To the Space Marines, a Dreadnought is more than a simple weapon of war. It is a venerated hero who has seen decades, and often centuries, of service. They are grand priests of war, valued leaders, holy shrines and implacable warriors. When a great Space marine is felled in battle, they may be offered the chance to continue to fight on by being entombed in the armored body of a dreadnought. Protected by half-meter thick armor, and using devastating weaponry, they are able to advance into the heaviest fighting in support of their flesh and blood brethren. Occasionally, an entombed marine will survive for several centuries in this form and become what is known as a Venerable Dreadnought. At this point they become even more highly revered individuals, and their brother marines look to their armored forms as beacons of purity, hope and deliverance. The whine of their assault cannon becomes a prayer of death to be visited upon the enemy, the stomp of their massive, armored legs a war chant to spur their brethren on in battle.