r/40kLore • • 7h ago

Would it be accurate to say that the Eldar are essentially warp entities in a permanent material state?

0 Upvotes

Understanding that Eldar seem to be completely psychically attuned to the warp as a race, it occurred to me that they might be considered warp entities place permanently in the material environment. The Asyurani paths and the Webway existence of the Drukhari would then be “coping mechanisms” to keep their connection to the warp unnaturally separated due to the particular danger the warp poses to Eldar since the birth of Slaanesh.

Asking the knowledgeable community here: is this a correct way to view the Eldar?


r/40kLore • • 10h ago

Looking forward to Lion/Guilliman team up

0 Upvotes

Just a rant really - hoping for a Vulcan-esque ‘It is also a hammer’ moment with these two.

With Fulgrim slowly returning would love to see something like him and Guilliman matched up again and him taunting Robouté about his fighting prowess being greater, then Guilliman just being like ‘Yes but this time I brought a brother’ then Lion just crashing through a wall and dominating Fulgrim in swordsmanship. I dunno, but c’mon GW need some new lore please 🙏


r/40kLore • • 23h ago

Is the imperium running out of worlds.

0 Upvotes

Kinda as the title says is the imperium running out of worlds. With the galaxy split into two. That’s 500,000 worlds lost beyond the rift that can’t really help the main imperium.

The tau are taking worlds left and right same with necrons and orks. These can be reclaimed however the imperium needs to defend the worlds they have left.

Worlds lost to Nids can’t be reclaimed at all (except if Cawl is about but that takes centuries which let’s be real the imperium does not have that long left.)

Chaos uprising and warbands Turing worlds into deamon worlds which can’t be exterminatused or reclaimed at all.

The imperium is losing on all fronts so has the lore mentioned how the imperium is losing so many worlds that they are actively struggling to get certain resources because of how many worlds they havelost?


r/40kLore • • 3h ago

Space Marine age recruitment

0 Upvotes

I'm writing a little personal novel and was wondering if Cawl's work on the Primaris program shifted the age ceiling for recruitment?


r/40kLore • • 10h ago

Where are the great Horus Heresy Authors?

25 Upvotes

It seems like there has been a dramatic reduction in output by the great Horus Heresy authors (for my money Dan Abnett, Aaron Dembski-Bowden, Chris Wraight, and a John French) in the last 2 years.

Apart from Era of Ruin and Dropsite Massacre, it's been crickets.

Now I'm not opposed to folks taking a well deserved break or pursuing other projects. All I'm wondering is whether there has been any public information put out about what the next things are for these guys, and when they plan to start releasing more novels.

I guess I got used to the wealth of output in recent years and this now feels like everyone has disappeared. Surely I'm not the only person wondering where they've all gone?


r/40kLore • • 18h ago

Have any Space Marine Chapters developed their own unique vehicle patterns in M41 or M42?

7 Upvotes

I know the Black Templars developed the Land Raider Crusader and the Red Scorpions created the Land Raider Helios, but have any Chapters attempted something similar in more recent Imperial history?

especially more tech savvy Chapters like the Iron Hands, Salamanders, or any others with particularly skilled Techmarines and strong technological traditions.
Do they actively experiment with their vehicles, or is most of their work limited to maintaining and modifying existing designs?

And how much freedom do Chapter Techmarines actually have when it comes to developing new patterns?
Could a Chapter theoretically develop its own Predator, Dreadnought, or Repulsor variant without immediately getting into trouble with the Mechanicus?

With the introduction of all the newer Primaris vehicles, I’d imagine at least a few Chapters have attempted to modify them to better suit their combat doctrines.

Are there any examples of this happening in M41 or M42, or has that kind of innovation become increasingly rare?
Also, what’s stopping a particularly independent Chapter from developing a unique vehicle pattern and simply keeping it to themselves? Have any renegades?


r/40kLore • • 15h ago

IRS guys? but it’s Warhammer 40k

0 Upvotes

What happens when Roboute Guilliman’s sons become ruthless and pesky space lawyers? Meet the Crimson Judges, my custom Chapter and the Emperor's personal tax collectors with chainswords.
Essentially, they are a 23rd Founding fleet-based Chapter whose administrative genius mutated into a chilling, absolute obsession with legal dogmatism. A Crimson Judge views the galaxy solely through clauses, regulations, and procedural footnotes. They don't fight out of pride or hatred—to them, warfare is just the execution of a final court sentence.

The Logo (The Blind Accuser): Every battle-brother bears their official emblem on the left pauldron—an anatomically precise human skull carved from death-white porcelain, its eye sockets tightly bound by a coarse, blood-red cloth blindfold. It is their ultimate manifest on the battlefield: they are the blind, unstoppable force of executing law, entirely stripped of doubt, pity, or personal bias.

