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If hereteks / CSM warband were able to find a corrupted stc library would it work for them giving them access to all of the dark age tech or would it just pop out the usual crazy stuff like a grenade ready to explode on completion?

Each STC makes something different. They are one the Standard Template for a single item. In Gaunt's Ghost, they explain that an STC for a knife was found and it was the single most important technological find in a millenia. I don't think you can corrupt an STC

asiapalo wrote:
If hereteks / CSM warband were able to find a corrupted stc library would it work for them giving them access to all of the dark age tech or would it just pop out the usual crazy stuff like a grenade ready to explode on completion?

Both could happen. It depends on the nature of the corruption.

I guess a better question with an example when the men of iron were found in one of the books they were found to be corrupted by chaos...if they were corrupted by tzeentch and instead of being destroyed by the tanith first and only, the men of iron factory was found by hereteks pledged to tzeentch would they possibly follow their orders or work with them?

Right, okay, the STC system was conceived during the Golden Age of human expansion and technological mastery, starting with the earliest torch-ships (that's chemical rockets to those of you familiar with M2 history) and ending with the first "short hop" warp drives, before the deep immersion drive, Gellar field, and Navigator Gene were developed/discovered.

The Standard Template Construct system was developed to support these early colonies by providing a way for them to use local materials to make equipment they would need without requiring deeper understanding of materials science or engineering.

A functioning STC would take samples of what was available, provided by the colonists, and lists of needed gear. It would then analyse the materials and requests then output construction blueprints and instructions to make the gear.

Advanced models could also include an autofabricator that would, depending on size, pop out anything from complex small parts like cogitator-cores to complete functioning vehicles.

Unfortunately the STCs actually exacerbated the problem they were meant to solve, particularly the very advanced models; by removing the need for education to make things, education fell off the priority list of a lot of STC-equipped colonies and after a generation or three, the STCs became objects of veneration, mystery and wonder, and the keepers of the systems victims of jealous contempt.

The ensuing wars destroyed or damaged most of the STCs, and the intervening twenty thousand years have taken care of the rest.

All that survives to the 41st millennium are copies of copies of the output blueprints, sometimes on ancient dataslates, sometimes on actual parchment.

The Adeptus Mechanicus considers the recovery of all STC related materiel to be a sacred duty and finding a functioning STC expert system, even without an autofabricator, would be equivalent to their holy grail; tangible proof of the Omnissiah's might and purpose.

One thing though; the STCs were never Abominable Intelligence, just very smart programming, so "corrupting" them isn't really possible, at least not in the way a Titan or a human could be corrupted. They can't offer service or worship and don't have desires so they would be ignored by daemonic entities of all stripes unless forced into the mechanism by mortal rituals and I'm pretty sure that would disimprove their function considerably not least because the newly-minted STC daemon would be pretty pissed off and thus uncooperative, to find itself trapped in an empty shell.

 Mr_Rose wrote:

One thing though; the STCs were never Abominable Intelligence, just very smart programming, so "corrupting" them isn't really possible, at least not in the way a Titan or a human could be corrupted. They can't offer service or worship and don't have desires so they would be ignored by daemonic entities of all stripes unless forced into the mechanism by mortal rituals and I'm pretty sure that would disimprove their function considerably not least because the newly-minted STC daemon would be pretty pissed off and thus uncooperative, to find itself trapped in an empty shell.

I think there are quite a few examples of daemons or at least the powers of the warp possessing inanimate objects, warships for example, tanks, the whole of the thousands sons? (that last one is a bit of a jump depending on which fluff you read). The Brass Theif from the Ravenor books.

We know that worlds themselves, the very rock of a planet can become twisted and reformed by the influence of the warp.

I am more than happy that an STC could be "corrupted" be that in the quasi religious sense or the buggered up data sense.

There is an example of a corrupt STC in the Gaunt's Ghosts novel First and Only - at the end, they find an STC for building Iron Men which has been corrupted by Chaos.

