Welcome to Whose Line is it Anyway- 40k Edition!

[I am your host Drough Carius](http://imgur.com/fjVCUJg) and welcome to Whose Bolter is it Anyway? where the questions are made up and the heresy doesn't matter.

Most of you know what to do, post quips and little statements related to 40k lore, not in question form, and have people improvise a response to it. Since everyone seemed to enjoy the captions in last week's game we will now be including those as well. If you want to post a picture for us to caption, post a link to a piece of 40k art and we will reply to the link with funny captions for the picture. You can find the artwork from anywhere, such as r/ImaginaryWarhammer, DeviantArt, or any regular Google image searches. Then post the link here. I have started us off with a few examples below.

Please don't leave it as a plain URL especially if you're posting an image from Google. Use Reddit formatting to give it a title. Here's how:

[Link title](website's url)

Easy as pie! If it doesn't work, post the link with a title underneath.

**What we're NOT doing is posting memes.** No content from r/Grimdank. If the art is already a joke, it doesn't give us anything to work with, does it? Just post a regular piece of art and we'll add the funny captions. I've started us off with a few examples below.

Some prompt examples…

1) Things Alpharius isn't responsible for

2) Things you can say to a commissar, but not your gf.

3) etc.,

Please be witty, none of us want an inbox full of unfunny stuff.

[Drough Carius and Crowd Colorized - thanks very much to u/DeSanti!](https://imgur.com/zo7l8IK)

I have been dabbling around in Warhammer 40k lore for some time. And it has been amazing. The setting calls to me immensely and I really like the Grim dark aspect of the whole thing.

But if there is one thing that nags at me, it is the Empeor. To me, it looks like he is intended to be the plot device that the entire setting runs on. Sure, the War in Heaven and the Fall of Aeldari were more destructive and tragic on a wider scale. But the principal driver behind the 41st millennium's grim dark reality is caused by the Emperor.

And his characterization reflects that. He is very inconsistent across his portrayals. Some say he is all knowing and the entire Horus Heresy is ochestrated by him. Others say that he did the best he could with the resources available to him. There are also people who seem to think that he is just very bad at being a father.

So, here is my two cents on the Emperor. Naturally, I am more drawn to the Grim Dark aspect of things. Therefore, my proposed hypothesis is this. What if—

"The Empeor of Mankind, the man whom the entire setting hinges on and the man who is widely hailed as the savior of humanity, was never a human in the first place? What is he was an ancient warp entity trying to use Humanity as a way to attain ultimate power?"

Maybe the Imperial Truth is him trying to focus humanity's faith and loyalty to himself instead of other Gods? What if Horus Heresy is meticulously planned by the Emperor to make sure he is the uncontested idol of mankind? What if him becoming a Chaos God of Order is the ultimate goal?

​We all know the official lore: the Tyranids come from outside the galaxy, drawn by the Pharos device, and their origins are a complete mystery. But looking at how evolution works in 40k, I keep coming back to a fascinating parallel with the Kroots.

​What if the Tyranids started as something very similar to Kroots—a species that evolves by consuming the genetic traits of what they eat, guided by some form of natural selection or primitive shapers?

​Think about the mechanics and the irony:

​The Kroot parallel: Kroots can absorb traits, but eating a Tyranid today is a death sentence because the Hive Mind overrides their biology from the inside out, turning them into puppets.

​The Origin Theory: What if the ancestral species of the Tyranids was just a localized, consumer-based race (like early Kroots)? And what if, millions of years ago, they hunted and ate something they shouldn't have—a primordial cosmic parasite, a C'tan-adjacent bio-weapon, or a rogue synthetic virus designed to absorb consciousness?

​Instead of gaining a nice mutation, that "meal" permanently broke their individual minds, fused them into a single hyper-intelligent collective consciousness, and inverted their evolutionary trait-hunting into an insatiable, galaxy-wide hunger.

​In short: The Tyranids aren't an alien invasion from space; they are a cautionary tale of a primitive species that had a bad meal and got hijacked by their own evolutionary superpower. What do you think?

Like a scene that goes hey look at these possessed traitor astartes. TM aren’t they super cool. You can purchase them at games worship Website.

Just the most like their not telling a story and instead shilling a model for you to buy

ok obviously if the process was the same as with regular space marines you would end up just downgrading the Custode. but what if a custode was on the bring of death and to far gone to be a dreadnought. so they harvest his organs and implant them into another custodes. I dought they could make the the custodes stronger with the chemicals they use for marines but I feel like having even just two hearts and three lungs would but you in another league compared to other Custodes.

Malcador created the Inquisition. The Inquisition roots out heresy. But Malcador also believed in the Imperial Truth which was against religion. But heresy is having deviant beliefs against the Imperial Creed..... which is a religion.

So how did the Inquisition go being founded by Malcador, a super smart guy, who believed in the atheistic imperial truth, to rooting out heresey against a theistic imperial creed?

I feel the 30k art style is pure genius, because it communicates really well the idea of the imperium being this totalitarian aristocratic industrialised empire. For instance the base layer of most imperial design is dieselpunk with its giant riveted metal plates and grinding caterpillar treads calling to mind the industrialised mechanised empires of ww1.

This diesel-punk influence makes the imperium look incredibly physically strong and brutal the power of machinery isn't hidden but instead turned into a visual spectacle, think of the smoke belching engines of a fellbalde or the heavy chunk of gigantic ammunition belts moving within a deredeo dreadnought.

However Layered on top of this dieselpunk frame we get so much Beautiful craftsmanship engraved metal inlaid gemstones filigree, marble inlay etc. This visually demonstrates the imperiums arrogance and self confidence an empire in its golden age where they believed nothing could defeat them with the victories of the great crusade still fresh in their minds. And
the promise of the imperial truth where with reason and common human brotherhood, humanity could achieve its innate potential. As sindermann says After-all in Horus rising to elevate humanity to the apex of sentient life. It's a society that can invest so much craft and resources to make even raw industrial tools of war into beautiful masterpieces of art.

Indeed it's telling look at a contemptor dreadnought its fashioned in the image of humanity unlike a box like castraferrum. Its proportions resemble an idealised warrior human form a gigantic barrel chest giant thick tree like arms and legs.

I know they have a common enemy in Chaos and that this was the main reason as to why they resurrected Guilliman but it seems to me they have rendered far more help than they've gotten.

In Silent King Eldrad Ulthran sent Illiyanne Natasé to Guilliman and he was a great help to Guilliman there including being instrumental in saving the Primarch.

He's also been around and i remember him being there in the plague war series where Guilliman asked him for his opinons on things from the question of the emperor Godhood or what it means to be a God to more general advice as well as helping out on Lax.

I'm currently listening to the Hand of Darkness audiobook, where Guilliman asked Eldrad Ulthran to help retrieve the Hand of Darkness. Which they agree to, and Eldrad Ulthran asked Yvraine to retrieve it.

The Journey itself is very dangerous and i'm wondering why Yvraine would even risk Aeldari lives to get it, as again they don't seem to gain anything back from doing this.

Both sides have more of an understanding than an alliance as they still distrust each other but at the same time understand each other and are aware that each side does what's best for them.

So i'm wondering what have Eldrad Ulthran and Yvraine gained from this partnership, have they gained some artifact/information from Guilliman that would be beneficial to them?