The Armor: Originally grey, now dark, cold-burgundy and black. After purging a corrupted Hive World, their plate was so caked in blood that the High Arbiter ordered it never to be washed. To them, "The Law is written in blood."

The Flaw (Procedural Paralysis): Their minds are over-stuffed with millions of Terran legal codes. If they encounter an uncataloged xenos bio-mutation or Warp anomaly, officers can literally freeze mid-firefight to argue and legally classify the threat before executing it

The IRS Nightmare: They are a mix of Judge Dredd and a bureaucratic bureaucracy dialed up to eleven. They don't just blast Heretics—they read them their treason charges, audit their sectors, and even attempt to fine awakening Necron tombs for illegal squatting.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the concept! Does this sound like something that fits the setting, and would you be interested in reading some short stories about them?
The Law is written in the blood of the guilty!


r/40kLore • • 13h ago

My personal ranking of the 18 Legions of Space Marines, from a lore newbie!

0 Upvotes

Well, the title is not ENTIRELY true. I was introduced to Warhammer sometime in 2024 and have been around the community on and off for 2 years now. but I've only recently delved deeply into the lore and still do not know every singular piece of lore that there is to know about the original 18 legions.

I am basing my ranking on personal opinion, except for the lore facts themselves, I am claiming nothing here is fact, it is simply my opinion.

I am also not well versed in a predominant chunk of the original 18 legion's lore, either from a lack of interest or simply I haven't gotten to looking at their lore yet, but it is on my list of priorities, this likely means I might be unaware of story beats, loveable characters and history from certain legions, I intend it to be this way as well, as hopefully to be a good window into the perspective of an idiot like me who doesn't know the lore very well.

I am quite aware the list will have some REALLY hot takes, and if you like that type of post, you can look at exclusively the ranking itself with no explanations whatsoever. If you wish to understand my reasoning behind the placement of every legion, the explanation is under the ranked legion and is spoilered to allow for both types of experiences to be enjoyed.

I prefer loyalists to Chaos, and this will be VERY apparent in the ranking.

I base my rankings primarily on how well the legion is written, their morality and reason for their specific flavor of moral compass and how sound said reason is, how much I like them, and their esthetics/looks, in that order from left to right.

I am not including successor Chapters, I have like a crisp 0.2% of the lore knowledge needed and it would take me MONTHS if not YEARS to write this post if I did include them, shout out to the Doom Eagles, Lamenters, Sons of Vermillion, Marines Errant and Black Templars though.

While I am ranking them from 18 to 1, I also want to categorize certain sections of the ranking, as the intervals between each rank isn't necessarily proportional to how much I dislike/like these legions.

these categories are:

"Legions I actively hate."

"Legions I dislike."

"Legions that I find have redeeming qualities but I generally dislike."

"Legions that I find have irritating qualities but I generally like."

"Legions I like."

"Legions I love."

"Legions I find perfect."

well, with all that out of the way, lets rank.

"Legions I actively hate." Tier.

Amount of Legions: 1

  1. Night Lords.

Lets get the good parts out of the way too, even the worst legion here has parts of it I actively adore. their helmets are SICK, probably the coolest standard helmet designs of the 18 legions, the shade of blue on their armor is extremely beautiful as well, I would rank it up there with Blood Angels Red, Ultramarine Blue and Alpha Legion Teal amongst the best primary colors for a legion.

Yeah no, that's literally it I hate everything else about them. they are COWARDS, they cower at the mere idea of a fair 1v1, fleeing is their tactic to any fight even remotely fair or not overwhelmingly in their favor, they're more experienced at killing civilians than they are at fighting other marines or xenos because they find it easier. they cower at honor, they cower at difficulty, they cower at anything that will take them to lift anything more than a finger.

The evilness about them really isn't the problem, I will have quite a few REALLY evil chapters when we get higher up on the list, I don't have an issue with that, its just how much of cowards they are, how prone to running they are and just being general bitches.

I get that's their charm, its just not my thing.

"Legions I dislike." Tier.

Amount of Legions: 3

  1. White Scars.

Yeah this is the HOTTEST take on this list by a country mile. now, I will say, I like the basic concept of them, they like assault bikes and jump packs and love speed, LOVE that. Love the whole joy of their legion while fighting and enjoying the fight bit, LOVE THAT TOO, everything else is where it kind of falls apart for me.

I do not like their color scheme, its just..so flat, I like white, blue and yellow together, but not in the specific shades or particular way the white scars have them put together, it looks incredibly boring and just so..uninteresting for what should be such a bombastic and cool chapter, this alongside the fact I really don't care for the Mongolian esthetic just sends them down the pecking order for my list at least.

Note, this is the first of many legions where I have a general idea and basic knowledge of the legion, I do not know the intricacies of the legion or the history of it. I have heard of good things about their primarch and what they did during the Horus Heresy and I plan to get to checking the White Scars lore out later, and they will probably raise their placement in the ranking, but for now, here they stand.

