Techpriest
Techpriests are the fully-initiated and above members of the Adeptus Mechanicus, and act as tech support and religious engineers of the Imperium in Warhammer 40,000.
They are united by a belief in Machine Spirits and the Omnissiah and zealously guard what secrets of technology the Imperium has managed to scrape together and kept by the Adeptus Mechanicus -- the technology cult of Mars. Their core dogma is that all technology is sacred, and everything that can be learned has already been done so. This inevitably leads to the Tech-Priests unwilling to either reverse-engineer other technology or develop new ones, citing disrespect towards existing designs. Despite their role as a priesthood of technology, they've stagnated for close to 10,000 years and are now the foremen of little more than glorified mass-production factories. Only very few senior members of the Mechanicus are allowed to experiment or innovate, and only within strict guidelines.
Tech-Priests are often secluded within their own priesthood, studying or (if they're of a high enough rank) performing minor research. Sometimes they're also found outside the Adeptus Mechanicus working as tech-support, fixing the many machines of the Imperium when they break with hour-long maintenance rituals involving sacred incense and prayers for the machine spirit to start working again. This is unsurprisingly effective given that most rituals involve cleaning and purifying components, anointing the machine with sacred lubricants, and restarting revitalizing the machine spirit. On the other hand, regularly saying a prayer to a tank can keep it working longer than reasonably expected, or to get a malfunctioning cogitator to work properly again, so your mileage may vary.
Other varieties of techpriest exist, such as the Magos Biologos -- a sect of the Mechanicus who focus on repairing and updating the natural machinery of the human form, rather than artificial replacements, as well as xenologist branches. They may implant purpose-grown organs (such as the Lostok Augmentation, a set of glands that pump powerful combat drugs into the bearer's body), create fully organic servitors, and so on.
Rogue Trader ships sometimes carry Tech-Priests, not just for their invaluable technological aid but to also ferry them to a pilgrimage or holy place. They may also be found working for Inquisitors as emissaries from the Adeptus Mechanicus, giving aid or claiming artefacts in the name of the priesthood.
A Space Marine who shows talent with the sacred rituals of technology may be inducted into and trained by the Adeptus Mechanicus, eventually returning to their chapter as a Techmarine.
See Also
- Heretek, what you get when techpriests violate orthodoxy, and sometimes mix in with Chaos.
- Techmarine, a Space Marine with training from the Adeptus Mechanicus.
- Warpsmith, the Chaos Space Marines' equivalent to the Techmarine.