The people who are saying Slaneesh seem to misunderstand their place in the order of things. You're not the one who dies from too many orgasms, you're more likely to be the one who gets raped to death by a giant psycho on drugs.
From what I know there are a myriad of minor warp deities that also exist, but GW leaves it up to the players to refine that aspect of the lore.
Oh, and of course Khorne wouldn't manifest himself in reality the way the Horned Rat did. Khorne would need a portal a lot bigger than just 500 ft. and a few million more sacrifices to get his brass armored ass into the physical plane.
His sacred number is 7a. That's smaller than 13. He's still totally a pussy.
Wait.
His sacred number is the number after 7 but before 9?
And you think that makes him a pussy?
You haven't dealt with many wizards have you?
Okay, immediately revised pecking order. Moving Khorne up a notch. Or several notches.
From what I know there are a myriad of minor warp deities that also exist, but GW leaves it up to the players to refine that aspect of the lore.
Oh, and of course Khorne wouldn't manifest himself in reality the way the Horned Rat did. Khorne would need a portal a lot bigger than just 500 ft. and a few million more sacrifices to get his brass armored ass into the physical plane.
His sacred number is 8. That's smaller than 13. He's still totally a pussy.
Although, if it turns out that the God Emperor is a Chaos God (but benevolent, whatever that means) I'd totally fall in line for the God Emperor.
Technically all gods in both 40k and Warhammer are Chaos Gods. The weak ones just manage to be a bit more orderly and supportive of the continued existence of the material world.
If the GEoM supports the continued existence of what constitutes to be "Not Daemon Time", then I guess I know where my loyalty lies. For what that's worth and what that will gain me ^_^.
From what I know there are a myriad of minor warp deities that also exist, but GW leaves it up to the players to refine that aspect of the lore.
Oh, and of course Khorne wouldn't manifest himself in reality the way the Horned Rat did. Khorne would need a portal a lot bigger than just 500 ft. and a few million more sacrifices to get his brass armored ass into the physical plane.
His sacred number is 7a. That's smaller than 13. He's still totally a pussy.
Wait.
His sacred number is the number after 7 but before 9?
And you think that makes him a pussy?
You haven't dealt with many wizards have you?
Okay, immediately revised pecking order. Moving Khorne up a notch. Or several notches.
You guys have it all wrong. Godhood is like golf... the lower the number the better. Making Slaanesh the best of the four gods! To bad he's too busy jacking it to pictures of hawt man on woman on baby on corpse on bear on whale on cancer ridden liver on baby seal turned inside out on Lindsay Lohan action!
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Gabriel_Pitt(effective against Russian warships)Registered Userregular
The people who are saying Slaneesh seem to misunderstand their place in the order of things. You're not the one who dies from too many orgasms, you're more likely to be the one who gets raped to death by a giant psycho on drugs.
As well forgetting that Slaneesh is not about sex, more or less, all sensations and indulgences in excess. I imagine it'd be an experience like that of the people who thought summoning the Cennobites from the Hellraiser movies was a good plan (at least in the first couple movies before the suck settled in).
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chiasaur11Never doubt a raccoon.Do you think it's trademarked?Registered Userregular
From what I know there are a myriad of minor warp deities that also exist, but GW leaves it up to the players to refine that aspect of the lore.
Oh, and of course Khorne wouldn't manifest himself in reality the way the Horned Rat did. Khorne would need a portal a lot bigger than just 500 ft. and a few million more sacrifices to get his brass armored ass into the physical plane.
His sacred number is 7a. That's smaller than 13. He's still totally a pussy.
Wait.
His sacred number is the number after 7 but before 9?
And you think that makes him a pussy?
You haven't dealt with many wizards have you?
Okay, immediately revised pecking order. Moving Khorne up a notch. Or several notches.
You guys have it all wrong. Godhood is like golf... the lower the number the better. Making Slaanesh the best of the four gods! To bad he's too busy jacking it to pictures of hawt man on woman on baby on corpse on bear on whale on cancer ridden liver on baby seal turned inside out on Lindsay Lohan action!
The people who are saying Slaneesh seem to misunderstand their place in the order of things. You're not the one who dies from too many orgasms, you're more likely to be the one who gets raped to death by a giant psycho on drugs.
As well forgetting that Slaneesh is not about sex, more or less, all sensations and indulgences in excess. I imagine it'd be an experience like that of the people who thought summoning the Cennobites from the Hellraiser movies was a good plan (at least in the first couple movies before the suck settled in).
This is why you get in on the ground floor level, and establish yourself as part of one of the imperial cults, which are usually all about building sized orgies and huffing drugs that would drive normal people permanently insane.
By the time you get to the next level, you're meant to be the giant psychopath.
