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Do Black Templar ships/keeps have a librarium?
Where do they keep their records?
A friend told me they use their reclusiam as a library and their chaplains as record keepers. Is this true?
I've read a librarium is also a chapter monastery command center where the communications equipment and controls for base defenses are kept.
Is that true for most/all chapters? Templars wouldn't put all of that in a reclusiam right?
What do Black Templars call their record keepers? Are they called scribes or something?
I've read templars just volunteer to keep records if they've got the personality for it. Do they have official designations for any record keepers?

I intend to try reading all the Black Library books and other sources of fluff about them eventually but this topic is giving me a mental itch right now.

It's not so much a case of "communications equipment" as librarians themselves doing the task (in other chapters).

Interstellar communications is only possible by psychic means - since the black templars have none, the only way they can keep in touch is by an astropathic choir of 'normal' humans.

Whilst battle brothers may be involved in record keeping (and chaplains, as both tutors and relic-keepers are obviously part of it) remember that a black templar is surrounded by mundane humans. A fleet based crusade on a strike cruiser may be commanded by marines, but that cruiser has a crew of several tens of thousands of serfs. Whilst a chaplain might manage the process, having a scriptory manned by hundreds of serfs to look after more mundane records is not unreasonable.

I wouldnt see a regular librarian being capable of astropathic communication at any rate..

My understanding it take a special amount of training to be a aatropath.. ans they generally have short lifespans due to the strain of the work

On one of the senior command ships in a crusade such as eternal crusader maybe a chaplain will oversee its scared achives and accounts that date back to sigmound.

Mundadw records to serfs. Classifed or one of great chapter value will surely be soley the realm of marine custodians.

The Black Templar lost their combat doctrines and even lost their hatred of Psykers.
It's fair to say their record keeping is pitiful at best.


...or we could blame GW...

Records could be used against you....
- no Records - nothing says you have more Marines than one would expect...

I would imagine Templar records are kept more as deeds, tales and stories. Sure serfs and human crew would record and keep information, and I'm sure the chaplains do too. But the Templar way of training successors personally would suggest direct passing on of knowledge and less requirement to record it.

I also believe Templars basically venerate Astropaths. It's just psykers and witches they hate.

 1hadhq wrote:
Records could be used against you....
- no Records - nothing says you have more Marines than one would expect...

True but only I think high Marshal has a true number on that, even then there so separate on crusades his number is wrong.
Oops we lost 5000 marines... Lol.

That info os likely eternal crusader only. And its unlikely inquisition gonna get on her easily.

Black Templars hate witches, aka unsanctioned psykers. Astropaths are brought before the presence of the Emperor himself and imparted with some of his power, which makes them suffer terribly the rest of their short life and gives them horrible gaping eye sockets as a permanent mark of their sacrifice.

For the Black Templars, that's like all their zealous fetishes combined into one shriveled blind dude. Templars friggin love Astropaths.

As far as records, I imagine it's similar to a medieval religious structure. Thousands of serfs and servitors and a handful of marines in training copying out war reports, casualty listings and recruitment numbers with a very sacred style of diction and illuminated manuscripts stuffed into mile-high bookshelves with occasional bookalanches that kill unlucky serfs.

 Badablack wrote:
Black Templars hate witches, aka unsanctioned psykers. Astropaths are brought before the presence of the Emperor himself and imparted with some of his power, which makes them suffer terribly the rest of their short life and gives them horrible gaping eye sockets as a permanent mark of their sacrifice.

For the Black Templars, that's like all their zealous fetishes combined into one shriveled blind dude. Templars friggin love Astropaths.

As far as records, I imagine it's similar to a medieval religious structure. Thousands of serfs and servitors and a handful of marines in training copying out war reports, casualty listings and recruitment numbers with a very sacred style of diction and illuminated manuscripts stuffed into mile-high bookshelves with occasional bookalanches that kill unlucky serfs.

Black Templars can't take Librarians because they hate psykers in general, Astropaths get respect because they are beyond useful, in much the same way the Imperium at large tolerates Rattlings, Ogryn and the Space Wolves in spite of being filthy mutants. Before the being sucked back onto the Ultrasmurf codex they had limitations on how close they could get to an allied psyker in much the same way Grey Knights can't be within a certain range of daemons.

 Dakka Wolf wrote:

 Badablack wrote:
Black Templars hate witches, aka unsanctioned psykers. Astropaths are brought before the presence of the Emperor himself and imparted with some of his power, which makes them suffer terribly the rest of their short life and gives them horrible gaping eye sockets as a permanent mark of their sacrifice.

For the Black Templars, that's like all their zealous fetishes combined into one shriveled blind dude. Templars friggin love Astropaths.

As far as records, I imagine it's similar to a medieval religious structure. Thousands of serfs and servitors and a handful of marines in training copying out war reports, casualty listings and recruitment numbers with a very sacred style of diction and illuminated manuscripts stuffed into mile-high bookshelves with occasional bookalanches that kill unlucky serfs.

Black Templars can't take Librarians because they hate psykers in general, Astropaths get respect because they are beyond useful, in much the same way the Imperium at large tolerates Rattlings, Ogryn and the Space Wolves in spite of being filthy mutants. Before the being sucked back onto the Ultrasmurf codex they had limitations on how close they could get to an allied psyker in much the same way Grey Knights can't be within a certain range of daemons.

