Adeptus Arbites
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In the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000, the Adeptus Arbites are the interplanetary police force of the Imperium, and responsible for maintaining the Emperor's Law and Peace. While peace and order are maintained by local security forces under an Imperial Governor, the Arbites were formed primarily to prevent wayward actions by local Imperial bureaucrats. In the event of a planetwide collapse of Imperium control, the Arbites can decree martial law and take control until a suitable command can be established, generally under an Imperial Guard force.
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[edit] Overview
Commanded by the Grand Provost Marshal of the Adeptus Arbites, one of the High Lords of Terra, Arbites maintain an uncompromising attitude towards crime and hand out harsh sentences for violations, including summary execution.
[edit] Organization
A standard Enforcer Precinct Squad includes an Enforcer Sergeant, eight Enforcers, and one Cyber-Mastiff and Handler, while the smaller Enforcer Patrol Team consists of five Enforcers with the option for specialists.
Each Arbites precinct is localed in an armored courthouse. The courthouse serves as an armory, training ground, barracks and judgment hall. Arbitrators, enforcement officers, and Judges, legal interpreters, operate in parallel organizations within the Adeptus Arbites. These two hierarchies combine at the rank of arbiter senioris to become the arbites general, which has the authority of both.
A segment of the Adeptus Arbites known as Enforcers serve the Inquisition for situations where even the Arbites has been compromised, in a similar fashion to the Grey Knights.
[edit] Equipment
Often operating in dense urban environments, Arbites are equipped with shotguns and bolters with Executioner rounds, special ammunition with homing capabilities. They are also generally armed with power mauls for melee combat, electro-net launchers and pulse-charged bolas for capturing perpetrators alive, grapplehawks and stingers, and cybernetically enhanced mastiffs for hunting hidden criminals.
For protection, Arbites wear black carapace armor and with signature jaw-exposed helmets. Arbites make use of combat motorcycles for patrols and Repressors, a variant of the Rhino, for riot response and heavy patrols, as well as heavier tanks such as the Leman Russ.
[edit] Game history
Borrowing heavily from Judge Dredd imagery, the Adeptus Arbites were first mentioned in Rogue Trader, but were introduced as a playable force in during the 2nd edition of Warhammer 40k, and have since appeared in the spinoff games Necromunda and Inquisitor (game). The organisation is the focus of three novels by Matthew Farrer, Cross Fire (Farrer, 2003) Legacy (Farrer, 2004) and Blind (Farrer, 2006).
[edit] References
- Farrer, Matthew (2003). Cross Fire. Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 0-7434-4366-7.
- Farrer, Matthew (2004). Legacy. Nottingham: Black Library. ISBN 1-84416-092-0.
- McNeill, Graham (2005). Nightbringer. Nottingham: Black Library. ISBN 1-84416-163-3.
- Adeptus Arbites. Games Workshop.
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