Plus, Slaanesh is unique in that he's entirely on the up and up in what he offers. So long as you pay attention to what he's offering, and understand what it means, you won't have any regrets.
He also ascends pretty much most of his followers who are worth half a damn, if only to the rate of being at least a Daemonette or something equivalent (The folks who are really good at campaigning for him tend to become Greater Daemon's.).
He also tends to actually be one of the only powers that has any hope of surviving in the long term, and even growing more powerful then the others. So long as the need to procreate exists, he will always gain at least some minuscule amount of power.
About the only bad things when it comes to Slaanesh is
if you luck out and get captured on a world one of the Legions that worship him conquers, if you're an Eldar (It has such sights to show you, then.), or if you somehow don't understand the concept of moderation, which ninety nine percent of all it's followers don't.
It's entirely possible (If not extremely difficult.) to become a serious power in the galaxy if you manage to stave off the effects of getting addicted to sensation.
One novel, Daemon World, has a Slaaneshi greater daemon ruling one of the core worlds in the warp, thanks to her (At least, I think it's a her. It's never quite explained clearly.) appreciating the finer aspects of what Slaanesh stands for. That is, the ability to experience all things.
Rather then orgy itself into an insensate state, it decides to sample things, like the Sensates in Planewalkers do. It ends up making Slaanesh very happy, at least, until
Khorne's Conan ripoff barbarians come down from the hill, and accidentally unleash an ancient horror that wrecks the planet.
Also, a disillusioned traitor Marine decides to flip off the Chaos Gods (And it works. They're described as, for one brief moment, turning their "heads" in the warp to look at their prize as it falls, and screaming in rage as they realize their own gimmick had been turned against them.) by having an ancient weapon of his eat the planet, which turns out to be an Eldar Maiden World at the heart of the Eye of Terror, that had been driven utterly bug-fuck insane.
Reading that novel really gives some perspective on how fucked the Imperium is. Apparently the closer you get to the heart of the Eye, the higher level everyone gets in terms of power. Sort of like how DnD has planes of existence that are far beyond where you start at.
Random Horus Heresy marine veterans there have some serious Dark Ages/Eldar hardware just laying around in space there ready to fuck up the Imperium if the actual veterans from the HH ever get tired of existence.
The fact that apathy, and a general sense of despair on being on the "losing" side, keeps them from going on a nihilistic rampage and burning the galaxy.
Hivemind. Whatever it is that's driving the whole species sure means business.
I've got to agree; a collective conscious which drives a force to consume all life in multiple galaxies deserves some respect.
Of the chaos gods, I like Tzeentch the most. He always keeps things interesting what with constant change and subtle manipulation. Khorne seems a bit too killy-stabby with his own minions. Living as a grotesque pile of fermenting filth is not an attractive option with Nurgle, and Slaneesh seems too good to be true. Sufficiant stimulation to sensitive areas during, for example, sex can become unpleasant; imagine that times ten thousand and you have Slaneesh. So, Tzeentch it is.
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Psychotic OneThe Lord of No PantsParts UnknownRegistered Userregular
edited January 2011
I wish I could find that quote of a Follower of Khorne contemplating why he didn't choose Slaanesh. Always found that one funny.
I'd go with Big T. The man is playing chess with the universe. Beware the smart ones. Even their apparent failings can be all according to the plan.
The people who are saying Slaneesh seem to misunderstand their place in the order of things. You're not the one who dies from too many orgasms, you're more likely to be the one who gets raped to death by a giant psycho on drugs.
As well forgetting that Slaneesh is not about sex, more or less, all sensations and indulgences in excess. I imagine it'd be an experience like that of the people who thought summoning the Cennobites from the Hellraiser movies was a good plan (at least in the first couple movies before the suck settled in).
This is why you get in on the ground floor level, and establish yourself as part of one of the imperial cults, which are usually all about building sized orgies and huffing drugs that would drive normal people permanently insane.
By the time you get to the next level, you're meant to be the giant psychopath.
Plus, Slaanesh is unique in that he's entirely on the up and up in what he offers. So long as you pay attention to what he's offering, and understand what it means, you won't have any regrets.
He also ascends pretty much most of his followers who are worth half a damn, if only to the rate of being at least a Daemonette or something equivalent (The folks who are really good at campaigning for him tend to become Greater Daemon's.).
He also tends to actually be one of the only powers that has any hope of surviving in the long term, and even growing more powerful then the others. So long as the need to procreate exists, he will always gain at least some minuscule amount of power.
About the only bad things when it comes to Slaanesh is
if you luck out and get captured on a world one of the Legions that worship him conquers, if you're an Eldar (It has such sights to show you, then.), or if you somehow don't understand the concept of moderation, which ninety nine percent of all it's followers don't.
It's entirely possible (If not extremely difficult.) to become a serious power in the galaxy if you manage to stave off the effects of getting addicted to sensation.
