Power armour is a suit of powered battle plate that both protects its wearer and enhances their strength, allowing them to fight, march, and endure far beyond ordinary limits. Its thick ceramite and armoured plates turn aside blades and gunfire, while an internal network of powered fibres and servo-systems augments every movement so the heavy suit feels almost weightless to a trained warrior.
The armour is most closely associated with the Space Marines, whose iconic silhouette it defines. A full suit is far more than protection: it seals its occupant against toxins, hard vacuum, and hostile environments, filters the air, monitors wounds, and links the wearer to targeting and communication systems. For a superhuman warrior, the suit becomes almost a second skin, worn for days on end during prolonged campaigns.
Each suit is a treasured artefact, maintained through painstaking ritual and technical skill. Many are ancient, their histories stretching back thousands of years, and are cared for by armourers who honour the machine spirit believed to dwell within. Numerous patterns exist, reflecting different eras of manufacture and the customs of different warrior brotherhoods.
Though other elite fighters and champions of the Imperium sometimes wear their own versions, power armour remains the enduring emblem of the Emperor's genetically engineered soldiers. To learn more, see what are Space Marines.