 wrote:Everyone knows there are no CSM's in CSM dreads.
They are filled with chocolate.

or angry daemons.....

Imagine being in a Nurgle dreadnought. Not nice.

It seems most dreadnoughts in the traitor legions sided with the loyalists, like Huron Fal of the Death Guard, or Ancient Rylanor of the EC I suppose seeing as they were vernerable enough to be put in dreads in the first place meant they had been around long enough to be more loyal and set in their ways, the only 2 dreads named in the series so far have stayed loyal iirc.

Ugly Green Trog wrote:It seems most dreadnoughts in the traitor legions sided with the loyalists, like Huron Fal of the Death Guard, or Ancient Rylanor of the EC I suppose seeing as they were vernerable enough to be put in dreads in the first place meant they had been around long enough to be more loyal and set in their ways, the only 2 dreads named in the series so far have stayed loyal iirc.

That makes sense. The pre-heresy dreds were probably the oldest warriors of their legions. Which would mean they were actually born on Terra, and much more loyal to the emperor than their fellow marines.

IIRC, it is said in the fluff that during the Istvaan III massacre, most of the Loyal Marines were actually the marines that had been bred on Terra, and thus were more loyal to the Emperor than their Primarch.

Back on topic, I wonder if the marine in the dred's coffin still has its legs and arms? When we look at the dred mini, the life-support coffin containing the body is quite small. Are the arms and legs of a marine amputated before his placement into a dred?

they might amputate, if the marine actually still had any limbs left.

Tzeentche dreadnought wouldn't be too bad; you're dust like everyone else, it's just a bit roomier.

I thought there was only the brain left inside the dread, no?

They don't really need the rest of the body, and it will rot anyway, which might damage the brain

Mikalichou wrote:I thought there was only the brain left inside the dread, no?

They don't really need the rest of the body, and it will rot anyway, which might damage the brain

The body is alive still. Kept alive by a life support machine... not entirely sure how though...

look at the sprues for a Venerable dred to see what the interior looks like.

Grey Templar wrote:look at the sprues for a Venerable dred to see what the interior looks like.

You mean the armor+helmet? It's more decorative than anything else no? I mean, why leave him his SM armour, if he is inside a walking tank? And why leave the head so apparent?

Mikalichou wrote:

Grey Templar wrote:look at the sprues for a Venerable dred to see what the interior looks like.

You mean the armor+helmet? It's more decorative than anything else no? I mean, why leave him his SM armour, if he is inside a walking tank? And why leave the head so apparent?

because it allows the marine to maintain some sort of real contact to the outside world if he is using his some parts of his own body.

the Ven dred kit allows you to make the traditional Dred sarchophogous by covering the Marine's head with a plate that has a small vision slit.

this was implimented when many dreds were getting sniped, having grenades stuffed next to their heads...

Mr Nobody wrote:Tzeentche dreadnought wouldn't be too bad; you're dust like everyone else, it's just a bit roomier.

Soul not sand unless you're a sorceror. That just gave me an idea to use the BA LibDread rules in Apocalypse for a Ksons Sorceror dread.

because it allows the marine to maintain some sort of real contact to the outside world if he is using his some parts of his own body.

the Ven dred kit allows you to make the traditional Dred sarchophogous by covering the Marine's head with a plate that has a small vision slit.

this was implimented when many dreds were getting sniped, having grenades stuffed next to their heads...

Ok, makes sense.. Is it only for Ven Dreads, or all the dreads?

the exposed helmet design was the older style, and hence the oldest dreds. Venerable Dreds are the oldest and most expierienced Dreds and as suc are more likely to have the older designs.

Mikalichou wrote:

Grey Templar wrote:look at the sprues for a Venerable dred to see what the interior looks like.

You mean the armor+helmet? It's more decorative than anything else no? I mean, why leave him his SM armour, if he is inside a walking tank? And why leave the head so apparent?

i really dont like those venerable designs. they look so corny with their little heads popping out.

The Imperium should start putting helmets on all of their vehicles!

Ironically, IIRC, the dred design with the SM head being vivible was introduced after the "closed coffin" design.

I think it was just introduced by GW because it looked better than just a big metal box stuck on a pair of ultra-short legs.

I agree that on a tactical basis, having the head of the dred's owner unprotected and visible is completely absurd, but... rule of cool!

He saw all his bros' removing their helmets, wanted to do the same, but at his scale :p

Next step, real apparent head! (or brain)

Mikalichou wrote:Next step, real apparent head! (or brain)

That post brings up a question in my mind. How is the SM inside the dred? I mean, how is he on a physical basis? How does he look like?

Is his head normal but with an atrophied body? Is the brain actually visible? Does he have any skin left?

The body is suspended in an amniotic fluid like substance (most likely) with wires throughout his spinal cord and brain and probably a breathing aparatus/visual node that connects him to the Dreadnoughts censors. As far as what the marine looks like I can't see it just being a brain since the sarcophagus keeps the body alive, how the marine looks is largely dependant on what caused him to be intered in the first place. And I don't know why they woulden't have skin? the skin keeps all of your insides together and without it his parts would be drifting aroun inside the sarcophagus..

It's not like a marine is dangerously wounded and they strip him down to nothing. If he was ripped in half by a Carnifex but was saved before death then chances are it's just his upper torso. I can't see the apothecary/techmarine teams altering an entire body (removing skin or a brain etc) passed saving the marines life and implanting neuro receptors so he can controle his dreadnought.

And it can't be argued that just a brain and nervous system are put in because of the size of a Sarcophagus on the model versus the size of a marine because GW isn't known for being accurate in their scales. I mean look at the Tau, comparing the size of a Firewarrior to a Battlesuit there is no way he could fit inside unless he was in the fetal position and even then it would be a squeeze. So I highly doubt it is just a brain powering a machine.

Laodamia wrote:Ironically, IIRC, the dred design with the SM head being vivible was introduced after the "closed coffin" design.

I think it was just introduced by GW because it looked better than just a big metal box stuck on a pair of ultra-short legs.

I agree that on a tactical basis, having the head of the dred's owner unprotected and visible is completely absurd, but... rule of cool!

you are both correct in the since the open head design came later in GW history and also wrong due to the fact MK3 dreadnoughts had their head's exposed