One novel, Daemon World, has a Slaaneshi greater daemon ruling one of the core worlds in the warp, thanks to her (At least, I think it's a her. It's never quite explained clearly.) appreciating the finer aspects of what Slaanesh stands for. That is, the ability to experience all things.
Rather then orgy itself into an insensate state, it decides to sample things, like the Sensates in Planewalkers do. It ends up making Slaanesh very happy, at least, until
Khorne's Conan ripoff barbarians come down from the hill, and accidentally unleash an ancient horror that wrecks the planet.
Also, a disillusioned traitor Marine decides to flip off the Chaos Gods (And it works. They're described as, for one brief moment, turning their "heads" in the warp to look at their prize as it falls, and screaming in rage as they realize their own gimmick had been turned against them.) by having an ancient weapon of his eat the planet, which turns out to be an Eldar Maiden World at the heart of the Eye of Terror, that had been driven utterly bug-fuck insane.
Reading that novel really gives some perspective on how fucked the Imperium is. Apparently the closer you get to the heart of the Eye, the higher level everyone gets in terms of power. Sort of like how DnD has planes of existence that are far beyond where you start at.
Random Horus Heresy marine veterans there have some serious Dark Ages/Eldar hardware just laying around in space there ready to fuck up the Imperium if the actual veterans from the HH ever get tired of existence.
The fact that apathy, and a general sense of despair on being on the "losing" side, keeps them from going on a nihilistic rampage and burning the galaxy.
Indeed, only one Primarch has ever even left the Eye of Terror after going in and ascending to semi-godhood. If they were ever to launch a serious campaign directed squarely at Terra, they would probably win easily.
But, you know how Chaos is. Organization is... not exactly their strong suit.
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Psychotic OneThe Lord of No PantsParts UnknownRegistered Userregular
edited January 2011
I suppose this is a good enough spot as any. What novels would be a good starting point to get started on 40k? With Warhammer online got me into this and Space Marine looks really good. Figure some background in the 40k universe might help me enjoy the world a bit more.
I suppose this is a good enough spot as any. What novels would be a good starting point to get started on 40k? With Warhammer online got me into this and Space Marine looks really good. Figure some background in the 40k universe might help me enjoy the world a bit more.
Consistently recommended are Dan Abnett's inquisitor books (two trilogies, centred around two Inquisitors; Eisenhorn and his apprentice/replacement Ravenor) and the Gaunt's Ghosts series (about twelve books at last count; follows the story of an Imperial Guard regiment on campaign as part of a Liberation Crusade).
The Horus Heresy series is unfortunately rather more variable, what with being written by different authors but there are some gems in there and even The Abyss isn't terrible; just pointless.
Basically, just go here: www.blacklibrary.com
Note: Avoid anything and everything written by "C.S.Goto" - dude writes Eldar like M.Night Shayamalan directed Avatar.
Hivemind. Whatever it is that's driving the whole species sure means business.
I've got to agree; a collective conscious which drives a force to consume all life in multiple galaxies deserves some respect.
Of the chaos gods, I like Tzeentch the most. He always keeps things interesting what with constant change and subtle manipulation. Khorne seems a bit too killy-stabby with his own minions. Living as a grotesque pile of fermenting filth is not an attractive option with Nurgle, and Slaneesh seems too good to be true. Sufficiant stimulation to sensitive areas during, for example, sex can become unpleasant; imagine that times ten thousand and you have Slaneesh. So, Tzeentch it is.
Bad news... the Hivemind is really just a slug with a vagina face...
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jakobaggerLO THY DREAD EMPIRE CHAOS IS RESTOREDRegistered Userregular
The people who are saying Slaneesh seem to misunderstand their place in the order of things. You're not the one who dies from too many orgasms, you're more likely to be the one who gets raped to death by a giant psycho on drugs.
Exactly, while you're being forced to skull-fuck decaying infants.
Personally, I'd have to go with Khorne. This is a strange choice, given that I'm a pacifist and an intellectual, so Tzeentch is more my style. My thinking is this: I'm going to fail whatever Power I worship. I'm going to suffer his wrath. Nurgle will leave me a festering pile of putrescent flesh. Tzeentch will turn me into a gibbering mindless spawn, or else set things up so that I accidentally kill my son 30 years from now. Slaanesh will introduce my anal cavity to barbed wire. At least Khorne would just kill me.
I'd go with Tzeentch, as he basically seems to be space-Batman. Everything he does is intended and he's prepared for everything. Batman don't fuck up, Tzeentch don't fuck up.
Hivemind. Whatever it is that's driving the whole species sure means business.
I've got to agree; a collective conscious which drives a force to consume all life in multiple galaxies deserves some respect.