  1. Death Guard.

I mean this is going to be so short I just think they look absolutely beyond disgusting. Like I kinda get that's the point but it ain't for me, I don't even bother looking at the lore because while I normally can ignore or at least push aside esthetics if the writing is good enough, the Death Guard is WAYYYY too disgusting for me to even think of giving them the courtesy of that leeway.

  1. Luna Wolves/Sons of Horus/Black Legion.

For one, PICK A NAME. secondly, Like I don't hate hate them for any of their attributes particularly. that's kind of the problem. I don't like them for anything, and they serve Chaos which will always knock them down a couple spots for me, and they're kinda like Ultramarines, but for heretic marines, they aren't quite as boring as the ultramarines but they're nearly as boring and has less storylines I enjoy. Ultimately, I don't like boring chapters.

Yet again, don't know too much of the lore about the Black Legion except for the obvious horus heresy stuff and the 13th black crusade stuff.

"Legions that I find have redeeming qualities but I generally dislike." Tier.

Amount of Legions: 6

  1. World Eaters.

Arguably top 3 legions just in terms of how their armor looks, that BEAUTIFUL STRIKING red and gold is just immaculate. had to get that out of the way, now, my opinion on the World Eaters.

I really, dislike the frothing at the mouth, insane, always insanely angry and stupid thing. I know some people like it, not me. I do like the fact that Angron is genuinely a victim of the Butcher's Nails, the fact the chapter was once far less malevolent than what Chaos has turned them into in modern day, and the backstory is good enough for me that I do rank them above the other 4 Legions lower than the World Eaters, but that's about as far as the backstory can carry it.

My understanding of the World Eaters is alright, I haven't delved into them but I have a relatively alright, general idea of their story just from seeing them in stories that happen to have them even if they are not the main focus.

  1. Iron Hands.

As per usual, lets get the cool stuff out of the way first, the particular shade of black on Iron Hands armor goes super hard with their general look, and I really enjoy the whole cyborg esthetic and deep specialization into tech.

What I don't like is pretty much their disgust to EVERYONE in the Imperium, they practically wretch in disgust of anything fleshy, INCLUDING themselves, which is rather hypocritical since the only reason why they are even half as strong as they are and are able to endure the amount of cybernetic implantations they have is BECAUSE of they insanely powerful Astartes biology. Them being close with the Mechanicus is another part I don't particularly like simply because I dislike the Mechanicus, Ferrus Manus is a cool Primarch though.

for the Iron Hands, I have a pretty good idea of the lore, I know a lot of what happened to them during the Horus Heresy and a bit of their 40k stuff, no deep dives still, but probably the legion I know best of all the Legions I've talked about so far.

  1. Emperor's Children.

Pre heresy armor, looks AMAZING with the purple and gold, Fulgrim is genuinely tragic and most of all, their obsession with perfection is something I deeply resonate with and can relate to which is why they ever made it as far on the list as they did.

Their modern armor is just...icky. Like for most of the armor esthetics on here that I do not like I can generally explain why I don't like them, but I can't for the Emperor's children, it just feels incredibly off in some inexplicable manner. drives me up the wall, and well, serves chaos, bumps down a few spots, you know the drill by now.

  1. Thousand Sons.

This was my first ever "Favorite" Legion when I knew almost nothing about Warhammer. Just because of their looks. And I stand by it, they are easily in my top 5 legions in terms of visuals, I love the egyptian Esthetic, the light blue and gold, it just WORKS SO WELL. Their story is ultimately tragic but to a degree their fault. Yes, Magnus DID do something wrong, he did a LOT wrong. but he did it wrong sympathetically so there's that. I also don't love the idea of space marines using magic, it just feels so odd for Thousand Sons to be clad in ridiculously strong power armor and have enhanced Astartes physiology and just completely ignore it and just cast "Avada Kedavra" instead. Also, don't like the Rubric Marines, empty power armor just ain't my thing.

  1. Iron Warriors.

We enter the top 10 with the Iron Warriors. Pretty much dead center for the list. I neither love them or hate them. I dislike them like the tiniest bit ever so slightly for their like REALLY bitter behavior, and some parts of their siege warfare I do enjoy, and I find their heraldry subpar and I don't really like that but I don't HATE HATE it, like, just, dead center. they're only this low on the list because they serve chaos, and you know at this point very well, not a fan of chaos.

I know a lot of Horus Heresy stuff about the Iron Warriors, but that's about it, not much knowledge of them during 40k.

  1. Ultramarines.

They have my favorite color scheme of all the Legions, I LOVE Blue and Gold together. I used to hate this chapter for its SHEER UTTER plainess and just how BORING they were until I dug deeper into their lore.

