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I am creating a tech priest as my dark heresy character and hit an issue,
can members of the Cult Mechanicus fall in love?

My view is ultimately the higher hierarchy cannot, as it is seem as a distraction. and are chem gelded, rite of clear thought etc away.
but deep down, they are human, with human urges and needs. this includes the emotion of love.
the Cult Mechanicus do see the need for the machine to have a soul, a human soul usually.
but this is part of being human right? so would this be prohibited?
or is this permitted as long as they complete their tasks?

Nope.

I have no doubt they can feel love. But chose not to act on the emotion. Iirc in on of the Cain novels there is a female tech-priest that for a long time could not get promoted because of her bodily urges. As in good food good company etc

In DH, you are subject to the range of human emotions, as a Tech-Priest, up to the point that you buy the Talent "Rite of Pure Thought" (Rank 8 Magos). This talent is represented by the emotional centers of your brain being scooped out and replaced with circuitry and cogitation chips

As the Talent says: "You no longer feel emotion, and are instead filled with the cold purity of logic. You are now immune to Fear, Pinning, and any effects that cause emotional disturbance. Others now find you disturbing, to say the least."

ETA: There are other Talents purchased earlier in the career that can make you immune to certain other emotions, but this particular talent removes them all. Also, if you have the Chem-Geld talent, it makes you immune to seduction attempts (as you no longer have any sort of sex-drive) but that is not the same thing as being incapable of the emotion of love.

I think that ultimately a case could be made either way, and this is something you'd need to work out with your GameMaster.

I'd say follow your own ideas and think about what would fit most to the atmosphere in your game and your group. There will undoubtedly be many different interpretations throughout the available material.

My personal opinion:

The entire culture of the Mechanicus seems fairly technophile, to such an extent that it seeks to impose on everyone the cold logic of a machine over "fallible" human emotions such as compassion or love. People get assigned and reassigned based on some arcane program that governs a planet's entire workforce, it would not surprise me if, on a Forgeworld, "friend Computer" would select the most appropriate mates for the workers as well, whilst the less productive members of society are transferred to the protein bank for organic processing.

In DH, something like the Rite of Pure Thought would remove the source of such emotions, but that doesn't mean the character would not have sought to suppress them before. Obviously, as long as the source of emotions isn't surgically removed or suppressed (drugs?), a character may still be subjected to them. With a character like a Tech-Priest it just isn't likely, both because of where he comes from as well as what he seeks to achieve (at least I imagine the Priests Mechanicus to be even more sociopathic due to representing the driving force behind their culture). Just an obstacle to keep in mind.

Unless they've replaced that part of their brain, yes.

The question was "can they", not "would they" or "[in the context of their society/religion] should they".

Maybe a fling with a toaster, but otherwise i'd say no...

Jimsolo wrote:something you'd need to work out with your GameMaster.

that though would probably be the best answer your going to get...

Furthering what Melissa and Lynata said, yes, it's a difference between being capable of the emotion, and acting upon it.

A newly-raised Tech-Priest, who has received only the initial implants and augmetics, is still mostly human, and still mostly given to all of the foibles of the human condition. However, given the culture of the AdMech, they are not as likely to go mooning over some boy/girl they like or that sort of thing... while they are still capable of feeling and experiencing the emotion of love, they are more than likely trained and taught to resist/repress such thoughts as "frailties of the flesh".... not terribly unlike a certain gender-restricted militant religious school.

With a good GM, though, such an event... a Tech-Priest falling in love, perhaps with a non-Mechanicus individual... could make for a very interesting character development story.

Thanks all!

Your inputs have been very helpful.
I will consider this and work it out with my GM.

I would say that until you purchase more talents that tinker with your emotions and remove them that you can feel "love" after all many tech priests feel awe and fascination. Those emotions could even be misconstrued as love since that is an emotion that can not be explained.

I'm pretty sure Magos Bure from Malleus was rather fond of Eisenhorn and his old Master. It was one of the things that made the dude so likeable.

There was the Mechanicus Techpriest from Cadian blood too.. he formed friendships.

If you can form close friendships or bonds with people, I suspect you could form loving attachments. Even in the AdMech. You'd probaby be looked at as weird by your comrades, but well.. the AdMech is full of weird sorts.