Of the chaos gods, I like Tzeentch the most. He always keeps things interesting what with constant change and subtle manipulation. Khorne seems a bit too killy-stabby with his own minions. Living as a grotesque pile of fermenting filth is not an attractive option with Nurgle, and Slaneesh seems too good to be true. Sufficiant stimulation to sensitive areas during, for example, sex can become unpleasant; imagine that times ten thousand and you have Slaneesh. So, Tzeentch it is.
Bad news... the Hivemind is really just a slug with a vagina face...
A bug that thinks?! Frankly, I find the idea offensive.
No, but in all seriousness, beyond the critters themselves, the driving force, the actual collective is fuckstupid powerful. Like... so powerful it blacks out the warp. It's... the anti-chaos.
EDIT: And, just so ya know I'm not a complete bugfanboy, I'm with Khorne. Arglebargle.
I suppose this is a good enough spot as any. What novels would be a good starting point to get started on 40k? With Warhammer online got me into this and Space Marine looks really good. Figure some background in the 40k universe might help me enjoy the world a bit more.
If you're interested in learning of the hilariously screwed up culture of the Imperium, pick up the Eisenhorn trilogy. Also, as a whole, the Eisenhorn trilogy is probably one of the best trilogies of books that i've ever read, and I own an entire library of books.
I will say that it's very much hit or miss depending on your literary tastes, though. Everything is told from a first person perspective, including the thoughts of the titular character. Some people don't like reading from that perspective, it seems.
Don't go for the Ravenor trilogy first. Ravenor is much less self motivated then Eisenhorn, and it shows. However,
given what happens in Ravenor's trilogy, that ends up being a plot point.
Otherwise, if you're interested in pulpy battles, pick up Nightbringer, or one of the Grey Knight novels (But not Daemon Hammer. Save it for last.). The first Grey Knight book in particular will give you some perspective on just how overpowered certain Marines are.
And Nightbringer, while short, is an excellent intro to the Marines and the asshattery of Imperial culture. It also features
The people who are saying Slaneesh seem to misunderstand their place in the order of things. You're not the one who dies from too many orgasms, you're more likely to be the one who gets raped to death by a giant psycho on drugs.
Exactly, while you're being forced to skull-fuck decaying infants.
Personally, I'd have to go with Khorne. This is a strange choice, given that I'm a pacifist and an intellectual, so Tzeentch is more my style. My thinking is this: I'm going to fail whatever Power I worship. I'm going to suffer his wrath. Nurgle will leave me a festering pile of putrescent flesh. Tzeentch will turn me into a gibbering mindless spawn, or else set things up so that I accidentally kill my son 30 years from now. Slaanesh will introduce my anal cavity to barbed wire. At least Khorne would just kill me.
Actually, Nurgle is pretty much the only god that won't fuck you if you fall short of anything but perfection. Listen to this...
Nurglings are on the lowest rung of Nurgle's followers. Just keep that in mind.
Grandfather Nurgle was hard at work making yet another godawful plague... and had FINALLY crafted what he thought to be the masterpiece of his diseases. Then one stupid little Nurgling fell into the pot, and being a stupid little Nurgling, drank the whole fucking thing. Just like that, this fat lil blob ruined Nurgle's greatest piece of work.
What did Nurgle do? He laughed, patted the lil sucker on the backside, and sent him off.
Thanks to the brew he drank, the little Nurgling turned into a great unclean one... so ashamed at what he did, he dedicated his existence to helping Nurgle recreate that masterpiece.
You make one slip up, Khorne, Tzee, or Slaanesh will torture you for all eternity. Even if you don't fuck up, they may fuck you up anyways.
Only with Nurgle do you have a god who loves his followers and will show mercy and loyalty to those who serve him.
Being a festering pile of disease beats eternity of torture any day of the week son! Besides, I'm pretty sure Snookie worships Nurgle and she has it pretty damn good!
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The people who are saying Slaneesh seem to misunderstand their place in the order of things. You're not the one who dies from too many orgasms, you're more likely to be the one who gets raped to death by a giant psycho on drugs.
Exactly, while you're being forced to skull-fuck decaying infants.
Personally, I'd have to go with Khorne. This is a strange choice, given that I'm a pacifist and an intellectual, so Tzeentch is more my style. My thinking is this: I'm going to fail whatever Power I worship. I'm going to suffer his wrath. Nurgle will leave me a festering pile of putrescent flesh. Tzeentch will turn me into a gibbering mindless spawn, or else set things up so that I accidentally kill my son 30 years from now. Slaanesh will introduce my anal cavity to barbed wire. At least Khorne would just kill me.
Actually, Nurgle is pretty much the only god that won't fuck you if you fall short of anything but perfection. Listen to this...
Nurglings are on the lowest rung of Nurgle's followers. Just keep that in mind.
