Warlord Titans are massive humanoid war robots from Games Workshop's Warhammer 40k universe. They first appeared in the Adeptus Titanicus game in the late eighties, which came with six of the original and best warlord models, a multi-part plastic-moulded version with interchangeable weapons and a distinctive crab-like carapace. There was also a large range of metal weapons, heads, and accessories available, including rubble claws and other oddities. Since the original game, there have been two different metal miniatures made to represent the warlord, neither of which are anywhere near as good as the original (or as cheap). They are also difficult and in many cases impossible to mount the nifty parts from the metal accessory and weapons ranges on.
Warlords are the most common of the many sorts of Titan used by the Imperial Titan Legions, part of the human Imperium of the Warhammer 40k universe. They are massive machines, over 100 feet tall, and weighing hundreds of tons. The basic design to which they are made is well over ten thousand years old, a testament both to its quality and to the stagnant technology of the Warhammer 40k universe. Indeed, some of the individual Titans still in service are this old, predating the Imperium itself. the vast majority of the Titans used at the time of the Horus Heresy, a great rebellion against the Imperium led by the Emperor's most trusted general, Horus, were Warlords. For this reason, most of the Titans employed by the forces of the dark gods of Chaos, who had secretly possessed Horus, are Warlords which date from this time.
The Warlord is what is known as a battle Titan; that is, it is intended for the most intense and regular combat, and is always at the forefront of any engagement, similar to the main battle tanks of today. As such, it needs to be well armed and well armoured. It is protected by six void shields, powerful energy shields that can protect against the most powerful of weapons. They are layered like the skin of an onion, so that when one is overloaded and knocked down by heavy fire, another is exposed. They can be regenerated during combat, and even if all are knocked down the Titan is still protected by metres of heavy adamantium and ceramite armour.
One of the main strengths of the Warlord is its flexibility. Its modular design allows weapons to be easily interchanged and replaced in the field. In its long history, innumerable weapons have been developed for the warlord, ranging from massive chainsaw arms that easily tear through opposing Titans to guided missiles, huge laser cannons and even specialist equipment like troop carrying pods and landing pads for airborne spotter vehicles. Some even replace the head of the Titan with a huge artillery cannon. Each Warlord is a formidable machine, capable of carrying up to 4 main weapons, as well as auxiliary firepower such as carapace mounted multi-lasers for engaging infantry at close ranges. This range of weapons available means that the Warlord can be outfitted for any number of roles, from long-range bombardment to close street fighting, Titan hunting or siege warfare. The number of weapons the Warlord can carry means that it can be fitted with 3 long range artillery weapons suitable for engaging other Titans or similar large targets, and a shorter ranged weapon for defending itself against infantry or armour without impairing its performance in its main role. Naturally, the reverse is true of Warlords fitted mainly for close-range fighting. This contributes greatly to the Warlords battlefield survivability, as unlike other Titans, which tend to have two or three main weapons, a single warlord can defend itself against most opponents. Warlords often operate in battlegroups of three, and in this role they can rely on each other for support, so their four weapon hardpoints allow them to carry out their role more effectively by mounting greater firepower than other Titans can. This tactical flexibility means that the Warlord is regarded as the workhorse of the Titan Legions, and is by far the most numerous of the many designs employed.