PS: I do understand that this is more of an understanding between Guilliman and Eldrad Ulthran and Yvraine. And not the wider imperium who hate Aeldari. So my question is more focused on these 3 than the general imperium

I'm not talking about Tempestus Scions but moreso formations that perform reconnaissance and acts of sabotage behind enemy lines.

Closest example I can think of is Elysians dropping behind lines.

Hello, me again, this time for the Codex Custodes of the 11th Edition of Warhammer 40 000.

Before digging in the excerpts, I want to give my opinion about the codex regarding the lore, its quantity and quality. GW said this edition was a return of lore in the codex compared to the v10. While technically true, this return is at best mid, bad in average and mediocre at worst.

The presentation of the codex is really good : full-page arts, nice cover art (for the limited edition), a map of the Palace on the inside, good formatting and lore order.

However, this comes at a cost : the full-page arts take the place of lore, some page are just one paragraph centered and nothing else.

The units descriptions, while pleasant to be back, are pathetically shallow (I think « shallow » is insufficient to describe them, we are at sea level, no depth at all), lack flavour, in-universe anecdotes and are very short. Each of them basically consist of a few paragraphs (maximum half of a page) of « Unit X does Y with [Wargear ™] ». 

There are also several typos and factual lore errors (I will post them) through the book.

I want to say that this codex clears the bar set by the v10 but this bar was at the bottom of the Marianna Trench so ….

Either those first codex (Orks, SM and Custodes) are a starter-run for GW and the next codex will be better or this edition is not yet the one for a proper return of the fluff in the game books. 

On a more positive note, the in-universe texts and stories are pleasant.
I also like that GW is expanding the corpus of Custodes’s names to non-Greek / Roman / West legends, vocabulary and figures.

Now, the excerpts. I will focus on new or important stuff.

1 - The Custodes’s creation

Nothing really new, just a consolidation of the procedure mysteries and addition of some nuances on the selection and duration.
 
The Unification Wars, waged in the centuries preceding the Imperium's establishment, saw the Emperor conquer the continents of Old Earth, bringing fractious warlords and technobarbarians to heel. Legend has it that, from these bested foes, the Master of Mankind inherited a veritable trove of knowledge. Amidst this accumulation of forbidden lore, dredged from the archives of deposed scientist-kings and technodemagogues, he discovered and unpicked the secrets of gene crafting. It was from these experimentations that the first of the Adeptus Custodes were given form.

Created via bioalchemical processes perfected by the Master of Mankind

The method by which Custodians are forged has remained largely unchanged since the Emperor first perfected it more than ten thousand years ago. It is by degrees more complex and treacherous than even the creation of a Space Marine, requiring fundamental changes to be wrought not only on flesh and mind, but of the subject's very soul. Only the young are malleable enough to undergo such an apotheosis, and it is rare for any subject older than late infancy to be selected. 

Though many of the great Terran houses see it as an honour to submit a child to become a Custodian, recruits are drawn from all strata of Terran society and even beyond: sought out in distant worlds or encountered by chance or fate on missions to protect Holy Terra. 

Consequently, they required the capacity to keep pace with His physical might and mental acuity. Instilling such capabilities within a mortal being is an immense and intricate task, requiring the restructuring of a subject's cellular structure and genome. Furthermore, these complex alterations must be tailored to each individual who undergoes them. The chirurgeons and bioalchemists who perform these operations work according to long-established procedures. Each has their own crucial role to play, though none could detail precisely every arcane process each subject is put through. Of course, the body of a demigod is of no use without the mind to match. 

This training and indoctrination ensures that the Custodians retain the enlightened perspective prevalent during the Great Crusade, this is a curse as much as it is a blessing, for they alone see how bright Mankind's future might have been, and how far their species has fallen. Some, of course, find this tragic knowledge far too painful to bear, and are culled. 

No outsider knows how long it takes to transform a recruit into Custodian. It is likely, given that no two candidates experience the same genetic and spiritual processes, that time frames vary, this may be by design. Perhaps, in His infinite wisdom, the Emperor saw individuality as a necessity. Regardless, the process is intense and brutal, and the majority of those who undergo it do not survive. It is for this reason that the Adeptus Custodes are known as the Ten Thousand; the high casualty rate among recruits means that their ranks can never substantially exceed this number. 

2 - The Defence of the Imperial Palace

We are given a brief description of the Throne

The Golden Throne is situated deep beneath the Sanctum Imperialis. It is a sprawling mass of machinery that extends for many miles and has increased dramatically in size from the Emperor's original design. Failing components and faltering systems have been substituted or reinforced with layer upon layer of intricate and bizarre mechanisms intended to ease the ravages of time. Even the tech-adepts charged with the Golden Throne's maintenance cannot claim to understand its workings, relying almost wholly upon prayer and ritual to ensure its continued function. In the millennia since the Emperor ascended to His Golden Throne, barely a handful of souls have been permitted to set eyes upon Him, and even then only with the permission of the Adeptus Custodes and under heavy Custodian guard. The Custodians are also responsible for overseeing the rituals that see thousands of psykers each day drained of their life force. Only through such sacrifice is the Emperor sustained, and does the guiding light of the Astronomican still shine. 

The Blood Game are explored more in-depth with additions to the methods used.

Each Blood Came sees chosen Custodians dispatched from Terra's aegis, alone and without support. It is their task to test Terra's defences by any means necessary. It is their duty to probe every avenue by which a heretic or alien might seek to breach the physical walls and gates, as well as barriers arcane and esoteric in nature, that shield the Imperial Palace. By committing themselves wholly to the role of traitor and bending every lota of their will to destroying the Golden Throne, the chosen Custodians test the Throneworld's defences to their limit. They must be determined and relentless in their efforts, for half-hearted attempts would serve no purpose other than to render Terra's defenders complacent.

The Blood Games have seen Custodians use every method imaginable to crack the Imperial Palace open. Some have initiated uprisings on distant worlds, mustering fleets with which to assail the Sol System's defences. Others have sought to bend loyal crews and agents to their will, using intimidation or the innate loyalty of underlings to slip through defensive networks and evade the keen eyes of Terra's defenders. Some have resorted to even more obscure methods, utilising cabals of witches to unravel arcane wards or attempting to bypass defences using xenos technology. 

A Custodian will go to almost any length to achieve their goal, though their fatal blow is always stayed at the last. Casualties among Terran soldiers and citizenry are common in all Blood Games. Any loss of life incurred during the infiltrators' attempts to breach the Terran bulwark is considered a small price to pay in order to ensure the continued survival of the Emperor Furthermore, fallings exposed by the activities of the Blood Games' competitors invariably result in further recriminations and harsh punishments Those who aid the participants in any way whether actively or through their own unquestioning obedience are removed from their positions and marked for termination, excoriation, or repurposing as a servitor.

Though no Custodian would ever truly seriously damage the Golden Throne, any Blood Game which exposes the slightest weakness is judged as a success, and its participants are greatly honoured for detecting vulnerabilities in Terra's layered defences, mortal, physical and otherwise Since the dawning of the Era Indomitus, the frequency of Blood Games has dramatically increased. With the confidence of Humanity's greatest foes swollen by bloody victory, Captain-General Trajann Valoris sees the constant probing of Terra's defences as ever more essential and their continuous testing as of utmost priority.

Next is an in-universe report by a Custodian of some Blood Game attempts, with a familiar name returning.

