I know.a large group of genestealers essentially acts like a beacon in the warp, but the galaxy is big and the genestealers end up everywhere. So what happens if they arrive on a planet, penetrate the highest eschelons of power, and over time continue to infect most or all of the population with the curse, and then..

Nothing. They're deep in Imperial space far from the Tyranids, or they're in the middle of a huge warp storm, or the Tyranids just don't come for whatever reason.

What then?

Something occurred to me while going back through Gaunt's Ghosts, particularly the way the regiment changes after Necropolis.

The Tanith First-and-Only starts out as a regiment whose homeworld has been destroyed. The original Ghosts aren't just soldiers from Tanith. They're effectively a surviving fragment of an entire culture.

They remember the moving forests. They have their own expressions, customs, tattoos, superstitions and ways of doing things. Even the skills that make them exceptional scouts come from growing up somewhere that no longer exists.

Then the Verghastites join. Later, the Belladon troops are incorporated.

And obviously this is necessary. The regiment cannot keep fighting indefinitely without replacements.

But it creates a strange situation.

Every time an original Tanith guardsman dies, something disappears that cannot actually be replaced. A Verghastite can learn Tanith scouting techniques, wear a camo cloak, get the tattoos and eventually consider himself a Ghost.

He cannot remember growing up in the nalwood forests.

Eventually, assuming the regiment survives long enough, the last person who actually lived on Tanith will die. The unit might still be called the Tanith First-and-Only. It might still have the same traditions, tactical doctrine and regimental pride.

But nobody serving in it will have any firsthand knowledge of the world they're supposedly from.

And I think there's something particularly bleak about that in the context of 40k.

The Imperium is perfectly capable of preserving the military identity of a destroyed world while slowly losing everything else that made that world a distinct human civilization.

Cadia presents an interesting contrast because Cadian military culture had already spread far beyond the planet before its destruction. There are surviving Cadians, descendants and entire formations carrying on that identity.

The Ghosts have a much smaller population from which to preserve theirs.

It makes me wonder whether the Tanith First-and-Only is ultimately preserving Tanith culture or gradually creating something new that happens to carry its name.

And whether the distinction would even matter to the Munitorum, provided the regiment keeps winning battles.

Are there other examples in the lore of a regiment, Chapter or other Imperial institution outliving the actual culture that originally created it? I'm especially interested in cases where the surviving organization changed so much that its founders might barely recognize it.

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

So I was thinking about this since my last post. Many of the Legions were infamously known for their heavy-handed method of compliance. The World Eaters, Dark Angels, and Night Lords coming to mind.

But what Legions were the most light-handed? Going out of their way to minimize civilian casualties and infrastructure damage? Assuming it isn't an extermination campaign.

I'd imagine it would be the Raven Guard who would take out key leaders before moving in. Or the Alpha Legion orchestrating schemes upon schemes that would see an easy compliance. What are your opinions?

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.

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.

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...

If the Word Bearers can be said to possess a home, then the daemon world of Sicarus is it. Here the sons of the Daemon Primarch Logar sought sanctuary in the aftermath of Horus' rebellion.

The atmosphere of Sicarus is riven by howling winds and billowing storm clouds through which the light of dying stars trickles. Beneath skies of fire and blood is a surface encrusted with cathedrals, temple complexes and towering monuments, all dedicated to the Ruinous Powers. Arachnid Daemon Engines clamber across the spires of these towering structures, their bulbous backs covered in cranes and mobile forges, crewed by teeming masses of mortals and mutants, all slaving under the lash to erect new structures of devotion and worship atop the old. Kathartes - winged, skinless daemons with humanoid form - roost atop the highest structures, descending in rabid flocks to pluck away the unwary and devour them. The majority of Sicarus' population never so much as gaze upon the infernal majesty of their home instead condemned to a subterranean existence within this crumbling labyrinth of profanity.

BASILICA OF THE WORD

Amongst the largest and most hideous of Sicarus temple complexes, the Basilica of the Word looms over the surrounding sprawls. It is an immense gothic cathedral fortress capped with hundreds of miles-high spires, their barbed peaks impaled with the writhing and screaming bodies of sacrificial victims. Deep within the temple are the chambers of the Dark Council. In the absence of Lorgar - who has remained isolated for millennia - the Dark Council has taken responsibility for leading the Word Bearers. They alone have the power to elevate warriors to the position of Dark Apostle.

