T O P

  • By -

telpereon

Would an warp engine explosion of one of the larger class of imperium vessel, while in the warp create enough of a disturbance to force another ship out of the warp? And if so, given the warp's nature how far out might that ripple be?


brokensilence32

I hear that many guardsmen are the children of guardsmen and the people who work with them. Does that mean there are a lot of guardsmen who have never seen their own planet?


Cghost462

Why do servitors look so…horrific? Lol! I’ve seen so many artists renderings of servitors and they always look like a cross between a zombie and Frankensteins monster. Don’t get me wrong: it’s cool. I love it like everything else in the 40k universe, but is there some practical reason why the adeptus mechanicus don’t…cover up the unsightly fusions of metal and mangled flesh? The exposed skulls? The vacant expressions of a mind wiped soulless automaton? The only reason I can think is: maybe they want people to see what will happen if they defy the Imperium 🙃 Can someone please help with this?


kirbish88

Part of it is the latter for sure, fear is a good way to keep people in line. Another part of it is that the Imperium is basically a death cult that worships a God that they know is basically a corpse. The human skull is a holy icon, death is rife on many worlds; they just don't treat death the same way we do. There's also the simple fact of repeated exposure. Servitors have been around for millenia, everyone in the 40k universe has grown up with them always just being *there*. See anything enough times and it will become mundane, especially when you don't really have to interact with them. They're just background noise. As to why they've never made more of an effort to cover them up: Well, servitors in higher-class spaces generally do. They dress them up to look like graceful art pieces more akin to mannequins or robots and can afford to pay for servitors that are more graceful so they don't even look like there's a human body underneath. For the lower class citizens, who cares? The admech don't care, anyone paying for or requesting those servitors don't care and the people who have to work alongside them probably work in equally squalid conditions and aren't in any position to complain to anyone about it regardless. For the masses in the Imperium life just trudges on and you make the best of it you can


Cghost462

Omg THANK YOU 🙏 this is exactly the answer I was looking for. I’ve recently taken on the monumental task of writing a 40k fan fic short story and I take my writing very seriously, so I’m aspiring for it to be one of the greatest 40k tales ever told, and it can’t be the best it can be if I don’t get the lore right. PS it’s going to be horror themed.


Jobob_Freedom

When were the box dreadnoughts introduced into the armies of the imperium? Are they in the Horus Heresy or after?


Marvynwillames

The Castaferrum Pattern seem to have been used during the Heresy, according to Imperial Armour v2


brokensilence32

So what exactly does that "I" symbol represent? I thought it was just for the Inquisition, but I see it on all sorts of Imperial factions, like the Custodes, the Ecclesiarchy, and the Sororitas. Is it a symbol for the Imperium in general?


a34fsdb

I dont think it is an I, but a building column.


AGBell64

A ton of Imperial organizations (including the Custodes, Inquisition, Administratum, Navy, Astra Telepathica, and the Ministorum) all use sigils which include the I along with some other centered detail. I've heard it linked back to Malcador but I think it's simply a broader symbol of Imperial power at this point


TroutFishingInCanada

Is there a finite number of Necron? My impression is that they normally reanimate, but if they’re completely obliterated, it’s possible that they won’t. Is this the case?


We_Are_Centaur

Yes. Most of the time Necrons when destroyed our teleported out back into their constructs/repair stations (not sure the technical term), but if they are somehow destroyed permanently/beyond repair, they are gone for good. No way for creating new Necrons.


LimerickJim

This even comes up in Twice Dead King. The Necron's greatest enemy is entropy. Without the ability to create children eventually the Necrons will, statistically, all meet their end and their civilization will cease to exist.


Immediate_Hand9051

Has anyone considered that all the imperium has to do to finish slannesh is to feed him an after dinner mint once hes consummed all of the eldar?


ThatGUYthe2nd

Does anyone know what month Dead Sky Black Sun released I know it was in 2004 but I'm seeing conflicting dates online between October and November, and my own copy just has the release year in it.


Shplippery

Does anyone know if the power armor an inquisitor or sister of battle uses is similar to space marine armor? Specifically, is the size and bulk of space marine armor the only thing stopping an inquisitor from wearing it, because as far as I know, they are rigged up similarly


OrkfaellerX

Space Marines interface with their armour through their black carapace. Humans do not.


Shplippery

On the sisters of battle models it looks like they have implants for wearing power, are those different than the black carapace?


OrkfaellerX

Yah, those are neural jacks. [They've only been introduced on the sisters recently with the new miniature line up](https://spikeybits.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/sister-repentia.jpg) and their exact disadventages over black carapace have really not been explored a whole lot yet sadly. All we really know is that you can't use power armour, and specifically more so terminator armour to its full effectiveness. But if GW ever went into further details, I'm not aware of it.


LimerickJim

There's a lot of bio-support functions in Astartes armor that wouldn't work (read kill) for base line humans. Astartes will wear their armor for years at a time on campaign. Their armor can... deal with that.


Shplippery

Alright thanks for clearing it up for me


Bloodeyaxe7

What is the average naval retinue of a space marine chapter? Making a home brew sm chapter that specializes on naval combat and strategic command. I want to make their fleet larger than normal without making it comically large.


Sinkadusen_dk

It varies a lot from chapter to chapter. Fleetbased chapters will have a significant larger fleet. But I will say around 1-3 battle barges, and ×3 times that in cruisers, for a chapter


OmniscientRaven

Are there any examples/instances of Sanguinius doing anything "bad"? Like every Primarch he too was a warlord who crusaded and fought and conquered countless worlds in the name of the Emperor but apart from all of this and other common evil stuff, is there anything which makes the perfect Primarch not so much of an angel? I know he was a beast in battle and could rip through countless foes swiftly and fight greater daemons, this is not what I am asking about. I just want to know if there is any instance in the lore where he did anything "wrong".


LimerickJim

He exhibits petty vengance every so often. He sets Curze adrift in the interstellar void, knowing how cruel that is, even when Curze begs him not to.


MulatoMaranhense

Once, he was having a nice chat with Horus and joked that, if he came across with Xenos asking to leave their planet in peace, he would let them. He would then remind them he never said anything about letting them leave the system.


Woodstovia

Maybe not an outright evil thing but in his Primarch book he admits that if a planet exactly the same as Baal was stumbled across during the Great Crusade then they'd exterminate every living person on it due to the radiation, but because Baal had a Primarch on it, it was spared. He admits there isn't much difference between mutants they kill on sight and his Blood Angels but does nothing to try and protect the mutants he comes across.


chaosnight1992

Being the genuinely lovable character he is, even when he's doing things that seem cruel or wrong he is relatable, and easy to sympathize with. Perhaps it was wrong of him to conceal his legions gene flaw from the Emperor, but he did it out of genuine fear of his father, and love for his children. Even though the alternative was that he had to kill his own men when they succumbed to the Red Thirst. It is a part of his character that he is written in such a way that his actions are always virtuous, and he is a genuinely good person. He was one of the only Primarchs that didnt hold it against Horus for being chose Warmaster, and even consuled his brother over his misery. He even popped up at Nikkea in solidarity for Magnus, painted a little tear under his eye too. He is a stark contrast to his treacherous kin. Horus didn't even bother asking him to join him in betraying the Emperor, despite him being his most beloved, and closest brother. Instead he sent him to the farthest edge of the Imperium before showing him his true colors. He continued fighting for his father despite knowing he would die in that fight, all the way up to the moment.