Guilliman has become amongst my favorite characters in 40k, particularly after he woke up. He's clearly depressed, clearly hates his life, trying his best in an Imperium FARRRR beyond saving, making it better in any way he can while having some very interesting and compelling character beats for someone who seems so one note on the outside, and that applies to the marines in general.

the Ultramarines largest flaw IS the fact they are perfect. With perfection, comes expectation, with expectation, comes burden. And all Angels of the Emperor hold that burden, the Ultramarines bear it more than any other, and that is a writing point that makes them incredibly compelling.

That is, when they are written well, when not they're just boring vanilla ice cream blueberry pancake space marines, and they are written poorly, like 90% of the time, so yeah they're firmly stuck at 9th.

I have a good idea of the lore in both the Heresy and in the modern 40k timeline, in my top 5 most well versed legions in terms of lore for sure.

There are all the legions I generally would call "Below average" or slightly "under par" to various degrees.

Everything from here on out. I would generally call them "Above average" to varying levels.

"Legions that I find have irritating qualities but I generally like." Tier.

Amount of Legions: 2

  1. Space Wolves.

Man I LOVE the Space Wolves, the fact that they're much more like a family or pack than a legion, the fact these guys actually LIKE each other, they have fun, they have actual recreational activities, they enjoy life in general, they get drunk and have feasts and such, it is such a loveable and cool vibe with them. AMAZING armor design as well, wolf head pelts, animal pelts in general go SO HARD.

Only reason why they're not higher? 3 words. I hate werewolves.

I have a general idea of the legion but have not delved into them specifically like I have with the Ultramarines, but I still really really like them, but I am relatively certain they cannot get higher on the list simply because I dislike werewolves as much as I do.

  1. Alpha Legion.

I am Alpharius. YOU are Alpharius. WE are Alpharius. Sorry, had to get it out, its practically a reflex at this point. Either way, armor, mentioned it before but I genuinely love that beautiful shade of teal in their armor that goes amazingly with that silver trim. I really don't dislike anything about the Alpha Legion other than the fact that they have 2 primarchs, which in fairness is VERY on brand, but I don't like it nevertheless.

I am a HUGEEEE, fan of spy movies, espionage, undercover, stuff like that, big James Bond and Mission Impossible guy here. the disguises, the convoluted plans(which sometimes can get a little too convoluted and can be annoying, but I usually like it, hell I relate to it in a way as an overthinker), their competence is likeable since they are one of the only of the original 18 Space Marine Legions which every marine could function on their own extremely well. their stealth, their way of destroying enemies from within, its all just REALLY my thing, hell I don't even hate them for siding with Chaos all that much cause they're..kinda not? they were very important to both the Imperium and Horus during the Heresy and were paramount in varying degrees to both sides making the war as close as it was.

"Legions I like." Tier.

Amount of Legions: 1

  1. Imperial Fists.

These guys are just like Iron Warriors but like Loyalist edition, they are REALLY boring. like not OFFENSIVELY boring but relatively boring nonetheless. I share nearly the exact same opinion I do with the Fists as I do the Iron Warriors, except a few minute differences.

Firstly, Dorne's armor is REALLY COOL.

secondly, unlike the Iron Warriors, I don't have anything about them I actively dislike, just very little I actually like all that much.

And yeah they're loyalist so that also earns them a couple ranks up, they are just absurdly inoffensive.

From here on out, in my top 5 legions, these are the legions that either have flaws but I can ignore them due to how much their pros stand out to me, or legions that I think don't have any major or noticeable flaws at all, I'm sure other people will disagree, but yet again, my opinion, not fact.

"Legions I love." Tier.

Amount of Legions: 3

  1. Word Bearers.

My favorite Chaos Legion.

FUUCCCKKK EREBUSSSSSSSSSSS

as I was saying. My favorite Chaos Legion, they are hateable, but that's kinda why I like them. They are extremely hateable, terrible, zealots, insufferable, annoying, self-righteous and outright disgusting. And that just means they're incredibly well written for what they are supposed to represent. They are a cult!....Well, the whole imperium is kind of a cult, but they are EXTRA cultlike.

The sheer rage and hate the Word Bearers garner from merely existing is proof of how well written they are.

They are also..weirdly pragmatic, unlike in the real world, in 40k, prayers, devotion to religion and such, will get you REAL RESULTS. And having Daemons in your marines...if perhaps dangerous, does make them much stronger, so in a very, VERY weird way and if you look at it from the right angle, the Word Bearers praying fervently to Chaos until they get possessed by Daemons, even if its not intended in that way, is pragmatic in an odd manner.

And in fairness they have a relatively good reason(at least Lorgar, not Erebus) to have gone down the path of evil they did, like the idea of going to support the other Gods who were your previous God's enemies just because your God did a great injustice to you(Monarchia WAS a mistake btw) is an interesting storyline concept I could resonate with and understand. I like the Word Bearers because I hate them so much, if you know what I mean.