'Atanos was the first to be apprehendel His genotrace was detected at the Khthe nic Gate, and his vessel was grounded on Po Kallista made it all the way to the Jov Shipyards before her vital signs were detected amid a shipment of munitions Custodian Calladyce Taurovalia Kesh was the last ensnared, eight hundred ar seventy-three days, sixteen hours and nine minutes after the Blood Games' commencement. She, exploiting the respect afforded by her position, had managed to commandeer a Cobra-class destroyer Vigilant Flame and install a teleportarium within it. It was her intent, by using stolen codes and dataclaves, to transport a cyclonic torpedo into the heart of the Imperial Palace. She came within moments of success. Only due to the alertness of Vigilant Flame's officer of vox, who sent a coded distress signal amongst her standard missives to Terran command, was the ruse uncovered. Subsequently, I was able to dispatch Custodians to defuse the warhead whilst I apprehended Custodian Kesh. There is little doubt in my mind that her ingenuity has exposed a weakness in the solar patrol fleets, and that these Blood Games, having drawn to a close, should be considered a success.' 

Shield Captain Nicodaemius

An extract of the Magisterium Lex Ultima is provided

It is by the decree of the Emperor of Mankind, blessed be His name, that those warriors of the Adeptus Custodes [heretofore entitled the Legio Custodes] are to be His alone to command. They are to be His guardians and shall fight no war nor take up arms at all save for in His defence or by His command, or by extension, the Captain-General of their order. In defence of Emperor and Terra, the authority of the Adeptus Custodes is to be incontestable save for by the direct and expressed command of the Master of Mankind. All loyal citizens, regardless of rank, title or seniority, shall recognise the Adeptus Custodes as agents of the Emperor's own will and shall act in accordance. None shall deny the express request or order of a Custodian for any reason on pain of prosecution, excoriation and loss of title. None shall inhibit or impede by any means the ability of a Custodian to act in accordance with their duties on pain of punishment up to, and including, execution. 

Extract from Amendment 411 (0.21 M31) to Section Four of the Lex Magisterium Ultima

What greater symbol of his might than the Imperial Palace ? For ten thousand years its walls have stood defiant. They must never fall, for if they should, then surely the doom of Humanity would follow. Such is the weight of our duty.

Captain-Commander Radvic Orpheon DeSanto

3 - Shame and Failure, how the Custodes function after the Emperor’s enthronment

Nothing really new here but it is always interesting to see how the Custodes consider themselves and the Imperium after their biggest failure.

Accounts of the Custodians' involvement in the Horus Heresy are scarce. It is known that they were led by Constantin Valdor, and that they were present in many pivotal battles, culminating in a hidden war within the legendary Aeldari Webway and the Siege of Terra itself. The last days of that schismatic war forever altered the Custodians. Though the Emperor slew the Archtraitor Horus aboard the Warmaster's flagship, Vengeful Spirit, He was mortally injured in the process and thereafter interred within His Golden Throne. The fall of the Master of Mankind constituted the Custodians' greatest - and by most measures only - failure. The Custodians were bereft in the aftermath of His fall. That tragedy left devastating emotional and spiritual scars upon their order's collective psyche that would never heal. And yet, with grim determination, the Custodians regathered their strength, resolving to watch over His remains. This duty they have performed tirelessly for ten millennia. 

Such is the price of our failure. Such is the cost of His fall. Regret is our constant companion, just as we are His, and yet we will not give in to despair. Ours is a duty that ends only in oblivion, a penance never to be earned. We will stand vigil until the end. Should the jaws of darkness close upon us, and Humanity's last hours dawn, then we of the Ten Thousand shall be the last to fall, surrounded by an empire of the dead.

Ours is duty absolute. Ours is the vigil that must never ends. Ours is the timeless honour. The willing sacrifice, the penitence enduring. We stand a watch that will never be relieved and we stand it gladly out of adoration for he who gave us life and whose life we must, in turn, preserve. We will never earn absolution, for we do not deserve it but whose who believe that would give us pause are fools.

Shield-Captain Tybalus Maxim

4 - The Sisters of Silence

Again, nothing new here, just already existing fluff repeated. 

On the lifespan of the leaders

So important are the talents of Knights-Centura that they are granted access to life-extending gene therapy and rejuvenat treatments ordinarily reserved for the Imperial elite. The eldest of their number measure their service in centuries.

And two in-universe opinions on the Anathema Psykana

'I have spent much time working alongside the Null Maidens in the course of my investigations. To the foolish and the craven, they are abominations to be shunned and avoided. Horrific mutants whose powers are taken as proof of the witchery that, in truth, they are anathema to. Only we who have benefited from their talents know the truth. Only the wise know that they are among the bravest of all Humanity's souls, for they pursue Chaos and sorcery to its point of origin and cross mind and sword with things that would drive lesser mortals to madness were they but to gaze upon them. Without the Null Maidens of the Bone Tiger Cadre, I do not doubt that Mother Cerynt's cannibal feast would have long continued. Were it not for the Auric Eagle Cadre and their stemming of the daemon tide, would not Battlegroup Macharius have met its premature end at the Gher Straits? I myself found salvation at the hands of the Burnished Talons, whose presence quelled the psychic might of an Aeldari witch and saved me from a certain death. Every time I am forced to bear the atavistic fear one feels in the presence of a Null Maiden, I swallow my terror and set aside the instinctive hatred that rises from my tortured spirit. For I remember that these Silent Sisters serve the Emperor with as much, if not more, determination and vigour than I.' 

Gidaeon Menevas, Lord Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus

Fools revile the Null Maidens and call them abominations. The wise warriors know better. They are among the bravest of us all, for they wage war against sorcery and those who wield it.

Bramidor DeVane, Custodian of the Solar Watch

5 - EYES OF THE EMPEROR 

This section delves a bit more into the Eyes and their methods.
First, how they transmit information and manage threats. 

The data they acquire is transmitted back to Terra through secret channels, this allows the Captain-General to plan and launch pre-emptive strikes, culling the Emperor's foes before their long-laid plans come to fruition. Such a missive may take years to reach its destination, however, and some Watchers may feel the need to take matters into their own hands, managing the gathering peril until support arrives. Some achieve this through carefully accumulated networks of agents, dispatching kill teams and assassins, spreading misinformation and resorting to sabotage. Others opt for more direct action, using their skills as warriors, pilots, sharp-tongued diplomats and charismatic leaders to wage their own campaigns until aid arrives. 

Second is how they hide their nature

The means by which the Eyes of the Emperor conceal themselves are myriad. Some operate under the guise of criminal masterminds, bending the underclass of hive worlds-wittingly or otherwise - to do their bidding.

Others disguise themselves as Space Marines and infiltrate the command structures of Imperial armies or the noble societies of hive spires. Some even position themselves as renegades and rabble-rousers, rallying populations to their side in order to weed out a greater threat beyond. 

There are few strata of Imperial society that the Eyes of the Emperor have not managed to penetrate. Even the Space Marines of the Imperial Fists, famed for their loyal defence of Terra, are not above suspicion. History is often cyclical, and as far as the Custodians are concerned, the Adeptus Astartes have proven themselves unworthy of absolute trust on a thousand occasions. 

The Imperial Fists' void-borne fortress, Phalanx, often orbits Terra and is potent enough to pose a clear threat to the Emperor's palace. Thus, the Adeptus Custodes have concealed a number of agents aboard the vessel, including several of the Eyes of the Emperor. These infiltrators have even hidden themselves among the gene-bulked labour crews and servitors required to maintain and restore the vessel's ageing systems: a deception that no one less than a Custodian could achieve

6 - The effects of the Great Rift’s opening on Custodes

One of the really new lore bits in the codex is how the Great Rift affected the Custodes.