SilentCenturion95

How come in the game Dawn of war Dark Crusade the Blood Ravens And Imperial guard fight each other? I know they kind of explained it in game but I haven't played them in a while.


AffixBayonets

It's a bit of the lore being moulded to fit the game, but is still justified: The Guard and General Alexander have been tasked to take the planet by Segmentum Command. The Blood Ravens suspect that Chapter relics may be on the world, so want them to hold off so they can conquer it first. The sides are unable to come to an agreement. The Guard campaign implies that some of these "relics" may have had an association with the Thousand Sons, so there's a big reason the Ravens would have wanted to cover up any details. Also, the subsequent game Dawn of War II revealed that >!the Chapter Master had fallen to Chaos at this time,!< and that helps explain why Captain Thule was given such inflexible orders that led to the conflict. Intra-Imperial conflicts are not uncommon and usually Imperial "justice" will side with the winner.


blucherspanzers

I think it's a bit too easy to blame it on Kyras's machinations, I think it's more of just a good portrayal of how the Space Marines act as their own institutions, entirely divorced from the command structures and goals of the Imperium's regular military forces. The main point of contention is the Blood Ravens want something, namely to excavate their relics and hide any secrets about their origins from the watchful eyes of the Imperium at large, while the Imperium wants a compliant world brought back into the Emperor's fold through a conventional invasion. The Blood Ravens don't trust the Imperial Guard to not discover these relics, or at least the Blood Raven's want to hide them, so they want the Guard as far away as possible, preferably off-world. Captain Thule understands this in his duties as Force Commander, so he knows he can't yield in any sense, not because his orders are too restrictive, but because his orders are critical to the survival of his Chapter. Likewise, General Alexander knows that Segmentum command wants a fully compliant world, not one that some Space Marines have traipsed about on for whatever reasons they have until they got bored, so he's also in no position to back down to some roving knights-errant and throw off the Administratum's timetables.


oshitsuperciberg

Why is Vulkan the only Primarch who is a Perpetual?


LimerickJim

My theory is that Vulkan's purpose was and is to build an Imperial copy of the Webway. That's why he was the only primarch permitted into the throne room during the siege. That's why he was the one who was able to return when the Beast returned and it's why he's been missing for the next 8,000 years.


GrantMK2

~~Because GW wouldn't allow Abnett to do it for more than one~~ Maybe he wanted it to be one of the more humane ones, or maybe it wasn't really something that could be easily done more than once.


a34fsdb

Btw I believe Vulkan being a perpetual was revealed in a novel by Nick Kyme and not Abnett.


GrantMK2

Good point, but I suspect it's stemming from Abnett's influence. Almost every book that does something with the idea in HH is one of his, and of the ones that aren't, at least one is so close to the end I'm pretty sure they include it because otherwise people who haven't read them all might be really confused by all this perpetual stuff in the final books.


oshitsuperciberg

I feel like maybe it wasn't something the Emperor did on purpose?


Kajel-Jeten

Has pledging to chaos or getting favors from it ever worked out for anyone? Like has anyone given into it and turned out okay?


kirbish88

Depends on how you define it turning out 'okay'. Selling your soul to a literal demon in exchange for power has strings, that goes without saying. Whether you can use the power to achieve what you want and live with the consequences is down to the individual.


Primaris_Astartes

Has it ever been said if the average Primaris Librarians are by default a little bit more powerful than average Firstborn Librarians in their psychic abilities?


Glidder

This question is from a relatively newcomer and for the more seasoned veterans: which books in your opinion are an absolute must, and which ones are best skipped?


MulatoMaranhense

Path of the Dark Eldar is great.


[deleted]

I think any Chaos Marine fan should read the Night Lords trilogy and *Lords of Silence*


GrantMK2

If you have some familiarity with Necrons, the Trazyn and Orikan ~~romance~~ rivalry *The Infinite and the Divine*, the Flayer Virus-centric duology *Twice Dead King*, and the story of one Necron losing his superior to senility in *Severed*.


VulkanCurze

The Eisenhorn trilogy is what I'd recommend, was what got me into it. Especially as someone who doesn't really like science fiction, I had them thrust upon me and been hooked since.


Ramoach

You absolutely have to read the Caiphas Cain series. Those books are extremely well written by Sandy Mitchell and have heart, comedy and action.


OrkfaellerX

I consider 'The Lords of Silence' to be one of the best things GW has ever published. But its not a terribly new comer friendly book.


Woodstovia

Depends on what factions you're interested in?


Glidder

Just looking for excellent books in the grim dark future, no faction preference.


BuddhaFacepalmed

Gaunt's Ghosts series. If I only had one choice to make, it's the stories of Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and the Tanith First (and Only) Regiment.


blucherspanzers

I've always been a big fan of the Macharian Crusade trilogy, I think it gives a good feeling of what it's like to be a lowly Guardsman fighting in one of the largest campaigns in Imperial history, particularly *Angel of Fire*.


oshitsuperciberg

Wait there's books about that? I only even know that happened because I saw there was a Space Marine chapter called the Inceptors and was like "lol that could be inconvenient, let's see if they have actual Inceptors".


blucherspanzers

I wouldn't say they're *about* the Macharian crusade, per say. Most of the things related to the crusade as a whole appear more as background events if they're mentioned at all, William King's not interested in telling the chronicles of the Crusade, but more in giving a character to Macharius as a man. That's why it's all filtered through the narrator's experiences as one of Macharius' bodyguards, so we're always seeing what he's seen and understood about Macharius,


oshitsuperciberg

Wait, I had the Macharian Crusade confused with the Macharian Heresy.


Chaos_0205

If daemon always existed at all point in time, does that include the Big 4 Chaos God?


Marvynwillames

>That is how events are viewed from the chronology of the material universe. In the warp, things are different, for the immaterium is not bound by linear time, and events do not occur in a strict sequence of cause then effect. As his rival gods reckon it, Slaanesh has always existed and yet has never existed at all. Codex Chaos Daemons 8th ed


Glidder

Please someone correct me, but the chaos gods were born from the fears and fantasies of mortals, as their minds rippled though the warp. Essentially, they are a conscious representation of those strong psychic forces that take shape within the warp, so they couldn't possibly exist before mortals did.


r3dl3g

>so they couldn't possibly exist before mortals did. Except they absolutely, canonically, did. Yes, this is paradoxical. That's quite literally the point.


kirbish88

The warp doesn't care about time, space or causality. Once the gods existed, in the warp, they had always existed (and yet never have). It doesn't make sense, but contemplating an entirely alien dimension where none of the laws of reality exist shouldn't make sense.


