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How do!

So with all my excitement for Mechanicum in Age of Darkness and Legions Imperialis, I’ve realised that my knowledge of the background doesn’t include exactly how one first enters the Priesthood.

The only example I can think of is Felicia Tayber, from the Cain novels Death or Glory and Cain’s Last Stand. She had initially been rejected, but I’m not sure how she or indeed anyone is first even considered for the Priesthood.

It can’t simply be a case of “be born on a Forgeworld”, because they have populations into the billions, with only a relative few being Tech-Priests of any rank. And given their at least feigned disdain for all things fleshy, I can’t imagine it’s hereditary.

Can anyone weigh in? And if so, which books should I be reading to learn more?

There's at least one instance where the Mechanicus grows people in pods and then test the pod people.
Cawl was a pod person and showed higher than average intelligence even by tech priest standards.

For the rest one can assume it's all tithes of flesh from a given Forge World. Children will be taken much in the same way as the recruitment of Astartes Chapters then tested and augmented accordingly into Techpriests, Skitarii or Servitors.

It is true that Techmarines originate as standard Battle Brothers that show an aptitude and particular interest. They’re then shipped off to learn more (I think to Mars specifically, but more realistically probably a Forgeworld the Chapter has existing ties and treaties with)

I know how you can become a servitor really easy. All you and your fellow guardsmen need to do is fight along side the Grey Knights
.. and if you survive that battle.

Then you are wisked away into a new life of augmentation and lobotomization.

To be honest I believe the old Dark Heresy RPG covered how you became an honest to goodness tech priest (albeit with the backing of an Inquisitor).

The Dalia Cytheria route is highly situational, but i thought it's worth a mention.

The down to earth element of "vehicles need maintaining" requires some kind education system to produce at least low level adepts.
There must be some sort of application system for entry into that, which would probably focus on the yoof of the society.

The tech cult has shrines on most worlds. which also have training centers. you can join at these, and start being trained in basic technotheology as well as the lay aspects of the engineering side (maintenance, the various rites of use, etc). from there you can advance up the ranks if you choose to pursue that.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
And given their at least feigned disdain for all things fleshy, I can’t imagine it’s hereditary.

A few tech-priests have cloned themselves.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Gert wrote:
For the rest one can assume it's all tithes of flesh from a given Forge World.

There's probably something similar for when Guard regiments are raised - "that maintenance team is really good - test them!".

There is an example in the Priests of Mars series of a lay worker being elevated to the priesthood due to perceived miracles suggesting they are favoured by the Omnissiah. I think it is fair to say that they actually have a sharp mind and a healthy dose of luck behind those "miracles".

Whilst this is stated to be an exceptionally rare occurrence, I think it serves to remind us that the Mechanicus is a priesthood. Any aptitude testing is likely to be shrouded in ritual and as much about a perceived connection to the Omnissiah as any actual skill at engineering.

I think actual skill will matter too, but the selection process is almost certainly arcane and inefficient and liable to select candidates based on some very esoteric criteria unrelated or only tangentially related to skill. Such a system is almost certainly going to favour fundamentalist, conservative candidates who are unlikely to question the status quo of the Mechanicus as it stands, for example.

 Haighus wrote:
There is an example in the Priests of Mars series of a lay worker being elevated to the priesthood

IIRC there's something similar in Imperator.

Various of the books I’ve read refer to it as a calling, in the same way contemporary and historical cloistered orders are. So there would be some kind of seminary equivalent to sort out the wheat from the chaff and prepare those with the right characteristics (whatever they happen to be) for formal adoption into the mysteries. Different worlds and different sects/technical specialisms will no doubt do it in different ways. It’s a big galaxy, so anything you can think of could be accommodated somewhere.

I think there are two options basically.

1) Work as menial labor and hope you don't end up on LiveLeak long enough to get noticed for being extra devoted/talented. Then you'll be allowed to polish the techpriests boots or something and eventually receive some actual tutelege.

2) Be lucky enough to be the child of lower ranking tech priests who are themselves working their way up the ranks. This will get you fast tracked to at least be inside the slow rank progression from the start.

The Mechanicus may be a meritocracy, but you'll also need someone to go to bat for you since they probably also have a massive glut of at least minimally competent applicants for any open positions. If there are 10 billion serfs on a forge world and you are part of the .001% that is able to advance you're still going to have a tough time standing out among the hundreds of thousands who might make a decent techpriest.

I wonder if there's a Cult Mechanicus version of the Schola Progenium?

I wonder if its actually easier to rise up the ranks if you're from outside of the Mechanicus instead of within. Ergo if the serf class is basically almost socially locked in their position through a class system within the Mechanicus. To the point where we see more people who join from the outside, from a higher class to start with, basically advancing up to at least the novice ranks of the priesthood more easily.

I'm sure noble families often do favors for the Mechanicus so their tech minded children get fast tracked in.