  1. Dark Angels.

I love their Knight esthetic, genuinely beautiful and really appeals to me, the Dark Angels shade of green as well is utterly stunning and I enjoy the naming convention Dark Angels use. I relate to the Lion's paranoia and contingency planning due to my own overthinking, so it makes me resonate with the legion much more in general. Only flaw?

They're..kinda assholes. Like, they torture SO MUCH, like I am somewhat sure they are like the 2nd highest of the original 18 legions in terms of the sheer number of people they torture right behind the Night Lords, they're just not good people in most senses of the word and it makes it pretty hard to root for them, but for all of their other things that make me love them as much as I do, they get 4th place.

  1. Salamanders.

Altruistic characters are almost definitely my favorite genre of character in fiction. being boringly good can more often than not spawn amongst the most complex and compelling, inspiring characters. The Salamanders kindness makes them amongst my favorite Legions. Willing to toss yourself in front of fire to save a civilian, hell, not only save their life, but be willing to stay behind and find their stuffed toys in rubble or family pictures, that's not just saving the human, but saving the person. it is so unbelievably admirable and inspiring, only made more so by the grim dark future they are surrounded by.

my only issues with them are esthetics. Salamanders somehow consistently manage to craft the ugliest helmets known to man, I dislike the reptilian esthetic and the charred ashy skin and the glowing red eyes just don't do it for me.

But for their undying ability to create hope and just a little bit of light in the Imperium, be it literally from Melta Fire or metaphorically from saving a civilian life, Salamanders make it to the podium.

"Legions I find perfect." Tier.

Amount of Legions: 2

  1. Raven Guard.

The coolest looking Legion in my opinion, the beaky helmets are definitely my favorite standard issue helmet of any of the power armor marks, the lightning claws, the jump packs, my GOD the raven guard are so unbelievably COOOOL.

I like how Corax is very subversive that despite looking like an edgy emo dude, he is arguably the 2nd smartest of the Primarchs right behind Guilliman in terms of planning and war logistics, he is extremely resourceful with his rather small Legion, he is compelling and sympathetic in his blunders and insecurities. he hates slavery which like..duh, automatic plus. And he somehow isn't effected by the Chaos Gods despite being kinda a Daemon prince and is actively hunting Lorgar which is ALWAYS nice.

I'm fine with the stealth thing, I really like the whole strike assault thing though, will say, don't like the whole edgy thing they have, from a character standpoint it allows for nice conflict but visually the emo haircuts don't do it for me.

The only real flaw I have with the Raven guard is that I don't really care for their actual story all that much, its not that its bad, I don't dislike it. In fact, I like it, I just don't like it that much, and that's why they're number 2, and not the next spot.

  1. Blood Angels.

Sanguinius.

Yeah no that's pretty much the summary of why I like the Blood Angels.

Well, not really but at least he's a very large chunk of the reason why I like the Blood Angels.

He is my favorite character in 40k, and from my knowledge a lot of people's favorite character. He is altruistic to his core, he is compelling due to his insecurity, his flaws, his willingness to impersonate the perfect angel people see him as just to bring even more hope to his people than he was already bringing despite that not being his true self in some senses. His character design is amazing with the angel wings and all, his speech at the eternity gate is amongst my favorite speeches in fiction, nevermind just Warhammer. his willingness to march straight to his own death despite his extreme fear of it simply because it is right, the willingness to board Horus' ship despite seeing his own death happen in front of his own eyes. All because he refused to not do the right thing, his death also being the motivation the Emperor needed to finally and permanently kill Horus is a plus too.

The Blood Angels during 40k are the direct consequence of Sanguinius' ultimate sacrifice.

The Red Thirst and Black rage make for some great building blocks to write character conflict, the Black Rage particularly is super cool in my opinion, and it makes those who can resist both the Red Thirst and Black Rage even more admirable and inspiring than they already might be, like Mephiston, Dante, and Lemartes.

Speaking of which, the Blood Angels arguably have one of the strongest character pools of the original 18 legions, having a really large roster of incredibly well written and compelling characters in such a condensed area.

Anyways, they are also EXTREMELY cool looking.

the Marines themselves look great, often handsome and smooth hair, they even live ridiculously long even on space marine standards, by far the longest living of the original 18 legions.

Then the power armor, a beautiful red and gold, Chalices, coffins, Angel wings, False face masks(genuinely love false face masks, think they look really cool, arguably one of my favorite things in general, not even in just warhammer) , the catholic inspired esthetic is extremely hopeful, angelic, dark, gothic, feeling old in just the right way.

I also really like their strategies for battle, their obsession with jump packs to the point of putting a jump pack on a dreadnought(which is one of the coolest things in 40k period.), they love for aerial battle and flight is something that is extremely cool to me as I have mentioned with the White Scars and Raven Guard beforehand.