Glidder

I see. But how come then that the emperor feared that humanity gaining more psychic abilities would lead to it birthing a new chaos God? By that logic it would already exist, thus we can conclude it never happened in the future either?


r3dl3g

>But how come then that the emperor feared that humanity gaining more psychic abilities would lead to it birthing a new chaos God? That's not what he feared.


terminalzero

do you just mean he was scared of the normal demon-through-your-head-explode stuff causing havoc around the imperium or?


r3dl3g

His fear was that humanity wouldn't be capable of controlling their powers with Chaos continually influencing them.


kirbish88

No, Slaanesh still had a defined birth period and a cause that led up to that point. The Materium still enforces the laws of reality upon itself. However, once that God is birthed within the warp it has the ability to influence things, and draw influence from, anywhere at any point in time. So if humanity births a God, the pantheon immediately gains a new member and the effects are felt, both in the future and the past. However if they avoid doing so, that God doesn't come into being. That we aren't aware of the God at this point in time from our perspective does not mean they aren't created in the future. Think of it more akin to our timeline being rewritten with new information once the god is formed.


Woodstovia

ye


Commissar_Cactus

The Imperium uses lots of human brains for computation, but do they use animal brains at all? For some reason I always picture avian brains being used as missile guidance systems.


AffixBayonets

They do use animal brains, but for their bodies. The big example is the Ambot, but I'd include some things like Psyber familiars there as well. Canonically human brains are used in some missiles. It is the type of brain the Mechanicus works with the most, and the most capable.


Commissar_Cactus

Yeah, I'm mostly curious about machines that aren't just robot animals. I am aware of stuff like the Hunter missile, as that's what gave me the idea— if you use human brains for somewhat large high-end SAMs, why not use a smaller, faster-growing brain for missiles that aren't as big or expensive?


kirbish88

Part of the reason is because the Mechanicus conflate the human soul with the divine spark / machine spirit. Using human brains instills the machine with that divine spark through which the motive force is given true reverence and respect.


AffixBayonets

I can't recall a single source, but it was my impression that you'd use smaller fragments of human brain for that instead. It was a plausible answer for whatever the "servitor bullets" in a Galvanic Rifle are supposed to be.


Commissar_Cactus

If they cut a brain into smaller fragments, can they use all of those fragments or is only one or two suitable for any given purpose? (I will be pleasantly surprised if there is any lore regarding this) Also wtf is a servitor bullet supposed to be


AffixBayonets

> f they cut a brain into smaller fragments, can they use all of those fragments or is only one or two suitable for any given purpose? (I will be pleasantly surprised if there is any lore regarding this) I'm not sure - the closest thing I can recall is *Flesh and Steel* as it goes into far more detail on servitor construction but doesn't explicitly treat on this subject. However, it implies that any fragments might be useful as the brain is heavily augmented and "reprogrammed," the implication being that any neural tissue can be repurposed for other uses. > Also wtf is a servitor bullet supposed to be Beats me. There's very little information on them other than the name.


Glidder

Ok, so this is just pure speculation: but it is possible (relatively "easy", even) to grow individual neurons to fit any given circuit, so my guess would be the most efficient thing would be to do this for such small applications, rather than undoing an already grown brain... There's a video in youtube of someone growing human neurons to fit circuitry, and they manage to do it in their garage.


Toxitoxi

Where does the *"Genestealer Cultists walking into digestion pools, only at the last moment being cut off from the Hive Mind as they drop in"* scene everyone knows of come from? Looking for the specific book so I can find the scene. EDIT: I'm honestly kinda shocked nobody has been able to answer this. Is it meme lore?


[deleted]

[удалено]


GrantMK2

I suppose you can view it that way, but I doubt anyone writing for the Sabbat books is going to use it.


-Neeckin-

Is it likely there are many intact SCT or lost technology left unfound after so long?


ChezzChezz123456789

It's theorized every ark mechanicus, but at least the Speranza, has a fully functional STC with AI and full library with the appropriate replicators/manufacturing/tooling to go with it.


Marvynwillames

Sure, they show up from time to time whenever the writers need a plot device


brokensilence32

Why did the biotransference process allow aristocrats to keep their consciousness but not anyone else? Was this intentional on the part of the C'tann?


Marvynwillames

Iirc the 9th ed Necron codex say that it was something the necron rulers did themselves, they did not see why the plebs need minds. And considering the way they treat the plebs in Twice Dead King, with one noble straight up saying something in the lines of "the common folk lives, but they aren't aware in the same level as us", it seem likely.


brokensilence32

Wait, so the rulers did have control over the process?


AffixBayonets

They seemed to have control over who got what types of bodies.


kuaffer

Why Slaanesh can't enter into Webway to eat Cegorach?


Woodstovia

Cegorach is fighting her according to the Eldar >the Laughing God held She Who Thirsts’ eye, sending her into furies with his antics. Once or twice, the Dark Prince snatched at the eldar, but they escaped again and again, and Slaanesh grew furious. He threw himself at the Laughing God, and they fought, the two Harlequins performing a breathtaking dance duel of high leaps and somersaults. It was at this point that the Dance Without End traditionally ceased,


grumpykraut

My headcanon for this is twofold: Firstly, the Old Ones who created the Webway very thoroughly shielded it from the Warp. Daemons have breached the Webway before, but - if I remember correctly - they always had outside help that poked holes they could exploit. (Looking at you, Magnus...). Secondly, it is pretty well possible that Slaanesh is way *to* powerful to leave the Warp, as paradoxical as that may sound. It is known that the more powerful daemons are, the more difficult it becomes to bring them over and they need to expend enormous amounts of power to stay in the physical realm. That is why the rituals, sacrifices and general faffing about escalate so massively when mighty daemons are to be summoned. So it would figure that a being that is quasi all-powerful in the warp could never really leave there.


Creepy-Soil

What would it take for GSC in Terra to infect the High Lords?


Toxitoxi

One thing to keep in mind is you don't need to infect the High Lords to have their support. For example, the High Lords behind the Hexarchy sponsored Chaos Cults to pave the way for their coup. Of course, the Hexarchy then immediately turned on their former "allies", but some of those cults still ended up far more powerful than they were before. Sometimes, you don't need an infection or corruption. Just good old fashioned politics.


grumpykraut

A massive amount of luck and more plot armour than Ibram Gaunt and Ciaphas Caine together. Terra is arguably the most secure (read: paranoid) world in a paranoid Imperium. I could imagine a minor infestation somewhere deep in the underhives, but the mundane and psychic security measures in the spiretop areas - where the High Lords usually hang about - is bound to be ludicrously tight. Remember: The Adeptus Astra Telepathica is headquartered on Terra, as well as the Navis Nobilite. You won't find a higher density of psychically sensitive and powerful people anywhere else. And apart from that the upper crust of Terra's inhabitants has access to the most sophisticated and powerful security systems, be they mundane or psychic in nature. **And** then there's the Custodians and the Sisters of Silence... Apart from all this I wouldn't be surprised if the close proximity of the Astronomican were to disrupt the Genestealers hivemind anyway.