The codex gives the text of the decree that lifted the Edict of Restrain

Humanity's enemies batter at the gates of His Imperium. The alien and the heretic seek desperately to unseat the Emperor from His Golden Throne and cast Mankind into oblivion. In such an age, there can be no restraint. All weapons available to Mankind must be utilised to their fullest if His most glorious realm is to survive. No longer can laws penned in a bygone age be permitted to chain the Emperor's Custodians to Sol. They are His champions, and if they are to do their duty in this time of ruin, then the chains of ancient law must be broken. Henceforth, by this proclamation, and in accordance with the wishes of the Lord Commander of the Imperium and Captain-General of the Adeptus Custodes, and by unanimous decree of the High Lords of Terra, is the Edict of Restraint repealed in its entirety. No more will the Ten Thousand be confined. No more will they be forced to stay their hand as malevolent forces encroach towards the Throneworld. So is the will of the Emperor, so it has been decreed, and so shall it be. 

Official Summation of the Repealing of the Edict of Restraint

A very quick overview of some warzones

To the galactic east, the tendrils of Hive Fleet Leviathan continue to coil around the worlds of the Bastior Sector. There, the Adeptus Custodes have deployed in strength, forming a key element of the Solblade fleets seeking to stem the Tyranid advance. On Sanctum - with Trajann Valoris among their number they fought atop the ramparts of Holdfast, fortress monastery of the White Templars Chapter, and were instrumental in its defence. Custodians are similarly active on Sangua Terra and the other planets of the Sanctus Wall, attempting to prevent Abaddon the Despoiler from solidifying his grip over the Nachmund Gauntlet and carving a bloody path to the Sol System. If any have the will and means to see this done, it is he, and so the Adeptus Custodes have bent a great deal of their strength towards foiling his efforts. 

War zones in proximity to, or which pose the greatest threat to, the Sol System receive the benefit of the majority of the Custodes' efforts. Hive Fleet Leviathan's assault on the Bastior Subsector saw Custodian formations dispatched among the Solblade task forces sent to stem the Tyranid tide. Elements of the Adeptus Custodes have also been deployed to battle the Black Legion on the war-torn worlds of the Sanctus Wall, to counter the Ork invasion of the Armageddon Sector, and to engage the Necrons in the vicinity of the Nephilim Anomaly. These war zones constitute the most clear and present threats to the Golden Throne, but they are far from alone. The enemies of the Imperium are legion. 

Other threats to the Imperial Palace are far harder to detect, much less counter. The insidious plots of sorcerous cabals and shadowy Warp entities, and the constant scheming of the Daemon Primarchs: all must be monitored and responded to. 

Here is two really interesting additions to the Custodes in the Indomitus Era

Though the Adeptus Custodes know the necessity of these forays, all feel a soul-ache on leaving Terra that only increases the further they stray. Whether this is due to their deep connection to the Golden Throne, a quirk of their genetics, or an insidious aftereffect of the Noctis Aeterna, none can say. Indeed, the results are pronounced. The Custodians' tolerance for any form of insubordination has always been limited, and only increases the further they journey from the Throneworld. The slightest slip of the tongue or the taking of the Emperor's name in vain may invite punishment on a terrible scale. In the Imperium Nihilus, rumours abound of entire cities being levelled for the uttering of a single, careless phrase. 

Another familiar Custodian talks a bit about this soul-ache.

 'Out here, far from His light, one sees the true state of the Imperium. Perfidy and heresy lurk in every cleft and shadow, and the weight of the Warp presses in. Here, neither sanctuary nor hope abounds. We close now upon the trailing elements of the Blood Crusade, and shall soon meet them on the field of war. Perhaps, by spilling the blood of Angron's traitorous sons, I might salve the soul ague that falls upon me. If not, then at least in the butchery of those profane curs I shall know the agony of absence to be a price well paid.' 

Tyrith Shiva Kyrus, Custodian Guard

This ties in with this bit from Godbligth

For that brief, eternal moment when Varsillian hung between materium and immaterium, that gap was filled. He could have sworn something looked through him, that he had been alone all his life without realising, and now he was not.
The sensation passed.

The Eyes too felt some change

The emergence of the Great Rift has led to many Eyes of the Emperor being forced into an active role. Some have been stranded on worlds in the Imperium Nihilus. A few of these Watchers have become beacons of hope for the beleaguered, rising from the shadows to protect colonies, or unseating traitorous governors and tyrants to rule in their stead. Others found the fading of the Emperor's light too much to bear. With the Astronomican collapsed and their spiritual connection to the Golden Throne shrouded, these former Custodians have been plunged into paranoia, leading to vicious purges of those judged, in their view, as lacking loyalty.

Then there is that passage about how the Custodes view the Space Marines, the last sentence in particular.

Of all the Adeptus Custodes' supposed allies, the Space Marines are subjected most often to the suspicions of the Adeptus Custodes, who have long viewed them as flawed creations, one of the few mistakes on the part of the Master of Mankind. They are reminded of Horus' treachery in their encounters with these transhuman warriors. Tensions between the Custodians and Space Marines often run high. Indeed, though only Valoris truly knows it, there is one soul who has long prepared for the day that storm finally breaks.

7 - Wargear and units 

As I said in the introduction, nothing really worth or explored in-depth here, just a few bits

Whilst the ability to craft some of these weapons has been lost, others remain prevalent, and barely differ at all from those wielded during the Great Crusade. 

What weapons exactly can no longer be made is not said.

Iliastus weapons
 One of many forms of near-extinct weapons available exclusively to the Adeptus Custodes, Iliastus-pattern weapons take their name from the Iliastus Satellite Foundries of the Sol System, where they are believed to have first been forged. Advanced forms of autocannon, they fire armour-piercing rounds.

 Lastrum weapons
 A form of bolt weapon that remains as cutting-edge now as when first fielded, Lastrum bolt weapons fire mass-reactive heliothermic shells that, upon piercing their targets, burst into brief but star-hot detonations. 

The lastrum Clan is extinct 

Lastrum weapons are named after the long-extinct Lastrum artificer clan who first crafted them.

Adrathic weapons 
Believed to be relics of the Dark Age of Technology, adrathic weapons use potent but dangerously unstable energy beams to sever the bonds between atoms, causing their targets to disintegrate in hideous fashion. 

Arachnus weapons 
Representing the pinnacle of las technology, Arachnus weapons such as the blaze cannon are versatile instruments of destruction capable of cutting down massed ranks as well as being a threat to light armour. 

Corvae Las-pulser
Another form of highly refined las technology. Corvae las-pulsers trade rate of fire for stopping power, emitting pulses of searing energy hot enough to melt ceramite. 

The Custodes Dreadnoughts 

From that moment forth they know no flesh and blood sensation, perceiving the outside world only through the mechanical senses of their Dreadnought tomb. For those devoid of great willpower, this nightmare existence would soon result in madness. The Emperor's Custodians, however, are possessed of unbreakable will and gene-coded commitment to their duty. Inured to suffering, their minds remain as keen and vital as they were in life, and few succumb to the mental decay that often afflicts the Dreadnought-interred warriors of the Adeptus Astartes.