Grandfather Nurgle was hard at work making yet another godawful plague... and had FINALLY crafted what he thought to be the masterpiece of his diseases. Then one stupid little Nurgling fell into the pot, and being a stupid little Nurgling, drank the whole fucking thing. Just like that, this fat lil blob ruined Nurgle's greatest piece of work.
What did Nurgle do? He laughed, patted the lil sucker on the backside, and sent him off.
Thanks to the brew he drank, the little Nurgling turned into a great unclean one... so ashamed at what he did, he dedicated his existence to helping Nurgle recreate that masterpiece.
You make one slip up, Khorne, Tzee, or Slaanesh will torture you for all eternity. Even if you don't fuck up, they may fuck you up anyways.
Only with Nurgle do you have a god who loves his followers and will show mercy and loyalty to those who serve him.
Being a festering pile of disease beats eternity of torture any day of the week son! Besides, I'm pretty sure Snookie worships Nurgle and she has it pretty damn good!
I now have the mental image of of Nurgle being like John Ritter in Problem Child
I'd go with Tzeentch, as he basically seems to be space-Batman. Everything he does is intended and he's prepared for everything. Batman don't fuck up, Tzeentch don't fuck up.
But I'm not a filthy heretic, you scum.
Considering you seriously contemplated which of the Ruinous Powers you ought to worship, it is clear that your soul has already been corrupted and needs to purged with holy flame by the Inquisition.
Not that I'm going to report you or anything. Just opening this thread put me on the Inquisition's 'To Cleanse' list.
I'd go with Tzeentch, as he basically seems to be space-Batman. Everything he does is intended and he's prepared for everything. Batman don't fuck up, Tzeentch don't fuck up.
But I'm not a filthy heretic, you scum.
Considering you seriously contemplated which of the Ruinous Powers you ought to worship, it is clear that your soul has already been corrupted and needs to purged with holy flame by the Inquisition.
Not that I'm going to report you or anything. Just opening this thread put me on the Inquisition's 'To Cleanse' list.
Hey, I was setting a cunning trap for the heretics, I swear.
Do you know who's great? The Emperor. SO GREAT, am I right?
I suppose this is a good enough spot as any. What novels would be a good starting point to get started on 40k? With Warhammer online got me into this and Space Marine looks really good. Figure some background in the 40k universe might help me enjoy the world a bit more.
Others have suggested what I would have suggested. My personal pick would be to start with Dan Abnett, either the Gaunt's Ghosts series (for Imperial Guard) or the Eisenhorn trilogy (Inquisitor/life in the Imperium). Ravenor is good too, but read that after you read Eisenhorn.
Also, the Enforcer trilogy (Adeptus Arbites/more life in the Imperium) isn't half bad either. It isn't Abnett-level writing, but it's good.
I still need to read a Space Marine related novel though. The above are the only ones I've read thus far.
If you want a book on space marines, I dont think you can beat Helsreach. Dembski-Bowden is probably their second best author after Abnett now, his Night Lords stuff is great too. Rynn's World would probably be my second pick after Helsreach. I would avoid the CS Goto stuff like others have said, and the Blood Angels books are pretty bad too. The only other good space marines stuff I can think of are Horus Heresy books.
And as the others have said, if you want Guard or Inquisition/general imperium, Abnett is your best bet. Chaos marines, Soul Hunter or Storm of Iron are good.
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Alfred J. Kwakis it because you were insultedwhen I insulted your hair?Registered Userregular
edited January 2011
Little known fact (at least I only ever heard of it yesterday while browsing TVtropes) - all the Chaos gods also represent 'good' aspects of the human emotional range, but taken to the extreme:
Khorne - bravery (to the extend where his followers have to fight and kill everything in sight)
Nurgle - love, fertility (already covered on page one, but he really likes to gives his 'children' (who refer to him as Father Nurgle) presents because he loves them so much)
Tzeentch - hope (unfulfilled hope, that is)
Slaanesh - sensation
Little known fact (at least I only ever heard of it yesterday while browsing TVtropes) - all the Chaos gods also represent 'good' aspects of the human emotional range, but taken to the extreme:
Khorne - bravery (to the extend where his followers have to fight and kill everything in sight)
Nurgle - love, fertility (already covered on page one, but he really likes to gives his 'children' (who refer to him as Father Nurgle) presents because he loves them so much)
Tzeentch - hope (unfulfilled hope, that is)
Slaanesh - sensation
That's an oversimplification. The Chaos gods represent the entire emotional spectrum of every sentient form of life in the galaxy. The warp is literally made of the unconscious thoughts and feelings of conscious minds. The Chaos gods themselves are just usually portrayed as those emotion taken way, way too far because they are literally made of those emotions.