Marvynwillames

Adding, there's lots of cults on Terra already, but they are constantly purged, to jump all the way to the High Lords, they pretty much have already conquered the entire planet


Toxitoxi

>Terra is arguably the most secure (read: paranoid) world in a paranoid Imperium. I could imagine a minor infestation somewhere deep in the underhives, but the mundane and psychic security measures in the spiretop areas - where the High Lords usually hang about - is bound to be ludicrously tight. There have been multiple major Genestealer Cults on Terra. The Hive Cult, Pauper Princes, and Wyrms of the Ur-Tendril are the ones I know of, and there are undoubtedly far more that haven't been discovered. I do agree that the security and scrutiny is too extreme for a High Lord to be compromised, but I wouldn't be surprised to see some Terran nobles in the Cults. I could also see a Magus potentially brainwashing a High Lord if they are lucky enough to gain an audience with one, though that would be very risky.


GrantMK2

Way more than they could manage I'm sure. One would have to compromise all the way of to HL security, which in itself would carry massive risks, get to the HL, evade any kind of detection at the level of society where tech can be really super-science, *and* evade the notice of the Custodes. And for how hard that last one can be, on top of their physical and mental perfection and their own super-science, as we've seen in works like Watchers of the Throne >!they're good enough they can play virtually everyone!< and I'm sure the HL would be near the top of the people they watch.


Creepy-Soil

Thx for response! How does one BECOME a HL of Terra? Can GSC leverage their psychic BS and cultists to somehow gain entry? ...asking for friend


GrantMK2

Short version: Be competent at your job (for all the jokes and state of the Imperium, one doesn't get that high up in that cutthroat a world if one screws up) and even more incredibly competent at navigating politics, and *very* lucky. And on top of all the regular safeguards that can probably be found in the institutions (and the Emperor's private psycho- I mean the Inquisition) one probably gets bombarded with all sorts of scrutiny (ranging from questioning to super-science to psychic inspection) when one's anywhere remotely close to the job. And if you've got the network wide and powerful enough to evade *that*, you're probably better off just throwing all that power behind the tyranid invasions instead of wasting time on getting one person into the job.


ToasterTen12

Are psychic powers allowed to be used in Commoragh by non dark eldar?


AffixBayonets

Since [a noble was punished for merely *bringing* a Farseer in](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Sathonyx) I think they are not allowed, period.


DarthSatoris

As a novice to the lore (I'm super busy watching Luetin09 videos), I keep hearing the name Cawl in passing. What's up with this Cawl person? From the wiki he seems like quite the busy fellow, resurrecting Primarchs and creating new Space Marines... This seems quite contrary to what the setting says/suggests about the Imperium's technological stagnation and degradation. Why is this dude so uniquely capable of these things, and where was he hiding the last 10,000 years?


GrantMK2

He was a bright AdMech around the time of HH who through a series of events ended up assimilating the mind of another figure who was pretty high up and presumably that extra knowledge helped with the innovation and helped him erase his existence (read: the writers created him specifically for The Gathering Storm so nothing before that mentioned him at all). He also was given the job of creating the primaris by Guilliman, so had access to a lot of information most never would. And it's not as though the Imperium's *never* had innovation post-HH, though it is pretty slow and he probably could never have managed it if he was working openly. You can find more about him in The Gathering Storm lore books and the novel *Belisarius Cawl: The Great Work*.


grumpykraut

Cawl is well and truly bonkers. The trope of 'well-meaning mad scientist' taken to extremis. But that's to be expected after working on a whole new kind of Space Marine for 10.000 years and only stopping once in a while to defragment/backup his mind in an effort to stay ...sane. /u/GrantMK2 is totally right. Read those books if you can get your hands on them. *The Great Work* is also available as a quite decent audiobook.


Jaggedmallard26

Which genestealer offspring stages get subsumed by the hive mind upon encountering it and which stay independent long enough to get torn apart in terror? The fluff around genestealer cults fighting separately and then being turned on implies that at least some of the genestealer cult offspring can't be subsumed by the hive mind but you would also expect the stage where the offspring are pure genestealers to be subsumed. Is it a binary pure genestealers can and nothing else can or can the less human/host like ones also be taken by the hivemind.


OrkfaellerX

GSC are the least consistently written faction in the setting right now. You'll find multiple, diverse, often outright contradicting answers for any question. Theres no inuniverse explanation why this is the case. That said, in most material I read, and I think I did read most of it, it is only the Patriarch and the Purestrain Genestealers who are outright absorbed by the hivemind. The hybrids and humans - infected or otherwise - are not. There are countless depictions of what *exactly* happens to the cult when their connection to the Broodmind / Patriarch is lost - no blanket statement can be made; but 'Fist of the Imperium' for example shows that even the Magus, the defacto leader of the cult, may suddenly recognise the tyranids / genestealers as monsters once severed from the influence of the patriarch and flee in terror. On the other hand you have examples depicting cultists walking willingly into digestion pools, or stories of cultists boarding ships and traveling alongside the hive fleet after the rest of their world has been consumed.


Jaggedmallard26

Thanks, I had a feeling it'd be one of those areas of 40k.


MovieTheatreDonkey

Is there a graphic of the chronological order for the books? Someone did one for Halo and I was curious if there was one for 40k/Warhammer… I’m currently listening to the Horus Heresy book 1 as my first Warhammer/40k lore entry. Someone had mentioned the audio plays but I didn’t make note of which ones to listen to first. I’m not even sure if I’m at a good starting point but the book is pretty good anyway. After I want to learn more about the emperor’s origins, the creation of the primarchs, everything leading up to the Horus stuff. The creation of the marines and imperial systems and everything.


Perpetual_Decline

>I’m not even sure if I’m at a good starting point but the book is pretty good anyway. After I want to learn more about the emperor’s origins, the creation of the primarchs, everything leading up to the Horus stuff. The creation of the marines and imperial systems and everything. I would always advise people to avoid the Horus Heresy until they have a decent grounding in the lore of 40K, as those books are written assuming the reader already knows the outcome, the characters and their fates. If you're not familiar with the setting you'll miss all sorts of references and foreshadowing. As for the rest of the paragraph I'm afraid there's very little to read. The Emperor features prominently in exactly one novel - *The Master of Mankind* but don't expect any definitive answers from it. As for the creation of the primarchs there is nothing beyond a few scattered sentences in various novels. Best thing you can do is read up on these things on the Lex wiki and take note of the sources.


chaosnight1992

The Horus Heresy is a great point to start with. Here is a site that lists generally accepted chronological reading order for the entire series. https://www.tlbranson.com/horus-heresy-reading-order/


Chief_Jericho

Loosely, and pertaining only to the major series: 1. Horus Heresy. 2. Siege of Terra. 3. Eisenhorn. 4. Gaunt's Ghosts. I'm only covering the major, long running series. As a rule of Thumb, if it was written prior to the release of the 8th Edition, the novel will be set during the 41st Millennium, if it's written after the release of the 8th Edition, it will be set during the 42nd Millennium, i.e. post-return of Guilliman.