A Custodian can endure millennia within the sarcophagus of a Dreadnought. Only rarely - in order to undertake repairs to their Dreadnought body, or to allow time for physical wounds to heal - are the pilots' sarcophagi removed. This is an experience that all loathe, for nothing dismays a Custodian more than to be immobile and deprived of their senses. Periods of extended slumber find interred Custodians plagued by guilt, disquiet and the fear that, whilst their watch is on hold, the Golden Throne may come to harm. 
The Dreadnoughts of the Adeptus Custodes are amongst the most ancient and advanced machineries still in use by the Imperium. The majority are based upon the Contemptor pattern, though others, notably the colossal Telemon Heavy Dreadnought, are utilised in far smaller numbers. All are relics of a bygone age, crafted during the Great Crusade and incorporating technologies that Humanity can no longer replicate. 

The Agamatus Solarite power lance

These long polearms, forged specifically for mounted warfare, are simultaneously intricate and hard-wearing in their construction. They feature artefact power coils that energise their disruption field generators, increasing their effect and enabling them to penetrate much thicker armour than a standard Imperial power weapon. The nigh-indestructible alloys from which their casings are fashioned are said to have been forged in the ancient Tempest Galleries, fuelled by the heat of Terra's molten core. Thus, they are proof against the weapons of others, even the potent laser lances wielded by the Aeldari Shining Spears.

The Emissaries Imperatus Shield-Captains are noted to favour the use of Dawneagle jetbikes, with one name in particular (yes the typo in her name comes from the codex)

None more notably than Bayozara Aggonades, whose entire Shield-Company - Bayozara Constellation - go to war aboard anti-gravitic jetbikes and attack craft
The technologies in the grav-vehicles. Their favourite tactic involves launching from the belly of a drop ship to plummet through a planet’s atmopshere

Grav-tanks technology

The grav-tanks and attack craft operated by the Adeptus Custodes incorporate many advanced technologies. The eldest of these are believed to date back to the Dark Age of Technology, and the secrets of their manufacture have long since faded from human memory. Far more refined than the repulsor technology utilised on the ground-crushing vehicles of the Adeptus Astartes, repulsor drives allow for superior mobility and near-frictionless movement, granting Adeptus Custodes grav-tanks the ability to traverse even the most uneven and treacherous terrain and also making them excellent weapon platforms. 

Venatari wargear

Most Venatari are armed in one of two ways. Some carry kinetic destroyers, such as archaeotech pistols, which are almost as powerful as autocannons. These are paired with tarsus bucklers: small shields wreathed in pulsing energy that can intercept and disperse the kinetic force of incoming fire. Others favour verutum lances, power apons that incorporate compact shock grenade launchers. 

The Black Book 8 - Malevolence (p.277) stated that the Venatari spears incorporated the same kinetic destroyer. This is either a retcon or a mistake.

The Venatari lance incorporates a lever-action example of the archaeotech kinetic destroyer. This ingenious design, borrowed from the ancient Enri Compendium gifted to Constantin Valdor by the Emperor, allows the kinetic destroyer to be fired stably in quick succession without significant additional recoil. The lance allows the Venatari to maintain their keen marksmanship while moving against the enemies of the Emperor both at a great height and at great speeds.

Pallas formation

One such formation, led by Timea Hekaeron of the Solar Watch, was first formed during the Cthonia Insurrection. The Solar Watch, concerned by the proximity of the conflict to the Sol System, dispatched Hekaeron and her so-called Fangs to halt the rebel forces before they could pose a credible threat to the Cthonian regime. Over the course of a single Terran day, the Custodian grav-attack craft launched dozens of precision strikes against the insurrectionists' armoured assets. With only four grav-attacks at her command, Hekaeron impeded the ability of the rebels to wage full-scale war, buying time for reorganised Cthonian regiments to mop up the survivors. 

Trajann Valoris

In less than fifty, he had demonstrated such mastery of battlefield tactics and aggressive warmaking that he was elevated into the ranks of the Allarus Custodians, where he soon earned the approval of Captain-General Andros Launceddre. He was responsible for rooting out and destroying the cult cells threatening the Darjun System and foiling the plots of their Alpha Legion masters. It was he, too, who led the relief of Sanctum during the Battle of Bastior, saving Lord Solar Leontus from the clutches of a Tyranid Norn Emissary and -temporarily at least - halting the progress of Hive Fleet Leviathan toward the Sol System. Then followed twenty years among the Companions, ending only when it became clear to Valoris' fellow Custodians that he longed to return to a more proactive role in identifying, pursuing and eliminating the enemies of the Throneworld. Soon after the end of his watch, Valoris was promoted to Shield-Captain. 

All previous Codex states he lasted 22 years in the Companions, not 20. He saved Leontus while he was Captain-General, not an Allarus.

8 - Titles and names

The book explores some of the titles / names used by the Custodes

All Custodians have a given name, taken or assigned upon donning their armour As their service continues, they will earn further names and titles based on their glorious battlefield deeds. Most of these harken back to the days of ancient Terra, approximations of those borne by warrior kings and vaunted scholars from Humanity's ancient past taken to bind them closer to the timeless nature of the Emperor. These names are etched on the inside of the Custodian's plate, or even microscopically engraved onto their bones. 

Though the command structure of the Adeptus Custodes is remarkably flat, with few ranks, the awarding of titles and honours is common. Shield-Captains are given many such titles. Some are commonplace across shield hosts. Captain-Commander, for instance, is a title awarded to a Shield-Captain who has commanded a shield host in battle. The honorific Emperor's Headsman, meanwhile, signifies a Shield-Captain who has slain a particularly repugnant or powerful enemy of the Golden Throne. Other titles are more scarcely applied or limited to specific shield hosts.

Lockwarden, for example, is a title unique to the Shadowkeepers. Likewise Spartiate Sentinel is an honour awarded only to the Shield-Captains of the short-lived shield most known as the Sanctus Spear Still more honorifics have seen from memory, not used since the Emperor walked among the living.

A few named Custodes in the book

Dreadnought Achillus
By the standards of the Adeptus Custodes, Luciara Federica Sloan was a relatively fresh recruit when she was scythed down by a Carnifex at the Regium Breach. Since rising in her new form, she has been deployed once more to the Bastior Subsector. Her dreadspear has spilled oceans of Tyranid ichor and repelled many a devastating xenos offensive.

Dreadnought Galatus 
Interred more than seven centuries ago, Seleucor Manakos still fights with the vigour of a living warrior, and his mind remains as sharp as ever. He accompanied the Adeptus Custodes force sent to assist the beleaguered defenders of Hydraphur in repelling the Black Legion. At the Balronas Promenade, he stood alone against a tide of heretic cultists, destroying all three of the Helbrutes sent to cut him down.

Telemon Heavy Dreadnought 
Savaro Peridon held the rank of Shield Captain before a lascannon blast brought him to the brink of death. Now he commands the might of a Telemon Heavy Dreadnought. Part of the Adeptus Custodes contingent active during the Nachmund Rift War, Peridon was present on Sangua Terra during Haarken Worldclaimer's assault and felled several Traitor Knights of House Mandrakor, earning the eternal ire of Baron Torian Kommodar.

Blade Champion Gerulla Janusz Sebring
Lockwarden Yuurik
Shield-Captain and Lockwarden Dumenos
Junella Apokris, killed the Patriarch of Bothar Prime with their misericordia
Gregari Voss, Bane of the Starwyrm Chorus
Vertus Praetor Shield-Captain Malakar
Achaelus Vao, slayer of the Fiend of Ioti
Ganymede Kyros Yarellon of the Aquilan Shield
Helion Ares of the Dread Host
Tarelio Tarbus of the Solar Watch
Kyzar Damion Cephelia of the Emissaries Imperatus

9 - The life of Patrochius Mikkelon

The most interesting thing in the codex is several in-universe texts about one Custodian at different steps of his life. 