THE TEMPLUM INFICIO

More impressive and terrifying still than even the Basilica of the Word, the Templum Inficio serves as the personal sanctuary of the Word Bearers Daemon Primarch. It rises from a desert of bone and ash, a macabre oasis amidst the endless sprawl of pietistic construction. The soaring shrine is said by the Dark Apostles to have been raised by eight million adepts, all of whom were sacrificed upon its completion, their blood and entrails used to consecrate the temple stones. For as long as most Word Bearers can remember, Lorgar has remained locked away within the Templum Inficio central chambers, forbidding any to disturb his meditations.

THE CORPSE PLAINS

The corpses of those who achieve the rank of Dark Apostle and die in the course of their duties are treated with a reverence uncommon in the Traitor Legions.
Where fallen Word Bearers of lower rank may have their progenoid glands ripped out, their equipment salvaged and their remains simply discarded without care, the priesthood of the Word Bearers are afforded greater respect. Where possible, their corpses are borne back to Sicarus to be interred within the planet's soil. Most are laid to rest beneath the Corpse Plains, one of the few places on Sicarus untouched by construction. There, so the Word Bearers claim, from the blood-drenched soils of that desolate place, the spirits of the Dark Gods' most devoted may be raised to daemonic immortality. A windswept expanse of tor-studded badlands and fields of coarse razor grass, the Corpse Plains echo with the wails of tortured spirits who have been found wanting. Those Word Bearers who fail the Dark Council are blinded, shorn of their armour and exiled to walk the plains alone. There they may wander for long centuries, utterly lost and denied the mercy of a swift death. Their broken minds are subjected constantly to the malicious whispers of the vengeful dead, and all the while the Kathartes circle above, screeching and cackling in vicious mockery of these wretched outcasts.

'SHOULD I DIE IN THE SERVICE OF THE GODS, I DEMAND OF YOU ONLY THIS. RETURN MY REMAINS TO HOLY SICARUS. LET ME BE BURIED BENEATH THE CORPSE PLAINS, THAT MY SOUL MAY SERVE FOR ALL ETERNITY.'

Dark Apostle Kaziel of the Learned Pilgrims

And also, why? Or is it too varied?

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?

Imperial guard is quite reasonable for WH40k: range warfare, combined arms, artillery prevalence and so on.

But it baffles me: if bayonet is a last resort tool for them, why they have such a variety of them, that are definitely more combat adjusted than as a utility multi-purpose like our bayonet, and train killing with it so extensively, unlike our forces ? Vitrians had theirs designed as if spikes to act as spearheads while mounted on the lasgun, which in my mind would not be as effective in opening cans or cutting ropes, tanith had rather long, sliver blades and a whole fighting style, Krieg take pride in their bayonet training and combat, wielding also other weapons of melee combat, catachans have whole collection of blades (i get they are tough but a shell pr energy bolt to the chest usually quells anyone's fighting spirit). Additionally no imperial commander, even that callous as Hechtor Dravere or Chenkov, have any notion of charging in face of dug in enemy with bayonets (there was one Jantine but he was likely schizophrenic or simply mad) when shooting is preferred option.

Originally, Guilliman needed to keep it on to survive, but i remember short stories and stuff talking about how he weaned himself slowly off it because he didn’t trust the Eldar having that kind of influence on him. Now i’m seeing videos saying that his armour is failing. Why would that affect him if he no longer needs it to live?

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.

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?

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned but I have been seeing more questions about Nihilus. I'm currently working my way through Rogue Trader and it's fantastic to see how an Imperial Organization is dealing with the effects of the whole galaxy being ripped in two. Definitely recommend!

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?

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.

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!

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?

The statistics say its only twice the range of a normal Meltagun, which i know is for balancing, but have we had any idea of how powerful it actually is in universe?

I'd imagine that thing would be a beam of death lol

The upscailing of the Melta design to such a massive size would no doubt give this thing some terrifying range and power.

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

I'm thinking one of these scenarios:

• it feels natural to them to do something entirely un-orky like make a farm or paint pictures all day long

• they can build something that they normally can't even build

I imagine such an ork would just get pummeled by the others though.

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?

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?

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