In Caves Of Ice, a Tech Priest character is implied to have a mother who was also in the Mechanicus.

On a more basic note, Mars consists mainly of members of the Cult Mechanicus; how do they keep their population up?

Your Friend Doctor Robert wrote:On a more basic note, Mars consists mainly of members of the Cult Mechanicus; how do they keep their population up?

Where does it say that? How would that even work? They'd need countless general workers for their vast machinery, for I do believe that Mars is known for its production output, and a factory isn't manned by clergy alone.

Unless, of course, "member of the Cult Mechanicus" simply means a member of their faith... I doubt the Tech-Priests would condone anyone not following the teachings of the Machine God on their forge worlds.

Since we're talking about the AdMech, I assume they make test tube babies to continue the Cult, prefereably by mixing the seed of devote Priests and Priestesses to get 'pure' stock. Then they're probably raised in ideological orphanages similar to the Commissars and Stormtroopers, albeit with an Omnimissiah bent.

Tech Priests would be discouraged in the name of automated efficency but I have a feeling many secretly harbour fondness for some of the nicer human traits. Then they see the giant drill arms and death eye lasers they can buy and get on with their terrifyingly creepy lives.

P.S. I would like to add the OP title sounds like the name of a cheesy Imperial daytime melodrama.

"kiss me T57!"
"Oh Magos, but I am just a lowly Battle-Servitor, it would be heretical"
"Nonesense, the way the forge magma glistens off you multi-melta, the way your roboeyes dialte when sensing a xeno threat, I can't fight my computations any longer!"
"Oh Magos!"
"Oh T57!"

*Embrace. Synthe-Jazz swells. Vidi Screen darkens. Fin*

I reckon there's a lot of different ideas floating around, depending on which novel or RPG you read - in FFG's books, future Tech-Priests are picked out of the ranks of those young workers who have displayed the most aptitude with machinery.

Your idea about the numbers reminded me of the movie THX-1338, though. Maybe a good inspiration, too?

Ultimately it depends on the individual and what implants they have, if they have some mental implants there less likely but its not impossible and the mechanicus has no rules against having children, so possible but not likely as tech priest are anti social. But hey some people think shy people are cute.

Lord Demon wrote:I have no doubt they can feel love. But chose not to act on the emotion. Iirc in on of the Cain novels there is a female tech-priest that for a long time could not get promoted because of her bodily urges. As in good food good company etc

Long live nanotechnology!

I wholeheartedly agree that tech priests can love. Hell my tech priest in DH is a bit of a ladies man. I didn't even design him that way its just whenever he interacts with women, I crit succeed. now our GM just gives me +5 when using fellowship on women.

Yes. Machines. Technofetishists.

If they haven't undergone the rite of pure thought (Emotional half of brain replaced with logic engine)

I guess it really all depends on the rank of the Magos and whether or not they let their minds wander to those urges.

"what is love? Baby Don't Hurt me. No more. What is love? Baby don't hurt me? Don't hurt me no more."

I think they have that in their heads now.

The Tech Priests do love their creations and what they like to do is build stuff and start using that cranker to beat people with. So yes they love. Of course their love consists of blessing just about everything.

They could always "plug it in".

I suppose it depends on your character?
Are you a magos? A servitor?
Are you a pdf trooper on a forge world? Skitarri?

The novels have all different levels of tech degrees for the cult.
I'd say of course the AdMech feel love. But that love is lost over time as the point of joining the cult is to become as machine as possible.

A servitor isn't really a person, though. Once you've been reduced to a servitor, there's no coming back from that.

Love the melodrama, next up on Mars TV:
BATTLE BOTS!

On subject:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangular_theory_of_love
Maybe this will help. Near the beginning of a career it could be a consummate (All encompassing, Passion, intimacy (sharing secrets, etc), commitment), but as the Magos becomes more and more initiated I (just my opinion) see the passion slipping away, then the intimacy, leaving only the cold calculated empty love of commitment.

A tech priest? No, they see it as a bad thing http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Weakness_of_Flesh

An Engineseer? Yes http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Felicia_Tayber

Tech Priests love machines, and arceotech. You have to first define love, which doesn't have to be with another person.

I still think the Tech Priest starting with his "weakness of the flesh", and progressing further and further away from anything his partner could recognize would make for an interesting story line.

Love stories in 40k?! Blasphemy!