So Khorne represents the bravery of firefighters as much as he represents the bravery of soldiers. Tzeentch represents the hope of oppressed people as much as he represents the duplicitous plans of politicians. They wouldn't be nearly as powerful if there weren't so many damn humans around. The whole plan of the Necrons (being anti-warp crusaders, essentially) is to destroy the chaos gods by destroying all life in the galaxy.
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Apothe0sisHave you ever questioned the nature of your reality?Registered Userregular
I still need to read a Space Marine related novel though. The above are the only ones I've read thus far.
Abnett's Brothers of the Snake is pretty good. It's a standalone book about the Iron Snakes marine chapter and consists of a number of connected short stories.
Also has a battle against a cult called the Children of Khorne.
On an agriworld.
:rotate:
As for other books, Sandy Mitchel's Ciaphas Cain novels are good. Unlike most other 40K novels, it recognizes the absurdities that are inherent in the setting and replaces much (but not all) of the Grimdark SRS BZNS with sarcasm and shenanigans. Cain himself is essentially Edmund Blackadder IN SPACE! complete with a hypercompetent Baldrick.
Back on topic: In a universe where everything is ALL FIGHTING, ALL THE TIME one can make a case for Khorne being the most subtle and insidious of the gods.
After all, every good Imperial should hate the heretic. Those foul Chaos-worshipers. They just make one so angry. How dare they blaspheme against the Emperor's benevolence! Kill them! KILL THEM ALL! Take their HEADS for the glory of the God-Emperor! Shed their BLOOD so that the galaxy may be cleansed!
And then, without anyone really noticing: Warhglblarghl.
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kaliyamaLeft to find less-moderated foraRegistered Userregular
I still need to read a Space Marine related novel though. The above are the only ones I've read thus far.
Abnett's Brothers of the Snake is pretty good. It's a standalone book about the Iron Snakes marine chapter and consists of a number of connected short stories.
Also has a battle against a cult called the Children of Khorne.
On an agriworld.
:rotate:
As for other books, Sandy Mitchel's Ciaphas Cain novels are good. Unlike most other 40K novels, it recognizes the absurdities that are inherent in the setting and replaces much (but not all) of the Grimdark SRS BZNS with sarcasm and shenanigans. Cain himself is essentially Edmund Blackadder IN SPACE! complete with a hypercompetent Baldrick.
No, the Cain books are a straight 1:1 of the flashman books, pretty much.
I picked up the LIBER CHAOTICA a few weeks back, and it's pretty goddamn rad. It's a 400 page full colour book comprised entirely of chaos god lore. It has short stories, artwork, an ongoing metanarrative all printed in high quality on nice, glossy paper. It was fairly expensive, but definitely one of the nicest RPG books I've ever owned.
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All creature will die and all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai.
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Mr_Rose83 Blue Ridge Protects the HolyRegistered Userregular
edited January 2011
Ah, the Liber Chaotica; now that is an awesome book. Even if it will melt your brain from the inside out if you open pages 67 and 89, then stare at them, one eye on each, with the leaves in between held vertical.
Try not to do that, 'k?
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He's the god of hope! And even if you die horribly, you know it's for a greater cause.
And if you're clever, you get godlike power of your own.
Wait.
His sacred number is the number after 7 but before 9?
And you think that makes him a pussy?
You haven't dealt with many wizards have you?
Okay, immediately revised pecking order. Moving Khorne up a notch. Or several notches.
Why I fear the ocean.
If the GEoM supports the continued existence of what constitutes to be "Not Daemon Time", then I guess I know where my loyalty lies. For what that's worth and what that will gain me ^_^.
You guys have it all wrong. Godhood is like golf... the lower the number the better. Making Slaanesh the best of the four gods! To bad he's too busy jacking it to pictures of hawt man on woman on baby on corpse on bear on whale on cancer ridden liver on baby seal turned inside out on Lindsay Lohan action!
Image by Sharpwriter on deviantart.com
As well forgetting that Slaneesh is not about sex, more or less, all sensations and indulgences in excess. I imagine it'd be an experience like that of the people who thought summoning the Cennobites from the Hellraiser movies was a good plan (at least in the first couple movies before the suck settled in).
You don't get it, do you.
This isn't 98, or 42, or 13, or 1408.
This is 7A.
Why I fear the ocean.
A highway in British Columbia?
This is why you get in on the ground floor level, and establish yourself as part of one of the imperial cults, which are usually all about building sized orgies and huffing drugs that would drive normal people permanently insane.
By the time you get to the next level, you're meant to be the giant psychopath.
Plus, Slaanesh is unique in that he's entirely on the up and up in what he offers. So long as you pay attention to what he's offering, and understand what it means, you won't have any regrets.
He also ascends pretty much most of his followers who are worth half a damn, if only to the rate of being at least a Daemonette or something equivalent (The folks who are really good at campaigning for him tend to become Greater Daemon's.).