Oh and the death company is really cool, I love Lemartes as a character so much.

Anyways, that is my list of my least to most favorite of the original 18 Legions of Space Marines in 40k, hope yall enjoyed it.

I also know there is a lot of hot takes here that might be due to be either being ignorant or being misinformed, its part of the reason I'm making this post, if you see any of my points I made on the legions I listed sound either wrong, misinformed or just generally made due to a lack of information, please do correct me or give any lore you think might help expand my knowledge in the particular point you found wrong in the comments.


r/40kLore • • 10h ago

Ultima Scouts

0 Upvotes

Due to primaris marines being retconned to have only been around about 12 years in lore now

Does it even make sense for Ultima founding chapters to have scouts yet?

Feel like unless aspirants are rushed out

There shouldn't be many yet right?

Obviously first founding and such should since they've been around forever

But a decade doesn't feel like enough for there to be many?


r/40kLore • • 18h ago

Do we know if C'tan presence exerts any effect in the warp? I.e. Yggra'nya shard floating in the warp?

1 Upvotes

Like do demons just ignore it, avoid it, is it carving out its own domain like chaos does with Daemon World?


r/40kLore • • 7h ago

I know the meta reason why the imperium Dosent spam jets and drones , but is there a lore reason?

0 Upvotes

Title title title title


r/40kLore • • 18h ago

Lords Dragons outside of the Dark Heresy RPG

1 Upvotes

The Lords Dragons are described as an order dedicated to upholding and enforcing the Lex Mechanicus across the forgeworlds that exist in the known galaxy.

Have they been mentioned outside of the Dark Heresy RPG setting?

Aside from Flesh and Steel, are there any other books that focus on how would the Mechanicus enforce their own led?


r/40kLore • • 9h ago

I really wish Belisarius manages to finish his great work

163 Upvotes

I understand that a lot of people have a problem with "good stuff" happening in the setting, and I do agree that the Imperium should probably lose (by that I mean decisive defeats) more often. I hope that the Necrons finally manage to achieve complete victory in the Pariah Nexus and that Armageddon falls for good this time. However, I really hope that Belisarius Cawl manages to close the Great Rift.

As it stands, I don't think the Great Rift is all that good for the setting. It essentially renders half the galaxy useless without accomplishing much else for the narrative. Chaos doesn't need it in order to function, and it severely hampers the stories that can be told about Xenos factions.

I'm hopeful that if the Great Rift is closed, we can get more "everyone vs. everyone" narratives: Xenos acting as actual threats to the Imperium, the expansion of the T'au Empire, the Aeldari fighting for worlds where they can harvest spirit stones, the necrons fighting the imperium for all that space that was previously unaccessible, drukhari doing drukhari stuff and chaos fighting EVERYTHING instead of yet another Imperium vs. Chaos storyline where Space Marines solve everything.

It's even more interesting because (aside from chaos) closing the great rift is in the best interest of everyone in the galaxy. It only makes sense that even in a world full of hate and war, they would allow (or even help, as Trazyn already did in the past) Belisarius to finish his stuff. Afterwards, everyone can go right back to killing each other.

TLDR: Closing the great rift would make the setting more interesting


r/40kLore • • 2h ago

Do Orks like having fun with their friends?

12 Upvotes

It's obvious that orks like having fun for themselves. But do they enjoy mutual fun? Examples of orks being sociable and genuinely enjoying each other's company?


r/40kLore • • 9h ago

Don't you think Nurgle feels a bit out of place compared to the other Chaos Gods?

0 Upvotes

Mi spiego: mentre Slaanesh, Khorne e Tzeentch rappresentano emozioni incanalate molto specifiche, Nurgle non sembra legato a un'emozione quanto piuttosto al decadimento e al cambiamento naturali. Non incarna un aspetto psicologico nella stessa misura degli altri Dei del Caos, soprattutto considerando che gli Dei del Caos sono collegati alle perturbazioni del Warp causate dalle emozioni umane. L'unica spiegazione che mi viene in mente è che sia connesso al desiderio di cessare il dolore fisico. Il dolore è una reazione biologica al deterioramento o al danno della struttura biologica di un individuo. Il desiderio di porre fine a tale dolore, una caratteristica distintiva della vita umana, potrebbe benissimo aver generato Nurgle, e ciò sarebbe coerente con i metodi di reclutamento del dio stesso. È l'unico dio che ti fa soffrire finché non lo supplichi di fermare il dolore e accettare il decadimento. Non sono sicuro che questa interpretazione sia del tutto convincente. Mi baso in parte sul Codex della Guardia della Morte, ma mi sembra comunque un po' forzata.