Uncorrupted Iron Men that it had been building stood in berths off to the side, waiting for activation - which happens when the Imperial Guard breach the inner sanctum of the STC. If I recall correctly, the uncorrupted Iron Men actually identify the chaos-ified Iron Men as hostile - so take that for what its worth.

Needless to say, the Guard beat a hasty retreat after nuking the site.

The Iron Men created by the corrupt STC are all melty and strange, with tentacles and horns, as well as slack-jawed and dead-eyed compared to the uncorrupted Iron Men.

 Unit1126PLL wrote:
There is an example of a corrupt STC in the Gaunt's Ghosts novel First and Only - at the end, they find an STC for building Iron Men which has been corrupted by Chaos.

Uncorrupted Iron Men that it had been building stood in berths off to the side, waiting for activation - which happens when the Imperial Guard breach the inner sanctum of the STC. If I recall correctly, the uncorrupted Iron Men actually identify the chaos-ified Iron Men as hostile - so take that for what its worth.

Needless to say, the Guard beat a hasty retreat after nuking the site.

The Iron Men created by the corrupt STC are all melty and strange, with tentacles and horns, as well as slack-jawed and dead-eyed compared to the uncorrupted Iron Men.

My guess is that this event was the premise for the OPs question.

If that Iron Men STC had been corrupted by Tzeentch for example would Tzeentch followers be able to use it or would it jsut go bingo crazy against everything.

My thought would be that in setting there would have to be a reason why not as otherwise its far too easy for an OP device to exist. I mean thats the reason it was corrupted in Abnetts book so Gaunt would destroy it otherwise you would be left with Iron Men starting a new Crusade across the galaxy.

The Castigator-STC in Dark Adeptus was corrupted too. A little...

Something else that hasn't been quite laid out here is that the term "STC" is used to refer to two different things.

Technically, an STC (Standard Template Construct) is a black box that you put stuff into and get manufactured stuff out of.

However.

What most people mean when they say STC is an STC Wafer. The STC Wafer is a memory card with a set of blueprints on it. They're fragile, not designed to exist outside their STC device, and can easily be damaged by electromagnetic radiation, damp environments, etc, etc.

The Mechanicus has at least one mostly-complete STC. It probably has quite a few. However, what they don't have is uncorrupted STC Wafers.

What they're hunting is the Wafers, so they can decrypt them and recover the pattern for the thing they want to make.

TheWanderer wrote:

 Mr_Rose wrote:

One thing though; the STCs were never Abominable Intelligence, just very smart programming, so "corrupting" them isn't really possible, at least not in the way a Titan or a human could be corrupted. They can't offer service or worship and don't have desires so they would be ignored by daemonic entities of all stripes unless forced into the mechanism by mortal rituals and I'm pretty sure that would disimprove their function considerably not least because the newly-minted STC daemon would be pretty pissed off and thus uncooperative, to find itself trapped in an empty shell.

I think there are quite a few examples of daemons or at least the powers of the warp possessing inanimate objects, warships for example, tanks, the whole of the thousands sons? (that last one is a bit of a jump depending on which fluff you read). The Brass Theif from the Ravenor books.

We know that worlds themselves, the very rock of a planet can become twisted and reformed by the influence of the warp.

I am more than happy that an STC could be "corrupted" be that in the quasi religious sense or the buggered up data sense.

Warships and tanks do have a Machine Spirit that can be corrupted, they are not completely "inanimate" objects.

 Tactical_Spam wrote:
Each STC makes something different. They are one the Standard Template for a single item. In Gaunt's Ghost, they explain that an STC for a knife was found and it was the single most important technological find in a millenia. I don't think you can corrupt an STC

If the database the STC printout/template comes from is corrupted, the printout will be corrupted. As will the device made from the STC template. It could either be daemonically possessed or the product of an imprisoned/forgotten AI that still holds a grudge.

Warships and tanks do have a Machine Spirit that can be corrupted, they are not completely "inanimate" objects.

All things are supposedly having a machine spirit... which is either a real thing or just religious hogwash. Doesn't matter, it can be corrupted. If even a sword can be possessed by a daemon/ a deamon be trapped in a sword, everything goes.