Games - Necrodermis

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	Games - Necrodermis

In the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000
, Necrodermis is a type of living metal that forms the basis for all Necrontyr technology and is the substance used to design the physical shells that contain the C'tan. When translated from Greek and Latin, Necrodermis means "death-covering" or more disturbingly, "corpse-skin." This seems appropriate for a science fiction version of undead, the Necrons. The Necrontyr initially used the substance to prolong their short lives for travelling to other stars, using "Stasis crypts and slow burning torch-ships, clad in living metal to resist the age-long journeys through the void."

Necrodermis is also used to make the living metal bodies of the Necron C'tan. They are formed into the shape of the character/personality inhabiting the body. This is why each of the bodies of the C'tan are different. The Necrodermis can be destroyed and the host ejected back into space, but can be made again very simply by reforging the body.

The living metal was also used to construct the shells of the Necrons, though they lack the properties of larger constructs clad in the material, such as the Monolith and C'tan. This might be because the metal requires a certain amount of power to surge through it in order to act as if it was "living". Since the C'tan are beings of pure energy, they are able to alter the shape of their shell, and the Monoliths can be assumed to have an internal power supply which keeps the metal living. With this in mind, the Necrodermis can be likened to certain metals with shape memory, but being much more advanced, since it will constantly attempt to find its set shape as long as the energy flows through it. Perhaps the C'tan deemed it impractical to include such a system in the standard Necron Warrior, thus they have to rely on a more mechanical type of autoreparation. Note that the Necron Lords can carry Ressurection orbs, which apparently stimulate living metal in their vicinity to resume its original shape (Necrons have been noted to repair themselves after being melted if a Ressurection Orb is nearby).

There exist an extremely rare class of weapons composed of this material and imbued with phase technology, the C'tan Phase Sword and C'tan Phase Knife, which are capable of bypassing any form of defence in existence, including force fields and daemonic auras. But when they come into contact with the living metal hide of a C'tan, they are sucked from the hands of their wielder as if the C'tan is reabsorbing a part of its body, like "one's children returning home" as one C'tan puts it.

The hull of the Necron Monolith is also made of the almighty living metal. Powerful weapons such as Meltaguns and Power Fists are nearly rendered obsolete. Such a deadly monument to the Necron powers has inspired the infamous Tau saying "Living Armor Happens."

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