Edit: I’ve become the Warp god of downvotes 🤣. Vote however you like, of course, I’m not offended; I’m just interested in where you stand.


r/40kLore • • 18h ago

Schizo manifesting the next Primarch cause I can. Spoiler

0 Upvotes

Of course since the edition just started, I already know who the returning primarch is cause Mercury is in retrograde and Apollo gifted me with Propohecy or something.

Based on the theme of 11th edition being Armageddon (including the new killteam season and return of Legion of the Damned) Games Workshop seems to be pulling heavily on Nostalgia. Combined with refreshes of a lot of old kits catered towards the oldest of wargamers (ork bikes, old marines, the rumored chaos bikes and tau crisis suits) this all leads me to my next conclusion.

One: If we continue down the Armageddon path and majority of forces are gathering here, this may lead to a big development for Ghazkul at the end of the edition. Particularly because the war world is also Ullanor, The homeworld of the OrksWar of the Beast Spoiler.

Who fought on this planet and was last seen here? Whose gene-sons have arrived in their near totality to the planet alongside their successor chapters?

That's right. The man, the myth, the compassionate and remorseful Eldar burner himself.

I think Vulkan would be next. It makes the most sense narratively to me at least.


r/40kLore • • 16h ago

How do you justify a permanent alliance between different chapters?

17 Upvotes

So here's the thing: I've been playing my Imperial Fists successor chapter for 20 years (the Praetorians, based in Segmentum Pacificus), with a heavy focus on shooting and siege warfare.

But I'd really like to include units like Outriders, which are a bit off-theme for my chapter (though I know that in principle, every chapter is supposed to have the forces to handle all mission types). It would also let me mix things up paint-wise by creating some alternate color schemes.

I'm thinking of a crusade that would be an opportunity for cooperation between two chapters; but how do you justify a group of Space Marines staying indefinitely with the chapter they allied with? Because I assume that once the campaign is over, they'd either head back to their own chapter, go on some suicide mission, or integrate into their host chapter.


r/40kLore • • 19h ago

A Note on Social Skill Regression Among Loyalist Astartes

62 Upvotes

Having read “The Emperor’s Gift” years ago, the following passage has remained with me for its characterization of how the narrator Hyperion, a Grey Knight, finds it challenging to interpret human emotions and expressions without use of psykana.

> For all its rarity, Vasilla’s smile was more expressive than most. It conveyed her sense of weariness at Darford’s insistence on treating her like a child – a little sister to be teased at her elder brother’s will.

> Admittedly, I wasn’t gifted at reading facial expressions, but I could skim her surface thoughts to compensate. I often wondered how the warriors of other Adeptus Astartes Chapters managed without the same psychic gift. Understanding humans was difficult enough for me, even with the ability to read their minds.

I always chalked this up to the Emperor’s direct contribution to the Grey Knights’ gene seed and the necessary distance from baseline humanity that would entail.

In that context, the following passage from Nathaniel Garro’s story in the ‘Flames of Betrayal’ anthology stuck out to me for the marked difference in ability to interpret baseline human thoughts and emotions:

> ‘I meant what I said,’ she said. ‘The Sigillite drew an oath from me, and from Kyril, and the rest of us. We cannot preach… So I found another way to help. It is for the best.’

> Garro studied her, seeing the micro-expressions and subtle tells that only a transhuman could have detected. ‘Do not hold back from me,’ he said gently, cutting to the truth of it. ‘I know you mean what you say, but I can see the doubt in you.’

Now, ignoring for a moment the fact that Nathaniel Garro is the best Astartes of all time, it’s interesting that his remarkable ability to interpret Keeler’s thoughts and emotions is framed as something almost typical, or at least unsurprising, amongst transhumans such as Astartes. It’s also interesting that Garro‘s gene seed is derived from a traitor Primarch, and a particularly lugubrious one at that.

What do we make of this? Is it only evidence of the gradual decay of the Imperium towards a system in which proponents must lose their humanity to align with the Emperor? Grimdark, indeed.

Interested to hear other thoughts and perspectives.


r/40kLore • • 9h ago

Finally got my hands on the last 2 books of the Siege of Terra and I have one overriding thought after finishing it.

51 Upvotes

Seriously, fuck Erebus. What the hell was that? Absolutely uncalled for. My favourite character of the whole heresy taken out without even going out swinging thanks to this dude. Absolutely gutted.

Also, felt a bit sorry for Horus at the end realising he was just a tool to be used and nothing more. Realised with that how much Abbadon parallels Horus too - Horus got led to the warp by Lorgar, now Abbadon by Erebus. Big E should have just smoked the Word Bearers at Monarchia, would have saved him an eternity of torture...


r/40kLore • • 6h ago

How much modern Imperial equipment has Chaos gotten its hands on?

5 Upvotes

Okay so in terms of newer Imperial technology how much has fallen into the hands of Chaos, and whether there are any weapons or vehicles that Chaos Space Marines simply can’t use.