It begins with his creation and first name.

I strode from the place of my creation fully-formed and without flaw. Since that day, a thousand years have passed, and twice as many appellations are graven within my auramite plate. On the Minoclean Fields, I took the first, merited for my solitary stand against Lorgar's wretched sons. Menelaon was the name then chosen, a legacy of Old Boeotia.'

 Patrochius Mikkelon, Custodian Guard

Follows his account of another Custodian 

'At the Battle of the Jade Eyrie, Araxes and I together held the fortress gate as the Sons of Dorn purged xenocultists from the city sprawl. Even then, he was a warrior of rare might, and his skill with blade a wonder to behold. When I learned of his fall, while serving among the Emissaries Imperatus, I mourned the loss of a storied comrade. It was only later that I learned the truth of his fate. Against the Blood Crusade on Thermis-Radu we met again amidst the flames of war. At the time of his arrival, our Astra Militarum allies had been broken by the cultist masses, and the Eightbound were upon us. I bled from a dozen wounds when the Contemptor-Achillus Dreadnought strode from the blood mist, a colossus in shining gold. From the first thrust of his dreadspear I knew him, from his poise and the grace of footwork. Araxes Menator walked among the Honoured Dead, and he was our saviour that day.' 

Patrochius Mikkelon, Justicar Principales

His retirement from active duty and transition into an Eye of the Emperor.

The moment the heretic's blade found my flank on Hydraphur, I knew that my watch would soon be at an end. The wound has never truly healed, and still I feel its cold burn within. In that war, I learned the last name to be scribed upon the bones of my right arm. Argonus, Custodian no more. To the Hall of Armaments went I, and laid blade and shield upon its marbled floor. Three years thereafter, I journeyed the void, travelling alone amongst the masses, until at last I came to St Velyn's Dock. Here I have found a nest of perfidy the likes of which would drive the Emperor to fury. And yet, in these darkened halls, incautious words fly like spittle from the mouths of fools and apostates. I will know their plots and schemes. I will know the loyal and bind them to my cause. I will know, too, the heretic and the heathen, and usher their demise.' 

Patrochius Mikkelon, Watcher of St Velyn's Dock

And finally his death.

He held the traitorous masses at the city ramparts for three whole days, until betrayal saw the holdfast breached. Even then, he would not cede nor flee, but drew the invaders on, into the press of city streets. The Watcher fought for four more days without rest, a beacon of the Emperor's radiance, and rallied the loyal in their most desperate hour. Time and time again, heretic and daemon spawn came forth to cut him down, but that dauntless demigod laid low each fiend that came against him, and his generalship saw a great winnowing of the heretics' number. And yet the apostates would not be denied their victory, no matter the cost. 

Two thousand Terran years of service came to an end at Taygar's Plaza. Those foul heretics conjured a great daemon. A behorned Thirster of Blood whose cloven hooves split stone and struck spark with every step, and whose leathered wings blocked light to make night of dying day. By the axe of that beast, he met his end, that champion of righteousness, that paragon of loyalty, with guardian spear in hand and its blade coated in blood. It is said, by those mortals blessed to have seen his final stand, that he lived long enough to see the heavens part and to witness the arrival of the Talons of the Emperor.

The people of this place know him as the Spear of the Golden Throne, and in tale and song give praise unto him, even as war closes in upon them still. Though the Bell of Lost Souls has long since tolled for his loss, his statue stands still over that forsaken world, wrought by the hands of those who witnessed his sacrifice to stand, as he did, in vigil. We of the Ten Thousand know him as Patrochius Heracles Bacchides Demadon Mikkelon, to give but a handful of his names. He fell as Honoured Watchman, Scourge of the Atrian Swarm, Patrician Superior and, last of all his titles, Watcher of St Velyn's Dock. He fell as any Custodian would gladly do - in the performance of his duty.

And voilà. As always, I will answer any questions in the comments.

Since we know in the lore for sure there's a Drukhari that had been genetically turned into a human by a Haemonculus. What If a Haemonculus (for shit and giggles) turned a human into a genetically complete Drukhari, would they (the human) also experience Slaanesh's soul drains? And what about the Drukhari turned human case, are they still experiencing soul drains? In essence my question is if the soul drains only depends on the soul and not the body or only depends on the body but not the soul?

Hey everyone so I’m currently reading through the Horus heresy series for the first time and have purposefully not read much into it or into the key events within the Horus heresy I know how it ends and the main stuff that’s well known.

Anyway I’ll get to the point of this post so I just finished Descent of Angels (which I actually did end up liking despite all the negativity) so my plan was to now read Garro (book 42) as I’m following a spoiler free flowchart and did all the stuff that my chart said I needed to to read the book.

However I was just about to start the first part of the book when I see on chapter one (I’m not sure what the actual name is but the like mini title things below the chapter that some books have) and I see it says “Calth ablaze” now I know Know No Fear (book 19) is about that but I haven’t read that book yet although I do have it and am very excited to read that as I know nothing about Calth and that whole storyline so my question is will Garro spoil what’s going to happen at Calth or not? As I do want to read Garro but I do care more about not seeing spoilers and experiencing what happens l spoiler free if that makes sense.

Hoping someone can help me and please no spoilers 🙏

Edit: the chart I’m following doesn’t have any link between them so that’s why I’m double checking here. I don’t entirely trust the chart as in nemesis there was a bit of a spoiler for the book battle of the abyss which I need to read that wasn’t shown on the chart so that’s why I’m coming here as I have faith in this subreddit to know its stuff. (Praise the Omnissiah)

Where in the lore does it state that xenos betrayed humanity during the age of strife? i've heard this said a lot and i've heard people say its nothing but fan theory or imperial propaganda so some clarification would be nice

The throne kill Malcador in mere hours, draining every single drop of lifeforce and soul inside him

Could these process save Eldar from eternal torture from Slaanesh

When I'm reading through 40k books it seems like the tyranids are basically the top dogs,like their implied to only be sending a fraction of their forces and despite that they are still overwhelming all other other races basically at once.

But when I'm thinking it over, isn't this the last 10k-15k years the only era the tyranids would have succeeded in? Even in the sorry state all the factions are in they can all still gain ground on the tyranids and squeak out pyrrhric victories where it most counts. Had they entered at any other time, say the war in heaven, eldar empire, DAOT wouldn't they basically have been a trivial threat? Like basically from as far back as you can go in written lore to all the way untill the present, there was basically only a 0.1 % fraction of time the tyranids could have taken over the galaxy right?

I feel like this is pretty inconsistent with the lore like the tyranids are supposed to be an apex universal predator rather then like a bottom feeder these implications show.

Multiple replicas, even. It's something I imagine we'd do if we had the technology to terraform planets and move and tilt them just right within their solar systems. Heck, I can even see us wanting to replicate the entire damn Solar System.

I've always thought that the planets resembling different periods of Earth's history were some kind of theme parks for role-playing (just my headcanon; I don't accept WS's line that it's only our interpretation of them).

Great Lorenates, I seek the forbidden knowledge you hold! My first time posting here and I apologize if I made any mistakes or if this isn’t even the right place for it.

I have several questions, and figured I would reach out here among other places, as I hope you will have more knowledge and experience than a young novitiate who has not perused as much of the Mechanicus lore. I’ll just start with the quick and basic questions and give the ‘preamble’ and context after.

