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What, exactly, is an STC? I have heard people tell me it is a blueprint. I have heard folks say an STC is a machine that pumps out fully manufactured items (bolters, Rhinos, what have you) and I have heard variants of the two. But seriously, what is it? I love the fluff and have been avidly trying to pin down a solid answer on this one.

Standard Template Construct. During the Golden and Dark Ages of Technology human colony ships where given these super computers loaded with all the knowledge they would need to start their colonies. In the computers contained detailed blue prints to make what was needed. From mining and agriculture tools to things like las guns and armor. It would tell you what resources you needed and how to make it if possible with what you had onboard. As far as I know the STC could always print out those copies so there was a paper version as well has what was stored on the computer itself. The Mechanincus seeks out desparetly any lead no matter how small that an STC has been found.

That is the primary purpose of the Explorator Fleets. To seek out any STC, any piece of lost human knowledge they could find and bring it back to Mars. The Land Raider and Speeder's prints where found by Magos Explorator Land. So his name was attached to those STCs that he hand found.

STC's have, throughout the fluff, been called blueprints as well as actual facilities themselves. One can imagine the entire STC system is a combined knowledge of all tools/machines/structures needed for humankind as well as a type of facility/ship/manufacturing plant to build them all.

STC's have also been described as modular, both the prints and then structures, so one can further imagine that an entire complete STC system consists of many individual STC blueprints and structures/manufacturing plants.

See, now that makes sense. I just have yet to actually read that in the fluff anywhere. I appreciate the help guys.

STC stands for standard template construct. They are basically super-advanced computerized blueprints that can tell you how to build almost anything. Well, anything within the Imperium's capabilities. My understanding is that they were developed way back when humans were first starting to colonize new worlds. So you can send a ship full of untrained colonists, and the STC provides the info for them to construct whatever they need to survive.

The reason they are so important in the year 40,000 is that human technology has taken a step backwards. Living people view the technology of the Dark Age as mystical and have no idea how it works. So the Imperium wants to find and use the ancient STC's in order to regain the "lost" tech.

edit: Took too long typing!

It would also help if the constraints of the Mechanicus that prevents reverse engineering and progression where lifted so that they could actually begin to relearn what was lost since that time.

Dogma is what is keeping humanity back, not that everyone has just become stupid.

STCs are a mixture of the two. They can be the producers of whole pices of kit, if they are small enough (read Gaunt's Ghosts). However, for bigger pices of kit (houses, monastery's etc.) they would be structural plans.

MC

At one stage wen't they referred to as STD's for Standard Template Design or is that a diffrent concept?

Before anyone points this out I do realise that STD is also short for something else

Sorry, wanted to delete my post, can only edit it. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

Was an awesome STC in Mechanius for titans

Sigh - it got corrupted