He also tends to actually be one of the only powers that has any hope of surviving in the long term, and even growing more powerful then the others. So long as the need to procreate exists, he will always gain at least some minuscule amount of power.
About the only bad things when it comes to Slaanesh is
It's entirely possible (If not extremely difficult.) to become a serious power in the galaxy if you manage to stave off the effects of getting addicted to sensation.
One novel, Daemon World, has a Slaaneshi greater daemon ruling one of the core worlds in the warp, thanks to her (At least, I think it's a her. It's never quite explained clearly.) appreciating the finer aspects of what Slaanesh stands for. That is, the ability to experience all things.
Rather then orgy itself into an insensate state, it decides to sample things, like the Sensates in Planewalkers do. It ends up making Slaanesh very happy, at least, until
Also, a disillusioned traitor Marine decides to flip off the Chaos Gods (And it works. They're described as, for one brief moment, turning their "heads" in the warp to look at their prize as it falls, and screaming in rage as they realize their own gimmick had been turned against them.) by having an ancient weapon of his eat the planet, which turns out to be an Eldar Maiden World at the heart of the Eye of Terror, that had been driven utterly bug-fuck insane.
Reading that novel really gives some perspective on how fucked the Imperium is. Apparently the closer you get to the heart of the Eye, the higher level everyone gets in terms of power. Sort of like how DnD has planes of existence that are far beyond where you start at.
Random Horus Heresy marine veterans there have some serious Dark Ages/Eldar hardware just laying around in space there ready to fuck up the Imperium if the actual veterans from the HH ever get tired of existence.
The fact that apathy, and a general sense of despair on being on the "losing" side, keeps them from going on a nihilistic rampage and burning the galaxy.
I've got to agree; a collective conscious which drives a force to consume all life in multiple galaxies deserves some respect.
Of the chaos gods, I like Tzeentch the most. He always keeps things interesting what with constant change and subtle manipulation. Khorne seems a bit too killy-stabby with his own minions. Living as a grotesque pile of fermenting filth is not an attractive option with Nurgle, and Slaneesh seems too good to be true. Sufficiant stimulation to sensitive areas during, for example, sex can become unpleasant; imagine that times ten thousand and you have Slaneesh. So, Tzeentch it is.
I'd go with Big T. The man is playing chess with the universe. Beware the smart ones. Even their apparent failings can be all according to the plan.
Indeed, only one Primarch has ever even left the Eye of Terror after going in and ascending to semi-godhood. If they were ever to launch a serious campaign directed squarely at Terra, they would probably win easily.
But, you know how Chaos is. Organization is... not exactly their strong suit.
The Horus Heresy series is unfortunately rather more variable, what with being written by different authors but there are some gems in there and even The Abyss isn't terrible; just pointless.
Basically, just go here: www.blacklibrary.com
Note: Avoid anything and everything written by "C.S.Goto" - dude writes Eldar like M.Night Shayamalan directed Avatar.
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He's really a kind of Eldar god more than anything (manifestation of a particular part of eldar's collective psyche so to say).
Bad news... the Hivemind is really just a slug with a vagina face...
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Not in Warhammer, though. Only 40K.
I'm going with Tzeentch all the way. Change we can believe in.
Exactly, while you're being forced to skull-fuck decaying infants.
Personally, I'd have to go with Khorne. This is a strange choice, given that I'm a pacifist and an intellectual, so Tzeentch is more my style. My thinking is this: I'm going to fail whatever Power I worship. I'm going to suffer his wrath. Nurgle will leave me a festering pile of putrescent flesh. Tzeentch will turn me into a gibbering mindless spawn, or else set things up so that I accidentally kill my son 30 years from now. Slaanesh will introduce my anal cavity to barbed wire. At least Khorne would just kill me.
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But I'm not a filthy heretic, you scum.
A bug that thinks?! Frankly, I find the idea offensive.
No, but in all seriousness, beyond the critters themselves, the driving force, the actual collective is fuckstupid powerful. Like... so powerful it blacks out the warp. It's... the anti-chaos.
EDIT: And, just so ya know I'm not a complete bugfanboy, I'm with Khorne. Arglebargle.
If you're interested in learning of the hilariously screwed up culture of the Imperium, pick up the Eisenhorn trilogy. Also, as a whole, the Eisenhorn trilogy is probably one of the best trilogies of books that i've ever read, and I own an entire library of books.
I will say that it's very much hit or miss depending on your literary tastes, though. Everything is told from a first person perspective, including the thoughts of the titular character. Some people don't like reading from that perspective, it seems.
Don't go for the Ravenor trilogy first. Ravenor is much less self motivated then Eisenhorn, and it shows. However,
Otherwise, if you're interested in pulpy battles, pick up Nightbringer, or one of the Grey Knight novels (But not Daemon Hammer. Save it for last.). The first Grey Knight book in particular will give you some perspective on just how overpowered certain Marines are.