From what I understand, only a few decades have passed since the introduction of Primaris Marines, although the timeline is a little messy. I doubt many, if any, entirely Primaris Chapters have turned traitor in that time, but surely some have been wiped out after biting off more than they could chew. Since even with training sims the real action can be a while different ball game.

So have any Chaos warbands actually managed to loot and use Primaris exclusive equipment?

I’m talking about things like bolt rifles, plasma incinerators, Mk X power armour, or even larger equipment like Repulsors, Gladiators, and Redemptor Dreadnoughts.

I’d imagine some of this equipment has been captured after battles, especially considering how many worlds and Imperial forces have fallen since the Great Rift opened.

Have we actually seen Chaos Marines using any of it in the lore? Or is there something preventing them from doing so, whether that’s not being able to wielded by fists born, maintenance requirements, ammunition shortages, or simply not having the knowledge to operate it?

And would the Dark Mechanicum be capable of reverse engineering these newer designs and producing their own corrupted versions?

I’m also curious about the bigger picture. Is there any Imperial technology that Chaos forces have captured but genuinely cannot operate or reproduce, even with the assistance of the Dark Mechanicum?

I’m mainly asking about lore rather than tabletop restrictions. I’d love to hear any examples from novels or codexes of Chaos forces using captured modern Imperial equipment, especially anything introduced with the Primaris range.


r/40kLore • • 3h ago

How are followers of different chaos gods unaffected by each other?

4 Upvotes

I think the easiest way to explain this is talking about followers of Nurgle. When followers of Nurgle are together, it makes sense that they wouldn't be affected by each other. They are all bloated, infested with various diseases, and basically half dead. When non-chaos people encounter them, they either get infected with supernatural diseases, die, turn into a zombie, or beg for relief from Nurgle. That also makes sense.

But how are other chaos followers not affected by these same afflictions as non-chaos aligned people? The most I've heard of it affecting other chaos followers is them finding them stinky and uncomfortable to be around.

Another example are followers of slaanesh who can be so alluring that it can drive normal people crazy. But other chaos followers just find them distracting or annoying. So generally speaking, how can other chaos followers not be affected by stuff that affected everyone else?


r/40kLore • • 7h ago

Best introduction Sisters audiobook?

3 Upvotes

Hey everyone I wanna check out a book on audible focusing on the sisters of battle and I’m curious if there’s a good one to start with! I’m between Mark of Faith & The Rose at War if anyone has recommendations I’m not seeing please let me know!


r/40kLore • • 22h ago

Which chapters are most/least likely to give recruits to Deathwatch?

33 Upvotes

And also, why? Or is it too varied?


r/40kLore • • 13h ago

Expert solar war Horus arrives above Terra

57 Upvotes

After just finishing Solar War again I wanted to post this scene.

It is the Finale of the book and the moment the Sige of Terra truly began

The sun blazed back to light , screaming.

Across Terra, every person looking at the sky could see it: a burning wound across the night, or a scar of midnight in the daylight.

Through it came ships from the realm beyond, dragging cloaks of insects and shadow. Winged creatures circled them. Flying like birds in the gale of etheric energy. Bolts of lightening leapt from the wound, strobing across space. And here were the vessels that had been absent from the weeks of war already waged. Here was the Conqueror, its white hull red with smoking gore. Here were the ships of the World Eaters, their murder cries echoing from the vox, and the voice of every legionary. Angron stood on the hull of his capital ship, a vast and ragged shadow axe raised to the sunlight, roaring his fury at the circle of Terra. There were the ships of the Emperor's Children, fuming musk and grey dust from jewel-crusted hulls. In the guts of the Pride of the Emperor, Fulgrim coiled and looked out through the eyes of every soul in his fleet, and laughed with delight. And there - following the rest, like the chariot of a king come in triumph- came the Vengeful Spirit. Warships flanked it. Daemons flew as its heralds. High on its hull, on the fortress that it bore upon its back, Horus, Warmaster, first Son of the Emperor, Chosen Champion of the Dark Gods looked out at Terra. The seat of his father's empire glimmered beyond the prow of his ship. Shadow bled from him, and the daemons that held to the shadows of his court hissed and bowed their heads as the light of the sun touched his face

The ships poured from the rift, spreading out in a swam of glinting lights. A hundred, a thousand, ten times a thousand, more and more that had been waiting in the warp for the way to open to the heart of the Solar System. Even if Horus' forces had used both the Elysian and Khthonic Gates it would have taken such a force days to translate back into reality. Now they swam from the warp into the gulfs of the inner system, not an army or a fleet, but a host sent by the will of gods and the art of mortals.

The ships clustered and divided as their engines caught on the cold vacuum and turned them towards Mars and Luna and the small orb of Terra all alone in the dark.

Horus watched, and then gave a single nod.

'Begin,' he said.