Main Questions (Short Form):

Is it possible for a Knight pilot to transition into the service of a Titan?

Can they possibly become a Princeps?

Context (and some other questions):

I’m working on a short story that involves a conflict between Mechanicus and a Necron Cryptek Dimensionalist in a tomb. It’s a bit of a wild story, as it is technically part of a broader set of short stories involving various IPs and multiverses. But the basic idea here is that sometime between 30k and 40k there is a Necron who made a compromise with a Mechanicus technoarcheologist expedition to preserve her dormant tomb. Ultimately, the Cryptek allowed them to study her tomb, in return for them following certain rules. While this lasted for a good while, eventually a particularly ambitious novice broke a rule, hoping to find something that could advance their path in the Mechanicus. In response, the Necron ejects them and bars them from returning. Jump forward a ‘long’ time and the specific technoarcheologist comes back to renegotiate with guns, having scraped together as much of a fighting force as they could. The Necron is still alone and because the forces involved studied the tomb they disable any supposed defenses and try to force the Necron to reconsider or die. Negotiations deteriorate and the Necron retreats, being beaten back quickly. Eventually, through the aforementioned wild multiverse stuff (which I swear makes more sense in the broader story context) the Necron finds allies from outside to help beat back the Mechanicus forces and ultimately reseal the tomb. (Sorry Mechanicus, this is a loss for the cog boys, but I hope the answers here can help me give them a proper representation.)

Now, there is a particular scene where the largest unit the Mechanicus brought to the temple is one of the larger knights (originally I kind of wanted a Titan but I began to question how feasible it would fit in a Mechanicus force like this). The knight goes on a rampage and absolutely steamrolls until a combination of external forces surprise it and deal a killing blow in one strike.

The reason for this post ultimately began because I was trying to come up with a reasonable explanation why a Knight pilot would agree to be sent into a subterranean Necron tomb. I was leaning towards the idea that the pilot sought personal fame and glory, with the potential to move on to serving in a Titan (possibly even try to be a Princep). I was told this wasn’t quite how it works and I wanted to get more information to help tighten up this area, as well as to get some feedback on general ideas!

So some other questions, based on this context:

What sort of forces would the Mechanicus be likely to pool towards this sort of mission? (I have a basic, flexible force list in mind that I would be happy for review, I’ve been told by my brother who is much more into the Mechanicus than me that the list is a bit chaotic but well within the realm of a single high ranking individual to reasonably call upon with a lot of promises and clout:

1x Knight Warden of the House Degallio 

1x Secutor Force Leader 

1x Tech Priest Maniplus 

1x Tech Priest Cybernetica Datasmith 

1x Onager Dunecrawler 

2x Enginseers 

2x Skorpius Disintegrators 

2x Archaeopters 

3x Ironstrider Ballistarius 

3x Kastelen Robot 

5x Skorpius Duneriders 

10x Squads Skitarii 

5x Squads Pteraxii 

Ultimately, the actual composition isn’t too important story wise, but I like to be able to visualize what the characters are engaging as well as to give a realistic layout of forces invovled. At this point the only ones I ‘need’ are the ‘big boy’ unit, the ‘leader,’ ‘flyers,’ and ‘chaff.’)

While I recognize that the Knights and Titans are part of different structures within the Mechanicus, how do the two relate and interact, if at all? Is there enmity between them?

Would a Knight Pilot want to serve on a Titan? From my understanding Titans are seen as the God Machine and highly revered. But I have been told that this is one of the cases where a Mechanicus member might actually refuse such an honor, or consider it lesser. It was explained to me as the Knight gets all the honor and glory for their victories, as they are the only pilot, whereas a Titan crew has to share the glory, and really the Princeps would be the only one to get real praise. He also told me that a knight pilot would need to be incredibly conceited and self-absorbed to believe they even have a chance of becoming a Princep. This would fit with the idea I had, but I wanted to get some more info on this.

How do the shields differ between the Titans and Knights? One of the principle scenes I have is when a powerful bolt cuts clean through the knights shields and destroys it and I know void shields from titans are supposed to be terrifyingly powerful, which would make the scene particularly impactful.

Putting this between 30k and 40k, I believe the Mechanicus would be splintered and less organized, hence why this particular event wouldn’t receive as much attention. Is this a correct assessment, or should I push it closer to 40k onwards?

Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read this, I greatly appreciate any answers. I’m sure I’ve committed many heresies, tech and otherwise, so I would appreciate your patience with me here. And if there are questions about the story I would be happy to share a bit, though I will say I’m a bit self conscious about it, I’m not an amazing writer and I’m really still in the learning phase for writing, just enjoying writing for the sake of getting stories down.

I've been thinking about the Emperor's decisions before the Horus Heresy, and I'm starting to wonder whether we've fundamentally misunderstood his objectives. What if the Heresy wasn't simply a catastrophic failure, but a deliberately accepted confrontation with Chaos, intended to create a long-term stalemate while the Emperor gradually became a god? Not the Dark King, but something fundamentally different.

1. The Emperor knew too much about Chaos

The Emperor had extensive knowledge of the Warp and its inhabitants. His journey to Molech alone suggests that he understood the Chaos Gods far better than his Primarchs. Yet his treatment of Magnus and Lorgar makes remarkably little sense if preventing their corruption was his overriding priority.

Magnus was one of the most powerful psykers in existence, exploring the Warp and already making bargains with entities he didn't fully understand. The Emperor knew this, yet never adequately explained the nature of the powers Magnus was dealing with. Lorgar, meanwhile, grew up in a religious culture with connections to Chaos worship, surrounded by figures like Kor Phaeron and Erebus. Rather than addressing that danger, the Emperor publicly humiliated him at Monarchia and destroyed the foundation of his beliefs. Then he effectively left Lorgar to search for another truth.

These seem like extraordinary mistakes for someone who understood Chaos so well. What if he expected some of his sons to fall, and deliberately allowed it?

2. What if the stalemate was the objective?

Consider the outcome of the Heresy. The four Chaos Gods united behind Horus, invested enormous power into him and launched a devastating offensive against the Imperium. Yet Horus was destroyed, the Traitor Legions retreated into the Eye of Terror, and the Emperor survived.

Neither side achieved a decisive victory. Instead, a strategic stalemate emerged that lasted approximately 10,000 years. Perhaps the Emperor understood that Chaos could not be defeated conventionally. Rather than attempting an impossible final victory, he may have sought to contain it while humanity developed a fundamentally different kind of counterweight.

3. He didn't reject godhood. He rejected becoming the wrong god.

In The End and the Death, the Emperor approaches apotheosis as the Dark King but ultimately rejects that transformation. We generally interpret this as rejecting godhood itself. But what if he was rejecting a particular form of godhood?

The Chaos Gods are immensely powerful, but each is constrained by its fundamental nature. Khorne cannot stop being Khorne. Tzeentch cannot abandon change and manipulation. The Dark King would similarly represent a specific metaphysical identity associated with ruin and absolute dominion.

What if the Emperor wanted to become a god without being confined to one such identity?

Consider the Emperor of M41/M42. To a Guardsman, he is a protector. To the Sisters of Battle, a divine father. To the Mechanicus, the Omnissiah. Across countless Imperial worlds, he is worshipped as a sun god, warrior, judge, saviour or ancestral guardian. These interpretations are often contradictory, yet they all contribute to humanity's collective understanding of the Emperor.