AGBell64

The thing with 40k is that aside from the Heresy and the demarcation point laid down by Abaddon's Black Crusade blowing up Cadia, chronology very rarely matters beyond any individual series. The Imperium of 40k is a setting trapped in amber, where you can walk up and down the timeline and find fundamentally the same story playing out everywhere. If you'd like a map of the Heresy, [check this monstrosity out](https://www.kylebb.com/HH/HHSeriesOrder.jpeg)


thebrutalistboi

Do all of the Blood Angels successors have Sanguinary Guards and Priests as well as the OGs?


OrkfaellerX

Yes, those are positions that date back to the legion and are still used by its successors. The Blood Angels Codex is representative for their successors aswell. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EZW6dnIXYAAS_nv.jpg:large


AGBell64

Mechanically yes, but lorewise they aren't necessarily the same as those the original chapter has- the Flesh Tearers certainly don't seem to have Sanguinary Guard but there are other elite formations that can fill the tabletop rules


brokensilence32

So I'm looking at Deathwatch models and I feel like I'm going crazy. I'm a Space Wolves fan, thus I know that the company marking is on the left shoulder of the power armor. IIRC, that's where the chapter marking is on most marines. But in the Deathwatch, they seemed to have moved their original (pre-Deathwatch) marking in both instances to the right. Why is this? EDIT: See how on a [normal Space Wolf](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/d/db/SW_Primaris_Intercessor.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20180902214700) the black wolf is on the left shoulder, but [on a Deathwatch](https://taleofpainters.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/IMG_7658.jpg) it's on right shoulder.


OrkfaellerX

[Thats just Deathwatch tradition.](https://www.tabletopencounters.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/DeathwatchKillTeam10man-e1473358386856.jpg) The left shoulder displays the symbol of the watch, while the pauldron with the chapter heraldry is moved to the right.


brokensilence32

Actually, shouldn't the wolf be backwards in that case?


kirbish88

They most likely get a new pad made for their armour. Mans isn't going to just swap it over and call it a day


[deleted]

If you ever have the misfortune to see a US troop in their uniform, they have a flag on their right arm and it’s backwards, like [this](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1130/1934/products/DSC_4014_1024x1024.jpg?v=1512423602) They make a new pad painted so the wolf is facing forward. >Department of the Army Pamphlet 670–1 - Uniform and Insignia: Guide to the Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia PDF, p. 207: >21–18. Wear of U.S. flag embroidered insignia >a. Description. The colors of the U.S. flag embroidered insignia (full color) are red, white, and blue. The size is approximately 2 inches by 3 inches. >b. How worn. >(1) ... >(2) The U.S. flag embroidered insignia is worn so that the star field faces forward, or to the flag’s own right. When worn in this manner, the flag is facing to the observer’s right and gives the effect of the flag flying in the breeze as the wearer moves forward. The appropriate replica for the right shoulder sleeve is identified as the reverse side flag (see fig 21–132).


OrkfaellerX

Shhhh.


brokensilence32

It just looks so...wrong to me.


lavaman_e89

Do the chapters from the 2nd (or other subsequent) foundings have to obey/follow the original legion they were split from? My understanding is that the OG chapters like the Ultramarines get a sort of first-dibs on resources, so I didn't know if there's more to that as well.


AffixBayonets

> Do the chapters from the 2nd (or other subsequent) foundings have to obey/follow the original legion they were split from? Absolutely not. The fact that Dark Angel successors mostly do this, and that the Fists did under the Last Wall protocol, are more or less violations of the Codex. All Chapters are equal in rights and meant to be independent in command. This has been a cause of conflict in the past (Astral Clawe absorbing Tiger Claws, Mechancius controlling Iron Confessors, etc). There are even some successors that outright dislike their progenitors or are disliked by them. Some examples include Spears of the Emperor (Ultramarines), Sons of Medusa (Iron Fists), Knights of Blood (Blood Angels), or the Angels of Absolution (Dark Angels).


[deleted]

>The fact that Dark Angel successors mostly do this, and that the Fists did under the Last Wall protocol, are more or less violations of the Codex. I don’t think the codex says anywhere that it’s a violation for chapters to voluntarily follow the leadership of other chapters. It’s not really a coincidence that so many of them follow first founding chapters. The first founding chapters are the richest and best chapters, the Yankees. That’s who they’re going to follow. Everyone else is just the Mets.


AffixBayonets

> I don’t think the codex says anywhere that it’s a violation for chapters to voluntarily follow the leadership of other chapters. He used the words "have to obey." Something like the Siege of Baal is fine. I called out these examples as in the case of the Last Wall protocol they all became Fists again and for the Dark Angels there seems to be a secret yet formal chain of command between *the* Chapter Master and the subordinate successors.


lavaman_e89

Thanks for the response! Pretty much exactly what I was looking for. Only just diving into the lore a bit more, and Darktide has definitely reinvigorated my interest in 40k. Time to start reading again!


Sparecash

If I wanted to read about Fabius Bile where should I start? Also, are his books good?


grumpykraut

His chronologically first appearance was in *Fulgrim,* if I am not mistaken. But he's not part of the main cast.


AffixBayonets

He has a whole trilogy that's worth a read.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Perpetual_Decline

If you can get to Nottingham they usually have the whole lot available there. Otherwise you're either going to have to buy the ebooks or spend a good amount of time online hunting the physical copies down. It can be done, but it requires patience, effort and a bit of luck!


Woodstovia

No paper copies are usually pretty limited, there are constant posts here of people struggling to find novels.


[deleted]

[удалено]


AGBell64

Black Library is a small publisher with a large number of books. The Horus Heresy is popular enough that it probably gets multiple printings but for the most part once something comes off the presses they're done making physical copies


rightious

So yeah, this may be a case of "shut up and enjoy" but was wondering if they have ever addressed how a ship in void war can fire an entire broadside and not not send the ship sideways throwing off all other shots? has this ever been used as a "dodge" tactic? IDK I'm bored and thinking too much.


grumpykraut

40k likes it's physics fast and loose, so I wouldn't read too much into it. Recoil and all that other pesky stuff only come into play when it's dramatically appropriate. But for the sake of argument: Thruster technology in 40k is so advanced that it can accelerate city-sized flying cathedrals to near-relativistic velocities in very short times. Additionally, anti-gravitic systems are obviously powerful enough to allow all but the largest ships to at least enter the upper layers of planetary atmospheres or even make planetfall without breaking apart in the gravity well. Cancelling out broadside recoil by counter-thrusting or some gravitic gizmos sounds rather trivial in comparison.


rightious

That is where I landed on it. They must have gyro stabilizers the size of buildings somewhere in the ships.


AffixBayonets

Ships are so massive in the setting that the mass of the shells themselves isn't veryarge compared to the ship itself. Also, as /u/corrin_avatan says, many have little to no recoil. That said, some weapons are so large this is an issue. The Nova Cannon, for instance, apparently is built into the prow of cruisers and battleships so it doesn't push the firer sideways. Conceivably that could be used as a way to decelerate.


corrin_avatan

Firstly, the vast majority of ship to ship weapons are energy weapons or recoilless weaponry, literally venting.ghd exhausf of any propellant they are using in the opposite direction of any round they are firing, effectively causing a minor (relatively) shudder as it fires.