Pretty sure the 4th ed codex was even more strict then a range limit. If I recall, you couldn't ally with a psyker at all (Unless it was a grey knight). No range, no nothing. If a psyker was in the list,you couldn't take the Templar.

 Amanax wrote:

 Dakka Wolf wrote:

 Badablack wrote:
Black Templars hate witches, aka unsanctioned psykers. Astropaths are brought before the presence of the Emperor himself and imparted with some of his power, which makes them suffer terribly the rest of their short life and gives them horrible gaping eye sockets as a permanent mark of their sacrifice.

For the Black Templars, that's like all their zealous fetishes combined into one shriveled blind dude. Templars friggin love Astropaths.

As far as records, I imagine it's similar to a medieval religious structure. Thousands of serfs and servitors and a handful of marines in training copying out war reports, casualty listings and recruitment numbers with a very sacred style of diction and illuminated manuscripts stuffed into mile-high bookshelves with occasional bookalanches that kill unlucky serfs.

Black Templars can't take Librarians because they hate psykers in general, Astropaths get respect because they are beyond useful, in much the same way the Imperium at large tolerates Rattlings, Ogryn and the Space Wolves in spite of being filthy mutants. Before the being sucked back onto the Ultrasmurf codex they had limitations on how close they could get to an allied psyker in much the same way Grey Knights can't be within a certain range of daemons.

Pretty sure the 4th ed codex was even more strict then a range limit. If I recall, you couldn't ally with a psyker at all (Unless it was a grey knight). No range, no nothing. If a psyker was in the list,you couldn't take the Templar.

Didn't Grey Knights get released in 5th?

 Amanax wrote:

 Dakka Wolf wrote:

 Badablack wrote:
Black Templars hate witches, aka unsanctioned psykers. Astropaths are brought before the presence of the Emperor himself and imparted with some of his power, which makes them suffer terribly the rest of their short life and gives them horrible gaping eye sockets as a permanent mark of their sacrifice.

For the Black Templars, that's like all their zealous fetishes combined into one shriveled blind dude. Templars friggin love Astropaths.

As far as records, I imagine it's similar to a medieval religious structure. Thousands of serfs and servitors and a handful of marines in training copying out war reports, casualty listings and recruitment numbers with a very sacred style of diction and illuminated manuscripts stuffed into mile-high bookshelves with occasional bookalanches that kill unlucky serfs.

Black Templars can't take Librarians because they hate psykers in general, Astropaths get respect because they are beyond useful, in much the same way the Imperium at large tolerates Rattlings, Ogryn and the Space Wolves in spite of being filthy mutants. Before the being sucked back onto the Ultrasmurf codex they had limitations on how close they could get to an allied psyker in much the same way Grey Knights can't be within a certain range of daemons.

Pretty sure the 4th ed codex was even more strict then a range limit. If I recall, you couldn't ally with a psyker at all (Unless it was a grey knight). No range, no nothing. If a psyker was in the list,you couldn't take the Templar.

Well, such hatred was retconned. I believe it was 6th Ed but may be mentioned in 7th as well. The new story is that somewhere along the line, the Templars lost all their psykers. They just went away and no one knows why. But they don't hate psykers, they hate witches and sorcerors who serve evil gods and not the God-Emperor of Mankind. Astropaths, Navigators, Sanctioned Psykers and other Librarians are A-Okay, as well as, obviously, Grey Knights, because the are the Hammer of the Emperor Himself.

 Dakka Wolf wrote:

 Amanax wrote:

 Dakka Wolf wrote:

 Badablack wrote:
Black Templars hate witches, aka unsanctioned psykers. Astropaths are brought before the presence of the Emperor himself and imparted with some of his power, which makes them suffer terribly the rest of their short life and gives them horrible gaping eye sockets as a permanent mark of their sacrifice.

For the Black Templars, that's like all their zealous fetishes combined into one shriveled blind dude. Templars friggin love Astropaths.

As far as records, I imagine it's similar to a medieval religious structure. Thousands of serfs and servitors and a handful of marines in training copying out war reports, casualty listings and recruitment numbers with a very sacred style of diction and illuminated manuscripts stuffed into mile-high bookshelves with occasional bookalanches that kill unlucky serfs.

Black Templars can't take Librarians because they hate psykers in general, Astropaths get respect because they are beyond useful, in much the same way the Imperium at large tolerates Rattlings, Ogryn and the Space Wolves in spite of being filthy mutants. Before the being sucked back onto the Ultrasmurf codex they had limitations on how close they could get to an allied psyker in much the same way Grey Knights can't be within a certain range of daemons.

Pretty sure the 4th ed codex was even more strict then a range limit. If I recall, you couldn't ally with a psyker at all (Unless it was a grey knight). No range, no nothing. If a psyker was in the list,you couldn't take the Templar.

Didn't Grey Knights get released in 5th?

Their own codex did. But they existed since before that. Daemon Hunters codex (Had inquisition, Assassins, and Grey Knights all rolled into one I think it was). 3rd Edition looks to have been it's release date.

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Codex:_Daemonhunters_(3rd_Edition) for those interested

As for the fluff of blacktemplar "losing" their psykers... I don't think I have talked to a single Templar player (I count myself in this group) who actually follow pretty much any of the fluff for Templar history post being rolled into the generic marine book. It's all Imperials talking to each other and speculating. We Templar players know the truth, as the only remaining Chapter to follow the orders of the Emperor during the Council of Nikea!

40k fluff is what you make it as long as you have some precedent is set somewhere.