And Nightbringer, while short, is an excellent intro to the Marines and the asshattery of Imperial culture. It also features
Actually, Nurgle is pretty much the only god that won't fuck you if you fall short of anything but perfection. Listen to this...
Nurglings are on the lowest rung of Nurgle's followers. Just keep that in mind.
Grandfather Nurgle was hard at work making yet another godawful plague... and had FINALLY crafted what he thought to be the masterpiece of his diseases. Then one stupid little Nurgling fell into the pot, and being a stupid little Nurgling, drank the whole fucking thing. Just like that, this fat lil blob ruined Nurgle's greatest piece of work.
What did Nurgle do? He laughed, patted the lil sucker on the backside, and sent him off.
Thanks to the brew he drank, the little Nurgling turned into a great unclean one... so ashamed at what he did, he dedicated his existence to helping Nurgle recreate that masterpiece.
You make one slip up, Khorne, Tzee, or Slaanesh will torture you for all eternity. Even if you don't fuck up, they may fuck you up anyways.
Only with Nurgle do you have a god who loves his followers and will show mercy and loyalty to those who serve him.
Being a festering pile of disease beats eternity of torture any day of the week son! Besides, I'm pretty sure Snookie worships Nurgle and she has it pretty damn good!
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I now have the mental image of of Nurgle being like John Ritter in Problem Child
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Not that I'm going to report you or anything. Just opening this thread put me on the Inquisition's 'To Cleanse' list.
I bet the thread gets deleted from all of history ever, as part of a new plan. I'm not too worried about being nuked from orbit.
Hey, I was setting a cunning trap for the heretics, I swear.
Do you know who's great? The Emperor. SO GREAT, am I right?
Why I fear the ocean.
Others have suggested what I would have suggested. My personal pick would be to start with Dan Abnett, either the Gaunt's Ghosts series (for Imperial Guard) or the Eisenhorn trilogy (Inquisitor/life in the Imperium). Ravenor is good too, but read that after you read Eisenhorn.
Also, the Enforcer trilogy (Adeptus Arbites/more life in the Imperium) isn't half bad either. It isn't Abnett-level writing, but it's good.
I still need to read a Space Marine related novel though. The above are the only ones I've read thus far.
And as the others have said, if you want Guard or Inquisition/general imperium, Abnett is your best bet. Chaos marines, Soul Hunter or Storm of Iron are good.
Khorne - bravery (to the extend where his followers have to fight and kill everything in sight)
Nurgle - love, fertility (already covered on page one, but he really likes to gives his 'children' (who refer to him as Father Nurgle) presents because he loves them so much)
Tzeentch - hope (unfulfilled hope, that is)
Slaanesh - sensation
Slaneesh has a card called fields of ecstasy that prevents battle
In a game of demons think on this
That's an oversimplification. The Chaos gods represent the entire emotional spectrum of every sentient form of life in the galaxy. The warp is literally made of the unconscious thoughts and feelings of conscious minds. The Chaos gods themselves are just usually portrayed as those emotion taken way, way too far because they are literally made of those emotions.
So Khorne represents the bravery of firefighters as much as he represents the bravery of soldiers. Tzeentch represents the hope of oppressed people as much as he represents the duplicitous plans of politicians. They wouldn't be nearly as powerful if there weren't so many damn humans around. The whole plan of the Necrons (being anti-warp crusaders, essentially) is to destroy the chaos gods by destroying all life in the galaxy.
Wait. What.
Abnett's Brothers of the Snake is pretty good. It's a standalone book about the Iron Snakes marine chapter and consists of a number of connected short stories.
On an agriworld.
:rotate:
As for other books, Sandy Mitchel's Ciaphas Cain novels are good. Unlike most other 40K novels, it recognizes the absurdities that are inherent in the setting and replaces much (but not all) of the Grimdark SRS BZNS with sarcasm and shenanigans. Cain himself is essentially Edmund Blackadder IN SPACE! complete with a hypercompetent Baldrick.
Back on topic: In a universe where everything is ALL FIGHTING, ALL THE TIME one can make a case for Khorne being the most subtle and insidious of the gods.
After all, every good Imperial should hate the heretic. Those foul Chaos-worshipers. They just make one so angry. How dare they blaspheme against the Emperor's benevolence! Kill them! KILL THEM ALL! Take their HEADS for the glory of the God-Emperor! Shed their BLOOD so that the galaxy may be cleansed!
And then, without anyone really noticing: Warhglblarghl.
No, the Cain books are a straight 1:1 of the flashman books, pretty much.
As I've never heard of Flashman (Ah-aah!) I compared them to what I'm familiar with.
Try not to do that, 'k?
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