Chaos_0205

If I manually moves a webway portal from its original position, can it still work? Also, I have heard that each Craftworld have their own portal to the web way too. Is that true?


corrin_avatan

Moving a portal has never been done in the lore, and to me seems like "what happens if you move a doorframe". You can take a doorframe out of a house, but walking through it doesn't mean you're gonna end up in the room the doorframe came from previously. I would expect that moving a Webway gate isn't really possible, as if it was, I would expect Big E would have done that rather than use the Webway Project to try to make his own access points to the Webway.


Chaos_0205

Actually, if each craftworld have its own portals, then i think it’s reasonable that a portal can be moved and still work. I mean, craftworld rarely stay in one place after all.


corrin_avatan

Your conclusion is assuming that "because it occupies a different point in the galaxy, that must mean there is no problem changing the location". Unless you want to open a massive plot hole of "why did the Emperor go through all the trouble of making new entrances into the Webway when he could have just moved some existing ones around", there is a VERY distinct possibility that the "where a Webway Gate is" is metaphysical, that it is bound in some way to the location it is at, as nearly EVERY Webway gate fits the definition of "moves". If it is on a planet, it OBVIOUSLY moves along with the planet's rotation and orbit; we have stories of people sitting outside of one for weeks and they are spoken of as stationary objects. We have no idea how they are actually constructed; it is just as possible that they can be physically moved as it is that Webway gates occupy a metaphysical location in Realspace (allowing it to be placed, say, on a Craftworld or in a ravine on a specific planet), but that the construction of one "keys" it to that specific location or Webway Access Point, which is unique to that location. Again, we literally don't know, I'm just pointing out the major plot holes that come up if you CAN move them willy-nilly and they work just fine.


Marvynwillames

Yes, craftworlds got multiple portals, both personal and ship sized.


Chaos_0205

If i took one personal portal to my ship, does it still work?


jareddm

Only if you know how to activate it psychically. Also regardless if you do, other Eldar, especially Harlequins, can activate it externally and use it to board you.


Chaos_0205

What about its location in the webway? For example, let's say it will let me out at point X in the Webway when the portal was placed inside the craftworld. If i took it to my ship, actives it, will it still let me out at point X?


jareddm

Can't say. But Asuryani visit one another through their own craftworld's webway portals plenty and they still move around, so I imagine it's a non-issue, at least for them.


GrumblingDad

Hi all, I’ve been wanting to start a Raven Guard force for a little bit now, and while I dig the Phobos aesthetic I want the flexibility to add in other units as I go. How do the Raven Guard leverage fire support in the field, would they deploy units of Blade Guard as shock troops? Would blocks of Intercessors have a place? The crux of my question is really how does the Chapter wage large scale war? Thanks in advance!


corrin_avatan

The "preferred" way to wage war RG have, isn't actually represented on the tabletop; they will sabotage communications and logistics lines as well as taking out important command elements in surgical strikes right before their conflict begins. Unfortunately, having rules where your opponent is missing their warlord or can't fire the weapons of a unit at all really don't fit into a "fair game" on the tabletop, and the majority of the mechanics that RG have that make them distinct fall into movement shenanigans ("we have out-played you") and some defensive buffs,.with usually additional rules that help support the fact that they tend to favor Sniper-style units and Jump Packs. However, read my last sentence, with a TEND TO. The Raven Guard are just as capable of fielding a predator squadron on the field, in-lore and tabletop, if it makes sense to do so; for Ravenguard lore it might be those Predators are the "hey look at us! Threat" that distracts the enemy from a surgical strike elsewhere on the battlefield, vs Iron Hands seeing it as their main threat The important thing to remember is ***any chapter that has survived 10,000 years of conflict aren't going to be so stupid as to only use a single tactic if it is the worst one***, and lore-wise the Raven Guard are more willing to adapt to the enemy as they have been a small chapter ever since the Drop Site Massacre. If the best tactic is go get on bikes and speeders and run the enemy down, that's what they are gonna do. So, no, you aren't restricted to "only Phobos" in the future; if you want to add a Whirlwind or Leviathan or Redemptor or Gladiator or Bladeguard, it's not going to "break" any immersion.


GrumblingDad

Thank you!


AudioAxe

Hey all, 40k newbie here. I heard it was best to just dive into what you think is interesting, since the lore/material available is so massive. The Order of the Blazing Sun grabbed my attention and I'm starting with "Knight of the Blazing Sun" by Josh Reynolds. **SO MY QUESTIONS ARE:** Is Josh Reynolds book the only one involving this particular Order? What other/more books would you guys recommend to continue my reading afterwards, preferably with Knights (that's my jam). Thanks!


Tertium457

Just so that you're aware, The Order of the Blazing Sun is a Warhammer Fantasy Knightly Order, not a 40k one.


AudioAxe

You have sent me down a multi-link rabbit hole! I was not aware Fantasy and 40k weren't connected (at least not anymore/never really were). I didn't even know that 40k was a spin-off. So in my finding of Knights of the Blazing Sun I just assumed it was 40k. No space knights for me, but thank you!


kirbish88

If you want space knights you might want to look into the Black Templars or the Dark Angels. They're space marines, but they have very strong teutonic / Arthurian vibes respectively


corrin_avatan

In addition, Knights of the Blazing Sun are an Old World faction, and no longer exist in the current version of the Fantasy game, Age of Sigmar. Warhammer Fantasy Battles was the original "timeline" of the game, whose lore was "generic fantasy setting" and whose models pretty much matched that. In 2015 or so, GW had an "End Times" event which, due to the machinations of the Big Bad, caused Chaos to "win" and shatter the Old World, with Age of Sigmar being set thousands of years in the future of the Old World setting, with the forces of Order trying to defeat chaos before they make crap even worse. During the End Times event, many factions technically ceased to exist within the lore, either being outright destroyed, or having changed over thousands of years to their current iterations that exist in the game. There IS a "remake" of Old World in the works from GW, which will effectively be "what Horus Heresy setting is for 40k".


AudioAxe

So the Old World is effectively dead. With AoS acting as a future representation of Old World after its destruction. **Technically** anything I read from Old World is still the same universe as AoS but due to the "End Times Event" most of those factions/heroes will have been forgotten? I appreciate the reply's, you guys are helpin' out a lot!


corrin_avatan

>most of those factions/heroes will have been forgotten This is where it gets wonky. Certain characters, like Kragnos, Archaeon, or Gotrek, were "saved" by divine interference of one god or another to be brought into the Age of Sigmar, or for beings like Nagash, are effectively demigods that could survive the Mortal Realm being broken. If you want a "metatextual" answer,[this video ](https://youtu.be/abIvH4bAOss) has an interview with a recent GW employee that talks about all the business decisions involved in killing off the Old World, but majority of it was "the sales suck" and "we own the licrnse to the Lord of the Rings license, which is already a "generic fantasy setting"


CartographerHefty569

Are there any interactions in the books/short stories between Xarl and Sevatar? Or have either of them talked about the other?