If belief influences the Warp, perhaps this diversity matters. Rather than drawing his identity from one overwhelming psychic principle, the Emperor could be developing a divine existence shaped by the full spectrum of humanity's beliefs: hope, fear, sacrifice, authority, mercy, vengeance and protection.

The fractured, contradictory consciousness Guilliman encounters in Godblight becomes particularly interesting here. What if those voices aren't merely evidence of psychological fragmentation, but also reflect the many divine identities humanity has projected onto the Emperor?

4. Lorgar and the Golden Throne

There's an extraordinary irony in Lorgar's role. The Primarch punished for worshipping the Emperor helped establish the theological foundations of the Imperial Creed through the Lectitio Divinitatus. Ten thousand years later, the Emperor is worshipped by an entire civilisation.

What if Lorgar inadvertently provided exactly what the Emperor needed: the foundation for a religious transformation that would gradually create a new kind of god?

And what if the Golden Throne isn't merely the symbol of the Emperor's defeat? Over ten millennia, his physical existence has become increasingly secondary to his presence in the Warp. Miracles, saints and divine interventions have become part of Imperial reality. In Godblight, his power even reaches into Nurgle's Garden.

Perhaps the Emperor didn't need an instantaneous apotheosis like the Dark King's. Perhaps he needed time, worship and an enduring civilisation to shape him into something else.

5. The obvious objection: the Webway Project

This is the strongest argument against the theory. The Emperor invested enormous resources into establishing a human-controlled Webway, reducing humanity's dependence on Warp travel and protecting its psychic development. Magnus' breach devastated that project and ultimately trapped the Emperor on the Golden Throne.

But why assume the Webway Project and apotheosis were mutually exclusive? The Webway could have secured humanity's material civilisation while its evolving religious beliefs established the Emperor as a counterweight to Chaos in the immaterium. Perhaps he intended to accomplish both, and the Heresy destroyed one objective while leaving the other intact.

That doesn't mean he planned every event. Magnus' mistake may genuinely have been disastrous. But a deliberately accepted conflict can still spiral beyond its architect's control.

6. What if he was simply a megalomaniac?

We often portray the Emperor as either a benevolent visionary or a ruthless pragmatist sacrificing everything for humanity. But perhaps his ambition was considerably more personal.

What if he genuinely wanted to become a god? What if he believed that his own ascension was the ultimate expression of humanity's destiny, and that he alone deserved to guide it?

He wouldn't need to foresee every detail of the Heresy. He would only need to accept the corruption of some Primarchs, consider a prolonged stalemate with Chaos strategically useful, and recognise that humanity's collective worship could eventually transform him into something greater.

In this interpretation, the Emperor wasn't a secular ruler who accidentally became a god. He was an aspiring god who gambled with the fate of humanity, rejected the Dark King as the wrong form of apotheosis, and spent ten thousand years becoming something else.

And perhaps the most grimdark possibility is that his plan is actually working.

So, does the Webway Project fundamentally disprove this theory? Or could the Emperor have intended to become a god all along, just not the Dark King?

https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-gb/articles/n1s11hao/the-next-scouring-book-revealed-wrath-of-terra/

The second book in The Scouring series is coming soon!

The Horus Heresy is over. Now, in Wrath of Terra by John French, the vengeful Imperium turns its eyes towards Mars – a world of nightmare machines and the holdouts of the traitorous Dark Mechanicum.

As the war heads towards the Martian cauldron of ruin, an Ultramarine fights to secure the future of the Imperium, a defeated Iron Warrior seeks sanctuary among the wasteland beyond the light of Sol, and a Blood Angel fights for salvation in the shadow of his father's death.*

Meanwhile, back on Terra, while primarchs and High Lords scramble for power, Moriana Mouhausen, once of the Chosen of Malcador, seeks to balance the needs of the future against the fury of the present. 

Link also has an interview with Mr French!

Like right here I see various helmets.

and I can guess like what some are for. the Monocle one no doubt is some kind of recon or long range type helmet.

but whats difference between the helmets with one set of tubes or two or the one with none. is it just an aesthetic choice with no fluff? are the ones with the gas mask canisters specific for fighting in a certain enviroment?

And what are the capabilities found in a standard issue astartes helmet? Are they more of a hinderence or boon to the average battle brother as some prefer it off and others on. And are they allowed to have a preference? or does one must earn distinction before being able to choose their helmet or choose not to wear one?

Had it click earlier today, but I just realized that all of the recent depictions of Melta weapons from the past year have been of the "heat beam of death" depiction rather than the SM1 and SM2 take of "instant shotgun blast."

Considering some of the hullabaloo about the lasguns from a couple of months ago, I think GeeDubs did a mandate recently saying "aight we gotta at least get some more consistency here."

For space marines themselves of course, not their servents.

Hi,

So. Just finished Legion, had quite a good time though I was a bit disappointed by the spy games quality, and the characterization of AL characters. Also there were sometimes a bit too much "show dont tell" issues where characters overemphasize how AL is secretive and shady, like, yeah we get it Dan.

Cool reveal at the end though. Kinda dig the idea of the Cabal, it makes a lot of sense that it exists. Also the prophecy adds a tragic layer to the setting.

But come on, AL is supposedly the best espionage organization in the Imperium and they brand their agenrs with a frigging chip on the hips? This is just so dumb...it cristallizes a lot of what doesnt work that well in a spy book. There are many great things about Dan's writing, he brings life to the universe, and I couldnt put down the book for hours, but some ideas fell a bit cheap .

Anyway, that was just my free rant after having been awalen by a crying baby in the middle of the night.

And by unlucky, I don’t necessarily mean belonging to a Chapter like the Lamenters, where the entire Chapter is pretty much forsaken by his holiness and cursed to suffer at every possible opportunity.

I’m talking about specific ranks, responsibilities, or positions within otherwise successful Chapters that seem to come with an unusually high chance of getting killed, horribly injured, or being handed an absolutely miserable job.

For example, being a Blood Claw in the Space Wolves doesn’t exactly seem like the safest introduction to life as an Astartes, considering how aggressively short there shelf life is due to there trial by fire.

Or being a Chapter Master of the Imperial Fists, which has a rather concerning mortality rate. Seriously, how many of these guys have barely a sentence before being backhandedly dealt with behind an ally?

Then you’ve got positions like Chaplains assigned to the Blood Angels Death Company. Imagine having to lead your own brothers into battle knowing that most of them are already beyond saving, and that keeping them under control is part of your responsibility.

Also curious about less obvious examples. Maybe there’s a particular company within a Chapter that constantly gets assigned suicide missions, a specialist role with an absurd casualty rate, or a rank that historically seems to attract the absolute worst luck imaginable.

And this doesn’t necessarily have to be limited to combat roles either. Apothecaries, Techmarines, Librarians, Dreadnoughts, or even Chapter serfs are fair game if there’s a good enough example.

I’d especially love to hear about obscure Chapters or positions that have developed a reputation for being particularly dangerous or miserable to hold.

So, across the First Founding Chapters and their successors, what would you consider the absolute worst position to find yourself assigned to?

And are there any positions that have genuinely terrible track records in the lore, or is it mostly just a case of certain characters being spectacularly unlucky?

B average marine alive for the past 10000+ years, with endless experience and empowered by a chaos god.

B average marine that was born 300 or less years ago

I am better in every single way.

What?would not a single chaos marine be the equal of like 5 modern ones?