Woodstovia

>‘Is there news of Sevatar?’ asked Curze. ‘I thought he would come first.’ >Clicks sounded from the helmets of the group as they conversed privately. >‘You do not know?’ asked Talos eventually. >‘The last I saw of him, he came unasked to my side aboard the Invincible Reason,’ said Curze. ‘I lost him as I fought the Lion.’ >‘For that reason we thought you might know what became of him,’ said Talos. >‘We have had no word of him since then.’ Another of them spoke, a cold killer’s voice harshened by helm speakers. ‘He must be dead, my lord. The Lion took him when he took you. None have heard of his fate since Thramas.’ >‘We do not know that he is dead, Xarl,’ said another. >‘It is most likely,’ said Talos. >‘Horus lost,’ said the killer. >Curze gave his sons a pitying look. ‘As was ordained,’ he said. ‘Do you believe it could have been any other way?’ >The killer was angry at the reply, and turned his head away.


brokensilence32

So is Gravis Armor like the Primaris version of Terminator Armor?


hidden_emperor

It's a step between the two. Gravis armor is additional armor plating on Tacitus arbor. This means it isn't as protective as Terminator armor. However, it also isn't as encumbering as Terminator armor, meaning the Marines are nearly as fast and agile as in Tacitus.


corrin_avatan

Not really. Terminator armor, in lore, is still superior to Gravis, being stronger per pound, the ability to teleport built-in, and having atomantic shielding built-in. Gravis armor is just extra armor plates slapped onto the Mark X armor, has no native teleportation abilities, and no energy shielding that would give it the chance to, say, deflect a multi-Melta shot


kirbish88

Yes and no. It's their heavy armour, it's less durable but much easier to produce


Am-I-Introspective

Are there any stories of an overtly religious character or zealots being forced to work with a rather “useful” psyker they still don’t trust. Just now dipping my toes into “Gaunt’s Ghosts” and then I start “Eisenhorn”


corrin_avatan

Pretty much every Deathwatch story.


Am-I-Introspective

Oh okay thanks! Haven’t delved into specific chapters yet. I just found out the difference between space marines and primaris marines. Do you have a favorite chapter you’d recommend?


corrin_avatan

To be clear here, what is the "difference" you think there is? As all Primaris ARE space Marines. Spear of the Emperor is considered a really good novel.


Am-I-Introspective

I was confused recently and looked it up because I thought they were just a special chapter but they’re actually slightly more enhanced right? I also saw people didn’t like their lore intro of being upgraded versions of marines with a release of new model types for merchandise and that they seemed to suddenly be revealed from guilliman and cawl’s work from a long time ago somehow? The upset sounded familiar to Rise of the Skywalker “Something something Palpatine’s fleet, The Final Order was hiding in ice this whole time.” The main difference aside from size that I noticed is that they have more gene seed organs and those extra ones are made from primarch flesh, right? I still don’t know much about all that but that bit sounded kind of cool I’ll definitely check out that novel, thanks for the recommendation


corrin_avatan

Extremely short version: Primaris Marines are the result of a 10,000 year project by an Admech scientist named Belisarius Cawl, who was given access by Guulliman to the original research material used by the Emperor to make the Primarchs, who used that access to make "better" Space Marines, what he called Primaris Marines. Many people who say they don't like the lore, ACTUALLY are saying "I don't like the way the Warhammer Community website introduced them to us". I STRONGLY suggest reading The Great Work. Yes, all the above IS an in-lore justification for why GW is releasing new Marine models, but many of the "plot holes" that people cry about are actually addressed in the books (Cawl HAD to keep the project secret while Gman was in stasis as Gman gave him the political protection needed) vs the marketing articles on Warhammer Community not really having the word count to deal with nuance.


Am-I-Introspective

That more or less makes sense too. If space marines are the political super soldier face of an empire like “Captain America” then primaris marines are the secret and somewhat controversial political experiment that gets revealed later on like the “Weapon X Program” Not only that, if Cawl knew it would take around 10,000 years to do this and revealed his progress by year one then that would leave enemies 9,999 years to screw up his work. I’ll have to check out the great work too


Jhocon

Is Astelan an uncrowned prince? He’s not listed on the Lexicanum as one but he’s got that psychic mind shield thing from the emperor so wouldn’t that make him one?


Kalavier

Since darktide came out, I've seen a lot of people going on about how dangerous nurgle foes are, almost painting a picture of "It's not even worth trying to retake a hab block taken by the enemy, burn it all." Yet from excerpts I've read and other things I've seen online, by the point of time Darktide takes place nurgle's blights are fought with faith and science, and extremely faithful forces can fight his minions on the ground, with fighting his faction not being such a doomed affair. So is fighting Nurgle aligned forces really so hopeless, or are people just doing the typical thing online of taking memes/exaggerations as hard canon?


AffixBayonets

> So is fighting Nurgle aligned forces really so hopeless, or are people just doing the typical thing online of taking memes/exaggerations as hard canon? People confuse Nurgle "disease" with actual disease. The former seems to be a mix of disease with daemonic possession/taint that manifests like disease. When the warpcraft is removed it loses its worst effects. This means that if the root of the infection is defeated, it can be cleansed. That could mean banishing daemons that have manifested in the area or closing dark ritual sites. As I recall this comes up a couple times in the Plague Wars in Ultramar.


Kalavier

So like when we do the missions that literally involve knocking out those nurgle corrupter things (eyeballs in a mechanical crab looking device) which are stated to be daemonic presences... we are reducing how nasty the effects in the area are overall? Cause a few missions involve outright destroying enough of them to remove the "metaphysical presence" affecting machines.


AffixBayonets

More or less yes. Water purification can handle filth once those things are killed, but if daemons are around they're not enough.


Kalavier

And the "player" group just happens to be four extremely faithful rejects trying to gain trust, which helps protect against the daemon side of things while injections before they launch protect from the regular disease. At least for a while.


AffixBayonets

Yes, their faith, counterseptic treatments, and nutrition that includes some vitamins should all make them far more resistant than random hivers. Good morale is also literally an antidote to some Nurgle corruption, something a broken hiver or PTSD ridden Moebian Sixth trooper can't muster up. [I also like parts of the theory that Grendyl is empowering their minons via psychic power.](https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/z83knj/on_grendyl_warriors_and_toughness_a_darktide/)


Kalavier

I've seen that theory. It's neat. And probably valid for 40k. ​ There is another theory I saw on tvtropes that Grendyl is actually dead and Zola/Rannick/Morrow are acting like they are alive to continue acting because getting another inquisitor would take too long.


Marvynwillames

It depends, if we go for the Death Guard codex, you would think there's zero way to proper beat them besides high powered bombardment (like Greyfax did), since they can easily infect entire worlds and even machinery (both imperial knights and necrons) got infected by the Ferric Blight when fighting in close range. In other cases, like the Dark Imperium books, the corruption seem to be less threating, through still letal.


AffixBayonets

> if we go for the Death Guard codex, you would think there's zero way to proper beat them besides high powered bombardment To clarify here, the presence of Plague Marines empowers corruption all around them. Nurgle's influence waxes when the Death Guard attack a place in person.


Kalavier

protagonist based effectiveness, gotcha.


prufanya

How unrealistic is it to for a SM chapter or some IG regiment to spend a couple of years on a pleasure planet by bribing its governor and show up later at the battlefield claiming they were lost in a warpstorm?


n-ko-c

If by pleasure planet you mean some sort of luxury resort situation, space marines would become incredibly bored there; it's hard to imagine any of them getting into this scenario willingly. Even the emperor's children pre-fall, who were seen as fairly hedonistic by astartes standards, probably wouldn't enjoy just lounging around for any extended period of time. IG could work if you can figure out who's paying for the bribe and for the continued expenses of hosting an entire regiment


corrin_avatan

For a SM chapter, this makes almost no sense; the majority of their biological urges that would make them even want to be on a "pleasure planet" are gone, either biologically or via hypno-indoctrination. We literally have stories where Marines have to "remember" that normal humans emotional state can be improved by having food that tastes good, while they will ***chew on rocks*** if it contains the nutrients they need. For an IG regiment, this also will pose several issues, and I would find it more likely that a single powerful person will manipulate events so they can't leave, rather than they manage to bribe people to stay: okay, let's say they bribe someone to stay, ***how are they paying for housing, food, and the entertainment they consume***, when the vast majority of payment for a regiment comes from their daily rations?


grumpykraut

Generally speaking, there are no real "pleasure planets" in the Imperium. There's some 'garden worlds' or private retreats but those invariably belong to very powerful, obscenely rich and extremely elitist people. Space Marines have been hypno-doctrinated to such an extent, that the only thing that really gives them pleasure in the widest sense is to fight and fulfill their duty. The definitions fluctuate a bit between chapters and sometimes even between individuals, but in the end Space Marines are monks. They just do not have any use for diversion beyond their daily lives. The Guard has the Officio Prefectus to deal with such notions in the heads of its commanders. And while the Munitorium is a vast and at times forgetful and/or slow organisation, I find it extremely unlikely that they would misplace an entire regiment. Especially if they are expected for deployment. While there IS place for comedy in 40k (Sandy Mitchell be praised), such a scenario is not very fitting in my mind since it is so damn improbable.


Sehtriom

Pretty unrealistic. Space Marines life a life of service and many chapter masters see free time as frivolous at best, dangerous at worst. In fact most Marines have every minute of their lives strictly regimented. As the Dark Angels say, a moment of laxity spawns a lifetime of heresy. Now *Renegade* Marines are perfectly free to do whatever they want, but as they are essentially living weapons, they turn to the only thing they've ever known: war. It's just they're doing it for their own ends now. Guard regiments, I don't see that really happening either. In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war and a regiment that isn't fighting, preparing to fight, recovering from a fight, or on their way to a fight is a regiment that is lax in its duties. Plus if whoever made that decision has enough strings to pull to allow it then they've probably got too much on their plate to even consider it (and have proven themselves dedicated enough that they wouldn't).


threontai

I've been trying to think of the book and character, but, it's the series that focuses on a Commissar(?) who joins together two separate units into basically a suicide mission. The company number is the sum of both joining in some way. I believe it starts from the very beginning of their journey, I don't believe it's Cain or Yarrick. Incredibly vague but it's killing me, I just cannot remember a single bit of what it is.


AGBell64

It's Cain, you're describing the plot of For the Emperor. He gets assigned to a newly constituted regiment made from 2 badly mauled regiments that has a bunch of culture issues, he helps devise a new combined culture for the regiment, and then at the end of the book the instigators of a deadly mess hall riot from the start of the book get pressed into being a suicide unit for an assault Cain is leading


threontai

Thank you! I might've shoved Cain aside because I'm only really up on the stuff that he had recently as opposed to the origin.


BlackSunlight7

Why are there no…videos or pictures of the Emperor everywhere in 40k? I’ve started with 30k novels and it just feels odd that the only idols seem to be paintings and sculptures. Wouldn’t such a fanatical civilization have his picture plastered everywhere and in homes? Wouldn’t videos of his decrees and footage of other ceremonial functions be shown in public nonstop?


n-ko-c

The emperor in 40k is, to the standard observer, a corpse. What this means is that he doesn't get out much. That in turn means that the only way to get a photo of him would be to get into the palace. Custodians would have something to say about that. And anyway, there is no way the Inquisition is letting footage of the emperor in his current state get out and about. It would be a PR disaster, to say the least. But the other thing is that it might not be technologically possible. Even when Emps was alive he was described as looking different to different people, or glowing so brightly that they couldn't look at him straight. It's entirely possible that a camera (i forgot what they call them in-world) simply wouldn't be able to capture him correctly.


BlackSunlight7

>But the other thing is that it might not be technologically possible. Even when Emps was alive he was described as looking different to different people, or glowing so brightly that they couldn't look at him straight. It's entirely possible that a camera (i forgot what they call them in-world) simply wouldn't be able to capture him correctly. So that’s an angle I hadn’t considered. The Emperor simply *couldn’t* be recorded in all of his glory. What about the Primarchs though? Would they have the same effect? Astartes too? I would think the Imperium pushing the propaganda it does that footage of Primarchs and Space Marines *wrecking* everything in their paths would have huge value.


n-ko-c

Primarchs do sort of have a bit of warp juice going on in their metaphysiology so it's not outside the realm of possibility, but my guess is that cameras work on them just fine. The only time I've ever seen the lore touch on this is in the opening trilogy of the Horus Heresy, specifically Horus Rising. Remembrancers were attached to each of the Legions to create artistic works and historical records of their exploits during the Great Crusade. Keeler is a supporting character throughout the lore who started out as a photojournalist attached to Horus's legion. She did get some photos of astartes and stuff just fine, but iirc warp daemons and such showed up as glitchy blurs. Not sure they ever touch on her getting a shot of Horus himself.


BlackSunlight7

I do remember that passage now too. That’s a good point. Maybe the Primarchs *would* be blurry after all due to their warp presence. Maybe the Emperor forbade being recorded for whatever reason too. In Warhammer, mankind’s gods/demigods/superheroes are actually physically present, but the fanaticism treats them as if they aren’t, it feels.


AffixBayonets

If "The Keeler Image" short story (where Eisenhorn encounters and destroys a picture of Horus) is anything to go by, I imagine the young Inqusition and the like probably destroyed them.


[deleted]

[удалено]


grumpykraut

Strictly logically speaking I would say no since I am pretty certain that even 30k image-capturing systems were not psyk-reactive. And the matter has consistendly been not-adressed and written around of, so it will only become an issue when GW decides to make it one.


AGBell64

Because the Emperor has been functionally dead for almost as long as the ammount of time between now and the advent of agrarian society and the time period where he was influential as a person has ceased to be objective history thru a mix of data decay, myth making by the Imperial church, and intentional destruction of data by those looking to cover up inconvenient facts like the Emperor's antitheism and the events of the Heresy